I have recently been re-reading one of my favorite authors – Thea Harrison – she writes mostly in the Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Genre. I had discovered her 4 or 5 years ago and devoured all her books in a mad couple of weeks. But like someone starving – I think I read too fast. So now I am taking my time. The series is “The Elder Races” and they are simply amazing. Does she influence me – sure but mostly she influences me because of the sheer wonder of her stories and her characters. 9 Novels and 11 Novellas – I sometimes worry that she might not leave her desk enough! Her writing is superb. The first novel is DragonBound and she just lays out this wild intense world and she sucks you in. Well – if you like Dragons who shift into men and mysteries and plots and drunken elves -you should read this. Who doesn’t! Buy one of her books immediately! The world she creates is amazing but it is not all shiny happy – it’s very dark and threatening, war and political intrigue are constant. One of my favorite books (ok the one I just finished) is Oracle’s Moon and it is very linked to the previous book – Serpents Kiss. Here is a snippet – to give you a sense of her style:
“But she couldn’t afford to risk Chloe’s and Max’s lives on a string of maybes. And she couldn’t afford to risk her own life either, not when they depended on her so much.
Khalil coalesced beside her and looked down at Max too. She turned and gripped his forearm. “Thank you.”
A creature that was not known for having a compassionate nature also did not suffer from an overabundance of conscience. But as Khalil looked into Grace’s full gaze and sincere, grateful expression, he might have experienced a twinge or two.
He turned his gaze to the sleeping baby. Thank you, she said, and that was not something a Djinn heard often. A bargain kept the scales balanced. There was no need for gratitude in such an exchange.
He frowned, reluctantly searched for foreign words and found them.
“You’re welcome,” he said.”
Excerpt From: Thea Harrison. “Oracle’s Moon.” iBooks.