Bertena Varney's Blog, page 20
February 22, 2021
Release Day Blitz Replaced Parts by Stephanie Hansen
Release Day Blitz Replaced Parts by Stephanie Hansen
Join the Live Release Day Celebration for Replaced Parts by Stephanie Hansen at 10am EST on Facebook with special guest USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Kol. https://www.facebook.com/events/2533205153651500
Replaced PartTransformed Nexus Book OneStephanie Hansen
Genre: YA Sci-FiPublisher: Fire and Ice YA and Tantor AudioDate of Publication: 02/23/21ISBN: 9781953735027ASIN: B08RZB9PXLNumber of pages: 232Word Count: 67,770Cover Artist: Caroline Andrus
Tagline: When a clopil named Vex warns you of danger…Listen!
Book Description:
In the year 2163 a corrupt World Government controls everything on our planet and beyond.
Sixteen year-old Sierra has been so caught up in her own world of saving animal test subjects and her father’s disappearance, she hasn’t paid much attention. When she finally finds his location, she and her friend set off on a covert interplanetary mission to rescue him, she begins to see the corruption first hand.
Discovering that her father has been on the front lines secretly trying to save human test subjects inspires her to join a revolution. But she is afraid of the collateral damage of hurting the people she loves. Will she find the strength to make a deal with the mad scientist Cromwell to save not just her friends and family but everyone?
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/xOmzBgWfIN8
Excerpt:
To make a smoke bomb all you need is potassium nitrate, sugar, water and a fuse. Programming holograph messaging to be ‘smoke screen projection only’ is much more difficult. It’s a digital version of invisible ink and completely security cam resistant. I pull up Yesha’s incoming call. The smoke allows her image to take shape and it almost feels like she’s in the room with me.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this, you little gomer.”
Yesha frequently begins conversations in the middle, no introduction or formal interrogation into my life. I think that’s why I like her.
“It didn’t take much to convince you.”
“Did you receive the package?”
I hold up the box addressed to me, Sierra, but I’ve removed the contents.
“Yep, right here, see.”
Yesha’s laugh is like a chorus of toads with hiccups. Her image vibrates on the smoke.
“That’s only the box, you drone bug!”
“I know.”
I hold up the syringes that had been inside the box.
“Be careful with those. Check the labels.”
I roll a syringe in my hands like Kitchen, one of our home bots, does with pretzel dough.
“One says healing serum, which I asked for. Why does the other say anti?”
“Backup. You always need an emergency abort mission option.”
“All right. Thanks!”
Yesha interrupts before I collapse the projection.
“Just be sure not to give the anti if you haven’t given the original serum.”
After she’s gone, I look at my subject.
I shouldn’t be doing this, but I find the koala’s eyes drawing me in like a poli-magno crash about to happen. It’s impossible to turn away.
The Science Olympiad team’s going to put me on probation again, which stinks since they’re the only local, human friends I have.
Following protocol gets us nowhere, however.
Mom’s going to be agitated because this isn’t the first time I’ve broken the rules.
I guide the koala out of the cage, leaving her brothers inside. I have to shake off feelings of jealousy. I don’t have any siblings.
“Why ya look so sad?”
Uplifting experiments have given us animals who speak. “Why do you look so sad, Eucarpo?”
The koala glances back at her brothers and then her eyes look up at me past her round, stub nose, and adorable ears. The sensation of an infant wrapping tiny fingers around mine envelops me. I can’t let them endure more unethical testing just so we can have the best DNA combination. I was okay with the testing when the purpose was to help those that were sick and it was beneficial to the koala species, but I can’t stomach testing these sweet things just for superficial reasons.
“Hate leaving ‘em behind.”
“They’re going after you if this works.”
“What ya mean, if?”
“Healing adaptation experiments have just begun.”
“But ya aced the test?”
“Well, yeah, but that was just practice. This is the first time I’ve used it on a living being. Don’t worry, it should all go as planned. I’m just being paranoid.”
It would be nice if I could stop blabbering when I’m nervous. Sometimes you just have to go for it and see where the cards fall. That was something my dad used to say. Before he disappeared, he used to tell me lots of things. He’s been gone almost a decade, but I might as well as have “Missing Dad” tattooed on my forehead.
“Ya paranoid?Ne’er!”
As she raises the fur above her eyes, I scratch behind her ear, and she leans into it like a bear scratching its back on a tree trunk. Her fur is soft as manufactured silk charmeuse.
“Ah yeah, right dere.”
“You sure you’re ready for this?”
“It gets us closer to freedom, so I been ready a long time.”
She takes another glance at her brothers, and I pick up the syringe with self-healing serum. I begin the sedation process as no one wants to be awake when artery lining fortifies, muscles pull with new agility, and brain tissue encases itself with a biting, thin metal sheet. Another reason I’m jealous of Eucarpo is that she responds to sedation, and I don’t.
As Eucarpo drifts into a peaceful sleep, I look out the school windows and see only the steel and glass of surrounding buildings. Their reflections mirror the sky. Today the unending blue gives the impression of being in the middle of the sea. On gray days, it’s as if I’ve been swallowed by thunderclouds. I can only imagine how green fields would look. People used to love the smell of fresh-cut grass. That was before an asteroid broke through the atmosphere damaging our ecosystem and killing all plants, causing our world to work together to save Earth and its remaining, limited vegetation. The only vegetation left is kept in guarded areas and labs.
I think I can hear the machines used to keep the atmosphere from collapsing but the sound isn’t right. Instead of a hum, I hear iron clanging. The serum glides through the syringe into Eucarpo and her breathing intensifies as the cells within her body multiply. No, that isn’t the machines. It’s locker doors slamming, followed by footsteps of someone coming down the hall. No one should be here now. They should all be at the assembly that I’m skipping. I must finish before anyone else arrives. I look at the oxygen and pulse readings, cringing with every spike. It feels like an hour passes as I look at the screens, but I know it’s only been seconds. I count breaths and clock ticks, staring at Eucarpo’s oxygen and platelet numbers rising.
“Come on, the science minds keep refreshments in here.”
I think I recognize the voice coming down the hall. Every muscle in my body wants to stiffen, but I can’t freeze now.
Luckily, the serum is fast acting and Eucarpo’s readings are settling. I inject the awakening treatment and then I throw the syringes and all remaining evidence into the incinerator. The burning and sanitizing process will turn these things into energy or something else useful. Eucarpo stirs a little when I hear the door sensor click.
As the voltball captain and visual arts queen walk in, I step in front of Eucarpo.
“Look, we found someone avoiding the assembly,” Milcah says as she nudges Danver in the ribs with her elbow.
About the Author:Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft Award Winning Author. Her novella series, Altered Helix, released 2020. Her short story, Break Time, and poetry has been featured in Mind's Eye literary magazine. The Kansas Writers Association published her short story, Existing Forces, appointing her as a noted author. She has held a deep passion for writing since early childhood, but a brush with death caused her to allow it to grow. She's part of an SCBWI critique group in Lawrence, KS and two local book clubs. She attends many writers' conferences including the Writing Day Workshops, New York Pitch, Penned Con, New Letters, All Write Now, Show Me Writers Master Class, BEA, and Nebraska Writers Guild conference as well as Book Fairs and Comic-Cons.
She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
https://www.authorstephaniehansen.com/
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The Secret of Dartwood Manor The Witchling Trilogy Book One by N. A. Triptow
The Secret of Dartwood ManorThe Witchling Trilogy Book OneN. A. Triptow
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, MysteryPublisher: Wishing Well PublishingDate of Publication: January 18, 2021ISBN: 978-1-7363844-0-4ASIN: B08RS7PTG1Number of pages: 382 pagesWord Count: 103,825 wordsCover Artist: Nicole Triptow
Tagline: A spellbinding reimagining of Jane Austen’s beloved classic, Sense and Sensibility.
Book Description:
Witches. Ghosts. An ancient secret. Enter a world of myth and magic through this contemporary fantasy reimagining of Jane Austen’s beloved classic, Sense and Sensibility.
The small New England town of Tarryville, Maine is steeped in history, having been settled by the Dartwood and Farris families who fled Salem during the witch trials. The Dartwood sisters, Eden, Mariah, and Melissa, unexpectedly return home after their parents are found murdered. Upon their arrival, the girls are plagued by dreams in which dark spectral beings haunt them.
When the hellish creatures seem to be more than just nightmares, another mystery begins to unravel as they discover that the circumstances around the murder of their parents may be far more menacing than they appear. Frantic for answers, they must untangle the mystery of their parents’ murders and reconstruct the pieces of an ancient secret.
With the help of the young assistant curator of their family museum, Baden Correia, and an estranged friend from their past, Evan Farris, the orphaned Dartwood sisters must uncover the truth before the darkness haunting their family descends upon them as well.
Excerpt 1:
Mariah found herself staring at the blank screen of her laptop for longer than she intended after the video call ended, hardly even noticing when the tears began to stain her cheeks. When there were no more tears left to shed, she closed her laptop and placed it on her bedside table. Rearranging herself on her bed she crawled under the covers and tried to shut her eyes, but the room around her tugged at her mind, summoning all of the haunted bedroom scenes she’d watched a million times in movies. Suddenly thankful for the old-fashioned four-poster bed, she pulled the curtains tight around her, blocking out the unwanted sights and was finally able to go to sleep.
The stillness of the manor was like a quiet pond just waiting for a fish to upset its equilibrium. The manors beside one another were nearly identical in their architectural design, but now, in the gloom of the night, the Farris manor echoed the dread of the once bright Dartwood manor with such exactness that it seemed as if they were all sleeping in a cemetery. No one stirred in the house, save for the shadows that danced through the windows in the moonlight. The stillness was disturbed, however, as one by one the shadows in the three Dartwood girls’ rooms began to move in purposeful strides. The moonlight no longer directed them in a nightly waltz as they made their way toward the girls.
The shadows, each a ghostly orb of darkness, started their trek from different locations in the rooms. In Eden’s room the mist trickled in from the window, while in Mariah’s it inched between the moth-eaten holes in the cloth ceiling of the four-poster bed, and in Melissa’s it crept in from under the bed itself. Slowly, the haze advanced upon each girl, their forms growing ever more into the silhouette of a person as they neared them. Hovering now only a foot or two above the girls, in unison, as if directed by the moon once more, an ethereal hand reached for each girl, fingers looking more like claws than anything else. A high pitched and yet deep hiss of sound escaped what should have been lips on the silhouettes, darkness protruding and encircling itself around the sleeping forms of the girls below them. Then, without warning, all three silhouettes shrieked a cry of disappointment, an unearthly shrill.
The sound woke each girl as they came to the terrible realization that what had been haunting them in their nightmares was in reality hovering just above them as they slept. Gasping, the silhouettes dissipated into nothing so quickly that none of the girls were quite certain of what they had seen. Nonetheless, each rose out of their beds with such haste that they all opened their doors at the same moment, only to be greeted by the horror-struck faces of their siblings.
About the Author:N. A. Triptow graduated from The University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in English Teaching with minors in History Teaching, Theatre, and British Studies. She teaches high school English and Film Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Strategic Communication and Advertising from Purdue University. In her free time, you can find her reading, watching and analyzing movies and television shows, attending the theatre, going on walks or hikes, and playing board or video games with family and friends. She lives in Utah.
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February 8, 2021
Clover by Nicole Kilpatrick
Clover Nicole Kilpatrick
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ romance Publisher: Fire and Ice Young Adult BooksDate of Publication: December 1, 2020ISBN: 978-1-68046-983-7ASIN: 1680469835Number of pages: 270 pagesWord Count: 77KCover Artist: Ashley Redbird Designs
Tagline: Sometimes the best of luck can be the worst of curses.
Book Description:
When a handsome leprechaun reveals himself to Clover O’Leary on her eighteenth birthday, she is faced with three hard facts. One: he is the reason for her remarkably charmed life; Two: her luck has now taken a turn for the worse. Three: her name is a curse; a malicious gift from the powerful leprechaun who named her while she was still in the womb.
In order to get her life back and undo the evil spell, she must travel to Ireland to seek the only creature who may be able to help: the Seelie Queen. With her intriguing leprechaun in tow, Clover crosses into the Faerie Realm, where fairies and mythical creatures abound and where finding her luck may ultimately lead to finding her love.
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1st Excerpt from Chapter One:
The room smelled of sweat, cigarette smoke, and a tad bit of spilled beer drying on hot concrete. The stench of inebriated desperation was palpable. Theirs hadn’t been the only poker game when Nick O’Leary first came into the gambling den, but now everyone had gathered around their table to watch. Everyone looked so strange to him all of a sudden, as if his frayed nerves had somehow made everything sharper and more focused. The lad in the pale blue suit, too handsome. The lady who smelled of lilacs, what was up with those ears? The whole lot of them seemed caricatures of their former selves, and in the center, staring at him with the greenest eyes he’d ever seen was Alistair.
“I don’t enjoy waiting, my friend.” He smirked as he theatrically drummed his fingers on the table.
Alistair wasn’t Nick’s friend at all. He had just met the guy that day at a Las Vegas casino. He had cajoled him into a private poker game, and Nick had been too much of a gambler to resist. There was something about him that was hard to say no to. He was expertly groomed, immaculately dressed, and extremely good-looking, and yet for all these attributes, he somehow looked out of place. He was like a Picasso in a sea of wallpaper. Nick found himself wanting to be in the man’s presence.
Next thing he knew, Nick was in a gambling den ten blocks off the strip, in what would appear to be an oddly high stakes game of poker, face to face with the mysterious Alistair.
“See, I’m not sure I understand,” Nick stammered.
“It’s quite simple really. We’ve, shall we say, upped the ante? Money is so passé nowadays, don’t you think? My preferred currency is luck.”
The last word drew a collective gasp from the now captivated crowd.
“Look, I really don’t know where you’re going with this…”
“Pretend that I may give you luck and pretend that I too may take it away. Upon this premise, my friend, we shall place our final bets. If you win, I am prepared to offer a lifetime of providence. If I win, you will surrender said providence to me, commencing immediately until the day of your death.”
About the Author:Nicole Kilpatrick was born and raised in the sun-kissed Philippines islands, but now works and lives in the asphalt jungle that is New York City. A lifelong lover of books, she read the Godfather when she was twelve and instantly fell in love. While she still enjoys the occasional gangster novel, she has since discovered her true passion in young adult fantasy. Mario Puzzo was quickly replaced by J.K. Rowling in this author’s heart.
When not writing, she can be found lounging in a cabin by a river, curled up at home reading a book, or concocting recipes in her cozy kitchen in Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband. Clover is her debut novel.
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Little Ellie Isabellie Elephant Day at the Pool by Tracy Hartley
Little Ellie Isabellie ElephantDay at the PoolTracy HartleyGenre: Childrens/JuvenilePublisher: Writers RepublicDate of Publication: February 26, 2020ISBN: Paperback 9781646201440ISBN eBook 9781646201457Number of pages: 32Word Count: 1085Cover Artist: Linda Solomon
Book Description:
Little Ellie Isabellie is a baby elephant who is already figuring out the world around her. She has made many friends, and it makes her very happy when she is with them playing.
One day, when her friends decided to play in a pool, Little Ellie Isabellie suddenly felt left out. Because she was small, Little Ellie Isabellie could not join her friends in the pool. But oh how badly she wanted to play in the pool with her friends. She thought of ways how to appear bigger than she is so she could be with them. But nothing worked. She was losing hope until she decided to seek help from her mother.
Her mother understood Little Ellie Isabellie and offered to help. She thought of a solution that would work. Along the process, she made sure Little Ellie Isabellie understood that when all her solutions seem to not work, it is always a good idea to seek help.And when Little Ellie Isabellie’s mama gave her something that would allow her to join her friends, Little Ellie Isabellie was off to a great adventure.
Find out what it was that Little Ellie Isabellie got from her mom in Little Ellie Isabellie Elephant: Day at the Pool.
Short Excerpt:
"I may be little, ohhhh yes, But I can do it, ohhhh yes, When I face a problem, ohhhh my, I can face it, YOU BET!" Ellie sang as she twirled around.
About the Author:Author Tracy Hartley is a grandmother to a precious granddaughter who was born premature, weighing in only at two pounds twelve ounces. But because of abundance of love and proper nurture, her granddaughter is way on her way growing strong and doing well. Tracy and her husband of thirty years, Bill, have two grown sons—the oldest is a pilot (and the father of her granddaughter) and the youngest serves in the army.
www.authortracyhartley.com
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February 4, 2021
Strange Things Await Virtus Academy Book 1 by Jamila A. Stone
Strange Things AwaitVirtus Academy Book 1Jamila A. StoneGenre: Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, LGBTQPublisher: Black Glory Publishing HouseDate of Publication: April 2019ISBN: 978-1-7339717-6-8ASIN: B07QN8W9YHNumber of pages: 288Word Count: 98,270Cover Artist: Michael Corvin
Book Description:
At Virtus Academy a boarding school for the supernatural, the students are not your average High Schoolers. They might go through some of the same social problems, these students are powerful and many dangerous. From vampires, witches, werewolves, and werecats these youngsters must learn how to navigate classes and other species who might on the outside of campus be a natural enemy.
Virtus Academy’s walls are going to be shaken up this year as they never have before. Not only do the walls have to contend with two young Sophomore witches (Natalie King and Alexandra Aurelius) who despise each other so much so they constantly wage war against the infrastructure, there’s a monster on the loose killing students.
Will these two witches who once were best friends rekindle that friendship in time to help each other through all that’s about to hit them this year? Or will they fail to unite even after a mutual friend of theirs get captured by the same monster killing students?
CHAPTER FOUR
The night had felt better and it came from that one kiss she had shared with the dashingly handsome vampire who fought hard for her. For Nat, it capped off the beautiful night even with Hamilton humiliated and leaving with promises of getting her, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat proud of herself.
Doing her bid to avoid more drama from the other kids, she had chosen the alternate route leading to her dorm room, cutting through the almost worn off pathway just behind the rave house, heading north with the dorm house not yet in sight. It was going to be within her reach as long as she continued on her path for another ten minutes.
It was at that moment everything slowly began to feel odd. The air changed, followed by an uneasy feeling growing down her spine in form of tingling sensation which she had come to trust to mean that trouble was heading her way. It was something her mother had always asked her to watch out for; the sixth sense embedded into witches right from their time of birth.
“What now?” a rather embattled and worried Nat asked herself. She wished she had taken the normal quick route.
“Is anyone there?” Nat asked turning to her left, nothing. She clung unto her purse tightly.
The air grew colder, and fog soon began to fill her surrounding oddly.
She began to quicken her steps and managed her breathing so her hearing could remain focused and sharp enough to pick up any odd sounds. The sounds came in plenty; from leaves being rustled aggressively, to twigs being stepped on and snapped. Yet, Nat choose not to look back; she couldn’t deal with the thought of having a bunch of vampires hunting her down on Hamilton’s behest.
“Russel!” she called out softly, wondering if she should have taken his advice and allowed him to walk her to her dorm before heading to his.
All she could do was to keep her unsteady breathing pattern steady as possible, while her feet walked as fast as they could carry her.
Yet, the dorm room seemed further away the more she attempted to get closer. In fact, for the past five minutes, she had managed to walk on the same spot without realizing it until she stepped on a large trunk of wood which had almost tripped her and then she first realized she was being tailed by someone.
“Witches!” Nat sounded in fear and mumbled underneath her warm breath.
Her lungs stung and her eyes burned as the fog slowly began to clear and grant her vision of her surroundings.
“One…” Nat counted the incoming figure from her left before looking around. “No… two… three… four!”
“I don’t know what you want but I’m not going down easily!” she declared with her fists raised barely keeping them up. School grounds were supposed to be safe.
One to her left cackled in a dark laughter, while the others simply closed in without giving off any sound asides the crunching sound from the snapping twigs and dried grasses beneath their feet.
“This should be fun,” one of them mumbled.
Another cut right in, “She seemed to have a lot of spark in her earlier.”
Nat’s mind raced wildly with thoughts and her entire body grew numb as the four finally came to full view. She stared at them one at a time and felt her inside walls collapse as she struggled to figure out what exactly it was that she was dealing with.
“What are… what are you?” she stuttered, noticing the same faces staring right back at her.
The four figures were impossible to tell apart and they donned nothing different as regards to their clothes nor their faces. She had never come across such an anomaly in her life and it threatened to topple her to the ground just by the eeriness of things.
Boxing her in, one stepped closer and smiled right into her face. “What’s the matter little witch? You never seen perfect shape shifting before?”
Nat had never come across their kind before. She had indeed heard of them, but they never showed themselves out in the open a lot.
“But… but…” she stuttered.
“News flash!” another replied. “We aren’t as hidden as many would believe.”
Feeling the one to her left shove her hard to the ground, the four slowly transformed into girls of the same liking before turning into elderly men as they morphed their skin and facial features impressively, before finally settling to their initial look. It sickened her stomach and she was about to feel even more nauseated as they drew closer.
“We won’t hurt you,” one promised.
“We just want some sugar,” another joked.
Nat struggled to fight them off with punches, but they succeeded in pinning her down regardless. With her hands pinned on either side by two of the shape shifters, one stood watch and the fourth slowly began slipping his pants down, Nat forced her hands free and ripped her nails into the fourth’s face, causing him to shriek in pain as he struggled with his already fallen pants.
“You bitch!” he cried, yanked at his belt and began to wrap it around his knuckle.
Yet, she wasn’t done and upon sighting a large branch in the nearby bush, she waved her hand at it and watched it levitate but not convincing enough in the air, while her captors laughed and made a mock of her. Feeling her anger fueled, she swung hard with every intent possible within her bones and the branch struck one of them in the face immediately.
It would be the act that got them even more enraged, and most notably, the one she had struck.
Nat watched his fast swinging hand reach her face, and suddenly knock her into a barely conscious state. He still wasn’t done. He came swinging hard for the second time, but his fist didn’t connect as something seemed to hold him back against his will. A glowing light, burning brightly in the distance approached and seemed to startle the shape shifters who turned their attention to the person.
“Leave the girl alone!” a feminine voice warned.
“This isn’t any of your business bi…” one of the shape shifters had barely spoken when he started to clutch his throat with both hands.
Nat watches her assaulter choke and her savior approach in a steady walk, Nat managed to make out fuzzy images from her somewhat swollen eye from where she had been punched. They weren’t having a good time with whoever had come to her rescue. The girl bore what appeared to be fire in both hands, before ramming it hard into one which caused the others to slowly crumble to the ground in agony.
“Show your real self you coward!” the girl demanded.
The four bodies slowly began to merge into one, while the single figure coughed and slowly got to his feet with a rather enraged look on his face.
“Who do you think you are?” he asked.
Lunging forward and hammering down Nat’s savior, Nat could only attempt to crawl towards the fight to try and assist but it proved more difficult than she had imagined it would. Her spine felt stiff and her joints were unresponsive. Her rescuer seemed to be in trouble as the huge framed attacker now in his true form reached for a rock to his right and threatened to hammer it down on the girl he had pinned to the ground.
“Watch out!” Nat felt herself scream and try to warn the other girl.
Thankfully, the girl had managed to draw out a silver knife from within her boot, rammed it hard into the shape shifters’ chest which sent it squabbling backwards in a painful roar. It struggled to hold the knife as he felt it burn his hands as he continued to growl then began to burn violently from the magical knife jammed into his heart.
Nat felt her heart threaten to give way. Sweat rolled down her face immediately as she came to the realization that someone had just killed for her. Her hands trembled while her weakened frame struggled to get back into a sitting position but found it to be almost impossible. The blow to her head not only left her with impaired vision but some way left her struggling for balance.
“You shouldn’t try to overly exert yourself,” the feminine voice said before laying her hand to rest on Nat’s forehead. The voice is familiar.
Nat could hear the girl mumble words she recognized to be mild healing spells. Warmth quickly spread through her face and around the wound, causing it to close back up.
“You’re good as new,” she said, gently backing away while she held her hand out for Nat to grab hold of.
Nat opened her eyes and looked up at her savior, Alexandra, who slowly began stepping away.
“Alexandra!” another girl in a low-cut top came rushing through. “Oh my god, what happened?”
“Alexandra? Why the hell would she come to save me, she hates me,” Nat thought with a soft gasp.
Alex motioned for her friend to remain where she was, before leading Nat out from the dark woods and turning around upon getting to a more lightened clearing leading towards the dorm. Nat motioned to speak with her, but Alex obviously wasn’t interested in having a conversation. It was typical of Alex after all and after all those years, she still seemed to have a chip on her shoulder.
Nat felt rather happy to have been saved by her, though somewhat sad by the situation of things between her and the girl she used to call her best friend.
About the Author:Jamila A Stone lives in Washington, D.C with her two dogs. Jamila is driven to tell stories without censorship and for the continued creativity in the world of literature. As an African American woman, she understands the lack of opportunity persons of color have to let their artistic creativity be seen on equal platforms, so she created her own publishing company called Black Glory Publishing House. She thinks not just of herself but of the current and future of literature namely increasing the diversity and inclusion within the literary community.
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February 1, 2021
Shadow and Poison The Dark Guard Book 1 by J.B. Curry
Shadow and PoisonThe Dark GuardBook 1J.B. CurryGenre: Paranormal Romance, hot paranormal noirPublisher: Arcanic MediaDate of Publication: January 26 2021ISBN: 978-1-7327900-2-5ASIN: B08RLPVJGQNumber of pages:472Word Count: 112,000
Book Description:
When monsters stalk the darkness of Prohibition era Chicago, it takes a special kind of hero to kill them.
Private detective Mark Van Ryn’s supernatural power over shadow has made him an outcast his whole life. When a mutated creature starts eating Chicago’s gangsters from the inside out, Mark is the only man in the city who can hunt it down and destroy it. But a dangerous lady has a job for Mark too, one that might cost him more than his life.
Gifted perfumer Eliza Karlova needs a man. The most evil man Chicago’s got. And she needs Mark to find him for her. Because Eliza has a deadly power of her own and a family legacy she’s doomed to keep. But when forbidden passion flames up between Eliza and the angelically handsome detective, she has to decide between her destiny, and the man she loves.
War brews in the city as the Century of Progress World’s Fair draws near, and Mark and Eliza must find a way to trust each other if their love, and Chicago, are to survive.
Gritty and gripping, powerful and sexy, Shadow and Poison will have your heart racing with each kill and every searing kiss. ~ Max Watson, author of Chains of Nurture
Shadow and Poison Excerpt 1
Eliza’s face was carefully turned away from him as she cuddled up next to Duke. Pretending that if she couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see her, maybe.
That never works, sweetheart. Drink in hand, he ambled across the room toward the darling couple.
Duke watched him coming with a half-smile. “Mark,” he drawled. “We seem to be meeting everywhere nowadays. I see neither hide nor hair of you for years, and now here you are. Again.”
“Funny coincidence, eh Lionel?”
“Indeed.” He slid a glance at McGann and his boys, who were eyeing them right back. “Interesting friends you’ve made.”
“I might say the same for you,” Mark returned, his eyes on Eliza.
“Ah, where are my manners?” Duke said with a little laugh. “You remember Miss Karlova.”
She held out her hand in a languid gesture. “How do you do,” she said, with a polite, distant smile on her lips. As if those lips hadn’t been locked on his a few hours ago.
A hard smile edged his own mouth as he took her hand in his. “Yeah,” he said. “Eliza isn’t the kind of lady a man forgets. Thank you for the lovely morning we spent together, by the way. I hope you enjoyed the red hot sausage.” He brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over her gloved fingertips.
Her face drained of color as she stared at him, wide-eyed. She all but snatched her hand away from him.“You—you remember.”
Duke arched an eyebrow at her. “What’s this? You spent the morning with Mark? Why, how charitable of you to visit with a poor invalid, my dear.”
“Yeah, she’s a regular angel of mercy.” Mark kept his eyes on Eliza. “We could talk about the reason you came to see me, or we can dance. What do you say angel?”
“I . . . I . . .” she said.
“Speechless with delight, I guess.” He plopped his whiskey glass down on the table and all but scooped Eliza up out of her chair. “You don’t mind, do you old fellow?” he said to Duke. Without waiting for a reply he swept Eliza onto the dance floor.
It had been a long time since he’d danced with a woman. Not since the fluffy little debutantes of his youth. But she made it easy. She was a smooth, graceful dancer, responding to the lightest touch as he moved her around the floor. Her gloved hand rested light as smoke on his shoulder, the fingers of the other clasping his softly.
But though her body moved beautifully with his, from the neck up, she wasn’t happy with him at all. Her eyes were narrowed, her lush red lips drawn tight. “What are you doing?” she murmured. “Why are you trying to convince Duke you’re courting me?”
“Would you rather I told him you hired me to spy on him?”
“I would rather you hadn’t come here at all. What do you think you’re about, interfering with my plans like this?”
“It isn’t about you, sweetheart. I’m on a job. It’s just your bad luck if I accidentally wreck your chance to nab a murderer for a husband.”
“For your information, you can’t destroy my chance to ‘nab’ Duke, no matter what you do. You’re only making a fool of yourself, Mr. Van Ryn.”
“Since our lips got to know each other so well this morning, I think you can call me Mark.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “So you remember that too.”
“If you think I’d forget a kiss like that just because you tell me to, you don’t know me very well, Eliza.” He slipped his hand down her back an inch and squeezed her softly.
She sucked in a breath and her blush deepened. “Stop that. What do you want, Mark? Really.”
“I want to know what Duke told you about his pet monster.”
“Nothing. The only topic we’ve spoken about is the World’s Fair.”
“That’s all?”
“That, and all the important politicians who will be there on opening day. Lionel wants very badly to impress them.”
“So it’s Lionel, is it?”
“Yes. What else should I call my future fiancé?”
“The defendant?”
“Hilarious.” The band started winding up its tune. “Now that you’ve got what you came for, you can take me back to my table.”
“I haven’t got everything I want yet, angel, but I will.”
She didn’t dignify that with a reply, but pivoted, chin in the air, and marched off the dance floor, barely waiting for him to escort her.
Duke was watching them with hooded eyes. He got up lazily as they approached and held out his hand to Eliza. “You dance beautifully, my dear. All you need is a partner worthy of you, and you would be without peer.”
“I’m already without peer, darling, but I wouldn’t mind another dance,” she said with a saucy smile.
Duke immediately took her in his arms and danced her off as a new tune began.
“Have fun kids,” Mark said. The sight of Eliza in Duke’s arms did something nasty to his insides, so he turned away went back to the bar. He ignored McGann’s meaningful glare as he passed by their table and put his foot on the rail and his elbow on the counter. “Gimme another whiskey,” he said to the barkeep.
As the man poured his drink, McGann got up and huffed over next to him. “What are you doing? You’re not here to make time with some twist,” he said.
He looked away from McGann, staring into the long mirror behind the bar. His own ghost-white face stared back at him. Behind his reflection, Eliza and Duke danced past. “I know what I’m doing,” he said. “This is all part of the plan.”
“What plan?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bartender standing a few feet away from him, staring down into a sink behind the counter. He craned his neck for a better look and saw water bubbling up out of the pipes. The man took a piece of wire out from underneath the counter and stuck it into the drain, probing around.
The hair at the back of Mark’s neck stirred.
“Did you hear what I said, punk?” McGann barked. “What’s your plan to catch this thing?”
In the mirror, Mark saw Eliza stop short in the middle of the dance floor. She pulled away from Duke and spun toward the bar, nostrils flaring, eyes wide.
“Damn!” Mark lunged for McGann. “Get back!”
A fountain of greasy water exploded from the sink, shooting past the bartender and sending him tumbling to the floor. A tentacle like a long rope of jelly lashed out of the drain straight for McGann’s face. Mark got a fist in the gangster’s collar and yanked him away from the thing, but he wasn’t quite fast enough.
The tip of the tentacle whipped across McGann’s chin, leaving a wide red streak like an acid burn. One touch of that thing could dissolve human flesh. Mark released McGann and he flailed away, pulling out his gun.
Mark was dimly aware of the screams erupting around him, the Outfit boys leaping to their feet and drawing their heaters, people in a mad stampede toward the doors.
But all his focus was on the mass of slime pouring itself out of the drain, across the bar and onto the floor. It was a rubbery, pulsing, roiling mass of greenish jelly that quickly formed a viscous blob three times as big as a man. Tendrils of slime shot out of the main body, probing around like long tongues licking the air, and then sucking themselves back in with an awful slurping sound.
There you are at last, you ugly bastard. He gathered his shadow and got ready for a brawl.
About the Author:J.B. Curry is an artist and writer. She has traveled to every corner of the United States, but currently lives in beautiful New England with her family and her vast collection of houseplants.
Come visit her at https://www.jbcurry.com/
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January 29, 2021
A Thousand Words by M. A. Fréchette
A Thousand WordsUnbrokenBook OneM. A. Fréchette
Genre: Dark contemporary romancePublisher: M. A. FréchetteDate of Publication: January 29, 2021ISBN: 9781777069827ASIN: B08RMRNFHPNumber of pages: 374Word Count: 99,856
Cover Artist: Magali Fréchette
Tagline: She’s trapped in a nightmare. Unleashing his own could set her free.
Book Description:
From the outside, Elora Reverie’s life is a dream. A handsome husband; a passion for writing children’s books; a beautiful home. In reality, she’s living a nightmare of abuse in a house that’s little more than a prison.
On a rare escape to a book convention, she’s shocked to win a raffle for a photoshoot with Vincent Voden, a stunning male model. Yielding to the temporary fantasy is an exercise in madness, especially with his phone number hidden in the lining of her purse. But when her husband turns violent, she’s forced to admit her marriage is truly a sham—and she dials that lifeline to Vincent’s safe, strong arms.
Vincent instantly recognized the hopeless look in Elora’s eyes. His mother wore it, too. That’s why he secretly entered Elora’s name into that contest—to shield her, however briefly, in his arms. Now he’s got a second chance to show her love doesn’t have to hurt. When a murderous crime organization re-emerges and targets abused women, Vincent will do whatever it takes to protect Elora from more than just her husband.
No matter what favors from his violent past he needs to call in to make it happen…
Excerpt:
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and Elora rubbed her arms at the sound. At least most of the wall was closed off already since the workers were busy focusing on the outside construction.
She slowed as she approached the dining room, her pulse throbbing in her ears. Vincent stood at the window, staring at a familiar paper. She’d doodled on it a few hours ago.
He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a charming smile that sent her heart fluttering. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to poke my nose in here.” He put the sheet on the table and leaned against the chair. “Did you draw this?”
Heat crept into her cheeks that had nothing to do with the temperature. “Where are the other workers?”
“They left early because of the storm. I told Larry I’d let you know, but when I came inside, I found this, and got distracted.” He pointed at the paper. “So did you?”
“Did I what?” she asked, adding an innocent tone to her voice. It sounded… flirty.
He chuckled, taking a step toward her. “Did you draw this?” He grabbed the pad and stopped in front of her.
His scent wrapped around her senses―sweat and the heat of sunlight―and a sudden flush of warmth spread through her. “I was… doodling.”
“It’s great. Are you an interior designer on top of a picture book artist?”
She couldn’t help the burst of laughter escaping her mouth as she shook her head. “No, no. I just enjoy drawing.”
He glanced at the sketch of the sunroom. “Would it be okay if I showed this to Larry? He’d love to use some of these concepts.”
“Richard wouldn’t want me getting involved―”
“I won’t tell him it’s yours.” He took another step closer, and she caught the hem of her shirt, stopping herself from backing away. “If you don’t mind losing the credit for your brilliant ideas?”
She grabbed the drawing from him and frowned at it. “You really think it’s good?”
“I do. You’ve got hidden talents, apparently.” His voice turned husky, and she swallowed hard as she stared at him. “I bet you’re full of surprises, darling.”
Heat engulfed her body at the pet name, and she drew a shuddering breath at the way he stared at her. Not just in interest and lust, but something deeper.
She cleared her throat, putting the paper on the table. “So, are you good at everything?” When his smile turned lewd, she couldn’t help grin. “I didn’t mean it that way. I meant… you’re a construction worker and you model? That’s quite the different professions.”
“And it’s not the only two, either.” He pulled a chair and sat, then motioned for her to do the same. Once she took a seat, he leaned his elbow on the table. “They’re not so distinct, when you think about it. I mean, I need to stay in shape… This incredible body doesn’t happen overnight.”
She giggled. Great. She sounded like a fourteen-year-old infatuated teen. With a loud sniff, she tried to get rid of her embarrassment, but it turned into a snort, and they both burst into a fit of laughter.
When was the last time I laughed like this?
“Have you modeled a while?”
“A few years. I worked construction on a building in the city when an agent approached me. Thought she was kidding when she offered me a contract, but it turned out legit, so I accepted.” He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. “I don’t take on contracts often since it’s just a side job for me. I’ll usually only say yes if it’s for a charity event or something like that. The Book Fair donated the contest ticket price to an animal shelter, and I just couldn’t resist helping out.”
As she stared into Vincent’s brown eyes, the twinkle behind them seemed to hide a darker side. But it wasn’t threatening; instead, it cradled her.
I’ll have to thank Liana later for putting my name in the contest.
She smiled. “So construction is your primary job?”
“No. I take these jobs when a foreman needs an extra man, and since it’s quiet at my workplace…” he shrugged. “What about you?”
She didn’t mention the sudden shift in his voice; like he wanted to avoid talking about his primary job. Still, she wasn’t one to push considering she wouldn’t give him much information either.
“Just the children’s books, but it’s slow. I have several tasks to do each day, but whenever I get a few minutes, I love to put books together. Stories that’ll inspire children not to suffer alone, feel loved even if they may not have someone in their lives.” She traced a small dent on the wooden table. “But I also enjoy drawing for fun,” she said, glancing toward the paper.
Ever since she had imagined a greenhouse attached to the living room, design ideas had filled her imagination.
A flash of light ripped through the sky, followed by a crash of thunder, and she bolted to her feet. Her breath came faster, memories of Richard throwing objects against the walls resonating in her head. The first time she’d showed fear during a storm, he purposely jump-scared her at every opportunity.
Vincent stood and took her hand, squeezing lightly. She froze, his touch so gentle, yet firm, letting her know he had her.
“Elora?” He tried pulling her closer, but she winced, her shoulder still tender. “Can I see?”
She’d kept the sweater on, covering the nasty bruise that had turned a shade of green, purple, and blue. Unable to speak as he held onto her hand, she nodded slowly. He pulled the clothes to the side, his eyes narrowing on the wound, but he said nothing as he pushed her clothes in place.
“It’s sore, but nothing too horrible.” She tried pulling away, but he took a step closer, closing the gap between them. “I’ll have to be more careful with the boxes next time.”
“We both know that’s a lie.”
Before she could reply, thunder echoed, feeling like it shook the house from the ground up. She yelped, instinct pushing her toward Vincent as he wrapped his arms around her. He held her, and they both stood unmoving. As though even the smallest of breaths would break the moment. The safety she felt with him was… indescribable.
Guilt churned her stomach as she thought of Richard. This was unacceptable. She couldn’t feel these things for another man. She was married, and through better or worse, she loved her husband.
Right?
She pulled away, averting her gaze. “Sorry. Loud noises make me jumpy.”
He chuckled, cutting through the heaviness in the air between them. “These big powerful arms are here whenever you need them.”
She laughed. “Thanks.”
“I should go. I won’t be working here tomorrow, but I’ll be back next week.” He walked to the entrance and opened the door. “Have a good evening.”
She hated that not seeing him for a while hurt this much.
About the Author:M. A. Fréchette writes the darker side of romance.
Being an extremist, she loves both the dark aspects of life and everything sweet. All her stories are either set in Canada where she lives or in alternate worlds she made up while living within her imagination. When not writing, she thinks of the next scene or plot while enjoying her work as a cover designer. Although she has a fascination for monsters, with a bachelor degree in criminology, she understands there’s no need to create the paranormal; humans are capable of inflicting nightmares of their own.
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January 19, 2021
Of Lords and Commoners by Lynne Hill-Clark
Of Lords and Commoners Of Lords and Commoners TrilogyBook OneLynne Hill-Clark
Genre: paranormal, alternate history, fantasy, fantasy adventure, dystopian, occult fiction
Publisher: Future Classics Publishing Date of Publication: 2/22/2018ISBN: 978-0997635645Number of pages: 388Word Count: 100,000
Cover Artist: We Got You Covered
Tagline: Entertainment that brings a fresh new perspective to cultural and social issues.
Book Description:
Over 20,000 Downloads
Vallachia doesn’t know much…
But she does know that she loves her simple life.
This becomes even more apparent when that life is ripped from her.
Who will care for her widowed father and younger brother?
But she doesn’t have time to worry about that when she has to learn how to keep herself alive.
Not to mention she has to constantly thwart unwanted male attention.
She quickly finds herself on the wrong side of a brewing battle for vampire domination.
Not knowing whom to trust could have fatal consequences …
For everyone.
Live through the latter part of the Byzantine Empire and into the dark times of the Black Plague, where our heroine finds herself fighting to defend humankind.
The only future Vallachia could have imagined, as well as her wonderfully simple life, disappears when she finds herself in a struggle to figure out the rules of a strange new world - a world that involves superhuman strength, heightened senses and inescapable bloodlust. She must make new allies and learn the ways of supernatural politics during the decline of the Byzantine Empire.
As the pressure mounts, she faces the deadliest pandemic in history as the battle for vampire domination rages across Europe.
This is the first installment of the Lords and Commoners Trilogy written from the viewpoint of a common girl forced to contend with powerful vampires and lords in a struggle to control the world.
Both history fanatics and supernatural fans will love this story as it provides a fresh new look at the dark days of the Black Plague and a glimpse into the paranormal conflicts that are hidden in the shadows.
Fair warning: It will leave you wanting more. So don’t forget to check out the other books in the Lords and Commoners Trilogy…
Amazon Future Classics Publishing
Meet the Author Video: https://youtu.be/hs1Gf42d2xo
Of Princes and Dragons Book 2
Of Gods and Goddesses Book 3
Grab the Trilogy Box Set
About the Author:
Lynne Hill-Clark was born in Colorado and raised in a small town of eight hundred people. She received her Master of Science from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and her Doctorate of Psychology from the University of the Rockies, Colorado Springs, where she majored in criminology and justice studies. She has enjoyed living overseas on several occasions; including her time as an American Peace Corps Volunteer in Jordan and a semester abroad in Xin Xeo, China. She is an advocate for Restorative Justice.
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January 11, 2021
Alex Mckenna and The Academy of Souls by Vicki-Ann Bush
Alex Mckenna and The Academy of SoulsAlex Mckenna Series Book TwoVicki-Ann Bush
Genre: YA, Paranormal, LGBTQPublisher: The Parliament House PressDate of Publication: October 20, 2020ISBN: 979-8697729533ASIN: B08HCFGHXJNumber of pages: 314Word Count: 61,823Cover Artist: Shayne Leighton Machova
Tagline: The Dead Need Him
Book Description:
After surviving a harrowing case, Alex McKenna just wanted to rest. Unfortunately, his plans are interrupted by the ghost of Seven-year-old Haven, who is lost in an in-between realm. Despite his great-grandmother's warning, Alex crosses the bridge between the living and the dead, sending him and his girlfriend into the world of the Academy of Souls, a high school for dead teens who are unable to complete their journey. There, Alex meets Ophelia, Haven's teenage sister, who's been searching for her for more than a century. Together, with a few friends he meets along the way, Alex must cross the treacherous terrain of the Underworld in-between, to save Haven from the clutches of the Soul Gatherer and reunite the sisters.
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Excerpt:
The streetlamps illuminated the black empty sea of asphalt. A quiet calm laced the row of sleepy houses. Alex reveled in the tranquility. So much noise constantly filling his head, any semblance of stillness wrapped around his mind like a child's favorite blanket.
In the center of the glass, a small sphere of light caught his attention. At first, he thought it was in the yard. Leaning forward and squinting, he realized it was a reflection coming from directly behind him.
Jumping up, he spun around. Growing in diameter, it was beginning to spin.
"Hey, whatcha doin?" Margaret said groggily.
"Stop. Babe, slowly move to your left and come over here by me."
"Why? What's going on?"
Margaret gingerly slid to the left as Alex instructed, and then quickly scurried by his side. "What do you see?"
"It's the vortex opening, the gateway to that girl, Ophelia.”
"Alex, please be careful. Remember what your Gram said. Don't get too close," Margaret pleaded.
"She's there, it looks like a bedroom."
"What's she doing?"
"Sitting on the bed, she's covering her ears."
The wind whipped around the vortex howling like a wolf speaking to the full moon.
"I don't hear anything?" Margaret turned to Alex.
"It's like a high-pitched howl. It's deafening. Wait. It's quieting down. She sees me."
"What's she doing now?"
"She's coming closer."
Alex leaned closer to the anomaly.
"Alex, back up." Margaret tugged at his t-shirt.
"Babe. I gotta do this. Please. Let go of my shirt."
Margaret reluctantly let the fabric fall from her fingertips.
Alex inched closer.
"You are Alex McKenna, right?" Ophelia asked.
The anxious teen widened her eyes in anticipation.
"Yes. I've seen Haven. Who is she?"
"She is my sister."
"I think she's in trouble," said Alex.
Ophelia floated off the bed and stood directly in front of the entrance to the living.
"I've been searching for her for years. She was taken by a man, a Soul Gatherer. I think she is counting on you to help."
"I think she is, too."
"Can you?" Ophelia's eyes widened.
"I can try. Where are you? Is it The Academy of Souls?"
Ophelia’s chin dropped.
"Yes. You know about my school?"
"I do."
"Oh no."
"What is it?'
"The gateway. It's closing!" Ophelia shouted.
Alex heard the desperation in her voice as he helplessly watched the circle shrink. The wind cried out once again, as it violently thrashed around the outer edges of the bridge between the dimensions.
"I have to go." Alex tasted Margaret's lips. "I'll be back soon."
"What the hell? No. Alex. You can't," Margaret shrieked.
"I love you," his voice trailed.
Alex stepped into the center of the storm. The vision of Ophelia rippled, traveling to the rim of the circle, and splashing into the void. "This shield is my power to protect against evil, this shield keeps out harm. No dark entities shall pass through this shield. As I will it, so shall it be."
Sawing to fill his lungs with air, he pushed forward and landed on the floor of the dorm room. Gazing up, Ophelia stood in front of him, her mouth wide open.
"Ugh. My head hurts. Where are we?" a voice echoed.
Alex winced. His heart punching the walls of his chest. Whipping his head around in a frenzy, Margaret was lying on the floor beside him.
"No, no, no, no. What the fuck, il mio amore." Alex scrambled to her side.
Ophelia moved closer. With her pointer finger, she quickly poked his shoulder and retracted.
Alex didn't respond. His focus was Margaret.
"How could you do this? Why did you do this?" his voice strained.
"I couldn't let you go without me."
Alex kissed away the saltiness from her cheeks. With the back of his sleeve, he gently patted dry her eyes.
"Alex?" Ophelia murmured.
The couple turned to the bewildered Ophelia Wetherton.
About the Author
Originally from New York, Vicki-Ann currently resides in Nevada. Writing Young Adult paranormal, she finds inspiration from events that have been in her life for as long as she can remember. Inheriting the sensitivity to the supernatural from her family, they continue to be an endless source of vision and access to behind the veil.
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December 24, 2020
Rhyker’s Key Orion’s Order Book Two by M.C. Solaris
Rhyker’s KeyOrion’s Order Book TwoM.C. Solaris
Genre: Paranormal RomancePublisher: M.C. Solaris LLCDate of Publication: 12/21/20ISBN: 9781952655050ASIN: B08MZJJRZMNumber of pages: 740Word Count: 220,000
Cover Artist: Mayhem Cover Creations
Tagline: Sexy Shifters. Hot Vampires. Intriguing Immortals.
Book Description:
Rhyker, tattooed bad boy and lethal jaguar shifter, falls for the sweet and caring healer, Keena. Except, she’s determined to keep him in the friend zone... good thing he’s a predator that enjoys the hunt.
Together, can they heal their past and forge a future bonded with true love?
SECOND BOOK IN THE ORION’S ORDER SERIES
Orion’s Order returns in another addictive installment about their secret world of magic and mystery. A world where the most powerful words in the Universe are discovered in the fight against an ancient evil force.
KEENA OLIVER
I am haunted by my past mistakes. Mistakes that I have no idea how I even made. I am an educated mind and spirit healer after all. So how in the holy healer hell did I end up in a relationship where the male who I thought I loved…
Yeah, it’s probably best not to rehash those nightmares. But if I don’t dare open up that box to my past, then how am I ever going to be able to move on? Especially because I so want to move on with a certain sexy male. A male whose lips devoured mine in a darkened corner that one time. A male whose predatory piercing blue eyes practically track my every move. A male who I shouldn’t be fantasizing about every second of every day. Why? Because it would ruin me.
RHYKER KINGSLEY
I’ve had my eye on a certain female for almost a year now. A female who is damn determined to keep me in the friend zone. A female who's been hurt by her ex but refuses to open up to me about it. So, you could say I go through a lot of smokes… a f*cking lot.
Meanwhile, my pack of lethally trained and skilled hunters and I are gunning for an evil SOB who not only signed his death warrant the second he tried to come after my pack sister and mate to our alpha, but also the f*cker poses a threat to our world as we know it. Yet, said ancient powerful bastard has gone off the grid and is all but impossible to track.
Oh, and did I mention that the past seems to be mixing with the present? I mean, the f*ck is this? The revenge year of the shitty exes?
So, excuse me while I light up a smoke… or two.
Devour this addictive series at your own risk...
+ Happily Ever After+ Sexy Paranormal Jaguar Shifter Romance+ Multiple POV+ Mature Content+ This series is meant to be read in order for the best reading experience----------------------------------------------RHYKER’S KEY is an adult paranormal jaguar shifter romance. If you like swoon-worthy males, heroines with feminine strength, an engaging plot, satisfying relationships, steamy love stories, happy ever afters, and getting sucked into a supernatural story, then you’ll want to immerse yourself in the world of species!
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/Jp_cqmFCZFQ
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Excerpt 1Words. She needed to find words so she could respond because that was how conversations went. But words eluded her at the moment because she was still trying to recover from the debilitating tease from a moment ago when his lips were... Wait, you need to respond. But what did he say again?
“What do you use the second bedroom for?” he asked again in that curious feline way of his as he walked back toward her from the hall.
What do you use the second bedroom for? She had to slowly repeat his question in her mind in order for her brain to get with the program and understand what he was even asking. My second bedroom? Oh god, do I tell him what’s in there? She bit her lip in slight hesitation and he noticed, of course.
“What? Is that like your secret sex dungeon or something?” His lips turned up at the corners in a very feline way.
“Sex dungeon?” She laughed. “Of course that’s immediately where your mind goes.”
“Well, where else would it go when I’m with you.” He took a step closer to her. “In your home.” He closed the distance between them so they were separated by mere inches. “Alone.”
Her pulse quickened to a hummingbird’s pace and suddenly, she was back to being in the scorcher of desire.
Noticing her reaction, his mischievous grin transformed into his irresistibly sinful smirk.
She knew he was just playing with her but before he could continue, she broke the erotic tension between them by taking a step back and saying, “Here’s my sex dungeon.” And she didn’t mean for it to come out as husky as it did.
She opened the door to the second bedroom and he peered inside. His brows shot up in surprise before refocusing back on her in a silent question.
She laughed. “No, this is not my sex dungeon. This is my therapy room.”
“Therapy. Is that what they’re calling it these days?” he drawled, walking over to the pole. Without warning, he gripped the pole and lifted his body effortlessly so he was completely parallel to the ground. He gave her a wink and she laughed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he climbed up the pole with just his arm strength.
“Good thing I had that installed for the highest weight class or else you may have fallen flat on your face,” she quipped, trying not to notice the way his biceps flexed and tantalized her feminine essence.
“Don’t insult me. I always land on my feet.” As if in emphasis of his point, he let go of his grip at the very top of the pole and landed softly on his feet with feline grace.
“So not fair.” She shook her head, still smiling. “I’ve trained for years and yet here you go showing me up.”
“I’ll gladly be the judge of that.” He stepped aside and held his arm out to the pole in invitation for her.
About the Author: M.C. Solaris’s life took an unexpected turn during the super blood moon eclipse on January 20, 2019. She woke up and began writing bios for her imaginary friends that she met that day. As soon as the pen hit the paper (or fingertips to the iPhone), she couldn’t stop. It was kind of like one of those fire hydrants, spewing copious amounts of water all over the place. The characters and their stories just flowed out of her. She is honored to be the scribe, getting to share her friends’ stories. You can read all about her gifted friends in the Orion’s Order series (Book 1 is Calypso’s Heart).
On a personal note, M.C. Solaris is actually the pseudonym of Marina Schroeder, women’s health enthusiast and lover of all things paranormal romance (PNR) and happily ever after (HEA). When she is not curled up on the sofa with her partner’s oversized hoodie, a PNR novel, peppermint tea, and one of her three cats, you will find her either at the ocean with her toes in the sand or in a forest hugging a tree. Well truthfully? There is one more place you might find her: trolling the aisles of Whole Foods for a satisfying combination of salty and sweet while hiding in her partner’s hoodie… like any proper PNR-writing introvert.
Want to get the latest scoop, sneak peeks, and short shares all about her imaginary friends? Go to www.mcsolaris.com/newsletter and sign up for the newsletter.
Welcome to The Order!
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https://www.bookbub.com/books/calypso-s-heart-orion-s-order-1-by-mc-solaris
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