Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 154
October 15, 2020
Halloween Flash Fiction from S Peters Davis
Shifter Shakedown
By S. Peters-Davis
I stood fifteen feet away from where the oversized wolf and bear fought, slashing and biting. The steady wind through the trees hid my scent. With any luck, they would kill each other. I readied my crossbow for just in case and adjusted my stance for a shot, until the wolf flew into the air, knocking me flat on my backside. My vision blurred, and my brain buzzed into dizzy-mode. My eyes closed on automatic as I concentrated on not losing consciousness.
“Are you all right, Miss?” asked a deep, rugged voice. Warm fingers grasped my hands in an electrifying grip. “Let me help you.”
I opened my eyes to his shocking browns.
He pulled me into a sitting position and settled on his knees in front of me, dressed in skin-tight jeans and a black T-shirt. His brows drew together. “What the hells are you doing in the middle of a forest with a crossbow?”
Speaking of my weapon, I noted its absence, even while rendered speechless and in a trance-like condition. What the hell is right? I didn’t know if this dude was wolf or bear, no matter, his magyck had allowed him to shift entirely clothed. Only legends tote that kind of power.
“Can you hear me?” He snapped his fingers in front of my eyes. “Tell me you’re not a poacher.” His voice went gruff as his fingers gripped and lifted my chin. “Well?”
I jerked and freed myself, scanning for my weapon. The wolf lay a short distance away, his throat gone, and a dead shifter should change into human form. Why didn’t it? I turned toward the hunk, narrowing my eyes. “Why isn’t it shifting?”
His brow arched as he assessed me, and then he nodded as if in recognition. “We, dear Katherine Brady, a.k.a. Kat, have something in common.”
I dove for the loaded crossbow, kneeled, and targeted his heart. “So, how do you know who I am?”
He smiled, leaving me stunned, and my insides cooking from his pheromones. “We are both hunters and want justice. Are you affiliated with law enforcement or another established agency or organization?” He stood, his thigh muscles bulging when he crossed his ankles and relaxed his body against a large oak tree.
And why would I notice his thigh muscles? I made it a point to know and remember hunters, and no doubt in my mind, I would’ve remembered him. “I don’t know you.” My weapon still pointed at his chest, but the bear inside me fought against my urge to shoot.
“Risk Kodak,” he leaned forward, suavely fanning an arm in front of himself, then rose to lean back on the tree, “at your service. In the human world, I’d be considered a secret agent. In the shifter world, I run clean-up on the changelings involved in drug-running and human-trafficking, what you’d categorize as cartel activities.” He nodded toward the dead wolf. “I also capture or, in this case, destroy serial killers. We have our way of dealing with those hell-bound monsters. We don’t like it when our kind gets tainted as evil in the human world. You know,” he air-quotes with his fingers, “because a shifter kills, runs drugs, or traffics humans.”
I’d heard of him from my studies, a historical legend. “You’d have to be over one-hundred-years-old.”
“One hundred-thirty-one to be exact.” He grinned. His brilliant white teeth gleamed in contrast to his dark skin.
My insides quaked with a rush of flutters. I took a deep breath to steady my hands and lowered the crossbow. “How? You died in Alaska from an avalanche ninety-some years ago.”
“Yea, but doesn’t that make the perfect cover for me to keep doing my job?” He stepped past me to the dead wolf, fished out something from his pocket, and dropped it on the wolf. Its body instantly turned to ash, and bit-by-bit blew away on the breeze. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.” He walked to me and stopped inches away, the heat of his body bombarding mine and creating havoc with my bear. “Would you care to join me for a little respite, something to eat?”
“We’re miles from any businesses, and it would take us hours to travel.” I unloaded the bolt from my crossbow. “I have jerky in my backpack.” Risk’s calm demeanor had a bizarre way of comforting me, even though I realized his bear pheromones might be responsible for my feeling safe with him.
He expressed that dazzling grin again and pulled me into his body. His ancient whispered words gave me pause, and then everything went dark. “You can open your eyes now.”
I did, sucking in a deep breath to settle my oozy belly. We walked out of an alleyway to the front of a place called Mama’s Eatery. Nothing looked familiar, mostly rough built cabins and dirt roads. A couple of buildings on each side of the restaurant advertised groceries or supplies. “How the crap did we get here from where we were?”
He chuckled. “That’s one of my secret abilities, and I’ll have to kill you if I reveal it to you.” He smiled, and I widened my eyes as a challenge. “I’m kidding. I’ll answer your questions inside. Let’s eat.” His gaze traveled over me, eyes narrowing. “You might want to tuck that crossbow, so it’s a bit more discreet.”
“No. I’ve been caught with my pants down before. That won’t happen again.” A child had gotten maimed because of my hidden weapon.
We walked into the crowded place, and all eyes turned toward us as the bell on the door jingled. Their casual gazes converted to assessing glares. My inner sensitivities heightened, and goosebumps scattered across my skin. Only one empty table for two in the back corner and I didn’t like the odds of no easy escape route. “I’m not hungry. We should go.”
Prickles turned into stabbing slivers down my arms as everyone in the restaurant stood. Risk grabbed my shoulders and shoved me behind him. I couldn’t see around his muscular body.
Thunderous cheers attacked my ears, tankards clicking, and whistles filled the air, and then Risk turned toward me. A wide smile spread crossed his face, leaving my body electrified and brazenly wanton.
What the hell just happened?
“Oh, the day finally comes when our alpha finds his mate.” A rugged-looking man strode to Risk and slapped his shoulder. “We’re all proud of you.” The guy studied me, then added, “She’s a dandy.”
Risk’s gaze captured me in a mind-boggling grip of wills as he pushed the guy away.
I fought against it, even though the bear inside me insisted that I take his bear for a ride he would never forget.
Risk lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the restaurant, running down the dirt road as if his pants had lit a fire.
Then I blacked out like before, only to awaken in his arms. I glanced around the inside of a rustic cabin. “Where are we?” I reached behind for my crossbow but found nothing. My heart stuttered in a rhythm never thrummed before, and I moaned beneath his lips as they swept over mine, stimulating certain body parts into melting pots of desire. My bear urged me to respond, her fur rippling beneath my skin.
“Don’t fight me, little one. I’ve waited for you too long to hold back. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”
Our bodies melded together and made it so…
Ghost GuardiansBook OneS. Peters-DavisGenre: Paranormal Romance,Suspense-mystery, New AdultPublisher: BWL Publishing, Inc.Date of Publication: September Release 2020Kindle ISBN 978-0-2286-1492-0Print ISBN 978-0-2286-1494-4Number of pages: 162Word Count: 64,900Cover Artist: Michelle Lee
Book Tagline: Bri intends to work for her father, but ghosts, an old high school flame, a downtrodden best bud, and a deceitful tormenter play havoc with her future.
Series Tagline: On missions to rescue those spirits left behind. Murder, mystery, and mayhem abound...
Book Description:
Bri’s intent—to work for her father, but ghosts, an old high school sweetheart, a downtrodden best bud, and a deceitful tormenter play havoc with her future.
Kyle broke it off with Bri before college but realizes he still harbors unrequited feelings for her. Then he discovers Bri’s ability and wants to keep her close, not just for himself, but as an asset for Spectral Paranormal Investigations.
Ghosts rely on Bri, Kyle confuses her, the best bud requires stability, and the bully deserves a punch in the face until they join forces on a mission to rescue the paranormal—those spirits left behind. Murder, mystery, and mayhem abound…in ghost-form.
Books2Read Amazon
Excerpt #1 (word count 501)
“He-e-e Ha-a-a.” Max cackled like a wild man as the boat veered off, rooster-tailing water spray and slamming turbulent waves into the raft.
Trembles shook my hands and body. What the hell is wrong with him?
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to relax. Warm tingles thrummed against my sternum from the quartz on my necklace, giving me a heads-up that my ghost friends were near.
“He’s gone, little missy,” Martin said. “Off to the other side of the lake.”
Gloria’s fingers clasped the stone through her blouse. “Is your stone vibrating like mine? I touched it, thought of you, and here we are.” She stared at me.
I climbed the ladder and sat across from them, stretching my legs in front of me for the warm sunshine. “I’ll have to try touching my stone and thinking of you. See if I can call you to me.”
She nodded then turned to Martin. “When’s the last time we sat by water?” Gloria slid her body closer to him.
“Now, girl, don’t you be gettin’ any crazy ideas.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around Gloria’s shoulder then turned his attention to me. “We want answers about what happened. Neither of us remembers it, nothing other than a truck rammed into the back of the Olds. It scared the heck out of us, so we turned off the main road and drove down a dirt path into the woods, hoping to hide. Then we saw lights coming fast behind us.”
“It’s a constant loop we live over and over, ending with the truck following us and crashing into the back of the car. The sound is like a grand clap of thunder.” Gloria sniffled, but there were no tears. Ghosts didn’t cry real tears. Martin rubbed her back.
“We blackout or something.” Martin looked across the water but seemed unfocused. “I wake up outside the car, and a few minutes after, Gloria is beside me. We got stuck next to the Olds, doing the same thing over and over.”
Apparitions didn’t usually possess recall of being stuck in a loop. They simply lived it over and over as if for the first time, every time. What was different for these two? Maybe our crystal connection brought the change in their loop and opened their acknowledgment to it?
“I’ve got a friend coming to stay with me. He’s got mad internet skills. I think he can help research, figure out a few things. Maybe find out who followed you and why.”
A boat motor revved behind me, I folded my legs to my chest, preparing for impact.
“Kyle, wanna ski?” Max hollered. He zipped past and stopped next to Kyle’s dock.
Kyle stared in my direction and waved, and I waved back. Max sneered.
How long was Kyle out there? All he saw was my backside while I chatted with Martin and Gloria. When I turned around to pick up where we left off, Martin and Gloria had disappeared.
About the Author:S. Peters-Davis writes multi-genre stories, but loves penning a good page-turning suspense-thriller, especially when it’s a ghost story and a romance. When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, playing with grandchildren, or enjoying time with her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spdavis788
FB: https://www.facebook.com/susan.petersdavis
BWL Author Page: https://bookswelove.net/davis-s-peters/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-davis-8660542/
BWL Publishing Inc.: https://bookswelove.net/
BWL Blog: https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/
October 14, 2020
ORIGINS by Celia Breslin - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular
Celia’s Must-See TV Shows For Halloween
Halloween month is the perfect time to binge some paranormal TV shows. Add these to your binge-list.
* Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Good vs. evil, angsty teens, wacky witches.
* iZombie - Dark comedy with zombies quarantined in Seattle. Brain cuisine jokes.
* Legion - People with powers and power struggles. Surreal, sometimes scary, and totally quirky and compelling.
* Legacies - Teen werewolves, vampires, witches at a boarding school fraught with peril.
* Lucifer - NetFlix saved this fab show, serving up one sexy devil and a strong female lead.
* The Magicians - College students/magicians tangle with supernatural forces and other worlds.
* Stranger Things - An alternate dimension, monsters, plus government experiments, and one tough girl with wicked powers, oh my!
* The Umbrella Academy - a dysfunctional family of funny, flawed, and powerful superheroes. Quirky, action packed, and 100% entertaining.
Happy viewing and Happy Halloween!
ORIGINSTranquilli BloodlineBook 3Celia BreslinGenre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal RomancePublisher: Champagne Book GroupDate of Publication: September 9, 2019ISBN: 9781393477938ASIN: B08FFCWNF2Number of pages: 250Word Count: 94,000Cover Artist: Melody Pond
Tagline: The Chosen One is home. Bad little vampires beware…
Book Description:
In HAVEN & DESTINY, San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli finds love and fights her vampire family’s enemies. Now, in ORIGINS…
En route to reunite with her estranged father in Italy, Carina is kidnapped by a human organization intent on vampire genocide. Beaten, starved, and forced to fight fellow captives, she finally manages to escape. Along the way, she encounters the group’s leaders—their identities shock her to the core.
Once home, Carina warns her family of this new threat, but dear old dad is missing. In his absence, the Tribunal, the governing body for all vampirekind, lies in disarray, with an old enemy making a bid for her father’s throne. What’s worse? The usurper wants her for his queen…and slave.
With a human-vampire war looming on one side and a vampire-vampire battle brewing on the other, Carina will have to rally her troops, take back the throne, and fulfill her destiny as the Chosen One. If not, her whole world will fall, taking everyone she loves with it.
Amazon Apple Books BN Champagne Books Kobo
Excerpt:
The car stopped. […] I couldn’t convince myself to step out. […] What if this was a freaking, injection-induced hallucination? What if I was still back in the damn prison?
Besnik helped me out. […]
The mansion’s mammoth double doors eased open. The man illuminated in the doorway chased away the numbness, pumped my heart so hard it might pound right out of my chest. He opened his arms wide, calling me. My lips curled upward in the first true smile I’d cracked since the last time he’d held me in his arms. That man, my man, loved me more than any other on this whole damn planet.
“Alexander.”
I ran to him.
Alexander’s arms closed around me, his hold so tight I could barely catch a breath. Tremors ran through his hard body, again and again.
“Carina,” he croaked, voice sandpaper rough. “Carina.”
Nuzzling his neck, I planted fevered kisses along his tan, heated skin. He’d fed recently to be this warm under my lips. Temptation had me licking his pounding pulse, nipping at the vein. Couldn’t resist it. My fangs slid home.
Energy exploded between us, our mate bond bursting to life and tearing away whatever magical wall had separated us for far too long. My bite, the catalyst, his blood the cure. Awash in the force of our reunion, Alexander staggered then clutched me closer while I pulled out of his neck and laved the rapidly healing holes.
As our power continued to bubble and stitch us back together, he whisked us into the grand entryway, planted my ass on an ornate, antique cabinet, and devoured my mouth like a starving man. His hands roamed everywhere, searching, cataloguing, as if to reassure himself this wasn’t a hallucination, that I was really here, in his arms, relatively unharmed.
The more he kissed me, the more those wonderful, golden threads of our connection resurrected inside me, around me, between us, and I felt like freaking Sleeping Beauty awakened from her magical slumber by a kiss from her fated handsome prince. The silly thought made me giggle against Alexander’s seeking mouth, and then I was crying while my love cupped my face between his hands, wiped away my tears with his thumbs, and pressed tender kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose…
“Alexander.” I fisted his shirt tight. Please, God, let him be real. “I… I don’t want to wake up.” Please, don’t let this end.
His smoky blue eyes bored into mine, his brown hair spiked in every direction, a bit longer than in my memory. It’s not a dream, baby. You’re here. You’re home.
Oh my God, I can hear you. I swiped some willful bits of hair away from his forehead, touched his full lips, ran my fingers along his strong jaw, taking in the whole handsome, bad-boy package. You’re back in my head. I’d never been happier to have someone inside my mind. Silence was seriously overrated.
And back in your arms.
About the Author:Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, the Fae, and warrior-class angels. Her stories are action-packed and typically include one of the many varieties of romantic entanglements: fated mates, second chance, rescue romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and more.
When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon’s TV shows and movies, as well as everything in the Marvel Universe franchise.
Web site: http://www.celiabreslin.com
Blog: http://www.celiabreslin.com/blog/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiabreslin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeliaBreslinAuthor
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A Bewitching Wednesday
https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blog...
Spooktacular Spotlight on #historicalfantasy: Fighting For Home by @kim_richards #bewitchingbookturs http://ow.ly/UDvk50BS6yg
SPOTLIGHT w/EXCERPT - EROTICA - HAPPILY EVER AFTER Twistd Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Black #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/iNAg50BS6CI
Double Alchemy by Susan Mac Nicol - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular http://ow.ly/pFrB50BS6wy
Please Welcome Tena Stetler as She Tells Us About Her Paranormal Romance, Hidden Gypsy Magic, A Witch’s Journey Series, Book Three #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/sR4E50BS6Fi
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR! GHOST GUARDIANS by S. PETERS DAVIS BONUS FLASH FICTION #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/51AY50BS6A2
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR GUEST BLOG - JEALOUSY'S A WITCH (Midlife in Mosswood, #2) by Louisa West #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Mjza50BS6Hn
Queen’s Ascension by Barb Jones - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/yWyY50BS6r8
Origins- A Tranquilli Bloodline Series Book 3 by Celia Breslin #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/xaUE50BS6JW
Residual Magic: Blood and Bone Legacy Book Two by Suzanne M Sabol #bewitchingbooktours
https://vocal.media/geeks/residual-ma...
A Warrior’s Kiss by Celia Breslin - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/t7e050BS6lS
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR GUEST BLOG - RISE BY MOONLIGHT (By Moonlight, #15) by Nancy Gideon #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/jqsC50BS6Oh
The Queen of Harlem Commandments by Michelle Smalls - Book Tour #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/faaD50BS6Sz
Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories
https://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10...
The Peculiar Delights of Research in a Halloween Spook House with Catherine Stine
https://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com...
Alpha’s Revenge by Catherine Stine - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular
The Peculiar Delights of Research in a Halloween Spook House
Catherine Stine
I’ve been fascinated by the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia ever since I visited for their Halloween fright tour, and saw the actual, untouched surgical room from when they opened in 1829. It still had a rickety metal operating table, sharp and crusty medical tools, and frighteningly tiny holding pens. The idea for one of my witch novels, Witch of the Wild Beasts rushed in right then and there. It would be a thriller involving doctors devising medical mischief and unlucky prisoners, including Evalina Stowe, a woman accused of witchcraft.
It turns out that in the 1850s, when my novel takes place, Philadelphia experienced an explosion of new medical “breakthroughs”, from the wacky to the notable. At the offbeat end, there were herbal remedies inspired by the German Pow Wow or Braucherei practitioner, a combination of ritual prayer, herbal applications and the chanting of charms to not only heal the patient, but protect the farmers’ cattle and sheep. On the remarkable side, were the “plastic operations” of Dr. Thomas Mütter, who pioneered plastic surgery at Jefferson Medical School, and who invented applications we use to this day, such as the Mütter flap. This uses a flap of living skin, still partially attached, to cover open, damaged areas until they can heal, at which point the connected flap is cut and stitched. Dr. Mütter, who appears in the book, was quite the flamboyant dresser, who liked to match his suit to the color of his carriage. To this day, the Mütter Museum is a go-to attraction for all sorts of medical oddities, including dozens of wax molds of eye diseases and ‘The Soap Lady’, a woman whose body was exhumed in Philadelphia in 1875. She is nicknamed this because a fatty substance called adipocere coats her remains.
I grew up in Philadelphia and thought I knew a lot about its history, but in the process of research for the novel, I learned many new, startling facts. I love writing historical fantasy for this very reason.
Before Eastern State Penitentiary was built with its single cells and solitary confinement, people of all ages, including children were thrown in one holding pen at another location. Thus, Eastern State revolutionized the system and was considered state of the art when it was built. It was equipped with skylights, central heating and some of the very first flush toilets, and inspired by the Quakers’ belief that solitary penitence could quell an inmate’s urge to commit crimes.
Yet it wasn’t long before people realized that “paying penitence” 24/7 alone in a cell did not cure people of criminal behavior. Rather, the isolation drove them stark raving mad. Charles Dickens, who visited the prison, wrote a scathing treatise, saying, “Solitary confinement is rigid, strict and hopeless… I believe its effects to be cruel and wrong.” Oddly enough, during that era the phrase What the Dickens was a euphemism for What the Devil! Go figure.
Even in this cultured, modern city of Brotherly Love, superstition and chaos were alive and well. According the an article on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania blog, a sensational case occurred in 1852, with newspaper headings entitled, "Superstition in Philadelphia," and "Witchcraft - Evidence of an Enlightened Age”.
"Mary Ann Clinton & Susan Spearing, residents of Southwark Ward, were formally charged at the 'Court of Quarter Sessions,' with "conspiring to cheat and defraud George F. Elliott, by means of fortune telling and conjuration," in order to extort money. The 'Commonwealth of Pennsylvania' alleged that the two women were giving Mrs. Elliott, "a bottle containing some portions of Mr. Elliott's clothing, and telling her that as the clothing decayed, so Mr. Elliott would moulder away, until he would finally die by virtue of the spell..."
It appeared that Mrs. Elliott suspected her husband was guilty of infidelity, a belief that "had so strong an effect upon her as to make her wish for his death." Thus, she had enlisted the services of Clinton & Spearing, who also encouraged the jealous wife, as an "ordeal of witchcraft," to "take her husband's clothes, tear them to pieces, fill the bottle with them, then boil the contents nine times, and this would give him such extreme pain as to cause his death."
Enter my heroine, Evalina, accused of witchcraft when her pet bird, flies down the throat of her violent boss and chokes him to death. Add to this mix, Dolly Rouge, her prison neighbor and ex-bawdy house madam, Lightning, a homeless urchin who knew Evalina’s brother and was jailed for stealing horses, and Birdy, a handsome, kind Irishman jailed for a tragic accident while blasting granite for the railroad who Evalina falls for. Oh, and add a handful of sinister doctors, and Evalina’s perilous plot to gain justice for her brother’s murder.
Research is the grounding for the fire that ignites the writer’s mind. And research in a Halloween destination was a pure spine-tingling delight.
Alpha’s RevengeRoyal Alpha Wolves ClubBook ThreeShared World SeriesCatherine StineGenre: Werewolf Shifter RomancePublisher: Konjur Road PressDate of Publication: September 3, 2020ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-7333901-4-9ASIN: B08CWVBZM7Number of pages: 165Word Count: 42kCover Artist: Crown Atlantic
Book Description:
A heartbroken furious alpha, a forbidden childhood crush revisited.
Will karmic justice destroy them both?
From the languid, sexy heat of New Orleans, all the way to the icy Canadian Wilderness, supernatural creatures live shadow lives amongst mortals. But what if one of the most powerful and regal of beings—wolf shifters—found their packs disappearing through longstanding battles and vicious payback?
The Royal Alpha Wolves Club, a worldwide, ancient organization formed to keep order and secrets safe among werewolf packs is faced with this very dilemma. So, when the club leader gives the dire order for all royals to find a mate and produce an heir within a year it’s in the wolf shifters’ best interest. Wayland, though, is not on board.
Meet Wayland Leblanc—legendary royal alpha, hell-bent on revenge for his murdered mate. When the edict comes down from the leader in his new territory that all royals mate and produce an heir within the year or lose royal status, Wayland hits the road. He’s not ready. Instead, he charges up to Canada in his mini-camper, to wreak revenge on Thorn, the Tundra shifter who killed his mate Sabine and their unborn babe. He conscripts an army of coyote shifters in his revenge plot, and stuffs down his lingering heartache by partying with neighboring witches.
What he doesn’t plan for is falling hard for Stormy, Thorn’s mysterious sister. But pursuing a star-crossed Juliet to his Romeo just might cost Wayland and Stormy their lives.
4 books. 4 authors. 4 alphas. 1 shared world.
Amazon
“Who are you?” It was dawning on him. Could it be his old Tundra playmate, Stormy? They hadn’t seen each other for years. It was rumored that Thorn had kept her so protected it was like she was locked in his ivory tower prison. Holy damn, if it was Stormy, he should have nothing to do with her. She was Thorn’s little sister. Could he still be confused? He’d just been hit so hard that maybe his brain had gone freaking haywire. “Where’s Ransom?”
“He’s alive but you messed him up good. Why are you coming around, so angry, gunning for a fight? You look so familiar, but… ” She ran a cooling cloth over Wayland’s swollen eye. She smelled of forest phlox and river moss—of the Canadian tundra in summer. He struggled to get up again and realized she’d tied his arms, torso and ankles down with thick vines. He didn’t believe in hurting a woman. But his rage bubbled dangerously close to the surface. If he stayed like this too much longer, and she leaned closer to him as she cleaned his wounds he might not be able to stop from snapping his head up and biting her.
“Why the hell did you tie me up?” he snarled.
“For your own safety and for mine. You seemed unhinged. Who are you anyway? You look so familiar.”
“Wayland. I used to live around here.”
“Wayland!” She stopped cleaning his swollen eye and stared down at him. “Wayland Leblanc.”
“Yeah, a damn Leblanc. The Tundras, led by your vicious brother slaughtered us a year ago in case you need reminding. Bunch of fucking savages,” he growled.
“I know who you are. Your father killed my father.”
“So, you are Stormy, Thorn’s sister,” he muttered. The very man I’m hunting down.
About the Author:Catherine Stine is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fantasy, paranormal romance and sci-fi thrillers. Witch of the Wild Beasts won a second prize spot in the ‘19 RWA Sheila Contest. Other novels have earned Indie Notable awards and New York Public Library Best Books for Teens. She lives in Manhattan, grew up in Philadelphia and is known to roam the Catskills. Before writing novels, she was a painter and children’s fabric designer. She’s a visual author when it comes to scenes, and she sees writing as painting with words. She loves edgy thrills, perhaps because her dad read Edgar Allen Poe tales to her as a child. Catherine loves spending time with her beagle Benny, writing about supernatural creatures, gardening on her deck, traveling and meeting readers at book fests.
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October 13, 2020
A Bewitching Tuesday
Residual Magic Blood and Bone Legacy Book Two by Suzanne M Sabol - To save Ev and Tag, Brittany must master the powerful magic of a goddess to stop a sorcerer from raising the Goddess of Carnage from manifesting through the cauldron. #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/aZv250BR26f
Cover Reveal The Reaper Collection by Jade Royal #CoverReveal #ParanormalThriller #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/k5TD50BR2iF
The Queen of Harlem Commandments by Michelle Smalls #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/F7fq50BR2d3
Rise By Moonlight by Nancy Gideon #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/2SkG50BR253
Ghost Guardians by S. Peters-Davis #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/1O6I50BR1zH
Tips for Keeping your Pets Safe on Halloween by Tena Stetler #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/GRwf50BR2KE
Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/u49J50BR2Yj
Author Louisa West #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Pkv250BR2OA
Queen’s Ascension:Blood Prophecy: Book Three by Barb Jones #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/FvCW50BR2Qa
Happily Ever After:Twisted Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Black #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Ys7R50BR2BV
Fighting for Home by Kim Richards - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/rUlH50BR2tP
Cover Reveal The Reaper Collection by Jade Royal #CoverReveal #ParanormalThriller #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/2EZ050BR2eq
The Genesis of Seven by Sara M Schaller #YAFantasy
https://bewitchingbooktours.tumblr.co...
Residual Magic Blood and Bone Legacy Book Two Suzanne M Sabol #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/T6Bd50BR218
Celia’s Must-Watch Halloween Movies
https://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10...
Alpha’s Revenge by Catherine Stine
https://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/202...
Double Alchemy by Susan Mac Nicol
https://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/202...
Carina’s Halloween Cocktail and Snack
https://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/202...
Playlist- Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories
https://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com...
October 12, 2020
Cover Reveal The Reaper Collection by Jade Royal #CoverReveal #ParanormalThriller
The Reaper CollectionJade RoyalGenre: Paranormal ThrillerDate of Publication: 10/29/2020ASIN: B08KC7237ZWord Count: about 80KCover Artist: V Designs
Tagline: Death will soon find you...
Book Description:
They're coming without mercy…
The OptimistThe ChildThe Scorned WomanThe Best Friend
They want revenge...
A chain of lies spoken by trusted parents, stolen possibilities from a lover, the wrongful conviction of a stranger, and betrayal by the greatest ally. Pain corrupts their minds, twists their souls, and schemes a plan for death. Their victims will face karma, delivered as retribution.
And nothing will stop them…
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About the Author:
When the voices begin to speak, Jade Royal sits down in her lab to write the tale. The story unfolds with each keystroke as she listens to her instincts bring the words to life. For as long as she can remember, Jade has always expressed her creative nature artistically, especially by writing. She refers to herself as “Slave to the Pen” because it’s difficult for her to resist the call to write.
Jade resides in Cincinnati, Ohio where she was born and raised. She has many siblings and is very family-oriented. She spends Sunday evenings eating dinner with them keeping the bond between family nice and strong.
As an international bestselling author, Jade hopes to pull in her readers to experience a community of stories that they can relate to on various levels. The emotional roller coaster that is bestowed will hopefully make her readers stalk her words and provide literate entertainment.
For more information on Jade Royal, follow her on her website and social media avenues.
Playlist- Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads #scifi #horror #darkfantasy #shortstories
After my story collection, Unsafe Words was safely off to the printer, I toyed with the idea of creating a playlist of songs to keep a reader company. I was amazed at how easily the list came together. Many of the stories reference songs in their contents or titles. Other stories suggested songs that would appear in the stories' settings. Still others encouraged me to imagine what music would appear on the main characters' mixtapes or playlists.
Here's the Spotify link
Shriekback - This Big Hush
To accompany Lisa Morton's introduction to Unsafe Words, I chose this song by Shriekback for one particular line: "Deep as the river of desire, the ashes and the fire, turning this night inside." It's a pretty good description of what I was trying to do with this collection.
Halsey - Castle
Sometimes the songs in this playlist are referenced in the stories themselves. In this case, I think "Castle" is something Violet listens to when she considers coming back to fight the monster in my story "Here There Be Monsters."
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night
"In the Pines" was directly inspired by Nirvana's MTV Unplugged version of this old Ledbelly song. That moment when Kurt Cobain's voice cracks still chills my blood. In fact, I almost named this whole collection after a lyric in this song.
Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
The critic in "The Acid That Dissolves Images" disparages Rachel and her band as the "bastard love-children of Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and the whole 20th-century shock-rock scene." Also, the sentiment of this song sums up Rachel's relationship with the creature who possesses her, who's named Medusa.
Heilung - Norupo
In the story "Valentine," I'm pretty sure this song is playing when Alondra DeCourval sits in the cafe in Oslo, laying her spell to trap Simon Lebranche.
Gary Numan - Are Fiends Electric?
Gary Numan's Replicas album is a huge influence on me. I even named one of my space opera novels after a lyric from that album. Recorded live at Hollywood Forever cemetery, this version of "Are Friends Electric?" is the perfect song to be playing in the backroom at Amanita as Ariel's friends celebrate her birthday in "The Arms Dealer's Daughter."
Cesária Evora - Sodade
The narrator of "The Energizer Bunny at Home" puts on Cesária Evora's Miss Perfumado album in the middle of this story. Evora's voice is so wise and heartbreaking that completely sums up this story.
Led Zeppelin - Dazed & Confused
The title of this story came straight from the lyrics of this classic song. In "Never Bargained for You," the succubus Lorelei discovers a rock band on the eve of their first US tour. "The soul of a woman was created below"? You bet!
Babymetal - Megitsune
The song (and video!) are about Kitsune, Japanese fox spirits. This is likely to be on Jack's playlist before he discovers the water nymph in "Grandfather Carp's Dream."
Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong
This song must be in heavy rotation in Sean's iPod. It really is what he's looking for in the story "Affamé" when he meets the vampire Guillaume.
David Bowie - My Death
This version of the Jacques Brel song comes from the soundtrack to the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars concert film. Bowie's instructions to the crowd make me think of the way the alien rock star Ysanne interacts with her audience in "Mothflame."
Garbage - Temptation Waits
I listened to a lot of Garbage when I wrote "Sound of Impact," which is a story about the consequences of giving in to temptation.
Bauhaus - The Passion of Lovers
Bauhaus is undoubtedly playing in the Goth bar where "Justice" begins. I'm pretty sure that "The passion of lovers is for death" is Kemmy's favorite lyric from Bauhaus's second album.
Lucia Micarelli, featuring Lisbeth Scott - Samarkand
This was the hardest song to choose in the whole playlist. I wanted something to symbolize Morlen, the fiddler in service to the Wild Hunt in "The Magic of Fire and Dawn." Thank you to Thom Carnell for suggesting this!
Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
"I just want a lover like any other" is Sherry's motto in "Still Life with Shattered Glass." She never recognizes that she is the only constant element in all her troubled relationships. She must have heard Buzzcocks on the punk shows her boyfriend listens to on WCBN, the student-run radio station at the University of Michigan.
David Bowie - Candidate
The title of "With You By My Side It Should be Fine" comes from this song on Bowie's Diamond Dogs album: my favorite song on my favorite of his albums. I would give anything to have seen him perform his 1984 musical on stage. I listened to this song on repeat as I wrote the story, trying to capture its atmosphere of paranoia and decay.
New Order - Elegia
Originally, my playlist was only going to be 15 songs to represent the 15 stories in Unsafe Words. As I finished listening through the playlist the first time, Spotify recommended this song. It seems like the ideal soundtrack to accompany my story notes at the back of the collection.
Thanks so much for listening along with me!
Unsafe Words
Loren R hoads
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction,
Dark Fantasy Short Stories
Publisher: Automatism Press
Date of Publication: September 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1735187600
ASIN: B08HHNQ6XV
Number of pages: 174
Word Count: 55K
Cover Artist: Lynne Hansen
Tagline: Once you’ve done the most unforgivable thing, what will you do next?
Book Description:
In the first full-length collection of her edgy, award-winning short stories, Loren Rhoads punctures the boundaries between horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction in a maelstrom of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.
Ghosts, succubi, naiads, vampires, the Wild Hunt, and the worst predator in the woods stalk these pages, alongside human monsters who follow their cravings past sanity or sense.
Excerpt from "Here There Be Monsters" from Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads
Something brushed her leg. Violet kept treading water, legs pedaling below her, but wondered: did the pool have leeches in it? Snapping turtles? Her thoughts darted into paranoia: were there sharks? Piranhas? Anything that might bite?
Not that it mattered. She would stay in this water and be gummed to death by goldfish rather than get out and take her chances with the mountain lion watching her from the side of the pool.
Whatever it was below her tangled in her toes. It felt for all the world like hair. Violet shuddered, losing her rhythm momentarily, but then forced her legs to scissor once more.
She peered down into the murky water. Something below her glowed an icy white color, like moonlight. Like the moon had fallen into the old swimming pool. The temperature of the water around her plummeted. A cramp knotted her left calf. Violet whimpered.
Her head dipped toward the surface of the water. Violet fought to calm herself, to hold herself up by the determined stroking of her arms. She tried to stretch the charley horse from her muscle.
Something very much like a hand touched her thigh.
She shrieked. The sound echoed from the hills surrounding the pool and repeated from the mountain peak on the other side of the valley.
The mountain lion narrowed her eyes and stared at Violet.
Then a girl’s voice said in her ear: “Don’t be afraid.”
Ice flooded her veins and Violet lost the ability to control her limbs. Her head slipped under the surface of the water and she took a breath…and something caught her in its arms and lifted her, coughing, back to the surface. And held her there, safely, until she could breathe again.
Violet’s heart fluttered in her chest, struggling to regain its rhythm. She could see arms around her ribs, holding her up in the water. They were a pale grayish white. Not a natural color. She wondered if it was possible to die of fear.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” the ghost said gently. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I’m afraid to look at you,” Violet whispered. She didn’t trust her own voice, didn’t want to hear the sound of her own terror.
“I’m not horrible,” the ghost promised.
“Did you drown here?”
“A long time ago.”
Violet swallowed hard. Her throat was sore from the water she’d inhaled. She coughed once more, but it didn’t really help. Tentatively, she started to dog paddle.
The ghost released her. Violet turned slowly, to find a girl her own age bobbing alongside her. Her long, long hair was blond, where Violet’s was dark. It was slicked to her skull and green with streaks of pondweed. Her eyes were pale blue, maybe, or green, where Violet’s were brown. The drowned girl wasn’t horrible, even if her skin had gone the color of something kept from sunlight for a long, long time.
“Are you alone here?” Violet asked. The quaver in her voice unnerved her even more, if that were possible. She swallowed again and tried to concentrate on her kicking.
“My boyfriend is here, too,” the ghost said. “He doesn’t like to talk to people.”
“Did you die together?”
“We thought it would be romantic,” the ghost said. “We didn’t realize we’d be trapped here. That’s why I don’t want you to die. You will be trapped here, too.”
“Why are you trapped?”
“A creature roams these woods. A monster. It is hungry for company. It collects us.”
“How many of you are there?” Violet asked, even though she didn’t want to know the answer.
“Lots,” the ghost said sadly. “Lots.”
“I don’t want to be trapped here,” Violet said, “but I don’t know how to get past the mountain lion.”
“There is no mountain lion,” the ghost said. “That’s the monster. It takes many forms.”
About the Author:
Loren Rhoads is the author of the In the Wake of the Templars space opera trilogy, co-author of a succubus/angel duology called As Above, So Below, and editor of Tales for the Camp Fire: An Anthology Benefiting Wildfire Relief. She's also the author of a nonfiction travel guide called 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die. Unsafe Words is the first full-length collection of her short stories.
Newsletter sign-up: https://mailchi.mp/aa9545b2ccf4/lorenrhoads
Website: https://lorenrhoads.com/
Blog: https://lorenrhoads.com/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/morbidloren
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/LorenRhoadsAuthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/976431.Loren_Rhoads
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morbidloren
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MorbidLoren/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvTI4Zh74nsCLGmOBqulRRQ
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Loren-Rhoads/e/B002P905PE/
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October 9, 2020
A Bewitching Friday
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Double Alchemy by Susan Mac Nicol #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/SPjG50BO7cB
A Warrior’s Kiss by Celia Breslin - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/TnyM50BO738
Virtual Book Tour: Full Moon in Leo by Brooklyn Ray #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/GDHw50BO7mX
Jealousy’s a Witch Midlife in Mosswood Book Two by Louisa West #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/r17b50BO7w5
Morrigan’s Blood Crow’s Curse Book One by Laura Bickle - Urban Fantasy - Garnet has the blood of the legendary Morrigan – and legions of vampires and witches will go to war to possess that power. #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/M9PT50BO7yY
Tips for Keeping your Pets Safe on Halloween by Tena Stetler #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/lXOz50BO7hB
Book Review: Morrigan’s Blood (Crow’s Curse Book One) by Laura Bickle + giveaway #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/Grbw50BO7xI
ORIGINS by Celia Breslin #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/TzL550BO7Bz
Queen’s Ascension by Barb Jones - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/OomE50BO7DU
Who Let the Demon Out?: Badass Demon Bounty Hunters, Book One by Naomi Bellina @TheGoddessNaomi ~ #Giveaway ~ Darkly Funny Urban Fantasy, Comedy, Humor, UF #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/gnJI50BO7Qa
Rise By Moonlight By Moonlight Book 15 Nancy Gideon - - Max and Charlotte return for the explosive conclusion of the “By Moonlight” series . . . and the stakes have never been higher! ***A Halloween Spooktacular Post*** #bewithcingbooktours http://ow.ly/H10t50BO7HY
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR FEATURE - ALPHA'S REVENGE (Royal Alpha Wolves Club, #3) by Catherine Stine https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blog...
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR FLASH FICTION - GHOST GUARDIANS by S. Peters Davis https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blog...
Fighting for Home by Kim Richards - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours
http://ow.ly/jOVc50BO7jm
INTERVIEW WITH LOREN RHOADS (Unsafe Words) #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/YNvQ50BN2sb
Spotlight on #LGBTQ #Romance: Full Moon in Leo by @brooklynrayaut #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/QPXD50BO7m6
Interview - Happily Ever After: Twisted Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Black #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/rUKY50BN2bo
Author Interview - Awaken by B.L. Callaghan #authorinterview #urbanfantasy #supernatural https://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10...
Dreams of Thunder by Christian Cura #urbanfantasy
http://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10/...
The Genesis of Seven by Sara M Schaller #YAFantasy
http://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10/...
The Fairy Tales that Inspired Happily Ever After by Elizabeth Black
http://www.roxannerhoads.com/2020/10/...
Interview - Who Let the Demon Out? by Naomi Bellina
- What is your “day” job if you are not a full time author?
Hello and a big thank you for having me here today. I’m a massage therapist at my day job, which means I talk to a lot of people. And that means plenty of story ideas. People tell me all kinds of things and while I never betray private information, I do use a lot of what I hear in my books. I’m especially interested in the details of what people do at their jobs. You know, the behind the scenes stuff.
- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?
She Believed She Could So She Did, With a Sense of Humor. The first part of that title someone else said, but I added the second part. I absolutely believe in keeping a sense of humor, no matter what. I also believe that if you want something badly, you need to have faith in yourself and keep moving forward.
- What is the hardest thing about being an author?
I’m always battling time and trying to find enough of it to write. Since I do have a day job and like most people, family responsibilities, it’s difficult to put the time aside to write. And marketing. Let’s not forget that. I enjoy many aspects of promoting my books and myself but again, finding the time is tough. Right now, I’m starting a new series in an unusual sub-genre and hoping that readers will like it. *bites nails* It’s smarter to write in a standard, popular genre but I have to do what my heart tells me and like I said earlier, keep moving forward. I know I will find the right audience for my new series eventually.
- What is the best thing about being an author?
Having a weird imagination. I love my weird imagination! When I’m in a stressful or painful situation, I pretend like I’m writing about it and ask myself, “what would be the weirdest thing that could happen right now?” Then I get distracted and I relax. Let me tell you, this technique came in mighty handy this crazy year between being out of work for two months, trying to safely restart my business, having a lot of stressed-out people to deal with, watching my mother-in-law get sick and die, and trying to deal with my own fear and uncertainty about what’s going on in the world. Lots of stress and pain, but I’m still mostly sane because I managed to use my writer brain to take some of the agony out of all these situations and to see the humor, or at least the possibility of humor. Or at the very least, to find some positive element or learn a lesson to make life better.
- Have you ever been star struck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it?
I have to say no. I haven’t met that many authors or other famous people. I would sure like to and Charlaine Harris is on the top of my list these days. I’m fan-crushing on her.
- What book changed your life?
My life is changing daily. I read a lot of self-help and motivational books and they all change me a bit. Right now I’m reading You Are a Badass and You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. She has a delightful sense of humor and is down-to-Earth and realistic about ways to improve life. And since I’m writing about a badass demon bounty hunter, I think these are the perfect books for me to read. Bet you’ll enjoy them too!
- What were some of your favorite books growing up?
The Secret Garden, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Harriet the Spy. I read a lot of books when I was young and I’m so glad. It’s given me the desire to be a writer. If I could do any one thing to make the world better it would be to ensure that everyone learns to read and is given access to a variety of books.
- What books are currently in your to be read pile?
The Charlaine Harris Lily Bard series, How to Be a Badass at Making Money, Florida Man by Mike Baron, Why Bother by Jennifer Louden, Beyond Dead by Jordaina Sydney Robinson, Martinis with the Devil by A.A. Chamberlynn. Among many more!
- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?
I usually read ebooks in bed so I don’t have the light on to bother my honey. I read print books in the bathtub because water and ebooks don’t mix. I’m not a big fan of audio books; I like to hear my own voice in my head. Except on long car trips. Then audio books are a necessity.
- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?
I kind of always pretend like I’m living in the current book and/or series I’m reading, at least for a little while. But honestly, I enjoy my own life a lot so I always come back to it. I loved the True Blood television series but haven’t made it to the book series yet. It’s on my list! I loved all the different types of creatures and how the humans had to adjust to live with them. I hope the book series is as fabulous as the show. Oh, and of course, how cool would it be to live in a place with so many hot guys! (Shhhh! Don’t tell my man. I love my own hot guy but a girl gets to dream a little, right?)
Thank you so much for having me here today. This has been one crap-tastic year for many of us, so I hope my books give everyone a place to escape for a while and also faith that the future will be brighter. Thanks also for buying books and supporting authors. You rock, and stay badass always! *mwah*
Who Let the Demon Out?Badass Demon Bounty Hunters Book OneNaomi BellinaGenre: Darkly Funny Urban Fantasy,Comedy, Humor, UFDate of Publication: 8/21/2020ASIN: B089NFXVFTNumber of pages: 156Word Count: 43,443Cover Artist: Chris Kridler
Tagline: How hard can it be to send an escaped demon back to hell?
Book Description:
Not only is her suicide attempt thwarted by a stranger, but when she comes back from the dead, Sable is tasked by Lucifer to find and return to hell a demon she let loose. If she doesn't, she'll be sent to the darkest level of the afterlife when she dies.
The woman Jack pulled from a running car is obviously disturbed and her story about Lucifer and demons is bullshit. But she has the name of a dead man written on her arm and Jack wants to know why.
Since it's Jack's fault she's in this mess and his skills from a background in the security business are useful, Sable recruits him for her find-the-demon mission, which turns out to be all kinds of difficult. Not only can demons inhabit human bodies, they have other nasty tricks up their sleeves, like incinerating objects and people who get in their way.
It also turns out the inhabitants of hell lie and that things on Earth are not what they appear. Nor are things in her own world, Sable discovers, as she battles to complete her mission before time runs out and it's impossible to send the demon back.
Amazon Books2Read
Excerpt:
One minute I was surrounded by white light and the scent of lavender. The next minute I was on my back in the dirt with a guy straddling me and pounding my chest.
“You awake? You alive? Shit.”
Hard to see much in the dark, but the full moon shining through the oak trees showed me his brown eyes, open wide and filled with fear.
“You’re alive. Jeez, woman.” He took his hands away and leaned back on his heels.
He smelled like garlic and motor oil, and he needed to get the hell off of me because a violent churning in my stomach meant ...
“Move.” I shoved him and rolled to my side.
He did, fast enough to get out of the way while I hurled the contents of my stomach onto the ground. I made my way to my hands and knees and retched a little more.
“Here.” The guy tapped my shoulder. “Water.”
I took the bottle he offered, rinsed and spit, then drank. A chunk of something went down my throat and I almost puked again. Rinse, spit, rinse, spit. Hope he didn’t want the bottle back.
A loud pop like a gunshot and a flash of light to my left made me swivel my head and instantly regret the move as my gut reacted by gurgling another warning.
The man looked in that direction too. “What was that? Are you alone out here?” he asked.
“As far as I know. Did you see something?”
“I don’t know.” He assumed a fighting stance, legs slightly spread, hands curled in fists at his side, then turned in a slow circle, studying the woods around us.
We both stayed silent for a moment as he continued to scan the area. I pulled in deep breaths, trying to convince my gut to settle down.
“An animal,” the man said and turned back to me. “Are you all right?”
No. Duh. He’d just pulled me out of a running car filled with carbon monoxide.
“Why the hell did you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“Stick your nose in my business.” I stood, wobbled a little, but I could stay upright and possibly walk.
“You about died. I saved you,” he said.
“I about died because I wanted to.” I moved toward my car. “Pretty damn obvious, dude. What are you doing out here in these woods anyway?”
I’d chosen this parking area that accessed a hiking trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina because no one came here at night. No one was supposed to, anyway.
It would have been easier to fill up a garage with carbon monoxide, but I lived in an apartment and didn’t have one. I thought about using a friend’s place or renting a storage unit, but that meant someone would be in for a super-crappy day when they found my dead body in the morning. I didn’t want to be the cause of someone having a super-crappy day.
“I come here between calls,” he said. “You need to get medical attention.”
I walked back to my car, and he didn’t follow, which was good because I was likely to punch him. It’d taken every ounce of courage I could muster to set this up, and he’d ruined it. Now my car had holes in the exhaust system and floor, my stomach was about to turn inside out and my head hurt like a son of a bitch.
And I was still alive.
“Get the hell out of here and leave me alone.” I reached my car and leaned on it. He’d turned off the ignition and left the door open, but it still stank like poison.
“I’ll take you to the hospital. Come on.” He gestured with his hand.
I reached into the glove box, pulled out the Glock 19 I’d stolen/borrowed from my dad in case I needed a plan B (Dad had a buttload of firearms; he’d never miss this one), and pointed it at the guy. My arm shook, but I held it steady enough. “I said get out of here. Now.”
He raised his hands. “Okay. Take it easy. I’m going. You can keep the water.”
His hands remained in the air as he backed up slowly. Good. He wasn’t an idiot hero type. Just a knight in a stained T-shirt instead of shining armor, trying to rescue the girl. Except this girl didn’t need rescuing.
I didn’t lower the gun until the red glow of his truck taillights disappeared. When I did let my arm fall, it shook. I sat back down in the car. Okay, no biggie. Shut the doors, crank it up, finish the job. I could do it. That was the only way. Who was I kidding? There was no plan B. I totally couldn’t put a gun in my mouth. The knight wouldn’t come back again and stop me. Would he?
An owl hooted, and the wind blew a scent of wet leaves my way, the smell of strolls with Jasper, the world’s weirdest cat, who liked to go for walks on a leash in the woods.
“Step out of the car, would you please?”
Holy crap! I about broke my neck swiveling toward a voice that came from the entrance to the parking area. A man stood far enough away I couldn’t see him clearly, just an outline. I slid all the way inside, shut my car door and locked it. He stepped closer.
Not the same dude that screwed up my plan. This guy was tall, blond, wearing tight black jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt. I didn’t see another vehicle. Where the hell did he come from?
“Get away. I’m calling the police,” I yelled through the closed window. I reached for my phone. Oh yeah. I didn’t have a phone. Since I’d planned to die that night, I’d canceled my contract and told my carrier to stick their overpriced rates up their butts.
One of the best moments I’d had while preparing for my death.
About the Author:Naomi Bellina lives in sunny Florida with the love of her life and the world's chattiest cat. Her interests include dancing, motorcycle riding, drumming and eavesdropping on strangers’ conversations for plot ideas. She used to worry about the battles between her cheery disposition and her dark imagination, but now they’re best friends and drink coffee and write books together. Her motto: Never pass up the opportunity to have an adventure!
http://www.naomibellina.com/
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https://www.amazon.com/Naomi-Bellina/e/B006DI24FM/
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4879420.Naomi_Bellina
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October 8, 2020
A Bewitching Thursday
Interview - Happily Ever After: Twisted Versions of Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Black #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/rUKY50BN2bo
Interview - The Genesis of Seven by Sara M Schaller #YAFantasy #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/80gK50BN2pT
Interview - Awaken by B.L. Callaghan #authorinterview #urbanfantasy #fantasy #bewitchingbooktours
https://paranormalists.blogspot.com/2...
Author Interview - Dreams of Thunder by Christian Cura #urbanfantasy #interview #authorinterview #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/R5cE50BN1NI
MORRIGAN’S BLOOD: CROW’S CURSE – BOOK ONE BY LAURA BICKLE https://booksbeansandbotany.com/morri...
Who Let the Demon Out? Badass Demon Bounty Hunters Book One by Naomi Bellina #bewithcingbooktours http://ow.ly/44yD50BN2wT
Full Moon in Leo by Brooklyn Ray #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/qZh350BN26I
Haunted Halloween Spooktacular: Ghost Guardians by S. Peters-Davis #bewitchingbooktours
https://mommasaystoreadornottoread.bl...
Haunted Halloween Spooktacular: Alpha’s Revenge by Catherine Stine #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/4fdW50BN1L3
Spotlight Morrigan’s Blood by Laura Bickle @Laura_Bickle #UF Urban Fantasy ~ Crow’s Curse, Book One #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/epzt50BN2iG
#Review ~ Morrigan’s Blood by Laura Bickle
https://reviewsbysaph.blogspot.com/20...
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR RECIPE - ORIGINS (Tranquilli Bloodlines, #3) by Celia Breslin #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/kABT50BN2lD
Haunted Halloween Spooktacular ~ It’s #Halloween Party Time! Rise By Moonlight: By Moonlight Book, 15 by Nancy Gideon @NancyGideon #PNR @RoxanneRhoads #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/6v3H50BN2hn
Jealousy’s a Witch by Louisa West - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular Flash Fiction #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/D1u250BN2eO
Do you Have Samhainopobia? #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/3NNl50BN2dd
Queen’s Ascension Blood Prophecy 3 by Barb Jones #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/cvJx50BN1ZU
Fighting for Home by Kim Richards - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/7fYU50BN23R
Virtual Book Tour: Awaken by B.L. Callaghan #bewitchingbooktours http://ow.ly/IQ0J50BN1PX
Queen’s Ascension Blood Prophecy Book Three by Barb Jones - Paranormal - Bloodshed. Heartbreak. Revelation. **Haunted Halloween Spooktacular**
https://jenabaxterbooks.blogspot.com/...
A Warrior’s Kiss by Celia Breslin - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular
Celia’s Must-Watch Halloween Movies
https://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com...
