It's here at last! I couldn't wait any longer to share the cover for the third book in the Otherworld Series. What do you think? I hope you agree with me that it's every bit as beautiful as the first two. 

Otherworld Challenger will be published by Harlequin Nocturne in September 2016 and here's a short extract, just to tempt you...

“I’ll do it.”

The words had the same effect on the assembled company as a volley of bullets fired into the ornate ceiling of the vast banquet hall. Every head turned in the direction of the man who had uttered them. Lounging back on two legs of his chair, his broad shoulders against the wall and his booted feet on the round meeting table, he returned their stares with his customary nonchalance and continued munching on an apple.

“You can’t seriously be prepared to listen to him. He’d sell his grandmother to the imps if the price was right.” The words burst from Vashti’s lips before she could stop them.

“The Crown Princess Vashti is reminded of the Alliance’s fundamental principle of respect for all species.” The condemnatory voice of the clerk echoed around the room. “Moreover, all speakers must first be approved by Merlin Caledonius, Leader of the Council.”

Vashti felt a blush of embarrassment turn the heat of rage already burning her cheeks a darker shade of red. It didn’t help that he was openly smirking at her humiliation. “I withdraw my remark.” She spoke the words stiffly.

“Thank you.” Merlin Caledonius, or Cal as he preferred to be known, inclined his head in her direction before turning to address Jethro de Loix. “What will you do exactly?”

“Exactly what you want. Find the true King of the Faeries and bring him back here to challenge Moncoya for the crown.”
​
A murmur of interest rippled around the table and Vashti smothered her derisive exclamation by turning it into a cough. Couldn’t any of them see Jethro de Loix for the maverick he was? Even the way he was dressed flouted convention. Everyone else around the table respected the formality of the occasion. Not Jethro. His white-linen shirt was unbuttoned a little too far, the waistcoat he wore over it hung casually open. Those long, long legs were encased in a pair of well-worn black jeans and the battered boots that rested on the conference table looked like they had walked the length of Otherworld and back. Perhaps they had. With his overlong jet-black hair tied at the nape of his neck with a leather thong and his hawklike profile he was too—her mind searched for a suitable adjective and could only come up with swashbuckling—for this solemn setting.

Otherworld Challenger is available to pre-order from
Amazon 
Barnes and Noble
iTunes
Google Play

I'm often asked to explain what a gothic romance is, but sometimes I find it easier to explain what gothic romances are not, rather than what they are:

• Gothics are not paranormal romances. As a rule of thumb, the main protagonists in a gothic romance should be human beings. They may be affected by the supernatural or the unexplained, but they are not supernatural beings themselves. It’s possible they may be reincarnated, cursed or affected by ghosts. If they are vampires, werewolves, shifters etc. you are writing a paranormal romance not a gothic.
• Gothics are not horror stories. They may have strong elements of horror, but it is implied rather than explicit. It’s a creaking board in the attic or a trail of blood on the stairs. If your story features a chainsaw wielding killer carrying a severed head, you are writing horror not gothic.
• New gothics do have strong elements of eroticism. This can be implied or explicit. Steamy is good in a gothic romance, hot sex scenes go well with dark secrets. But gothic romances are not erotic romances. If sex is all your story has, you are not writing gothic!