So, it’s that time again. Back cover copy writing time. This is the little enticing summary at the back of a book that is supposed to tell the reader what the book is about while drawing in their attention with all manner of unanswered questions. So, for my latest novella, THE FEVER & THE FURY (Jan 2012), I’ve come up with the following. Comments & suggestions welcome!

Once, he was an officer and a gentleman, but the horrors of war have transformed Luke Lazaros into an immortal bad boy on the run. Wanted by his own government for spilling state secrets, Luke is haunted by his strange transformation into a phoenix. He’s been changed, body and soul, into a man who cannot die, and his new pyrokinetic powers have somehow unleashed the wrath of the ancient gods. Now he’s stalked by a dark huntress, whose beautiful green eyes blaze like justice. He may not face a judge and jury, but there’s no escaping the eternal torment of a fury. Phaedra is a relentless crusader, torturing him night and day, trying to force him to repent of his supposed crimes. But when Luke realizes that she’s not just a creature of darkness, that she’s also a woman with centuries-old pent-up needs, he turns the tables on her. Phaedra has never been touched by any mortal who wasn’t trying to fend her off…can he seduce her with a smoldering kiss?

For centuries, Phaedra has been a dark force of justice, meting out vengeance. She’s an ancient fury, a tormentor of mortal men. But this time, the man she’s been unleashed upon isn’t mortal at all. Luke Lazaros was transformed by the horrors of war into an immortal bad boy who cannot die. He’s a war-forged phoenix with pyrokinetic powers that make her burn, inside and out. She cannot leave his side until he’s redeemed or driven mad; but he’s too strong–and too stubborn–for her to handle. She needs to make him atone for his crimes, but being near him has become her own personal torment. Phaedra has never touched another person except to inflict pain, and she’s certainly never been touched by anyone who wasn’t trying to fight her off. So when Luke uses pleasure against her, it’s a weapon for which she has no defense. And revenge has never tasted so sweet.

Dark Sins & Desert Sands (HQN Nocturne, Nov 2011) is about a modern day minotaur and the woman with unusual sphinx powers that he falls in love with. It’s ancient mythology set against a modern day background of Las Vegas, where old gods like Seth and Xochiquetzal make mortals their playthings.

Some of the elements of the story are the idea of labyrinths, metaphorical and otherwise. My hero isn’t quite a bull shifter–at least, no one is sure if he’s actually transforming or if that’s simply how they see him when he traps them in the maze of their mind. He’s a gun-toting former Arab-American soldier on the run and our heroine is an Egyptian psychologist. Given these elements, how did we do? Can you find the hidden bull in the cover?

This graphic tickles me because tonight I presented “Love, Monsters & Mythology: For Romance Writers” to my Maryland chapter. I think it went pretty well! I need to tweak some of the exercises to cater to beta heroes and to better help writers use mythology to bring out the themes in their writing, but it seems to have been a good start. A few folks told me that it got them back into the scenes they were writing and was helpful, so I’m feeling pretty great about that!

Day 11. We’re almost there! Release Day is tomorrow.

I’m giving away a free electronic ARC of my latest novella, SIREN SONG or one of my backlist titles to one reader every day for twelve days. All you have to do is answer the question of the day. (Extra points if you tweet or blog or facebook about the giveaway.)

Question: I chose to set Siren Song in hot weather, when tourists are teeming the streets of Annapolis and the water is refreshing. However, as the winter weather engulfs me here in Maryland it occurs to me that there are other seasons for hot romance. Winter offers with it the opportunity for snuggling by the fire and kissing under the mistletoe. Springtime has pretty flowers and darling sun dresses. Autumn has rolling about in leaf piles and sipping hot cider together. Which season do you find to be the most romantic?