Fantasy and Science Fiction

“HARRI UNBOUND” (Unbound series, Book #3, e-book novel)

(ASIN: B09YTHD27V, Changeling Press, May 2022)

When the ruthless magician Madrin dies, opportunists seek revenge for his cruelty. They kidnap his daughters, meaning to sell them into sexual slavery at a brutal club for sadistic, wealthy men. Lady Harri Madrin manages to escape before the doors close behind them and vows to rescue her sister, Morgan.

Gareth Lamb, the handsome son of a local merchant, finds Harri and hides her from her furious pursuers. When she begs him to help rescue her sister, he agrees. They decide to pretend she is his concubine so they can gain entry to the club to search for Morgan.

The master-slave charade forces them into sizzling erotic encounters. Soon, they fall in love, but Gareth knows he could never aspire to marriage with the high-born Lady Harri.

Though Harri’s magical abilities give them an edge, they’re badly outnumbered by the slavers. Even if they manage to rescue Morgan, will Gareth’s disapproving father disown him if they declare their love and attempt to marry?

“GAWAIN UNBOUND” (Unbound series, Book #2, e-book novel)

(ASIN: B09R3SZFJM, Changeling Press, February, 2022)

When Killian returned alive after an enchanted captivity, his younger brother Prince Gawain was more than happy to step aside as heir to the throne of Abercarn. Now, though, Gawain is at loose ends — until Lady Catrin seduces him and secures his agreement to stalk Madrin, the evil magician who enchanted Killian and killed her father.

Posing as troubadours, the two battle adversity together and find that they are connected by more than their hatred of Madrin. Yet despite their growing longing for a life together, neither of them is willing to abandon their dangerous quest. Their confrontation with their powerful and wily enemy will be the ultimate test of their resolve and their love.

“KILLIAN UNBOUND” (Unbound series, Book #1, e-book novel)

(ASIN: B09G22GXJJ, Changeling Press, October, 2021)

Princess Sabina has always obeyed her father, King Norwen. But when he plans to marry her to a ruthless prince, she runs away. Soon captured, she’s thrown into a tower cell to await her punishment.

The prison is already occupied — by a terrifying ghost. Hiding her fears, she befriends him, hoping they might help each other. As they grow close, she realizes he’s not a phantom but an enchanted mortal who remembers nothing of his past. Physical contact with Sabina is the key to bringing back the memory of the man she learns is named Killian. The more intimate they become, the more he remembers.

Their shared adversity forges a bond between them, but will they be free to acknowledge their love for each other, or will her ruthless father capture her and drag her away from the man she’s coming to love?

“ESCAPE VELOCITY” (Off World series, Book #7, e-book novel)

(ASIN: B086BL68WZ, Light Street Press, April 2020)

Max Cassidy, a space pilot who operates on the edge of legality, doesn’t know he’s risking his life when he picks up a shipment of contraband from Naxion. On this forbidden planet, all the inhabitants are beyond ugly except the gorgeous women raised for the interplanetary slave trade. When Cassidy discovers the cargo is one of these slaves, he vows to save her. But he doesn’t know how much the woman who calls herself Amber is hiding from him. Attraction flares between them. As their sexual relationship turns steamy, the chase is on to escape the corrupt official who bought Amber. But the only way to ensure her safety is to terminate the man’s sadistic avocation. Passion builds as they rocket off to what could be Max’s final mission.

“FIRELIGHT CONFESSION” (Off World series, Book #6, e-book novella)

(ASIN: B016X4HZ5Y, Light Street Press, November 2015)

Mail order bride, Carin Tully, arrived on the frontier planet, Palomar, hoping for a better life–with her new husband Gabe Cooper. Like all the guys on Palomar, he hadn’t seen a woman for fifteen years–since the plague that had sent men and their sons fleeing to this outpost on the edge of civilization. Carin wants to seduce Gabe and prove she’s up to the job of farm wife, but she’s hiding a secret that could destroy their marriage before it has a chance to succeed.

“CHRISTMAS HOME” (Off World series, Book #5, e-book short story)

(ASIN: B00QO1P9BO, Light Street Press, December 2014)

Faith has come on a bride ship to Palomar, but the man she’s married to seems to keep her at arms length–until he discovers the secret she’s been hiding.

Heartwarming and sexy science fiction romance.

“ASSIGNMENT DANGER” (Off World series, Book #4, e-book novella)

(ASIN: B00PR62T8I, Light Street Press, November 2014)

Jack Younger agrees to risk his life when he takes on a dangerous undercover assignment. He doesn’t count on his old love, Sophia DeAngelo, ending up in the middle of the action. What if he has to choose between fulfilling his mission and saving her life?

“CONQUEST” (Off World series, Book #3, e-book short story)

(ASIN: B00BRL42B4,, Light Street Press, March 2013)

Marooned on a harsh planet, colonists from Earth try to make a life for themselves. When radiation renders the human males sterile, the colony’s elders hatch a plot to marry some of their young women to the fierce native men.

Elena finds passionate love with Rohan, her new husband. But can their relationship survive the duplicity of the settlement’s ruling faction?

I’ve been a Star Trek fan from the beginning, and that fierce and sexy Klingon warrior, Worf, was the inspiration for the hero of this story.

“NIGHTFALL” (Off World series, Book #2, e-book novella)

(ASIN: TBD, Light Street Press, October 2013)

When all-male plague survivors landed on the planet Palomar, no one knew if humans could thrive in the hostile environment. Now it’s twenty years later, and the planetary authority has finally authorized a shipment of brides. Homesteader Caleb Raider has won a wife in the lottery, but he hasn’t seen a woman since childhood–except in a porn vid. His new wife, Beka Gunnarson, knows he’s a virgin. What’s the best way to introduce him to the pleasures of married love, while hiding the secret she thinks will destroy their new relationship? And is she up to living on a nearly lawless planet where savage wildlife roams?

“HERO’S WELCOME” (Off World series, Book #1, e-book short story)

(ASIN: B00CB37XUO, Light Street Press, April 2013)

They were friends as children, she from the master race, he born to servants on her father’s estate. But in the bloody rebellion that followed, his people were the victors.  Now he’s home, reaping the spoils of war. But both of them have been chewed up and spit out by what happened to them in the conflict.  Can they heal each other’s wounds and find the love both of them have always craved?

“THE OFF WORLD COLLECTION”

(ASIN: B00IXWHY5Q, Light Street Press, March 2014)

Off World Series Sampler: Short, Steamy Science-Fiction Romances

CONQUEST (Sexy Science-Fiction Romance Short Story)

HERO’S WELCOME (Sexy Science-Fiction Romance Short Story)

NIGHTFALL (Sexy Science-Fiction Romance Novella)

“DESPERATE MAGIC” (Chronicles of Arandal; e-book novella)

(ASIN: B00CC68G8I, Carina Press, July 2013)

Desperate Magic is the third novella in the Chronicles of Arandal series.  Trapped in Valleyhold, Willow is getting frightening telepathic messages from her sister, Rowan, who escaped  with Prince Grantland.  Now Willow knows something is terribly wrong with her sister, and when a dragon offers to help her escape from captivity among her own people, she accepts his help.  When she awakens, after breaking through the force field that surrounds Valleyhold, a handsome young man tells her he chased the dragon away.  He volunteers to go with her to Arandal.  She’s attracted to him, but as they travel together, she begins to wonder if he’s been lying to her.  Finally she escapes from him, but there’s no escape from the bond the two of them have forged or the terrible fate that awaits her in Arandal.

“SHATTERED MAGIC” (Chronicles of Arandal; e-book novella)

(ASIN: B0088NH0MW, Carina Press, August 2011)

“Shattered Magic” continues the Chronicles of Arandal begun in “Dark Magic.”  After Rowan’s people were persecuted  as witches by soldiers from Arandal and fled to a mountain refuge, they lived in peace for 100 years.  Until an evil magician named Telman gained the confidence of the village elders and claimed Rowan for his bride. When she runs from her fate, she meets a handsome young man who could be the solution to her problem.  If she seduces him, she’ll make herself unfit to wed Telman.  After she and Grant make love, she finds he’s really Prince Grantland from Arandal.  And when he discovers her psychic powers, he thinks she’s a witch.  Will he kill her or join forces with her to defeat a common enemy?  And can they trust each other enough to kindle the magic they found in each other’s arms?

Click here to read an excerpt of Shattered Magic.

“DARK MAGIC” (Chronicles of Arandal; e-book novella)

(ASIN: B005CRQ49W, Carina Press, August 2011)

An ancient struggle between two powerful forces erupts into an explosive confrontation in modern times.

In the first century BC, the Ionian Priestesses (rivals to the Oracle at Delphi) made a dangerous bargain with a group of cursed warriors called the Minot. In return for saving them from a barbarian invasion, the women took the Minot as consorts, but the uneasy truce disintegrated when the warriors tried to dominate their partners.

Centuries later, the women hide their true identity from the world and run the Seven Sisters Spa in Sedona, Arizona. Still mistrusting men, they ruthlessly use them for procreation but never marry.

Now Minot, Jason Tyrone, and Ionian, Sophia Thalia, confront truths neither wants to acknowledge.

Only if Jason and Sophia dare to form a strong psychic bond can they save themselves and the Ionians from destruction. Or will the women discover Jason’s true identity and rip out his psychic powers first?

Marrying her father’s barbaric enemy for political gain is not the future that Princess Devon imagines for herself. She prefers escaping into the world of magic and legend described in books—books that suggest just how a princess could take the safety of a kingdom into her own hands.

When Devon awakens one night to find the mysterious Galladar in her chamber, the lines between myth and reality begin to blur. Before he disappears into the night, the two share an intimate encounter that leaves her determined to follow her heart.

Devon leaves the castle on a quest to find the mythical dragon who can free her kingdom forever and release her from her father’s plan. She’s prepared to do whatever it takes to make her future her own. However, when she finds Galladar again, will she be forced to choose between her kingdom and her happiness?

For an excerpt of Dark Magic, go here and “Click to LOOK INSIDE”

DARK WARRIOR

(ISBN: 978-0425243701, Berkley Sensation, September 2011)

An ancient struggle between two powerful forces erupts into an explosive confrontation in modern times.

In the first century BC, the Ionian Priestesses (rivals to the Oracle at Delphi) made a dangerous bargain with a group of cursed warriors called the Minot. In return for saving them from a barbarian invasion, the women took the Minot as consorts, but the uneasy truce disintegrated when the warriors tried to dominate their partners.

Centuries later, the women hide their true identity from the world and run the Seven Sisters Spa in Sedona, Arizona. Still mistrusting men, they ruthlessly use them for procreation but never marry.

Now Minot, Jason Tyrone, and Ionian, Sophia Thalia, confront truths neither wants to acknowledge.

Only if Jason and Sophia dare to form a strong psychic bond can they save themselves and the Ionians from destruction. Or will the women discover Jason’s true identity and rip out his psychic powers first?

An ancient struggle between two powerful forces erupts into an explosive confrontation in modern times.

In the first century BC, the Ionian Priestesses (rivals to the Oracle at Delphi) made a dangerous bargain with a group of cursed warriors called the Minot. In return for saving them from a barbarian invasion, the women took the Minot as consorts, but the uneasy truce disintegrated when the warriors tried to dominate their partners.

Centuries later, the women hide their true identity from the world and run the Seven Sisters Spa in Sedona, Arizona. Still mistrusting men, they ruthlessly use them for procreation but never marry.

Now Minot, Jason Tyrone, and Ionian, Sophia Thalia, confront truths neither wants to acknowledge.

Only if Jason and Sophia dare to form a strong psychic bond can they save themselves and the Ionians from destruction. Or will the women discover Jason’s true identity and rip out his psychic powers first?

DAY OF THE DRAGON

(ISBN: 978-0425238189, Berkley Sensation, December 2010)

I first wrote about Ramsay Gallagher in Dragon Moon. I was so fascinated with him, that I wanted to give him his own story. He’s the hero of Day of the Dragon, which I hope is the start of a new series.

The search for clues to an ancient civilization sends Ramsay to an archaeology conference in Las Vegas where he meets Dr. Madison Dartmoor. Her current dig in Italy has put her in mortal danger, and when Ramsay saves her from thugs bent on stealing a copy of a startling artifact, the two of them team up to unearth the secrets of an ancient civilization. As their relationship heats up, Ramsay guards his own secrets that may tear him and Madison apart or save their lives.

Day of the Dragon was picked as one of the best books of 2010 by joyfullyreviewed.com .

Click here to read an excerpt of Day of the Dragon.

POWERHOUSE

(ISBN: 978-0373694549, Harlequin Intrigue, February 2010)

Shelley Young comes to Matt Whitlock to beg for his help. The son Matt never knew he’d fathered has been kidnapped, and Shelley thinks Matt is the only person who can help her find four-year-old Trevor. Years ago, Matt himself was kidnapped, and the terrible memories of what happened to him are locked up deep in his mind. But he knows one thing–he came back home with a unique paranormal power. Can it help him and Shelley find Trevor? And can they elude the bad guys bent on stopping them?

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

(ISBN: 978-0373693566, Harlequin Intrigue, October 2008)

The first book in the Return to Jenkins Cove mini-series. It starts one foggy night when Chelsea Caldwell is driving home and thinks she sees a young woman lying on the road. Then the woman vanishes. But her body turns up later. Local newspaper accounts of the incident bring investigative reporter Michael Bryant to Jenkins Cove. Michael thinks Chelsea is spinning a ghost story to make herself look important. Then a series of frightening incidents convince him that dark spirits haunt the isolated town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore–and that someone desperate to hide a terrible secret will stop at nothing to eliminate him and Chelsea.

Christmas Awakening, by Ann Voss Peterson, follows in November. And Christmas Delivery, by Patricia Rosemoor, follows in December. Click here to see more about the Holiday Mystery Series at Jenkins Cove.

BEYOND FEARLESS

(ISBN: 042521866X, Berkley Sensation, December 2007)

Anna Ridgeway’s mind-reading nightclub act takes her to the Caribbean Island of Grand Fernandino. She knows she’s being stalked by sinister forces. But she doesn’t realize that her destiny hangs in the balance when she meets diver Zachary Robinson. Zach and Anna are inexplicably and powerfully drawn to each other–sexually and psychically. As the physical intimacy between them deepens, so do their psi talents. But island shaman, Raoul San Donato, has plans of his own for Anna. Already a powerful force on Grand Fernandino, he plans to kill Zach and bind Anna to him in a shocking ceremony that will make her his consort and consolidate his hold over the island.

CHAIN REACTION

(ISBN: 0373229461, Harlequin Intrigue, October 2006),

the first book in the Security Breach miniseries, starts with a bang–an explosion in Lab 7 at a company called Cranesbrook. Gage Darnell is caught in the lab accident. When he wakes up in Beech Grove, a private mental hospital, he tries to figure out why he’s being held captive and why nobody will give him any information. Escape seems to be his only option, but once he breaks out, he’s in even deeper trouble. And the worst part is that he drags his estranged wife, Lily, into danger with him.

The story is set in two of my favorite locales–Maryland’s picturesque Eastern Shore and the Baltimore area.

BEYOND CONTROL

(ISBN: 0425204421, Berkley Sensation, August 2005)

This is my first story of sexually linked telepaths whose powers develop when they meet one of their own kind. They feel compelled to touch each other, and the more physically intimate they become, the deeper their psychic bond. So the sensuality simmering between them is tied to their awakening powers.

Jordan Walker and Lindsay Fleming are the products of a genetics experiment gone wrong. When they begin investigating a murder at a secret government installation, they draw the attention of Kurt MacArthur, the head of a quasi-government agency who discovers their heritage and begins tracking them down. Can Jordan and Lindsay escape from MacArthur–and escape from another pair of bonded telepaths bent on killing them before they can develop their powers?

This is a story where I take strong advantage of the DC milieu. Lindsay is a staffer in a Senate office. Jordan is an investigative reporter who writes Bob Woodward-type exposés. I had fun setting a couple of scenes in the Bishop’s Garden at the National Cathedral and also Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown.

Anyone interested in the ancient history of my fiction writing can learn about the romances and children’s fiction I wrote, primarily in the 1980’s, by clicking on the covers below:

Romance

Children & Young Adult