Do you remember when traveling was easy, that time before COVID? I remember it. One could plan a trip and go just about anywhere one pleased, funds allowing. This year, I have resigned myself to read more during the summer, but I have also found that I put more distant locales in my own books.

A trip that really influenced me was the one I took to Beijing several years back. I remember the smell — not a pleasant smell, a bit like sewage — and I remember the way the smog made the sun look as it went down, redder, pretty in a way. The city has a different color as well, and a totally different feel. It’s touristy and Western, but it’s also an old place, and it shows.

I tried to capture some of that when I wrote A Strange Desire, the most recent book in the Fairview Chronicles. The book is a fast-paced trip through Beijing and a few of her sights. There is food too, because discovering new foods is one of the best things about traveling.

There are also creatures of course, because the Fairview Chronicles are colorful like that, and I wouldn’t want to bore my readers. But there’s a glossary. It sounds dull, I know, but give it a read. Maybe I’ll change your mind about glossaries.

A Strange Desire isn’t quite here yet. If we were getting on an actual plane, we’d just about start the boarding, meaning you can preorder your copy now, and once we have arrived at our destination in time, August 21, you can dive right in, no passport required.

So join me. I know it’s not the kind of trip many of us were hoping for, but books are worlds of their own. I invite you to step into mine.

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Author Bio:

Alexa Piper writes steamy romance that ranges from light to dark, from straight to queer. She’s also a coffee addict. She loves writing series, and her Fairview Chronicles follow a ragtag gang of supernaturals who try to make their city safer. Mostly. Her second series, Dusk & Dawn, explores banter and the trappings of a world in which Vampires, Werewolves, and the Fae live alongside humans. Connect with Alexa on Facebook or follow her on Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter!