Hi! I’m C J Bahr. After selling my first short story in my twenties to the first publisher I submitted (a one hit wonder!), it took me twenty years to sell again. So in my late forties, my first full-length novel sold to The Wild Rose Press. I’m a late bloomer I guess. Now, I’m releasing my fourth novel and am still excited by a book birthday!
My love of writing started with a love for reading. My parents were avid readers and always had books. One of my earliest memories was of my parents reading on the couch. I was always surrounded by books. When I finished a favorite story, I’d be bummed it was over, which had me creating new scenes for beloved characters. Eventually, I morphed to writing my own original tales. My love of romance was all from my mom, who devoured the genre. When I was fourteen, she passed away so I dove into her book collection to feel closer to her.
I write paranormal romance, supernatural suspense and fantasy/Sci-Fi. A mix of magic, darkness, action and adventure with happily ever afters are my jam. My current series, The Fire Chronicles, is a seven book interconnect standalone series with three books currently released. The glue are seven Archangels. You can jump into the fire with any book, no need to read in order.
The idea for my first novel, Walking Through Fire came to me in a dream. I had this bizarre waking kind of dream while camping. I dreamt of a man chained to the wall of sea cave with the tide rushing in. I needed to know who he was and why he was drowning. So I came up with Simon MacKay, my poor tortured hero. I decided to set it in Scotland, because who doesn’t love a Highlander? Plus, I’ve been lucky to visit the beautiful amazing country several times. So one weird dream blossomed into seven books! I have no idea where my dream came from, but I wonder if it was one of my Archangels giving me a nudge so their stories could be told. Currently I’m working on my fourth Fire book while also writing a first-person story about a female, kick-ass, time cop.
I live in Southern California in the town of Tarzana, named by Edgar Rice Burroughs in homage to his character, Tarzan. Two feline brothers, Gerry, a grey tabby and Liam, a tuxedo cat, call me theirs. Liam loves to help me write and edit. It’s kind of hard to type with a fifteen pound cat on your arm. At least it’s not his brother, Gerry, who weighs a whopping 25.
Speaking of cats, my hero, Lucas Avery has a large Maine Coon tabby, who plays an important roll in Redeemed By Fire. I always wanted to write a guy who owns a cat, so Lucas got stuck with Catastrophe. Yes, you read that correctly, he named his feline companion after a disaster.
Before the pandemic shut down Hollywood, you could find me working as a music editor for film and television. I help get the music into shows, working closely with composers and producers. A job I’ve been doing for over thirty years. A career that’s even me a love of the arts. In the summers I go to concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, and I spend my fall through spring at the Ahmanson Theater watching musicals and plays.
When I’m not editing or writing, you’ll find me visiting wineries, going to the beach, taking hikes, cooking and playing Cards Against Humanity with great friends while laughing so hard you might pee.
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Title Redeemed By Fire (The Fire Chronicles, book 3)
Author C J Bahr
Genre Paranormal Romance
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
New Orleans, hot sultry nights, and an ancient evil who makes the French Quarter home.
Cassanne Thomas returns to New Orleans to start her life over and becomes the target of a supernatural serial killer. Escaping her close call with death, Casi is the only witness to the crime and finds herself placed in protected custody by a handsome Cajun detective. But with her dark, troubled past, trusting the police is the last thing she wants to do.
Detective Lucas Avery, the top homicide detective in NOLA, is unaware of the supernatural world surrounding him. With the killer stalking the streets, he vows to shield the beautiful, enigmatic, Casi with his life while fighting his growing attraction to her. He's been burned before.
Danger chases Lucas and Casi from the streets of the French Quarter to the wilds of the bayou. Will they be able to stop a monster, straight out of a nightmare or become victims themselves?
Excerpt:
Casi screamed and covered her ears, though too late. The loud boom made her ears ring. Who was shooting at them? She tried to see, but Luc’s weight had her effectively pinned. Squealing tires along with a string of Cajun curses from Luc, had Casi guessing the shooter had fled.
Luc holstered his weapon when Casi spotted the blood dripping off his arm.
“Oh my God!” She pushed at him. “Let me up. You’re hurt. You’re bleeding!”
Luc rolled off her and did as she asked, while gripping his thigh with both hands. Her gaze left his arm drawn to the blood oozing out between his fingers. The thigh wound appeared much more serious. She tugged her phone out and quickly dialed 911. But before it connected, Luc’s bloody fingers grabbed her phone and disconnected the call.
“We can’t call this in.” Luc exhaled harshly and gritted his teeth as once again, he applied pressure to his leg.
“You’re shot. You’re bleeding from multiple places. We need an ambulance!”
He shook his head. “Can’t. We need to leave. Now.”
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Author Biography
First published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Sword & Sorceress" anthology, C J was bitten by the writer's bug and hasn't stopped since. The Wild Rose Press published her award-winning first novel, "Walking Through Fire"— a Scottish ghost romance. She is currently working on the fourth book in the interconnected standalone series, The Fire Chronicles, as well as a new Urban Fantasy starring a kick-ass Time Enforcer.
When her pen isn't scribing, you can find her busily cutting and tracking music for film and television. With over thirty years of music editing experience, her credits range from "Northern Exposure" and "The Muppets Christmas Carol", to "The Kill Point", "The Following", and ABC’s hit comedy, "The Middle".
In her downtime, you’ll find her curled up with a cup of tea, her cats and a great book in Tarzana, California.
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Title Walking Through Fire (The Fire Chronicles, book 1)
Author C J Bahr
Genre Paranormal Romance
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Simon MacKay, the last Earl of Cleitmuir, was murdered two hundred years ago because of his family’s dangerous legacy. Alone and cursed he haunts his home in order to protect the lost treasure. A pastime that leaves him angry and embittered until he meets a feisty American tourist. Not only is Laurel sexy and beautiful, she can also see him in his ghostly form.
Antiquities expert, Laurel Saville, leaves Chicago to visit her best friend in the romantic Scottish Highlands. She is saved from a tragic fall by the ghostly Simon. Once she realizes she is not crazy, she pledges to help him find his family’s missing artifact. A pledge hindered by treasure hunter Alex MacKenzie, a descendant of the clan that murdered Simon.
Laurel risks everything, including her life, to help Simon resolve the issues keeping him earth bound. But will she lose him forever or is there a way Laurel can keep him with her on this earthly plane?
Excerpt:
“Well, lass. That was about the stupidest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”
Laurel jerked upwards at the low angry brogue. Stupid? She’d fallen off a horse, for crying out loud. It happens.
She peered into the dense fog trying to get a glimpse of the disembodied Scot. The thick mist swirled, thinned, and parted to reveal a pair of well- worn, brown riding boots with red cuffs at the top. Her eyes climbed higher, following the boots to a pair of large muscular thighs encased in dark-colored breeches. Her eyes continued upward, past the flat stomach, which led to a broad chest and shoulders covered in a mostly unbuttoned white shirt.
She craned her neck and finally saw his face. Roughly chiseled, he had a square jaw with high cheekbones, a slightly off-centered nose, and full lips pursed into a frown. She forced herself to meet his eyes, and her jaw dropped. The light gray eyes were almost opalescent against his dark lashes and black shoulder- length hair—eyes that pierced right thorough her.
“Every bloody year the tourists just get dumber,” he declared.
She clamped her mouth shut on a sharp retort and shook her head. “Gee, thanks for your concern. It’s not like I planned to fall off.” She started to push off the ground, but her right arm collapsed under her. Before she could fall back, the man reached her side and grabbed her good arm, pulling her to her feet.
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Title Forged In Fire (The Fire Chronicles, book 2)
Author C J Bahr
Genre Paranormal Romance
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Beth Leighton moved to Scotland to marry the love of her life. But then he betrays her and she is fatally shot. However, the Archangel Remiel interferes and she awakes to find herself in 18th century England. Alive but confused and lost, she wants to go home, despite a roguish and handsome highwayman.
Christopher “Kit” Locke is haunted by his past mistakes and lives on danger’s edge, not caring if he lives or dies. He will leave that choice to Fate. Intrigued by the spirited Beth, he is drawn from his spiraling descent and is enlisted to help steal an evil artifact, the Viper’s Eye, a demonic soul-stealing jewel.
While the Archangel and the Duke of Hell battle it out, both Beth and Kit must also fight evil. When the stone seeks Kit's soul can Beth's love keep him from falling victim to the Viper's Eye or will she lose Kit to Hell's fire?
Excerpt:
On the floor, lying on its side was a half empty decanter; obviously it had fallen when he passed out. Dressed only in his breeches, his bare chest and arms with their outward scars were a testament to his hard life, but she worried more for his hidden scars. His tears stopped, and his moans turned into short panting breaths, legs and arms thrashing around. He was going to hurt himself if he kept this up.
“Kit! Wake up. You’re having a bad dream.”
He continued to twist, a grunt of effort escaped, followed by a cry of pain.
“Kit!” She reached out, careful of his whipping arms and touched his shoulder. In a flash Beth was grabbed and flung onto the bed. Before she could even react, he threw a leg over her hip, straddling her, leaning forward he grabbed her throat with both hands in a crushing hold. When he started to squeeze, panic set in. Beth bucked her hips off the feather-ticked mattress trying to throw him off, but she couldn’t get much leverage. She slipped both her arms between his to try and break his hold. It wasn’t working. Her lungs screamed for air as she pummeled him with her fists—striking blows to his shoulders and chest, but it was too hard concentrate, her limbs felt like wet noodles. Her hits became frantic pats. She had to wake him. With the last of her failing strength she managed to claw at his face.
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Title Valley Fever
Author C J Bahr
Genre Supernatural Suspense
Book Blurb
A devastating earthquake that rocked Southern California turns Jill Cassidy’s life upside down, but the quake is nothing compared to what looms on the horizon. Armed with determination and an incomplete graduate degree in geology, Jill embarks on a dangerous journey through a world of elves and monsters she had no idea existed.
Fae-prince Alden watched in horror as one of his own people released the Kolgardi, a hive intelligent race of monsters. Now the ancient evil roams free, feeding on humans and gaining in strength. Despite a judgment laid against him for a crime Alden didn’t commit, he is willing to risk execution to right the wrong and stop what awaits humanity.
Together, with a cynical reporter, Thomas Rainer, the unlikely trio stands together, determined to stop the Kolgardi. Can they save mankind from extinction?
Excerpt:
High on the bluff in the Angeles National Forest, an aristocratic figure stared down his aquiline nose deep into a ravine at the newly opened fissure in the earth. Patiently waiting, he glanced at the now darkened city in the distance as a slight breeze stirred his long hair.
Soon his plan would bear its first fruit. He took a deep breath and turned his face toward the heavens. With all the artificial light gone, the stars had burst forth in prolific glory, shining through patches of clear sky in the smoky horizon.
A movement drew the watcher’s attention. He looked back at the cracked earth.
Silent as mist, they began to emerge. The ground appeared to move, coming alive, as if it had liquefied. A new ocean formed, waves rippling in all directions. Shapeless, bodiless, the black entities oozed up out of the crack. An aftershock rumbled deep in the earth and the fissure gaped larger, allowing more of the creatures access to the night’s air. In the glittering starlight, the valley filled with a lifeform the Earth hadn’t seen in thousands of years.
Kyran smiled as he watched. The creatures paid him no attention as he stood high upon the cliff. They quickly outgrew the small clearing below.
“Go,” he willed. “Go and feed.”
The dark swirling mass drifted toward the unsuspecting city, even as more creatures continued to issue forth.
Kyran turned and walked away, leaving the ravine and its nightmares behind. Smiling to himself, pleased with his night’s work, he knew humanity had reached its end. The time of the Fae had arrived.
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