Black Velvet Seductions’ greatest strength is this: Their incredibly diverse cast of writers. Do you like sweet romances? Got ‘em. Do you like erotica? Got it. Paranormal? Got those, too. Thrillers? Contemporary? Historical? Yes, yes, and YES!!!

Like the previous anthology ‘Mystic Desire’, ‘Desire Me Again’ highlights BVS’ broad range of content and writing styles. The BVS writers are second to none, and I’m honored to be one of them. (And no, I won’t be reviewing my own contribution. I mean, c’mon! I may have an ego, but it ain’t THAT big! The review of my story was written by the acclaimed romance author Callie Carmen.)

The reviews are listed in the order in which they appear. So, my dear readers, here we go…

Renewing Forever by Virginia Wallace (review by Callie Carmen) – “He liked staring absently skyward; it reminded him of how small he really was, and how utterly insignificant his problems were. Somehow, understanding how little he mattered made his little piece of the world more manageable.” It was thoughts like those in Renewing Forever that kept me turning the pages. There were several special moments in this story between a husband and wife living life and trying to figure it all out. Who knew it would be so hard to make a marriage work. I guess when you knowingly marry a blood thirsty shape-shifting beast, you have a clue you’re in for one heck of a ride. Will David and Jillian once love birds communicate instead of keeping their feelings pent-up inside? Or will Jillian and her werewolf family tear David apart? Be sure to read this story which is part of the wonderful Desire Me Again Anthology. It was so worth learning the answer to those questions.

Temperance by Gibby Campbell – BDSM isn’t generally ‘my thing’. But Gibby writes in such a way as to make the sexually bizarre feel completely normal. Add Tarot cards into the mix, and suddenly you have a supernatural element. I like that Gibby offers no commentary on her characters’ skewed psychology, and casts no moral aspersions upon them. They simply are what they are, and she allows the story to tell itself.

Second Chance by Dee S. Knight – Rape is a horrible thing, truly an abomination in this world we live in. But it’s also a sad fact that this repugnant act has altered millions of lives. Dee unflinchingly faces this reality in her stark, realistic story, but what makes it truly beautiful is that she approaches the topic with a note of hope. It’s not about what happened to her heroine, it’s about how she rises above it. This was surely a difficult story to write, but Dee absolutely nailed it.

Lost & Found: A Soldier’s Return by R.M. Olivia – Like Dee S. Knight, R.M Olivia tackles a very delicate subject: Post-combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As someone who grew up in a military city and often saw this phenomenon up close and personal, I can personally attest that R.M. Olivia did a brilliant job with this tale. It’s gut-wrenching, but it’s also sweet and heart-warming. This story, probably more so than any other in the collection, feels very, very real.

A Convict’s Prayer by Jan Selbourne – This one wins the award for being my favorite. Sweet, tense, and thoroughly researched, this brilliant piece of historical fiction has echoes of ‘The Witch of Blackbird Pond’ all over it, at least in tone and style. I also like that it was so ‘clean’; you could give this story to a little girl to read. All too often, I think, romance writers exclude younger audiences… and we shouldn’t, because stories about relationships interest readers of all ages. Emotional interaction defines the human condition, and we should never forget that.

The Handcuff Proposal by Patricia Elliott – Everyone hits the occasional crossroad in their life. You know, that pivotal moment in which one decision will send your life in one direction, and another decision will put it upon a completely different trajectory. Most of us make the correct decision at least half the time. ‘The Handcuff Proposal’, on the other hand, is the story of a young woman who makes the wrong decision at every… single… crossroad. As such, it’s more than a little amusing. I’m a huge fan of Patricia’s shorts ‘Love from the Mist’ and ‘Love Knows no Apocalypse’, and this story was a worthy successor.

Flight to the Stars by Zia Westfield – I had high hopes for this one (since Zia’s short ‘Bewitching the Wolf’ is a beloved favorite of mine) and this story did not disappoint. It’s a supernatural tale with a distinct note of humor. What I love about Zia’s writing is how she likes to sneak in the tongue-in-cheek, funny character. ‘Bewitching the Wolf’ had Oggie the drunken leprechaun, and ‘Flight to the Stars’ has Sal the smart-mouthed duck. (Yes, I said ‘duck’. You just gotta read it.)

Together at Last by Carol Schoenig – This story was beautiful. It features two elderly characters who lost each other as young people, and reconnected decades later. Most romance stories feature virile men with rock-hard abs, and nubile women with luscious bodies. But love spans the entire human lifetime, all the way up to the end. Most of us forget that, at least when we’re younger. Carol plucked a wonderfully touching tale from the twilight years of the human experience, and her story will bring tears to your eyes.

Xpose by Annabel Allan – The world of BDSM can be confusing to some readers, but Annabel writes such content in a way that explains it clearly to the ‘un-initiated’. There is also a distinct ‘thriller’ note to this story, which makes it exciting. What I love most about Annabel’s writing is her smooth, flowing style. It’s well-composed prose that’s evocative while also being very easy to read.

The Holiday Mermaid by Alice Renaud – Anyone who knows me knows that, in my mind, Alice Renaud can do no wrong as a writer… and she doesn’t. Rowena Regor is a mermaid who comes from the most xenophobic, controlling clan of the mer-folk world. As always, what I love most about Alice’s writing is how balanced it is. Many romance authors over-develop their female characters and under-develop their male leads. They also often hyper-sexualize their male leads, and don’t quite do the same for their female leads. Alice’s stories are so balanced that they appeal to both male and female readers. Romance readers often joke about ‘book boyfriends’ but Alice’s stories also offer a ‘book girlfriend’, which gives her stories a very, very broad appeal.

So that’s it. ‘Desire Me Again’ has something for EVERYONE, old and young, male and female, those with milder tastes and those with a penchant for the exotic. BVS doesn’t guide their anthology contributors; they simply unleash them…

And therein lies the utter brilliance of Black Velvet Seductions.

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The more the light shines through me/ I pretend to close my eyes/ The more the dark consumes me/ I pretend I’m burning, burning bright… Lyrics from the song  ‘Burning Bright’, by Shinedown

It’s been said that ‘laughter is the best medicine’…

Perhaps that’s true. According to a study done by the University of Michigan, laughter increases blood flow, delivers more oxygen to cells, improves lung health, and strengthens the immune system in ways that help ward off viruses and even cancer.

Laughter defines our world, throughout every available medium and throughout every conceivable interaction. From internet memes to television comedy specials to office/job-site pranks, laughter is a precious commodity to the human race. We constantly seek the humor of things, and we cherish the company of people who make us laugh. Countless comedians have gone from obscurity to stardom based upon their ability to crack a well-timed joke.

But is that all there is to it? Laughter is good for you? Funny people are God’s gift to our world?

No.

A thousand times over, no.

There is a psychological concept known as ‘congruence’, and this idea powerfully impacts the psychology of humor. I’m no therapist, but my entire life’s experience has led me to believe in its truth. The idea behind ‘congruence’ could be defined thus: The closer the façade you display to others matches the person you really are, the more mental health you will enjoy. The further away your façade is from your nature, the more miserable you will be.

It’s no accident (as multiple, extended studies have shown) that people who listen to hard rock/heavy metal are more relaxed, and enjoy better mental health than many other demographics. Metal-heads are perfectly at peace with their own anger, and exorcise their inner demons by enjoying them as an art form.

Your average metal-head would never shoot up a school, or kill himself…

But a comedian – a ‘class clown’ – just might.

A sense of humor can be a wonderful thing, but it all too often serves as a mask. Very often, behind the brightest of smiles lurks the darkest of thoughts. Very often the loudest laugh covers the deepest pain. Humor, despite its benefits, often leads to mental ‘in-congruence’; it often creates a yawning rift between what a person portrays and what they really are.

Chris Farley, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Sam Kinison, Robin Williams… All of them made us laugh while they wallowed in their own privates rooms in Hell. Their deaths shocked us all because we only saw the mask, not the person.

Yes, sometimes humor is a wonderful thing.

But sometimes, just sometimes…

We need to quit laughing and face ourselves, and each other. The consequences for not doing so can be brutal…

Even more so than the demons that we were trying flee by laughing.

Hello everyone! Yesterday I had the honor of participating in the book launch party for Black Velvet Seductions’ new anthology, ‘Desire Me Again’ (which features one of my stories). Here… is my interview!

Eileen Troemel Hi Virginia!!! Thank you for joining me!

Virginia Wallace Thank you for having me! I’m grateful to be here.

Callie Carmen I’m looking forward to reading your story. It has to be the first one that I read in Desire Me Again because I have grown so fond of the way you write in your blogs.

Virginia Wallace Aw, you’re the best! But you already knew that!

Eileen Troemel What’s the heat level of your story?

Virginia Wallace Uh… One? My focus is more on the strained relationship between husband and wife. There’s some mention of sexual tension, but that’s about it.

Eileen Troemel Nothing wrong with that at all… and probably a bit more realistic.

Callie Carmen For sure because they aren’t getting along. I’m betting the writer in you doesn’t allow you to be oblivious to those around you.

Virginia Wallace No. I mean, what are people for if not inspiration?

Callie Carmen Yes.

Eileen Troemel Is this a contemporary romance story?

Virginia Wallace It is, set in modern-day Virginia Beach, VA, USA. It’s also a fantasy. I used the werewolf myth as an allegory for the differences in culture and upbringing that often drive a wedge between married couples.

Eileen Troemel That sounds fascinating!

Annabel Allan Was there a specific werewolf myth you found intriguing?

Virginia Wallace I kind of used the modern ‘monsters walking hidden among us’ myth, rather than the monstrous, full-moon driven werewolf. It seemed to fit better.

Eileen Troemel That makes perfect sense.

Callie Carmen I can only imagine the tension between families. Them worrying about it working and such. Does that cause major problems?

Virginia Wallace Only if you count being eaten alive as ‘major’…

Annabel Allan You seem to like the horror/darker stuff! Is that something you try to incorporate in your writing?

Virginia Wallace ALWAYS! The only exception, perhaps, is my upcoming novel ‘When the White Knight Falls’… but even that one’s got some dark spots. I suspect a better description for my work would be not so much ‘dark’ as ‘brooding’.

Gibby Campbell How about humor? Do you like to incorporate it in your writing? I see it often in your posts.

Callie Carmen Me too.

Virginia Wallace It’s funny, I tend to flip-flop. My shorter pieces tend to take one tone or the other – dark, or light-hearted. My full-length novels, though, do have running threads of humor.

Eileen Troemel What inspired this story?

Virginia Wallace I drafted it out in 2004 (originally featuring vampires). But it kinda gathered dust until about 2010 or so… when I was newly married, and slowly beginning to realize how much work being married was. That prompted me to dust the story off, and breathe new life into it.

Gibby Campbell Yah, marriage can be a drain on the creativity. Or an inspiration. It all depends.

Virginia Wallace And that’s what I tried to put in the story. Marriage is a blessing, for sure… but it ain’t always easy, and there are (hopefully rare) moments during which it feels like the ultimate curse. You just gotta push through it, you know?

Gibby Campbell I do know! I can’t wait to read the angst!

Eileen Troemel I think the first year of marriage is the toughest… especially if you haven’t lived together…

Eileen Troemel Okay – I gotta ask – When do you like to write?

Virginia Wallace (Pasting Annabel Allan’s earlier response to the same question) I like writing around 12am-5am. It’s when everything is inky and black and totally silent. I live in an area that you can always hear cars and kids, people yelling, so at night, especially around the Witching Hour, it’s totally serene and I get my best pages done.

Virginia Wallace Told you (I’d copy Annabel’s response)!

Annabel Allan Virginia Wallace LMAO I totally expected you to cut and paste it!

Virginia Wallace Great minds, you know…

Eileen Troemel I had to (ask)… LOL

Callie Carmen Here come the whips and chains.

Callie Carmen Do you ever watch shows like Dead Files? If so, do you get any of your dark character ideas from shows like that or the type of movies that you watch?

Virginia Wallace Films are everything to me… and I love all different kinds. I’m an animation nut (which probably explains my juvenile sense of humor), but yes… I like the dark stuff. My favorite TV series is ‘Tales from the Dark Side’, and my favorite series of movies is ‘Underworld’. ‘The Crow’, ‘Natural Born Killers’, and ‘The Lion King’ are also faves. And being a romance writer, I suppose my favorite romantic film is ‘Serendipity’.

Eileen Troemel If you could choose any location for writing – money and time not an issue – where would you want to write?

Virginia Wallace Honestly? Right where I’m sitting. If I’m in some super-spiffy exotic location, I don’t feel like writing… I just wanna enjoy the location. Writing is an escape, at least for me… so why write if I’m somewhere that I don’t feel like leaving?

Callie Carmen Great answer. I tried writing on a couple of cruises it didn’t work.

Eileen Troemel Do you plot out your books?

Virginia Wallace Short stories, never. I just carry them in my head for a week or two, just mentally polishing the story up in my mind. When I start writing it’s over pretty quickly. Novels I write character outlines, the finished ending, and a very loose outline. As I write towards the ending, I periodically adjust the outline to fit shifts in the story line. My writing is only structured in a very, very loose sense.

Callie Carmen Do you enjoy doing the marketing that is involved with being published? The ads, the communications like now?

Virginia Wallace You kiddin’? I freakin’ dote on it, ‘cuz I’m a TOTAL ham!!!

Callie Carmen Yes you are.

Callie Carmen I like your ad too. You must like the graphic part of it too.

Virginia Wallace I started out as an artist, from a very young age. My teenage years were the transition period, when I slowly realized (through playing Dungeons n’ Dragons) that I could express myself more thoroughly through storytelling than art. But yes, I’ve always kept my art chops up!

Eileen Troemel What part of writing don’t you like?

Virginia Wallace PROOFREADING!!! And because I hate it, I suck at it. I finally bowed to reality: My books go through hired proofreaders before they’re submitted.

Eileen Troemel What’s next for you?

Virginia Wallace Well, my novel ‘When the White Knight Falls’ should be out this winter, and my story ‘Orion’ will be featured in ‘Cowboy Desire’ early next year. In the meantime, everyone is welcome to stalk me at the following links:

Follow me on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100051882828372

On Twitter at @VirginiaKWalla1

On MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/virginiawallace1

On LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-wallace-63b2731b1/

Or follow my blog at http://www.virginiawallace.com

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‘The summer is over/ the fall is here/ the wind is growing cold/ the rustling leaves/ that fall from the trees/ are turning from green to gold…’ – Unknown

It’s been one hell of a year…

The news – ever since last January – has only come in two varieties: Bad, and Worse. All the fun summer events were canceled. (Even my Guns n’ Roses concert… dammit!)

But guess what? Now it’s AUTUMN!!!

Nothing makes me happy all over like fall. The air turns crisp, and the wind carries the sound of rustling leaves hither and yon as the smell of wood-smoke permeates one’s every breath. The sun sets sooner, bringing the soothing calm of nightfall and casting a shroud of peace over everything.

Spring is a ‘looking forward’, a bright anticipation of another summer. Autumn is a ‘looking back’, a cheerful remembrance of a summer well spent. Autumn is also a ‘winding down’, an en masse sabbatical after a long ‘busy season’. Fall gives one a chance to reflect upon one’s life and accomplishments, before hunkering down for winter.

There’s a sense of utter, eternal timelessness about fall. Summers, in my mind, are individual entities. Upon this summer I went camping in the mountains, and upon that one I saw Metallica play at an outdoor amphitheater. Each summer is unique, and remembered as such. Fall, on the other hand, is Everywhere and Everywhen, a timeless season that gives us a glimpse of itself each year. Autumns tend to run together, their experiences ever linked to form one endless memory.

Then there’s Halloween… Not so much the actual holiday, but the season.

Some of us are ‘Halloween People’ all the year ‘round. Thus it’s very gratifying when – for just a little while – the rest of the world joins us in our pleasant morbidity. Suddenly everyone’s wearing dark clothes, and reading stories and watching films that give us the pleasant willies. Halloween is, I think, a celebration of Death – and also Hope. We celebrate the death of nature, and wistfully anticipate next spring’s rebirth. We celebrate the death of people, and thus perversely re-discover the fierce joy of being gloriously alive.

Autumn is a strange time, a season and a frame of mind that is oddly off-kilter; it exists in between all the usual human pursuits and social norms. If you’re an ‘Autumn Person’, enjoy this time while you can… because it won’t last.

And that’s what makes it so very, very beautiful…

Nothing, after all, inspires appreciation like impermanence.

‘The melody soared, beautiful and strange in the ordinary human surroundings, as if shimmering waves were cascading over Ikea furniture and washing over the beige carpet. It was a lover’s song, a mating song…’ – Line from ‘Music for a Merman’, by Alice Renaud

I haven’t read an entire fantasy series in a while. (Granted, this one was short. But it still counts, right?)

Then I discovered Alice Renaud’s work, and I couldn’t help myself. Mermaids, warlocks, hags… Piers Anthony, eat your heart out! Alice’s narratives are so vivid that you can almost hear the ocean breeze, and feel the cold darkness of the sea as her characters plunge into it.

Alice’s trilogy – A Merman’s Choice, Music for a Merman, and Mermaids Marry in Green – is marketed as ‘fantasy romance’. And I suppose it is, in a sense, because all three tales do kind of revolve around budding relationships. (Mermaids Marry in Green does have a distinct suspense/thriller note to it, though.)

But I think of romance as a genre that targets a primarily female audience. Alice Renaud’s work, at least in my mind, has a much more unisex appeal. Heroine and Hero are equally well developed, and she is very ‘equal opportunity’ in her approach to character descriptions. For every sentence pointing out Yann’s rock-hard abs, there’s another praising Caltha’s luscious, voluptuous derriere.  And that’s as it should be, I think; these stories are far too good to be limited to a narrow audience!

Alice’s characters are often contradictory, but always in ways that feel very real. Caltha is a feisty one, for sure… but she melts when she finally finds someone to love, and her story feels very genuine. Rhys Regor seems like a right bastard, and perhaps he is… but he still turns to mush around his beloved grandchild.

Life is complex. People are complex. Alice Renaud skillfully uses the complexities of human interactions to breathe Believability into world that would otherwise be completely unbelievable; she brings the Implausible to very, very plausible life.

And that… Is the very definition of magic!

Cheers! – Virginia

(P.S. Alice’s next Mermaid story, The Holiday Mermaid, will appear in the upcoming anthology Desire Me Again… alongside a story by yours truly entitled Renewing Forever. I am deeply honored!)

ORDER ALICE’S BOOKS FROM AMAZON HERE: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=alice+renaud&ref=nb_sb_noss

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This may sound funny coming from a romance author…

But contemporary romances are not usually my thing.

Now, mind you, that doesn’t mean I completely avoid them; after all, I did write one. (Should be out sometime this winter.)  It’s just that, given a choice, I prefer literature that has a more surreal (or even bizarre) feel to it. However, I have read a number of contemporary romances over the years that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and I always try to keep an open mind in regards to them.

At the end of the day, I know that I am just as likely to enjoy a contemporary romance as I am any other book. The trick, however, lies in getting me to pick it up in the first place! There’s gotta be some kind of hook, some interesting angle that makes the book grab my attention.

Callie Carmen (of Black Velvet Seductions Publishing) managed to pull it off…

Her novel Patrick features a serial killer. (To me, that’s like waving a bag of crack in front of a junkie. Seriously…) Now, I would’ve thought that this would make the book a ‘thriller’, but it doesn’t; Patrick is a rock-solid romance, with the emphasis ever remaining upon the characters and their interactions with one another.

The killer is pretty twisted, and even helps narrate the story (which is rather unnerving). Callie did a phenomenal job of balancing the dark side of her tale with the budding romance between the heroine Jaq and her love-interest, Patrick. It was obviously a fine line to walk, too. Had Callie ‘gone for broke’ on the morbid side, romance publishers would have told her to go kick rocks and horror publishers would have told her that the story was too sappy. (I’d have ROYALLY flubbed that one! My manuscript would’ve been as disturbing as all hell.) Patrick required a certain amount of finesse to write, and even more so to market; a ‘horror chick’ could never have pulled it off.

Callie did.

I loved the nuances of the characters. Frankly, I frowned upon Jaq’s dating four guys at once before she met Patrick. That just seemed kinda… well, mean. On the other hand, Jaq was also a fairly innocent woman, certainly not someone who could be labeled ‘cheap’ or ‘easy’. Her father, while described as an alcoholic and an embarrassment to his family, is also portrayed as a kind man who was a decent person when he was sober.

Then there’s Patrick. I strongly suspect that culture comes into play when evaluating Patrick’s character. I would imagine that many readers from ‘progressive’ regions (such as the American Northeast and West Coast) might describe Patrick as ‘possessive’, or even ‘controlling’. I, however, was born and raised in the American South, where the ‘alpha male’ is the norm and not the exception. (Even our ladies often refer to passive or overly-solicitous men as ‘weenies’.) So how you view Patrick’s character depends on where you come from, I think, and what social expectations you’ve been bred to hold.

Notice I didn’t really say anything about the serial killer, other than there is one. And I ain’t gonna, either…

Don’t wanna spoil it for you, ya know?

Patrick, by Callie Carmen. Go read it! You’ll be glad you did.

Cheers! – Virginia

(P.S – Callie’s next novel, Joshua, will be available soon. She will also be appearing in a cowboy-themed anthology later this winter, alongside yours truly. I’m deeply honored!)

TO ORDER CALLIE’S NOVEL FROM AMAZON, CLICK HERE: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=callie+carmen+risking+love&ref=nb_sb_noss

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‘Ice ran through (Megan’s) veins at the thought. She slipped her hand over the hilt of her hidden dirk and hardened her jaw. If circumstance came down to protecting Rosie, then she would do what she had to do to keep her safe…’ – Passage from L.J. Dare’s The King’s Blade

I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was reading a historical romance set in Scotland, entitled The King’s Blade.

“Oh, awesome!” she gushed. “You mean like Outlander?”

No, NOT like Outlander! Outlander is to historical romance what Twilight is to paranormal romance. (If you see that as a positive comparison, go sit in the corner. And don’t come out until you’ve had plenty of time to think about what you’ve done wrong. Seriously…)

The King’s Blade, however, is EXCELLENT!  I finished it over a single long, lazy day ‘cuz I couldn’t make myself put it down. Set in the fifteenth century, the characters completely bring the story to vivid life: Self-reliant Megan, jealous Bridget, sweet Rosie, and of the course John the Square-Jawed Hero. The story is extremely suspenseful, and actually opens with a scene of mass murder that sets a tense tone for the rest of the tale.

While The King’s Blade is dubbed ‘historical romance’, I’m not sure it quite fits the description. It’s not nearly as sappy (and certainly not as lewd) as most tales labeled as ‘romance’ these days. I kinda place it alongside such stories as The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Johnny Tremain, and The Red Badge of Courage. It’s just a gripping tale set within a designated time period and setting; I suspect that simple ‘historical fiction’ is a far more accurate description.

‘Romance’ or not, though…The King’s Blade is just plain GREAT reading!

To Order The King’s Blade from Amazon, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Blade-L-J-Dare-ebook/dp/B06XHSYH5B/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=L.J.+Dare&qid=1601674128&sr=8-4

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‘The gods rage tonight. Evil rises from the shadows. The gods rage tonight. See the swords of the noble defend the innocent…’

I just finished one of the strangest – and most interesting – novels I’ve ever read: Dragon Lord’s Mate, by Eileen Troemel.

The story centers around two women, Pena and Indirez. Pena is kind, and a powerful healer; Indirez is cruel, and a supernaturally talented manipulator. As one’s power grows so does the other’s; as Pena ascends to ever-greater feats of medicine, Indirez descends into ever-lower depths of depravity. The story reminded me a bit of one of my favorite films, Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards, in which twin sorcerers with opposing gifts vie for control of their world.

Where Dragon Lord’s Mate differs from Wizards is that it’s set almost entirely within the social realm of women. Whereas Bakshi’s Black Wolf sought power by brute force, Troemel’s Indirez seizes it through the use of seduction. Whereas Bakshi’s Avatar was known as a battlefield physician, Troemel’s Pena serves often as a midwife. While a casual participant in the story’s conflict might have viewed the war as a contest between the Raider Lord Davin and the Dragon Lord Arius, lurking behind the scenes – ever pulling the strings – stand Pena and Indirez, and Arius’ kingdom will stand or fall based on their actions.

Now, this story has a lot of sex. An awful lot of sex. If it’s ever made into a movie, Dragon Lord’s Mate should have a ‘70’s style, funky, slap-bass soundtrack. (You know, boom-chicka-wow-wow…) Also, much of the sexual content is violent and/or sadistic. But as one of my favorite journalists once pointed out, it’s not necessarily the content of a story that matters, so much as what aspersions the story casts upon the content. I liked that most of the sex scenes are within what I believe to be a healthy context: A permanent marital covenant, with sensuality being a by-product of the same. The violent/sadistic sex scenes are labeled as exactly what they are: Disgusting, and unconscionable. The sexual content is not so much an entity unto itself, as it is a natural extension of the characters and their relationships with one another – which is the distinction that separates fiction from pornography.

Now, this story does have a few quirks, as do all stories. Most notably, virtually all the babies born in the story are girls. Which means if there isn’t a sequel with lots of boys born, well… in a generation or so, the Dragon Clan will find itself being defended by an army of ladies and toothless old geezers. But that’s what sequels are for, right? Maybe there was some spell over the town the whole time, or the town’s magical patron dragon has a soft spot for little girls…

A writer could make something interesting out of that.

All in all, Dragon Lord’s Mate is a GREAT read! When I think a book is so-so, I eventually stop reading and skim to the end. I didn’t with Dragon Lord’s Mate, though. I read it carefully chapter-by-chapter, bookmarking my stopping point carefully whenever something rudely interrupted my reading time. (You know, the usual nuisances. Having to eat or sleep, having to get up for work… those kinds of annoyances.)

Something that really stood out to me, though, was this: The writing style was eerily similar to my own. Off-kilter and dream-like, kinda like a literary version of Pink Floyd: The Wall. I don’t often run into writing quite that surreal. (Although Alice Renaud’s novellas come pretty close. Highly recommended, by the way.)

It all made sense, though, when I read Eileen’s note at the end of the story: ‘During a period of extreme insomnia, Pena and Arius met, clashed, fell in love and faced all the adventures in this book. They helped me get through not being able to sleep. I hope you enjoy their adventures.’

Hell, that’s every story I’ve ever written! Insomnia leaves its indelible hand-print upon every story that it inspires. While that reality might be painful for the author (and it is), it’s a blessing to the reader. There are some thoughts that tease our minds only in dreams.  Because insomniacs are never really asleep and never really awake, they have access to facets of the human consciousness that escape most people. As Edgar Allan Poe so eloquently put it, ‘Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night’.

Dragon Lord’s Mate was a wonderful read; I should think that a bout of insomnia was a small price to pay in exchange for such inspiration. That having been said…

If you’re reading this, Eileen, I do hope you’re sleeping better now!

And thank you for the tale.

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‘Most’ of us peg the ‘others’ of us as ‘selfish’, or ‘self-centered’. And we say it (or maybe just think it) with the slightest hint of smugness, as though sticking that label on someone else somehow absolves us of eligibility.

But no matter how quickly we slap that label on someone else, we find it firmly pinned to our own chest the very moment we turn around. We become predators of a sort, forcing the world to make sense as defined by our selves, by our own standards. We simply cannot let be, moving along and admitting that something befuddles us but trusting that it probably makes sense to someone else. We are so unable to shift our minds from their own tunnels, that we inevitably sacrifice the lives that we could have to the lives that we envision – because anything that we can’t understand can’t possibly be good, can it? Life itself falls prey to our own inability to see with eyes unfettered by own views, beliefs, opinions and ideas. And we can’t help it, not one of us, and probably never will. To quote Selene from the iconic film Underworld: ‘You will kill, and you will feed. It’s unavoidable.’

What we destroy and consume is often something beautiful, because we just couldn’t make ourselves see the value in it.

Why is that? Why must the world shrink itself to fit our consciousness? I am always surprised when someone I once knew pops up again, doing well, or perhaps not so well. Maybe they’ve married, or maybe they’ve divorced. Maybe they’ve been in jail, or maybe they’ve just returned from Timbuktu. Maybe my relationship with them – whether it was platonic, or romantic – ended amicably, or maybe its end was bitter. In any case, I am always shocked by the changes they’ve made to their lives. How could their life have gone on when it was out of my sight? They were, to my mind, nothing more than a part of ‘my’ world. So why then these changes, these adjustments to the person I once knew? A part of me, I believe, honestly expects that people cease existing when they move out of my knowledge.

I can’t grasp that life – anyone’s life – could possibly go on independently of me. I may say that I can, but I can’t because I am always surprised when they do.

We gauge the importance of everything by our own experience. We can’t help that, either, I think. James Joyce is a classic author, oft-quoted, widely-read, and generally beloved by aficionados of fine literature. Yet no matter how hard I try, I can’t help but lump him in with inconsequential, dime-store hacks. Why?

Well, because I’ve never read him. That’s why! End of story.

Every once in a while, I’ll run across some band or another, playing out in a local bar. Sometimes I’m tempted to run screaming from said bar, clutching my ears in pain, finding their music unbearable. Yet those bands bring fans along, fans who like them and follow them and sing along to their songs. Are their fans tone-deaf? Can they not hear the sonic agony lingering in the very air?

Of course they can’t – because they are them, and not me. Yet somehow, I can’t wrap my little mind around this concept. They must simply be stupid. I like to hope that I’m charitable enough not to actually think that, but it’s floating in the back of my head.

On the flip side of the coin, my stepfather rolled up on me one day as I was writing, and listening to Avril Lavigne’s debut CD Let Go. ‘Wow’, he says. ‘She really can’t sing, can she?’

Phooey on him! How dare he?!

Now, my stepfather has been playing guitar for fifty years. He may have been a dud as a parent, but he does have a ‘perfect-pitch’ ear, and he always knows what he’s talking about when it comes to music. If he says ol’ Avril wasn’t such a great singer, then he’s probably right.

But I was indignant anyway, despite the fact that he was most certainly ‘right’, or at least more ‘right’ than I. Why was I annoyed?

Well, because I’m me, that’s why!

Years ago I was sitting in Emerson’s Tobacco Shop with a friend of mine, drinking the free coffee while he smoked a stogie with some old fart. (BTW, you meet the most interesting people in tobacco shops, and they always have a moment to chat.) He, my friend, and some other (slightly obnoxious) dude got into a debate about who made the best cigar. My friend was touting the merits of Puerto Rican black-leaf with a dark Connecticut wrapper. Old Fart was all about the Candela leaf, while Obnoxious was fervently preaching about Cuban seed product.

This went on for a while, as these sort of things often do.

And then Old Fart said something that I have never forgotten, and won’t as long as I live. He looked at everyone and smiled, and he said “You know what the best cigar in the whole world is, better than anything else you’ll ever smoke?”

And I asked, “What?” (I’m thinking he’s gonna point at the hundred-dollar stogie, the one they won’t even let me go into the humidor and sniff lest I get boogers upon its nicotine-laced goodness.)

He takes a big ol’ puff, and he says, “The best cigar… is your favorite. The one you like best. Ain’t nothin’ better than that.”

What a graceful, clever way of putting it. Such a candid acknowledgment that, for better or worse, our self-focused viewpoint is the only viewpoint that we’ll ever see. What a succinct way of saying that one should be always aware of one’s own never-ending failure to truly adopt another’s take on something, try as one might.

It is to the credit of both our specie and our culture that we have invented such social niceties as apologies, tactful conversation, and patience in order overcome this otherwise-crippling handicap.

I hate the rock band U2. Can’t stand the sound of ’em. And if you like ’em, well, you must be a dummy. After all, you don’t even exist if I’m not aware of your actions. That’s why I’ll be surprised when I see you again in two years, and you’ve started a business and your kid grew six inches.

And all of you – I said ALL OF YOU – are regarding me in a similar manner. But underneath our undying inability to truly see through the eyes of another, there lies an empathy that is our saving grace. Somehow we learn to keep silent, when we are tempted to be overtly disagreeable. It’s why we express remorse when we wound someone; granted, we’ll probably repeat the offense but not showing remorse would be even more unforgivable, wouldn’t it?

Despite the fact that all we have is our narrow, ultimately unchangeable thought processes, most of us learn to behave as though we can stand in the shoes of another. It is this trait that redeems the human being, an animal that would otherwise be damned. Yet we must be ever aware of our inescapable narrow-mindedness, lest it lead us to lay even bigger pieces of our lives upon the altar of Broken Dreams and Shattered Relationships… For then we would become the predator once more, and Selene’s grim prediction will come true (at least in the figurative sense).

You will kill. You will feed….

It’s unavoidable.

Didja ever have one of those days that just made you wanna jump up and do your ‘happy dance’?

Today… is THAT day! My return to the publishing world is now available for pre-order at this link: https://amzn.to/34NstC7 (And it ain’t just me, mind you. Check out the lengthy list of talented authors also featured on the cover!)

It’s been fourteen years. Fourteen long years of writing for no other reason than compulsion. Amusing myself and my loyal (and much appreciated) handful of online readers, sure, but utterly lacking the drive to attack the mainstream scene head-on.

The break wasn’t all bad, of course. I got married, and settled into a rewarding career… but something was missing. It took me years to come to this realization: For a writer without a tangible market, something will ALWAYS be missing!

So I started writing a little less so I could begin cracking the pavement looking for something I didn’t have, an author’s best friend: A publisher.

It’s too bad my rejection slips always came by email, because if they arrived in hard copy… Well, let’s just say I’d never have to worry about another toilet-paper shortage. But God rewards perseverance, and one day He finally blessed me with that magical message: ‘I’d be happy to offer you a contract!’

‘Course, God prefers to work through people. (I think He just likes involving us in what He’s doing.) That glorious email came from Richard Savage, the publisher of Black Velvet Seductions.

That was ANOTHER ‘happy dance’ day!

‘Desire Me Again’ will ship on October 1^st, and my solo novel ‘When the White Knight Falls’ will likely arrive sometime this winter. (I’ll keep you posted on that one.)

So enjoy! God bless you all, and as always…

THANK y’all for reading! (Especially those of you who continued to read my obscure scribblings during those ‘missing years’; you have no idea how much all of you mean to me.)

Cheers! – Virginia