Hey Harlequin readers! I have a special surprise for you: a sneak peek at some of the covers we’re really looking forward to in the next few months. Have a look and let us know which ones you like!

The Bikini Car Wash by Pamela Morsi, MIRA, July 2010

Burning Up by Susan Andersen, HQN Books, September 2010

Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner, Harlequin Teen, July 2010

The Dog Who Healed a Family edited by Jo Coudert, Harlequin Nonfiction, August 2010

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa, Harlequin Teen, August 2010

Gorgeous, am I right? I’ll be back in a few weeks with some more covers that we’re really looking forward to. See anything you like? (We hope so!)

Everyone has heard of the Big Bad Wolf.

Wolves have always fascinated me, and when I needed an unstoppable villain in my Iron Fey e-novella, Winter’s Passage, the Big Bad Wolf was the perfect fit.  Savage, unstoppable, and relentless, he tracks protagonists Ash and Meghan through the lands of the Winter Fey, never far behind, until the final confrontation at the very end.  But how do you stop a creature that is supposedly immortal?

In nursery rhymes, in fairy tales, in ancient myth and legend, there has not been a more consummate villain than the lone hunter with the burning eyes and eerie howl who stalks the woods, looking to devour you.  When the full moon hangs in the sky, his legend comes to life. He terrorized Red Riding Hood, destroyed the homes of the 3 Little Pigs, taught the boy who cried “Wolf” a hard lesson, and casts his shadow over every werewolf tale in history.

In more modern fantasy, the wolf has taken on a nobler role, playing the rugged, misunderstood hero, fierce and protective and intensely loyal to his pack.  But he still embodies all that we admire and fear about wolves: the wildness, the mystery, the savage nature lurking just below the surface.  He will always be a predator, aloof and unpredictable, and we will always fear him on some emotional level.

There is no denying that his stories have been everywhere since the dawn of time.  But what if all those stories and myths and fairy tales gave him power, made him stronger with every telling?  Made him immortal?

What if he was hunting you?

Winter’s Passage was a lot of fun to write, and I hope I captured the spirit of the Big Bad Wolf in all his savage, mysterious glory.  The e-novella bridges the gap between The Iron King and the second book of the Iron Fey series, The Iron Daughter (coming August 2010).  So if your blood is up and you’re feeling a little wild, I hope you’ll download Winter’s Passage and enjoy cheering for the bad guy as much as I did.

Thanks so much!

Julie Kagawa

Editor’s Note: Julie’s brand new bridge in the Iron Fey series, Winter’s Passage, is available for FREE now at the eHarlequin eBookstore until July 31st.

by Olga Kwak, digital faery

Author Julie Kagawa’s got an awesome faceoff happening over at her blog on Monday for a chance to win prizes from The Iron Fey series, including a secret prize! (I’m hoping it’s faery wings, but that’s just me and my overactive imagination!) Julie asks are you on…

or…

Head to Julie’s blog on Monday to join the faceoff! May the best fey win.

And PS—if you have your own blog, you can pick up one of those above buttons from Julie’s and post it on your space! Gotta show your love!

by Julie Kagawa, author of The Iron King from Harlequin TEEN

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I’ll be honest: writing guest posts for me is hard.  I think I started and erased the beginning of this post a dozen times before something finally stuck to the page.  I don’t know why it’s so difficult to talk about myself.  It would be easier if I was a world traveler or big game hunter or once ran with the bulls in Spain.  Then I could say something like: “I’ve wanted to hunt lions ever since I was two and rescued my doll from a rogue cougar in the backyard,” and everyone would ooh and ahh and hang on every word I said.

And I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent, haven’t I?  Right, back to what I’m supposed to be talking about.  My name is Julie Kagawa, and my first YA novel The Iron King will be debuting with Harlequin TEEN this February.  It’s about a girl named Meghan Chase who, on her sixteenth birthday, discovers her little brother has been stolen by faeries, and she must venture into Faeryland to get him back.  Along the way, she discovers her own faery heritage, falls in love with an enemy prince, and must face down an ancient evil to rescue her brother.  It’s a fun story, with goblins and phouka and faery princes and danger and romance.  And Grimalkin of course.  Can’t forget Grimalkin.

A lot of people have asked me where the idea for The Iron King came from.  It all started with a single character, Meghan, and the story sort of evolved around her.  Meghan is a normal teen who is pulled into this dangerous, fantastic world, and how she reacts drives the story forward.  The other important element of the book is the Iron fey—the faeries of progress, technology, and the modern world, and how they clash with the ancient, traditional fey like Oberon and Titania.  It was a lot of fun to write, albeit a bit frantic, since I finished it as part of NaNoWrimo, where you must write 50,000 words in 30 days.

You know, I’d imagine NaNo is almost as frantic as running with the bulls in Spain.  If you fall behind, you’ll get trampled, either by hooves or an accumulating word quota.  And NaNo lasts for a month, whereas bull running only lasts a few minutes, depending on how soon you fall down.  Okay, I’m reaching.  Check out The Iron King in February, if you like.  Meghan’s adventures are much more exciting.