Blog Archives
Down, but not out– this Alpha’s healing takes patience and love
And now, the latest shapeshifter tale in the Romantic Moments series from KATE HILL! Pre-order while it’s hot!
Tag Line: Tia is there to remind him that even an alpha wolf’s broken spirit can heal.
Story:
I’m a powerful and respected Alpha, but the wolf Mette covets my leadership. I’m injured when my conniving enemy challenges me.
After losing my pack and nearly my life, I go to lick my wounds in the human world, but my beloved mate Tia knows that a wolf’s broken spirit can heal, and there is only one true leader of our pack.
Note: Caleb is a very short werewolf action romance story with a mild heat level, moderate violence, and a HEA. This Romantic Moments story is the perfect length for a lunch break, before bed, or any time you want a quick, romantic read.
Excerpt:
Reaching the village, Tia shouted to the nearest wolf to bring the healer.
Finally we made it to our cabin where I collapsed on our bed. Tia brought a cup of water and lifted my head to help me drink. Gazing at her, I realized how much I loved her and how much of a risk she’d taken by becoming my mate.
An aggressive howl echoed from the clearing near our cabin. This wasn’t just any howl, but one of challenge for leadership of our pack.
Tia’s horrified, furious gaze met mine and she whispered, “Mette.” Then she snarled through clenched teeth. “The coward!”
I’d only known real fear at one other time in my life—the day Tia and I had been attacked by hunters and she’d been lost. My fear now mingled with regret. I’d promised her a happy life, but we were about to lose it and there was nothing I could do about it.
Drawing a long breath, I painfully pushed myself to a sitting position.
“You don’t actually intend to fight him?” Tia demanded.
“I have to.”
Author Bio:
Kate Hill is a vegetarian New Englander who loves writing romantic fantasies. When she’s not working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out, watching horror movies, and researching vampires and Viking history. She runs the Compelling Beasts Blog that is dedicated to antagonists, antiheroes, and paranormal creatures. Kate also writes as Saloni Quinby.
Visit her online at https://www.kate-hill.com. Join her newsletter at https://kate-hill.com/index.php/newsletter.
Social Links:
Website: https://kate-hill.com/
Blog: https://kate-hill.com/blog/
Newsletter: https://kate-hill.com/index.php/newsletter/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kate-Hill/e/B002BLS7OW
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kate-hill
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16157.Kate_Hill
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/katehillromancewritingandmore/_saved/
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/katehillromancewritingandmore
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateHillRomance
Preorder Link:
Waiting for the Son
Living After Midnight Series, Book 3
Cheyenne, the half-human son of the Monarch, is getting beaten up on the regular. He’s also fighting with his weretiger boyfriend, holding down his gig in the city’s premier nightclub, and taking care of his kids. Adulting is more complicated than he thought it would be.
Someone close to the Monarch is putting the supernatural races at risk. With everyone in his inner circle under suspicion, he asks his son for help unearthing the traitor.
Cheyenne declines. He doesn’t have the bandwidth, and politics is not his thing.
When his father’s troubles escalate, Cheyenne has no choice but to get involved. If he succeeds, the traitor will be exposed. If he fails, his father will die, and the backstabber will be free to lift the veil of secrecy that protects them all.
Waiting for the Son is the third book in the LGBTQ urban fantasy series Living After Midnight.
Warning: This book features quirky supernatural creatures, a luncheon that makes an orgy look like a made-for-TV movie and an incubus who makes you hope what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Excerpt
Waiting for the Son
The standing-room-only crowd at Underhill had been into his new songs. Guys and girls alike had been in sync with him, swaying when he swayed and smiling when he smiled. His skin tingled with all the positive energy—until a voicemail from Unakite City Elementary School sucked all the happy out of him.
Cheyenne thumbed off his phone and tossed it onto the sofa in his dressing room. No sense in getting His footsteps echoed as he made his way through the empty club to the alarm panel. Eric, the manager, appreciated the chance to leave early, ensuring he made it to wherever he lay to rest before the sun came up.
Chey didn’t like the vampire and owed him no favors. He didn’t have to be the last to leave, and Eric knew it. Chey stayed when it worked for him, either because a fan-with-benefits caught his eye or he needed extra time to come down from the post-concert high.
He punched in his code and turned on the alarm. A sense of peace washed over him as the whirring of the industrial fans slowed, the florescent blue lights faded, and internal doors locked with a mechanical swoosh that reverberated throughout the cavernous building. The click-click of the alarm system started a rhythmic chant signaling it was time to leave or risk being trapped inside.
The club’s rear double doors closed behind him with a clang. Underhill’s parking was never adequate for the number of people attending his shows, but Cheyenne always arrived early to be sure he parked close to the building. With his history of getting jumped in alleys and parking lots, he wasn’t taking any chances. At least Gre’gori, the owner, had installed adequate lighting.
He headed to the Cutlass, his ever-faithful ride. She stood waiting right where he left her, dependable if not shiny and new. Not that a bit of wear and tear was a problem. It kept anyone from thinking she was worth stealing or vandalizing. One day he’d be able to afford a new ride, something bigger and fancier, but even then, he’d keep this pretty green thing, maybe give her to the kids one day so she’d stay in the family. But for now, she was all his, like his guitar, the other important inanimate object in his life.
“Hey there, sweetness.” He patted her roof affectionately, placed his guitar case on the passenger seat, and froze. The acrid taste of challenge and jealousy, something like burnt marshmallow and ash, assaulted his senses.
Jeeze. Not again. Was the entire population of incubi out to kill him?
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/waiting-for-the-son
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/waiting-for-the-son-trevann-rogers/1143735202?ean=2940160983226
https://books.apple.com/us/book/waiting-for-the-son/id6450937140
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/trevann-rogers
www.facebook.com/trevannr
www.pinterest.com/trevannr
https://www.trevannrogers.com/about
http://www.twitter.com/trevannrogers
About Trevann
Trevann Rogers writes rock star romances, urban fantasy, and LGBT paranormal romances. Her books include HOUSE OF THE RISING SON and AFTER MIDNIGHT: The Beginning.
Her short stories appear in the anthologies Dangerous Curves Ahead: An Anthology, and Wickedly Ever After.
Each story incorporates an unquenchable addiction to music and Trevann’s love for vampires, Weres, incubi and rock stars. She writes long after the sun goes down because, like these elusive creatures, she learned long ago that sometimes being yourself means Living After Midnight.
Trevann lives in Connecticut with Toby, her 10-year-old rescue puppy, and Lil Monkey, a sock monkey who thinks he’s real but refuses to chip in on the mortgage.
Trevann’s internet home is www.trevannrogers.com/about
Social Media
www.bookbub.com/profile/trevann-rogers
For up-to-date information about releases www.subscribepage.com/enter_livingaftermidnight
Magic, snark and a great quest–what more can you ask for? J.B. Dane
PLEASE WELCOME LYNDI’S ADVENTUROUS FRIEND J.B. Dane!!!!
The toughest thing (and the most fun one, too) that a writer can do when spinning a series is looking for ways to top what happened in the titles that went before. But when I found a way to weave in something I’ve found thrilling and have for years, that really was the cherry on top. The “cherry” in RAVEN’S EDGE, the 3rd Raven Tale novel, was putting a sword in urban fantasy PI Bram Farrell’s hand and dropping him into a position where he wielded a rapier twice! Once while seeking information about a missing man and then to simply survive. Well, and take a stab (yes, pun city!) at reacquiring a talisman stolen from the Tuatha Dè Danann horde in Tara. It gave me a good reason (or so I thought) to rewatch all my favorite swashbuckling movies to take notes on moves and thrill to the ringing sound of blade kissing blade. Backed that up with a centuries old guide on the correct way to do battle with a rapier in hand so the terms would be correct. You can take the historian (me) out of their element and drop them in an urban fantasy one, but you can’t pry them away from historically correct terms.
To work some sword play into RAVEN’S EDGE not only meant I had to find (and then steal) a legendary magical sword, I had to have a reason why Bram was expert enough to use it when the time came. It just so happens, though, I had a prequel novella where he and D’Artagnan (of Three Musketeers fame) were drinking at a tavern and mention was made that the musketeer had taught my hero to wield a rapier well enough to be a regular sparring partner. And how can a fictional character do this? Well, it just so happens that Bram was 100% fictional at the time, too. They both lived in fictionland and neither knew they were nothing more than words on a page.
That’s the set up of The Raven Tales. A magic wielding, snark spewing PI with a 20-volume strong resume of kicking Otherworlder’s to the curb, but more likely killing them when need be, is yanked into the “real” world. This happens in the REAL first book of the series and Bram has been dreaming of becoming fully human himself since then. It’s just that people keep trying to kill him outside of the seam stitched binding as they did inside it.
Raven’s Edge Excerpt:
Mack perked up when he noted a light on in a second-floor window. “That’s Seth’s place. He must be home.”
“Nasty flu bug goin’ around. Maybe he’s just got a bad case,” Burt offered. Oddly enough, he no longer seemed inclined to climb out of the cab and be part of the party now.
“Could be,” Mack agreed as he angled out of the back. “He teaches in an elementary school, so colds fell him regularly.”
Sounded logical but something niggled at me that such was not going to be what we found. Only a few weeks ago I’d been searching for another missing person, this one the great-grandson of a particularly slinky vampiress. Hoped we’d find Mack’s friend doing nothing more than downing meds and watching television when we reached his door.
I trailed a bit behind as Mack headed for his friend’s place. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The sort of hackles that raise when it feels like I’m being watched didn’t stir, so I took the steps up to the upper level two at a time as Mack had done.
He relaxed a bit when he heard a familiar sound leaking into the hall. “Marathoning Game of Thrones again,” he said, jerking his head toward the closed door. “He’s got a thing for Daenerys.”
“What’s not to like about a girl who owns dragons?” I asked.
“And always looks hot,” Mack added then knocked on the door. “Yo, Seth. You alright? It just wasn’t St. Pat’s without yo—”
The door creaked open of its own accord.
The set was on, and Jon Snow wasn’t having an easy time of it on the screen. But it didn’t look like Seth had fared much better. A recliner lay on its side, sofa cushions were cockeyed, a bookshelf had its contents splayed across the floor and a side table and lamp had bit the dust. The only things in good order were the floor lamp glowing near the window and the flat screen where the fate of Westeros still hung in the balance.
“Seth!” Mack shouted, heading for what was probably the bedroom.
I stayed where I was, closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Yup, the Spidey senses had been on the job alright. The room smelled of spilled beer, nachos, weed, and three other essences.
Vampire, ghoul, and blood.
Links to RAVEN’S EDGE
Amazon http://mybook.to/RAVEDGE
https://www.bookbub.com/books/raven-s-edge-raven-tales-book-three-the-raven-tales-3-by-jb-dane
J.B. Dane is the author of the urban fantasy PI mystery comedy series, The Raven Tales, which includes novels published by Burns and Lea Books, and a series of Indie published novellas that are prequels and also “between the books” adventures of her main character, Bram Farrell. The latest novel in the series is RAVEN’S EDGE. Quite a few 5* reviews have followed for the novels in particular. She also writes shorter fantasy fiction, many tales of which have appeared in anthologies, particularly her Nick Claus, North Pole Security stories.
Social Media Links
Website: www.4TaleTellers.com
Twitter: @JBDaneWriter
Facebook: J.B. Dane Mystery and Fantasy http://bit.ly/2GJtejL
Ten (or more) Things I’ve Learned
Welcome guest author DARIEL RAYE!
Ask any writer, published or not quite yet, and you’ll get the same response – “If only I’d known then what I know now.” Of course, I suppose that could be said about life in general, but that’s another post or two, or maybe ten! For today, I’ll talk about ten things I’ve learned since I started writing to publish.
I started writing at a very young age, as soon as I learned to spell and write coherent sentences. Writing stories and drawing paper dolls to go with them was one of my favorite things to do, but I never considered publishing anything until much later. I’ve learned a whole lot more than ten things, but that’s mostly because by the time I decided to actually try to sell some of my stories, I knew almost nothing about the industry. I was working as a therapist, and writing provided a pleasant escape from some of the harsh realities I faced daily.
One summer, a friend presented me with entry information for a short story competition. My job was slower during summer months, so I took that summer off and started writing. I didn’t win or even place in that contest, but by the time I finished my story, the writing bug had me under its spell, and eventually, I won a writing competition for my first shifter story, “Dark Sentinels Book One: Sable.” So, here are ten things I’ve learned about writing, the pros and cons, in no particular order…
There are millions of writers in the world of every caliber, and tens-of-thousands of them write romance. Now that could be a con, but considering that there are even more readers than writers (plus, most writers are avid readers as well), many readers devour three or more books a week, and there are 52 weeks in a year, there are still enough readers to get around to your books. In other words, you will not lose anything by supporting other authors.
Along those lines, readers have to know about your books in order to read them, and marketing is harder and much more time consuming than writing the book in the first place. The positive side of this is that the many avenues available to authors today can make marketing fun (well, maybe not exactly fun all the time, but definitely doable) and engaging. There are a number of marketing courses specifically for authors, and some are free. I highly suggest taking one.
Once you’ve overcome the barriers and silenced the “nay-sayers” in your life and in your head, map out time and a place to write. Yes, this is the part about respecting your writing as if it’s already paying the bills. Treat it like your profession – your passion, even. One day soon, it just might replace that day job if that’s your goal, but you must be disciplined to accomplish anything lasting.
Learn to say “NO.” When it’s time to write, write. Don’t allow others to distract you with phone calls or tedious chores simply because you “work from home.” Most of us have a regular daily eight-to-twelve-hour gig before we even get the opportunity to write, so don’t allow anyone else to gobble up that hard earned time to pursue your dream. This does not mean neglect your relationships. Make time for friends and family as well. It’s all about balance.
Until writing becomes your bread and butter, schedule around it like a second job. For many of us, second jobs are like second nature, but life goes on. Plan time with friends and family, and teach family members to support you by helping as much as possible at home. Prepare two or three entrees at once on weekends so you can save some time during the week. Things might not get done just the way you would prefer, but they’ll get done. You’ve got writing to do, and those fantastic stories will never get written if you’re climbing out of the dishwasher, washing machine, or pray tell, the oven!
Find a quick, accessible ‘de-stresser’ to focus your mind before you sit down to write. One of the best for me is a hot shower. Gives mind and body time to relax, and I like to imagine the problems of the day getting washed away, leaving me refreshed and ready to move forward. A favorite song can also be a perfect ‘de-stressor.’ Over the years, I’ve developed a playlist of songs to listen to before walking into my house. The songs only last a few minutes, and in that time I can breathe, allow my thoughts to wander, and get ready to cope sensibly with whatever greets me once I walk through the door. As you know, when other people live with you, you never know what you’ll have to deal with when you get home, and it can be a battle to keep your goals and dreams from being gobbled up by unexpected drama. Here’s one of my favorites.
Now, you’ve de-stressed and you’re sitting down to write. You’ve also told your friends and family that unless they’re calling you to dinner or someone is bleeding out, you are not to be disturbed. Focus on getting the first draft completed. Tell your story freely, keeping in mind that you have the freedom to write as many drafts as necessary, picking and choosing just the right word here and there (later, after the first draft is done) until you’re ready to call in an objective expert – that is, an editor. Oh, and while you’re finding all the right words, be sure to make time for your physical health. Take regular breaks from the computer screen and move. Walking and dancing work best for me because they don’t require special equipment or space.
Let’s talk editors for a moment. You need one. They can be costly, and certainly not every editor is suitable for every writer, but the light the right editor shines on your story and your writing as a whole is priceless. Consider it paying for education, investing in your dream. No matter how wonderful an editor you are, you are too close to your own writing to do all of your own editing. That’s not to say self-editing should be overlooked, but don’t stop there. Get a good editor with glowing recommendations from at least three authors whose work meets your standards. You can find a list of over forty editors on my Musings blog along with a short post on finding the right one for you.
One more note about editing, I’ll count this as number nine because it’s just that important, and number eight was pretty long. Learn to use track changes. The feature will save you immeasurable hours once you reach the editing phase.
These ten things have barely scratched the surface, but join an author group and start building your support system. There’s always more to learn, and someone willing to share – that’s one of my favorite things about the writing community. Tell me about some of the things you’ve learned since you started on this journey?
Organize your life, the space around you, and your computer files. These days, I keep calendars on my phone, desk, and online so I can check my schedule wherever I happen to be. I’m an avid user of the file feature in email to help keep track, and another handy tool I came across several years ago is Scrivener, a writing program that allows me to keep everything about my stories in one place. It’s been particularly helpful since I started writing series – stores all my details, and I’m a big fan of keeping everything in one place.
Every predator has a weakness.
When an ancient being, the last of his kind, meets a fiery woman sought by evil, neither one of them is prepared for the consequences.
Gateway is a shape-shifting demon hunter who finds, protects, and prepares the Chosen – human females with the ability to redeem or destroy demons. For centuries, he has followed the rules…
Establish connection
Complete genetic imprint
No personal attachments…
Until he meets his newest charge – curvy, fiery, headstrong, and angry with the world. Following the rules while fending-off demons is going to take everything he has and then some.
*Please Note – “Gateway” contains explicit love scenes, profanity, and violence. Must be 18+ Part of this story was previously published in the “A Darker Shade of Evil” anthology under the title, “The Devil Upstairs.”
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60118815-gateway-i
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q379TWK
About the Author
Dariel Raye is an animal lover, animal rights activist, musician, and USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of powerful paranormal romance and dark urban fantasy with IR/MC (Interracial/Multi-cultural) alpha male heroes to die for, and strong heroines with hearts worth winning. She fell in love with books and started reciting stories at the age of 3. A counseling psychologist, classically trained vocalist, and pianist, she plays over 11 musical instruments, and naturally incorporates behavioral psychology into her characters. Her stories tell of shifters, vamps, angels, demons, and fey (the Vodouin variety). She is also a mom, art tinkerer, and Netflix and Amazon Prime paranormal TV series binger.
Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Author Links
Website: https://darielraye.com
Blog: https://www.pendarielraye.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDarielRaye
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pendarielraye
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darielraye
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/dariel-raye
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dariel-Raye/e/B008NRCZ0K
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/806122.Dariel_Raye
Giveaway
Book Lover’s Swag Pack (US only),
$20 Amazon giftcard (WW)
-1 winner each!
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/gateway-1-book-tour-and-giveaway
The Raven returns in a new urban fantasy from J.B. Dane
It’s funny how life directs you in a new direction, one you never expected to head, and that the end result is where you find you needed to be and just didn’t know it.
That’s what happened to me. I’m J.B. Dane, and I’m a recovering romance writer (under a different name, of course…writing is a form of witness protection sometimes). I picked up my first urban fantasy novel as a palate cleanser, something to read that I’d never consider ever writing.
The trouble is, my muse is a guy. He’s always has been, shrugging on the features and whatever else the hero on the page at the moment needs to have. By the time I’d finished reading that urban fantasy book – and I think it was probably the first Dresden Files tome – my muse cleared his throat. “You know,” he said in my head, “you’ve had a guy hanging out in my waiting room since the late eighties just waiting for the opportune moment to introduce himself. He’s read all the magazines more than once and has been juggling balls of fire in boredom. Say’s his name is Bram Farrell and that he’s been the main character in a series of UF books written by some witch and that she’s planning to yank him across the seam stitched binding into the real world and he’d rather have someone else in the driver’s seat when that happens.”
“Bring him on,” I answered. And that is how The Raven Tales were born.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Bram since then. Weirdly, I didn’t even realize I was writing the first book in a series until the end of the 1st book (RAVEN’S MOON), but I was really settled into Bram’s world when I lost myself in MARKED RAVEN, the 2nd book. Now I can’t remember why I ever wanted to write all those romantic comedy and historical romances in the past (not that I’ve stopped spinning a few) because I love hanging out with Bram. Well, and Beelz, the hellhound that prefers to manifest as a black and tan dachshund, until something is going down and attacking as a Great Dane suits him better. I have a feeling that Beelz has watched too much Scooby Doo.
Or maybe I did.
In any case, I like this manifestation of myself as an urban fantasy P.I. mystery comedy writer. Fortunately, I have a wonderful publisher who loves Bram – and Beelz – as much as I do and doesn’t mind that I release Raven Tale novellas of shorter, though no less involved, cases independently.
The Raven’s universe just keeps growing and growing, and I’d like to invite you to come have a reading adventure with us. According to reviewers there are twists they never saw coming, that there is noir lean to the investigations, and that, as one phrased it, “Bram is comedy gold.”
But, if you’ve never read urban fantasy mystery comedy before, and are a writer in another genre, just beware. You, too, might get lured into writing a new world into existence.
BIO for J.B. Dane plus Social Media links
J.B. DANE is a pseudonym of a multi-published, multi-genre novelist who goes by many names. Not because she is in Witness Protection. Really not in Witness Protection. Really.
She may start hiding from citizens of Detroit since her Raven Tales urban fantasy comedic mysteries have populated their fair city with neighbors who might be supernatural, paranormal or legendary beasts…or not so beasts…but probably ARE beasts. They could be hungry, too.
She has also tampered with the lore of the Claus family, you know the one at the North Pole, and hopes this does not land her on the Naughty List, even if Nick Claus has landed on it frequently himself.
She might be found at www.4TaleTellers.com, but leave a message to be picked up by a disguised courier and delivered to a secret location. Ditto via Facebook.com/JBDaneWriter or @JBDaneWriter on Twitter.
Buy Links for MARKED RAVEN by J.B. Dane:
Amz http://viewbook.at/MARKEDRAVEN
Excerpt
It all started shortly after dawn on the most dangerous day of the year—Valentine’s Day.
One minute I was engrossed in taking names and kicking ass— you know, deep into a video game—when the familiar black-and caramel muzzle of my canine partner got between me and the screen.
And the arrow.
The first I became aware of the danger was when his teeth snapped down on it a foot away from reaching its target.
Me.
It was old-school design. The only bit you might call high-tech being the pink and red feather bits at the tail end. Beelz had it gripped between his teeth and had amped up his growl as he turned demon red eyes to the being hovering near the ceiling.
A cupid wearing nothing but a red sash with a quiver of those dainty fletched arrows on his back.
“What the frick!” the curly blond-headed, bow-wielding tike snarled around the cigarette clamped between his front teeth. Based on the deep octaves of his voice, as well as his language and smoke, I made the deduction: this weren’t no kid. I’m a P.I.; it’s what I do.
Beelz spat the stick out and hustled around the desk to leap at the intruder. He might be a hellhound but as his preferred form is that of a dachshund, the leaps were getting him nowhere near his target.
And cupid was nocking up another bolt.
I took cover beneath the desk. “Who the hell wants me to fall in love with them?” I yelled at the little bundle of lethal joy. I certainly didn’t want it to be any femme with Otherworlder DNA. A human, now… Except a human wouldn’t have hired a real cupid. Mostly because few knew they actually existed.
“No one, slick. I was hired to take you out.” Ash cascaded as the cigarette bobbed. Don’t talk and smoke at the same time should be up there with chew with your trap shut. But, hey? He was an assassin?
“Pretty lousy camouflage. In that get up”—or lack of one—“you don’t exactly blend into the surroundings, pal.”
Beelz kept leaping and added a bark, obviously agreeing with me.
“What camouflage? I ain’t wearin’ no camouflage. Youse The Raven, right?”
No one had asked me that since November, but the answer lingered on my tongue. I’d said it enough times last fall. “Fictional character. Yeah, I’ve got the same name, but that’s all.”
“Not what I heard, buddy. Let’s just get this over with. Crawl out and take the medicine I come ta give ya.”
Hmm. Supply a target or evoke my décor-singeing modicum of magic. Decisions, decisions. But, since what prestidigits I could toss leaned more toward human flame-thrower, and I really didn’t want to burn the house down, there had to be a third option.
“How much they paying you?”
“Whadda you care?” the cupid snarled.
“I’m willing to top the offer so you don’t shoot me,” I said.
Only the sound of Beelz’s now half-hearted snarls filled the room as our visitor considered.
“What if I said it was a million?”
“I’d say you were lying through your teeth. Nobody hates me that much.” Well, right now they didn’t. At least… I couldn’t remember ticking anyone—or anything—off recently enough that they’d want to whack me. I’d been busy writing a book so the only interaction I’d had lately was with the humans who supposedly found me endearing.
“Doubt you could match my price, Raven,” chubby snarled.
“Farrell,” I corrected. “The name’s Bram Farrell. The Raven is not a real person. I think if you’d just take a gander at this room, you’ll see that I probably can match—if not best—the amount you agreed to.”
I’d inherited a cushy joint. No need to describe the place. Just saying mansion should fill in the blanks. All it’d taken was making sure my creator bit the big one.
“Oh,” the fake toddler mumbled. Sounded like he was eyeballing the décor.
Beelz gave an exhausted sigh and stopped trying to get a piece of the hit-tike.
“I’ll throw in extra for the name of your client,” I offered from my burrow safely beneath the desk.
“No can do,” Babyface said.
“Professional ethics?”
“Never met them. Just an envelope dropped in my quiver at the wedding chapel I frequent. Gave me the address, a picture of the target—you—and a hefty down payment.”
“How hefty?”
“Fifty Gs.”
“Fifty thousand dollars?”
“Nah. Fifty pieces of gold. The places I frequent don’t trust paper, pal, just coin.”
“Any particular kind?”
“Spanish, Roman, Etruscan—whatever ya got.”
Great. All I had to do was denude every online offering of antique gold coins. Collectors would be gnashing their teeth as it disappeared from circulation. Since denomination didn’t matter, I might be able to buy myself a reprieve for under a hundred thousand. Heck, I’d spent that much my first six days outside of a bookbinding back in October. I was, after all, still a fictional character—The Raven—even if currently packaged in something that was certainly puncturable by an arrow.
“You on a timeline?” I needed to know. There would be shipping involved.
“End of the month,” chubby said.
In that case, expedited shipping.
Meet Lyndi’s Adventurous Friend Janet Lane Walters!
Please welcome Lyndi’s adventurous friend Janet Lane Walters! Thnaks for being with us today. First, would you tell us a bit about yourself? What area of the country do you live in, do you have a family, pets, etc. Are you a coffee fiend, or do you have another “addiction” you must have on your desk at all times? What’s your education, if it’s relevant to your writing, and how does that education help you/or do you find that you can write well even without the diploma others might think they must have?
Greetings. I’ve been a writer since the dark ages. What I mean is the time of typewriters and carbon paper. My first short story was published in 1968. First poem in 1972 and my first book in 1972, I continued writing in all areas and then it happened. As the mother of four children, college beckoned and they wanted to go. I returned to work as a nurse and put writing aside. I now have seven grandchildren from the age of thirty to eleven. Dealing with the emotional states of teenagers and patients seemed enough. I didn’t really stop writing but I mainly jotted ideas for stories. One day I read in the paper about the Hudson Valley Romance Writers’ conference. I went and met some terrific people. I joined and then had to write since part of their meetings was critiquing what people wrote. In 1994, I returned to writing with a sale, aided by Jane Toombs. Then together we discovered electronic publishing and I haven’t looked back since then. I don’t keep track of the books I’ve written. There are a lot.
At present, I live in the Hudson Valley on the west side of the river. In January, my husband died but I don’t live alone. My oldest son and my oldest granddaughter live here and keep me sequestered because of the Covid thing. As well as writing, I’ve done a few other things. For a time I composed music and even heard several pieces played in public. I’m also a student of Astrology and use this to cast my characters. As an obsession, I collect dragons. I have thirty or forty on my desk above the computer. At present, I am cat-less. Robespierre, my familiar and Maine Coon cat is immortalized in my cozy mystery series.
I do have a BA in English with a creative writing focus. I also have a BS in Nursing. Have these helped my career. Perhaps. I just enjoy exploring the worlds of my characters in mystery, contemporary romance, fantasy romance, paranormal romance and young adult fantasy.
Tell us about your most recent publication/whichever book you’d like to talk about today?
My most recent book is Lines of Fire Challenged. This is the second book of a trilogy. Since I have a rather twisted imagination, this series began with my thoughts about vampires. I’m sure lots of readers will disagree with me but vampires leave me as cold as they are. As I was falling asleep one night, I began thinking about what would happen if some people could see the lines of fire on people’s skins and were able to both give and take from these lines and use the power for good. What if someone’s lines were tainted and if they often killed the person whose lines they fed on. Since this is total imagination what I learned in writing it was a lot about forests and a more rural lifestyle. I spent a lot of time reading about ancient cultures and forest living. While writing this book, this was my favorite book but now my new story is the one that’s my favorite.
How would you best describe your books?
I call myself an eclectic writer since I’ve tried most genres except horror. Those I won’t write or read. Medicine both real and also psychically healing are featured in many of my books. I enjoy reading and pulling a fact I can use from reading about ancient healing techniques and ones that seem over the top. There is always a romance except in my YA books but there friendships take the place of romance.
What is your favorite genre to write? To read?
My reading is rather like my writing. Since the first of the year, I’ve read several mysteries, science fiction, fantasy and romances. I’ve had a library card since age 4. An early reader and a late one.
What do you most like about writing? Least like? When did you first know you wanted to be an author?
I actually like just about everything about writing. Developing characters, making a plot that works, writing many drafts and revision. I’m not sure when I thought about becoming an author but I decided to write my own nurse romances after a bout with pneumonia and a shopping bag full of nurse romances. I realized most of the people who were writing them at the time knew little about medicine and nursing. What I don’t like is promoting but I do it.
Do you belong to any writing groups? Are there any writing websites you find particularly useful?
I belong to the Hudson Valley Chapter of RWA. Used to belong to more but haven’t time to keep up with them all.
Is there any special music you like to listen to while writing? How does it inspire you?
Having music on isn’t my thing, though I would listen if I could hear it. When I’m witing, I enter the tory and all else isn’t heard. I’ve written in hospital waiting rooms and never missed a beat with words. I just zone out.
Do you belong to a critique group? What do you find most valuable about the experience?
I belong to a critique group that meets at my house. We’ve been around since 1994 with changes in those attending. I find a critique group helps for me at least to make sure the things I’ve slid over are put in during the next revision.
How did you find a publisher? How did you receive the Call?
Since I’ve been writing for a long time, I found one the hard way. This was in the days when publishers wanted the entire mss to consider for publication. This meant sending out copies with postage enough for a return and praying you wouldn’t have to retype the entire mss. The call came in an interesting way. My husband was doing his residency in Psychiatry. The letter came and I called. Since he was in a session and couldn’t be disturbed, I gave this message to the secretary. “Tell him I just sold my first child.” A few minutes later, I received a call from him wondering what had happened. Then I told him.
What are you writing now? What’s next for you—will you be making personal appearances anywhere our readers can find you?
At present I’m on deadline. Have until June 1 to finish Tangled Dreams book 6 in the Moon Child series. Personal appearances are not happening these days because of Covid so I sit at home and do social media.
My Places
https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f
http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com
https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/
Buy Mark
http://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/ You can find most of my books here.
What would you like to tell readers?
If you read a book by any author, consider leaving a review.
An adventure she never asked for, a past she never knew #MFRWHooks
One of the themes of this blog is adventure, which I think everyone should experience at some point. But sometimes adventures are planned…and sometimes….
As she reached Broadway, a worn blue bicycle pulled up next to her, horn screeching over its rider’s distinctive squeal. “Where is your car, woman?”
Jelani eyed her best friend, Iris Pallaton, whose blonde hair swirled above the bright cloud of a magenta blouse. “Richard had it towed.”
“Rat bastard!”
“Tell me about it. I’m late.” Jelani headed off again.
Iris pedaled along the curb beside her. “You should call his supervisor and complain.”
“And what? Humiliate myself because he’s a jerk? Screw him!”
“Maybe you should.” Iris laughed. “Then he’d be too awed to bother you again.”
Jelani glared as they crossed the street. “Funny.”
On the far side, she caught the glint of glass in the middle of the sidewalk. “What idiot would drop a bottle when there’s a trash can right there?” she grumbled. “I’ll get it. First karma points of the day.”
Iris climbed off the bike and put down the kickstand. “What is that?” She bent down near the object. “Oh, sweet Gaia! It’s a glass slipper!”
No kidding. It really appeared to be a shoe made out of glass. A large one.
“Who would have left this here?” Jelani picked it up, looking around for a prankster camera team. Something kept her from tossing the shoe.
“Try it on,” Iris whispered. “It would get Richard Snyder off your mind.”
“Richard is not on my mind. He’s on my crap list.”
“Oooh. Sorry.” Iris ran her finger over the shoe. “You’re chicken anyway.”
“Don’t even go there.”
“Chicken. Bawk-bawk.” Iris giggled.
“Fine! If it means I can get to work.” Reaching down with her right hand, she unzipped her boot and kicked it off. “Ready? You want a picture?”
Iris dug for her cellphone and raised it, ready to take a shot. “Just in case your prince shows up right then.”
“I don’t need a prince,” Jelani complained. “I don’t need a man. I need a new life.”
Setting the shoe on the ground, Jelani slipped her foot in it and gently stepped down, not sure to what expect.
The slipper shattered, slicing into the sole of her foot.
Nauseous, Jelani screamed and could only watch in disbelief as tiny men sprang from the blood trickling under the broken shoe. She lost track of how many. With the biggest maybe two inches high, the men scattered into the shadows around the nearest building and disappeared.
She lifted her foot, shaking off the blood, and examined her sole to see if glass remained 
buried in her skin.
“Did you see that?” Iris gasped, nearly breathless. She grabbed at the wall, eyes closed for a moment.
Jelani felt faint, too, suddenly washed out. “I don’t know.”
There were no glass fragments in her foot or anywhere. The shoe had vanished. The only trace of the whole incident was dark blood, slowly drying in the sun on the sidewalk. As she watched, the cuts in her foot healed.
Iris knelt down to peer at Jelani’s foot. “There were little people. Naked little people. They ran away. I swear they did.”
“Did you get pictures?”
“I almost forgot!” Iris got up and activated the screen on her cell phone, pressed the arrow. Jelani leaned close to watch the whole thing replay in living color. “Oh. Bless. My. God,” Iris said, in her shock reverting to the male deity.
Jelani nodded. “And the horse He rode in on.”
****
When Jelani tries on a real glass slipper left lying on the sidewalk, it splits in half and out pour dozens of two-inch high creatures who scurry away into the shadows. As if that’s not bizarre enough, she is soon approached by two men claiming (of all things) to be elves who need her help to rescue their queen.
Buy now at Amazon!
https://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=296360
Dark skies, dieselpunk and super heroes: welcome author Pippa Jay!
Welcome a writer friend from across the pond, the fabulous Pippa Jay!! And don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom to learn about her intriguing contest, which runs until December 19–take it away, Pippa!
Hi, I’m Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. Over the last year I’ve written things I never imagined I would, from subgenres of SF to paranormal and urban fantasy. From aliens and space-faring humans to zombies. And now to superheroes. If you told me I’d be writing those a couple of years ago, I’d have laughed. But here I am, with my first superhero story out in the wild.
Several things influenced the setting for When Dark Falls. When I first started thinking about the story, it materialized as an urban fantasy, something I’d never written and don’t read a lot of, so the idea scared me off a bit. I tried to put a SF twist on it as I started Camp NaNoWrimo in August 2012, but soon I realized I was trying to write two different genres in one and I had to stop. When Dark Falls stumbled to a messy stop.
Then I was listening to Living Things by Linkin Park, and the music transformed the story. The album had a quite dark/industrial sound. It made me think of Art Deco buildings, of technology out of synch with the period feel. It reminded me of Dark City and Skycaptain and the World of Tomorrow. Smoke, oil and metal. Bronze and chrome. Black skies and flame.
A bit of research took me into dieselpunk and decopunk. I’d found the setting I wanted for my characters, and a bit of research into Egyptology (which was so tied into the Art Deco/Art Nouveau periods) gave me a name for the city from the goddess of funereal custom – Nephthys. So Neophopolis, with its bronze futurist towers and dark skies with pillars of flames came to life.
Just think what might have happened if I’d been listening to something else…
About the Story:
In a city where Dark Technologies Inc. now runs the show, Kadie Williams has more immediate concerns than the fall of Blaze, their guardian superhero. Almost every morning for the last few months she’s woken up with cuts and bruises on her body, and no idea how she got them. There are no nightmares. No evidence that she sleepwalks, or any sign of a break in. And nothing to tell her who’s been cleaning up after her. As just one of thousands of civilians conscripted to slave away in the labs of Professor Dark, she knew there’d be trouble ahead. But she never expected it to be so bad, or so personal.
Desperate for answers, Kadie looks to the new defender of the night, the only person who can hinder the total domination of Professor Dark—Nocturnelle. The mysterious vigilante superhero came from nowhere with her cybernetic sidekick Shadow, set on putting an end to the brutality of Dark’s regime. But as his laboratories work on a new secret super-weapon, Nocturnelle and Shadow may not be enough to save Nephopolis…or to save Kadie either.
When Dark Falls is an alternative 1920s superhero romance released by Breathless Press on the 21st November. Add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE. Sign up to my no-spam newsletter HERE to stay up to date with releases, cover reveals, sales and giveaways for all my titles and more.
Excerpt:
Nocturnelle perched on the carved griffin statue decorating the tower’s cornerstone, with hundreds of feet of empty space between her and the ground below. Her second skin felt tight. It was a familiar sensation and yet always the first thing she noticed on waking, as if her body needed to remind her of the fact. She stretched and her outer skin crackled like leather. She flexed her fingers, the delicate oh-so-white digits a stark contrast to her black arms. Silver lines marked her left forearm, and she frowned at them. She was meant to be impervious to blades and bullets, and yet somehow, not too long ago, she must have injured herself.
As she rose, her skin creaked. She stretched again, and then tugged her hands through her hair, pulling the thick swathe of black silk from her face and knotting it at the back. Darkest Night forbid it should get in her way. The second skin pressed tight against her forehead, running around her eyes and mouth, cradling her chin. She ran her fingers around the edges, tracing the outline. Perfect. Her body tingled as though electricity danced in her veins, and she smiled. Breathed in the evening air. This was her time.
Viscous and reeking, the night sky hung over the city of Art Deco towers and buildings like an oil-slick. Behind her, the metallic chinking of the cloudburner cooling after a day spent scorching the sky ticked away the seconds like a clock.
“Nelle?”
The deep male voice sent a shiver down her back, and she turned. “Ah, my faithful Shadow. Ready for another night-time jaunt?”
A figure stepped out of the shadows to join her. He matched her for height; his whipcord frame clad in a charcoal-colored armor vest, black combats, and a hip-length military jacket. When the rooftop lights hit his face, the chiseled jawline showed; his skin a dark tan. He wore a mask over his eyes, but his teeth gleamed white when he smiled. And when he smiled, something inside Nelle set her heart racing.
“Ready and set, Nelle.”
About Pippa Jay:
After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.
Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitude of subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3rd place), and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2nd place).
Website – http://www.pippajay.co.uk
Blogs –
Adventures in Scifi – http://www.pippajay.blogspot.co.uk
Spacefreighters Lounge – http://www.spacefreighters.blogspot.com
Romancing the Genres – http://www.romancingthegenres.blogspot.co.uk/
SFR Brigade – http://www.sfrcontests.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/pippajaygreen
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pippa-Jay-Adventures-in-Scifi/114058821953752
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/pippajaygreen/
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/u/0/101080630877126516448/posts
Wattpad – http://www.wattpad.com/user/PippaJay
Amazon page – http://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Jay/e/B0080QVWEE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1406376408&sr=8-1
Buy Links:
Breathless Press – http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=25&products_id=691
Bookstrand – http://tinyurl.com/kkonr53
All Romance eBooks – http://tinyurl.com/n873eap
Amazon US – http://www.amazon.com/When-Dark-Falls-Pippa-Jay-ebook/dp/B00P5MQR6Y/
Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Dark-Falls-Pippa-Jay-ebook/dp/B00P5MQR6Y/
Smashwords – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/495412
Web page to other links – http://www.pippajay.co.uk/#!when-dark-falls/cl15
Contest:
Open internationally until the 19th December. I’ve donned my superhero guise for the length of the tour, and you get to name me and decide my talent(s)! If I like it, I may include it in the sequel to When Dark Falls and credit you in the acknowledgements. To enter, please put the name, talent, and your contact details in the comments. Please note – by entering this contest you are giving me full permission for me to use the superhero name without any recompense to you, financially or otherwise, other than the acknowledgement, and you are waiving any rights to the name. You’ll also get a digital format of your choice for When Dark Falls.
***
How exciting is that? Your very own superhero in Pippa’s next book? Can’t wait to see all the possibilities. Thanks for visiting, Pippa! Cheers!
The Shaughnessy File, revealed!
From author ETTA JEAN, her latest, The Shaughnessy File, first in a five-book series:
Welcome to the 3rd District in New York City, where pumpkins become limos and corporations are kingdoms in this modern take on classic faerie tales.
Trouble starts in the Shaughnessy household when youngest daughter Aenya starts dancing her way through her shoes every night—without ever leaving her room! She keeps her double life a secret from all the men who try to find the truth, but then private investigator Hiro Michaels arrives on the scene. Can she find a way to have her dreams and her love all at the same time?
Kienan Shaughnessy throws his dreams of a musical career on a wild gamble that takes a detour once he meets plain nightingale Madelyne Winters. The young innkeeper has been burned by love and cursed by hate, and she can’t trust anyone as beautiful as swan-like Kienan. Can he teach her to sing a love song before it’s too late?
Eldest sibling Taegan Shaughnessy unexpectedly gets a new pair of glass slippers as he pines for a princess out of his reach. Station and impropriety alike threaten to keep Kalliope Tavoularis from having the man she loves, but this princess won’t take anything lying down. Can some help from an unlikely faerie godmother stop the clock from striking midnight forever?
Mel Shaughnessy is the wild-spirited beauty of the household. Though as smart as he is handsome, his college grades have plummeted past the point of no return. His only hope is the university’s tutor: a woman nicknamed ‘the beast’. Audra Alexandros has no sympathy, and no graces, and yet there’s something about this lone wolf that Mel finds himself helplessly drawn toward. Can the beauty win the beast and close the file on the Shaughnessy Family for good?
Excerpt
****
“Special delivery!” Kienan told Madelyne cheerfully as he reached her side. “I caught the teacher at the door and decided to save him a trip.”
If she hadn’t been sure that he was behind it, she would have never suspected him. She warily got to her feet and took the carnation he was holding out. The card was blank and she blinked at it. “It’s not signed.” What was this maddening male up to?
“It’s not?” He peered at the card. “How are you supposed to know who it’s from then? Ah! Wait. I bet this will help.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen. Before she could stop him, he had taken the card and scrawled his distinctive signature across it. “There. That ought to do it.”
“Oh my god!” a girl in the back of the room blurted excitedly. “Kienan Shaughnessy is courting Madelyne Winters!”
The entire room erupted into an excited buzz. It was the most interesting thing to happen in a long time, and definitely the most romantic thing to happen ever.
“No!” Madelyne said hastily, trying to wave her hands in the air for attention. “No, he’s not! Kienan,” she pleaded, looking at her ‘admirer,’ “tell them the truth!”
“What truth?” He grinned. “I am courting you, nightingale.”
***
AVAILABLE AUGUST 2014 from PDMI Publishing!
Bio:
Etta Jean was made in England but born in Sacramento, California. Her destiny as a bard was somewhat inevitable. Little else can explain how she constantly told her mother tall tales so outlandish that she couldn’t even get grounded for them. A love of worlds created by others eventually brought out the desire to create her own, and she has never looked back. She has seen both good and evil in her life, and her stories, like life, have no half measures. Her happy endings never come without cost, though, for she truly believes we can’t appreciate the good and the joy without the bad and the pain along the way.
Her current haunt is a comfy house in her beloved Sacramento where she wrangles four feline fur-kids and consumes peppermints like mana in order to balance a calendar filled with more creative venues than a sane person should realistically undertake. If she’s not chained to her desk, she’s stomping through the scenery in search of equally fantastical photographs.
Welcome to DESTINATIONS!
I traveled to Austin, Texas this week at the invitation of my publisher, Liz Burton of Zumaya Publications, for a launch party for the second book in the Color of Fear series, DESTINATIONS.
The first adventure was tracking down the books. Liz had brought so much stuff for Zumaya, that she’d inadvertently left the box with the books at home. She had to send someone to get them. So we sold other books and held on to the dozens of colorful cupcakes she ordered for the occasion.
Little Miss was a great help. 🙂
Along with Rie Sheridan Rose and Gloria Oliver, we got the table inventoried and set up while we were waiting. The dealer’s room was populated with really nice people–I’d never heard of Armadillocon, but it appears to be a science-fiction based con, with a lot of really interesting discussions and panels from the Aztecs to the DNA of mummies. Who knew?
Finally we got the table set up, the drawing ready to go and we let her rip!
The afternoon went faster than I expected, and the books looked great. I had to laugh that the guy across from us tried a unique technique to attract readers. He tied his book to a long string and set it in the middle of the floor, drawing them in a bit at a time.
All in all, it was a huge amount of fun meeting these writers and readers. We had a great day and followed it with a wonderful dinner.
I finally got to wear the new outfit I got for the signing but didn’t get time to change into before the books got found! Thanks, Megan for the beautiful green manicure!
If you couldn’t get to Austin this weekend, remember you can order your very own copy of DESTINATIONS on Amazon.com or other online booksellers:
Xi San saved the life of a mysterious girl one night in his ravaged San Francisco neighborhood. He can’t get her out of his mind, but believes that she’s lost to him.
Lin Kwan came to America to bring her scientist father Chinese medicinal herbs, hoping to stop the virus that killed most of the 
world’s Caucasians before it mutates to infect the rest of the world. On her way to finding him, she meets again the man who once saved her, a man she can’t forget.
With a diverse group of fellow travelers, they head for St. Louis, where civilization is being rebuilt. Between them and safety, danger lurks—Gabriel, a self-styled religious leader and white supremacist, who has organized his army from Upper Midwest survivalist and militia followers, determined to take revenge for the white man.
But Gabriel isn’t their only enemy. Before they reach their destination, they will battle nature, prejudice and even those hidden among them who wish their destruction.
AND there’s a Goodreads giveaway for a copy of WINDMILLS and DESTINATIONS through August 7–https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/99329-windmills PASS IT ON!!
Lyndi Alexander's worlds of fancy 