review- FORCED MATE and INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL

Rowena Cherry has always been one of my favorite authors. Long ago, I read the e-book release of THE MATING NET, and I fell in love with her Tiger Princes and their ladies with just that novelette.

Okay, let's set up the world. You have the ruling Djinn (remember, don't pronounce that leading D, and that is very important in this world). They have 7 senses, instead of the usual human 5. One of them is a highly-evolved sense of smell that is accomplished with the saturniid gland.

This gland is both a blessing and a curse to the Djinn. It allows them to find fertile females for mating. It also locks them onto the first fertile female they ever smell, making them crave that female. As if that's not bad enough, an unmated Djinn who smells a female in season will experience the rut-rage. Yes, very animalistic. Yes, they will fight other males for her and kill each other to possess her.

They also enjoy the chase and capture of a female. Their motto is "By stealth if possible (and abduction is standard stealth practice) and force if necessary." Rest assured that only Rowena's villains resort to force, though a little forced seduction is mixed in with good old seduction, even for her heroes. Trickery isn't out of the question, either...making One marvel at how legalistic men can leave themselves elegant loopholes to exploit.

In FORCED MATE, the heir to the throne of Tigron (Tarrant-Arragon) has found the last virginal Djinn female in the universe (or so we think...I won't close the door on that for future books). Yes, she's a half-bred human/Djinn, but she's strong stock (strong enough to cause a rut-rage, they hope), and her mother was a human psychic. Since a lot of the psychic powers have been bred out of the inbred Djinn over the years, that bodes well for reclaiming some.

There are just a few little problems with Djinni-vera.

The first would be that she's a Saurian Knight, a fighting member of a group formed when a former Djinn ruler stole his twin brother's virginal bride, the same bride from THE MATING NET. When his twin retrieved his bride, half of the star-forces defected with him and formed the Saurian order to fight the abuses of the Tiger Princes.

What does being a Saurian Knight mean? It means she'd rather kill herself than submit to being Tarrant-Arragon's mate. So, the well-meaning hunter prince has to get her to love him for himself and not his name, and he's not always so lovable.

Do they need more problems? Why not add a few on? Djinni-vera is, unknown to Tarrant-Arragon, promised in marriage to her cousin J-J (Djetthro-Djason), the true heir to the throne Tarrant-Arragon is supposed to inherit. Whoops. I won't go into detail except to say that the royal family tree isn't as accurate as some people believe it is, and with no free press, it's easy enough to manage official stories.

Oh, and the Saurian Dragon (the leader of the Saurian Knights) is none other than Djinni's father...which makes her father and her avid pursuer mortal enemies.

Needless to say, it's a delightful cat and mouse game between Tarrant-Arragon and Djinni-vera, with J-J becoming aware only late in the game that his intended bride has been abducted from far-off Earth.

Wonderful twists and turns! The irony of plots gone wrong and plain bad luck are a joy to read. And it doesn't end here. One of the ingenious things about this series is that the books fit together like puzzle pieces, building on each other to raise the tension from couple to couple.

In INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL, the (believed dead) former traitor Captain Jason is reintroduced to the 'polite society' of Tigron as Prince Djetthro-Jason, the forced husband of Tarrant-Arragon's sister, Martia-Djulia.

The princess walks into her wedding day, believing Captain Jason has returned to her willingly, at the urging of her older brother, to marry her. Instead, she's faced with a 'replacement' husband of her brother's choosing, a scrawny, bald wanna-be prince with a straggly beard. Where is the man she loves? The dashing captain with the long, blond hair and the grusome scar on his face? At his urging, she runs...leaving him at the altar.

Djetth had hoped she'd see through the disguise...or maybe he hadn't. He still can't understand what happened the day he found himself in a stunted rut-rage with Martia-Djulia. He still wants Djinni, which indicates he rut-raged with her, but he wants the princess as well. It's enough to drive a sensible Djinn crazy, and Djinns aren't known for being sensible men.

Added to it are Tarrant-Arragon's plots to force them to mate, but his refusal to let Djetth admit to Martia-Djulia that he's Captain Jason; Martia-Djulia's disastrous first mating, her phobias and her limited memory of certain shattering events in her youth; and, lest we forget, a killer with a contract out on the princess's life.

Again...excellent book! Some twists you'll see coming. Some you won't. The royal family tree is delightfully twisted, and lies and plots have made it all the more convoluted.

The veiled civility of the Tiger Princes gives a refreshing edge to the usual alpha male type. Their animalistic tendencies and drives are well-portrayed and imminently believable.

This is a series you don't want to miss. With KNIGHT'S FORK coming up next (Sept 30th), you'll want to snag the earlier books and catch up, if you haven't read them already. I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of the series and have added it to my auto-buy list.

what would I do?

The video bloggers started it! Can I say that?

Okay, so what are we talking about again? Oh yes...what would I do, if I were a famous author? It all started with the video bloggers. Two of my favorite answers are from:

Jackson Pearce
and Kaleb Nation

Okay... I'll be the first to admit that Jackson is the coolest. Kaleb has a few really unworkable ones, and some of the other video bloggers have completely juvenile ideas...not a big deal, since they are juveniles, but...

Back to the subject. Kaleb's idea about spoilers is pretty fun. Jackson's tattoo thing is great! Since I have two tatts already, I love that one. Her costume idea is also a blast. I've already done a few of the ones others suggested in their video blogs. But, what would I do, if I were a famous author?

I think I'm going to show how much an old fuddy I am here, but here goes. Warning...I'm also a mother, and I tend to take care of others.

1. Host a party night at RT (Romantic Times Booklovers Convention) and demand that they set a seat for every person attending the convention PLUS ten extra for press. Insist that they have food for every attendee of my party, and make sure every attendee gets a really kick-ass gift for coming to my party...good music to dance to and no pomp and circumstance! Hey! THIS is a party.

2. Have really righteous costumes made for some of my leading ladies (well, for me to play my leading ladies at conventions) and attend all the conventions I want to for a year...Dragon*Con, K-Con, Necon, World Fantasy, RT, EPICon, World Horror, Thriller Fest, Armadillo Con, Readercon...and so on! That means paying my mom to come live at my house for a few months to watch the kids...or earning enough money for my husband to quit work and return to school, like he wants to.

3. Do a month-long book tour, preferably with one staff member along to help. I've always wanted to do this. Do I need to say more? I know...I'll never sleep, hardly eat (well, I could use to lose a few pounds), spend half my time dragging stuff behind me down airport concourses... But, I still want to do it.

4. Hang out on forums and lists under an assumed name, playing devil's advocate with people postulating on the next book. It's not so much that I want to mislead them as see what they think is really going on and keep them guessing.

5. Spend a week or two in North Conway, NH. I mean that. I would split my time between Adventure Suites and Stonehurst Manor...or maybe spend all of my time at Stonehurst. It's just the sort of writer's getaway I've always wanted to take.

SCREENWRITING How do you decide?

I'm trying something new...namely...making a screenplay adaptation of one of my novels, and I'd like the input of people who've done it before...not just writing a screenplay from scratch, but adapting a finished product into the shorter format of the screenplay. I know plenty of people who write them from scratch, but that's a different process, in my mind.

My question is, how do you decide what to cut? I mean... I can see some things that don't need to translate to the screen or that won't translate well. I'm cutting down characters, events to the bare minimum to keep the story... And, I'm still running longer than friends in the business say I should be running, so... When push comes to shove, how do you decide what to keep and what not to? I've always been better at adding than deleting storyline, so this is difficult for me.

Oh...and I love this link a friend sent me.
http://theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com/2007/03/does-one-page-really-one-minute.html

So, what do you say, folks? How do you decide?

Phaze NEWS

NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

First, I have a new release from Phaze. FATES MAGIC is a short story set in a new world for me, a world of magic users, governed by Fate and her sister Chaos. It might seem like a balance, but it's really a war. When one pushes, the other pushes back. You can get this story in e-book from Phaze.

Second... The re-edited reissue of LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE (which went on sale from the original publisher, eXtasy Books, in February 2003 (March 2003 for the SECOND SON portion of the release), went off sale in June 2006 and went back on sale with Phaze in July 2008) promptly took #1 bestselling e-book for Phaze in July 2008 (and was the bestseller for eXtasy when it released there...and for a bit at Fictionwise, as well, back in 2003). For the first time ever, this book is available in both e-book and print from Phaze. And thank you to my readers for making this possible! I love you all!

Happy dancing today!

change of title

You may notice that one of my titles has recently changed.

Originally, Gregory L. Norris and I were going to do an anthology of revisited (i.e. urban fantasy), unsanitized Grimms' tales titled ONCE UPON A TIME...YESTERDAY. When all was said and done, we'd each come up with between 65K and 75K of work for the anthology. They were all fabulous stories, and Greg's were interconnected, which meant we couldn't just drop anything out. So, rather than release a single 140K monster of a book, Terri at UTM decided to release two separate anthologies--one of Greg's work and one of mine, connected by theme.

Long story short? We obviously didn't want to have two books with a single title, and Greg's portion fit better with the YESTERDAY part, since his contains a time travel to the past and a generational type of story, including both past and present. All of my stories are set in the current time or thereabouts. After much deliberation, Terri decided that Greg would keep ONCE UPON A TIME...YESTERDAY, and my anthology will be titled ONCE UPON A TIME...TODAY.

UPDATED release schedule

You're going to notice some changes, of course. I have tentative dates for TYGERS and all the Grimms' stories I've written from UTM, for instance.

You'll notice that I have at least one release a month from July 2008 through March 2009. The Fall/Winter releases should end up somewhere in that range, as well. That comes out to 14 releases in 9 months. One of the down sides to having so many publishers is that they may all schedule you at the same time. It's never been this bad before, but...hey. It happens. I may have to push a few back a bit. So, stand by for more changes.

July 2008:

Last Chance for Love (K1) in e-book and print from Phaze

August 2008:

Fates Magic (FW1) from Phaze

September 2008:

Rites of Mating (K2) from Phaze

October 2008:

Matchmaker's Misery (K3) from Phaze

"Catch Me, If You Can" from Mojocastle/UTM e

November 2008:

Double Image (K4) from Phaze

TYGERS from UTM

December 2008:

"Three Wishes" from Mojocastle/UTM e

Fall/Winter 2008:

Written In The Stars (SM1) from Mundania Press, LLC.

"One-Hour Burial" in Pretty Scary from Dark Hart Press

January 2009:

Restrained (K5) from Phaze

February 2009:

"The Temptation of Eve" from Mojocastle/UTM e

March 2009:

Alien Encounters (K6) from Phaze

Once Upon A Time...Today in print from UTM (includes "Catch Me, If You Can," "Three Wishes," and "The Temptation of Eve")

Spring/Summer 2009:

Monsters of Myth from Mundania Press, LLC.

"Melting The Ice Queen" in Forbidden Love: Fire and Ice from UTM

Renegade's Run (REN2) from UTM

More coming soon!

NEW REVIEW

NEW REVIEW!

https://www.darkangelreviews.com/Last_Chance_for_Love.html

"LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE is an ambitious, lengthy Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance that truly delivers! Ms. Lyons does an excellent job of creating the world of Kegin, giving it customs, mores, language and life while keeping it believable and realistic. Her character creation is also fantastic as even secondary characters are well rounded and ready to jump off the pages. The plot contains mystery, romance, adventure, betrayal, redemption and love—both for mates and family. I really loved the depth of this story, it was engrossing and although too long to read in one sitting, I was always anxious to return and find out what happened next. Each section had new facets to recommend it; Susan and Jole's story sets the stage and setting and I feel is the most romantic, Mik and Danellan's story the most heartwarming, Alex and Lyssa's is the most exciting and Pyter's the most heartbreaking. The romance is exciting, sensual and sexy and although graphic I truly would consider LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE to be erotic romance as opposed to erotica. Since this is touted as Book One, I can honestly say I am looking forward to reading Book Two as I would be very happy to revisit this world again!"
Reviewed by Sandi Potterton for Dark Angel Reviews 4.5 Pixies!

To purchase LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE, now available in both print and e-book, visit Phaze!

first time in print

Not me, of course. I've been in print a few dozen times now. No, I'm talking about one of my best-loved worlds (Kegin) and books (LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE). A Dream Realm Award Finalist in 2003, the book has been re-edited and now includes the matching novella SECOND SON. For the first time ever, this book has released in print from PHAZE! An e-book version is also available, for those who didn't catch the stories the first time around and prefer e-book.

What's the story with Kegin? Simply put, Kegin is separated into several distinct timelines...the legendary/mythological Kegin stories, the historical Kegin stories (including THE LAST OF FION'S DAUGHTERS and CONQUEST), and the contemporary Kegin stories (including LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE).

In the contemporary timeline, Kegin is a world fighting back genetic decay and attempting to cross-breed genetically-strong women to save their world.That wouldn't be quite so traumatic to the women if they knew what they were and were raised to the idea, but they weren't. Once they reach adulthood, the age of 20, they are brought through the gateway to Kegin on the next gateway cycle and presented to their mates, problematic at best...and all the worse when the American government becomes aware that there are aliens living on Earth.

The current game plan is to release the next 6 books in the series in quick succession, so those who've started with LCFL and RITES OF MATING (EPPIE Finalist 2006) will get a chance to find out 'what happens next?'!

sharing the MUSE SALON

Okay...everyone has been after me for pictures since I announced that my new office was finally finished, and since Rob just helped me get the new doors up (thank the puppy for me NEEDING new doors) and the art hung, here she is...

The entire space is about 8'x12' or so. As you can see, I have heavy folding doors to close the room off from the rest of the house.

The entire left wall is covered with bookshelves of course.

If you've ever wondered how I organize myself, the last bookshelf is a half-size. On it, there's the Love-Me Shelf and two shelves of current research material and written scenes/stories. In addition, I have boxes and shelves (elsewhere) of finished drafts and edits.

In front of the bookshelves, I have my reading chair and the hand-woven rug Rob bought me in Bahrain in 1992 or so. I've been waiting all these years to have a place worthy of displaying it!

Above the organization shelves, I have the single window in my office, capped off with a lace curtain and a rose quartz drop (unfortunately still partly-covered in paint tape...snicker). To the right of the window, I have a picture of the muse. The picture is an ink drawing by the wonderful Robert Quill! If you haven't checked out his work, you should.

The right wall starts off with a set of heavy shelves that contain my promo gear and supplies. Draped on it is a Celtic cross shawl that Rob bought me in Scotland in 1996. I've always hung this in my office space.

To the left of that is my half-size file cabinet, and above that...THE ACCOLADE, topped with a second lace curtain. Rob bought the painting for me in 2001, and it has hung in every office since then.

The centerpiece of the room is the computer desk, a huge corner desk that usually houses both my desktop computer and the laptop. As you can see, the laptop is away from the desk, at the moment.

Along the wall behind the right side of the desk, there is a picture of my youngest and her 'twin cousin,' what my sister and I refer to as our 'bookend babies,' one of the three fairies I've attached to the walls, a picture of Rob and I when we were dating, a plaque of the Irish Blessing that I've hung in every house we've owned since 1994 (I bought it when I was pregnant with my oldest), and my two inspirational pieces to keep me motivated.

For anyone who doesn't know, the 'inspirational piece' on the left is a fan letter from 2004 that so touched me, I still have it hanging on the wall. The one on the right is a couple of mentions I got in magazines, my first Romantic Times review, and the printout of Oct 17, 2003 (when Fion's Daughter and Second Son were #1 and #2 rated in erotic at Fictionwise...and Emma Holly's Menage was #3).

Above the left side of the desk (the far wall of the room), I have my animals (have to bring the skunk my youngest keeps trying to steal back down from my bedroom) as well as a couple of my certificates for finaling in awards.

The crowning glory of the room is the leopard painting hanging above the desk. This has a particularly fond place in my heart, at the moment. When Rob took me on vacation for our 20th anniversary this month, he actually bought the painting off the walls of our first hotel room at Adventure Suites, just because I liked it.

And THAT...is the grande tour! Now you know how I work...nice and cozy in my little nook...when I'm not on the edge of the couch with a lap desk.

Brenna

summer news part 1

It's been a while, and I'm just getting back online. So, what's been going on with me?

The last month of school for the kids is always a mess, of course (chorus, band, track and field, academic league, math league, etc.)...and add to that four of the five household members with the flu, medical emergencies, conferring on cover art, doing edits for books coming out soon, orthodontists, and so on...

You'd think summer would be a relief, but it's not...unfortunately. I always have grand plans of visiting my sister and getting writing and editing done, but it never quite works out that way. I love her dearly and wouldn't have her any other way, but vacations with Lisa always end up as working vacations. To top it, we couldn't go outside the house much, because there were two wildfires (including the Dismal Swamp burning) that meant you couldn't see the next block.

Being home, strange as it seems, is more relaxing than vacation. As per my doctor's instructions, I'm trying to both work out and keep the stress down. Among other things, that includes a daily walk in the park with the kids...

After almost two impossible weeks of trying to get online at Lisa's (imagine 12 people, two of them professional writers, trying to share a single online computer...wince), I came home full of plans to write and edit.

Read part two to find out what happened next!