Alpha World Building?

It's no secret that I enjoy sharing what I've learned in the past decade and more of being a published author. I speak a few times a year at various conferences and to writers groups about different things. My local chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America) asked me to talk again this year, and I happily agreed. I asked what topic they preferred and was hit immediately by one enthusiastic member's response: "World building!"

Okay. I can do that. I've built enough complicated worlds between my different sci fi series and my medieval-ish Dragon Knights epic fantasy world. I'm cool with that. But then the person who puts the programs together seemed to think that topic had too narrow an appeal. It seems the idea was floated that most of the membership isn't writing sci fi or fantasy. (Although world building can apply to EVERY setting, the misconception is that it only applies to SF&F.)

An alternative idea was suggested. They wanted to hear about how I create Alpha heroes. I write lots of paranormal, so many of my Alphas actually have animal traits, but I also tend to create non-magical/non-shifter Alphas, so I'm cool with that topic as well.

But perhaps out of perversity, I wanted to do both. I didn't want to disappoint that highly enthusiastic chapter member who wanted to hear about world building and I definitely want this session to appeal to everyone, so I created a mash-up. How does this sound?:

Building a World with Alpha Hero Archetypes - Presentation by Bianca D'Arc

Whether you’re building an epic fantasy world or a contemporary world where suspension of disbelief is essential to reader enjoyment (yes, that billionaire just happens to live next door), certain considerations are essential. We’ll explore the nuts and bolts of how to bring it all together while also looking at some of the popular Alpha hero traits that seem to dominate (no pun intended) romantic fiction today.

That's the blurb for the talk I'm giving in January to the Long Island Chapter of RWA. I think it worked out pretty well judging by my 3-page outline, but I guess we'll see how it goes when I do it live for the first time. Wish me luck! (And please feel free to offer suggestions in the comments.) ;-)

Meanwhile, I'm working on my next book - the last of my Arcana series - King of Stars, which will release in December.

I've been writing up a storm and a number of things have come out recently, including a new paranormal ménage - Her Warriors - and the prequel to that book - Jacob's Ladder. They came out in November and October, respectively. If you haven't seen them yet, take a look!

Hot New Paranormal Romance from Bianca D'Arc

I had a new book release earlier this month and the follow-up book will be out on 11/11/14. Here's a little bit about them. First, JACOB'S LADDER, the next book in the String of Fate series that started with CAT'S CRADLE and KING'S THRONE.

A man on a mission...

Jake can see the future and there's a special woman on his mind. She needs his help and he's just the man to help when danger stalks her every step.

A woman with responsibilities...

For Ria, being the Nyx - the leader of her people - comes with burdens that few can understand. Her special abilities make her a target of the Venifucus, an ancient faction that hopes to pervert Ria's hereditary power to their own evil purposes. She's lived her life on the run, but the time has come to turn and confront the bad guys on her trail.

Can they stop the Venifucus from using the ancient power of the Nyx to return evil to this world? Whatever the cost, they must stop it, before it's too late.

Buy Now From Amazon - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Kobo - Smashwords

And the follow-up book is called HER WARRIORS...

Love triangles are always more interesting when they come equipped with claws...and flippers?

Beau has anger issues, but not when he's around Jacki. The fierce tiger shifter has been following her around like a puppy, but she hasn't taken notice of him...until now.

No matter how long Geir has lived in the States, he's still the odd man out. A tiger shifter native of Iceland, he is a Master of his craft, training other warriors the skills he has perfected. When he sees Jacki for the first time, he knows she is the one for him.

Jacki is the privileged daughter of a prominent shifter Clan. Most of her relatives are lion shifters, so she knows how to handle cats on the prowl, but she is a much rarer selkie-a seal shifter-imbued with magic and surrounded by mystery. When an opportunity arises to step into a key role in shifter society, she is uncertain, but willing to try. And when she's told she doesn't have to choose between the two tigers, but rather, can have them both, she is more than intrigued. But someone is stalking their path and they must work together to nullify the danger, all while trying to figure out a complicated relationship that has all three of them questioning fate.

Warning: This story contains graphic language and menage a trois between two tiger shifters and one very special selkie woman. Rawr.

Pre-Order Now From Amazon - iBooks - Smashwords.
More sites coming soon. Available everywhere after release.

This series is related to all my other paranormal series, but follows a group of big-cat shifters on the East Coast of the US and Iceland. The events in the String of Fate series are related to the events in my Redstone Clan series and some characters and situations are shared between these two series as well as my Tales of the Were as a whole. And readers of my Brotherhood of Blood series will recognize the themes and a few of the supporting characters as well. It's all one big happy, complicated family! ;-)

For more information on all the related books in these various series, check out my website at WWW.BIANCADARC.COM. Happy reading!

Catching up with Bianca D'Arc

It's been a while since I posted here and it's been sort of a whirlwind the past couple of months with not one, but two new releases and a whole lot of convention prep. In early May, KING'S THRONE came out, adding to the String of Fate miniseries. I had been wanting to get back to this story for a very long time.

Everything seemed to come together for this book after some initial behind-the-scenes hiccups. The cover is now one of my all-time favorites. The editor was available when I needed her and did a fast, great job. I was able to turn it around quickly after months of delay from the behind-the-scenes stuff I made reference to. (It had nothing to do with the content of the book, but rather how it was going to be published.)

And then in early June, BOBCAT came out. It's the 4th book in the Redstone Clan miniseries. Just one more Redstone brother to go now! BOBCAT - in conjunction with KING'S THRONE and the books that will follow these - starts to draw a complex storyline to a head. We're getting to the point where it's become obvious that all my paranormals are related. They all happen in the same, contemporary paranormal world and the heroes/heroines are all fighting against the same enemy.

It's the epic battle of good vs. evil and within the next two books, everything is going to come to a crashing, exciting crescendo.

I'm working on the next book in the String of Fate trilogy right now. It will be called JACOB'S LADDER and I hope to have it out later this year, quickly followed by the final Redstone Clan book, titled MATT.

I'm also working on a few rewrites of old stories and sci fi romance books that I am playing around with. To be honest, things are a little stalled at the moment as I prepare for convention travel. I'll be going to my first RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference in about 2 weeks, followed quickly by the AAD (Authors After Dark) con in Charlotte, NC, in early August.

Travel and con prep sort of disrupts my whole life and writing schedule for about a month or two before I leave and a week or two after I get back. Going to a con as an author requires a heck of a lot of preparation. There are promotional items to design, order and somehow get to the convention site. There are plans to be made for parties, signings and other appearances. There are new clothes to buy and plan. Bags to pack. Packages to ship ahead...

You get the idea. Lots and lots of little tasks that require a ton of planning and busywork. Not my favorite thing, but since I rarely get a real vacation (I can't remember the last - maybe 2009?), traveling to cons is my only real getaway from my day-to-day existence. I enjoy them. Sort of. I love seeing chatting with other authors and especially readers, but the actual travel is a hassle and a half! And there's a certain amount of recovery time after I get back where I'm pretty much useless as a settle back into my old routine and catch up on sleep. ;-)

I hope I get to see some of you during my travels this year! If you see me at a con, come on up and say hello. I love talking with people and I promise, I don't bite. ;-) Meanwhile, I need to make the most of my time before all hell breaks loose and get some writing done. Back to the grindstone!

Magnus is a Valentine Surprise

I decided to do something a little different this Valentine's Day. I decided to publish a book. It was a complete surprise to just about everyone, since I hadn't publicized a date in connection with the book ahead of time. I just released it. No fuss. No fanfare.

Why? Well, maybe I'm a little crazy. Maybe I'm a little disorganized. Maybe I just wanted to surprise readers with an unexpected treat. Mostly, it's the last one, but I will admit to a little of the first two as well.

The way I see it, there are a lot of unrealistic expectations built up around holidays. Not just Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Valentine's Day. And a few others where popular culture tells us the day should be spent one way - surrounded by family, or cuddling a loved one, or having a blast at a barbeque with eighty of your closest and most fun-loving friends. Things like that. Things that not everyone can do for one reason or another.

Maybe all your close family is gone and you're spending Thanksgiving with just one or two other people - or your fur babies. Maybe you're single. Maybe you don't have crowds of friends who all like to barbeque and drink heavily. Whatever.

Yet, for some reason, there seems to be all this pressure on us each holiday to have that "good time" - however popular culture is defining it in relation to that particular holiday. It can be stressful. Especially for a quiet person - the kind of person who generally likes to read for recreation. I know I fit into that category.

So I thought this Valentine's Day, why not give those quiet people something to enjoy? Why not surprise a few special people who like my books with something unexpected?

And so, I released Tales of the Were: Magnus, very quietly, on Valentine's Day.

It wasn't the biggest, splashiest release I've ever had. I hadn't told anyone about my plans. But much to my gratification, the people who I intended to surprise, got it. The response from folks who've been asking me for the next book has been awesome, and I'm tickled pink that my little surprise worked out so well.

I'm very much the kind of person who likes to give presents rather than receive them, and this feels a little like that. It's a good feeling. And I hope my book was able to bring a little joy into a long weekend where expectations for Friday, February 14th, were very high, indeed.

If you haven't heard about my surprise release, here's what it's all about...

A tortured vampire, a lonely shifter, and a deadly power struggle of supernatural proportions. Can their forbidden love prevail?

Magnus Redstone is the middle of the five Redstone brothers. He’s the quiet one. The one who keeps to himself more than the others. But he has good reason for his loner status. Two years ago, he met a woman. Not just any woman. This woman made his inner cougar stand up and roar. Even in human form, he purred when she stroked him. She was his mate. And that meant something very serious among shifters. Too bad the lady had fangs...

Following a lead about a very bad man, Mag discovers Miranda being held captive by an evil mage in a cage of silver that burns her. She’s been tortured and bled repeatedly as the monster sought to steal her power for his own. Mag frees her and takes her to his home, nursing her back to health and defying all convention to keep her with him. He doesn’t ever want to let her go again, but he knows the deck is stacked against them.

When a vampire uprising threatens the stability of the Las Vegas scene, Mag and Miranda are right in the middle of it, fighting against evil. More than just their necks are on the line when a group of vampires seek to kill them and overthrow the current Master vampire of the area. But they have powerful allies, and their renewed relationship has made both of them stronger than either would ever be alone. Will they prevail against all odds, and can they stay together forever? Or will the daylight - and their two very different worlds - tear them apart again?

You can buy Magnus now from: Amazon - B&N - Smashwords

Writing Over the Holidays

Getting things done over the holidays is a challenge, even if you don't have a huge family and stacked social calendar. No matter what, things are busier and the hustle and bustle of the mall, the roads and even the grocery store, makes everything a little harder to get done in a timely manner.

In my case, it's a little trickier because I just finished writing the second book in my String of Fate series. It's called King's Throne and it's the sequel to Cat's Cradle. It should be published sometime next summer, I think.

But my problem is that when I finish a book, there's sort of a let-down feeling that settles in and is hard to shake. If I let it go, I could go a month or two before picking up my virtual pen again and starting something new. I can't afford that right now because I have deadlines to meet and stories to tell!

I also have a new release coming up in just about two weeks - Wolf Quest, the sequel to Wolf Hills will be released on December 10th. (Pre-order now!) And in the meantime, I have to write the next installment of my Redstone Clan series, Magnus. In fact, I need to start getting serious about that next project, starting today.

One of the best tools I've discovered in the past few months is something called The Pomodoro Technique. Basically, you use a timer to count off 25 minutes. You don't let anything distract you or do any other activity during those 25 minutes - no cheating! At the end of 25 minutes, you take a quick 5 minute break before diving back in for another "pomodoro" of 25 minutes on/5 minutes off. After a few of these, you take a longer break, but by that time, you've got a nice chunk of work done!

I used this method (and a handy-dandy iphone pomodoro timer app) to write most of my last release - Tales of the Were: Red, which is the 2nd book in the Redstone Clan series. Judging by the great reviews for this book, it worked! So it's worth giving a try if you need some help with time management and motivation. I highly recommend it!

Oh, and if you haven't yet started reading my continuing Tales of the Were, in just five days, I'm releasing a special edition of Rocky and Slade in a single ebook volume. It'll be on sale for the rest of 2013 and is a good way to introduce yourself to the series if you haven't read those two books already. Here's a little bit about it:

Get both Rocky and Slade in a single ebook bundle!

Rocky - On the run from her husband's killers, there is only one man who can help her now... her Rock.

Maggie is on the run from those who killed her husband nine months ago. She knows the only one who can help her is Rocco, a grizzly shifter she knew in her youth. She arrives on his doorstep in labor with twins. Magical, shapeshifting, bear cub twins destined to lead the next generation of werecreatures in North America.

Rocky is devastated by the news of his Clan brother's death, but he cannot deny the attraction that has never waned for the small human woman who stole his heart a long time ago. Rocky absented himself from her life when she chose to marry his childhood friend, but the years haven't changed the way he feels for her.

And now there are two young lives to protect. Rocky will do everything in his power to end the threat to the small family and claim them for himself. He knows he is the perfect Alpha to teach the cubs as they grow into their power... if their mother will let him love her as he has always longed to do.

Slade - The fate of all shifters rests on Slade’s broad shoulders, but all he can think about is her.
Slade is a mystery. A warrior and spy who serves two masters - those in the human world and the Lords of the Were. They've sent him to Nevada to track a brutal murderer before the existence of all shifters is revealed to a world not ready to know.

Kate is a priestess serving the Goddess and the large community of shifters that have gathered around the Redstone Clan of werecougars. When their matriarch is murdered and the scene polluted by dark magic, she knows she must help the enigmatic man sent to track the killer.

Together, Slade and Kate uncover not one, but two, evil mages that they alone can neutralize. It's a tricky situation because Slade finds it hard to keep his hands off his sexy new partner, the cougars are out for blood, and the killers have an even more sinister plan in mind.

Can Kate somehow keep her hands to herself when the most attractive man she's ever met makes her want to throw caution to the wind? And can Slade do his job and save the situation when he's finally found a woman who can make him purr?

* Look for the other books in this series, available now in ebook and print.

The Tales of the Were includes:
Main series: Lords of the Were, Inferno
The Others: Rocky, Slade
Redstone Clan: Grif, Red, and three more coming soon!

The Brotherhood of Blood series is related, and includes:
Vamps: One & Only (novella), Rare Vintage (novella), Phantom Desires (novella), Sweeter Than Wine (novel), and Forever Valentine (novella)
Wolves: Wolf Hills, Wolf Quest

You can find links for all of this on my website at: WWW.BIANCADARC.COM

Now, start your timers and get busy! :)

- Bianca

Tales of the Were: Red - Excerpt

I have a new book out! Here's a little taste of it...

Tales of the Were: Red
Redstone Clan #2

A water nymph and a werecougar meet in a bar fight… No joke.

Steve Redstone agrees to keep an eye on his friend’s little sister while she’s partying in Las Vegas. He’s happy to do the favor for an old Army buddy. What he doesn’t expect is the wild woman who heats his blood and attracts too much attention from Others in the area.

Steve ends up defending her honor, breaking his cover and seducing the woman all within hours of meeting her, but he’s helpless to resist her. She is his mate and that startling fact is going to open up a whole can of worms with her, her brother and the rest of the Redstone Clan.

EXCERPT (c) 2013 Bianca D’Arc

“Hey, Red! How’s it hanging?”
“Damn. I knew I shouldn’t have answered the phone.” Steve Redstone’s smile belied his gruff tone. The call was from one of his oldest and best Army buddies—Derek “Deke” Morrow—an entirely human soldier, but a great guy nonetheless. He was also one of the most skilled warriors Steve had ever known.
“Man, I’ve got a big favor to ask you.” Deke’s tone was serious and Steve sobered.
“Spill, bro. You know I’ll do what I can for you.”
“Thanks, man. Knew I could count on you. Thing is, my baby sister is heading your way. One of her girlfriends decided it would be fun to have her bachelorette party in Sin City. It’s not that I don’t trust Trish, as much as I don’t trust her friends. This is an accident waiting to happen and I need some backup. I can’t go. She’d kill me if I showed my face, but she doesn’t know you and you’re local.”
“So you want me to show her a good time?” Steve relaxed. Babysitting, he could do. Teasing his friend just came naturally.
“You do, and I’ll break both your legs.” The tone said Deke was only half-joking.
“Relax. I’ve got you covered. What hotel are they staying at?”
A few minutes later, the call ended and Steve had all the information he’d need to track down his good friend’s wayward sister. He’d establish surveillance first. Check the lay of the land and see what kind of mischief the girls were getting up to. If necessary, he could call on some members of his Clan to help him keep an eye on things, but he didn’t really think that would be necessary. How much trouble could a few young human girls get into, after all?

Steve cursed himself for even thinking that a few hours later as he leaned against the wall of a dark club, watching the half-dozen women who had stormed the Las Vegas strip with the way-too-gorgeous little sister of his friend. Trisha Morrow was a knockout. That was something Steve hadn’t counted on.
When Derek talked about his kid sister, he always made her sound like a teenager. The woman currently knocking back an entire row of colorful, questionable test tube shots at the bar was no teenager. Far from it. She was an adult and as lovely as her brother was deadly.
Steve’s first sight of her had nearly knocked him off his feet, and his reaction hadn’t tamed any in the two hours since. He’d followed the gaggle of women out of the hotel where they were staying and tailed them to this club. They were enjoying the live band, some dancing and a whole lot of drinking. Too much drinking, by his standards. Some of the girls were getting sloppy drunk, but Trisha Morrow seemed to be able to hold her liquor with a little more dignity than her friends. That was something, at least.
He knew she was just as shitfaced as the other women though. She was unsteady on those sexy high heels and the way her short skirt rode up when she tried to get on the barstool had nearly given him a heart attack. She was tall for a human woman. Just a little shorter than her brother, who was about six foot. Trish had to be about five-nine or so. A nice height to match Steve’s six-foot-two.
And he really shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like that. No, not at all. Her brother would kill him if he even thought Steve was thinking about his little sister in an inappropriate way. It would end a friendship Steve valued, and he wasn’t willing to give up that relationship over a woman. Even a woman as knock-out gorgeous as Trisha Morrow.
Steve kept watch from afar. He didn’t want to know her scent. He stayed well upwind so he wouldn’t accidentally smell the sexy, feminine aroma he just knew would rev his engine to full throttle. It was bad enough seeing her. He didn’t want to know the intimate details her scent would reveal to him.
If he wanted to keep his friend, it was better he didn’t know. Even though his inner cougar clawed at his insides to learn more about the pretty female. The cat appreciated Trisha’s beauty and its innate curiosity pushed at Steve to find out more about her, but he couldn’t. He was a babysitter. That’s it.
Steve was so busy watching the woman and thinking about how he mustn’t get too close to her that he almost missed the danger when it struck. One of Trisha’s friends—the bride-to-be, in fact—went out onto the dance floor with a creature Steve recognized. A creature he had no respect for and would not let interfere with this particular group of women.
He had to act. Pushing away from the wall, Steve strolled onto the dance floor and positioned himself opposite Jorge, a Peruvian vampire who’d moved to the area recently. The bloodletter was already treading on thin ice with the local Master of his kind for preying a little too openly on humans. He hadn’t killed anyone yet—that they knew of—but he’d been warned repeatedly to be more discrete in his feeding.
Steve made sure he caught Jorge’s eye, and with a grudging sort of compliance, Jorge finished the dance and escorted the woman back to her friends. He left her with them and glanced over at Steve, cocking his head. Steve looked toward a quiet corner and Jorge nodded almost imperceptibly.
They both moved toward the corner. Steve stood for a moment while the vampire did one of his magic tricks and dampened the sound so they could talk. It was amazing what some of the older vamps could do. They had a weird sort of magic all their own, very unlike anything Steve had seen human magic users do.
“Handy,” Steve mused. “Thanks for the moment of quiet.”
“You wanted to talk with me?” Jorge prompted, clearly annoyed, but Steve didn’t give a shit.
The Redstone Clan was the most powerful group in this city, and even the Master knew it. This guy should show a little more respect, even if he was a few hundred years old. Steve could still crush him like an egg. And he wouldn’t even need backup from his Clan to do it. Jorge just wasn’t as tough as he apparently thought he was.
“I’d like you to leave those women alone.” Steve didn’t owe the vampire any more explanation than that, though he sensed Jorge was going to be difficult.
“Why should I? They are human, are they not?” Jorge looked over the small group who went on talking, laughing and drinking, unaware of the discussion in the corner.
“Yep. Human,” Steve agreed. “And under my protection. Got it?” He leaned forward, doing his best to intimidate the shorter man.
“What’s in it for me if I do you this favor?”
Steve had to stifle a sigh. This little twerp really didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, and he certainly didn’t know his place in the hierarchy around these parts. But Steve didn’t want to be the heavy. It wasn’t necessary and it would take too much time.
“I would be grateful. And I won’t tell Tony you’ve been sniffing around the tourists again. I heard he warned you off…what was it? Three times, already? You should know better by now, Jorge.”
Antoine de Latourette was the local Master vampire. His friends called him Tony. He was more than seven hundred years old and not someone to cross lightly.
Jorge finally got the message and straightened from his insolent slouch against the wall. He looked miffed, but Steve didn’t care. It was time somebody taught this little pipsqueak a lesson.
“Instead of harassing me, maybe you ought to put a leash on some of your own.” Jorge sneered as he looked pointedly over at the group of women.
Steve looked too.
“Shit.” Things were getting more complicated by the moment. He turned back to Jorge. “Do we have an understanding?”
Jorge nodded, dropped the barrier he’d held that kept the blaring sound of the club at bay and turned to go without another word. It was disrespectful, but Steve didn’t care at the moment. The group of seven women had been joined by a small Pack of wolves he knew well.
What was it with Derek’s little sister that she—or her group of friends—were drawing out all the Others tonight? It couldn’t be helped. Steve was going to find out for himself.
He set out across the crowded room just as a fight broke out. The violence quickly spread toward him, but he had his objective clear in mind. He wasn’t going to let anything stop him from making it to the small group of women. He’d promised Derek he’d take care of his sister. Letting her get hurt in a bar fight was not going to happen on his watch.
Somebody threw a punch at Steve. He barely paused to return the favor, sending the stupid human flying several feet back, out of Steve’s way. Another idiot tried to block his way with a barstool. Steve made short work of him but he started to wonder why seemingly disinterested bystanders were suddenly keen to stop him from getting to the women.
Steve whistled and one of the wolves perked up, looking through the crowd. Steve caught his eye and gave him a silent signal. Guard. Protect. Instantly, the stance of the young wolves went from merely protective of the women, which they’d been already, to on guard. Good dogs, Steve thought with a fleeting moment of humor as yet another human tried to block his path.
One of the wolves made as if to come help him, but Steve signaled him back. Protect the women, he sent via the hand signals everyone in the Redstone Clan knew. This group of wolves was part of one of the construction crews and they were mostly reputable. A little rough around the edges maybe, but good men all. Steve was sort of relieved to have them here now that the situation had taken an unexpected turn.
Steve paused momentarily to parry a few punches aimed his way but he didn’t let the concerted attacks slow him down. He kept his eyes on the prize, making his way one opponent at a time, toward Trisha Morrow.

The club was great, but when the fight broke out on the other side of the packed dance floor, Trisha sobered enough to realize they probably should leave. Only there were a bunch of handsome men—big bruisers, most of them—flirting with the girls and none of her friends seemed sober enough to realize there might be danger if the fight kept escalating in their direction.
Trisha looked around and her gaze was caught by one man. A big, muscular man. He was as big as her brother, Deke, and just as good in a fight. He was walking toward her but kept getting waylaid by idiots who wanted to fight. Why they tried to hit him, she’d never know. Even she could see he wasn’t interested in the melee. He was just trying to get from one side of the club to the other, and he didn’t really seem to care who he had to mow down to do it.
There was something so elemental about the way he moved. Like a panther on the prowl. He vanquished one opponent after another—sometimes more than one at a time—sweeping them out of his way as if they were nothing. He sent a few guys sailing through the air. Some went down hard on the grimy floor. A few turned away when he growled at them.
He actually growled. She could hear the low rumble of it, even across the distance that still separated them. Why in the world did she find that sexy?
“Guys?” Trisha tried to get the attention of her drunk friends while her gaze remained on the warrior.
That’s the only word she could think of to describe him. He had to be like Deke and most of the guys in her family. Military. Spec Ops. If not, then some kind of mercenary or professional killer.
That last thought almost made her giggle with nerves as their eyes met. And held.
Even as he threw two more would-be fighters aside, he kept his gaze on her. When he had to look away to throw a punch or block a barstool being thrown at him, it was only momentary. As soon as he’d dealt with the obstacle, he looked straight back at her again.
It was about that time she realized he wasn’t just moving across the room. He was actually aiming for her table. For her.
Her foggy mind didn’t understand the animal attraction that reared up and made her want to purr when she realized that hunk of dangerous manhood was making a beeline to her side. The rest of the raucous room faded to nothing as she watched his muscles bunch and flex as he dealt with one miscreant after another. Yowza. He was hot.
Hot and dangerous. The ultimate bad boy. Mrawr.

Buy your copy of RED now from: Amazon – B&N – ARe – Smashwords or wherever ebooks are sold. Also coming in print very soon!

Blue Moon for Bianca

Well, it's my own little version of a Blue Moon - this month I get to blog TWICE on BTV! The Keeper of the Calendar schedules us all every so many weeks (I think it's 4) and this month, I ended up blogging at both the beginning of the month and now, just before the end of the month. Neat, huh?

I'm happy to say, a lot has been going on. First, I should mention that the rest of the Dragon Knights books will be coming out in print - one per month - until next March. So next up is Border Lair on October 1st, I believe.

This new print edition has a bonus in it. It also contains the new novella, Master at Arms, which was written expressly for this purpose. So you get two stories in one book. You can pre-order this new print edition at Amazon, B&N, Samhain, and wherever print books are sold.

I'm hard at work on a few different projects at the moment. We're in the middle of edits on a book that will probably be releasing next March, called Harry's Sacrifice. It's the 5th and final book in my award-winning Resonance Mates series and I'm glad to finally have the book on its way to publication. I know a few die hard fans have been waiting a long time for it!

I'm also finalizing the 2nd book in my Tales of the Were - Redstone Clan series. It's called Red, and it will be out later this month in both ebook and print. Here's a little bit about it...

Steve Redstone agrees to keep an eye on his friend's little sister while she's partying in Las Vegas. He's happy to do the small favor to an old Army buddy. What he doesn't expect is the wild woman who heats his blood and attracts too much attention from Others in the area.

Steve ends up defending her honor, breaking his cover and seducing the woman all within hours of meeting her, but he's helpless to resist her. She is his mate and that startling fact is going to open up a whole can of worms with her, her brother and the rest of the Redstone Clan.

As I said, it will be out mid-October. I don't have a final date yet, but stay tuned to my website, blog, etc. I'll be announcing the date as soon as I know. Meanwhile, I have another book that is now available for pre-order...

Wolf Quest is the much-anticipated sequel to last year's RT Award Nominated Wolf Hills. It releases on December 10th, but you can pre-order it now! Here's a little bit about it...

Love and magic lie at the heart of this storm... as well as a whole lot of danger.

When Major Jesse Moore, brother to the Wyoming Pack Alpha, is sent to Iowa to check on his sister-in-law's cousin, knocking politely isn't an option. Sounds of a struggle send him storming into her kitchen -- where he finds anything but a damsel in distress. The tiny human woman knows how to handle herself in a fight, and all Jesse's senses shout she's his mate.

Exotic-animal vet, Maria Garibaldi has never trusted the magic her aunt and grandmother claim is her birthright. She's always known about the Others, but she had no idea she was also part of their world. When Maria sets out with Jesse to find the parents of a young grizzly shifter she found and treated, she learns the meaning of temptation in the form of the ex-Special Forces soldier.

As passion flares, the trail leads them toward the eye of a massive storm... where an unspeakable evil awaits the right moment to destroy the good in the magical world.

Warning: Things get explicit when a werewolf wants his mate and he doesn't care where they are. Outdoors, indoors, wherever and whenever -- never get between a wolf and his woman.

Pre-Order Now from Amazon, B&N, Samhain and wherever ebooks are sold.

As always, you can get more information on all my books on my website: WWW.BIANCADARC.COM

See you next month!

- Bianca

Aliens, Shifters & Dragons! Oh my!

Happy Labor Day, everyone! Well, everyone in the U.S., that is. ;-) I'm enjoying my "day off" by... working! Big surprise there. A writer never really gets a day off.

I opened my email this morning to find edits for Harry's Sacrifice - a book that will (hopefully) be out next March, though I don't have a firm release date for it yet from the publisher. It's the fifth and final book in my award winning Resonance Mates series and I'm really happy to finally have it in the pipeline for publication. It's been a long time coming.

I'm also putting the finishing touches on my next Redstone Clan book, titled simply Red. The hero is Steve Redstone, the second eldest cougar shifter in a family of five brothers. Each will be getting his own story either later this year or early next year. With any luck, Red will be out in mid-October.

The next story, Magnus, is slated for either late December of January release, but I already have the cover. Isn't he yummy? He's a werecougar, but he has this thing for a woman from his past. A woman with fangs...

I'm also working at drumming up some more votes for Dragon Knights: Master at Arms, which is up for Book of the Month over at LASR. If you feel so inclined, please go over and vote. I think the voting ends today. The book came out on 8/20 and I'm really pleased with how well it's doing. Here's a little bit about it...

Master at Arms

When Cara's half-brother is gravely wounded, she rallies the defenders of their keep as best she can. She knows how to fight, but is smart enough to realize she cannot-and should not-lead men into battle. No, that is the job of the Master at Arms, a mysteriously attractive foreign fighter named Tristan.

But when deadly, venomous creatures called skiths attack, only dragons can save them. A flight of dragons arrives in the nick of time-among them an unpartnered dragon named Rath and his mate with her handsome knight partner, Sir Thorn. Until Rath finds a knight and both knights find their lady, the dragons cannot be together. But fate may have just stepped in to help both dragons and men.

Caught on the ground, Rath is in serious danger from a rogue skith when Tristan comes to his rescue. His courage impresses the dragon greatly. This is a man who could be a knight... if his loyalties can be won by dragonkind.

And all is not as it seems with Cara's family and the half-brother who wants nothing more than to pack her off to a loveless marriage, sold to the highest bidder. It will take all the diplomacy and skill of both Thorn and Tristan to set things right... and win Lady Cara's heart for themselves.

Warning: When two dragons really want something, it's best not to stand in their way. And when their knights are focused on a single woman, nothing and no one will stop them from getting what they want. Beware! This trio gets up to all kinds of naughtiness in the pursuit of true love.

Buy Now from: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Samhain - and other fine ebook sellers.


And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the sequel to Wolf Hills. It's called Wolf Quest and it'll be releasing on 12/10. I can't wait!!! It's a werewolf story with a twist. Lots of magic and magical creatures in a very action-oriented story. I really think people are going to like it! At least I hope they will!!!

So that's my Labor Day - work, work, work. I hope you all managed to get in a barbeque or something! It's pretty rainy here on Long Island today, so that wouldn't have really worked for me anyway, but it's nice to dream...

B.

Bianca D'Arc
www.biancadarc.com

Dragons and Cougars and Bears, Oh My...

When you stop to think about it, what we call romance fiction today is quite a far cry from what it used to be. Shapeshifters and fantasy creatures have gone mainstream in a big way - something that was taboo when I first started reading romance back in high school. Back then it was all sea captains, pirates, gang bangs and rape fantasies.

So in some ways, we've evolved. Rape and incest (yes, I remember those books too! Published by big "NY" publishers!) are no longer considered allowable by most publishers. Thank goodness. And character types that were discouraged - I clearly recall submission guidelines saying "no vampires" for example or "no rock stars or celebrities" - are now commonplace.

I think a lot of this came about because the tiny cabal of publishers congregated in New York (where I was born and raised, and still live, by the way), have lost their monopoly on what books get published. The advent of small press publishing, and now, self-publishing, means that the readers decide what they want to read, rather than a small group of twenty-something editors fresh out of college and the elder statesmen in their editorial meetings.

Now, readers vote with their wallets. If they like a particular type of hero or storyline, they search it out and buy the book. As hundreds of thousands of people do this, it becomes clear what the reading population considers worth their time and money. It's very democratic, actually, and kind of beautiful.

I, myself, have been dipping my toes into the self-publishing waters this past year with what I consider good results. I see it as cutting out the middle-man. And as a bit of a control freak, it puts me in charge of a lot more. I get to choose the cover. I get to oversee the editing process. I choose who I hire to edit and proofread. I choose the cover artist and work with them to finalize the design. These are luxuries you never get from a traditional publisher.


It must be working because my indie book, Slade, is competing in All Romance eBook's Ultimate Shifter Challenge. If you haven't voted yet, please consider voting for him! He's in the 9th pairing this week, so scroll down and click! :)

I haven't given up on traditional and small press publishing completely though. An all-new novella in my Dragon Knights series is coming out later this month, on August 20th. It's called Master at Arms and it is a companion piece to the second book in the series, Border Lair, which will be re-released in print in October.

In fact, all the Dragon Knights books are being re-released in print, starting with Maiden Flight this September, one book per month until next March's release of Keeper of the Flame in print. And I'm very proud to say that Maiden Flight was just honored with a TOP PICK! from RT Book Reviews Magazine in their latest issue.

Sci fi is another area that was never really considered part of romance until recently. I've always loved it and looked for it when I was younger and thirsting for romances set in some fantastical future - or better yet - in space. My EPPIE Award Winning, futuristic erotic romance series, Resonance Mates, will draw to a close with the fifth and final book, Harry's Sacrifice.

I turned in the completed manuscript a few weeks ago and just signed the contract last week. (Because that's the way I like to do business, when possible - I hate signing first, then having due dates and deadlines. Who needs all that stress?) I'm hoping the book might make it onto their publication schedule for next March, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the publisher comes up with.

And as far as indie books go, my next project is called simply, Red. It's the second book in the sub-set of stories devoted to the five Redstone brothers. The Redstone Clan books are part of the larger Tales of the Were series that started way back when with a book called Lords of the Were.

The follow-up to that, called Inferno, was also published by small press, but then the series took a departure. I did a short story that was set in that world as a promotion for ARe a couple of years ago and after that, I decided to take the rest of the series indie.

In December of last year, I published Rocky. It was a story I had written years before and was finally able to pull together the way I always wanted it. It met with what I consider huge success. I had intended it as a test, but the readers responded well enough that I decided to write more. Rocky led to Slade and Slade led to Grif, the first of the Redstone Clan.

Grif was also a book I had written years before, but I'd never finished it or submitted it anywhere. The Redstone brothers and their relatives have shown up in cameo and supporting roles in many of my paranormals, but I never had a chance to tell their stories... until now. Over the next six months or so, the rest of the Redstone brothers will get their books, starting with Red, followed by Magnus, then Bobcat and then finally, Matt.

I hope you'll enjoy the ride as much as I do! And I'm sorry for getting so long winded. Usually, I never know what to say when I sit down to blog, but today, for some reason, I'm finding it hard to stop! (I've already cut this blog down three times!) ;-)

To find out what I'm up to, visit my website at www.biancadarc.com or catch me on facebook! :)

Until next time,
Bianca

When Old Ideas Turn Into New Books

For once, I'm able to contribute to this month's theme! The book I'm finalizing at the moment - Tales of the Were: Grif - started off as an idea way back in 2005 or so. I wrote a good portion of it - probably somewhere around 30,000 words or more - and then let it sit while I did other things.

Maybe I got "stuck". Maybe I just got busy with dragons or aliens or whatever. I can't really recall anymore. Suffice to say, the book sat. And sat. And SAT. Unloved. Unfinished. Unfortunate.

But always in the back of my mind, there were these characters and this situation. A werecougar Alpha who had just sustained terrible loss in his family, and his little sister, both seeking the solace of the mountains to try to heal. And a woman. A human who knew about shapeshifters, who had a debt of family honor to settle.

I wrote about them in other books. I used members of the werecougar family in other stories, all the while knowing there was this older brother out there and all this tragedy in the family's past. I knew these people. I wanted so badly to finish their story, but after so much time had passed, I really wasn't sure how to go about it.

Then, last Christmas, I started self-publishing some of my paranormal stories. The first was Tales of the Were: Rocky, a novella I had written for an anthology call years before. The story was ultimately turned down and my editor at the time wanted me to expand it into a novel. I never quite got around to it before that editor left and I had this great story sitting on my hard drive for years.

I finally polished it up and added to it. I turned it into the story I had really wanted to write originally, but was constrained by the terms of the anthology call to change. I gave Rocky new life and sent him out there, into the world, to see what people might think of my werebear creation.

The response was like nothing I ever expected.

I had figured on just self-publishing the story for my own enjoyment. And maybe for those few, die-hard fans who might like to know where Rocky - a character who had a bit of a cameo role in my book Lords of the Were - had come from and what had happened to him after we first meet him in Lords.

Rocky's book led to a new character. A mysterious shifter named Slade. I was enchanted by him and wanted to know more about him. I sat down and wrote his story in January and February, then published it in March of this year as Tales of the Were: Slade. He was an entirely new character who had come from that "old" book about Rocky.

And then I started to realize how I might circle back around to Griffon Redstone - the werecougar Alpha I had started to write about so many years ago. I finally understood how and where his story fit in among the others I had been writing all this time. Not only that, but I realized where his brothers' stories fit as well.

And now I've started work on a 5-book sub-series of werecougar tales revolving around the Redstone Clan of cougar shifters. The first story - the one I started work on all those years ago - will be out later this month and is called Tales of the Were: Grif (Redstone Clan #1). I know that's a bit of a mouthful, but I'm not sure how else to clarify that this story fits firmly under the Tales of the Were series, but is part of its own little sub-series of 5 stories - one for each brother in the Redstone family.

The first book is, of course, about Grif, the eldest of the five brothers. It is the same story I began so long ago, but I finally know how to end it! There will be other books, later this year, for Mag and his vampire mate, Steve, Bobcat, and the ever-popular Matt, who was also featured in my book Sweeter Than Wine.

It's been a long time coming, but I feel like I'm finally on the track to fulfilling the promise of that story I began writing so long ago. The old idea is new and the "new" ideas that helped me finally finish this story have made it blossom into something I never really expected. I hope you'll enjoy the ride as much as I will!

Tales of the Were: Grif will be releasing in ebook in late May on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. It will release in print in June. Look for it to arrive on iTunes, Kobo, and other fine ebook and print retail sites mid-June. For more information, please visit www.biancadarc.com.

Milestones

Last week - Valentine's Day, to be exact - marked a milestone for me. It was the 7th anniversary of my being a published author. I can't believe I've come so far in a direction I never, in a million years, expected to go. Wow. Seven years and 20-something books later... I'm about to hit another milestone - sort of - and come full circle.

You see, the first book I ever had published was Dragon Knights: Maiden Flight, way back on 2/14/06. It was reissued last August in a new edition with a new, sexier cover, but the story is essentially the same.

The milestone comes in when you realize that next week, my seventh Dragon Knights novel will be released. Keeper of the Flame is brand new, novel length, and will bring us all back to visit Draconia, it's dragons, knights, shapeshifters, etc, yet again.

To be precise, there are - or will soon be - a total of 10 Dragon Knights stories. Seven novels, if you count Keeper of the Flame, and three novellas. One is already out and has been for years. It was part of the I Dream of Dragons anthologies several years ago. It's called Wings of Change.

Later this year, two new novellas will be released. Dragon Knights: The Dragon Healer will come out in ebook in July and be part of the new print edition of Maiden Flight (the print book will have the novella in it as a bonus story). Dragon Knights: Master at Arms will come out at the end of August and will likewise be in the new print edition of Border Lair.

I'm really enjoying going back to my roots with the dragons and knights this year and I can't wait to see how the new stories are received by readers. I'm always nervous until I start to hear back from the readers!

And this year is also marking a return of sorts for me. I took quite a bit of time off from writing the past three years and only in recent months have I started to write more. I hope to continue to improve on that and get quite a few more stories out this year. Wish me luck! ;-)

Meanwhile, here's a little bit more about Keeper of the Flame and links where you can pre-order it and The Dragon Healer (which is already on sale on Amazon). Hope you like it!

Keeper of the Flame

A warrior, a maiden... and a passion that could set the whole world aflame.

Dragon Knights, Book 7

Despite the fact he is the largest of his half-dragon brothers and better suited to fighting, Hugh has been sent on an undercover mission. Forced to stay in human form, he must discover if the land of Helios is truly the Draconian ally it pretends, or something more sinister.

When he witnesses injustice in the form of a misshapen baby gryphlet kicked out into the cold, he cannot remain in the shadows and watch the child suffer. All he can hope for is that his act of kindness will go unnoticed so his mission can continue.

But someone does notice. When Lera cautiously approaches Hugh, she is drawn to his strange, foreign magic. She is entranced by its irresistible allure -- until assassins come calling and reveal her true identity.

She is Valeria, queen of Helios, Keeper of the Flame. And she has been betrayed. Together they must risk everything to uncover the traitors and reforge the alliance between their lands. Yet beneath their blazing passion, both are still keeping secrets. Secrets that the Sacred Flame will reveal -- if their love survives its cleansing fire.

Warning: When a dragon prince and a Flame Keeper come together, the conflagration is definitely too hot to handle!

Pre-order Keeper of the Flame now from: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Samhain

Pre-order The Dragon Healer now from: Amazon

What's Happening in Bianca D'Arc's Worlds Lately...

So much has been going on over here since the last time I visited this blog... I'm sure I'll miss a few things, but the biggest recent thing has been the release of TALES OF THE WERE: ROCKY, which is still burning up the charts. Here's a little bit about it:

On the run from her husband's killers, there is only one man who can help her now... her Rock.

Maggie is on the run from those who killed her husband nine months ago. She knows the only one who can help her is Rocco, a grizzly shifter she knew in her youth. She arrives on his doorstep in labor with twins. Magical, shapeshifting, bear cub twins destined to lead the next generation of werecreatures in North America.

Rocky is devastated by the news of his Clan brother's death, but he cannot deny the attraction that has never waned for the small human woman who stole his heart a long time ago. Rocky absented himself from her life when she chose to marry his childhood friend, but the years haven't changed the way he feels for her.

And now there are two young lives to protect. Rocky will do everything in his power to end the threat to the small family and claim them for himself. He knows he is the perfect Alpha to teach the cubs as they grow into their power... if their mother will let him love her as he has always longed to do.

Buy it now from: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Smashwords - and other etailers.

How about we look at some upcoming releases? I actually have one next week that will mark a bit of a milestone for me...

On Tuesday, 1/29, the last of my old Dragon Knights novels is being re-released. DRAGON STORM was revised for the release a bit more than the other five books in the series and marks the end of the re-releases. From now on, we will be having all NEW books in the series. Three new stories are slated for 2013 - one new novel, KEEPER OF THE FLAME, releasing on 2/26 and two new novellas - THE DRAGON HEALER and MASTER AT ARMS - which will be out in July and August of 2013.

First a bit about DRAGON STORM, in case it's new to you:

Their love will span the ages... and two very different worlds.Caught in a magical storm and deposited in modern-day Oregon, twin dragon princes Darius and Connor are looking for a way home. Instead they find something most unexpected - their mate. The one woman who holds both their hearts in the palm of her healing hand - along with secrets about her origins that link their shared destinies.

When Josie patches up the injured man on her doorstep, her snowcat instincts tell her he’s much more than a man. And so is his brother. She also knows her dragon lovers cannot fly free in the modern world. The only way to return them to their rightful place is to face the failures of her past, and leave the safety of her forest cabin to seek her estranged grandfather’s counsel. There she learns the painful truth: returning Darius and Connor to where they belong could mean giving up everything. Even her only chance for true love.

But fate has other plans for the trio. Magic swirls all around them. Whether it is for good or ill, only time will tell...

Warning: Contains a fiery hot ménage a trois, a wild cat-woman and two hunky dragon studs in black leather. A little time travel makes everything more interesting, doesn’t it?

Available for pre-order from: Amazon - Samhain

And in a surprise move, THE DRAGON HEALER is already up for pre-order, so here's a little bit about it:

What’s better than a knight sweeping you off your feet? Two knights.

Silla is a healer riding circuit on the border, helping those in need. When she hears the pained cries of a dragon in distress, she comes to his aid, using most of her precious supplies to help the badly injured creature.

The dragon’s knight, Brodie, is fascinated by the woman—the miracle worker—who has come to help his friend. She is both beautiful and kind hearted and he quickly realizes she is his destined mate. And if she is Brodie’s mate, she is Geoff’s as well, for Brodie’s dragon was mated to Geoff’s dragon many years ago.

Geoff doesn’t believe in the tales of love at first sight among knights, but he knows that when either he or Brodie finds a wife, they will share her. Hearing about the dragon’s injury, Geoff and his dragon race to help, only to find the dragon on the mend and Brodie in bed with the most stunning woman Geoff has ever seen.

Love at first sight turns out to be real and it strikes them all as they come together and realize that no matter what the obstacles, they are meant to be together. Silla is the missing link that will join their lives and make them a true Lair family.

Warning: Knights like to get frisky and these two are no exception. Beware the passion, playfulness, a bit of bondage and a whole lot of three-way loving with a tiny bit of exhibitionism thrown in for good measure.

Pre-order it now from: Amazon

And if paranormal or epic fantasy menage isn't  your thing, I also had a recent short story release in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FUTURISTIC ROMANCE, which is also available as a standalone ebook called END OF THE LINE. Here's a bit about that one:

Jit'suku Captain Fedroval - Val for short - shoots down a one-man fighter out near the Galactic Rim, but the pilot, much to his surprise and horror, is a woman named Lisbet Duncan. The alien jit'suku have a strict warrior code. In their culture, making war on females of any species is a shameful stain on one's honor. The captain doesn't quite know what to do with Lisbet, but he can't let her die alone in space. He orders his men to tow her life pod into his much larger battle ship.

Val is the last of his line - heir to a legacy that cannot be continued on his own world - because no respectable jit'suku woman will have him after the destruction of his family. He has put all his considerable resources into building his state of the art battleship and joining the fight to take the human galaxy, hoping to restore his honor in some small way. This is Val's first foray into human space and his first encounter with a human female. And wouldn't you know it? He falls for her, head over heels for her.

Lisbet is attracted to Val as well. When he puts the moves on her, she can't resist his masculine charm, but she doesn't like being a prisoner - even if she is being kept in a gilded cage, treated more like a guest. She doesn't know a lot about jit'suku culture and it's pretty clear they don't understand much about humans. It's going to be fun educating her captor about just how headstrong, fierce... and loving... a human woman can be.

Buy it now from: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Smashwords - and other etailers...

I have hopes for a few more releases this year but no solid news except for the sequel to WOLF HILLS, which is called WOLF QUEST and is currently scheduled for release in December from Samhain Publishing.

So we're all caught up for now, I think. If I missed anything, you can always find information on my website: www.biancadarc.com or catch me on facebook. I'm on there as "biancadarc" if you want to find me. ;-)

Happy New Year!!!

Dragon Knights New Arrivals!

 

Great news! All of the novels in my award-winning Dragon Knights series are being reissued, one per month, with new covers and new (minimal) edits. They started with the first book, Maiden Flight, in August.

 

The second book, Border Lair, will be released later this month, on September 25th. The new editions have seriously sexy new covers, all done by the amazing artist, Angela Waters. She also did the amazing cover for my last book, Wolf Hills, and all the Brotherhood of Blood series.

 

So this month, from me, you're going to get a bit of a "commercial" - sorry. I'm just so excited about having these books reissued with new covers and, as I said, new edits. For those of you who might have already read this series, the edits aren't anything major, so you're still good, I think, with the original versions.

The big thing we're building up to is the release of the new Dragon Knights novel, Keeper of the Flame, scheduled for next February.

 

Here's a little bit about Maiden Flight, which is availalbe now, for your delectation...
 

War is coming for the dragon knights…but love may find them first.

Dragon Knights, Book 1

A chance meeting with a young male dragon seals the fate of one adventurous female poacher. The dragon’s partner, a ruggedly handsome knight named Gareth, takes one look at the shapely woman and decides to do a little poaching of his own.

Sir Gareth both seduces and falls deeply in love with the girl who is not only unafraid of dragons but also possesses a rare gift—she can hear the beasts’ silent speech. He wants her for his mate, but mating with a knight is no simple thing. To accept a knight, a woman must also accept the dragon, the dragon’s mate…and her knight, Lars, too.

She is at first shocked, then intrigued by the lusty life in the Lair. But war is in the making and only the knights and dragons have a chance at ending it before it destroys their land and their lives.

Warning: Contains dragons, their sexy knights and a damsel who is not quite in distress. Sizzling hot m/f/m scenes may leave you breathing fire.

You can buy Maiden Flight now from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Samhain, and other fine ebook sellers. This book will be reissued in print next year. In the meantime, you can still find this story in the print volume called Ladies of the Lair, which contains the original editions of both Maiden Flight and Border Lair.

Bianca D'Arc
Come over to The D'Arc Side... www.biancadarc.com

New! KING OF CLUBS by Bianca D'Arc

 

Hey! What happened to June? It seemed I blinked, and it was gone. Wow.

I have this private theory that time is speeding up. I can't prove it - much like Einstein couldn't do the actual math to prove his greatest theory - but I think time is actually going faster and we can perceive it as moving faster, but since it's relative to everything else, we can't really prove it.

Okay, so I just lost half of you. Sorry. Toss it up to watching too many "The Big Bang Theory" re-runs. (I love that show!) Anyway... I have a new book out. It's the third in a series of space opera novellas where the heroines all have some kind of clairvoyant abilities and the heroes are retired soldiers-turned spies working to keep our galaxy free from various threats including an alien race called the Jit'Suku and even space pirates.

Here's a little bit about it:

King Of Clubs - Arcana, Book 3

Spymaster Chip is the King of Clubs - a professional bar manager and soldier - sent to run intel operatives out of a bar on Madhatter Station near the Galactic Rim. Lila has been managing the bar in her sister's absence for two weeks when, as she predicted using her deck of cards and her clairvoyant gift, Chip arrives. Sparks fly between them almost immediately, only spiking higher when they uncover a plot to take over the station. Can the new lovers and a handful of retired vets avert catastrophe and save the station?

Chip didn't expect to find the bar open for business when he arrived at The Rabbit Hole on Madhatter Station. Not only is it open, but a beautiful woman is running the joint. He's instantly attracted to her, but tragedy in his past has kept him from getting involved in any but the most superficial of relationships. This woman, though, she tempts him like no other.

Lila foresaw the coming of her own personal Charlemagne, the King of Clubs. She had no idea he would be so appealing though. A widow, Lila didn't expect to be so attracted to the ex-soldier. Her female senses stir to life for the first time in years and she wants to get to know him better. A lot better.

When pirates plot to take control of Madhatter Station, it's up to Chip and Lila to organize the resistance. With a handful of well placed vets and a handful of pilots, they mount a defense, but will it be enough? Or will it be too little, too late? And what of the lovers? Will their love and belief in each other be enough to see them through one of the greatest tests of the human mind?

The book is available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Get it while it's hot! :)