Once a notorious pirate, Jendara has at last returned to the cold northern isles of her birth, ready to settle down and raise her young son. Yet when a mysterious tsunami wracks her island's shore, she and her fearless crew must sail out to explore the strange island that's risen from the sea floor...

If you ever get the chance to meet Wendy Wagner in person, you'll likely come away a little dazzled by the joyful energy she projects. It's practically impossible to not to get swept up in her enthusiasm about any topic you happen to latch on to, be it a favorite recipe or a fantastic horror flick. Whatever the project, Wendy is sure to bring a real passion to it.

Jendara moved through the dense forest, following Irlu as the tracker floated through the bracken and brush. Jendara was an able tracker; the dark-haired Blackraven made her look like a novice. Despite the hill giant's size and ungainly burden—Lugh stood six and a half feet tall—the creature had left little spoor. It might be huge and ungainly, but the giant clearly knew the woods.

The hill giant stepped over the smashed remains of the trees. It wore a vest and skirt made of filthy hides, and a necklace of raccoon skulls dangled between its two drooping and half-covered breasts. Its hair hung in clumpy strands the color of dirt, damp and clinging to its jowled cheeks.

Jendara dropped onto a fallen log and eyed her companion. "Are you ready to give up?"

In Skinwalkers, Wendy N. Wagner returns to chronicle the further adventures of Jendara, who was first introduced in the web fiction story "Mother Bears." As a young woman, Jendara left the cold northern isles of the Ironbound Archipelago for fame and fortune on a pirate ship, only to return home to find her family slain by raiders. Now, many years later, she's forsaken her buccaneer ways and sails the islands in search of a simpler life, hoping to raise her young son in peace. When a strange clan of shapeshifters begins pillaging the islands, however, the past comes crashing back, and there's no choice for Jendara but to take up her axe and help the islanders defend all that they hold dear...