Under the Spell of Wyrd Love with Cynthia Diamond

Siren's Song 
Wyrd Love: Book 1

Between being hunted by vampires and her inability to control her siren’s powers, all Adelle Constance wants is to be left alone. She runs from her home, hoping to lay low in the small Washington town of Whitmore. She didn’t count on meeting Jack, a cranky nine-hundred year old dragon who, despite her protests, vows to protect her. She also didn’t count on him being so deliciously attractive in that grumbling way.

Jack has no desire for a mate, especially after being dumped by the love of his life. Yet somehow he’s suckered into protecting a beautiful siren who can make things explode just by raising her voice. Reluctantly he takes the alluring Adelle under his wing, finding her quirky charms irresistible. And when angry vampires come to take her back, the dragon finds he’s not giving her up without a fight.

Buy link: Amazon 

 

Valkyrie's Spear
Wyrd Love: Book 2

Valerie Constance will stop at nothing to protect the Spear of Destiny from dark mages. Yet the gorgeous and stoic priest who guards it doesn’t want to team up with the Valkyrie. Matthew DeAngelis’s smoldering blue eyes and warm touch entices her like no other man and she is determined to not only save the spear but to keep the man as well.

Matthew is a fallen angel who longs to return home at any price. But after centuries of duty to his Maker, a raven haired Valkyrie with a bewitching laugh proves to be the chink in his armor. If the infuriating beauty distracts him further he may forget his end game and peruse her instead. With so much at stake, Matthew isn’t willing to fall again.

Buy link: Amazon


Excerpt from Valkyrie's Spear 

Her arrogant mean made his blood boil. Matthew’s fingers tighten on her wrist, giving it a slow twist. Valerie flinched but stood strong. A twinge of regret flickered within him but when her flinch turned into a smirk he kept his grip firm.
   “Easy there, Father,” Valerie said. “No point in losing your temper just because you’re out of uniform.”
   That cocky smile quickened his breath which enraged him even more. When the sensual scent of jasmine wafted from her raven hair, the growl he was trying to lock down escaped. Matthew stared, able to look her in the eye without stooping. He had forgotten how tall she was. It would be so easy to tilt her head and take her mouth. Instead, he shook his head.
   “You have been following me for weeks,” he said. “Still clinging to the pathetic belief that you are going to help me?”
   “I know I can help you,” she said. “You’re just too God dammed stubborn to know you need it.”
   “Language!” he shouted.
   The people on the dance floor stopped gyrating and gawked at them. Matthew bit the inside of his cheek and after a deep breath he reduced his voice a low rumble. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”
   “Oh contraire, mon frère,” Valerie said.
   Again with that exasperating smile. He tightened his hold. “Having Valkyrie’s blood in your veins and owning a sword hardly makes you a warrior.”
   Valerie’s playful smirk turned into a glare. She yanked her wrist back with surprising strength. “Oh yeah, being underestimated by an ignorant jackhole. I’m not used to that at all.”
   Matthew was ready to reprimand her once again for her filthy language when he realized he had no idea what a jackhole was. Was that a curse? Valerie darted away, heading towards Rath, and he sprung after her on long legs.
   “Get back here this instant!” he demanded. If she found what he was keeping behind the bar, he was doomed.
   She turned around and let out a throaty laugh. “Really? Didn’t you want me to go away a second ago? Well, this is me, going away.” She raised her hand palm up, waving it from side to side in a queenly fashion. “I’m just going to go over to the bar and ask Rath what the hell you two were talking about.”
   Matthew expression narrowed. “How do you know Rath?”
   “Oh honey, I know a lot of folks in this city.”
   She sauntered to the bar, the crowd of humans parting for her, some practically drooling over the beautiful Goddess. After watching that hypnotic backside sway from side to side, Matthew dashed after her again, bumping right into her when she stopped in her tracks. Valerie peered over her shoulder, alive with mischief.
   “What’s the matter, Matt? Afraid that I’ll find something behind ol’ Rathy’s bar that I should be staying away from?”
   After a grunt, Matthew straightened his posture, smoothing his hair back with both his hands. He knew Valerie could sense the sweat that had broken out across his forehead. She probably could even smell it with those keen Valkyrie senses of hers.
   “You know nothing,” he said.

Since she was a child, Cynthia Diamond craved anything that featured heroines with strong personalities. Now she writes books for sassy nerds with a sharp sense of humor. Starting her adult life in theater, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Costume Design, but her first love was telling stories. After some encouragement, she dove down the rabbit hole and created the Wyrd Love series.

When not telling tales about hot dragons and werewolves with tight behinds, Cynthia is an SCA geek and an amateur artist. She resides in sunny San Diego, California with her husband Max, two cats of varying intelligence, and a ton of goldfish.

Get Lost in a Story Interview with Cynthia Diamond

Jillian: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Cynthia: Its always been Beauty and the Beast. I love the beauty is in the eye of the beholder moral and I've read/seen so many wonderful adaptations of it.  Its one of the few fairy tales where a relationship developed between the hero and the heroine over time instead of BAM true love. The fairy tale always reminds me to look deeper at people and situations because its not always what it seems. Those are themes I hope to explore later in the Wyrd Love series.

Jillian: Describe your favorite kind of hero to read/write?
Cynthia: I like to make every hero as different as possible from the previous one but I always try to put a sense of honor, tenderness and loyalty inside all them. A wicked sense of humor isn't too bad either. A lady needs to have a good solid reason to fall in love, right? I think my favorites are the gruff, "my way or the highway" types. Perhaps I'm one of those writers who like to torture their characters, but I love pairing them with women who drive them completely bonkers. To me nothing is funnier than a man who thinks they have everything, including their woman, under control only to have the rug pulled out from under them. And nothing is sweeter than when he realizes he would sacrifice everything, including that control, for her.

Jillian: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?
Cynthia: First thing I do is sleep in at my earliest convenience. Seriously. I close the bedroom door then I sleep. Hard. Thank God the husband is not an early riser. Hes a total enabler with my sleeping late habit. After I regain consciousness, I throw a book release party to celebrate. They aren't huge bashes, just a gathering of friends who have supported me during the craziness. I really think its important to celebrate your accomplishments. Writing a book is hard. Getting the courage to let it lose into the world is even harder. Take the time to acknowledge that you're doing something remarkable whether its writing, painting, or making a presentation at work. Treat yourself.

Jillian: How often to you get lost in a story?
Cynthia: Oh Lordy, WAY too often. I've been an avid reader since I was a kid and a movie nut since my teenage years. When something captures my imagination I am lost in that world for days on end. I'll read a book two or three times so I can stay in that world. I'll watch a film until I memorize it to cling to that exhilaration. I love losing myself in someone else's work. The deeper I fall, the more I fall in love with the creator.

Jillian: What was the first story you remember writing?
Cynthia: I was probably about ten years old. My mom gave me one of those blank books with a fancy cover thinking it would my my diary. I was horrible at keeping an diary. Instead I wrote a long, rambling story about all of my favorite cartoon characters saving the world. I'm pretty sure I made the class bully my villain and tortured him in ways only an over dramatic ten year old could. I like to think I've improved since then. At least I hope I have!

Jillian: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?
Cynthia: I tend to avoid looking at my reviews knowing what kind of personality I am. I'm a dweller and when I do get that bad review I obsess and obsess until I'm ugly crying on the couch and shoveling chocolate ice cream into my mouth. But I'm teaching myself to be more objective and with every book that comes out, I get better at letting it roll off my back. But I do have a group of beta readers who I trust to be honest with me and their advice I take to heart. They  tell me right out when my story needs more work. When they say there's a problem, I strive to correct it.

Jillian: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
Cynthia: I weened myself off coffee when I finished grad school. I drank it so frequently that the caffeine stopped effecting me. From there I moved on to tea and became a total tea addict. Herbal, black, green.. you name it, I will give it a try. There's something about the ritual of tea; warming it, drinking it, and having parties around it, that speaks to me. Through tea I've made some amazing friends. We have tea parties, exchange flavors, and blab on Facebook about the different brands we find. Granted, coffee will slap me hard in the face when I need the jolt but tea is my every day happy drink.