Author: Liza

Writer of romantic fiction and all-around awesome person!

An Ode to Legacies

On By LizaIn author life, film review, paranormal romance, shapeshifter romance, stuff I loveLeave a comment

Legacies was one of those shows that I added to my Netflix queue and ignored for several weeks. One afternoon during my lunch break, I decided I was tired of scrolling past it. Just a few minutes I would watch, and then, I hoped, I wouldn’t like it and could remove it from the queue.

Nope. I was hooked. I didn’t binge the entire season in two days or anything, but it obsessed me for the better part of two weeks, when I looked forward to every lunch break so I could watch an episode. Or sometimes an episode and a half. Or maybe a little more if I was feeling super self-indulgent.

Here’s what I loved about it:

There’s a magical academy!

As a fan of Harry Potter, I was stoked to see all the magic stuff, and all these students with powers. Seeing the school, having everyone there together to learn and develop their magic and control their powers, kept me riveted.

High school and teenager drama.

I thought I would hate it, but it sucked me right in. People get mad at each other, there’s all this lust and angst, and it’s just fun because it’s so far removed from what I’m experiencing now in my late thirties.

Cool abilities.

Witches, vampires, and werewolves all have their own unique subcultures within the school, and I thought it was awesome.

Tragic and fascinating backstories.

So I came to Legacies before watching The Vampire Diaries or The Originals, and I didn’t realize they were connected until partway through this first season of Legacies. Probably I missed some things, but it didn’t bother me very much. What I loved was that there was more to these characters than what I was being shown. Things were hinted and teased. You can bet I went straight from this to The Originals.

Friendship, forgiveness, sacrifice.

Yes, the angsty teenage drama might make it seem superficial or bring the stories into melodrama, but I was totally into it because of the larger (and yeah, glaringly obvious) themes of friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice. There’s a lot to unpack with such a huge ensemble cast, with betrayals as well as petty grievances, and then the arcs of reconciliation as well.

Season 2

This is already airing on the CW, but I have to wait for Netflix. I’m so looking forward to it!

Recent Reads

On By LizaIn author life, paranormal romance, reading, romanceLeave a comment

The past couple of months have blessed me with good books! They’re listed in the text below in case images don’t work for you.

Liza's Recent Reads November 2019

You can view each of these as a recommendation–I enjoyed them all!

1. Prime Minister, by Ainsley Booth and Sadie Haller. Contemporary romance. This was a re-read.

2. Wings of Time and Fate, by Skye MacKinnon. YA fantasy.

3. Smut, by Karina Halle. Contemporary romance. This was a re-read.

4. The Vampire Diaries, Book 1: The Awakening, by LJ Smith. YA paranormal romance. This was also a re-read.

5. Wicked Fall, by Sawyer Bennett. Contemporary romance.

Our Favorite Tropes

On By LizaIn paranormal romance, reading, romance, shapeshifter romance, stuff I love2 Comments

One of the greatest things about the romance genre (other than the swoony feels, the witty banter, the steamy sexytimes, and the happily-ever-afters) is the vast number of tropes we get to enjoy. With everything from enemies-to-lovers, to secret babies, to May-December romances, and more, there is something for everyone!

our favorite romance tropes

I recently polled the people who receive my newsletter to find out their favorites, and they could pick as many as they wanted. Here are the results!

*Note: results are slightly skewed because about 8 people took the survey before someone clued me in that I’d accidentally made it a “choose one” form instead of a “check off as many as you like” form. Oops!

  • 55.3% – protector/bodyguard
  • 50.6% – enemies to lovers
  • 47.1% – friends to lovers
  • 44.7% – second chance
  • 44.7% – close proximity (trapped, snowed in)
  • 37.6% – secret baby
  • 37.6% – forbidden love
  • 32.9% – fake relationship
  • 28.2% – marriage of convenience
  • 23.5% – May December (with one person specifying they especially like when the heroine is the December and the hero is the May)

WRITE-INS – These are the ones I didn’t include in the survey, which people helpfully added for me:

  • best friend’s sibling/sibling’s best friend
  • reverse harem (3 people specifically mentioned this one)
  • military men
  • slavery turns to romance
  • fated mates
  • mainly shifter stories (2 people specifically mentioned shifters)
  • doctor/patient, teacher/student (anything with a professional role and a person they’re supposed to serve/interact with professionally)
  • time travel

In case you’re curious, my favorites are second-chance and friends-to-lovers. I love it when there’s an existing connection between the hero and heroine because I like mining those backstories.

And obviously I love shifters, and reverse harem as well!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the poll! ❤

Ruthless Rogue – Coming Soon!

On By LizaIn Fierce Mates, paranormal romance, Rock Creek Clan, shapeshifter romanceLeave a comment

Four weeks until Ian’s book is available! I can’t wait. This bear shifter is all rogue on the outside, and all squishy teddy bear on the inside. When I started writing, I had no idea he’d be so sweet and tender, and I fell in love with this character!

rcc4 teaser 1 FB

Sleep didn’t come. He was listening so intently, he though he imagined the soft knock on his door.

He jumped up. The sheets tangled around one of his legs and he nearly fell on his face. But he caught himself just in time, disentangled his foot, and rushed to the door. He pulled it open, and there she stood, tears tracking down her cheeks.

“Babe,” he said, tugging her forward.

Her arms wrapped around him and he held her tight.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I want to stay with you,” she said.

Somehow, he got the distinct impression that it had been incredibly difficult for her to say those words. He maneuvered half out of their hug so he could bend and reach around the backs of her knees, then he carried her into the cabin like she was his bride.

By the time he slammed the door shut with his foot, her tears had stopped.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked her.

“Not really.”

He brought her into the bedroom and laid her down on his bed. Their bed, if she would stay with him. He didn’t have much to offer, and likely she was used to a nice house or apartment in town. But if she would agree to be with him, he’d do whatever it took to make her happy here.

Climbing into bed after her, he tucked the blankets around them and pulled her close. She wasn’t crying anymore, so that was a good sign.

His dick was happy to be so close to her, but he willed it down. In his experience, women didn’t cry because they wanted sex.

Eventually, her breathing evened out, and her heart rate, and he contented himself with holding her close. This was all he needed—to be close to his mate.

Pre-order your copy now so you get the release price!

 

Soundtrack for Savage Penance

On By LizaIn Corona Pride, Fierce Mates, paranormal romance, romance, shapeshifter romance, soundtrackLeave a comment

Finding music for Doug and Gwyn’s book was a blast–these two had such chemistry!

Here’s a link to the playlist on YouTube, and below you’ll find the list of songs. ❤

1. “I Did Something Bad” (Taylor Swift cover), Shoshana Bean and Cynthia Erivo

2. “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo,” Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

3. “The Devil You Know,” X Ambassadors

4. “Bad Things,” Rayland Baxter

5. “I Put a Spell On You,” Creedence Clearwater Revival

6. “Bittersweet Symphony,” The Verve