The Trickster’s Lover

Hello and welcome to the Faerie Tales and Fantasies chat!

My novel, The Trickster’s Lover, is a contemporary paranormal romance with Loki, the Norse god of fire and lies, and Caroline, a graduate student studying mythology at the University of Chicago.

I have a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago, where I studied mythology (but sadly did not meet Loki). I had quite a bit of fun writing my alma mater into this story. The U. of C. is an interesting place, if not exactly a fun place, and it’s almost a character in its own right.

The Trickster’s Lover is my first novel. This is a different kind of romance in several ways.  First, it’s told entirely in first person, from Caroline’s perspective, which makes Loki even more mysterious. And it’s a very big story. At its heart, of course, The Trickster’s Lover is a romance – but it’s also a story about setting out on your own, forging an identity, and stopping the apocalypse. Finally, Loki is not exactly the traditional romantic hero – as you might expect with the god of lies!

I’d love to answer any and all questions about the novel, my writing process, Norse mythology… or anything!

Here’s the summary and an excerpt from The Trickster’s Lover.

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Surviving Graduate School ~ Falling in Love ~ Preventing Ragnarök

Graduate student Caroline Capello has always been more comfortable with books than people. She’s just moved to the University of Chicago to become the world’s foremost authority on Norse mythology, making her the only member of her family to leave San Diego, and the family business.

But she’s wondering if she’s just made the biggest mistake of her life.

When the enigmatic and irresistibly sexy Norse god Loki appears in her studio apartment, Caroline is forced to question everything she’s learned.

Do the gods exist? Are the legends about Ragnarök, the apocalyptic battle that destroys the gods and ends the Nine Realms, actually true?

Or is she losing her mind?

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Excerpt (Caroline is in her apartment, translating an ancient Norse text into English)

I told myself I’d only work until midnight. When midnight came I made another cup of tea and said I would only work until one in the morning. Now the clock above my tiny half-oven blinked quarter to two, and I ignored it.

“Girnud,” I muttered to myself, trying out the words. I rolled them on my tongue, imagining Viking ships and longhouses, woodsmoke, the spray of salt from the ocean.

“Girnud, löngun.”

And then I was no longer alone in my apartment.

There was, perhaps, a crackle of electricity in the air, a quick gust of cold on the back of my neck, like a melting snowflake.

I looked up from the table. There was a very tall man standing in the middle of my apartment. I stood and stumbled backward, bumping awkwardly against the wall. Our eyes met, and my breath caught in my throat. He was unreasonably attractive.

“Uh, hi?” I stammered, staring at his full lips and long, fiery red hair.

He smiled, and my heart surged. Damn, what a smile. I fought the insane urge to smile back and tore my eyes off him, glancing at the door to my apartment. It was still closed, bolted, with the chain drawn. How did…?

I turned back to him, and he moved a step closer. He wore strange clothes; they looked like leather, black with streaks of gold and red, with an enormous cloak rippling behind him. His fingers were delicate, and his ice-blue eyes seemed to be laughing. He bent toward me, so close our lips were almost touching. So close I could smell him. Woodsmoke. Salt spray. Cold, and leather.

“Hello,” he whispered, his breath warm on my neck.

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If you’d like to read more, you can find The Trickster’s Lover on Amazon.

You can also check out my blog or follow me on Facebook and Twitter.