Shira Anthony Dreams of Happily Ever Afters
I’ve always been a sucker for a good story about magical beings—sorcerers, wizards, witches, genies, and the like. So when I started writing gay romance, it was pretty much a no-brainer that my first book would incorporate both the magic and the romance. But I wanted to do something different. Something that hadn’t been done much.
A friend and fellow writer, Venona Keyes, suggested a “sand fic” à la “The Arabian Nights,” and the first thing I thought of were genies, or “Jinn.” With my friend’s help, I wrote a short story as a birthday present for a fellow writer, “The Prince and the Jinn.” It was a sweet story reminiscent of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but with a gay twist. That story was the inspiration for my long novella: “The Dream of a Thousand Nights.”
“Dream” is my own personal fantasy. I totally admit it! Neriah, the handsome, tortured Prince of Tazier, is nearly killed by his father’s men and his mother gives up her life so that he can live. Tamir, the Jinn who falls completely and utterly in love with Neriah, is stripped of his powers for loving a human by the other Jinn. The story is written like a fairy tale, features plenty of sex, and a powerful force that intervenes to separate the lovers and threatens to destroy the sweet, sometimes naïve Tamir. There is a slave/dubcon element that runs throughout the story and plenty of angst to go around. Oh, and of course, my only prerequisite for a romance: a sweet HEA.
“The Dream of a Thousand Nights” is available on Dreamspinner Press’s website and at most other ebook outlets such as Amazon and All Romance. It comes in at about 45K words and 206 pages, just shy of “novel length,” so it’s a pretty substantial read for a novella. It was nominated for several Goodreads M/M Romance Group Best of 2011 awards, including “Best Cover (Anne Cain),” “Best Slave/Dubcon/Kidnapped,” and “Best Overall Book.” – Shira Anthony
Neriah, the crown prince of Tazier, escapes his father’s deadly wrath with the help of a Jinn named Tamir. Knowing that the other Jinn would find and punish him for falling in love with a human, Tamir takes Neriah’s memories of their brief time together and leaves him with only a jade pendant as a token of his love. Tamir is then stripped of his powers and imprisoned for his crime.
Ten years later, Neriah is still on the run from the King’s assassins, but each night he dreams of a lover whose face he cannot see and whose name he does not know, but who fills his heart with peace. Tamir, freed at last from his prison cell, poses as a pleasure slave and offers to serve the prince. Although Neriah does not recognize Tamir, he falls in love with the powerless Jinn. But just when Tamir has earned Neriah’s trust, he is forced to betray it. There may be no hope of mending their broken relationship, but Tamir is determined to see Neriah on his rightful throne—even if it costs the Jinn his life.
In her last incarnation, Shira Anthony was a professional opera singer, performing roles in such operas as Tosca, I Pagliacci, and La Traviata, among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle.
Shira has published two books with Dreamspinner Press, “Blue Notes,” and “The Dream of a Thousand Nights.” The second book in her “Blue Notes” series, “The Melody Thief,” will be released in August of 2012. Her next book, “The Trust,” a gay spy thriller co-authored with Venona Keyes, will be released by Dreamspinner Press in June, 2012.
Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs, and when she’s not writing, she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard a 30’ catamaran at the Carolina coast with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel.
Links: Shira can be found on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter (@WriterShira), or on her website, www.shiraanthony.com. You can also email her at shiraanthony@hotmail.com
7 Responses to “Shira Anthony Dreams of Happily Ever Afters”
Leave a Reply
That sounds like a completely awesome book. And of course, Anne has worked her magic again. Lovely cover. I’m like you, Shira. I love that dream of a happily ever after. Kind of a requisite for me 🙂
Thanks, Jaime! Isn’t Anne just amazing? And this was my first “real” cover! I couldn’t have pictured them better (or prettier!). I’m definitely spoiled for life. Waiting for a cover from her is like waiting to unwrap presents on your birthday.
I have to agree on that cover — it’s gorgeous! And I’m a sucker for desert stories and djinn… This is definitely on my TBR list, now!
Glory be, but that cover is gorgeous :). And it fits so well with the magical tone of the story.
I just love this cover, and it sounds like a great book!
I love Arabian Nights stories, and with the cover, this one was a no-brainer for me. But once I started reading, I was immediately pulled into the world. Shira really can write a magical setting and make it feel real. You’re in for a treat with this one. It’s a magic carpet ride!
Great post, the book looks awesome!