Sharon Cullars lives in Evanston where she works as a writer. In her spare time, she reads whatever she can lay her hands on, but particularly loves works that allow her to make an emotional connection to the characters. She does not limit herself to any one genre and is a lover of mystery, romance, horror and sci-fi.

Her novels include Again (Kensington/Brava, May 2006) and The Object of Love (Kensington/Brava, May 2007) both paranormal romances. She's recently published a historical novella with Loose Id entitled Gold Mountain. She has also written several short stories for online and hardcopy publications, including a submission in the horror anthology Masques V (2006).

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Raine Gayle runs a struggling club called Raine's Blues located on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Her world is full of the interesting characters the club shelters from the ugliness of L.A.'s mean streets. Faced with a financial crisis and desperate to keep her club open, Raine searches frantically for that one act that will draw the crowds. She believes she has found that act in the form of the beautiful and renowned chanteuse, Cintra Wells.

Cintra Wells is more than a little surprised when Raine asks the band to headline at the small blues club. Usually Cintra would reject the offer of such a low venue, but decides to take the gig for one reason – Raine. Cintra recognizes Raine immediately; after all, Raine turned Cintra down for their high school prom. Back then though, Cintra went by her…or rather, his…real name, Neil Williams. Neil doesn't hold any grudges against Raine. Though, it would be fun to play her a good turn since it's obvious Raine doesn't realize that Cintra Wells is actually a man. Namely, the smolderingly sexy manager of Cintra's jazz quartet.

Payback doesn't particularly have to be a bitch, but in this case, it won't be a lady either.

I define myself as a writer but I also have gravitated to creating works of art in the last few years, and this "hobby" defines me as well. Growing up, I had no idea who I was. In school, I made good grades and that was the definitive me at that time. However, in college, I discovered a talent for putting words together, creating scenes, fleshing out stories. For creating poetry. I could now take the fantasies and worlds in my mind and translate them for others to share.

Although not an artist per se, with many of the computer art applications available, I've found a niche of creating colorful, expressive abstracts. As much as any words, these pieces also speak for me and about me. They tell the viewer that I love colors, textures, even ambiguity. Whatever you can see in the abstracts is for you to interpret alone. Maybe it's just something interesting to put on the wall.

The power of being able to create something bolsters the spirit, strengthens one's self esteem. A writer I know once wrote that without his ability to write, he is nothing. I feel similarly. All that I am now is my ability to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), to morph an ordinary picture into something totally unrecognizable but fascinating.

I read an article that highlighted a workshop for abused women where women who had endured so much ugliness and felt so impotent learned the beauty and power of poetry. The one thing I particularly remember is the transformation of one woman who began not only writing poems but performing them at venues. When asked how she felt about herself now that she had discovered poetry, she says that before she felt she was a nobody and didn't fight for herself when her boyfriend abused her. Now, she was a poetess. And nobody better hit her again.

Now, that's the power and beauty of creation.

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