Time Hop
With Magenta Starling, I wanted to explore alternate universes and going back in time. Imagine a place that exists alongside our world, but time has slowed so that we’re in the 2000s and they’re still in the 1800s. I was on my historical kick when writing it and planned to write the whole thing set in Thradmos, the other realm, but my characters also wanted to be modern. That was cool. I combined the two so the characters, when visiting Thradmos, could be modern while they were there, if they wanted to. Also, the people of Thradmos, although they dress in old clothing, don’t take much notice if someone arrives in 2000s outfits because they’re well aware that the modern world exists.
Thradmos is home to demons and all sorts of paranormal things, and each demon has to find their true love. They may have to wait centuries to do so, and many visits to our world may be needed for them to claim the one meant for them. Dion, our demon, is hundreds of years old and has been searching for Morgan for what feels like forever. He finds Morgan on her boat, where she runs a massage business. She prefers to keep to herself on the waves, having been through a disastrous relationship, and wishes Dion would notice her for more than a massage therapist. The problem is, she hasn’t got the courage to put herself out there and admit she has feelings for him. Dion solves that by doing all the running himself. Yippee!
Morgan notices Dion’s not your ordinary man when he does something no human could do, and she questions whether she’s developed a wild imagination. But when she experiences weird things, Dion explains exactly who he is and where he comes from. Of course, she’s astounded. It’s a fairy tale””people can’t be demons, can they?””but it isn’t long before she believes him totally, especially once he’s taken her to Thradmos.
I loved being in Thradmos. Okay, it was only in my head, but I stepped into a place right along with Morgan and viewed it for the first time. However, there are dark sides to every world, and in Thradmos the darkness is in the form of Jistin, a woman who cursed Dion when he was a child. She’s a nasty piece of work, and I enjoyed writing her parts immensely. One of the perks of being a writer is that horrible people can be dealt with and justice can be served. I adored sorting her out, I can tell you!
Morgan and Dion hold a special place in my heart. There’s something about them that has lingered in my mind since writing their story. I can still see them on her boat, in the cave that links the worlds, and when Morgan dresses in 1800s clothing once she’s in Thradmos. And the woman in the caf锦she’s adorable and maybe one day I’ll write her story. Oh, and Owain’s. He made me cry!
Alternate universes continue to fascinate me, so perhaps I should dip my toe into that pool again. Hmm. Yes, I think I will!
Excerpt from Magenta Starling:
They walked the length of the pier in silence, Morgan just happy to be in Dion’s company. On the beach, cool, wet sand wedged between her toes. She’d forgotten how good it felt. Months at a time spent on her boat denied her the small pleasures in life, but she had needed time to heal. The pain of Lionel’s treatment no longer stung, and she looked back on her time with him as one of the lessons Dion had spoken of. If she hadn’t experienced an unsettling relationship, she wouldn’t have appreciated the emotions that soared through her while with Dion.
He led her toward the palms, a light breeze ruffling the greenery, and she sighed, smiling. She held her sandals by the straps and they bumped against her thigh. The sudden urge to throw them down took hold of her, but she had no idea if she would need to wear them later.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Dion’s upper arm grazed her breast, and she stifled a gasp.
“To a special place. One where I feel at home. I want to show you, have you in my life, my world.” He turned to look at her. “If you will have me.”
She stared up at him while they walked, blindly allowing him to guide her. If I’ll have him“¦ The past hour had changed so much, yet it felt as though she had been with him longer. Time had slowed, each second seemingly turning into an hour, and she pondered whether insanity had embraced her.
I’ve thought about him for months. Serviced his needs. Wanted him so badly. And now it seems he feels the same way. I can’t”¦can’t take it all in, this strange feeling of being suspended, of our meeting this evening being so“”
“Right?” Dion asked.
That one word jolted through Morgan and goosebumps popped out on her arms. “How did you”¦?”
“You will understand soon. First I want to be alone with you, and then, if you are willing, I want you to go somewhere with me.” He shook his head to free a lock of blond hair latched to his brow. “But I need to explain some things before we go, in case”¦you do not want to come.”
I’ll go anywhere with you.
“That is good to know, Morgan.”
Startled that he’d read her thoughts again, she struggled to comprehend such a phenomenon. Surely he can’t”¦no, it isn’t possible.
“I can, and it is.”
Morgan jerked away from him, common sense overtaking the fuzzy state she’d been in since she’d looked into his eyes on her boat and seen”¦those images. She stood still, dug her toes into the sand and stared at him.
He looks like he always has. Did he slip drugs in my wine?
Dion shook his head. “No, my lady, I did not.” He moved to touch her arm.
Morgan took a step back, bewildered, but the magnetic pull he possessed gripped her again and the fear inside her seeped away. She blinked, fought to comprehend what the hell was happening to her and came up short. Did it matter that he knew her like this? She focused on the sand, on the sound of the waves lapping the pier, the beach.
It’s not as if he’s from another planet. Jeez, woman, get a grip.
“Not another planet, no.”
Instead of terror, curiosity nipped at her. She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. Intense emotion smacked into her, thumped inside her chest, down into her stomach and lower still”¦
“What”¦are you?” It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what you are.
“If that is the case, I will tell you all about me,” he said. “Soon.”
About Natalie Dae:
Natalie Dae is a multi-published author in three pen names writing in several genres. Natalie writes mainly BDSM erotica. She loves a Dom/sub 
relationship and is fascinated by how it all works. The trust issue is the best thing about it for her, so creating characters who have to adopt trust is one of her priorities. “Watching my characters bloom under tuition is such a treat,” she says. “I find it such a privilege to be able to write about something that makes me learn something new with every book.”
She lives with her husband and youngest daughter in England and spends her spare time reading””always reading!””and her phone, complete with Kindle app, is never far away. “I can’t imagine not reading or writing,” she says. “It’s a part of who I am. Without it I’d be more than a bit lost.”
Natalie has many more BDSM tales swimming around in her head, so her workload for the future is very full. “What better way to spend a weekend than writing?” she says. “Saturdays are my main writing days, so I get up, open up a work in progress and rarely leave the desk. Unless I really have to!”
She writes at weekends and is a cover artist/head of art in her day job. In another life she was an editor. Her other pen names are Geraldine O’Hara and Sarah Masters. Natalie also co-authors as Sarah Masters with Jaime Samms, and she co-authors with Lily Harlem under the name Harlem Dae.
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