I know I am known for my books with dragons soaring through the skies and making terrible messes on the ground.  I also know that most of my readers follow me because of those dragons.  However, every once in a while a bug bites me and I decide to write in a different genre.  Hadash Aviv, part of LT3's Kiss Me at Midnight collection, was the first contemporary story I've ever written, and it's probably also one of my absolute favorite stories that I've put together. 

The original collection call was for stories of less than 10k words centered around the theme of New Years.  I got an idea and was so inspired I wrote Hadash Aviv in one sitting.  I can still remember my first images of a little boy walking towards the Israeli soldiers with a bomb sewn into his teddy bear.  The way Aviv tugged at my heartstrings because his story, while fictional, was all too true in the real fight Israelis are trying to survive today gave me all the incentive I needed to start writing his story.  Hadash Aviv is Hebrew for New Spring, or a new life started over where happiness, instead of bombs, could be the focus of Aviv's life.  Putting Hadash Aviv together was also exciting for me because it was the first time I was using my background in counter terrorism, which I had studied for years at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  I did my very best to keep the story grounded in fact and real world truths based on that education and my own experiences living in the Middle East and was very happy with what resulted. 

Hadash Aviv will therefore always hold a special place in my heart, full of firsts and much loved characters.  However, there's another reason I love Hadash Aviv and that's the future it guided me to in my writing.  My success with Hadash Aviv prompted me to write Road to Revenge and Road to Home, my two contemporary thrillers set in the Middle East.  They didn't sell, most likely because most of my readers were wondering where the dragons had vanished to, but they did give me courage.  If I could put a large part of my education and personal experiences into those two books, why couldn't I do that with more of my stories?  This eventually led to Magnified. 

Magnified is one of the most involved stories I've ever written.  It has multiple plot lines, intrigue, and Judaism.  I've never been shy about the fact that I'm Jewish, but I've never before had the guts to have a Jewish main character fighting with magic and dealing with vampires.  My paranormal and fantasy stories have all been strictly secular.  Thanks to Hadash Aviv I learned that I could put more of myself into my stories and make it work.  My Magnified series has lots of magic, and--eventually--dragons, but it also has things that I use every day that are intrinsically part of me like Judaism.  It took courage to write Magnified and I can't emphasize enough how pleased I am with the results. 

As Hadash Aviv goes out of print at the end of this month I can't help feeling nostalgic.  It's as if the end of an era has arrived.  Yet, at the same time I know that the future of my writing has only grown and will continue to grow stronger.  If you don't own it yet, Hadash Aviv is currently on sale at LT3 for 50% off until it officially goes out of print on March 31st.  Unfortunately, Hadash Aviv is too short to be republished as a stand alone, so if you're interested in reading it this is your final chance to get a copy before the doors close on this story forever. 

Here's the link if you want to get a copy: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...