Old standbys can grow stale.

We all have our go-to authors, the ones whose books we wait for and pick up regularly because we've come to love the characters in their series or just the writing style that makes opening the book feel like falling into a comfortable old chair with a warm cuppa. But when does that familiarity start to breed disconent if not contempt? I recently picked up books by two of my go-tos with mixed results. I'd been avoiding them recently because I was starting become a bit impatient with them.

Rita Mae Brown:

While this is the same Rita Mae Brown who wrote Rubyfruit Jungle and caused a good deal of gasping and fainting among the old Southern elite, I've always been drawn to the mysteries that are "co-authored" by her tabby cat, SneakyPie. The first several books were awesome. I enjoyed reading every moment of them even if she sometimes left me rolling my eyes over her handling of gay men. (Yes, I am aware of her sexual orientation.) In the early years they were generally the villains, though she did back away from this later.

Her main character, Harry, lost interest for me when Brown stopped playing about with her sexual ambiguity and singleness. In the end Brown reunited Harry with her errant husband who had learned his lesson. Once Harry became the happy little homemaker again, the series went flat. She wrote out or minimized characters that added pizzaz and sparkle like Miranda and Boom-Boom.

I recently picked up Cat of the Century. I wouldn't say my love has returned, but I definitely would say that this book redeemed Harry a great deal in my eyes and I'm once again likely to pick up a Mrs. Murphy mystery.

Sherrilyn Kenyon:

I guess it might be surprising that the most awaited Kenyon book, Acheron, was responsible for making me back away. It was overblown and not pleasant to read. The first two thirds that told of Acheron's history were a stark abandonment of the style that made Kenyon, Kenyon. The final third, the Acheron gets his girl part, was the only part of this book that held any redemption and is the only part I will ever read again.

I picked up Bad Moon Rising simply because No Mercy is coming out soon and I had been avoiding the Fang-Aimee book. Just not interested in it, but I was looking forward to the story of Dev and Samia. The book wasn't as bad as I feared. It was exactly that comfortable Kenyon feeling that I'd missed in Acheron. I'm glad that's back and my passsion for her Dark-Hunter world has returned.

I also had a pleasant surprise when I picked up Kenyon's YA offering The Chronicles of Nick: Infinity. I'd been wary since Nick was the character I was most disappointed in through the series. He began as this indearing smart-ass kid and ended up in the adult version of the series as a whiny idiot who just needs to be b-slapped and told to man-up. But this series has brought the adult readers back to the Nick we loved and introduces YA readers to a a cast of very cool characters they will come to identify with and enjoy.

I've often credited Kenyon with reminding me that after years of required reading in school that reading was supposed to be fun. I really think the Chronicles of Nick will bring that home to a new generation of readers.

Up next for me is a little non-fiction. American Conspiracies by Jesse Ventura. I anticipate a few good giggles and eye rolls.

Shadow of the wind

I just finished Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Shadow of the Wind. This is a much touted literary "masterpiece".

I will agree that technically it was beautiful. The prose, the language, the style was carefully and skillfully crafted. One could easily lose themselves in the beauty of the prose. However, I found that that seems to be what happened to the story. The story line was not compelling and seemed to play second fiddle to the prose--to the "crafting" of the words.

Maybe I'm just a simple person with simple tastes, but I have to find the storyline the number one draw to the book.




I was reading the remarks from a friend who attended a writer's conference and she remarked on how romance writing still isn't really accepted as "real" writing. I blame this on the transition that happens to people about middle school to high school where we start to put emphasis on "classic literature". In doing so we tend to suck the fun right out of reading.

In middle school and high school I remember the guilty pleasure of sneaking a Harlequin romance. They were fun to read. So were comic books. But these were looked down upon as not real reading by those who are in the position I hold now, a reading/ELA teacher. We read Animal Farm, The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, etc. in the seventh grade and I used to think that was an awesome thing.

It is in some respects. There is a certain body of literature that everyone should have a passing knowledge of and the three works above are among them. In the WIP I have going, which may turn out to be a YA novel, the protagonist is bemoaning her third trip to the land of Chaucer. Yes, we all need to have a passing acquaintance with The Canterbury Tales, but by focusing entirely on those kinds of works we are at deep risk of sucking the fun out of reading. I mean, come on, how many of you who have read Chaucer, enjoyed it? Not many. We may admire it, we may appreciate it, but enjoy it?

Classic works are a must. We need to know, understand and be familiar with great works of literature. But thank goodness for writers who know how to keep reading fun. I'd lost the fun in reading until I picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to figure out what the hype was all about. I devoured it in a few hours and went back for more.

Yet still, it seemed that fun and adult literature were forever to be separated until I attended my first DragonCon (the SciFi-Fantasy-Horror convention in Atlanta). I saw a panel with Sherrilyn Kenyon-dressed in pigtails with bright red yarn fluffed through them and horns. (I had no idea at the time she was dressed like the demon Simi from her books.) I'd never heard of her before that day, but was drawn by the vampire-goth theme of the panel. She was hilarious and fun.

A check of my local library showed they had her novels and I, again, discovered the fun in reading. Now I embrace my romance reader side. It took longer for me to embrace the romance writer side of me. My first novel, Access Denied, was written without a clue on my part that it was a romance until one of my friends gave me a reality check. It had been declined by a couple of publishers when Courtney said, "Duh, you're sending it out wrong, you don't have a sci-fi novel on your hands, kiddo, you have a romance."

I was shocked. I'd written a romance? Yes I had. The story of James and Leah was definitely a romance. Not your typical one, he's a difficult kinda guy to warm up to, but it was definitely a romance.

I don't have aspirations as a writer to write the great American novel. Like Leah, who reminds me a great deal of Lizzy in The Rainmaker, my dreams are much more simple. I just want people to have fun.

Acheron, a Dark-Hunter Addict's confession

I finally finished reading Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I had several other books on tap that I had to finish before I could read it. The first 400 pages are about Acheron's life prior to the present. Those pages were hard to read. Not because the book wasn't well written, compelling or paced well but because Acheron is one of my absolute favorite characters and reading about the horrors of his past was disturbing.

Beyond the joy that all Kenyon fans felt that Ash finally got his HEA, there were images of the cool, totally zen, philosophical, kick-ass leader of the Dark-Hunters/God of Fate that were so heart touching that you remembered again why you fell in love with the character whose image is that of the ultimate preditor. One of his men even refers to him as T-Rex. But the glimpses of him away from the Dark-Hunter world where his absolute adoration and love of children and the true extent of his loyalty to his men and his committment to mankind as a whole were put center stage were priceless and brilliant on Kenyon's part. And brave on her part.

It was great to see all the characters we have come to know and love flitter in and out of this picture of Ash's life and to see the man who thought he stood alone, finally recognize that he wasn't and hadn't been for some time.

So we Kenyon Minions will continue to await her next book with excitement (Fury's book is coming out at Christmas! I'm so blasted excited I could squeal. I love me some Fury Kattalakis). We will continue to take that second look at the very tall, leather clad guy with long hair as he straddles his motorcyle or slides behind the wheel of his ride and entertain the fantasy of what if...

Oh, and one more important thing. Be careful with your carbonated beverages. Who knew Atlantean gods couldn't hold their Sprite?

Talismans

Grrrrrr……………


I had a blog all finished and ready to go when the blasted thing had an error and I lost all I had typed. Now I had been typing my blogs onto a word document and then pasting them into the blogger box. Did I do this today? No I didn’t. Stupid me. So I just lost what was a far more interesting and clever blog than I could ever recreate. *grumbling loudly*

I was talking about talismans. Webster’s defines a talisman as something that is thought to bring good luck and or provide protection from evil spirits. In the book Soul Stone, coming from Ellora’s Cave, Tarris has a talisman. It is a stone that he keeps with him. The oblong, smooth stone is unusual in that two thirds of it appears to be a white opal, sparklingly iridescent. But one third of it is smokey black glass. There is no explanation for how this could have happened, but Tarris keeps it as a reminder and it seems oddly to sooth him at times.

Do you have a talisman? I don’t have a single, general talisman that I feel brings overall good luck. But I have noticed that writer’s are fairly superstitious people. Sort of like athletes. Maybe it’s because we don’t really understand where the creativity comes from or why it is us who are blessed with it. Maybe it’s because since we don’t know how it started we don’t know if or how it will stop one day. Think this isn’t you?

Lets replace the word superstition with the words compulsion or habit. Do you have a particular place that you write? Not jot down notes or scenes, but truly write? Is your space organized a certain way? Is it neat and organized? Your ideas outlined on a white board or written down neatly in a notebook. Hanging files showing notes or hows for characters and stories. Do you always begin your writing process a certain way? Do you approach your new stories in a certain way?

Don’t think these are superstitions or compulsions? Try mixing it up and see if it still works.

I have no shame in admitting I have specific compulsions. I can edit and tinker with one of my stories anywhere, lap top, work, anywhere. But I can’t actually “write” my stories anywhere but sitting at my desk. The keyboard and rests are just in the right spot, I have just enough room and everything fits snuggly and perfectly enough that I can lose the surroundings and sink into what I’m doing.

My mug is always by my side. Either my Circle of Crones or one of my Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark-Hunter/Sanctuary mugs. A hodge-podged stack of reference books are piled on my right and my little focuses, my talismans are scattered about. In front of me sits my green dragon, Flame. Flame was designed to be an incense holder but now he holds the focus stones that helped me think about my little mages. In Circle of Wolves, coming from Cerridwen Press, the hero Evan uses a piece of green aventurine as a focal stone. Evan is a mage who also happens to be a werewolf. Not a great thing to be unless you want to be tagged, studied and possibly exterminated by your own people. So he keeps his “disability” quiet from all but those he loves dearly. But the wolf inside him makes him the perfect choice as envoy to the shapeshifters, the Weres. Sent to broker an alliance that will shore up his master from the challenge of the dark mages, Evan finds more than he bargained for and everything he’s ever dreamed of.

The big piece of black obsidian? That’s Julien. He’s a whole other story.

I also use much less serious things to help me think about what I’m writing and to help me self direct when ADD strikes. Beau the bear and Glimmer the dragon sit on top of my monitor and urge me to stay on task. Beau was of great help when I was working on the Jewels of Ursus trilogy for Ellora’s Cave. Glimmer is for another WIP that is filled with warriors, princesses, healers and scoundrels. Of course there is a dragon.

So these are my talismans for writing. The pictures of elemental beings that hung on my wall to my right have already given way to posters of crystals and crystal healing as I prepare the next WIP, working title- Heal Thyself. Samantha is a healer, terrified of her own gift and worn down by those who would misuse it. She takes a job that should demand little or nothing from her, certainly not her “special talents.” She’s just there to pander to Haven’s more exclusive clientele and incorporate holistic and new age philosophies. She doesn’t count on Matthew. Someone who actually needs her skills.

What are your talismans, compulsions or habits? Share, share.

Flame, Glimmer, Beau and I want to wish congratulations to Anny Cook for getting 5 hearts from Loves Romances and More for her book Daffodil from Ellora’s Cave. Anny’s books are always wonderful and the Flowers of Camelot series is no exception.

Stop by and check out the blog of Amarinda Jones who is celebrating a great new cover for her Resplendence release and Kelly Kirch who is talking about being famous…or not.

5 favorites

First things first.

Tomorrow, Friday the 11th, is the deadline for the contest. I’m looking forward to going through the entries. The contest is to celebrate the release of Mating Stone by Ellora’s Cave. The hero of Mating Stone, Mark Ursine is a Were-Bear as is his twin brother Luke the hero of the upcoming July release, Lovers’ Stone. The Ursines present their lady loves with stones rather than engagement rings. For Mark and Sarah it’s an amethyst. So to win the 17” freshwater pearl and amethyst necklace here’s what you need to do. Write a brief answer to the following question and send it to ElyssaWrites@aol.com with “Mating Stone Contest” in the subject line. I’ll pick the best response as the winner, and two honorable mentions to receive smaller prizes. The winning entries will appear in my blog on April 13th.

In Mating Stone, Mark falls in love with Sarah. Sarah, a young human woman who has no idea that Were’s even exist beyond novels and movies. Strictly fictional. As a human woman, how do you react when Mr. Yummy tells you he’s the one with claws and may just leave fur on the sheets? So tell me: What type of Were is Mr. Wonderful and how does he break it to you?

I don’t have the slightest idea why, but the silly song, from Sound of Music is stuck in my head. No, not the Do, Ra, Mi…I’m not suicidal. It’s the Few of My Favorite Things song.

Raindrops on roses…which I have scratches on my hands from trimming yesterday.

Whiskers on kittens…the neighbor’s cat is toying with my dog making him bark his arse off while it suns itself just on the other side of our back fence.

Bright copper kettles… damn! I need to polish my antique kitchenwares. I have several including an old time preserve sieve that you pound things like grapes, cherries, strawberry’s etc. through to squeeze out the juices.

Warm woolen mittens…wool itches. How can wool anything be your favorite? It’s sweaty, itchy and smells bad. Not to mention it’s a bitch to wash.

Anyway, the favorite things I was thinking about were my favorite books of all time. In no particular order, I thought I’d share them with you. Why? A. Because it’s my blog and I can. And B. because…well, you might have missed one of these and they are awesome.

Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

This was the first Kenyon book I read and was hooked on her quirky, laugh out loud style of writing. Action, adventure, love, lust, gods and to die for heroes make her books amazing. Fantasy Lover is Julian’s story. Julian was an ancient Macedonian warrior who was heralded as the greatest general of his time. His act of vengeance on the god Priapus earns him an eternal curse. He is bound into the pages of a book (originally a scroll) where he can be called forth at the full moon by a woman. He will spend the next month fulfilling the woman’s every physical desire.

But when he’s called forth by Grace Alexander after a few too many glasses of wine on her birthday, he finds the first woman in all the centuries who doesn’t see him as an object of desire, but who sees him as a man. But at the end of this month he must leave her and return to the dark isolation of the book. Unless they can find a way to break the curse together.

Julian is one of the most perfect heroes ever created. Just don’t let him drive your car. Somehow the whole chariot/car thing just doesn’t translate well for him.


Lilith’s Brood (Xenogenesis) by Octavia Butler

Butler is my favorite writer of all time. Her science fiction has such a humanity to it that you can easily identify with even the most nonhuman of her characters. Her books are consistently brilliant and moving. Xenogenesis, as this collection of three novellas was originally called, was the first of her books I read. I was enthralled with the world she created and with how seamlessly she fed the reader all the information you needed to understand what was happening without going into information dump. She is one of the best at characterization.

Lilith Iyapo didn’t ask to be saved by the alien Oankali when humanity nearly destroyed itself with a nuclear war. She didn’t ask to be made the leader of the rescued and genetically altered humans who were now barely more than prisoners. But no one asked Lilith what she wanted, least of all the Oankali. Lilith’s love hate relationship with the aliens begins early as they see more in her than she ever wanted to be. They see someone who will become the mother of a new race, a genetic mixture of the Oankali and humans. For that’s what the Oankali are. They are gene traders. And their price for saving humanity is its eventual destruction.

This book combines the novellas Dawn, Imago and Adulthood Rites into one tale.


Magic’s Promise by Mercedes Lackey

I’ve written before about the protagonist in this story, Vanyel. He’s prickly, arrogant in the way of teenage boys who are flippin’ terrified of life and the world but by heaven don’t want you to know it. Lackey’s world of Valdemar is a brilliantly conceived one. It is one of the most original I’ve ever read.

Vanyel is the eldest son of the head man. The poor guy wants his son to toughen up, be the big brawny, bear of a fighter that he is. But Vanyel is slender, fast and given to playing his lute for hours on end while singing sweet songs. When attempts to beat the boy into submission and into his father’s image do not work, Vanyel is sent away to live with his aunt. Savil is a Herald Mage, a powerful one. But Vanyel has no talent for magic, nor is he suited to be a bard.

But when he falls in love with Savil’s prize pupil tragedy strikes and the latent magical tendencies in Vanyel are blasted open in a way that just may cost him his life. The Last Herald Mage series is Vanyel’s story and it’s told in a way that is touching and beautiful. But it called the Last Herald Mage for a reason. The reason I never finish book 3.


Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

This is actually the sequel to another book of mine that I almost put on this list, Ender’s Game. Ender’s Game is the story of a young boy who is put through psychological and physical hell as he’s molded into the saviour of all humanity. Only he doesn’t know any of it is real, it’s all supposed to be about training. Ender saves humanity by completely destroying the enemy. Completely. And in time his unintentional genocide turns him from a hero into the worst villain since Adolf Hitler.

Speaker for the Dead is a brilliantly constructed sequel to Ender’s game. It is Ender, grown up now, but having spent so many years traveling in space that he’s actually lived hundreds of years beyond his time. So no expects the Speaker for the Dead to actually be the real Ender Wiggins. But as Speaker, he is called to speak the deaths of two men. Two very different men. Pipo, loved and venerated. Killed by the indigenous life form on the planet being colonized by a small group of humans. Marcos. Cruel, violent and abusive. His body ravaged by a genetic defect. But when the speaker speaks, he speaks the truth. The pain, the pleasure, the joys, the shames. And the small world may never be the same.

Another case of impressive world building. The indigenous Piggies are fascinating and complex. Card is another one of my favorite writers, his politics aside. His stories are always rich, multi layered and captivating.

The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

This is a story from my childhood. I found this book on the shelf in my 6th grade teacher’s classroom and devoured it. I loved it. Even now, when I re-read it, the characters are compelling and endearing. I didn’t know at the time I read it that it was part of a series of children’s books. I wish I had.

Toseland (a very unlikely name for a young man and happily he soon becomes known as Tolly) goes to live with his grandmother in her creepy old house, Green Knowe. Very strange things are afoot. He hears music and the voices of children. Only there aren’t any other children living here…are there? In animate objects seem to have lives of their own when he can’t see them and his grandmother speaks about people and things as if they are real, but they can’t be…right?

Okay, those are my favorites. What are yours?

New Issue of eMuse Out

The March 08 issue of eMuse magazine is out. I serve as an editor for this online literary magazine and I have to tell you with all sincerity that I work with the best bunch of folks imaginable. They scurry about behind the scenes dealing with deadlines and the missing of deadlines, technical problems, last minute emergencies and general disasters. Through it all they create a wonderful magazine each quarter.

This month eMuse features an interview with erotica writer LA Day and reviews two of her recent releases. Our art department offers up the amazing work of James Neely. His art is unique and spans genres. Our fiction section includes three character driven shorts from Gary Beck, William Falo and an impressive new writing talent Tony Vanderdrift. All of these stories are excellent reads and contain fascinating characters. Vanderdrift's The Huntress gives us just the right blend for a dark, deadly and beautiful character. Sheila is someone you're going to want to meet.

The issue also spotlights and article by your's truly on epublishing. It takes a look at the pros and cons of epublishing and some of the misconceptions too. I want to thank Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora's Cave, Brenna Lyons of Epic and Deanna Lee of Cobbleston Press for their help. Also several writers chimed in with their thoughts and ideas as well. So many people wanted to talk about this topic that it could have taken over the entire issue.

And of course we couldn't do a literary magazine without doing interviews. The issue includes reviews on the works of authors such as Carrie Vaughn, Sherrilyn Kenyon/Kinley MacGregor, Jacquelyn Frank, PC and Kristin Cast, Amarinda Jones, Shelley Munro, Bronwyn Green, Jean Hart Stewart, Anny Cook, JC Wilder and more.

So pop over and checkout all the hard work of the writers, artists and editors.

The Most List Part 2

Okay, part two of my list. This time it deals with particular characters. From this it's easy to see who my favorite writers are. The writers of these characters are particularly good at characterization.

The Character I'd Most Like To Take Home, Coddle and Feed Warm Milk and Cookies: Tie-Arturo Llewellyn and Vanyel Ashkevron

Ya’ gotta love Anny Cook. I fell in love with Arturo Llewellyn while reading Dancer’s Delight and have adored him unceasingly since. There is something so noble and dear about him that tugs at my heart strings. The victim of a brutal rape, Arturo has a hard road ahead of him as he comes to terms with his attack, the growing separation between he and his twin and his own sexuality. Yep, wanna hug him and give him cookies.

Aruturo ties with Mercedes Lackey character Vanyel Ashkevron from The Last Herald Mage series who I've loved longer but not better. A thin, lanky boy who wants nothing more than to be a bard, but who lacks the magical ability to be one, he is by birth destined to be the heir to his father’s keep. Pushed and bullied-forced by his father into combat training he is ill-suited for; nothing Vanyel does pleases anyone except his mother and only when he’s stroking her ego. Eventually he is sent away to live with his aunt, Savil an incredibly powerful Herald Mage. While there he finds love that turns tragic, reinforcing for him his own worthlessness. Only when he is finally chosen as a Herald Mage and his gifts unlocked by the tragedy does he find a Companion who will stand beside him all the days of his life.

Yep wanna pet them both, tuck them in bed and tell them everything will be alright.

Most Lickable (er...Likable) Character: Alex Navarro
Janet Davies is responsible for creating the character that could distract me beyond all reason. Strong, quiet and powerful, Alex is introduced in Davies’ book Swift of Heart and gets his own HEA in Last Man Standing. Though I could do without the nipple rings, her descriptions of the man are beyond yummy. And not just the physical. The sense of overwhelming virility and sexuality that Davies creates with her pen would make Alex the subject of any woman’s fantasy.

Heroine I’d Most Want to Be: Bride McTierney Kattalakis

Created by Sherrilyn Kenyon in Night Embrace, and later given her own story in Night Play, Bride is a plus size girl who is the subject of intense passion from one very sexy, very gentle, very loving Wolf. Vane Kattalakis is as drop dead gorgeous as they come. And he’s deadly powerful. Born from parents whose hate of each other goes deeper than the soul, Vane’s magic exceeds any that has been seen by his people in generations. After what was supposed to be a one night encounter, Bride finds herself the mate of this incredible werewolf who adores and desires her exactly as she is. A man who frowns when she orders a salad at dinner and who overrides her weight conscious protests to put a large slice of chocolate cake on her plate. A man who shows up just when she needs a hero, out shows her ex when he starts flashing his cash and then kicks the crap out of him when he insults her. He is devoted and because of his love and a nice little trick of his people, he can never mate with anyone but her. A man who can never be unfaithful, loves you and feeds you chocolate. What more could you want? Oh, if I can’t be Bride, can I at least have Vane’s brother Fury?

Most Desirable Were: Fury Kattalakis
Okay, back to Kenyon for this one. Fury is the brother of Vane and Fang Kattalakis. Since his base form was human at birth, Fury is taken by his mother along with two other littermates when she flees his father whose base form is Wolf. Fury is different than the others and his

family assumes it is because he is the one foretold who will bend the power of the two halves of Were magic into a force that has never been equaled. Only it doesn’t work out that way. He is bitter and caustic with little to no social skills. But his irreverence and his unpredictability combine with his physical attributes –tall, long blond hair with turquoise eyes- to create a Wolf you wouldn’t mind having track up your rug.

Most Intriguing Dark Wizard: Raistlin Majere

Created by Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman for DragonLance, the mage Raistlin is a character that is never boring. Often hated by those around him, the black robe mage serves the darkness, but mostly he serves himself. Born a twin, his brother the warrior received all of his physical strength and delivers him an unwitting betrayal that drives all light from the young Raistlin. His weak body often betrays him, but his impressive mind and unparalleled magic more than compensate. Even his own black robed brethren fear him. His silver hair, hourglass pupils and golden skin set him apart from others, making him immediately recognizable. But what keeps readers reading are the threads of unexpected humanity that surface from time to time. His kindness toward a young gully dwarf, shunned by others as less than sentient, who worships him. His patience toward Tass who has a habit of aquiring others belongings and causing no end of trouble with his childlike view of the world. His humor that surfaces, sometimes terrifyingly, at the most unexpected moments. In many ways, Raistlin is the ultimate bad boy in need of redemption that no woman can ever give him. And readers know it. Raistlin doesn’t want to be saved and never will be saved. But it doesn’t keep you from wondering what if.

Stayed up all night reading…

It’s been a while since I’ve done that, but I finally wrestled the latest Sherrilyn Kenyon book away from my SO who loves the paranormal adventure and vampire butt-kicking but skims over the “icky parts.” Needless to say I enjoyed Dream Chaser a great deal. It’s the last taste of the Dark Hunters before Kenyon finally delivers on the one we’ve all been waiting for: Acheron’s book.

I liked the hero, Xypher, this time around much better than I have the last couple of guys. But since my favorites include Zarek, Fury, Wren…yep guess I like them seriously screwed up. Bring on the borderline-sociopaths with a soft spot. But hide it deep. Odd since if you asked me my absolute fav. Kenyon guy I’d go hands down for Vane. Any guy who looks at a size 18 woman with serious drooling, ‘gotta have me that lust’ gets my vote.

After basking in the good story afterglow for a bit, I started trying to figure out the twists and turns she’s given us. Kenyon doesn’t seem to do anything incidentally or accidentally. I admit it. I’m friggin’ dying to know how Kyle Peltier, a young Katagari (Were), is walking around in broad daylight when he should barely be able to hold a human form at his age in the daylight. Just a couple of books ago he was still shifting back to animal form when his brother threw meat at him because he couldn’t control it. Is she pulling a Vane/Fury on us?

But now that I’ve done the basking and the wondering I’m going to do what was recommended in a recent workshop. I’m going to dissect this and figure out how she does it. Or that’s the theory anyway. How does she create pacing that keeps you turning the pages at 2am? How does she create her characters so realistically and yet perfectly that you want to knock down the heroine and take him for yourself? (I’m telling you, Vane’s mate would be in serious trouble if he was corporeal. Zarek’s is a goddess and even I’m not that stupid.) How does she manipulate the plot so as to keep you hooked and sucked in for book after book after book?

If I figure it out, I’ll let ya know.

Now an excerpt from my little Were story. Measure of Healing is available through Cerridwen Press.



“Now,” [Brie] turned from him, walked up to the wall just outside the boy’s room and placed her hand on it. “If you’re here to help, here’s the first thing you can do for me.” She turned to look at him.

“What?” she seemed to have completely abandoned the antagonistic posture of just moments ago. Her mouth was actually turned up at one corner in what was almost a grin. He moved over to where she stood. He saw a rectangular shape drawn on the wall in pencil.

“I need a two way mirror here,” she pointed to the drawing.

“I don’t have my tools with me,” he shook his head puzzled, “I left everything in my father’s workshop.”

It was her turn to look confused. He explained. “Unless you have the equipment we’re stuck. Besides, I’m not sure the kid would appreciate us remodeling around him.”

She laughed. “Cougar, I wasn’t asking you to install a two way mirror, I was asking you to create one. You know? Magic?”

So she knew about the magic. Very few of the gifted humans knew that any of the Weres could wield magic. It was one of the rules of the council. They weren’t to perform magic before humans. Rules were broken all the time but this was one the Cougars were hesitant to break. In the back of his people’s minds lived the fear that some day the council would find a way and a reason to take the magic away from those Weres who had refused to relinquish it. It would lead to war as the Cougars would not let it go easily. So far their Domini had clung to the right for all Weres, insisting that those who turned their backs on the magic were fools. The current Dominus had told the council to go to hell when they suggested the Cougars cut back on the reliance of their people on the powers they had brought with them into the human world.

“Right.” Alejandro ran his hand through his hair and shook his head He pressed his hand to the wall and focused. Slowly he drew the outline of the area with one finger. As his hand moved a trail of silver lay in its wake. Once the outline was completed, he placed his hand in the center of the box and the interior changed. It was now transparent and he could see the room on the other side. The boy slept quietly in his box.

“Thank you,” Brie gave him a soft smile. “This will make it easier.” She turned away from him and walked to the end of the hall. “Why don’t I show you were you’ll sleep, then we can find you something to eat.”

He nodded. He was starving and exhausted. He’d had little time before her arrival that evening. Just enough to throw some things in a bag, gulp down a bit of dinner and be ready. He’d had to spend most of the day at his father’s office dealing with one of the more unsavory construction companies his father was forced to sub-contract with by the economic conditions.

The Ramirez family was in demand for their work on hardwood flooring and custom cabinetry. Given the nocturnal nature of his animal side, he usually spent the bulk of his days sleeping and late afternoons and nights in the workshop making the cabinets, railings and scrollwork that was ordered. He still worried that his brothers would have trouble keeping up with the orders. Eddie had promised to help but he had a job now that took him away from the family and the last thing Alejandro wanted was for his father, at seventy-two, to have to try and pick up the slack. His two oldest nephews were showing an interest in the business and were earning money for the college years that were fast approaching by working part-time but the family agreed their schoolwork came first.

He followed her down the hall. She entered a large room with a king sized bed, a dresser, night stand and large wardrobe. The furniture was a dark mahogany that matched the wooden trim running along the ceiling and floor. A wooden chair rail circled the room separating a plum striped wallpaper on the bottom and a pale mauve paint above. The wood had been laid in alternating strips of mahogany and cherry. He ran the palm of his hand over the door jam and the nearest section of the chair rail. Someone had known what they were doing. She crossed to the wardrobe and pulled out a small stack of clothes from a drawer that she left open. He half watched her as she moved to the closet and pulled out a blanket and pillow. He walked further into the room, running his hand along the wall. Then he moved toward the bed and his palm stroked the wood.

“Stop that!” she said sharply.

Alejandro’s eyes widened in surprise. She was glaring at him with a peeved expression. “What?” he demanded.

“Stop scent marking my house. You rubbed against the wall in the boy’s room, now you’re marking this one. I swear if you spray something I’ll neuter you myself.” She stomped out of the room.

He looked up at his hand where it still lay against the wooden post of the bed. And he laughed. He hadn’t realized he’d been doing it. He’d rubbed his back on the wall in the boy’s room on purpose. He wanted Tomás to know he was there. But he’d been rubbing his palm along the surfaces of this room, her room, absently. The palm of his hand where, like the pads of the cougar’s feet and along his spine, he had oil glands that left his mark upon what he touched. His amusement faded slightly as he began to wonder at just how much about him and his kind his little doctor seemed to know. He left the room and followed his nose to find her. She was making up a bed in a smaller room. It was so small it fit only the single bed and a narrow dresser.

She looked up at him, still irritated. “What have you got in that thing?”

He frowned, “What thing?”

She stood up from smoothing the blanket and pointed at his bag where it hung from his shoulder. “What, you keep all your cash in there? The secret map to a treasure chest heaping with gold? Why are you still carrying it? What’s in there that’s so special?”

He lifted an eyebrow at the sudden return of animosity and sat it down on the floor inside the door. “Nothing special, just your basics.”

She walked passed him, picked up the bag and headed down the hall. “Hey,” he went after her, “that is mine you know.”

“Cats,” she muttered under her breath. Reaching the larger room she placed it on the bed. “Then you’ll probably want it in your room.”

Realizing what was happening, he shook his head. “No, thanks little doctor but I’m fine in the other room.”

She smiled at him with a wicked light in her eyes that set him on edge. “You don’t think I’m sacrificing a good night’s sleep for you, do you?”

“No. Now why would I think that? You’re only trying to give me the bigger room, your room.” Alejandro gestured with his hand. “You’re sleeping in here. I’ll take the other room.”

Her eyes narrowed. Brie was well aware it wasn’t exactly nice of her to deliberately confuse the poor man but all things considered it was damned satisfying. “I thought you said you were going to cooperate with me?”

“I said I wouldn’t interfere in your treatment of Tomás.”

“Well, that’s exactly what you’re doing.” Her hands rested on her hips. “I need to be in that other room. It’s closer to him, it has a vent between the two rooms that will allow me to hear him, allow him to hear me and allow my scent to reach him even when I’m not in the room.” She moved to the door. “So be a good boy and sleep where you’re told. I’ll get the rest of my things moved in the morning.” Pausing she looked back over her shoulder. “Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done. I’m going to put something on for dinner. Hope you don’t mind but I’m a strict vegetarian.” She flashed him a wicked “you’re so screwed,” grin and left.

Bad Blogging and Book Reviews

Sometimes the holidays can suck the best laid plans right out of you. With traveling and all the other fuss and ruckus, it's hard to keep even the best of intentions from paving that proverbial road to Hell. This includes regular blogging.

There is something about driving 10 hours with one SO and two dogs and being surrounded by the warm, loving embrace of family and friends that can leave you...

Totally exhausted.

What better way to get back in the swing of things than a book review.

The Warrior
Kinley MacGregor
Avon Fiction

Buy it here

Kinley MacGregor fans have been waiting a long time for The Warrior. This book does double duty as it marks the end of the MacAllister brother’s quartet whose last book appeared in 2003 and is the latest installment in the Brotherhood of the Sword series which saw its last book in 2005. A long wait for fans of the prolific MacGregor, who between her own titles and those of her alter ego Sherrilyn Kenyon usually treat fans to a tidbit or four each year. Why the wait? MacGregor told fans at 2006’s Dragon*Con that she was waiting on Lochlan MacAllister, the final brother and clan laird, to cooperate.

It seems he finally did. The Warrior tells the story of the leader of the MacAllisters. Bearing the knowledge that his brother Kieran, long thought to have killed himself over the betrayal of a woman, may not in fact be dead; Lochlan travels to find the man who may know what happened to his brother. On the way he encounters a familiar face in need of help. The gypsy Catarina, friend of his sister-in-law, has been kidnapped and though she drives him mad with her waspishness, Lochlan cannot leave the woman in peril. But rescuing her causes him more trouble than he imagined. Not only must he battle two common kidnappers, but the man who hired them. Catarina’s father. Philip Capet, King of France.

MacGregor delivers the adventure, romance and passion her readers expect. She also delivers the answers to questions her readers have been desperate to have. Did Kieran die that day at the loch? If not what happened to him? Who is The Scot, the mysterious and reclusive member of the Brotherhood of the Sword? Could he be Kieran? The answers may not be what her readers expected or hoped for, but they will get them. And the final revelation of Kieran MacAllister’s fate will have many a jaw on the floor.