Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

Catherine Berlin's ROMANCING THE STONES, now available in paperback!

My new paranormal romantic suspense, ROMANCING THE STONES, centers on the unlikely pairing of Detective Rob Vaiden and archaeologist and university professor Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Blair.

The two are brought together when the trail of serial killer Orion leads Vaiden to Charlie’s doorstep. Vaiden has limited time to figure out what it is in Charlie’s past…or her present… that the killer is drawn to. He also has to contend with Charlie’s uncooperativeness. The fact that he is attracted to her despite his better judgment isn’t helping.

Charlie has her own problems. On a recent dig she found a legendary artifact only to have it slip through her fingers. Now she’s stuck with a handful of worthless, bizarre stones. As she loses or has the stones taken from her, the images carved on them begin to affect her life and her survival.

Part of ROMANCING THE STONES came to me as a dream, part grew once I started to do my research. Originally, I dreamed about the stones themselves, and the images on them: a wolf, a jaguar, Mayan pictographs, etc. They started me thinking of an adventure-loving heroine, an archaeologist with a past.

I knew I wanted the heroine to seek the truth in the Mayan creation legend, and while studying I happened on the story of the Ica Stones. Imagine my surprise to learn of small black stones found in the same area I needed my heroine to locate her dig— stones with drawings on them that suggest people in ancient times performed surgery and cavorted with dinosaurs. The scientific world hasn’t decided if the stones are really ancient artifacts or just a modern hoax, but for Charlie, they are very real.

One of the stones Charlie has bears the image of a black wolf/dog. Here in Richmond where the novel is set, “Black Dog” is a bit of a legend. A lumbering black Chow has appeared and disappeared in the Near West End for over a decade. No one can catch him, no one knows where he lives—he just seems to be seen at pivotal times. Black Dog is a bit of a spirit guide for Charlie and Detective Vaiden.

A review from RT says about ROMANCING THE STONES: “A carefully orchestrated plot and multi-faceted characters are the highlights of this tale of murder and intrigue.”

Fallen Angels calls it “a marvelously entertaining romantic suspense with a paranormal twist.”

I loved writing Charlie’s story, and yummy Vaiden was inspired by my own personal prince charming. I hope you enjoy it!

—Catherine Berlin
www.CatherineBerlin.com