Myths, Legends and Detective Stories

Nearly every culture – from the Mayans to the folk of the British Isles to the Orient – has tales of dragons or dragon-like creatures. Nearly every culture has tales of elves, elf-like beings, fairies ....

From Western Europe to Japan and China, you find stories of shape-shifters – were-wolves, were-cats, were-foxes and badgers. Vampire legends crop up around the world. Nearly every culture boasts tales of gods who mated with humans (or other creatures) to create monsters.

So … Assume these creatures are real. That the stories about them contain a germ of truth that's been passed down from our human ancestors who, in fact, encountered such beings.

That's the foundation of my Portals fantasy/detective series. In my world – which, in fact, is our own in a not-too-distant future – these beings exist on a world that's a magical analog of our own, separated from our world by gateways (the Portals). The gates once were open, but have been closed for centuries …

Until now – when the gates have re-opened, and these creatures once more have access to our world.

That's where the detective part comes in. Because I'm intrigued by the concept of magic-wielding beings coming into our world and …

Using their magic to commit crimes.

What defenses would we have against a wizard – or an elf or a dragon – that uses his/her/its magical abilities to murder someone – and to evade pursuit by simply … disappearing – or escaping back to the magical realms across the Portals? Legends abound of Fae who can alter their appearance, appearing older, younger, taller, shorter – even change their gender.

I love blending myth and folklore with modern-day police procedural. The main characters in my series are Kat Morales – a very human police detective – and her partner, Tevis – an elf. I love the discoveries they can make from each other. I love bringing ancient magic into our modern world – and giving it a twist.

Those are the ideas I play with, beginning in Shadow Path, first book in the series. I hope you have as much fun reading as I've had in the writing.


The letter for entry into the Grand Prize Giveaway is U. 

P.L. Blair is also offering an eCopy of Shadow Path to one lucky winner who comments below. The draw will be held on April 8th, 2012. 

Shadow Path
By P.L. Blair
Magic and crime. Agatha Christie meets J.R.R. Tolkien.

An Ogre murdered with a rune-inscribed sword is just the beginning as Kat Morales, a very human police detective in Corpus Christi, Texas, and her Elf partner Tevis MacLeod follow a blood trail that leads to Pixies, necromancy and Magic of the Blackest kind … to its climax in a stronghold Between worlds, where Tevis must duel spell for spell with a former lover who wants to see her old flame extinguished permanently.

Shadow Path placed third in the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Awards (YA Category) in January 2012.

Excerpt 

Ogres looked – and smelled – bad enough in life. Death magnified those uncharming qualities, especially the smell, something like a cross between rotting fish and open sewer. Kat found herself swallowing again and again against the urge of her stomach to empty itself.

If she'd seen this coming, she would've skipped breakfast.

Tevis, kneeling beside the body, seemed unfazed. With his short-cropped blond hair, wearing a pale gray summer-casual suit (white shirt, no tie), he could have passed for one of the young attorneys who worked in the law offices that lined the surrounding streets. Except, of course, for the pointed ears that marked him as an Elf – Aalfar, as he called himself and his people – and the white, department-issued rubber gloves similar to those Kat wore.

“Almost done?” he asked in his strange accent that was slightly Scottish and slightly … something else.

“Almost,” Kat said. Sense of duty overcame revulsion, and she raised the digicam and took two more shots, slightly different views, of the corpse. The Ogre lay face-down on the street just at the edge of the alley, its head twisted to one side. The one eye she could see was open. She slowly surveyed the kill site: North Carancahua Street, midway between Antelope and Leopard, just a few blocks from the Nueces County Courthouse Complex. The killer had nerve.

Caressed by Night
By Amanda J. Greene

Dimitri Arsov, the last remaining pure vampire, was thought to be dead for the past four hundred years. Now, he is back and has a score to settle with the traitor that had tried to kill him centuries ago. But as he waits for his prey to blindly step into his carefully laid trap, his overwhelming hunger for blood is triggered when he saves a beautiful art historian.

Kerstyn Ingmar’s life was normal and straight up boring until the night she is rescued by the dangerously sexy, powerfully mesmerizing, Dimitri. Unable to resist his diamond blue eyes and intense kisses, she is drawn into his world of darkness and closer to her impending doom.

While their desire consumes them, Dimitri is haunted by images of a bloody and deadly future. As his enemies draw near, he must find a way to save his mate from her destiny before fate destroys them both.

About the Author

Amanda J. Greene is an erotic paranormal romance author. When she is not writing, she can be found playing the role of a full time university student, who works part time.

She lives in Southern California with her very supportive, military husband and their sweet cocker spaniel.

Amanda can be found online at the following places:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-J-Greene/162646687109294
Twitter: http://twitter.com/amandajgreene1
Google +: https://plus.google.com/117800803105791003658#117800803105791003658/posts
Website: http://www.amandajgreene.com/