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The Matchmaker's Mark came
primarily because I needed a break from the darker Shadows of Justice
novels. I love my 2096 Chicago and the characters in that series are
like family, but it can get a little tiring unraveling evil plots day
in and day out. So I gave both the 2096 cast and myself a little
breather. And secondly, my pals at the local retired greyhound group
were encouraging me to get a greyhound into one of my novels. It
happened a bit differently than I expected, but it was tons of fun.
Of course, being me, there had to be a
paranormal element too, but it has a lighthearted fun feel in this
series. Here's the quick overview:
When you're 'more' than human, finding
your soulmate isn't as easy as answering a few questions online. It's
best to track down Campbell Consulting, a.k.a. the Matchmaker.
In Charleston, South Carolina half-elf
Lily has a birthmark her elders vow is a mystical promise of true
love. So far she's yet to encounter Mr. Right in either the elf or
human realms.
Dare, a wood elf, has led the
Matchmaker's security team for years. In town on a simple errand,
when the Matchmaker disappears his future is turned inside out.
And Amy Campbell is a completely human
English professor about to discover the true magic of the family
business...
Amy’s ears buzzed as ghostly
fingertips brushed her own in an ethereal touch totally absent of
heat. In that odd connection, she spoke with images more than words,
so the two long-parted lovers could be united at last. An immense
love buoyed her heart as the tiniest bit of relief rippled out of her
like a pebble dropped in a pond.
"Godspeed," she whispered
into the peaceful stillness in the air.
Dare felt something too. Something
closer to rage than peace, but he couldn't put it into words. The
warmth and comfort he'd enjoyed in this churchyard had turned to cold
ash. She'd endangered herself, endangered an entire balancing force
of the non-human realms. For what? A ghost?
"What was that?" he demanded,
his brutal voice shattering the quiet around her.
"Helping." Amy sighed and
turned, snapping her fingers for the greyhound's attention. Her
expression: part satisfaction, part serenity, and all wistful, took
the leading edge off his anger.
"You can't help all of them. It's
best to stick with the ones still living. She had a place here."
"The wrong place. She and her
husband were an odd, but perfect match. She came South with him, to a
life as foreign to her as another country. He left, had to leave her
for some business.
"They died on the same day,
Dare! I'm not sure how I know, but they were so close, so perfect
together. They were two halves of one whole that neither could live –
literally – without the other. Here, alone, she was heartbroken. I
could fix that."
"They had their chance in life."
"So they don't deserve a blissful
eternity in death? His body has never been returned here to the
family plot. I know that much from the tour guides. But as the
'Matchmaker'," she used air quotes on the word, "I felt him
pining for her too. "I could fix it, Dare," she repeated,
winding down. "They were the perfect love match. Isn't that what
being the Matchmaker's all about?
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