This Week's Special Guest - Barbara Clark

This week's special guest at the Tiki Hut is author Barbara Clark. Barbara stops by this week to talk about her paranormal romance series and to celebrate her 80th birthday with us!

"All dreams lie beyond defeat." That quote has inspired Barbara Clark to keep writing and creating new stories set in a variety of locations from California to a glittering penthouse in New York City, a working cattle rance in Arizona, the Sahara Desert, and the heat and danger of a Brazilian Rain Forest.

Writing as April Reid, her erotic romances plunge into fantasy worlds where dragons speak and magic rules. Her readers have come to expect deep emotions, simple joys, and heart-stopping peril in her award-winning books.

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Sons of Earth and Wind, Book III: A TOUCH OF FIRE by Barbara Clark

Here’s a description of the story: Security agent, Michael Forest, has given up his dreams of a wife and family. When he's assigned to protect Summer Morgana Starr, he's stunned by his attraction to her, an attraction he fights.

Summer, born with the ability to restore fiery lines of power deep in the earth's crust, risks her life each time she heals those lines. For her own safety, she should bond with a man of paranormal powers, but her heart has chosen Michael, a man without any psychic talents.

When a ruthless enemy from Michael's past puts Summer in jeopardy, Michael sacrifices himself to save her life and her sweet touch of fire.

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Winner 2001 Golden Quill Award, Paranormal Romance.

SimeGen 2002 Spring Reviewers' Choice Award Winner--Best Science Fiction Author

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Often a character will inspire the story behind a new book. Michael Forest, a security agent for Hawk Adams’ Challenge Security Company, had been a secondary character in the first two books of the Sons of Earth and Wind series. Like Hawk and Quinn, he’d been a warrior in shadow wars with them. At one point, he’d been captured by a drug lord and tortured almost to death until Hawk and Quinn rescued him.

Brave and honorable, Michael deserved the love of a strong, compassionate woman. He found her when he was assigned to protect Summer Morgana Starr.

However, the last thing Michael should do would be to fall in love with a client. Not only that, but after he failed to save his younger sister and parents during a raid on an African village they were visiting, he never wanted to fall in love for fear of also failing that person. He fought his growing attraction to Summer.

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I call this my, “Earthquake Book,” for two reasons: The heroine, Summer, has the ability to moderate earthquakes. Second, we were experiencing a swarm of earthquakes during the time I was writing it. Twice, I was seated at the computer when I heard the low rumble announcing an earthquake followed by the first rolling jolt. As the usual pattern of three distinct waves shook the house, the structure creaked and hallway doors opened and closed. The big file drawer in my computer desk rolled open—close—open—close. The movement of the earth rocked my chair back and forth with me in it.

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The words for the opening passage came to me as I was driving home, and had a quick image of a woman, long hair blowing in the night wind, seated on a jumble of boulders at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean:

The night-bound land was crying.

Gritting her teeth against the pain in that deep-throated wail, Summer Morgana Starr sat on the ancient boulders high above the Pacific Ocean and tried to block the sound.

With her birth-gift, she  saw and heard the fiery streams of magnetism known as ley lines that pulsed far below the surface. Tonight, those lines were tangled where they should run free in ribbons of energy. 

Chaos throbbed deep in the earth’s crust. 

Waves roared against the rocky shore but didn’t drown the sound. Wind shuddered through broken cliffs but couldn’t mask the groans of basalt and granite under molten pressure. 

Early moonlight danced in silver power through the spray, but still the land cried. 

Five miles overhead, the lights of a jet airplane silently crossed the glittering field of distant stars. In the darkness below her feet, the ground lurched once more in protest. 

Summer, born with extraordinary gifts, sent a soothing touch deep into the wounded earth to ease the strain. It was all she could do for now. 

Her gifts and duty were to untangle and smooth the ley lines—to keep them flowing at full power, unobstructed. 

Tonight, the ribbons of fire deep beneath her were too strong, too damaged for her to restore without help. She had to wait for added strength from the power of the moon and earth working together. 

She pushed her unbound hair from her face and struggled with the knowledge that a unique man’s true love and passion would give her the necessary strength without waiting for the balance of sun and moon energy. 

Ancient family tradition taught that only a man born with a psychic connection to earth or the moon could blend his power with hers to protect her and give her abilities the greater potency. 

In spite of that knowledge, her heart had chosen another, a man without a known psychic link. Even now, he stood nearby, guarding her from physical harm.

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Several times, while attraction simmers and grows between them, Michael protects Summer from increasing danger.

As the book progresses, I used places where I’d been in many scenes. The story sweeps from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the low Anza Borrego desert, and high into the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

In each setting, the sensual and emotional attraction flares higher between the lovers until they reach that point where each one willingly puts his or her life on the line for the other.

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What Reviewers said:

A TOUCH OF FIRE is book three in the exceptional Sons of Earth and Wind  series. A strong storyline, well thought out characters and a scenic backdrop combine to  create a page turner. Barbara Clark has given her fans another sensational story. 

-- Tami Sutton

www.escapetoromance.com/reviews/clark-touch.html 

A Touch Of Fire is the third book in Sons of Earth and Wind series and probably my favorite so far. Through the series you have glimpses of Michael’s true heart. He would bring baby roses to Quinn’s daughter, Brianna. Michael would also let Alex, Hawk and Charity’s little boy chew on his expensive watch. No wonder Summer fell for him. She sees him as a warrior but also as a man that she loves and wants to heal the old hurts. Michael is the ultimate hero. If Barbara Clark keeps writing so well, Kleenex will never go out of business. I have to admit, this story made me cry, but in a good way.

Review by Megan http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=2534

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You can find A Touch of Fire at: www.amberquill.com/TouchFire.html  It’s also at amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com 

Please remember to leave a comment so you can be entered in the giveaway.

Thanks,
Barbara

WIN - Leave a question or comment anytime this week to get your name in the hat for a box full of of items from assorted authors--things Barbara picked up for this purpose at the RWA National conference this summer. Each box includes a tote bag, water bottle, and books. Barbara will also include an autographed copy of one of her books!