They call you Lady Luck, but there is room for doubt. So, are you feeling lucky, punk?

“How did you find a publisher?” a writer friend asked.

I thought hard and the best I could come up with was, “Luck.”

I’ve worked hard, honed my skills, and written religiously. Writing was one dream I knew I could grasp. I had a story almost done that would fit Loose ID’s current special calls, so I polished it up and submitted it.

And they accepted. 
That was To Wed A Werewolf. 
If I hadn’t had the story ready, or they hadn’t put out that call, my writing career might have stalled.

Thomas Jefferson had it right.

“I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it” 

Just consider the current World Athletics’ Championships. Katarina Johnson-Thompson didn’t make the long jump final. Another British long jumper, Sharon Proctor, became the first British woman to jump over 7 metres. Way over, in fact. Her jump of 7m 07cm took silver.

They’re both in great shape and I’m sure they worked their butts off just to make the World Championships, but why one over the other? Luck I guess. 

 Another great American, Franklin D Roosevelt had it right.

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.

There’s always good luck and bad luck. The Romans even had a goddess for it. Fortuna. She’s the Goddess of Luck, Fate, chance, and childbirth. 

Thought the TV quiz, Wheel of Fortune, was a new concept? 

Think again. Fortuna’s wheel brought random acts into people’s lives, good or bad. In some representations, she carries a cornucopia laden with the fruits of an abundant harvest. In others, she’s blindfold spinning the wheel of fate.

Sky Masterson, the gambler in, Guys and Dolls, had it right with their song, Luck be a Lady. 

“A lady never leaves her escort
It isn't fair, it isn't nice
A lady doesn't wander all over the room
And blow on some other guys dice
Let's keep this party polite
Never get out of my sight
Stick with me baby, I'm the guy that you came in with
Luck be lady tonight”

Thanks, Mr Sinatra for his amazing rendition.

Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas even has a statue to Fortuna as she watches over the gambling.

Luck has a very personal meaning for me.

My maiden name was Luck. When I needed a pen name, I chose Fortune. I didn’t know I was invoking a Roman Goddess, but so far she’s been very kind to me. Long may she continue to be so.

Five Facts Thursday - please welcome Victoria Adams

Five Facts from Red Tulip

1. Red Tulip was originally a collection of weekly flash fiction posts that I tied together into a book.

2. The genre of this book is difficult to pin down as this book wasn’t “written” – it evolved. I’ve labelled it as a contemporary romance with a little bit of a mystery twist and maybe a dash of paranormal.

3. Darcy O’Callahan grew up in a small mid-western town, where she worked her way through high school and college doing the flower beds for her neighbours and the local municipal office and she’d like everyone to forget the summer she was covered with poison ivy rash.

4. Shamus McTavis is the only son of Brian and Leslie McTavis who died when their yacht, Sail On, floundered in a typhoon off the coast of Indonesia.

5. Reginald is a sheep dog puppy whom Shamus fell in love with at a local pet store. He loves sleep on Shamus’ bed and is terrified of thunderstorms.

Blurb

Darcy O'Calahann, a junior gardener from a small mid-western town, is trying to make her way in the big city.

Shamus McRae is a wealthy bachelor with a mysterious family past.

Are Darcy's eyes playing tricks on her? Is she losing her mind? Or is there really a Red Tulip tying her and Shamus together?

 Buy Links:

Amazon - US 

Amazon - Canada 

Barnes and Noble - US 

Barnes and Noble - Canada

Barnes and Noble - UK

iTunes

Kobo

Smashwords 

Do You like Boy's own adventure stories? With added in sex?

The hero wields a whip and rides a dragon. The heroine has weight issues, a smart mouth and no obvious witchcraft but...

Leonida and Meena can't deny the sparks between them, especially when their's a dragon involved. 

CURSE OF THE FAE KING is book that turned my short story, To Wed A Werewolf into a series, and I've just found this amazing review from NIght Owl Reviews. 

Better still, Book Four  - To Tame a Werewolf. - is almost ready to send to my editor. Fingers crossed that she likes it. 

Curse of the Fae King
Scattered Siblings, #2

A cursed king and a powerless witch have to work together to save a kingdom but surviving secrets is another matter entirely in this riveting paranormal romance.

Meena has been rejected by everyone her whole life and now the one man she wants is someone she can’t have and Leonidas is the King of the Fae who is cursed with having to have sex with a stranger every month, so no matter how drawn he is to Meena he can’t promise her a future. The reader can’t help but get caught up in this seemingly ill-fated romance that keeps anticipations building with lots of fiery and passionate encounters whether they are of the steamy hot sex variety or snarky dialogue when Meena turns into one heck of a spitfire. The characters are strong, compelling and grab the reader’s attention – Meena with her feisty but vulnerable personality and Leo with his arrogant but charming ways and the fast paced and smooth flowing plot keeps readers on their toes with lots of suspense, excitement and passion.

Although the action between Meena and Leo is very exciting, there is more excitement to be found as the couple set off to find Meena’s missing mother and run into some dangerous characters, nasty (I do mean nasty) plants, a ruthless elf overlord and betrayals and secrets from the past are revealed as well. The well written scenes and details paint vivid images and capture the imagination while the well orchestrated suspense draws readers in and ensures that the readers have to know every last detail of the outcome. The author also spices things up with a few surprising twists along the way that keeps readers on their toes and a very smart and lovable war dragon.

Kryssie Fortune has created a fascinating world with interesting elements and intriguing characters that invite readers back to join their next adventure. I was captivated by the story from the very beginning and I am looking forward to reading the next one.

THANK YOU Night Owl Reviews

Read an excerpt here
http://www.loose-id.com/curse-of-the-fae-king.html

Buy links

Amazon UK             http://amzn.to/1Jffvu7

AmaAon US          http://amzn.tohttp://amzn.to/1fALbPO/

Amazon AU             http://bit.ly/1hV5jy9

Amazon Germany  http://amzn.to/1fALbPO

Loose ID          http://www.loose-id.com/curse-of-the-fae-king.html

Kilted or in black leather? How do you like your heroes?

Last week I watched something amazing. 
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Last week, I watched the Edinburgh Tattoo. Wow. Military heroes showcasing their skills blew me away. Soldiers who’d seen action in Afghanistan and Iraq  deserve our respect whatever, but this blew me away. 

My throat constricted when the massed pipes and drums marched out of Edinburgh Castle. I’d never understood the skirl of the pipes or the beat of the drums before. This time I felt them in my heart. 

There were so many stand out performances, but I've found You tube links to two. 

The Citadel  is a regimental band that features 70 cadet musicians. Watch them. They bring a new energy to pipe and drum music. This is a long clip but three minutes in they perform some maneuvers I’ve never seen before, then 50 seconds later,  you’ll see why I think their drum major is the best sort of crazy. Don’t miss them.

The citadel marching band

The other clip I want to share is one of the United States Air Force Honor Guard. Talk about man and machine melding into one. The only clip I could find came from a different performance, and again it's a long one. Six minutes in they perform a feat that still makes me gasp. Talk about teamwork and trust. 

The United States Air Force Honour Guard

These men put their lives on the line for their country, but still find the time to practice like this, but not all heroes are military. 

After we’d visited Edinburgh, we visited Tynemouth. It has amazing beaches and a ruined cliff top priory. 

 

That’s where my second group of heroes showed up. Outside the prior the biggest group of bikers pulled up. Gulp. All that black leather and testosterone was scary.

 Britain has a fourth emergency service—the coastguard, but we also have the RNLI –That’s the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It’s a voluntary organization. Their seamen--every day folk like you and me--put  their lives on the line to perform daring air / sea rescues. For free.

Their equipment’s comes from grants and public fundraising. Guess what? They are always short of funds. No surprise there then. Hence their recent  Go Orange For Independent Lifeboats campaign.

Okay, back to my scary bikers. The pulled up and dismounted, all swagger and power. Then they pulled out RNLI flags and collection boxes. They knew someone who’d drowned in the river despite attempts to save him, and they’d gathered in Tynemouth to raise money for the RNLI in his honor. That makes them heroes in my book. What about you?

What sort of hero makes your mouth water?

Five Facts Thursday - please welcome Zenobia Renquist

Five facts about VIP Room Service (Other Related Duties #1)—A Contemporary BDSM Hotel Erotica Ménage (MFM) tale now on sale for 99¢ (regularly $2.99) until 26 Sep…

#1 – This book was originally published back in August 2014 under the title Wine Service (Professional Courtesy #1) by the now closed Musa Publishing. Musa reverted the rights back to me in February 2015 and I re-released it as my first foray into self-publishing in late March 2015. I changed the title and the cover but the book remained the same.

#2 – DZRB Books, the publishing name I use for my self-published titles, is an amalgamation of my initials for both my writing names. My real name is D. Renee Bagby. I use my real name for my Multiverse titles. But the muse wanted some freedom to play around in other universes, so I created Zenobia Renquist. DRB + ZR = DZRB.

#3 – Zenobia means given life by Zeus. I love Greek mythology. I had originally planned to use the name for a character in a comic I created with my high school best friend. The comic never got off the ground, so I decided to adopt the name for my alter ego. Renquist (usually spelled with an H but it’s my name and I’ll spell it however I want) is a name I’ve always liked. It just feels right on the tongue.

#4 – I have more titles out under Zenobia Renquist than I do under D. Renee Bagby. I was all about novels (50K+ words) when I first started out. I didn’t think I could write anything shorter. Then I was introduced to the wonderful world of novellas and graphic sex scenes. In the span of a year, Zenobia had more titles than Renee simply because it takes me less time to write 20-30K.

#5 – My sex scenes draw inspiration from porn. There are only so many ways to insert TabA into SlotB without it getting boring and repetitive after a while. Purely for research, mind you, I will browse porn videos online looking for a clip I like and write down what I see. And here’s a fun little known fact, my MF sex scenes are based off FF porn. Sad to say (or maybe not) but the women in FF porn do all the things women like to read about in a sex scene. All the things that usually are glossed over and rushed in MF porn.

A hotel erotica tale hot enough to set the screen on fire.

She offers satisfaction above and beyond what is requested.

Lexie's job as a maid at a five-star hotel doesn't normally include the unique and risqué form of room service that rich guest Mr. Malena has requested, nor the generous tip he's offered. Submission and exhibition and a ménage. Lexie can't resist. What should have been a one-time thing turns into an introduction into the sensual world of customer satisfaction. This is one workplace encounter that could get her fired...or will it?

NOTE: Title previously published as Wine Service (Professional Courtesy 1).

Genre: Contemporary BDSM Erotica, MFM, Exhibitionism/Voyeurism

Publisher: DZRB Books

Length: Novella - 37K (approx. 83 pages)

ISBN: 9781634750004 (ASIN B00V8RE64K)

Price: $2.99 99¢ - On Sale! (From 30 August until 26 Sep 2015)

** Buy Links **

All Romance eBooks

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-viproomserviceotherrelatedduties1-1768225-354.html

Google

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Zenobia_Renquist_VIP_Room_Service?id=yPyhBwAAQBAJ

iBooks

https://itunes.apple.com/book/vip-room-service/id980481147

Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V8RE64K/

Kobo

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/vip-room-service

Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121647282?ean=2940151231589

Smashwords (use coupon code FH44L at checkout to receive sale price)

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/530798

** Read an Excerpt **

She drew in a long gasping breath and then choked on it as someone knocked at the door.

“Room service.”

She widened her eyes, and her pleasure dropped to nil.

“Ah. Right on time.” Mr. Malena dialed off the vibrator, removed it, and set it aside. He called, “One moment.”

“What?” Lexie asked in a frantic whisper. She clutched at the comforter, debating if she should hide in the bathroom or under the bed. Had the server heard her? Had he recognized her voice?

She looked at her uniform draped over the back of the chair. He would know a housekeeper was with Mr. Malena. A housekeeper who was undressed with a wide variety of toys out in the open. No deductive reasoning was needed to figure out what was happening or who the housekeeper was.

Mr. Malena patted her belly. “Shhhh.” He held his finger to his lips. “Just relax.”

“I can’t relax,” Lexie whispered back. “He’ll see me.”

“No, he won’t.” He grinned. “Not your face, at any rate.” He urged her to lie back before draping a towel over her head. “There.”

“Wha—”

“Shhhh. You don’t want him to recognize your voice, if you know him. So long as you stay still, he won’t see your face.”

“What about the rest of me? What about my uniform? And the cart outside?” Lexie could see her job ending. She should have known this was too good to be true.

“I’ll take care of it. Now hush.”

Clothing rustled. Lexie peeked under the towel in time to see Mr. Malena fold her uniform into one of the dresser drawers and close it. He slipped on a robe and then glanced back at her. She yanked the towel back down. She wanted to roll herself in the comforter. Wanted to and didn’t at the same time.

She only had to keep her face covered, and the server wouldn’t know who she was. The idea of letting a virtual stranger see her naked titillated her. Her clit throbbed and ached to be touched. She clutched at the towel and waited.

Mr. Malena opened the door. “Thank you, my good man. I am famished. This way.”

Lexie frowned. When had he ordered room service? Had he done it before she arrived and known it would get here while they were playing? He did seem less flustered by this turn of events than she was, as if he’d planned it.

The server asked, “Where do you want— Whoa!”

A long pause followed that exclamation. The server had seen her.

Want more? Read the full first chapter online at DRB1stChp Blog:

http://drb1stchp.com/2015/03/vip-room-service-by-zenobia-renquist/

** Bio **

Zenobia Renquist is the alter-ego of D. Renee Bagby. Call her Zen or Renee, she answers to both. Air Force brat turned Air Force wife, she was born in Europe, has lived in Japan and in several states of the US, including Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, California, Maryland and Hawaii.

She moved a lot in her younger years and remembers all too well being the new kid in fish-out-of-water situations. But those experiences only made her better able to adapt, as well they gave her a love of travel, preferring road trips over flying.

Turning her favorite pastime into her career, Renee loves to build worlds and torture her characters for the enjoyment of her readers. She can’t fill everyday with writing alone, and also enjoys watching anime, reading manga, crocheting, knitting (yarn and mail), and binging shows on Netflix. She’s a Whovian (David Tennant for the win!), a trekkie (DS9 because Odo rocked), and a fan of pretty much every Marvel live action movie and DCU animated movie.

She has a wacky imagination and tends to write all over the place. In order to keep up, she only asks one thing—Leave Your Reality Behind to Discover Different and Unique Romance & Erotica.

Visit her website: http://zenobiarenquist.com

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZenobiaRenquist

Like her Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/Author.DRBagby.ZRenquist

Like her Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Zenobia-Renquist/e/B002BWYVW8/

Review her on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/zenobiarenquist

Get her Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/ZenobiaRenquist

Sign up for her Newsletter: https://signup.ymlp.com/signup.js?id=geusujygmguu

EXCLUSIVE - Love, vengeance, attempted murder, and a bomb...No reason to panic.

I've never had a guest character interview on my blog - until today. Better still, Catherine wrote this just for us. I think I want to adopt her robot.

Read and enjoy.  

HEARTS AKILTER      By Catherine E. McLean 

Kifel Space Station

The clonk of unbalanced robotic treads crossing the threshold of Marlee's workshop had her glancing up at Henry and then to his malfunctioning wheelbase.

"Whatever did you do to yourself? Sounds like your knees are knocking."

"I do not have knees. Therefore they cannot be knocking." Henry paused, extending his right appendage, and triggered her bay door closed.

He only closed the door when he wanted a private conversation. Skom, every time she saw the little robot, he exhibited more human behavior. Which was a problem. If anyone realized Henry was becoming an AI, he would be deactivated, shipped off to the Razl labs, and disassembled to figure out how he evolved.

Henry trundled toward her, but no sound came from his wheelbase.

Marlee put her tools down. "I don't recall setting you up with a trigger for a base malfunction."

He stopped on the other side of her worktable. "Affirmative. Yes, that is true. I initiated the noisy, false malfunction. It was necessary that I obtain advice."

"For what?"

"I am being interviewed. I have been given questions to answer. The questions include ones about you and Deacon."

Marlee's heartbeat accelerated. "I thought Asuka had closed the investigation."

"He did."

"Then who's doing the interview?"

"GNR News' Carla Popovich."

Motor-mouth Carla of Celebrity Insider? Don't panic! "How did you come under the radar of the Gossip Queen of Kifel?"

"She is better known as the Queen of Demeaning."

How did Henry know that? Don't panic. Don't panic. Speak calmly. "Why would Popovich want to interview you?"

"The CMO told me she wanted a logical, factual assessment of what happened in sickbay with JJ-the-bomber. I am to cooperate and answer her questions when we meet in two hour's time."

"What Popovich wants is dirt!"

Henry tilted his head left then right, as if thinking, then eyed her. "Dirt? What type of soil?"

"Not that kind of dirt. The other kind. Candid stuff like how sexually involved Deacon and I are, how pregnant I am—"

"You are pregnant?"

"No, I am not!" Marlee heaved a sigh. "Look, Popovich doesn't want facts. She's looking for anything that will shock or titillate, or which can be distorted into something to increase her show's audience numbers. And—double skom! If your answers are not robot-lingo, she'll conclude you're no ordinary robot and suspect you're an AI—and that will make headline news."

His eye-lenses went wide open. "I will be dismantled and cease to exist!"

"Don't panic. You just have to remember not to look at the questions logically but to look for the ulterior motive behind the questions. Then answer like a robot, not an AI."

"I am not an AI."

"Not yet, but one day . . . "

"Marlee, I am programed to be truthful."

"AIs can lie, will lie, and that's on the record books."

"Those AI's were most violently destroyed. Please, Marlee, help me to understand the questions, and how a robot is expected to answer them."

"Okay. Sure. Right— What's the first question?"

"The first few are about me. Like who manufactured me, where am I stationed on Kifel, what are my primary duties in sickbay." He paused a few seconds. "Question number seven is It's been reported that Marlee gave you several contingency plans in the event the bomber came to sickbay. Is she always such a logical thinker, one who anticipates possibilities, or does she go by her gut instincts?"

Marlee relaxed. "Okay, that's straightforward enough. What would you reply?"

"That Marlee is more pessimistic than optimistic and tends to look before she leaps."

"No, no, no. Make that, Marlee strives to be thorough and extrapolates possible outcomes to avoid injury to others."

"Affirmative. Yes. A much more robotic answer."

"Next question."

"Marlee struck me as impulsive in tackling JJ Woodridge, the bomber. Is she impulsive? My reply would be, Marlee is only impulsive on Tuesdays. That is her day off. Or I could say that Deacon has been bringing out more impulsiveness in you of late because of your sexual trysts."

Marlee shook her head, her mind racing, sorting possible answers.

"What is wrong with such an answer?"

She eyed Henry. "It reflects you being a thinking bot not a robot-robot. You're making a judgement—and Deacon and I don't have trysts."

"A tryst is a date with a member of the opposite sex. You and Deacon date. Therefore you have trysts."

"Never mind. We'll work on that one later. Give me the next question."

"After Marlee was released from sickbay, she and Deacon had a dinner date. How did that go?"

"Henry, please tell me you're not going to answer it was a disaster."

"It was a disastrous first date. It began with you rushing about to buy a dress because you do not own civilian garments."

"I do so own civvies."

"One pair of jeans, one tank top, one tee shirt, and one overused and abused pink, pullover sweater. All of which you have had since you came aboard the space station a decade ago. All are well-worn and should be replaced."

"I recently bought more clothes."

"What and when?"

"Yesterday. Two pairs of jeans, three tops."

"But did you buy a dress to replace the white one you wore on that first date? The one you spilled an entire glass of red wine on?"

"I didn't deliberately spill the wine. People gawked, pointed at me, and whispered, there's the heroine. They made me nervous. Self-conscious. My hands were shaking so badly, I didn't get a good grip on the goblet and . . . Okay, so white and wine don't go together. I now have a black outfit, two piece, A-line skirt."

"Did Deacon approve of it?"

"Not exactly."

"What was his comment?"

"That it covered me like a burqa without the face veil."

"Do you not want to wear clothing that clings to your body and entice Deacon's libido, seduce his senses?"

Marlee clutched her hands together. There were drawbacks to wearing ultra-feminine clothing. Softly she said, "No."

"Why not?"

"Such clothes get worn for show, in public, and I get stared at, like on that first date."

"How curious."

"What's curious?"

"That instead of sleeping in your empty closet, you could fill it with divinely enticing, intimate apparel that would be sensual, provocative, even risqué, and wear such in the bedroom—the one in Deacon's nest."

Marlee's shock made her voice squeak. "You know about that cargo container?"

"Affirmative. It is a housing investment. One Deacon warned me he has put security measures in place that I cannot override or countermand. I have concluded you and Deacon do not wish to be disturbed when you are together or intimate. I understand your need for privacy."

"Then please tell me you realize you have to be extra careful dealing with Popovich's interview questions and not embarrass me or Deacon, right?"

He paused, his lens-eyes taking on a concentrated, thoughtful mien. "Affirmative. Yes. I now more fully understand. Popovich is not entitled to encroach upon your privacy, Deacon's, or mine."

His eye lenses opened wider, and he seemed to stand more erect. "I will become the perfect robot-robot who will spout such lines as That is not within my logic parameters and That requires a human evaluation which I am not designed nor programmed to evaluate and draw conclusions to."

"Yes! That's a great plan!"

# # #

About Catherine E. McLean

Besides Catherine being a wife and mother, she has ridden and exhibited Morgan Sport Horses. She's an avid clothing and costume designer, an award-winning amateur photographer, a 4-H leader, and a Red Hatter who loves bling.

She lives on a farm nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania. In the quiet of the countryside, she writes fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal stories where a reader can escape to other worlds for adventure and romance.

Her short stories have appeared in hard-copy and online anthologies and magazines. Besides having two novels published, soon to be released is her lighthearted fantasy/sci-fi romance HEARTS AKILTER. Catherine also gives writing workshops, both online and in-person. A schedule is posted at http://www.writerscheatsheets.com/workshops.html

Catherine's website for writers is  http://www.WritersCheatSheets.com and she blogs at http://writerscheatsheets.blogspot.com/

Hub Website: http://www.CatherineEmclean.com

Connect with Catherine at: http://www.catherineemclean.com/connect-with-catherine.html

Or on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatherineMcLea7

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.e.mclean.5

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/catherinemclean/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1Ievnjp

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1I64GqK

Hearts Akilter

Love, vengeance, attempted murder, and a bomb...No reason to panic.

When a medical robot insists he's having a heart attack, Marlee Evans, a pragmatic maintenance technician, has every reason to panic. There's a bomb inside him.  Since Marlee can't risk the bomber discovering she's found the device, her only option is to kidnap Deacon Black, an unflappable bomb expert, and secretly convince him to disarm it.  Things go slightly awry when Deacon sets a trap for someone who is trying to kill him, and inadvertently captures Marlee instead.  Instantly intrigued by her refreshingly forthright and gutsy attitude, he's smitten.  Unfortunately for Deacon, Marlee recently hardened her heart and swore off men, especially handsome ones with boy-next-door grins.  But as Marlee and Deacon attempt to identify and prevent the bomber from detonating the device, they discover that love may be the most explosive force of all.

Available Now

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1faTnHp

Nook: http://bit.ly/1HDMrii

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1fhzVIp

All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/1GvpqqT

The Wild Rose Press: http://bit.ly/1HDhwAT

Five Facts Thursday - please welcome Guy Ogan

Five facts  

1. The first book in the series starts when the main male character discovers that his father had had a tryst while stationed overseas at the end of World War Two. This, in fact, was something the author found out about his own father and was the event that started him writing the series.
 
2. The first book contains "Explicit Togetherness" (sex) and I had to look up some of the anatomical information in order to write about it!
 
3. Most of the combat information in the series comes from my own military background and knowledge.
 
4. Gary Logan's actions and beliefs are those of the author (or at least how I hope I would react in similar circumstances). LOL
 
5. The history of Vlad Dracula contained in the third book is a liberal interpretation of the stories about Vlad. 

Today we have some materials from G. D. Ogan's paranormal-romance three book series which very much goes against vampire stereotypes:

 "Immortal Relations" is the first in the series written after it was discovered that Guy's father had had a tryst while assigned to assist the Czechs at the end of WW-II in their quest to develop a government along the lines of a Constitutional Republic. Alas the only "government" that was allowed the Czechs was that of a Soviet puppet (fortunately things changed after the fall of Communism in Russia). There is a photograph on page two of the book showing Guy's father in front of the Old Town Hall in Prague, but in the story the photograph is said to be that of Gary Logan's father (Guy's alter ego). In the story, Gary Logan travels to Prague to see where the photograph was taken and possibly find out more of what the American team did while trying to help the formation of the new Czech government. He had arrived very early on a weekend morning with virtually no one around, but while he was looking at the building he saw what appeared to be a super-model in a window’s reflection. When he turned to get a better look, he was almost eye to eye with a lady named Magdalena. It isn't long before Gary discovers that Magdalena knows far more about his father than seems possible and within hours they have struck up a friendship. Gary soon realizes Magdalena is a vampire, but doesn't care...he is in love and pledges himself to her in whatever capacity she will allow. She explains how the majority of the group she belongs to was turned against their will and how they now protect innocent humans from rogue vampires, human criminals and evil politicians. The story then follows as Gary, a retired military officer is permitted to become a vampire, learns how these good vampire receive what blood they need from funeral homes they own and in turn safeguards both the vampire coven and the human population of Prague. With the help of Gary's young vampire son, they put flight to rogue vampires’ intent on destroying the Guardian Vampires. Later, Gary, his son Adam and Adam's human military commander, aided by a no-nonsense Russian General, deal with the rogue vampire army before they can steal weapons of mass destruction with which to blackmail governments.  

Guy warns that the first book has what he calls "Explicit Togetherness" (sex) and suggests those for whom sex in their reading material is an issue start with the second book in the series, "Immortal Relations, Love and War."  He tells us that there is a conversation in the second book that covers some of the more important material in the first book; however, the second book is mostly about the good vampires stopping a war between an army from Communist China invading Siberia, part of the Russian Federation. The vampires must stop this war before it goes nuclear and threatens life on the planet. Along with this, our good vampires save mankind from ecological disasters. Guy calls the book, "Action on Steroids." He said if a reader's "significant other" wasn't into romance novels but loved action novels, this story would give the person a different outlook on how exciting a romance novel can be. There is still some intimacy in the second story; however, "love bites" where blood and venom from each partner mixes has a amnesiac effect on Gary so his memory doesn't provide the explicit recall of the first book and since the story is from Gary's first person view reporting of the sex is curtailed and somewhat humorous. Magdalena and Gary have their wedding at the Hermitage at the request of the new President of the Russian Federation who has himself become a vampire to save him from a deadly illness.

The third book in the series, "Immortal Relations Coming Out" has our good vampires discussing coming out to the world of the humans in order to form a stronger bond and to better protect humans. While this doesn't appear feasible at the time, they do decide to set up a coven in Southern Canada to monitor the regime in Washington which seems to have no regard for either the founding documents of it's own country nor the defense of it's populace. Fortunately for those in the coven, the good vampires are seen in a favorable light by the Canadian government who are willing to grant them asylum when the group is bullied by Washington. Spinning the facts is a game well known to Washington and they attempt to brand the good vampires as a danger to all of humanity. But when a huge "mini-planet" is on a collision course with Earth, "who ya' gonna call?"  One of the interesting parts of this novel take place when Gary's hybrid human-vampire granddaughter meets a young, inexperienced, shape-shifter werewolf and they find that they are far more compatible than originally thought. One of Gary's vampire daughters also becomes married, at the Hermitage, to a Canadian police detective at the behest of their friend and fellow vampire, the Russian President.

 Buy Links (Each $ .99 on Kindle or the Kindle App):

 Immortal Relations: http://amzn.com/B006ZCBT6G

 Immortal Relations, Love and War: http://amzn.com/B00A4IEHL6

 Immortal Relations Coming Out: http://amzn.com/B00G5BQS18

 Here is the blurb from the back cover of each along with an Excerpt from each:

 Immortal Relations Blurb:

When Gary Logan discovers an old black-and-white photograph of his father in Prague with a woman’s handwriting on the back, he flies there to investigate where his father worked while in Europe, only to meet and fall in love with a beautiful lady who he believes to be a vampire. In love with her, Gary is initiated into her coven of guardian vampires, beginning a journey of epic proportions.

Exciting, erotic, and full of heart-stopping action, this debut novel turns human vampire lore on its head, with a symbiotic relationship between the species that deepens emotional connections to astonishing effect. But a coven of evil vampires bent on destroying the guardian vampires and feeding on the humans at will have other plans. Gary’s full vampire son helps humans to almost wipe out the evil coven, beginning the ever-increasing relationship between vampires and humans. Probing the gray areas inherent in sexuality, family and legend, the tale examines the very nature of existence.

Excerpt:

This pertains to something I feel very strongly about. I believe dogs are God’s gift to mankind to teach us about unconditional love and loyalty. They deserve both our love and loyalty in return.

We continued to monitor the screens, but nothing else happened until about 9 p.m. when I saw a large man chasing a little dog down a side street. He carried what looked like a rusty old pipe. Fearing he’d kill the dog, I asked Evy if we could do anything! She said they’d never responded to help an animal…I felt that I had to do something to help the dog and asked where that street was.

“Four streets to the north and about a mile to the east,” she said.

My love for little animals hadn’t abated any by my becoming a vampire, and I said I needed to do something to help that dog.

Maggie said she’d go with me. It was dark and a weeknight, so little traffic and no pedestrians were out. I ran the mile without stopping to confront the man. I moved so fast, no human could see me. As I flew by the man, I tapped the end of the iron pipe, causing it to fly out of his hand and I caught the pipe as I continued on. This occurred so fast, his brain couldn’t register what had happened; he slowed and looked at his hands and then stopped to turn around, looking behind him for the pipe he believed he must have dropped. By this time, I’d stopped in the shadows under some trees a mile farther down and simply crushed the old iron pipe into dust.

It was then that Maggie found me. “I’ve never seen anyone run that fast. You didn’t run that fast at the quarry…how could you run so much faster now?”

I looked at her and said, “I was running for fun at the quarry, but just now, I had to save that little dog. I just can’t stand to see a small animal hurt or killed.”

She hugged and kissed me, “I think you are one of the most softhearted people, let alone vampires, that ever existed.”

I shrugged, “I wish it were this easy to save all the unwanted animals; in America, they kill many thousands of dogs and cats each day, just because no one wants them. It always broke my heart to even think about it…”

I told her I couldn’t think of a more terrible condemnation of someone than they would harm a dog or a cat!

She kissed me again and said, “Let’s go back to Evy.” as we walked back arm in arm, we saw a woman, who must have been the man’s wife scolding him, as she carried the little dog in her arms, so I felt it was safe. Once back in the monitoring room, Maggie told Evy what happened as I sat in a chair, my head down, trying not to think about little animals being harmed. Evy turned and asked if I’d heard the story of “Ferdinand the Bull” and said I was like Ferdinand, strong but with a soft heart…I could only say, “Thank you.”

Immortal Relations, Love and War Blurb:

The second book amps up the action to a fever pitch. While Maggie and Evy hope things have settled down, events have a way of foiling the best of intentions. Death stalks a close friend, but our vampires can help him cheat death if he will accept the offer. His expertise is vital as international events are about to happen that only this old friend can solve! Greed is at the bottom of so many of histories problems, and this book shows just how greedy some governments, rogue OPEC Ministers and terrorists can be and the troubles they can cause. Who is available to thwart their greed and what about the ecological disasters of the impending failure of Chernobyl 's containment cap and possible reactor collapse at Fukushima, Japan. When the reactor building at Fukushima falls, a possible ''Extinction Level Event" has been predicted! Our heroes will help, if their help will be accepted!

Excerpt:

It was a short flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg. There our party was met by two limousines and whisked along to the historic Hermitage Museum. Arriving, it looked to me like the whole world was there. I didn’t know why President Kolukov had asked me to wear the Russian General’s Uniform he gave me, but I wanted to humor my good friend. We exited the limousine onto a red velvet carpet that had wide gold piping down each side and which looked to be almost 400 meters long. I thought it odd that President Kolukov had me stand to his left and next to him, when Stephan was senior in rank to my uniform. When we got to the head of the carpet, we turned. Stephan and Adam moving behind us, I looked up and turning the corner onto the same red carpet we had just traveled was someone I would recognize anywhere, under any circumstances. It was Magdalena, on the arm of Roger, our doctor. At first I was confused, but when I saw the dress she wore, an exact copy of her hand made blue dress, only in brilliant white and then heard the music, I realized what was happening; Magdalena and I were getting married! My friends had somehow arranged all this without even a hint that I picked up on. I had already glanced at some of those on either side of the isle and thought I recognized some political figures from various countries.

As Magdalena was escorted slowly forward, I was unable to look anywhere else; she was the only thing that existed in my universe. When she got close, I noticed she had a ribbon with a gold star hanging from it pinned over her left breast. I’d seen a similar medal, back when it was called “Hero of the Soviet Union,” but this one had the double eagle of the Russian Federation. Only an old “war horse” like me would notice that when the woman he loved stood in front of him!

An Eastern Orthodox Priest spoke the vows, translated into English for me. Magdalena didn’t need a translator as she spoke several languages, Russian being one of them. We both answered “I do” and “I will,” then I was asked to put the ring on Magdalena’s finger – I started to panic, but Kolukov stepped forward and handed me a ring. My eyes bulged when I looked at it as it must have been five carats of a Red Ruby mounted in Gold! He said it’s just a little bobble courtesy of the Russian people and the Hermitage. I placed it on the finger of my bride, we were officially married and we kissed. Maggie read my thought and on impulse we both turned and kissed Kolukov, each of us on one side of his face. He broke out in loud laughter and said, “Everything has been taken care of for tonight, but the car will be there to pick you both up at 0900 tomorrow. That’s 9 am in case you’ve forgotten Gary.” He joked, as if I’d ever forget the 24 hour military clock.

The two of us shook hands with Stephan, Adam and Roger, and then we made a bee-line to the limo that pulled up nearby, as the driver beckoned to us. I was too busy looking into the dark pools of eternity that were Maggie’s eyes! There were a million questions to ask on how they’d done all this and kept it a secret, but I didn’t want to break the spell I was under, I wanted the spell to last forever (or at least until we had to board the aircraft tomorrow morning).

Immortal Relations Coming Out Blurb:

The third in the series continues to rock the foundation upon which typical vampire novels are based.

After saving mankind from a war between two major powers before it could go nuclear and solving two ecological disasters, our guardian vampires discuss coming out to humans. Seeing a potential for an open relationship protecting humans from evil vampires, criminals & power-mad politicians, a newer member of the good coven proposes they support patriots fighting for humanitarian liberty. This idea for an open relationship seems doomed by negative stereotypes vampires have acquired from books, movies, and recent television series. Now a threat of being “outed” by a reporter looms and the only recourse seems to be the help of a young shape-shifter werewolf. Threats against the good vampires from a Marxist regime forms a bond between the local Canadians and their vampire guests; however, there are new threats on the horizon which astronomers must somehow gain the attention of a disinterested government to get them to mount a response to the threat if life-on-Earth is to continue.

Excerpt: 

Vlad has explained how he and other of the oldest vampires have progressed to the point where they need little if any blood. Gary has asked why the out-of-control vampires continue to attack humans.

Vlad replies (through thought transference) “They get a thrill from the hunt and then, as the life drains from their victims, it provides a rush from the feeling of power over the living.”
Gary: “If I may be so bold, have you had such feelings in the past?”

Vlad smiled and nodded slowly, “It was a very, very long time ago Gary. We were fighting what you would call ‘an asymmetrical war’ against Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and his Muslim invaders who outnumbered us at least three to one. I was looking for anything to slow them down. I guess you would say I used psychological warfare by building the ‘forest’ of impaled enemy soldiers we had defeated in previous battles. While we had numerous successes against units of the invaders we unfortunately were unable to hold off so large an invading army. It was about this time I was changed into what I am today. I was always in the front lines of battle and routinely soaked in blood. Perhaps that is what changed me into a vampire. One of my own Generals saw me surrounded by enemies and saw blood spurting up in the air. Thinking it was my blood he sent word that I’d been killed. My dear wife was distraught and threw herself from the heights of our Poenari Castle into the Arges River below.

Then my second cousin, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, from whom I had sought help in prosecuting the war, imprisoned me. Locked away, I soon became crazed with the desire for blood I would have otherwise found on the battlefield. Many fellow prisoners died because of it and after my escape I was a plague on the land. It took all too long before I regained some sense of my lost humanity.”
With downcast eyes Vlad thought, “Which is where the myths, legends and stories about me started – I’m afraid I earned them all.”

I reached over and patted him on the arm saying, “I’m sorry I brought up a topic that has induced clearly painful memories for you.”

Vlad smiled at me, “No, it is alright. If you haven’t heard the story before I think you need to know the type of vampire you follow. I hope it won’t detract from our relationship.”

“Never fear of my continued admiration and respect for you. You were a great leader fighting to free your people from an oppressive invader. Since you had no one to guide you after you were changed, as a ‘newborn’ vampire you did what came naturally. However, it begs the question, how did you stop?”

“I married again and she helped me overcome the constant thirst, giving me some of her own blood, and she brought me back to God.”

With tears in my eyes I thought, in reply to Vlad, “Women are clearly the superior gender, without them we men would be little better than wild beasts. “

For additional information, see http://immortalrelations.blogspot.com/