Setting is an important part of every book. It helps create the mood and can add texture and layers to the plot. As an author, I’ve set books in well known cities such as Chicago and New York. All I have to do is mention either of those places and the reader automatically envisions a bustling urban setting.

One of the things I like best about being a writer is that I get to create my own worlds. I can stretch my imagination and be as wild and bold as I please. Or I can pull from the past as I did in my Tapestries series when I patterned the fictional world of Javara after Medieval England, but with a twist. I created a history and mythology for Javara that included a lack of women, which was the driving force behind my ménage a trois series.

I’ve also created two rural towns—Jamesville, Maine and Salvation, North Carolina. Jamesville is loosely patterned after a town I lived in during the 1990s. It could be any small town in rural USA or Canada. There’s the diner where everyone eats, a hardware store, a general store and, of course, the sheriff’s department. Salvation is similar but the wider wilderness is more important for the Salvation Pack, my group of werewolves who just happen to reside there.

The books in my Hades’ Carnival series have been set in various states across America: Washington, North Dakota, North Carolina and Louisiana. In this series, I got to play with mythology as well. I took what is known about the Greek gods and put my own twist on it, creating a war between Hades and a lesser known goddess—the Lady of the Beasts. Of course, there had to be a curse on her faithful shapeshifting warriors. And there had to be a way to break it. Being a romance that meant only very special women could free the warriors and break the curse.

Flame of the Phoenix, a Hades’ Carnival novella, is being released from Samhain Publishing on April 14th.

Flame of the Phoenix

Hades’ Carnival, Book 6

Tilly Ledet has long been a friend of the immortal, shape-shifting warriors who follow the Lady of the Beasts, a willing helper in their battle against Hades. But now that Hades is free and unable to touch the warriors, Tilly is fair game.

When Phoenix shows up insisting she drop everything to go into hiding, Tilly balks. Phoenix is strong and courageous, but when she imagines being in his arms, the protective barriers guarding her heart slam down.

For the first time in his immortal life, Phoenix feels fear. Not for himself, but for the woman whose beauty and forthright nature heat both his mind and body. While one kiss easily ignites her passion, claiming her as his own will take more than heat.

It may require a sacrifice that could send them both up in flames.

Warning: This steamy love story may cause overheating and the possibility of bursting into flames. Read at your own risk.

Samhain Publishing: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5398/flame-of-the-phoenix
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/pd263t8

What are some of your favorite fictional worlds? Be sure to share.

N.J. has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

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