For this post of Friday Friends, I'd like to introduce you to Margo Aleckson, the heroine in Magical Currents, a paranormal romance by Karen Elaine. Margo appears in the second book in the Mythical Warriors series.
We're going to ask her some questions.
Where do you live and why?
Hello, and thank you for having me here today! I live in beautiful Morro Bay along the coast of California. I saw a sweet little cafe space for lease while I was visiting the area and it provided me the perfect opportunity to begin my new life after my divorce.
What is your profession? Do you enjoy it?
I have a degree in Chemistry and spent several years as a high school chemistry teacher before moving here. I loved teaching and working with my students. Baking, which overlaps with chemistry in many ways, has always been a passion of mine, and creating this breakfast cafe, funneling all my energy and devotion into something I love has been a wonderful gift. Building up my business for The Generous Cup went a long way to helping me heal after my disastrous marriage.
How would others describe you? Are they accurate?
Around here, I am mostly known for my cinnamon rolls and pastries. But my friend Sue, who runs Gray Rock Bed and Breakfast, called me adaptable the other day. Graeme frequently refers to me as stubborn. I am happy to own up to those descriptions.
When you met Graeme Stone, was it love at first sight?
He definitely stirred my interest the first time he came into The Generous Cup for breakfast. He spent an hour or more after he finished eating, just drinking pots of tea and writing in one of the leather notebooks he always seems to carry. It wasn’t just his good looks and wild brown hair that caught my attention. Graeme is a very intense person. Every time he turned those incredible blue-gray eyes on me, my brain just sort of froze. All I could see or think about was him, no matter how busy the cafe was. And that was before I knew he was a wizard. After what happened during my marriage, it took me some time to really trust Graeme. But once I did, falling in love with him came soon after.
Was it love at first sight for him?
Not quite. He tells me he found me fascinating and attractive. But the first time our hands brushed, there was a spark, for both of us. He told me it was a gift from his father’s side of the family. A way to recognize the woman he could find happiness with. That was all it took for him to go home and get a move on with the home repairs he’d been neglecting! I maintain he fell in love with my baked goods first.
What do you like most about Graeme?
Graeme is a very genuine man. There’s no pretense with him. He is kind and gentle and caring. He risks his life to help weres, and most weres would just assume kill him on sight. He has the biggest heart I have ever known.
What does he like most about you?
You will have to ask him, but I know he has a serious desire for my cinnamon rolls.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
When you are married to a wizard, travel takes on a whole new meaning! He sets up links between two mirrors and off we go! We pop back and forth to Scotland to visit with his mother and go to his favorite pub all the time. We have talked about taking a kayak vacation through the Galapagos Islands, so I think that’s the answer I will go with.
What's one thing you learned from you own personal love story?
The importance of accepting people for who they are and being willing to fight for those you love. Becoming involved with Graeme and his world overwhelmed me, at first. My entire perspective had to shift. But it didn’t change who I was or who had to be. It just helped me to grow into a stronger version of me. I know it will help me be a better parent when our child is born.
Thank you, Margo! We've enjoyed getting to know more about you. What a cool way to travel! You are so lucky!
We're going to ask her some questions.
Where do you live and why?
Hello, and thank you for having me here today! I live in beautiful Morro Bay along the coast of California. I saw a sweet little cafe space for lease while I was visiting the area and it provided me the perfect opportunity to begin my new life after my divorce.
What is your profession? Do you enjoy it?
I have a degree in Chemistry and spent several years as a high school chemistry teacher before moving here. I loved teaching and working with my students. Baking, which overlaps with chemistry in many ways, has always been a passion of mine, and creating this breakfast cafe, funneling all my energy and devotion into something I love has been a wonderful gift. Building up my business for The Generous Cup went a long way to helping me heal after my disastrous marriage.
How would others describe you? Are they accurate?
Around here, I am mostly known for my cinnamon rolls and pastries. But my friend Sue, who runs Gray Rock Bed and Breakfast, called me adaptable the other day. Graeme frequently refers to me as stubborn. I am happy to own up to those descriptions.
When you met Graeme Stone, was it love at first sight?
He definitely stirred my interest the first time he came into The Generous Cup for breakfast. He spent an hour or more after he finished eating, just drinking pots of tea and writing in one of the leather notebooks he always seems to carry. It wasn’t just his good looks and wild brown hair that caught my attention. Graeme is a very intense person. Every time he turned those incredible blue-gray eyes on me, my brain just sort of froze. All I could see or think about was him, no matter how busy the cafe was. And that was before I knew he was a wizard. After what happened during my marriage, it took me some time to really trust Graeme. But once I did, falling in love with him came soon after.
Was it love at first sight for him?
Not quite. He tells me he found me fascinating and attractive. But the first time our hands brushed, there was a spark, for both of us. He told me it was a gift from his father’s side of the family. A way to recognize the woman he could find happiness with. That was all it took for him to go home and get a move on with the home repairs he’d been neglecting! I maintain he fell in love with my baked goods first.
What do you like most about Graeme?
Graeme is a very genuine man. There’s no pretense with him. He is kind and gentle and caring. He risks his life to help weres, and most weres would just assume kill him on sight. He has the biggest heart I have ever known.
What does he like most about you?
You will have to ask him, but I know he has a serious desire for my cinnamon rolls.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
When you are married to a wizard, travel takes on a whole new meaning! He sets up links between two mirrors and off we go! We pop back and forth to Scotland to visit with his mother and go to his favorite pub all the time. We have talked about taking a kayak vacation through the Galapagos Islands, so I think that’s the answer I will go with.
What's one thing you learned from you own personal love story?
The importance of accepting people for who they are and being willing to fight for those you love. Becoming involved with Graeme and his world overwhelmed me, at first. My entire perspective had to shift. But it didn’t change who I was or who had to be. It just helped me to grow into a stronger version of me. I know it will help me be a better parent when our child is born.
Thank you, Margo! We've enjoyed getting to know more about you. What a cool way to travel! You are so lucky!
Magical Currents
Mythical Warriors Series, Book 2
Paranormal Romance
While hurrying home to beat a storm, Margo Aleckson is attacked by a man who becomes a bear before her eyes. She is rescued by Graeme Stone, a frequent customer to her café, and weregriffins Tobin and Riley Saint-James. As a former high school chemistry teacher, she struggles to find rational explanations for the wonders of this world of magic and alchemy that has suddenly been thrust upon her. The quiet man who lives in the lighthouse has turned out to be a bit more complex than she’d ever imagined.
Graeme is a powerful sorcerer who has discovered something is causing young shifters to attack and kill the potential-mates essential to the continuation of the weres. The first time he’d brushed up against Margo, their essences had resonated in rare recognition. He never intended for his seduction of the enchanting brunette to begin with her being dragged into the web of dangers assaulting his world. How is he supposed to protect the stubborn woman from rogue weres and magical attacks if she insists on keeping him at arm’s length?
Once Margo starts keeping company with sorcerers, shifters and mythological creatures, she has unfamiliar faces peering back at her from mirrors, unexpected marriage proposals, lightning strikes on clear days and towering waterspouts in the bath tub. She also experiences the peculiar challenges of dating a magic user. When the quiet embers between Margo and Graeme flare into sparks of desire, she discovers the passion between them burns hot enough to singe an unwary woman. But only by working together is there any chance to maintain the fragile truce between sorcerers and werebeasts, get to the source of the genetic poisoning and keep Margo and the other potentials safe.
Mythical Warriors Series, Book 2
Paranormal Romance
While hurrying home to beat a storm, Margo Aleckson is attacked by a man who becomes a bear before her eyes. She is rescued by Graeme Stone, a frequent customer to her café, and weregriffins Tobin and Riley Saint-James. As a former high school chemistry teacher, she struggles to find rational explanations for the wonders of this world of magic and alchemy that has suddenly been thrust upon her. The quiet man who lives in the lighthouse has turned out to be a bit more complex than she’d ever imagined.
Graeme is a powerful sorcerer who has discovered something is causing young shifters to attack and kill the potential-mates essential to the continuation of the weres. The first time he’d brushed up against Margo, their essences had resonated in rare recognition. He never intended for his seduction of the enchanting brunette to begin with her being dragged into the web of dangers assaulting his world. How is he supposed to protect the stubborn woman from rogue weres and magical attacks if she insists on keeping him at arm’s length?
Once Margo starts keeping company with sorcerers, shifters and mythological creatures, she has unfamiliar faces peering back at her from mirrors, unexpected marriage proposals, lightning strikes on clear days and towering waterspouts in the bath tub. She also experiences the peculiar challenges of dating a magic user. When the quiet embers between Margo and Graeme flare into sparks of desire, she discovers the passion between them burns hot enough to singe an unwary woman. But only by working together is there any chance to maintain the fragile truce between sorcerers and werebeasts, get to the source of the genetic poisoning and keep Margo and the other potentials safe.
Excerpt of Magical Currents
You two fledglings think you have what it takes to dispense justice?” the man sneered.
With all her strength, Margo swung her fist, digging the tip of the key into his check. He roared like a wounded animal and shoved her to the ground.
Margo landed hard on her shoulder. She heard the fabric of her shirt rip.
Her two defenders advanced forward and put themselves between her and the imposing menace. Margo back-peddled across the asphalt, tearing gouges in her palms and the seat of her pants, trying to get away. She slammed into a grounded pair of legs and looked up into Graeme Stone’s face. In the faint light, his features were sharply defined.
His intense gaze pulled her in, arrested the hostility surrounding them. Margo’s cold terror receded, and she was able to take a deep breath, collect her wits, push aside her fear and find calm. For a brief moment, warm security enveloped her.
The moment ended. Margo was again aware of the freezing rain soaking her and the unfolding violence. Stone gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, but by a flash of lightning she saw his countenance was now set, hard and fierce. The wind blew the collar of his rain slicker against the sides of his neck.
“Hold, griffins. Don’t be so quick to pass judgment. There’s more going on here than what you see on the surface.”
The three paused with fists raised.
“Use your gifts to look more closely at him. Don’t let yourselves be blinded by actions he’s not responsible for. Smell past his own scent to the evil that’s infected him.”
The circle of tense males expanded to include Graeme.
“Who are you?” the first rescuer on the scene demanded.
“What are you?” clarified his companion. “You aren’t human or were.”
Margo was lost. The conversation was veering off in a bizarre direction. She was relieved not to be choking anymore, but it was clear her assault was no longer the focus of her rescuers’ concern. Were those three men sniffing the air?
The fellow who had cornered Margo bristled. “Sorcerer!” he snarled, rising to the balls of his feet.
“Easy, gentlemen.” Stone’s cadence was low and even. Margo felt a push of strength in his voice with his request for calm. “Don’t make any hasty assumptions. There’s far more going on here than any of you realize, and a great deal more at stake.”
Buy Magical Currents on Amazon today!
You two fledglings think you have what it takes to dispense justice?” the man sneered.
With all her strength, Margo swung her fist, digging the tip of the key into his check. He roared like a wounded animal and shoved her to the ground.
Margo landed hard on her shoulder. She heard the fabric of her shirt rip.
Her two defenders advanced forward and put themselves between her and the imposing menace. Margo back-peddled across the asphalt, tearing gouges in her palms and the seat of her pants, trying to get away. She slammed into a grounded pair of legs and looked up into Graeme Stone’s face. In the faint light, his features were sharply defined.
His intense gaze pulled her in, arrested the hostility surrounding them. Margo’s cold terror receded, and she was able to take a deep breath, collect her wits, push aside her fear and find calm. For a brief moment, warm security enveloped her.
The moment ended. Margo was again aware of the freezing rain soaking her and the unfolding violence. Stone gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, but by a flash of lightning she saw his countenance was now set, hard and fierce. The wind blew the collar of his rain slicker against the sides of his neck.
“Hold, griffins. Don’t be so quick to pass judgment. There’s more going on here than what you see on the surface.”
The three paused with fists raised.
“Use your gifts to look more closely at him. Don’t let yourselves be blinded by actions he’s not responsible for. Smell past his own scent to the evil that’s infected him.”
The circle of tense males expanded to include Graeme.
“Who are you?” the first rescuer on the scene demanded.
“What are you?” clarified his companion. “You aren’t human or were.”
Margo was lost. The conversation was veering off in a bizarre direction. She was relieved not to be choking anymore, but it was clear her assault was no longer the focus of her rescuers’ concern. Were those three men sniffing the air?
The fellow who had cornered Margo bristled. “Sorcerer!” he snarled, rising to the balls of his feet.
“Easy, gentlemen.” Stone’s cadence was low and even. Margo felt a push of strength in his voice with his request for calm. “Don’t make any hasty assumptions. There’s far more going on here than any of you realize, and a great deal more at stake.”
Buy Magical Currents on Amazon today!
Bio:
Karen Elaine is a California native who has relocated to Southern Arizona. She is the author of the shapeshifting paranormal romance series Mythical Warriors. Paranormal Romance is one of her favorite genres because there is so much room for her imagination to play.
It is her hope that her stories take you on an adventure and help add a bit of magic to the way you view the world. She strives to create worthy heroes and intelligent heroines who are not afraid to follow their hearts.
Her family keeps her well-grounded and her two poodles make sure she takes time to explore the possibilities.
Connecting with Karen Elaine
Website
Email: Karenelaine.stories@gmail.com
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