Author Spotlight: Sheritta Bitikofer Is In the House!
I’m happy to welcome Sheritta Bitikofer back to the Spotlight! Marked by the Alpha, her first paranormal romance with Tule Publishing’s Muse imprint released June 11. Shifter fans, have you discovered it yet? Sheritta’s here to share her journey to this new novel…
Sheritta Bitikofer writes paranormal romance with a particular fondness for wolf shifters and witches. Her stories are driven by one guiding belief: love inspires courage. Through fierce romances, unbreakable pack bonds, and the magic of covens and family, her characters fight for the lives—and loves—they deserve. Sheritta lives in northwest Florida, where she drinks far too much coffee and joyfully balances life as a wife and mother while crafting her next heartfelt paranormal love story.
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Journey to Marked by the Alpha
It started with a baby. No, wait. Maybe it was a trip to the antique store. Or maybe it was that pretty fountain in a town square. Maybe I should start from the VERY beginning, and it’ll make sense.
My mom enjoyed taking me on these little random trips out of our small town into… well, other small towns. And she really enjoyed looking at old houses and browsing antique stores. We never bought anything, but it sparked a thousand ideas in my young imagination. Soon, the idea of a girl having some secret family connection to a town she had only ever visited and a house she had only ever dreamed about began to take root. But, being only twelve or so, I didn’t do anything with it besides type out a few vague ideas in a Word document.
I began self-publishing in 2015, and by 2018, I had published well over a dozen novels and novellas, with many more in the works. While revisiting old files for inspiration, I stumbled across this idea again. I fleshed it out, threw in a dash of alpha wolf shifters, a heaping helping of next-door-romance, upped the stakes, built a history around the town, and voila! We had the first book of my Tolstone Wolf Shifter series.
Erica Barrett had just lost her mother to illness and used her inheritance to buy a Victorian home in Tolstone that they had (to her understanding) both idolized when she was younger. They only ever drove past the house, admired it, and moved on. Erica was ready to start fresh in the town she only ever knew from the passenger side window and grow her photography business. That was until she met Dominic Beaumont. Little does she know that her new hot neighbor-slash-antique store owner is a wolf shifter. And not just any wolf shifter, but the alpha of all Tolstone. The Prime Alpha, to be exact. Because here’s the thing. Tolstone is a sanctuary for wolf shifters and packs. Alpha died? Go to Tolstone, and they’ll find you a new one. Forced out of your territory by a rival pack? Go to Tolstone, and they’ll help you relocate. A loner looking for a new pack? Go to Tolstone, and they’ll help you find it. And at the head of it all is Dominic, who had prematurely and unexpectedly taken over the role of Prime Alpha from his late father. Still learning the ropes, Dominic finds Erica (a human) irresistibly distracting, especially when things in Tolstone start to get a little too chaotic with a big pack making trouble for the other shifters in the town. His title of Prime Alpha is at risk, but so is his heart to the hyper-independent woman next door. She doesn’t need him like the rest of the town, but he desperately needs her to want him.
This book, and Erica’s story, held a lot of significance for me. As the daughter of a single mom, I have trouble letting go of the need to control and prove I can take care of myself. It just so happens that I married a man who wants to take care of me (despite my protests), just like Dominic. Erica and I were similar on so many levels, and writing her story helped heal a part of my own past. I wanted this book to be the first step toward a change in my author career, so I sent it to literary agents and publishers. I got a nibble in the summer of 2018, but couldn’t modify the story to their liking. A little discouraged, I moved on to other projects and continued to self-publish until 2021. At that time, I switched lanes and decided to finish my degree in American History. I left my author career and this manuscript on the shelf, intending to come back whenever I was ready and had the time.
Well, as any new parent can tell you, having a baby will put a near-permanent hold on dreams and ambitions. Our daughter was born in the summer of 2023, and I finished my degree program (summa cum laude, against the odds) the following October. Between Halloween and Easter of 2024, postpartum hit me hard. I desperately needed to regain a sense of my old self in the midst of changing diapers, nap schedules, and nursing. I began listening to audiobooks while my daughter slept, and the world of romantic fiction pulled me in once more.
I wanted to write again. I wanted to publish. I realized I still had stories inside me that I wanted to share. But… how? What could I do as a full-time mom? I remembered Erica and Dominic’s story. A completed manuscript that just needed a little refining and editing, but was ripe for submission! With the help of a good friend, Kasey Nunag, we edited and polished the story until I was confident enough to send it out. I tossed a wide net, I’ll admit. I solicited small and big publishers who were open to paranormal romance. I got a couple of rejections, which were not surprising. BUT, there was an acceptance! I was thrilled! I remember standing in my kitchen, reading the acceptance/”we want to hear more” email from Tule Publishing, with my 7-month-old daughter lying in her pack-n-play. I don’t think I had smiled that much since the day she was born. I jumped, I screamed, I picked her up and swung my baby about (safely). It was the first day of a long journey with Tule.
What came out of it is a 4-book series, beginning with Marked by the Alpha, the story that started it all. I’m thrilled to finally share Erica and Dominic’s love story with the world. If you enjoy shifter romances, set in a small town with a splash of suspense and lots of pack drama, you’ll love my Tolstone Wolf Shifter Series. Follow me on social media or subscribe to my newsletter for updates on releases and all the latest news about my writing career. I have a lot of ground to make up after being out of the game for a few years, but I’m eager to meet new readers and reconnect with old fans.
See you in Tolstone!
GIVEAWAY! Sheritta has a fun giveaway package for one lucky (US only) commenter. Just tell her below if you’ve ever been to a new town or seen a new house that already felt familiar?
Marked by the Alpha
An alpha with a storied legacy. An independent woman rebuilding after grief. Forbidden desire—for only one is human….
After her mother’s death, photographer Erica Barrett, buys a home she and her mother obsessed over during her childhood in the quaintly historical town of Tolstone. Her magnetic next door neighbor intrigues and disturbs her. The sensual pull feels otherworldly.
Wolf shifter Dominic Beaumont never wanted to be the prime alpha of the sanctuary city, Tolstone, but when his father dies, he’s forced to step up as pack leader and prime alpha over all the wolf packs sheltering in his town. Erica’s arrival is dangerous. The attraction is fierce and instant, but duty comes first.
When revelations about Erica’s past and parentage create chaos, and she questions everything she thought she knew about herself, Dominic is her strength. But as tension builds in the pack, and his leadership is challenged, love becomes a risk that could cost him his authority, his people, and everything he’s sworn to protect.
Perfect for readers craving illicit wolf-shifter romance filled with fate, secrets, rebellion, and an alpha willing to risk everything for love.