Hydras & Hot Flashes

Meet Diana Delaney, a nondescript, middle aged, talentless housewife and school office administrator. Diana's got a new job: one she didn't apply for. Monster Hunter. Now she's got to save New Orleans, one beast at a time. In polite circles, it's called The Change of Life. For Diana, it arrives with far more upheaval than she bargained for. Divorce, an emptying nest, and a growing monster-hunting business have replaced any thoughts of a quiet future. Diana has learned swordplay, built a monster directory, and discovered she's far better at saving people than she ever expected—even when those people include her ex-husband. When her daughter returns home for the holidays and Diana's mother arrives uninvited, the pressure becomes unbearable. Hoping for calm, Diana retreats with Kenna to Attie's lakeside cottages, where it all began. Instead, she finds a monster on the loose, witches preparing for the summer solstice, and family chaos that may be harder to handle than any supernatural threat. With the full moon approaching and emotions running high, Diana must stop one beast and survive another. Because some changes don't happen quietly. And nothing will ever be the same again. Hydras & Hot Flashes is book five in the Midlife Monster Hunter series—urban fantasy meets paranormal women's fiction, with humor, heart, and a heroine learning that midlife is when the real monsters show up. That's why we thought we'd have a girl trip, to connect with nature, and Attie, before Kenna started her third year of college. Historically speaking, I should've been prepared for this whole excursion to go off the rails, but this time it was by epic proportions even by my standards. There was a monster on the loose, and my mother. Yes, two separate beasts. One could be appeased by blood. The other could be plied with alcohol and distracted by equally fresh meat. That's where Derek came in. I asked him, "How would you like to spend a weekend away in a lakeside cottage with a hot older woman and her family?" I believed in truth in advertising. And since I seemed to be running several degrees warmer than usual, that truth was brutal. Somehow, I had to kill one beast and tame another. Oh, and my friends were pressuring me to make this happen before the full moon because, according to them, that was when the witches came to gather at the lake for summer solstice. Just what I needed: more pressure. Nothing would ever be the same again.