Kaje Harper's Blog - Posts Tagged "2023"

I wasn't going to write more wolves, but when I started a little prequel flash fiction as an Advent story, Sawyer and James hijacked my heart and mind and I ended up with a novel. Unseen Past is now available on all vendors.

Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mgPkpD
Amazon US : https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Past-Hidden-Wolves-Prequel-ebook/dp/B0BX9WTY5H/

excerpt:
Sawyer stared down at the unconscious man. If the guy’d been hit on the head and needed any care more complicated than rest and warmth, he was shit out of luck. Still, wolves were tough. If they didn’t die right away, they usually healed. Sawyer knelt and ran his hands through the wet, black hair, feeling the man’s scalp. As his fingers brushed a slight roughness in the skin, the man’s eyes snapped open.

Gray. Yeah. For an instant, their gazes met and held. The man took a sharp breath, which Sawyer echoed.

Then the stranger scrambled to get off the couch, naked long legs and arms flailing inelegantly. Sawyer could’ve pinned him in place, but he could read fear in the man’s posture and scent. Sawyer rose and backed off, hands raised, palms out. “Hey, chill out. You’re fine. James, right?”

“Who’re you?” James’s voice came out deeper than Sawyer expected, with a hint of Southern drawl.

Still baritone to Sawyer’s bass, of course. “This is my cabin.” For the week, anyhow. “I get to ask the questions.”

“I’m naked on your couch. The hell you do!” That angry flash of gray eyes was a good effort, but Sawyer figured he could put James in his place with one hand tied behind his back.

Sawyer narrowed his gaze. “What was that, pup?”

James scrambled to his feet, put his hands on his hips, then hissed in pain. “Ouch, dern it, my fingers.” He swayed on his feet. “And toes.” Shaking his hands gingerly, he eyed Sawyer. “I’m not a pup. I’m a full pack member. Are you…” He glanced around the small cabin. “Are you a lone wolf? Are you Sawyer Holt?”

Sawyer leaped and shoved James back two steps, pinning him against the log wall of the cabin, a hand on his throat. “Where’d you hear that name?” He got up in James’s face, leaning heavily on him, using his size and weight to dominate.

For a scrawny youngster, James didn’t flinch or drop his eyes the way he should’ve. “I was sent to look for you. Let go of me, you lunkhead. My feet are killing me.”

“Boohoo.” Sawyer didn’t back off an inch. “Who sent you?”

“Rick Brown, the Chicago Alpha. You ever heard of him?”

Heard of him? Hell, yeah. I know Rick Brown… Memories cascaded, jolting Sawyer into loosening his grip on the pup’s throat. “How do you know Rick Brown? Why’s he giving you orders?”

“He’s not my Alpha.” James pushed Sawyer’s hand away with a forearm and Sawyer let him go. “My Alpha’s in Roanoke, but he sent me and—” He shook his head. “The details don’t matter. Alpha told me to make myself useful to Chicago’s Alpha while I was there. Rick Brown looked me over like he knew the color of my underwear, said, ‘I have an errand for you,’ and here I am.”

“But how?” The cabin was well off the beaten path. Sawyer didn’t think even Rick was that psychic.

“He sent me to a man named Bill Stoltz in Minot with a freaking code word. Stoltz looked at me, said, ‘Oh, you’re the kid,’ and told me how to find this place. I’ve been driving twenty-four hours to deliver the Chicago Alpha’s message.”

At least that made sense. “What message, precisely?”

“He said to tell you—” James’s eyes unfocused. “Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. Oscar isn’t dead, and he’s good friends with Leon now. It’s time for you to move on.”

“Fuck.” Sawyer whirled away, restraining his impulse to sweep every loose item within reach to the floor, make everything smash. His boss would take the damages out of his paycheck, and apparently he was going to need all his money. “Fuck!”

“What does the message mean?” James stepped toward him, then hissed in pain. “I’m gonna sit down. My toes feel like they’re fixin’ to fall off.”

“Because you’re the idiot out in a snowstorm dressed like a Sunday picnic.”

James dropped onto the couch and felt carefully around his reddened nose. “Wolves can handle cold better’n humans. Don’t need much protection. Everyone knows that.”

“Cold, yeah, up to a point. But below freezing, a blizzard? Have you ever even seen snow?”

“Hey, it snows in Norfolk. Some.”

“Yeah, right.” Sawyer strode over and tapped on the frost-edged front window where the thermometer hung against the glass. “It’s five below out there and dropping, and there’s at least ten inches on the ground by now. You get that in your precious Norfolk?”

James blew on his fingers without answering.

“Thought not.” Seeing the guy flinch and then shiver, Sawyer backed off his attitude a bit. He snatched the throw blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over James’s naked shoulders. “Let me see those fingers.”

The look in James’s eyes wasn’t friendly, but he held up his hand. Sawyer caught his wrist and peered at the skin. He held back a whistle, seeing the ends of each pale finger red, swollen and shiny. Not blue or black, at least, but… “Gonna lose some skin, I’d bet. Let me check the rest of you.”

James growled under his breath but didn’t push Sawyer away as he checked James’s extremities. Toes… might lose a couple of tips there. Gonna be a mess. Ears and nose, just a little damage. He restrained himself from checking the man’s dick. That would be bad.

“Frostbite, for sure. You’d be best off shifting if you can. Get some healing started.”

“You aren’t afraid of me being wolf while you’re in skin?”

Sawyer let himself laugh because he had a feeling humor was going to be hard to come by. “You planning to challenge me, boy?”

James flushed and shrugged. “Just wanted to ask. But before I shift, I need to know. What did that message mean, and why’d it make you cuss like that?”

Saying none of your business would be true, but it might be best to warn James, at least a little. “Leon’s an old enemy of mine in the Chicago pack. Oscar was a friend. When I left the pack and came here, Oscar was one of the few who knew where I’d gone.” Or that I survived. Rick made my death look good.

“And Rick Brown thinks that Leon guy might come after you? All the way out here? Jeez, it must be five hundred miles. What did you do to him?”

Humiliated him after stealing our father’s affection, if you were to ask Leon. And then escaped my punishment. After fifteen years, he’d hoped Leon would’ve cooled off and given up, but since Rick had sent that warning, then clearly not. “Why is none of your business. You just need to know, if some other wolf shows up here looking for me, it won’t be a friendly reunion…”

Read more about Sawyer and James in Unseen Past - Universal Link

I'm thrilled to announce I have an upcoming book in a fun new series - Carnival of Mysteries - a shared-element story (like the Magic Emporium), but in this case, the MCs in each book will visit Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special.

The first 4 books (of a total of 16) will be :

Crow’s Fate , by Kim Fielding - July 12
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5PNQ1NY

Step Right Up by L.A. Witt - July 19
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5S7SW3X

Magic Burning by Kaje Harper - July 26
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5TVRH9C/

Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr - Aug 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5SZKG16

In my book, Magic Burning :
(GR link - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...)

Alan
I haven't been out with a guy in the last two years. Partly because I'm a gay elementary-school teacher in a fairly small, conservative town. Partly because I'm a sorcerer, and dating ordinary humans only leads to trouble. Sleeping with one though? That's doable, so when my birdbrained familiar Sunny lines up a tall, muscular firefighter for me, I'm not going to say no. Just once, though. Maybe twice. I don't need more trouble in my life.

Jason
I don't regret moving back to my hometown and my big family. Well, not much. I'm not out to them, and I miss the anonymity of the big city, but I like the local fire house and the slower-paced life. Still, when I see my niece's teacher, Mr. Hiranchai, in gray sweatpants talking to a mini-parrot on his shoulder, something inside me (or maybe something in front of me) perks up and says "I want that one." I can't have an actual boyfriend, but I sure wouldn't mind getting laid, and Alan's slim, dark-haired, smart-assed style rings all my bells.

It's no surprise we turn out to be great together, even if my job and his responsibilities make it hard to find time. It is a surprise when I realize I want more than just an occasional night. But some weird fires out in the brush keep us firefighters hopping, and when this strange carnival comes to town and lands me with a pair of magical doll shoes, life gets truly confusing. There's more to Alan than he's telling me, and I'm getting a bad, bad feeling about all this.

Magic Burning is a story in the Necromancer universe, 60 years after Marked by Death, and is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. This book contains a snarky, matchmaking bird, a lonely young teacher, and a gay firefighter finally coming out to his large family.

A word to my wide readers - this series will begin in KU (sorry, folks), but will go wide 6 months after all the 16 stories are released.

I've had great fun working on the first book in this year's The Road to Rocktoberfest 2023 and now Rocking Karma : The Road to Rocktoberfest 2023 is available on AZ in ebook, paper, and in KU. - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C...

Dax is a mixing tech, a loner, focused on the success of his brother's band. Lane, the band's bassist, is juggling a secret label-exec "boyfriend" and his love of doing drag. But when the boyfriend shows his ugly face, and the two men figure out what they have in common, it's time to give karma a helping hand.

* opposites attract
* slow burn
* rockstar and mixing technician
* emotional abuse
* the love of a little white dog
* the pillow-destruction of a little white dog
* hurt-comfort and karma

Cam and Erik from Hidden Blade have a cameo, but this book stands alone. If you like rockstar romance, you'll have a great time with the whole new series for this year: The Road to Rocktoberfest 2023 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCDHNZ7B

This was a year where I really fell behind on reviews, so I'm not going to call these anything definitive like my 10-top-books. But these were stories I loved and read this year, and can wholeheartedly recommend. I left out non-first series books, books where I didn't write a review at the time, and frankly a dozen other 5 star reads or more. But here are some good ones, in no particular order (links are AZ US):

These Old Lies by Larrie Barton - This was gorgeous, a saga across several decades for two men who first met in the trenches of WWI. Ned was an upperclass university man, drawn to service as an officer because he felt it was his duty to put his skills to use. Charlie was the workingclass son of a milliner, who joined up at eighteen and found he had a knack for keeping the men around him working together, and a slowly-growing hate for killing. From one moment with hands down each other's pants in a dark doorway in France, the two men built a relationship in stolen minutes between the demands and horrors of war.

You have to watch the headers, because this book repeatedly jumps back and forth in time, from 1917 to 1923, from 1932 to 1941, and onward. While I generally prefer a linear narrative, this alternation was an effective way to let the reader know more about these men and show the echoes of the past in the present. Both Ned and Charlie came out of their Great War damaged, and society inflicted even more trauma on them, but they both lived to rise above that. As with most books of this era, there is love and pain, hope with progress alongside deep, unfair, unforgivable oppression for loving who you love, and a well-earned HEA.

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian - This is a lovely historical, set in the late 1950s when gay sex was still illegal in America. And yet, when the hope of progress was also peeking up over the horizon with the waning of McCarthyism. Nick has worked his way up from very humble beginnings in a rough part of NYC to find a place as a respected reporter for a newspaper owned by Andy's father. His current story involves possible corruption within the police department, which exposes him to risk. As a gay man, all the cops have to do to stop him exposing them is catch him engaged in sex. He already has one arrest in his past as a teenager, a sword hanging over his head if they ever put his name and that history together.

So he really has no time or energy to babysit the owner's son, sent to work for a year in the newsroom and learn the ropes. Worse, Andy catches Nick's eye in very unwanted ways. A turn of his head, a gesture with elegant hands, even the glint of light off his hair, makes Nick want in all-too-familiar ways. Ways that, even if Andy weren't straight as he clearly is, would be far too risky to pursue. This slow burn story is gorgeous, with yearning and hesitations very plausibly driven by the era and the situation. There's as much of an HEA as possible, and it helps to know that these guys didn't have too much longer to wait for legal safety, if not acceptance.

Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James - I'm a big fan of Winging It in both its versions, and I was delighted to find that I enjoyed this one just as much. Grady and Max, playing for neighboring teams, have a rivalry fueled by one bad past hit (which both know was an accidental arm-breakage, but other people harp on) and by Max's... not God-given, perhaps devil-given... ability to chirp folks and get under their skin. Grady's a cool, calm player, a contender for the Lady Byng "most sportsmanlike and gentlemanly" award in the NHL several times. But each time, his chances have been torpedoed by Max's ability to wind him up past the breaking point. This year, with a punch in the face that Max totally deserved, but which means that Grady is leaving the awards empty-handed. Again.

It wouldn't be so bad if Grady didn't also think Max was hot, or if there were more out gay players around, or if Grady wasn't so bad at dating that his sister made him a profile on Grindr. On which he put his NHL promo portrait. Leading to Max's anonymous profile accusing him of being a catfisher, and Grady deciding to call out this online guy and prove his honesty, and them meeting... and kissing... and finding out that they make each other as hot as they make each other furious. This was a lot of fun, with an enemies to lovers vibe that felt realistic, not contrived. It ended a moment before I'd have liked - I wanted that last game - but a definite reread.

Now and Then by Lisa Henry - this is a quite short story, barely a novella, over a very short span of time. I'm a big fan of this author, and this story gives us a second chance for two guys - the rockstar and the boy he left behind. There's a lot of emotion packed in here, as Owen, working in the bar he bought from from his folks, finally gets to say the things that have been festering between him and Zach since Zach rocketed to fame as a teenager ten years before. Their split was abrupt, painful, and they have a lot to unpack to get to their HFN.

I'd have loved a novel with these two, to see what happened next. There is a lot more coming when a famous person dives into a relationship, and I forsee some trials and conflicts that I'd adore to see on the page. But I was very satisfied with what we got. Lisa Henry is near the top of my list for pulling me into a story and making me care about her characters.

Chef's Table by Lynn Charles - This is a slow burn, slowly developing relationship, and the food, food prep, and the restaurant industry are a whole third character. Evan is a highly skilled chef with a lot of awards running his own kitchen - he should be satisfied. But the owner of the restaurant doesn't want him to do anything to change a success, not a single new dish or substitution. And not firing a long-time kitchen worker whose attitude has slid into carelessness, and whose lack of dedication to a good product is like nails on a chalkboard to Evan. What had been the epitome of all his goals is becoming a rut, even a prison. Then he eats at a local diner with some of his crew, and encounters Patrick, and Patrick's food.

The secondary characters are great and add a lot to the moments of humor. There's no deep angst, but some poignancy here. I wasn't totally sold on how money problems were fixed - it seemed a bit easy - but as a whole the story was a lush slow read that worked well for me. If you like food, complex characters, and something far from the stereotypical M/M romance, this one might work for you.

Liar City by Allie Therin - I really enjoyed this series starter - this one a contemporary rather than historical AU/paranormal/urban fantasy/mystery story. The ending isn't a cliffhanger, but it is really tentative on both romance and plot fronts, and the romance is very slow burn. There's lots of action, plot twists, some banter, strong secondary characters, in a modern alternate-universe world that I was pulled into. There, those with empathy are a minority against whom political forces are rising. When an anti-empath figure is murdered, the tide of public opinion may become threatening.

There's also a darker internal thread, as Reese, our empath MC, finds out that not all empaths are the compassionate folk he imagined they had to be (due to feeling the emotions of others). And that his own mind might be not as inviolable as he hoped. He meets the empathy-immune Dead Man - Evan Grayson- whose role is to protect humans from corrupted empaths and who seems not to like him. Reese hopes to help solve the murder, but violence and danger are increasing, and he may be in the killer's sights.

I'm definitely onboard for book 2, not due out till next year.

The Last Single Man in Texas by Jess Whitecroft - This is the story of River, brilliant son of a poor and chaotic single mom, whose life is best symbolized by the raccoons that fell through the ceiling on his head as a child, and the brief prison stint he did for driving his sister's abuser's Porsche into the river. It's also the story of Benjamín Reyes, ex-underwear model and son of a politician, who's trying, in between sex with the gardener, to pull himself out of the rut of dependence on his family.

This was light and a little farcical, but yet it kept pulling back to a core of genuine emotion and character development. I read it in one sitting (and I had other things I was supposed to be doing.) I didn't find the absurdities laugh-out-loud funny, but was pulled in to care about these two men and everything they did to stay sane in an insane world.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske - I really enjoyed this M/M historical urban fantasy story. (Note that book 2 in the series is F/F, book 3 is M/M; note book 1 opens with the brief on-page torture death of a secondary character that sets the plot in motion. These are also from a big pub, with corresponding prices)

This is a slow-burn romance of two men, in a society that severely punishes same-sex relationships, both seeing the possibility of attraction, but slow to do anything about it. Their personalities are a good contrast, and the immersion of Robin into magic gives a chance to show his character. The magic is well done and interesting, with some unique elements to it. I also liked the strong female characters (and was pleased to see one of them star in the next installment.) The casual disdain of many of the men for their female counterparts needed taking down a notch.

The ending is HFN, with the romance pretty solidly established, but the over-arching plot just beginning to come together. The historical elements felt well done, a setting and often a plot driver, but not overwhelming the story. I immediately bought the other two books (which complete the trilogy) and enjoyed those as well.

The Prodigal Prince's Fake Fiancé by Thursday Euclid and Clancy Nacht - despite cover and title, this is a contemporary, with only a fake small European nation fabricated. I previously enjoyed the trans MC in these authors' The Phisher King, so I was curious. I had imagined this lighter story would be less deep in character, but I truly adored Prince Morgan, an aggressively toppy trans man who fights for his right to be Prince, not Princess. He also is desperate to continue the US university study he loves learning fashion design, when his future as a ruler seems set in stone (as an only child of a small principality's rulers.)

The trans rep feels strong and real. There was an instant where it was Lin, the cis MC, rather than Morgan, who moved an important opinion, but that's probably realistic rather than cis savior. Sometimes people are mired in their opinions and it takes a new voice to open their eyes. The ending is sweet and although I wouldn't call this story realistic in all ways (eg. I can't imagine the absence of security for either of these MCs given their families' wealth) the charm of story made me willing to overlook those details.

Tramps and Vagabonds by Aster Glenn Gray - This is the book about two guys riding the rails that I'd been waiting for, full of the background that I'd always felt needed a novel. (There are a couple of others I've read that are good, but this feels real to the era.) In the 1930s, a lot of America was on the move or displaced, desperately poor, and shoved out of their familiar life. James and Timothy had both taken the chance on joining Roosevelt's CCC - a kind of civilian army/work camp where young men of good character could work hard in exchange for housing, 3 meals a day, and a meager salary to save or send home.

Of course James, having first spent a year riding the rails, had to use the home address of a friend of his late mother's, and ditch his "tramp" belongings in storage, to appear of good character. Timothy joined up despite having family and a home, in an effort to do something acceptable that wasn't going to college, which he didn't feel smart enough to succeed at. Now at the end of a stint of work, with some money in their pockets, well fed and rested, both 19-year-olds have decided that getting up at 5 AM and the regimented life in the CCC had lost some of its shine. If slow-burn, true to life historicals are something you enjoy, and you can empathize with choices made in moments of desperation (which some might call cheating), check this one out.

.......

I hope you all had a great reading year. If you have a book you think I really shouldn't miss, I'd love to have you comment with it here.

I'm looking forward to 2024, with books I plan to write, and books I can't wait to read. Very best New Year wishes to you all.