Nothing marks a writer as the biggest nerd on earth as showing your wuxia-inspired cover, featuring a nine-tailed fox in its human form, to your friends and have them step back and go, “Oh, *insert pause here*, that’s *another pause* nice?”
Then there’s a moment of panic. “Oh, my God, did I make the wrong choice for the cover? Are people going to hate it? What have I done?”
Later, you realize you love your cover. It fits the mood of the story perfectly, an Asian-inspired telling of a magical being fighting society’s perceptions of people like him. I might as well accept the nerd label and be proud.
I have been on a diet of Chinese period fantasies for a few years. At first, I couldn’t figure out what was about them that attracted me so much, but I think I have figured it out. Most of them follow a sort of a scheme where things normally start light and breezy with lots of humor and child-like wonder and then become progressively darker and heavier. However most maintain a good balance of humor, romance, and drama. That’s my catnip. If I was to analyze my favorite books of all times (except possibly the great gothic romances) they all have that balance.
That’s also what I like to write, stories that mix the serious with the irreverent, that make you giggle as much as cry, and if that makes me a nerd so be it!
Now, if only I could find my likeminded audience….
What do you think of the cover, my friends?
Preorder today at half-price
Releasing April 28, 2023
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Join a witty fox, a divine healer, and their companions on a voyage filled with danger, magic, romance, and surprises in a world where nothing is what it seems in this stunning MM fantasy romance by best-selling author Natalina Reis.
Unloved and broken, Húlí knows nothing but hate. Born a nine-tailed fox in a world that hunts demons like him, he does what he must to survive.
Until the day fate throws him right into the arms of the Healer.
Xiao Ying grew up in a family of divine healers. But when he comes back to find his whole family murdered, he vows to bring them the justice they deserve. Xiao Ying chooses a lonely life, gathering the evidence he needs, and not allowing anything to get in his way.
Until the day his life crosses that of a nine-tailed fox and changes forever.
Brought together by fate and united by love, Huli and Xiao Ying embark on the adventure of a lifetime. One that will either answer all their questions or reveal truths they should’ve left buried.
“This story is so engrossing! I was wrapped into it from the first page. The characters are wonderful, the plot full of twists and surprises and intrigue, and it has all the elements of both romance and high fantasy I love so much. SO GOOD!” Beta Reader
Author Natalina Reis 