I recently had the opportunity to interact with a British author named Danielle Rose-West. Wait, an author with a female version of my lead character's name, my first Doctor Who companion AND my favorite direction? Let me tell you, this one is awesome!
This was the author photo she sent.
She's also on Twitter!
Pure genius! And what better way to celebrate this genius by giving you a look into the book. I mean, it was either that or give in to my A.D.D. and talk about my other favorite phoenix and who would do a thing like that...
Because of course I'm going to talk about the X-Men! Why WOULDN'T YOU TALK ABOUT X-MEN?! There's even a movie coming out!
1) GAMBIT
Somewhere, 11 year old me is doing a fist pump!
Let's get one thing out of the way. This is not a ranking list. This is just a list of my personal favorites. And I could write an entire ARTICLE about how awesome Gambit is. Not only is he the Raging Cajun, but he's also the only character that I know of that can make "playing solitaire" seem sexy.
The 90s were a different time ya'll.
2) PHOENIX
Comics everybody!
Jean Grey, the redheaded powerhouse of the X-Men is also the reason I wrote this whole thing. I have always loved her, even during the 90s when she had that weird bodysuit costume. What I enjoy most is the fact that even though she has near-cosmic powers, she always has time to hang out with the X-Man whose power is angst.
No, Cyclops didn't make this list.
Because when you love a woman, marry her identical clone,
father two different children in two different timelines,
marry the original woman,
and then get to end up with Emma Frost...you don't need a list.
You are in fact a god.
3) WOLVERINE
The most popular Canadian export outside of Alex Trebbek
If this were the 90s, I probably would have had Wolvie be #1. Or just have the top eleven favorite Wolverine moments. The guy with knives in his hand, who is older then Methuselah's babysitter, has served on every superhero team outside of The Power Pack, and is played by Hugh Jackman needs no list. He's the best he is at what he does. And what he does is be awesome!
On the set of Wolverine 3: Dapper Hard
4) ROGUE
Making that bomber jacket look good.
The Southern Belle of the X-Men, Rogue is one of those characters that you can't help but love. A woman who can never touch anyone, lest she hurt them, Rogue has been both villain and hero. She's also one of the best parts of the great mutant soap opera that is the X-Men. And she's also responsible for my firm belief that skunk hair is sexy.
And has made watching True Blood WEIRD!
5) ICEMAN
If you were to look up the word "Complicated" in the Marvel Dictionairy, you'd see Psylocke's photo. A British woman, just like Danielle Rose-West, Betsy Braddock was transplanted into the body of a ninja, has a psychic blade, and the mutant ability to twist her chest and buttocks to both face the reader. She's a strong independent woman who needs no man, and is completely at ease with who she is.
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Just kidding. But man, whatever happened to Val Kilmer?
Seriously, dude has dropped off the map!
Iceman, one of the founding members of the X-Men, I have always loved this dude. Not only is he Frosty the Mutant Snowman, but he's also the only X-Man to headline a Spider-Man cartoon! And remember, you can't have a party without Ice!
Who's up for snow cones?
6) PSYLOCKE
Friend to cosplayers everywhere!
And who she is, is a hot mess.
7) BEAST
Yes, he is wearing tights the same color as his fur.
No, I don't know why either.
Rivaling Wolverine for the X-Man who's served on the most teams, Beast is the resident genius, Olympic level athlete, and bane of X-Mansion shower drains. He's also the only character on this list to have been played by a Cheers alumni.
Yes, Frasier Crane was in X-Men 3.
8) Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde has a dragon.
Don't mess with Kitty Pryde.
The woman known as Shadowcat, Kitty, Sprite, Ariel (not that Ariel) the woman has always been the heart of the X-Men. Coming in under the "Uncanny X-Men" era, Kitty provided readers with a special viewpoint. She was vulnerable, she was smart, and she grew up in the X-Men just like we were. She was also the first to call Professor X a jerk.
Wait, I think I owned that jacket!
9) Colossus
His mutant power is love.
And turning himself into metal.
But mostly love.
One of the few Russians in Marvel Comics that ISN'T a spy, Colossus always connected with me because he was a big, strong guy, who was also an artist at heart. I could relate to that. We both tended to be a bit bull in a china shop at times, and our luck with the ladies was sometimes hit or miss.
Colossus and Kitty Pryde.
Seen here playing "Hide the purple dragon".
10) MAGNETO
The dude rocks a cape like a BOSS!
He's been a friend and foe to the X-Men, but what I love about Magneto is: The dude has always had a point. Here's a guy who survived the Holocaust, and knows exactly what evil lurks in the heart of men. And in the end, he's still a dude who's willing to swallow his pride, and work with his oldest and dearest friend to do the right thing.
I'm not saying I own a sleeveless shirt with a giant M on it.
I'm just saying I've not eliminated the possibility.
11) STORM
Storm: Does not care if it's after Labor Day!
Once worshipped as a Goddess, Storm is hands down one of my all-time favorite characters. She grew up in Egypt as a pickpocket, became a hero, went on to be the first woman to lead an X-Men team, and proved once and for all that she can do anything a man can do.
Seriously.
She has absolutely no time for your nonsense.
So, these are my favorites. What are some of yours? Let me know in the comments. And in the meantime, why not take a chance on PHOENIX RISING?
View the book trailer here!
Book Synopsis
How can Fairy Godmothers help their
charges find love in the modern world when nobody believes in magic anymore?
Simple, they run a dating agency!
Rhys Spencer is determined to prevent
his rich father from shutting down the charity he set up for kids in gangs, but
he needs the money from a trust fund to do it. However, his grandmother has
withheld the funds until he proves himself to be a mature, responsible person.
To her mind, that means Rhys being in a serious relationship. Rhys turns to the
Fairy Tale Match to find a woman he can use as a fake girlfriend. He will do
all it takes to claim the money that will thwart his father’s selfish plans.
The feisty woman the agency sets him up with, will not stand in his way.
Taylor Shore has more complications
in her life than anyone should have to deal with. Guardian to her two
half-siblings since their parents’ deaths, she has her hands full with their
constant troublemaking. The last thing she needs is to win the prize in a
dating agency competition she never entered. Furious to find her friend entered
for her, Taylor is determined to send her prize packing. The guy that turns up
to stay with her for three weeks, however, has other plans in mind. Refusing to
be ordered from her house, the arrogant man offers her a deal she’d be a fool
to refuse.
As Rhys inserts himself into Taylor’s
problems, he begins to turn her life around. The angry fireworks between them
gives way to a passionate love. Just as they find happiness, a vicious lie told
by Taylor’s sister breaks them apart. Flo and Lotta have their work cut out for
them to bring Rhys and Taylor back together. Time is against them and tragedy
lurks on the horizon. Can Flo and Lotta save the day, or will Rhys and Taylor
lose the precious love they have found forever….
Excerpt
Her jaw dropped open and
she stared at him disbelievingly. “You can’t be serious. You want me to be a
fake girlfriend and lie to your grandmother? Why?”
He folded his arms over
his chest. “You didn’t want to tell me why you were hanging from a window
earlier, and I don’t want to tell you why I need you to do this.” He gazed at
her with one eyebrow cocked. “I’ll stay out of your business if you stay out of
mine.”
“It’s hardly the same
thing!” she protested. “You expect me to lie for you. I should at least know
why. It’s a despicable thing to pull the wool over your own grandmother’s eyes.
I knew there had to be some reason why you’d joined a dating agency! It’s
because of this, whatever this is, isn’t it?” She didn’t even wait for a reply.
“Why am I not surprised?”
Her tone told him she
expected nothing less from him. Rhys contemplated her reaction. She was
unlikely to help him just because he’d saved her from that fall. He needed to
sweeten the deal.
“I tell you what, you do
this for me and I’ll not only call us even on the favour front, but I’ll pay
you five grand if you pull it off. What do you say?”
She gaped at him and shook
her head. “I have to have heard you wrong. Did you say you’d pay me five grand
to be your fake girlfriend?”
“I did,” he confirmed,
“but only if you are convincing enough that my grandmother believes it.”
Taylor stared into space.
He could almost see the wheels whirling round in her head. “I’m not sure how
comfortable I am with this. Do you guarantee me that this is nothing untoward?
I don’t want to find out that I’ve helped you do something illegal or immoral.”
“You wound me with your
lack of trust.” He clasped a hand to his chest.
She snorted. “Like I care.
Well?”
“I can guarantee you that
nobody will be hurt by this, nor are my reasons immoral or illegal.” He held
out a hand. “Do we have an agreement?”
“How do I know that you’ll
pay me? I could do everything you ask and then you could simply renege on the
deal.” She ignored his hand and cast him a challenging glare.
Taylor obviously had
severe trust issues. Rhys could relate. “I will pay you half in good faith,
now. You will receive the other half when the task is complete. Sound fair?”
Taylor gazed at him for
several moments. Her lips twisted to one side and she chewed on the corner of
her mouth. Finally, she held out her hand. “Okay, you have a deal. God knows
what I’m getting myself into, but I’ll do it.”
Danielle Rose-West BIO:
My name is Danielle Rose-West. I live
in the United Kingdom with my family and my little dog, who is very much a part
of the family. I have always been a dreamer and an incurable romantic with a
vivid imagination. When I was a child, I was always reading. If anyone ever
went looking for me, they usually found me curled up somewhere with a book!
Most times when they spoke to me, I didn’t hear a word they said (my sister
never believed me about this, but I honestly never heard her!). I was too
wrapped up in the adventures I was reading.
When I was growing up, I wanted to be
either an author or a librarian. I never made it as a librarian, but ended up
in office work instead. It has taken a long time for me to finally realise my
dream to write, but I’m finally here. I now write contemporary romance with a
magical or suspenseful twist. I like things that have something a little out of
the ordinary about them in both my reading and my writing preferences.
These days I spend most of my time
plotting new books and characters as well as enjoying finding out where my
characters are going to take me in the story. I don’t always know how
everything will develop, sometimes they surprise me. Some of the things that
happened in both my books, Wild Fire and Forever You, were unexpected surprises
that suddenly hit me while I was writing or quite often when I was awake in the
early morning hours. I love it when that happens. The whole book just comes
together as if by magic (perhaps Lotta and Flo, my two fairy godmothers, have
something to do with it!).
When I’m not writing and plotting, I
love to spend time with my husband and family. I love to read, of course, and
to watch enjoyable films or TV. I also love walking. It’s great exercise and
helps me clear my mind.
My biggest wish is to entertain my
readers and leave them with happy hearts at the end of the book and a wistful
sigh of romantic bliss. If I achieve that for them, I’m happy!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DRoseWest
Amazon Author Page US: https://www.amazon.com/author/daniellerosewest
Amazon
Author Page UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Danielle-Rose-West/e/B00EF5GXSO
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