On contracts and research

I just signed my ninth contract with Loose Id, this one for a book titled Amethyst Eyes. It's a departure from my Tygers series, and from the world of BDSM all together. This one is paranormal, and deals with sexy, good witches who are assigned to protect magical stones and destroy evil.

I came up with this idea last year at Romantic Times, when I was waiting between the different seminars. I wrote it down, revisited it later, put it away, and then revisited it again. In the process of revisiting I had to do some research. Lucky for my my best friend is a research librarian. She didn't bat an eye when I said, "I need some books on witchcraft and demons."

Her answer? "You want historical information, fictional books or book son practical use of witchcraft and everyday demons?"

Me: "Yeah. That's right, all of it."

Her: "I'm on it."

Of course when I took the books to the circulation desk to check them out, the teen-age clerk gave me the once over, and then clamped her mouth shut. Part of me wanted to ask if she was afraid of me, or wanted to give me advice.

The thrill of research is one of the reasons I love writing so much. Learning new things and then putting those tidbits of information into my characters' lives is fascinating, and so much fun. Of course, one thing I've learned during the course of researching this new book. You have to be careful when you are reading about demons.

It's not exactly reading that makes you relax and ready to go to sleep. It's middle of the day, blinds up and sun out reading that will still send chills up your spine. I hope I conveyed that feeling into my new book, which was a great deal of fun to write. I'm working on a second on in the series, but in the meantime, I'm also going to revisit the world of Tygers, which continued on Tuesday with the release of Sweet Awakening. Or have I already mentioned that?

Happy reading!
Mel