What is a wyvern? Looks like a dragon, right? But it’s not.

A wyvern has two limbs and two wings. Note that many Western dragons have four limbs and two wings, while Eastern dragons often have no wings, and four limbs. Wyverns also seem a bit more reptilian than dragons to me. Sometimes they have fish tails or barbed tails, and their limbs are more bird-like than a dragon’s.

They figure prominently in heraldry, as do dragons and unicorns. Sometimes they are described as having the head of a dragon and the tail of a snake. Personally, I may have plans for some fictional wyverns I can’t divulge just yet. For sure I’ve got dragons of all kinds in my books, but no wyverns… yet.

But it’s really hard for us to know in this day and age just how much of an impact Masonry had on the founders of our country. Like the mythology surrounding the Knights Templar, it’s intriguing for those of us who write fiction, but it’s a fine line between fiction and fact.

One interesting site I found stated: “Benjamin Franklin was a Freemason whose unique socializing skills included attending gatherings of the English Hell Fire Club, a secret society focused on sex, pornography and politics.” (Darn, talk of the Hell Fire Club gives me ideas! But I digress.) So, according to legend, one of our best-known founding fathers was not only a pious Freemason and serious student of the sciences, but also a bit of a bad boy. Interesting. (Thanks to the Unencyclopedia for the hilarious image.)

Now I have to admit to not having read the Da Vinci Code. Mea culpa. I figure I’ll catch the movie someday on cable. (LOL) But I did read Two Crowns for America by Katherine Kurtz a long time ago. She’s not the first, nor the last I’m sure, to intermix real history with interesting ideas that came from the writer’s imagination. I think some of the best fantasy mixes real history - or ideas from it - with fantastical ideas straight out of the imagination. Hence the success of things like the Da Vinci Code, Kurtz’s Adept series (which I love) and so many other works of fiction including the popular National Treasure movies with Nicholas Cage.

So in that spirit of mysticism and adventure, Happy Birthday America! ]]> Bianca D'Arc http://biancadarc.com/blog/2008/07/01/back-finally/ 2008-07-01T14:11:28Z 2008-07-01T14:11:28Z Update

I know I’ve been conspicuous by my absence of late. It feels as if I’ve been traveling one way or another since I got back from Lori Foster’s event in Ohio. I’d be home for two or three days, only to scurry off somewhere else for a few days, then back for a few days, then off somewhere else. It’s been crazy! June has flown and all I really have to show for it is a HUGE gas credit card bill.

The good news is, I’ll be spending July 4th at home. *whew!* That gives me a few days to get back on track and get some serious work done. I hope.

Of late, the muse has been rather silent — probably because I’ve been exhausted from all the traveling and seriously out of my “comfort zone.” But all the driving has given me a great deal of time to think. I don’t know about other writers, but I do some of my best plotting in the car. As the miles roll by, my mind works out all the little details of where I want to go with my books. It’s a fun way to pass the time, but it’s impossible to make notes.

So I’ll try to be a better blogger this month. Heck, it’s July 1st already? Where did June go??? Ack! I’d better get to work.

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Anyway, without further ado, the winner is: lindsey

Congratulations! Email me at biancadarc at gmail.com and I’ll send out the ebook. Thanks for playing!

Here’s a little bit about the book you might win…

“Forever Valentine” by Bianca D’Arc

Buy from MBaM!
Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Red Hots!

ISBN: 1-59998-314-1
Length: Novella
Price: $3.50
Publication Date: January 16th, 2007
Cover art by Anne Cain

A Valentine’s date gone wrong marks the beginning of a love that will last for all time.

Jena knows about vampires, particularly about the one who watches her every step, lest she somehow reveal her knowledge to the mortal world. Ian Sinclair would be her executioner should she even try to share her knowledge, but she doesn’t fear him. No, Ian bothers her on an even more elemental level. He’s just too sexy for his own good—and hers.

Ian finds himself attracted to the all-too-mortal lady doctor, though he knows better. He’s been assigned to watch her, not seduce her, but seduction seems to be all he can think of when he looks at the gorgeous woman who works entirely too hard and has such sad eyes. He feels things he hasn’t felt in centuries when she’s around, including an unreasonable jealousy when he follows her on a Valentine’s date with one of her colleagues.

After the disastrous date, will they both be able to resist temptation when Jena invites the vampire in?

This is part of an ongoing series of related books. Sweeter Than Wine is part of the series, as is Lords of the Were. New stories in the series are in the process of being contracted right now — more information on that when it becomes available, so stay tuned!

“Dunmore Rising” by Gia Dawn

Buy from MBaM!
Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Historical Romance, Fantasy Romance

ISBN: 978-1-60504-052-3
Length: Novel
Price: 5.50
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Cover art by Anne Cain

Love is mightier than the sword…

Sir Graham Dunmore is looking forward to competing in his first summer tournament—until he gets saddled with babysitting a prince in disguise, three fairy-godmothers he would much rather see fly back to where they came from, and a woman for a squire. Gone for years, Jiliana is now back in Westmyre, older, colder, with a lethal fighting skill that leaves him both impressed and intrigued.

Jili doesn’t recognize this sleek, well-trained man as the awkward friend from her youth. But seeing Graham again brings back painful memories of a brutal past. One that forces her to live a life of tight control, lest one slip unleash a deadly monster capable of hurting everyone in her path.

Yet as Graham patiently teaches her the arts of love, Jili has a glimmer of hope that she can finally control the killer that lurks inside her—until a ninja assassin begins to stalk the tournament.

With a heavy heart, she realizes Graham is going to need every skill she possesses to protect the prince—the very skills that could tear them apart forever.

Warning: This title contains cranky fairies, a gorgeous hero, and a heroine who just about kicks his ass… plus really sizzling sex told in naughty language.

Read An Excerpt Online

My New Dragon Book

words: 15,000 / 90,000 (17%)

I’m going to try to figure out how to get more than one progress meter to show on this blog - bear with me. I also am not sure how long the partial really needs to be except that it should be three chapters, synopsis and cover letter. I’m guessing altogether that’s somewhere around 15,000 words. (I could be wrong on that, and will adjust accordingly as I go along, if necessary.)

I have a lot on my writing plate this Summer. In addition to this new task that just cropped up a week or so ago, I also just finished the 1st round of edits on Jaci’s Experiment. I expect the 2nd round soon and will have to concentrate on that if we’re going to make our August 5th release date. (Not to worry - we’re on track.)

There’s also the third of my vampire novellas (Phantom Desires) to rewrite/expand. I put that on hold to go to Lori Foster’s event in Ohio and things have snowballed since then so that I haven’t gotten back to it yet. I think, as plans stand now, as soon as I get this partial off my desk, I’ll go gung-ho on that project to get that over and done and out of the way. It should only take a few days of work, so I’m not worried it’s an arduous task - I just need to find the time. Wish me luck! And if you’re working toward a goal in the next few weeks, feel free to post a comment about it - we can cheer each other on!

According to Reuters:

Italy’s highest court has ruled that the nation’s paramilitary police, the Carabinieri, must not have extra-marital affairs to avoid sullying the force’s name.

The ruling stemmed from one Carabiniere’s appeal against a lower court ruling sentencing him to four months in jail for insulting and threatening to throw a desk at his boss, who had asked the policeman to break off an affair with a married woman.

Italy’s Court of Cassation agreed that any affair is a private matter, but noted that the military police were called to “exemplary conduct and could not bring discredit to the armed forces with extra-marital relationships.”

The Carabinieri, Italy’s gendarmerie, are the most prominent of several national police forces. Their motto is “Faithful through the centuries.”

(Reporting by Deepa Babington; Editing by Giles Elgood)http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080617/od_nm/lovers_dc_1

Excuse me — “faithful through the centuries?” Apparently not to their spouses. Sheesh!

Love… the grandest experiment of all.

As a young Alvian lab tech, Jaci knows her place in the orderly, emotionless society her race has established on the planet Earth. While preparing a batch of experimental skin patches, she is accidentally exposed to a gene-altering agent. In a matter of days, she’s assaulted with raw, primitive, forbidden emotions she has no clue how to handle. If her superiors find out, she’s a dead woman.

Her only hope is to seek help from the human test subjects held captive in pens below the city.

Before the aliens came, cousins Mike and Dave used their psychic abilities to their advantage in business dealings. Now they use them to stay alive, keeping a sharp telepathic eye out for ways to help themselves and others improve their lot…or escape. Their friendship with Jaci has always been more than simply captives and caretaker. Now that her DNA has changed, their shared resonance is the stuff of legend.

Inevitably, Jaci’s emotions expose her to deadly Alvian justice. Suddenly she’s in the race of her life, seeking the only safety she’s ever known…in the arms of her human Resonance Mates.