Guess What Arrived!

YES!!! My author copies!!

Don’t mind me, I’m just squeeing!!!

AND  Sourcebooks put excerpts from both In Over Her Head and Wild Blue Under inside, AND I see a review of Wild Blue Under on the back cover that I’ve never seen before. Pretty darn cool.

(Photo taken on my “new baby Jennifer“)

And it’s official – I’m a princess

My brother-in-law is a prince among men, so it’s only fitting he be the one to confirm my royal status.

One of the most thoughtful and fun Christmas gifts that I’ve ever gotten. Yes, it’s funny, and yes, it’s campy, and no, I don’t really care. It fits me to a T. Plus the fact that Chris wasn’t sure which princess to get me, so he picked Cinderella because blue is his favorite color.

I told him he could have gone with any of them and they would have been a hit, but the fact that it’s his favorite color earns him bonus points.

Thank you, Chris!

and a close up:

practicing the Royal Wave:

Innovation – the “Mother” of Necessity

So, does anyone have any uses for a terrycloth bathrobe besides wearing it when you get out of the shower?

I do.

When your kids don’t clear out the garbage disposal before setting the dishwasher to turn on and said dishwasher can’t empty so it spews its water all over your kitchen floor, the terrycloth bathrobe is quite handy for sopping up the mess.

Of course that will leave you naked in your kitchen while you try to siphon the rest of the water from the dishwasher into bowls that you almost break yanking them from the cabinet and which fill up far too easily with the dishwasher water, and while shoving paper towels under the cabinets/dishwasher/stove to wick up the water that’s flowing everywhere, not to mention picking up the kitchen rugs that have also turned into sponges…

That’s what you can use a terrycloth robe for.

Sadly, once sopping wet, it does NOT make a very good shield for you to use to run naked through your house as the Fed Ex guy drives up your driveway.

I kid you not.

And, of course, all of this necessitates a few loads of laundry from all the dishtowels that you started off using before you thought to whip off your robe (and THEN close the blinds. I swear, my neighbors probably WENT blind from that sight.)

Luckily I heard it dribbling (more like fountain-ing) onto the floor, said, “That doesn’t sound right” and ran into the kitchen so it didn’t make it to the drywall in the ceiling below. But, oh, how how much water there was in that short amount of time.
And as for windows… one of the best features of this house to me is the windows. My last house felt  like a dungeon – this one has LOTS of bright light and windows.

Yep. It does.

My poor neighbors.

Oh, and just to add to today’s fun, this all happened after I took a Kid to the bus, only to find out said child didn’t have the necessary clothing for the after-school thing, so we had to drive back home (I’m in my FLUFFY blue robe at this point), where Child could run in and grab the clothing.

We miss the bus at the NEXT stop and it doesn’t stop anywhere else in the neighborhood. Luckily, the bus driver stopped when I blared on the horn as I followed him out of the neighborhood. Unluckily, said Child forgets the bag of stuff that needs to be returned to a teacher so I have to get out of my car in my FLUFFY blue robe and run to the bus.

The neighbors on that street texted me. What a good mom am I.

And all this fun by 10 am.

So, how was your day?

Well this made my day…

On www.SavvyReaders.com, Wild Blue Under was the Most Popular book this week.

Thanks to Liz Pelletier for letting me know, and for everyone who made it the most popular! Wow.

Also in my email today, Joey W. Hill gave me a lovely review of In Over Her Head.

Okay, next up, In Over Her Head by Judi Fennell. This book was such fun. We have a heroine who is water-phobic, who, through a series of mishaps, ends up having to spend time under the sea with a really hot merman. The opening to this book is one of the best hooks I’ve read. I don’t know who could set it down after the first few pages. Since I’m not really a humor reader (I prefer to live on angsty, high stakes emotional conflict, etc in my reading, as well as my writing), that’s high praise.

I’d had the pleasure of sharing a forum with Judi at the Authors After Dark conference, and I wanted to try one of her books. Her undersea world building is incomparable – ten times richer than my own, and far more well integrated with the story, I have no problem admitting. Plus, her sense of humor is terrific – I laughed out loud quite a few times. As she progressed, I was pleased to see her transition from slapstick into a more fully fleshed emotional motivation for the hero, which helped me identify with him and start rooting for his success. This also deepened the impact of his relationship with our heroine. This is the first in a series of these books, so if you enjoy humorous, extremely well written paranormal mermaid romance, this is an excellent choice.

Yep, definitely a nice thing (times 2!) to wake up to. And coming on the heels of In Over Her Head being #2 on Publishers Weekly Beyond Her Book Readers Choice for Best Book 2009, well… Santa has come early this year.

And we have ANOTHER winner!

The second Romantic Beach Getaway Weekend winner was chosen last night, November 30, and she is:

 

Congratulations, Susan, and I hope you enjoy your weekend at the Atlantis Inn bed and breakfast (www.AtlantisInn.com)  in Ocean City, NJ!

For those of you who didn’t win, there is still ONE MORE weekend to be given away. In February, 2010, I’ll be celebrating the release of the third book in my Mer series, Catch of a Lifetime, and the Hibiscus House bed and breakfast (www.HibiscusHouse.com) in West Palm Beach, FL (where the story takes place), is on board with their weekend getaway.

Thanks to all who entered and congratulations to both Susan and Kate, the first Romantic Beach Getaway winner!

 

Mermaid Angel Tritone has been researching humans from

afar, hoping to find a way to convince them to stop polluting.

When she jumps into a boat to escape a shark attack, it’s

her chance to pursue her mission, but she has to keep her

identity a total secret…

When he finds out what she really is, they’re both in mortal danger…

For Logan Hardington, finding a beautiful woman on his

boat is surely not a problem—until he discovers she’s a

mermaid, and suddenly his life is on the line…

 

 

 

Ocean View

Got this in an email from a friend of mine. She wanted to know which Mer brother this was. Your guess?

 

Ocean View

I have no idea how this works, I have never been that good at these optical illusion pictures!!!!�� But the friend who sent me this said if you stare at it long enough, you should be able to see the ocean.�� I tried for a while.�� I can’t see any stupid ocean!
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MerMountain Fantasy

You’ve heard about my Wombat friends – if not, grab one of my books and check the Acknowledgments page; they’re all over the place! – and today, one of them, author Pat Bertram has stopped by with a very clever post! Thanks, Pat!

***

I feel a little out of my depth here — an inland dweller in the land of merfolk– but it made me think of the importance of setting. Since I’ve lived most of my life in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, those mountains form the backdrop of my books, and because of that, they limit the stories I can tell and the characters I can create. My characters all breathe air, are subject to the vagaries of weather, and have to buy shoes. I’m being a bit silly here, but the truth is that setting does affect our stories.

What if I wanted to write a mermaid story? I’d either have to abandon my mountain theme, which I can no more do than breathe water, or I’d have to figure out how it’s possible for merfolk to live in the mountains.

Once upon a time, the area around here was beneath the sea — the soil is alkaline from the leftover deposits, and in spots the ground is totally white from sea salt and calcium. What if there was a remnant, deep in the mountains, of that primordial sea? If that leftover lake could be fed with sweet water to keep it from turning briny like Salt Lake, I could people it with merfolk who became separated from the rest of their kind. What would be the story? That they are trying to find their way home? That they are trying to find a way to live on land because the lake is drying up? That a mountain man and a mermaid fell in love?

 

 

That is an example of how setting forms the story. In A Spark of Heavenly Fire, I purposely worked against the mountain theme. Although the mountains are always there, two of my characters head east to try to escape quarantined Colorado rather than into the mountains. In Light Bringer, which will be published next spring I made use of known under-mountain facilities, such as a mention of NORAD beneath Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, as well as fictional installations. In Daughter Am I, my heroine inherits a farm on the eastern plains and a played out mine near Gunnison, so I included both significant Colorado topographies.

 

 

 

In keeping with the mountains and mermaid theme, and in honor of being a guest here on Judi’s blog, I have a special offer for you. For $16.00, I will send you an autographed copy of Daughter Am I, a mermaid pendant (the mountains in the background are not included), and I will pay postage. Contact me at pat at patbertram dot com, and we will work out the details.

This has been fun. Thank you all for indulging me in my mermountain fantasy.

Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado and a lifelong resident. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book — character and story driven novels that can’t easily be slotted into a genre — she decided to write her own. Daughter Am I is Bertram’s third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.

The Secret of Joy

Introducing THE SECRET OF JOY (Simon & Schuster trade paperback) by Melissa Senate, the “warm, winning” new novel from the bestselling author of See Jane Date and Love You To Death.

What would you do if you discovered you had a half-sister you never knew existed?

28-year-old New Yorker Rebecca Strand is shocked when her dying father confesses a devastating secret: he had affair when Rebecca was a toddler—and a baby he turned his back on at birth. Now, his wish is that the daughter he abandoned, Joy Joyhawk, read the unsent letters he wrote to her every year on her birthday. Determined to fulfill her father’s wish, Rebecca drives to a small town in Maine—against the advice of her lawyer boyfriend who’s sure Joy will be a “disappointing, trashy opportunist” and demand half her father’s fortune. But when hopeful Rebecca knocks on her half-sister’s door, Joy—a separated mother who conducts weekend singles tours out of her orange mini-bus—wants nothing to do with Rebecca or the letters her father wrote to her. Determined to forge some kind of relationship with Joy, Rebecca sticks around, finding unexpected support from Joy’s best clients—the Divorced Ladies Club of Wiscasset—and a sexy carpenter named Theo . . . .

The Secret of Joy is a Simon & Schuster Book Club Pick! For more information, check out the Reading Group Guide:

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Secret-of-Joy/Melissa-Senate/9781439107171/reading_group_guide

Praise:

“The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate opened my heart, made me laugh, cry, and smile all at the same time. A don’t-miss read!” –New York Times bestselling author  Carly Phillips

“The Secret of Joy is a warm hug of a book. Insightful, wise, and romantic, it’s as inviting as the small-town life it depicts.”  –Claire LaZebnik

“A wonderfully heartfelt story about hope, possibilities and the yearning for real connections. Senate’s latest will take you on a much needed vacation, while sneaking vital life lessons in when you’re not looking.”  –Caprice Crane

Author’s Bio:

Melissa Senate lives on the coast of Maine with her son and their menagerie of pets. She’s the author of eight novels (seven women’s fiction and one young adult) with two on the way. Visit her website (http://www.melissasenate.com) for more information and she’d love if you became her friend Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MelissaSenate) and followed her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/melissasenate).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melissa, thanks so much for stopping by on your blog tour. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind The Secret of Joy?

 

Several years ago, I received an email out of the blue that said: I think you might be my half-sister. I was. Am. It took me a long time to decide to take that little (huge) nugget and write a novel to help me figure out the answer to some burning questions, such as: if you haven’t seen or heard from your biological father, or any member of his family, since you were little (or, in Joy’s case, never at all), is his child from another relationship really your sibling? Or just a stranger? Does the word father or sister or brother mean anything without back up? I had a ton of questions and set out to uncover how I felt through a fictional character, but it’s interesting to me that I flipped everything on its head in the writing of the story. Nothing but the basic questions that are proposed in the novel are autobiographical. Just the questions! And I surprised myself quite a few times during the writing of this story with how I felt about certain things. Amazing how writing fiction can teach you so much about yourself.

Who do you picture in your mind when you write?:

Sometimes I picture a lone woman reading my book on a bus or on her sofa or in a coffee shop, and I imagine what she’s responding to, relating to, thinking about as she reads. Would this scene make her smile? Would she relate? But most of the time, I picture my characters’ faces with their personalities etched into their features. I rarely base my characters physically on celebs (except for my first book—Jane from See Jane Date looked just like Ann Marie from “That Girl” (a young Marlo Thomas). She did not look like Charisma Carpenter, who perfectly played her in the TV movie, but now when I think of Jane, I think of Charisma only. Which makes me think of hot David Boreanaz, which is a good thing.

What was the inspiration for your hero?  An actor, a picture you saw, some random guy in the coffee shop?:

I have long been drawn to guys with dark eyes and dark hair, starting with my very first serious crush in 7^th grade. But Theo, Rebecca’s love interest, has sandy-blond hair and pale brown eyes because that’s just the way he came out of the keyboard—he sort of created himself. I never base the guys on anyone. They’re always inspired by the guy I wish I were dating. (Yes, I’m single!) Right now, as a single mother, I’d love a guy who, like hot, wise Theo, works with his hands and made things, like porch swings and tree houses for my son. A guy who’s smart and honest and romantic and always seems to say the right thing at the right time. Oh and hot, too.

Writing a letter can be daunting. How do you even begin the process of writing a novel? Does it start with a title? A character? A plot? All or none of the above?

An idea flits into my heart, mind and soul (if I may be so dramatic!) and I just know. The idea, just a wispy thing, grips me and I think about it until the two major characters—my protagonist and the person or thing who “forces” her change—become clear. Then I write out a one page treatment, a bare bones synopsis, then think about that, then revise the storyline into a “pitch” I can share with my agent. If she green-lights it, I’ll then let myself dream it into a full blown synopsis, which is what I usually sell a novel on.  The synopsis, in its major plot points, rarely changes, but how the characters get from page one to page 325 is another story.

What’s one piece of writing advice you’ve found valuable on your journey to publication?

Trust yourself. Your gut knows. You know.

If your book were to be made into a movie, who could you see playing the lead role?:

For the main character, Rebecca, I see Rachel McAdams. She has such sweetness and hope in her eyes, and such a lovely face. For half-sister Joy, Kristin Bell, with all that “Veronica Mars” intensity. For delicious Theo, Rebecca’s love interest, the very attractive Aaron Eckhart. Love his face.

Writers are usually big readers too. How do you make time for reading and what are you reading at the moment?

The moment my seven-year-old son closes those eyes for the night, I stretch out on my little sofa with a good book, hot chocolate (it’s getting cooold here in Maine) and my two black cats at my feet. I’m reading Elizabeth Berg’s Home Safe right now. I love how she manages to write so honestly and elegantly at the same time. She’s able to call someone a shit in the loveliest way. Next up: the seven or so books that came from Amazon, staring with Kristina Riggle’s Real Life & Liars. I love women’s fiction—all these interesting storylines and gorgeous covers.

What’s next for you?

Next up is my second novel for teens, The Mosts, which will be published by Random House in June 2010. Then, my next women’s fiction novel from Simon & Schuster, The Love Goddess’s Cooking School, about five people in an Italian cooking class, will be published November 2010. I’m staring down a 1/1 deadline (the worst deadline to have!) And I’m being poked at by a new idea . . . .

 

Thanks, again, Melissa, and wishing you all the best with ALL your projects.

 

If you’d like to order The Secret of Joy, check out the Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Joy-Melissa-Senate/dp/1439107173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258292510&sr=8-1

Love Under Cover

Many thanks to Jessica Brody, one of my “Girlfriends” from my GirlfriendCyber Circuit, for stopping by on her wildwind book tour for her latest book, Love Under Cover. It’s currently in development as a TV series by the executive producer of Crash!

About LOVE UNDER COVER:

In her job, she’s an expert on men…

In her own relationship, she doesn’t have a clue.

Boyfriend behaving badly? Suspect your husband of straying? Jennifer Hunter can supply the ultimate test. She runs a company which specializes in conducting fidelity inspections for those who suspect their loved ones are capable of infidelity.

An expert on men, Jennifer can usually tell if they’re single, married or lying… Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, Jamie, is one of the few men that she’s never been able to ‘read.’ Has she finally found the perfect man or is he too good to be true?

A captivating new novel from the bestselling author of The Fidelity Files.

Available November 10, wherever books are sold.

Praise:

“With a complicated, sympathetic protagonist, worthy stakes and a clever twist on the standard chick lit narrative, Brody will pull readers in from the first page.”

– Publisher’s Weekly

“Those who enjoyed Brody’s debut will be eager to catch up with Jennifer, but newcomers will be intrigued, too…an honest, witty portrayal of modern love.”

- Booklist

“With her usual smart, deft, and witty prose, Brody delves deep into the psychology of a woman who tests the fidelity of strangers for a living but struggles with commitment in her own life.”

-          Joanne Rendell, author of Crossing Washington Square and The Professors’ Wives’ Club

So, Jessica, what was your inspiration behind Love Under Cover?

As soon as I finished writing my first novel, The Fidelity Files¸ I knew that Jennifer’s journey wasn’t over yet. Although she had seemed to find her happy ending there was so much more fun stuff I had in mind for another book. Setting Jennifer up with an entire agency of fidelity inspectors was definitely the first and foremost on my mind for the next instalment.

Plus, I really wanted to explore what a fidelity inspector would be like in a committed relationship. After everything she’s seen—all the cheating, dishonesty, and betrayal—would she really be capable of settling down herself? So that’s what I set out to focus on in this book.

Which scene (or scenes) in your novel did you love writing? Why?

I love writing any of the scenes with Jennifer’s friends. They’re all fun in their own way. Zoë  has a terrible road rage problem and she has a habit of talking on the phone while driving so those conversations with Jen and Zoë on the phone are always really entertaining for me. I get to channel my inner turrets patient. Sophie is totally neurotic. I love going over the top with her.

And John is the flamboyant gay boy from West Hollywood who is always quick with his sarcasm and wit. Sometimes I don’t know where his remarks come from. I must be channelling my inner gay man because I’ll write something that he says and think, “That’s really funny. Where the hell did that come from?”

Since becoming a writer, what’s the most glamorous thing you’ve ever done?

When my first book, The Fidelity Files, came out in France last year, my French publisher actually flew me out to Paris to promote it! It was a dream come true! I speak French almost fluently so I was able to conduct all my interviews in French, which was both nerve wrecking and exciting at the same time. Paris has always held a special place in my heart. I was a French major in college and I lived in Paris my junior abroad. Plus, I spent a month in Paris in 2005 finishing the novel so it was all very magical and kismet to be back there to see it in French book stores!

(Judi says: I’m not even going to mention how utterly jealous in a totally good way I am over THIS little tidbit!)

What’s the main thing you hope people take away from your book?

Entertainment. That’s all I seek to do. Entertain people. The reason I started writing was because of Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding. I read that book in college whenever I would go to the gym and I remember looking down at the elliptical and thinking, “Seriously? I’ve already been exercising for thirty minutes!?” The time would FLY by. I was so inspired and awed by the fact that a book could take me away from my life like that. I knew from that day on that I wanted to be a writer so I could attempt to do the same. So if my book can help pass the time of a long flight or a boring workout then I’ve accomplished my goal. And if some of the issues about relationships and love and trust that I’ve delved into get people thinking, than that’s just icing on the cupcake.

What’s next for you?

Although I strive to live in the moment, I can’t help but be excited about the future! I’ve got three young adult books scheduled to come out in the next three years from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. The first, THE KARMA CLUB, releases on April 27 and I simply can’t wait! It’s about three teen girls who are tired of waiting for Karma to get off its butt and do its job, so they decide to give Karma a helping hand by getting revenge on their evil ex-boyfriends. But they soon discover that when you mess with Karma, Karma messes back. It’s a story I wanted to tell for years and I’m so glad it’s finally going to be put out to the world. The teen voice feels very natural to me (not sure what that says about my inherent maturity level, but whatever!) and the YA novels are such a blast to write. I think the teenage years resonate with everyone in some way. For me, my teen years were very painful so it’s somewhat therapeutic to be able to “go back” and relive them with all the knowledge and wisdom that I have now!

What do you think readers might be surprised to know about you?

I’m a total techno junkie. I love technology and gadgets. Ipods, digital cameras, computers, Tivos, Sling Boxes…those are my weaknesses. My toys. I would die without my blackberry and my Kindle. Unlike most women, I hate shopping for clothes and shoes. To me it feels like a huge waste of time. In a perfect world, I would just wear my sweat pants and Ugg knock-offs all day, every day (okay, maybe I already do that), but set me loose in a Fry’s Electronics or a Best Buy and you probably won’t see me for a week.

(Judi notes: I’m soooo with you on the Hating shopping thing. And the gadget thing, although, sadly, I can’t indulge that passion yet.)

To see an excerpt of Love Under Cover, check out Jessica’s website: www.jessicabrody.com/loveundercover_excerpt.html

About the Author:

Jessica Brody graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with degrees in economics and French. In 2005, she left her job at MGM Studios in Los Angeles to become a full-time freelance writer and producer. Jessica currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is working on her next novel. Visit Jessica’s website at: www.JessicaBrody.com

And for her booktrailer:

Rod and Kyle: Uncensored After Dark

Rod Tritone, author Judi Fennell, author Stephanie Julian, Kyle Rossini

Scene: The overcrowded bar of a large hotel somewhere on the eastern seaboard. It’s after midnight. There are mostly women talking, laughing and drinking. And drinking.

Rod Tritone rocks the no-longer-frosted beer mug in his hand, and keeps his head down. Those women have been eyeing him but he’s happily married, and he’s got the weight of the Mer world on his shoulders since he’s just taken over the throne. A land-based excursion wasn’t exactly high on his list of priorities at the moment–especially since his honeymoon wasn’t all that long ago. Luckily, Kyle Rossini, one of the few people who knows what he really is enters the bar at that moment.

Kyle: Hey, man. I was beginning to think I was the only testosterone in this place. I need a drink. All these women… (He slouches into the chair next to Rod, making sure his back’s to the wall and he had a clear view of all the exits) I’d rather be out on a run but this place is a concrete jungle. Hell, even New York City has Central Park.

Rod: And an aquarium. I can’t believe I let The Council talk me into this. The last place I need to be is surrounded by a bunch of Humans. I’ve got an ocean to run. (Drains his beer and nods to the waitress for another.) So how’d you get roped into this?

Kyle: Hell if I know. Tam and Steph were talking one night and the next thing I knew they were eyeing me like a side of beef. Then the lucani king decided I should come, have a look around. See what the humans say about us. I don’t have time for this shit. I’ve got three new sicari to train. Assassins don’t grow on trees, you know. Although I’ve got one who I swear was born to it. What about you?

Rod: Angel—you remember my younger sister, right? She’s all over me about doing some Human-Mer “dialogue” to get relations going between the races. I, frankly, think it’d be better to wait another few hundred years at the very least before we begin to even consider letting  them know we exist, but Val and Judi mentioned this gathering. (Inclines his head toward the readers milling around the bar.) Their argument is that the Humans most likely to accept new “beings” would be paranormal readers. I’m getting the lay of the land, so to speak. Must say, these women do have some very open minds.

Kyle: Yeah, that masquerade party last night was wild, all the wings and vampire fangs. I swear some of them actually believe in magic. I had a brief moment of insanity where I thought about giving them a real show. Just shifting into my pelt right in the middle of the dance floor. Would have loved to see their faces. Hell, most don’t believe we exist. But I know some of them wish we did. My daughter Cat would have a ball talking to all these writers. She loved Judi’s IN OVER HER HEAD.

Rod: I’ll have to mention that to Reel. Some of the readers jokingly asked Judi where Rod and I were, and they thought she was kidding when she said we were in her room. Good thing no one thought to check. My wife would have had serious issues with that. Being descended from the gods is one thing. Having people think I am one, entirely another. (Takes the frosted mug from the waitress as Kyle orders a 7&7.) Good thing Reel headed back to Ocean City. Two mermen walking around the place would be a bit much. Of course, I see Scarlata managed to convince everyone her pink wings were part of her costume. Wonder what they’d say if they knew there was a real Etruscan fairy hanging at the party with them.

Kyle: (snort) Yeah, Scarlata had way too much fun playing with the humans. I think pregnancy has softened her up. Of course, she’d have my head if she ever heard me say that. Too bad Justin couldn’t come. He would have had a field day with all these people talking about werewolves and fairies and Mer people. I’m surprised Scarlata showed up at all but Steph promised she’d torment Tivr in more stories, so she agreed. Scarlata really doesn’t like that god. Don’t know why. He’s been a good friend to my daughter. Cat’s got a serious case of puppy love for the guy. Of course, if he hurts her, there’s gonna be trouble. I don’t care if he is the freaking Etruscan God of the Moon. I’m sure you’d feel the same about Angel.

Rod: I hear you. My problem with Angel is that she’s always been so gung-ho on Humans that I’m worried she might go looking for her “catch of a lifetime,” and you know what kind of havoc that can cause. You’d think she’d realize after the shit Reel and I went through when we were kids and pulled the prank that almost exposed our world to Humans, that Humans aren’t ready for us, but she keeps insisting they are. It takes a certain type of Human to accept that they’re not the only swimmers in the sea. (Raises his beer halfway to his lips, but then stops and smiles ruefully.) Although, I guess the fact that Reel married one and my wife is half-Human doesn’t really help my argument, does it?

Kyle: (pauses as he takes his drink from the harried waitress) I know what you mean. My Tam doesn’t have any magic at all. But she’s coming up to speed pretty fast. She doesn’t get freaked out when Cat or I come home in our pelts. She’s still having trouble with the whole Gods and Goddesses thing, though. And I’m still damn worried about whoever tried to kidnap her It pisses me off that I don’t have a clue where to even start looking. And I don’t think they’re finished.

Rod: You might want to start with those closest to you. Drake was the last person I’d have suspected when that albatross turned mercenary and recruited half the bird population of Kansas to derail our run for the coast. Guy’s just not that bright. Which he proved with his ridiculous plan, but still— (There’s a disturbance at the end of the bar. A man joins the women, sporting a red leather hat with horns.) Hey—did you get a load of him? Think he might be your guy?

Kyle: (gives an amused laugh) Yeah, probably not. But that writer, Joey W. Hill, she looks like she might know more about secret societies than she’s letting on. Have you seen those vampire books she writes? (shakes his head and downs half his drink) The woman has some serious inside information. Anyway, when I get back tomorrow, I’ve gotta get Kaine out on the trail. She’s an even better tracker than her father, and that’s saying something. And Nic and Duke need to shake a few trees, see what falls out. You heading out tomorrow?

Rod: Out of the hotel, but not too far. Reel and Erica brought in another load of Blackbeard’s treasure from my old place in the wild blue under. I dole it out every so often to keep up the stock in Val’s mother’s gift shop and fund their operation of keeping Humans away from the kimberlite veins and Mer kingdom. I told them I’d stop by to help catalogue some of that stuff. I found that pile when I was a teenager out manta-surfing with some friends. Never would have figured it’d come in handy to keep Humans away from our world, you know? Of course, that Joey Hill you mentioned… Looks like someone clued her into my world as well as yours. Wonder where she gets her information.

Kyle: No idea. But we definitely don’t need the humans figuring out there are people like us in the world. It’s be all pitchforks and lab instruments for us. Hey, thanks for the company. I’m gonna head back to my room, hopefully get some sleep. Hate sleeping without Tam. (shakes his head with a rueful) Yeah, I know. I’m pathetic.

Rod: (pats Kyle on the back and stands) Yeah, without the women we love, aren’t we all?

The guys depart, leaving behind a couple of hungry gazes, more than a few “check-them-outs,” and a roomful of female sighs.

Ah, the tribulations of being a romance hero at a readers’ conference.