"...and while the fate of two universes hangs int he balance, a Mutant and a Monster must decide where their loyalties lie."

With a slight sigh, you turn the novel front cover side up back on the packaging it arrived in late last night. It was rare enough for someone to visit the house built over a waterfall; rarer still for someone to do so at 10 p.m. on a stormy October night. While you both had initially decided to ignore the doorbell when you first heard it from the comfort of the now glass-domed observatory, upon the sixth constant minute of ringing Rose excused herself with an annoyed face and a promise to give the intruder "a thorough verbal lashing." On returning with a fresh-off-the-press copy of her latest book and a contract detailing the upcoming three-month book tour, you tried with the greatest difficulty to avoid mirroring the face that she had absconded with.

Quietly making your way out of the bedroom using only the slightest of grey illumination from the rising sun, you notice that in the few minutes since you awoke Rose has stolen the remaining covers and is now cocooned in the middle of the bed. You think it best to let her sleep as much as necessary the next week before she embarks on a whirlwind of adoring fans, one-night hotel room stays and more airports than she cares to possibly remember.

You wish that Rose was able to remember more about the people she met and places she visited while on these voyages. The year previously she brought along a small video camera to record the trip with the cover story of a video blog about the rigors of the traveling author for her website, but it only survived a fortnight before meeting its end at the hands of a clumsy bookstore clerk and a tile floor.