Meet Selena Aires, a petite artist with a sweet smile. Don’t let her size and disposition fool you into thinking she can’t take care of herself. Meet Andras Johns, a towering, tattooed biker… at first glance… Just don’t get lost in those honey jar eyes when you look closer.
Enjoy the two teaming up in a small California mountain town against ancient odds. Ursus Borealis is the sexy calm before the storm in an exciting three-part fantasy adventure. Won’t you give it a read and review?
I like to tell people when I’m being dramatic that I was born under the shadow of Mount Shasta. It’s fitting that my writing passion was fueled by a visit to McCloud, California, which sits at the base of this mythical 14,139-foot-high stratovolcano.
I’ve been chatting with Introverted Indies dark fantasy author Lucy A. McLaren who was a guest on my Spotlight in 2023. Our conversation got me remembering the start of my writing journey in 2020 when I met my folks in McCloud, a small mill town on Highway 89 near Interstate 5, one of many historical mill and mining towns in Siskiyou and Shasta counties. A few miles down the highway, you’ll find Burney Falls. another scenic wonder President Theodore Roosevelt called “the Eight Wonder of the World.”
That first story I was typing away on (in photo below) never got past the first few chapters, but what a perfect setting for a paranormal romance! I’m only just now appreciating how much I was affected by the atmosphere, which I believe was the glue that cemented my writing passion.
An article in Big Think aptly describes Mount Shasta as “[a] mountain [is] associated with so many otherworldly, paranormal, and mythical beings—in addition to long-established Native American traditions—that it’s almost like a who’s who of metaphysics.”
I was super glad I booked a bed and breakfast room at the charming McCloud Hotel. I highly recommend a stay.
Check out Where I Live for more beautiful areas and photographs.
I’m so happy I don’t have to abandon my cherished Starlight Chronicles Pod People! The pack is returning in dragon shifter Michael Elliott’s spinoff story. Yes! 👊
My working title may include any combination of the words Pursuit, For, Of, Love, Magic, and Dragons. Follow my novel writing journey here or in my newsletter and help me with the title for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Michael Elliott’s upcoming story. Yes, again! 👊😄
My goal is for publication in 2026, or earlier if miracles happen. You will also get early cover reveals and requests for input as it’s developed. Let me know if you’re interested in beta reading.
This is National Novel Writing Month and Elliott, as Selena likes to call the alpha who joined her quest in Book Two, Drago Incendium, is getting full-on dedicated page time, including gorgeous scenes at his lofty Scottish castle in the Highlands. The story will also take you back to Ketchikan and Dylan Aires’ fishing lodge. You remember Selena’s brother? The vampire who can walk in daylight and cook like Julia Child? And finally, we’ll be exploring the fae realms, including a wondrous place not even the supernatural races know exists.
Not only did Elliott promise Selena he would share dragon lore and show her his castle but a seer envisioned the same. Stick with me on this journey and learn what happens when Elliott brings Andras and Selena to his castle on Ben Shiel to fulfill his promise.
Princess Priss Starwillow and wolf shifter Sam Harrison will come to stay as well. Michael Elliott hires Callie, once captive to Prince Aviel Enair, to help run his castle. Selena is expecting twins. Michael and Callie have prepared his laird’s chamber for her precious arrivals and Selena is thrilled to have Callie and Priss there to help. There may even be other surprise visits.
The setting is perfect for a pack gathering and happy reunions until a powerful mage comes for Onyx. Worse, Spero uses, the sassy, outspoken shapeshifter, Halil Enair, to dupe Michael a second time, threatening to sever his symbiotic bond with Onyx. Will Spero succeed? And what does the mage want with a dragon and his soul?
Onyx appears in a few fabulous scenes in books two and three of The Starlight Chronicles. Now, he gets his full-on dedicated page time too.
These lovely characters, whom I’ve said from the beginning were seeded in my brain by aliens where they grew and clamored to be heard, deserve to continue their existence. This is just one of a handful of Starlight Chronicle stories I’ve got planned.
I couldn’t do it with you. Thanks for your support!
Click on Onyx’s portrait or the form below to subscribe to D. L. Lewellyn’s Newsletter and join the team!
Join The Starlight Chronicles Community to follow Onyx’s story.Onyx’s portrait created using ChatGPT
Pod People Unite! Yesterday, I blogged about my Work In Progress (WIP) and invited followers to tag along. This is blog 2 to point you to my new page where I’ll keep all my updates organized and share fun stuff like what follows… ❤️
A Peek Into Starlight Chronicles Dragon History
Fact One – The dragon species was wiped out eons ago in the Great Purge
Fact Two – In the time before the last dragon vanished, an underground sect formed to continue the noncorporeal species through a symbiotic bond with a human who could withstand the harrowing transformation to a dragon. Many made the ultimate sacrifice to perfect the ability.
Fact Three – These humans became the first animal shifters.
Fact Four – When dragons disappeared, so did their kingdom in the fae realms. Great magic still exists there if anyone knows where to look.
Fact Five – Our sexy main character, Michael Elliott, is a dragon shifter and the alpha of the Fire Star Pack. His territory covers the State of Oregon in the U.S. Michael is bonded with an ancient dragon called Onyx.
Fact Six – When Michael shifts into a dragon, Onyx gets his corporeal body back though he occupies it with Michael. When Michael is human, Onyx is with him in body and soul. It’s truly a symbiotic relationship, and the bond is never meant to be broken.
Fact Seven– The two share a castle in the Scottish Highlands passed down by Michael’s dragon host predecessors. (In The Starlight Chronicles, Elliott, as Selena came to call him, teamed up with bear shifter and alpha of the North Star Pack, Andras Johns, to support Selena Aires in her prophetic quest. The three reunite in this story, and Michael will finally share dragon lore with Selena. It will be more than she bargained for.)
Fact Eight – Onyx has scales like obsidian and the same deep midnight blue eyes as his host.
The Starlight Chronicles series is a great place to rev up for Michael’s spinoff story from Book Two, Drago Incendium, which starts where Book One, Ursus Borealis, leaves off. The saga concludes in Book Three, Tigris Vetus.
This new novel is for Michael. 🥰
Let me know if you’re enjoying the journey! Comment with ideas and feedback.
You are getting the first official announcement of my new wraparound covers for The Starlight Chronicles, paranormal romance adventure!! Scroll to see how beautiful they will be on a bookshelf! Thank you for celebrating with me.
I am super excited to bring these pretty babies into the world. To celebrate all my eBOOKS and AUDIO books will be FREE or ON SALE this week, including Google Play Audio.
Advance Listen – Les Romances Des Trois – I promise you will be pleasantly surprised by the excellent AI narration. Give Google Audio a try with this audiobook offer in advance of the digital publication.
Three Novellas… Three enchanting settings and adventures… Three unlikely lovers finding each other along the way…
Experience sailing the Caribbean Ocean with a pirate captain and his mythical lovers in The Salty Pearl’s Reluctant Commander. How will Bastien Verdon deal with his superstitious crew and a vengeful god who wants what’s his? Next is Captured By the Hunted, a vampire hunter story that asks who is the hunted? Gedeon Kadar, a Scythian warrior turned vampire or a pair of mated dhampirs hunting vampires for the Oltalom Order?
Fate Sent Her Two immerses you in a contemporary farmhouse setting in coastal California. Maggie McConklin, a widow and well-known figurative painter, launches an ad for housemates to save her home. Adam and Greg answer the ad. Sparks fly the moment the gorgeous men step out of their classic Charger to find Maggie and her Blue Heeler, Sorcha, waiting on the porch.
As a bonus to this diverse collection of sweeping, deeply romantic, MMF fantasy stories, enjoy Pinpricks: An Adult Fairy Tale. In its anthology appearance in Magick & Mystery by Dragon Soul Press, one reviewer said: “Superfast start. Very interesting premise. An unexpected joy.” Find out where a prince and three witches end up in a tale about choices, discovery, and questionable happy-ever-afters.
Three Novellas… Three enchanting settings and adventures… Three unlikely lovers finding each other along the way…
Experience sailing the Caribbean Ocean with a pirate captain and his mythical lovers in The Salty Pearl’s Reluctant Commander. How will Bastien Verdon deal with his superstitious crew and a vengeful god who wants what’s his? Next is Captured By the Hunted, a vampire hunter story that asks who is the hunted? Gedeon Kadar, a Scythian warrior turned vampire or a pair of mated dhampirs hunting vampires for the Oltalom Order?
Fate Sent Her Two immerses you in a contemporary farmhouse setting in coastal California. Maggie McConklin, a widow and well-known figurative painter, launches an ad for housemates to save her home. Adam and Greg answer the ad. Sparks fly the moment the gorgeous men step out of their classic Charger to find Maggie and her Blue Heeler, Sorcha, waiting on the porch.
As a bonus to this diverse collection of sweeping, deeply romantic, MMF fantasy stories, enjoy Pinpricks: An Adult Fairy Tale. In its anthology appearance in Magick & Mystery by Dragon Soul Press, one reviewer said: “Superfast start. Very interesting premise. An unexpected joy.” Find out where a prince and three witches end up in a tale about choices, discovery, and questionable happy-ever-afters.
Enjoy A Free Chapter – Captured By the Hunted
Evy Blakemore
Our vampire stalker kept to his shadows and let us pass him on the stairs, and I wondered why. If we weren’t on such a sensitive mission, I would have confronted him. Part of me deep down would kill to know what his company meant, maybe even suspected what it was. Even as I focused all my senses on the belfry and my mate above me, the idea of challenging our watcher sent shivers down my spine. But now was not the time for distractions.
We’d come to the top of the stairs at last and took the final step through the hatch into the round tower. The smell of decay permeated the chilly darkness. The most dangerous vampire we’d ever been assigned hid somewhere in these shadows—sleeping. Our job was to make sure he never woke up.
At first glance, the open-air chamber appeared empty until my eyes adjusted, revealing a few cupboards and chests tucked in the curve of the far wall. The weather, constantly blasting through the high arched windows, had swept away any debris. Not even cobwebs shimmered from the beams.
Robert motioned me to edge around the east side of the perimeter while he did the same on the west where he carefully inspected the sagging, damp furniture. We studied every detail on our way to the farthest window where the majority of the feeble daylight trickled in with the waning sun. We had no idea what form Lord Barath slept in thanks to his very old magic. He could be a tiny mouse or bat, a wolf, or in some hideous demon form. Occasionally, we were confronted with multiple decoys.
The powerful ones were excellent illusionists.
From our meeting point, we scanned the room again before walking a straight line through the center back to the stairway opening. I pinched my nose to show Robert I smelled our quarry. The vampire was definitely in here with us. I pointed to the broken floorboards. We couldn’t pry at them or stomp around and test for hollow spots for obvious reasons, so Robert ran his keen vision along the floor for clues while I looked up… And just in time.
Shadow and sharp yellow teeth filled my vision. The sly vampire had been a tiny spider and now hung from a man-sized gossamer strand. Robert yanked me out of the way just before Lord Barath could latch onto my neck. In the same move, my partner arced his blade up and cut the strand, and we dove into a roll, aiming for the wall behind the stairs.
Our blades rang out as we lurched into position. I strained to see anything moving, but it was as still as ancient castle ruins should be… until low, menacing laughter crawled up the walls. The demon spoke. “The Oltalom Order has sent another hapless duo to end me. Look how well that worked last time. I heard you coming before you crossed the threshold. Are you prepared to die, children?”
“Last time?” Robert said. “You mean three hundred years ago during your last rampage when hunters trapped you as a bat in a silver-lined cage? You’re getting long in the tooth old man. Why don’t you show yourself and find out which of us will die.” Detached laughter rumbled over the floorboards. Then, the ancient vampire obliged us.
Swords ready, we turned towards the whoosh of air overhead. The dangling wraith sprang back into the rafters and vanished. Silence ensued. We watched and waited. We were prepared for the demon lord to swing at us again like a pendulum at high velocity, but we didn’t expect him to change to a dragon mid-swing.
I froze and gaped at the huge, spiny midnight-black creature bearing down on us with luminescent, jagged teeth and red glowing eyes. Robert reacted much better than I and pierced the beast’s chest under its wing. The dragon let out an ear-splitting screech.
“Run, Evy!”
“What!”
“He’s growing bigger. I’m going for his head, but if I miss, you need to be gone!”
“No! We do this together!” The dragon was growing so fast that soon we would have no room to maneuver. I pushed Robert toward his side of the room. “Leap with me!”
We sprinted in opposite directions away from the dragon. I kicked off the granite wall on my side, spun in the air, and landed on the scaled back. Robert landed behind me, wrapped his arm around my middle, and swung his sword against the beast’s neck. It pierced deep despite the dragon’s armor. I went for the other side. Two deep wounds, a few chunks flayed off, but we would have to hack for a week to get through the massive neck.
The beast howled but kept growing, and soon we were being smashed against the rafters. One broke across the glistening serpentine head, lodging a giant sliver through his eye, and still, the beast pushed his way to the top, taking us with him, his laughter sounding too much like Lord Barath.
Robert shielded me from the splintering beams, and I felt his inhalation above my head right before his warm blood sprayed the side of my face.
“Robert!”
“Hang on, Evy. He’s taking off! Are you ready to fly?”
“Oh my god!” I screamed as we broke through the tower, chunks of stone and copper tiles falling away behind us. The dragon flapped its huge wings, nearly rocking us off of him, before launching into the air and coasting away from the castle.
Robert hugged me to him with one arm and kept his other arm out of sight, making me fear the worst. “Don’t let go, Evy, even if I fall. Do you hear me?” I couldn’t answer that… I didn’t want to think about it.
Frigid air slammed into us as we broke through a black cloud. Beyond it, green, rolling land speckled with scattered villages swept away from the medieval Balkan castle to the Aegean Sea. We were aloft on the back of a dragon!
Just when that mind-boggling reality sank in, Lord Barath’s laughter rippled through the air and died out, and the beast dropped out from under us, disappearing in a puff of smoke.
We were falling… and the ground was a long way down.
In my email newsletter this month, I’m sharing a recent short story I wrote for a Punk Meets Fae mashup challenge. I’ll be offering the story in installments through December, and I’m including Part 1 here as well.
If you’d like to continue with the story, I’d love you to join my list. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Pixie Dust and Stud Collars
Part 1
It was happening—in that wavering haze that made Shannon think of a desert mirage—if the desert was packed full of people, had a roof, and was the size of a giant basement. A Mirage. Humidity. Maybe a special effect manufactured by the band.
Those were the preferred explanations in the beginning, but no more, not after witnessing the phenomenon three times. That didn’t mean she had an answer.
The effect was indiscernible until it hit you that something was off, and you looked harder, only to observe the eerie dust cloud coalesce over an unsuspecting pubgoer. More terrifying was when the target vanished, no one seemed to notice, no one but Shannon as she stood, dumbfounded, heart racing while the screaming, thrashing fans jostled her.
It had taken three Twisted Chords performances to believe what her eyes were seeing. And here she was, seeing it again. But tonight, at the RockSea GoGo, the all-grrrl band’s fourth venue, Shannon was ready for action. Action, but no plan, other than to yank the target out of harm’s way if she spotted him in time—her best strategy after too many sleepless nights agonizing over the reality and what to do about it. Shannon froze.
Yes! That towering man in front of the stage had to be the target.
The ones before had stuck out like that—taller than anyone around them, powerfully built, gorgeous.
She wiggled and shimmied in his direction, straining to keep her eye on the guy, the band, and the sparkling dust. It wasn’t easy. The surf-punk femme power chant had the crowd riled as the mini-skirted, go-go-booted singers shredded their instruments and emptied their lungs over the worshipping crowd… And the acrid air was beyond sultry, obscuring the glitter. Was it moving toward the giant dude wearing a spiked collar? She both hoped and dreaded that it was.
Shannon thrived on the overstimulating, dizzying clash of sensations from a packed pub. Soldering with sweaty bodies at these venues was her passion. It was also her job as a journalist. Aside from punk rock music’s raw strings, tribal-stomp beats, and off-kilter crescendos, the intimate fusion was what Shannon craved.
The bobbing bodies lost in art-defying noise were a thing of beauty, a single entity, greater than themselves, amplifying the music’s message, inspiring escape into a primal existence. The crowd’s pulse was the centerpiece of her reviews. This band’s scale between screaming rebellious dissonance and hypnotic siren calls added a thrilling dimension. She cringed, even as she made a mental note to use this in a piece later. Folklore imagery kept creeping into her ideas about the five hauntingly beautiful musicians.
What bothered Shannon about the mystical connotation was that it felt like truth. While the familiarity was disconcerting and prompted the need for answers, it was the disappearances that filled Shannon with urgency, bringing up buried memories of personal loss. If there was a chance she could prevent another one, she needed to take it. She stopped pushing and strained on her tiptoes for a clear view of the stage.
The dust cloud that had blossomed in the strobing lights was forming into a moving ribbon. She felt the connection again, which she’d denied up till now. The materializing phenomena resided somewhere in her memory like an elusive itch.
Reason told her she had nothing to do with these happenings so bizarre no one would believe a word out of her mouth—probably not even Becka who thrived on the bizarre. Scratch that. Her best friend would swallow the story whole and beg for more. But once spoken, denial was off the table. Shannon worried that acknowledging her awareness somehow made her responsible for the disappearances. Her jaw tightened.
If she’d let her brilliant, receptive friend in on things, she might have had a better plan.
The bodies pressed in, their collective heat rolling over her like bathwater while she twisted up once more to peek around a wide punk rocker wearing a crewcut and glasses. Her target was only feet away… and he was looking right at her!
He sent her a wink.
Shannon blinked rapidly in response as if the repetitive focus might wake her from a dream. A waif-like girl fell into her. Shannon caught the laughing leather-and-lace-clad fan and heaved her back to her friends. Okay, not a dream. She straightened her shoulders.
This was it. The moment thinking on her feet would be critical.
Part 2 coming September 9 to my newsletter only.
Give my books a read and let me know what you think. Reviews and comments are always appreciated.
Enjoy the entire series for $1.99 Monday through Friday – Starting July 22!
I’m trying to wrap my head around having a book published for three years! What better way to drive it home than a celebration sale?
I can’t thank my reading community, writing community, and family enough for hanging on with me through this amazing ride. The least I can do is pass on offers from Amazon. And of course, my books are always available on Kindle Unlimited.
When destiny gives you three paths, choose the fourth.
I doodle this in my art journal because it seems like the answer to my riddle. Some say having choices is a good thing. I’ve learned that three possible roads to the future mean confusion and heartache.
It all started when I shot an alien prince on a highway near Lake Tahoe… Well, to be honest, it began when I met a towering man with chestnut eyes who captured my heart despite his best efforts to leave me out of his dangerous world.
Andras is my mate, but he’s compelled by fate to join forces with a rival alpha to support my prophetic mission. Elliott and his pack are family now, and Elliott looks at me like Andras does. Both men tug on my heartstrings—and that’s not my biggest problem.
After a battle with said alien prince, we regroup at my brother’s fishing lodge in Ketchikan. I haven’t seen Dylan in years. There’s a reason for that, which makes me sadder than our separation. Then, my vampire friend enlists my help on a mission. When Andras finds out, I learn what happens when you poke an angry bear.
I’m about to make it worse when my instincts urge me to leave my bear and my dragon to follow the ancient tiger, aka the alien prince, to his lair—my third path in a destiny of choices marked by the moon goddesses of Anurash. ~ Selena Aires
And… If you want to tap into 748 other free romance books, I’m taking part in the Romance Book Lovers Book Blast on Tuesday July 23. So many romance genres! Jump in now and find your next reads!
Read Ursus Borealis for free on Kindle Unlimited to begin your Starlight Chronicles paranormal romance adventure.
Bears are supposed to live in the woods. Just not one who sends you to the moon.
Selena Aires
I promised my friend on his deathbed that I would find the place I was destined for. Neither of us had a clue what that meant, but searching for it after he’s gone helps me cope with my grief, and I pack up my art supplies and hit the highway. When I stop for gas in Quincy, Thomas is waiting for me—in spirit. So, I stay—and find my dream cottage with a studio and hiking trails out the back door, and a quaint old tavern called the Starlight with a cozy booth in the corner. I set out my sketchbook and pencils and get busy drawing faces—my way of getting to know people while I enjoy a beer.
It works. I’m making friends and filling my journal with the kind of diverse characters typical of a crossroads pub. But diversity doesn’t explain why the people coming to life on my pages are the stuff of fairytales. The most fascinating is Andras Johns, and I’m wondering more often whether the towering man who sets me on fire with one look is the prince in the story or the beast lurking in the woods.
Andras Johns
I’ve been the alpha of the North Star Pack for a long time. My policy? Never mix it up with a human. I can’t stand the idea of exposing a vulnerable species to the hazards of my job, and the hazards recently ramped up. But there’s a new face in town. A beautiful, human face. The first time Selena Aires gives me her smile, I smile back. It’s a mistake—and I know I’m done for, which is a problem because an alpha can’t break his own rules.
Meet a giant, smoking-hot cinnamon roll hero and a diminutive lovable kickass heroine in this paranormal romance with heart, spice, and a nice bit of danger. *This is not a standalone.* The hazards and thrills ramp up in Book Two, Drago Incendium.
Bears really do live in the woods near my home… and in the neighborhoods… sometimes even our backyards.
By D. L. Lewellyn 