It’s time for the April New Series Spotlight! If you love series books as much as we do, you’ll know that there are tons of them out there, and we don’t always find out about them right when they come out. So we are trying to help you find some new series reads. Each month we will feature a new up and coming series that we think you should know about!

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Fiona Lowe won a RITA award last year for her Carina Press novel Boomerang Bride. She has been writing contemporary romance for years now, and is excited to share with us her new series, Wedding Fever, which will feature three books all based around weddings. The first book, Saved by the Bride, is out now.

New Series Description

Weddings That WOW! The series is set in the small north woods Wisconsin town of Whitetail where the residents have always thrown great weddings for their own citizens. Why not spread the love beyond those who live in town and save their town from the ravages of the global economic slowdown at the same time? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time….

How did the idea come about

I live in a small town and it’s hard finding ways to stand out and survive in tough economic times. We had just received the news that one of our town’s major employers was pulling out and the news had people reeling and everyone was talking about how we needed to attract industry to our town. Everyone was wracking their brains for inspiration.

That weekend, my husband and I went to a big city wedding. It was a fabulous night and no expense had been spared. In fact, I felt a bit ‘country’, not that it stopped me from having an amazing time but I knew a lot of money had been spent on the wedding. It got me pondering about the wedding industry and suddenly I had an idea for a story.

As for the characters, the best stories come out of pairing up opposites who want totally different things, so I made Finn a rich, Chicago businessman and Annika, a small town girl trying to save her town from financial ruin. I threw in family dynamics, divorced parents, a sister planning the society wedding of the year and voilà! I had the story for Saved By The Bride.

Series plan

There are three books planned for now. Saved By The Bride (April ), Picture Perfect Wedding (August)  and Runaway Groom (January 2014).

Set against the backdrop of the Whitetail, the small town with a big heart, each book follows two different couples as they work their way towards their own HEA. The books have been described as laugh out loud funny with heart. In Saved By The Bride, Annika Jacobsen is busy helping out people with their problems because that means she doesn’t have time to face or deal with her own.

In Picture Perfect Wedding, the pace changes. Luke Anderson is a local dairy farmer who’s having a bit of a quarter-life crisis when he meets Erin, a wedding photographer who will do almost anything to get permission to shoot a wedding in Luke’s sunflower field. Luke doesn’t have time for nonsense and sunflowers are a crop for his cows and covered bridges aren’t romantic, they just protect the bridge from black ice.

The final book, Runaway Groom, features Ben, an Australian on a road trip who has every intent of avoiding anything and everything to do with weddings. Nothing would make him spend time in a wedding town but fate has different ideas that come in the form of Amy, our between jobs lawyer.

To get a feel for the trilogy, watch the book trailer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78-leTYypnw

Additional Information 

The Wedding Fever trilogy is my first series since winning the 2012 RITA for best Single Title Contemporary Romance with my cross-cultural (USA/Australian) novel, Boomerang Bride. I also write for Harlequin medical romance. Saved By The Bride is my 21st novel.

Author Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Saved by the Bride:  Kindle Nook Sony Kobo

New Series Spotlight: Wedding Fever by Fiona Lowe is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Historical romance author Laura Navarre is introducing her new pen-name, Nikki Navarre with her debut novel in the Foreign Affairs series – The Russian Seduction. Today, Nikki is going to give us the scoop on what we can expect from her brand new series!

New Series Description:

The Foreign Affairs series is smart, sleek and sexy romantic suspense set in Russia and other exciting international locales.  My heroines are globetrotting, glamorous American diplomats, and my heroes are basically foreign spies under orders to compromise them.

The launch book is The Russian Seduction (Oct. 2012).  Renegade Russian submarine captain Victor Kostenko was the golden boy of the Russian Navy until he lost his command for an act of treason he didn’t commit.  Rising-star American diplomat Alexis Castle always plays by the rules.  She’ll torpedo her career for sure if she falls for a bad-boy Russian who breaks every rule in the book.  When a hard-line Russian leader invades a country the U.S. has promised to protect, war can only be averted by one man who has everything to gain…and a woman who has everything to lose.

How did the idea come about:

For the Foreign Affairs series, my inspiration came directly from the five years I spent living and working as a diplomat in Russia, where I specialized in weapons of mass destruction issues.  I had a position very similar to my heroine Alexis in The Russian Seduction.  The high-octane excitement of the edgy cosmopolitan world of modern-day Moscow, the blend of international intrigue and globetrotting glamour that was my life there, and the sense of unfriendly eyes always watching were definite inspirations for the story.  My hero Victor is unfortunately a pure figment of my fertile imagination!

Series plan:

I’m contracted for the first two books so far, and I’m playing with an idea for the third.  The sequel is The Russian Temptation (coming in 2013), about a glamorous American chemical weapons expert and the elegant Russian hit man who’s hired to kill her.  Again, much of my inspiration comes from my professional adventures in Russia, and I am LOVING this project!

Other Giveaway Opportunities

I’m running a giveaway on Goodreads until Oct. 12 only.  Enter and you could win a print copy of The Russian Seduction.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15982941-the-russian-seduction

You can also enter to win a copy of the book by visiting my Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/NikkiNavarreAuthor, and stay current on all my Foreign Affairs news.

Thanks for the update Nikki! One lucky commenter will be entered to win an ecopy of The Russian Seduction. Just leave a comment or question for Nikki to be entered. Giveaway is open internationally and ends October 16th. Good luck!

Author Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Kindle | Amazon

New Series Spotlight – The Foreign Affairs is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

It’s time for the September New Series Spotlight! If you love series books as much as we do, you’ll know that there are tons of them out there, and we don’t always find out about them right when they come out. So we are trying to help you find some new series reads. Each month we will feature a new up and coming series that we think you should know about!

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Moira Rogers has been writing paranormal romance for a few years now, and here at The Book Pushers, we’ve gobbled up everything they’ve written. When the news came out they would be forming a new pen name and writing dirty dystopian awesomeness, my heart did a happy dance. Today, Bree and Donna are here to tell us more about their new pen name, Kit Rocha’s debut series Beyond.

New Series Description

Erotic romance set in a dystopian future where the clash between high tech and low tech is almost as vicious as the culture clash between the severely repressed but morally righteous city of Eden and the lawless sectors that surround it.

How the Idea Came About

We’ve had some of the basic setup for the series kicking around in the back of our heads for a few years now, but it was definitely different than our usual projects.  An interest in self-publishing a project gave us the opportunity to throw away our rule book and write the world as dark and gritty and unusual as we wanted it to be.  It’s been nerve-wracking in some ways, but also so much fun.

  Series Plan

Right now, we have four books planned, with more possibilities beyond that, and each book will feature a different couple (or trio, or whatever).  The second book, Beyond Control, will feature Dallas and Lex.  Beyond that…we’ll see!

Author Site | Twitter | Goodreads

Beyond Shame: Kindle | Amazon

New Series Spotlight: Beyond by Kit Rocha is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Kaily Hart has been writing erotic romances for Ellora’s Cave for two years now. But coming this August, Hart is releasing a new series with Carina press and is here today to tell us all about it! Kaily, welcome to The Book Pushers!

New Series Description: 

The Fabric of Fate series has an overall story arc that deals with a secret ancient race of humans called the Vadïm. Their history and culture has been systematically targeted and destroyed and their very existence is at risk. They’re on the brink of extinction and are struggling to understand who and what they are, while fighting a sinister enemy in The Assembly. The tag line for the series is – Will fate alone determine their future or can they carve out their own destiny?

How did the idea come about:

Honestly? I don’t really know. I don’t exactly know where most of my ideas come from. I did know when I began planning a paranormal series, I wanted to do something a little different. I didn’t just want to come up with a different take on a shifter or Vampire story, I wanted something new and unique. So I made it all up completely

Series plan:

The overall series arc deals with reignited hope, regained trust, newfound loyalty, reestablished glory and redemption, the overriding themes for each of the five books in the series. Each book showcases a “fated” pair and their relationship, grappling with who and what they as they join the fight to save their race. The names of the books in the series are:

• Rise of Hope
• Renewal of Trust
• Promise of Loyalty
• Edge of Glory
• Act of Redemption

In developing this series, it was important for me to construct an arc that had a distinct beginning and a clear end. I’ve begun reading a number of series myself that just seem to go on and on beyond their shelf life. That’s not to say there can’t be subsequent books beyond the initial five, just that it will conclude satisfactorily in terms of a broader story line with Act of Redemption.

Any additional information you want the readers to know! 

Just…BUY MY BOOK! No, seriously, I write to create a memorable experience for the reader. I want to take readers away from everyday life to a different place, whether that’s contemporary or paranormal. A book isn’t something to just be read. It’s something to enter, to live inside of for a time, even after that final page is done. A good book, that is and I hope mine are that for readers out there. So whether it’s mine or someone else’s…read on!

A secret ancient race of humans with fantastical abilities, the Vadïm are on the brink of extinction. Many of their women are imprisoned by an organization known as The Assembly, their history all but lost . . .

Devon Monroe has been a prisoner her entire life. She’s determined to make sense of the strange markings on her body, to learn why no one may touch her, to find where she belongs. That means escaping into the unknown, where she has no choice but to trust her self-appointed protector.

Soldier for hire Seth Eastman has a job to do: deliver Devon to safety. When Seth discovers the markings on Devon’s body, he’s stunned at what it means. And at how she awakens his long-suppressed needs. As they struggle to escape detection and search for the truth of the Vadïm, can he ever hope to claim her for his own?

Rise of Hope: Kindle | Carina Press | nook

Kaily Hart | Blog | Twitter | Facebook |Facebook Fan Page | Goodreads | Pinterest

New Series Spotlight – Fabric of Fate is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Today we have the two ladies, Lorelie Brown and Carrie Lofty, who collectively make up Katie Porter. They are here to tell us about their new series Vegas Top Guns. Who could resist the combination of Vegas, the men and women who fly really neat aircraft at high speeds and their well, lets just say methods of relieving stress… Enjoy!

New Series Description:

Katie Porter’s “Vegas Top Guns” series of erotic romances features U.S. Air Force pilots from the 64th Aggressor Squadron. Set against the hot, wicked backdrop of Sin City, these uninhibited romantic partnerships explore the many forms desire can take—including role-playing, erotic power exchange, male submission, and voyeurism.

An introverted waitress taps into her wild side during an erotic weekend with a hard-charging fighter pilot who has yet to fully embrace his role-playing fetish. July 31st

Amazon | BN | Goodreads

How did the idea come about:

Lorelie: In 2010, my boys and I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Las Vegas. We had a good time (naturally) but I couldn’t help thinking about what it would be like to be there sans-children. Plus I saw signs for some “Vegas Single People Weekend” (though they had a much snappier name for it). I came home from that trip and told Carrie that I was thinking about writing a contemporary set in Vegas. I tried to hash out the details—who my hero and heroine would be—but it wasn’t quite working. And then one day, Carrie emailed me that she’d had a dream we were going to co-write my Vegas idea under the name Bettina Mills. Stupid pen name. Brilliant idea. The rest of it took off from there.

Carrie: OMG, I totally forgot about Bettina Mills. What was my subconscious thinking? Apparently dirty thoughts that were only slightly misguided. Originally we thought we’d write them for Harlequin’s Blaze line, but quickly realized that we were way too raunchy and sexually experimental for even that line. Samhain was the way to go, and our editor, Sasha Knight, has been incredibly enthusiastic about our partnership. We’re currently contracted for more books than my brain can contemplate all at once. Good times!

A young playboy pilot with an eye for kink dares an accounting VP to reveal her fantasies, but her craving for exhibitionism and breath-play pushes even his boundaries. Aug 28th

Amazon | BN | Goodreads

Series plan:

Lorelie: The Vegas Top Guns series is five books long. Each book follows a new hero and heroine, and at least one of them is a fighter pilot—because who doesn’t love a man (or woman) in uniform? More than that, each book features a new kink. We had a blast playing around with a bunch of different stuff.

Carrie: Playing around? It was more like falling into a rabbit hole of kink. (That didn’t sound right.) Role-playing? Fairly straight forward. But femdom, dubious consent, and voyeurism? That took extensive…research. Sure. We’ll call it that. We wrote these as the erotic romances we wanted to read. Lots of emotion, lots of angsty longing, plus sex that singes eyebrows, speeds heartbeats, and still enhances the romantic connection between the hero and heroine. Sexual exploration and trust go hand in hand with romance. Hopefully readers will agree that we achieved a great balance.

Reunited after six years, a practiced male submissive teaches a daredevil colleague to embrace her dominant side, risking both of their piloting careers. Sep 25th

Amazon | BN | Goodreads

You can find Katie Porter at the links below.

Katie Porter | Twitter | Goodreads

Don’t forget to check back later today for a review of Double Down by MinnChica and E_.

New Series Spotlight: Vegas Top Guns is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Today we have Jennifer Bernard here to talk about her debut novel/series The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel. Here are The Book Pushers we are all big fans of a sexy fireman hero, and with a whole series of them, who wouldn’t want to know more??

New Series Description

 The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel are fearless, smoking hot, and single. They’re heroes, but it’s their bad luck in love that makes them legendary. Rumor has it Station 1 is cursed. Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t, but one thing’s for sure. When these sexy firemen start falling in love, they’re in for a bumpy ride. Here’s the cover copy for the first book, THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME:

News producer Melissa McGuire and Fire Captain Harry Brody couldn’t be more different, though they do have one thing in common: they’re both convinced they’re perfectly wrong for each other.

But when Melissa’s matchmaking grandmother wins her a date with Brody at a bachelor auction… Sparks fly. Passion flares. Heat rises. (You get the picture.)

Add a curse, a conniving nightly news anchor, a stunningly handsome daredevil fireman, a brave little boy, a couple of exes, and one giant fire to the mix and Melissa and Brody’s love may not be the only thing that burns.

 How did the idea come about 

Before there was a series, there was just one book, THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME, and a hero, Captain Brody, who I absolutely fell in love with. I adored the world of the San Gabriel firehouse and wanted to write more, but I thought there ought to be something special or unique about this particular firehouse. Since firemen tend to be family guys (most are married) it occurred to me — well, what if this firehouse is different? What if they have to fight for love, and it’s even harder than battling fires? That’s when the idea of a curse came to me. After that, the other stories started flowing.

Series plan

At this point there are three books scheduled. THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME is coming out in May, HOT FOR FIREMAN is out in June, and the third, SEX AND THE SINGLE FIREMAN, doesn’t have an exact date yet. But there is certainly room for more books in this series. Each book will focus on a new firefighter hero (the third one actually has a firefighter heroine too) and follow his (or her) rocky road to happily ever after. Each book will involve the same firehouse, San Gabriel Station 1, so many of the characters will return, including the heroes and heroines of the previous books. One thing I love about series is catching glimpses of the heroes/heroines from past books. I like seeing the changes in their lives, and knowing they’re still happy. So I will definitely be including that sort of thing in this series.

Author’s Website | Facebook | Twitter |Amazon Author Page

Be sure to check back later today for MinnChica, Lou and Has’ joint review of the fist book in the series, The Fireman Who Loved Me.

New Series Spotlight: The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Today we have with us debut author Cynthia Garner, featuring her new series: Warriors of the Rift. My review will be posted later on today, and let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of this series! Let’s get right too it!

NEW SERIES DESCRIPTION:

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world—or send it spiraling into chaos.

HOW DID THE IDEA COME ABOUT:

For the last couple of years I’ve been hearing in the publishing industry that vampires are so 20^th century, that if an author was going to write a paranormal romance with vampires, there had better be something that hadn’t been done before or no one was going to buy it. So my brain started working. How could I put a fresh spin on such an old topic? Then a news blurb about a meteor shower made the wheels turn faster (even though I decided I was not going to get up at 3 AM to watch it). And I asked the basic question… “What if…?”

Through all the what-ifs that followed, I came up with the idea that a comet (named after the members of my critique group at the time) passes by Earth every 73 years and, when it does, it rips open a rift between our dimension and another.  Inhabitants of the other dimension who’d been deemed undesirables by their governments—the criminals, political dissidents and religious heretics—are stripped of their bodies and held in containment fields, awaiting their final punishment. When the rift opens, their holding cells are opened and they get sucked into our dimension. With an instinct for survival that’s too strong to ignore, they come down to Earth and take over the first human body they come upon. The species they were in the other dimension dictates the reaction their hosts will have to the “invasion”. Some become vampires, some shapeshifters, some demons, etc.

SERIES PLAN:

Right now there will be three novels and one e-novella. The novels KISS OF THE VAMPIRE and SECRET OF THE WOLF, and the e-novella INTO THE RIFT come out this year. HEART OF THE DEMON will be released in 2013. Each book has a new hero and heroine, though some characters from previous books will make an appearance. All three books have an overarching villain and plot, which will be solved in the third book.

Author’s Site | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Purchase links:

Hachette  | Barnes & Noble | Kindle eBook | Amazon Book

New Series Spotlight – Warriors of the Rift is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

It’s time for the January New Series Spotlight! If you love series books as much as we do, you’ll know that there are tons of them out there, and we don’t always find out about them right when they come out. So we are trying to help you find some new series reads. Each month we will feature a new up and coming series that we think you should know about!

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Today I’m excited to announce a debut author with a debut series, Myke Cole and Shadow Ops. After first hearing about this story from Anne Sowards on twitter, I couldn’t wait to check it out – even though it’s not my typical read. My review will be posted later on today, and let me say this is a goodie!

New Series Description

I think the best descriptor came from fantasy author Peter V. Brett, who called it “Blackhawk Down meets the X-Men.” I like to call it “Harry Potter joins Delta Force.” The central premise is asking the question “how would the modern military, not just in the US but the whole world, deal with the existence of magic?” The answer, not surprisingly, is that they’d have mixed results, leaning towards “not terribly well.” Also not surprisingly, they’re not totally honest about what they’re doing. I know, the government being dishonest. Shocking.

The central plot/character arc deals with a “company guy” who is part of the army’s corps of personnel dedicated to policing/suppressing magic, who suddenly manifests an incredibly powerful, unique and prohibited ability himself. Suddenly on the run from his colleagues and friends, he’s pushed into an underground that deals with the secrets I just hinted at above.

How did the idea come about

 I think there were 3 ways I came up with the idea:

First – I have been in/around the military most of my life (I’m still in the reserves and just got off an activation a few days ago). I’ve done 3 tours in Iraq and worked for years in the Pentagon. Once you get steeped in a culture like that, there’s a temptation to play with it by asking “what if?” questions. The military is an incredibly rigid organization. It doesn’t deal with shocking change well at first, but once it harnesses a thing, it becomes mighty with it, indeed. Magic fits that bill perfectly.

Second – The idea of an Apache Longbow helicopter gunship taking on a dragon or a direct action team breaching a barricaded position using a fireball or lightning-storm spell is just too damn cool. Somebody had to write that up.

Third – There have been some minor forays into pushing the “sword and sorcery” fantasy trope into “gun and sorcery,” but not with the hard-edged/reality-fuelled style that pervades more popular military science fiction. I wanted to do a military fantasy (NOT military science fiction – think spell-casting, not space ships) with the emphasis on the “military” more than the “fantasy.” This isn’t legions of elves and dwarves clashing a la Tolkien’s Battle of Five Armies. This is today’s modern, counterinsurgency-focused military dealing with magic in a setting I hope readers will recognize from the news they see every day.

Series plan

Currently, the series is planned for 3 books (Control Point, Fortress Frontier and Breach Zone) , but I am open to doing more if it proves popular enough. I’ve worked hard to flesh out a solid and believable world that lends itself to a wide range of stories. The series currently focuses on the US military, but I give glimpses of other militaries too, and the Indian army plays a major role in FORTRESS FRONTIER. Given the chance, I’d welcome the opportunity to further explore how other countries are dealing with the same phenomena laid out in the first three books.

CONTROL POINT follows a single character, Oscar Britton. FORTRESS FRONTIER currently deals with two major Point-of-View (POV) characters. BREACH ZONE is currently just a pile of notes (yikes!), so we’ll have to see how that develops. I will say that I’m a big fan of multi-POV authors like Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett and George R. R. Martin, and I have really enjoyed the latitude/freedom that having a second POV has given me while writing FORTRESS FRONTIER.

I’m attaching some logos I had commissioned for the series. The first is the arms of the SOC (The Supernatural Operations Corps), the military unit around which the book is based. The second is for Coven-4/Umbra AKA “Shadow Coven,” a special sub-unit that features prominently in the book.

Author Website | Facebook  | Twitter  | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

New Series Spotlight: Shadow Ops is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Today we have with us the writing team of Moira Rogers to talk a little about their new series: Children of the Undying. Rogers is well known for their mixing and coloring outside the genre lines.  This new series starts with a short novella to introduce a post-apocalyptic world fulled with insane technology, demons and warfare.

New Series Description:

Fifty years after demons broke through the veil between worlds, earth has become their playgrounds.  Humans live in highly protected underground cities, crammed into quarters so close that their only escape is through virtual reality.

The only people who dare live outside are those shunned by the new human leaders–the children of demons and anyone found to have summoner blood, because summoners are the ones who started the apocalypse by toying with powers beyond their control.

Of course, with the world so divided, there’s good money to be had in being brave enough to bring people between settlements and navigate the black market between the human cities and the outcast settlements.  That’s where our brave mercenary truckers (like the heroine of Hammer Down!) come in.

How did the idea come about:

As with all of our ideas, it’s hard to trace the exact start of it.  That’s one of the joys of having a writing partner!  Donna and I put this idea together piece by loving piece during 2009, but I think the first glimmer was while we were talking about ideas for a contemporary-set paranormal series and Donna said (dramatically paraphrased), “Some day we need to write about the consequences of people just using magic willy-nilly.”

Also, I’m pretty sure there was an episode of Ice Road Truckers playing when we decided we needed badass mercenary truckers.

 Series plan:

The series has a set arc, though we don’t know exactly how many books it will take us to get to the end.  There could be more novellas in between the novels, but each book or novella will focus on one hero and one heroine and their individual happy ending on the way to the big series finale.

Additional Information:

The first book in the series is a novella – Demon Bait. E and I have our joint review posting later today. The first full length novel in the series – Hammer Down – will be out January 3, 2012.

Moira Rogers | Children of the Undying Page | Facebook | Bree Twitter | Donna Twitter

New Series Spotlight – Children of the Undying is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

*Authors: If you want your books to be featured, contact MinnChica*

Today we have with us today Jessica Sims (also known as Jill Myles) here to talk to us a little bit about her newest series: Midnight Liasions. Sims combines her hilarious writing style with the hilarious scenario of blind supernatural dating. It’s a must read for paranormal romance fans! Check back later today for MinnChica’s review of Beauty Dates the Beast!

New Series Description:

The series is about a dating agency that caters exclusively to the paranormal. While most of the dating agency employees are human, they tend to interact with a lot of the local supernaturals, especially the Alliance. The Alliance is a business membership – kind of like Triple A – that protects and gives advantages to non-pack supernaturals, like were-cougars and were-bears.

How did the idea come about: 

Like most of my ideas, this one is a mix of a lot of half-formed ideas I had rolling around in my head. This one is actually a mix of business concepts with standard paranormal tropes. I wanted to have a dating consultant for the paranormal, but I didn’t want the focus to automatically be vampires. So I thought about shifters, especially big-cat shifters. I love those. But the problem with big cat shifters is that they’re not really pack animals like wolves or hyena. And almost every single vampire in paranormal mythology seems to belong to a hierarchy, right? So I wondered how modern shifters would handle being loners, and how smart that would be. Clearly there had to be a business to cater to that, right? So that’s how the Alliance was born, and it just felt kind of natural that my dating agency would intersect with it.

I also wanted to set a series in a place I was familiar with – North Texas. I’m not talking about glamorous downtown Dallas where everything’s very urban. I’m talking about the small towns and strip malls that make up the suburbs, and small cities that seem a little too close for comfort. It’s not overwhelmingly Texas where everyone eats barbecue and wears cowboy boots, but it’s not slick and glamorous and urban like a lot of paranormals set in big cities.

Series plan: 

Right now there are three books contracted, and even though these are written in first person, they’re romances through and through. Each book is going to focus on a new hero and heroine, and how they interact with the dating agency. Each book will also stand TOTALLY alone. Unlike my other series, you can truly pick up each book and understand what’s going on without having to play catch-up on the others.

Book one is about the office manager of Midnight Liaisons, a human woman named Bathsheba and a were-cougar named Beau. Bathsheba has a lot of secrets that she’s keeping, so she’s not a typical hapless human that just happens to get mixed up in the paranormal world. Beau’s the leader of the Paranormal Alliance and while they’re not really supposed to date humans, he’s determined to win Bathsheba.

The second book (which should be done by the time this interview posts!) is about Bathsheba’s sister Sara and a very large, very surly were-bear named Ramsey who’s forced into a fake relationship with Sara to protect her. Except after a while, they aren’t really faking!

The books have really been a ton of fun to write, and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself blending all the elements together. I’m not sure who the third book will be about – there’s about three or four different stories that I have working for this series and it could be about any of them. I’ll know when I get there. 

Additional Information:

Jessica Sims is an alias for Jill Myles. My publisher wanted me to ‘brand’ the new kind of paranormal with a big line in the sand, and so we picked a new name. It’s a little confusing for readers (I know!) but if you go to either of my websites (Jill Myles or Jessica Sims), I try to make it as easy as possible.

I’m really excited about this series! I gave myself a lot of canvas to play with and I’m definitely enjoying the results. The Alliance is all about equal opportunity for shifters, so you won’t just see big cats and things like that. There are were-foxes and naga and harpy playing at the fringes too. And vampires! But we haven’t ran into those yet.

My story in WILD & STEAMY (the anthology with Carolyn Crane and Meljean Brook) features a were-fox and a couple of cat shifters in this same sort of scenario, but isn’t an ‘official’ tie in to the series.

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New Series Spotlight – Midnight Liasions is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter