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My Familiar Stranger
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Read My Familiar Stranger
The Order of the Black Swan: Book 1

My Familiar Stranger (edit title/settings)

by Victoria Danann (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

A secret society, modern day knights, and vampires come together for a once in a lifetime adventure and a once in a lifetime opportunity proving that true love can find you in the strangest places, even far, far from home.

Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is... read more

Summary edit see section history

This is a blog post I wrote on this subject. - Victoria Danann

A blurb is a short description of a book. It's distinguished from an actual "book description" by length. It's basically a paragraph. Smashwords allows 386 characters. Sounds sufficient to describe a 113,000 words... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

This is a blog post I wrote on this subject. - Victoria Danann

A blurb is a short description of a book. It's distinguished from an actual "book description" by length. It's basically a paragraph. Smashwords allows 386 characters. Sounds sufficient to describe a 113,000 words book?

If you're a reader you take these mini-synopses (Yes. I had to look up the plural of synopsis.) for granted, just as authors did before we became authors. It looks easy. A ten minute task at most. Four months and a hundred revisions later, I'm still tearing my hair out.

You say: "Come on. How hard could it be? Has anyone ever called you melodramatic?"
I say: "Well, yes. They have. But that's not relevant to this discussion. Really!"

I would much rather write a full length novel than try to compose a blurb. Trying to pare that 113,000 words down to 75 is not just hard, it's torture. It's cruel, I tell you. The short description that I currently use for My Familiar Stranger follows. This is the best I can do while avoiding spoilers.

"Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported to an alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own. She is stranded. Alone. Far from home. A stranger in a "strangish" land.

Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors. Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt, true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?"

I can't tell you how often reviews will say something to the effect of, "Don't pay too much attention to the description." See, the problem is that I wanted to create something that hadn't been done before, something that defies both formula and genre categorizing. I succeeded at that, but, it turns out that, like everything else in the universe, that comes with two sides. The good news is that it's different. The bad news is that the difference throws a wrench into the way the industry is set up to market books.

The second book in the series, The Witch's Dream, will be released soon and the problem has expanded. It's snowballing. Here's what I've got so far...

"From New York to Ireland to Edinburgh to Siena to the Texas Hill Country to Napa Valley, modern day knights, heroes, witches, demons, psychics, vampires, werewolves, elves and fae come together where emotions intersect. From promises to rages to hunts to epiphanies, The Witch's Dream proves that true love can find you in the strangest places, when you're least expecting it, even when you're far, far from home."

See what I mean? There's no way to give a SHORT description of this book without having it sound stupid or juvenile or both which leaves me standing here as usual saying, "But it's not! I swear!"

At least I have finally found a genre label that kind of, sort of, maybe fits. Paranormal Romantica. How about that?

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Elora Laiwynn Laiken: Kick ass heroine; love interest of Storm, Ram, and Baka; from a different dimension
  • Engel Storm: De facto leader of B-Team, The Order of the Dark Swan; savior of Elora. Stalwart, smart, noble, compassionate.
  • Rammel Hawking: Member of B-Team, The Order of the Black Swan; crude, rash, womanizer, but also devastatingly sexy, funny, and sweet.
  • Istvan Baka: Ancient vampire; in love with Elora; repentant vampire; prisoner/vampire consultant of The Order of the Black Swan. Tragically seductive.
  • Chaos Caelian (Kay): Berserker. Best friend and B-Teammate of Storm and Ram
  • Valerie de Stygian: Istvan Baka's nom de plume, he write vampire romance novels.
  • Elsbeth: Elora's nurse and friend.
  • Zutsanna Zajac: Quirky personality. Agent at Unit Drac.
  • Lan: Nickname for Sir Basil Wrathbone Landsdowne
  • Ms. Farnsworth: Runs the Operations Office at Jefferson Unit.
  • Sol: Nickname for Sovreign Sol Nememiah.
  • Finnemore: incidental character - named as possible replacement for Lan
  • Catalonius Monq: All around genius. Scientist and renaissance man.
  • Liam O'Torvall: New Forest caretaker.
  • Minerva: incidental character - flight attendant on one of The Order's jets
  • Cal: Nickname for Calibur Magnus, an alchemist working temp for The Order who likes to call himself a "mercenary".
  • Blackie: Elora's Alsatian.
  • Gautier Nibelung: a.k.a Ghost. Black Swan knight so nicknamed because he is albino.
  • Ram: An elf who is a Black Swan Knight
  • Victoria Danann: Author of the book
  • C. Monq: Monq in the world she arrives in is a doctor and scientist works for the Black Swan Knights.
  • Thelonius M. Monq: Monq teacher, scientist, and magician to Elora pushes her into a portal to another world to save her life.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Elora: "If you bite me, I will stake you."Baka: "If I bite you, I will stake myself."”

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 3 in The Order of the Black Swan. (standard series)

Followed by The Witch's Dream.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Victoria Danann (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: 7th House
Country: USA
Publication Date: 21st April 2012
ISBN: 193332077X
Page Count: 472

Awards edit see section history

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