I think perhaps one of the hardest things for a budding novelist to master is determining what the “through line” is and meaning of the book you are writing. In other words: what is its theme? I am not talking about the book’s “message,” though there certainly may be one by the time the story ends. Think, for a moment, about the Wizard of Oz. Sometimes there is a line in a book that states the theme loud-and clear, as when Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home!” That same theme also holds true for the film Apollo 13. At the heart of both stories is the idea that we humans long for and are hard-wired to want the safety and refuge of being in a familiar place, inhabited by the people we love. The simplest and most simplistic expression of the theme? “Home is where the heart is.” In my experience, however, I often don’t uncover the theme until I’m well into writing a new book. For instance, I was very nearly at the end of ISLAND OF THE SWANS before it dawned on me: this is a story about coping with nearly unbearable loss. My eighteenth Scottish heroine,…

Demonica #4 February 2010On Sale: February 1, 2010Featuring: Lore; Idess384 pages ISBN: 0446556823EAN: 9780446556828Mass Market Paperback$6.99 Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Ecstasy Unveiledby Larissa Ione DEMON ENSLAVEDLore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master’s assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister’s life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission. AN ANGEL TEMPTEDIdess is an earthbound angel with a wild side, sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She’s determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary-even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender. Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again-one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction. Excerpt What. The. Fuck. Lore stood like a dope, knee-deep in snow in the middle of some godforsaken forest, cradling his would-be killer to his chest and wondering how everything had gone to…