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?

Of my two Nocturne Bites, MIDNIGHT MEDUSA has received the least critical attention, so I was delighted when reviewer Cathie Morton sent me her thoughts today. She said in part:

Even though I read this book in April when it was released, [the] emotions that this story brought forth were still with me and so wanted to re-read before writing this review. It is just as beautiful to read now as before and so much more.

Just starting with the first  few paragraphs, you will be absorbed into Renata’s haunting past. With the awesome themes within this story, the reader will want to read even more about [Greek Mythology]. After a second read of this, I’m on a cloud nine [with] the emotions I went through reading this and the growth of the characters that the author Stephanie Draven so brilliantly portrayed as realistic with Damon and Renata.