When Life Gets Too Real

You've all heard the--ack!--cliches:
"You're never given more than you can handle."
"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I've been having that kind of month--the "how much streeeeetch is left in this rubber band, anyway?" kinda day-after-day. I offered to trade w/Atlas. He said no thanks. If one more person mentions a light at the end of the tunnel or the end of the rainbow, I'm gonna scream! <LOL>

But weirdly enough, you can use it as inspiration for writing. Because all the "experts" tell you that whenever you get into a writing rut, "up the stakes." Which is basically, making it WAY worse for your characters than it already was. Up the stakes. Increase the tension and the drama. Make it way more interesting for the reader, even as your characters plot to stab you in your sleep...

You really have to look at the level in the cup and decide how the character would view it. The level of "can do." Because wallowing is human nature, but at some time the heroine has to put on her big girl panties and say, "Know what? This PITA situation's not gonna resolve itself, and I'm sick of the way things are." She either fixes it, or throws it aside and moves on. Change is scary, but the best kind of character to cheer for is the one who TAKES ACTION. Even if they don't succeed at everything (hard to relate to that perfect superwoman), you want your readers to recognize a character's humanity and be able to relate to them.

I want to be a good role model for my kids, be someone they can look up to and admire. I know my
situation's not the worst in the world, but it's causing some hard choices and that's not necessarily a bad thing for kids to see and realize that nothing comes without cost--for everything you get or do, something else has to be let go. Prioritize. Plan long-term. Teach them to survive. Teach them the difference between want and need.

Characters are the ideal--you can let them have the victories that elude you. You can tie up all their loose ends. No matter the setting or time period or scenario, people all have certain things in common. What Campbell used to call universal truths. Nothing's more inspiring than taking a bit of heart from a story or legend to get you over a bad spell. When things happen, how you respond is what keeps you growing and changing and moving forward.

Be the hero in your own story. Give yourself something to look back on with pride. Be the kind of grandma your kids tell tales of to THEIR kids!

Never quit.

The Trouble with 'Heroes'

When I'm writing a romance, I always make certain that the L-word - 'love' - isn't used too frequently or inappropriately. It loses its magic, its meaning, its specialness.

Another word that is overused, not in romance, but in everyday life is 'hero'. Take the most recent case of hero worship gone wrong. Oscar Pistorious.

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I don't know whether he's innocent or guilty, though his story does seem incredibly suspect to me. What has always puzzled me is how the public attaches the word 'hero' to sports stars. True, Oscar did overcome incredible odds to compete in the Special Olympics. However, so did a lot of other individuals. That makes them admirable, but not necessarily heroes.

I remember when the OJ Simpson case was raging in Los Angeles. Being in California, there was no way I could avoid coverage. The trial was on every freaking channel, 24/7. The word hero was attached to Simpson's name quite frequently. Again, I wondered why. He was great at football, but that didn't make him a hero. Not in my eyes.

So, who is a hero? In my mind, it's someone who does something difficult or nearly impossible, not for themselves or for glory, but to help others. What they gain from their actions isn't what matters - it's how they'll change the world for the better.

Consider what Malala Yousafzai has done to further girls' education in her native Pakistan. For that 

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'crime' she was shot by the Taliban. Men who had no qualms in trying to murder a young girl. No doubt they were hailed as heroes by other men in their village. Despite her injuries, Malala hasn't stopped fighting. She is a hero and so is her father who instilled in her the courage to go after what she wanted, not to be ashamed of being a female, but proud of the fact.

And then there's Jaycee Dugard. Kidnapped at 11 by a pedophile who was released from prison all too soon. Kept prisoner for 18 years. Forced to bear two children with him when she was a child herself.

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On her own, and with nothing more than a 5th grade education, Jaycee educated her two daughters. She endured to keep them safe. And once she was freed, she didn't exploit them as so many parents do with reality shows - she's protected them. When the State of California awarded her millions of dollars for their failure to protect her from her kidnapper, there were many people who said she was a gold digger. She had no right to any money. She could have run away. IMO, California didn't give her enough. No child should be made to go what she went through. Her youth was taken away. Instead of being bitter, she's survived. She's a hero.

In the 80s, a young mother named Diane Downs gunned down her own children so she could be with her boyfriend - a guy who didn't want kids. One of the children died. One was paralyzed from the waist down. The oldest suffered a stroke from so much blood loss. 

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The prosecutor at Downs' trial not only sought justice for the murdered child, but for the two who were left so damaged, so betrayed. He and his wife adopted them and gave those kids the first normal life they've ever had. He didn't do it for publicity or money.He did it because it was the right thing to do. He's a hero.

When I write, I don't make my male leads perfect, though I do want them to be honorable. To do the right thing by the woman they love and those they're supposed to protect. That's my version of a real hero.

My newest release Shameless Desire is available for pre-order from Samhain. It releases April 23. :)

Love the cover - it is sooooo freaking sexy!

Here's the blurb:

Passion without limit. Carnal hunger that knows no bounds.

Outlawed Realm, Book 3

Within Earth’s five dimensions, nothing is as it seems…and desire is never far away.

In E4’s jungle, Kuma’s the Alpha werewolf, bent on revenge against the hated guards. Swept with them from that dimension to E1, he prowls Seattle at night, stopping the thugs from abducting women for use as sex slaves in E4’s Pleasure Palace.

On her way home from her nursing job, Gwen senses danger in the night’s shadows. A stranger attacks. Clinging to consciousness, she watches the impossible, a wolf fighting him off…protecting her. She wakes in her own bed, convinced it must have been a dream until she sees Kuma in human form. Virile, intense. A man like no other. 

Within his powerful embrace, Gwen experiences rapture she didn’t believe existed. His unrestrained lust and burning need ends her loneliness, though not the menace they face. The guards are a constant threat in their hunt for women and their determination to see Kuma dead. Together, he and Gwen must fight—for his life, her freedom, their future.

Warning: Out-of-this-world sex and a romance to die for. Features a hunk whose inner beast won’t be tamed, and the woman who craves his most shameless desire. 

See you next month!

Tina

Tina Donahue

“Heat with Heart”

LOSING CONTROL (available now) 

COME FILL ME (4 STARS - The Jeep Diva) 

ILLICIT DESIRE (4 STARS - ROMANTIC TIMES)

SENSUAL STRANGER (BOOK OF THE YEAR 2010)

DEEP, DARK, DELICIOUS (HOLT MEDALLION AWARD OF MERIT)

Website: http://www.tinadonahue.com/ 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tina.donahue.75

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authortina/my-books/

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/tinadonahue

Unending Desire is up for Book of the Year at LASR!!!

What an honor - this is especially exciting for me as Unending Desire is Book One of my very first series Outlawed Realm (erotic paranormal)!

Voting continues at LASR (Long and Short Romance Reviews) until February 14th at this link: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/book-reviews/2012-book-of-the-year/

Blurb:

His hunger for one woman will make him a traitor to his world…

Outlawed Realm, Book 1

From a portal in his lab on E2, one of the five dimensions of Earth, quantum physicist Nikoli Zorr gazes on everything forbidden to him. Passion. Desire. The exquisite pleasure of running his hands over the lush curves of a young woman he should have stopped watching weeks ago.

His duty is to close the portals that keep the monsters out of E2—and never interfere with the inevitable fate of those on the other side. Yet he can’t bring himself to abandon the woman who has captured his soul.

Psychologist Regina Page is trying to keep her mind on her client, and off the mysterious, unbearable sexual cravings that consume her when she’s alone in her bedroom. The next moment she’s attacked by vampires, then swept into another realm by a stranger whose touch awakens that same raw desire. Whose eyes are already filled with farewell.

Yet beneath their undeniable carnal lust, something else stirs. The beginnings of illicit love. The unexpected need to protect him. Even if it means risking body, blood and soul to defeat the merciless horde…for a future that was never meant to be.

---

PRODUCT WARNINGS

Contains a repressed scientist who likes to look, and the woman who delights in unleashing his inner caveman. And sex hot enough to burn a hole in all three dimensions…and maybe create a whole new one.

Excerpt:

Undetected, Nikoli Zorr watched the woman sleep.

His heartbeat continued to quicken, sending waves of warmth through his body. He whispered her name.

“Regina Page.”

A surge of pleasure weakened Nikoli’s limbs, awakening desire controlled for too long, giving him a taste of what it was like to be nothing more than a man. A creature of touch, taste, sight, sound, passion. Heat built in his groin. Desire flooded his thoughts.

Behind him and to each side, monitors hummed, their lights blinking in response, reminders of his duty.

Too easily, Nikoli ignored his responsibility and dared to whisper her first name again, testing the feel of it on his lips, embracing the sound, his attention riveted to the scene the portal between their dimensions revealed.

Pearly morning light seeped past her bedroom’s filmy curtains. A steady rain greeted another Seattle morning, the water flowing in uneven ridges down the window’s glass.

Regina’s dark lashes rested on her smooth cheeks. Her plush lips, tinted a soft rose, were parted slightly, her lovely features untroubled.

Nikoli sensed she wasn’t dreaming. He knew she had no idea of the danger she faced tonight.

His chest tightened at the horror of what today would bring to her if he didn’t intervene. Events Sazaar had put into motion weeks before when she’d crossed over to Regina’s side—a realm forbidden to all on E2. Searching for passion…for love…Sazaar had found Andris and a lingering death instead.

Before fear and anger got the better of him at what Sazaar had done, Nikoli suppressed his emotions just as he’d been trained to do throughout his life. Only yearning for Regina remained. He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want to.

He regarded her lush mouth, the inviting temptation of her lips, the delicate sweep of her cheek, slender brows, her auburn hair brushed away from her cheek, the ends spilling over her snowy pillow and the side of the mattress. His lids slid down to narrow slits. He craved her as he had nothing else in his life. No, it hadn’t been a life but an existence. And now he realized what he’d missed, wanting her more than food, water, safety or honor.

Wanting her to be with him.

Images unwound in Nikoli’s mind of Regina straddling his body, draping her torso over his, the firm tips of her nipples brushing his chest, her reddish locks sweeping past his shoulders. In his thoughts, he saw her face above his, her smile welcoming, seductive, her passion free and reckless as she edged closer, teasing the seam of his lips with her tongue, spearing the hot, wet tip into his mouth, filling it, exploring.

A sound he’d never made before escaped Nikoli’s throat. He focused on the picture his thoughts created, building upon the scene. He could almost feel the intense heat of her body, a place of delight and refuge where he could—

A sudden, steady wail cut through the space between their dimensions, chasing the scenes from his mind. Her alarm clock continued to shriek, the noise subdued on this side by the portal’s barrier.

Eyes still closed, Regina flung her arm to the clock, her fingers fumbling blindly to shut off the noise. Nikoli smiled at her muffled oath. He watched as she threw back the covers and left the bed.

On tiptoes, arms lifted above her, she stretched, her movements supple and sinuous. Nikoli swallowed. He stared at her dark green nightgown, the hem fluttering above her satiny thighs. Raindrops zigzagged down the window, creating faint shadows on her pale skin.

He pulled his attention from them, watching the ends of Regina’s hair dangling past her shoulders.

Without thinking, Nikoli reached out, his hand seeking the glossy strands, his fingers touching nothing but sterile air. Air hissed through his teeth.

Arms lowered, Regina slipped the nightgown’s narrow straps past her shoulders. The silky fabric slid over the gentle swell of her breasts, catching briefly on her nipples before drifting to her waist.

Partially bared, she turned her face to the window, the dreary day.

Focused on her ripe flesh, Nikoli told himself he should turn away, knowing he would not. He feasted on her beauty, the succulent contours of her breasts, full and weighty, large enough to fill a man’s hands. His. He regarded the curve of her belly, the lavish flare of her hips.

Regina wiggled them, encouraging her nightgown to fall past her thighs and pool at her feet. Stepping out of the garment, she grabbed her hair in both hands, twisting then lifting the locks from her shoulders.

Nikoli’s mouth went dry. He forced down a swallow as he regarded the delicate curls between her legs, slightly darker than her other hair. Her belly rippled each time she inhaled. After a brief yawn, she turned and padded toward the bath.

Unwilling to bear even more separation between them, Nikoli stepped closer to the gateway.

With his movement, Regina stopped, releasing her hair. The strands swished left and right, exposing then hiding her shoulders. Turned to the side, she glanced at the window. The ashy light caressed her features, revealing her confusion.

She’d felt him. She still did.

Nikoli waited for Regina’s next move.

A second ticked by. Then another. And another.

She lowered her face, glancing at the hardwood floor.

Again, he stepped closer.

She went completely still, then turned facing the portal that Nikoli knew was invisible from her side. There, Regina would see nothing more than the wall of her bedroom, the pictures she’d hung.

Here, the gateway resembled a wall of glass, allowing him to watch her without restriction. To see what he should not, to want what he wasn’t allowed to have. Didn’t matter. No rule could stop the longing coursing through him, followed by insatiable lust.

Color rose to her cheeks. Desire transformed her features.

“I feel it too,” he murmured.

CAN A LEOPARD CHANGE ITS SPOTS?

One of the big questions that invariably comes up if you get a bunch of writers together is “Pantser or Plotter?” I have always been a plotter. Always. I put a ton of forethought into each book, chapter outlines, character sketches, plot points and themes…blahblahblah.

Until my current WIP, Moonwitched. I took off work between Christmas and New Year’s so I could FINISH the book. I only have four chapters left. And yes, as of today I still have the same four chapters left as back then. *sigh* I can make all the everyday-life excuses—overtime at work, getting the paperwork started for going back to college in July, becoming deathly ill with the flu, changing critique partners and webmistresses. That’s definitely cutting into writing time.

But that’s not it.

It should have been simple and straightforward—it’s all mapped out, chapter by chapter and scene by scene. I know where I’m going. I know who does what and where they all end up. I should have just been able to tear through the darn thing and had it on my editor’s desk just after New Year’s. I’m STILL on Chapter Twelve.

Because a weird thing happened. I started out rereading it from the start, just to vet it. And my evil muse whispers, “Valkyn’s a father separated from his sons—he’d miss them. He needs to think about them more…how about here…and here? Mari needs to cast another spell of protection for the children…here would be good. Matteo’s sick of Imani’s manipulation and needs to have it out with her…right about here—no, here’s better.”

And on and on it goes. It’s growing from the inside out. Getting fleshed out and longer—more character depth, stronger motivation—but no closer to the end. GRRR!

The book’s getting better, no question. But where the heck is THE END?

I’ve NEVER been a backloader before. I’ve always been a frontloader. My only rewrites usually come from critique partners’ comments (tweaking, never rewriting) and during edits. Until now. I feel like a cyberneticist, turning a human into a cyborg one bionic part at a time. Insert here, beef up there, clarify this, move that. Gene-splicing—to get a “new and improved” baby. My hardcore notes feel more like guidelines. Thank you, Captain Barbosa. What the heck happened to the diehard plotter? It feels like dithering. But this book won’t be rushed.

Is it some subconscious maneuver to stall b/c this is the LAST book in the Guardians of Light series and I don’t want to let go? Braeca’s story in the Daughters of the Guardians series is all ready to go—and I can’t get Moonwitched off the stage for the second act to start. (My friends will tell you I overthink everything—right, Adam? Chris?) I know I will finish this book, like all the others. And it’ll be great. Chapter Twelve can’t last forever.

It’s just weird. I am one cranky leopard…<LOL>

Check out what over a THOUSAND other writers have read

My recent blog post at Savvy Authors is a certified hit with 1003 1049 views thus far - wow!

I posted about the joys and perils of series writing, relating my sometimes rocky road in plotting and keeping everything straight. :)

You'll find my blog here: http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/content.php?2446-The-Joys-and-Pitfalls-of-Series-writing-by-Tina-Donahue

Books out in my current series

Appointment with Pleasure

Outlawed Realm

The Prophecy

Coming SOON - It's The FINAL COUNTDOWN!

 

So GOD OF FYRE MOUNTAIN comes out from Samhain Publishing on January 22, 2013. It's Book Six in my Guardians of Light fantasy romance series. I'm very excited to have something new to celebrate at the start of the New Year. I first introduced Dax as Pryseis' nephew in Bk 4, DUST OF DREAMS, and I knew then he had to have his own book. 

 

BLURB:

Worst case of mistaken identity ever...

As a teacher, Maili is adept at juggling multiple tasks, but this is ridiculous. Erotic dreams make her sleep anything but restful. Her father wants to marry her off to a neighboring chieftain’s son. Her grandmother’s whispered blasphemy about doubting the gods has the local volcano threatening to split wide open.

As she prays in the temple for mercy on her grandmother, Maili expects the mountain to smoke and rumble. She doesn’t expect Afu himself to pop through a dark fissure and squash her flat.

The last thing Dax remembers is vowing to prevent his queen’s assassination. He wakes up in an island paradise, where the primitive natives worship the statue of a troll named Afu. And they expect him—their fyre god incarnate—to stop their cranky volcano from blowing up.

As an incentive, they’ve given him a maiden sacrifice/bride, a dark-eyed beauty who’s just as determined to seduce him as he is to return home in one piece.

While she’s less than thrilled to be traded like a chicken, one thing is certain. Dax is the man in her dreams…and she’s hell bent on making them come true. Or her people may die.

---

Product Warnings

Contains erotic dreams, volcanic-hot love scenes, one edgy F/F interrogation scene and some self-loving. Also treason, black sorcery and an evil witch doctor who shrinks heads.

EXCERPT:
Maili raked her long hair out of her eyes with a shaking hand and stared up at the smoking tower of Mt. Veamalohi. It loomed over the landscape. She shivered. Though her grandmother had brought this on them, Afu willing, mayhap Maili could convince him to spare the rest of the villagers. Even Pilipo. He was a great warrior, and if the Kali invaded again, the Toka would need his leadership. If Maili was the price for Pilipo’s skills, she must yield for the sake of their people. Dream or no dream.

A tiny voice whispered in her ear as she continued to study the smoldering fyre mountain, urging her to go up. She could plead with Afu for mercy, for him to spare them. She shook at the thought. None but Katoa entered the sanctified temple antechamber. It was forbidden to women.

But she had to do something.

She glided through the silent jungle as if in a trance, her steps bringing her ever closer to the incline. Giant ferns shivered in her wake. She stared through the lush mantle at the snowy crown covering the fyre mountain. The temple lay just ahead. The dark, shadowy chamber called to her. Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled back a prickly vine with blood-red flowers the size of her head, wincing as long sticky thorns pierced her skin. The pain was forgotten as she revealed the first of an endless ascension of hand-chiseled stone steps.

A bat-winged stone guardian—cat paws with claws extended, river-dragon head with snake fangs, long, curling tree-man tail—guarded the way. Worn by the elements and ages, it was fearsome and beautiful. It eyed Maili’s approach. Her bloody hand trembled as she caressed its sun-warmed surface. The carved muscles seemed to ripple and shift at her touch. She cursed her overactive imagination as her blood soaked into the pitted surface. Naught more than a statue.

“I swear I come to you in peace.” She removed one of her fragrant plumeria leis and laid it across its lower jaw. “I just wish to speak to him.”

The guardian watched her begin the long climb to Afu’s temple.

Maili climbed ’til her heart pounded and she gasped for air. A stitch in her left side stabbed her with every breath. Her leg muscles burned. Sweat trickled betwixt her bare breasts. How did old Katoa make this arduous climb on a daily basis?

Surely her willingness and determination to complete the ascent proved her worthiness. Surely Afu would hear her plea.

The shadowy opening loomed ahead of her, flanked by two stone columns covered in incomprehensible chiseled symbols. A gust of heated air swept over her. The breath of Afu? Her skin prickled as she entered the forbidden antechamber. Shadows danced on the walls from the flickering reed torches. Her gaze froze on an immense, savage stone image in the far corner. All the blood drained from her face, and the room spun. She tried to control her breathing as she dropped to her knees afore she swooned.

When she still breathed after several too-loud heartbeats, she risked raising her head for a better look. A dozen entwined stone serpents seemed to lunge hissing at her from Afu’s head, and his empty impassive eyes glared down at her from beneath heavy brows. His jutting jaw and open mouth revealed almost porcine lower tusks. The bulging muscles dwarfed even Pilipo’s and seemed so lifelike she wouldn’t have been surprised if Afu stomped toward her.

The fyre god was the most fiercely masculine being she’d ever seen.

She’d been mad to come to Afu’s temple. But Grandmother Lanikula’s transgression needed to be addressed and the demon-god appeased. Cold sweat slid over her skin even though it was hot as a roasting pit, and she shivered.

“Great Afu, god of fyre who creates and destroys, hear this humble maiden’s plea.” She rose, removed her remaining plumeria lei and draped it across his meaty stone fist. “I plead for my grandmother, Lanikula. Show mercy. Limit your show of anger to the destruction of her home. Leave my people be. They are blameless in this.”

She took off her shell-and-amber jewelry to lay at Afu’s feet. It was all she had to give. “She spoke in haste, but I swear she honors you. We apologize for disturbing your rest. Please, go back to sleep and leave us in peace to care for your home.”

A low rumbling came from deep within the mountain. A blast of hot sulfurous air blew out the torches. Maili choked on a whimper as the image of Afu pulsed with a rippling darkness. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but she was frozen in place. With a screech that nigh made her ears bleed, the dark parted, rent like some great billowing curtain. The snakes writhed afore her. There was a clap of thunder as a huge, hard-muscled body was flung from the gap. She screamed as he knocked her flat, crushing her beneath his solid, burning weight.

Afu amongst them! The end of days had come.

Everything went black.

 

 



Two - count them - TWO - releases this month!!

Woot!

I didn't plan this, but it happened. This month I have two releases. One from Samhain Publishing, the other from Ellora's Cave.

Come Fill Me, an erotic paranormal, is Book One in The Prophecy series.

Losing Control, erotic contemporary, is Book Two in my Appointment with Pleasure series.

Here are the covers and blurbs for both - enjoy!  :)



Two men will stop at nothing to have her gift, her desire...and her love.

The Prophecy, Book 1

Years ago, with the healing abilities afforded by her blend of Aztec and extraterrestrial blood, Liz was free to do as she wished. Now she is trapped in a blood feud, forced to heal one of her clan's most dangerous rivals so they can exploit his gift of prophecy.

As she drapes her nude body over his, the rush of his returning strength overwhelms her, and his stunningly sensual caress pushes her to her sexual limit.

Zeke Neekoma never expected to hunger for a woman he's supposed to hate, but now that he's tasted her, he has no intention of denying himself the pleasure of her body - or of kidnapping his enemy's most cherished plaything.

Brought to Zeke's stronghold to heal his brother, Jacob, Liz surrenders her body's most traitorous needs to the unrestrained desires of two powerful men. And the brothers fill the lonely void she has too long endured.

But her clan doesn't intend to let her go without a fight...and the ecstasy that binds Liz to her lovers could be the thing that breaks them.

Warning: Worlds collide when two Alpha males crave a woman they shouldn't have. Their dominance and desire knows no limits, culminating in sex so torrid this babe's never gonna be the same...or free of one brother's touch.

Available for preorder - at fine retailers and websites December 18

More info and excerpt: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/come-fill-p-7125.html

When it comes to passion...there are no rules...

Appointment with Pleasure, Book 2

She wasn't supposed to hunger for him. Tim Bellamy was off-limits to Catherine, a high-priced call girl with an uneasy past. Indulging in his raw desire shouldn't have happened, especially at a District party attended by the nation's elite. Tim doesn't know she works for the agency. If he did... That's not something Catherine wants to confess. Drowning in his strength and heat, aching to see him again, she keeps her secret.

From old wealth, Tim has never met anyone quite like Catherine. Exotic, elegant, earthy, she's the best of all worlds. Their evenings are sensual delights where voyeurism, bondage and a growing bond satisfy carnal needs and stir something deep within...until he stumbles upon the truth.

Shaken by her lies, Tim needs to prove the depth of Catherine's lust and yearning once and for all. For him, their erotic adventure has only begun.

At fine retailers and websites December 28

More info and excerpt: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10594-losing-control.aspx

WHAT IS IT WITH THOSE BAD BOYS?

Why are good girls always drawn to bad boys? I know I personally gave my mom grey hair during my “bad decade” as a roadie for a band called Nasty Habit. You know the saying “he’s the one your mama warned you about”? Watch the movie “Dirty Dancing” w/Baby (Jennifer Gray) falling for Johnny (Patrick Swayze)—see what I mean? The smoldering eyes, the cocky grin, the “I dare you” attitude…

Is it the whole opposites-attract/grass-is-always-greener thing? Is it the lure of the forbidden? The yearning to escape the same-old-same-old? Whatever it is, it’s one of the most popular sorts of pairing-up in romantic fiction. The-princess-and-the-pirate and such. He’s just a work in progress waiting for the right woman to redeem him. A message of hope? Reinforcing the love-conquers-all theme? 

I am currently finishing up Moonwitched, the LAST book in the ‘Guardians of Light” series, Book 7. Seven books are enough for a single series, I think. So I started thinking about their children forming a “Daughters of the Guardians” trilogy—Braeca, Piroska and Elyria. Those will be the titles, I think. So I started plotting out Braeca’s story.

Braeca is Finora’s daughter (LYCAN TIDES). She’s your typical oldest-daughter. Uber-responsible mini-mom, who’s taken care of her little brother Ioain since she was six and he was two. (Hey, she held off a dragon with a busted lamp—nobody messes with her baby brother!) She’s a warrior-scout and a weather-witch, now with FOUR little brothers and sisters—everything she does is for kin & clan. She’s never done anything wild or crazy or irresponsible in her life. So who does she need to rock her world and shake things up a bit—or a lot?

Geeze-Louise, what HAVEN’T I done in seven books already? Something new…something unexpected…the ultimate bad boy…

AHA!

Enter Flyn, a dark elf prince. (Check out the AWESOME pic I found on DeviantArt.com—http://mavrosh.deviantart.com/art/The-Dark-Elf-Portrait-285961487) A very morally-gray warrior-mage from a patriarchal, autocratic society where the strong rule the weak and women are seen and not heard. Braeca is a revelation to him. His society is utterly different from hers—HER clans are matriarchal and democratic, and anyone trying to silence a woman would definitely be singing in a higher key. Permanently. 

Opposites attract? You got it. The ultimate alpha bad-boy with smoldering silver-mercury eyes meets a practical lass who doesn’t take any crap from any man. These two are going to be smoking hot—and I now have the story line all plotted out. Political intrigue, betrayal, family infighting, lies and deception, well-meaning family interference, bitter rivalries… (I am SO not a pantser—I always need a map!)

So the Guardians look to have a strong legacy to carry on in their Daughters.

I’m curious—who’s got a bad boy tale or two of their own to tell?