No, I didn’t start out to write a novel of romantic-suspense featuring a heroine who is currently pursuing “the celibate lifestyle”. You can see where that sort of plot twist would be a bit tricky. But the more I got to know psychic PI Chloe Harper and her unusual paranormal talent, the more I knew that, if I’d been in Chloe’s situation, I’d have given up and gone celibate, too.

The thing is, Chloe is a Dreamlight Reader. She manipulates energy from the ultralight end of the spectrum – the part of the paranormal spectrum that generates our dreams. She is extremely sensitive to dream energy. She literally cannot sleep in the same bed with someone who is dreaming. She cannot even sleep in a bed in which someone else has slept because dreamlight soaks into the sheets and the mattress. There’s no detergent in the world that will remove it.

Chloe has a new client, a sexy and very powerful talent who is on the run from Arcane. Jack Winters is in a race against time. He needs Chloe to save him from becoming a Cerberus, Arcane slang for a homicidal madman. Recently Jack went out for a late night walk and killed a man so he’s getting a little desperate. But he is more than a little attracted to Chloe.

Chloe’s eccentricity has complicated her relationships from the start and this is what made her such a fascinating heroine to me. At first men think she’s the perfect date – she makes no demands for long-term commitment and she’s always gone by dawn. Then they change their minds because she becomes the one woman they cannot have. It bugs them.

In the excerpt below Chloe tries to explain the peculiar facts of her private life to Jack Winters.

************************************************

“I’m probably going to regret asking this,” he said, “but what is The Talk?”

“That’s when I explain about my commitment issues,” she said. “I make it clear that any relationship I enter into is likely to be short-term and that there are no strings attached. I make sure that the other person knows that he is free to dump me on a moment’s notice without feeling any guilt.” She frowned a little. “But for some reason I’m usually the one who ends up doing the dumping.”

“You’re a real romantic, aren’t you?” he said flatly.

“I can’t afford to be a romantic, Mr. Winters. Not with my talent.”

He shot her a quick, searching look. “What does your talent have to do with it?”


“It’s hard to explain,” she said. She leaned her head against the back of the seat, folded her arms and closed her eyes. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway.”

“Why not?”

“The serial monogamy thing got old. I moved into a new phase about a year ago. I admit that I toyed with the idea of going back to serial monogamy for a time with Fletcher but I finally realized it just wouldn’t work.”

“I really know I’m going to regret asking the next question, but I can’t help myself,” he said.

“What comes after serial monogamy?”

“Celibacy.”

He felt blindsided again. “Celibacy?”

“There’s a kind of freedom in the celibate lifestyle,” she said.


“Yeah? I hadn’t heard that.”


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FIRED UP is the first book in my new Dreamlight Trilogy. Meet the men of the Burning Lamp. Welcome to the dark side of Arcane.

I wish you all a happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Jayne

When I think about this time of year, I always think of the traditions that are being passed down in the family. Things like how we go and chop down the tree together, the shopping day to pick up all the foods we will need for Christmas Eve as well as Christmas Eve itself which is filled with a combination of Italian and Cuban foods.

On my personal blog, Spinsters and Lunatics I've been doing a Christmas blog blast, including "Top 5" lists of various things, from Christmas music to Christmas foods. So I thought I'd bring that idea over here, with a million dollar twist.

Let's think about our Top Five "If I had a million dollars" Christmas wishes.

Now, here are the ground rules.

1. We know a million dollars doesn't get us as far as it used to, so you won't be able to buy your own 747 jet or anything like that. However, do use your entire million on each of the five--we're going for conspicuous consumption here.

2. Second, be relatively honest. Saying you'd give it all to charity? Unless you're Mother Theresa, nobody's buyin' that. So for our purposes, nobody is in need of charity. This is fantasy.

3. Third, this is a tax free zone and investment free zone. Don't try to figure out how much Uncle Sam would get. It's not like he's using the money wisely these days anyway. And investments and savings make for a boring blog. (I know--my first stab at this involved a lot of savings accounts and IRAs and put me right to sleep. This isn't real life, remember? In this game, we're going to pretend that we're debt free and have every basic need attended to.

4. Keep it clean. If you're going to spend it on making Gerard Butler your sex slave for a month, please don't go into any graphic details, okay?

Now, here's my top five list, in no particular order:

1. I'd travel the world for as long as the money held out. I'd love to go to the British Isles, to Australia, to all fifty United States (I've been to a few, but there are plenty I'd like to see). I'd visit a friend who lives in Zimbabwe, (because if we're dealing in fantasy, we're going to pretend it's a safe place to visit). And I'd visit the region of Patagonia, in southern Argentina, because it sounds like a fascinating place.

2. I'd buy a house or build a house with the biggest bathroom ever. I've never lived in a house with a big bathroom. Ever. I see marble floors, an enormous clawfoot tub, a separate shower, enough floor space that you could hold a cotillion there...

3. I'd take a few years off from my day job and write full time. With a million dollars, I could pay the bills while I wrote. I figure on a million, I could write full time for about ten years and still take care of my family. That would be heaven. (I know this kind of violates rule #3 I set above, but writing full time is a major wish of mine that circumstances won't allow for at the moment).

4. I'd pay for the trapping and spaying/neutering of as many stray feral cats in my area as possible. There are so many wild cats out there having kittens that either grow up to exacerbate the stray problem or end up as road kill. I've rescued numerous of these feral offspring over the years, but I'm just one person and I can't possibly keep up. So if I could put even a little dent in the feral cat population in my area, it would be a million well spent. (Does that violate rule 2 a little? I'm not sure I care. I love cats, and I really might use the money this way, if I had it).

5. I'd spend it on books, DVDs and CDs. The entire Dean Koontz collection. All of Dick Francis's books. I'd grab all of Jayne Ann Krentz's backlist I haven't read. I'd give Christina Dodd and Teresa Medeiros books a try, because they're both hilarious on Twitter. I'd buy full Seasons of my favorite shows, past and present--Scarecrow and Mrs. King, which I hear is finally coming out on DVD. All the seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street. Every Jane Austen adaptation available. All the great classic books I haven't read. (In this fantasy, we're going to pretend I have a huge house with a ginormous library and a big media room with lots of storage space).

So that's it. My million is spent, five times over. Now it's your turn. What would YOU do with a million dollars?

Comment on this blog and you could win a copy of Cowboy Alibi and a copy of Forbidden Touch.

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