Yes, Carolyn Jewel is my real name. Sounds fake though, doesn't it? I've been writing stories ever since I could scribble. Now that I've grown up (mostly) I write historical and paranormal romance because with both there are some awesome power roles that get inverted or are just there to explore. I love writing romance because I can generally pull out all the stops emotionally, including moments of intimacy. I love to hear from readers, so don't hesitate to email me. Honest. There's more about me and my books at my website, carolynjewel.com.

I got my MA in English at Sonoma State University in May 2007. I can't believe I'm really done! Yay!

In my day job, I'm a Microsoft SQL Server database Administrator (or, more succinctly: MS SQL DBA or, more accurately, I have a day job that's not as interesting as writing.)

For advance notice of cool contests, first dibs on freebies and to find out when the heck one of my books is being released, sign up for my newsletter. Otherwise, don't bother. But I hope you do. I do not sell my list or give it to spammers. You can opt out at any time. Way safe.

Enter the Wicked Cool Contest!

In fact, I have a contest going right now. My Wicked Cool contest. All you have to do to enter is sign up for my newsletter.¹ If you're already on it, relax! You're already entered. Check out my website for more info and pics of the prizes so far. Last day to enter is August 31!

1. OK, the reason newsletter subscribers get to be in the contest is that, presumably, they like my books and don't mind getting an email from me with news about releases and contests. If you don't want that stuff, then, well, gee. Sniff. But if you do, sign up and make an author feel happy and loved. And maybe you'll win some wicked cool stuff, eh?

Reviews of My Wicked Enemy

Magic and it's sensual pull lie at the heart of this super-sizzling paranormal adventure. The transformation of this heroine from victim to powerful witch is exciting and sexy. As heroes go, Nikodemus is tough to beat, and the secondary characters are dangerously fascinating. If you like your paranormal steamy, this is the book for you!
Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times

Wow. This is powerful stuff and I don't like many paranormals. I may not understand every bit of it, for authors of paranormals tend to make up the rules as they go along (and why can't they list these rules and enlighten us?), but it held me captivated from the first page to the last. There are some pretty amazing characters in this story and I am hoping that we can read more of them in the future. Good going, Carolyn Jewel!
Donna Doyle, Romance Reviews Magazine. (This will post in the August 2008 issue, so I can't give you a direct link yet.)

Author Carolyn Jewel has created a unique paranormal romance with characters who are bigger than life. The writing is smooth, and the plot is exciting. However, while I was engrossed in the novel and couldn't put it down, in the end I was left with some questions unanswered. I'm hoping that this is the first in a series about the fiends so that we can learn more about them. MY WICKED ENEMY is action packed, and the romance is outside the ordinary; actually, some of the sex scenes probably need a warning label. However, even with the somewhat different aspects of the sex scenes, they don't overshadow the story or take over the novel, though they are more prevalent in the latter half of the book. Secondary characters are many, each having an impact on the story, but not overshadowing the focus of the book, the conflicted relationship between Carson and Nikodemus.
MY WICKED ENEMY is sure to appeal to fans of the paranormal, and I don't hesitate to recommend the novel for an entertaining and unique read.
Terrie Figueroa Romance Reviews Today

about my books

Paranormal Romances

My Wicked Enemy, August 2008, Grand Central Publishing

Nikodemus definitely isn't human. Carson Philips is a human raised in isolation by a not-very-nice mage. Here's a bit from Chapter 1:

   She tightened her grip on the scuffed black purse she'd pulled out of a bin at Good Will. Her knees shook. Her body felt like it might just float away. He was good looking, she hadn't mistaken that. He also wasn't what she expected of someone with a name straight from one of Magellan's papers. His eyes were grey with a hint of blue. His jeans fit tight around lean hips and thighs. Probably Nikodemus wasn't his real name. The name was probably his way of convincing her he knew Magellan. Another shiver streaked through her. He was dangerous. That much she knew. She pushed past him, heart pounding.
   "Where are you going?" he said to her back. "That's pretty rude, you know."
   She took maybe three steps, and there he was, walking backward on the sidewalk in front of her so she had to look at him, and everyone else had to get out of his way. Her breath caught in her lungs, and the deficit made her lightheaded.
   "Sweetheart," he said, extending his arms wide. His voice invited her attention, begged for it in a beguiling tenor. "Why are you walking away?"

As yet untitled book, May 2009, Grand Central Publishing

Human-hating fiend Xia meets the human sister of his only friend. Man, prejudice is an ugly thing. Xia is going to pay for his.

DX in Shards of Crimson, January 2007

The hero in this anthology story is Jaden Lightfeather, and he is not what he seems. Here's a description of him from Chapter 1:

Agent Incredible Hunk had Native-American features, brown eyes and skin two shades darker than café au lait. On him, black clothes looked good instead of pretentious. He wore a silver earring. The small yet prohibited body decoration meant he was either undercover or covert. With his short hair, her money was on covert.

A Darker Crimson -- Book 4 in the Crimson City Series

If you haven't heard about Crimson City, this multi-author series conceived by Liz Maverick is amazing. It's got vampires, werewolves, demons, druids and mechs and they're all just not getting along too well. The hero in my book is Tiberiu Korzha, a vampire with a criminal bent:

   Rumor was a lot of other vamps imitated his looks. Some things, of course, couldn’t be duplicated: his six-foot frame, muscled without being overdone, and a face that, when you caught him in a moment of repose, was handsome but not pretty. The Armani suits, leather shoes, French shirts, the close shave and the perfect hair cut with a hint of sideburn trimmed to a point, razored off his neck— that look, a lot of male vamps adopted. If Korzha raked his fingers through his hair, every espresso-colored lock sprang back into place. A bit chilly, it always seemed to her, that kind of perfection. But, he had a smile that could heat a person up pretty quick.

Historical Romance

Historical romances are way more than you're probably thinking. I tend to write edgy and I like heros who aren't always nice and I like to put them with heroines with depth. If you like paranormals, chances are high you'll like the edgier historicals.

Scandal - Berkley Books, January 2009

A reformed rake woos the woman he loves. Unfortunately, she knows him all too well. Here's the beginning of Chapter 1:

Havenwood, near Duke's Head, England. 2 November 1814
   The first thing Gwilym, earl of Banallt noticed when he rounded the driveway was Sophie perched on the ledge of a low fountain. Surely he thought, some other explanation existed for the hard, slow thud of his heart against his ribs. After all, he hadn't seen her in well over a year. Nearly two years, and they had not parted on the best of terms. He ought to be over her by now. And yet the jolt of seeing her again shot straight through to his soul.
   He was dismayed beyond words.
   Beside him, Sophie's brother continued riding toward the house, oblivious.
   She heard them coming; she left off trailing her fingers in the water and straightened.
Though not before he caught a glimpse of the pale nape of her neck. Just that flash of bare skin and Banallt couldn't breathe. Still seated on the fountain's edge, she turned toward the drive and looked first at her brother and then, at last, at him. She did not smile. Nor, he thought, was she unaffected.
   Nothing at all had changed.

To Be titled - Berkley Books, Late 2009

The Spare

This book is really a Gothic. There's a ghost, some unexplainable events, and a murder. From Chapter 1:

   “I saw a sailor go mad once, and he not yet twenty.” At rest, Sebastian’s face marked him as a young man, barely thirty, a handsome man with blue eyes and hair just shy of black. Certainly, unquestionably, his eyes were blue. As bitterly cold as ice at dawn. From across a room, his eyes pierced with a rapier’s thrust to the heart.
   James gave him a look. “I’ll warrant his madness was not from age.”
   “The ocean broke his mind. We were becalmed seven weeks on water smooth as glass.”
   “Your mind is sound, of that I am convinced.”
   “I’m not to be back at sea for weeks yet. What am I to do with myself until then?” He shuddered. The hound at his side rose, and Sebastian rested a hand on its sleek shoulder. “If I don’t get another ship right away, I might be here even longer.”

Lord Ruin

From the opening of Chapter 1

   Cynssyr glared at the door to number twenty-four Portman Square. “Blast it,” he said to the groom who held two other horses. “What the devil is taking them so long?” He sat his horse with authority, a man in command of himself and his world. His buckskins fit close over lean thighs, and the exacting cut of his jacket declared a tailor of some talent. A Pink of the Ton, he seemed, but for eyes that observed more than they revealed.
   “The Baron’s a family man now, sir.” The groom stamped his feet and tucked his hands under his armpits.
   “What has that to do with anything?”
   A handbill abandoned by some reveler from one of last night’s fetes skimmed over the cobbles and spooked the other two horses, a charcoal gelding by the name of Poor Boy on account of the loss of his equine manhood; and a muscular dun. The groom had a dicey moment what with the cold having numbed his fingers but managed to send the sheet skittering to freedom.
   “Man with a family can’t leave anywhere spot on the dot,” the groom said.
   “I don’t see why.”
   The door to number twenty-four flew open with a ringing crack of wood against stone.

Stolen Love

Passion's Song

People who read books. Any kind of books. If you like to talk about books, friend me! Because I love talking about books, too. Interesting people of any kind at all. People who like movies. Action movies especially. Vin Diesel. Josh Whedon. Adrian Paul.