Honey Blood and the Collector is Released!

One of my favoirite books I've ever written has just been released! If you like a mythology, a lot of romance and a fantastical situation, think adult fairy tale, then you'll love this book too.

Find it on Amazon.

In the Mood for Something a Little Naughty?

Try my wicked little witch in this short story. All sorts of things can become bewitched.

Interview with Amanda Ashley

Amanda Ashley is an author of paranormal romance. Her newest work, EVERLASTING DESIRE, is available in bookstores, on Amazon and Kindle and from Zebra Books.

What is the name of your latest book? And how did you come up with the title?

Everlasting Desire is my latest book. It is a sequel to Everlasting Kiss. Since my hero is a vampire, Everlasting Desire seemed a fitting title, since when a vampire loves you, he can love you forever.

What is Everlasting Desire about?

My hero, Rhys, is the Master of the West Coast vampires. When an ancient vampire decides he would like to add the West Coast to his territory, he goes on a killing spree from the East Coast to the West. It is up to Rhys to protect the vampires in his territory. A new woman in his life adds an unwanted complication, but one he can’t ignore. Rhys was a secondary character in the previous book, Everlasting Kiss. I loved him so much, I decided he needed a book of his own. Everlasting Desire was recently voted best romance by USA Book News

What books have most influenced your life most?

I suppose Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, since hers were among the first vampire books I read.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I don’t think I could pick just one. Many authors have influenced me over the years, from Rosemary Rogers, who wrote the first romance I ever read, to Nancy Gideon and Maggie Shayne.

What are your current projects?

I have two books coming out back-to-back in September and October of next year – Bound by Night and Bound by Blood.

The hero in the first book is not your usual vampire. And although the book is set in contemporary times, it has a historical feel to it, as my hero lives in an ancient castle in Romania. It is a story of love and hate and revenge, and I think one of my best.

My editor liked this book and this world so much, she asked for a sequel, which I am currently working on.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Hmmm, probably “the middle”. I can write beginnings and endings all day long, but filling up the middle is always a challenge!

Do you have any advice for other writers?

I assume you mean aspiring writers. My best advice has always been to write what you love to read. To join a critique group, if possible. To enter contests for the feedback they provide. And to never, never, ever give up. My first book was rejected 31 times before I sold it.


Here's a blurb on my latest release:

DESIRE BURNS FOREVER

The clientele at Shore's clothing store includes some of L.A.'s sexiest bachelors. But none of them affects Megan DeLacey as deeply as the dark-eyed stranger who strides into her boutique one evening - and keeps returning, night after night. Megan is drawn to Rhys Costain even as she fears him. Because his reason for being there is clear -he wants Megan, with an intensity that's both tempting and terrifying...

For almost five centuries, Rhys has lived alone, using women as it pleased him and never wanting more. As Master of the West Coast vampires, it's his duty to eliminate the ancient vampire who's draining humans on his turf, putting all of their kind at risk. But Megan's lush beauty and vibrant warmth is blinding him to a danger that will soon engulf them both - and tear him from the only woman who can satisfy his darkest hunger.

Thanks for the interview, Amanda! The books sound fascinating.

Dragons and Romance

Today's blog is compliments of Amber Kallen. Thanks for joining us, Amber.

I love Dragons. Always have, always will.

I love the fact that dragon mythology can be found in many cultures through history, spread across the globe. The question always turns to How? How did so many different people who never communicated come up with the same legends if Dragons never existed?

The dragons I write about are a mixed breed of these different cultures, with a bit of my own style thrown in.

European in appearance -- four legs, wide wings, spiked tales and horny heads. Eastern in magicks and abilities. My dragons are different colors, which in turn, sometimes means different powers as well.

The idea of magic and shapeshifting began as demonic powers in Europe, natural abilities in Native American cultures.

Over time it has become so much more.

Today, the shapeshifter is hot. Romantic and alluring.

It’s allowed authors to take their stories to such a wonderfully high level, and it seems only the beginning.

Dragon lovers abound. So what better than to make dragon shapeshifters?

I enjoy both reading and writing about them. The grace, power and protectiveness of dragons is, for me, the perfect romance.


Blurb:

When Calla, a dragon shifter, heads to a sleepy mountain town to investigate their recent arson outbreak, she doesn't expect to come face to face with the dark dragon who killed her mother, or find her destined mate beneath the burning rays of the moon. Firefighter Scott O'Neil can't fight his attraction to her, even after he finds out what she is, and the shocking secret of his own past.

Excerpt:

The Other was here.

Lowering the truck window, Calla Dragos sniffed the chilly afternoon. Pine trees, asphalt. All overshadowed by the distinct stench of sulfur. Her stomach lurched, vileness rising to choke her. As she drove into the blink of a town, it grew stronger, overpowering all other senses.

Drawing closer to the Jasper Fire Department, she focused on keeping her clammy hands on the wheel, her concentration on the light traffic. Keeping her foot on the gas pedal, rather than slamming the brakes and fleeing.

How could he be here?

It was bad enough her job as an arson investigator brought her to this small, mountaintop town of Jasper, Arizona. Bad enough she’d left her family behind in the midst of yet another argument about her independence. The possibility of facing Eric brought tremors to her body.

Parking her cherry red pickup in front of the station, Calla shaded her eyes from the late afternoon sun and searched the colorful wood-front buildings. The stench faded.

Eric marked her, then fled. Like a coward. And he was a coward. She needed to remember that fact. Otherwise, the fear coiling in her heart would drive her batty.

After a couple deep breaths, she calmed the nausea a little. She could do this. She would do this. And if that bastard decided to show up, she’d face him with all her strength.

Calla stepped from the truck on shaky legs, smoothed her navy skirt and slipped on the matching jacket. Reaching across the seat, she grabbed her oversized black bag, which held a notebook, pens and her kit. After another soothing breath, filling her lungs with the crisp mountain air, she headed around the corner to the firemen’s entrance.

Giggles drew her attention to a group of teenage girls scantily dressed. And the man they huddled near.

In nothing but low-slung jeans, the top button carelessly undone, the man gave off the rugged air of a male underwear model with a sexy, take me to your bedroom now look. His blond hair, slightly too long for a clean-cut look, dripped water, from a recent shower maybe. Or a drenching with the hose. The scruff on his chin, a shade darker than his hair, enhanced the bad boy aura.

Gods, he was just like Petey. Playboy and chick magnet, an older version of her youngest brother.

“So can we have your autograph? Please?” one of the girls begged, her voice high. The other girls giggled some more.

“Certainly, ladies.” The man’s voice was as smoky and smooth as his gray eyes.

His gaze flicked to Calla. The intensity shooting from his eyes made her tense, caught like a rabbit in the headlights. His lips twitched. A flush spread up her cheeks. Calla stared at her feet, hurrying along the flower-bordered sidewalk. Before she reached the door, the teen girls filed past, happily waving calendars with mostly naked men.

Figured. A playboy, just like Petey. Which month was he?

Bare feet filled her view. She took in the long, jean-clad legs, the scruff of hair above the gaping waistband. A blond trail led up a golden, ripped abdomen and chest, to dark eyes. This close, flecks of green and blue mixing with the gray were visible.

His scent, suntan lotion and hay, punched into her, dissipating the last remains of the sulfur.

Her libido woke and started clamoring. She gritted her teeth. Not why she was here. And besides, she had no business being attracted to this man. This human.

“Howdy, ma’am.” He tipped an imaginary hat, a lusty smile twitching at his lips.

“Excuse me,” she replied, her voice steady and cool, the payoff from years of practice working around other untouchable hunks. “I need to see the fire chief.”

Something unreadable flashed in his gaze and the smirk disappeared. “What would a beautiful woman like you want with him?”

“Frankly, it’s none of your business.” Knowing the best way to turn him off, she put a hand to her hip, jutted her chin and raked her gaze over his long, lean form. Unfortunately, her normal barriers weren’t working. The only thing she wanted to do was reach out and touch his glistening tanned skin. Instead, she added in a sharp tone, “Let me guess. Mr. October.”

His face hardened, all amusement fleeing. The playboy took a step back as if she’d actually offended him. Then, his grin came back, along with a devil-may-care shrug. “Actually,” he drawled, “I’m December. I wanted a Santa hat on my lap, not a pumpkin.” Leaning closer, his minty breath a whisper on her cheek, he added, “Why? You need a calendar?”

Santa Claus and Imagination

When I was deciding on a blog post for today, I ran across a mother’s blog on the Internet. I won’t mention the name and only give sketchy details. Suffice to say she’s a former follower of a faith with strong religious convictions and is now an atheist living in another country. In this particular blog, the mother mentions she doesn’t believe in telling her children either Santa or God are real. She says that because she has told them Santa’s not real and her children still have active imaginations, it proves Santa isn’t necessary. I don’t know what she’d say about leaving them devoid of faith in a divine being.

It seems one of her sons has invented a new solar system with multiple giant Earths where a special breed of carnivorous plants live with high intelligence. They have a different numeric system that goes to nine and then has three numbers they have manufactured in their native tongue. He also has invented a heat miser and snow miser who control the weather and a train miser that sends trains around the world. Now, add to that the fact this kid also invented a Pirate Santa Claus with no eye patch who has a sister with a long white beard.

Well, I formed an entirely different conclusion to this woman’s suggestion that imagination exists without Santa. In my estimation, this child apparently is trying to come to grips with a world in which two important beliefs have been taken away from him. I believe Santa Claus exists to give a child a sense of wonder when he is young and that child, hopefully, can carry that same precious wonder on into his adult life, even after he knows the Santa character was just make-believe. For what Santa symbolizes is real. As for God, well, he may not be an all-knowing being living in the sky, but in my humble opinion, God is as real as that divine spark that lives inside us and makes us have lively imaginations just like that woman’s son.

Thankfully, the little boy has chosen his own path. Maybe he’ll grow up to be a great fantasy writer.

Now that's a Mystery

I read an review the other day that said most fantasies don’t have a mystery in them, and I began to wonder about that. I’m not sure that’s true, because to me it seems most fantasies have the hero/heroine searching for something. If they don’t know what it is, isn’t that a mystery? Even in my romantic comedies, the main characters are searching for a fundamental truth.

But, I have noticed as I write more straight mystery novels and turn to higher adventure fantasies, that the two become inexplicably combined in my fantasies (maybe a touch of magic even shows up in my mysteries).

In an upcoming series that I have, strange things start to happen and even the earth angels involved can’t figure out how they’re occurring. For instance, what’s going on when a car appears to have driven by itself, no driver, or when lions suddenly appear in the back yard. What’s with the huge buzzard that keeps crashing into windshields? Then there’s the mysterious question of why the main character’s mother-in-law is being guarded by an archangel.

In my latest co-written work, It’s Magic, released this month, the hero and heroine are searching for a love that has evaded them their whole lives. More importantly, they are searching for that one thing that will make them truly happy in their own skin. At the beginning, neither person is filled with wonder but beaten down by everyday life. To make matters even more interesting, mysterious things begin to happen, like everyone seemingly knowing what they’re doing all the time. How? Snakes not indigenous to the US also show up in Virginia and suddenly all the condoms are missing in Chesterfield County. Who could be behind all the mysterious occurrences they are now experiencing?

Piqued your interest? It’s Magic is available any day now. The other series I mentioned will be out late next year. You can read more about it and others on my website, www.DarynCross.com . For now, just remember that if someone says there’s no mystery in fantasy, you can ask them if they know how it will end when they begin. Not that’s a mystery.

Happy Monday!

Short story tralier

My short story, 6,000+ words, is in an e-anthology just released by L&L Dreamspell Halloween evening. The trailer is below. If you enjoy and would like to read, the buy link is below.



BUY LINKS:

12 Perfect Days
Dreamspell Haunts Volume 1 (ebook anthology)
http://www.lldreamspell.com/DreamspellHauntsVol1.htm
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dreamspellhauntsvolume1-477920-140.html

Welcome Author Jaleta Clegg

Jaleta Clegg is an author of science fiction adventure, comic fantasy, and silly horror. Her newest work Nexus Point, the Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 1 is available from Cyberwizard Productions.

How did you come up with your latest title?

Nexus Point is a starting point, a beginning. This book sets the stage for the rest of the series. The Fall of the Altairan Empire is space opera, a grand sweeping tale of galactic civilizations crumbling as told by those at the crux of the crisis. I wanted a title for the first book that hinted at where the series was headed.

What is Nexus Point about?

Nexus Point says it's book one, but don't let that fool you. The book is a complete story. It's told by Dace, the main character for the series. She's been out of the Patrol Academy for only a couple of months, following her dream of owning her own trading ship. But her crew betrays her, sabotaging her ship, and stranding her on a planet locked in a feudal level of technology. The natives of the planet want to kill her because she's a demon. Drug smugglers on the planet want her dead because they think she's working for the competition. The Patrol agent on the planet thinks she's working for the smugglers. Everywhere Dace turns, people want her dead. Ever hear the phrase, "Out of the frying pan, into the fire?" That's how Dace feels as she tries to find a way to get off the planet and back to real civilization. If you're looking for a fast-paced adventure story, Nexus Point never slows down.

What books have influenced your life most?

I read just about everything I can get my hands on. I've lost track of how many books I own. There are several authors that really stand out, though. Andre Norton will always be my favorite SF author. I discovered her books when I was still in grade school. Reading them again is like visiting with old friends. Other authors that have influenced me include Elizabeth Moon, Julie Czerneda, Madeline L'Engle, Isaac Asimov, and Larry Niven. There are many, many others I could list, but those are the ones that stick out. The Bible and The Book of Mormon are the only non-fiction books I'd list. I wouldn't be who I am without that influence.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I've had the privilege of meeting many SF/F authors through my work at conventions. Most of them are wonderful, caring people. They take time to en-courage new authors, giving a few words of advice when asked. I can't say any of them have been a mentor for me, not personally, but their example and especially their writing, have inspired me to tell my own tales.

What are your current projects?

I'm currently in edits for Priestess of the Eggstone, book 2 in my series. Lots of fun and excitement going on for Dace, who's in trouble again. I've got stories in three different anthologies. "Omega Museum", a hard SF story about the museum of the last, in The Last Man Anthology from Sword & Saga Press just released. "Always a Bridesmaid", a silly zombie story, in Rotting Tales: A Zombie Anthology from Pill Hill Press is scheduled to release any day. "The Effect of Degraded Food Supplies on Indigenous Populations", a classic vam-pire story, is in "Fangs, Vol. 1", an ebook anthology from L&L Dreamspell Press, which is due out soon. I've got more stories in the works in various an-thologies and magazines. The complete list, and links, are on my website. http://www.jaletac.com Keeping track of all of them is proving harder than I anticipated.

I'm also putting together an anthology for my publisher, Cyberwizard Pro-ductions. Titled "Wandering Weeds: Tales of Rabid Vegetation", my co-editor and I are looking for stories about vicious, nasty, evil tumbleweeds. Details are on the blog: http://wanderingweeds.blogspot.com/

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Where do I start? No, really, I struggle with beginnings. When I start a book, I have to get to know the characters, the setting, the plot, everything. It's a very stressful social situation. My characters are real. Sometimes I have to wander for several pages before the characters start talking to me. Then I have to weave it into the story. Knowing where to jump into the action is more difficult than it seems. This is why editing and rewriting are so important. I've got several trusted friends that have no trouble telling me when I miss. I want that opening to grab you and drag you into the story, plus it's got to make you care about the characters. It's a difficult dance.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Same as what I've heard from everyone else: Keep writing. Every day. Find something to write- a blog post, a poem, an essay, a chapter, a short descrip-tion, a story, whatever you can squeeze into every day. If you're too busy to write, you aren't a writer yet. I work a part-time job, run two businesses out of my home, sew costumes and quilts, and have eight kids of my own. I write as my escape. It keeps me sane to write my insane stories. Maybe that's why I do so many silly horror stories. And adventures. I crave the escape. If one thing isn't working, I've got a million other ideas to play with.

Second piece of advice: BACKUP! Save those files often. And back them up on a flash drive or somewhere else not on your computer at least once a week. Nothing is more frightening than realizing you've just lost months of work. Keep multiple backups of every piece you write. You won't regret it. You will regret NOT doing it.

Thanks for inviting me to your blog today. It was great visiting with you!

Nexus Point: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 1Purchase links all at http://www.nexuspoint.info

Excerpt:
I clawed my way through thickets and brambles. I dodged past barely seen trees. I splashed through streams and tore my feet on rocks. I was lost in the woods with animals that wanted to eat me. I ran until my side ached and I couldn't breathe.

I stumbled to a stop. Grasses waved in a light breeze. Mist rose from a stream, thin streamers of white that faded only a few feet above the ground. I dropped to my knees, trembling from fear. My stomach heaved. I retched up nothing.

The grass in front of me slowly parted. I stared into a wide face of evil green eyes and huge fangs. The animal snarled, showing more teeth. I didn't have the breath to run any longer. I scrabbled through the grass until I found a big rock. I staggered to my feet, hefting the rock in shaky arms.

"Go away," I said, my voice squeaking with fear. "You aren't going to eat me." I lifted the rock to my shoulder. My muscles protested.

The creature shot a look over its shoulder, then bounded away into the night.

I let out a slow breath. Something had just scared the creature. That something would be bigger and meaner. Fear shivered along my spine. I held the rock higher, ready to throw it at the new threat.

He came out of the mist like a primeval god in a really bad romance vid–dark hair, darker eyes, and a face stolen from my most secret fantasies. He wore a leather vest with no shirt, tight pants, and tall boots. He stopped on the other side of the stream, muscles flexing as he folded his bare arms across his chest.

I swallowed hard, wondering if he was just a dream. I shifted my feet on the stream bank. "What do you want?"

New Short Stories out in E-anthologies!

Linda Campbell and I, under our pseudonym, Terry Campbell, have two stories out today on All Romance Ebooks, released through L&L Dreamspell. They will be out in other formats soon, i.e., Kindle Nook, iPad. Check them out:

"Man in the Moon,"
Dreamspell Mystery Volume 1 (ebook anthology)
http://www.lldreamspell.com/DreamspellMysteryVol1.htm
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dreamspellmysteryvolume1-477918-152.html


"12 Perfect Days,"
Dreamspell Haunts Volume 1 (ebook anthology)
http://www.lldreamspell.com/DreamspellHauntsVol1.htm
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-dreamspellhauntsvolume1-477920-140.html

Video trailers of both are up at www.TerryCampbell.com

Happy Halloween--------from some of Daryn Cross' Critters

Character Overload

I was hit yesterday with a severe case of character overload. If you’re a writer, I know this has happened to you. It may even happen to a reader if you read several books at the same time. How do you do that last thing, you ask? I don’t have a clue, but one of my friends says she does, so I doubt she’s alone. Anyway, my definition of character overload is a condition in which all the characters you have, whether in books being edited, in the work you’re currently writing or who are plotted and awaiting their opportunity for the turn of your pen (or computer keystroke), begin to war in your mind for dominance.

When this happens to me, I find myself balanced on a piece of threadlike wire, hopping from thought to thought and unable to settle down and make noticeable progress in one project, ANY project. Yesterday, Editor 1 sent me a proof to go over one last time in the middle of my doing front edits for Editor Number 2. Five minutes after Editor number 1 set me the proof, a potential Editor Number 3 sent me a note saying she loves my book and please send the whole manuscript. Then there’s the proposal I just sent off to a potential Agent Number 1 re: yet another work.

I doubt I’ll ever have Alzheimer’s because my mind gets a great work out. I may, however, end up with one heck of a case of multiple personality disorder. So, as a result of all this, it’s time to sit back and entertain you with a fractured harried married writer poem, Character Uprising.

CHARACTER UPRISING

My characters are not too pleased,
With whom I’ve written them to be,
They’ve been grumbling, and they might
Form a union, go on strike.

It seems my hero thinks I’ve goofed,
By showing he’s a bit aloof,
My heroine wants to have big breasts,
Now she has a small flat chest.

The other beings moan and wail,
They claim there’s not enough detail,
And all of them agree they’re not,
Happy with my crafted plot.

My hero says that he will fight,
Until I make him more a knight,
My heroine has clammed right up.
Until she’s curvy, she won’t budge.

And as for all the rest of them,
They’re plotting wildly, full of vim
And vigor, certain they can steal,
My story, make it seem quite real.

And there I sit and cannot write
Because they finally went on strike,
Crushed, I give up, let them tell
Me how to write them so they’ll sell.

The moral of this all you see,
Is let your story be set free,
Ask the people in your tale,
To write themselves, and you won’t fail.

New interview up!

Come join me at:
http://blog.JulieALindsey.com

Learn about me, my characters and more!

How to Have Magic in Life Everyday

At the beginning of the book, IT’S MAGIC, there’s a short prologue in which the mysterious magical matchmaker, Maxwell Magic, speaks to the reader explaining that adults no longer believe and dream like children. He goes on to speak about everyday magic, the simple pleasure of smelling the air after a summer rain, the tingle of excitement from a cool breeze off the ocean, the delight in tasting freshly fallen snow. How do you have magic in your life everyday? Here are my top ten suggestions:

10. Don’t anticipate, be spontaneous. If you plan too much it ruins the magic. Okay, so you’re a planner. At least write down my ten things and post them on your car dash. Then, in the middle of errands etc., just do one of the things on the list (uh, don’t do it while driving, okay?)

9. Have dessert first, or better yet, go to a restaurant and just order dessert (even if you’re on a diet, once will not hurt).

8. Take a disadvantaged person to the movies.

7. Buy a book in the bookstore for someone in line, or tell the person at the drive-through, you’re paying for a latte, burger, chicken dinner whatever for the next driver. Don’t do drive-through? Drive-through anyway and pay for whatever for the person behind you.

6. Walk through the grass barefoot.

5. Read a book from a genre you’ve never read before.

4. Go on a picnic lunch (Too cold? So? Dress warmly and have an insulated carrier—OR have the picnic lunch inside on the floor.

3. Meditate outside for twenty minutes (the quieter the place the better).

2. Go on a long walk or a bike ride.

1. Spend a night at home with someone special and no television or computer.

You’ll be surprised how much better you feel after you break from your routine and see life through a brand new set of filters. It is, after all, magic!

Happiness and Hope

One day a few years ago when things weren’t going all that well, I wrote a poem and sent it in to an inspirational poetry contest and, to my surprise, it won first place and $100. I went on to publish it in a very thin book of poems, but afterwards, that poem appeared periodically on sites where people were in some kind of emotional distress. Years after, yet another poem I penned began to show up, once on an alcoholics anonymous site and again to go with a photograph by a beginning professional photographer. I began to think God does use us in mysterious ways. And so today, dear friends, I launch these out again for you and anyone who can use happiness and hope.

HAPPINESS

Happiness comes when you least expect,
It dances like ripples on life’s rejects,
It twinkles in fog on a crisp cool day,
It sparkles in the wink of a single sunray.

Happiness comes from deep inside,
You learn what’s important and follow your guide.
It comes with love that’s freely supplied,
It’s never confused as a product of pride.

Happiness grows when you give it away,
The more that you give, the more you can save.
Happiness comes when you simply give in,
To the power of the Savior living within.


HOPE
Based on Romans 8:24

Hope is the boat we sail,
Through trouble’s rough, high seas,
It saves us from the winds,
That threaten constantly.

It’s something we can’t see,
Still, we wish for that one thing.
It’s there, but we can’t feel
With hands the light it brings.

It’s what we’ll have for life,
Yet, never will we hold,
But through our times of strife,
Its power will be bold.

And hope’s great final gift,
To those who patiently
Do wait until its time,
Will be eternity.

I Have a New Cover!

The publishers say this book, co-written by L.J. DeLeon and me, will be in electronic format prerelease in a few days. I'll let you know when and announce a special promotion.

Magical Critters

Ah, there’s nothing like a pet. Advertising professionals will tell you puppies and kittens sell products, just like babies and small children. If that’s true, then perhaps many writers are losing a valuable opportunity by not including a pet in their novels.

I am an animal lover, so you’ll usually find a pet in mine unless the hero and heroine are in the middle of a dystopian world. I couldn’t stand to hurt a pet in the middle of battle and chaos. In my latest release IT’S MAGIC (from Crescent Moon Press and co-written with L.J.DeLeon, November 2010), the heroine has an aging Chocolate Labrador Retriever. Here’s an animal I know something about. My husband and I have owned three, all with very different personalities, but each one lovable, people pleasing gremlins who think they’re far smaller than they are and want to sleep on your lap. Murgatroid, the dog in IT’S MAGIC, is fairly easy-going except when someone invades his territory. He has a habit of s***ting in shoes if annoyed, as the hero finds out, to his discomfort.

In a true fantasy where the majority of the characters are magical, what types of pets should there be? In my Book of the Beginning series, yet to sell, the heroine of the first book, Honey Blood Draper, has a dragon, thankfully only a miniature breed, who will only mature to about one hundred plus pounds. Cinder is a comical feature on her own, as she trails after the heroine just like a dog will. But, beware if she sneezes, fire in the hole! In my second book, the heroine has a pigmy pterodactyl named Pee-wee. Protective just as Cinder is, Pee-wee makes a high pitched noise when warning his mistress and grows exponentially when he needs to protect her.

What animals are in my angel series, WALK RIGHT IN and WALK RIGHT BACK will be released in fourth quarter 2011 and January 2012, respectively by L&L Dreamspell? Well, in the second book, my heroine has a Siamese cat named Merle. Merle is a magical angel kitty who can speak and is a member of Ms. C’s (Ms. C is the Creator) Feline Intelligence Agency. She can disappear Cheshire Cat style, and the kitty-angels have a guardian angel protector, CATerine.

Authors are only limited by their imaginations by the pets they can make up in their fantasies. I’d love to hear about some critters you’ve read about or any you’ve invented as a writer. Please weigh in.

Bye for now,
Daryn