In honor of Valentine's Day week, my favorite fictional couples!

On Goodreads this month, because of Valentine’s Day, I received an author question asking me who my favorite fictional couple was. And since said holiday was this past Tuesday, I thought I’d make my post on Here Be Magic today an expanded version of my answer to that question!

So here you all go, in no particular order, my list of ten of my favorite fictional couples:

#1:

Heroine: Luthien Tinuviel

Hero: Beren

Source: The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Why I like them: Because they are a shining example of a romance in which both involved parties actively contribute to the story. In particular, I love that Luthien takes on no less than Morgoth himself, the biggest bad in Middle-Earth EVER, to save her man.

#2:

Heroine: Sira di Sarc

Hero: Jason Morgan

Source: A Thousand Words for Stranger, by Julie E. Czerneda

Why I like them: This was the Czerneda book that made me fall in love with this woman’s writing, and decide that she was the writer I wanted to write like when I grew up. The story starts with the “captain with a heart of gold takes on mysterious stowaway” trope and I’m a sucker for that. Once the truly staggering strength of Sira’s telepathic gifts is revealed, I adore how Jason does not flinch from standing at her side.

#3:

Heroine: Amelia P. Emerson

Hero: Emerson

Source: The entire Amelia Peabody series, by Elizabeth Peters

Why I like them: Because Amelia is a parasol-wielding force of nature, because Emerson is adorably gruff, and because I love how every scene-closing cry from Amelia of “Oh, Emerson!” is totally code for “and then sex was on”. ;D Plus I love their mutual proposal to one another at the end of Book 1, and Amelia’s assertion that “I embroider very badly. I think I would excavate very well.”

#4:

Heroine: Nefret

Hero: Ramses Emerson

Source: ALSO the entire Amelia Peabody series, by Elizabeth Peters

Why I like them: Because I adore how the series outlines the developing relationship between these two characters, from when they meet as children (and Nefret is established as the only living creature capable of making Ramses shut up) clear up to when they finally declare love for one another. He Shall Thunder in the Sky, when that climactic resolution finally happens, is one of my very favorite books in the entire series.

#5:

Heroine: Isabella, Lady Trent

Hero: Suhail

Source: The Memoirs of Lady Trent series, by Marie Brennan

Why I like them: The dynamic between these two had strong callbacks for me to the aforementioned Amelia and Emerson, in no small part because what draws them together is mutual interest in science. Also, their mutual interest in science is all about dragons! Which is awesome. +1 as well for Suhail coming from an Arabic-analogue culture, which makes him a hero of color.

#6:

Heroine: Marion Ravenwood

Hero: Indiana Jones

Source: The Indiana Jones movies, but in particular, Raiders of the Lost Ark

Why I like them: There are REASONS Raiders of the Lost Ark is my all time favorite movie. But the ones that are pertinent to this list is the crackling chemistry between Indy and Marion all throughout the movie, starting with how she greets him with a punch to the jaw. Also, Harrison Ford.

#7:

Heroine: Leia Organa

Hero: Han Solo

Source: The Star Wars movies, but in particular, The Empire Strikes Back

Why I like them: See previous commentary re: mmmmmm Harrison Ford mmmmmmm. Also every single one of their scenes together in Empire. <3 “I’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee!” “I can arrange that!”

#8:

Heroine: Lois Lane

Hero: Clark Kent/Superman

Source: Multiple adaptations in TV and movies, but in particular, Christopher Reeves’ original Superman movie, the 90’s TV show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and the WB Superman, Batman, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited cartoons

Why I like them: Because all my favorite implementations of Lois stay true to her core as a fearless reporter, and all my favorite implementations of Clark/Supes uphold his inherent heroism. And when they’re thrown together, their feelings for one another are radiant. Of my three favorite Superman adaptations, I’m most partial to Lois and Clark, because Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain spent all of season 1 being adorable cinnamon rolls at each other. <3

#9:

Heroine: Buffy Summers

Hero: Angel

Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Why I like them: Because Buffy and Angel were delicious, delicious angst. “Ohnoez they can never actually be together” (for values of ‘be together’ meaning ‘actually have sex’) “because Angel will turn evil!” And, of course, they went there, which leads to one of Buffy’s most badass moments at the end of season 2 and arguably in the entire series.

#10:

Heroine: Dana Scully

Hero: Fox Mulder

Source: The X-Files

Why I like them: Because through so much of the early seasons of the show, they took the time to set up deep working trust between these two characters. So when we finally got signs that the relationship was turning romantic, it felt like a logical progression to me. I could argue for hours about how the relationship has played out since then—but for purposes of this post, I’ll simply say that Mulder and Scully: yep, I ship it.

How about the rest of you? Tell me about your favorite fictional couples in the comments!

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Angela may not be a romance writer, but she is absolutely a romantic sucker and has love stories in both her urban fantasy Free Court of Seattle series (written as Angela Korra'ti) and the high fantasy trilogy Rebels of Adalonia (written as Angela Highland). If you've read her books, come tell her which characters you ship at angelahighland.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter! And if you haven't read her books, she invites you to start. ;D

What to Do with a Naked Man in Your Front Yard - STORM WARRIOR

Every writer has certain parts of their stories that they find particularly FUN to write. My favorite has always been when the Hero and Heroine encounter each other for the very first time. And this month, the theme of the HERE BE MAGIC BLOG just happens to be "First Meetings". 

I had a hard time deciding on which of my characters to feature (as usual, they all wanted to participate!), but in the end, I chose the couple from Book 1 of my Grim Series. Hope you enjoy it! And be sure to check out the SALE on the first 3 ebooks in the series at the bottom of the page.

EXCERPT from STORM WARRIOR by Dani Harper

Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback and AUDIBLE

Morgan pressed the sharp tip of the garden hoe against the throat of the man lying in the grass. “Okay Reese, what the hell are you doing here on my front lawn? You’ve got no car, no keys and no clothes. How’d you get here?”

“My name is Rhys.” He corrected, pronouncing it with a single roll of the r, just as Nainie had said her r’s all her life. As did every Welsh person Morgan had met on her trip, from the hotel clerks to the shopkeepers to the tour directors. “And it was you brought me here.”

“I’m pretty sure I’d remember that. Now, where did you come from?”

“I was a warrior of my clan until I was captured by the Roman invaders. They forced me to fight in the arena at Isca Silurum and named me The Bringer of Death for my skills. I thought I knew hell then, but I had not truly found it until I escaped from them.”

Good grief, was he high on something? The Bringer of Death… Somebody had been playing way too many video games. “Good for you. Ten points for originality. Let me guess, you were drinking last night, and your friends decided to play a prank on you. They stole your clothes and dumped you at the wrong place. Am I close?”

“A prank.” He seemed to consider that. “Yes, you could say that a bit of a prank was played on me. I found a cave, but it turned out to be an entrance to the world below. The Tylwyth Teg found me there, and there aren’t greater pranksters to be had.”

She nearly dropped the hoe. “How do you know about the Tylwyth Teg?” Except for her grandmother, she’d never heard anyone on this side of the ocean speak of them, never mind pronounce their name correctly. The tourist shops in Wales did a booming business in faery merchandise, yet she hadn’t heard the real name of the fantasy creatures used very much even in that country. She narrowed her eyes at the man, daring him to answer.

He shrugged a little. Although she wasn’t pressing on his neck anymore, he remained prone. “The Fair Ones are cousin to men but very much older. Ancient as the mountains. It was the custom of our clan to leave offerings for them, outside the village. The Fair Ones are often bored, and they think nothing of toying with mortals for sport.”

Nainie Jones had often spoken of her childhood, told of her mother leaving milk and bread on the back step for the Tylwyth Teg. It was an offering, a gift of hospitality, she said, so they wouldn’t play tricks on the family. Morgan gripped the hoe harder to keep her hands from trembling, yet she couldn’t help but be fascinated.

“You cannot enter their territory without permission or payment,” he continued. “I had nothing to offer when they discovered me. Not even my life, as I was dying. I thought they would finish me, but instead they healed me. And that was their prank. Because then they changed me, so they could take their payment in servitude.”

Rhys—if that was even his real name—either believed what he was saying or he was a prime candidate for an Oscar. Because try as Morgan might, she couldn’t see any evidence that he was lying. He had to be crazy then, but everything about the whole situation was insane. After all, she was standing in her front yard in her pajamas, holding a naked man at the point of a garden hoe. She’d taken assertive action when she’d seen him lying in the grass, assuming he was drunk or something. Well, she’d gotten the upper hand all right.

Now what was she supposed to do with the guy?

**********************

About STORM WARRIOR, Book 1 of the Grim Series

Check out all my books on my Amazon Author Page at
https://www.amazon.com/Dani-Harper/e/B004FD8RV2

Two thousand years ago, Rhys was the fierce Celtic warrior branded by the Romans as “the Bringer of Death.” Mortally wounded in battle, he was captured by the Fair Ones, cunning and powerful masters of the Welsh faery realm. They spared his life…but for a price. As a grim, he has roamed the earth as a messenger of death—until a single act of kindness breaks the ancient enchantment and delivers him into a strange new world…

As a child, Morgan Edwards marveled at the faery tales spun by her beloved grandmother, stories of the magical beings hidden in the heart of ancient Wales. But now Morgan is all grown up, a veterinarian who believes only in what science can prove—until the night a massive black dog saves her from a vicious attack, and life as she knows it changes forever. Suddenly a stranger stands before her, the man of her dreams made flesh and blood not by science, but by a magic that could bring them their hearts’ desires ... or cost them everything they have.

**********************

Love Faeries?  3-BOOK SPECIAL SALE

Get all 3 ebooks in the Grim Series by Dani Harper for just $6 at

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011M9Q0AQ/

Sale is ON NOW through the end of February!

PS - Don't forget to watch for Book 4, STORM CROSSED, releasing this year!

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Truth or Dare -- New Release and Excerpt

It's been awhile since I've had the first book in a new series release. Games We Play consists of three books set in and around a haunted hotel in Atlas Beach, New Jersey. The Wild Geese Inn is owned and run by three cousins--and, no, those aren't the cousins on the cover of Truth or Dare! 

Each cousin gets his or her own book. Truth or Dare is Gwyneth's story. Here's a peek: 

The door to the reception desk showed no signs of ever having been stuck by the time Sheila arrived to take over for Gwyn. Of course it didn’t, Gwyn thought sourly. It had never stuck before and probably never would again. What she should have learned growing up here was not to take anything she heard or saw—or felt, or imagined—at face value.

A locked door was not always a locked door. And the things a guy might say when he wanted something from you often bore no relationship to actual fact. But for the hotel’s ghosts to have betrayed her… Well, she hadn’t been expecting that.

“Stupid, interfering haunts,” Gwyn muttered as she headed down the darkened service corridor toward the back stairway. “If you’re not going to help me, then leave me alone.”

She refused to be charmed by the playful breeze that scudded about the hallway carrying the echo of voices. And she didn’t even bother trying to make sense of what they were saying. Gwyn never could catch more than a couple of words at the best of times. Usually, she couldn’t even tell if the speaker was male or female, or what language was being spoken. But even though she ignored them, the conversation continued unabated, following her all the way up to her room, at the top of the tower, just under the eaves.

The patterned silk lampshade bathed the room in a warm, rosy glow when she switched on the light, but the chill in the air had her shivering as she crossed the floor to plug in the space heater she kept by her bed—or rather, the antique divan she used in place of a bed. It was hardly the best room in the house, although it had, by far, the best view of the ocean. Luckily for Gwyn, it was too small, too inconvenient, and a little too uncomfortable to rent out as a guest room. It was too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter; it was also lacking several amenities most guests would consider indispensable—like a closet and an en suite bath. But Gwyn loved it just the same.

Even with the room’s supposed deficiencies, it was her special place. When she’d played here as a child, she always pretended she was a princess imprisoned in a tower, looking down at her kingdom while she waited for her knights to arrive and help her free herself. Funny how there always had been two knights. She’d forgotten that. No wonder it had been so easy for Berke and Cam to convince her to get a little too adventurous, back in the day.

As she rifled through dresses on the garment rack that functioned as her closet, familiar, measured footsteps climbed the stairs to the tower. The creak of a door opening and closing had the hair standing up on her neck, just as it always did, but she didn’t bother turning. She knew there was nobody physically present. All the same, she addressed her unseen visitor. “Well, since you’re so in favor of this, what do you think?” She gestured at the rack of clothing. “Which one should I wear?”

Why she was even bothering to change her clothes was anyone’s guess. She should just go as she was. This wasn’t a date, and she certainly wasn’t trying to impress anyone. In fact, the last thing she wanted was for Berke or Cam to get the stupid idea that she still cared for either one of them. Because she didn’t. In fact, she cared so very little, she was seriously thinking of calling the whole thing off. She’d phone the front desk and leave a message to let them know she’d changed her mind…and then she’d be stuck hiding out for the next three days. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

Outside, the wind moaned louder. A ripple of motion set the dresses swaying on the rack, as though unseen hands were shifting the hangers. Gwyn paused in her perusal when a voice that may or may not have originated in her head said, “That one.”

Gwyn’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

The lights flickered as though in answer.

Well, all right then. Gwyn studied the dress in question, feeling more than a little dubious. It was considerably sexier than she felt right now. But maybe fake it till you make it was the way to go? After all, if she was really going through with this, she might as well do it in style.

“All right, fine,” she addressed the empty air. “Have it your way. Now, clear out and let me get dressed.”

Gwyn carried her dress over to the dressing area she’d set up behind a folding screen. When asked why she felt the need to dress and undress behind a screen in a room she didn’t share with anyone else, she’d insisted it was because she didn’t want to draw the curtains and shut out the view. Never mind that the view currently on tap was night sky and snowstorm, or that she was too high up, in any event, for anyone other than a skydiver to look in. Or that the only person who’d ever really asked was Brenda. They both knew Bren didn’t want to hear the truth anyway.

http://www.loose-id.com/games-we-play-truth-or-dare.html

Here Be News

New Releases

TRUTH OR DARE

 Games We Play, Book 1

Releases Tuesday February 14

After their drunken ménage goes wrong, Gwyn wants nothing more to do with Berke and Cam. Too bad her family’s ghosts have other ideas.

Gwyn has her hands full these days trying to help save the family business—a quirky hotel on the Jersey Shore called the Wild Geese Inn. She has no time for romance. But when the two men with whom she once spent a drunken ménage weekend show up with a sexy proposition, how can she resist? Berke and Cam might have broken her heart seven years ago, but Gwyn is older now and wiser. She's not looking for forever. She just wants a good time. And, after all, it is Valentine's Day.

For Berke and Cam, the weekend isn't just about fun, or adding some spice to their marriage; it's about winning back the woman who got away, and convincing her to give a committed three-way relationship a shot. They each have skills that could help make the hotel a success—and they're not above bartering to get what they want. but first they have to get past the walls Gwyn's built to keep them out. But while Cam's biggest concern is making sure Gwyn doesn't break Berke's heart a second time, Berke is worried about how his husband will react if he learns Berke’s the one who screwed things up for them all the first time.

http://www.loose-id.com/games-we-play-truth-or-dare.html

http://www.pgforte.com/TruthOrDareExcerpt.htm

Other News

Love Faeries?  3-BOOK SPECIAL SALE

Get all 3 ebooks in the Grim Series by Dani Harper for just $6 at

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011M9Q0AQ/

Now through the end of February!

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Now Available as an Audio Book!

UNDERSILVER
Sci-Fi Romance
by Linda MooneyNarrated by Guy Veryzer
Length: 6 hrs, 20 min.

Hear a Sample

The planet had secrets it never revealed, until it was too late.

Centuries ago, mankind's only hope for survival were the seven vessels specially fitted to send the last survivors of Earth to a planet named New Earth. Seven space ships that became floating cities once they landed on the water-only world teeming with edible seafood, as well as dangerous creatures.

Lt. Jace Novick, of the ship UnderPlatinum, is sent to sister ship UnderSilver to see if he can help find a possible solution to their growing problem. Food is beginning to run low, catches are scarcer, and the tension between ships is increasing as starvation becomes imminent.

Lt. Commander Rhone Derth has created a security device called wrap shields to protect Silver from repeated attacks by the planet's hostile monsters. But it seems the shields are also keeping the fish away as well. Jace believes he has an answer, but it means he and Rhone must work together despite Rhone's antagonism toward him, and the short time he's been allotted before he must return to his own ship.

Together, they try to discover a way to survive as the other vessels turn on each other in a desperate battle for the last of the dwindling food supply, not knowing that another, more malevolent being is watching them from the depths.

Warning! Contains loss of oxygen, vicious sea creatures, massive destruction, scientific theories, near-drowning, subsonic bursts, questionable seafood, alien artifacts, and two people trying to survive what could be the complete annihilation of their species.

Excerpt and buy links.

STAR SURVIVOR gets great review from Jayne at Dear Author!

Veronica Scott is beaming over the latest review for her new scifi romance novel. 

The review reads in part: "...I wanted to read this story because of the open-ended way Twilka and Khevan’s relationship ended earlier. I also wanted to know why anyone would swear fealty to the Red Lady as Khevan did when everything mentioned about her backed up Twilka’s description of her as an evil bitch. Khevan would also need to have a damn good reason for abandoning Twilka and staying away as long as he had...."

You can read the rest of the review here.

The story: The survivors of a terrible wreck meet again—but this time only one can survive.

The long-awaited sequel to The Wreck of the Nebula Dream…

They survived an iconic spaceship wreck together. She never expected to see him again … especially not armed to kill her.

Twilka Zabour is an interstellar celebrity. She built on her notoriety as a carefree Socialite who survived the terrible wreck of the Nebula Dream, and launched a successful design house. But now the man who gave meaning to her life, then left her, is back–this time for the worst of reasons. Will he kill her … or help her survive?

D’nvannae Brother Khevan survived the Nebula Dream in the company of a lovely, warm woman, only to be pulled away from her, back into his solitary life in the service of the Red Lady.  Now Twilka’s within his reach again–for all the wrong reasons. Khevan will do everything within his power to discover why Twilka has been targeted for assassination, and to save her.

But Khevan is not Twilka’s only pursuer. Will allies Nick and Mara Jameson arrive in time to aid the couple, or will Khevan and Twilka’s ingenuity be all that stands between them and death?

Buy Links:

iBooks      Amazon    Kobo       Barnes & Noble

My Valentine to You!

Love of the Sweetest Kind

“Here?” she whispered to him sweetly.

“We’re alone,” he said discreetly.

“I’ve been good till now!” she sighed.

“But you’re human!” he replied.

“It’s so big!” she hesitated.

“It’s all yours,” he proudly stated.

“Oh, I shouldn’t!” she protested.

“If you love me!” he suggested.

And so, losing all resistance,

she gave in to his insistence …

and ate every single chocolate in the box!

Happy Valentine’s Day

with a special thank you to My Valentine and Hallmark Cards.

New Release with a Flying Pig on the First Date

Fantastical Island released last week and is 99c for a short time (free to read in Kindle Unlimited). Below you'll find an excerpt from Naomi and Corey's first meeting - there's a bath, a slippery winged pig and a gorgeous couple just meant to be together.

Fantastical Island

Someone is hunting the fantastical creatures of Catalina Island.

When a magical amulet gives marine biologist Naomi Twain the power to see through glamours it plunges her into a world of danger and intrigue. Fantastical creatures are everywhere, but hidden, on Catalina Island—and someone is hunting them, putting at risk a unique, magical ecosystem.

Corey Madrigal is bathing a behemi, a flying miniature pig, when Naomi crashes into his life. With a natural talent for seeing through glamours, he feels a responsibility to the creatures of his island home, creatures who were the friends of his childhood. Now, he’s a Hollywood special effects artist, and he’s going to be an amazing ally for Naomi in her quest to capture the hunters of the island’s fantastical creatures.

But the hunters have their own agenda.

And then, there's the ghost...


Intense danger, wild storms, and passionate loyalties put to the test. Fantastical Island is a stand-alone adventure in the Old School series.

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Fantastical-Island-Old-School-Book-ebook/dp/B01N56RZ7Z/

Excerpt

Naomi gripped the corner post of the veranda. The post was too skinny to hide behind, but she tried.
Fortunately, the man had his back to her. His light gray t-shirt was dark where water had splashed him, and muscles shifted and rippled as he struggled with something in the tub. Suds slid over the rim and onto the lawn.
The “something” kicked the tin tub with a sharp, desperate scrabble, echoed by a high, thin squealing sound.
“This is your fault, Cliff.” The man had a low, calm voice. He sounded determined. “You chose to roll in that dead fish. You can’t come in the house till you’re clean.”
Another squeal answered him. The scrabbling, kicking drumbeat intensified, and the black and white behemi she’d seen circling the house scrambled out of the tub and made a dash for freedom—straight toward Naomi.
The man turned, saw her, and his eyes widened in shock. They were the crystal clear green of peridot, unique and arresting. Otherwise, he looked ordinary. His face was square with a wide nose and wide-spaced eyes. His dark brown hair was short. His mouth was firm-lipped and well-cut.
Naomi only had an instant to take it all in, before instinct had her reacting. As the behemi ran squealing toward her, its wings too wet to fly, she tackled it to the ground. The behemi smelled of rotting fish and pet shampoo, and it was slippery. She understood how the man had lost hold of it.
“I’ve got him.” He crouched beside her and his large hands grasped the behemi behind its front legs. That was probably the best, or only way, to hold the rotund, slippery beast.
Well and truly caught, the behemi ceased squealing and snuffled the man’s neck in a friendly fashion.
The man didn’t appear to notice. His frown and attention were all for Naomi.
She stood up slowly, self-consciously aware of how wet—and smelly—her sweater now was, but also trying to get a feel for the situation. The man bathing the behemi had to know it was a behemi. Glamours worked to hide fantastical creatures, but she’d never heard of a glamour that survived the truth of touching a creature. The man had to know that his miniature pig had wings.
So his question would be, had she noticed the behemi’s wings when she tackled it? Should she tell the truth or should she run? Lying wasn’t an option. She hated lies.
“There’s a bucket by the back door,” he said unexpectedly. “It has a melon rinds in it. Can you bring it here, please? I’m going to have to bribe Cliff to stay in the tub.”
Bemused, she followed his instructions.
The man had Cliff back in the tub and was scrubbing the behemi when Naomi returned with the melon rinds. “Do you mind feeding him? You don’t seem scared of pigs.”
Ah, so the stranger was going to try the old hide-in-plain-sight strategy. Nothing to see here. Just a man scrubbing a pig. She could go along with that. She fed the behemi a piece of melon rind and its snuffly crunching became a backdrop to their conversation. “I worked at a vet clinic while studying at university. I’m afraid I acted on instinct when—is it Cliff?” The stranger nodded, his hands moving briskly, cleaning the creature. “When Cliff ran toward me.”
“I’m glad you did. Cliff’s not a fan of bath-time.”
The behemi squealed.
Naomi fed him a second piece of rind.
“Although I’m curious how you came to be here?” The man paused in scrubbing the behemi to glance at her. Why was she trespassing in his backyard, he meant
“I…um.” Her thoughts scattered, stampeding in all directions as she noted the soap bubble stuck to his chin. He wasn’t much older than her; probably not yet thirty. The fact that she found him attractive—those green eyes!—made everything worse. She should have done some reconnaissance before venturing down the driveway. Even with the temptation of the behemi’s presence, at a minimum, she should have found out who lived here. “Your house is unusual. I was curious.” Both were true statements, although she’d been more curious about the behemi than the house.
He washed the behemi’s wings while she, embarrassed, looked everywhere but at him.
Sneaky! She was impressed. If she hadn’t peeped at him, he’d have used her embarrassment to wash the behemi’s impossible wings while she wasn’t looking.
Okay. Think! If he was trying to hide the behemi’s wings from her, he might believe that the behemi’s glamour had worked on her, that she thought Cliff was an ordinary pig, even if he knew better.
Which raised an interesting question. How did the man see through the behemi’s glamour? She had the amulet. Did he have one or was he a wizard?
“I’m Naomi Twain.” She fed Cliff a third piece of rind and held out her empty hand to the stranger, inviting him to introduce himself.
“Corey Madrigal.” His handclasp was firm despite being slippery with pet shampoo. The soap bubble clinging to his chin popped. “Can you keep Cliff occupied with the melon rinds?”
She grinned at the behemi’s blissful expression as it chewed the latest rind. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Read Fantastical Island today on Amazon.

3 Predictions Regarding Ebooks of the Future

I write sci-fi (as well as fantasy and paranormal) romances. So it's only natural that when I'm working on a story, I would try to make "Star Trek" guesses about how technology, etc., could change in the future.

Which got me to wondering about ebooks in general. It's pretty hard to believe that ebooks have only been around for a decade or so, and in that time we've seen publishers use and abandon such formats such as LIT and RB, as the MOBI and Epub formats rose in popularity.

So what's coming in the future? I have a few ideas.

1. Ebook covers will be gifs. Nothing big and elaborate, but I'm thinking we might see a Christmas story where the tree lights blink and maybe a fireplace shows moving flames. If it's a dude's bare chest, we'd see him breathing. Or we could get a loving kiss or caress from the couple embracing.

2. Ebooks will contain interior gifs or short videos. Imagine a non-fiction book where the pie chart or graph grows itself. Someone demonstrates doing or showing something. They'd be short, maybe 2-3 seconds in length.

3. There's a ratings form at the end of the book. So all you'd have to do is simply indicate the number of stars you'd rate it, and type in a simple, short comment in the box below. Hit send, and your response would automatically be recorded on the site where you bought it.

What do you think? Are such things possible?

**********

Coming February 21st(Available for Pre-Order on Amazon,
Available Now on My Website!)

THE DREAM MERCHANT
Sweet Paranormal Romance
by Linda Mooney
Word Count: 16.9K
$1.99 e / $6.99 p

Life hasn’t always been great for Rainn and Gerran, but it couldn’t be much more perfect than it is now. Rainn was happy to move to the remote mountains of Pennsylvania to be with her love, and to satisfy his “other” side. There, they are perfectly content. Only one more thing could make their lives complete.

Gerran is the last of his kind and hopes to create a new life with his human wife. When test after test shows there is no hope, they are both heartbroken. The two are just too different, their systems too incompatible, and there’s no way around it.

Unable to accept why they can’t be given their hearts’ desire, Rainn vows to do whatever it takes to make her husband happy. A deal with an unlikely stranger could be the answer, but it comes with a very steep price.

Is the sacrifice worth the reward? To save his race and bear his child, she will do anything.

Warning! Contains mountain life, freshly baked bread, distant caves, possible extinction, and proof of how far a woman will go to fulfill the wishes of the man she loves.

Excerpt and buy links.