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nIn the fairy tale, the princesses dance every night with fairy suitors. The suitors’ intentions are honorable, but humans in their hubris don’t consider that. It’s an enchantment, so it must be bad. The hero of the fairy tale isn’t a bad guy: he’s a soldier down on his luck. He’s kind and often compassionate. He’s also smart. 
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n​But the princess he chooses doesn’t want him. She wants her fairy suitor.
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nAnd what about her sisters? What do they want. What happens to them?
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nBecause I love a good romance, the princesses all get their own romantic subplots. Some end in tragedy. Some end in plot twists they don’t see coming. Some end just as they should.
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nI added characters, too: the princess’ brothers. Four of them, two older and two younger. That deepens the political ramifications and complexity of the story. The princes have as little choice as their sisters in whom they wed—and they didn’t get the pleasure of dancing with fairies.
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nAntagonists include the Champion, the enigmatic, inscrutable, heavily armored warrior who serves as the royal defender, the siblings’ father who’s a ruling duke (not a king), a mad king, a despot, a power-hungry crown princess of another country, and various other individuals who will do anything and everything to secure power for themselves.
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nIt’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. And dangerous, too.
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nThe Diamond Gate contains lots of action and thrills aplenty, but won’t offend those sensitive to explicit content. Sure, sex is part of romance, but this book leaves the bedroom doors closed.
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nAnyway, The Diamond Gate finally received its first review–and it’s a great one! Download the book (it’s only 99 cents) and see if you agree with the reviewer.
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n n​Boy meets girl. n nAuthor Charlotte Forsythe is determined not to be a victim again. Her Great Dane, Finn, makes sure of it. While vacationing with Finn in San Diego, Charlotte meets Navy SEAL Eric Outerbach. It doesn’t go well. Eric begs forgiveness. n nBoy and girl become friends. n nThey make a long distance friendship work through texts and phone calls. The film rights to two of Charlotte’s books are sold and she heads back out to California to supervise the conversion of written content to the silver screen. And the friendship’s not so long distance after all. n nBoy and girl fall in love. n nHow could she not fall in love with a handsome, sexy warrior like Eric? How could he not love a woman as gentle and forgiving as Charlotte? n nA guardian’s duty ends. n nFinn is mighty, but old. It’s time to pass on the duties of love and protection to someone else.n n

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Excerpt

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n​She walked off and the dog obediently fell into step beside her.
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n“You’re a good boy, Finn,” she said and gave him a light scratch between the ears.
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nThey returned to the hotel where one of the bellman greeted her by name with a broad smile.
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n“And how is old Finn today?” he asked, ruffling the dog’s ears.
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n“Feeling a little bruised. He crashed into a sailor today while chasing a Frisbee,” she replied with a rueful little smile.
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n“One of those SEALs?”
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n“Is that what they are?”
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n“Yep,” Fidel answered and pulled a dog treat from his pocket to give to Finn, who delicately took it from his fingers. “They train out there all the time. Grueling stuff.”
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n“Well, perhaps that explains the nasty disposition,” Charlotte muttered.
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n“So, Miss Forsythe, what are your plans for today?”
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n“I think Finn and I have had enough of the beach for this morning,” she said. “We’re going to lounge by the pool and relax for a bit.” She hesitated, then asked, “I saw some bistro type restaurants with outside seating alongside the beach. Is there something like that that’s not so close to the beach?”
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n“Sure,” Fidel said. “I know great place nearby that fits your bill. The service is quick, the food is good, and the staff are friendly. They also have outside seating along the sidewalk, so you can bring your dog.”
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nCharlotte thanked him and walked into the lobby, where another of the hotel staff greeted her and the dog by name with a big smile.
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n“Wow,” she said to herself. “When the website advertised this place as pet friendly, they weren’t kidding.”
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nShe led Finn to the pet relief area, which he made good use of. Then they returned to her room where she used the bathroom and changed into a modest, one-piece swimsuit. Before walking out the door she picked up a book and a small bag filled with gourmet dog biscuits. They walked to the large swimming pool. Charlotte found a comfortable lounge chair and Finn plopped down beside her. A hotel staff member rushed forward with a stainless steel bowl of cool, clean water and set it down beside Finn. Charlotte smiled her thanks and opened her book. Finn slurped his water, then crunched down the dog biscuits she slowly fed him.
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nBut the book failed to hold her interest. She kept thinking back to the big, muscular man whom Finn had accidentally crashed into. He’d be attractive if he weren’t such an ill-tempered jerk. Wow, again. Both for the hunky SEAL trainees who trained on the beach and for the incredible staff of the hotel who treated her and Finn like gold.
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n“You know, big guy,” she said softly, “if we ever come back, we are definitely staying here again.”
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nReally, except for that morning’s encounter, her vacation had been wonderful.
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