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A Halloween like no other?
Please welcome writer Alice Renaud!
I’ve always loved Halloween. In the UK a lot of people don’t, they see it as a brash American import. But the festival of All Hallows’ Eve actually originated in Britain and Ireland, and it’s closely associated with the Celtic folklore I grew up with and from which I draw inspiration for my stories. So on every 31 October I hang up pumpkin lanterns in my front garden and stock up on sweets for trick o’treaters.
But this year? The coronavirus pandemic has put the kibosh on many fun things here. No more parties, no mixing in groups of more than 6, no theatres, no singing in church… There won’t be any trick o’treaters this year, or Halloween parties, or people dressed up as ghouls riding the trains. It would be tempting to just… give up. Treat it like any other night. Hunker down on the sofa in pyjamas and watch TV…
But something tells me that, on the contrary, now is precisely the time to celebrate Halloween. The festival has always been about laughing at the dark… making fun of what scares us… defying the onset of the long, cold winter nights. We need All Hallows’s Eve more than ever. So on 31 October I will put pumpkin lanterns outside. I will buy sweets, even if no one knocks on the door. I may meet up with friends for a Zoom Halloween party. I will find a good horror film to watch. What is your favorite? Mine remains the Exorcist, after all these years, but the recent series of Dracula on the BBC was also brilliant. And what better time to read some great paranormal stories? The third and final book of my supernatural romance series Sea of Love, Mermaids Marry in Green, comes out on 1 November and is the perfect Halloween treat. Read an exclusive excerpt below. You will love the feisty shifter mermaid and her hot warlock, as they seek to capture a water monster in London!
Blurb for Mermaids Marry in Green
Caltha Dooran is the toughest, fiercest shape-shifting mermaid in the western seas. She has three Clans to rule, and no time for romance. But when a warlock, Jonty, turns up and asks her to come with him to London to capture a water monster, she can’t say no. In London, away from her duties, her attraction for Jonty grows… and they soon fall under each other’s spell. But will his past and her responsibilities pull them apart, or can they find the only true magic, the one that binds two souls together?
Buy Links
https://books2read.com/u/3LglAN
Excerpt
A pile of twigs shuddered and slid to the side. Two yellow eyes peered at her out of the tangle of wood and litter. Excitement exploded in Caltha’s chest, rocking her whole body. She’d found him! But she strove to keep her voice low and soft.
“Afanc?”
A reptilian head that looked like a crocodile’s, but smaller, pushed through a plastic bag. The mouth opened, revealing a row of sharp teeth. “Morwenna?” the creature hissed, in Caltha’s language.
She tried to repress the trembling in her body and appear calm so the creature wouldn’t take fright. “Yes, I am a mermaid.” She lifted her webbed hands to show him. The afanc extended a furry paw, tipped with powerful claws. Caltha brushed the damp fur with her fingers. “I’m Caltha.”
The afanc let out a sigh. “Morwenna Caltha,” he said. He stared at her with shining eyes full of hope. “I am lost. Can you help?”
Caltha’s mind went blank with surprise. She’d expected a powerful water monster with awesome magical powers, not this vulnerable animal pleading for assistance.
The afanc stretched his neck towards her. “Please?”
Compassion engulfed Caltha. “Of course I’ll help you.”
The question was how. She’d been so focused on locating him, she hadn’t really given any thought as to what she would do when she found him. She studied his reptilian head and large, furry body. No way would he go unnoticed in a city full of humans. And dangerous warlocks were on his trail. Her mind worked overtime, searching for solutions. Would he follow her willingly, or would she have to trap him? He seemed friendly now, but he might panic if she tried to lead him away from his familiar surroundings. And how could she keep him hidden?
Bio
Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second book, “Music for a Merman,” is out now and the third, “Mermaids Marry in Green,” will be released on 1 November. Alice has also written two short stories for BVS anthologies, “The Sweetest Magic of All,” in “Mystic Desire,” out now, and “The Holiday Mermaid” in “Desire Me Again,” out in October. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthor
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-renaud-author-4219b6166/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicerenaudauthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud
Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B
ADVERSARIES–The Color of Fear series comes to a bloody conclusion #mfrwhooks
A journey 10 years in the making comes to an end for both this author and the characters in ADVERSARIES, being released from Zumaya Publications this week.
This third book takes places over the course of two weeks in St. Louis, which has become to new seat of government for the USA after a terrorist attack sends an airborne plague around the world. The disease targets mainly Caucasians, and many have died. Not so with Gabriel, the self-proclaimed leader who is bent on revenge against the other races he blames for the losses. His army of Angels has gathered, and he is ready for the slaughter:

Gabriel was amazed how quickly the ranks of his followers had grown. When he’d first founded the compound back in Great Falls, Montana, he’d heard whispers within the community that he was a “right-wing nut,” a “neoreactionary,” and even a “mountain Klansman.”
He’d been none of those things, of course.
Or all of them.
He was mostly just looking out for himself and worried about the direction the government was once again taking the country.
Now that he and his followers had emerged from their isolation, he was in exactly the right time and place. People were terrified by a virus that targeted the backbone of America, the White population. The road to his success was traveled by those who’d survived, particularly the Whites with conservative leanings, less education, and anti-elite views.
“We’ve been led in the proper direction, my friends. Coming east from the bunker was the best thing we could have done. These red states have done well by us.” He counted off on his chunky fingers. “Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, now Iowa. Soon Kansas and Missouri, too.”
He grinned and wiped his forehead.
“True that more brown and yellow people survived, but it’s the White men and women who made it through who are ready to fight to take their country back.”
And I’m here to guide them along.


His “Adversaries” are Tzu Lin Kwan, who has brought Chinese herbs from Hong Kong for her scientist father to make a cure; Xi San, a pre-med student turned street vigilante; Valery Paz, a Latina Valley Girl who knows how to use a gun; Eddie Garrick, a techno whiz and electrogeek, who has re-animated KMOX radio in St. Louis to gather survivors; Teremesha Johnson, formerly a petty thief, now on his way to genuine hero, house mother Marie Westbrook, and so many more.



A virtual launch party–with prizes!!– will take place Oct. 9 over Zoom– leave your name below so we can get your email and add you to the list if you’d like to attend!’
Video trailer for the series available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5HtphfL7TE&t=21s

Check out other folks’ books in the blog hop here!
https://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=298519Come meet Temms Rogers from the Horizon Crossover series!
Thanks so much for hosting me at Romance Lives Forever, Kayelle Allen!!
And if you haven’t seen it yet, check out the series trailer!
Welcome Hydra author Dianne Gardner!

Synopsis
The first book of a trilogy, Deception Peak is a young adult adventure fantasy about a teenager, Ian Wilson, who follows his father through a portal that magically appears on their computer screen. They travel into a deceptively beautiful Realm, where horses run free, the wind sings prophetic melodies, and their computer avatars come to life. But when the two are separated, Ian is abducted by a tribe of dragon worshipers and is forced to find his courage. As he struggles for his freedom and embarks on a perilous search to find his father, Ian meets the true peacekeepers of the Realm. It's then that he learns there is a greater purpose for being there.
Link to the Deception Peak book trailer: http://youtu.be/7nhN62CmJsI
Excerpt:
They came to a bend lined with thick brush that rose over their heads. The passage led them through giant firs into a part of the forest wild with sword ferns and fallen trees. The rapping of a woodpecker hollowing a rotten trunk echoed through the thicket. The whisper of wind brushed the tree limbs high above his head, causing dots of sunlight to dance on the forest floor. Ian was awed by the forest’s beauty, yet he was terrified by what might await them at the next crook in the trail.