Michelle Schad's Blog

The Dead of Sled Run Blog Tour

 It is almost Christmas and yards glow with twinkling lights.
But more than chestnuts are roasting.
A raging fire sweeps through the decorated landscape of Sled Run, destroying the home of Chief Deputy Oren Rosenberg and killing two.

An accident? Or did something toxic fuel the flames?

Sheriff Piper Blackwell and Detective Basil Meredith believe Oren was targeted and are tasked with finding motive and means before more than the holiday burns bright.

With many clues reduced to ashes, can Piper and Basil catch the culprits before they strike again? Or is this blaze just the start of the most murder-filled time of the year?
​
Publisher: ‎Boone Street Press (November 13, 2023)
Publication date: ‎November 13, 2023
Language:  English
Print length:‎ 316 pages
Buy link: https://mybook.to/DeadSledRun 

The Dead of Sled Run is book five of the Piper Blackwell Series. Want to read the series in order? Check it out on Amazon.
Prefer audio? The Piper Blackwell series is in audio, read by Catherine Wenglowski. Start with book one of the series, The Dead of Winter

Love the Piper Blackwell Series and want to keep up with Jean's latest works? Sign-up for her newsletter here and follow her on Amazon or Bookbub.


​a Rafflecopter giveaway​



About the Author:
USA Today best-seller, Jean Rabe's impressive writing career spans decades, starting as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief.
From there she went on to become the director of RPGA, a co-editor with Martin H. Greenberg for DAW books, and, most notably, Rabe is an award-winning author of more than forty science fiction/fantasy and murder mystery thrillers.
She writes mysteries and fantasies, because life is too short to be limited to one genre–and she does it with dogs tangled at her feet, because life is too short not to be covered in fur.
Find out more about her at www.jeanrabe.comExcerpt

Oren retreated by feel, shoulder pressed to a wall, keeping hold of the struggling, yowling, confined cats, coughing even harder as he went.
So damn hot and hard to breathe. So noisy: the fire roared.
He was missing a cat. “Freya! Here, kitty!”
Save these three, he thought. Get them safe. Come back for Freya.
Bare-chested and in his pajama bottoms, he stumbled, gasping, out of the house, losing a slipper somewhere. Scorching inside, frigid out. The below-freezing winter air warred with the smoke he’d inhaled and made his chest tight and painful. He hurt terribly everywhere. Snow mixed with ice came sideways in a strong wind that battered him and made the walk slick.
Head and heart pounding, he half-ran, half-slid to his truck. Sucking in as much fresh air as he could manage, Oren only for a heartbeat considered using the truck’s radio to call the dispatcher again to make sure the fire department was on the way. The call would eat a few more minutes, so he decided against that. He shoved the soot-covered carrier full of hissing cats into the cab, slammed the door, and whirled back toward the inferno.
Oren’s chest heaved. He wobbled, catching himself against the front fender and forcing down dizziness. He headed back up the sidewalk, vaguely registering people coming out of front doors across the street. He owned a corner property. Across the other side stretched Lake Noel.
He heard one of the neighbors shout to call 9-1-1. Why did it have to be Candace on duty? Candace the fashionista. Why couldn’t Teegan be at the desk? Teegan with all the tattoos and piercings. Purple hair. He always gave her a hard time about her strange appearance, but he wished she had been on the desk. A seasoned veteran of the department, he trusted her, didn’t really know Candace, didn’t know if she was competent, if she’d get the fire department out before he lost everything and himself.
Someone shouted: “I just called 9-1-1!”
“I don’t hear sirens!”
“Isn’t that the sheriff’s house?”
“The deputy’s.”
“That’s Rosenberg!”
“We should hear sirens!”
Oren didn’t hear sirens either. But he heard his heart hammering, the wind whistling, and the whooshing, snarling conversation of the flames. The fire was so loud. He continued taking stuttering steps toward his porch, his bare foot registering the needle sensations of ice on the pavement. His arm hurt from the cat claws and something else. Burns, he was burned.
Sliding, staying upright.
“Don’t go in there!”
“Rosey, stay out!” That sounded like Dave from a few doors down.

The post The Dead of Sled Run Blog Tour appeared first on Taming Chaos.

The Haunted Lost Rose Blog Tour

Some secrets should stay hidden. If they come to light, darkness could weaken even the strongest of families.

Real estate agent Charlotte O'Donohue never looks forward to Mondays. Usually, a couple cups of coffee will fix her mood, but today an unexpected voice directs her to a dead body. She's going to need a bigger cup, and it better be caffeinated!

When the dead body happens to be your client, the scandal could jeopardize her brother's business, but Charlotte is more worried about a mysterious stranger who decides she's the number one suspect. He seems familiar and dangerous. He knows she has a secret, and Charlotte will do anything to keep the truth from him. How could he possibly understand that she can hear the dead?

Ghostly whispers from a spirit who haunts the large Kansas City mansion warns of more danger to come for Charlotte, her family, and for the stranger. But as Charlotte discovers a key to one mystery, another one appears…one that could reveal more than a murderer but a long-forbidden love.

The haunted and the living seem to be conspiring against the spunky real estate agent, throwing her into a love of her own that shakes her to the core.

When long hidden secrets expose lost loves, two intertwined families are placed in jeopardy in Charlotte's Voices of Mystery.
​

Publication Date: March 17, 2023
ASIN: B0BSVM9H5T
ISBN: 
Language: English
Length: 252 pages
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery/Romance
Buy Link:  https://mybook.to/HauntedLostRose
Other Stores: https://books2read.com/u/3Joj5E/
​
Want to delve into more of Ms. Bauer's work? Check out her completed Lily List Mystery Series, or sign-up for her newsletter here.
Want to keep up to date on what C.L. Bauer is doing? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

​

About the Author:

Kansas City, Missouri native C.L. Bauer is the author of three series in mystery genres. Originally a reporter, Bauer worked through jobs in marketing and advertising, to eventually take over the reins of her family’s century old business, Clara’s Flowers. Many of the stories used in her books are based on true events from years in the wedding and event flower world.

You can reach C.L. Bauer on all social mediums, Goodreads, and through her website, www.clbauer.com. You can check out her flower designs at www.clarasflowers.comHave A Little Sneak Peak Inside

It wasn’t until Max had put on his coat and was heading out into the winter night that the judge stopped him at the door. I stood behind my dad for protection from the cold.
      “You know, Max, I’ve learned over the years, that if a man has one secret, he probably has more. Those pesky little things can ruin a man if he’s open for blackmail. Luckily, for this family, we have no secrets. Have a good night. Come again.”
      Max looked at my father in the most peculiar way. He looked as though he had been caught, and I saw a small amount of fear. He nodded, waved, and ran to his car.
Dad shut the door, and I hugged my father as tightly as I could. “Have I told you how much I love you? I don’t know what all that was about, but you scared him.”
      He patted my back. “No, Charlotte, I just fired the first shot. He’ll be back.” Dad closed his eyes and held me tighter. “I love you too. I’ll do anything for you, even destroy a young man I used to love like a son. If I have to, I will.”

The post The Haunted Lost Rose Blog Tour appeared first on Taming Chaos.

Wicked Match Blog Tour

Happy to share an Excerpt of Luna Joya’s new release, Wicked Match! Enjoy, and be sure to check her out!

Excerpt:

He brushed his hand across her cheek, tracing along a strand of hair that’d stuck there as if caught in jam from her sweets. Lovely. Her skin went hot under his touch from equal parts yearning and mortification. He swept gritty crumbs away. Nooo. She’d been scolding him like a prim nanny with food on her face and sticky hair. The blush raged. She braced for the teasing insult that must be coming. But it didn’t.
“I’m going to kiss you.” He said it as though it was an absolute certainty, as if she’d willed this probability into coming true with a wish.
“All right.” Oh my goodness, had she actually agreed? Out loud? Hexes and vexes, how else could she act like a simpleton in front of this man?
“How very proper. I feel like royalty is granting permission.”
“Get on with it.” She snapped her mouth shut. Embarrassment battled with desire.
“John,” he said. “If you’re going to tell me off in that dare-me-to-screw-you-dirty accent, you should know my name.”
“Just John?” Her mouth had obviously stopped communicating with her brain. Because what she’d meant to do was bite that deliciously filthy comment off his lips.
“You have enough titles and names for both of us. John will do.” He swept his lips across hers, teasing and tasting.

​

Good girl Prys Bane is the ultimate witch princess—titled, rich, beautiful, and from the best royal bloodlines. But the STEM genius would rather hide with her statistics and crush on a forbidden bodyguard than marry a proper prince. Better to guarantee that no one discovers her true magic—powers more suited to a storybook villain than any princess.

Bad boy John Donovan has pretended to be a bodyguard while hiding his supernatural double agent status from everyone—even his own sisters who see him as the villain. Crushing on Prys seemed safe until he learns she’s not only the witch magistrate investigating a murder where his sister is the chief suspect, but Prys is also the matchmaker hired to force him into an arranged marriage.

When John and Prys are pulled into a deadly mystery that comes closer and closer to the couple by the hour, they must work together. When Prys discovers John’s kink, these enemies quickly become lovers whose passions ignite. Can this princess and her antihero find happily ever or will the killer be a best friend whose betrayal neither can survive?
Publication Date: November, 2022
Publisher: City Owl Press
Language: English
Print Length: 388
Check it out on Amazon: https://mybook.to/WickedMatch
​
Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her completed Legacy Series, her on-going Syn City Shifter Series. 
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.





a Rafflecopter giveaway​



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.
Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/
 

The post Wicked Match Blog Tour appeared first on Taming Chaos.

How to Date a Fury Blog Tour

Who knew dying would be the easy part of my day? 
 
It all started the night Chase, my mountain lion shifter ex, reappeared. We’d had a whole good girl/bad boy romance going until he abandoned me a decade ago. I’d gone to Syn City for a little fun before being trapped in my hometown forever.  
 
Then I was murdered by a maniac and my night really fell apart.  
  
But somehow, Chase managed to strike a deal on a blood oath and bring me back as a Fury. He wants a second chance at romance, claiming we’re fated mates. 
 
Now, I have to deal with the guy I thought I’d never see again, find and punish my murderer, and participate in a giant supernatural roller derby (long story)—all while trying to earn my wings. 
  
And if I fail? I’ll end up dead. Again…only this time, it’ll be permanent. 
  
All I can say is that it’s a good thing hell hath no fury like an actual Fury.  
 
How to Date a Fury, the first book in the Syn City trilogy, is a dark, sexy, paranormal romance featuring a reluctant Fury and the shifter who broke her heart but wants a shot at mending it. Happily ever after (and plenty of snarky fun) guaranteed. Perfect for fans of Linsey Hall, Jaymin Eve, and Amelia Hutchins. Download today. 
​

Publication Date: September, 2022
Publisher: City Owl Press
Page Count: 232
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Mystery
ASIN: B0BB99WLPJ

Buy Links:
Amazon: https://mybook.to/How2DateFury​

Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her completed Legacy Series, her on-going Wicked Series, and for our LA readers, check out her signing at Book Carnival on October 29th from noon-2 p.m.
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.





​a Rafflecopter giveaway




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.
Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/Excerpt

He walks next to me, all lazy feline swagger and grace that I wish I could borrow a fraction of. His easy confidence makes me want to speed off and leave his too-handsome self behind. Except he slides a slow, heated glance my way. “You’ve got this. I’ll be watching out for you the whole bout so you can focus on winning. Show everyone who the new derby queen will be.”
            “Me?” Yeah, not convincing, but I haven’t skated into a pole or anything solid in days, so yay for small victories.
            “Damn straight, my dangerous mate.”

The post How to Date a Fury Blog Tour appeared first on Taming Chaos.

Wicked Crown #BlogTour

Excerpt:

“Hello, Perry.” 
Vori. 
He opened his eyes, sure he’d imagined her. But no. She walked out of the shadows, tall, ethereal, and pissed off judging by the glare.
She was here. 
He stood too fast. His head spun like a demon-summing circle. “Vori?”
“You’re a hard man to find. You took off on me two years ago without a word. I understand you’ve been preoccupied—joining a demon-led cult, almost killing witch Senate heirs, prison, jailbreak, being locked up again. You could’ve just said you weren’t interested.” 
“I shouldn’t have left you that night.” The truth he’d waited so long to tell her rushed out.
“But you did.” She twisted her mouth into a mockery of the supermodel smile that flashed from magazine covers. “How was your time in witch jail? Not so good, it seems.”
“I…” He couldn’t admit it. Not to her. Not the horrible crimes he’d committed. The witch world would never forgive him. Hell, he didn’t blame them.
“I know what you’ve done.” Her condemning tone made it sound like he was being sentenced for his crimes. 
“Then why are you here? How?” Maybe that was the better question. “I didn’t hear you come in. Not your footsteps outside. Not the door opening. Not your breathing. Nothing.” He inhaled. “Wildflowers and rain.” The same scent he remembered from when they’d met, the scent he’d had to lean close to breathe in over the smoke and booze and sweat of the nightclub. “I couldn’t smell your perfume a minute ago. How’d you get in?”
“Getting in is the easy part. It’s the getting out that seems to be difficult for you. I let you out once, and here you are locked up again.” She sounded as if his being recaptured was an inconvenience.
“Why did you help me?”
“Were you faking the speechless act at the prison? So I wouldn’t know who you were?”
“No.” Although he should have. Running into a love interest while not looking your best was one thing but seeing a crush while imprisoned took it to a whole other level.
She lifted her chin. He’d seen her strike that pose on a fashion runway. “The night we met, you told me you’re a survivor above all else. Were you lying?”
“I never lied to you.” He hadn’t.
“You didn’t die in the demon’s Revelare, and you made it through whatever torture the witch Senate dished out. So I’m assuming you possess some self-preservation skills even if you were a witch out on Halloween.” She huffed a disapproving noise. “Not a wise choice.”
No, it hadn’t been, but not for the reasons she might think. He’d been tricked into going to the club for information about his sister Lili’s murder. How could he have known the woman who’d walked into the club looking exactly like his dead sister was a demon-summoned succubus wearing her skin? He’d followed the creature out of the club and into the ranks of the Revelare. 
Vori flicked an Arctic gaze over him, one so unlike the looks she’d given him that first night. “I have a proposition for you.”
“Yes?” Despite the way she wielded her proposition like a death sentence, the promises and possibilities of that word had the electricity under his skin jumping toward her. He slammed what little of a lockdown he could on his powers, but not before sparks danced across his fingertips. 
She gestured toward the magic as if it hadn’t surprised her. Or scared her. “We can deal with that as well.”
“Stolen magic that’s devouring me from the inside out isn’t something you deal with. It’ll kill me if the Senate or Revelare can’t finish me off first.” 
“Don’t be so dramatic, Sparky.” She laughed. Not a polished giggle. No, this was more of a snort. It should’ve been annoying, off-putting, anything but attractive. Why did everything about her have to be so sexy? “I’ll figure out a fix for your demon powers.”
“Male witches don’t have active powers.” He recited the universal truth.
“Yes, I know the rule. Everyone knows the rule. But here you are with powers. That magic should’ve killed you when the demon put it inside you. Or scorched through you the first time you invoked it. Yet, you live. I’m counting on your ability to survive. Or that you’re so very expendable if something unfortunate were to happen.”
Her last words had all his internal alarms screaming danger, danger, but he couldn’t seem to worry when she was here. With him. Again. “What do you need?”
“I need you for a job. A five-day, make it out alive and you walk away with your freedom gig.”
“Doing what?”
“I need a husband. You in?”

​


She’s not who—or what—she appears to be. Neither is he. 

Supermodel Vori would be happy to stay in the human world, blissfully ignoring her true nature. But no. The blood vow she once made requires her to return to the Goblin Court. And since going alone would mean consenting to an arranged marriage, she needs a fake husband. Someone no one would miss if there was an unfortunate…accident. Vori knows the perfect villain for the job. 

Witch Perry used to be a hotshot lawyer. But that was before he made all the wrong choices, wound up in league with a demon, and was left to rot in prison. Now, he has a second chance. He can finally earn his redemption. Too bad his last hope is the woman he ghosted two years ago. 

It’s not long before Vori and Perry realize they aren’t as different as they thought—and that the line between enemies and lovers can be razor thin. But if they want their happily ever after, they’ll first have to stop a supernatural killer and survive a royal smackdown. Should be easy for a goblin princess and her dashing antihero, right? 

If only. 


Publication Date: July 5, 2022
Publisher: City Owl Press
PRINT ISBN: 978-1-64898-206-4
DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-64898-205-7
ASIN: B0B2ZDPNP1

Buy Links:
Amazon: mybook.to/WickedCrownBK
B&N: https://tinyurl.com/7jrbmp45
Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/yckdcmyp
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/msk4e5bd
BookBub: https://tinyurl.com/2p9xv857
Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/2p82rkvf

Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her Legacy Series here: http://mybook.to/LegacySeries
Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series.
Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore.
A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.
Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/

The post Wicked Crown #BlogTour appeared first on Taming Chaos.

Agent of Chaos #BlogTour

Liv:
I have to be perfect.
Perfect agent. Perfect Commanding Officer. Follow every rule to the letter, since HQ already expects my new ragtag team to crash and burn.

With the cryptid situation pushing my bare-bones team to its limits, I don’t need a stray civilian whose goal seems to be getting himself killed on my watch. Marshall throws himself between people and danger like his life doesn’t matter.

Except, for some reason, he matters to me.

Even if the giant redhead’s touch reminds me I’m more than my Command position, how can I risk his life and my team’s chance at success just for the sake of my happiness?


Marshall:
All I ever do is screw up.
With jobs. With people. Especially with people.
Definitely with the crazy-beautiful superhero-soldier who takes down my vampire boss—who, no, I didn’t know was a vampire.

Ending up in her custody, at a secret base full of other perfect super-soldiers? Custom-made opportunity for me to mess something up. But Liv sees through my weirdness to the real me.

Now, I’ve gotta show her rules are made to be broken and that while she’s protecting everyone else, I’ll be protecting her.
This time, screwing up isn't an option.

Trained from birth to defend humanity, the members of Company Alpha Cryptid Containment protect Region Two from that which goes bump in the night.
But protecting their hearts? That's a whole different story.

Print Length: 637 pages
Publication Date: April 30, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Language: English
ASIN: B09H2BDCVC
ISBN-13: 978-1737219057
Order on Amazon: http://mybook.to/AgentChaos
Pre-Order the next in the Series: mybook.to/AgentofChange

Love the Region Two Series and want keep up with Janet's next release? Follow Janet on Amazon here: author.to/JanetWaldenWest or go to her website and sign-up for her newsletter: www.janetwaldenwest.weebly.com (Note: If you sign-up for her newsletter, you'll get the Region Two prequel, Agent Alone as a sign-up bonus​. Who could resist?)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

​

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Janet Walden-West lives in the Southeast with a pack of show dogs, a couple of kids, and a husband who didn’t read the fine print. A member of the East Tennessee Creative Writers Alliance, she is also a founding member of The Million Words craft blog. She pens inclusive Contemporary Romance and Urban Fantasy. As a two-time Pitch Wars alum turned Pitch Wars 2019 Mentor, Sherrilyn Kenyon scholarship recipient, and Golden Heart® finalist, she believes in paying it forward by supporting burgeoning Southern writers.
She is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary Agency.

Find more about her at janetwaldenwest.weebly.com or on social media.

The post Agent of Chaos #BlogTour appeared first on Taming Chaos.

The Agent and The Outlaw Blog Tour!

Book Excerpt

CHARLOTTE
​When I came to, several sensations assaulted me. The rhythmic gallop of dull pain inside my skull. The roiling of this evening’s oysters swirling inside my guts. The earthy scents of sweaty horseflesh, leather, and mud tangling in my nose. Then, the slow and damnable realization that my hands and feet had been bound and I’d been thrown—rather indecorously, I might add—facedown across the ass of some idiot’s cantering horse. The nerve!
I opened my mouth to protest, but the horse pulled up short, dangerously shifting the oysters. I choked out a groan as the bile started to rise.
“For the love of God, let me off of this animal, or I shall cast up my accounts all over you!”
My captor slid off the horse and lifted me easily. He—yes, certainly it was a he, and a rather splendid specimen of he, as I started to recall—set me on my feet, and I unsteadily hopped to the side of the road to be sick. I heaved and, tied as I was, began to pitch forward over the frost-covered leaf litter.
Calloused hands grasped my wrists and pulled me upright. I attempted to get a look at his face, but the low hood of his cloak and the darkness of the late evening—or was it early morning?–prevented me from doing so. The only part of him I could see was a strong, stubbled jawline and some very fine lips set in a tight line of annoyance.
“Easy, lad,” he said softly, his voice as rough as his work-hewn hands. Chills danced up my spine.
Lad?
Ah, yes. A jumble of memories began to unravel. I frowned down at my Cupid costume. The once-pristine toga and breeches beneath were rumpled and stained with–mon dieu, please let that just be dirt. The small, feathered wings and golden circlet were gone, but I noted with relief that my wig was still secure.
What happened?
I’d been at Versailles for the king’s All Hallow’s Eve masquerade. My cousin Daphne and her fiancé Étienne had been with me. I was on assignment for les Dames Dangereuses—the Order’s cadre of female agents. But what had I been doing?
I furrowed my brows to try and recall but immediately regretted it. The steady beat of pain in my head became a symphony of agony, and I vomited. I was dimly aware of a humiliating dribble down the front of my toga.
“Hell, lad, how much did you have to drink? Did Sade slip you something? Or are you just in your cups?” The soothing tone was gone, replaced by one of clipped irritation.
“I’m never eating another oyster again,” I wheezed, feebly trying to wipe my mouth with my shoulder. Wait…he said–
Sade. The Marquis de Sade. My target. Yes. Yes. That was right—I was at the masquerade, dressed as a young man so I could lure Sade out into the garden and dispatch him there. Strangle him. It should look like an accident, the Order had said. A lover getting too carried away during a tryst, an incident too scandalous to be thoroughly investigated. Not that anyone would press for an investigation. Between Sade’s crimes, the rumors, and victims from every social class, few—if any—would mourn his loss.
I remembered seeing Sade in the ballroom at Versailles. I’d successfully attracted his attention and plied him with a glass of drugged champagne, which had made him docile and willing. He’d followed me into that absurd hedge maze in the gardens and had been fumbling with the buttons on his breeches, when…thwip! An arrow—straight to the heart. That doesn’t seem right. An arrow? Sade is supposed to be strangled to death. I’m supposed to be the one to do it. Wait, that’s it…
I hadn’t been able to complete my assignment. Someone had intervened, shot an arrow through Sade with, what, a crossbow? Yes, that was it. And there it was, hanging from the side of my captor’s saddle. My captor. I tensed. This man had interrupted my assassination attempt and had murdered the Marquis de Sade. Who was he? Why did he want Sade dead? Why has he kidnapped me and what does he want with me? And mon dieu, why does that last thought send a perverse shiver of pleasure through me?
Putain. Now is not the time, Charlotte. Focus!

The murder of a marquis, an accidental kidnapping, an elite vampire death squad, and a beast stalking the French countryside? All in a day’s work for a member of the les Dames Dangereuses.
As the most enviable comtesse of the tonne, Charlotte de Brionne was almost satisfied with her wealth, power, and rather tepid marriage, until her murderous husband betrayed her.
Now she has seized the chance to make a more adventurous start with les Dames Dangereuses, an order of women spies in service to the French crown. But her latest assignment is rudely interrupted when she is kidnapped by a crossbow-wielding madman, who turns out to be not at all mad only rather surly and annoyingly handsome.
Lieutenant Antoine de Valle has no idea what to make of the exasperating, untrustworthy, and frustratingly beautiful woman he’s suddenly saddled with, but his honor demands he see Charlotte safely home. Especially since it’s his fault she accidentally witnesses his murder of a marquis, ends up on the wrong end of a brutal vampire death squad, and barely survives an encounter with the Beast of Gévaudan.
In fact, the more Antoine tries to keep Charlotte safe, the more trouble they find themselves in. And the harder it is for Antoine to remember his honor in the face of Charlotte’s dangerous charms.
Publisher: Mystic Owl
Print Length: 282
Language: English
Genre: Paranormal Historical Romance
Publication Date: May 19, 2022
Buy Link: mybook.to/AgentandtheOutlaw
Check out the series: mybook.to/LesDamesDangereuses
​
Love the Les Dames Dangereuses series and want to stay up to date on Lily Riley's next release? Follow Lily on Amazon here: author.to/LilyRiley or check out her website: https://www.authorlilyriley.com/
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Review from Publisher's Weekly for The Assassin and the Libertine:
Scandal, seduction, and supernatural secrets animate Riley’s deliciously decadent debut and Les Dames Dangereuses series launch. In 1765, a blood plague is spreading among the Parisian poor, turning them into vampires. For many, it’s a better fate than starvation as a human. As one of few courtiers infected, “legendary rake” Étienne de Noailles is appointed the vampire emissary to His Majesty. Though he tries to advocate for vampire rights, he’s treated as little more than a threat and a lust object at Versailles.
Read more here>


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
​Lily Riley is a romance novelist currently focused on historical paranormal books that feature a little bit of cheek and a lot of steam.
Her second novel, The Agent and the Outlaw, publishing under the Mystic Owl imprint of City Owl Press, comes out May 19, 2022.
When Lily isn’t writing about dreamy supernatural beings in 18th century France, she enjoys sipping champagne, eating cake, and dancing naked by the light of the full moon.
Find out more about her on her website at www.lilyriley.com or on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, and Goodreads.

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The Dead of Autumn Blog Tour!

Book Excerpt:

Dr. Annie Neufeld arrived minutes later in a red Toyota Camry driven by her wife, who had painted her face green and sported a black hat. They parked behind Sheriff Blackwell’s Explorer.
Neufeld’s gray-brown hair was in pigtails tied with blue gingham ribbon that matched her flared-skirt jumper. Beneath that was a short-sleeved white blouse.
“Dorothy,” she said, pointing to her outfit. “From the Wizard of Oz. Bebe’s the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Piper thought the witch ensemble appropriate, as her run-ins with the defense attorney had not been pleasant. She was thankful Bebe didn’t get out of the car.
“I’ll go home and change, get my kit and van, after I see the body.” Neufeld scowled, let out a huffing breath, and added: “Damn inconvenient death. I was having a good time, Piper. Really. I haven’t been to a party in months.”
Piper almost apologized, but kept the words in.
Neufeld pointed to the camera in Basil’s hand. “That looks new.”
“It is,” he said.
She walked past him, her ruby red slippers crunching the gravel, whistling when she gazed at the body. “Not something you see every day. I think those are quarrels. Like from a crossbow.”
“They are,” Piper said, joining her.
“Yep. Definitely not something you see every day. It is hunting season,” Neufeld said as she stepped into the ditch.
“For turkey and deer,” Piper replied.
Basil added, “Not for fairies.”
After a few minutes, Neufeld crossed her arms and stared at Piper. “Tink is fresh. Dead an hour, if that. Less than two since there’s no trace of rigor. I’ll take some temps when I come back with the van, but my estimate here will stand.”
“I want to turn her over, Dr. Neufeld, get a look at her face. We need to—”
“I don’t want her on her back, Sheriff. Don’t want to move the quarrels, keep them in place until the autopsy. I don’t want the entry wounds distorted. But I can ease her on her side—carefully—so Basil can get some pictures. You need the face, right, to—”
“That would be helpful,” Piper cut in. “We need to identify her as soon as possible, contact relatives, and—”
“—and start your investigation so you can find out which one of Captain Hook’s sick son of a bitch pirates slew Tinker Bell,” Neufeld finished. The coroner knelt on one side of the body and gently levered it up. “Click quick and get your fingerprints. You can print the quarrels and anything else you want later.”

Sheriff Piper Blackwell is plunged into the dark heart of “idyllic” Spencer County, Indiana…

About the book:
A teenager dressed as Tinker Bell never made it to the Halloween party.
Her murders sends a ripple of fear through Piper Blackwell's rural jurisdiction.
Investigating the crime, the young sheriff and her detective are drawn into an underworld they didn't know existed. Can the pair survive the trip into the dark heart of once idyllic Spencer County?
Can they find the killer before more lives are are destroyed and he strikes again?

Publisher: ‎Boone Street Press (May 15, 2022)
Publication date: ‎May 15, 2022
Language:  English
Print length:‎ 319 pages
Buy link: mybook.to/DeadofAutmn

Dead of Autumn is book five of the Piper Blackwell Series. Want to read the series in order? Check it out here: http://mybook.to/PiperBlackwellSeries.
Prefer audio? The Piper Blackwell series is in audio, read by Catherine Wenglowski. Start with book one of the series: mybook.to/DeadofWinterAudio

Sign-up for her newsletter: https://jeanrabe.com/sign-up-for-my-n... and follow her on Amazon: http://author.to/JeanRabe to keep up with her latest works!


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About the Author:
USA Today best-seller, Jean Rabe's impressive writing career spans decades, starting as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief.
From there she went on to become the director of RPGA, a co-editor with Martin H. Greenberg for DAW books, and, most notably, Rabe is an award-winning author of more than forty science fiction/fantasy and murder mystery thrillers.
She writes mysteries and fantasies, because life is too short to be limited to one genre–and she does it with dogs tangled at her feet, because life is too short not to be covered in fur.
Find out more about her at www.jeanrabe.com

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In League With Ivy Blog Tour

Praise for In League with Ivy:

The overall plot line is original and compelling with dialogue as snappy and fluid as ever. Sorel’s writing style is dramatic and striking, painting each scene with rich detail. The characters have been well developed and bring interest and complexity to the story—a feature that sets this book apart from others in its genre.

For readers interested in a compelling romance novel with unexpected twists and turns, this book is for you. – from Book Excellence

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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2021 Fall Movie Review

Fall/winter is now the new summer (thanks, COVID) in which all the blockbuster movies hit one right after the other. It’s been great! I don’t think I got to all of them but I certainly wanted to. Since there are so many, here are my short reviews of the ones I managed to see.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: So. Much. Fun. I cannot speak highly enough about this movie. It was a true, delightful surprise to watch. I went into it thinking it would be rather mediocre. It was not. It held a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe to it with funny parts, action, and drama all in a well-balanced package. The teasers and little Easter eggs in there made it even better! We get to see Trevor, new little friends, Wong – even Mrs. Chen! That was a nice little nugget of happiness to tie into the larger Marvel Multiverse. I really hope they keep up with that. Well done, Marvel.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage: While enjoyable, it did not have the same thrill as the first one. Perhaps it was throwing too much into a single movie or just the typical sequel trap where it falls flat of the first. I liked Venom’s antics but the arguing back and forth got old after a while. The fight scenes were cool, and everyone loves Mrs. Chen. The best scene, I think, is the end when, much like in Shang-Chi, it ties into the events of the larger cinematic universe at hand. Watch through the credits, folks. Always watch through the credits.

Eternals: Another enjoyable movie, but lacking the big BANG that most Marvel movies have. This was more of a 3-hour-long set up for the bigger picture to come. Learning about who the Eternals are was nice. Seeing sneak-peaks of characters to come is always fun. Overall, it was a nice, chill Marvel movie. My boys did not enjoy it as much as I did, but they don’t care much for history, culture, or some of the other things that were touched upon in the movie like I do. Their loss.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife: O.M.G. The tiny child inside of me cheered! My heart soared! What a perfect homage to a cherished original. I, like several others in the theatre, grew up with Gostbusters. I watched the cartoon on Saturday mornings. My brother had the costume, the proton pack, the firehouse! Yes, it absolutely used the same tropes as the original and that was the best part! It placed the new generation in the driver’s seats without taking away from what the original set forth to begin with. I literally cheered; I cried; then I sobbed with joy for the wonderful nod to Harold Ramis. I could watch this movie 100 times over and never be sick of it. Top movie of the Fall Blockbusters.

Matrix: Resurrections: So… let’s be fair, this one was only okay. I enjoyed it – – while sitting in my bed eating popcorn next to my love. If we had gone to a theatre and paid for it rather than catching the HBOmax release, we would have been upset. I enjoyed the story, the way they wrote it so it made sense since the main characters (minor spoiler here) died in the final of the original trilogy. The people they could bring back got great continuation stories, and it was an entertaining action flick. Plus we all love NPH and he just plays the perfect villain. But it felt a little drab. I think I expected more even if I can’t quite place what that ‘more’ is. Having said that, it has given us an opportunity to introduce our kids to a movie that was ground-breaking in its time, and show them its evolution to what we have now.
Spiderman: No Way Home: First, let me say that I sobbed through this. I laughed. I cried because I laughed, and then I just cried. The entire story was done in a way where it did not feel odd to have previous villains or versions of Spiderman in the current universe. It helped to have Into the Spiderverse come before this one as well as hints/clues set down by the other Marvel shows and movies that a multiverse can and does exist. The interaction between the three Spidermen was amazing and very natural. They each got to shine in their own way, which made it awesome. And then the end! The end was… sob-worthy. I cried for him. Peter Parker needs to be wrapped in a blanket and hugged forever.

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