Regan Black and THE MATCHMAKERS CURSE

Thanks for hosting me today, Tammie!

With five urban fantasy novels and several short stories in the Shadows of Justice series, readers often ask why I wandered into the lighthearted side of the paranormal romance realm with the Matchmaker series.

My first response is my muse demanded a change-up with something light and fluffy. As the story took shape, I wanted the Matchmaker series to be novels readers could escape with for a few hours, full of characters and romance that would leave them smiling.

Regardless of the genre (and likely thanks to my demanding muse) I've found that I write strong female leading ladies. Women who want to triumph over circumstances, not just get through them.
Alpha heroines are just second nature for me. I enjoy writing kick-butt women who can do all the things I can only dream of physically. Women who, as Julia Quinn said, I'd happily count among my best friends.

A friend and fan recently pointed out that I write women who took the long road to find their inherent strength and purpose. I suppose that's true and Maeve King, the heroine of The Matchmaker's Curse, is no exception.

An English professor at the local college in Charleston, South Carolina, Maeve recently found out that her best friend is a Matchmaker for magical creatures she thought were only found in myths and fairy tales.

What Maeve has yet to realize – and accept – is that she too has a latent magic and mythical ancestry. There is a purpose lurking deep inside her, if she has the courage to uncover it.

I believe that's true for all of us – not magic per se – but I believe we all have an inherent talent or strength we can use in some way to help ourselves and our communities.

Exclusive excerpt: Maeve is on a Valentine's Day date with a man she thought might be Mr. Right when the first glimpse of her emerging magic intrudes.

He cleared his throat. "You're not about to give me the 'let's be friends' line are you?" The words barely escaped his clenched jaw as his index finger tapped
methodically against the closed velvet box.

"But we are friends." She met his gaze and for a moment her vision blurred, giving her the strangest sensation she could see beneath the polish and charm that hid a dark sliver of insecurity. She shouldn't have let him refill her wine glass. She reached for him, but stopped just shy of touching his hand.

"Friendship is a solid foundation for a deeper relationship." Ben tapped his fingertips on the box. "I thought we were building something, Maeve. I felt a connection. Now I'm getting mixed signals."
Logically, she agreed, on all counts. A few weeks ago she'd considered Ben just the right combination of handsome and stable. "I felt it too, but I'm not ready to settle." She cleared her throat and rushed on at the indignation flaring in his gaze. "Settle down, I mean. This just isn't the right time for me to be thinking about long term relationships."

"Why is that?"

She couldn't give him a practical reply or any understandable reason because she didn't know. Didn't know she'd had any opinions about settling or timing until the words tumbled out of her mouth in that order.