How It All Began by Lori MacLaughlin

How It All Began

Thank you, Lidy, for having me over!!

When I was in fifth and sixth grade, I remember my mom taking me to our local library to look for books I couldn’t find in the school library. At the time I was devouring Nancy Drew mysteries and horse stories. The library was small, a dusty old building with creaky floorboards and the heavenly smell of old books.

It was there that I discovered an entirely new kind of book, and I soon became lost in the worlds of Prydain, Narnia, and Andre Norton’s Avalon. These fantastical adventures in extraordinary lands captivated me and sparked my imagination. I was hooked on Fantasy.

From there it wasn’t much of a leap to LeGuin’s Earthsea novels, Brooks’ Shannara series, and Tolkien’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

One thing I noticed, though, with a lot of fantasy fiction was that there weren’t many heroines who got a piece of the action. Some used magic, some were healers, some damsels in distress. I wanted more Eowyns. Women who didn’t need protecting. Shield maidens who fought with swords and held their own in battle.

I began creating my own stories with strong women who could cross swords with the best of them. Women who live by their own code, heroic but flawed, torn by inner demons. Though they might not always be on the right side of the law, their hearts are on the good side of humanity. (I’ve always been partial to good-hearted rogues, i.e. Han Solo types.)

And thus Tara and Laraina Triannon were born.

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TITLE: Trouble By Any Other Name

Sequel to Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble

AUTHOR: Lori L. MacLaughlin

RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2016

GENRE: Fantasy

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About the Book:

Tara Triannon is no stranger to trouble. She’s yet to find an enemy her skill with a sword couldn’t dispatch. But how can she fight one that attacks through her dreams?

With her nightmares worsening, Tara seeks answers but finds only more questions. Then her sister, Laraina, reveals a stunning secret that forces Tara to go to the one place Tara’s sworn never to return to. Her troubles multiply when Jovan Trevillion, the secretive soldier of fortune who stole her heart, is mentally tortured by an ancient Being intent on bending him to its will. And worst of all, the Butcher — the terrifying wolf-like assassin she thought she’d killed — survived their duel and is hunting her again.

Hounded by enemies, Tara sets out on a harrowing quest to discover the true nature of who she is, to come to grips with the new volatility of her magic, and to defeat the evil locked in a centuries-old trap that will stop at nothing to control her magic and escape through her nightmares.

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Author Bio:

Lori L. MacLaughlin traces her love of fantasy adventure to Tolkien and Terry Brooks, finding The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara particularly inspirational. She’s been writing stories in her head since she was old enough to run wild through the forests on the farm on which she grew up.

She has been many things over the years – tree climber, dairy farmer, clothing salesperson, kids’ shoe fitter, retail manager, medical transcriptionist, journalist, private pilot, traveler, wife and mother, Red Sox and New York Giants fan, muscle car enthusiast and NASCAR fan, and a lover of all things Scottish and Irish.

When she’s not writing (or working), she can be found curled up somewhere dreaming up more story ideas, taking long walks in the countryside, or spending time with her kids. She lives with her family in northern Vermont.

You can find her here:

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