Lex Valentine joins me on my blog today, talking about her series, Tales of the Darkworld…
I recently blogged about how the coming year will have me writing the last four books in my Tales of the Darkworld series and how tough it will be to write “The End†when I get to the end of the tenth and last book. I know many of you probably think it’s pretty dumb of me to start thinking of the end when it’s a whole year and four books away. But it’s hard for me not to think of it. And it will be hard for me to let go when the time comes.
My series encompasses many different kinds of relationships from friendships to family to mates and to one’s own understanding of self. I try to draw each relationship as carefully as possible so that they ring true to the reader. I want them to know why Marius is furious when he thinks his best friend is being judgmental about his relationship with his mate. I want them to understand just how ticked off Eden could be at her oldest brother for treating her like a black sheep just because she didn’t want to work in the family business. I want them to feel Emily’s pain at being spurned by her mate for three long years. I want them to understand Holden’s confused emotions at discovering his mate is a man. And I want them to weep tears of joy as each couple in each book finds happiness.
The newest book in the series in Sunstroked, set for release on October 7. Sunstroked is book 6 of 10, which is why it’s spurred my feelings that the series is drawing to a close. Suntroked is the story of Seth Dylan, a werewolf who’s been in the closet his entire life because he’s lived under the rule of his cousin, the McCallan pack Alpha who won’t abide a gay man in his family. When Seth leaves the pack, he struggles to find himself and while still in denial meets his mate, a fae named Corey Green. Corey is bright and sunny and cheerful and happy…everything Seth is not. When Corey takes Seth’s virginity, both men’s lives are changed.
The book is a gay romance, but it’s also a tale of finding yourself and facing reality. Seth had lied to himself about his sexuality for most of his life. He had to dig deep inside himself and reconcile what he found with what he truly wanted. Corey believed that happiness was a choice and that finding your mate made everything perfect in life. What Corey discovers is that there’s a bit more to happiness than just choosing to feel that way and that sometimes finding your mate is complicated and heart breaking. Meanwhile, Seth acknowledges that he’s gay and tries to build a life for himself. When the two meet again nearly two years after Corey took Seth’s virginity, emotions flare and they’re forced to face their shared past in order to build a life together.
Sunstroked is the only fully gay romance in the series. Fire Season (a 2009 Rainbow Awards finalist) is a gay for you story about a het dragon whose mate is a bi-sexual dragon. The rest of the books are M/F romances with some kink. Common Ground contains a chapter long ménage a quatre with F/F, M/M elements as well as more traditional ménage. Ride the Lightning (a Lories Best Published Finalist) has light BDSM. Shifting Winds has a pegging scene. And Hot Water is all about the vanilla!
In the final four books of the series, I revisit Holden and Garret from Fire Season in Fire Storm which has a secondary love story entwined with Holden and Garret’s, I redeem werewolf Ruan McCallan in Thunder and Myth, I explain why Alfred Stone must ensure his friends and family are happily mated in Rain of Tears, and in the final book, Force Majeure, I give readers the story of the most powerful character in all ten books, black dragon Sean Antaeus. The coming year will be intense as I take readers to the end of this series. Hopefully, I will do these characters and the series justice in bringing it to its conclusion. If you haven’t read any of these yet, I invite you join our journey and check out the current six books of the Tales of the Darkworld as we embark on the final four epic stories of love and friendship.
Thanks very much for having me on your blog today, Felicity. I hope your readers enjoyed this look into my series. Wishing you all a wonderful day!
Lex Valentine
Find out more about Lex’s great series at http://www.talesofthedarkworld.com and http://www.sunlightsucks.com
