E.M. Hamill's Blog, page 6

Pre Order up for THIRD FRONT – and how about a cover reveal?

The preorder link for the e-book is HERE!

JCaleb Design has once again delivered the most gorgeous art imaginable.

He has been slowly turning Dalí around to face the light in these covers as they come out of the darkness they’ve lived in since the Luna Terminal Bombing. I couldn’t be happier with the theme.

There’s been a little bit of a snafu getting the new edition of the e-book for Peacemaker up on Kindle Unlimited, but I’m working frantically with Amazon to get that corrected. Meanwhile, the e-book for Dalí (priced at .99 cents until the new book comes out!) and the paperbacks for both Dalí and Peacemaker with the new covers are live.

Without further ado – I present the paperback cover, and all three pieces together in a triptych of awesomeness.

Why are my books missing?

Fear not! The new editions of Dalí and Peacemaker have been uploaded to Amazon with their sparkling new covers and will be available in the next few days!

NEW COVER REVEAL 2!

When I saw this one, I literally screamed in delight. Jake at JCalebDesign completely knocked this one out of the park.

This freaking gorgeous cover for Peacemaker is everything I ever dreamed.

Presenting the Dalí Tamareia Missions book 2, coming September to Kindle Unlimited…

NEW COVER REVEAL!!

I told you in the last post I was reissuing the Dalí Tamareia Missions with brand new covers. I just can’t wait to show you any longer, so I’ll give you the first one today, and the second one a week from now.

The amazing Jake at JCaleb Design has been reading my mind. I am beyond ecstatic with the covers, which give a retro feel despite being rendered digitally.

So without further ado…the new cover for book 1 in the Dalí Tamareia Missions, coming the first week in September to Kindle Unlimited!

Review: The Werewolf Whisperer by Camilla Ochlan and Bonita Gutierrez

I haven’t done a review in a while, but I am having a great time reading The Werewolf Whisperer series! The first book was awesome, with strong, kickass female lead characters in Lucy Lowell and Xochitl Magaña. I give it a sold 5 stars.

Ex-cop Lucy is famous for her ability to control and train humans infected with the Kyon virus: an epidemic that caused varying degrees of lycanthropy. Her talents are gaining some unfriendly attention, though.

Lucy and her best friend/partner Xochitl are soon dragged into a growing war between those who would sooner eradicate anyone infected with the virus–like Xochi’s brother Miguel–and those who seem to want to use Lucy’s ability to command weres for unknown purposes.

Holy, heck, Batman. There is so much action in this book it keeps you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning. If there is a down side, it would probably be in the multiple timelines playing out in the story, but the end result is completely worth it, with a setup for the next book I didn’t see coming. I didn’t have to think twice before clicking the download button on book two, The Alpha and Omega.

These are not your usual shifter books. It’s an ex-cop/vigilante drama with a side of werebeasts and muscle cars and a whole lot of intrigue and backstabbing that had me yelling at the page. If you like your urban fantasy with teeth and claws, definitely check these out! They’re available on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback.

No one expects the werewolf apocalypse.

Lucy Lowell and Xochitl Magaña sure didn’t. And after two years of chasing Werebeasts around a quarantined California gone loco, team Werewolf Whisperer thought they’d seen it all.

Turns out, they haven’t seen anything yet.

When a risky mission drives them into the heart of a locked-down Los Angeles, they’re forced to cross a line.

And now the clock is ticking.

Could it be that everything they thought they knew about werewolves is a lie?

Only one way to find out.

Pull your werewolf-kicking boots and make some noise.

Welcome to the werewolf apocalypse. Hope you’re locked and loaded.

Dalí Tamareia Missions NEWS!! (and at long last, a BLURB)

You guys, I’m so excited, I can finally tell you the news.

I am relaunching the Dalí Tamareia Missions this fall under my own publishing brand with spanking new covers – I’ve just seen the first proof for Dalí and I actually squealed at work and startled my patients.

There will be subtle changes to the text: as part of my reissue editing I have been working with a sensitivity consultant. I wanted to take the opportunity to address some things that have been pointed out to me since the books were first published, and make sure I’m doing right by the third-gender history and representation in the last book.

Third Front will be the last book in this story arc which started with Dalí, but there will be more stories in this universe with our favorite kickass, sarcastic, changeling spy. And… the three books, Dalí, Peacemaker, and Third Front, will also be issued as a box set.

I don’t have a final date for publication yet. At the summer solstice, I lost my mother, and grief is a strange thing, with fatigue ebbing and flowing like a heavy tide. My creativity has good days and bad days. Today is a good day, so I am taking advantage of it while I can.

Without further ado, here’s the blurb for the next Dalí Tamareia Mission!

Dalí Tamareia has the terrorist Skadi in their sights – but bringing her in may cost them everything.

Dalí’s role as an undercover operative is compromised, putting a target on their back and threatening the close-knit team aboard Thunder Child. A new lead on Miriam Skadi’s activities forces them back to Luna, where they must confront everything they tried to run from…including their changed relationship with Rion Sumner, who insists on backing up Dalí for this investigation.

But Dalí is not the only one searching for Skadi. An alien presence hunts the terrorist as well, taking over Sumner’s body to ensure Dalí’s cooperation. With their team on the other side of the solar system Dalí must depend on this questionable ally to complete the mission, which takes a deadly turn when an old nemesis resurfaces.

If there is any chance for a future with Sumner and their chosen family, Dalí must exorcise the demons haunting them, or they will burn in the heart of a star.

THIRD FRONT news!

Seven hells, it’s been a while since I posted. Sometimes being an adult really stinks–you think I’d be used it it by now!

The good news is, THE FIRST DRAFT IS FINALLY OUT OF MY HEAD. This book turned into a bit of a monster since it had several plot lines to tie up. While it is the last book in this story arc, fear not–there will be more adventures with Dalí and the crew of the Thunder Child.

My fearless editor, Jami Nord at Chimera Editing, has the manuscript for development and will be telling me what to do with it very soon. My cover artist is retained and ready to go, and I have a date with Chimera in September for final edits. That means this book will be out this autumn!

In the meantime, enjoy some THIRD FRONT aesthetic….

Peacemaker wins Rainbow Award for Best Bisexual Speculative Fiction!

Elisa Rolle’s annual Rainbow Awards are more than just your average writing contest. It’s the coming together of queer authors and readers to support our communities by making donations to charitable organizations which offer assistance to LGBTQIA+ individuals. The cost of entry is as simple as giving monetary support to the organization of your choice. I have donated to the Kansas City AIDS Walk each time I’ve entered the contest.

This year, the contest raised over $10,000 for charity.

I am absolutely thrilled to announce the second book in the Dalí Tamareia Missions, PEACEMAKER, won the 2020-2021 Rainbow Award for the Best Bisexual Speculative fiction. You can read the judges’ reviews here on Elisa’s blog, and maybe discover something new to read from the winners and runners up!

Planet Comicon appearance this weekend!

Planet Comicon Kansas City Missouri August 20, 21 and 22 ! I will be there all three days signing copies of my books in Artists Alley, booth 2243.  Masks will be required inside the Kansas City Convention Center per local mandates. Thanks to Scott at Queer Sci Fi.com, I have some awesome swag! Stop by and see.

Courtney Maguire’s BLOOD PACT: a Youkai Bloodlines novel

I read Bloodlaced last year (find the review here), and it was one of those surprise delights you come across that knock your socks off. I really loved it, so I was hoping I’d get a chance to read the second Youkai Bloodlines novel. I enjoyed Blood Pact as well! It helps to be familiar with the world, but this story stands on its own.

Hiro is geisha, an entertainer by trade, with a singing voice that enchants his patrons. His reputation draws the attention of a samurai, famed swordsman Sakurai Hideyoshi. There are undeniable sparks between the two but geisha are not prostitutes, and it is forbidden for Hiro to sleep with his guests. But he soon discovers there is more to this handsome, powerful samurai than meets the eye: the besotted Hiro follows him home one night and discovers Hideyoshi is youkai, a supernatural being who feeds on the blood of the innocent.

However, one of Hiro’s jealous clients takes note of Hiro’s growing infatuation with the samurai and refuses to take no for an answer. Tragedy befalls his household at the man’s brutal hands and grieving Hiro demands from Hideyoshi the means to take his vengeance. Hideyoshi binds their lives together with a blood promise and gives him the curse and gift of being youkai.

 Hiro’s entire world changes as he learns what it means to be youkai and meets others like him and his maker. His happiness begins to depend upon Hideyoshi’s rare tenderness. As his affection for Hideyoshi grows, a sinister plot creeps in which threatens all the youkai in Edo, and Hiro must act before he loses everything he has come to care for in his new life.

I have to admit that I was confused for the first couple of chapters—it begins very much like Bloodlaced, with gentle courtesans and brutal clients. I almost thought I’d mistakenly opened the first book, but that’s where the similarity ends. It soon became apparent that this is a very different story despite its similar introduction, and I completely enjoyed the ride.

The relationship between Hiro and Hideyoshi is one of balance. Hideyoshi’s tendency to react as a soldier and draw his katana is tempered by Hiro’s cooler head and still-compassionate soul. The two complete each other, and their relationship is sexual but more frequently, comforting.

I was excited to see Asagi from Bloodlaced play an important role in this story, although their life has clearly not been easy and it’s a more jaded, sarcastic individual we meet here. The youkai in Edo have their own society and it’s very cool to see Hiro less isolated than Asagi was in the first book. Hiro and his maker are a different flavor of youkai from Asagi, which is still a little cloudy but becoming clearer as this world grows and we become more familiar with it.

I am definitely looking forward to more in this world should the opportunity arise. The author’s solid anchor in imperial Japan and its supernatural beings make this vampire love story feel fresh and new. Be sure to pick up both Bloodlaced and Blood Pact, because they are both quick reads and totally worth the effort.

You can find Blood Pact at most major online booksellers, like here on Amazon.