A Jillalope (f. of jackalope)

In Reluctant Rogue, a new character to the Magic of Wishes & Dreams series, Nathan, comes into the vet clinic having found a jackalope in his back yard. Not unnaturally, he's jsut a bit freaked out! So is Troy, who proceeds to yell at Katerina for not telling him there were jackalopes. Since the jackalope is a girl, Nathan decides to name her Jill.

What's a jackalope, you ask? It's a part of Southwestern USA folklore, and (apparently) originated as a gag when a taxidermist put a pair of antelope antlers onto a jack rabbit (jack rabbit + antelope = jackalope). They even have their own Wiki page. that goes into a lot more detail. In the meantime, here's one of my personal favorite images of a jackalope:

But, you ask, how did I happen to put a jackalope (jillalope?) in my books? I'm so glad you asked! If you've been with me for awhile, you know that I also play in SecondLife, a video game rather similar to World of Warcraft but better (she said, not being biased at all). And one day a few years ago I was out shopping in SL and I happened across a jackalope avatar. I absolutely could NOT resist it!!! So I bought it, and then I went off to see my BFF in SecondLife, medieval/fantasy gown designer Arwen Serpente. It was Christmas time, and she was dressed as an elf... she was actually in the process of building the gown she's wearing here. Well, she took one look at the cute jackalope (jillalope) and plopped right down in the snow to admire me.

I absolutely love hanging out in my park (yes, I have a public park in SecondLife), being a jillalope so people can adore me, and they do!!

Anyway, it was just a matter of time before I managed to sneak a jackalope into my books, and then poor, hapless Nathan came along, and here we are! Besides, it was a great way to introduce Nathan to the supernatural community, which is necessary since I have a strong feeling he's going to be the hero in Foxy Lady, the next book after A Witch in Time.