New Releases Today!

I'm sure I miss lots of great new releases of relevant books, but, at least at this time, I'm only showing the releases that I'm excited about, since I try not to promote crappy books and, if I'm not familiar with the author's work, how am I supposed to know whether it is suckish (as my kids say) or good?

Anyway, here are today's releases that I can't wait to read (blurbs blatantly stolen from Amazon, as usual):

The Reluctant Vampire (Argeneau Vampires):  Has this immortal finally met her match?

Rogue hunter Drina Argenis (from the Spanish side of the Argeneau family) has been many things in her years as an immortal, but bodyguard/babysitter to a teenage vampire is something new. There's an incentive, however: the other vampsitter, Harper Stoyan, may be Drina's life mate.

Trouble is, having just lost a life mate, Harper is resigned to being alone. He's completely unprepared when sexy and unpredictable Drina bursts into his life to reignite his passions. Can Drina, with a little matchmaking help from their teen charge, tempt this reluctant vampire to take a chance?

Or will a dangerous, unseen renegade kill Drina and Harper's one chance at happiness?



 Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5):
Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job. 

Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, but she's still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be-now that the Order is disparaging her good name. Plus, many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate's mate.

So when Atlanta's premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. But it turns out that this is not an isolated incident. Kate needs to get to the bottom of it-and fast, or the city and everyone dear to her may pay the ultimate price...

The Nature of Magic

Ever notice how the nature of magic is different in different stories?  In some, like the book I'm reading now Skinwalker by Faith Hunter and the last book I read, Never Again by Michele Bardsley, magic was something someone was born with.  You were either a witch or wizard or you weren't.  You couldn't change it.

I don't think that's really how it works.

I do believe in magic, real, true magic, but not like that.  I think magic is something anyone can learn to do.  I do think it is like any other subject in that some people will be more talented than others and seem to pick up on it enough that they may think of themselves as being a "natural witch" but I don't think it is any different than being a "natural reader" or a "natural mathematician" or a "natural scientist" or anything else like that.

And I don't think doing magic necessarily makes you "evil" like some people think about someone practicing magic or "witchcraft" any more than driving a car makes you evil or even shooting a gun makes you evil.  If you drive a car with the intention of running an innocent person over, that could be construed (and rightly so, in my opinion) as being evil.  If you drive that car in your daily life, I don't think that makes you evil.  If you shoot a gun to kill someone (outside of self defense or to protect others):  evil.  Shooting a gun to hunt to feed your family that might otherwise go hungry: not evil.  Practicing magic to improve your life without hurting anyone:  not evil.  Using magic to harm or influence others' free will:  evil.  I know some people would disagree with me on all of those, but that's my opinion, and I'm sticking with it. 

What do you think?