I am mad excited about these Oklahoma shifter books. If you like Grimm, Supernatural, or if you’ve ever watched Sons of Anarchy and thought “Man, this would be six times hotter if everyone also had magical abilities and could turn into crows”, then these books are for you.
But where are my manners? I should introduce you to everyone first!
(Note: These descriptions intro the first book, and it’s funny to know how things are going to change later in the series. I am knee-deep in writing the third installment, and it’s like, dude. Y’all don’t even know.)
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s meet the neighbors!
Hannah Sterling
The daughter of local preacher Elijah Sterling, Hannah has started her junior year of high school with the terrible diagnosis of the Sickness, a rare affliction among starling shifters that heralds either a total loss of shapeshifting ability or tremendous impending powers. Despite all efforts to remain calm, the news is slowly throwing Hannah and her extended family into disarray.
Unable to share her shapeshifting with others, Hannah has been having a hard time making close friends. Maybe that’s just as well, she thinks, since she spends most of her free time working at La Petite Etoile diner with her aunts.
Reverend Elijah Sterling
Bespectacled and earnest, Elijah is Jessup, Oklahoma’s local reverend. Taking his shapeshifting abilities as a both a blessing and a responsibility, he flies as far as northern Texas to preach the gospel to other starling communities.
The sudden death of his wife ten years ago has made Elijah especially protective of his daughter. Seeing Hannah suffering from the Sickness has thrown Elijah for a loop, and he is struggling to make sense of it in light of his personal theology.
The Sterling Aunts
Hannah’s five aunts are a garrulous, social group that loves to flock together, even in human form. From eldest to youngest, the aunts include Odessa, Abilene, Edna and Elsa (twins), and Tulia. The sisters run La Petite Etoile, the diner at the center of town. When they aren’t slinging hash and making pies, the aunts can be found running errands in their signature vehicle, a beat-up 1973 Ford Country Squire station wagon. The aunts bought the station wagon together at a police auction, much to the chagrin of Elijah, who worries about their collective horsepower.
Jack Corbin
Originally from somewhere in southern Kansas, Jack was abandoned by his mother at the local firehall when he was six years old. Panicked, he shifted for the first time and attempted to fly home, only to become hopelessly lost. He crashed back to earth in Oklahoma outside of Bert Corbin’s trailer, where he has been living ever since.
A junior in high school, Jack spends most of his time hanging out with his closest friends, Will Branson and Finn Harval. He is unsure of what he will do after high school, and his confusion is being further deepened by his ability to heal people through the laying on of hands.
Jack rides a 1994 Harley-Davidson Sportster.
Bertram “Bert” Corbin
A loner who was perfectly content living in his trailer at the edge of town, Bert Corbin found his life changed when six-year-old Jack Corbin crash-landed in his yard.
Bert has lived in Jessup, Oklahoma all his life — including the 1940s, when a spate of crow killings swept through the town. It was during this time that Bert lost an eye to a well-aimed BB. The injury appears whether Bert is in human or crow form and informs his general distaste for firearms. Despite having only one eye, Bert seems more than capable when it comes to looking after Jack.
Finnegan “Finn” Harval
Finn Harval (he despises the name “Finnegan”) is the son of local prosecutor Dick Harval. A junior in high school, Finn has albinism — something he can’t help that makes him stick out like a sore thumb. What he can help, his lover Will points out, is not being a complete asshole to everyone, a suggestion that Finn has yet to take under advisement. While his prickly attitude hasn’t earned him many friends, Finn is staunchly loyal to Will and Jack, and he is fiercely devoted to his little sister, Ava.
As a result of his albinism, Finn has terrible eyesight when he is in his human form, although his corvine vision is not quite as bad. He is usually seen wearing gray contact lenses.
Finn rides his father’s old 1977 BMW R100/7 (not like the old man will ever miss it). Will was the one responsible for bringing the old BMW back to life. Finn tried to help.
Richard “Dick” Harval
Dick Harval is a crow shapeshifter, although he long ago shunned his abilities to focus instead on his career as a lawyer. His wife Evelyn has no power to shapeshift and is entirely in the dark about her husband’s ability to change forms. While his son Finn does shift, the fact is a thorn in Dick’s side, and he has sworn his son to secrecy.
What Dick lacks in compassion, he makes up for in money and ambition. (His current position nets him a comfortable salary, and his wife comes from a moneyed Tulsa family that made its fortune in the oil industry.)
Will Branson
Will is secretly relieved to be almost done with high school – at least, the school part of it. He’d much rather be tinkering with his motorcycle or flying with Finn and Jack. Quiet but physically intimidating, Will is often recruited by his father and uncle as backup for their shady activities with the Sons of Morrigan motorcycle club, a role that Will assumes he’ll drift into after high school, too.
Will is continuously tinkering with his 1988 Harley-Davidson Softail.
Other Bransons
Tim Branson
Will’s father. President of the Sons of Morrigan motorcycle club. Runs Branson Auto Repair along with his brother, Jarvis.
Jarvis Branson
Will’s uncle; Tim’s older brother. Harder than a coffin nail.
Tyler Crawford
Will’s twenty-two-year-old idiot cousin. Tyler is constantly in and out of trouble (and then back in again, it seems). The crow shifter’s interests include hot chicks, strong liquor, and tantalizingly shiny/expensive automotive accessories. He is very close to being on a first-name basis with everyone at the Jessup Police Department. Dating Christina Velasco.
Christina Velasco
The curvaceous girlfriend of Will’s cousin, Tyler. Christina maintains both haircuts and the local gossip industry at the nearby salon. She also likes to stop by La Petite Etoile for a slice of pie, a shred of news, and the chance to corrupt Hannah Sterling. Just a little bit.
Sons of Morrigan Motorcycle Club
The Sons of Morrigan MC is a local motorcycle club comprised of crow shifters. The initial group came together in the 1950s in response to violence against shifter communities, and current members are still fiercely protective of their own. The founding Sons seized on the idea of motorcycles in particular as being “the next best thing to flying” for someone in human form. The Sons’ jacket patches feature the club’s symbol of three crows with interlocking wings. The three-crows emblem is also popular as a tattoo.
While the Sons of Morrigan are prominent at charity events such as the annual Jessup Christmas Toy Drive, the group is also suspected to have its hand in shady, sometimes violent activities.