The Commander Series

The Commander (Book One) Carol Hancock, wife, mother, pillar of the community and faithful member of her church, never expected to contract Transform Sickness. Certainly she never expected to make that rarest of transformations, the female predator transformation. Now she was trapped in the custody of doctors working to research a cure for Transform Sickness while her body changed underneath her, becoming stronger, faster, with more acute senses, resistance to poisons, and more able to heal. Her mind changed underneath her, with new tempers, more aggression, violent mood swings and new hungers. She had new enemies, many of whom wanted to kill her for what she’d become, and more who wanted to use her as a tool. And she was dying, like all the other previous female predators in America except one, and that one had become a psychotic serial killer. She must figure out a way to survive her transformation and her enemies, preferably without becoming a psychotic serial killer herself.

The Commander (Book Two) Carol Hancock is a victim of Transform Sickness, a Major Transform known as an Arm. After her escape from government detention, an established and mentally unstable Arm, Stacy Keaton, trained her in the Arm basics. The basics are not enough, though, and Carol’s training continues, now with an explicit graduation test she must pass to get out of Keaton’s hands and become a free Arm. During Carol’s training, the two Arms annoy one of the hidden powers among the Major Transforms, a master of Chimeras known as Wandering Shade. Wandering Shade and his Chimeras plot to take their revenge on the two Arms, in the process endangering Carol’s hidden male Major Transform companion Gilgamesh as well as Keaton’s Major Transform backer Tonya Biggioni. Carol must solve her graduation test before her own teacher suffers a psychotic break and kills her, and before the dangers of the outside world collide with the two Arms.

The Commander (Book Four) Carol Hancock is a victim of Transform Sickness, a Major Transform known as an Arm. A secretive Major Transform, Wandering Shade, betrayed Carol to the authorities after Carol defeated his Hunters, leading to her capture and incarceration. Alone, in captivity, Carol attempts to regain her health, maintain her sanity, and find a way to escape. Carol’s capture becomes a cause célèbre among the Transform community, few of whom have ever before cooperated with the authorities. Some will attempt to help Carol, others will try to recruit her to serve them, while yet others will further betray her. Events will thrust together Carol’s closest allies, the Major Transform Crows Gilgamesh and Sky, the Arm Stacy Keaton, the Focus Lorraine Rizzari, and the researcher Henry Zielinski, in an attempt to save Carol.

The Commander (Book Three) Carol Hancock is a victim of Transform Sickness, a Major Transform known as an Arm. After graduating from her training at the hands of the mentally unstable Arm, Stacy Keaton, she establishes a territory in the Chicago area. However, her enemies, the Chimeras who call themselves Hunters, and their master, Wandering Shade, do not want Carol in Chicago, and vow to chase her away. Her established allies, Keaton and the researcher Henry Zielinski, are far away, but still in communication with her, and can offer no direct aid. Carol forges new alliances as she fights back against Wandering Shade’s beastly Chimeras, and learns how to live as a free Arm. Her hidden ally, the Major Transform Crow named Gilgamesh, faces a choice of dangers, and chooses a new path for the flighty Crows. A Crow by the name of Sky appears, and presents a mission to Focus Rizzari that will shake up the Transform community. Henry Zielinski, forced to take shelter under the protection of the Focus Lori Rizzari, makes an important discovery he hopes can help Carol, at least indirectly, in her fight against the Chimeras. Wandering Shade shows no signs of giving up the fight, though.

Book Five of "The Commander". Carol Hancock, wife, mother, pillar of the community and faithful member of her church, never expected to contract Transform Sickness. Certainly, she never expected to make that rarest of transformations, the female predator transformation, and become an Arm. Initially captured by the authorities, she escaped and served an apprenticeship under an older Arm, Stacy Keaton. After she graduated from her training, she took the city of Chicago as her territory, and held Chicago until a secretive Major Transform, Wandering Shade, betrayed Carol to the authorities. Carol’s friends rescued her, but only after she fell into juice withdrawal, which greatly damaged her. Cared for now by Keaton and a male Major Transform by the name of Gilgamesh, Carol must recover her mind, her abilities and her sanity, as well as regain her place as a powerful and influential Major Transform. She will face unexpected dangers, confront new opponents, and gain new friends as she recovers...and more. (Although this is the fifth book of “The Commander” series, new readers can also begin with this novel, if they wish.)

Book Six of "The Commander" Carol Hancock is a victim of Transform Sickness and a Major Transform, an Arm. Established now with a territory in Houston, Carol works under orders from the senior Arm, Stacy Keaton, to gather an army to fight their major enemy, the male Major Transforms known of as the Hunters, and their boss, the secretive Major Transform known of as Wandering Shade. As she works on this project, Carol also seeks restitution from the leading Focus, Tonya Biggioni, for the many problems Tonya has caused Carol. Tonya is on the bad side of the Focus Council for lying about her part in Carol’s rescue from incarceration. They give her two nearly impossible jobs, one to bring the Arms back under the control of the Focus Council, and the second, to take over the running of the Focus Mentoring organization. Complicating matters is the fact that Focus Lori Rizzari, a close friend of Carol’s, is running against Tonya for Tonya’s Council seat, pushing a revolutionary agenda that would upset the balance of power among the senior Focuses. Tonya’s Focus Mentoring work will bring her into contact with a talented and idealistic young Focus, Gail Rickenbach, who she befriends. In addition, a group of Male Major Transforms named the Nobles want to prove themselves as ‘good guys’ to the Transform community, and undertake a quest to rescue a lost Major Transform Sport. The collision of all of these forces will change the Transform community forever.

Book Seven of "The Commander" Among the Transforms, Carol Hancock is one of only three Arms. Reluctantly resigned to the Commander title, Carol organizes her allies to fight the Hunter Chimeras and their secret Crow Master, Wandering Shade. She must contend with her boss, the Arm Stacy Keaton – who demands more from Carol than Carol can deliver; her reluctant allies – some of whom do not even admit to the existence of the Hunters, active traitors within the ranks, and spies. The identity of Wandering Shade and his goals remain the last unanswered mysteries. Uncovering the answers to these will confound Carol and her allies, and cause dissention and weakness in a time where they cannot afford any – the time for the final confrontation with Wandering Shade.