Welcome to my world of mystical warriors, gutsy humans, good witches and empaths. And of course, there has to be at least one creature of the night. But if you think you’ve read everything about vampires, I urge you to think again. In my paranormal world, the themes of love and redemption are full of real human emotion. The paradoxes of love are real as well.
The Vampire’s Retribution is the story of an anomaly, a mystically enhanced vampire that many consider a champion. Michael reclaimed his soul in 1890 after two-hundred years of the drink and drain. It takes another century for him to fall madly in love with a Guardian of Souls, mystical warriors tasked with ending every demon’s existence. Mysteriously, he was able to father a child with a dark seer. So his world is quite complicated. This first novel chronicles the beginning of his unexpected journey… something even he can’t believe is really happening. It begins in 2005 when the woman he loves is an ocean away and fifteen-year-old Lukas is a truly troubled boy. A cast of characters come to his aid, the kind of people you’d want on your side when fighting evil things. But Michael’s rescue won’t be anything like the dream of survival he creates. For that story, you’ll have to read Book 2, Mystical Consequences, available November 1, 2023.
The inspiration: During a time in my life when nothing felt normal, my son told me to write. On a whim, I decided to redeem a vampire. Don’t ask why. There were too many reasons. But all that chaos cranked up the creativity and Michael’s story turned into a novel. That was 2006. And two other novels continuing Michael’s story were published with TWRP before 2011. But life happens, doesn’t it? My career change in 2010 didn’t jive with vampires, mystical warriors, or witches and empaths. My new position required my full attention. When my rights reverted back to me, I was far removed from my creative side. But I dreamed that someday, somehow, I’d return to Michael’s world.
In the second year of retirement, I started writing again. The new novel revolved around Martine, a very minor character in the original three books. She was Lukas’s age, which now put them both in their early thirties. Some 40,000 words in, I hit a roadblock. A big one. Martine’s love interest just didn’t work. It was flat. I sat at a red light while driving when those creative wheels started turning in my head. I loved writing Michael’s troubled son. But what type of man had Lukas become? What if… Hmmm… Oh, I couldn’t wait to get to my laptop! A month later, Book 4 in The Champion Chronicles was complete.
But wait. That meant that parts of the first three books had to be altered some. This new novel expanded my paranormal world. I opened the original manuscripts and as my gifted editor from 2007 read Night of the Crescent Moon, I ‘revamped’ the first three books from years ago and remodeled the trope to align with the new novel. After TWRP contracted Book 4 in 2022, the first three revised novels, were submitted and contracted as well. I am, once again a proud author with The Wild Rose Press working with my fantastic editor from some fifteen years ago. So yes, readers and writers, dreams do become reality.
On writing: I am a true-to-the-word pantser. The main characters show themselves, secondary characters as well. I can see and hear them in my head. The situations they get into develop like a scene out of a movie and I start writing. The major plot drives the story, but I give it a few twists and turns along the way. Research is always a must, and it often leads to sub-plots. I’ve written three more novels in the series this past year because I became, well, a bit driven (okay, obsessed) when my creative muse returned. Now having time in retirement to develop my stories, I’m an eclectic writer. Somedays, it’s morning till night. Somedays, not one word on the page. The edit process is much more intense than the story writing. I’ll edit many times, listen to it out loud, read in different fonts even after querying my editor.
My advice for anyone just starting is to hold on tight and take the ride. Learn the craft. Join writing groups and network at conferences. Believe in yourself, the ability to spin a tale or two. I didn’t expect to circle back to writing about Michael and his world again. It is a blessing that I am humbled by, and grateful to experience after so many years when writing anything creative was just not possible. I’m fortunate to take the steps back to that proverbial fork in the road and start a new journey.
Always an avid reader, the realm of paranormal fiction is the perfect landing point for Mickey Flagg. After a successful career as a music teacher and an urban school administrator, she continues to spin stories of passion, love and redemption. She’s been a contributor in a book on urban music education and has also authored an article for Still Standing, a web-magazine about loss and healing. Named a Distinguished Music Educator at the 2010 Yale Music Symposium, Mickey is a life-long New Jersey resident, a member of Liberty States Fiction Writers, and a Professor in Residence with a local university. Author Website: http://www.mflagg-author.com
Dreams are often hidden desires… even if they are terrifying. Michael Malone, a mystically enhanced vampire, destroys three immortal sorcerers and takes on their vengeful army of hell-beasts in an unprecedented battle. Poisoned and captured, he’s guided by a heavenly entity to spin a fantasy full of deep love and devotion to the one woman he treasures and his very troubled human son. Michael’s fading mind creates emotional twists and unexpected turns, passionate highs and very realistic lows. Is there deliverance or is this the end to his immortal existence? Each revelation offers hope. Yet Michael’s last words doggedly remain “Let me die.” His original reasons for the singular battle are noble. One is retribution. The other is love.
Grave-Reaping Shrew is the second book in my Grave Reaper Series. I came up with the idea for the series during the summer at my family’s cabin. I’ve run into bears five times, but never anyone from another realm. (I’ve still got my fingers crossed that it will happen one of these days)
My FMC lives in a rundown cabin in the woods outside Tamarac, a fictional town in northern Saskatchewan. She discovers a portal to Fairie when a dark fae attacks her and she becomes infected with his magic.
When I wrote the first book, Grave-Reaping Hermit, I had the story laid out so that Theo and her love interest, Farranen, ended up with a nice neat happily ever after – but halfway through the book I realized her cynical nature wouldn’t let her fall in love so easily. I redid the outline and added two more books so that Theo would eventually get her happy ending, but not until she had an adventure or two. And since I’m a really big fan of having multiple love interests… Enter the dark prince of Fairie. The third book won’t be released until later this year, so I’m not saying who’s in it or what Theo’s HEA looks like. I also realized that Theo needed someone to show her that she’s worth loving, so I gave her Dog. I didn’t want her to be completely alone at the end of book one, and her friendship with Dog helped bring out a softer side of Theo that I didn’t even realize was there until he was able to win her affection with his big soulful doggy eyes and never-ending appetite.
It took me six months of writing at night once everyone else was asleep to complete each book, and even longer to find a publisher that would take them. I also have another book, A Flock of Vampires, that I published through a different publisher. These days I split my time between my latest WIP, and trying to market myself on social media. I can honestly say I prefer the writing to the marketing.
Born and raised on the beautiful Canadian prairies, Everlyn prefers to spend her time outdoors with her family kayaking, skating, fishing, and hunting. She loves reading and writing about vampires, witches, fae and zombies that get to find their own version of happily ever after. Keep up to date with Everlyn at her website: https://everlyncthompson.com/
After surviving a horrific attack by a dark fae, Theodora Edwards is happy to put the magical world of Fairie in the past – until she learns the reason behind the abrupt disappearance of Farranen, the guardian of the gate. Unfortunately, her improvised rescue attempt ends in death – her death.
As if surviving death isn’t weird enough, her magic takes on a life of its own and starts creating flawed ghosts. While struggling to control her magic, she’s forced to deal with a deadly band of pixies, amorous advances from the intimidating dark prince, and political upheaval in Fairie that’s left the entire realm in chaos.
Shifter romances probably outnumber all other romances on reading apps like Dreame, Readict, Radish, etc. And because of that, there are common and expected tropes and world building details within those stories. I often love it when an author “breaks the rules” for the genre they are writing in, especially when it’s done well and it’s not an obvious they-were-trying-to-be-different situation.
The Alpha and Her Hunter by Lauren Rutherford falls into the well-done category of breaking the norm for shifter romances.
Willow is a wolf shifter in a world where the females are the strongest and the leaders. Garin is a Hunter, born into the most ruthless Hunter family in existence, the Red Hoods. Garin’s family has moved into Willow’s town with the purpose to stir up trouble. Despite their families’ feudal past, Garin and Willow can’t fight the attraction between them. They will face jealousy, bigotry, and death plots in order to earn the approval to love. In this enemies-to-lovers/Romeo & Juliette romance, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I fell in love with Willow and Garin and rooted for them until the last page.
The majority of what sets this shifter romance apart from others is the world building. In this world, female shifters are bigger and stronger than males when they are in their wolf form, and thus females are the Alphas of their families and clans. The Alpha is determined by the physical and mental/psychological strength of their wolf. Each pack or clan has an Alpha, and within that group, each family group has an Alpha.
There is a type of mate bond called imprinting (like in Twilight), but finding one’s true mate is rare, so most shifters settle for arranged marriages. Willow is betrothed to a male shifter who she is not feeling it for at all.
Hunters are humans who hunt werewolves. Now, not just any human can be a Hunter. They have extra abilities: they are stronger than your average human, go to special schools to train, and they can smell werewolves. Because of this, Hunters also participate in arranged marriages in order to keep their bloodlines strong.
The unique world building changes are only part of why I loved this book so much. The characters are likable, and the pacing for their growth (as they transition from enemies to lovers) is believable and satisfactory. And if you prefer a clean romance, the heat level is sweet.
While there is an official resolution to the plot, it’s clear a sequel should be coming, and I can’t wait to read it.
I give The Alpha and Her Hunter 5 stars. It can be read on the following apps: WebNovel, Mangatoon, Tapas, Dreame, and AnyStories.
Like what I did with Mother’s Day, I want to highlight some excellent fictional fathers and father figures for Father’s Day. Unlike with my fictional moms post, this one was harder to write. It turns out, there aren’t as many great fictional fathers as I anticipated. It seems that writers really like to have absent or subpar fathers in their stories (which I am guilty of). But I was able to find three for this first year of Favorite Fictional Dads.
Rubeus Hagrid from Harry Potter is arguably one of the best father figures in fantasy. Without having ever met baby Harry, Hagrid braves the wreckage of the Potter’s destroyed home to rescue him and deliver him to Dumbledor. Hagrid didn’t know what danger he could possibly face by doing that; after all, no one really knew what happened. Ten years later, he would jump back into Harry’s life to tell him he was a wizard and take him school supplies shopping.
Harry enters Hogwarts knowing no one but Hagrid. Hagrid frequently invites him to tea to give Harry a safe space to share his feelings about this new world. Hagrid is always understanding, but will offer advice and correction when needed. He also serves as a father figure for Hermione. While Hermione isn’t an orphan like Harry, her parents are muggles, so she is braving the wizarding world alone as well. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron and Hermione spend several weeks fighting, and Harry semi-takes Ron’s side. Hermione spends many nights crying in Hagrid’s cabin. Even though Hermione met Hagrid through Harry, Hagrid views her as her own person and continues to care for her regardless of her friendship status with the boys. I imagine that Harry, Ron, and Hermione aren’t the first lonely Hogwarts students Hagrid has befriended.
Charlie Swan from the Twilight series can be a complicated situation. When I was a teenager, I hated Charlie in Eclipse. But the older I get, the more I see things from his perspective. Charlie is a single father whose teenage daughter decides to move in with him when her mother marries a traveling baseball player. Charlie doesn’t really know how to be a dad, but he loves Bella unconditionally and he wants to protect her.
One of the many things my own father taught me was that no matter how much a man may dislike the boy dating his daughter, he never wants his daughter’s heart broken. Charlie doesn’t know what the reader knows. From his point of view, the boy his daughter is dating continually puts her in dangerous situations. She makes erratic decisions for Edward. And there is always the chance of Bella’s heart being broken, again. In Charlie’s, he has very good reasons to distrust Edward and want him far away from his daughter.
And even though, to Charlie’s utter dismay, Bella stubbornly sticks with Edward, Charlie will support her. When Bella breaks her hand punching Jacob in the face, Charlie tells her he’s going to have to teach her how to throw a proper fist. He says that no one should kiss his daughter if she doesn’t want it. When Bella marries Edward, Charlie walks her down the aisle and provides his mother’s comb for her “something old” and “something blue”. And in the end, Charlie wants to be in Bella’s life so much, that he will accept the supernatural that she is now a part of, even if he doesn’t understand all of it.
Charlie is the protective father who will support his daughter no matter what.
William Stafford was real. He was the second husband of Mary Boleyn. However, his character adaptation in The Other Boleyn Girl is fictional. When comparing Philippa Gregory’s caricature of him and the historical facts that Alison Weir dug up for her biography on Mary Boleyn, Philippa Gregory’s version is fictional, so he can be part of my fictional dads post. (This isn’t a criticism of Philippa Gregory’s work. I highly admire her as a historical fiction author, and will probably write a post dedicated to her in the future.)
In The Other Boleyn Girl, William comes into Mary’s life after her first husband has died and she’s been cast aside by the king for her own sister. William gains Mary’s trust and love by how he treats her two orphaned children: Catherine and Henry.* William teaches both children how to ride a horse and becomes the father they never had. In a society where children are used for what they can bring the parents, William is simply a loving stepfather. He doesn’t care that these children are of royal blood. He doesn’t care to get Catherine an advantageous marriage. He doesn’t care that Henry could serve the future king (if Anne can give birth to a living son). He just wants to raise them safely.
Mary and William marry in secret and are forced to admit their “sin” when Mary becomes pregnant. This is William’s first biological child, but in his mind baby Anne** is his third child. He has always viewed Catherine and Henry as his. As the children grow and the court becomes more dangerous, William protects his children from their royal bastard status. When Anne is taken into the tower, William secretly rides to the palace Henry is living with other noble boys his age, and brings him home. Anne makes Catherine serve as her lady in waiting while in the tower.*** But as soon as Anne’s head is off her body, William sneaks up to the platform, pulls Catherine down and gets her on the road back home.
In the fictional version of the Tudor court, William Stafford was the best stepfather the Carey children could have had. He raised them with love. He played with them. And as they grew and their lives became dangerous, he protected them and prepared them to survive their cousins’ reigns.
*In the book, both are the illegitimate children of King Henry VIII that William Carey (Mary’s first husband) was forced to pretend were his. In real life, most historians agree that Catherine was most likely fathered by Henry VIII and accepted by William Carey, but Henry was most definitely William Carey’s biological child.
**In real life they had a son, but in order to keep them with the court so that Mary could be a witness to Anne’s fall and execution, Ms. Gregory made their baby a girl. Mary marrying in secret and giving birth to a son when Anne was struggling to carry a baby to term, caused Anne to cast her sister out of court. And Mary and William moved to Calais until she became the sole Boleyn heir after Anne and George were beheaded.
***Once again this detail is also fictional. Catherine served as lady in waiting to Elizabeth I, not Anne Boleyn.
Happy Father’s Day! Give some love to the men in your life.
I’d like to introduce Amanda Uhl. Her newest release, Healing Kiss, releases this Thursday April 27th and is the topic of this interview.
What inspired your story?
Once upon a time, I had a healing experience. I held the hands of a stranger–a young woman–I met at a baby shower. My older sister was hosting the shower for someone in her husband’s office, and I was there as a helper and didn’t know any of the guests. The woman and I began discussing the paranormal. I described experiences I had had in the past, including an ability to pull energy from someone’s arm and hand, so it would fall asleep. Curious, the woman asked me to hold her hands. I did as she asked, and when I closed my eyes, immediately saw an orange light surrounding a dark shape. The orange light pulsed and glowed as I inhaled and exhaled.
Figuring I was the only one to experience the orange light, I let go of the woman’s hands and opened my eyes. The woman opened her eyes, giving me dazed look. “Wow. It felt like someone hugged me,” she said.
Two weeks later, I learned the woman had been trying for years to get pregnant without success. After holding my hands, she discovered she was pregnant. She called my sister to tell her the joyous news. “Your sister who held my hands, she caused it to happen,” she insisted
This real-life experience inspired Healing Kiss, my newest paranormal romance. When I describe the heroines’ attempts to heal her sister in the first chapter, I’m drawing on that real-life incident to bring an authentic feel to the scene.
What is your writing process?
I work full-time managing a creative team, so my day job often takes precedence over my writing life. The one rule I follow is to write a little bit every day, no matter how tired I feel. I am a panster, who has discovered the value of plotting, so I do a basic plot outline and write the book description before writing a single word.
How much time did you spend on this project?
I have written a book in as little as two months or, as in the case of Healing Kiss, four years! I am a bit of a perfectionist, which often sends me back to the drawing table as I attempt to make sense of the plot.
What is your writing schedule like?
Terrible. As I mentioned, I write a little every day. Due to my demanding day job, I do most of my writing late at night when the rest of the world is sleeping.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Healing Kiss placed in three romance-writing contests:
1st place The Far Side
1st place The Rudy
2nd place Diamonds in the Desert
Award-winning author Amanda Uhl has always had a fascination with the mystical. Having drawn her first breath in a century home rumored to be haunted, you might say she was “born” into it. After a brief stint in college as a paid psychic, Amanda graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in theatre and a master’s degree in marketing. Over the past twenty years, she has worked as an admissions representative and graphic designer, owned her own freelance writing company, and managed communications for several Fortune 500 companies, most recently specializing in cyber security and data. Amanda is an avid reader and writes fast-paced, paranormal romantic suspense and humorous contemporary romance from her home in Cleveland, Ohio. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find Amanda with her husband and three children, gathering beach glass on the Lake Erie shoreline or biking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
To preorder Healing Kiss, explore Amanda’s other books, and follow her journey, check out her website: https://amandauhl.com/
To save her dying sister…
Lillian Milano channels energy from the healthy to heal the sick, which makes her an incredible nurse. But her gift puts Lillian and those she loves in danger from an organization that will stop at nothing to exploit her talent. When her sister becomes gravely ill, wealthy computer genius Tristan King is the one man with enough vitality to save her sister’s life. But being near him threatens to expose her secrets and destroy the walls she’s built around her heart.
She bargains with a billionaire.
Tristan doesn’t believe in the supernatural and is wary of emotional entanglements. But his beloved mother is dying, and his lying ex-fiancée won’t leave him alone, so he strikes a deal: In exchange for his help, Lillian must pose as his date for a hospital fundraiser. As the pair work together to save their loved ones, they confront a spiraling web of secrets that threatens their growing feelings for each other. The choices they make will either destroy their lives or heal their hearts.
Revamped is a paranormal comedy/romance and my first participation in a multi-author series. What a great experience writing the Mortar & Pestle series with six other authors by my side, metaphorically speaking.
Chelsey asked how I came to write Revamped, in part because it’s a departure from writing humorous women’s fiction.
The idea was a group effort. We were all on Zoom, gathered around our computer screens discussing writing and marketing, when someone popped the question. “Why don’t we write a series together?” It took almost a year in the making, but here we are, having released all seven books. Sydney Winward, who wrote Selkie, the first book in the series, did our beautiful covers.
In order to meet our deadline, I put aside the novel I was working on to draft Revamped. I am somewhere between a plotter and a pantser, and for the first time had to create a world and work within a deadline. This meant interviewing writers on how to go about world-building, asking questions, reading other vampire books. It was not easy to find energy vampires in the literature. How many did I find? Zero.
I always begin writing a new book by first planning out the characters and the interpersonal relationships essential to the story. Why do people come together? How do they uncouple and what leads to that decision? Creating a world in which paranormal characters live is less interesting than their personal stories within that world. When I set out to write Revamped, I wanted readers to relate to my characters, even if they’d never read a paranormal story.
Dante, the vampire, is different from the usual people Sophie meets in her sphere of friends and family. Finding that special person no matter how different he or she is from ourselves is what’s important.
I’d like to introduce readers of Chelsey’s blog to an unusual vampire. As a special treat, I interviewed Dante Allegretti, my main character.
Dialogue with the Vampire
Shirley: I have a few questions for our readers. They’re curious.
Dante: I suppose they want to know about my special powers.
Shirley: Not really. They want to know what it’s like to date a vampire.
Dante: [eyes widen] I don’t talk about being a vampire. Not openly.
Shirley: The thing is, I wrote a whole book about you so it’s no secret, not anymore. For instance, one reader would like to know if you would suck on her neck. You know, take a little taste.
Dante: That’s ridiculous. First of all, I’m not that kind of vampire. I’m an energy vampire. Meaning I get energy from people by depleting their resources. Bored people are especially easy targets, but angry men run a close second.
Shirley: Men in particular? Why is that?
Dante: Their negative energy and muscle mass make them vulnerable.
Shirley: Do you still drain people’s energy?
Dante: I’ve stopped living that life. I attend DE meetings––that stands for Dis-Energy––two or three times a week. It’s not easy, but my energy sobriety is important.
Shirley: Anyone who dated you would have to respect the work that went into your lifestyle change.
Dante: I don’t want to be thought of as a vampire. I’m a normal guy with issues like anyone else. With a few differences.
Shirley: So, it’s a daily challenge, right?
Dante: Absolutely. I don’t hang around with other vampires. Very few people know I’m a vampire, only a few close friends.
Shirley: Are you still at odds with your family?
Dante: I don’t think that will ever be resolved. [Swipes a hand through his hair.] You want to know something?
Shirley: Of course.
Dante: Energy vampires don’t have much fun. You can’t hang out with regular people. It’s too tempting and how can you look yourself in the face if you’re draining your friends.
Shirley: That sounds gross, using your friends.
Dante. Yeah, that’s why I never had friends. Until I met Groucho, my best friend. But I knew the second I met him he was a vampire.
Shirley: What is it, a sixth sense?
Dante: Sort of. When it comes to friends, you’re limited to the few energy vampires around and no one wants friends who literally suck. That’s why I rejected the whole lifestyle. I’m thirty-six and I’ve just begun living. I feel so lucky.
Shirley: So, what advice do you have for women interested in dating vampires?
Dante: Don’t do it.
Shirley: Sort of a dead end, isn’t it?
Dante: Unless you’re with a man who promises to give up that way of life.
Shirley: Can you tell me more? What was the most difficult part of changing?
Dante: I’ll tell you that every little and big thing in my life changed. If I told you more, I’d be spoiling the read and besides, telling is boring.
Shirley: Well, thanks, Dante. Do you know if Groucho will be in the sequel?
Dante: Since you’re writing the books, you’ll have to answer that one, won’t you?
Shirley Goldberg is a swing and salsa dancer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She often writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website http://midagedating.com offers a humorous look at dating in mid-life, and her friends like to guess which stories are true. Her Starting Over series can all be read as standalones starring women and men in midlife who learn a thing or three about new beginnings. Revamped, A Vampire Comedy, is the story of an energy vampire with one good friend and a family who embarrasses him. Revamped is part of the Mortar & Pestle series by seven authors that debuted in March.
Shirley’s characters believe you should never leave home without your sense of humor and she agrees.
Vampire Dante Allegretti hates his sucky life. Born into a family of energy siphoners, he’s desperate to reinvent himself as a fun-loving normal guy rather than a crowdsourcing parasite. To stop the draining urges, Dante resorts to grinding alternative meds in an ancient Mortar & Pestle, not knowing it contains magical properties.
Enter wisecracking thirty-year-old Sophie Arley, who lives with her clingy parents. Working three jobs and craving independence, she’s come back strong after a breakdown crashed her cozy world. So when the weird, hot guy she just met-cute asks Sophie to the movies, she agrees.
Sophie won’t spoil their magical connection by mentioning her heartbreak. And Dante dreads telling Sophie about his dark side. Will the power from the Mortar & Pestle guide them to their happily ever after despite the secrets and lies?
One of the top things a paranormal/fantasy author does when world building is decide what to keep and what to change about the magical beings that exist in their world. When I came across Julia Laque’s Tortured series, I felt like I was relearning what makes a vampire, a werewolf, and a witch. It was really fun to be surprised by my favorite paranormal creatures.
The first thing that jumps out is that vampires and werewolves are not in hiding. They openly live and work among humans. However, because of cultural and biological differences between the species, vampires and werewolves are not fully beholden to the U.S. Government. They have their own court system and doctors. Humans can become lawyers for these paranormal courts and doctors who perform house visits.
Vampires cannot be exposed to the sun. There is no spell, potion, or special jewelry that can prevent them from burning up in the sun’s rays. They also cannot biologically procreate, they can only be turned through the exchange of blood. Vampires are completely loyal to their sire, because they share blood, there is an innate need to prioritize them. Their sire can call to them and they have to listen. For example, one newly turned vampire learns of a threat coming to their community. She abandons her mortal family to warn her sire first, then returns home to make preparations to protect everyone else. This loyalty also plays into the tension between her sire and her mortal lover.
Werewolves can shift at any time, but they must always shift during the full moon. They also have a monthly “heat” cycle – both males and females – that coincides with the phases of the moon as well. During this cycle, they become very horny and essentially can’t stop themselves from having sex with the first willing participant they come across. (This becomes a problem when married werewolves are not near their spouse during the heat, which we see in one of the stories.) Their doctors developed a pill that can cool the effects if one doesn’t feel like taking a partner that month – some characters have been taking these pills for years while they wait to meet the right person. Regardless of marital status and the consummation of a relationship, what really seals a partnership is procreation. It doesn’t matter what was going on before, a pregnancy creates a family relationship, and no other male can attempt to court or claim the female (another important plot point in one of the books).
Witches are born, but not every offspring is guaranteed to inherit their parent’s powers. With the main family in the books, it appears to be mostly the oldest inheriting powers. Also, depending on what those powers are, too much use drains your powers and life; and neither can be replenished. Becoming pregnant and giving birth also depletes a female witch’s powers and life, so most don’t have very many children. In the series, the witches are the villains, forcing the vampires and werewolves to set aside their differences and team up to defeat them.
There are three books in this series:
Tortured Soul – Evangeline Wolcott is being blackmailed into marrying the Vampire King of North America. To the rest of the world, this is a consensual engagement, which leads to Adam Perez, alpha to the local werewolf pack, kidnapping Evangeline. He believes the Vampire King kidnapped his sister, so he wants to do a prisoner swap. While waiting for the Vampire King to make his move, Adam and Evangeline have quite a time together hiding out in Adam’s cabin. Difficult decisions will need to be made when Adam has to hand Evangeline back over to the king.
Tortured Embrace – Serena, Adam’s sister, is still missing. Jason, Adam’s best friend, is determined to find her. Serena escapes her captors, bringing with her the trauma of her time in captivity, and her desire to control her own life. When Adam commands Jason to stay away from Serena, the two must decide which is more important: obeying their alpha or following their heart; all while preparing for Serena’s captors to attack.
Tortured Kiss – Long before Adam kidnapped Evangeline, Ramo Perez married Elizabeth in order to form an alliance between their packs. To him, it was a paper marriage only, and he left her untouched on their wedding night. Ten years later, the witches are attacking Elizabeth’s pack, and Ramo is called in to help. The eighteen year old bride he abandoned is now a woman. A woman who has moved on with her life. In the midst of protecting not only the pack, but the entire state from these evil witches, Ramo is also determined to prove to Elizabeth that he has changed and is ready for commitment and worthy of trust.
If you are ready for something different for (what some call) the unholy trio (witches, vampires, and werewolves, oh my!), check out the Tortured series.
If that title feels like a mouthful, it is. You see, if I had titled this post “Favorite Books from 2022”, it would give you the impression that I was going to tell you about my favorite books I read in 2022 that were also published in 2022. That is simply not the case because I am nowhere near that caught up on my to-read list.
Shouldn’t this list have come out sometime in December? Perhaps. It is common to publish “The Year’s Best” in December, not January. However, I was going to finish two books on December 31st, so if they were going to make this post, I had to wait a few days.
Out of the 69 books I read in 2022, 16 make it into the “best” category. Here are my favorite reads from 2022:
Lord of Druemarwin by Helen C. Johannes is the sequel to The Prince of Val-Feyridge. Together, they make The Crown of Tolem series. Both books follow a larger plotline of a fantasy world separated into three kingdoms. The three kingdoms used to be one. A descendent of the original king, Prince Arn is on a military campaign to reunite the three kingdoms. On this campaign he meets a seemingly magical healer named Aerid, and an intense enemies to lovers storyline brings us through the unification of two of the three kingdoms. The sequel gives us a new couple: Raell and Naed. Naed is the new Lord of Druemarwin, an important principality in the third kingdom. Raell’s father is a Lord in Arn’s kingdom. The two met at the end of Arn’s and Aerid’s story, and their attraction to each other works with Arn’s plans for the kingdoms. There are, of course, players who don’t want a unified kingdom, and will sabotage Naed’s and Raell’s relationship to prevent that. Naed and Raell come from different worlds. And after successfully proving that he fits in hers, it’s Raell’s turn to prove she fits in his.
I devoured both of these books. I normally read 2-3 books at a time, rotating chapters. (Don’t judge, I just simply can’t read only one at a time.) But with both of these I paused all my other reading and read only this series, it was that good. I loved the complexity of the characters. The obvious care Ms. Johannes had taken in world building. And of course the danger mixed with romance – I always need some action and excitement with my love stories. I hope more stories in this amazing world are on the horizon.
Revolting by Maureen Atsali is a fated mate romance on the Dreame reading app. The reason this one made the list is because it is so unique from other fated mate stories on Dreame.
Revolting starts out as a trope that I generally don’t care for: the Alpha doesn’t want his mate, but his wolf won’t let her go, so he keeps her prisoner while he sleeps with other women. I almost stopped reading. But then, Ms. Atsali went off the traditional path and gave us a wonderful story about a strong woman escaping her abuser and mate bond, and taking charge of her life.
Nina’s father (Alpha of her pack) sets her up in an arranged marriage with the Alpha of another pack they need an alliance with. Alpha Nolan turns out to be her fated mate, but he doesn’t want a mate. He goes through with the marriage, but treats Nina horribly. Nina overcomes the mate bond, rejects Nolan and runs away. Her short time in Nolan’s pack earned her some friends who hate how their Alpha is treating her, and they run away with her, and work on creating a new pack.
If you like fated mate stories, this one is definitely worth a read.
The Last Tudor, The King Maker’s Daughter, The White Princess
I have been a huge fan of Philippa Gregory since I was 17. My high school English teacher lent me his personal copy of The Other Boleyn Girl and told me he thought I might like it. I loved it. It’s still my favorite Philippa Gregory book to this day. And that book put me on the path to becoming a high school history teacher.
I like Ms. Gregory’s form of historical fiction. She focuses on women, which gives her less factual information than if she were writing about a man. This leads to lots of hole filling on her part. Because of this she is often criticized for inaccurately depicting many of her characters; but she always explains why she deviates from the commonly accepted narratives – and she usually has some merit with those reasons. Even if I disagree with an angle she might put on some events and characters (which is rare), I respect her reasons why.
The Last Tudor is about the three Grey sisters: Jane, Katherine, and Mary. They were the final living Tudor relatives of Elizabeth I. Jane’s fate is the most well known: queen for 9 days and ordered to the execution block by her own cousin Mary I. Katherine survived Mary’s reign, but not Elizabeth’s. She married for love and gave birth to two boys. Because her husband was high born as well, her children were threats to Elizabeth and her throne. Elizabeth separated them, and Katherine died alone and heartbroken. Mary thinks she will avoid Elizabeth’s jealous gaze if she marries a widower of a lower status. But Elizabeth will never allow her relatives to be happy while she isn’t.
The Kingmaker’s Daughter is about Anne Neville, Richard III’s wife. Her entire life was a constant roller coaster. As the Yorks and the Lancasters fought for the throne, her family rose and fell depending on who was king – with her dad in the middle of the fighting. Anne and her sister, Isabelle are her father’s only legitimate children, making their marriages of utmost importance in his political games. She was first married to the Lancastrian heir, and widowed in a few months. She later married Richard in secret, putting her back in the royal family as her husband was King Edward IV’s youngest brother. Many familial dramas and battles later, Anne became Queen of England. But being queen isn’t the glamorous life her childhood dreams imagined.
The White Princess covers the early years of Elizabeth of York’s marriage to Henry Tudor. Princess Elizabeth was going to marry the winner of the Battle of Bosworth: Richard III or Henry Tudor. Either way, she would be Queen of England. Richard was supposed to be the obvious winner, but last minute turncoats caused a Tudor victory. Elizabeth and Henry’s marriage was a constant rotation of hatred, love, and suspicion. The part of their marriage this book highlights surrounds the legend of Elizabeth’s missing brothers – the princes in the tower. In Gregory’s series, the older Prince, Edward did die, but the younger brother, Richard was smuggled out. He returns as a grown man, married, and ready to get his family’s throne back. Elizabeth is torn between protecting the inheritance of her own sons, and her baby brother whom she thought long lost.
The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
I came across the world of Sookie Stackhouse from a facebook comment of all things. I had commented on a Harry Potter fan page meme about turning the books into a TV series. I said that I had yet to watch a TV series that stayed true to the book. In fact, I consider most TV series adaptations fan fiction because most only keep the characters names and maybe small aspects of the original plot. Because TV series have so much more wiggle room than movies, they can add characters and side plots and all sorts of other things, then all of a sudden it’s no longer the same story. I gave the examples of Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Witches of East End. The replies to my comment focused on The Vampire Diaries, and we went down a vampire hole, with one person recommending HBO’s True Blood. My personal mantra is to read the book first, so here I am, reading the Sookie Stackhouse series before I sign up for HBO so I can watch True Blood.
Sookie is a barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She has struggled her whole life because she can read minds. Everyone in Bon Temps knows, but tries to pretend it’s not true. People avoid her and treat her as less than. Vampires have recently gone public, and when Sookie meets a vampire for the first time, she is pleased to learn she can’t read vampire minds, which gives her a nice break. Saving a vampire, Bill Compton from drainers (human hunters who drain vampires of their blood), and her special ability throws Sookie into the supernatural world. Throughout the series she gets involved in vampire conflicts, shifter conflicts, witch conflicts, and fairy conflicts; all while trying to figure out a steady love life.
There are thirteen books in the main series, starting with Dead Until Dark, which was published in 2001. In 2022 I read books 2-8. I’m currently on book 10, so I haven’t finished the series yet. But so far I have loved Sookie’s story. I think my favorite thing is Sookie’s growth throughout the series. In the earlier books she lets people walk all over her – a mixture of southern manners and trauma from being bullied for being different. As we get into the later books, Sookie finally starts standing up for herself and calling people out when they mistreat her. I also love all the worldbuilding done for all the supernatural species Sookie encounters.
Hands down, my #1 books from my 2022 reading list was the Sookie Stackhouse books. I look forward to finishing the series, and I can’t wait to watch True Blood.
Jillie by Olive Balla is an amazing suspense novel. 12 year old me would have read this over and over again – shout out to my two member club I founded with my cousin: The Mystery Hiking Girls. Jillie, the titular character, has been recently orphaned and taken in by her older sister and her sister’s abusive husband. One day, her sister is being beaten up by said husband, and Jillie stabs him to protect her sister. The stab is lethal, and Jillie ends up in juvenile court. The beating put her sister in a coma, which sends Jillie to her dead brother-in-law’s parents’ house. His vengeful and selfish family makes Jillie’s life a living hell, so she runs away. The rest of the book covers Jillie’s adventure as she evades her brother-in-law’s family, the police, and befriends energetic elderly twin sisters – who get their own spin off called Code Murder. Like The Crown of Tolem series, I paused my other reading to devour this book, and Olive Balla’s other books are now on my radar.
The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn
Like many other new Bridgerton fans, I came across these books after falling in love with Daphne and The Duke of Hastings on Netflix. I read the first three books before Season 2 came out, so now I’m ahead for future season releases. In 2022, I read books 3-5, which cover Benedict’s, Colin’s, and Eloise’s stories.
For those of you who don’t know, the Bridgerton series is about a family of eight siblings and their mother in early 1800s in London. As each child reaches marriageable age, Violet Bridgerton goes to great lengths to get her children married. Each book is about a different member of the Bridgerton family and their love story with their future spouse.
What I love about Julia Quinn’s storytelling, is she takes common tropes that can feel overdone, and makes them fresh and new. One of my least favorite tropes is fake dating, and yet I devoured The Duke and I. I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers, so The Viscount Who Loved Me was a given that I would love it. (I also deeply connected with Kate because during my teenage years, my cousin always got the guys.) I will be the first one to tell you that Cinderella retellings are overdone, and yet An Offer from a Gentleman drew me in immediately. What makes this one so unique, is the story starts with the ball, and the main plot focuses on two years later. By the time the reader gets to Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, we are ready for Penelope to get her happy ending, so one can easily overlook the friends to lovers trope if it isn’t your thing. And in To Sir Philip, With Love Eloise is our sunshine trying to figure out if Mr. Grump Sir Philip will make a good husband (a.k.a. opposites attract).
A side theme that Julia Quinn covers quite nicely is the historical culture surrounding the taboo of talking about sex – especially among the young ladies. She creates the perfect mixture of humor, awkwardness, and compassion. Poor Daphne goes into her wedding night knowing nothing. Violet tried to talk to her about it, but was so embarrassed herself, the entire conversation was cringe. Kate was better prepared, but went in viewing it more as a duty rather than a way to grow closer with her husband. Sophie, having spent most of her life as a servant – and servants see and hear more than they should – is the most prepared. Penelope is just as unprepared as Daphne. And Eloise tells her mother she doesn’t need the talk because she forced one of the recently married servants to tell her all about it when she was a teenager. I find all of these scenes really important and enlightening because I also grew up in a really conservative family and religious culture, and so I was able to connect to many of the conversations.
Overall, Bridgerton is sexy, romantic, and hilarious.
Here’s to a great 2023! I hope the books I read this year are just as entertaining.
I have said in previous posts that my favorite fantasy/paranormal beings are witches. My second favorite are vampires. I especially love vampire romances. When I was on the older end of playing pretend, I played this solo game by myself where I was the new girl in a small Transylvania town. Since my pretend self was different, I got teased at school, which opened me up to being targeted by the local vampire coven. No, I promise Twilight did not inspire that game. I played that when I was 12, Twilight came out when I was 16.
Speaking of Twilight, like many young women of my generation, that series was my introduction to paranormal romance and paranormal fiction. I inhaled the first two books in three days and set myself on the path to other great series: Beautiful Creatures, Witches of East End, The Vampire Diaries, Sookie Stackhouse, The House of Night.
Vampire stories are in abundance. And some people think that means they are overdone. But like any other product, publishers accept stories based on what they think will sell. Plenty of readers enjoy vampire romances, and are eager to read more. I am one of those readers. So, if you haven’t already found this delectable series, I highly recommend theAlpha Council Chronicles by Brenda Sparks.
This adventurous six book series takes readers through the courtship of six different couples around the world. Throughout the series readers get to visit Las Vegas, Georgia, Russia, Wyoming, and Australia. These couples are connected through the male vampire in each partnership, as these men form a group known as the Alpha Council. The Alpha Council ensures that vampires around the world stay hidden and don’t kill humans indiscriminately. One example of vampire morals in this world: “good” vampires do not drink from pregnant women or children, and they don’t drain their food.
In Ms. Sparks’ world, vampires can have biological children with each other; but fertility rates are low, and female vampires who do become pregnant have a high risk of miscarriage or death during labor. Born female vampires have an easier chance of becoming pregnant than turned female vampires, because turned female vampires’ bodies have been damaged during the turn and need centuries to heal.
Vampires have soulmates called heartmates, and they know who their heartmate is when they taste their blood. If their heartmate is human, they have to cautiously court them, introduce them to the vampire world, and convince them to turn. If their heartmate is already a vampire, courtship should technically be easier – though the two books that have that coupling prove it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. And when their heartmate is a previously unknown species, well, things get very interesting.
Alpha Mine is the first book and features Stephen von Haas and Katrina Spencer. Katrina was attacked by vampires in her late teens, and then saved from one: Marcus Botticelli. Marcus gives her a home and job in Las Vegas. Marcus is a member of the Alpha Council, and when his leader Stephen visits, the pull between Katrina and Stephen is instant. There is only one problem, Katrina will not allow Stephen to drink her blood, so he must settle for falling in love with her without knowing if she is his heartmate. While their relationship blossoms, Stephen gains an enemy from an ancient vampire who does not want to adhere to the Council’s rules for modern day living. He sets his sights on Katrina as leverage and revenge.
Deadly Alpha is Marcus’ turn for love in Savanna, Georgia. He comes upon a multi car pileup on the freeway, and decides to help because he needs to get home before the sun rises. He meets a nurse, Christina Prescott, one of the victims of the accident. However, her injuries are minor, and she is able to help the other victims once Marcus frees her from her car. Christina gets a small cut on her forehead from the accident, and one drop of her blood falls into Marcus’ mouth. Sparks fly. She’s his heartmate. Unlike our previous couple, where the human female knew all about vampires, Christina is completely unaware of the supernatural. Marcus must cautiously and carefully court her. In the meantime, the Council is called in because a rogue vampire is kidnapping, torturing, and killing human women all over the city. Before they can stop the attacks, the anonymous villian targets Christina; and now the clock is ticking. Marcus must identify, find, and capture the rogue before he takes Christina away forever.
Alpha Lover takes us to Russia where Nicholai Peterhof is a prince from the middle ages who did not die during the plague, but was turned into a vampire. One of his personal moral rules is to not drink from the locals. When an American and British tourist dine in his restaurant, he seduces them into his office. The American, Juliett Saint-John is his heartmate. Not only is Juliett human and lives a continent away, but she is a widow mourning her twin daughter’s death and dealing with self-esteem issues from her first marriage. This causes Nicholai to move slower than Marcus did. In this third installment, the reader is introduced to a new species: demons. Demons are shape shifters who live in deep mountain compounds due to their susceptibility to human disease. A demon princess is in Russia hunting the vampire who killed her husband. She mistakes Juliett for a vampire since she is covered in Nicholai’s scent. This puts Juliett in the line of fire. Nicholai has to figure out how to properly protect Juliett while choosing the best time to tell her what he is.
In Alpha Pair, the reader has met both male and female protagonists before: Demetri Romanoff and Tatiana Bolovich. Demetri is Nicholai’s cousin and sire. Out of the seven members of the Alpha Council, Demetri is the one most stuck in the old ways when it comes to gender roles. Tatiana is a leather wearing female warrior who does not need a man. She’s also a natural born vampire, which makes her desirable to any male who wants children. Tatiana has known Demetri is her heartmate since Marcus’ story, but has kept it a secret due to trauma from her past. Demetri went missing following a lead about the demons at the end of Nicholai’s story, and Tatiana is called upon to find and rescue him. Demetri’s time in captivity provides information as to why vampires are being targeted by demons. During the rescue Demetri learns Tatiana is his heartmate, and the two must learn how to work together and accept each other for who they are. While they figure out how to be in a healthy relationship, the demons are hot on their tail, choosing their friends’ wedding as the perfect event to hit.
Alpha Revealed takes us to Australia where Nicholai’s sister, Natasha lives. Natasha has been in love with Alpha Council member Vladimir Stairikovich for centuries. Due to his close friendship with her protective brother and cousin, the two have never been able to try a relationship, let alone test if they are heartmates. When Natasha’s neighborhood is infiltrated by demons, she is forced to flee to Vlad’s isolated farm in Siberia. In such close proximity, Vlad and Natasha must decide if risking Nicholai’s and Demetri’s wrath is worth the pull they feel. Meanwhile, Vlad’s abusive and toxic sire has been searching for him. Even if Vlad earns Nicholai’s and Demetri’s approval, he will do anything to protect Natasha from suffering the same fate as his first wife when he was human.
Alpha Eternal is the final installment, and it covers my favorite trope: forbidden love. The vampires and demons have a common enemy, so the two species must put aside their past differences in order to stand a chance of defeating the big bad. Our final Alpha, Alexander Hall, has been assigned to spend time in the demon king’s compound as an ambassador for the vampire’s and a secret spy. A female demon named Shira is ordered by her king to be Alexander’s guard while he stays in her mountain home. Shira is convinced she hates Alexander, while Alexander is having way too much fun making her blush. In the midst of a very serious world safety issue, the two have to decide if they are willing to trust each other and defy their respective leaders. Readers also get a bonus seventh couple as well!
The Alpha Council Chronicles is my favorite vampire series to date. I would rate the entire series 5 stars, as well as each individual book 5 stars. It’s also the series that introduced me to The Wild Rose Press. If you love vampires, romance, sexy couples, and high stakes, this series is for you.
Guilty Pleasure: “something, such as a movie, television program, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.” – Google Dictionary
I bet if more people were open and honest about their guilty pleasures, they wouldn’t have to be guilty pleasures anymore. One of my guilty pleasures is to read fated mate romance stories on reading apps. Such stories can be found on Dreame, Readict, Radish, iNovel, iReader, Kindle Vella, and dozens of others. I currently have a reader’s account with Dreame and Readict.
The stories on Dreame are either completely free, charge coins to unlock chapters, or are “wait-for-free.” Where a story lands is up to the author. The cost of a story is based on word count, so the more coins a chapter costs, the longer the chapter is. “Wait-for-free” means one chapter unlocks every 48 hours. Free coins can be earned by checking in and reading for a certain number of minutes.
The stories on Readict are completely free to the reader because there are 30 second ads to watch in order to unlock the next chapter. The reader can use coins to skip the ad.
How I came across these two apps was for research for my debut novel, Bondwitch. The main character is a teenage witch who is new to magic. She meets and befriends vampires and werewolves throughout her journey to grow in her magic. When I was world building for Bondwitch, I very easily figured out what kind of abilities and characteristics I wanted to give witches and vampires; but had no idea what to do for werewolves.
My prior knowledge came from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, and Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. As much as I love them all, they are considered older – though I personally struggle to accept that – and so I needed something recent. This led me to serialized fated mate shifter romances, and I fell in love with them.
The main plot behind a fated mate romance is that there is one mate out there for each “person” that is their perfect fit. A deity chooses the pairs, and reaching adulthood usually sets in motion the ability to find one’s mate. Conflict arises when mates do not want to accept each other, their parents disapprove, crazy exes become jealous, or one half of the pair is human or a different species. I believe these fated mate stories started with werewolves and other shifters (werecats, werebears, etc.), but have since branched out to include vampires, demons, witches, and even angels.
My two favorite tropes for fated mate stories are: 1. One of the mates is a human, and 2. The pair are of separate paranormal species.
In stories where one of the mates is a human, the reader gets to be slowly introduced to the paranormal world along with the human character. There are generally several funny moments where the human is completely confused with the paranormal character sniffing them and growling “mine!” like a caveman. The human character is also able to ignore the mate bond longer than the paranormal character, which allows for love to actually develop rather than jumping right into bed because of the “mate bond”.
When the mates are different paranormal species, we get my favorite: forbidden love.
As much as I enjoy reading these stories, I decided to take the shifters in Bondwitch in a different direction. So, there won’t be any fated mate plot lines, but there will still be plenty of swooning, sighing, and squealing.
Chelsey M. Ortega 