Staff Pick - Paranormal Chick Lit by MaryJanice Davidson

I must admit - I like paranormal. I don't like straight science fiction but I enjoy the "getting away from life" sort of title that has a little bit of ghost, vampire or fairy thrown in. That brings me to MaryJanice Davidson (M). She has written a number of series that focus on unlikely heroines. Women who are strong, funny and, oh yeah, a vampire, a witch or a mermaid.

The first series of MaryJanice's that I started to read was the Betsy Taylor Undead series (M). In the first book, Undead and Unwed, Betsy loses her job and then gets hit by a car. You would think that the series would have a very short run if the heroine dies in the opening of the first book! Instead, Betsy comes back to life - turns out she is the prophesied vampire queen. Betsy is completely bewildered and just a little put out as she really doesn't want to be the vampire queen. She just wants to own fabulous shoes. Book number 12 in this series, Undead and Unsure, will be released August 6th. Betsy is still the queen but she now has a vampire husband, and a sister who is the daughter of the devil. The books are fun, light and humorous. Just my kind of "get away" book.

MaryJanice also has a trilogy that centers on Fred. Fred is a mermaid. "Sleeping with the Fishes"(M), "Swimming without a Net"(M) and "Fish out of Water"(M). She's cranky and has one foot in the human world and one fin in the Undersea Folk world. This series isn't literature but it is silly and entertaining.

Ms. Davidson has written a series about a very special FBI agent, Cadence Jones. It begins with "Me, Myself and Why?"(M) and continues with "Yours, Mine and Ours"(M) and "You and I, Me and You"(M). Cadence hunts serial killers for the FBI. Thrown in some romance, some suspense and some humor and you have MaryJanice's brand of paranormal chick lit.  Any of these titles would make a great summer beach read.