Magic Thursday: Juggling three pen names with Tracy Brenton. And Ruby St. George. And Tess Mackay!

 

This is my debut year for Ruby St. George, and after writing hard for two years (I’m a fast writer, but I always take loooong breaks between books!) I rapid released the first three books in my new paranormal romance series in late 2025. I started a mailing list for Ruby about a year ago with a reader magnet that I gave away on Book Funnel and it’s built to around 800 subscribers, which helped hugely with the launch.

Why would I do this? Why start a third pen name- three websites, three social media handles, three mailing lists, three brands? To be honest, it wasn’t a thought out decision, it’s just how it’s evolved.

I’ve been writing since 2013, when I realised I never did anything just for me. I had an accounting business, a husband, and a couple of kids and was involved in the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Women’s Network, Rotary, and the school P&C, with Board / Committee positions on all of them including both president and treasurer roles over the years. So I stepped back a little from all those positions and started trying different things that I had always wanted to do but never had time for. Writing was the one that stuck – I started with a course with the Australian Writers' Centre and joined an online writing group from there. 

I started writing my first book and got stuck halfway through, which led me to dive deeper into story structure. As an aside, I got to share some of those learnings with other writers last weekend at the Writers for Writers event run by the Port Macquarie Writers Group. I was so nervous! But it was good, we had some great conversations and people actually did the exercise I gave them! And read their work out afterwards! It was fabulous.

I finished writing that first book and pitched it at my first Romance Writers of Australia conference in 2017 (in Brisbane), got three yes’s and was very excited. But when I thought about it, I decided I didn’t want the kind of pressure that came with traditional publishing. I wanted to set my own deadlines. I didn’t want any more stress than I already had. And so began my indie publishing journey.

I published my first small town romantic suspense in 2018 under my real name (hi, I’m Tracy Brenton). It was an experiment – first person, one point of view. It was fun. And it was a little spicy. I think we called it steamy back then. Or maybe it was the days of ‘open door’. In any case, when I segued into sweet contemporary young adult books, after being inspired by a conversation with one of my kids, I decided I better use a pen name (Tess Mackay) in case one of those impressionable teenage readers accidentally picked up the other genre and got more than they bargained for. 

After my husband passed away in October 2019 I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep writing. But I’d already started my third YA book, The Full Story, and eventually I decided to finish it.

Then I got an idea for a paranormal romance. But would my contemporary adult and YA readers follow me across genres? I decided to start another pen name, and Ruby St. George was born!

I wrote the novella Shadow Magic in a whirlwind, put it up in an anthology, then promptly went back to write my second small town romantic suspense book. Hearts Sing is also written in first person, but this one has both his and her points of view. Another experiment, and heaps of fun. There’s still more books in that series planned (and I’ve got a short story and a freebie novella already out too), but they’re on the back burner for the moment as I focus on Ruby’s books. 

For now, I’m loving writing paranormal. I’ve published four Ruby St. George books, including the prequel novella. The Touch of Magic series is a continuing series, and I did that thing I never wanted to do – I set myself a deadline. Book four is up for pre-order! It will be a six book series once complete, plus the novella, and I’m brimming with shiny new paranormal ideas for Ruby and can’t wait to bring them to life!

This year I will publish my tenth full length book. Three different pen names, three different genres (maybe four if you count the zombie-vampire short story) and so many writing friends! Writing has given me a reason to travel-to book signings, to conferences, to retreats-and awesome friends to travel with.  

I love being indie. I love all the moving parts, that I get to play with covers, and formatting, and Canva, and all the myriad of other things we do. I hire my own editors, do my own covers (or pay a cover designer in the Ruby’s case), and the next thing I want to do is audio books. And shiny pretty paperbacks. And the discreet cover hardback too 😊 There’s always something new to learn. But the most fun part is that I get to create worlds and characters, and bring the stories in my head to life. 

So how do I juggle three pen names?

For now, Ruby is for readers, as I’m focussing on writing paranormal. Tracy is for me, and it’s a hodge podge of writing stuff and life stuff. Tess is on the back burner. Those books exist, but I probably won’t be writing the fourth Wholesome Hearts book for a while. 

It’s not a secret that I write under different names, but I don’t really talk about the others on my Ruby pages, apart from my email welcome sequence. Meanwhile, Tracy is over there talking about everyone!

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how many pen names I use, it’s still just me. And I’m having so much fun!

**** 

If you want to read Shadow Magic for free you can find a link on my website. 

My latest Release is True Magic, book three in the Touch of Magic series, and book four, Midnight Magic, will be released on 30 June 2026!

Latest release

True Magic

Book 3, Touch of Magic

Bonding with a cranky wolf shifter might have been my biggest mistake, but leaving him could mean war.

After a disaster with her strange magic Darcy realizes she is never going to get the help she needs with the wolves, so when someone close to her is threatened by the clan leader she does the only thing she can– she returns to the clan compound to save them, hoping to also find out the truth about her magic.

But returning was a mistake and with the clan pushing its own agenda she might never get free. Her bond with her wolf shifter, Jones, is growing and he will do anything to bring her home, even if it means war.

Then her mother reveals the truth about her heritage and her world is turned upside down. Now she can no longer trust anything she thought was true.

Caught between the clan and her bonded wolf, there's one chance to save them all, even if it means sacrificing herself, and Darcy has to make the toughest choice she’s ever made.

Her family or her heart.

Fans of Ilona Andrews, Faith Hunter and Keri Arthur will love this slow burn paranormal romance.

Buy

Upcoming release

Midnight Magic

Book 4, Touch of Magic

My cranky wolf shifter Familiar has broken our bond, and my heart, in order to save my life. I’m getting him back, but first I need to survive my trip to Faery land.

Pre-Order

Ruby St. George

Ruby St. George writes action packed urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She lives on the Mid North Coast of NSW with her feline companions, who rule her world. Ruby loves good coffee and lives by the motto ‘experiences, not things’. She’s always looking for her next fabulous book boyfriend. 

​

You can find Ruby at rubystgeorge.com.

DarkLight On... Juanita Kees & Raven Corbin!

 

Welcome Juanita / Raven!

You write small town romance as Juanita Kees and paranormal mystery as Raven Corbin. What attracted you to these genres?

Small town romance found me before I found it. I grew up in a community where everyone knew everyone, where the local pub was the centre of the universe and gossip travelled faster than the internet ever could. That world never left me. There's a warmth and an intimacy to small town life that I wanted to capture on the page, the idea that love can find you in the most unexpected places when you're not even looking, and that community is its own kind of character.

Raven Corbin, though, she came from a different part of me entirely. I've always been drawn to old buildings and the stories they carry. Walk into a heritage-listed property and you can feel the weight of everything that happened there. I started asking myself, what if someone could actually hear those stories? What if the past wasn't finished with us? The Gothic mystery genre gave me permission to explore that, to write about injustice and forgotten voices and the kind of history that powerful people would prefer stayed buried.

In a way, both pen names are chasing the same thing: the truth of human connection. Juanita Kees finds it in the warmth of community and romantic love. Raven Corbin finds it in the obligation we owe to those who came before us. They're two sides of the same coin.

Is your writing process the same for both genres?

Absolutely not, and I think that's the great joy of writing under two different names. They demand different things from me.

When I sit down to write as Juanita Kees, there's a lightness to the process. I know my characters are going to find their way to each other. The tension comes from the journey, the misunderstandings and the slow burn and the moment when they finally choose each other. I write those books with a smile on my face more often than not.

Raven Corbin is a different creature entirely. The research is heavier, the atmosphere has to be carefully built, and the emotional stakes feel more urgent because they're tied to historical injustice. I find myself sitting with those stories for longer before I write a single word. The characters carry wounds that need to be understood before they can be placed on the page. There's a responsibility there that I feel quite deeply.

What stays the same across both is my absolute commitment to character. Whether I'm writing a small town heroine trying to outrun her past or a woman who discovers she can speak to the dead, I need to know who these people are at their core, what they're running from and what they desperately need, before anything else can happen.

You will be sharing Bitterport Mysteries with other authors. Can you explain how that came about and what each of you will bring to the series?

The Bitterport Mystery series is genuinely one of the most exciting things I've been involved with. It came about through a conversation between myself, S.E. Gilchrist, and Kerrie Paterson, three authors who share a love of Tasmania's extraordinary atmospheric potential and a deep respect for what the state's history has to offer storytelling.

We wanted to create something richer than any of us could do alone. A fictional Tasmanian town with its own history, its own secrets, its own recurring community of characters, written by three different voices but feeling like one cohesive world. We each bring our own strengths to Bitterport, and the result is a series where readers can inhabit the same town through very different lenses. It keeps the world feeling alive and multi-dimensional rather than a single author's vision. I think readers who love Tasmanian settings and mysteries with real emotional depth are going to find something to love in what all three of us are building together.

Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in-between?

At heart I'm a pantser, though Raven Corbin has forced me to develop plotting muscles I never knew I needed.

As Juanita Kees, I write the way I think most pantsers do: I know who my people are, I drop them into a situation, and then I follow them around to see what they do. The happily ever after is non-negotiable, but how they get there is very much a discovery. Some of my favourite plot moments in those books arrived as complete surprises to me. The characters simply refused to behave as expected, which is usually a sign that something good is happening.

Raven Corbin requires more scaffolding. With a mystery, the clues need to be planted early, the red herrings need to feel genuine, and the historical elements have to be woven in with care. I do a significant amount of research and structural planning before I write Chapter One. The emotional beats and the character revelations still surprise me, but the bones of the mystery are mapped out before I begin.

I think the honest answer is that I'm a pantser who learned to plot under duress, and I'm not entirely sorry about it. Raven Corbin has made me a better writer across both names.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Write the story only you can tell. That sounds like a cliche until you sit down and really ask yourself what it means. There are thousands of small town romances and hundreds of paranormal mysteries, but there is only one person with your specific combination of experience, obsessions, heartbreaks, and perspective. That's your competitive advantage. Use it.

Read widely, including outside your genre. Some of the most useful things I've learned about pacing and atmosphere came from reading and being edited by a professional editor. Get comfortable with bad first drafts. The first draft is not the book. It's the raw material. Give yourself permission to write badly in order to write at all.

And this one is perhaps the most important: take your characters seriously. Readers can feel when a writer doesn't fully believe in the people they've created. Know your characters' wounds before you know their eye colour. Know what they're running from and what they're running toward. Everything else follows from that.

How do you fill the creative well?

Travel, whenever I can manage it. There is nothing like standing in a place with centuries of history behind it to make stories feel urgent and necessary. Tasmania specifically has been extraordinary for the Raven Corbin work. You walk around some of those heritage sites and the past feels genuinely present.

Long walks with no particular destination. I do a lot of my best plotting on foot, when my conscious mind is occupied with putting one foot in front of the other and my subconscious is quietly working out the knot I couldn't unpick at my desk.

Conversations with other writers, particularly the Bitterport collaborators. There's something about being in conversation with other creative people who take storytelling seriously that recharges something in me.

And honestly? Allowing myself to be bored occasionally. We're so quick to fill every quiet moment now, but some of my best ideas have come from sitting with nothing to do and letting my mind wander.

What is next for you?

As Raven Corbin, the immediate focus is finishing Murder at Millmerran House and getting it into readers' hands for the mid-2026 launch. There are more stories in that world waiting to be told, and Misdeeds at Moorstone Lodge is already taking shape as the next book in the series, bringing a different kind of darkness and a new set of voices to Bitterport.

As Juanita Kees, I have a new small town story simmering that I'm very excited about, one that deals with returning home after a long absence and discovering that the place you ran from might be exactly where you were always meant to be.

And the Bitterport collaboration itself has legs. The three of us have talked about where the series could go, and the possibilities are genuinely thrilling. Bitterport has a lot of secrets left to uncover.

What is your upcoming release and your inspiration behind it?

My upcoming release as Raven Corbin is Murder at Millmerran House, due for release mid-2026 and the first book in the Bitterport Mystery series.

The inspiration for this one began with a question I couldn't stop asking: what happens when a house refuses to let its secrets stay buried? Millmerran House is a grand Victorian mansion in Bitterport with a wartime history that someone, even now, is determined to keep hidden. When London hotelier Aiden Bellingan inherits it, he expects renovation headaches. What he doesn't expect is Elvira Brown, the former resident who disappeared in 1945 and has very definite opinions about what he should do with her home.

I kept asking myself, what would it take to hear those voices now? And the answer that came was: someone who could literally hear them.

Enter interior designer Marielle McGregor, who knows she should turn down the project. Millmerran House has a troubled history with her family, and her father recently went missing while researching the mansion's secrets. But there's something about the house and its charming new owner that makes walking away impossible. What unfolds is a mystery woven through with wartime secrets, family feuds, and a conspiracy that someone is still willing to kill to protect. Elvira, it turns out, is a surprisingly helpful ghost when she chooses to be.

The book is about inheritance in every sense of the word: the properties we acquire, the histories we stumble into, and the things passed down to us whether we wanted them or not. It's also, at its heart, a romance between two people who find each other in the middle of chaos and chandeliers and a ghost with strong opinions. Perfect for readers who love Victoria Laurie, Juliet Blackwell, and Sofie Kelly.

Bitterport as a setting gave me so much to work with. There's something about Tasmania's atmosphere, the old buildings, the sense that the past is never quite finished with you, that makes it the perfect home for a series like this. I can't wait to share Millmerran House with readers.

Juanita Kees writes small town contemporary romance. Raven Corbin writes Gothic paranormal mystery.

Murder at Millmerran House is the first book in the Bitterport Mystery series, due for release mid-2026.

Latest release

It Might Be You

A Bindarra Creek Christmas in July Romance

(multi-author series)

Haunted by the silence in her city apartment after her mother's passing, Bonny Taylor throws herself into her work as a principal violinist for the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra, seeking solace in music. Until a chance encounter with a charming stranger offers an unexpected escape.

Trading the city's noise for the warmth of a small-town celebration, Bonny finds herself captivated by weddings, winter festivities, and the undeniable pull of attraction to Adam McGuigan, the farmer from Yarraman Downs.

As she falls deeper into the magic of the Bindarra Creek community, can a world-renowned musician trade her concert hall for a farmer's field in rural Australia or will the lure of her career prove too strong?

Buy

Juanita Kees

Writing fun, action-packed, sexy stories filled with feisty, caring characters ready to risk everything for love.

Juanita graduated from the Australian College QED, Bondi with a diploma in Proofreading, Editing and Publishing, and achieved her dream of becoming a published author in 2012 with the release of her debut romantic suspense, Fly Away Peta (recently re-released as Under Shadow of Doubt).

Under the Hood followed in 2013 as one of the first releases from Harlequin's digital pioneer, Escape Publishing.

In 2014 Juanita was nominated for the Lynn Wilding (Romance Writers of Australia) Volunteer Award, and was a finalist in the Romance Writers Australia Romantic Book of the Year and the Australian Romance Readers Awards in 2014 and 2016.  Her rural romances have made the Amazon bestseller and top 100 lists. Juanita writes mostly contemporary and rural romantic suspense but also likes to dabble in the ponds of Paranormal with Greek gods brought to life in the 21st century.

She escapes the real world to write stories starring spirited heroines who give the hero a run for his money before giving in.  When she’s not writing, Juanita is mother to three boys and a Daschund named Sam, and has a passion for fast cars and country living.

Find Juanita at: juanitakees.com.    

Raven Corbin

Some authors find inspiration in coffee shops or quiet libraries. Raven Corbin found hers in moonlit cemeteries and the whispered legends of abandoned towns.

Growing up on family vacations that other children might have found terrifying, Raven was enchanted by crumbling headstones, forgotten settlements, and her father’s spine-tingling campfire stories that brought the past to life. But it was her older sister’s home — an historic dwelling dating back to 1814 — that truly opened Raven’s eyes to the world beyond the veil. Living alongside restless spirits, including one particularly dramatic poltergeist, became as natural as morning coffee.

These early encounters sparked a lifelong fascination with the deeper mysteries behind supernatural phenomena. Raven discovered her true calling: helping tormented souls find the peace they’ve been seeking for decades, sometimes centuries, by uncovering the truth behind their tragic stories.

Raven masterfully weaves together historical mysteries, paranormal encounters, and small-town secrets in her atmospheric novels. Her Bitterport Mystery Series, set in the hauntingly beautiful but abandoned Tasmanian town of Bitterport, will captivate readers worldwide with a perfect blend of ghostly intrigue, buried secrets, and heartwarming romance.

Drawing from her background in professional editing and publishing, Raven crafts emotionally engaging stories where every creaking floorboard and mysterious apparition serves the larger purpose of justice and redemption. Her paranormal mysteries are for readers who appreciate stories where the supernatural meets the deeply human.

When she’s not communing with spirits or researching historical mysteries, Raven travels extensively, seeking inspiration in the world’s forgotten corners. She shares her adventures with her partner who has learned to pack sage and salt alongside the usual travel essentials.

Raven believes that every ghost has a story worth telling, and every mystery deserves to be solved — preferably with a happy ending for both the living and the dead.

“I don’t write horror stories. I write healing stories that happen to involve ghosts.” — Raven Corbin

Find Raven at: raven-corbin.com

DarkLight On... Mel Teshco!

 

Welcome Mel Teshco!

You write science fiction romance and contemporary romance. What attracted you to both of these genres?

I’ve always loved reading both these genres in all their forms (I especially love YA sci-fi and might even give it a go one day i.e. finish off a story I started years ago…), but though it makes sense to stick to one genre and build an audience I ended up paring my writing down to these two genres. I didn’t want to dull my creativity, so this was the best I could come up with ☺ 

Is it difficult separating the two?

Not at all. I’ve built up a bit of a readership with my sheikh and mafia contemporaries, and might stick with those to hopefully keep my fan base happy. My science fiction stories are much more diverse and range from aliens to dragons and DNA hybrids. I love the freedom of these and enjoy giving my characters superpowers and strengths as much as I do their weaknesses. 

 

You have such a busy release schedule. How do you maintain this?

I put up pre-orders and plan ahead so that I have no choice but to meet my deadlines. Having said that, as a mostly self-published writer now I don’t have a fixed word count, so as long as the story doesn’t lose any impact I’ll write shorter where necessary. I definitely write faster under pressure, though sometimes I itch to write a completely different story (which I often do, much to my peril lol!). I’ve begun making my pre-orders farther apart just so I have more freedom to write other bits and pieces as the mood strikes. I do have to remind myself to clean the house though so it doesn’t look like a bomb hit it. 

Are you a plotter? Panster? Or somewhere in-between?

Though I’ve plotted in the past for publishers (RE: my ghost writing where I’ve had to give a chapter by chapter summary) I don’t enjoy thinking too far ahead. I do at times have a bit of an inkling of the ending, or sometimes while I handwrite I’ll do a brief summary of an upcoming scene as it occurs to me. 

Do you have advice for aspiring writers?

Enter competitions (the advice can be invaluable, as can your ranking which gives a good idea of how close you are to being publishable). Do workshops, both online and at conferences. Read some of the bigger selling novels and look out for what readers want. Find a critique partner who ‘gets’ you and who helps make your work shine and vice versa. Above all don’t self-publish until you’re well and truly ready, you need a thick skin in this business at the best of times and there are some harsh critics/readers out there (some lovely ones too!)

How do you fill the creative well?

I take the time to read, even when I get home from work in the early hours of the morning I’ll usually read for at least 10 or 20 minutes. (Watching TikTok has also become a bit of an Achilles heel lol) I also tend to daydream a bit while driving to and from work. It’s a good time to think through storylines and dream up characters. I’ll often blast the music, put on my seat heater (good for my back muscles and general relaxation) and sift through all the ‘stuff’ in my head.

What is next in the future for you? 

I’ve got a whole series of sheikh stories to write (book 2 is out today). I’ve also started on my next sci-fi series with genetically altered characters, with the first book His Asset coming soon.  I do have a few books that aren’t up on pre-order as yet, which I really want to get to. These might be on next year’s schedule.

 

 

Tell us about your latest release and your inspiration behind it.

My latest release is actually a re-release—Incandescence—which is why it’s a paranormal suspense genre. This one was published through Totally Bound. I can’t remember the inspiration behind it, but I must have been going through a bit of a vampire stage. I’ve always enjoyed the alpha side of a vampire hero. I wrote this one in first person pov, which I hadn’t done a lot of until I started my mafia series. Some stories just seem to want to lean more into that style.

Latest release

Incandescence

Escaping the nest of their vampire master is an amazing triumph. Surviving will be the greatest challenge of all.

Alexander.

I've been a blood slave to my vampire master for forty-six years. My rare blood makeup gives my master the perfect nutrition. My addiction to the couple of drops he feeds me in return ensures I have no compulsion to leave. I'm a willing blood donor, an immortal slave. Then my master brings yet another blood slave to his nest, and I can't tear my eyes away from her.

Maya.

I can't believe I've been kidnapped. I definitely can't believe vampires are real. But I soon learn they're not just real, they're cold and brutal, and will do anything for their bloodlust. Everything within me burns to escape, and if I have to use the other blood slave to do just that, I will. If I'm all too quickly seeing past his addiction and good looks to the man beneath, that's just too bad. Survival is my focus. Love and desire have no place in this nightmare I'm living. Do they?

Buy

Amazon | Other

Mel Teshco

I’m an award winning author who loves to write scorching hot contemporary and science fiction romance—stories I love to read. I love working from home, where my office window looks out over our ‘block’ of fourteen acres with gorgeous mountain views. After enjoying a stint as a foster carer for cats, I now have seven felines to entertain me, along with two dogs and a horse. But only when I’m not distracted by my three gorgeous daughters and two grandchildren. As for my very patient husband…he’s still waiting for retirement.

Visit Mel's website: melteshco.com

DarkLight On... Helen Walton!

Welcome Helen!

You write fantasy romance and paranormal romance. What attracted you to both of these genres?

I’ve been a huge fan of vampires since I can remember. Buffy is the best show ever and I just completed a rewatch for the zillionth time. As for fantasy, who doesn’t want to disappear to another world where castles and magic are the norm?




You also have written contemporary romance. Was it difficult separating this from your speculative fiction work?

I enjoy reading both contemporary romance and speculative fiction so separating them while writing wasn’t hard. Sometimes it’s easier to write what we know, but sometimes it’s easier to write something magical and out of this world. I’ve been enjoying the fantasy worlds lately so I might stay writing in these for a while.




Are you a plotter? Panster? Or somewhere in-between?

I’m a total pantser. Sometimes I start with an idea for a book, or a scene, or even a character, but I never know what is going to happen until I sit down and write.




Do you have advice for aspiring writers?

Honestly, I listened to so much advice when I first started that it was too much. So my advice is to listen to yourself. You know what you want to write, so do it.




How did you find the recent book signing Wild Out West (in Perth) where you were a signing author? What was your take-away from it?

Wild Out West was an amazing time! Louisa West and Julie Weaver put on a fabulous event for the authors and readers. Saturday night we had an exclusive author mingling hour before the VIP readers joined us. Drinks, food, lots of laughs and entertainment from the Drag Queen host Sassie Cassie, who I was lucky enough to have read out a part of my book. Sunday was book signing day and the many readers were so lovely. I even had my first reader bring a book from home for me to sign.

How do you fill the creative well?

Well, at the moment, my creative well is stone dry. My day job sucked up every last drop of precious imagination, but I have a new job now, so I’m hoping the well will start trickling again. As for filling it, I think that comes from everything around me, books, television, nature, animals, family, and a bit of free time to let my imagination run wild.




Can you tell us about your latest release?

Elise in Werewolf Land is a twisted Alice in Wonderland retelling and book 2 in the Vampire Tales series. Elise is one of a kind, a witch turned into a vampire, and in hiding from her evil family. Asher is a bad boy werewolf with a tortured past trapped in a curse made by her family. To free them both, Elise and Asher have to work together to escape Werewolf Land. A whole lot of crazy adventures ensues that brings them closer together, and the cocky werewolf and sassy witch find the sort of unconditional forever love neither of them thought they deserved.




What was your inspiration behind it?

Book 1 in the Vampire Tales, Isabel and the Werewolf Beast, is a twisted Beauty and the Beast retelling, so when the side character Asher said I have a story too, I sat down to think about what other fairytale retelling I could do. A few came to mind, but the one that stuck was Alice in Wonderland. I just love the craziness of the original story and knew that twisting it up would fit with book 1.

Elise in Werewolf Land

Book 2, Vampire Tales

Two broken souls, one impossible love. Will it save them or destroy them?


Elise

For so long, I’ve remained hidden. My very existence should be impossible. Yet here I am, one of a kind, a vampire witch.

All the magical power of my witch heritage at my fingertips, combined with the strength and immortality of a vampire means I’m almost indestructible, but my sire is too protective. Too determined to keep me safe from my evil family.

An instant spark of awareness hits me the moment my sire delivers a comatose werewolf to my secret chamber. Then he reveals my brother’s dangerous magic has cursed Asher and they need my help. If I break the curse, I’ll end the last of my bloodline and I’ll finally be free.

The moment I use my magic, I know I’ve miscalculated the curse. Something pulls me into the darkness and now I’m stuck in werewolf land with no clue how to get out. Worse, I’m trapped with a werewolf who doesn’t know what I really am. I’m also a vampire, sworn enemy of werewolves, and related to the man who’d hurt him. If he finds out, the results could be disastrous.

Then there’s this incredible pull towards him…


Asher

I’d thought becoming a werewolf would make me strong and powerful, but it wasn’t enough to save me from the warlock’s attack. I’m not sure if I’m dead or alive… or trapped in something worse. Then a beautiful woman appears, a witch who says she’s come to help me.

The longer we stay in this strange place, the more it tries to harm us. If her magic wand can’t get us out, do we even stand a chance? But the longer I’m with her, the less I want to leave.

She’s beautiful, clever, and strong. Everything in me aches to kiss her and claim her as mine. I can’t help feeling if we escape this place, everything I feel about her will disappear, too.

Is this what it feels like when a werewolf finds their mate?

Alice in Wonderland meets the witches, vampires and werewolves of Vampire Diaries in this forced proximity, fated love, spicy paranormal romance.


It features a standalone romance with a happy ending for the main couple and completes the series.

Read the complete series

Isabel and the Werewolf Beast

Elise in Werewolf Land

Helen Walton

Helen Walton is a tea drinking, chocoholic, romance writer. Stories are her obsession. She adores creating sweet and sensual romances containing a sprinkling of humor and the all-important happy ending. She lives in South Australia with her family, and menagerie of quirky animals where they all take her away from her book world and demand to be fed. Lucky for them, she enjoys cooking but prefers baking.

​Connect with Helen on her website helenwaltonauthor.com

Magic Thursday: The Benefits of Writing in Multiple Genres with Lilliana Rose

 

For better or for worse, I write in multiple genres from paranormal romance, to contemporary romance and then on a completely different angle children’s fantasy (as Lily Rose). Why do I do this? 

The answer is simple; I love writing and I enjoy having the flexibility to switch between the genres 

I have been writing stories since primary school and writing in different genres comes naturally to me. I couldn’t stop this this approach if I wanted to. I love the variety of writing in multiple genres. It matches what I read, which is everything and anything. So, it’s not surprising I write so broadly. 

The approach to writing paranormal romance is very different to children’s fantasy, no surprise there, but what this does it helps to keep the process enjoyable and interesting for me. There are times when I want to write more adult stories, that’s where my mindset is at. After writing a story, especially a novel length, which could have been dark, contained fight scenes, steamy romance, I’m looking to have a break. 

By changing to something like writing a middle grade story, gives my brain a break. I write a story that still is in the realm of fantasy which I love, but also at the same time it is fun, and I can let my imagination play. This helps to fill my creative well, keeps me enthusiastic about what I’m writing. 

Variety is the spice of life, and my writing life is enriched by having multiple genres to let my imagination run wild in.

Paranormal Romance

Shadow Wolf

Book 1, Protector Wolf Shifter

Paperback out now; Ebook expected 24 February

Can a wolf shifter who hates humans and a human who is afraid of dogs work together to save both their asses?

If Tamaska wants to advance her career, she must sell the Blood Opal to the highest bidder. But when the precious gem is stolen in front of everyone, her future ends up in jeopardy.

The prime suspect?

Zodiak, a security guard from Shadow Protection—assigned as a last minute change—and someone Tamaska isn’t keen to trust.

Zodiak is adamant about his innocence and believes the culprit is a vampire. He claims he wants to help, but Tamaska isn’t having it…until an effort to recover the stone from a dangerous visit to a nightclub leaves her life hanging in the balance.

Now, if she wants to escape she’ll have to accept the shifter’s help…and hope he doesn’t end up killing her chances of getting out alive.

Buy - print

Ebook link TBC

The Waking of Ghosts
Book 1, Protector Wolf Shifter

***Revised Content***

Kicked out of home, Zarya is left to live on the streets of Seattle using her skills as a witch and ghost hunter to survive.

An unexpected invite to the Lost Souls Academy might be the way for her to find a new home along with other rejects. Can she trust the Head of the Academy, Avery, who cares only for herself?

There might be a bright future for her with all the knowledge in the library, along with interest from Daire, an unusual vampire, someone she definitely should stay clear from. Then there’s the wolf shifter, Panguar whose brute force gives her the security she’s longed for. Can either win her heart?

When a seemingly normal ghost banishment goes horribly wrong, Zarya endangers the lives of her new friends.

Will Zarya’s actions cause more enemies at the Lost Souls Academy than friends?

Buy

Contemporary Romance

Chasing Dust Clouds
Book 1, Dusty Love

After an incident involving a mob of sheep, Blaise Johns finds himself needing to make amends with the bold and feisty Dusty Miller. But how does one make amends with a woman who’s intent on busting your balls?

When the country and city collide, an explosion of differences rocks the foundation of their lives, forcing them to face the future in unplanned ways. 

When hearts bond, can Blaise give up the city life for the country? And can Dusty stop fighting long enough to fall in love? 

Buy

Children's fantasy

The Jumble Sale
Book 1, Adventures of the Misfit Monsters

Zadi is part zombie, part fairy with a little bit of robot, which makes her a misfit monster. She lives with other misfit monsters, with their quirky parts in their makeshift town. They survive by hunting at the nearby hunting grounds taking items discarded by humans and making them into something useful.

Hunting is risky because they could be captured by humans. Zadi is an excellent hunter and maker, but now she’s finding it difficult.Something unusual has happened. There have been no new deliveries to the hunting grounds. This means there are no new items which can be used to recycle into something useful, and they are beginning to worry and fight with each other. Can Zadi come up with a plan which will help the misfit monsters and bring them together as a community? 

Enter the world of the misfit monsters, their quirky lives, and be part of their fun and adventures.

Buy

Lilliana Rose

Lilliana Rose has published poetry, short stories, and novels. She loves to write, and tries to write something new everyday.  With her varied background in genetics research, teaching and counselling, and having grown up on an Australian farm her novels show this broad experience of life. She enjoys creating stories in the genres of steampunk, romance, rural romance, fantasy, science fiction and horror.

She has mentored creative writing students for the past five years, and presents creative writing and journaling workshops locally (and soon to be online).

Lilliana also writes Children's stories as Lily Rose. 

You can find Lilliana on Facebook and Twitter.

Enchanted Orb with Claire Boston

 

This month's Enchanted Orb post is with Claire Boston who shares the inspiration behind her writing life.

 

 

Mixing business with creativity


Most writers begin a story or a novel because they’ve had a great idea and want to get it down on paper. Each person has their own end goal: some just want to write a novel, some want to be published, and some want to make a living from their writing. I fall in to the latter category. I want to earn enough from my novels that I can write full time, so at some stage I needed to address the business side of writing.

There are some creatives who think business is a dirty word, but I’m not one of them. I see it as a means to my end goal. The truth is authors are their own small business. They need to track their expenses and their income and think about things such as promotion and marketing, and whether the contract they’ve been offered is right for them. In today’s market they also need to decide whether they want to go down the traditional publishing route, try self-publishing or do a hybrid of both.

For me I wanted the traditional publishing contract because I felt that would validate my writing – someone I didn’t know thought my novel was good enough to be published. But after I got that first contract I was already thinking about how I would get my second one, so I began to think with my business head on.

I emailed my publisher and asked them what they would like from me next. I pitched them several ideas that had been floating around my head for years and I suggested I could do a sequel to the first book. I figured if I wrote what they wanted, I’d have a better chance of getting that next contract. In the end they liked one of my story ideas, but they wanted me to make it a sequel to What Goes on Tour. That was perfect for me. It saved me the decision of which of my story ideas I should write next and also gave me the setting for the story.

By the time I finished writing what would become All that Sparkles, I knew I had to write two more stories in the series; George’s story and Piper’s story. When I sent through All that Sparkles for my publisher’s consideration I also pitched the rest of the series and the result was a three-book contract and The Texan Quartet series was born. Thinking about the business side of writing enabled me to get multiple contracts and take the next step towards being a full-time author. I can highly recommend mixing business with creativity.

Under the Covers is George’s story and book 3 of the series.

 

 

Blurb


What if the one time you didn't want love was when you truly needed it?


Forced to flee her abusive ex, alone with no support, Elle is determined to rebuild her life and protect her five-year-old son. Not one to take the easy road, she opens a bookshop café, but opening day almost ends in disaster. In the midst of this chaos, the last thing she needs is a man as charming as George Jones getting in her way.

George has always been a sucker for a damsel in distress, and Elle ticks all the boxes. But Elle's not interested in being rescued by anyone, especially not him. She knows her taste in men can't be trusted, but fighting George's charisma is harder than she expected. And George, who is not one to ignore an itch, has found there's something about Elle that's got under his skin.

When Elle's ex turns up to cause trouble, George must overcome his boyish flirtatiousness if he's to convince Elle to trust herself and let him into her life. But can Elle put her past behind her before it overwhelms her present?

About the Author
Claire Boston is the best-selling author of The Texan Quartet. In 2014 she was nominated for an Australian Romance Readers Award as Favourite New Romance Author.

Her debut contemporary romance novel, What Goes on Tour caught the attention of Momentum’s Joel Naoum when her first scene was read aloud at the Romance Writers’ of Australia (RWA) conference in 2013. This led to a four book contract for The Texan Quartet series.

Claire is proactive in organising social gatherings and educational opportunities for local authors. She is an active volunteer for RWA, as a mentor for aspiring authors and the reader judge coordinator.

When Claire’s not writing she can be found in the garden attempting to grow vegetables, or racing around a vintage motocross track. If she can convince anyone to play with her, she also enjoys cards and board games.

Claire lives in Western Australia, just south of Perth, with her husband, who loves even her most annoying quirks, and her grubby, but adorable Australian bulldog.


Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | YouTube | Reader Newsletter

Enchanted Orb with Claire Boston

 

For Enchanted Orb this week, Claire Boston is sharing a day in her writing life. Welcome Claire...

A day in the writing life of Claire Boston

My writing life has changed A LOT in the last six months. In September last year I was working full-time in a job that I’d been in for ten years. I got up at 5.15am every morning to get an hour of writing in before work and I would spend every second Friday writing all day (I worked a 9-day fortnight). Usually I tried to get a few hours of writing done on the weekend as well. I had one book published and another with my publisher and was wondering how I could possibly write fast enough to get a third book written by the end of the year.

Then I was called in to my manager’s office one day and given the news, “Your position is being made redundant.” As the surprise washed over me, I listened while he outlined the redundancy package and then said goodbye to my colleagues, packed up my things and went home.

I immediately saw an opportunity. I no longer had a full-time job, but the payout was enough that I didn’t have to race out and find a new one. I could write full-time for the rest of the year at least. I discussed it with my husband and we both decided that I wasn’t likely to get another chance like this. We decided I would write until the money ran out.

So grasping the chance I began book 3 of The Texan Quartet, wrote a dirty draft and then started on book 4. For me it’s the first draft that takes the longest. After it’s written, it’s much easier to edit in one hour blocks if necessary, so I wanted to get the drafts done while I had the time.

It didn’t take long to work out a routine. I still get up early – 5.30am to be precise. My husband and I hit the gym for an hour or so and then I get to my desk by 8.00am. I’ll write or edit until midday, take a break for lunch and then keep writing. Depending on my weekly work plan, I might stop mid-afternoon to work on marketing or some other aspect of the business. By that time my brain has been pretty much leached of all its creativity and I need to do something else.

It’s been an incredible shift of focus for me and I feel so lucky to have this chance. In the six months I’ve been writing full-time I’ve written two books, received a three book contract, done copyedits for a book, started a blog and done a lot of business training. My latest novel, All That Sparkles, is being released on 23 April. You can pre-order it here http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/all-that-sparkles-the-texan-quartet/

 



BLURB:

Imogen Fontaine is living every girl's dream.

She is a fashion designer for her family's haute couture label, lives in a mansion, has a great circle of friends and is the apple of her father's eye. Everything is perfect.

Until the day that Christian, the boy at the center of her childhood heartbreak, walks back into her life.

From there her life starts to unravel, as long-kept secrets are revealed. Imogen learns that her past was built on lies and betrayal, shattering the illusion of her perfect existence. She must seek out the truth if she has any hope of forging a new path for herself and discovering true freedom.

But can she convince Christian that there is a place for him in her new life?
Claire Boston is on a blog tour all of April:

About Claire:

Claire Boston was a voracious reader as a child, devouring anything by Enid Blyton as well as series such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, The Baby-sitters Club and Sweet Valley High. Then one school holidays when she’d run out of books to read, her mum handed her ‘Hot Ice’ by Nora Roberts and she instantly fell in love with romance novels.

The love of reading soon turned to a love of writing and Claire struggled to keep within the 1500 word limit set by her teachers for any creative writing assignments. When she finally decided to become serious about her stories, she joined Romance Writers of Australia, found her wonderful critique group and hasn’t looked back.

When Claire’s not reading or writing she can be found in the garden attempting to grow vegetables, or racing around a vintage motocross track. If she can convince anyone to play with her, she also enjoys cards and board games.

Claire lives in Western Australia, just south of Perth, with her husband, who loves even her most annoying quirks, and her grubby, but adorable Australian bulldog.

 

Where you can find Claire:

Website | facebook | twitter

Good News Day

Welcome to this week's good news....

coming to you this week by Nicole Murphy

BOOK RELEASE

Congratulations to Fiona Greene on the release of her contemporary romance Home for Christmas, from Escape Publishing.

What began as an impersonal, but cheerful holiday gift for a soldier far from home becomes so much more…

Sergeant Tate McAuliffe, stationed in Afghanistan, opens his Christmas care package from Australia and is stunned by both its contents and the sender. Fun-loving Christmas tree designer Layla Preston is a breath of fresh air for loner Tate. Although they’ve never met, their email friendship quickly develops and their feelings for each other deepen.

But Layla knows the heartache that loving a soldier can bring and when Tate is injured, her deep-seated fear drives them apart. With their relationship in tatters, can Layla and Tate work through their differences, so Layla can welcome Tate home for Christmas?

Buy links available at the Escape Publishing website.

Read more about Fiona at her website.