Throughout history, many of those from Mythos used magic or shapeshifting abilities to hide their true nature while on the Earthen plane, especially when they didn’t want to be discovered. The stories of our myths give evidence that some were more careful than others.

However, while changes in human society have made it more important than ever for Mythos beings to conceal themselves, human technology and the weakening magic have also made it harder for them to escape detection. Many have lost their ability to shapeshift or use magic, so all but a few stay away from humans and the Earthen plane.

The books of the Mythos Legacy are the stories of those few on Earth.

There are different types of magic on both the Earthen and Mythos planes. The magic of the Mythos plane has historically been stronger and more abundant, but it, too, has been fading like the magic of Earth.

Every creation on Mythos is tied to magic, from the beings of our mythology to the rocks, trees, water, etc. The different races of Mythos have all developed different ways to bind themselves to the magic of either world, whether they keep a spark inside themselves or use the elements to do their bidding…and so on.

At the same time, the various races have each discovered weaknesses in the others. Unicorns can use magic only in locations open to outside air, faeries are vulnerable to metal, dragons are weak without a hoard, etc. The avoidance and exploitation of those weaknesses have led to millennia-old alliances and rivalries, some of which are now breaking down.

Most races have their own homeland on the Mythos plane, and they often don’t interact outside of official purposes. Because of that, they’ve each formed independent societies and unique cultures.

They each have different magical strengths and weaknesses, and they each have different ways of tapping into their magic. Many races might be able to strengthen their magic, although the details for how they could do so have been lost to time.

Even though there are significant physical differences between the races—dragons are quite different from unicorns after all—the most powerful races can all take on a human form (assuming they have enough access to magic). However, their human forms also have differences: all unicorns have dark skin and textured hair, dragons have iridescent skin due to their scales, etc.

Faeries are unique, as they’re naturally humanoid. Each faerie clan is bound to a different elemental spirit (earth, wind, fire, water), and their physical features reflect their clan, with different hair, skin, and eye traits.

In the past, the beings from Mythos used to visit the Earthen plane frequently—that’s the source of all our myths, after all.

However, the weakening magic has made it harder for Mythos beings to visit our world in recent memory. Ancient portals have closed, so only those with inherent magic can easily travel between planes now.

Also of note is that only living things can travel between planes without causing problems. Transporting non-living material from one plane to another would create an imbalance.

Griff explains how he knows his treasure is not on the Mythos plane—he’d feel an imbalance. This idea of the potential for an imbalance is revisited in future books.

Griff explains how his protection of a treasure is not like that of dragons, who own their treasure. The importance of his treasure bound to him echoes similar-but-different binding or claiming magic for the other races of Mythos.

Readers see that shapeshifting races might be able to shift in degrees, with just a claw if necessary, and some have extra abilities, such as healing magic.

In introduction, Griff mentions many of the other Mythos races for the first time: dragons, unicorns, faeries, gargoyles, and sirens.

The rules of gryphon society versus leprechauns’ magic hint at how each race has its own powers and limitations—and likely have different strengths and weaknesses against each other.

Treasured Claim takes place entirely on Earth, the only home Elaina has known, but Elaina’s mentor hints at the fact that Mythos exists. He references their former homeland and that faeries were involved with its loss. In addition, knights seem to have inherent memories of that homeland, with the mention of the Mythos sky and stars.

Readers see how easily dragons can control metal, which would be dangerous to any race vulnerable to certain types of metal.

Readers learn that Elaina’s “changeling” hair is not normally a trait of dragons—but of faeries.

Elaina’s magic, where she seems to communicate with inanimate objects to some extent, alludes to the nature of the Mythos plane and its elemental spirits.

Griff of Unintended Guardian explained how he knew his missing treasure couldn’t be on the Mythos plane because he would sense an imbalance. Readers see Markos’s efforts to prevent an imbalance while importing and exporting between Mythos and Earth.

Markos mentions why Mythos lacks iron, which hints at the danger of that metal to faeries.

Markos discovers connections between some faeries and unicorns, which continues to be important through future stories.

Markos and Archimedes wonder if faeries are in the midst of a civil war when making observations about their “helper.” The truth of the tumultuous situation is revealed in Ironclad Devotion.

Pure Sacrifice marks the first glimpse of the Mythos plane, at least of the unicorn homeland.

Treasured Claim mentioned that dragons used to have a homeland. Now, readers learn how they lost it, the reasons for the dragon-faerie war, and how dragons came to Earth.

In Treasured Claim, Elaina’s hair is described as “changeling,” which she inherited from her mother, who presumably had faerie blood in her lineage. Kira of Ironclad Devotion gives a detailed look at pure-blood changeling hair.

In Pure Sacrifice, Markos learns of connections between some faeries and unicorns. The reason why those faeries would have worked with unicorns is revealed here, as Kira learns the gargoyles are missing from the palace and new guards had been needed. The fallout of those connections for unicorns caught in the middle is also alluded to here.

More of the Mythos plane is explored, including the elemental spirits of the faerie homeland and of Mythos itself, as well as how each race taps into different styles of magic.

Like in Pure Sacrifice, we see Zac ensure the importation of non-living material doesn’t cause an imbalance between planes.

Treasured Claim and Ironclad Devotion both referred to a war between the dragons and the faeries. Now, readers learn more about how that battle was fought—and how the gargoyles were involved.

This story refers to Lirdeag and the fate of his daughter, which both play a big role in Ironclad Devotion.

In Ironclad Devotion, Kira notes the lack of gargoyles in the faerie palace, and this story explains their absence. The same explanation lies behind Markos’s discovery of connections between some faeries and unicorns in Pure Sacrifice.

The elemental spirits of the faerie homeland and of Mythos itself are mentioned in Ironclad Devotion, and the earth spirits of the world are again important here.

The lamians cause trouble in both Ironclad Devotion and Stone-Cold Heart.

Yes, I do! Find the printable list of all the book in the Mythos Legacy series (in order) here.

I understand. We all have our preferences, triggers, and peeves.

That’s why I have a central place to check for information about content in my stories.

If you scroll down on each book’s page, you’ll find tabs with teaser graphics, hints of how the story ties to the other books, and behind-the-scenes information.

• Unintended Guardian
• Treasured Claim
• Pure Sacrifice
• Ironclad Devotion
• Stone-Cold Heart

In addition to the teaser graphics and background information on each book’s page, I’ve had fun creating animated gifs for each cover and a coloring book for the whole series!

Mythos Legacy Coloring Book

Animated Gifs:

In addition to finding each story’s excerpt on their page, you can find them all right here:

• Unintended Guardian Excerpt
• Treasured Claim Excerpt
• Pure Sacrifice Excerpt
• Ironclad Devotion Excerpt
• Stone-Cold Heart Excerpt

Like many readers, I was first introduced to the paranormal romance genre through vampire stories. Later came shifter stories in the form of werewolves. Then in 2010, I read my first shapeshifter story for a race that wasn’t commonly thought of as a shifter: a dragon.

A whole world of possibilities opened before my eyes, but of course, I wanted to do something different. So I came up with a female dragon shapeshifter and thought about what type of person she’d be. Elaina, my jewel thief of Treasured Claim, was born, and she soon had me obsessed with telling her story.

After that, I wanted to expand the idea into a series, so I started thinking about other mythological beings I could develop. To explain where they all came from (and usually lived), the Mythos plane, the source of Earth’s mythology, came to be. And I’ve been happily sharing their stories ever since!

I have ideas for at least three more stories in the Mythos Legacy series, so new books will release just as fast as I can write them. (Fair warning: I’m not as fast of a writer as I’d like to be.)

I’m also working on a spinoff series called Brothers of Stone based on Stone-Cold Heart, the fourth Mythos Legacy novel. The spinoff follows the adventures of the gargoyles of Garrett’s regiment as they discover the possibilities of their new life.

I’m lucky in that when I write, I don’t waste time with scenes that are later deleted. Everything I type into a draft is there for a reason (even if it takes me a while to recognize its purpose.)

However, that means I don’t have deleted scenes to share with my readers. Someday, I might create bonus slice-of-life or epilogue-style scenes to share, but right now, my focus is on writing my books.

The Mythos Legacy series is a tricky one to come up with a cover design that works for all the books. Paranormal romance books often feature a lot of man-chest, moonlight, and fangs for vampire-type stories or a wolf, bear, or whatever in the background for shifter-type stories.

However, not every book in Mythos features a shifter, and more importantly, half of the books star a human hero, as the heroine is the paranormal member of the couple. In other words, it would be difficult to include a focus on the guy and the paranormal aspect of the story at the same time.

The other main style of cover is to include the hero and heroine together in a “clinch” pose. But as my characters (human and paranormal) come in all colors, and the vast majority of stock photos used for cover images feature white models, I knew it’d be hard to find good matches for that approach as well.

My current cover design tries to capture a fantasy, a romance, and a paranormal look—all in one. I’m not sure if I was entirely successful, but until I have a better idea, I’ll enjoy them as they are.

Some of the design is determined by how the paranormal character alternates between a hero and a heroine from book to book. Accordingly, my covers alternate sides (with the face along the spine vs. along the pages) and colors (red shades vs. blue shades) with each book to match the paranormal character (heroine vs. hero).

As for “hidden” meanings, if you look closely, the background of each book includes a secondary image significant to the story in addition to the depiction of the character:

• Gryphon and Sunlight: The sun is both the symptom of Griff’s curse and the imagery for Kala in Unintended Guardian.
• Dragon and Ruby: The ruby is both symbolic of Elaina’s need for treasure and an image of her talisman in Treasured Claim.
• Unicorn and Rose: Markos always describes Celia with rose imagery and she grows into her strengths in Pure Sacrifice.
• Fire Faerie and Mandala: The design on Kira’s palm focuses her power, which she tries to control in Ironclad Devotion.
• Gargoyle and Lips: A kiss is very important when Raquel uses it to awaken Garrett in Stone-Cold Heart.