Art inspiring writing, inspiring design, inspiring feedback, inspiring reading, inspiring art… and the cycle goes on…
I couldn’t just share this amazing review all by itself. The much appreciated words needed graphics and drama to inspire others besides me. So, I hope you see this as potential for designing your own graphics through Canva as well as adding an epic read to your summer book list.
The Starlight Chronicles
I promised Thomas on his deathbed that I would set out to find the place I was meant to be. Neither of us had a clue where, but Thomas was adamant it wasn’t Reno. So, I shouldered my grief, left my nine-to-five job, packed up my art supplies, and hit the highway. Quincy, California, picked me. I knew this because I found the perfect cottage, miles of hiking trails, and a quaint old tavern with a booth in the corner where I could drink my beer, observe the patrons, and sketch their faces.
Soon, the subtle things that emerge from my charcoal images plunge me into a world right out of a Grimm fairytale. Seemingly ordinary citizens have strange lights in their eyes, visible auras, and uncanny strength. The most intriguing is Andras Johns, and I wonder if the towering man who sets me on fire with one look is the prince in the story or the beast lurking in the woods.
When I find out, I never look back, and suddenly my life is filled with prophetic destiny, hot alpha shifters, mysterious vampires, Fae princesses, an alien antagonist intent on taking me for himself…
I’m borrowing this from Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald to sum up how I feel about this day, February 27, 2024, which is special to me many times over, but mostly because my dream of publishing the conclusion to The Starlight Chronicles has come true.
Thank you all for your support and I hope you enjoy the romantic finale for Selena, Andras, Elliott, and Aviel in Tigris Vetus.
I had a lot of fun putting these audio books together. What a process! I’m pretty thrilled with Narrator Mike. And yay! I’m offering a discount through Friday in celebration of the launch of Book Three in the Starlight Chronicles, Tigris Vetus. Thank you for your support. 😀
Books One and Two will be free during my presale launch as part of a giant Romance Author Email Blast promotion. Sign up for my newsletter for the details. Thank you!
Promotional freebies are coming your way. Sign up for my newsletter for details.
And you won’t have long to wait for publication! The conclusion to the Anurashin conflict and Selena’s prophetic journey will publish on a date that is special to me in fulfillment of my promise to myself. Stay tuned!
Thank you to all who have waited patiently for the final book. Ending a journey is harder for a story teller than you might think.
Preface
When destiny gives you three paths, choose the fourth.
That’s what Selena keeps telling herself while she and her pack regroup at her brother’s fishing lodge in Ketchikan after evading the alien prince intent on taking her.
When the pack arrives, the family reunion doesn’t go as expected. Dylan is changed in a way that shocks them all, and that’s not their only complication. Aviel’s brothers have sinister plans for the alphas, a vampire breaks supernatural law to enlist Selena’s help on a mission, driving a wedge between her and her mate, and a seer sends her visions of three distinct paths to her destiny.
Being a marked maiden means Selena is supposed to have the support of her pack on this journey foisted on her by fate. Instead, the once loner artist finds herself marching down Destiny’s twisting road with only her goddess-bestowed instincts for company, a slim hope she isn’t sacrificing the love of her life, and a desperate hope she has what it takes to bring down an alien prince.
Tigris Vetus
Selena and Elliott
When I got close enough to see light seeping underneath the bathroom door, I backed away. Before I could turn around, the door opened on a bare-chested, dragon-tattooed Elliott—again with the wet hair and rolled towel draped over his shoulders, looking hot as… Well, there was no denying Michael Elliott was just plain hot, an entirely different hot than my hotter-than-hot boyfriend.
There was also no denying he teased me with the memory of our encounter in his office when he dabbed the edges of the towel over his damp skin, midnight blue eyes sparkling, and arm muscles bulging. I swallowed. I might have even run my tongue over my lips much to my shame because his eyes blazed with his fire.
“Excuse me,” I said primly as I backed away.
“It’s all yours,” he said with a sweep of his hand. I doubted anyone could infuse more intimacy into those words.
Despite taking care not to brush against him as we traded places, I was close enough to see his inked dragon coiling around him… but I looked for that now.
I closed the door… a little too loudly and leaned against the polished pine panels to gather my wits. I jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Selena?”
“What is it?”
“Open the door.” I complied and peered at him through a one-inch gap. “Don’t go too long harboring all those questions shimmering in your eyes. You can talk to me… About us. About Onyx. Anything that’s worrying you. Okay?” Nodding was the most I could manage before shutting the door again.
Selena and Mortas
“You are a puzzle that must be solved, Selena, but that’s my problem. I do apologize if I’ve created one for you as well.”
I huffed out my acknowledgment before sweeping aside the cover and hiking up my shirt. Nothing!
“It’s all healed!”
He stared a little too intently at my thigh before looking at me.
“It’s a vampire thing. You’re as good as new. There’s no need for you to think more about it.”
“Well then, I thank you.” I narrowed my eyes. “You’re leaving something out. I just hope my ignorance doesn’t get me in trouble.” That worry was met with more silent regard.
A thought occurred to me as I smoothed my shirt over my legs. “You’ve been doing your thing with my clothing again. You take a lot of liberties with my person, Mortas. Why can I never get mad at you?”
His snort of laughter was so human I gaped at him. My incredulous face caused more incongruous sounds, and his shoulders shook. I couldn’t help but join him. When tears ran down my face, he procured a tissue from the ether and handed it to me like a magician on a stage, and we laughed harder. Eventually, we quieted, and I blew my nose.
“Thanks. I needed that. I take it you’re none the worse for wear. Septimus was as vicious as you… until the end.”
“The only permanent damage was to my jacket.” His eyes glittered. “Thank you for putting out the flames that might have ended me.”
“That would be unthinkable.” The glittering softened into a warm glow.
I cleared my throat and asked him a question. “You drank Septimus’s wine, Mortas, after warning me not to. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get us out of our predicament. What happened?”
Andras and Selena
I rested my forehead against hers, closed my eyes, and summoned her Craftsman cottage and the two of us meshed together on her sofa surrounded by polished wood, stained-glass, and the richness of her creations. This was where my mind traveled when I needed balance. But instead of comfort, regret stabbed me. We’d strayed so far from her little artist haven.
My thoughts must have seeped out because she grasped my face and pinned me with her eyes. “Don’t. I’m right where I want to be. I didn’t mean to make you doubt that.”
I kissed her palm, then her lips, and kept going. We merged as one a second time and once again, I claimed her—just as she claimed me. The power of it and my lack of sleep lulled me into slumber.
Her words passed over me as I drifted away. “I love you so much, my beautiful bear.”
When my eyes opened again, the light in the room was a little less bright—a clue this far north that it was nearing evening—and I was alone. My neck stung. I probed the spot and drew away a speck of blood.
This story is a single journal entry in Book One, Ursus Borealis, in The Starlight Chronicles series. I found it rather fun to write a story within a story within a story. It nestles in a chapter featuring Kuliana Hada, a character that appears throughout the series, who is an Anurashin Captain of the Guard. Cynthia is her ancestress.
Cynthia’s story is incorporated into an actual historical account about the White Ship that sailed in 1120 as described. Its sinking changed history.
An End at Barfleur
I am Cynthia, a marked maiden—a human born with a destiny entwined with a race from another world. I was trained to fight alongside my mate Aldric and his pack with the guidance of my magus Zigan Meshara of the Order of Hala against three rebellious princes who were banished from the planet Anurash.
This sounds impossible, I know. You will just have to take my word. That is if you are from the realms apart from this hidden place beneath a volcano, and this missive makes its way to you as I hope.
My life started on a farm in the county of Anjou. It changed forever when I met a bear from Normandy.
After immersing myself in the astonishing world of my mate and the kingdoms of the shifters, learning there was life beyond this Earth and before reaching the heavens took only a few extra pints to swallow it down. That, and meeting Zigan. It turns out Zigan and I are old souls and have done this dance before.
How my soul was chosen for this repeated Earth-bound destiny is a mystery, but my magus spent much time over wine in our chateau sharing what he knew of our history or rather, the history of the prophecy of the marked maidens.
As for Zigan, up till we met—in this time, he had spent his life training with the Order, which included studying the records in the extensive archives and all forms of alchemy, in addition to being honed into a warrior. Even more astonishing, he could transform into a stunning feline I learned was called a tiger.
For eight years I experienced what it was to be part of the Pack, to be soulmates with its alpha, to be one part of a wondrous whole, and we were successful in our purpose, keeping the machinations of the princes from the human population—mitigating the damages.
This is the part at the end of our story and writing it down is agony because it chronicles the event that halted our purpose violently, tore me from those I loved, and marked the beginning of my slow and lonely death. Still, it must be told.
It takes place starting mid-morning on the 25th day of November in the year 1120. We arrived at Barfleur near the coast of Normandy, after confirming the location of the current plot of Aviel Enair, the oldest and most formidable of the three sibling princes.
We lacked the details, but we knew his scheme would involve the sailing vessel known as the White Ship, renowned for its speed and beauty, and now carrying the only legitimate heir to King Henry I across to England.
~~~
Frustration gripped me as I wrapped my arm around myself, trying to catch my breath after running the length of the docks. I called out to my mate behind me.
“It is just as we feared, Aldric. The ship has almost reached the Quilleboeuf!”
Three hundred souls sailed away as I spoke, other nobles, as well as the heir, and the loss, would be catastrophic to the burgeoning English monarchy.
When we learned the king’s seventeen-year-old son, William Adelin, desired to sail on this elegant vessel while his father sailed ahead of him, and that Aviel had set his sights on it, we considered the hazards the Anurashin prince might exploit.
The ship had a good reputation and so did its captain, Thomas FitzStephen, whose father had taken the prince’s grandfather, William the Conqueror, across the same sea. The only evident risk was sailing past Gatteville, where hidden rocks like the Quilleboeuf lay waiting for careless sailors. But FitzStephen was surely used to navigating such hazards.
I breathed in the salty air to sharpen my mind while I considered our options. The raucous calls of seagulls ebbed overhead as they congregated, fought, and flew off with morsels of fish as their prize.
Despite the size and piercing eyes of the warrior next to me, we stood unnoticed among the throng of bodies rushing toward their duties on the bustling docks.
“You must call Zigan, my love,” Aldric said, drawing me to his side and offering his warmth as I shivered from the urgency of our task and the breeze cooling the sweat of my exertion.
Though we were French, our purpose as part of this prophetic trio was to protect the balance of power fated for this world. When the princes interfered, it fared badly for the indigenous populations, according to Zigan’s archives.
That meant we trained to take risks, and we discovered this scheme by becoming captives of the princes at their temporary encampment while each enjoyed inflicting painful retribution on us for our past successes. But Aviel allowed his brothers’ torment to go only so far, which we’d learned to count on, though we didn’t understand it, and our plan included an escape.
It went perfectly until we ran into a trap and had to leave our pack behind to fight, which also delayed our arrival, and a worry was taking hold in me that the last eight years of joy and strife might culminate on these docks. Still, I pushed on.
After placing the insides of my wrists together, my tiger appeared, first as an image on my skin, then as a man stepping out of a gray mist, calmly taking us in with fathomless dark eyes. His markings glowed bright gold against his bronzed arms, and his silky black hair waved in the breeze.
“We need to get aboard that ship, Zigan.” I pointed to the sails disappearing north along the coast to Gatteville. “Can you haze us there?”
“Yes, precious one. But I may not have the ability to get you back.”
“Let me go with him,” Aldric said. “If the ship were to sink, and Zigan cannot return us both…” He let that thought trail off as he looked at me in that fierce way that melted my heart.
The powerful love I had for this man, this larger-than-life Norman-born warrior who shared the spirit of a mighty brown bear, still overwhelmed me after all these years. We had not taken one moment of our time for granted, knowing the dangers inherent in my destiny.
“But I must be the one on that ship, Aldric,” I said as I clutched his hand. “We have no idea what is planned, and we need my instincts as a marked maiden.”
“You will be noticed. I can blend in and discern the situation. We must go now, as they approach the rocks.”
I stood on my toes and brought his face to mine, peering into his brown eyes to see his bear gleaming at me, a magnificent beast he could transform into at will. Our lips came together for an exquisite moment before I stepped back.
“I will bring him back safely,” Zigan said as he nodded to me and gripped my mate.
They disappeared. I took shelter and waited. In less than thirty minutes they returned in a Zigan’s mist.
Aldric and I moved together without thinking, as we did after every parting, and he gave his report.
“Nearly everyone on board was drunk on wine and betting on a race to beat the king to England. The ship sailed fast, pushing its limits. Not more than ten minutes after we arrived, it hit the rocks and foundered.” I gasped in dismay, but he assured me the king’s son made it to a lifeboat.
Without warning, warriors in the garb of another time appeared in a heavy mist that seemed to have blown in from the sea. We took battle stances as they surrounded us, Zigan and Aldric drawing their swords. I gave the cry of the Pack and raised my own blade. The sound of steel rang out across the harbor as bystanders rushed to get out of the way.
We held our own against a dozen until my sword was knocked from my hand. Vice-like arms grabbed me from behind, and Aldric’s roar shook the planks beneath our feet. But the Anurashin warrior kept me from my mate’s reach, letting the others leap in between us, forcing Aldric to slice his way to me.
“The prince has his sights on you, maiden,” the warrior said in my ear. “Did you not think he would succeed?”
“No matter that he tries, I will never be his!”
Springing my knife from my sleeve, I lunged back, shoved it between the ribs of my tormentor, and twisted. The warrior grunted in pain, but his grip did not loosen. Aldric dodged blades, slammed his fists into faces, and rammed bodies, while I struggled to pull free.
Zigan moved so fast; arcs of blood hovered in the air where he last appeared. But when he hazed close enough to reach for me, the warrior jerked us back and two others lunged for him.
To my utter horror, dual strikes took Zigan’s head.
My knees gave out at the agony ripping through my heart, then my entire being, as Zigan’s soul was wrenched from mine with brutal force. Never had I imagined our bond could be so viciously severed, or that the warrior magus was anything but invincible.
A sickening realization plummeted like a stone in my belly. This was Aviel’s plan all along, why he let us escape. He’d orchestrated the entire plot for this purpose. To kill my magus. To take me. To destroy the Pack de Normande.
What was left of my heart was crushed to a pulp when Aldric stepped into the path of a blade to reach for me, not bothering with the pain, desperate to save me as he felt the agony of my loss, and our loss to come.
The mist I dreaded grew thick, and I sensed I was breaking into tiny pieces. None of this could be happening!
The devastated face of my mate told me he had come to the same incomprehensible conclusion while he watched me fade into bits, so close to him our fingers nearly touched. I poured my heart and soul into my words.
“I will love you forever!”
The sound that followed was the mighty roar of a broken and wounded bear.
Ideas Pop Up, and I’ve Been Going With Them – For Good or Bad
Here are a couple recent ones.
I would love to hear your photo op ideas or the odd places you leave your books to get them out in the world. Or even those odd places you picked up a book to read.
Random doggy photo op
Now this one was just plain fun! I got to cruise in this 500 hp beauty for Hot August Nights. 55 T-Bird convertible.
Tori’s 72 Chevy C10. She’s the friend with the friend with the T-Bird. Hubby and I had a blast!
Feel free to pick up a copy of Ursus Borealis the normal way at your favorite bookstore!
Enjoy a read while I enjoy finishing writing Book Three—Tigris Vetus…
Book Two – Drago Incendium
Meet Mortas, introduced in Book Two Drago Incendium and getting much more play time in Book Three (in the works!) 🖤 The swoon worthy vampire emissary also gets his own story 🖤 and it’s in the works as well…
Who’s your favorite vampire in fiction?
~~~
His pale, chiseled face erupted into a toothy smile. “Ah. You’ve broken free of my compulsion. Interesting. I sensed there was something unique about you.”
“That was you making me want to follow? You compelled me? How?”
“I’m a vampire, little human. That’s how. Do you know of vampires?”
My chest hurt from the sudden pounding, and I gave my surroundings a frantic onceover. Shit. I was standing alone in the woods with a freakin vampire! Really smart move, Selena. Andras was going to kill me if I survived this.
Pressing harder against the tree, I said, “I’m afraid I know nothing of vampires, except that you can be dangerous. Are you dangerous? Should I be concerned?” That last question came out in a squeak with the rest of my air.
What a fun way to decide on a new cover design! Thank you Airanna Lewellyn for sending me your idea and great design and helping me with my first newsletter and survey! We collaborated on Canva to finalize it. Relaunch coming soon. Stay tuned!
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