romance

Real Life Romance: Of Love and War by Annie R. McEwen

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

May 16, 1938

Dear Albert,

The joke is on you this time. I bet a friend that you would never write to me twice in succession. As it happens, you did!

That was the start of a letter from Jean Morlach to Albert Patrick, my parents. Jean, known then as Gina Morlacci, had emigrated from Italy to the U.S. with her parents in 1921. Albert, whose family was already established in America, helped the Italians as they struggled to set down roots in Pennsylvania. Albert, born in 1915, and Gina/Jean, born in 1912, became best friends before they even had a common language. 

You see, it was my turn but I was so darned busy with my hobby show that I neglected to write. You wrote again, thinking it was your turn. I’m so glad you did. 

When Jean and Albert got engaged in 1939, it surprised absolutely no one except Jean’s parents. Still struggling to make a success of their Italian grocery, they’d expected that Jean, their oldest child, would stay at home to help. Jean and Albert had other ideas. Jean was so worried about her parents’ reaction that she wrote Albert about it. She was considering abandoning her devout Catholicism so her marriage to Albert could take place quietly and fast. 

You know, I’ve been thinking (I do it sometimes) that perhaps we’d better marry in a Protestant church. I don’t mind.

Albert, who’d divided his growing up years between Florida and Pennsylvania, got an apartment in Tampa and set about furnishing it for his bride. Jean industriously, but on the sly, added to her stock of soft goods. Knowing nothing of the Florida climate, she worried about heating. 

Are you getting gas in the house, or are you getting an oil stove? I just was wondering about it. 

Last night, I embroidered for a while and made napkins. I have four sets, now. 

When she wasn’t making linens, working at her new job as a grade school teacher, or slaving at her parents’ grocery, Jean longed for Albert.

It seems ages since I saw you last. You seem so very far away—almost unreal. There are ever so many things I’d like to talk over with you, but I guess they will keep. Only, I do miss you so very, very much. 

In 1940, while World War Two loomed and Albert was sure he’d be drafted, Jean and Albert married, not in a Protestant church but in the vestry of a Catholic one. Jean’s parents were as angry as she’d feared. She fled with Albert to Florida, leaving her trousseau—all those embroidered linens—behind. The newlyweds had just enough time together in Florida to conceive their first child when Albert was drafted. He went off to train with the U.S. Air Force. The young airman was shocked by the unreadiness for War he saw in his first posting to Atlanta. He wrote Jean about it.

I don’t think these people realize a war is going on, so much waste and complaining. Several plants and a dairy are on strike, 325 fellows here just sentenced for draft evasion. There was an air raid drill the other day and officials complaining about poor cooperation from people. 

War and loosening social mores were producing changes in American society, and not everyone was comfortable with them. Albert was appalled by local women. Or maybe his letter was an attempt to reassure his lonely bride back home that his eyes weren’t wandering.

The girls up here are awful. Their skirts are 3 to 4 inches above the knee and they smoke more cigarettes than men. More imitation blondes than I ever saw in my life. I’m not laying it on thick, it is the truth with no exaggeration. 

Jean had her own complaints, mostly about her rowdy students. She’d gotten a job in a rural community outside Tampa, teaching eight grades in a one-room schoolhouse.

I’m just a bunch of nerves. You know it’s difficult to keep smiling all day in front of the students when I feel like throwing some of them out on their heads.

As difficult as those war years were, Jean and Albert were sustained by their love letters. Jean’s always closed like this one. 

All my love to you alone. 

Jean

Jean and Albert were married sixty-two years. After Albert’s death, Jean lived another nine years, but she was never truly happy. Her last utterance before her own passing was Albert’s name.

As Albert’s ended like this, from 1941.

I love you, sweetheart.

Your husband

Annie R McEwen is an award-winning author of historical romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense. Her Bound Trilogy from Harbor Lane Books launches on May 7, 2024 with Bound Across Time, a love story that transcends death itself. Annie also has upcoming titles from Bloodhound Books (UK) and The Wild Rose Press. For release dates, giveaways, Annie’s quirky blog, and more, go to www.anniermcewen. Be sure to Subscribe for her fun newsletter and a free Regency Romance story. While you’re at it, visit Annie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anniermcewen/ and Facebook: https://facebook.com/Quillist/ 

Favorite Reads from 2023

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I read 88 books in 2023. And of those 88, I would like to highlight 24 of them (don’t worry, 21 of those are in 3 series).

Bridgerton: When He Was Wicked, It’s in His Kiss, On the Way to the Wedding

I finished the final three books of the Bridgerton series at the start of 2023. They were the perfect way to end the series. Julia Quinn got bolder with the three younger Bridgertons, and it paid off. Francesca is a widow who is fighting her feelings for her deceased husband’s cousin. Hyacinth is an independent woman who doesn’t want to fall in love, so when Lady Danbury’s grandson catches her eye, she doesn’t know what to do. And Gregory… Gregory, Gregory, he’s going to go after a young woman promised to someone else. Hyacinth’s and Gregory’s stories had action and danger that I loved. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses – A Court of Silver Flames

When your editor recommends a book to help with your writing, you follow through. When I finished the first draft of Bondwitch: Hybrid, I asked my editor for advice on a specific plot point. She recommended I read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and the subsequent novels. I have never gobbled up a series so quickly. And a quick paragraph won’t do the series justice. Lucky for you, I already have a detailed analysis for each book right here on the blog. Check them out:

ACOTAR: Beauty and the Beast Meets the Goblet of Fire

Mist and Fury: A Perfect Redemption

Wings and Ruin: The Cost of War

Frost and Starlight: Diversity in Healing

Silver Flames: Overcoming Toxicity

I will say overall, the world building is superb; and Sarah J. Maas gives JK Rowling a run for her money when it comes to morally gray characters. Everyone is flawed. Everyone makes astronomical mistakes. Everyone lies and cheats and steals. And almost everyone earns their redemption. 

Warriors of Sangrin

This series I also wrote a deeper post on. This is a SciFi Romance series by Nancey Cummings. In this world, Earth was invaded by alien invaders called Suhlik. The Suhlik’s enemies, Mahdfel come to Earth’s aid… for a price. That price is in the form of brides as Mahdfel only produce sons, so they must mate with females from other planets. There are 11 stories in the main line and 3 side stories, so far. This series opened me up to alien romances, and I’m addicted. 

The Alpha and Her Hunter

The is one of the best fated mate, werewolf stories I have ever read. The author, Lauren Rutherford, created a unique world building that worked so beautifully. Female werewolves are bigger, stronger, and the leaders of the packs. Hunters have their own powers that differentiate them from regular humans. And if you haven’t figured it out from the title, we have a Romeo and Juliet story going on. Forbidden love. My favorite trope. A female werewolf and a male hunter fall in love, and have to fight their families to be together. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel.   

The King’s Curse

This was the final Plantagenet/Tudor book left for me to read by Philippa Gregory. It’s Margaret Pole’s turn to tell her story, and I’d venture to say that this is one of Gregory’s longer books in respect to how much time is covered (it’s still her typical 600-page novel). We jump into Margaret’s story around the time that Princess Katherine from Spain is arriving to marry Arthur, following her life to the day Margaret was executed. Her execution was confusing to the court and historians. Catherine Howard had recently been executed for adultery, and Margaret had not been close to being involved in that. The most probable reason is that Henry still felt threatened by her and her sons since they were the remaining York family, and could distantly claim the throne. I really enjoyed learning about Margaret’s life through Gregory’s historical fiction. She’s always been a side character with few notable moments in the other novels, and with The King’s Curse she gets to take center stage. I loved seeing a human side to her, rather than the perfect ally to Katherine and Mary that she is usually depicted as. Though she did stay loyal to Henry’s first family, she still had her own trials that she had to focus on and make difficult decisions to protect her name, family, and property. And now, it’s the end of an era. 15 years, and I’ve finally read about the main Plantagenet and Tudor women.  

The Lycan Prince’s Huntress

This is the the prequel to a fated-mate-werewolf romance called Prince Reagan. In some omegaverse world building, there is a shifter called a lycan. Lycans are a more powerful version of werewolves. Depending on the author and their imagination, lycans can walk on their hindlegs in their wolf form (I kind of imagine Remus Lupin from Harry Potter, but more muscular), they live longer (or are full on immortal), they are the royal pack/family that regular werewolf packs have to bow down to, etc. The Lycan Prince’s Huntress can be found on the reading app Dreame. In this story, the FMC is the daughter of the head hunter; and their clan hunts werewolves and lycans. The MMC is the crowned prince of the Lycan Kingdom. And these two are fated mates. Forbidden love, enemies to lovers, Romeo and Juliet. And since those are my favorite tropes, I lapped this story right up. Also, it was an added bonus that the FMC wasn’t a sniveling weakling who becomes a jellied donut in the presence of her mate. 

And those were my favorite books I read last year. What are your favorite books from 2023? Let me know in the comments! 

If Sookie Stackhouse Could Talk to Ghosts: Spirit in Tow

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

If Sookie Stackhouse could talk to ghosts and spoke her mind the first time, you’d have Marni Legend, the star of Spirit in Tow by Terry Segan.

I originally went into this book blind, and was hooked on the first page, having no idea what kind of story I was getting myself into. Marni is in the over 40 club, a divorcee, and she can see and talk to ghosts. Spirits visit her for help with unfinished business so they can move on. Her newest client appears when she’s trying to go to her own mother’s funeral. 

This opening scene shows us how her gift works. She can see and talk to ghosts when they make themselves known and visible to her. As her mother’s funeral gets underway, we learn that her brother can hear ghosts, just not see them. Her sister cannot see or hear ghosts, but believes they are there when her siblings talk to and about them. This is an inherited gift that Marni’s grandmother also had. Also, Marni and her sister being on the opposite ends of the ghost communicating spectrum has put them at odds for years, and there’s a lot of sister drama throughout the story. 

Marni’s newest client is named Gus, and it took him a long time to figure he was dead, decades to be exact. So Marni gets the pleasure of solving a cold case. Gus is selfish, crass, and as emotional as an overgrown toddler. He also gets Marni tangled up in a crime ring. But Marni has been given this responsibility to see souls to the other side, so she is firm and patient with him as she tries to help him – God bless her.   

While trying to help Gus figure out how he died, Marni meets a new paramour, Jake, who happens to be Gus’ older brother. Jake is the best written character, in my opinion. Every new scene with him gave me whiplash, but once again, in a good way. Terry Segan did an excellent job with him. She kept me changing my mind about him and guessing to the very end.  

Marni also has the chance to rekindle her relationship with her high school sweetheart, Kendal; creating a love triangle between her, Kendal, and Jake. Both Marni, and Kendal were burned by their previous spouses. They know each other, they are comfortable with each other. 

And I’m honored to end this review with a Q&A with Terry Segan herself.

I haven’t read very many ghost stories, so I had no preconceived expectations on world building. Can you walk us through your world building when it comes to what ghosts can and can’t do, who gets the gift, and how do ghosts find them?

Having read several books involving ghosts, I’ve noticed one thing each author does—set up their own set of rules. With so many paranormal stories available, I find it refreshing when a writer can add a new twist. The key is to remain consistent throughout the book or series. For my Marni Legend series, I wanted
the interaction between a ghost and the humans who see them to have a natural feel to the situation. Since I chose to have this as a family trait and occurring in every other generation, this enabled Marni to have knowledge of how to react. Since my character is in her late forties, this has given her decades of practice and self-assurance in her gift. In my books, the ghosts are able to recognize people possessing the ability to see them and vice versa. As far as finding the ghosts, the living come upon them in the general area of either their death or where their body lies.

As a reader, I found Gus extremely frustrating (but I DO love flawed characters, they keep the story full of promise). If I was Marni, I would have told him to take a hike and solve his own death. How did you create Gus as a character, and how did he influence the plot from your end as the writer?

Since I’m a pantser and not a plotter, I didn’t have a full picture of Gus’ character when I began. I knew there would be verbal sparring between Marni and Gus, and he would want to come off as a tough guy. I agree with you, Marni should have told him to take a hike more than once when he withheld important (read life- threatening) information on purpose as opposed to details he couldn’t remember. As his character developed throughout the book, I also wanted Marni to see his occasional soft side, that we know almost every tough guy has, despite trying to hide it. It’s those cracks in his armor that kept Marni wanting to solve his murder and free his soul. With Gus’ cast of associates still alive and kicking, it allowed
me as a writer to put Marni into a number of comical or dangerous situations that kept the story moving forward.

I see that your latest book, Manatee Soul, is a continuation of Marni’s adventures. How many adventures do you have planned for Marni and her siblings?

Manatee Soul has Marni and her sister, Gloria, going on a girls’ trip to Crystal River, Florida. While still told from Marni’s point of view, both sisters get equal appearance time. Right now, I don’t have a set number of books in mind. As long as I can conjure up fun storylines, I’ll keep the series going. I’ve begun writing the third Marni Legend book, and this one will feature her brother, Calvin, while Gloria takes a back seat. The story also returns to Marni’s hometown of Northport where there are plenty of stories to tell from past and present characters.

What’s next in your writing career?

To keep writing, of course! My next release is another stand alone entitled, Five Steps to Celestia. It comes out this spring and will take readers on the journey of a woman trying to piece together her past. After losing her memory twenty-two years prior, a little mysticism, a string of odd occurrences, and a menacing
stranger prompt her to remember—and not all of her past is hearts and sunshine. Look for it in May 2024.

I normally rotate through a few books at a time. But Spirit in Tow was so captivating, that I paused my other reading to finish this one. If you like murder mystery with a dash of paranormal, then I highly recommend Spirit in Tow. 

Follow Terry at her website: https://terrysegan.com/

Holiday Highlight: Mistletoe in the City by Amber Daulton

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

It’s Christmas and holiday cheer is in the air, but Krista Hartley and Derek Weston from my steamy New Adult romance, Mistletoe in the City, are too stressed to care. She needs a breather from her overbearing parents, so she’s out apartment hunting and spending the weekends at a craft fair to make some extra money. Derek is super busy as the groundskeeper and handyman at his mom’s apartment complex to even worry about decorating his own place. When Krista winds up as his new tenant, he’s determined to right the wrongs from his and Krista’s shared past, but will they find a happily ever after this snowy holiday season?

Hi, everyone. I’m Amber Daulton, the author of Mistletoe in the City. Christmas is my second favorite holiday, right behind Halloween, so I was thrilled to write this hot holiday novella. Actually, I wrote it several years ago as part of a Christmas anthology with my former publisher, but the rights have reverted to me, so I’m re-releasing it with a fresh edit, blurb, and cover. Also, it’s twice as long as it used to be and now clocks in at about 35,000 words with new scenes, subplots, and revised characterizations.

Krista and Derek are your average young twenty-somethings struggling to make their way in an uncertain world. From overprotective parents and peer pressure from some not-so-good friends, they have their work cut out for them in trying to build a real relationship. With Christmas right around the corner, they’re each trying to live up to their family’s expectations and still be true to who they are. That’s not always so easy, and I’m sure readers can relate to feeling stressed and wishing the holiday season would fly by sooner rather than later.

For good or bad, Christmas is here again. Let’s hunker down and brave the wintery chill as best we can, hopefully with a new book to keep us grounded and relaxed in our off-time. Thanks for reading!

Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats. Follow and connect with Amber at her website: https://amberdaulton.com/

Derek’s world is about to change forever—again.
After his father’s stroke, Derek Weston dropped out of college and returned home to help his parents
with the family business, Oak Landing Apartments. Now living on the premises as the groundskeeper
and handyman, he never expected the girl he’d secretly crushed on in high school to move into a unit
right before Christmas or stir up desires he thought long gone.
Krista Hartley needs a fresh start away from her overbearing parents, but falling for the tattooed hottie
who ignored her back in school wasn’t in the plans. Despite old hurts, Derek’s hot kisses and strong
arms offer the shelter she craves.
When another woman sets her sight on Derek and drives a wedge between him and Krista, they’ll have
to decide if their relationship is real, or just a winter fling.

Add to Goodreads – https://bit.ly/MistletoeInTheCityGoodreads
Check it out on BookBub – https://bit.ly/MistletoeInTheCityBookbub

New Release: Stonebridge by Linda Griffin

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Linda Griffin’s latest book, Stonebridge, released November 1st. Get to know Linda and her paranormal romance:

Stonebridge Manor is a Georgian mansion in Virginia, owned for centuries by the somewhat reclusive Demeray family. In 1958 Edwina Demeray lives there with her disabled scholar great-grandson Ted and has commanded her great-granddaughter Rynna to join them. One more resident may be present too—the ghost of Rosalind, the murdered cousin of Rynna’s mother.

I enjoy ghost stories and always wanted to write one. I’m also intrigued with characters who come to live with strangers. When I put the two ideas together, Rynna’s story began to take shape. It changed direction, though, when I fell in love with the man the character of Ted was based on, and he took over the story.

I am very much a pantser. My characters have minds of their own and take me where they will. It took me about a year to write Stonebridge, and then I spent another four months obsessively re-writing the ending. The only way I could get myself to stop revising was to wonder what came next and start writing the sequel, Beyond Stonebridge, which is also under contract with the Wild Rose Press. Ideally, I would prefer to write in the morning, but my characters laugh at schedules. Unfortunately, they prefer to talk to me in the evening, often when I’m trying to sleep, and I have to keep a notebook by my bed so I can take dictation.

An earlier version of Stonebridge was published by Winston-Derek Publishers, Inc. in 1994. It’s been out of print for a long time, but I was only recently able to regain the rights. I’ve learned a lot since then, so I think the new version is better written. The story is the same, but some details have been changed, and while the first version was vaguely set in the post-Vietnam era, the new one starts in 1958, a better fit for Rynna’s somewhat unliberated attitude.

Linda Griffin decided to become a “book maker” as soon as she learned to read and wrote her first story when she was six. She retired as fiction librarian for the San Diego Public Library to spend more time on her writing. Her short stories have been published in numerous journals, and Stonebridge is her eighth book from the Wild Rose Press. Connect with Linda at her website: https://www.lindagriffinauthor.com/index.htm

After the death of her mother, Rynna Dalton comes to live with her imperious great- grandmother and her bookish, disabled cousin Ted at Stonebridge Manor. Almost immediately she is aware of a mysterious presence, which she believes is the spirit of her mother’s murdered cousin, Rosalind. Rynna is charmed by Rosalind’s lawyer son Jason Wyatt, who courts her, and she agrees to marry him. Meanwhile Ted and Rynna become good friends. But Stonebridge holds secrets that will profoundly affect her future. Why is Ted so opposed to the match? Why does Rosalind seem to warn Rynna against it? And how far will Jason go to possess Stonebridge—and the woman he professes to love?

Stonebridge can be purchased here:

https://www.amazon.com/Stonebridge-Linda-Griffin-ebook/dp/B0CGG1TN31
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1000585740
https://books.apple.com/us/book/stonebridge/id6463164419

An Oldie, but a Goodie: From Here to Fourteenth Street by Diana Rubino

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

From Here to Fourteenth Street was re-released in 2015 with The Wild Rose Press, after I revised it and gave it a new title. It was originally titled I love You Because with my first publisher. It’s the first in a trilogy, The New York Saga, featuring 3 generations of the McGlory family. Tom McGlory, an Irish New York cop, and Vita Caputo, an Italian immigrant from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, meet and fall in love despite the overwhelming odds against them in 1894. They overcome economic hardship, prejudice, hatred, and corruption in this tumultuous world.

Book Two, Bootleg Broadway, is set during the Prohibition era and features Tom and Vita’s son Billy, a scatterbrained musical genius. My objective was to get him into one mess after another, and had no trouble doing that, once I got to know Billy.

In Book Three, The End of Camelot, Billy’s daughter Vikki is the heroine. Set around the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963, Vikki realizes her husband Jack was embroiled in the plot to kill the president, but his mission was to prevent it. Jack was found dead in the bathtub of his hotel in Dallas, the same day of the assassination. When the Dallas police rule his death accidental, Vikki vows to find out who was behind the murders of JFK and her husband. With the help of her father and godfather, she sets out to uncover the truth.

My inspiration for From Here to Fourteenth Street was my great-grandmother; businesswoman, politician, small-time bootlegger, wife and mother. She was way ahead of her time. I modeled Vita after her, and since 19th Century New York City history always fascinated me, it came naturally to weave her story through that world, brining sights, sounds and smells of the streets and tenements to life.

I am a strict plotter – I work out a detailed outline, and for the last few decades, I’ve been using the Donald Maass workbook Writing Your Breakout Novel. It contains questions to ask your characters and explains how to outline your story. I find it invaluable for structuring my stories.

For this and most of my historicals, I usually spend about a year researching and writing. I write 2,500 words every day, and don’t quit until I’ve reached that goal.

Diana writes about folks through history who shook things up. Her passion for history and travel has taken her to every locale of her books: Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. Her urban fantasy romance Fakin’ It won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. She is a member of the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. With her husband Chris, she owns CostPro, Inc., a construction cost consulting business. In her spare time, Diana bicycles, golfs, practices yoga, lifts weights, plays her piano, devours books, and lives the dream on Cape Cod.

Connect with Diana at www.dianarubino.com

It’s 1894 on New York’s Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita’s father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. The story has a paranormal twist – Vita and Tom work together against time and prejudice to clear her brother and father of a murder they didn’t commit, as Vita’s friend Jadwiga, a medium, helps them find the killer with some help from the otherworld – and some creative thinking.

When Once Upon A Dream Has A Beast: Bloodstone

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

“I know you

I walked with you 

Once upon a dream

I know you

The gleam in your eyes

Is so familiar a gleam…”

The adult version of Sleeping Beauty involves sensual dreams with a sexy, but faceless hunk; who also happens to be a beast – at least, that’s how others view him.

In Bloodstone by Helen C. Johannes, the heroine Mirianna has a dream lover who makes the men in her village pale in comparison. So Mirianna has saved herself for this dream man, constantly searching for him during the day. 

Durren has been cursed for fifteen years. No one can look upon his face without dying. So he completely covers himself in black clothing from head to foot, earning the feared nickname of the Shadow Man. He also dreams of a beauty who shudders under his touch for reasons other than fear. 

“And I know it’s true

That visions are seldom

As they seem.

But if I know you

I know what you’ll do.

You’ll love me at once

The way you did

Once upon a dream.”

Except that’s not what happens when Mirianna and Durren finally meet in person. Durren is in possession of the legendary bloodstones (gems made from dragon blood), and Mirianna’s father needs them to make jewelry for a client. Mirianna fears the Shadow Man and feels manipulated by him when she learns her dream lover is the legendary beast of the land. And Durren feels unworthy of Mirianna’s affections. But he gives in to his urges, and uses the threat of the real beast, Krad, to take Mirianna home with him. If she agrees to live with him, he’ll save the rest of her traveling party from the Krad. 

“Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

Just a little change

Small to say the least 

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Beauty and the beast.” 

Mirianna and Durren will navigate treachery, past mistakes, and life threatening plots with the help of a lioness and a blind boy. Amongst the danger and drama, they will be given the opportunity to fall in love and save the world.

I’m excited to introduce you to Helen C. Johannes, who has agreed to an interview. Helen is the author of three fantastic high fantasy romances: The Prince of Val-Feyridge, The Lord or Druemarwin, and Bloodstone. And a mid-grade fantasy Frederick Fly-Catcher. Helen lives in the Midwest with her husband and grown children.

How did you come up with bloodstones? Are they based on any existing jewel or gemstone?

They are loosely based on the Apache tear and obsidian. The Apache tear is darkly translucent, and obsidian is such a deep, glossy black, like clotted blood. I wanted something that would both be petrified hard and yet capable of radiating light when struck by the sun.

How I came up with the idea goes back to my father’s expeditions to Alaska to dredge for gold, and the stories he told about finding garnets among the gold flecks while panning. That’s the inspiration for the Shadow Man panning the stream in the early chapters and encountering the she-lion. My father and his friends, fortunately, never encountered anything larger than Alaskan ground squirrels.

I really admire your worldbuilding creativity in not just Bloodstone, but The Prince of Val-Feyridge and The Lord of Drumarwin. How do you come up with these lands, histories, cultures, and names? How much time does it take to create such extensive worlds?

This is challenging to answer since I’m very much an “into the mist” writer, and I create what I need when I need it, seemingly out of the stuff of my imagination. However, I’ve been fortunate to have traveled widely in Europe and the UK and to have studied medieval history before I concentrated on German and English language and literature. That connection to very old places and the treasure trove of myths, legends, and fairy tales, along with a love of tramping through castles, has given me a pretty solid grounding. You’ll probably recognize some Germanic as well as Old English in my names of people and places. And I must not forget mentioning how much The Lord of the Rings affected me when I read the books as a high school senior.

As far as names, some come almost instantly along with the full character (Rees and Pumble), some require refining or changing entirely (Syryk, Brandelmore), and some take half the book to decide what they want to be called (I’m looking at you, Shadow Man).

Were the connections to beloved fairy tales deliberate?

Having a big, illustrated collection of fairy tales as my first remembered childhood book probably is the reason fairy tales resonate with me. That and growing up on Disney’s animated versions of those tales. I don’t know that the connection is always deliberate so much as that the tales are archetypal stories embedded in our culture.

Bloodstone at its heart is a Beauty-and-the-Beast-type story, and I had that in mind from the beginning, but for The Prince of Val-Feyridge and Lord of Druemarwin, the Cinderella and Princess and the Pea connections arose organically from the characters and their journeys.

What are you currently working on? Do readers get to return to any previous worlds? Or are you bringing us someplace new?

I’ve just published my second children’s book, The Dis’Aster Family’s Halloween, a picture book based on characters my children created. My first children’s book is Frederick Fly-Catcher, a middle grade fantasy chapter book. Currently, I’m working on a throwback 1960’s YA romantic suspense/gothic (there’s something freeing about a setting that’s pre-computers and cell phones). And I’m mulling a return to a novella in the Crown of Tolem world. I gave myself plenty of characters to work with there.

Helen C. Johannes is one of my favorite fantasy authors. She has such an amazing imagination when it comes to world building, and a talent with words to show the reader that magical world. The clear connections between beloved fairy tales made the foreshadowing and guessing that much more fun. If you like your high fantasy intertwined with romance, then Bloodstone is for you. 

Follow Helen at her blog: https://helencjohannes.blogspot.com/

The Alien Stories I Do Like…

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I do not care for alien invasion movies, except for Independence Day. Super 8 was pretty good as well. But the rest? Two thumbs down. 

I came across a book called Princess by Mistake by Aurelia Skye. The blurb gave a description of a bounty hunter chasing down a runaway princess in order to return her to the prince she’s supposed to marry. Said bounty hunter captures the wrong woman, the female MC. They go on an adventure as he tries to take her to this mysterious prince and she tries to convince him she’s not the missing princess.

What I failed to understand from the blurb was that all the characters, except the female MC, were aliens. By the time I figured that out, I thought, “I’m already reading it for free. I might as well give it a try.” I LOVED it. And ever since, I have fallen down the alien romance rabbit hole.

Princess by Mistake has a “sequel” called Wrong Place, Right Mate. It takes place two hundred years later, and neither character is connected to the original characters. It simply takes place in the same world and the male aliens are from the same planet. A scientist from earth crashlands on the wrong planet. A bounty hunter alien comes across her and takes her on his hunting adventure. It was wonderful as well. The epilogue implies more are coming and I’m anxiously waiting. 

The next author I came across was Nancey Cummings. She has two of her own alien romance series, and has a book in 3 different multi-author alien romance series.

Her first and largest series is Warriors of Sangrin. There are currently 11 books in the main series, and 3 side stories. This series covers life after an alien invasion opens Earth up to the rest of the universe. The invading species, the Shulik, murder all of Earth’s leaders on international television, plunging the unprepared terrans (what other species call humans) into a war for their lives. The Mahdfel show up and ally with earth to defeat the Shulik. The Mahdfel have a very specific treaty negotiation for this alliance: brides. Mahdfel are a warrior species who are genetically engineered to produce only males, so they must mate with females from other planets. 

The scent of their fated mate calls to them, and one of their top scientists invents a mouth swab test to speed up the mate finding process. Females of marriageable age living on Mahdfel-allied planets must submit to testing once a year. The year they match, they are transported across the stars to wherever their mate is. Health conditions, already being married, being engaged, or already having children can exempt a female from being tested. And many of our heroines will do such things to avoid the test – at first. 

Each book covers a novella length adventure for a different couple. However, they are all interconnected via siblings, best friends, being in the same clan, or dealing with the same villain. Like the previous alien stories, I fell into this one by accident and read two of the side stories and the 8th book before I discovered the correct order. I was hooked from chapter 1, and have only the 11th book left to read. You can find a list of completed works here: https://nanceycummings.com/warlord-brides-universe/. 

Nancey’s second series is called Tail and Claw. I have only read the first one, Have Tail, Will Travel. So I’m not as well-versed in the lore and worldbuilding as I am the Warriors of Sangrin. But what I can tell so far is that Earth is aware of aliens and has relationships with the rest of the universe. There is a dating app called Celestial Mates that matches sentient beings based on a questionnaire. They get married over a tablet, and one of them travels to wherever the other is. 

Have Tail, Will Travel reminds me of that old children’s book Sarah, Plain and Tall. A human woman is matched with an alien male, Merit, who has ended up as sole guardian of his orphaned niece and nephew. Merit uses Celestial Mates to find a female to be a nanny. His “nanny” wants love and adventure. They’ll have to overcome their miscommunication amongst dangerous monsters and a plotting sister-in-law.

I’m excited to read the rest of the series.

The intimacy scenes for both series are at a heat level of spicy.  

And that’s where I’m at with my latest guilty pleasure. Once I get caught up on Nancey Cummings’ books, I’ll definitely be checking out other authors like her. 

Do you like alien stories? What’s your favorite? (They don’t have to be a romance.) Let me know in the comments!

Giving in to the HEA

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

It was October 2021, and I was trying to figure out if I had accidentally written a romance when I was trying to write a fantasy adventure. I had experienced a less than successful response from beta readers. Most didn’t finish, and different versions of the same reason stuck out: “I didn’t know this was going to be a romance.”

It’s not. I mean, there’s a romantic subplot that is heavily intertwined with the main plot (and the romantic subplot does become the main plot of the sequel). But if the romance isn’t the main plot, then it’s not a romance, right? With this confusion, I had to stop preparing a query letter and research romance, because I needed to query the right publishers.

I came across a week-long webinar all about writing romance put on by ProWriting Aid called “Romance Writers Week.” Almost every presenter stressed the same thing: in order for a story to qualify as a romance, the relationship between the love interests is the focus of the story and it must end in Happy-Ever-After (HEA) or Happy-For-Now (HFN). 

Right away, I was like, “Um, excuse me? What about Nicholas Sparks?” Someone else asked that question, but more respectfully. The presenter said, “Nicholas Sparks doesn’t write romance, he writes love stories.” It turns out, a love story does not require a HEA, but a romance does.  

As I talked to other writers and studied what makes a romance a romance, I was correct in originally thinking that I did not write a romance. But the romantic subplot was important enough that I needed to market to romance readers, and make sure the subplot matched romance expectations. But I struggled with the HEA/HFN aspect. I felt like if the ending required a guarantee that the romantic interests end up together, then if a story is a romance, the ending is already spoiled the moment I open the book.

I went through a little identity crisis as a romance reader. The love stories I have read where the couple goes their separate ways or one of them dies, gave me enough pause to believe that any romance could end that way. So the tension and roller coasters the characters go through, I went through with them. But knowing ahead of time they are going to overcome it, temporarily took that magic away from me. I felt like “the man behind the curtain” had been exposed, and I was struggling with what I saw.

In the next romance I read after learning about HEA, the female MC was in a carriage accident. The final sentence of that chapter is, “And he watched his wife die.” I snorted and rolled my eyes. No he didn’t. She can’t die if this is a romance. The next romance I read had a gunshot at the end of a chapter, but who did the bullet hit? Well, before turning the page, I knew it wasn’t the female MC. How was I ever going to enjoy a romance again?

As I reached out to other romance readers about this identity crisis, most of them said something along the lines of, “I like knowing I’m guaranteed a happy ending. I read romance to feel happy. So it’s not about a surprise ending. It’s about the journey. How is the author going to bring them tension, danger, and drama to test their relationship? How are they going to overcome it? Is the journey believable, relatable, and entertaining?”

It took me a while to accept that mindset. And I had to read through several romances where I practiced viewing the story from that angle. But I eventually got it, and I’m back to enjoying romances. 

This has also helped me in my own writing. Since as the author, I know the ending, I need to make sure that the journey to that ending is believable, relatable, and entertaining for my readers. 

Are you a romance reader? What’s your favorite romance? What’s your favorite type of romance or trope?

When History and Magic Collide: Stone Heart

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

When a book is close to its release date, the author usually offers ARCs (Advance Reader Copy). Readers get a FREE copy with the hope that they will provide an early review. I’m so excited and honored to have read Stone Heart by Kitty Shields early. 

Stone Heart combines my two loves: history and magic. I actually haven’t read a lot of fantasy stories that take place in the past, and I found I really enjoyed such a combination.

Our hero, Edward, the Marquess of Winchester has struggled for the past decade. His father died in the colonist rebellion (a.k.a. The American Revolution), thrusting the noble mantle on him much earlier than anticipated. He thought he found love with his best friend’s cousin, Phoebe, but knowledge of her past causes him to end things. The story opens with Edward attending the opening night of a new opera, accompanied by his mother and a new young woman his mother wants him to court. The lead singer dies on stage in front of the entire audience. 

Edward gets wrapped up in the investigation and learns that Phoebe is in danger of dying in a similar way. Although he is still convinced that their relationship is over, Edward isn’t so cold he would allow Phoebe to die, so he races to the continent to save Phoebe. On his journey, Edward will learn to accept help from old friends, new friends, and unexpected allies. What true love is and what lengths one goes to get that love is the center of all characters’ motivations and actions. Different types of love are explored throughout the story that gives hope for a happily ever after.

When it comes to the historical aspects of the story, Kitty Shields does an excellent job of weaving the aftermath of the war into her characters’ lives and conversation. She also puts several real people and places into the story as side characters. I didn’t know about any of them, and so I appreciated the appendix at the end of the book that gave the factual history of each person and why Kitty chose to put them in her story.

The magic in Stone Heart was really unique. There are descendents of a mythical creature called a stone giant. The stone giants had the ability to remove their hearts from their chests to prevent themselves from dying in battle. Their descendants can grow their heart into a red diamond and give it to their love for safe keeping. Phoebe does this and gives her heart to Edward. He doesn’t fully understand or believe, so he unintentionally literally breaks her heart. 

While Edward is racing to save Phoebe, he runs into Roma travelers, who also participate in different forms of magic. The types of magic the reader gets to experience with the Roma are sending nightmares to their slumbering victims, reading tarot cards, listening to the wind, and using flowers for spells. There is even one paranormal monster that Edward has to fight in a cemetery. 

The third and final plot line that makes Stone Heart so great is a side character who stole the show: Tilton. Tilton is a young aristocrat going on his rite of passage tour of Europe. Tilton is energetic and friendly, two things Edward is not. Tilton inserts himself into Edward’s quest and ends up going on an adventure. Tilton is my absolute favorite part of the story. 

In reviewing this lighthearted adventure, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interview the author, and she agreed! So, without further ado, I present Kitty Shields.

Introduce yourself as a person and a writer.

Hello, Gentle Readers. I am Kitty Shields. I live outside Philadelphia with a black cat named Jinx who is plotting to kill me. I started writing as a way to cope with insomnia when I was a kid. When I couldn’t fall asleep, I’d sneak downstairs, hop on a computer, and write weird stories. Well, first I’d go down and play video games, but after a while I beat all the games and turned to writing.

As a writer, I start with a nugget of emotion and a scene. So Stone Heart came from the opening scene of Edward on the docks heading to the ship filled with regret. My book Pillar of Heaven, which is like The Devil Wears Prada as an urban fantasy, began with the main protagonist dealing with crappy customers at her barista job and her planning to sabotage all their lattes. The story Star Eater, which is about a sleep-walking teenage boy and his demon, began with him waking up on a golf course in the middle of the night.

I imagine these tiny scenes and from there I build the stories forwards and backwards, adding a dash of magic as I go.

What inspired Stone Heart?

Like I said, Stone Heart evolved from that opening scene. I clearly saw this guy on the docks heading towards a ship and weighed down with regret because of something he had done, so much so that he wasn’t sure he would sink the ship or not. I really liked the notion of emotions manifesting to the point where it brings about this leap of faith moment—is he going to survive getting on the ship or not?

At the time, I was in grad school getting my writing degree and I was experimenting with different genres and voices. I had never tried historical fiction before so this was an initial experiment. My cohort hated it. They hated everything about it: the voice, the scene, the allusions to mythology, the flowery language. They ripped it apart.

That was a little disheartening, so I put it aside. But that character and scene kept drawing me back. Every now and then I’d revisit the story and write a moment here or there. Nothing was really connected yet just a bunch of ideas. Tilton came from one of those exercises. I had began filling out Edward’s journey on the boat and it depressed me! So I created Tilton to cut through Edward’s melancholy and bring some humor into the story.

If you want to learn more about Stone Heart or perhaps see who I’d cast for each of the characters, check out my website: https://www.kittyshieldsauthor.com/stoneheart.html .

I really enjoyed the historical slang, though most of it I had never heard of before. Would you introduce these fun words to our readers and what they mean?

Sure! Here are some fun words for you:

Toffs: Slang for someone with an aristocratic background or belonging to the landed gentry, particularly someone who exudes an air of superiority.

Dandy: a man unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion in dress and appearance.

Roma: a people originating in South Asia and traditionally having an itinerant way of life, living widely dispersed across Europe and North and South America and speaking a language (Romani) that is related to Hindi. Commonly known as gypsies, although that is a derogatory word.

Doshman: a word that means ‘enemy.’

It’s clear you did extensive historical research for the historical aspects of Stone Heart. What about the magical aspects? Was any magic inspired by European folklore of the day? Or did you make it all up?

Yes, the magic threads are all based on actual myths. I did a lot of research which, to be honest, was a lot of fun. It was more of a challenge to edit out what I really didn’t need. Hrungnir is a Viking giant and he could remove his heart so that when he went into battle, no one could kill him. The part I made up was about his descendants, about this line of families that could grow gems out of their chests.

Revenants are souls of the damned that come back. Based on the Old French word, revenir, which means ‘to return.’ The part I made up was them sucking the life force out of victims. Even the smaller bits, like the farnblume, is based on a Baltic myth about a healing flower. Most of what you’ll find in the story is based on a real myth. I invite you to look something up if it intrigues. I fully blame most of the story on falling down some really interesting research rabbit holes.

The side characters are so fascinating. Particularly Tilton. Will we see any of them again in future works? What’s next in your writing career?

Yes! Tilton is definitely my favorite and he will return. The sequel will be Tilton’s story. I’ll tease you with the title: Crow Heart. I’ve already gotten a first draft done and am in the middle of editing. The third book will follow Halkerstone. I’ve also got a few ideas for side stories. I’d love to see more of the St. Germaines; they were a blast to write. And who knows what other fun characters will appear on the way.

Stone Heart releases August 16, 2023.