Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 360

Blitz- The Doll Making Delta by Gretchen S. B.

Greetings,
Thank you for having me on your blog today!
I wanted to talk about the differences, as I see them, between working on Paranormal Romance verses Contemporary Romance. If I miss anything please let me know in the comments.
In my experience paranormal romance comes with a layer of world building before the romance can even come along. First you have to decide what the paranormal aspects are going to be. Are there Werewolves? Fairies? Are you creating a new species? Are they out in the open or hidden from the rest of the world? I find this to be the fun part. I love developing a new world to play in. There is also a story going on other then the romance. In some cases it is an over arching theme that goes through several books. Over all there is a lot to keep track of.
With contemporary romance the romance is not only front and center but in a lot of cases it can be the only plot line in the story. The focus is all on the couple and their budding relationship. Sure there are obstacles for their love.  But the love is central. Also contemporary romances take place in the present in the real world. So there is not the need for world building and explaining to people how the world works. We as the readers already know because we live it everyday.
For me, contemporary is the harder romance to write. I am bound by all the rules of the real world. Also I have to focus on the romance instead of swapping between plots. As someone who is used to following several lines at once the laser focus on the relationship between Renee and Ruben in The Doll Making Delta was hard for me. I constantly had to remind myself that the romance needed to take center stage and I couldn't let myself create sub-plots.
After writing a contemporary romance I have a lot of awe for the romance authors that write contemporary novels, even several a year. You ladies are amazing.
That is all for now,

Gretchen


The Doll Making DeltaDelta House NovelsBook 1Gretchen S. B.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Date of Publication: Oct 15th
ISBN: 1500612421
Number of pages: 175Word Count: 45,700
Cover Artist: Gretchen S. B.and Jeannette Takashima
Book Description:
Reneé Edward has a lot on her plate. She took over as President of the Reneé-Gal company from her father a few months ago. Just in time for a merger with a new parent company.
As if that timing was not bad enough she finds out several Junior Executives have been ruining the merger from within.   Just as she is scrambling to pick up the pieces, Ruben Blackthorne strolls into her life. He is sexy, tall and clearly into her. Though she is excited about this new development in her love life Reneé finds it a little hard to juggle the new addition. As everything in her life finally seems to fall into place for the first time in almost a year Reneé finds herself confused as Ruben begins to pull away.

Had she imagined their connection? Were things moving too fast? Lost and confused, at least she has her family and her fellow Deltas to get her through. That is until everything takes another unexpected turn.

Excerpt:A warn breeze whipped by her as Reneé practically burst from front doors of her office building. She paused a second to take a deep breath of the fresh Seattle air. The layers of her blond pixie cut fell across her face as she tilted her head back. Did she ever need a break! This had been a terrible day proceed by a terrible month. Opening her eyes she looked diagonally across the street at her own personal escape.Late Night Fix was a simple one story brick building with large panel windows along the two street facing walls. It was Reneé's home away from home. Not just because of its cozy atmosphere or because it hosted local events. It was her escape from work because her best friend owned it.Reneé didn't try to stop the grin from forming on her face as she waited at the light to cross the street. Naomi had been one of her closest friends since the two of them met in kindergarten. Their parents lived about half a mile from each other. Which meant they were with each other constantly growing up. They both received the Delta House scholarship and even earned their MBAs together. Having Naomi within walking distance saved Reneé's sanity the last month or two. Even if she did not see her friend, knowing Naomi was so close was a comfort in the hostile board room.Reneé's father, Stan, and uncle, James, started a doll company when she was about a year old. Their flagship doll was Reneé-Gal. She grew as Reneé did, made friends, picked up hobbies. The Reneé-Gal company grew in popularity and became a regional favorite. About three years ago a national toy company approached her father about buying Reneé-Gal and giving her a wider audience. He and James would still be at the head of the company, they would just have people to answer to and more resources at their disposal. Stan and James discussed it for over a year before agreeing to entertain the idea. Her father retired six months ago after grooming Reneé to take his position. The original plan had been to wait until after the merger but her Dad suffered a mild heart attack and everyone agreed in would be best for him to retire and relax. Now she and her uncle, who was semi-retired himself, were trying to close this merger. They kept hitting a wall and could not figure out why. Until Monday morning when Reneé's assistant Debbie stumbled upon emails from three junior executives sabotaging the merger and trying to negotiate one of their own. James and Reneé promptly fired all three of them on the spot. That however created a void in the workload that needed to be filled. Reneé had been pulling eighteen hour days this week scrambling to save this merger and fill in the gaps. She was exhausted and couldn't believe it was already Thursday and she had not been to see Naomi yet.As the bell over the front door jingled Reneé felt a weight fall off her shoulders. The shop was mostly brick with steel bar style seating at the counter and along both windowed walls. There were two and four person circular table everywhere. But at two pm on a week day only half the tables were occupied. The two registers were about twenty feet away, facing the door. Reneé smiled at Kelsey, the young college student behind the register."Hey Kelsey, is Naomi here?"The young blond nodded before yelling over her shoulder. "Hey boss!"Reneé swore she heard Naomi muttering from the kitchen through the partially open door behind Kelsey. A few seconds later Naomi appeared, wiping her hands on her apron."Really Kelsey? Really? You could just come get me or barring that at least use my name."Kelsey shrugged. Naomi's inky black braid slid off her shoulder as she looked up at the barista, then she saw Reneé and smiled. "Hey hon, long time no see."Her tone was light and her face was pleasant but Reneé could see Naomi assessing her to gage the level of stress."You here for lunch or just a pit stop?""Lunch but I can't stay too long."Naomi nodded and waved to the closest empty stool to the left of the coffee equipment. Reneé took the gesture for the command it was and sat on the stool. Every once in a while Naomi wouldn't let her pay, usually when stress was high. She must have looked as exhausted as she felt.A few moments later Naomi set a large mug in front of Reneé, presumably her usual dirty vanilla soy Chai, alongside a chicken salad sandwich. Then she set another full foamy mug across the counter and pulled over one of the two staff stools so she could sit across from Reneé. "Okay, sip and spill. What kept you away for the better part of a week?" Naomi asked before tipping her cup to her mouth.Sighing Reneé unwrapped her sandwich. "You remember how Uncle James and I couldn't figure out why there were all these hang ups with the negotiations right?"Naomi's eyes grew cautious and narrowed as she nodded over her mug."Well as it turns out three of our junior board members were sending emails sabotaging the merger. They claimed I was holding on to information to sweeten the deal for our side. They also said that they could, with help, oust me and make a more agreeable deal."Naomi's eyes widened as she set down her mug. "Wait, what? Isn't that illegal or something? Are you going to sue them? Can you save the deal? How did you find out?"The shocked disbelieve from her friend made Reneé feel better. It made her feel like she wasn't losing her mind to have someone as upset as she was. Uncle James had seemed more downtrodden than upset."One of their assistants got wind of what was going on and clued in Debbie. You know how she gets about finding information. She found the email correspondence between these guys and our soon to be parent company. When Debbie showed the emails to Uncle James and I we fired them. As for suing, I don’t know. Our lawyers are handling it. We think the deal may be salvageable but they are sending in one of their acquisitions and negotiations guys to do the rest in person. That way there can be no mistakes. Uncle James is all for this. He says the guy they are sending is the same one that approached him and Dad years ago. That he is a trustworthy guy. I still don't know. While I appreciate that they still want to negotiate it almost feels like I am being chastised for not having a better handle on the board." Some of the stress crept back in as Reneé finished.Smiling sympathetically, Naomi reached across the counter to squeeze her hand. "I'm sorry you have to deal with all this. But it is going to get easier right? I mean once this thing goes though your load will be lighter. There are maybe six months left, yes a hard six months but there is light at the end of the tunnel." She gave another squeeze before letting go and grabbing her cup again. "Now eat your sandwich!"Rolling her eyes Reneé complied, knowing full well Naomi wouldn't let her talk again until at least half the sandwich was gone. They sat in a companionable silence for several minutes when the bell above the door rang several times. When one particular time Reneé saw Naomi's face light up she turned to see who entered. Then it was like she stopped breathing.He was tall, maybe six-three and gorgeous. He had shaggy light brown hair, a sharp nose and jaw. As well as the palest blue eyes Reneé had ever seen. The mystery guy had one of those lithe builds that suited the jeans and t-shirt he wore as well as the guitar case strapped to his back.Reneé made herself start breathing again as he came to stand next to her, beaming at Naomi.

About the Author:
Gretchen is a Seattleite that loves her home. She has a day job as a Program Coordinator a local university. She is a struggling Indie Author, struggling as in she is trying to make her living writing books. She loves to read,  write and create characters. As well as knit and binge watch Netflix. She is also on a sporadic book blog and internet radio show with some of her college friends. She currently lives with her husband and their mischievous Rotti mix, who always seems to find something new she shouldn't be chewing on.
http://www.gretchensb.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7398184.Gretchen_S_B_
http://www.amazon.com/Gretchen-S.-B./e/B00GDGEEI4
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gretchen-S-B/540293959350712
https://twitter.com/GretchenSB

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Setting the Stage . . . a look behind the scenes in UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS

Sometimes it’s the plot. Sometimes it’s the characters. Sometimes it’s the place.

Inspiration whispers to a writer from many sources.  New Orleans is rich with atmosphere and a wealth of mysterious secrets and sins.  Dangerous bayous, the intimately spooky Quarter, the sleek Business District, the raw and rough docks—I’d visited them all on the pages of my “By Moonlight” series. They’re a living, breathing part of the action and the lore.  For UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS, I was looking for something a bit . . . different to show newcomers from a different clan.

While searching for lodgings where my rowdy, rich, raucous and uber sexy Shifter princes could stay out of trouble, I found the perfect spot for them to hang out—Terriot style—when I came across The Saint Hotel.  Sometimes pictures tell stories and, in this case, they helped me tell some doozies.  Scrolling through these rooms ripe for bawdy fun, I could see my hero and his princely brothers raising the roof (and a little salacious hell!).  Did I mention the stripper pole . . .?


As you read UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS, keep The Saint Hotel in mind.  I know what I’m saving up for!


Unleashed by ShadowsBy MoonlightBook 10Nancy Gideon
Genre: dark paranormal
Date of Publication: 10-26-15
ISBN: 9781517777852  ISBN: 157777852ASIN: B016FUGSRM
Number of pages:  326Word Count:  105,000
Cover Artist:  Patricia Lazarus
He feared no man, no foe, no obstacle or challenge . . .
Burdened by the weight of his secrets and his father’s sins, the need for redemption pulls Cale Terriot from his duty to his clan and the arms of his new mate into deadly intrigues in a rival territory.  His dangerous masquerade in a high-stakes Shifter fight club is about to be exposed to those who would show no mercy – if he can survive in the ring.
How to protect a prince turned king made pawn?
Fearing she’ll lose her soulmate to the darkness he carries inside, Kendra Terriot, newly made queen in the Shape-shifter House of Terriot, must provide him with an heir in order to save his life . . . and his soul.  But first she must risk all to coax him back from the edge of violence inherited with his crown.
Can her love tear him from an unbreakable vow that can only end in death?

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Book Trailer https://youtu.be/-jZFh9rp-Hg 
Excerpt 2 from UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS . . .KendraShe’d spend her entire life cloistered behind protective walls both physical and psychological in the care of her protective cousins. She’d been an object of pity, of well-meaning devotion that smothered more than it sheltered, of terrorizing manipulation being dangled as a prize in a battle for a crown. She’d never known emotion stronger than her fear until a fierce, claiming kiss on a moonlit night woke her to passion. She’d never known independence until she clasped a dangerous prince between her knees on her first wild motorcycle ride down a mountainside. She’d never realized her own strength until a hoarsely whispered, “Don’t let me fall” demanded it of her.The timid girl clinging to the protection of others had evolved into a woman eager to embrace all the world offered, beginning with an impulsive trip to a dangerous city to support her prince now king.If Brigit MacCreedy could see her now.            Since bonding, she’d felt driven by an almost ferocious need to provide whatever her mate needed be it comfort, support, or the one thing he desperately desired that she’d yet to supply. A child to cement their relationship and his legacy.




About the Author:
Nancy Gideon is the award winning author of over 58 romances ranging from historical, regency and series contemporary suspense to dark paranormal, with a couple of horror screenplays tossed into the mix, and is currently testing the “Hybrid author” waters.  She works full time as a legal assistant in Southwestern Michigan, and when not at the keyboard, feeds a Netflix addiction along with all things fur, fin and fowl. She’s also written under the pen names Dana Ransom, Rosalyn West and Lauren Giddings, and is a member of the Mid-Michigan, PAN and FFandP Chapters of RWA.
Website     Blog      Facebook     Twitter
Pinterest     Goodreads     Amazon
Goodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group  

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Blitz 13 Most Haunted in Massachusetts by Sam Baltrusis

7 Nightlife Haunts in Salem, MassachusettsBy Sam Baltrusis
If I had to pick the most haunted city in Massachusetts, it would be Salem. With the city's Haunted Happenings celebration kicking into high gear, 13 Most Haunted in Massachusetts author Sam Baltrusis left no gravestone unturned in search of the Witch City's most haunted. Salem boasts a bone-chilling assortment of nightlife locales rumored to be stomping grounds for spirits—and not one of those “Lady in the Blue Dress” concoctions at Rockafellas. The list includes a bevy of unusual haunts, ranging from a former Prohibition-era funeral parlor to Salem’s independent movie theater to a restaurant located in Salem’s refurbished old jail located next to the allegedly haunted Howard Street Cemetery. According to the 13 Most Haunted in Massachusetts author, the living aren’t the only things that go bump in the nightlife.

A&B Burgers

The former home of Salem’s most wanted now serves up slammer-chic burgers and beer. A&B Salem opened in the spot formerly occupied by the upscale restaurant known as the Great Escape. According to co-owner Amy Butler, she and her business partner found the perfect location—even if it is haunted. “It would have ended up being a missed opportunity with it being the old jail,” Butler says. “When we were opening up this place, we definitely kept looking behind us. There are spots in this building with freezing-cold air.” According to psychics who have visited A&B Salem, there is a lingering energy from the building’s old-jail days, including a prison guard holding a clipboard. 50 St. Peter St. www.anbburgers.com.

Bunghole Liquors

During the Prohibition era, Bunghole Liquors on Derby Street had a past life as a funeral home. However, what was happening downstairs was enough to the raise the dead. Locals would gather next to the parlor’s embalming equipment, down some illegal booze and hangout in a spot that housed the city’s recently deceased. However, are there spirits cohabitating with the liquor store's spirits? Brandon O’Shea, the assistant manager at Bunghole Liquors, confirmed the rumors. “This place is definitely haunted,” he says. “I came here, and I heard it was haunted, but I never believed it.” O'Shea believes there's a spectral kitty and female residual haunting roaming behind the wine racks of this historic package lounge. Phantom puss in boots? Only in Salem. 204 Derby St. www.bungholeliquors.com.

Cinema Salem

Yes, the show must go on … even in the afterlife. According to assistant manager Peter Horne, the ghosts from Cinema Salem's silver screen past still linger. “Multiple co-workers have had experiences here in the theater,” he says. “In the past, we’ve had psychics, ghost hunters and paranormal investigators inside.” Horne insists a former manager spotted what looked like a man in black sitting in theater No. 3 when he was upstairs in the projection booth. “He looked down and saw someone sitting in the theater,” Horne recalls. “There was no movie playing, so he freaked out and ran down to kick them out. The man disappeared. According to him, he looked like a middle-aged man, wearing coattails. His clothing was from the Victorian era.” 1 E. India Square Mall. www.cinemasalem.com.

In A Pig's Eye

Taverns became a hotbed of illicit activity years after the Witch Trials hysteria. The strip of businesses across from the House of the Seven Gables, including Witch’s Brew Café and In a Pig’s Eye Restaurant, serviced the sailors and captains visiting Salem’s thriving seaport. Derby Street was a red-light district replete with brothels and drunken sailors. Apparently, ship captains from Derby Wharf would use the tunnels for discretion and some young men partaking in the revelrie were taken against their will. Yep, the tunnels were perfect to shanghai sailors. The waterfront area is allegedly teeming with the spirits of Salem’s maritime past, ranging from ghostly pirates mysteriously emerging from the water and walking around to disembodied voices of salty sea captains. 148 Derby St. www.inapigseye.com.

Murphy's Restaurant

The back corner of Salem's Old Burying Point cemetery closest to Murphy’s Restaurant is apparently a hot spot for the paranormal. There are reports of a Victorian-era lady in a powder blue dress and a full-bodied apparition of boy have been spotted there. The ghostly mother and son have been seen with a picnic basket. When Murphy's Restaurant was Roosevelt's, the former owner claimed he had a face-to-face encounter with a female apparition when he was working alone in the restaurant at night. He looked up and ghostly lady supposedly disappeared. And then there is the infamous casket which burst through the restaurant's walls. Tim Maguire, co-owner of the Salem Night Tour, says he’s heard stories and has seen convincing photos supporting claims that a casket did indeed break through the wall at Roosevelt’s Restaurant. “It looked like it was a casket of a small child, possibly a girl,” he claims. “The corner of the cemetery near Murphy’s Restaurant is where the Irish Catholics were buried. So, I’m not surprised that it’s extremely active.” 300 Derby St. www.murphyspubsalem.com.

Turner's Seafood

Located in Salem’s historic Lyceum Hall, Turner's Seafood is believed to be the site of Bridget Bishop’s apple orchard. It’s also the spot where locals believe the residual energy of the first woman executed for witchcraft in 1692 still lingers. Notables such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thoreau, Emerson and Alexander Graham Bell spoke at the restaurant which had past lives as Lyceum Bar & Grill and then 43 Church. In fact, it's where Bell first revealed his plans for the telephone. Stories of ghostly apparitions continue to surround the old Lyceum building. Numerous people have reported seeing a woman in a long white gown floating above the Lyceum building’s main staircase. Her image has been seen in windows and mirrors throughout the building. Numerous people have reported seeing a woman in a long white gown floating above the building’s main staircase. Is it Bishop seeking post-mortem justice? Salemites think so. 43 Church St. www.turners-seafood.com.

Wicked Good Books

Books are literally flying off the shelves of this new kid on the block. Salem-based lawyer Denise Kent opened Wicked Good Books in the spot formerly occupied by Derby Square Bookstore's mile-high stacks. When she started renovations in June 2014, the skeptic was approached by locals asking: Is this the haunted bookstore? Kent reached out to New England Ghost Project investigator Ron Kolek who searched for paranormal activity in the mysterious tunnels beneath the shop uncovered during renovations. There’s convincing evidence of possible desecrated human remains beneath the building. Apparently, the building’s underground system connected an underground warehouse in Derby Square. It’s also where two runaway slaves are believed to be entombed. 215 Essex St. www.wickedgoodbookstore.com.


13 Most Haunted in MassachusettsMost Haunted SeriesSam Baltrusis
Genre: Paranormal/Historical
Date of Publication: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-1516968350ASIN: ISBN-10: 1516968352
Number of pages: 130Word Count: 30,000
Cover Artist: Frank C. Grace
Book Description:
Paranormal journalist and "Ghosts of Boston" author Sam Baltrusis has traveled all over Massachusetts in search of New England's 13 most haunted. From the oldest continuously operating hotel the Omni Parker House in Boston to the beautiful but extremely active Haunted Victorian in Gardner, Baltrusis breathes new life into the long departed.
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/KHJU1ggXWfw
Available at Amazon


The 13 Most Haunted in Massachusetts

1.   S.K. Pierce Mansion, Gardner2.   Freetown State Forest, Bridgewater Triangle3.   Hammond Castle, Gloucester4.   Lizzie Borden's House, Fall River5.   Houghton Mansion, North Adams6.   Joshua Ward House, Salem7.   Longfellow's Wayside Inn, Sudbury8.   USS Salem, Quincy9.   Spider Gates Cemetery, Leicester10. Boston Light, Little Brewster Island11. Witch House, Salem12. Victoria House, Provincetown13. Boston Common, Downtown Boston
Excerpt: Chapter 1S.K. PIERCE MANSIONGardnerMost Haunted: #1
“I was told by intuitives that the spirits in the house have something very important to tell me. Does that sound crazy?”—Rob Conti, S.K. Pierce Victorian Mansion’s new owner
A woman named Mattie Cornwell summoned me to this house. She’s been dead for more than a century.  In the recurring dream, I see her silhouette from a gold-colored Victorian’s second floor. She’s upset. I can see an outline of what looks like a tightly wound bun in her hair. Her clothing is late 1800s school marm and she looks much older than her actual age. I would guess she’s in her 20s. The woman is a caretaker of sorts and is protecting the home from forces out of her control. She’s losing the battle and is calling me from the light for help.  Think Mary Poppins but without the spoonful of sugar. In my dream, she’s serving up daggers.  Something horrible happened in that house and she is begging the living to help her. I could hear her singing a folk song from the window. She was throwing books and papers at me from the home’s second floor. She’s saying what I remember as “sefnock” over and over at a shadowy man who is in the room with her. I’m terrified.  My dream of Mattie was in 2011. I was writing what would become my first book, Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub. I initially thought she was the “stay behind” spirit, the seamstress I lovingly called “scissor sister,” who haunted my home in Somerville’s Davis Square.  I was wrong.  The dream was prophetic in a way. I didn’t make a connection to the haunted S.K. Pierce Victorian Mansion in Gardner until I saw a photo of the structure posted online in late 2014. My friends Rachel Hoffman and Tina Storer from Paranormal Xpeditions were investigating the location and I had a severe reaction when I saw a post from the Victorian structure because I’d seen it repeatedly in my dreams.  I swore I would never go there. But here I am—going to the very spot where Mattie Cornwell once lived. What was I thinking?  A friend who has intuitive abilities warned me about the shadow figure in my dreams. "That woman will suck the air out of you,” she said during an online chat. “No. I mean it. Like sitting on your chest. You won’t be able to inhale." She said the spirit's name is Maddie or Matilda.  I found out recently from fellow author Joni Mayhan that the former nanny at the haunted S.K. Pierce Victorian was named Mattie Cornwell. Her spirit has been in the house since the late 1800s. “Petite, with long dark hair that she wore in a bun, she once cared for the Pierce children,” wrote Mayhan in Bones In The Basement. “Chores were scheduled at specific times, and the children were taught to behave. Even though she was long dead, she remained the protector of the house, keeping it safe from trespassers and ensuring the other resident ghosts behaved themselves.”  Mayhan said Cornwell had crossed over and is no longer bound to the haunted Victorian. “She was the Pierce family's nanny. Mattie wasn't negative though. She was the gatekeeper and peacekeeper there, but she was inadvertently crossed over during a house cleansing in 2011,” Mayhan told me. “After she left, the really nasty ones came in. There are a few nasty female entities there, but Mattie isn't one of them.”  According to Mayhan’s Bones In The Basement, Cornwell died young. “She was born in 1859 in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was 21 when she came to work for the Pierce family as a servant in the house. Her primary focus was caring for the Pierce children. She was firm but loving with the children, keeping them mindful of their manners and helping them grow into the influential men they would one day become,” wrote Mayhan. “Later research would show that Mattie died at the young age of twenty-five from an acute inflammation of the hip just two years after getting married. Her tragedy would be just one among many at the Victorian mansion. It was as if the house collected them, like some people collected old coins.”  Rachel Hoffman, my friend from the all-female investigation team Paranormal Xpeditions, said I should be wary about the haunted house in Gardner. “You might not be able to walk in,” explained Hoffman. “I swear it's a pressure cooker. You will feel it as soon as you see it. Look into the top window and tell me what you see. Then I'll tell you.”  Hoffman, who was featured in a taped investigation at the mansion with Tina Storer and her sister, Danielle Medina, said the experience still haunts her. She believes the location is a portal, a vortex of sorts to the spirit world that allows both good and bad spirits to cross over. “There’s more than one story there,” she said. “There’s a story for every step you take.”  When PXP was investigating the mansion in late 2014, I had a strong psychic feeling that one of the investigators, Tina Storer, wasn’t safe. I sent a message to the PXP team warning them. Hoffman told me later that Storer had to be escorted out of the building because she couldn’t breath. It was like the spirits were taking the air out of her lungs.  “Tina had issues where the man was burned,” Hoffman told me. “At one point, she did feel protected. But it was so intense. Our temp gage was 66.6.”  Medina, Hoffman’s sister, was pregnant during the investigation and the group uncovered an electromagnetic voice phenomenon, or EVP, in the nursery. “We got my pregnant sister bending over to pick up a baby in the nursery and the ovilus said ‘mama,’” explained Hoffman. “My sister is a skeptic so this was profound.”  Hoffman and the PXP team smudged the location with a cleansing ritual involving coffin nails and sweet grass. The usual ceremony with the old standby sage simply didn’t work. “When closing out a paranormal investigation, we sometimes use coffin nails,” Hoffman explained. “I found our container used in the haunted Victorian Mansion with the bottom half of the glass jar totally gone. I wouldn't be surprised to find the nails we pounded in the ground embedded in a tree. Renovations and hands switching is stirring up the activity majorly.”  Yes, construction notoriously conjures up the long departed. Apparently, spirits don’t like change.  Rob Conti, the ringleader behind the New Jersey-based Dark Carnival and a dentist during the day, said he always wanted to own a standalone haunted attraction. The S.K. Pierce mansion was literally ripped from his childhood fantasies. He says the fact that the 7,000-square-foot mansion located at 4 Broadway in Gardner is “certified haunted” is an added bonus.  “Since I was 15, I always wanted a single-family haunted house,” he said. “I always had a picture in my mind of what that attraction would look like. As I got older, I tried to make this vision a reality but there were regulations in New Jersey that prohibited it.”  Conti, who actually didn’t visit the Victorian until the day he closed the sale on the building, said a friend posted the real estate listing for the mansion on his Facebook page. “As soon as I saw it, I knew the image of the house was the image I had in my head for the past 25 years.”  The new owner said he will hash out the details after the year-long renovations, but he plans to rent out the unit for 11 months of the year and will turn the space into a haunted attraction every October. Since purchasing what paranormal experts believe is the most haunted house in Massachusetts, Conti said he has been contacted by all sorts of people.  “I’ve been told that the spirits in the house knew who I was before I even called,” he said, sort of creeped out by the idea. “Apparently, I’m liked by the spirits in the house, which is a good thing, I hope.”  Conti also had a paranormal experience after walking into the structure’s dining room, the same spot investigators believe is a portal. “I started feeling dizzy and had to be escorted out of the building,” he explained. Also, the Dark Carnival owner said a contractor, who didn’t know the building’s haunted history, told him that somebody else was on the second floor when there was no one else in the house.  “I was also told by intuitives that the spirits in the house have something very important to tell me,” Conti continued. “Does that sound crazy?”  Actually, no.  As I stand gazing at the house that haunted my dreams for years, I replay the dream of the woman I believe to be Mattie Cornwell looking out of the second-floor window. As I walk closer to my nightmare, I’m shivering in the beauty and the madness of the moment. I think about the word “sefnock” that she chanted over and over. I hit my head as I quickly jump into the car near the S.K. Pierce mansion’s driveway searching for a notepad. I write the mystery word out phonetically.  Then I had an epiphany. I gasped for air. The woman’s cryptic, post-mortem plea is backwards. She’s demanding that the shadow figure … confess.  Cars are driving by and passengers are yelling things at me like “there’s someone behind you” and “this place is really, really haunted.” My cellphone starts to flip out and, mysteriously, seems to have a mind of its own, calling random people from my contact list. I hear what sounds like a disembodied male voice whispering in my ear: “Get out of here.” I look again at the second-floor window, expecting to see Mattie Cornwell, the spirit who mistakenly crossed to the light years ago. Instead, I see a black bird, possibly a crow or a dark-colored pigeon, perched on the ledge. The white-lace curtains move as if someone is peering out of the window.  I can’t breathe.



About the Author:
Sam Baltrusis, author of Ghosts of Boston: Haunts of the Hub and Ghosts of Salem: Haunts of the Witch City, is the former editor-in-chief of Spare Change News and teaches journalism classes at Malden Access TV (MATV). He has been featured as Boston's paranormal expert on the Biography Channel's Haunted Encounters and Paranormal State's Ryan Buell's Paranormal Insider Radio. As a side gig, Baltrusis moonlights as a guide and launched the successful ghost tours, Boston Haunts and Cambridge Haunts. In October 2014, he spearheaded a boat tour called Haunted Boston Harbor. Baltrusis is also a sought-after lecturer who speaks at dozens of paranormal-related events scattered throughout New England. In the past, he's worked for VH1, MTV.com, Newsweek, ABC Radio and as a regional stringer for The New York Times.
www.13MostHaunted.com
Twitter: @LoadedGun
http://www.amazon.com/Sam-Baltrusis/e/B00991S864
https://www.facebook.com/sam.baltrusis

HAUNTED VENICE, Venetian Ghosts Invade my YouTube Channel. Plus Halloween E-book Sale from 99 cents this week only

Art took on a life of its own, literally, when I stayed in the beautiful lagoon town, Venice, Italy, the setting of my novels. One day, I decided to shoot some YouTube videos and the Venetian Ghosts jumped right off the pages of my books to haunt the videos! 

That’s right! In Venice, ghosts haunt videos and change all plans. They mess with film, sound, umbrella, camera, weather. ITS TRUE I SWEAR! WATCH! They don't give a girl a break, instead they break her stuff.  Watch ghosts haunt my Venice video. PART ONE.  They haunt Venice videos, don’t they?

Haunted Venice invades my world when Ghost take over my video, WATCH THEM LURK! https://youtu.be/GKlQhIjm1vY

 

Later that day, the Haunted Venice Video madness continued.  In a chapel where relics of Jesus Christ lay in a special sealed chamber, those magnetic fields somehow sent the video haywire. Did saints and ghosts lead me there?  You decide.

To see the weird but true PART TWO of Haunted Venice Videos, watch now for your Halloween viewing entertainment. WATCH THE VIDEO Now.

Ghosts take over Venice video, Part TWO, what is in store for me now? https://youtu.be/V673QdQZQwM




Don’t forget the Halloween e-book sale THIS WEEK from 99 cents !!






Love SpiritsWhat Happens In VeniceBook OneDiana Cachey
About the Love Spirits:
When the bodies of two glass makers wash up on Murano Island, the cryptic messages persist. Louisa is drawn to the story of the Venetian ghosts and initiates a personal investigation. Reluctantly, Louisa calls upon her bad boy ex, Matteo, to help decipher the clues. Before she knows it, a flame that was never fully extinguished is unexpectedly rekindled.
Sensing that her sister is in over her head, Barbara Mangotti rushes to the rescue, only to be lured away by two hard-to-resist good-looking Venetian men.With time running out, can these two beauties solve a crime that could threaten the city of Venice itself?
This book is like a magic carpet ride that takes you to Venice, capturing in a most wonderful way its unique allure and mystery. Part travelogue, part mystery, part romance novel, it will warm your heart, send goosebumps up your spine, and leave you breathless.
Available at Amazon
LOVE SPIRITS, Excerpt # 3 (455 words):
            Flights, hotels, apartments. Clothes, jewelry, shoes. Check, check, check. She’d tried on sweaters, jeans, jackets, surveyed each item to determine the most Italian look and picked only the most flattering combinations. She lined up toiletries, stockings, scarves, lingerie and make-up, but not too much, she’d buy better stuff in Italy. Cat sitters were called to assess availability and suitability. Processed food was sneered at in grocery stores for savoring of fresh Venetian produce. The voluntary time-off she scoffed at months earlier when offered it, turned out to be a perk, not a temporary discharge due to shortage of work.            For Barbara, getting to Venice was easy. Finding ghosts in Venice? Harder. Fetching Louisa and releasing Matteo’s grip? Impossibile.            Louisa would scheme and stick until everyone else became unglued. If ghosts were to be found, Louisa would find them. Barbara hadn’t stopped Louisa from going to Venice so how would she get her home? Investigate the ghosts, disprove their existence?            Barbara imagined her own escape into those Venetian palaces, their moldy facades toppling into canals. Those quiet evenings with no traffic, strolling along sea water, visiting quaint bars or vegetable markets that hugged tiny bridges. Foggy thoughts of Venice led Barbara to recall how Louisa had written her about a fall, not into the arms of Matteo, but into a canal. She’d slipped on the algae-coated steps leading into a traghettothat ferries passengers across the Grand Canal and the only gondolas still in regular use by Venetians. This traghetto was her daily ride to work, so exposed algae didn’t concern her. Yet, one day she’d been unable to maintain her balance long enough to avoid the dive. She’d fallen into the drink, straight out of the helpful hand of the gondolier, with her expensive Italian boots, cell phone and all.         “Venetians rallied so fast,” she’d written to Barbara. “that my shoulders barely touched the water when they lifted me out of the canal as easily as a floating plastic bag.” Her Venetian rescuers assured Louisa that all self-respecting residents fell into canals at some point in their lives. She’d been baptized, Venetian-style.         The young gondolier, feeling somewhat responsible for not holding her securely enough, made up for it by embracing her tightly. With both arms, he enveloped Louisa in his goose down parka and rubbed her wet body vigorously and lovingly.         Barbara smiled as she sensed Louisa’s presence deep in her heart, thousands of miles across the pond--as was the Atlantic Ocean referred to by jet-setters like Louisa.         Don’t fall in again, dear one, Barbara quietly prayed, until I get there.
         She tried sending those words to Louisa, knowing not whether they fell onto her sister’s distant ears.
Lagoon LureWhat Happens in VeniceBook TwoDiana Cachey
About the Lagoon Lure:
Sexy sleuth Louisa is back! She captivated romance novel readers and mystery lovers in Love Spirits, the first book of the intriguing international mystery and crime series, What Happens in Venice. Book Two, Lagoon Lure, continues this seductive ghost story and resumes the carnal pleasures, conspiracy and corruption.
American in Venice, Louisa, resumes her Venetian exploits, steamy love affairs and paranormal assisted murder investigation she began in Love Spirits. The mystery and romance further ensnares her in the second book of the What Happens in Venice mystery series.
Still unnerved by the notion that Venice ghost stories are real, Louisa delves further into the mystery of the deaths of two glassmakers while juggling the lustful manipulations of her ex-lover, Matteo, whose role in the double murder grows murkier.
Meanwhile Louisa's usually shy sister, Barbara, explores her new-found sexuality with Venice's willing men, sharing her adventures with her sister but keeping one particularly mysterious man a secret. Romance novel readers will love the changes in her and the tension created by the affairs of the heart that Venice leads her into before she realizes that she's fallen hard despite the haunted happenings around her.
When Louisa's best friend, "Rouge," arrives for Carnival to sample its masked men and create her own romance novel subplots and complicates the situation further by encouraging the sisters to embrace the pleasures of secret Venice. Rouge not only steams up the landscape but she is lured into her own complicated romances and supernatural events, if not a reluctant ghost story or two.
With Venice as the lush backdrop for double murder and a web of passionate intrigue, Louisa deciphers clues planted by ghosts and struggles to resist the wicked charms of the very tempter she suspected in the crimes. Her unfinished romance and ghost story compete against her love affair with Venice and its secrets. While she tries to enjoy her days of Venice travel, food and fashion, as well as her new admirer’s own brand of magic, the mystery of the dead glass makers still looms in the lagoon.
Lively supporting characters add sex, chuckles and suspense to the already twisted plots and turned phrases when they too must navigate Venice mystery, romantic liaisons and the ghost story encounters. The gothic setting, the romance laden environment, the mysterious corners and shadowy lagoon lead everyone astray. Haunted Venice gives everyone plenty to puzzle over right until the end.
Venice cafés, restaurants, and other haunts play a prominent role in this sexy supernatural romance and international crime series about a beautiful American in Venice guided by ghosts to solve the mystery of a hushed-up crime. Paranormal clues and ghost apparitions lead Louisa deeper into the lagoon, and she is forced to reluctantly enlist Matteo's support. Can she trust him, or will this ghostly lagoon lure prove deadly?
Available at AmazonLAGOON LURE, Excerpt #3 (830 words)
            “Sorry, hold on,” she replied and ran to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face, gargle mouthwash, throw on sexier lingerie.            “It’s okay,” he yelled, “I love you sleepy with smeared last night’s make-up.”             “Shut up and wait,” she yelled back and reminded of the smeared make-up, she touched it up. There. It looked like she just applied it.             Tom obeyed the command to wait, although what was in his trousers was about to break down the door.             Some lip gloss. All set. She answered the door, fur draped open revealing pushed-up breasts and a peek of her rhinestoned thong. He didn’t, couldn’t wait for the door to shut, shoved both hands into the fur with one hand softly on each breast and his tongue down her throat.              They stood there long enough for her nipples to register more than the cold. She begrudgingly stopped, pushed her pelvis onto his and said, “Let’s not waste anymore time.” She pulled him by his scarf while walking backwards towards the adjoining room and he kicked the door shut behind him.             They didn’t make it to the bed nor the adjoining room for Rouge had felt his trouser tent and since she’d put a wool blanket in the hallway to keep her feet warm, it now kept everything warm below her as they rolled onto. Entwined and breathless, he kept the top of her warm, very warm. Slowly and seductively then alternately vigorous, he filled her insides full of warmth too. Firm yet gentle, he didn’t waste anymore time.            She had not asked, “Why are we wasting time?” It was a command. One he obeyed. He continued to obey her commands. His lips being moved to various parts of her face, neck, breasts, tummy and on and on, all the way to her toes. She worked on him too, being a little less gentle and not using her lips but something else in all of those areas.             Next she demanded to be spanked, for which she returned the favor countless times before they moved to the bedroom. Since the bathroom was on the way, they stopped in for a shower, its hand shower appliance being very handy indeed. He didn't last long in the shower, but she did.            The bed was eventually taken over with their long awaited entrance, which he staged as he draped her across it and covered her with lemon-scented tasting oil.             They had a lengthy day ahead of them. So they napped. Briefly. Tom couldn't sleep and he wouldn't let her. By now it was dusk and she lit candles, which gave Rouge another idea for a symphony of wax.            It’s going to be a good trip, she thought and walked to bed with the candle.             Tom’s reality reached out and scratched that record when he saw the candle. “Is it dark already? I gotta go. My wife is gonna kill me,” he said.            “Oh baby. What happened?”            “I’m supposed to take her friends in my boat to a Carnival ball tonight.” Rouge’s symphony turned into nails on a chalkboard.            I wanna go to the Carnival ball,she wanted to whimper. Instead she listened to him whine about not wanting to go. I wanna go to the ball, she kept thinking.             Then she remembered she did have an invite to a ball. Barbara’s hot new Italian boyfriend, Massimo, was hosting a private affair. Somewhere. Where? She couldn’t remember the details.  Screw this, I have to get ready for my own ball, she thought. More clever than Tom, she didn’t let on. “Okay, go home. Your wife scares the crap out of me.”              “She scares the crap out of me too. She scares the crap out of everyone.” He rolled over and pulled a wool blanket over his head whimpering.            “You know, she will kill you before she kills me,” Rouge said slyly. “Worse. She’ll let you live.”             “Ohhhhhh.”            “I’m taking a shower and putting on Cleopatra. It’s time to get my Carnival on. You driving me or not?”            “Yes,” he moaned from under the covers.              “Then get your butt in the shower. Now.”              “Noooo,” he said. He knew he sounded infantile but these two women, his wife and Rouge, had that effect on him. It wasn’t difficult for any woman to have that effect on him. “See you in a few minutes?” he begged and grabbed to pull her back. With what little strength he had left after their frenzy, he failed in his attempt to hold on to her. “All-right,” he mumbled. He dozed off thinking what a shame that they were extremely compatible but could never be together. He knew they were soul mates. Sexually.            While he snoozed, Rouge became Cleo. Madonna went all Cleopatra at the super bowl performance, recalled Rouge. So she’d been told for she couldn’t force herself to go to the popular Venetian bar where Americans watch championship sports.             Rouge, now turned Cleopatra, was soon ready for the ball. 


Magic IslandWhat Happens In VeniceBook ThreeDiana Cachey
About Magic Island:
Sexy sleuth Louisa is back — with Venice as the lush backdrop for double murder and a web of passionate intrigue. In this final installment of the Trinity, Louisa captivates readers by deciphering clues planted by ghosts & struggling to resist the wicked charms of the very tempter she suspects. Her unfinished love story continues to compete against her love affair with Venice and its secrets. She tries to enjoy her days of Venice travel, food and fashion and new admirer’s own brand of magic but the mystery of the dead glass makers still looms in the lagoon.
Lively supporting characters add more sex, chuckles and suspense to the already twisted plots and turned phrases as they too must navigate their own romantic liaisons and thought provoking ghost encounters. Magic Island gives everyone plenty to puzzle over right up to its surprising finish!
Available at Amazon

MAGIC ISLAND, Excerpt #2 (377 words)
At the landing point, halfway to the upper level, she felt it. A cold wind blew.Why would the thrift shop women leave the window open during one of the coldest days of the year? Venetians, and Italians generally, were obsessed with energy conservation, not out of duty or political bent, but out of necessity or greed. Why would the darling elf-man allow it? Why hadn’t he gone up to close it?She blinked.In the second floor attic room, a man stood by the open window and fanned himself. He’d removed his coat, hat, scarf and shirt. Bare-chested, he was about to try on what looked to be the next best deal in the shop, a cashmere sweater with Armani label.The room wasn’t suffering from the dreaded “they heat the place like people don’t always come in dressed for the outdoors.” It was not an unbearable oven. It was chilly. Yet sweat poured down the man’s face.Louisa couldn’t help but stare for he stood half naked with perfect abdomen and a peek of what was below the belt. His pants hung low on his tan, tempting, tapered waist.The man jumped and gave an unnecessary apology in thick Buranese dialect.“My name is Antonin. Your friend, Marco, sent me,” he whispered. He made no attempt to cover up for which Louisa gave another silent nod of gratitude.She stepped closer then remembered she was supposed to seek guidance before acting. She started to speak but he gestured for her to be quiet and pulled her to the window. He pointed to the canal.Not exactly the answer to my prayers, but go with it, she reckoned.She leaned squarely up against him then wrapped an arm around his waist, that tempting, tapered waist.He felt her desire rising so he moved them both away from the window where he pulled his pants a little further down to reveal those, those whatever those lines are, those muscle things that go diagonally from the hips to the important region.“Spetta mattimo,” he whispered, “wait a minute,” or something like that, and he pressed his hips against hers.
“Prima, guarda la,” (First, look at this) he said and nodded towards the window. About the Author:
Diana Cachey is a licensed attorney, published academic, and former adjunct law professor. She also holds a BA in English, and while in law school, she was the first female editor in chief of her university’s law review.The author of the novel Love Spirits, she has trained with several New York Times best-selling writers, including Robert Allen, with more than seventy-two million books sold.
For more than a decade, Cachey has been traveling to Venice, the setting of her novel, on extended trips several times a year. The cafés, restaurants, and many other haunts of Venice play a prominent role in her sexy paranormal mystery-romance about a beautiful American lawyer guided by the Ghosts of Venice in the investigation of a hushed-up crime.
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00N6HDHSG
https://www.youtube.com/user/dcachey
@dianacachey  
https://www.facebook.com/diana.cachey
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Cachey/153347544749839
HAUNTEDP-PALOOZA VIDEO: https://youtu.be/4wTodeBxiY8a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Blog Mortal Magick by Patty Taylor

I wish to take this opportunity to thank my host, Roxanne, for having me here today as her guest.  
And now for a wee bit of “Fairy and Brownie” Magick
Below is a photo of one of the most famous trees that Ireland is well known for – a gnarled hawthorn fairy tree protected by stone barriers and fences so no one will bother it.  (the stones are piled close by to keep sheep and other animals from rubbing against the bark)


In Mortal Magick, I created a whimsical matchmaker known as “wee Darby”. Born from of a forbidden love between an Irish fairy and Scottish Brownie, wee Darby is quite the unique and eccentric character with his caterpillar eyebrows arched above a crooked pair of thick rimmed gold glasses, while ivy leaves sprout from a tousled mass of his bright carrott orange hair.  It didn’t take long to discover that the more details I  added to this whimsical character, the more I found wee Darby worked his magick and made himself a permanent spot not only in my story, but in my heart. 
I created Darby as a descendant from the Brown Man  of the Muires, so he not only inherited the love for animals and nature, but his skills in applying his special herbal cures comes in handy as he aids the main characters throughout the story.Darby is also well known for his friendship and fascination of dragons. 


“Aye, and I’m excited to share that you will find dragons in Sea Wolf Magick”.   I’m delighted to announce, that right before I left to visit my family in Northern Ireland a few weeks ago, I received my contract for Sea Wolf Magick, book 2 of my new Highlander Magick Series.   Here’s my tagline for a sneak peak at this story:
  "When a seafaring Highlander Lycan, rescues a cursed witch from the clutches of evil, a magical voyage fueled by fire and ice ignites more than just passion across the high seas."
And here’s a wee excerpt:The Mystic Fairy Glens of Cuillin Hills, Isle of Skye
“Aye lass, what ye need is a good, strappin’ man.” A tousled mass of carrot orange hair sprouted above Beth’s favorite Herbal Lore Encyclopedia. Darby winked. His mischievous green eyes sparkled, peering over the top of his gold-rimmed glasses. Jumping down from his favorite stool, he shuffled towards the crackling fireplace as he pulled his pipe from his frayed coat pocket and puffed on the crooked stem. “Just placin’ me own opinion, of course.”The pleasing scent of fresh tobacco filled the cozy cottage Beth Macgregor now considered home. Her wee companion grabbed a poker and stoked the crackling fire. “And I’m not implyin’ about askin’ someone to help do the chores.”
Is it that obvious? Her heart fluttered. A warm rush flooded her neck and face. These bloody hot flashes have gotten way out of hand. By the Goddess, I’m still in my twenties.Like an unquenchable thirst, the unrelenting cravings grew worse each night. Her body constantly reminding her she was still a young woman with serious needs.
Here’s a few photos of some castles that gave me some fantastic ideas for the next book in this series:



Thank you again, Roxanne, for having me as your guest today!   I hope many of your followers will drop by and visit my website/blog and follow me on Facebook as I get ready to reveal more surprises coming up towards the end of the month. Mortal MagickHighlander Magick SeriesBook OnePatty Taylor
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy/Time Travel Romance
Publisher: Soul Mate PublishingDate of Publication:   June 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61935-834-8ASIN: B00ZAJ8GL6
Number of pages:176 pagesWord Count: 57K
Cover Artist: Syneca Featherstone
Book Description:
When an immortal Highlander falls in love with a human witch, “Mortal Magick” soon casts a spell of its own.    
Doomed for eternity to wander nights as half man and half creature, rugged Highlander, Duncan McCord, discovers his curse is the least of his problems when he sets out for a cure and rescues the beauty determined to help tame his beast.When a reluctant witch, Keara, gets whisked back to 18th century mystical Isle of Skye to learn lessons in magic, she faces the true test of love when she meets the man beyond her wildest dreams burdened with dark secrets from his past. 
Forced together to journey through an enchanted country filled with mythical creatures and magical lore, will they survive in a world where evil sorcery reigns, or will a shocking twist of fate tear them centuries apart?
Available at Amazon

Excerpt:
Trotternish ∙ Isle of Skye, Scotland ∙ October 7, 1797
Duncan McCord wanted a woman. His entire body and soul hungered for a special lass’ touch. The one destined for his love, whom he would call kindred spirit. His stomach tightened, a pain ripping through him like the slice of a broadsword. This canna happen. Not now, not ever. Reality hastily slapped him back to his senses. He vowed never to be foolish enough to let himself fall into another vixen’s treacherous traps.Dark, threatening clouds rolled over Scotland’s glorious mountain peaks in the distance. The muscles in his legs rippled, gripping both sides of his mount. His stallion, Goliath, snorted and stopped short in his tracks. His enormous hooves stomped the hard ground.“Aye, ‘tis all right, me friend. Just a bad storm startin’ to brew. What a grand spot to rest for the night.” Duncan bent down and stroked the neck of the black steed then swung his leg over and jumped to the ground, beginning to remove both gear and saddle. Goliath neighed, his breath white in the cold air.A gust of frigid air swept around Duncan’s feet, spiraling its way beneath his woolen plaid. Leaves rustled from the biting breeze as they whispered danger through the towering pines. Goliath snorted again and reared his mighty head.The sweet scent of honeysuckle filled Duncan’s flaring nostrils and jabbed his memory. The pleasing fragrance was soon replaced with the putrid smell of dead worms and rotten leaves. Clenching his fists, his knuckles cracked. Short hairs bristled on the back of his neck. Wicked laughter echoed through the Highland hills. A woman’s teasing, silky voice sparked his memory, whispering poison in his ears.“Your journey is for naught, my beloved Duncan. I see you’re still stubborn as always. Your horse seems to have more common sense than you.”The snicker became a cackle. Invisible fingers like fuzzy feathers tickled his whiskers, making his face twitch.“I see ye still didna have the guts to face me, ye bloody she-devil. Afraid ye might finally get what ye rightfully deserve?” Stone-faced, he shouted into empty space. “I promise, witch. Ye won’t be laughin’ for verra much longer.”“Careful, my spirited lover. You don’t want to wake the inner beast before sunset.
***            “Duncan lunged from the damp forest floor. His splayed hooves clip-clopped on top of a boulder. His nostrils flared from the irresistible lingering lavender scent. He cocked his head to the side, his keen hearing caught her every breath as each step she took brought her dangerously closer. “Aye, the damn fool-headed woman! She’s done wandered off again.”             He snarled at a shooting star plummeting to the ground. Like a bubbling cauldron of fire, it spit an outburst of flames across the moonlit sky. “Aye, the bonny wee lass is headed straight for a trap.” Clenching his fists, he veered back his head and wailed.”




About the Author:
Patty was raised as a “country girl”, and fell in love with animals, books and the mystical world of magick  from a wee girl. With her mother’s heritage, born and raised in Northern Ireland, along with the discovery of her father having American Indian ancestry, Patty’s fascination for both cultures quickly led her imagination to run wild.
Her love of The Chronicles of Narnia Series, from C.S. Lewis inspired her to start creating magical realms and characters of her own.
Patty’s dream to work with white wolves didn’t become a reality,  but she considers herself blessed to have been “owned and loved” by a pack of beloved Samoyeds for over 20 years.
In her spare time, Patty can be found sitting beside one of her favorite spinning wheels, blending exotic fibers while her imagination weaves more stories.  While she cherishes fond memories of both her parents, thanks to her beloved Irish Mom, Patty’s belief in the little people and fairies still carries on.
Website: http://www.pattytaylorauthor.com/
Blog: http://www.pattytaylorauthor.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PattyTaylorAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pattyt444
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25699278-mortal-magick

Release Day Blitz Dragon Song by Tara West

Please join us for the facebook party from 12-2 pm EST October 20https://www.facebook.com/events/1692941470917819/


Dragon SongDawn of the Dragon QueenBook OneTara West
Genre: historical fantasy romance
Publisher: Shifting Sands Publishing
Date of Publication: October 20, 2015
Number of pages: 250Word Count: 65,000
Cover Artist: Renee Barratt atThe Cover Counts
Book Description:
Duncan MacQuoid, dragon-slayer, is no more. In his place is a tortured man seeking solace for his sins. One fateful night he finds a woman he believes will be his salvation. Little does he know, his love for her could be his final undoing.
Fiona Firesblood, dragon-shifter and noble queen, will stop at nothing to protect her child, even if it means she must sever the bond with her mate, Duncan MacQuoid, the one man she loves above all others, and the one man whose past could destroy them all.
Safina Firesblood, daughter of a cursed union between dragon and dragon-slayer, has grown into a young woman, a powerful dragon princess in her own right. When she’s given one chance at true love, will she risk the dragon queen’s wrath or resign herself to an eternity of sorrow?
Available at Amazon


Excerpt:
“Murderer!” She shoved him back with such force, he toppled from the bed in a tangle of furs.  “Fiona, ’tis me, Duncan,” he cried as he struggled to stand. What had come over her? One moment they were caressing beneath the warm furs, and the next she had sprung from his bed, screaming like a banshee. “I know who you are, MacQuoid. Dragonslayer!” She ended on a shrill sob before covering her face with her hands. Duncan stood, kicking the furs to the side and reaching for her. “I am a dragonslayer no more, Fiona.”“Why did you make love to me? You should have killed me like you did the rest of my kind.” She rushed through the flap of his tiny hut into the cool morning air. Swearing under his breath, Duncan wrapped a fur around his waist and chased after her.  Surely they had both gone mad.The morning was exceptionally cold, and Fiona wore not a stitch of clothes. A chill wind from the north whipped the heavy branches overhead into a frenzy. Autumn leaves danced around Fiona’s feet as she wept, kneeling beside a fallen oak.  The sharp edge of her suffering pierced the cavity of Duncan’s chest. He still did not understand how her emotions had been tethered to his own, but he did feel her pain, so keen he thought his heart would break from it.   “Fiona, you are mistaken. Come inside where ’tis warm,” he pleaded. She looked up at him through tear-soaked eyes. “You killed my mother!” Her body shook with violent tremors. “You struck her with a spear, and she had never sought to harm mankind. Never!”Duncan’s head spun and he felt weightless. Mouth agape, he stared at her, hoping his senses would return. And then the words from the she-dragon reverberated through his skull. I have never sought to harm mankind. Never!“’Twas a dragon I speared, not a human.” But even as he said the words, he knew ’twas a lie. That dragon had been no dumb beast. She was something more. “She was my mother!” Fiona wailed. “She was kind and good and all I had left in the world.” “Fiona,” Duncan struggled for words, knowing nothing he could say would ever bring back her mother. “Forgive me.” Stepping forward, he reached out, needing to touch her and soothe her pain. “Do not touch me! Do not ever touch me!”What happened next Duncan would not have believed had he not seen the she-dragon transform into a beautiful woman each night in his dreams. But those were dreams, and the dragon hovering above him now was no fantasy, though just a moment before she had been his beautiful lass.Panting like a wounded animal, she singed his hair with her fiery breath.  Duncan did not cower. He did not fear. They had shared a connection when he loved her beneath the light of the full moon. She would not harm him now.   
He looked up into her amber eyes, which were the same as last night, only larger, sadder. ’Twas then he knew neither of them would come away from this unscathed. For her heart was shattered, and he did not know how he could live without her forgiveness. 
About the Author:
Tara West writes books about dragons, witches, and handsome heroes while eating chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. She's willing to share her dragons, witches and heroes. Keep your hands off her chocolate.
Tara West's young adult and new adult romances have been Kindle bestsellers. A former high school English teacher, Tara is now a full-time writer and graphic artist. She enjoys spending time with her family, interacting with her fans, and fishing the Texas coast.
https://www.facebook.com/tarawestauthor
website: www.tarawest.com
@TaraWestauthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1731936.Tara_West



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Five Past Midnight Box Set by Robin Bielman, Robyn Bachar, Cassi Carver, Anne Hope, Corrina Lawson

Five Past Midnight       Robin Bielman, Robyn Bachar,Cassi Carver, Anne Hope,Corrina Lawson
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Date of Publication: October 20th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61923-082-8ASIN: B014SIHRG4
Number of pages: 1200Word Count: 480,000
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
Book Description:
Falling in love has never been so deadly.
Five supernatural thrillers packed with action and romance, each introducing you to an exciting series. Honorable heroes, strong heroines and relentless suspense combine to bring you five page-turners you won’t soon forget.
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Veiled Target—USA TODAY bestselling author Robin Bielman
Book One of the Veilers Series
Tess wants revenge, but thrust into an inconvenient alliance with her sexy enemy, she must trust the shifter she’s supposed to kill or risk losing everything.
Blood, Smoke and Mirrors—Robyn Bachar
Book One of the Bad Witch Series
Hunted by a powerful evil, exiled witch Cat must entrust her fate to the man who betrayed her. Now Lex faces the fight of his life to keep her safe. If they both survive.
Slayer’s Kiss—Cassi Carver
Book One of The Shadow Slayers Series
Fallen angels Gavin and Julian have been sent to protect Kara, but she’s determined to track down a killer, even when she realizes her target may be the creature hunting her.
Soul Bound—Anne Hope
Book One of the Dark Souls Series
Jace is no longer human. Something dark and powerful has taken root within him. Something that that could destroy the one woman he’d sacrifice everything to protect.
Phoenix Rising—Corrina Lawson
Book One of the Phoenix Institute Series
Everyone looks at firestarter Alec Farley as a weapon. Beth is the only one who sees a hero. But proving that could be deadly.
Warning: Contains shifters, vampires, witches, fallen angels, a firestarter and troublemaking faeries. Watch out for gratuitous violence, gripping emotion, unconventional sex, some foul language, and a love triangle that gives new meaning to the term hot-wings.


Excerpts
VEILED TARGET BY ROBIN BIELMAN
“Cut the crap, Tess. Why were you following me?”
“How do you know I was following you?” Oops. She meant to say, “What makes you think I was following you?”
He gave a knowing smile—that looked ridiculously sexy rather than irritating. “I know you don’t want to insult my intelligence so let’s just say for argument’s sake, if you were following me, why would that be?”
At least she’d gotten him to change his tone.
“Truthfully?” She leaned a little closer to him. She couldn’t help it.
“That would be nice.”
“I’m really not a very nice person,” she announced.
“Neither am I.” He reached out and moved a strand of hair behind her ear.
Was he trying to confuse her? Because it was working. She’d nearly fallen into his hand before he pulled it away. He was indeed a very bad man.
“That’s good. I hate nice guys. So where does that leave us?”
“I haven’t got all night, Tess.” He lowered his chin, indicating—she presumed—he was growing tired of their banter.
She lifted an eyebrow. “No? That’s too bad. I’m a night owl. I can—”
“Answer my question before I haul you to your car over my shoulder.” His tone sent a little zing of pleasure right to the tips of her breasts.
“As if you could—” She was over his shoulder in one second flat. He moved swiftly, quietly and with superhuman strength. Uh oh. “Hey, put me down!”
He started down the alley, seemingly unbothered by her spastic attempts to get him to let her go. “You ready to walk and talk now?”
“Fine,” she conceded, although the view of his backside was pretty damn good.
When both feet securely hit the ground, she tugged down her dress and shifted the V-neck into place. He watched her squirm to put the rest of the material back where it belonged and his roving eyes heated her from the inside out.
“I followed you because I wanted to help.”
He started walking. “Do I look like I need help?” A little gleam—and major interest?—flickered in his sideways glance.
“Well, no. But I’m very capable and I didn’t feel like going home, so I decided there was no harm in making myself available to you should you need me.” She took a deep breath. It was time to put the question out there. “Did you know Dane is a—”
“Wolfen? Yeah I know.”
“How do you—”
He stopped and turned toward her with confusion and passion in his deep blue eyes. For several seconds he stared at her, like he was trying to get inside her head. Guess what she was thinking. “I’m the leader of the Night Runners,” he finally said.
She imagined he’d told her something he’d never told another human being before.
What the hell was she going to do now?


BLOOD SMOKE AND MIRRORS BY ROBYN BACHAR
“I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Lex looked down at me, seeming sincere, and I shook my head at him.
“Don’t, Lex. You’re only here on orders. You’ll be gone and on to the next as soon as this assignment is over.”
“What if I don’t want that?”
“What if I do? I’m all for the life-saving thing, but I don’t want you in my life again.”
“Are you sure of that?”
Scowling, I took a steadying breath and prepared to launch into an explanation of the myriad reasons why I wasn’t about to go through another round of heartbreak with him, but before I could speak he leaned down and brushed a kiss across my lips.
A warm tingling suffused my body as soon as our lips met, the sort of electric reaction I usually associate with casting magic, but much, much better. He was hesitant at first, probably afraid I’d slap him or zot him with a spell, but when I didn’t object he slowly began to deepen the kiss. My knees went weak as my good sense vanished, and I slipped my arms around him to steady myself. Lex held me close as he continued to kiss me, and I leaned into him. I’d forgotten how well we fit together. He sighed, as though my lips were delicious and he savored them.
“This is a bad idea,” I murmured.
“No, this is a good idea.” Lex nudged me back toward the couch, and I sat down in a less-than-graceful flop. Next he joined me and drew me into his arms.
“Oh yeah? How?” My hormones were obviously happy to see him, but I still had a little bit of brainpower left, enough to be skeptical of the situation.
“Because letting you go was a bad idea. I don’t want to make that mistake again.” His voice was low and strained, and I wished it wasn’t so dark so I could see his expression. I sighed, a mix of old pain and new uncertainty, but he kissed me again and I stopped arguing.
I relaxed into the embrace, returning the kiss passionately. I felt better instantly—safe, warm, desired. Lex stroked my braided hair and let his hand rest at the small of my back. I ran my own hands up and down his back, debating whether or not it would be a good idea to tug his shirt off, but then I felt him unhooking my bra. My pulse jumped, and my magic decided to take that opportunity to wreak havoc on a pair of unsuspecting table lamps. With an electric sizzle followed by two sharp pops the light bulbs flashed and exploded. Startled, we jumped apart, the mood broken. We stared at each other, and I felt a guilty blush heat my face.
“Cat—” he started, and I held a hand up to stop him before he could say anything further.

SLAYER’S KISS BY CASSI CARVER
After a quick handshake, just a fleeting grasp of one wrist to another, Gavin broke away from the other man and came through the door. His gaze arrowed through the crush of bodies and landed squarely on Kara.
Her mouth went dry. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Her heart throttled from zero to sixty in one glance, hammering as if she’d run a hundred miles through the desert.
But he was the oasis she’d been waiting for.
Gavin reached the bar, pulled out a stool and settled himself on the brown vinyl perch.
“Miss Reed.” He tipped his chin in greeting. His suit jacket was draped across one knee, leaving him in slacks and a white-collared shirt with the first button undone. With the way the fabric stretched around his biceps, he didn’t look like any businessman she’d ever met.
Her mind raced. Maybe he’d thought through her unspoken offer. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d felt the connection. Her body flushed, but not in embarrassment this time—this was simply blood rushing to all her important parts.
She nodded back and smiled, trying not to look as smug as she felt. “You found me.”
“I did. It must be nice working so close to home.”
“Yeah. It’s not a bad gig.” She wanted to laugh. It was clear he had something to say, and she already knew what it was going to be. Mutual attraction this strong couldn’t be denied. She wasn’t going to play hard to get just to get even with him. He might deserve it, but that wasn’t her style. She rarely wanted a man, but when she did, she let him know flat-out. “I’m glad you rethought my offer.”
He clasped his hands on the bar before him. “It’s the key.”
She put down the bottle in her hand and cocked her head. “What’s the key?”
“The reason I’m here.”
“Huh? I’m confused.” Confused and sinking like that rock in the pit of her stomach.
Gavin looked like he’d swallowed a bug. “The key doesn’t work.”
The blood drained from Kara’s face. “Oh…you’re not here to see…me.” She was the world’s biggest jackass. Such an ass, in fact, she was surprised she hadn’t brayed the soft, mortified words from between big blocky teeth.
“Technically, I am here to see you. The key doesn’t fit. I can’t move in my things until you open the door.”
She turned her back on him under the pretense of getting another bottle of tequila from the low storage cupboard, but she needed a minute to get herself under control. She rummaged around, shifting bottles, until she thought she could speak without her lips quivering.
“Take this for your trouble.” She handed him a shot of their best tequila. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what could have happened—they’re all numbered. But don’t worry. I have a set of master keys. As soon as I get off, I can let you in.” She swabbed the counter near him with shaking hands.
“Kara.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. “It’s all right. I waited weeks for that apartment. A couple more hours aren’t going to kill me.”

SOUL BOUND BY ANNE HOPE
He retrieved the driver’s license, which belonged to Jace Cutler. So now he had a first name to go with the second. Unfortunately, it still didn’t trigger a memory. The man in the photograph was a complete stranger. He quickly scanned the description provided: six-foot-two, dark brown hair, green eyes. The height felt about right. The guy in the snapshot had a cleft on his chin. He ran his thumb across his jaw and traced the slight indentation.
Suddenly curious, he headed to the mirror hanging over the pedestal sink. The man gazing back at him was no more familiar than this place, this room, the nurse he’d apparently scared half to death. He wasn’t very old, early thirties he guessed. He slanted a glance at the ID again, quickly did the math. Yup, thirty- two.
Peeling off his hospital gown, he stood in front of the tiny mirror, as naked as the day he was born, studying himself. From the looks of it, he worked out regularly. His legs were long and lean, his stomach flat and ripped. But that wasn’t what shocked him. What blew his mind was that he didn’t have a scratch on him, not even an old scar to show he’d lived some kind of life. How did a person exist for thirty-two years and maintain skin as untarnished as a baby’s?
Another presence slowly invaded the room, one that made everything inside him come alive and the darkness retreat. For a moment, he felt almost human again. Almost.
Jace turned around, not caring that he didn’t have a stitch of clothing on him. The woman entering his room froze at the sight of him.
He squinted. Glancing at her made his eyes hurt. She was so damn bright, he needed a frigging pair of sunglasses just to look at her. The nurse who’d examined him earlier paled in comparison, and not because this woman was any kind of beauty. She was plain at best, with blond hair pinned in a ponytail and not a drop of makeup on. Still, something inside him recognized her.
She checked him out briefly before averting her gaze. “Looks like you’re feeling better.”
He couldn’t find his voice to answer. Waves of emotion washed over him, constricting his windpipe. He’d felt nothing since he’d awakened in this stifling hospital room, and all of a sudden he couldn’t get his feelings under control long enough to offer some kind of greeting. Her glow enfolded him, and the hunger returned with sharpened fangs.
“Katie, the nurse who was just in here, told me you were awake, but I had to see for myself.”
She took a step toward him, then another.
Please, don’t come any closer. I can’t stand it.
“Who—” The word scraped his throat. “Who are you?”
Her gaze latched on to his face. Confusion and a touch of fascination glimmered in her clear blue eyes. Right there and then, he could’ve sworn he glimpsed her soul, and it was a beautiful thing to behold, potent and familiar.
She shook her head, swallowed hard. “The person who watched you die last night.”

PHOENIX RISING BY CORRINA LAWSON
“I’m trying to get you to reconsider what you’ve been forced into doing for your entire life. There’s a whole world out there you haven’t seen.”
She walked over to the coffee table, reached down and brushed her fingertips over the gun. Her hand trembled. The gun looked like the same kind that her kidnappers had used, years ago. If he stayed with the Resource, Alec might become like those men, using any ends to justify the means.
“Hey! What’s with the nerves? Where’s my competent, no-nonsense counselor?”
The gun rose from the coffee table, floating in air. She turned and followed its flight. He snatched the gun out of midair with a smile and holstered it.
“See?” he said. “I control the guns, not the other way around.”
“And who controls you?”
His chest, Kevlar vest and all, rose and fell in a deep sigh. “I know someone in this room who’s trying to control me. What’s wrong, Beth?” He walked to her and lifted her chin with two fingers, his dark eyes crinkling around the edges.
“This is not a life you chose, this is a life that’s been imposed on you, from birth.”
“And?” His fingertips moved along her jaw, in a soft caress. I should move away. It feels too good. But he’s listening.
“I’m scared. About this mission, about you being locked up inside the Resource forever.” Deathly afraid, so afraid her stomach felt like a heavy lump of coal. “There’s so much you don’t know about the Resource and about Lansing, so much you don’t understand. And you need to know it before it kills you.”
“Hey, I know Lansing can be a bastard. And that he’s overprotective and controlling. I’m working on it. But it doesn’t change the fact that this is my job.” Alec leaned closer to her face. “We can talk about that another time.”
“Do you really think there’s going to be another time?” Her voice rose, almost panicked now. She wasn’t getting through. “What if you get hurt tonight?”
“Look, this cell might have a dirty bomb. They need to be stopped, and I’m the one who can do it. I have to do this, right now.”
“Just that simple?”
“Yep. I walk away, people get hurt. I do my job, people are saved. That’s the deal, that’s my life. You analyze things too much.” He cupped her face in his hand. “But if it took this mission to find out you care, then good.”
She shuddered. Wrong, wrong, she shouldn’t let him touch her like this. Yet it felt like he touched her somewhere far deeper than her skin. A shiver, like the one from their first meeting, traveled from her neck to her toes, setting her nerves jangling. “This is wrong.”
“The mission isn’t wrong,” he said, misunderstanding her. “Relax.” His face was less than an inch from her lips and his breath fell on her cheek. Her skin felt inflamed, sensitive to the slightest movement of his hands.
He kissed her.
His lips were softer than she had expected, tender, not at all like his casual, even macho, confidence. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling those strong muscles and pulling him against her, intensifying their contact, even as her mind screamed in protest. This is not what I came for!
Her body became enveloped in that strange energy, alive as never before. It was like the kiss had a second level, one which she responded to instinctively, creating a living connection between them. He drew her lips apart with his tongue, still tender, still allowing her the chance to back away. But she opened her mouth to him instead, her whole self consumed with wanting to touch him, her face flushed with desire. She grabbed the buckles of his body armor for balance, her equilibrium lost along with her reason.
He crushed her against him, no longer tender, a bruising kiss demanding conquest. She allowed him full control, despite the buckles digging into her shoulder. He lifted her completely off her feet and brought her up to his eye level.
“Beth,” he breathed, brushing his lips against her neck before moving back to her mouth.
Her mind whirled, too lost to remember that she should stop him. She wanted him too much. The air heated up, warming them. The papers on the coffee table began to smoke.


About the Authors
 About the Authors
Robin Bielman:
When not attached to her laptop, USA Today Bestselling Author Robin Bielman can almost always be found with her nose in a book. A California girl, the beach is her favorite place for fun and inspiration. Her fondness for swoon-worthy heroes who flirt and stumble upon the girl they can’t live without jumpstarts all of her story ideas. She is a 2014 RITA Finalist, loves to frequent coffee shops, and plays a mean game of sock tug of war with her cute, but often naughty dog, Harry. She cherishes her family and friends and loves to connect with readers.
Website: http://robinbielman.com
Blog: http://robinbielman.com/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RobinBielmanWriter
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RobinBielman
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/RobinBielman

Robyn Bachar:
Robyn Bachar enjoys writing stories with soul mates, swords, spaceships, vampires and gratuitous violence against the kitchen sink. Her books have finaled twice in the PRISM Contest for Published Authors, twice in the Passionate Plume Contest, and twice in the EPIC eBook Awards. As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors, and slaying creatures in mmorpgs.
Website: www.robynbachar.com
Blog: http://therobyn.blogspot.ca/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorRobynBachar
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RobynBachar
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/iamtherobyn

Cassi Carver:
Award-winning author Cassi Carver lives in sunny Southern California with two dogs, four kids and a hubby who gives great massages. She gets to the Gaslamp for research (okay, happy hour) as often as possible. She’s never saved the world, but she keeps sexy boots on hand just in case the opportunity arises.
Website: www.cassicarver.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cassi.carver
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CassiCarver
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/CassiCarver
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cassicarver/
Anne Hope:
Golden Heart Finalist and Amazon bestselling author Anne Hope writes emotionally intense romances with a twist—a twist of humor, a twist of suspense, a twist of magic. Whether they make you laugh or cry or push you to the edge of your seat, all her stories have a common thread. They all feature the redeeming power of love and the heart’s incredible ability to heal. She lives in Montreal, Canada, with her husband, her two inexhaustible kids, a lazy cat and a rambunctious Australian Kelpie.
Website: www.annehope.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/annehopeauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnneHopeAuthor
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/AnneHope

Corrina Lawson:
Golden Heart Finalist and Amazon Bestselling author Corrina Lawson is a former newspaper reporter with a degree in journalism from Boston University. A mom of four, she now works from home writing romance novels with a geeky twist and as the Content Director and co-founder of GeekMom.com. She is also the co-writer of GeekMom Book: Projects, Tips and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st Century Families.
Website: http://corrina-lawson.com/
Blog: www.geekmom.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/corrinalawsonwriter
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CorrinaLawson
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/3448199.Corrina_Lawson
Tumblr: http://corrinalawson.tumblr.com/


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Bash, Volume I by Candace Blevins

Bash, Volume IRolling Thunder Motorcycle ClubBook ThreeCandace Blevins
Genre: Motorcycle Club,Paranormal Romance, BDSM
Publisher: Excessica
Date of Publication:  October 16, 2015
Number of pages: 425Word Count:  63,000
Cover Artist: Syneca Featherstone
Book Description:
What do you get when you mix a bad-ass werewolf biker with a beautiful she-wolf who grew up as the MC President’s daughter?
Sparks.  
Book one of the Bash trilogy…
Angelica was raised not only as a biker’s daughter, but as Bud’s daughter — the president of the Atlanta RTMC, which meant she also had dozens of ‘uncles’ who made sure she was safe, happy, loved, secure.
Needless to say, her virginity was still solidly intact when she left for college.
She goes to school up north, where no one knows she’s a biker’s daughter at heart, and thoroughly enjoys her time as a civilian. She gets rid of her pesky virginity right away, but is mostly a good girl while she buckles down to get her degree, staying at school even during the summers to take as many classes as she can fit in.
She’s a different person when she comes home with her Master’s degree, and in spite of her intention to remain a civilian, some of the bikers don’t seem so much like uncles, anymore.
Warning: Lots of hot sex, a touch of BDSM, and an abundance of bad-ass werewolf bikers who are used to getting their way.

This is book one of a three book story. There’s a tiny cliffhanger at the end, but only three weeks until book two releases.



Excerpt:
Chapter Two
Eight years ago
Angelica

Kayla met me in the bathroom after last period, and watched as I changed out of my super tiny mini-skirt into jeans. God, if my dad saw me in this skirt he’d have an aneurism. “I can’t believe you lost Brain. God, Ang, he’s the best biker-bitch you’ve had yet.”Speaking of aneurisms, my dad nearly had one when he found out Kayla called me Ang. He calls me Angel, but says no one else is allowed to shorten my name. One of the reasons I love Kayla is she isn’t afraid of my dad, or any of the other bikers, and she just kept calling me what she wanted.I shrugged as I buttoned my jeans and stowed the skirt in my backpack. “I got one of the new guys, I’ve only met him a couple of times. He looks like he’s pissed at the world, and I seriously doubt he’s going to be any fucking help at all with my calculus or chemistry homework.”“He have a cool name?” she asked as we left the bathroom.“Bash, and best I can tell, it isn’t ‘cause he’s bashful. And damn, the boy is beautiful.” And he’d be so fucking pissed if he knew I’d called him a boy.“How you gonna break him in?”I shook my head. “Haven’t decided. He’s actually kinda scary, even for one of my dad’s men. Also, I don’t think he’s that much older than us. I know when he first came, he couldn’t have even the prospect patch yet, ’cause he wasn’t old enough. They treated him like one, which had to suck, but he didn’t get his first patch until a few weeks ago, so I think he just turned eighteen.”“You know his story?”I shook my head. “He has a fucked up accent though. He isn’t from around here.”Kayla showed the assistant principal the note from her mom saying she could ride home with me, and he waved us to the RTMC vehicle waiting in the car line.I got into the front passenger seat and settled my backpack at my feet as I put my seatbelt on and told him, “Bash, meet Kayla. She’s my BFF and you’re her ride now, too. Not just mine.”He breathed deep, and I assumed he’d just realized she’s human and not wolf, and I added, “We have a problem, you take care of her first, then me. I can handle myself a few minutes, but she isn’t a fighter. Get me?”He pulled forward and glanced in his rear view mirror at Kayla before looking forward again. “My orders are to keep you safe, Princess.”I sighed and leaned my head back, looking at the road instead of him. “Those are your orders from my dad. Thing is, I can make your life a living hell if I want, or I can help make this a cushy assignment until you get your patch. I’ve grown up in the club, I know the drill. When Kayla and I became best friends in the fourth grade, our dads had a talk. Their agreement was she’d come to the house, but never to the club, and there’d be no parties at our house when she’s over. She hasn’t been around ya’ll much at all. Her parents have met my prospect chauffeurs over the years, and they’re mostly chilled about it now, but they’ll need to meet you sometime this week.”“Basically,” Kayla said from the backseat, “you’re our bitch now. You’re our ride when we need one, and you go get stuff we need, even if it’s tampons at two in the morning. You’ll carry our packages for us when we go shopping at the mall, and if we ask if our ass looks fat when we try on clothes, you’ll be honest and tell it to us straight from a guy’s perspective.”“And not,” I added, my voice low and deep, “from my father’s viewpoint.” I held my wolf in, so I didn’t growl at him in front of Kayla. “I know you’re supposed to cock-block us, but I also know you can’t actually hurt any of the guys.” He held his hand up, thinking he could silence me, and I said, “Fuck you, asshole. I’ll talk when I fuckin’ want to.”He pulled into a church parking lot, put the SUV into park, tossed his cellphone into the little compartment in the dash, and got out.Bash might only be eighteen, but he wasn’t a boy. He paced like a caged animal and I realized he was on the edge. This wasn’t a wolf thing, though — it was something else. He moved with a lethal, fluid grace that set something inside me on fire, and I didn’t get out of the vehicle, knowing he’d smell it on me.I’d had a crush on my prospect when I was twelve, and my dad had given me someone else and then hadn’t assigned anyone else who was my type, since. Brain had truly been like a big brother to me. I mean, I knew he was dangerous, all the men of the RTMC are, but to me, they mean safety. I’m their little sister, the president’s daughter, and they’ll all protect me with their life.I instinctively knew Bash didn’t necessarily represent safety for me, though. With his back to me, he said, “Out of the car, Princess. You and I need to have a talk without your friend hearing.”My insides shook from the threat of violence in his voice, and I didn’t want to get out of the car. I reminded myself he couldn’t hurt me without risking my dad’s wrath, and felt my body chilling out. I couldn’t go outside smelling of fear — he’d eat me alive.I heard him with my wolf hearing, but Kayla wouldn’t have a clue he’d spoken. I sighed and told her, “Stay here a sec. Maybe we pushed him too hard? I’m gonna go talk to him.”“He’s kind of scary, Ang.”“My dad wouldn’t have assigned someone who’d hurt us, Kayla. I’ll just go talk to him a second. It’ll be okay.”As I got out of the car, I suddenly wasn’t so sure my dad wouldn’t have upped his game with my prospects. He and my mom had a huge argument last week, but she convinced him it was time he let me start double-dating with an early curfew. She’d successfully argued they had to let me take baby-steps and learn responsibility slowly, or I’d go wild when I went off to college without him around to supervise my every move. He’d finally agreed to it, but only if my prospect tagged along. It was more than I’d hoped for, but at the time I’d thought it’d be Brain. As I got out, Bash said, “Leave your cellphone — and anything else with a battery — in the car.”This was standard RTMC procedure when we wanted to make sure we weren’t recorded. Apparently, he was gonna say stuff my dad wouldn’t approve of. I tossed my phone onto the dashboard, turned the radio up a little, and told Kayla, “I’ll be back in a minute.”I followed him off the parking lot pavement into grass, assuring myself all the while that my dad wouldn’t have sent someone likely to hurt me. Still, Bash was harsher than the other guys my dad had assigned me, and I needed to be careful with my strategy. As soon as I caught up to him, he said, “Here’s the way it’s gonna be, Princess. I may not be able to bash any of your boy-toys’ heads in with witnesses around, but that don’t mean I can’t do it later. You want ‘em to live? You make sure they stay on my good side. Nobody disrespects someone in the RTMC, not even a prospect.” His voice deepened, and I heard his wolf. “Second thing, is you may be under RTMC protection, but you’re a split tail, and that means you do what you’re told. You want me to show you respect? You show it to me. I’ll throw your words right back at ya — we can either get along, or not. I don’t give a flying fuck which you choose, Princess. You think you can make my life hell? You have no idea what I can do to yours.”Yeah, this I could work with. I gave him a half smile and shrugged one shoulder. “Take a deep breath, Bash. You smell any fear comin’ off me?”He took a whiff, shook his head, his eyes suddenly a touch uncertain.“My dad stopped assigning me guys I could walk all over when I was about eight. He’s miscalculated a few times, though he quickly gave me someone new once he figured it out. So, I can’t boss you around — okay, I get it.” I offered my hand. “Truce?”He shook his head. “No, Princess. No truce just yet. Let’s give it a couple of days, see where we stand then.”




About the Author:
Candace Blevins is a southern girl who loves to travel the world. She lives with her husband of 17 years and their two daughters. When not working or driving kids all over the place she can be found reading, writing, meditating, or swimming.
Candace writes BDSM Romance, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and is currently writing a kick-ass Motorcycle Club series.
Her Safeword Series gives us characters who happen to have some extreme kinks. Relationships can be difficult enough without throwing power exchange into the mix, and her books show characters who care enough about each other to fight to make the relationship work. Each book in the Safeword series highlights a couple with a different BDSM issue to resolve. 
Her urban fantasy series, Only Human, gives us a world where weredragons, werewolves, werelions, three different species of vampires, as well as a variety of other mythological beings exist.
Candace's two paranormal romance series, The Chattanooga Supernaturals and The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, are both sister series to the Only Human series, and give some secondary characters their happily ever after.
You can visit Candace on the web at candaceblevins.com and feel free to friend her on Facebook at facebook.com/candacesblevins and Goodreads at goodreads.com/CandaceBlevins.
You can also join facebook.com/groups/CandacesKinksters to get sneak peeks into what she's writing now, images that inspire her, and the occasional juicy blurb.
Stay up to date on Candace’s newest releases, and get exclusive excerpts by joining her mailing list!
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Bewitching Radio Shows, Facebook Party and New Magazine Issue

Join us to celebrate the release of Dragon Song by Tara West- live party on Facebook from 12-2pm EST October 20.
Book Description:
Duncan MacQuoid, dragon-slayer, is no more. In his place is a tortured man seeking solace for his sins. One fateful night he finds a woman he believes will be his salvation. Little does he know, his love for her could be his final undoing.
Fiona Firesblood, dragon-shifter and noble queen, will stop at nothing to protect her child, even if it means she must sever the bond with her mate, Duncan MacQuoid, the one man she loves above all others, and the one man whose past could destroy them all.
Safina Firesblood, daughter of a cursed union between dragon and dragon-slayer, has grown into a young woman, a powerful dragon princess in her own right. When she’s given one chance at true love, will she risk the dragon queen’s wrath or resign herself to an eternity of sorrow?
https://www.facebook.com/events/1692941470917819/


Meet Abigail Owen, the author of the Svatura series, live on Bewitching radio October 22 at 1:30 PM EST 
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bewitching-book-tours/2015/10/22/abigail-owen-book-tour-interview 
Discover who the ladies of the Svatura series are and how Abigail created them.
Learn what makes Abigail's paranormal series a must-read and where she discovers her ideas.
How did she decide to link each heroine with a flower and how does she like living in California?
Join us for laughs, insight, and the inside scoop.


Meet Willow Danes, the Amazon Best Selling Author of the Warriors of Hir Series live on Bewitching Radio October 27 at 1:30 PM EST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bewitching-book-tours/2015/10/27/willow-danes-book-tour-interview
Join our conversation as we discuss the three books in the Warriors of Hir series.
How did Willow Danes choose her covers? What music inspired her? Where did she conjour the idea for such an exciting series?
Join our conversation. You know it will be exciting!


Bewitching Book Tours Magazine is back with a Halloween Horror Issue full of Bewitching spotlights, excerpts, reviews, recipes, and Halloween fun. Learn how to make Halloween a little more “green”. Read about the connection between vampires and Halloween…and read Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven.

We have special features from Booktrope’s Forsaken Horror Line and ARe's Wicked Tales.

Author features include: How Horror Stories Saved A Lonely Kid with Michael J Bowler, Learn The Story Behind the Story- the Kitsune with Maureen O. Betita, Read about Humor in Horror with Merry Freer, Raven Familiars with Laura Bickle, and Cooking for Paranormals: It’s Bloody Hard Business with Suzanne Johnson, Mina Khan, and Megan Hart.

http://issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours/docs/magazine__38



Bewitching Book Tours Holiday Sale
Now's the Time to Reserve Your 2015 Holiday Tour 
Dates are Going Fast- First Available Date is November 23
Get 10% off any tour package booked by October 30
use code : HOLIDAY2015
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Evermore by Rebecca Royce

EvermoreThe Dragon WarsBook FourRebecca Royce
A Wicked TaleARe Books
Genre: M/F, Werewolves, Shifters, PNR
About the Book:
How is love possible when all is lost?
Werewolf Homer Prinze wants nothing more than to complete his assignment and get out of the wasteland that is the city. The dragons have destroyed everything, but a cry catches his attention. Before he knows it, he has met his mate. She needs his help and he is going to give it to her.
Camille is no one’s idea of great mate. Pregnant and alone, she is scarred and not looking for a companion in the hard world in which she lives.
But when Homer needs her, she will risk everything to bring him home.

Excerpt:

Homer Prinze prowled through the crowd, counting the seconds until he could leave the putrid stink of the city. One year since the end of the Dragon Wars— the battle that had raged between werewolves and dragons for over seventeen years and caused nothing short of total destruction in the end—and the reconvening survivors of the war were arguably worse off than they’d been during the attacks. At least when they’d all been fighting a common enemy the werewolf population had been all on the same side. Post-war, the werewolf community all seemed to be turning their former dragon hatred on each other. They needed Alphas again. Pack life. A return to the thing which had at one time made them great. 

How the wolves could find their way again was beyond his limited viewpoint. Homer had been a great secret soldier during the war and he was, he hoped, an excellent dominant pack mate since. Solving the world’s problems had to fall to someone else. 

He couldn’t get home fast enough. His Alpha, who had once been his commander during the war, Robbie Owens, honored him with the task of negotiating supplies. He was cognizant of the recognition it brought him within the pack. Only he hated coming to the city every time. Gods, the smell. He shook his head. As soon as he returned home, he was shifting and running the last two days off.

Robbie usually handled the trips to the city himself. Entrusting Homer to make the run showed enormous confidence in him as a pack member, and Homer was not going to screw anything up.

If only all these lost souls could find the small beacon of happiness he had with his newly formed pack. He shook his head. The Owenses had been good to him, given him a chance first as a soldier and now as a valued member of their group. 

The small beacon of paradise in the midst of all this hell…

A cry caught his attention and he turned toward the sound. Why the one noise called out to him when so many didn’t he had no idea. But the small feminine agony in the midst of all the rest of it trapped his attention and wouldn’t let him move another step. 

The black market vendors he did business with were going to deliver the seeds to his hidden truck in two hours time. He had to see to whoever needed help. Waiting in the truck for his supplies to show up was out of the question.

The hidden Alpha in him wouldn’t let him do anything else.




About the Author:
Rebecca Royce is the mother of three and married to her best friend. Moving from the NYC area to Austin, Texas, she is trying to eat her way through Texas barbecue.
Anything can happen, believe that it will.
For more information on other books by Rebecca, visit her website: www.rebeccaroyce.coma Rafflecopter giveaway