Authorpreneur Dashboard – Nicole Eatough
The Perilous Gems
Romance
Ali ran away from home with plans to forge her independence and escape her parent’s control—plans that became slightly derailed after she gained three handsome genie roommates. Still, she’s determined to get back on track. Too bad Tavor has different ideas.
Now that he’s realized Ali must be a genie whisperer, Tavor is determined for her to free the rest of the McMichael genies. At least, as free as they can be while still tied to a master.
As for Ali, she’s not interested in risking exposing their little group when she can’t offer the genies true freedom. However, when Tavor’s scheming leads to her directly confronting the McMichael’s cruel treatment of their genies, she will be forced to choose. Will she stay in her safe little world, working toward a degree to give herself independence from her parents? Or risk her own freedom to save strangers? And what will be the consequences of taking on the powerful McMichael family?
*This series is the equivalent of a mild T or pg-13 rating for some violence and romantic situations.
Book Bubbles from The Perilous Gems
Advocating for a Reverse Harem
The heroine of The Genie Whisperer, Ali, has a miraculous ability to steal genies, so the first genie she accidentally ended up with, Tavor, advocates (then schemes) for her to steal the rest of the genies belonging to the family he’s escaped from. All the genies she steals in books one and two will eventually be part of her harem that develops through plot-relevant forces leading them to this decision. I love the role that Tavor plays in all this. At this point, he has no idea how much Ali will come to mean to them all, or even an inkling that any of them would hold romantic feelings for a human, let alone all of them. As I work on a later book were jealousy is beginning to kick in, it’s fun to look back on this scene where the master of schemers has no idea what he’s setting off.
Looking for enemies to lovers?
One of the things I love most about series is character and relationship development. Enemies to lovers isn’t necessarily my favorite trope, but I do really enjoy this plot line when it’s done well. Seeing things change between characters who truly are enemies, and anticipating how that will affect their relationship and lead to them coming together is just so much fun. The shadow genie is by far the darkest of the love interests in this reverse harem, but that means his growth is probably the one I’m most excited for. This series is slow burn, so it will be several books before this genie falls for the heroine, but, in my opinion, that makes the fall so much the sweeter ;)
Looking for a Gentle Lover? (Reverse Harem)
One of the fun aspects of reverse harems is having a variety of love interests for the heroine. When I created the plant genie, it seemed a natural choice to make him a bit gentler than some of the others. Early on in the series, he comes across as a bit of an airhead, but the reason behind his semi-present attitude will eventually be revealed. Also, this series is so slow burn, it takes until book two to meet all the members of the heroine’s eventual harem. I really wanted to create a satisfying story where the relationships progress naturally. It was exciting to release book two and introduce the rest of the love interests.
The Three C’s of Genie Whispering
Romance
It’s the holiday season, which means traditional celebrations with family. At least, that’s what it used to mean for Ali, but her family no longer remembers she exists, and nothing is traditional when you have seven alluring genies for roommates. Follow Ali and her allies on three new adventures as they navigate a life of freedom and testing limits.
An innocent suggestion by the water genie that Tavor take over the cooking turns Thanksgiving into a baking competition between Ali and Tavor with high stakes. The winner will be in charge of all meals, which means if Ali loses, she must give up her one hobby outside of studying. Can her passion for cooking beat Tavor’s magically made meals?
Following Thanksgiving—and the crowning of a baking champion—Ali can’t imagine celebrating Christmas without her parents, but Rajan and Illan are determined to get her into the holiday spirit. Things go awry when their efforts threaten to turn the most magical time of the year into a magical disaster.
However, before they can even think of celebrating, they must deal with an insidious danger lurking in the shadows. The McMichael genie wizards have been offered one last chance to redeem themselves. This time, they’ll attack Ali with the surest way to end any master—with her own genies. Will Ali survive being thrown at the mercy of the genies? Especially when not all of them are keen on remaining with her . . .
Book Bubbles from The Three C’s of Genie Whispering
Not Quite Ready to Let the Holidays Go?
I didn't actually set out to write a holiday book, it just happened to be the November/December timeframe within the story and I wanted to take a break from the main plot to write something a little lighter. Focusing on the holidays seemed the perfect way to do that. And this opened up fun opportunities for a little more flirting to take place in this slow burn romance, as well as opportunities for the heroine to deepen her relationship with her guys.
Have a Reverse Harem Christmas
Before beginning to write The Genie Whisperer series, I did a ton of research into some of my favorite reverse harem manga where I made lists of repeated tropes, situations, and character types I enjoyed. One of the things I wanted to include in this series from that list was a character who refuses to do something for the heroine, but who then does more for her than the rest of the love interests. A Christmas side story seemed like the perfect time to write a scene like that, and I’m quite happy with how it turned out. I hope readers enjoy it as well.
Reverse Harem Christmas Fun
From the beginning of planning to publish, I wanted to write series that lended themselves to side stories. There’s just something so fun about getting to see beloved characters in less high stake situations. I feel like more of the characters’ personality comes out and relationships get to develop in different ways. With writing a reverse harem series, side stories became even more important to me. There’s so much going on in the main plot that I really wanted an opportunity to slow down and focus on the heroine’s relationship with the different guys. Though these “side stories” ended up having plot relevant information impacting the next books. At least they’re still fun and more light-hearted!
The Glittering Gems
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Seven alluring genies. One gifted young woman. Who all will win her heart in this clean reverse harem romance?
After having her whole life dictated by her parents, Ali is determined to gain her independence. She’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish her dreams and forge her own path—which does not include relying on the alluring genie suddenly thrust into her life. But when one handsome genie multiplies into three, she fears her plans for independence may be thrown into disarray.
After spending thousands of years enslaved to humanity, working with a human is the last thing on any genie’s mind, but Tavor senses something different about Ali. Aside from her refusal to make wishes, she’s somehow unwittingly stealing genies from their masters—which is supposed to be impossible. Could there possibly be something special about her?
As Tavor pulls Ali deeper into his world, she can’t help but feel compassion for the genies and their fight for freedom. But this new world entangles her in the lives of the genies’ former masters, who are more than eager to kill to reclaim their genies. Can Ali continue to help the genies when doing so not only risks her own dreams, but also her life?
Book Bubbles from The Glittering Gems
Fun, Clean Fantasy
Fantasy has always been my favorite genre. While the real world has many wonderful things in it, it just seems so tame compared to a world filled with magic or other creatures. When it came to writing my own stories, I knew they had to be fantasy (partially because I can't write something without magic creeping into it). I also really wanted them to be something that brightened people's day, because those are my favorite type of books. The first book in my series The Genie Whisperer (a tale about a young woman who doesn't want wishes, but ends up with several genies) is available for free. I hope you enjoy it if you check it out!
The Power of Alluring Genies
It's kind of funny why I chose to center this series around genies. Nearly a decade ago, I saw an ad for a Facebook ad with genies. Having no knowledge of Facebook at the time, I'd hoped for a game with a storyline. Instead I found bejeweled with genies and opted not to play. But then I asked myself: what story with genies would I find enticing? Genies make an interesting choice for love interests for a human because they're cunning, mischievous and very much a different race who thinks differently than we do. It's been fun working out how a relationship like that would develop.
When Genies Ruin Your Life Plans
When I decided to do a series featuring genies, I knew I wanted a protagonist adamantly against wishes, so created Ali. Ali, after growing up in a controlling home, is obsessed with independence and doing everything herself. That alone, of course, isn't a story, so at least some of the genies in her life needed to be schemers. When the genie Tavor realizes that Ali isn't quite human, he's more than happy to try to take over her life to try to accomplish his own goals. Genies are well known in stories for ruining their master's lives, but I liked the idea of the master having their life taken over not because they didn't understand wishes well enough, but because they refused to make wishes, so the genies decided to try to play on their sympathies to get what they wanted instead.
No More Second Lead Syndrome
Second lead syndrome is when there's a love triangle and a reader prefers the love interest who doesn’t end up with the heroine. I suppose that's why one romance author said readers should always know who the heroine will end up with in a love triangle. Personally, I disagree. If I know who the real love interest is, then all of the interactions that would be sweet or heart-warming feel meaningless. I know the main character won't end up with this guy, so what's the point? Reverse harems get rid of that problem. You don't have to worry about the heroine not ending up with your favorite guy, because she'll end up with all of them. I think that's one of the fun aspects of the genre.
A Little Jealousy to Add some Spice
It’s kind of ironic that I enjoy a little jealousy in a story since I normally hate it when characters have hurt feelings. I guess it’s because jealousy done well can be an aspect of caring. It’s a fun way for a guy to show that the heroine is precious to him and that he wants to be with her. I write reverse harem romance, so the heroine will eventually end up with all the love interests, but I still think it’s fun to include some jealousy in there to keep things interesting ;)
Free Reverse Harem Series Starter
I know there’s plenty of debate about whether it’s worth it to make first books in a series free, especially when so many authors do it these days. But with SO much content available out there, I know that I prefer not to invest any money in a series until I’m sure I’m interested and will love the story. While a single book may not be expensive, when you’re an obsessive reader, the cost of all those books adds up! So my hope is that readers will enjoy the taste of what my reverse harem series has to offer through a free book one, and then come along for the rest of the ride (if you love slow burn and jealous lovers, the wait will be worth it!).
Slow Burn Reverse Harem Series
For me, the satisfaction of a good romance is watching characters fall in love bit by bit. It’s knowing in my heart why they want to be together, because I’ve been there for all the important moments as they grew closer. That’s one of the reasons I love series. Multiple books allow you to cover relationships and character growth in a much deeper way, which is particularly important if you’re introducing a whole bunch of love interests. My reverse harem series The Genie Whisperer is so slow burn that it takes two books to meet all the love interests, but I hope it’s a series that will leave readers truly satisfied at the depth of relations between the characters.
Dun, Dun, Dun Moment
I love moments or reveals in books that make me gasp. I don’t know if this moment here is quite a dun, dun, dun moment, but it’s certainly a big reveal that I wanted to excite readers. In this scene, for the first time after thousands of years of living, the main genie in the series has hope that freedom from slavery to humanity might be possible - all because the heroine isn’t quite what she thinks she is. Of course, scheming genie that he is, it’ll be a while before he reveals this truth to her.
Clean Reverse Harem Romance
As a teenager, I grew up loving reverse harem manga and anime, and lamenting that Western novels didn’t have that same genre. I wanted more reverse harem, and in longer-form content, dang it! Then I was excited to learn it HAD entered Western novels - then I was sad, again, to learn it was primarily written as steamy romance, which is not my thing. So, I switched from writing straight YA fantasy romance novels to instead writing YA fantasy reverse harem romance novels to create the stories I wanted to read. Hopefully, I’m not the only one wishing for clean reverse harem stories, lol. Part of the fun of reverse harems for me is the jealousy. I hope you enjoy this scene where jealousy is just beginning to start within my series The Genie Whisperer.
Slow burn for the win
When I was younger, I was satisfied with the plot line of ‘the hero and the heroine like each other . . . because.’ Now? I don’t find any satisfaction in an insta-love storyline (unless there’s a compelling paranormal reason for it). I want to know why the hero and heroine like each other, I want to see them fall in love, and understand why their feelings are changing, and how they’re developing. The relationship means so much more to me as a reader when I am along for the entire ride, not sitting back as I scratch my head and wonder why on earth these characters like each other when they don’t really know anything about each other. My characters? They build their relationship bit by bit, their affection and trust growing as they experience life together.
Planning a heist?
In this scene of The Glittering Gems, the main character--influenced by something she's unaware of--touches a museum artifact, setting off on alarm. In preparation to write this, I researched anti-theft mechanisms used by museums and other companies . . . which left me feeling like my search engine history pointed toward me being a thief. Thanks to this, as well as other similar instances, I opted to switch to a more private browser soon after. There’s just too many things I need to search for within my writing that make me look guilty of something. Then again, maybe I’m just paranoid ;)
No More Second Lead Syndrome
Second lead syndrome is when there's a love triangle and a reader adores the love interest who won't end up with the heroine. I suppose that's why one romance author said readers should always know who the heroine will end up in a love triangle. Personally, I disagree. If I know who the real love interest is, then all of the interactions that would be sweet or heart-warming feel meaningless. I know the main character won't end up with this guy, so what's the point? Reverse harems get rid of that problem. You don't have to worry about the heroine not ending up with your favorite guy, because she'll end up with all of them. I think that's one of the fun aspects of the genre.
Why stop at a love triangle?
As a teenager, I grew up with reverse harem stories like Ouran High Host Club and Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time. They were so much fun, and I was always so disappointed there weren't full length novels in the same style with a main heroine surrounded by several love interests. I was ecstatic to learn that reverse harem had transitioned to become a genre in Western fiction - then a little disappointed to learn that the genre had morphed a bit during the transition and wasn't quite what I was looking for. I decided that if reverse harem novels in the same style as the manga and anime I loved didn't exist, then I would write them. I'd already had the idea for The Genie Whisperer, and turning it into a reverse harem made it even better. The first book is available for free. If you check it out, I hope you enjoy!
