Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘love is a gamble’

Yes, I know. We’ve talked about Gambler’s Folly before. But today I want to talk about something specific. Something that keeps popping up here and there that I don’t quite understand. Come with me for a moment!

From my point of view, Speranza, the capital city of the world Gambler’s Folly, is a metropolis. Think Las Vegas or Monte Carlo. Lights, crowds, restaurants, casinos, and luxury hotels to pamper you during your visit. Outside the city proper, the beaches are filled with vacationers, many of them wealthy. The dazzling white sand and the blue-violet water are a definite hit.

This world has been settled for quite a while. Long enough to be as advanced as any city on Earth. I mean, look at the USA. How long have Europeans been here? And look what all we’ve built in 250 years.

And yet, when people talk about Gambler’s Folly romances, they tend to speak in terms of “small town romance.”

Excuse me!

Would you consider Las Vegas a small town? Or Monte Carlo? I’m not sure where this comes from. Any city large enough to have a space port for those traveling to the planet could not be a small town.

What am I missing here?

Most of the books in the series begin in Speranza, as that is where visitors come in to Gambler’s Folly. Just like everywhere else, they have to pass through customs and immigration, pick up luggage, and catch transportation to their hotels. From there the stories diverge. Dam and Kari say in Speranza for the most part, though they take a trip down to Black Sands and out to the ski resorts.

Dante and Angela meet on Earth.

Dmitri and Danni meet at the Interpol offices in Speranza. After their wedding, they drive up into the mountains, where Dmitri has a cabin, while they finish bonding as fated mates.

Again, Kort and Elizabeth meet on the way to Gambler’s Folly. Both are staying at the same hotel in Speranza until Fate chooses to make them fated mates. During their bonding they drive up to his lake house.

Everything revolves around Speranza, as a capital city. The first glimpse of the planet people see when visiting is the capital city.

So, how can this be a small town? And if you have thought of it as small, please drop me a comment and tell me why. It can be difficult, as the author of a book, to see the story from an outside point of view.

Haven’t read any of the series? Go on over to Amazon and choose your adventure. While the books are part of a series, they can be read alone, so pick the one that suits your mood.

Happy reading everyone!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

Coming soon, with a little luck–Scotch and Soulmates!

Read Full Post »

You know how it is. You go away for a week and it takes you two at least to get everything at home running smoothly again. But I think I’m about there. Maybe…

I’ve been working more on Scotch and Soulmates. I want to get it done as soon as I can so it can be ready for the holidays. No promises, but I’m hoping.

So what are you reading tonight? If you’re waiting for Paul and Sophia to make an appearance. have you read the rest of the books from Gambler’s Folly? How about a little preview of the series?

Gambler’s Folly is a futuristic world out in the galaxy. A pleasure center, it has everything you might want–mountain chalets, peaceful lake houses, white sandy–or black sandy–beaches with blue-violet water. Sunlight that is a little paler yellow than the sunlight on Earth. And in the capital city of Speranza, you will find luxury hotels, upscale casinos with formal dining rooms, dance floors, and 5-star cuisine.

Most of those who come to Gambler’s Folly are mundanes, non-shifters. But due to Interpol’s Special Division, quite a few of those in law enforcement are shifters of various sorts. The owner of the Stella d’Oro luxury hotel chain, Damiano Leone, is a leopard shifter, as is his wife and soulmate, Karianna. You’ll find them in most of the books, as their hotel dining room has become a meeting place for the MC’s in the series. And not only is Damiano part of the underworld syndicate, he is an agent with Interpol, a fact most don’t realize.

With all the shifters coming and going to Gambler’s Folly, it is inevitable that several have found their fated mates there, leading to the idea that on this world every love story is a gamble and Fate always deals the final hand.

Gambler’s Folly, the first book in the series, sets the scene and the tone of the series. Brought to life after I heard a song about a man winning his wife in a card game, I tried to figure out how that could happen in the modern world. And Damiano and Karianna were born. She and her first husband came to this world to work on their marriage, only he had a gambling problem. Offered a choice to get out from under his debt at the Stella d’Oro, he takes the offer. One hand of cards. Win or lose, his debt with them is cleared and he has passage back to Earth. But if he loses, he signs divorce papers and Karianna becomes Damiano’s property. When his hand is a queen high straight, he thought he had it made. But when the other hand is a royal flush, he signs papers and says goodbye, only to be murdered on his way to the space port.

Damiano is furious. He had nothing to do with the murder, but convincing his new wife of this fact is proving difficult. And she is not used to being out in the limelight. As the owner of the Stella d’Oro and one of the most powerful members of the syndicate, he is used to it. And then they discover they are Fated Mates. Let the games begin.

All the MCs in the series are shifters. Dante’s Angel is once again leopards, as Dam and Kari head to Earth for the family’s formal wedding for them. Dante, who works with Damiano, is in the wedding party, but he’s a little nervous. He’s never been off his home world and he’s kind of shy around women. This all changes when he meets Damiano’s cousin, Angela. How could anyone know a jealous ex would show up or that Dante would have to fight a duel before the wedding?

Next we have The Russian, Dmitri Ivanovich Volkov, and Danni. He’s a dire wolf shifter and over 500 years old. He lost his soulmate 200 years ago and has avoided relationships ever since. But he hadn’t reckoned on Gambler’s Folly. Danni is in her early twenty’s, works for Interpol in the office, and is trying to make ends meet while taking care of her mother, who has been ill. There is also a jealous not-quite-ex of hers who has the idea she is his to claim. She has no time for relationships. Fate disagrees. Talk about an age gap…

What’s next? Old Flame! Elizabeth has been a widow for four years and lives alone with her cat, Puzzle. She has her Reiki clients to talk to, but otherwise, she stays home, taking her time to heal. She doubts she’ll ever seek another relationship. While she had been married for thirty years or so, there had always been something missing. Kort is a billionaire and a bear shifter. Twice divorced and a string of gold diggers later, he has given up on ever finding true love. Elizabeth’s family gifts her a vacation package to Gambler’s Folly, which she can’t comfortably refuse. On the way there, she runs into Kort, who she had known in university and hadn’t seen since. Fate is already dealing the hand and setting up their second chance for romance.

So if you’re ready for a shifter romance, on a futuristic world, with oh so much more–intrigue, jealous exes, underworld mob connections, emotional healing–come to Gambler’s Folly! Come on… You need a vacation.

Have a wonderful weekend and watch for sales starting in September!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

Read Full Post »