The
Knights of Avalon, the four-part erotic PNR/UF series STARRY
KNIGHT launches, was born of a simple idea: to write a series
incorporating different forms of divination. From that kernel grew the far
more complex world of the series. The “knights” of Avalon, the enchanted
otherworld isle featured in Arthurian and Celtic legend, were Scottish
noblemen who, after falling in battle, were taken by the fairies to serve as
breeding drones to their queen. Each of the four books in the series tells
the story of a particular knight and the heroine whose love saves him from
his unhappy existence.
Each knight grapples with a different relationship with Morgan Le Fay, the
cruel and selfish queen of Avalon. Callum Lyon, the hero of STARRY
KNIGHT (book one), is free of Morgan’s influence, having escaped
enslavement after faking his own death. Leith MacQuill, the hero of DARK AND
STORMY KNIGHT (book two), was expelled from Avalon after the queen
discovered his amour with one of her scouts. In book three, which I’ve yet to
write, Axel Lochlann, a rune-casting Scot of Viking descent, guards the
portal between Hitherworld (our realm) and Thitherworld (the otherworldly
realm). The fourth knight, Finn MacKnight, doesn’t know what he is or that
he’s destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy telling of the queen’s overthrow
by a “natural-born” drone. Because of this prophecy, Morgan kills all the
male children she bears and punishes the knights who father them.
Avalonian knights are vampire-like, but not vampires per se. Members of the
Unseelie Fae, they drink blood and can assume the form of any creature they
choose, but generally take the form of a particular animal to hunt. Callum’s
preferred form is a lion, Leith’s is a Kellas Cat, Axel’s is a gyrfalcon, and
Finn’s is a jaguar.
Astrology is the new-age element featured in STARRY
KNIGHT (hence the name). Callum, the court astrologer to King James IV,
fell in battle in 1513, after warning the king the stars did not favor the
invasion of England. Ignoring Callum’s advice proved costly to the king and
his astrologer.
In modern times, Callum lives in the northernmost county of Scotland as a
reclusive political astrologer. The heroine, a free-spirited English
aristocrat named Vanessa Bentley, comes to Caithness with the goal of getting
inside Barrogill Castle. She’s just finished her training as a paranormal
investigator and the London paparazzi have been giving her a hard time.
Legend has it a vampire lives at Callum’s castle, so she decides to seduce
the gorgeous, golden-haired baron to gain entry to his otherwise inaccessible
abode. Needless to say, both get a lot more than hot sex (but also plenty of
that!) from the bargain they strike.
Tarot cards, voodoo, ghosts, and the more traditional form of vampire also
play roles in the plot. I hope readers enjoy Starry Knight and the rest of
the series as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
Nina Mason is a hopeful romantic with strong affinities for history,
mythology, and the metaphysical. She strives to write the same kind of books
she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate, and enlighten.
She has four books out at present and two more on pre-order. Her current
releases are, in order of publication: The Queen of Swords, a darkly erotic
Scottish paranormal romance/urban fantasy; The Tin Man, a political thriller;
and Devil in Duke's Clothing and The Duke's Bedeviled Bride, books one and
two in an erotic historical series titled Royal Pains.
The two books on pre-order are part of a new paranormal romance series titled
The Knights of Avalon. The series combines Arthurian legend, Celtic
mythology, and Scottish history to tell the story of four mortals taken by
the faeries after falling in battle. The Knights of Avalon are the breeding
drones of the legendary sorceress Morgan Le Fay. The series will be published
starting in August by Lyrical/Kensington.
Ms. Mason, born and raised in Southern California, currently lives with her
family in Woodstock, Georgia.
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Can these star-crossed lovers bridge two worlds?
British aristocrat Vanessa Bentley has beauty, fame, and fortune, but she
gets no respect for her decision to become a paranormal investigator.
Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, Vanessa ventures to the misty moors
of Caithness, Scotland. There stands the immense Castle Barrogill, where a
vampire is rumored to be stalking the dungeons—a vampire Vanessa is
determined to find. She’ll just have to get past the resident shape-shift
Callum Lyon is the gorgeous reclusive astrologer and faery knight who guards
the castle. For free-spirited Vanessa, seducing him proves to be easy. After
all, he was once a breeding drone to a Queen. But astrologically, their
differences are harder to overcome. Will Vanessa’s mission—and Callum’s
secrets—be more than their burgeoning love can take? Or will flesh—and blood—
win over the ghosts that haunt them both?
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