Book Review – Reaper’s Property by Joanna Wylde

Just read this last night and loved it! It is right in the middle of Motorcycle Man and Undeniable for me story wise. Well written, great dialogue and characters. Hoping for this to become a series, would love to see a story from a Prospect’s perspective, Painter, maybe, hint…

Half way thru it and I had to go to bed so I could get up early and go to that pesky thing called a job. Now I have to suffer through 8 hours until I can finish it. Did not want to put it down. Loving it! More MC books please!!!

I read Phoenix Rockstar by Bec Botefuhr. It has bikers AND a rockstar!

Also, does anyone know the name of the male model on the book cover? I have seen him on a lot of book and think he is HOT!!! Great choice for the book cover Joanna, I pictured him as Horse the whole time I was reading. **blush** **sigh** 😉

Tack, Deuce, and now Horse. My favorite motorcycle bad boys. Loved the book. Like everyone else, I hope it becomes a series, cuz, then we can (hopefully) keep tabs on Horse and Marie!

Hey there! Thanks for your nice comments, when I saw the review last night I pretty much fainted, LOL. I will be working on more stories, definitely. I had no idea if this book would be read by anyone, let alone whether they’d like it, so I didn’t make any real plans. Now I’m planning lots 🙂

Thanks again – I’m just all smiles right now.

I know that I am gushing, but I really really loved this book. In my opinion, Joanna’s fantasy world of an outlaw MC is brilliant. I found Joanna response to a letter discussing “Reaper’s Property” online and wanted to share: (it’s really interesting)

“Hi, I’m Joanna Wylde (the author) and I loved your letter to me, LOL! I appreciate that you put your time and effort into reading (and writing about) my book. It’s an amazing thing to have someone send you a link to a place where people are actually talking about your stuff.
I didn’t want to butt in, but I wanted to respond to J*** W’s question about community property and distribution of assets in an OMC (outlaw motocycle club).

Before I go any further, I want to offer a caveat: I am not living in the life and wouldn’t dream of implying I am. I am a former journalist and have done a ton of research into club life (including interviewing many MC members, including several one percenters, reading books, articles and even academic works) and think I can offer some clarity (not just about my book, which is obviously a fantasy set in a background that was as real as I could get it, but still within the bounds of my fantasy world). Please note – this is only about 1%er or outlaw clubs. The vast majority of clubs are just groups of people who like to ride together.

Back to property: There’s very little I can find out about the specifics of real property (as opposed to property as slang for a claimed woman) held communally by MCs. What I have been told (by guys living in club life) is that it’s common for one member to hold it – for example, the clubhouse is often owned/rented by one person, but used and paid for by all (the clubs have regular dues to cover expenses). This is used not only as a hang out, but as a backup place to live when things get too tight at home (not uncommon, apparently – one source was living in the clubhouse with his wife and kids because he’d lost his job). The ties of the club are strong enough that it’s not an issue, apparently. One guy told me that most of the clubs he knew used houses as their clubhouse, because they want them to be residential and they have run into zoning issues mixing businesses with housing. Even bikers have to deal with city ordinances, apparently… I chose an old national guard armory for my book because it happens to be a real building in my community and looking at it has always filled my mind with stories. I figured that since it lies within the county (so business zoning is not an issue, at least around here) and it isn’t commercial, it was realistic enough.

As for business income/property, I can’t find any evidence that very many real clubs actually make a lot of money (this might be why they don’t fight about property much – either that or they’re smart enough to keep it hidden). They’re about riding bikes more than anything, hanging out, partying, camping, runs… Money seems to be more of a means to an end than an end of itself. For most, it’s about brotherhood and bikes.

Some groups are far more organized than others (one size doesn’t fit all in any world, and definitely NOT in the MC world), and many MCs don’t have any sanctioned criminal activity at all. That being said, those same clubs seem to have groups of individuals who are engaged in shady activity to varying levels… How organized that activity actually is is up for question. The cops and ATF seem to disagree, and have gone after various groups under RICO many times (although not usually groups as small as the “Reapers,” which is a decent sized club, but not a big player like the real clubs you’ve probably heard of – Hells Angels, Mongols, etc.)

I decided to make the Reapers a more sophisticated organization financially because it’s a better story. The idea of owning formal “shares” in a club seems completely at odds with what I know of MC culture, although I’m sure if there was a parting of ways, they’d divide things up. I do know that among members, it is very egalitarian. They really do have officers, they have regular elections, they have bylaws, etc. They are notorious for not following society’s rules, but there are lots of rules within their own culture. It’s probably more structured in some ways than the life I lead. The most common businesses I have heard of clubs running are strip clubs.

So, I think if a member and his wife got divorced, they’d probably have to split their assets like anyone else under the law. The question is, how much would they have in traceable assets? A lot of bikers live pretty close to the bone – it’s not a life that mixes well with a career. It’s not uncommon at all for the wife to be the bread winner, especially to get health insurance. Their criminal activity is well documented, but that’s not what they’re really all about (at least for many – I suspect there are plenty of sociopaths out there too). There are family clubs that are far more welcoming to women and children, and clubs that treat women like dogs. One guy shared that he wouldn’t want his daughter to live the life, but that he really hoped his son would. This man is married, batshit crazy about his wife and realistic in his understanding that club life strains the marriage. He actually (with permission) transferred to another, affiliated club because they were more supportive of family life.

I hope that answers the question, or at least addresses it. Lots of people have been asking me about my research, and I’ve done some posts on my Goodreads blog. I am certainly not an expert, but it’s been very eye-opening for me. It’s a diverse, rich, disturbing and impressive culture that varies from club to club significantly, but is still centered around the same common ideals, I think. They definitely see themselves as rebels and heros in a world with too many rules.

Law enforcement disagrees…

Joanna 🙂 “