Called "The Reigning Queen of Paranormal Romance" by Best Reviews, bestselling author Kristine Grayson has made a name for herself publishing light, slightly off-skew romance novels about Greek Gods, fairy tale characters, and the modern world.

She also contemporary romance under her real name—USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

As Kristine Grayson, she also edits the romance volumes of Fiction River: An Original Anthology Magazine.

For more information about her work, go to the Kristine Grayson website and sign up for her newsletter.

Simply Irresistible by Kristine Grayson

Dexter Grant, the inspiration for the greatest superhero of all time, lives a simple life. He runs a pet store in Portland, Oregon, and privately calls himself a Kitten Superhero because he saves stray animals. But he aspires to something greater.

The Fates, three women who control the magical universe, got fired. On the run, they turn to an old friend for help, but that friend died. Her niece, Vivian Kineally, runs her estate. Vivian, who loves comic books. Vivian, who also happens to be psychic.

The Fates steer Vivian to Dexter. They want his help. Together, Vivian and Dexter must save the Fates—and deal with true love all at the same time.

CURATOR'S NOTE

Okay. I gotta fess up. I'm Kristine Grayson. Grayson is the pen name I developed years ago when traditional publishers believed that science fiction, fantasy, and romance do not mix. The pen name has a life and a fanbase all its own, because the Grayson novels have a voice all their own. I had a lot of fun writing Simply Irresistible, not only does it feature cats (and the Fates), but also a superhero named Dexter Grant. He tried to hang up his hero-ing hat but found himself rescuing cats, becoming a self-proclaimed kitten superhero. And the book only gets weirder from there…which is a Grayson trademark. – Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

REVIEWS

  • "The reigning queen of paranormal romance."

    – The Best Reviews
  • "Simply Irresistible is an enchanting blend of sweet romance, mythology, and magic as Grayson puts her own unique magical stamp on figures from Greek myths and fairy tales, including a deliciously over-the-top super villain and a hero who inspired the creation of Superman. And Grayson's clever, humor-tinged writing is absolutely delightful."

    – Booklist
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

Chapter 1

WHY DO ALL superheroes have to look like Superman?" Vivian Kinneally asked as she studied the interior of her nephew's comic book. She was sitting on the stoop outside her apartment building, her eleven-year-old nephew, Kyle, beside her.

The sun cast its warm rays on the concrete steps and illuminated Kyle's latest hand-drawn effort. In the week that Vivian had lived in Portland, the sun had been out every day. She had no idea how the city had gotten its rainy, gloomy reputation.

"He doesn't look like Superman," Kyle said, craning his neck over the double-page spread that rested on Vivian's knees.

"Yes, he does." Viv traced the hero's chin, feeling the pen marks beneath her finger. "See? He's got the same lantern jaw that Siegel and Shuster gave the original in 1938. He's even got the dimple in his chin."

She loved that dimple. She had always thought—and never admitted aloud—that the Siegel and Shuster Superman, the original, was the handsomest man she had ever seen. Even if he was only a creation of paper and pen.

"Superman doesn't have a dimple," Kyle said.

"Sure he does." Vivian smiled at her nephew. Kyle was thin and bookish, his round glasses sliding to the bottom of his nose. His fingers were stained with ink, and the fleshy side of his palm had traces of the red he'd used to color the book. "Take a look, especially in the first thirty years or so, before he got associated with Christopher Reeve."

"I didn't want my character to look like Superman," Kyle said. "Spider-Man doesn't look like Superman."

Kyle wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned forward, extending his Nike-covered feet down three steps. Vivian's brother, Travers, kept Kyle dressed like the athlete he would never be. Vivian wondered how Kyle would do now that she had relocated here.

"Actually," Vivian said, "they all look like Superman. They have to. They need the muscles and the strong chin. Could you imagine wearing one of those costumes if you had a weak chin? You'd look like—"

"Michael Keaton in Batman," Kyle said before she could. She'd made that argument before.

"You said you wanted to know what I thought," she said.

"After you've read it," Kyle said. "I think this one is really different."

Vivian smiled at him. Kyle's greatest dream was to become a comic book writer. Travers said that was her fault. Vivian had the most extensive comic book collection of anyone she knew—and she knew a lot of comic book fans (although most of them weren't twenty-seven-year-old women).

When she was a kid, comic books had been her escape. In them, she found people with secret identities and super powers, mutants who decided to fight on the side of all that was good and right. She had a super power too, although she had never thought of it as that, at least not when she was growing up. Then it had simply been something else that marked her as different.

She hated being different so much. She was teased by her peers. She used to look at the superheroes and daydream that someday she would meet one, and he would sweep her off her feet.

She could even imagine the panel art: an entire page with Superman or Batman or some other square-jawed (and dimple-chinned) superhero with a cape, carrying her in his arms.

Vivian slid her own round glasses up her nose and stared at Kyle's art. He was spectacular for someone his age. There was a confidence to his work that most young artists lacked. His stories were still derivative, but she knew that originality took time—and Kyle had plenty of time.

She raised her head, seeing if she got a sense of her brother, Travers. She was psychic, and there were some people she was particularly attuned to. Her brother, Travers, was one of them. So was her younger sister, Megan. And, until a few weeks ago, Vivian had been attuned to her Aunt Eugenia too.

"You okay, Aunt Viv?" Kyle asked.

The family question.