Excerpted from The Dark King, by Gina L. Maxwell. Entangled Publishing, 2022. Reprinted with permission.   As she emerges from the pool, she wrings the water out of her long hair, then fluffs and separates the strands so they fall in damp pieces around her shoulders. My eyes stay pinned to her as she walks to me and takes a seat on the next lounge chair over. She stays facing me but leans back on her hands and extends her long legs into the space between us. It’s not done in an overtly seductive way—her demeanor is casual, like it’s simply a comfortable position for her to be in—but it makes me want to devour her from her pink-painted toes to her pretty pink mouth. Looking back out over the pool, I say, “You should wear swimsuits with a little more suit to them.” “I packed two for a two-day trip, and if you’ll remember, I was forced to wear the other one as pajamas. I’ll admit I bought this as more of a dare to myself and didn’t really plan on wearing it, but beggars, choosers, yada-yada.” She glances down at herself, then raises her gaze again to aim…

T: Trouble – Caiden is in trouble when a blood curse is activated that could mean his death unless he keeps his new, accidental bride close at all times H: Human – Bryn is a human who stumbles into the world of the Dark Fae, a race she never knew existed E: Exclusive – Bryn, a Wisconsin girl who just lost her job, gets an offer in the mail for an all-expenses paid trip to a VERY exclusive hotel and casino…sounds totally legit, what could go wrong?   D: Dominant – the role Caiden has in multiple areas of his life, but none more exciting than in the bedroom A: Assassination – several attempts are made on Bryn’s life, but the question is why and who’s behind it R: Rhiannon – the Celtic Moon Goddess who the Dark Fae worship as their main deity K: Kidnapped – Bryn flew to Vegas for a quick weekend trip until she accidentally married a powerful, sexy billionaire who ends up kidnapping her and says she won’t be leaving anytime soon   K: King – Caiden is considered a “king” of Vegas, but he’s also the king of the Dark Fae of the Night…

A question that writers get asked a lot is about where we get our inspiration. When making up dozens of in-depth stories doesn’t come naturally to someone, it’s hard for them to fathom how we can possibly come up with so many characters and plots and details. This is no different from my inability to fathom how song writers can create dozens of new melodies and lyrics and hear it all in their head before they ever get it down on paper. The obvious answer is that we’re really good at playing make-believe and weaving it seamlessly with details from our life experiences and people we’ve met. As kids, we were the ones instructing our friends on what we expected from them in our imaginary worlds. We offered backstories and character motivations as though directing a Metro Goldwyn Meyer film and not simply running around in our backyard. Future writer: …and then the bad guy comes in and tries to capture you, but I fly in on my gigantic eagle who picks you up with his feet and we escape. Future accountant: But the eagle’s claws would poke me and kill me! FW: No they wouldn’t, because my eagle was…