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Posts Tagged ‘Viviane First Lady’

One question I am asked often is where I get my ideas. Most people think I get all my ideas the same way, I suppose. But this isn’t the case.

Take Jareth, First Lord.

This particular story began with a dream. But the dream didn’t begin with the opening scene of the book. I wouldn’t have paid any attention to it, except it kept recurring for several nights. In order to make it go away, I wrote it down.

The next few nights, I dreamed a different scene from the story. Again, it wasn’t the beginning of the book, nor did it follow the scene I’d already written.

So, I decided to sit down and try to figure out how those involved in the story would get to the point of my dreams. And how did they connect?

Sitting down in front of my computer, I let my mind drift off into a daydream and began to write. After I had the beginnings of the story, the rest flowed pretty easily. Of course, there was a lot of editing to do, but at least I stopped dreaming it.

The original story became two books, Jareth, First Lord, and Viviane, First Lady. My editor noticed that i seemed to have one ending, took a breath, and launched back into the story. She felt it would work better if we stopped at the first break and continued in the second book.

Now the third book is Morgan–the Pixie and the Green Man.

Morgan was a character in my first book who touched my heart. I decided she needed a story of her own and spent several days wondering where I should start. And since I write romance, who would be her love interest?

Enter James Ferguson, whose family has Talents related to wood and the forest. His nickname for Morgan is Pixie, since she is much smaller than her is. Because of his abilities, she calls him her Green Man, which is how we arrived at the title.

Book 4 will be coming out soon–Too Many Talents. This one continues the story from Viviane, First Lady and brings in the story line from Clan Belfort and the new heir–her nephew, Connell.

Watch for it here!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Yes, Too Many Talents should be out later this month. Book 4 from the Esperance Series, it continues where Viviane, First Lady left off. It picks up just after Jareth and Viviane return from her brother’s trial in Clan Belfort.

Viviane’s training has not progressed well since returning from her brother’s trial. Her instructor and husband feel it’s because she’s resisting training due to an unfortunate incident in the court. But the more she resists, the more often her Talents get out of hand, causing episodes almost every day.

What will it take for her to finally step up and be the multi-talented First Lady she was born to be?

Back in Clan Belfort, her nephew, Connell, struggles with the concept of Talents. Why should he need these weird abilities to rule the clan when the time comes? And why must he leave his old friends behind and move to his grandfather’s home to train? But when old friends, jealous of his change of status, decide to harm his little friend, Nellie, his abilities take over and save her from harm.

Maybe this is his turning point. And maybe he should talk with his Aunt Viviane.

Watch for Too Many Talents, Esperance Book 4

Now, how about an excerpt?

“Viviane, Duncan is worried about you and has me worried, too.”  

“Worried? Whatever for?” she asked.

“I know how you feel about your Talents, but hiding from them isn’t the answer. And neither is running away and pretending they don’t exist. Duncan and I feel the loss of control you are experiencing is coming from something besides the porting aspect of your Talents.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Jareth,” she answered sharply.

 “Yes, you do, Viviane. Since we’ve been home you’ve been resisting your Talents, and fighting them, especially during training. They will win in the end. In the meantime your control will get worse and worse, until it is manifesting more unpredictably, even when you’re not working with it. With the strengths you have, you will hurt someone, while trying to deny your heritage.”

“But Jareth…”

“Your Talents have to be trained,” he stated emphatically. “There is no escape from it. You have to let go of your fears and put your entire will into your training. It’s the only way to gain control before you do irreparable harm.”

“I don’t want these Talents, Jareth! I never have! Why won’t they go away and leave me alone?”

Now, from Connell in Clan Belfort.

At ten years old, he has been chosen to train as heir to the clan in Carl’s place, which requires him moving to his grandfather and first lord’s home, away from his friends, and for now, his family.

Why does he need Talents to rule the clan anyway? He doesn’t see the point in all this training and the headaches.

But when his old friends come down for the Gather, their jealousy makes them lash out in the one way they know will hurt Connell–by picking on his friend Nellie. As they restrain him and try to hurt her, his Talents come to the rescue, making him think about all those things he’d heard and now how they might apply in real life.

Here’s an excerpt from Belfort.

With a huge sigh, Connell took a deep breath, let it out, and dropped down into his mental working state. Focusing on the little box on the bench, he tried to reach out and nudge it to the end of the table. Instead of scooting to the end of the table, it rolled over twice and refused to budge another inch.

Coming back to his conscious level, he shrugged his shoulders in aggravation and looked up at Master Olivier.

“Well, at least you didn’t slam it into the wall. But why did you roll it instead of slide it?”

“I have no idea, sir.”

“Maybe we should work on something else for a while. Go get a drink of water, stretch out for a minute, and come back. We’ll work on your telepathy and see if we can narrow down your focus.”

By the end of the day’s session, Connell had a tremendous headache, and he was aggravated and frustrated with his progress. What was he missing? Master Olivier told him it would all come together soon, but what if it didn’t? His whole family and clan were counting on him, and he couldn’t even move a box from one end of the table to the other.

Watch for Too Many Talents! I’ll keep you posted!

To get the first three books in the series, go to Amazon or Smashwords!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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The three book series, Esperance, will soon be joined by a fourth book–Too Many Talents.

How about a little background?

The world I call Esperance was settled during a very disturbed time on Earth. People with a particular remote viewing ability sought new worlds to colonize, as it seemed Earth might not survive. On this new world, these individuals, called Seekers, also helped discover minerals for mining concerns, new food which could be used by the new settlers, and many other things.

As the colony would take time to become self-sufficient, Earth subsidized them with shipments of necessities they couldn’t manufacture yet. Machine parts, medicines and the like were at the top of the list.

Until the shipments stopped coming. The colony struggled to keep going until a mutated virus wiped out over half of the colony. Without the medicines from Earth, they were at the mercy of nature. Many skills were lost, machines broke down with no way to repair them, and the remaining settlers descended into chaos, each man for himself in a bid to survive.

After several decades of this confusion, a few among them developed Talents–psychic abilities such as telepathy, teleportation, telekinesis, and a host of others. Using these new abilities, they got together to impose the rule of law to save what was left of their world.

Dividing the world into clans, each named after one of the original talented men, the colony slowly began to revive. New Talents, which took the place of mechanism and medicines, began to emerge among the people. Some had abilities relating to wood and the forest. Others for various sorts of metal or stone. And those who could heal using energy became the new medical professionals among them, while the herbalists researched various plants to add to the mix. Some had very minor abilities, others became masters in their field.

Until we come down to the time of Jareth and Viviane, several hundred years after the end of the confusion.

Viviane has Talents she should never have developed. Though she has struggled for control, an unfortunate outburst of temper at her brother’s trial nearly takes a life. Now terrified of her abilities, she begins to resist her training, which only makes the outbursts of uncontrolled Talent more frequent. Jareth and her instructor struggle for a way to make her understand how important her training is, as her uncontrolled manifestations of Talent become a daily concern.

Follow her continuing story in Too Many Talents.

We are also introduced to her nephew, Connell.

When the original heir of Viviane’s home clan, Belfort, turns traitor, another heir must be found. He should be of the family line, and still able to access his Talents. The only one who fits the bill is Connell, her sister’s son.

Connell, who is only ten and a half, isn’t sure why he needs Talents to be a ruler. After all, what could go wrong which would require it? And why does he have to come live with his grandparents for this training? But when his friends from home come to the clan center for the Gather, he learns a lesson about jealousy, friendship, and Talent he won’t forget soon.

He also learns how helpful it is to keep control of his thoughts, when he accidentally finds himself in Jareth and Viviane’s study, unannounced and quite confused, after letting his temper get out of control.

Watch for Too Many Talents, coming soon!

Haven’t read the first books in the series?

Go to Amazon or Smashwords for your copies today!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Yes, here it is the last Friday of February. Wasn’t it just the first of February a few days ago?

Of course, I’m sure the crazy weather around here hasn’t helped much. Just last week we had one night where the temperatures dipped down into the 20’s. Last night? Mid-60’s. My body can’t adjust to this.

But enough of the weather. Let’s talk books!

Here’s something to put on your calendar!

Read an eBook Week is coming to Smashwords March 6! And that means a whole lot of books will be on sale!

What’s not to like about that?

But it only lasts for a week, so make sure to head over there early.

Yes, all my books will be in the sale, from Gambler’s Folly, Esperance, and Master of the Fleet! If you haven’t tried my books yet, or if you need to add to one of the series, now would be a good time.

I’ll remind you and post a link to the sale as soon as it is available, so keep an eye out for it. I don’t know about you, but I love book sales.

But to continue what I started last week…

Where did I get the idea…

…for Jareth, First Lord?

This book began as a dream which kept repeating, night after night. Not the beginning, but partway through what became the second chapter. Just the one scene. And every time I would wake up and go back to sleep, it would come back.

Finally, to get it out of my head, I sat down and wrote out the scene that was on repeat in my brain, only to have it pick another scene with the same cast of characters, at some other point in the book.

In order to get a little sleep, I sat down and tried to piece together how these characters came to be where they were in the first scene. Why would they find themselves in this situation? And where would they go from there?

And Jareth, First Lord was born, followed by the continuation of the story in Viviane, First Lady.

The third book in the series is inset into the story flow. Morgan is a character introduced in the first book. I loved her character and wanted to explore who she was and why she had come to Clan Brannach.

The story will continue in the fourth book of the series, which will be out later this year–Too Many Talents.

But what started the whole thing? Let me give you an excerpt!

JARETH, FIRST LORD

In the gray light of dawn one week after the postings,
the women for The Choosing gathered on the parade grounds
of the Belfort estate, nervous and frightened.
Striding up to the podium, First Lord Jareth addressed the
crowd. “Custom dictates older daughters marry first. With this
in mind, I will accept volunteers. Some of you who are
younger, with long waits ahead, may wish to try your chances
in Clan Brannach. Once the volunteers are accepted, we will
choose from those left to make up the tithe.”


While his men recorded the names of the girls who came
forward, Jareth once again felt the strange spider on his brain
which he’d sensed in the village. Searching the group before
him, he was drawn to cascades of black curls shimmering in
the soft morning light. About twenty feet away, she was
comforting others with a touch or quick hug. Her concern
impressed him. As she turned to face him, her dazzling blue
eyes captivated his heart.


Regaining his senses, he threaded his way through the
crowd. As he drew closer her eyes sparkled like the blue
waters of a mountain stream in the sun. Lush dark lashes
framed them in perfect contrast to her smooth, creamy skin.
Her mouth was a small rosebud begging to be kissed. She
appeared to him as a fairy princess come to life. Expecting
fear or anger as he approached, all he saw was inner strength
shining through sadness. He cultivated his imposing presence,
but she rose tall and met his gaze.


“Good morning, miss. What is your name?”

Don’t forget the book sale March 6!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

...to Share the Romance…

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Yes, all the books from my Esperance Series are on sale this weekend! If you’re like me, you love a book sale. I have several series I’ve started I need to finish. Since they’re all several books long, I wait for a sale to stock up.

And you can do the same!

Just go to Smashwords and check it out. All three books in the current series are on sale for only $0.99 each! Full length novels you can sit back and get into.

So if you’re looking for a place to get away, Esperance may be what you’re looking for–a place from an earlier time, ruled by psychic lords, and normal, everyday people with maybe a touch of Talent to make life a little easier for them.

Book1–Jareth First Lord

Book 2–Viviane, First Lady

Book 3–Morgan–The Pixie and the Green Man

Get one or get all at this special weekend price.

And watch for the next one in the series later this year:

Too Many Talents, Book 4.

I’ll let you know when it is available!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

...to Share the Romance…

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After the last bit of chill, Mother Nature has chosen to go straight into summer. We’re supposed to have temperatures up in the 90’s this weekends, with night time lows warmer than our daytime highs were just over a week ago.

But the tomatoes are looking good and enjoying the sunshine, even if I’m uncomfortable with all the temperature shifts. All in all, a good time to stay indoors and get with the writing!

What have you been working on lately?

I’ve finished the first draft and read through of Lady Calloway and gone back to Scotch and Soulmates and Old Flame to make the corrections I made on the Kindle.

I don’t know about you, but I cannot read a manuscript properly on my computer monitor. But what I’ve found works a lot better is to save it out as a mobi file –I use Calibre to help with that–and upload it to my Kindle Fire. That way it’s more like reading a book without going through reams of paper and cartons of toner.

I haven’t figured out a way to make the changes to it on the Kindle, so I highlight the sections where I’ve found problems or bits I want to rewrite. Once I’ve finished the read through, I take the Kindle to my desk, open the book and the manuscript on the computer, and work my way through.

Yes, it is a little cumbersome, but whatever works. Right?

With the three of those moved out of the way for a bit, I’ve revisited the unfinished WIP for the Esperance series. The next one to publish will be Too Many Talents, Book 4, followed by Ben of Blackstone’s Forge, Book 5. The one I’ve pulled back out of the “to be finished” folder is Gregor Thayne–Heir of Rowan.

Way back in Viviane, First Lady, we meet Gregor’s father, Lord Kinsey of Clan Rowan. His was the deciding vote in the trial in Clan Belfort. In this book we meet his son and heir, who is a bit of a rogue. Earlier in life, Gregor decided he’d had enough and refused to be the clan heir. Taking off for the far side of the clan, he took his mother’s surname and became a city guard.

Eventually, he and his father came to an agreement and he returned to his duties as heir. But he retained the last name Thayne as a final show of rebellion.

But he was not a happy man when his father announced the marriage arrangement he’d made with another first Lord, pledging him to a woman he’d never met.

How will this all turn out? Your guess is as good as mine at this point. My characters tend to have minds of their own and go off on tangents I’d never imagined.

Watch for Too Many Talents later this year. And who knows? There may be something else from Sultonna Nadine as well.

Haven’t read the Esperance Series? You can find in on Amazon or at Smashwords!

And as always…

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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…to a world full of mischief, magic, and romance.

Come to Esperance!

You won’t need a passport or airline tickets. No need for a Covid test. All you need is a comfy chair, something delightful to drink, and maybe a fireplace.

And of course, a book. Or an e-book. Either way, it won’t cost much. But such a world you’ll find.

Discovered by the seekers when Earth began to expand into the universe, the colony was just getting on its feet when tragedy struck. They were cut off from their home world without warning while facing a pandemic which was wiping out the population.

After weathering this time of trouble, the survivors fell into a world of chaos and confusion. It became a world of every man for himself and damn the consequences.

Out of this tribulation, people with special abilities emerged. Descendants of the seekers who had come with them, they developed strong psychic abilities. Eventually they were able to enforce the rule of law back onto the population and divided the lands into clans. Each clan was ruled by one of these psychically talented First Lords.

Our first story begins several hundred years after this time of confusion, in Clan Brannach, which is ruled by First Lord Jareth. A widowed ruler with no heir, he has no heart for finding another wife, until he meets Viviane from a neighboring clan.

But will he win her heart before the two of them start a clan war?

The story continues in Book 2, where we learn more about Talents and the problems they can cause.

Book 3 is inset into the main story line, following the tale of another girl from the neighboring clan, of her struggles, and of finding the possibility of love. With a little more psychic magic involved, there are some surprises along the way.

So, beginning with Jareth, First Lord, continuing with Viviane, First Lady, and moving on to Morgan–The Pixie and the Green Man, the wonders of this world unfold. Next up will be Too Many Talents, continuing Viviane’s story and bringing in Connell, of Clan Belfort, the new heir to the clan.

All these books are available on Amazon, Smashwords, and most major booksellers.

So take a break. Take a vacation. Come with me to a simpler, more magical time and place.

Come to Esperance.

And as always…

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Have you read the books in my Esperance Series?

What is Esperance?

Settled by pioneers from Earth, the planet was far from being self-sufficient when they lost contact with Earth, and with the supplies they needed to continue building their world. Without the medicines from Earth, the population was devastated when a pandemic hit, leaving less than half the people of the original settlements.

With society now in total chaos and anarchy, it was every man for himself until a few people with unusual psychic abilities were able to force their will on the population and bring law and order back to their world. These men became the original First Lords.

Dividing the remaining population into clans, the First Lords gave their names to the clans, gradually rebuilding a successful society on their world. While it was far from what they’d had when Earth was subsidizing them, this frontier world, they had food, shelter, and a sense of direction.

As the population grew, so did these unusual Talents. Only the First Lords had the multiple Talents needed to rule their clans, but others developed abilities related to their work, or for healing and nurturing.

The first book in the series, Jareth, First Lord, is about one of these Talented men and the woman he hopes to win. Set a couple centuries after the Age of Confusion, his clan is well established and prosperous. Two years previously, he had lost his wife in childbirth, losing the baby as well. He knew he had to remarry, but was surprised when he found the woman of his dreams in another clan with which he had a dispute.

Book two, Viviane, First Lady, continues their story and tells of Viviane’s struggle to learn how to control Talents she has suddenly developed before they cause any more trouble. While having psychic abilities seems like it would be a great deal of fun, learning to control them, instead of having them control you, can be a trick.

Book 3, Morgan, tells of a young woman who came to Brannach during the Choosing. She had determined to live her life alone, after being abused by nearly every man she’s known in her life. When James begins to show her attention, she isn’t sure what to think. As for James, his family has a couple Talents which can make people nervous. As his attraction grows for Morgan, so does his anxiety about sharing his secret with her.

Watch for new books in the future!

Esperance. A world full of mischief, magic, and romance.

Come with me and visit this amazing world.

And as always,

Don’t Forget to…

…Share the Romance…

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What is Esperance? What makes it special?

Let’s read the prologue…

According to legend, Esperance was found by the Seekers, ancient people from old Earth with psychic abilities including remote-viewing. After millennia of abuse Earth was dying. Now her people sought new homes among the stars. With lush, rich vegetation, deep forests, and forbidding mountains this new world resembled a much younger Earth—an Earth before modern man had left his mark.

Seeking a simpler life on this unspoiled and bounteous land, they would tame this bold new world as their ancestors had tamed the rugged highlands on Earth. Learning from history, they would take from it only what they needed, preserving everything else as a pristine paradise.

Initially Esperance relied on Earth for items they couldn’t yet produce. Fabricated metals, manufactured machine parts, and advanced medicines would take years to perfect. Mining and smelting also took time to become profitable.

Once again, the abilities of the Seekers came to their aid, helping to locate mineral deposits, potable water sources and native foods to supplement their diet. They helped ease strife during the difficult times by exerting a calming effect toward those around them. Even as the colonists adapted to this new land, they grew more susceptible to its native bacteria and viruses, relying on medicines from Earth to overcome disease.

Without warning Earth’s ships stopped coming. They were then helpless when a new virus depleted their medical supplies. Thousands died in the first wave and in each subsequent wave. As equipment failed irreparably and skills were lost to the grave, society crumbled into vicious and bloody chaos.

Many decades later, the descendants of the Seekers gained enough strength to lead their people out of confusion. With skills tempered in the forges of hell, these warriors enforced their will on the remaining few, forming clans to preserve what little was left.

Refining their Talents, these First Lords passed those abilities down through the generations, down through nearly two centuries to the time of Jareth, First Lord of Clan Brannach.

So what has been going on since that time? Read the books from the series and find out about these wonderful and Talented people!

Links to all the books are on the Links Page. Or the Smashwords link is: https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/29658

Esperance–a world full of mischief, magic, and romance…

Don’t Forget...

…to Share the romance…

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Wouldn’t just a little magic be helpful sometimes?

Well, maybe, depending on your control.

Yesterday we had a peek at Jareth, First Lord. why don’t we take a look at Viviane, First Lady today?

After her outburst the day of their betrothal, Jareth and Herrick–Viviane’s father–discuss her apparent Talents. Since they have appeared, she will have to train them so they don’t get out of hand.

In talking with Jareth later, Viviane learns a little about what it was like for her husband and First Lord when he was growing up, with all his Talents.

Excerpt from Viviane, First Lady

“Boys will be boys,” he told her, eyes twinkling in delight. “You know the kind of stuff young lads get into. Fighting and teasing the girls. Fighting over the girls. Fighting with the girls. My dad’s stronger than your dad.”  

“But it must have been a little different growing up with talent,” she insisted.

“That’s where part of the trouble came from. With all the mischief boys can get into without talent, imagine how much trouble you can cause with talent, if you want to.”  She looked at him questioningly.

 “Sometimes you just want to fight, but nobody else does. You don’t want to have it get out that you started the fight, so you kind of reach out, plant a suggestion, toy with emotions a little bit… You get the idea.”

“You can’t be serious.” He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes at her. “I can’t believe, well I guess really I can. But honestly, how mean and underhanded is that?”

“That’s why Dad and I had our fights half of the time. When your dad is First Lord and knows you have a penchant for mischief, he can usually back track the mischief to its source. It took me a while to catch on,” he confided.

“Annie said you and your dad used to have fights and they sometimes got really out of hand.”

“Yes, well, I had a bit of temper in my younger days,” he said, as if he had none now, “and Dad had a bit of temper too. When all our temper collided and control started to slip it could get a little exciting.”

“I should think losing one’s temper is fairly usual at a young age,” Viviane said.

“Yes, but I had a way of getting under Dad’s skin. Once in a while his control would slip, too. That’s when things started getting weird.”

“Weird? What do you mean?”

He chuckled, thinking back on the scenes of his childhood. “When you’re young and angry, you sometimes think the old man is past it, so you decide to use the energies you can control against him. When he deflects them and they start breaking things, it can get a little weird. And when his temper began to take over, it was like the immovable object and the unstoppable force. The increasing tension from all the energy had to go somewhere, but where was anybody’s guess.”

“But you’re not supposed to use energies to harm, only to heal,” Viviane protested. “Certainly you knew that.”

“Yeah, but there’s a difference between knowing something and comprehending it. As an object lesson once or twice, Dad decided to turn the tables. After I had unleashed a series of attacks against him, which he neutralized, he thought it would be good for me to experience a little dose of it myself.”

“What happened?” Viviane asked.

He looked at her for a moment, sort of halfway between shamefaced and mischievous.

“Let’s just say that the wall is a very hard thing to hit at speed. After I regained my senses, still angry but confused, he made me clean up the mess I’d made of the room, quite literally.”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean,” she said, trying to see the picture.

“Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to have someone else in control of your motor centers? Or to be forced to clean up broken crockery, vases, and spilled flowers, when what you really want to do is to break something else? Preferably over his head.”

“Good heavens!” she laughed. “But sooner or later he had to let go of his control.”

“Yeah, after he had marched me forcibly down to my masters and had me confined in a shielded room for three days. Not to mention, I was on disciplinary rations until my temper faded and I’d gained a little understanding and respect.”

Viviane started to chuckle, and then laughed heartily at the scene she imagined. He glared at her for a moment, before he joined her in laughter.

“Anyway, that was quite a while back. It was one of my first real insights into what the power of a trained First Lord could be. I began to understand how important control is.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about me starting any duels with you,” Viviane stated firmly. “I’m beginning to understand what my talents are and I am certain yours are greater than mine. It would be kind of like a flea picking a fight with a tiger.”

“Come on, flea,” he told her, grinning, “let’s see what we can rustle up for dinner.”

“Bad tiger! Down boy! Be good, or there’ll be no treats tonight.”

“We’ll just see about that.”

Get Viviane from Amazon or Smashwords!

Want the whole set?

Amazon Kindle, paperback, or audio book!

Smashwords ebook

So reach out for a little magic! It’s the weekend!

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