I’m so thrilled to have Anne Stryker here today to answer a few questions and share her newest novella length story.  I don’t read many romances with pirates in them … but I think that’s going to have to change after Fenix 🙂

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*What do you like best about writing romances?

I love seeing two people come together, grow better because of one another, fight side by side… Something about the emotions that are so complex yet so simple all at once is beautiful. I also love seeing characters who genuinely care for each other because it makes my heart happy, and if I can write that and make other hearts happy, I’m fulfilled.

*What is your favorite romantic story (movie/book, fact/fiction, whatever you love most)?

I really adore Daughter of Smoke and Bone‘s romantic plot. I love to see a mix of fantasy and romance alongside a love that transcends time and situation. The pureness of attraction between the leads in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series is so raw and so real. The fantasy elements of the book aren’t the only hints of magic, and I love it!

*If you could be any romantic character, who would it be and why?

Karou (Daughter of Smoke and Bone again). She’s absolutely incredible with determination and spunk, a confidence I can only dream of. AND she has a FIRE ANGEL for a boyfriend, so I think we have win-wins all the way around… (Pardon me while I ignore all the pain and heartache she also had to go through. *cough cough*)

*Which of your characters/books was the most fun to write? 

I really enjoyed writing The Pirate’s Stowaway Bride! Fenix is amazing, and Adora has so much spirit hiding in her heart. The story that they begin leaves so much open for further adventures, and there are a couple of subtle details sprinkled around that even I missed during the first draft. It’s more than it appears at first glance, and it’s just such a heart fluttery tale!

*If you weren’t a writer and could be anything you want, what would it be?

It’s a toss up between a fairy and a pirate. I think I’d be a fairy pirate…because both is good, and I get to be both and more as a writer, so it’s only fair.

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The Pirate’s Stowaway Bride

by Anne Stryker

Blurb:

Sit still. Be quiet. Obey.

Adora has lived her entire life under her mother’s strict rules, but when obedience means marrying a man twice her age, something deep within her snaps. Fleeing the night of her wedding, she boards what she assumes is a trade ship and hides among the cargo she hopes won’t be touched until she’s far away from the life she left behind.

She never anticipated being found.

Or finding Fenix.

Fenix believes in freedom, expression, and adventure. When a woman in a wedding gown is found in the belly of his ship with eyes like fire and the disposition of something almost broken, he wants nothing more than to release the flames and mend the cracks.

But with her past catching up to them, he may not have the chance.

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F6T71RW/

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Excerpt:

Have I already changed so much?

Have I lost sight of who I am?

Or have I finally found myself?

Before I can decide, the door opens, and sloshing boots clomp into the room. Fenix kicks the door shut, folds his arms, and leans against the wall, eyeing me with a raised brow. My eyes are naturally drawn to the orange feathers sticking in his hair, but then my gaze drops, to his lips, and a flurry of emotions course through me, none familiar.

“Adora,” he says.

I meet his stern look, my tongue flicking over my lips. “Fenix.”

“You look like you’re about to cry.” He takes two full steps toward me, water streaming off him to form puddles on the floor. His damp hand tips my chin up, and I flush, clenching my jaw.

“Maybe I am.”

He pulls away. “Hopefully not because of me?”

“I’m sorry about my insubordination, Captain.”

His brows shoot up, and he folds his arms again. “It worked for the best in the end. And recklessness is appealing on you.”

My murmur is soft as I glance away and brush a knuckle against my lips. “You certainly seemed to think so.”

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Author Info:

Anne Stryker has been writing for as long as she can remember and most enjoys sweet romance with any possible divergence from reality. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading or taking care of her growing zoo of small pets. Living her life in phases, Anne has toyed with anything from embroidery to polymer clay and finds herself tumbling in and out of obsessions. The one obsession that never left, however, was writing.

Anne is planning to write a series of novelettes that are all very different when it comes to setting, and at times subgenre, but she wants to settle into a niche of writing sweet romance (with HEA or HFN endings) that vary the male leads and style considerably. She hopes you’ll join her in this endeavor.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18140879.Anne_Stryker

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