She leaned more against her dragonman. "With you next to me, I'll never be cold."
With a growl, he took her lips in a demanding kiss. Each lick, nibble, and swipe a reminder of how much he still loved her, and probably always would.
And soon after, they found a suitable rock to help her balance, and he proved it even further until he had to swallow her screams.
~*~*~
Author's Note
This book is the most-delayed of any of my dragon books. I wish I could make my brain cooperate with a firmly set schedule, but it doesn't always happen. I hope the wait has been worth it. :)
Alistair and Kiyana's story is special in many ways, but most noticeable is the fact that it's the very beginning of the end of the series. (Before you panic, rest assured there are probably 4-5 years left of my current dragons!) While some people never want the books to end, extremely long series that never end usually end up monotonous, or worse, an author learns to hate it. I do, however, want to write about the kids all grown up at some point. The fact I can even imagine how some of them will be as fully fledged adults is another sign I am steering toward a conclusion. However, to reach it means peppering my Stonefire and Lochguard releases with more Stonefire Dragons Universe (SDU) books. If you missed the first of these, Winning Skyhunter, then let me explain—they are standalone books set in my dragon universe but in other clans around the world. Since the end will require the cooperation of more clans, I think it's best to give an idea of how they are doing presently and how they connect, ultimately, back to the British dragon clans. Sometimes you get cameos from favorite characters, too. (Finn and Bram play an important role in the first SDU book.) As such, I need to address certain clans before progressing with the two main series. This is why Persuading the Dragon will be out in 2020 and not 2019. I need (and needed) to write about both Skyhunter and Snowridge (the other two British clans), not to mention Lochguard #7, before that book. I'm sure some people will be disappointed, but I can't help it. Ivy Passmore, the human in a coma on Stonefire, can't wake up until the other stories are done. There's a reason I put her in a coma. ;)
The other reason my dragon releases were delayed is because I took a seven-month break from writing paranormal and sci-fi romances and this pushed ALL my releases back. Crafting complex worlds and managing large casts of character is exhausting. I took the break to write some romantic comedies (Love in Scotland series) and to write some short, insta-love sexy stories under a new pen name (Lizzie England). All of those cleansed my palate and allowed my brain some downtime before facing the enormity of my other series. If I hadn't of taken that break, I'm honestly not sure if I would have written any dragon books this year. Or, they would've been crappy ones. Craved by the Dragon was such a chore to write I learned to hate it by the end. Yes, I grew to hate it. Thankfully, the break made it all new again to me and I love them once more. The reason I'm sharing all this is to give you a glimpse into a writer's life and how it doesn't always go to plan. I know there's a climate of instant gratification, but if someone wants quality, it takes some time.
Whew, thanks for reading all of that! As usual, I have some people to thank for getting this out in the world:
To Becky Johnson and her team at Hot Tree Editing. They always keep a sharp eye and don't hesitate to ask if ripping panties are really that easy.
To Clarissa Yeo of Yocla Designs. She is amazing at cover design and this one is no exception.
To all my beta readers—Sabrina D., Donna H., Sandy H., Iliana G., and Stephanie M. you do an amazing job at finding those lingering typos and minor inconsistencies.
And as always, thanks to you, the reader, for sticking with me. Writing is the best job in the world and it's your support that makes it so I can keep doing it.
Until next time, happy reading! I'll share some teasers for other books after this section, in case you need more books to add to the pile. ;)
PS—To keep up-to-date with new releases and other goodies, please join my newsletter here.
Meeting the Humans
(Stonefire Dragons Short #1)
Ten-year-old Daisy Chadwick wins an essay contest, and the prize is her entire class gets to visit Clan Stonefire. Even if her best friend can’t come because her mom is afraid of dragon-shifters, Daisy is still excited. She’s determined to see a dragon up close and pet him.
Freddie Atherton can’t wait to meet some humans his own age. At least, until he’s paired with a strange one. And not just any strange one, but a girl who may get into more trouble than even him, and that’s saying something.
As the pair bond over a mini-adventure, Freddie learns that humans can be fun. He only hopes their sneaking away doesn’t keep the humans from ever coming back.
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Meeting the Humans is available on Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon AU / Amazon CA / Amazon DE.
Winning Skyhunter
(Stonefire Dragons Universe #1)
For more than a decade, Clan Skyhunter suffered under a cruel, power-hungry leader who did anything to advance his agenda. He was finally caught in an illegal scandal and sent to prison, and now the dragon-shifter clan in the south of England is ready for a new leader. And so the trials begin…
Asher King had been locked away under the former clan leader for speaking out against his cruelty. Now free, he wants to win the leadership and guide his clan to a better future. However, being the nephew of the old leader isn't easy, and if that wasn't enough to overcome, he's still recovering from the torture he endured while imprisoned. Still, he's determined to win and keep his clan from being disbanded by the humans, even if it means competing against his ex-girlfriend and denying how much he still wants her.
Newly returned from her stay in America, Honoria Wakeham puts herself up as a candidate to be clan leader. Not everyone approves of a female candidate, but that doesn't faze her. The old clan leader killed her parents, and in order to fully heal, she wants to bring the clan together and move their practices into the twenty-first century. What she didn't count on was running into Asher King, the male she loved over a decade ago, before she was sent away to stay with her American relatives for safety.
It doesn't take long for Asher and Honoria to give in to their attraction, but from it springs an idea that may be the best of all. Can they win the leadership trials and keep their clan together? Or, will one of the other candidates win and try to keep Skyhunter in the past?
————
Winning Skyhunter is available on Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon AU / Amazon CA / Amazon DE.