I Dub Thee ... Saving Grace Saga

I've finally come to terms with the fact that I should have put a name to the stories that occur in the world in which Witch Hunt and Fox Hunt take place. I have a third story in the works and I suppose I should let the cat out of the bag on what I've been calling these stories. Therefor I dub thee the Saving Grace Saga.

The Saving Grace Saga is a set of three novels and what will mostly become unpublished short stories that hide away in my desk drawer. Witch Hunt and Fox Hunt are the first two novels in the set and a third is still being written.

I was reluctant to use this name for the stories because I wasn't sure if the second novel would be published. If Fox Hunt had gone no where I would have had Witch Hunt stand on its own, but Fox Hunt is scheduled to be released in June. So be on the look out over the next month or so for news able Fox Hunt and a giveaway or two to celebrate its upcoming release.

As always good dreams and happy reading.

The Fated and Mated

image by duchesssa from freeimages

In romance, especially paranormal romance, you will often find the "fated couple". This couple is drawn together by the universe. It is a theme seen with vampires, werewolves, faeries and almost any paranormal creature that your imagination can think of.

When it comes to readers there tend to be two different schools of thought for the "fated couple" stories. It's a horrible concept or its a concept that can work. There aren't many readers who absolutely, without a doubt love every inch of the concept. I can understand why. I mean the couple aren't so much falling in love with each
other. They aren't choosing for themselves. Fate has made it so, and there isn't much either partner can do about it.

So, here's my take on the topic. It's all an escape from reality. In real life the perfect partner isn't going to fall out of the heavens. It'd be nice, but it just doesn't happen. We have to learn about our potential partners, and even after we've met them, know them and feel we can put our trust in them they could still be the wrong partner. It's not always a happily ever after.

But with the "fated couple" a certain amount of trust is granted to the universe. The "fated couple" was made for each other. This means the universe, God, the Fates, whoever knew that it was going to work out for both partners. To be honest this takes some of the stress off the relationship, while sometimes adding a brand new layer of "Damn the Gods" into the equation.

What really makes these types of couples work for me is the layer of learning the author adds to the story. The couple may be fated to be together, but they're often complete strangers, and some of the fear of showing a weakness goes away when a character feels a deep, universe approved connection with their partner. Knowing your partner is going to accept you no matter what is a feeling that can really enhance a love story.

Stardust : Romance Fantasy at It's Best

I am a sucker for a good romance story. Not just books, but movies too. I've noticed over the years that while I can find fantasy romance books, its tricky to find fantasy romance movies. I don't get to watch a lot of TV so I've missed out on some of those great fantasy TV shows, like Once Upon a Time. I have to skim through the movie section at the store to see what I can find, and a few years ago I noticed Stardust. I hadn't heard hardly anything about this movie before spotting it on the shelf, but that cover caught me right off. After reading the summery I found myself interested enough to buy it and I was happy I did. It's rare to find such a wonderful fantasy romance movie. 

The story starts out with the hero's father making a rebellious move and crossing the mysterious wall that runs along his English village. On the other side of that wall he finds a world of magic and a rather magical one night stand. Nine months later our hero is born.

Skip ahead 18 or so years, and our hero, Tristan has grown into a fine young man in love, but as a simple shop boy he can't quite capture the heart of his lady. So he makes a deal to bring her back a fall star, and the adventure begins. With murdering princes and evil witches, Stardust has a surprising mix of traditional fantasy characters and modern twists. If you're anything like me you'll fall in love with Robert De Niro's character, Captain Shakespeare.

I have to say that this is one movie that not only made it into my collection, it has helped define whimsical modern romantic fantasy for me. I suggest giving it a try if you haven't watched it yet and you if you know of any other movies like it let me know!

What Makes A Romance Story

Image by rolve from freeimages.com

With so many different genres within the romance world a lot of people start to wonder what really makes the story a romance. The answer to that isn't as simple as most people like to think it is. For many people a romance is just a sexy story about two people meeting up and hooking up/getting married (depending on the genre). Oh how I wish it was so simple. While that type of story does have it's place within the writing and reading world romance novels are so much more.

Conflict - Like any other genre a good romance novel has to have some type of conflict. Many of the sub-genres in romance will say there has to be more inner conflict between the characters than there is outer conflict. Inner conflict is a conflict a character or characters have within themselves, for example the hero wondering if he really is the best person for the heroin.Outer conflict is a conflict outside of the main characters; i.e. a bad guy trying to take over the world or kill one, if not both of, the main characters. Many sub-genres of romance enjoy equal parts of inner and outer conflict.

Happily Ever After - For a long time people thought that a romance novel must have a happily ever after (HEA) for the main characters. While this is still the norm you do often see the happy for now (HFN) endings. These types of endings normally lead into a series of stories about one or more characters in the world that the author created.

The Love Story - At the heart of a romance novel is of course the love story. The love story should be entangled with the plot of the story. If you can take away the love story and still have a good book then chances are it isn't a true romance, but just has heavy romance influence. Which is fine, because a good book is a good book.

There are many different elements thrown in throughout the sub-genres that can label a novel a romance. In my view as long as the love story is strong, the plot is good and it makes me not want to put it down, then it's a romance novel worth reading.

So what do you think makes a romance novel a romance?

Musing Wolves

Remember this peeping wolf? If you follow my Hunter or Hunted Facebook page I'm sure you might. You may have even seen my Peek a Boo post here. For me this image inspired a big chunk of my soon to be published novel, Fox Hunt.

Fox Hunt was accepted for publication by Cobblestone Press at the end of March and is moving head first into the editing process this month. It is the second book in what I hope will be a three book set centered around a supernatural world that I created originally for Witch Hunt. In this world witches and werewolves are hunted by a Federal Government agency, known as Witch Hunters or the burners. While Witch Hunt dealt with both a witch and a werewolf, Fox Hunt revolves around werewolves and their struggle in the alternate America.

When I saw the picture above my main character, Mike, came to mind and I would often look at the image when I was having issues developing Mike past some catch in his personality. With the upcoming book I'm happy that Mike along with his counterpart, Dilly, will be enjoyed by others.

With any luck I'll have a cover to reveal by late May and a set release date for all of those interested in finding out more about peek a boo wolves.

Happy reading and as always good dreams.

Anne Rice Announces New Book!

Did you grow up reading "Interview With The Vampire" and "The Vampire Lestat" along with every other Anne Rice book you could get your hands on? I did too. That's why the latest news about "Prince Lestat" excites me so much. Anne Rice announced that another book in The Vampire Chronicles will be released in October 2014 and I can't wait. You can check out what she said to the Los Angeles Times and share in my excitement.




Happy reading and lets all go ahead and dust off those books because I know I'm going to have to reread the whole set before lining up for "Prince Lestat".

Review of Dark Wolf Rising by Rhyannon Byrd

Review of 

Dark Wolf Rising  By Rhyannon Byrd

I was scrolling through the books in the Google Marketplace and found this gem. I knew nothing about the Bloodrunners series when I decided to download this book and give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised that it is a great standalone read and it has me interested in the rest of the series.

Here is the blurb to give everyone a quick glance:

“Eric Drake, a powerful Dark Wolf, has never trusted himself around human females-preferring to mate only within his pack. That is, until he encounters Chelsea Smart snooping around Silvercrest pack land in search of her missing sister. Secretly, Chelsea thinks Eric is the sexiest man she's ever seen, though she is wary of his potent Alpha energy. Then it's discovered that Chelsea's sister is being held by a pack of vicious Lycans, and Eric heroically leaps into action. Now, Chelsea will risk everything-her body and soul-to surrender to the passion that will mark her as Eric's woman for all eternity...if they survive.”

The story starts out with Eric Drake arriving on the scene to help scoot someone off of pack land. Two young mixed blood wolfs are having real trouble with a lady parked in a van. Chelsea, the lady in the van, isn’t going to leave no matter what. Not only can she not afford to stay in a hotel but she’s on a mission to find her sister. I couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of awe and pride when she lifts a hand cannon and points it at the hero, Eric. I mean it I loved seeing a strong woman take a stand and stand up to a big macho guy. It was refreshing.

Considering that Eric and Chelsea had to get close real quick it was a really nice read that had me turning pages all night. It is packed with action and really shows what Eric is willing to do to keep his pack safe and protect Chelsea. Eric has issues with his own past and doesn’t know if he is really the right person for Chelsea at first. 

The book flowed wonderfully. I found myself at the end before I knew, and wanted to go back and reread part of it right away. I plan on checking out the other books in this series to see a full picture of the pack and the wolves that Rhyannon Byrd has created for us.

(Read for the 2014 Shifter Challenge hosted by Parajunkee)