A Legacy of Words

It is my great pleasure to Introduce the lovely and amazingly witty Jessa Slade! I had the honor of meeting her this last August at RomCon and she is such a blast to be around. Enjoy!

A Legacy of Words

The author of one of my favorite series died last week. Anne McCaffrey wrote the Dragonriders of Pern books about telepathic dragons linked to handsome men and brave women who fought together against dangers threatening their world.
The first book in the Dragonrider series, DRAGONFLIGHT, was the first fiction book written by a woman to win a Hugo award and the first book written by a woman to win any Nebula. The third book in the series was the first science fiction book by a woman on the New York Times bestseller list. What an amazing legacy!

And you know what? I had no idea about any of that when I picked up DRAGONFLIGHT when I was a kid spending my chore money. All I knew was that I was drawn to the book by the dragon on the cover, and then I was pulled into the world by the power of the story. I was flying on dragon’s wings!

Earlier this year, I gave a copy of another book in the series, DRAGONSINGER, to my niece. She loved it -- as I knew she would cuz I am the cool aunt! -- and she went out to find more dragon books. The legacy lives on.

As a writer, I’m compelled by the quest to write a story that dwells as deeply in the reader’s soul as those dragons do in mine. As a reader, I love love love sharing my favorite stories with my favorite people.

Writers and readers have a precious and symbiotic relationship where together we wield the power to build a legacy by sharing great stories, stories that intrigue us, delight us, make us feel. For example, the hostess of this very blog wrote a fabulous book called SEDUCE ME IN DREAMS that is one of those stories. Last summer I was doing a lot of traveling and feeling a little run down. But I had SEDUCE ME in my backpack, and for a few hours out of a frustrating airplane delay, I was somewhere else. Somewhere else with a very hot man ;)
(The story even inspired me to write a science fiction romance of my own that will be coming out after the new year. THAT is the power of a good book!)

When I got home from my travels, I had recommendations for (and a few hard copies of) wonderful books by marvelous authors to give to my friends and family. I was the hero of my tribe, swooping in on glittering wings, returning with brilliant treasure!

Since the gifting season is almost upon us, I will be giving my friends and family true little treasures, since I make jewelry in all my free time (bwa-ha!) but for certain I will also be giving the gift of superpowers, of other worlds and time travel, of passionate undying love, of a thousand other lives. All in stories.

I’m guessing most of you help build the legacy of stories you love. Share some of them with us here! Leave your reading recommendations (and maybe what sort of person the story would most appeal to) in a comment.

You’ll be entered to win the first three books in my Marked Souls series about demonically-possessed -- but still sexy! -- warriors, plus a pair of “Possession in Pearl” earrings, the Marked Souls romance trading cards, and a music download card which includes the “Seduced By Shadows” theme song.

May the stories live forever!

* * *

Book Four of the Marked Souls, DARKNESS UNDONE, comes out in March 2012.

The war between good and evil has raged for millennia,
and as a powerful new enemy ascends, the Marked Souls
are pushed to the ragged edge…

Sidney Westerbrook has always studied darkness and damnation from a sensible distance. Now, to earn his place as a league Bookkeeper, he must discover why Chicago is such a battleground of soul-linked warriors. But the research becomes personal when he finds himself over his head and under attack — and at the mercy of a waif with demon-lit eyes and a deep yearning in her heart.

Alyce Carver has been alone longer than she can remember, battered by the living nightmares that haunt her city. Cornered by yet another gang of demons, she unwittingly joins forces with a handsome scholar who can salvage her past, and she in turn may be the key to his investigations. But she won’t let him go until he shows her everything she’s been missing.

What begins as an experiment in possession becomes a trial by desire so powerful it threatens both their lives, even as it binds their souls.

March 2012 is forever from now! Which leaves you time to get caught up with Book s 1-3 ;)

Seduced by Shadows
After an accident left her near death, Sera Littlejohn is struggling to piece her life together again. But when a violet-eyed stranger reveals a supernatural battle veiled in the shadows, Sera is tempted to the edge of madness by a dangerous desire.

Ferris Archer takes Sera under his wing now that she is talyan, possessed by a repentant demon with hellish powers. Archer and his league of warriors have long risked their demon-shattered souls to stop darker spirits from wreaking havoc. But they’ve never fought beside a female talya before, and never in all his centuries has Archer found a woman who captivates him like Sera.

With the balance shifting between good and evil, passion and possession, Sera and Archer must defy the darkness‹and dare to embrace a love that will mark them forever…
Check out the entire first chapter HERE!

Forged of Shadows

Liam Niall has led the Chicago league of immortal warriors and their repentant demons for longer than he cares to remember. Four months ago, everything he thought he understood about the war against the Darkness was blown apart. Now, with the shocking appearance of a fiery new female talya, the world he’s supposed to save is about to change again. . . .Liam, meet your newest recruit.
To see more about Liam click HERE!








Vowed in Shadows
The war between good and evil has raged for millennia,
with the Marked Souls caught in the middle.
Now two lost souls will tip the precarious balance…

Possession by a demon cost Jonah Walker his faith, his humanity, and his wife. Once a righteous missionary man, he endures immortality with nothing but a body for battle and a bent for retribution. But his last devastating fight left him wounded beyond healing and his only chance to redeem his soul lies with a fallen woman.

Thrust into a wicked underworld of shadows and sin, Nim Hamlin can’t believe her wanton ways as “the Naughty Nymphette” enthralled a demon…and a damned saint. The world she knows doesn’t deserve deliverance. But the touch of this good man’s hand holds an unholy allure–and she’s never been any good at resisting temptation.

As darkness gathers in the sweltering Chicago summer, Jonah and Nim must conquer the demons of their past to face even fiercer monsters in one last assault. But first they must put aside their doubts and disbeliefs and let their passion for each other burn through the shadows to ignite their furious power…

Learn more about the Marked Souls and my upcoming science fiction romance novella at my website http://jessaslade.com


When I’m not writing, I’m probably goofing around online at Facebook or Twitter, Come say hey!

And if you’re the traveling type, come find me in real life at the RT Booklovers Convention in April in Chicago, or the Authors After Dark Romance Convention in New Orleans in August. Maybe I’ll have the next Jacquelyn Frank novel in my backpack for this trip too :)

Thank you for reading! And much thanks to Jacquelyn and Natalie for letting me play here today.

"Remember to leave a comment for your chance to win the first three books in my Marked Souls series, plus a pair of “Possession in Pearl” earrings, the Marked Souls romance trading cards, and a music download card with the “Seduced By Shadows” theme song!"