Welcome Birthday Guest Shira Anthony!

Happy birthday Amber! I hope you get the perfect gift this year. I’m sharing a favorite character’s perfect gift. This micro-story is based on my newest release, Finder’s Keeper, from the Dreamspun Beyond line of contemporary paranormal romances with a Harlequin feel.

I’m also sharing a giveaway, an ebook copy of Take Two, from Dreamspinner Press, a sweet, funny, and sometimes angsty story about a hot movie star and his slightly geeky soon-to-be-ex. Comment on this post and I’ll choose a winner.–Shira

Amazon | Dreamspinner | B&N

Here’s the blurb:

The truth might ruin his dreams—or make them come true.

When Zane moves into an old gothic brownstone, he discovers the house comes equipped with a caretaker—Kit, who lives in the basement. Zane is immediately drawn to the charming and attractive Kit. But Kit is much more than he seems. He is a two-hundred-year-old half-human, half–red-fox spirit who guards a Gate between the mortal and spirit worlds—a fact Zane should recognize, but doesn’t.

Orphaned at a young age, Zane never learned he comes from a long line of mystical Keepers. Kit needs Zane’s help to protect the Gate, but how can he tell Zane of his legacy when that will crush Zane’s dreams of traveling the world? If he takes up the mantle, Zane will be bound to the Gate, unable to leave it. But when Zane realizes Kit’s true nature, and his own, he’ll have to make a choice—fight to protect Kit and the Gate, or deny his destiny and any chance of a future with Kit.

 

Fox Spirit’s Gift, by Shira Anthony (based on the characters in Finder’s Keeper)

 

Kit stared at the delicate wooden box, then back up at Zane. “For my birthday? But—”

“Everyone needs to celebrate their birthday.” Zane grinned back at him.

“But I have no birthday. At least not one I remember.” In the two-hundred years he’d been alive, Kit had never even thought to ask what day he’d been born.

“Lor and I decided it’s today, November 5^th.”

Lor hovered above them, wings buzzing, clearly amused. Ever since Kit and Zane had returned from the spirit world, Lor had been acting more like Cupid than the demon he was. Kit would speak to Lor when he had a chance and remind him that the Keeper of the Gateway between worlds served the Guardian, and not the other way around. If anything, he should have asked Zane what he wanted for his birthday.

“You’re doing it again,” Zane said, interrupting Kit’s thoughts.

“Doing it?”

“Worrying about everyone but yourself.” Zane pointed to the box in Kit’s hands. “How about opening it?”

Kit nodded. “I… of course. I’m so grateful you’d think of me.”

“Kit?”

“Hmm?”

“Equals, remember? You and I?” Zane put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. One look at Zane and Kit believed he was Zane’s equal. But sometimes he forgot. He’d spent centuries serving Keepers before he’d met Zane. He’d never considered himself their equal.

Kit opened the lid and peered inside. The silver of the necklace gleamed under the bright kitchen lights. Gingerly, he pulled it from the box. That’s when he realized there were two small sterling charms dangling from the chain. One was a key, the other a door.

“The Gateway,” he said, his eyes filling with tears.

Zane nodded. “That’s us. Keeper and Guardian. Together. Always.”

“Thank you,” Kit whispered as a powerful wave of emotion threatened. “For everything.”

“No,” Zane said, his eyes wide and dark with emotion, “thank you. For giving me a home.”