Kiss of Enchantment Cover Reveal

Posted on by under Coming Soon, Dragonfire

One of the things that shook out of my Kickstarter campaign was the decision to write a new paranormal romance about the Pyr called Kiss of Enchantment. I’ve since realized that this is the first book in a new series called The Darkfire Chronicles.

Let’s go back a bit to put this story in context. In the Dragon Legion Novellas, the darkfire crystal takes Drake and the Dragon’s Tooth Warriors on a whirlwind trip through time and space. Alexander returns to his mate in Kiss of Danger, Damien encounters his mate again in Kiss of Darkness and Thad has his firestorm in Kiss of Destiny. Over the course of their journey, individual Pyr leave the company. There are nine named warriors who vanish over the course of the adventure: Lidio, Aeson, Cletus, Milo, Ignatio, Ashe, Tyrone, Peter and Orion. (There were seventeen who collected the darkfire crystal from Lorenzo, but the other four aren’t named.) In the end, only Drake returns to the present time and the darkfire spark goes dark in the crystal.

The Darkfire Chronicles begin with Orion’s firestorm.

When Orion leaves the company in Kiss of Darkness, he is following what appears to be the spark of his firestorm. Damien and Drake believe they are in Rome, in the 1970’s, when Orion feels that spark. They then conclude that each warrior who has left the company has been left in the right time and place to experience his firestorm. We can guess that these aren’t going to be ordinary firestorms: Alexander and Thad had to battle a time-travelling Slayer in their firestorms, while Damien entered Hades for Petra, and Thad followed Aura to the Garden of the Hesperides and bargained with a goddess for his firestorm’s future.

Each book in The Darkfire Chronicles is a complete paranormal romance. The series should be read in order, and it should be read after The Dragonfire Novels.

The ancient magic of darkfire scorches the history of the Pyr, dragon shifters sworn to defend the treasures of the earth, spreading chaos in its wake. Periodically commanded by Pyr with the rare ability to hold it in thrall, blue-green darkfire burns with relentless power through the centuries, shattering boundaries and provoking change. The Darkfire Chronicles tell the stories of those Pyr illuminated by darkfire’s spark.

Kiss of Enchantment, book one of the Darkfire Chronicles, a series of paranormal romances featuring dragon shifter heroes by Deborah Cooke

One kiss will unveil the secrets of the past…

Cast through time with his fellow Dragon Legion Warriors, Orion follows the spark of his firestorm, the sign of his destined mate’s presence. Only when he’s left behind, alone in a different time, does he discover the darkfire’s deception. His firestorm might be a feint, but the woman touched by its golden radiance is one who could capture Orion’s heart forever. When Slayers attack, Orion is determined to defend her and her secrets, no matter the price to himself.

Grad student Francesca is more interested in her career and research than in getting married. But then, she’s never met a man like Orion, a fierce protector whose presence ignites an undeniable desire within her—although the seductive power of his kiss isn’t the only thing Francesca can’t explain. Orion also creates a glow inside the vase said to contain the voice of the Cumaean Sibyl. When that light is released, Francesca hears the voice of the past and is revealed as Orion’s destined mate—making her the Slayers’ target.

On the run, Orion and Francesca join forces to solve the Sibyl’s last riddle. Will success provide the key to their shared future? Or will the unpredictable darkfire snatch Orion away as abruptly as he arrived—along with Francesca’s memories of the dragon shifter who has claimed her heart? How much will either of them sacrifice to save their their unborn son and defend their future together?

Pre-order for November 7, 2023

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The Printed Dragonfire Family Trees

Posted on by under Dragonfire, Kickstarter

One of the reward tiers in my Kickstarter campaign was printed postcards with the Dragonfire family trees on them. This ended up being a set of 14 cards, each 6 x 9″ with the Dragonfire logo on the back.

They’re similar to the family trees you can download here on the site, but since the cards are smaller than a full sheet of paper, I had to rearrange some of the generations. I also took the opportunity to do some colour-coding – the Pyr are yellow, for example, while the Slayers are green. And I added cover images for the firestorms that are featured in books.

Here’s what they look like:

Dragonfire printed family trees

They all have the same printed back:

Dragonfire printed family trees

Since there are 14 of them and I didn’t want them to scatter all over the place (getting dinged corners in the mail) I tied each set up with a bow.

set of Dragonfire printed family trees

The stack of them is about 1/4″ thick – they didn’t fit into a 6.5 x 9.5″ envelope because of the number of them, and the next size envelope was too roomy. I decided to make some custom folders for them.

I was lucky enough to find some wonderful acid-free yellow paper at the local office supply store, which also has some art supplies. Here’s my template on a big sheet of that heavy yellow paper:

Custom folder template

And here’s one flat, cut from the yellow paper and scored. (A blunt point is best for scoring, so I used a knitting needle.)

custom folder cut and scored

Here’s the outside of the finished folder:

Custom folder for Dragonfire Family Trees made by Deborah Cooke

And here’s what it looks like when you open the folder:

Custom folder for Dragonfire Family Trees made by Deborah Cooke

When I close the folder for shipping, I use a matching green Dragonfire sticker to hold the cover closed. Then they go into those larger envelopes quite nicely with a multi-color Dragonfire sticker on the back flap.

I’m really happy with how these bundles look now.

These printed cards were included in the reward tiers with the signed omnibus editions in my Kickstarter campaign. They ended up being a limited edition because I ordered just enough for the campaign fulfillment, with one set left for me. 🙂

While I was creating colour versions of the family trees to have printed on 6×9″ postcards for one of my Kickstarter reward tiers, I discovered a couple of errors in these original PDFs. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the base files to edit these PDFs so I can’t update them. What was wrong? Mostly I fixed some mate’s names. In the Eastern Line, five Pyr had mates named Althea, which seems statistically improbable. I suspect that I cut-and-pasted the box from Asha (with his mate Althea) and updated only the name of the Pyr and his dates, forgetting the mate’s name. These mates have never appeared in stories. In the updated version, Ivan’s mate is Farah, Viktor’s mate is Yasmine, Felix’s mate is Natasha and Mikael’s mate is Anna. Asha’s mate is Shara.

Redoing them also reminded me that The Britannia Line and The Byzantine Line have yet to be documented, so that’s something to look forward to. The family trees for The Dragon Legion will also have additions as I write more DragonFate and Dragonfire Chronicles books.

What do you think of these printed family trees?

Kiss of Fury Now Available in Spanish

Posted on by under Dragonfire, Español, Paranormal Romance, Translations

Kiss of Fury, book two of the Dragonfire Novels, is now available in a Spanish edition called Beso de furia.

Beso de furia is the Spanish edition of Kiss of Fury, book two of the Dragonfire Novels by Deborah Cooke

Un acto de pasión puede cambiar al mundo…

La científica Alexandra Madison estaba a punto de revelar una invención que cambiaría al mundo. Entonces su socio fue asesinado; su laboratorio, quemado y su prototipo, destruido. Mientras Alex está en el hospital recuperándose de las quemaduras sufridas en el incendio, sus pesadillas recurrentes con dragones amenazan con mandarla al psiquiátrico, pero ella sabe que debe escapar a su laboratorio para reconstruir la Máquina Verde.

Apuesto, atrevido e impulsivo, Donovan Shea está más que dispuesto a cumplir su parte en la guerra de Pyr contra Aniquiladores. Al ser asignado para proteger a Alex, Donovan se sorprende cuando su presencia enciende su tormenta de fuego. Él no tiene deseo de tener una pareja destinada, pero la inteligencia de Alex y su determinación lo inspiran a unirse a la lucha para salvar su invento. Con los Aniquiladores acercándose, Donovan sabe que podría entregar su vida por Alex… y perder su corazón para poseerla.

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Two Weddings & a Baby Available in Portuguese

Posted on by under Contemporary Romance, Flatiron Five Fitness, Foreign Editions, Português, Translations

Two Weddings & a Baby, book five of my Flatiron Five Fitness series of contemporary romances, is now available in a Portuguese edition, Dois Casamentos e Um Bebê!

Dois Casamentos e Um Bebê is the Portuguese edition of Two Weddings & a Baby, book five of the Flatiron Five Fitness series of contemporary romances by Deborah Cooke

É setembro em Manhattan e o clima está perfeito para um casamento – se não dois! Cassie e Reid se casam com estilo neste conto, enquanto Haley e Damon fazem seus votos cercados por amigos e familiares. O filho de Shannyn e Tyler chegará a tempo para as festividades? Junte-se à equipe F5F enquanto celebram dois casamentos, dão as boas-vindas ao primeiro filho dos sócios e realizam mudanças para construir o futuro de sua academia.

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My Kickstarter Plan for 2023

Posted on by under Contemporary Romance, Dragon Diaries YA, Dragonfire, Kickstarter, Medieval romance, My Books, Paranormal Romance
The Dragonfire Novels omnibus hardcover editions at Kickstarter through January 7, 2023

I’m thrilled with the results of my first Kickstarter campaign ever. The 15th Anniversary HardCover Omnibus Editions of the Dragonfire Novels funded at 350% which was great. Now, there’s processing at Kickstarter’s end (they have to collect the money pledged) and in two or three weeks, I’ll be able to start fulfillment. In the meantime, I’ll be finishing up the designs of the family tree postcards – I’ll probably order them from the printer – and finalizing the interiors of the hardcover editions. I plan to send the downloadable coloring page and digital wallpaper to all backers next week, even before I’m paid. I’m also working on Orion’s story, Kiss of Enchantment, which is shaping up really well. I’ll order a cover for it when I’m further along with the story.

What happens next? I’ve already had several people ask where they can get the omnibus editions now that the Kickstarter campaign is over. Well, they’re only available via Kickstarter, so the real question is when will they be offered with another campaign there. My plan for 2023 is to work on building my platform at KS, so I’ll be offering other existing series in new editions – with the occasional addition like Kiss of Enchantment.

Based on this campaign’s performance, I’m not going to bother with stretch goals and my new campaigns will be shorter. They’ll be more like flash sales and limited-time opportunities to buy both digital content from me and signed print books. I’ll only be selling print books directly through Kickstarter. In 2024, I plan to offer more new content through Kickstarter and Patreon early, before it’s available at the portals.

Kickstarter campaign for 25th anniversary hard cover omnibus editions of the Bride Quest by Claire Delacroix

Kickstarter requires one campaign to be completely fulfilled before I can create even a landing page for a new one, so my planned campaigns for this year won’t have long previews. My second campaign will be for my alter-ego Claire and will feature hardcover omnibus editions of the Bride Quest trilogies. There will be two omnibus editions, one for each trilogy, and the covers will look a lot like the digital bundles. That will run in the spring, ideally in April, but maybe in May.

The Dragon Diaries illustrated hardcover omnibus edition by Deborah Cooke at Kickstarter

My third campaign will be for a hardcover omnibus edition of The Dragon Diaries with interior illustrations. (I’m excited about this!) This trilogy isn’t currently available in new print editions (there are used copies available of the NAL trade paperbacks) and I’ve always wanted to gather Zoë’s story into a single volume. That campaign will run in the summer. I may offer the Dragonfire hardcover omnibus editions as add-ons in that campaign.

I’d like to run another Delacroix Kickstarter in the fall, but we’ll see how the timing works out. Fulfillment of print editions can be an issue in November and December. Ideally, there will be a Dragonfire Kickstarter campaign for new stories in January 2024 and the hardcover omnibus editions will definitely be offered in that campaign.

If you love special editions for your keeper shelf or early access to new stories, you’ll want to follow me at both Kickstarter and Patreon so you don’t miss out.

Follow me at Kickstarter

Follow me at Patreon

I’m also going to start sharing Kickstarter campaigns with you that I find intriguing, so that you can get an idea of what’s available there. Here’s one from Lainey Davis featuring new covers for her contemporary sports romance series, The Stag Brothers. I think these covers are so pretty, and she’s adding illustrations to the interiors, too.