One last post for Love & Magic Week! Here's a sneak peek, with some romance and magic, into Bad Hunting, Book 2 of Daughter of the Wildings (first draft) (this is in the aftermath of a harrowing battle, and something has happened that's going to make things even worse for Lainie and Silas):

“I’m sorry,” she wept. “You got yourself stuck with me, and now you’re in trouble--”

“Lainie, darlin’--”

“It’s all my fault. You had to--”

“Lainie, look at me.”

Sniffling, tears running, she looked across the shallow cave at Silas. Blue light danced in his left hand. “I’m a mage, Lainie. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.”

“But--”

“I could have sent for someone to come and take you back to Granadaia if I didn’t want to deal with you myself. I didn’t have to try to think of another way. I didn’t have to hang around Bitterbush Springs after we were done with Carden, trying to think of what to do with you and worrying about if you would be okay. And do you really think that your Pa could have forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do?”

“I...” She looked at the mage light in his hand. Sometimes she forgot exactly what and who he was--what and who she was dealing with. Even after a couple of months together, even knowing what she was capable of, the thought still frightened her. “No, I don’t think he could have.”

“I’m in this with you because I want to be. I wouldn’t have turned you over to the schools in Granadaia, to be chewed up and spit out or turned into something you’re not. And I wouldn’t have dishonored you in your father’s eyes--at least not any more than I already had--by taking you away with me unmarried.”

“Is that the only reason why you married me?” she asked, feeling very small and not sure she wanted to hear the answer. He might not have been forced to marry her against his will, but she also didn’t want it to only be out of a sense of obligation.

“Why do you think those other things mattered so much to me? I love you.”

He had said it many times before, but she had never been quite sure whether or not to let herself believe him. “Why?”

He gave a brief laugh. “Too many questions, darlin’. I’m starting to run out of answers. Why do I love you? Because... Because. I can’t not love you, that’s why.”

Wrapping up Love & Magic Week with sneak peeks into two of my to-be-published works, Sarya's Song and Daughter of the Wildings. First, here's a look at Adan and Sarya's complicated relationship from Sarya's Song (please keep in mind this is still not the final draft!):

As she tried to make her way through the press of people back to the door that led outside, the last voice she wanted to hear called out, "Sarya! Sarya dyr-Rusac!"

Panic drove her to push her way faster through the crowd, but Adan caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "Where have you been?" he asked. "Have you come back to stay?" There was an urgency in his voice as though his questions were a matter of life and death.

She tried jerk her arm away from him, but his fingers dug harder into her arm. "It's none of your concern. I just need to speak to the Council of Masters about a bit of research I need to do, and then I'll leave again."

"You left without a word to me or anyone--"

"I didn't realize I needed your permission to leave." Around them, people were stopping to stare. Sarya tried again to pull herself free from Adan, but he refused to let her go.

"I didn't know where you were or what had become of you. I didn't even know if you were alive or dead!"

"What does it matter to you? You said yourself I don't belong--"

"Damn it, Sarya!" He pulled her close to him and pressed his mouth to hers.

Sarya's legs nearly went out from under her. His mouth was warm and hungry against hers; his upper lip and chin were scratchy with late-afternoon whiskers. She told herself she should push him away or something, anything but melting against him like she was doing while he kissed her as though he were starving and she was his banquet.

Love & Magic Week continues! Here's a magic lesson with Roric and Perarre from The Lost Book of Anggird:

“All right, then. I’m ready,” Perarre said. “Let’s get this over with.”

He positioned himself behind her and took her hands in his. She was tense and trembling. “Breathe deeply and slowly,” he said, shaking her hands to loosen them up along with his own. “The most important thing is to not fight it. Be aware of it, the heat, the colors, the nature of fire, but don’t let it have power over you. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes,” she said uncertainly.

“Remember what I told you,” he said. He kept up a soothing murmur, reminding her of the things he had told her, trying to encourage both of them as he moved their hands towards the fire. Each time he felt the slightest hesitation or tension in her arms, he stopped and helped her relax again. “Would I be doing this with you if I thought you would get hurt?” he asked.

She looked up at him. “Oh, Roric, I’m sorry. This has to be even harder for you than it is for me.”

“It’s not as hard as it looks.” He hoped he sounded at least somewhat convincing. “Just let the warmth — not so hot as to burn, just warm — just let it flow around you… It helps a great deal if you close your eyes.”

She closed her eyes. Roric tried to make himself keep his own eyes open, but finally he couldn’t watch any longer. Keeping up his encouraging words, he slowly extended their arms, bringing their hands closer to the fire and then into the dancing energy and distant warmth of the flames themselves.

The Lost Book of Anggird is available at:
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Welcome to another couple interview for Love & Magic Week: Roric and Perarre, from The Lost Book of Anggird.

1. How did you meet?
Perarre: We met when I interviewed for the position of translating old books for him. He didn't want to hire me, for some silly reason, but I talked him into it.
Roric: I remember wondering, immediately after I engaged her for the position, if I hadn't just made a terrible mistake. As it turns out, hiring her was probably the most intelligent thing I've ever done.

2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person?
P: His looks. He's very handsome, in a slightly exotic way. And then I noticed that his reputation for being a sanctimonious prig seemed to be completely justified. Fortunately, he's grown out of that.
R: I noticed that she was a woman, which I thought made her unsuitable for the position. Then I took note of her qualifications, and changed my mind. Male or female, I couldn't have asked for a more highly-qualified and competent assistant.

3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together?
R: No. I had no intention of ever entering into a romantic or carnal relationship with anyone.
P: [laughs] I was just hoping that we could work together without strangling each other. I had my sights set on foreign lands and exotic lovers once my work for him was over.

4. What do you like best about the other person?
P: There's a very sweet and gentle side to him that he never used to show anyone. He had his reasons for that, and I felt very privileged that he finally opened up and let me see that side of him. He also has great integrity; he will do what's right no matter how hard it is. He can be absolutely trusted to tell the truth and keep his word. And when he does decide to offer his love or friendship to someone, he is completely loyal. And he treats me with respect.
R: Her warm, straightforward nature, along with the fact that she forgives me so easily for my more difficult traits. And I have the greatest admiration for her intelligence.

5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!)
R: In spite of a rather difficult beginning, we found that we work very well together on scholarly research.
P: We also like reading together. Roric has a fondness for the mythologies of different lands, and it's fun to read out of collections of myths to each other. And also, yes, "the obvious."

6. How has the other person changed you?
R: She got me to open up my heart to friendship and love, to start truly living instead of living only for my work and to protect myself.
P: All the things I once thought I wanted - traveling to exotic places and having love affairs with exotic men - started to seem shallow and meaningless. With Roric, I learned to want something bigger and deeper, something greater than my own immediate, self-centered desires.

7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences?
R: There's quite a difference in our ages. I'm thirteen years older than Perarre. But that doesn't seem to matter; we relate to each other very much on equal terms. And she was far more experienced in some things than I was when we first... when our relationship began.
P: There's also the difference in our personalities. He's very neat, fastidious, really, and reserved, and I'm... not. But I think the differences between us are less important than what we have together. We just seem to complement each other. And anyway, if we were both the same, it would be boring!

8. What do the two of you have in common?
[long silence]
P: Not much. But that's ok.
R: We do share a dedication to scholarly work. We've also been through some unique and difficult experiences together. But mostly what we have in common is our feelings for each other.

8a (new question!). What is the biggest challenge you've faced in your relationship?
R: We had a rather serious disagreement over some avenues of research I was pursuing.
P: You were looking at books you weren't supposed to have and you lied to me about them.
R: I didn't lie as such, my dear. I simply... held back some information that I thought it would be better for you not to know. That incident nearly ended our relationship, but after some time apart we decided not to let it come between us.
P: Hmm, that's an interesting spin to put on it. But, all is forgiven now. *smooch* There was also the time when we had to go our separate ways for a while, to do some things. That was hard. But each time we've had to be apart, we've come back together with our relationship stronger than ever.

9. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family?
P: My mother didn't think much of Roric when she first met him, but he wasn't at his best at the time, all things considered, and anyway, she was still pushing me to marry a man who was the last man in the world any girl would want to marry, so her judgment is pretty questionable. I'm much closer to my sister Samale and her family than I am to my mother, and Samale and her husband Luka like Roric very much. As for Roric's family, his brother Khaian is a good man. The rest of them, well, with family like that, who needs enemies?
R: My father was horrified that I had married a woman of a different heritage from ours. On the other hand, my brother Khaian and his wives seem fond of Perarre. I quite like Samale and Luka; they are good, sensible people. Perarre's mother, on the other hand, in my opinion, failed as a mother when she tried to force Perarre to marry a young man who was not only unsuited for Perarre but an entirely objectionable person.

10. What role does magic play in your relationship?
R: We met when I engaged Perarre to assist me in research concerning a difficulty with the magica, the magic power found in the Vorunne Dominion.
P: And then, the first year and a half of our relationship was spent trying to find the roots of the problem and correct it. We went through a lot of experiences, magical and non-magical, that really bonded us together.

11. What are your plans for the future?
R: Raising our children, of course. Also, due to the circumstances surrounding what happened to the magica, I'm considered the foremost expert on how to use magic as is currently exists. So there is no end of courses to teach, lectures to deliver, and books to write. I love my work, so this is a very exciting time.
P: There are also books to be translated which have never been translated before, and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to do this, and to keep working with Roric.

12. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" How is this true for the two of you?
P: Working together, we changed magic and the way the Vorunne Dominion is ruled. So there's that.
R: As well, Perarre and I are both better, stronger people together than we are apart. And the two of us complement and complete each other.
P: [smiles at the toddler running around the room] The most important thing is that together, we made something that didn't exist before - a new family.

For Love & Magic Week, I've put together a playlist of songs for my story couples. Some of these are love songs, some are maybe not exactly love songs but they go well with the relationships. There's a variety of artists and styles, from old-school Dire Straits to the symphonic metal of Myrath, from country-flavored John Doe to Social Distortion's punk cover of "Ring of Fire."  Whatever your listening pleasure, there should be something for everyone!

(by the way, I'm still experimenting with these embeddable/shareable Spotify playlists, so if anyone wants to drop me a line and let me know how it works, I'd appreciate it!)

And don't forget to enter the giveaway to win a signed paperback copy of Urdaisunia, Chosen of Azara, or The Lost Book of Anggird!

Songs and couples they go with:

Eruz and Rashali, Urdaisunia:
-I Want You (Savage Garden)
-Silent Cries (Myrath)
-New Dawn (Visions of Atlantis)

Sevry and Lucie, Chosen of Azara:
-Possession (Sarah McLachlan)
-Truly Madly Deeply (Savage Garden)

Roric and Perarre, The Lost Book of Anggird:
-Damn I Wish I was Your Lover (Sophie B. Hawkins)
-Where Would You Like Them Left? (Blaqk Audio)
-Undisclosed Desires (Muse)
-(Silent Cries would also go here again)

Adan and Sarya, Sarya's Song:
-The Golden State (John Doe)
-Another Heart Calls (All-American Rejects)

Silas and Lainie, Daughter of the Wildings:
-Ring of Fire (Social Distortion)
-Angel of Mercy (Dire Straits)
-Summertime (My Chemical Romance)

Link to playlist on Spotify

For Love & Magic Week, here's a tender moment from The Lost Book of Anggird:

WHEN PERARRE RETURNED to work after being out for a week, the Professor greeted her with a slight lift at the corner of his mouth that might almost have been a smile. “Good morning, Miss Tabrano. I hope you are feeling quite recovered from your cold.”

“I’m feeling much better, Professor, thank you. And you?”

“I’m quite well, thank you.”

“Thank you for helping me that day,” she said. “And for the book.” She wanted to ask if he had recovered completely from his own sickness, but was reluctant to embarrass him by bringing it up. She decided she would leave it up to him to mention if he wanted to.

“You’re quite welcome,” he said, glancing through the papers on his desk.

Perarre took her seat at the work table and began looking through the translation she had been working on, trying to figure out where she had left off. She was wearing her hair in a braid; she was still too fatigued from her illness to wrestle with pinning it up. She wondered if the Professor would say something to her about it.

“It’s good to have you back,” he said after a moment. “I had become accustomed to working with you present, and found it difficult to adjust to working alone again.” He shuffled his papers a little longer, then set them down. “I am not a bad person, Miss Tabrano,” he said, still without looking at her.

“Of course you’re not,” she said, surprised that he would say such a thing.

“I know I’m not popular, or even well-liked, but…” He trailed off awkwardly.

Cold, impersonal, unpleasant Professor Rossony had missed her, and cared about what she thought of him? Perarre suspected that trying to figure it out would give her a headache. “I’m glad to be back, Professor.”

The Lost Book of Anggird, available at:
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All Romance eBooks

Love & Magic Week continues with a peek at a magical moment from Chosen of Azara:

After this, Sevry ignored everything else he saw, all his attention focused on watching for the girl to reappear. The next time he saw her, she looked like she was fifteen or sixteen years old. She was in the same place as before, crouching next to some plants by the path. She looked around at him, then stood, her hand going to the sparkling pendant she wore. She opened her mouth as though about to say something, then cocked her head, as though hearing someone calling her from a distance. As she turned to hurry away, she waved at him.

Again he sought for her, and again he saw her, standing on the hillside path, holding a wide, shallow basket with both hands, and facing him, almost as though she had expected to see him. She was fully grown now, perhaps twenty years old. Sevry noticed the neckline of her pale green dress first; he couldn’t help it, any man would have. The dress was cut low, exposing a generous amount of fair, full, lightly freckled bosom. Then, for the first time, Sevry saw the object that dangled from a fine silver chain around her neck, resting just above the cleft between her breasts: a small crystal vial, crafted in a style that had been lost when Savaru was destroyed.

Savarunan crystal. And, Sevry now realized, despite the red hair, green eyes, and softly rounded features, the young woman had a fine-boned Savarunan face. She could only be the granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Juzeva and the red-haired Madrinan prince.

Sevry stepped towards the young woman, and into nothingness.

Available at:
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Next up for Love & Magic Week: Get to know more about Sevry and Lucie from Chosen of Azara:

1. How did you meet?
Sevry: I had been searching for a very long time for a magical talisman that would help me restore my destroyed land, Savaru. I was carrying out the search through magical means that I'm not at liberty to describe when I saw her. We actually met in person some months later when I took refuge from a storm at her father's house.
Lucie: He's never told me exactly what he was doing when we saw each other by magic. I guess he can't, or isn't supposed to. And then it was a huge surprise when he showed up at my father's house! I'd never imagined I'd really get to meet him in person.

2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person?
L: He wasn't wearing very many clothes - I don't mean like that! [blushes] I mean, I noticed how many scars he has, and wondered how hard his life must have been, for him to have that many scars.
S: I noticed her hair, curls of fire and copper glowing in the sun. And I noticed that she was wearing the talisman I was looking for on a chain around her neck.
L: Now, dear, that isn't all you noticed, is it?
S: [blushes] Well, um, I did also happen to notice that the neckline of her dress was fairly low-cut and that she had a fine figure... But the talisman. That was the important thing.

3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together?
S: No. My options for my life were severely limited by the duty I'd been given, to find the talisman that would restore Savaru to life. Falling in love and marrying were not among those options.
L: I was engaged to someone else at the time, so, no.

4. What do you like best about the other person?
L: He treats me with kindness and respect, and even though he's had such a hard life he's still determined to always do the right thing. And he's very handsome and has a beautiful singing voice and tells wonderful stories from Savaru from long ago.
S: I love her voice, and how she sings the old songs from Savaru that she's learned. And the way she makes me feel young and hopeful again. And her courage and gentleness.

5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!)
L: We both love music, so we like to sing together.
S: And she's teaching me how to play the lute. I wanted to become a bard when I was a child, but the war prevented it. So now she's helping my dream to finally come true.

6. How has the other person changed you?
S: She made me feel loved, and gave me something to love and live for besides Savaru.
L: He helped me learn to see beyond myself and my own little world, and to have courage to do the right thing even when it's hard.

7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences?
S: Well, there's the age difference. I'm considerably older than I look.
L: Although, when the difference is more than a few hundred years, I don't think it really matters any more.
S: If the difference in our ages doesn't bother her, it doesn't bother me.
L: He also had a very hard life, and I had a very easy life up until I met him and things... happened. We saw the world in very different ways and our priorities were very different because of that. But I think what happened is he took the good things from his hard life and I took the good things from my easy life and we put them together to make our new life better. Does that make any sense?

8. What do the two of you have in common?
S: We both love music.
L: And we both want to make Savaru a beautiful place to live again.

9. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family?
L: My brothers didn't like Sevry at first, because my fiance at the time was a good friend of theirs. But then Estefan showed his true colors, and my brothers realized that Sevry was much better for me. Now they like him very much. My father, he just wants me to be happy, so whatever makes me happy is fine with him. I think he thinks well of Sevry, too. As for my grandmama...
S: Lucie and I are actually distantly related, and her grandmother is my closest living relative. Lady Lillia didn't think much of me at first, because I was trying to take Lucie away from her secure, comfortable life and the good marriage that was planned for her.
L: I think grandmama has finally come around, though. She lets Sevry call her "cousin."

10. What role does magic play in your relationship?
S: It was through magic that we were able to find each other across time and space.
L: [sighs] Isn't that romantic?

11. What are your plans for the future?
S: Raising our family, and restoring Savaru to the beautiful, prosperous land it once was.
L: And learning to play the lute.

12. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" How is this true for the two of you?
L: We brought a dead land back to life, and now we're working to give it a future. How awesome is that?
S: I was the last king of the old Savaru, and I'm the first king of the new Savaru. I couldn't do it without my queen.

For our next couple interview for Love and Magic Week, I'm happy to welcome Archos and Dii, from The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles by A.L. Butcher. And be sure to go check out A.L.'s big birthday and Valentine's giveaway at her site!

1. How did you meet?
Archos: Dii’s magic called to me across the Realms of Magic. She had touched and helped a magic Mirror, one of the old elven artefacts even though Mirror magic is rare. That old Mirror called to mine, I had to see who had activated it. As for actually meeting… I only wish it had been in better circumstances, Dii was imprisoned in an Order fort and was very badly hurt. She almost died.
Dii: He saved my life. I cannot remember first meeting as I was unconscious but I recall our first meeting after I awoke. Archos is a powerful man, and I was very daunted. I had been a slave and I assumed I would be his Kept – his bound concubine. He was very kind, he did not treat me like the others had.

2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person?
Archos: By the gods she was beautiful and her magic was like nothing I had seen before. So wild yet so much Power.
Dii: Archos was very kind to me. He is very handsome too.

3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together?
Archos: I wanted her from the moment her magic called to mine. I risked my life and my freedom to find her. We are bound in blood and magic, there is no stronger bond.
Dii: As I explained I had lived as a slave before. If Archos had taken me as a Kept I would have stayed until he tired of me. Elves have no rights, and sorceresses are forbidden. I am so lucky Archos loves me for myself. He does not treat me like a slave. At least here in Tremellic we are equals. It took me a while to realise it.

4. What do you like best about the other person?
Archos: Despite everything which has been done to her Dii retains her kindness. She is also an unbelievable lover.
Dii: He treats me like an equal.

5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!)
Archos: We do a lot of research together. Magic is very fickle and there is always so much to learn and tame it. Dii is very clever but she looks at it in a different way. I can be over confident and she will ask questions.
Dii: Research, sex and sometimes we will go up to the hills and simply enjoy the open air. Sometimes we will do all three at once.
Archos: Laughs.

6. How has the other person changed you?
Archos: I have never loved anyone as deeply as I love Dii’Athella. She has brought me so much, and assuaged my loneliness.
Dii: I think I am more confident.

7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences?
Archos: Dii rarely loses her temper. She can calm me down like no one else can. I am known for my stormy temperament.  She is very much younger than I, so she has much to learn. Her life before I found her was very sheltered, but not to keep her safe. Elves are slaves and cannot move freely so her decision to leave the house of her Keeper must have been difficult, although knowing what he put her through I am not surprised she did, no one should endure it. Consequently she is like an enquiring child in many ways, with an appetite to learn you rarely find.
Dii: Archos is much clever than I am. He knows so much. Of course he is a human, well he looks human so he can move about far more freely. It means he can go to the city, or to our little….trading port without me. I cannot leave Tremellic alone. Although now things are more difficult, even a human can be arrested if there are suspicions he is a mage. Vague suspicious are enough and there are more than vague suspicions these days.

8. What do the two of you have in common?
Archos: Magic of course, research, lore. Getting freedom for the elves and mages is very important to us.
Dii: I would agree, although I am not sure we are ready to fight for elven freedom just yet.  The Witch-Hunters will have other ideas. There are many plans to make.

9. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family?
Archos: my family are here. Everyone adores Dii.
Dii: I have no family but those around me.

10. What role does magic play in your relationship?
Archos: Magic is who we are. Our very being is magical, especially mine. Magic tends to demand much, but it also brings a lot of passion. There is nothing to match sex spiced with magic.
Dii: giggles knowingly.

11. What are your plans for the future?
Archos: That remains to be seen. There is much to do, much to learn and many risks to run.
Dii: I would like to live to see the elves free but who knows. As Archos says there are many risks. 
Perhaps we will travel again.

12. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" How is this true for the two of you?
Archos: Magic combined is stronger than magic separated. Dii is skilled in light magic and she is a wonderful healer. My skills are more combat magic, elemental magic.  Working with another who understands what can and cannot be done, and what must be done first is important. Having the woman I love beside me means there is nothing I will not face.
Dii: Archos has many skills I do not, but he sees things in a different way. He is charming but he does not see matters from a woman’s way. Sometimes a woman needs to deal with other women. Many of the women, especially the elven women, have endured terrible treatment at the hands of slavers and they would not confide in a man, especially a human man. My friend Ozena talks to them a lot, but there are some matters which can only be discussed with someone who has themselves experienced it.

Welcome to Love and Magic Week here on Welcome To My Worlds! I'm celebrating Valentine's Day and my 1-year publishing anniversary with some fun events. First off, two of my fantasy-romance novels, Urdaisunia and Chosen of Azara are on sale for $0.99 (US) at Amazon and Smashwords until Feb. 16:

Urdaisunia:
Amazon | Smashwords (coupon code QF65D)

Chosen of Azara:
Amazon | Smashwords (coupon code ZU89J)
(Both books are also on sale at Amazon international sites; prices vary.)

There's also some couple character interviews coming up, some romance and magic-themed sneak peeks (including from my forthcoming novel Sarya's Song and the Daughter of the Wildings series, possibly a guest blog or two, a playlist of love songs for the couples in my novels, and don't miss the giveaway to win a signed paperback copy of Urdaisunia, Chosen of Azara, or The Lost Book of Anggird!

Love & Magic posts:
Love & Magic Week Preview, and Sneak Peek: Urdaisunia
Couple Interview: Rashali and Eruz
Guest Couple Interview: Archos and Dii
Sneak Peek: Chosen of Azara
Chosen of Azara Sneak Peek #2
Couple Interview: Sevry and Lucie
Guest Couple Interview: Olek and Ozena
Sneak Peek: The Lost Book of Anggird
Sneak Peek: The Lost Book of Anggird #2
Couple Interview: Roric and Perarre
Love & Magic Playlist
Guest Couple: Marden and Th'alia
Sneak Peek: Sarya's Song
Sneak Peek: Daughter of the Wildings