Alpha Male Diner: Nancy Northcott is cooking up Roland Wade (Mage Cop)

Roland Wade (Mage Cop)
recipe by Nancy Northcott

“Magic & Mistletoe,” a Light Mage Wars short story

To start, combine:
One muscular, six-foot, male frame
Blond hair
Brown Eyes
A generous heart

Season with:
A strong protective instinct
Fast reflexes
Training as a mage cop, or deputy shire reeve, including mastery of the broadsword
Courage, kindness, and determination to do what’s right.

Fold in:
A badass reputation
An unrequited desire for a mage teacher

Mix thoroughly.

Heat to blazing as his actions in combat against the dark-magic users known as ghouls win him a chance with the woman he wants.

Garnish with humor and hope

Serve with a side of holiday punch.

Taste Test: 

Chapter 1
A smart man would move on.
Roland Wade knew this, and his inability to do so chapped his shorts.

“So did you ask her?” Broderick “Brody” 

Hamilton kept his deep voice low. Considerate of him, though the small outboard motor’s noise would likely keep his question from carrying to the boat behind them. Gliding over the Okefenokee Swamp’s black water, the boat following theirs held the strawberry blonde he referred to and four seventh graders.

“Last week.” Roland grimaced to close the subject.

The water perfectly reflected the silvery trunks of cypress trees, with their few remaining needles a rusty brown, and a sunset that blazed like his hopes going down in flames. 

He’d invited teacher Periwinkle Lee to next week’s Winter Solstice Ball at the Collegium, the southeastern mages’ secret headquarters.

He should’ve known better.

She was like a fairy princess, petite, pretty, and wicked smart. He, unfortunately, looked more like an ogre, thanks to his linebacker’s hulking build and a nose broken from too much football. And school hadn’t been his thing.

“Faint heart ne’er won fair lady,” Brody teased as he brought the boat into its slip by the one-story, gray-plank ranger station.

And princesses didn’t date ogres. Peri’s refusal had been polite but firm. Roland shrugged.

Fine for Brody to talk. The guy was a walking babe magnet. With dark hair worn as long as regs allowed and looks women seemed to like, he would’ve made a great candidate for the storybook prince role.

The other four boats carrying students and mage volunteer guides docked. The last boat carried two of Roland and Brody’s fellow mage cops, known as deputy reeves. 

Because Mundane, or normal, humans couldn't know about mages--or their Collegium with its government center, academy, and law enforcement facilities, all masquerading as the Georgia Institute for Paranormal Research--the deputies wore ordinary clothes. Each also wore a sword, magically screening it from sight. The ghouls, dark magic users who kidnapped mages and Mundanes for breeding, were active around the swamp, so mage students took no field trips unguarded.

Roland climbed out, and someone's elbow in his back--thank you, Brody, you well-meaning asshole--propelled him toward Peri’s boat. Startled, she looked up.

“Uh, hi.” He offered her a hand.

The students scrambled out, but Peri, to his great surprise, hesitantly closed her fingers around his before stepping onto the dock. His pulse kicked. Although he released her instantly, the feel of her smooth skin and surprisingly callused palm lingered on his fingers as her violet scent teased his nose.

“Thanks,” she said. 

They stood in awkward silence, not quite looking at each other. Then Peri's head snapped up. She rushed to stop a pair of boys roughhousing farther up the dock. 

Roland scowled at the Spanish moss-festooned live oaks by the water. This field trip wasn’t nearly over, except for the volunteer guides, who were heading home. An hour on the bus would take the rest of the group to dinner in the little town of Wayfarer, which would be decked out for Christmas and the solstice, and then came an hour-plus ride back to the Collegium. 

Too bad he’d drawn bus duty. The trailing SUV would’ve been a Peri-free zone.

#

Refusing Roland was the smart move. Peri knew that. Yet her eyes kept straying to the big man with the blond buzz cut who sat behind the stocky, middle-aged driver, Bitsy Green. 

In the darkness, the dash lights silhouetted Roland’s broad-shouldered frame. 

His fellow deputy, dark-haired GiGi Gonzales, leaned across the aisle toward Peri. Under cover of the chattering students, GiGi said, 

“He’s a good guy.”

She must’ve noticed Peri staring. Peri's cheeks heated. “He seems very competent.” 

“He’s a sweetie, too.” 

“I’ve heard.” But he was also big, taciturn, and stealthy, like the toughs who'd lurked in the slums of her Chicago childhood. He made her nervous. No predator could pass the deputy reeve screening, of course, but Roland had evoked bad memories ever since they’d met in the dining hall a couple of weeks ago.

Even if he did have a voice as deep and smooth as liquid nighttime. And brown eyes that often gleamed with humor.

Peri shrugged, and GiGi sat back. 

The road ran through part of the swamp, past campgrounds deserted for the winter holidays. 

In the dark, the trees blurred into one big shadow.

A flare of muddy yellow light slammed into the front of the bus, stopping it cold. 

Thrown against the seat in front of her, Peri gasped for breath. 

Roland and GiGi both shouted, “Ghouls! Down!”

Magic & Mistletoe (A Light Mage Wars short story)

by Nancy Northcott

Growing up in a dangerous slum, Peri Lee hated the daily fear that her loved ones would die just trying to make it home from work. Her current job teaching mage children gives her the quiet, predictable life she craves. Too bad the guy who pushes her go buttons, Roland Wade, has a linebacker’s build, a broken nose, and a badass attitude, much like the thugs who haunted her childhood home.

As a deputy shire reeve, Roland is one of the good guys, but he’s far better at taking out ghouls than talking books. Smart, petite Peri, he figures, is way out of his league. Especially since his job puts him in the line of fire daily and makes him exactly the kind of guy Peri doesn’t need. Yet she has a spark he can’t resist.

Will their differences doom any chance for a real relationship, or will they find their own kind of magic under the mistletoe?

About the Author:

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Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy, history, and romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the magic, romance and high stakes she loves in the books she writes.

She’s the author of the Light Mage Wars/Protectors paranormal romances, the Arachnid Files romantic suspense series, and the forthcoming historical fantasy trilogy, The Boar King’s Honor.

Married since 1987, she considers herself lucky to have found a man who not only enjoys a good adventure story but doesn’t mind carrying home a suitcase full of research books. Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.

Interview: Nancy Northcott (The Herald of Day: The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy Book One) + giveaway

Hello Nancy! We interviewed you a little over a year ago, you’ve done numerous guest posts with us and Katie and I got to meet you in person at Coastal Magic 2015. Not to mention I’ve seen you at Concarolinas too. So…you tired of us yet? <G>
Nancy: Not hardly, as the saying goes! Y’all are always a lot of fun. Thanks for having me back.

The Two Princes Edward and Richard
in the Tower, 1483
by Sir John Everett Millais,

Sharon: You’ve written many books in your Light Mage series, but it looks like you got something new coming out! Tell us a bit about The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy.

Nancy: The trilogy is about a mageborn knight’s misplaced trust, a king wrongly blamed for murder, and a bloodline cursed until they clear the king’s name. At least one character in each of the three books is descended from a magically gifted knight who used his power to help someone gain access to the Tower of London and murder Edward IV’s sons, who’re better known as The Princes in the Tower. Those characters must deal with the weight of their blood curse while struggling with larger problems assailing England.

I’ve been interested in English history for most of my life, and one of its biggest mysteries is what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Shakespeare and Sir Thomas More would have us believe their uncle, Richard III, did away with them to clear his path to the throne, but the evidence on that is far from clear. There are other likely suspects.

King Richard III
(Source: Wikimedia.org)

On top of that, Richard III didn’t need to murder his nephews to claim the throne because Parliament had already declared him the rightful heir in an act called Titulus Regius. It declared that Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was void because he had contracted (and consummated) a previous union. That rendered the two boys bastards with no claim to the throne.

So that’s the historical background. Wondering what actually happened led me to think about what could have happened, especially if magic was involved. The result was this trilogy.
Sharon: Is the trilogy more urban fantasy or is there romance too?
Nancy: It’s urban fantasy, but each book will have a romantic arc in it.

Sharon: What time period does The Boar King’s Honor take place in? What is something people during that time period had to deal with that the average person might not know…or want to know <G>.

Nancy: The first book, The Herald of Day, takes place in 1674, during the reign of Charles II. London was still being rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, and it wasn’t a simple process. Sanitation was one serious issue back then, and not only in London, of course, though they had sort of pseudo toilets called close stools.

I chose this period because that’s when the bones now in Westminster Abbey, supposedly those of Edward IV’s sons, were discovered at the Tower of London. That discovery was integral to the time travel aspect of the story. A powerful mage has discovered a way to alter history so that the mageborn rule England with everyone else as their slaves. As the changes in the timeline manifest, famine, plague, and abnormal weather result.

The second book, The Steel Rose, takes place during the 100 days between Napoleon’s escape from Elba and his defeat at Waterloo. People in that era had to deal with the economic and social problems resulting from having been at war for more than a decade.

The trilogy concludes with The King’s Champion, which is set during the early days of World War II. As one European country after another fell to the German blitzkrieg, and with the US not yet in the war, Britain stood very much alone against the Nazi juggernaut.

The Herald of Day will be out late this summer, with the other two books following in the next 12 months or so.

Sharon: I assume you are still writing more Light Mage books. What’s coming up for that series?

Nancy: I absolutely am. I’m a little behind where I’d hoped to be on account of an exciting opportunity to work on a romantic suspense anthology, but the mages are never far from my mind. In addition to keeping the books going, I’m kicking around some ideas for short stories.

The next novel should be out in late summer or early fall. It’ll be Nemesis, Tasha Murdock and Carter Lockwood’s story. They served together in the U.S. Navy but couldn’t act on the attraction between them because Carter was Tasha’s commanding officer. Then their situation blew up because of something Tasha did that Carter had to call her on the carpet for. Their parting was cold and angry.

Circumstances reunited them in the last book, Warrior, though they didn’t spend much time actually together. Now ghouls and traitor mages are after Tasha, and Carter is assigned as her bodyguard. Neither of them loves that situation, but there’s no avoiding it. With help from their friends, they try to keep her safe while they figure out what the enemy wants with her.

Sharon: You recently took a trip for research to Dover Castle. How was the trip and did you discover something that you will use in your book?

Nancy: The trip was fabulous, thanks! I’ll be able to draw on it for two books. For those who don’t know, the castle sits high on the cliffs above Dover, and its grounds include the ruins of a Roman lighthouse and an old, restored church.

The coast of France would be visible on a clear day, but we could barely see it because the day was hazy. It was also very windy, especially on the headland where the church and the lighthouse are. I can use both of those experiences. The castle and the church figure in The Herald of Day.

I also stood on the beach near the harbor and toured the tunnels inside the cliffs. Those tunnels were the headquarters of Channel Command during World War II, and the evacuation of Dunkirk, which figures in The King’s Champion, was coordinated from there.

Sharon: Got some pics to share? Got a fact about castle living that people might not realize?
Nancy: Here are the church and lighthouse. I’m also sending one of me with the castle in the background. As for castle living, people may not know that noblemen had to get licenses from the crown to crenellate the walls. Crenellating creates that spaced-apart-teeth pattern along the top of a wall.

Sharon: You love to collect history books. Do you have a special book you would never lend to anyone? Can we have a pic of your book collection?
Nancy: I’m sorry to say that I’ve had several experiences with books never making it home after being loaned out, so I don’t lend them anymore. Even before that became my policy, though, I would not have let anyone borrow Paul Murray Kendall’s Yorkist England or my books on medieval and early modern London and on social life and customs in different eras. They would just be too hard to replace.

My husband laughed about your request for a picture of the collection because it won’t fit in one photo. I’ve attached a shot showing one of the two bookcase I’ve jammed with books about Britain.

Sharon: Congratulations on being a guest author at Concarolinas 2015. It is practically in your backyard. As an author, what do you get out of going to conventions? Are you going to any others this year?

Southern Ghouls Do It Better Panel

Nancy: Thanks! I’m very excited about the con. I’ve been a speaker at various RWA events, but as a lifelong geek, I’ve always wanted to be a guest at a science fiction convention. This is my first opportunity.

The advantage to being a guest author, of course, is that it gives me exposure and may lead some readers to check out my books, but I enjoy conventions in general. I like watching the cosplayers and talking to people about the books they enjoy. It’s also fun to discover new-to-me authors.

I’m going to DragonCon, though not as a guest, and I’m presenting a workshop on worldbuilding at the Georgia Romance Writers’ conference, Moonlight and Magnolias. I would love to attend some other conventions but at still in the stage of figuring out which ones I should try.

Sharon: What panel did you learn the most from or have the most fun at while at Concarolinas?
Nancy: That’s a hard one! I had fun on every panel. If I have to pick one, it’s probably Southern Ghouls Do It Better, which was about the South as a setting. The people on the panel used setting in different ways and had a great sense of humor about mistakes non-natives make.

I probably learned the most on Nature as A Character. I got intriguing peeks behind the other authors’ fictional worlds.
Sharon: If you had a 1-800 hotline for your series (either) what would the number be? (What would it spell out ex. 1-800-GOT MAGE actually that is a pretty good one if you want to use it <G>)

Nancy: I like it! How about 1-800-HOT MAGE? *g* That would be great for the Light Mages. For the Boar King, I’m tempted to go with 1-800-BIG-TRUBL cause the characters have quite a few calamities to face.

Rapid Fire

Sharon: Oatmeal or grits?

Nancy: Toss-up, but I’ll go with oatmeal this week.

Sharon: How do you like your oatmeal? Brown sugar? Cinnamon?
Nancy: Brown sugar, raisins, and a little milk.

Sharon: big dog or little dog?

Nancy: Big dog.

Sharon: polka-dots or checkered?

Nancy: Polka-dots.

Sharon: Spring or Fall?

Nancy: Spring.

Sharon: Dinner or supper?

Nancy: Supper. That’s what I grew up saying.

Sharon: Have a favorite super your mom made when you were growing up?
Nancy: Roast beef with rice and gravy. My mom’s roast beef gravy was just amazing.
Thanks so much for having me, Sharon!

The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy

A mageborn knight’s misplaced trust

A king wrongly blamed for murder

A bloodline cursed until they clear the king’s name

Book 1: The Herald of Day
Witchcraft is a hanging offense, so tavern maid Miranda Willoughby hides her magical gifts until a series of visions forces her to summon the knight they show her. He is Richard Mainwaring, a mageborn earl cursed because an ancestor unwittingly helped murder Edward IV’s sons, who became known as the Princes in the Tower.

Together, Miranda and Richard battle a plot to change England's history and create a dictatorship of the mageborn. Their quest to stop it takes them from the glittering court of Charles II to the foot of the gallows tree and beyond, to a shadowy realm between life and death where a final battle will decide not only England's course but the fate of their love.

About the Author:
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Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the books she writes.

Her debut novel, Renegade, received a starred review from Library Journal. The reviewer called it “genre writing at its best.” Nancy is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and has won the Maggie, the Molly, the Emerald City Opener, and Put Your Heart in a Book.

Married since 1987, Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.

Sunday Swag: Nancy Northcott

Sunday Swag Team!
Riverina Romantics 
 I Smell Sheep 

Featured Author: Nancy Northcott

About the Author:

website-Twitter-FB-blog
Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the books she writes.

Her debut novel, Renegade, received a starred review from Library Journal. The reviewer called it “genre writing at its best.” Nancy is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and has won the Maggie, the Molly, the Emerald City Opener, and Put Your Heart in a Book.

Married since 1987, Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.

Signed postcards for all her books plus one for her new series

Head over to Riverina Romantics and win more Swag!

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Alpha Male Diner: Mage by Nancy Northcott (Warrior: The Light Mage Wars #2) + giveaway

Will Davis 

(mage archaeologist)

Recipe by Nancy Northcott

Warrior (The Light Mage Wars Book 2)

Base Ingredients:
*Start with a six-one, solid frame
*Layer it with lean, toned muscle from years of martial arts
*Add a kind heart more scarred than even his closest friends suspect
*Mix in fierce loyalty and courage
*Fold in unshakeable determination and keen intelligence

Mix well. 

Season with:
*Bone-deep honor
*Enjoyment of sensual pleasure, both his and his partner’s
*Avoidance of serious relationships
*A sense of humor

Garnish with:
*Arctic blue eyes
*Streaky brown-blond hair
*Habitual beard scruff

Yields one sexy mage archaeologist. Serve with caution--proximity to smart, attractive women makes the air around him sizzle.

Taste Test

“What?” Will asked, putting his phone away. “Have I grown an extra head?”

Audra smiled to show she didn’t care about his choices. “It’s not my business. Sorry I couldn’t help overhearing.”

“What’s not your business?” He strolled closer, smiling slightly. “This is honesty hour, babe. If you’ve got a question, ask it.”

Audra hesitated, but his friendly smile encouraged her to go ahead. Maybe she was imagining that hint of danger in the depths of his eyes.

“Well, if we’re being honest, I’d rather you not call me babe.” Or sugar or hon or any other name he called the women he flirted with and probably went to bed with, and, again, so not her business. “It’s not an image I find professional.”

“Fair enough. Okay.”

“Okay? Just like that?”

Will shrugged. “Why not? It isn’t as though I don’t know your name.”

Audra bit her lip. She had no right to criticize anything about his social life.

“If there’s something else,” he added, raising an eyebrow, “spit it out and let’s go.” The glint in his eyes dared her.

That glint jabbed her like a needle. “I apologize for overhearing, but I couldn’t help it.” When he nodded, she continued, “Your business is your business, but I noticed...”

Will said nothing, just watched her with that little smile and that dangerous expression. Audra steeled her spine.

“I just wondered whether you always turn on the charm when you’re trying to divert a woman.”

“Sometimes. It usually works.”

“Based on these two phone calls, it seems to, though Denise Larrabee is smart and tenacious. Whoever you were talking to a minute ago also seemed to back down when you flirted with her.”

“Flirting is an ancient human custom,” Will responded. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, of course not.” Audra wheeled in exasperation. “I shouldn’t have brought it up, but it’s just hard to believe they let you get away with it.”

She turned back, only to find Will less than a hand span away, still with that cocky smile.

“So you’d be impervious?” he asked softly.

Yes. Of course. No hot guy would distract her from a goal she cared about. But some primitive instinct warned her not to say so. Audra picked a point over his shoulder and stared at it. Anything was better than looking at him.

“There’s no good answer to that. Just forget I mentioned it and--”

Will used two fingers to tip her chin up. Her eyes met his, and the words died in her throat. His cocky look faded into a searching, intent one. Then he leaned down and kissed her.

A flash of heat blanked Audra’s brain. The world spun, and she reached for the nearest solid anchor--Will. He cupped her cheek as his free arm slid around her waist, steadying her and tugging her gently against him. The full body contact generated another brain-blinding flare.

Will’s mouth was warm and soft on hers. Tantalizing. Demanding.

Audra made a small sound in her throat, or maybe Will did. It seemed to restore a measure of sanity. She pulled back, breaking the kiss.

He lifted his head, and his eyes were dazed for an instant before they darkened with consternation. Releasing her, he took a step back.

Audra fought to level her breathing. As kisses went, that had been a mild one, yet her blood raced and her heart pounded. What would a serious kiss with him be like?

Not that they had any business kissing at all.

“Damn.” Will sounded slightly breathless, something she wasn’t too big a person to relish just a bit.

He ran a hand over his face. “That should not have happened. It was my fault.”

“To be fair, I didn’t exactly push you away. But you’re right that it was inappropriate.”

Mind-bending, body-flaming, and marvelous but totally inappropriate.

Audra summoned the most casual voice she could. “It was also a sneaky way to win an argument. Anyway, like I said, I can’t believe they let you get away with it.”

Will gaped at her for a second before he grinned. “Well, that shows me. You win, Dr. Grayson.”

You can read Chapter 1 on Nancy’s website:
 http://www.nancynorthcott.com/warrior/?action=excerpt

A Woman Tormented by Darkness

Archaeologist Audra Grayson is finding out-of-place relics that could torpedo her already shaky career. Now brilliant, sexy consultant Will Davis is sent to take over. Worse, working on the site strengthens the evil shadow that nearly ruined her before, and she fears he not only suspects her of fraud but thinks she’s crazy--unfit for the job.

A Mage Who Must Oppose it At All Costs

Will magically senses the darkness in Audra when they meet, and he vows to ignore their growing attraction. When deadly ghouls target her project, Will realizes they want the odd relics to open a portal for demons from the Void between worlds, making everything on Earth an endangered species.

The Fate of the World at Stake

With ghoul attacks escalating and mage traitors in league with the enemy, time is running out for Will to stop the portal from opening. The chemistry between him and Audra threatens to combust, but the darkness within her may give the enemy its chance. If she’s its victim, he must free her. If she’s its ally, he must destroy the love of his life.

About the Author:
website-Twitter-FB-blog
Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the books she writes.

Her debut novel, Renegade, received a starred review from Library Journal. The reviewer called it “genre writing at its best.” Nancy is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and has won the Maggie, the Molly, the Emerald City Opener, and Put Your Heart in a Book.

Married since 1987, Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.

GIVEAWAY

a signed copy of Warrior

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Book Review: Sentinel (The Light Mage Wars 0.5) by Nancy Northcott

Sentinel (The Light Mage Wars 0.5)
By: Nancy Northcott

Kindle Edition, 156 pages
Published March 25th 2014 by Rickety Bookshelf Press

He’s on a Quest for Justice

Her Secrets are his Only Hope

When mage investigative reporter Rick Moore gets the unexpected chance to clear his father’s name, it looks like a dream come true. But there’s a price. He must first uncover the truth about the mage world’s most wanted fugitive.

Caroline Dare knows her beloved brother had a reason for killing a member of the mages’ governing council. Real heroes don’t go rogue on a whim. Burned by shady reporters, she pours her devastating worry for him into her fabric art career and maintains stony silence about him. But when her art is panned as a fraud because she’s blind, she’s forced to seek help from Rick, a man she knows only as a sexy arts writer.

Helping beautiful, determined Caroline prove her art is her own gets Rick inside her well tended walls. But as he wins her trust, he finds he’s losing his heart. Now he has a choice–give up his dream or betray the woman he loves.

Caroline is blind but that doesn't stop her from doing whatever she wants to do. Yes, she grew up with well to do parents but that doesn't mean she wants everything handed to her now. She learned how to defend herself from the ghouls, thanks to her brother and now she makes hand woven tapestries. The only thing that could make her life better is if her brother's name was cleared.

Rick wants nothing more than to clear his dad's name and he is offered a way to do that but it means getting the scoop on a well known and sought after fugitive. In order to find out more about the man on the run, he'll have to get close to his sister and he doesn't see anything wrong with that until he falls for the woman.

With equal parts Paranormal and Urban Fantasy, this story takes you on an adventure into a world where ghouls and mages fight for dominance. Where a blind woman felt the need to learn how to fight paranormal monsters just in case she was even confronted and having a heroine who can kick ass when she needs to, is always a nice change of pace from the shrinking violets who sit in the corner cowering waiting for some man to come to her rescue.

The only complaint I have is that this story starts out a bit slow but by the end of the second chapter things pick right up and the storyline flows smoothly until the end.

I really liked this story and liked how the interaction between Rick and Caroline was so great. They really clicked and I could totally see these two together. They were just good for each other even though they were total opposites. Sometimes opposites really do attract but because Rick lies to her and she finds out, Caroline puts the brakes on their relationship when she thinks he's betrayed her. Do they get their HEA? What do ghouls smell like when they're killed? Is Caroline's brother still alive? All of these questions and more will be answered but you have to read the book in order to get them.

Do you like action, ghouls, mages and a a great love story? Then this might be the book for you.

4 Sheep




Mary Kirkland
My Published Articles
Dark Thoughts Blog

About the Author:
website-Twitter-FB-blog
I still love comic books, fantasy and science fiction, though I don’t read comics as much as I once did. I try to get to Dragon*Con every year. I’m also a lifelong history geek and Anglophile, passions born when I was in second grade and watched a television drama about the Tudors. By the time I reached college and learned just how inaccurate that story was, it was too late. I was hooked! I majored in history and spent a fabulous summer studying Tudor and Stuart Britain at Oxford University (as well as learning to drive on the left side and observe local customs in pubs). These experiences left me with serious geek tendencies, which I indulge by reading a lot of history. My college classes mostly covered who fought whom, when, why, and how, and I’ve been delighted to discover how much material is available about the ways people of different eras lived.

I've traveled extensively in Britain with my husband and our son, collecting numerous tomes, weighty and not, on my passion. My husband, a children’s literature professor who understands the “book thing,” graciously carried home the ones I didn't have time to entrust to the Royal Mail. His help put a whole new spin on the “carry my books” bit and helped make possible the Writer Resources section of this site, where I share some of my best finds.

Interview: PNR author Nancy Northcott (The Light Mage Series) + giveaway

Today we have PNR author Nancy Northcott visiting the flock. What is cool about Nancy, other than her ability to bend steel with her mind (okay, that’s a lie, but how cool would that be?), is she lives in NC like me! How are you holding up with this crazy winter weather we are having?
Nancy: I’m staying inside a lot! And I find that the snow distracts me from almost everything. I watch a lot of weather forecasts.

coming out soon!

Sharon: You have a PNR series that was recently renamed The Light Mage series. Can you tell our readers who aren’t familiar, a little about it?
Nancy: Thanks for asking! This series is contemporary, dark fantasy romance. The Light Mages are the good guys, as you might guess, dedicated to the service of what’s right. Their foes, the ghouls, use dark magic. They can draw the life energy or magic out of mages or Mundanes (normal humans). Ghouls can’t breed among themselves, so they need mages and Mundanes for that or, since ghouls can eat only fresh kill, for the occasional meal.

The mages and the ghouls have been in conflict for millennia. The ghouls have recently formed an alliance with an even worse species, so the mages have their work cut out for them. The tag line for the series is “Holding back an ancient evil, one Light Mage protector at a time.”

There are two books, Renegade and Guardian, and a novella, Protector, out currently. Those were published under the series label The Protectors, but they are part of the overall Light Mage Wars story arc. There will be a novella, Sentinel, out next month. It’s set before the events in Renegade, the first book.

Sharon: You love the English culture and history. Which historical figure would you like to meet, you know, once you finish building that time machine?
Nancy: Elizabeth I, without a doubt. About the only thing in her favor when she took the throne was that she was Protestant, yet she managed to hold onto the crown, reigning for almost half a century. I’d love to know what she saw as her particular challenges, what she found especially satisfying, and what regrets she had, if any.
Sharon: I couldn’t imagine living the life of the court having to wear those horrid outfits!
Nancy: LOL! Good point. I could ask her whether those starchy ruffs scratched.

Sharon: You are a self-confessed nerd, which makes you fit in around here. So what is the nerdiest thing you own?
Nancy: That’s a hard choice. There are so many possibilities:) I’ll go with my Queen Amidala laser pistol. I like to point it at things and hear it makes its little electronic zapping noises.
Sharon: *pulls out her little laser gun* pew-pew pew-pew
Nancy: Exactly! *grins*

Sharon: What was that first comic your grandfather bought you?
Nancy: It was Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, issue #62. It was a Phantom Zone story and featured Mon-El.

Sharon: A lot of our readers love those sexy paranormal men. What makes being with a Light Mage worth all the trouble they can bring to your door? And did you bring one with you, you know as a visual aid… *looking behind Nancy*
Nancy: I did bring one with me. This is Griffin Dare, the hero of Renegade. *stops to stare at him*

*Sharon waves, wiggles eyebrows*

Nancy: Oh. Right. You asked me a question. I love those sexy paranormal men, too, so I tried to give the heroes of this series the traits I enjoy reading about. First is power. Their magic is based on natural energy and the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. They’re sort of the fantasy equivalent of super-heroes, and they have the super-hero code. They protect anyone weaker than they are, especially Mundanes, watch out for each other, and have high standards of integrity.

Sharon: I am suddenly feeling very weak…help…me…Griffin…I need…*looks around and realizes everyone is staring. Gets off floor.* Stop judging me!
Nancy: No judging from me! But I think Griff may be off fighting ghouls right now.

Sharon: Do you have a guilty pleasure like watching reality shows?
Nancy: I do watch some reality shows. My husband and I enjoy Top Chef and Project Runway. My bigger guilty pleasure is action movies. I watched Battleship a lot when it was on HBO. When I need a fantasy fix, I often pull out The Thirteenth Warrior.
Sharon: Action movies shouldn’t be a guilty pleasure, they should be celebrated with pomp and circumstance! I loved Battleship too, and The Thirteenth Warrior is about…something…something…Antonio Banderas! Great movie.
Nancy: And not Banderas’s usual sort of role. And, hey, Vikings!

Sharon: Did you know they are no longer going to teach cursive writing in school? What do you think about that?
Nancy: Really? Wow. I think that’s a shame. Cursive writing is so…elegant. And there seems to be less elegance in the world every year. For me, at least, cursive writing is faster than printing.

Sharon: If you were an amusement park ride which would you be?
Nancy: I’d be the merry-go-round. It’s so cheerful, with the colorful horses (or other animals) and the bright music.
Sharon: Which animal do you like to ride most? I’ve always gone for the horses.
Nancy: I always go for the horses, too, but a gryphon or a phoenix would be hard to walk past. A lot of the animals other than the horses don’t go up and down, though. For me, the motion is part of the fun of a merry-go-round.

Sharon: What if all the creepy garden gnomes came to life one day. What do you think would happen?
Nancy: Well, they’d be hard to stop, being concrete, though maybe that would slow them down. I think the sales of sledgehammers would go up.

Rapid Fire:

Sharon: Super Bowl or Puppy Bowl?
Nancy: Puppy Bowl.
Sharon: water bowl cam!
Nancy: Absolutely!

Sharon: King Kong or Godzilla?
Nancy: King Kong. I’ve never been a fan of lizards.

Sharon: salt water or fresh water?
Nancy: Salt water to swim or wade in, fresh to drink.

Sharon: pe-can or pe-con?
Nancy: Pe-con
Sharon: Nope! :P
Nancy: Aw, rats! *g*

Sharon: Pepsi or Coke?
Nancy: Coke, definitely.
Sharon: again, Nope!
Nancy: No Coke? Uh-oh. I guess that means no Cherry Coke either? Will, the hero of this summer’s release, Warrior, is also a Pepsi fan, so he’d be totally in your corner, but Tasha, the heroine of the winter book, Nemesis, is a Coke-only woman.

Sharon: You can come back when  you have Will with you! <G>

Sharon: Pirate or cowboy?
Nancy: Cowboy. Maurading is a high-risk job, imho.
Sharon: not to mention sea sickness. Puking is NOT sexy.
Nancy: Oh, really not! Bleech. Hadn’t thought about that.

Sharon: captain the Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon?
Nancy: Enterprise. My parents were in the US Navy, and the starfaring equivalent appeals to me more than smuggling.

Sharon: Thanks for visiting. Before your dragon ride, is there anything you would like our readers to know?

Nancy: Dragon ride? Cool! Maybe the dragon would like to know I love the Pern books. As for the readers, I’d like them to know I enjoy action, adventure, and romance, and I try to deliver the kind of reading experience I enjoy. Thanks so much for having me today!

The Light Mage Series

What is a Light Mage

review: Guardian (The Light Mage #2)

About the Author:
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I still love comic books, fantasy and science fiction, though I don’t read comics as much as I once did. I try to get to Dragon*Con every year. I’m also a lifelong history geek and Anglophile, passions born when I was in second grade and watched a television drama about the Tudors. By the time I reached college and learned just how inaccurate that story was, it was too late. I was hooked! I majored in history and spent a fabulous summer studying Tudor and Stuart Britain at Oxford University (as well as learning to drive on the left side and observe local customs in pubs). These experiences left me with serious geek tendencies, which I indulge by reading a lot of history. My college classes mostly covered who fought whom, when, why, and how, and I’ve been delighted to discover how much material is available about the ways people of different eras lived.

I've traveled extensively in Britain with my husband and our son, collecting numerous tomes, weighty and not, on my passion. My husband, a children’s literature professor who understands the “book thing,” graciously carried home the ones I didn't have time to entrust to the Royal Mail. His help put a whole new spin on the “carry my books” bit and helped make possible the Writer Resources section of this site, where I share some of my best finds.