The books in order:***
Pandora's Box
The Druid Made Me Do
It
Between a Rock and a
Heart Place
***Although this is the chronological order of the series, each is a stand-alone book with a different couple and different romantic conflict. This means they can be read out of order without the reader getting lost. However, readers tell me the experience is richer if you read the books in order.
Puca: Half-human, half-faery, shape-shifting trickster from Celtic and British folklore. In traditional mythology, the puca preyed on travelers, preferred the shape of a black horse with yellow eyes, and liked to take unsuspecting humans (or ones who ticked him off or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time) on a puca ride. What was the significance of this? Who knows, other than that this ride supposedly changed the rider's life forever after. I never could find any but the sketchiest of explanation. I will, however, admit to taking reckless liberties with many parts of the tradition for the sake of story and entertainment (both yours and mine). For example, my puca Riordan from Pandora's Box is no spritely type. He's a sexy god of a man when in human form, which he prefers. His father is Oberon, king of the faeries, and his mother is a human female. And he's lived for 2000 years -- most of them under a curse and in captivity. He also has an unexpected streak of nobility.
Druid: Wise elder, peacekeeper, religious leader, philosopher, doctor, spell caster, fortune teller, adviser to kings . . . Basically, the ancient Druid was all-powerful in his (and her!) day and yet totally enigmatic. Why? The Druids believed in learning and teaching strictly by word of mouth. For us, this means no written records and this is a true tragedy. You see, their education, according to ancient accounts, lasted twenty years. That's a lot of unwritten dogma, unwritten history lost forever. My version of the Druid is a bit different from what we might picture, based on legend and what little tradition we know. High Druid Phil, for example, wears the white robe for formal occasions, but has no problem pairing said robe with trendy purple specs, blow-dried hair, and (for practicality's sake) a sticker announcing "hi, my name is Phil." In my series, I've endowed my Druids with dramatically magical powers and I've made those powers hereditary. The Druids are human and live the normal human life span; they just have a few fun tricks they can pull out when necessary -- and when karma deems it appropriate.
Karma: What goes around comes around. Everything balances out in the end. Good begets good and vice versa. Basically, it's a philosophy that advocates that the universe seeks a balance of good and evil and ensures that good is rewarded and evil is punished. In my books, however, I cranked things up a notch. Anyone wielding magical powers can only wield them in such a way that is not contrary to anyone's -- say, a potential victim's -- karma. If a magic wielder acts against karma, then said magic wielder is leaving himself or herself open to retaliation, that same magic powerless against the one whose karma has been violated. Non-magical humans, however, aren't held to this same standard. This helps protect the weaker, non-magical species from the more powerful ones -- thereby preserving the balance.
The stone circle of Avebury: This place really exists! It's in Wiltshire County, England, and it's shrouded in mystery. Think Stonehenge, the circle's more famous cousin, but much bigger, older, and not nearly as well maintained. Only a fraction of the Sarsen stones comprising the stone circle of Avebury are standing today. Still, the 'ones in the know' seem to consider the stone circle of Avebury to be much, much cooler than Stonehenge. And did I mention that there's a village in the middle of the circle? Yep. The circle surrounds the modern village of Avebury, with its populated cottages, shops, museum, a pub, even a church -- and two streets bisect the circle. I may have invented a stone or two for my own purposes, but several of the real-life individual stones have names and legends attached to them.
Okay, that's what I have so far. I'm more than willing to add to this little cheat sheet, if anyone has questions or suggestions.