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My Forbidden Desire starts with Harsh (from the first novel) and Alexandrine reconnecting. They are brother and sister. Alexandrine has been certain of Harsh’s death for years, she’s resentful for his sudden presence and insistence she needs protection from an evil mage… who just happens to be her real father.
Xia, a secondary character in My Wicked Enemy, is a newly freed fiend and the one charged with protecting Alexandrine. When Carolyn said she had refashioned bad boy Xia into a hero I knew I had to read his story! His intense hate, eagerness to kill, and desire to give out pain would be hard to overcome for any writer. Even more so when you planned to pair him up with someone who Xia considers his enemy, no matter how harmless. In my opinion, Carolyn has done a phenomenal job revealing the witch hater’s inner good qualities. Xia is very easily worth the price of the book.
Alexandrine Marit as a heroine is very likeable… despite being a witch. She possesses a great amount of unselfishness, though she has to work for it. The talisman she has found is putting a number on her similar to Golem’s reaction around the one ring in The Lord of the Rings. Her self-sacrifices pile up throughout the novel – if I were to list them it would seem ridiculous, but I assure it is not. Simply put it is quite the only way to prove her character to Xia.
It took me a while to get into this book. The first chapter or two was pretty rough. I started and stopped twice before finally overcoming the strangeness of the novel’s set up. As with Carolyn’s other novels, once you are involved in the story you simply can’t put it down!
Warnings… if you weren’t curious about Choices Meant for Gods or Sandy Lender before this interview you’re going to be chomping at the bit to get this book to devour! Mwuahaha…
1. How did the idea for Choices Meant for Gods first come to you?
Sandy Lender: Way back when I was in junior high or early high school, the evil bad guy, Jamieson Drake, showed me Amanda Chariss. She was standing on a balcony, holding back the curtains as if embracing the morning sunrise and she was beautiful. I fell in love with her instantly. I got her name wrong at first…and I wasn’t sure how she met Nigel Taiman at first…but I always knew she’d been running (with her wizard guardian) from this nasty old sorcerer Drake since she was a child.
I’ve got a notebook somewhere with a scene of Chariss and Hrazon meeting up with Nigel in the forest before they get to the Taiman estate. The names are all wrong but the camaraderie between Chariss and Hrazon is amazing. It shows Nigel instantly falling in love with this young lady, which I think is way too obvious, of course!
2. I’m pretty curious about Chariss. Why is she a heroine readers can get behind?
Sandy Lender: On one hand, Chariss is this amazing, kick-butt, no-holds-barred gal who possesses a well-controlled form of magic (the geasa) through years of training and self-sacrifice. On the other hand, she’s just a 20-year-old girl who’s been running from a madman since age four when the guy killed her whole family in front of her. She’s sympathetic that way. She doesn’t think of herself as any great shakes. She’s done all this training so she can protect herself; not to impress anyone. She doesn’t believe she can do anything great (flaw #1); she can’t cook (funny flaw). She loves her guardian wizard like a father and would lay down her life to save his. She’s kind to everyone because she just feels that’s the right way to be. When she finds a fledgling dragon, she’s excited and wants to feed it. She’s just approachable and fun, strong and fabulous. There are reviewers on Amazon who state it more succinctly than I can because I’m too close to her. I’ve had her in my head for 25 years or so.
Oh. And then there’s this amethyst on her cheekbone, high up near the corner of her right eye that she was born with. It’s a “birthmark” of sorts that seals her fate…
3. What are some of the overarching themes that will drive your Choices trilogy?
Tolerance
Love
Spirituality
4. What are some of the difficulties in world-building?
Sandy Lender: Tracking those darn moons. I have a big ol’ desk calendar, though, that I’ve plotted the moon patterns on so I know when the two moons in the world of Onweald are both full, both waning, etc. I need that information…
Another difficulty was measurements when I’ve got a flooding river in the mix. I have the evil bad guy in cahoots with an evil bad goddess (because one evil bad guy isn’t enough, you know?) and they’ve got an evil bad army marching toward Chariss’s latest refuge. Well, I’ve got to measure out how long that’s going to take so everyone converges on the same place at the same time in Book III. So far, I think I have it timed just so…
5. Of course world-building isn’t all work-a lot of it is fun. What’s your favorite fantasy element you’ve incorporated into your world?
Sandy Lender: This is a really great question, Keira! There are a few elements I love…like Malachi, the dragon. I can’t go into “why” because I would be giving away a bit of a mystery that the reader is supposed to solve before the end of Choices Meant for Gods. Chariss doesn’t solve it (silly girl), but the reader figures it out. Mwuahahahaha.
I will pick: the geasa. I’m one of those funky Southern Baptists (even though I write bizarre fantasy about polytheistic societies - go figure) that believes sorcery and magic are things you best be pretty darn careful about. So, in my fantasy novels, I didn’t want to confuse any impressionable minds (teens, etc.) who would be reading by having my “good guys” using sorcery or magic. So I made up a form of magic that comes from the good side of nature in my world. Now, you can argue that we’re still using magic, and I agree, but, hey, it’s my fantasy world and I’ll cheat if I want to. So I made up the geasa as a god-breathed form of power that some people get while they’re forming in the womb and some people don’t. It’s not necessarily hereditary, but many frightened bigots in the world of Onweald fear that it is, and many families have been murdered for producing Geasa’n children. That’s where the theme of tolerance comes into play in the series. People who are intolerant and bigoted don’t fare so well in my novels…
6. When it comes to the written word and real life, how do you define love?
Sandy Lender: I’ve just gone through a 17-month divorce, after a 13-year marriage that was mostly devoid of love, so I might not be the right person to ask. He he he. In fact, not long before I filed, my ex-husband informed me that he’d spent most of the marriage resenting me. Nice. So…I think I’ll say that love would be NOT resenting the other person.
To be very serious, though, I would define love as mutual affection, respect, and, in romantic love, passion. Isn’t it Eleanor in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility who throws “esteem” into the mix? I agree with the concept. Even for romantic love, the friendship qualities have to be in there or your characters are just having a fling.
In Choices Meant for Gods, when Nigel and Chariss first see each other, Chariss is so distressed over a plot development that’s happening that she doesn’t really notice too much about him. But Nigel is instantly enamored. He wants to come to her rescue. A friendship builds between the two before Nigel ever announces his intentions. Chariss wouldn’t have had it any other way.
7. How did ArcheBooks first hear of Choices Meant for Gods?
Sandy Lender: I had a pitch session with the publisher, Bob Gelinas, at a writer’s conference in Southwest Florida. He took my proposal, synopsis, marketing plan, first three chapters, and then requested the full manuscript a few days later. Woo-hoo! That was probably the most stressful interview of my whole life. Bob was a kind person, rather informal, just havin’ a conversation about my book, but he probably doesn’t realize I was on the verge of cardiac arrest the whole time.
8. Fill in the blank: If you’re not writing, youare irritable.
9. What do you hope readers will gain from ChoicesMeant for Gods and the rest of your trilogy?
Sandy Lender: Even though life isn’t always fair, even though we don’t always get what we want, there are amazing people we meet during our journeys who lift us up. Without these people, the journey wouldn’t be worth much.
10. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Sandy Lender: This might seem a wee bit odd, but in addition to my Choices Meant for Gods, I would encourage folks also to read Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. This novel is one of the best ever written. It’s my favorite of all time. There are elements in Jane Eyre that influence my writing on a conscious and subconscious level, and folks who have already read the book will probably pick out a few of those elements in ChoicesMeant for Gods.
Also, thank you so much for hosting me! And thank you to all the visitors who’ve stopped in to read our interview today. It’s been a fun exercise.
Thank you so much Sandy for sitting down and doing this interview with me! I’m so excited about this book and I hope everyone else is too.
If you’re interested in WINNING an autographed, hard cover, first edition of Choices Meant for Gods leave a COMMENT on today’s post AND tomorrow’s post because at the end of each week one commenter (from all the blogs in the tour that week) will be randomly drawn and awarded. It might be you!
Do you like paranormal romance? Did you at one point enjoy Anita Blake? Well, My Wicked Enemy just pwned Anita Blake, but don’t take my word for it see for yourself! I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down!
Our heroine is a terrified (rightly so) woman who experiences intense migraines. She’s seen something she shouldn’t (a ritual sacrifice) and it on the run from her guardian (the bad guy). Carson took nothing with her, and that includes her medicine, in hopes to escape. Being in a hurry might seem like a disadvantage now, with a pulsing multi-colored migraine rearing its ugly head and a man who’s stalking her through the streets, but it will in fact be a blessing in disguise.
Nikodemus is a warlord, a fiend with natural leadership, and he is the one stalking the pretty and petite Carson Philips through the streets. Killing her is on his to-do list, just below mage Magellan. He can’t believe how easy it is to track the witch. Her magic is fluctuating all over the place. One minute it’s there and the next it’s almost as if she were a human. When he corners her, Nikodemus asks just one question, “Why shouldn’t I kill you?”
The answer leads them through a dangerous adventure that spins out of control as they face mageheld fiends, evil mages, skitterish warlords, blood twins and more! The book starts out like it ends, by taking your breath away.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Marked interracial because the heroine is a witch and the hero is a fiend.
Today I am reviewing Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry. This is my first ARC (advance review copy; official book release is September 30, 2008) and I eagerly read the whole novel in two days! Knight’s Fork is just one novel in the futuristic set series about the Great Djinn race. Knight’s Fork contains all the right stuff from a stowaway princess to a knight’s quest and the threat of death licking at their heels. This book and series would be great for any lover of alien paranormal romance or paranormal romance in general.
Watch out for the ‘Dj’ names! There’s quite a few to remember and follow! The romance novel is filled to overflowing with political intrigue and the key players are trying to play everybody else all at the same time to get their way. The main characters have to watch out for who their enemies are and who their allies are.
Cherry titles her novels after chess moves, and yes the characters do play chess and the move in question is used several times throughout the novel. Knight’s Fork in particular is about a choice between two evils – you’re going to lose something and the decision becomes which loss is acceptable?
This choice is ‘Rhett’s, a Saurian Knight, and it is between power and a female. Saurian is another alien race, but don’t let this fool you about this white knight. Back to the point - how can power or a female be a bad choice whichever you choose? A grab for power will set other leaders in a tizzy and the female is another male’s mate that’s how!
The rival male is King of another alien race, the Volnoth, and taking Electra could start a war on par with the ancient Greek war over Helen of Troy. It’s too bad for ‘Rhett that he’s tempted by Electra and not by the power offered. Far more tempting is that she wants him… for his sperm. What’s a knight to do?
This novel and series isn’t for the fainthearted that likes their romances to be mild and sweet. Urban colloquialisms for sex and emissions abound, the Great Djinn even regularly swear by Carnality! However for those who crave the contemporary slang and straightforward nature to the approach of sex Knight’s Fork is deliciously racy and erotic. The whole novel revolves around sex!
You could compare Cherry’s novel to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry series about fairies because the Princess Electra seeks to get pregnant just like Meredith does. Or you could compare the novel to the Twilight Saga with ‘Rhett being a virgin, sworn to a vow of chastity, similar to Edward’s chase behavior. Whatever parallels you draw, Cherry spins a great story.
Rating: 3.5-4 Stars
Originally posted 2008-09-11 05:56:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
The story of Gawain and Aislyn is one told before in the Canterbury Tales (The Wife of Bath’s Tale) under different names. Gwen Rowley remakes it in Knights of the Round Table: Gawain. Where the original had the knight rape a lovely young maiden and sentenced before King Arthur and Guinevere into solving a riddle about what women really want or meet his death, this tale is more humorous and full circle. I laughed out loud several times while reading this novel.
It starts with King Arthur and Sir Gawain riding to the King’s certain death. Having been bested a year ago by a young knight from another court, Arthur was deeded the task to find out what women truly desire. A whole year and a book full of answers that contradicted each other later, there was no hope for King Arthur. Gawain is determined to see his uncle survive this second meeting with the knight.
An old crone comes across their path and offers the answer for a price… Gawain must marry her, if her answer is deemed correct. He accepts much to King Arthur’s dismay and her answer turns out valid. Gawain marries the hideous crone and endures ridicule, scorn, shame, and more at her hands and by his fellow courtiers. But the crone makes him laugh, something he’s not done in the five years since Aislyn’s death.
Aislyn is determined to teach Sir Gawain a lesson. He left her five years ago in anger after she’d bared her heart and soul to him. Sir Gawain knew nothing of love and his contempt of women was widely known. She would have given King Arthur the answer freely, but then the idea of punishing the feckless and faithless Gawain was too irresistible to pass up. She wasn’t marrying him because he still could make her heart leap at the sight of him… that would be unwise, after all he had turned on her, he would do so again.
Unfortunately for her, Aislyn is stuck in her crone form by Gawain’s aunt at court and she can not speak of her true identity. Only a kiss born of love and received in love would break the enchantment even partially. One kiss and she could be young and beautiful for half of the day, her punishment for the cruelty she subjected upon Gawain. But half a day could be enough to last a lifetime, if she could conjure up the courage to stay.
Have you ever read your name in a romance book? How about with different spelling? I rarely do as my name is fairly unique. Listening to my name as a protagonist in Destiny’s Jewel was definitely a bit of naughty fun.
Rebecca Rogers, who narrated Maestro’s Butterfly, narrates Destiny’s Jewel and does another amazing job! Five out of five for steamy!
I recently went on a road trip to meet with some friends and Destiny’s Jewel was my trip companion. Who needs the radio? Seriously! Listen to some erotica instead - it’s sure to keep you awake and get your blood pumping.
Kyra L’orrac has been entrusted to guard a royal treasure, a giant sapphire known as the Stone of Destiny. It is her first big assignment under the Royal Special Forces (RSF). She is protecting it from the incoming vizier and magician Ellard J’aron, who seeks it for personal gain and power.
For Ellard it is imperative that he retrieved the star sapphire and its two sister jewels, an emerald and ruby respectively. If he fails to bring the trio home to Dolnair he faces execution and his family the ultimate disgrace. As if Ellard’s troubles aren’t enough he is under a very strict time limit and the pretty girl who holds the first of the jewels inspires passions he should not-nay can not-indulge, even if he wants too… desperately.
Mmm-mmm delicious. I love the plot to this novel, which looks like it will drive the second in the series. I also love the romantic conflict- it’s simply too yummy. Roman certainly has a way with storytelling, twisting and weaving different threads into one cohesive whole. I listened to the audio version of this book and was tempted more than once to click double speed just so I could devour this novel faster. Of course, I didn’t, that would take out half of the fun. Medea Carter Beckett is truly the best narrator Ravenous could have found for the job.
Magickers are being hunted. In the age of the English witch hunts, known as the Great Purification, one man rises above the rest to the head of the assault. Nobody is safe while Corwin continues to breathe. He is clever and charismatic, wooing people to his viewpoint. A bill is in parliament and if the Magickers are to have any hope at all for survival it must pass.
Malcolm Wargrave, earl of Preston, is on the fence. He is neutral and has not taken a stance, either agreement or disagreement to Corwin’s speeches. He is Lady Raven Drake’s lover. They started their affair almost immediately after their mutual friend’s house party began. She was a virgin when they met, and while she gave him her virginity she could never be his as she belonged to another. That and because she kept a secret from Malcolm.
Gareth, Viscount Moore, is Raven’s intended. They are engaged for several purposes. Not only were they well matched as both were Master Magickers, but they also stood as the only defense for their people. As the heirs to two of the very last powerful lines of Magickers, their alliance would create a new line of Masters. Their children would be powerful. United in marriage, their union would be a beacon of hope to their people.
Raven will face the toughest decision of her young life – will she give into her heart or into duty?
The review for today is not one, but three novels.
The Raintree Trilogy is an weak, anemic effort by three different authors. The premise is that two hundred years ago there was a war between the Raintree clan, a family with paranormal abilities, and the Ansara wizards. The Ansara clan was nearly wiped out, but the Raintree clan stopped short of annihilating them entirely, a mistake that they are about to regret. The Ansara clan has been rebuilt and a rogue group is out for revenge.
Book One: Raintree: Inferno by Linda Howard
Dante Raintree is Dranir or king of the Raintree family and owns a hotel-casino in Reno. Like the other members of his family, he keeps a low profile and does not advertise his paranormal abilities, which in his case is the ability to control fire and enter the minds of others. He has no intention of ever getting married or having a family. His brother Gideon, who is heir apparent for the position of Dranir, sends him fertility charms on a regular basis. Gideon does not want to be Dranir.
Lorna Clay finds herself in Dante’s office because she is suspected of cheating. Lorna is empathic and can therefore ‘read’ the other players. She denies, even to herself, that she has this ability. Suddenly there is a fire in the casino and Dante must enter her mind to augment his own powers in an effort to control the fire. Controlling Lorna’s mind is something Dante does often in the story, albeit with good intentions. It is a wonder that Lorna can forgive him enough to fall in love with him.
Those familiar with Linda Howard’s work, may be disappointed with this book. She does not appear comfortable with this genre and has difficulty explaining the particulars of Dante’s paranormal abilities and the Raintree family. As a result, the plot seems disjointed and characters’ motivations are not easy to understand.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Book Two: Raintree: Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones
Gideon’s gift is controlling electricity and the ability to see and talk to ghosts. Talking to ghosts comes in handy with his job; Gideon is a homicide detective in Wilmington, NC. Lately, he has been dreaming of a tricky little girl ghost named Emma who insists on calling Gideon ‘Daddy’. He has carefully explained to her that he has no intention of marrying and having children, but she laughs and says that she will come to him in a moonbeam.
Hope Malory is a police detective who has asked to be transferred to Wilmington from Raleigh in an effort to be closer to her mother. In Raleigh, she worked in vice and has always wanted to work in homicide. She is Gideon’s new partner. She is immediately suspicious of him. He is too well dressed for a cop and he lives in a lovely, beachfront home. His success rate in closing cases is nearly perfect. Thinking that he is a dirty cop, Hope decides to check into him further.
Raintree: Haunted is a pleasant surprise after reading Inferno. Linda Winstead Jones is very comfortable with this genre. The plot is tightly woven with very likable characters and a good amount of humor. There were a couple of things that did not seem realistic: people have a kind of amnesia that keeps them from remembering what doesn’t make sense to them; and a heterosexual man who knows that it is not comfortable to sleep in a bra. All in all it is a satisfying book, the best of the three.
Rating: 3 Stars
Raintree: Sanctuary by Bevery Barton
Mercy Raintree is a single mother, empathic healer and keeper of the Raintree Sanctuary; the sacred, ancestral home of the Raintree Clan, located on a large area of land in the Smokey Mountains. It is here that all the previous characters meet up to defend it against a rogue group of Ansara warriors.
Judah Ansara is Dranir of the Ansara Clan. Cael, his illegitimate half brother and leader of the rogue group of warriors are challenging Judah’s position as Dranir. Judah is also the father of Eve, although he is at first unaware of her existence.
Eve is a bright, talented child with knowledge beyond her years. Since Eve is a ‘half-breed’ she should have been killed at birth and only her mother and nanny are aware of her parentage. Mercy and Judah are bitter enemies, despite the powerful lust they have for one another but they must learn to work together to save Eve and the Sanctuary.
As a finale, Sanctuary falls flat. The plot is thin and lacks cohesiveness, the characters are superficial and the ending is contrived. There is very little detail and plot elements are underdeveloped being briefly explained on the side. Most of the action during the big battle scene is focused on Dante and does not really involve the other characters. This is a disappointing book.
Rating: 2 Stars
If you would like to submit a review to LRP, we would love to have you. You can find submission guidelines here.
Thanks again Marcia! You’re a wonderful reviewer and RRN is lucky to have you!
Originally posted 2008-11-30 13:15:13. Republished by Old Post Promoter
The classic story of Sleeping Beauty retold by Catherine Murdock in Princess Ben takes on a life of its own. When her father, mother, and uncle are brutally murdered under the orders of King Renaldo of Drachensbett, Benevolence is summoned by her aunt, the queen, to take her place as the heir to Montagne.
Ben is resentful of all the tortures Queen Sophie inflicts on her from classes in deportment and dancing to limiting her food in an effort to slim her figure. Ben has never been one of those silly princesses, who dined on air and compliments. She was plump and happy about it. She enjoyed her food and having it taken away is a terrible injustice!
After her latest punishment from Queen Sophie, Ben cried and raged and somehow stumbles upon a secret doorway. Behind the doorway is a stairwell, and the stairwell leads to a room. In the room there’s a book, a magic one, and in the dead of night Ben steals away and practices magic in secret. One spell creates a sleeping body double.
Prince Florian of Drachensbett, believes in destiny and true love… until he realizes that the sleeping girl who can not be woken from his prophecy is the sullen rotund Princess Ben. Despairing, Florian chooses to lead warriors against Montagne, but thoughts of war can’t block out Princess Ben. He dreams of her, as she dreams of him, much to his disgust because the girl in his dreams is nothing like the Princess Ben he met.
This book is weird to read as its first person omniscient. Queen Benevolence is recounting her tale to readers and at times it reads from young Ben’s point of view, but you get voiceovers from the present older Ben. I felt like I should believe the experiences were happening to a fifteen year old girl, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it with the narrator voice being so much older.
This article is written by Sourcebooks author, Linda Wisdom. You can find her regularly over at Casablanca Authors and Wickedly Romantic. Please extend her a warm welcome for joining us!
I love the idea of small towns because there’s so much you can do with them. A small mountain town for witchy Stasi Romanov and fellow witch Blair Fitzpatrick seemed right since they had lived there on and off for about 150 years by reinventing themselves over the decades.
You can also have quirky characters although there’s nothing more quirky than Horace, Stasi’s gargoyle, who hangs out in her lingerie boutique, because he enjoys hanging out in the dressing rooms with the customers who have no idea he’s real. It sure makes me think twice of trying on clothes at the store! And Stasi’s dog, Bogie, who floats instead of walks and disappears at will.
But a small town means everyone knows what’s going on and now that Stasi and Blair have outed themselves as witches, the town’s okay with that. At least, they were until Stasi’s accused of using a hexed sachet and being sued in Wizards Court and the human woman suing her is making sure everyone knows what an evil person Stasi is.
Even wizard lawyer Trev Barnes working for the plaintiff soon sees that all is not what it should be, not to mention he’s attracted to the sweet-natured witch.
But there’s still something going on in the town that can’t be explained. A lake that’s been harmed by magick. People Stasi considered as close friends now suddenly afraid of her and they’re using the word “witch” as if she’s suddenly turned evil.
All it takes is a snowstorm closing the town off to the outside world and a massive power outage to bring that fear to a high level and it’s up to Stasi, Trev and her friends to find out just what’s going on there and hopefully do it before it’s too late.
I always saw Stasi as the witch with soul of romance and her need to see women empowered by their sensuality. For her to be treated this way is hurtful and she sees the need to fight back.
When I came up with the idea for Wicked By Any Other Name I knew there would be darkness there. A town that couldn’t call out for help and with a fear that slipped through it like a disease and what they saw as an obvious villain and why not a witch? Shades of Olde Salem and I brought that up too because there was no reason why a 700+ year young witch couldn’t have lived there during that dark time.
And romance with a yummy wizard, humor with a pervert of a gargoyle along with some old friends such as Jazz, Nick and Irma. Yes, Fluff and Puff too. And some new characters that I hope will make you smile.
I love writing my witches. They make me smile. They make me laugh and yes, sometimes I have a sniffle or two. I hope you see them the same way and also enjoy the epilogue in Wicked by Any Other Name, which stars Fluff and Puff going up against Cupid.
Banned to the mortal world for an undistinguished amount of time, Staci Romanov and her good intentioned trouble making friends weave through the centuries masking themselves as ordinary muggles. Early on in the gold rush, Staci and her best friend Blair stumble upon the town located near the power radiating Moonstone Lake. Staci owns a lingerie shop in the small present day town, to which she and Blair have vowed to protect; both friends see the town as home and the townspeople as family.
Staci places a charm on a satchel she sells to Carrie Anderson (a townsperson) to allow her husband to see what kind of person Carrie truly is. Right from the beginning of the novel you find out that Carrie has filed suit on Staci in Wizard’s Court- a very aggressive legal medium. Trev Barnes, a wizard and Carrie’s cut throat counsel, soon meets Miss Romanov in her small town, under the humorous insistence of his aged secretary.
With the Cupid’s hearts dancing above both Trev and Staci’s heads, this book makes for a very lighthearted mystery romance novel. Their meeting was nothing less than love at first sight. Even with the upcoming lunar eclipse and Mercury in Retrograde there is something still forbidding in the air that has the town’s friendly ghosts trembling with shock and fear. Staci and Blair both put it upon themselves to find out what’s causing the upset, later assisted by a motley crew of supernatural friends. The search leads them to Moonstone Lake, originally used as a sanctuary for the witches, now guarded by power-sucking orbs and a dangerous ward by an unknown assailant. The witches in the town are quickly placed under suspicion for causing the upset. Trev, whom is unable to remove the bitter Carrie from his case load- due to wizard’s law- doesn’t seem to mind crossing the social boundaries he has with Staci (as wizard’s law isn’t specific with interaction of opposed counsels).
I found the story funny and very entertaining. Some of the sex scenes were short and lacked description that I craved. The compilations sounded like an entrance and orgasm before I even knew what was going on. I enjoyed the food play in the book- always a treat or tea in a character’s hand, which made the story seem more realistic to me. It also slowed the plot to allow the characters to develop. I felt like there were too many characters and time spent on too many side plots instead of being solely focused on the main plot. I found the mystery of Moonstone Lake’s mystic upset to be a great driver to push the character’s forward, but would have enjoyed more interaction between the two protagonists. In short, Wicked by Any Other Name is well written with great flow.
Or more accurately an interview with her ragtag group of characters from the Jazz Tremaine novels, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover and Hex Appeal.
LRP: We’ll start by asking Croc and Delilah, Jazz’ slutty but funny crocodile stilettos a few questions. Who’s the hunkiest character in Jazz’s world?
C&D – Oooh, that’s easy! Jonathon, although Jazz calls him Krebs. There’s a sexy boyish quality about him that makes us quiver and swoon. Yum!
LRP: I know you can match every outfit Jazz wheres but what’s your favorite color to turn into?
C&D — We love to turn into red because the color is so sexy. We know many think black is sexy, but red stands out more. When we turn into red we love to be the sexiest stilettos in the universe.
LRP: I know there’s some animosity between you and Jazz’ other set of talking shoes so here’s my last question. If you could get away with it, what would you do to Fluff and Puff?
C&D — They are so mean to us! Nasty things! We’d like to turn them pink. They hate the color and they’d hate being pink.
LRP: Oo! Pink! I shudder to think how they would react. Now Nick, I have a few questions for you if you have a minute. Why is witches’ blood poisonous?
Nick – It’s a protection for them against our kind since the witches and vampires had been at war. We vamps were never told how it worked, only that the spell cast centuries ago would also protect future witches. So there’s no nibbling where Jazz is concerned.
LRP: Do vampires have a soul? More importantly, do you have one?
Nick – Our souls aren’t like a traditional soul, more the knowledge of right and wrong. Over the years we’ve had to remain in the dark, so to speak, and many of my kind used that to their advantage by preying on the weak. That’s why the Protectorate is in force, making sure rogue vampires aren’t on the loose and keeping order within our community.
LRP: When did you first know you loved Jazz?
Nick (laughing) – Don’t tell her this, but probably from the very beginning. Even during a time when women were supposed to be seen and not heard, she still made sure that she was heard … big time. She has an aura of energy that you wouldn’t believe. I knew I was a goner and I still am.
LRP: How romantic! Now let’s talk to the witch behind all the magic. So why ‘because I say so, damn it?’
Jazz — So mote it be is so old century and when I cast a spell I like it to stick. This way no one can undo it.
LRP: I’d hate to be cursed. Now Nick, tell us about him. When did you first know you loved him?
Jazz – Have you seen him? The man is seriously hot, so for a second it was lust when I looked at him, and once he spoke I knew it was much more. I wouldn’t have believed in the term soul mates if it wasn’t for him. Nick is the other part of me.
LRP: My final question for you is about a different kind of magic. What is your favorite spell?
Jazz – Truthfully? Glamours when I wake up in the morning looking like a hag. And I mean a literal hag! There’s no way I can leave the house looking like that, so a little of this and a pinch of that and I look gorgeous. Who wouldn’t want that spell in her arsenal?
LRP: Krebs, what’s it like having a witch for a roommate?
Krebs — Very different, but she’s turned into my best friend. Magick flies all around and she eats all my pudding cups in my fridge in my work area, but Jazz makes life interesting, so it’s worth it.
LRP: What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you since Jazz swept into your life?
Krebs – Just one? I’ve had Christmas trees destroyed courtesy of Fluff and Puff, my house has been turned into a toxic dump, Fluff and Puff ate my Grateful Dead T-shirt, which I still haven’t forgiven them for, I’ve met my share of vampires. So life definitely isn’t boring.
LRP: Haha, poor Krebs. So my final questions are going to the mischievous bunny duo, Fluff and Puff. Who was the last person you ate?
F&P – Contrary to popular belief we don’t eat people. Way too nasty. Sure, there’s been an occasional squirrel, but we’d rather have good stuff like carrot cake, licorice root and chocolate.
LRP: Are you going to punish Jazz for locking you up?
F&P – We were mad at her at first, but we knew she had to do it even if it wasn’t any fun for us. Of course, that doesn’t mean we won’t have our ways of making her miserable now and then.
LRP: If you could get away with it, what would you do to Delilah and Croc?
F&P – Heh heh heh! We’d make sure they could NEVER use any make up or perfume. They’re really HATE that!
LRP: That would be tragic! Thanks for taking the time to chat with Love Romance Passion readers Jazz and gang.
If you have questions you would like to ask Linda Wisdom about her kooky and wild characters or about her novels submit a comment and I’ll be sure to forward them to her!
Be sure to check out the Casablanca Authors Blog, where Linda is a regular contributor for more information on other going-ons in her world. This blog is a group blog for Sourcebooks Casablanca authors so you can learn more about your favorites.
Originally posted 2008-10-28 05:59:52. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Linda Wisdom is the creator behind the latest paranormal sensation. Her hit characters Jazz Tremaine and Nick make an appearance in Hex Appeal, a fun little pun on sex appeal. The novel is a sequel to 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover and contains the old gang plus some new faces. I particularly loved the slut shoes, Delilah and Croc. They were a hoot, chasing after guys in all directions.
Don’t know the characters? I’ll introduce you!
Jazz is short for Jasmine and she’s a witch. She’s over 700 years old and I have to know her beauty secret for eternal youth! Jazz is a curse eliminator and forays between the preternatural community and the mortal one to do her job. When she’s not eliminating curses she’s driving for Dweezil, an ugly bad tempered creature, but at least the pay is good. In short, Jazz is quirky, funny, and feisty.
Nick is Jazz’s long time vampire honey. Sure they’ve been on again off again a few times, but Nick is the one for Jazz and vice versa. Currently, Nick is working as a detective in the preternatural community helping to solve crimes that the mortals simply couldn’t deal with. He drinks his blood from a beer bottle and likes to watch sports. He’s also good in bed.
Krebs is Jazz’s mortal roommate. He likes computer programming, web design, and horror films. He’s petrified of Jazz’s bunny slippers and ghost dog, who likes to hump everything in sight. Not that Krebs can see the dog; no that would be too easy. Jazz will have to get on that so Krebs can avoid the canine.
Irma is a ghost stuck with 50s hair and clothes. She watches pay-per-view, cries during Casablanca, loves to smoke, and can be a general pain but she’s got her uses. Irma can go through wards witches can not and makes a helpful side kick when she isn’t determined to be whiny.
Fluff and Puff are Jazz’s ultra scary bunny slippers. They terrify the preternatural community and Krebs on a regular basis. They love licorice, carrot cake, and Jazz – well when she isn’t punishing them for things they didn’t do! They would never eat a wereweasel because they’re disgusting and to imply otherwise is a grievous insult.
But potential murdering bunny slippers aside, Jazz has a lot more to deal with in Hex Appeal. Somebody is tampering with her dreams! She and Nick fight after a dream that was so vivid Jazz could feel the pain of it even after she woke up. If that weren’t bad enough she was turned mortal for 48 hours and mugged. Who hates her enough to do something to heinous? She was subject to mortal problems like acne!
As things start to pile up on Jazz and Nick, they have to figure out who is the cause behind all their problems, solve a murder, deal with the vampire police, and a couple of grouchy bunny slippers. All this before time runs out!
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-10-26 15:39:36. Republished by Old Post Promoter
This post was written in response to the Miami Book Examiner’s defense of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley as one of the five most romantic literary couples.
Point One: Great literary romances develop in a believable way.
The Book Examiner would have you believe that because J.K. Rowling had seven books to write the love story between Harry and Ginny developed naturally over time. To that I say prove it because what I read was not a realistic love story.
Ginny is all but ignored as the younger sister to Ron Weasley until book five. Book five she joins the secret DA club in order to learn how to defend herself when the Ministry was determined to make sure that the children did not know how to defend themselves. The same could be said of Cho, Luna, Hermione, and half a dozen other girls ranging from the Quidditch team to rival housemates.
Then Harry gets a green eyed monster in his stomach in book six and totally acts out of character for the whole book not just when he’s around Ginny. Considering Rowling’s history of introducing little seeds that explode into a major plot point, I figured it was the Amortentia potion at work. Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the wizarding world and was used throughout book six to show how it influenced Voldemort’s life.
Book seven Harry and Ginny are separated and exchange no communication but by the end of the story they are happily married seventeen years later. Riiiiight.
Point Two: Great literary romances are based on a mutual admiration and respect for the other’s strengths and talents.
So Harry admired feared Ginny’s bat boogey hex, but honestly that spell is not the stuff of romance. Harry had more respect for Hermione’s brains and puzzle solving skills. In fact, Hermione shows the most strengths and talents in the entire series and by this reasoning alone she should have been Harry’s match. After all the smart and witty Elizabeth Bennet fell in love with the popular and wealthy Mr. Darcy and Hermione and Harry play those roles far more convincingly than Ginny and Harry.
Heck, Harry greatly respected Luna even if he thought she was sometimes a little weird. He took her on a date too. Why not Luna over Ginny? Luna would have been a great candidate. She shared loss with Harry and like Harry knew what it was to be lonely. She also admired him for his own worth not because of the Boy-Who-Lived nonsense Ginny was always going on about in the earlier novels.
Point Three: Great literary romances are willingly sacrificial.
What did Ginny sacrifice? Or Harry for that matter when it came to the relationship? For those that read book seven you know the ending and the sacrifice Harry made can back me up that he would have made it whether or not Ginny even existed.
Point Four: Great literary romances feature a well-matched pair.
How are Harry and Ginny a well-matched pair? She’s his number one fangirl and he’s the savior of the wizarding world. Her talents are limited. Rowling built up the history behind the magical meaning of number seven but never gave the 7th Weasley child anything to make her unique, except perhaps making her the only female sibling in the bunch. Hermione was the smartest witch of the age, Cho the lovliest, and Luna the most unique with the ability to see and process the world in a different way than most. Ginny can’t even stand on her own two feet and say she was a challenge to him on the Quidditch Pitch because it was Cho not Ginny who battled Harry in game matches.
Point Five: Great literary romances celebrate the steadfast and unwavering love of the underdog.
Of the girls: Hermione, Ginny, Cho, and Luna. Only Hermione and Luna can be considered underdogs because Ginny and Cho were exceedingly popular in their years. Hermione was ostracized originally because of her intelligence and showy talent and Luna because she was seen as odd for her appearance, speech, and beliefs.
Conclusion:
Harry and Ginny never stood a chance against literary romantic couples. Not only because of those reasons but also because H/G had no real on page romance. Rowling condensed everything about their courtship to a few paragraphs where Harry reminisced in book six that the time spent with Ginny didn’t even seem like his own life. Their total time on page is less than 2% of the whole series. Rowling’s best romance was the one she didn’t expressly show us and that was James Potter and Lily Evans. What are your thoughts?
Have you contacted your co-star in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix—Robert Pattinson—to give him any advice about his own sudden fame because of the Twilight films? He was once quoted as saying that if given a choice between himself and you, that girls would choose you every time.
I don’t have his number, so haven’t spoken to him. But I can safely say that his insisting that girls would choose me over him that they would not. That they do not. He is the much prettier and can be much more charming. And he can do that thing of being sultry and sexy.
You’re sexy, Daniel. Come on. Own it.
I can’t!
Yet in Equus you have a nude scene eight times a week. You’re flashing around your Elder Wand for all the world to see.
But I don’t know how to be sexy. Rob can just sort of stand there and look at something and start to smolder. And I just can’t do that. I’m a natural fidget.
YouTube Fun:
Pick your poison - Horcruxes and Hallows Daniel Radcliffe or Baseball and Blood Edward Cullens? Why?
4. What are some of the difficulties in world-building?
So I made up the geasa as a god-breathed form of power that some people get while they’re forming in the womb and some people don’t. It’s not necessarily hereditary, but many frightened bigots in the world of Onweald fear that it is, and many families have been murdered for producing Geasa’n children. That’s where the theme of tolerance comes into play in the series. People who are intolerant and bigoted don’t fare so well in my novels…
who throws “esteem” into the mix? I agree with the concept. Even for romantic love, the friendship qualities have to be in there or your characters are just having a fling.
by Charlotte Bronte. This novel is one of the best ever written. It’s my favorite of all time. There are elements in Jane Eyre that influence my writing on a conscious and subconscious level, and folks who have already read the book will probably pick out a few of those elements in Choices Meant for Gods.
just pwned 
, but don’t take my word for it see for yourself! I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down!
But a small town means everyone knows what’s going on and now that Stasi and Blair have outed themselves as witches, the town’s okay with that. At least, they were until Stasi’s accused of using a hexed sachet and being sued in Wizards Court and the human woman suing her is making sure everyone knows what an evil person Stasi is.
But there’s still something going on in the town that can’t be explained. A lake that’s been harmed by magick. People Stasi considered as close friends now suddenly afraid of her and they’re using the word “witch” as if she’s suddenly turned evil.
and contains the old gang plus some new faces. I particularly loved the slut shoes, Delilah and Croc. They were a hoot, chasing after guys in all directions.
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