Fantasy Romance

I love to read and write fantasy stories, so it’s no surprise that I have one published. For me, the best fantasy comes from playing the “What if?” game. As a true romantic, I always want a happy ending, so when I heard about a horrible practice in ancient times, I had to write the tale where this terrible event would take place and then end happily.


The custom I read about was this: On the eve of her wedding, every woman had to sit by the side of the road and offer herself to the first man who came along. This took place, I think, in the area of Greece. I can’t remember if the “victorious” man had to make an offering to the local temple, but I do know that many such customs sacrifice women to the benefit of someone else. So I put that financial spin in my story.

I couldn’t get the image of these unfortunate women out of my head. Imagine – whoever comes along gets to deflower you. Hmmm, not pleasant. Of course, we all know a similar custom that took place in Europe in medieval times called the droit du seigneur wherein the local Lord also had rights to a bride on the eve of her wedding.

So this tidbit stuck in my head and I had to do something with it. I could hardly make it a contemporary story. I don’t write historical. So, that’s the beauty of fantasy. You make up your own world with its own rules and then you spin the tale within them. It’s fun for a writer, and hopefully for the reader as well.

This fantasy takes place in the future, on a far distant planet. Galatea wears the Star Necklace for one year, the sign of her countrywomen’s faith in her ability to improve their lives. But tonight her virginity is being auctioned in an important religious ceremony. She must do her duty – but Ronan, an off-planet warrior appears, determined to save her though his own life may be forfeit in the attempt.

Here’s an excerpt from The Star Necklace:

Galatea’s heart leapt in her breast—with fear, with incredulity, with an emotion she couldn’t name. Standing on the dais in the midst of pandemonium, she fought to remain calm and to silence this unknown emotion quivering deep within her. She’d tried to accept the idea of Sheckel winning, of feeling his thin, seeking body assaulting her tonight.

But this fortune offered by Ronan, the Otherlander, simply defied comprehension. What game did he play, one man alone in a hostile land? She’d seen the intelligence in his eyes and the wariness in his every move. But apparently he didn’t know the fate most Otherlanders suffered on this planet.

Certainly, the Temple priests would never let him have her. As much as his bid represented a fortune they wouldn’t let slip away, his life would be forfeit.

As if he’d heard her thoughts, Sheckel leapt to his feet.

“Seize the Otherlander! He doesn’t have ten thousand marks. He mocks our sacred rite!”

Galatea’s heart froze with the certainty that Sheckel was right. No one had that much money.

She braved a glance at her bidder. He looked calm but tense, his mouth an unyielding slash in his granite jaw. He’d shaved his beard and the strong lines of his face showed a stark beauty like that of a nighttime thunderstorm. Unknowable, uncontrollable, but electrifying in a heart-stopping way. His gray eyes watched coldly as half a dozen armed men approached him.

The guards hesitated, none wanting to be first to lay a hand on him.

The Otherlander’s lips curved up toward his hard eyes, carving his face in a mockery of a smile. Slowly, he withdrew his hand from his pocket and opened it.

Ten round coins gleamed blackly in his palm, their smoothly shiny surfaces giving no hint of the power they represented. The number one thousand winked in silver splendor on the face of each coin. He flexed his hand and a rainbow hologram danced across each number, decorating his palm with color.

A long sigh swept through the audience. Virtually none of them had ever seen a one thousand mark coin, and the fortune represented by ten of them seemed incalculable.

“Is Galatea mine for the night?” Ronan’s strong voice rolled through the hall like a thunderbolt from the heavens.

“Seize him!” Sheckel called out again, a thin note of desperation snaking through his voice. He raised his arm in command. “Seize the Otherlander!”

The Star Necklace

Indulgence - 5 Star Hotels

Here’s something I love to splurge on – a fancy hotel. Keep the designer clothes, the gourmet restaurants. Let me borrow a luxurious home away from home with top-notch service. Even better, I love to stay in a 5 star resort and not pay a penny. Since I am married to Traveling Man, who has lots of hotel points, I do get to enjoy this benefit more than the average person.

A few years back, we visited an Iberostar Resort on the “Mayan Riveria” in Mexico. Hubby had arranged free rooms for a one-week stay in this all-inclusive resort. We always let him check in because he always makes magic. This time, he flashed his business card and they upgraded us to the Presidential Suite for us, and the Queen’s Suite for the kids. (Don’t ask why it wasn’t King and Queen, but the important part was that the two suites were adjoining and had a connecting door.)

This was my first time ever in a Presidential Suite, and it was spectacular. It had a HUGE living room, bedroom, kitchen and dining room plus 2 baths and a walk in closet. Naturally, it was right on the beach and had a private deck complete with hot tub. Every morning the maids would artfully arrange the towels in decorative designs strewn with real rose petals.

Moving on, last year, the hotel industry was in the doldrums because of the bad economy. I seized the opportunity to book another 5-star hotel for a very reasonable price. We stayed at the Sacher Hotel in Salzburg. This landmark institution was all I could have hoped for and more. The picture (upper left) is the bar, but the entire public part of the hotel was decorated like this in an elegant, but comfortable style. The main lobby is a big atrium open to the full height of the hotel (four floors) with a glass ceiling, gold and iron filigree open staircases that looked like lace, and antiques and 19th century art work.

I have to share a couple more pictures. On the left is the cafe, where Austria's famous pastries are served. On the right is the smaller dining room where we ate breakfast overlooking a garden and the river. It was so charming and, the famous Sacher Torte, for which the hotel is known, was offered every day in the buffet. I know, dessert for breakfast, but who could resist? Calories don’t count on vacation.

Does anyone have a great hotel they can recommend? I’m actually traveling right now, but staying in a Best Western tonight. Lol.

The Star Necklace - New Release

Today I'm pleased to announce the new release of my second eredsage story - The Star Necklace. Here's a blurb:

The warrior Ronan travels to the far reaches of the galaxy to search for his missing brother. He cannot stay on a planet where all outsiders are killed. But when he crosses paths with the healer, Lata, who is sacrificing her virginity in a sacred rite to help her countrywomen, he cannot leave her to her unkind fate. With passion and love simmering between them, Lata is faced with an agonizing choice when Ronan is mortally wounded by her countrymen. Must she fulfill the promise made when she was chosen to wear the Star Necklace – a promise to help her countrywomen? Or can she find a way to take Ronan off-planet to save his life?

Here's a short excerpt:

“Is that how you feel about desire?” Ronan leaned closer until his breath touched her face. “If not one man, another will do?”

“I…I don’t know. I didn’t know anything about desire…until recently.”

“How recently?”

“When you kissed me…after the auction.”

“That was a show, for the Temple elders.”

“It still felt good. Then, in my room…”

“Another kiss. Nothing more.” He waved his hand.

He could dismiss it. But she wouldn’t. She’d been kissed by Toric, and by a few other men over the years. None had affected her the way Ronan had. No other kiss had produced that tingly, melting feeling that reached from her lips all the way through her body. None had sparked a sharp yearning for more. A spark that danced within her, searching for an answering light to ignite a fire that would burn out of control.

“No, Ronan.” She looked up at him. “You know it was more than just a kiss.”

“This is more.” He drew his forefinger down between her breasts. Her nipples hardened under his watchful eyes. “That’s desire. Subtle. A man needs to pay attention to catch a woman’s signals.” He curved his hand and moved it slowly over one breast towards her nipple. “Do you want me to keep going?”

“Yes.” The word sighed through her parted lips.

“That, too, is desire.” His fingers moved onto her nipple and he stroked it, gently. She tried to breathe.

Her back arched in wordless supplication.

“Harder?” His voice scraped her skin.

“Yes, oh, yes.” She couldn’t have imagined something that felt this good.

He increased the pressure almost imperceptibly, leaning over her, the darkness that was his body the only thing she could see.

“Where do you feel it now?” His low voice rumbled in her ear, adding another texture to the delicious sensations washing over her.

“Everywhere.” She sighed, opening her eyes when his hand left her breast.

“How does it feel?” His dark voice continued to tickle her ear.

“Tingly and achy, and wonderful and…”

“And?”

“Like something is missing.”

He laughed shortly.

“Yeah, that’s desire, the good and the bad.”


You can read a longer excerpt here.

I'm also blogging today at Cataromance here on my series The Art of Flirting (C is for Confidence).

Inspired to Change History

A young woman sits alone by the side of the road. She’s very nervous, frightened, actually. Tomorrow is her wedding day. But that’s not why she’s scared. She's scared because she's waiting for a stranger to assault her.

Like all writers, I read a lot. I come across these little factoids that surprise me or intrigue me or, in this case, sadden me. And that’s where the inspiration for my stories comes from. Like most romance readers, I like my happy ending. So I took this sad fact and started the ‘what if’ game. So that I could twist this upsetting practice and give it a happy ending.

That’s how my story The Star Necklace was born.

The fact I read was about an ancient culture (somewhere around Greece). Their practice was this: On the night before her wedding, every woman would have to sit at a certain point on the road. The first man who chanced upon her (a stranger, according to the article) got to take her virginity. And then, he’d make a “donation” to the local temple, presumably in thanks for this good fortune.

My first thought on reading this terrible practice was for the poor women. What did they think about this custom? History will never tell. (It’s not told by the victims, is it?)

My second thought was, what an innovative money-making scheme! (Let’s not call it forced prostitution.) Anyway, I immediately started writing a story which turned into The Star Necklace, which has been sold (not published yet). Oddly enough, it’s a futuristic, not an historical. Though I made sure my heroine was not a helpless victim, and she does get her happy ending (luckily, a fabulous hero chances upon her), it still bothered me that she had to do the side of the road thing.

So I started a second story, a contemporary called Scarlet and the Sheriff, currently available at eRedSage. Scarlet is no one’s victim and I designed her to be able to enjoy and even flaunt her sexuality on her own terms. She served as a counterpoint to the helpless women I envisioned when I thought of that ancient custom (which, by the way, I don't think was widespread). I did find Scarlet easier to write since it didn’t hinge on such a troublesome practice.

These are two very different stories, but both started with the germ of one idea. I find that I get most of my inspiration from the constant reading I do.

I will raise a glass to my mother on Mother’s Day for raising me to understand injustice, and to look beyond the surface of things to figure out why something might be wrong, even if it seems okay because it’s our custom.

Of all the things your mother taught you, what resonates still?