Talia Gryphon makes her home in the Central US with her Elven children, several rescue dogs and cats, two lizards and a hedgehog. Her interest in both the Paranormal and in Paramortals has been lifelong, stemming from her first readings of Dracula, Frankenstein, Phantom of The Opera, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Trilby beginning around age eleven and nurtured by a love for Hammer Horror Classics. She is a member of Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers of America. 
Key to Conflict by Talia Gryphon
I did not finish Key to Conflict by Talia Gryphon. I stopped at around the 100 page mark. Key to Conflict is the kind of book that makes people think "urban fantasy" is a euphemism for "badly written erotica."
In the first sentence, we are introduced to: "Gillian Key, United States Marine Corps Captain, Special Forces Operative, former flower child, wiseass extraordinaire, also legitimately known as Dr. Gillian Key, Paramortal psychologist," and that sets the stage for Gillian as a character. She's all over the place. Not only does she have more training and degrees and honors than seem plausible for her age, but the different aspects of her character seem clumsily cobbled together rather than parts of a whole. One minute she'll be caring and empathetic, and the next minute she's flying off the handle. Her "Marine" status seems mo... Read More
