Kismet's Kiss: A Fantasy Romance (Alaia Chronicles)

Acclaim:
"The Source of Magic is one of those rare treasures that, once started, you hope will never end....A must-read and I'm anxiously awaiting the next novel in this delightful series." --The Romance Reviews

"Rowan brings the exotic, the magic and the passion." --The Pen & Muse

Overview:
When a gorgeous man clasps Jilian Stewart to his chest and yanks her from Scotland into a magical battle, she thinks it must be another of her bizarre dreams. Plagued by unnerving visions of this man, she's sure they're brought on by the stress of her mother's deadly paralysis. Instead, Jilian finds herself ensnared in a world of fantasy, treachery, and family secrets, opposing the one man who can make everything right.

Prince Alvarr, her sexy abductor, offers a cure for her dying mother, but won't send Jilian home with it until she helps him destroy the evil mage threatening his people--with mystical powers she never knew she had.

The Source of Magic is an 83,000-word novel and has won sixteen awards.

When a cursed sword slashed the god Taso, his immortality gushed into the grass along with his blood. He escaped death—barely—by transforming into stone. Centuries later, the aspiring musician Amara stumbles across the stone and inadvertently morphs Taso back into his dying body. To save him, she must sacrifice her precious lute and her life-long dream. But in return, she might find her heart's desire…

Sword and Lute is a 16,000-word novelette about the immortal twin founders of verdant Teganne and desert Kad, two rival realms divided by magic—yet bound by blood, mistrust, and love.

The Alaia Chronicles series begins with the historical fantasy short story SWORDS AND SCIMITARS and continues in the fantasy romance novels THE SOURCE OF MAGIC and KISMET'S KISS. Cate Rowan's stories have won more than thirty awards.

STORY SNIPPET:

"Lie down," she said. "You lost too much blood."

He gave her a mulish look.

She hastened over, put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him down to the earth. A mistake, because once he was down, he captured her wrist in his warm palm.

"Who are you, maiden fair?"

She shrugged, striving to keep her face composed. "You first. You're the interesting one."

"I wouldn't say that." His fingers softened their grip and caressed her skin. "Not at all."

She gave a noncommittal smile, tugged her hand from his, and stepped away to tend the fire.

"My name is Taso," he said at last into the silence. "And what is yours, milady?"

Her teeth clamped over her name, and then she flushed. Why should she keep it from him? It was simply a word.

But each piece he knew of her was leading to someplace larger. Deeper. Perilous.

"I'm Amara." She sprinkled a few grains of precious salt over the meat and didn't turn around.

"Amara," he repeated, as if he liked the sound of it. Hells, she liked the sound of it when he said it in that mellow voice.

"This will need to cook a while, but I'm sure you're hungry," she said briskly, and knelt to rummage in her pack for the bread and cheese.

"Amara," he spoke again, stopping her as easily as if he'd bespelled her. "Thank you. For your help. For your kindness to a stranger."

She looked at him at last, and shivered. "Did I truly break a spell?"

"You did."

"Why? How?" She rose and took a step closer to him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Taso." He smiled, teasing her as firelight danced across his face.

She held still. "Are you a god?"

His chest rose with a long breath and he rolled his gaze up to the star-dusted sky. "I'm not sure."

Twin sisters are born in Medieval England. One of the infants is dying and is taken to the Witch of Devonshire, who uses supernatural powers to transport the ailing babe to the future. It is the year 1986 when Cathy Hayes, a woman who has lost her child and husband in a car accident, finds the baby at her doorstep, gets her the medical attention she needs and raises the baby as her own. Morgan grows up in the twentieth century with a mysterious attraction to a hollow suit of armor that stands in the window of her mother's antique store.

Morgan is twenty four years old when she becomes entangled within the armor's metal plates and is whisked back in time where she is mistaken for Amanda Forrester, a twin sister she knows nothing about. In Amanda's place, Morgan is forced to marry King Henry's favored knight, Derek Vanguard, Lord of Braddock Hall. Abandoned by his mother and having failed as a child to gain his father's love, Derek's heart is as cold as the stone walls of his castle.

In the end, Morgan discovers the true power of love and for the first time in her life she knows where she belongs.

After 19 years of rejection, Theresa Ragan self-published in 2011 and has sold over 300,000 books in a little over a year. She recently signed her first publishing contract. Other books by Theresa include A Knight in Central Park, Taming Mad Max, Finding Kate Huntley and Having My Baby.

 

The year is 1499. As Alexandra Dunn's farmhouse is set ablaze, her grandfather places precious stones in her palm, telling her she has until the next full moon to return with a hero...a brave, chivalrous knight to help save her family. Familiar objects become a blur as she is swallowed in darkness. Suddenly Alexandra is standing in the middle of Central Park, but she has no time to ponder on the wondrous powers of the stones or the amazing sights before her...she must find a hero before all is lost.

Joe McFarland would be the first to admit that he's far from hero material...definitely not the man she's looking for. A firm believer of quietude and non-violence, he avoids conflict at all costs. At thirty-four, he is one of the younger Professors at NYU where he lectures and teaches History: The High Middle Ages. Joe's main goal in life is to gain membership into the Medieval Academy, a highly distinguished group of archaeologists and historians. He believes membership will bring him respect and recognition...but what he really wants is to be reunited with his father; a man who has spent his entire life searching for the Black Knight, the last of the medieval knights.

Joe's organized, well-structured life begins to unravel the moment he meets Alexandra Dunn. He figures she majored in medieval history before going off the deep end...until days later when he is miraculously transported through time, to 1499 England. Dressed in Dockers and a button down shirt, Joe thought he was ready for anything...anything but this! An armored man with a very authentic looking broadsword is about to strike him down. With only nail clippers and a Bic to defend himself, Joe has no time to think about such an implausible phenomenon as traveling through time...not if he wants to live to see another day.
 

A marriage in name only...

To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner, Alexa Maria McKenzie, casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend’s older brother—the powerful man who once shattered her heart. Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn’t believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his uncle’s corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister’s childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he’s offers Alexa a bold proposition.