Since I’m visiting the official Decadent
blog, it seemed the perfect moment to share a fun fact about the genesis of my 1Night
Stand. As you probably already know, all stories in this line refer to“Madame
Eve,” the matchmaker in whose manicured hands the entire multi-author world is
held.
I got my start in fan-fiction, where writing
was game-ified, and participants had to put stories together like giant puzzles.
Though I now prefer to create my own worlds and characters, I sometimes miss the
challenge of matching Draco Malfoywith Hermione Granger, while forced to add
two cats, a grandmother, and an enchanted painting.
Back when I first read the 1NS submission
call, I decided it’d be a grand idea to honor the illustrious Madame by writing
three interlinked stories that all take place on the “Eve” of a holiday, just
to see if I could pull it off.Fast-forward a few months, and I’ve got my first
“Eve” out for public viewing.
Releasing in time for Halloween, Flirting with Fire is set on All
Hallows’ Eve. It features a witch who spends most of her time as a cat, one who
needs help from a dating service to get the attention of her clueless warlock
boss.The next installment in my A Witch’s
Night Out series is Frosty Relations,
which takes place on Christmas Eve. It’ll be followed byFireworks at Midnight, a New Year’s Everomance.
On that note, I’ll thank the lovely Blog
Maven having me over today. To celebrate my book birthday, I’m giving away a
$15 gift card. To enter, leave a comment here, and drop your details in the
Rafflecopter widget (at the bottom of this post, assuming the code works, or at
my website: TaraQuan.com/FlirtingwithFire)
Flirting
with Fire (A Witch’s Night Out, 1)
Apprentice witch Catalina Gato is
prohibited from assuming her human form in front of her new employer without
his express permission. Since he doesn’t know he’s a warlock, he can’t give it,
leaving her in a familiar’s limbo. To make matters worse, she’s barred from
leaving his house, and her attempts to enlighten him of his true nature results
in burnt notes, charred walls, and exploding laptops.
On All Hallows’ Eve, she gets one night
of freedom. Deciding some no-strings-attached sex might take the edge off the
intense attraction she feels for her clueless boss, she signs up for Madame
Eve’s service. When she meets her masked mystery date at the Castillo Capital,
she realizes she might have gotten much more than she bargained for.
After being gifted a one-night stand from
his annoying best friend, attorney Leo Difuoco reluctantly ventures to the
Castillo Capital to celebrate Halloween. When he meets his oddly familiar
green-eyed date in a Cat Woman costume, flames literally ignite, sparks
magically fly, and life as he knows it changes forever.
Genre:
Paranormal Romantic Comedy, Interracial/Multicultural
Excerpt:
Her lips pursed, [Cat Woman] stared down
at him for a long moment. Then she muttered, “What the hell,” and dropped her
very attractive behind onto the opposite seat. “So, this is your idea of an
easy place to pick up chicks in costume?”
Not only was the question out of place,
it bore an uncanny similarity to something he might have said to his cat.
“Well…one in particular, I guess. What’s your name, by the way?”
“Cat.”
She had to be joking. Or she obfuscated
on purpose. He decided on the latter. After all, keeping one’s identity hidden
made for a great exit strategy. “Mine’s Leo.”
She lifted the leather menu and opened
it, blocking his view of her face. “I know.”
Madame Eve must employ a double standard,
revealing the identity of men and not women. Another possible theory was Jack
had forged the card and kept the woman’s details a secret on purpose. Both
explanations seemed plausible. “What else do you know about me?”
She flipped a page. “Everything.”
Talk about unfair. Cat Woman must have
received an actual profile, complete with a photo and an option to decline the
date. “It might not be all true.”
She tilted the menu forward an inch,
revealing the top half of her masked face. “What?”
“The profile you read. Jack has a weird
sense of humor. You shouldn’t trust any of it.”
Her eyelids lowered into a slight squint,
something the non-human Cat he knew had a habit of doing whenever he forgot to
grab his keys. “I don’t follow.”
“It’s obvious you received some basic
information about me.” When she shook her head, he waved off the denial. “It’s
not a big deal, but I thought I should tell you someone else filled everything
out. Since I hadn’t been offered a file on you at all, we should pretend this
is a normal date and start over.”
With a shrug and a swift nod, she put the
menu down, pulled her gloves off, and reached an arm
across the table. The smile she sent him made his stomach do an unsettling
flip. “My name is Catalina Gato. I’m a maid, accountant, and shape-shifting
witch with a clueless boss and very meddlesome sister.”
What a sense of humor. Considering her
costume, cat burglar would have been funnier, but she deserved bonus points for
saying it all with a straight face. He took her hand and fought the odd urge to
grab her, kiss her silly, and tear her clothes off.
The candle’s flame changed from blue to
white. Then the fire shot up in a straight line, six inches high. Another round
of nervous clapping followed.
Their palms still touching, he frowned.
“Someone here must love Halloween. These special effects are over the top, not
to mention dangerous.”
She shook her head and broke contact.
Hints of disbelief and resignation laced her bell-like laugh. “Do you think
Gomez has recovered enough to send a waiter our way?”
About Tara Quan
Globetrotter,
lover of languages, and romance author, Tara Quan has an addiction for crafting
tales with a pinch of spice and a smidgen of kink. Inspired by her travels,
Tara enjoys tossing her kick-ass heroines and alpha males into exotic
contemporary locales, paranormal worlds, and post-apocalyptic futures. Armed
with magical powers or conventional weapons, her characters are guaranteed a
suspenseful and sensual ride, as well as their own happily ever after. Learn
more at www.taraquan.com
Yeay! I'm officially a 1NS author :) Thanks for having me over, Ms. Valerie!
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