A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 21
December 7, 2024
What is the Secret of Blossom Rise?
When a young nurse takes a job at an old military hospital she finds the answers to an old family question – what is the secret of Blossom Rise Hospital? Who is the long-dead man who walks the grounds?
#Ebook #Audiobook #Paranormal #Ghoststory
December 1, 2024
Excerpt Sunday – Tales of Erana: Just One Mistake
Excerpt – Tales of Erana: Just One Mistake
A Tales of Erana Novella
(c) A. L. Butcher
Darkness oozed lazily in the remainder of the room, nosing into corners, under furniture, and behind Coel, unseen, part of it detached. “That was quite a performance, bard. You have some talent, and not just your music. Although your judgement is flawed, it’s never wise to steal from a thief,” the voice was smooth, like liquid velvet and very sure of itself.
Coel’s hand moved towards the dagger nestling in his belt; it would not be the first time he had been called on to defend himself, although that was how he had ended up in this mess he thought bitterly. Just one mistake, then another and now, it would seem, another.
“I do not know of what you speak! I am not a thief.” His brain caught up and he continued, “How did you get into my room? The door was locked. I’m not a bloody fool.” Coel could hear his own heart pounding. There was something about this man which frightened him. He felt like a mouse beneath the gaze of a cat. Perhaps the hangman’s noose would have been the better option.
The slate-grey cloak swirled around boots of ebony leather and the cowled figure chuckled. “That lock was barely a moment’s work. I must have a word with the owner of this place about his security. I have yet to find a door in Erana which will not yield to me. You may as well remove your hand from that blade, or would you bet your life you are swifter than the Thiefmaster? I doubt it, boy, I doubt it. Believe me when I say you would be dead before that knife left its scabbard. It would be a pity to waste such talent, would it not?”
Coel removed his hand from the dagger, his sense telling him that continuing to draw it would be a terminal decision. Instead, he placed his hand on the table and the voice breathed into his ear, Coel shivered, he had not heard the man move.
“I thought not. Sensible lad, if a lying one. This too can be a skill which can save your life, if it is used correctly and with assurance,” Darius, the Thiefmaster told him.
This menacing shape was right behind him, and Coel began to turn, opening his mouth to protest; he found a gloved hand on his jaw, firm but not unduly painful. “Curious are we not? This may sometimes serve you well. As for other occasions, it is wise to accept things as they are, this is one such occasion… Coel.”
The bard caught his breath, how did this man know his name? The sweat began to pool in his back, making his shirt stick unpleasantly to his skin. Had this man been hired to kill him? Had his mistake finally caught him up? Yet as Coel’s brain frantically grasped at any hope and his fingers tried to overrule his brain and reach for the dagger he realised the man had said he was a thief. A robbery, that was not so bad. It would not be the first time.
“This is not a merely social call; you are honoured for the Master of Thieves does not always test a potential recruit’s skills for himself.”
“I usually charge for my skills, music and other kinds if that is what you prefer. I can be flexible and my tastes are…varied. Perhaps just this once I might offer them for free. Take the coin and the trinkets, take it all.” Coel’s brain finally caught up with the conversation, “What do you mean potential recruit?”
Universal Link https://www.books2read.com/Justonemistake
November 30, 2024
Love Reading? Check out my Books
Love reading? Like #fantasy with fizz and dark #fantasy? Check out my books on Barnes and Noble
#Fantasy #Shortfantasy #Horror #HistoricalFantasy
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Dunkle Geschichten und verdrehte Verse (Dark Tales and Twisted Verses – German)
Dunkle Geschichten über die Geister des Krieges, Blut aus dem Herbst des Schreckens, den Zorn der Natur, einen ungewöhnlichen Mord und einen zynischen Vampir. Verdrehte Poesie von Verlust und Chaos.
#DüstereFantasy #Fantasy
Einige Themen und Sprache für Erwachsene.
https://books2read.com/DarkTales-German
November 28, 2024
What is the Secret of Blossom Rise?
When a young nurse takes a job at an old military hospital she finds the answers to an old family question – what is the secret of Blossom Rise Hospital? Who is the long-dead man who walks the grounds?
#Ebook #Audiobook #Paranormal #Ghoststory
November 24, 2024
Excerpt Sunday – The Watcher
From The Watcher – A Jack the Ripper Story (c) A.L. Butcher
https://www.books2read.com/TheWatcherJTR
There she was, that whore. Once more. There she was.
Beneath the flickering gas lamp at the corner of Dorset Street, Whitechapel, she strode, grinning a seductive smile at a passing sailor, just ashore and looking for company. He, as bad as the bitch whose breasts he felt and whose ear he nipped with yellowing teeth, the unseen Watcher thought. With eyes burning hatred and a menace previously unseen and misunderstood. It was, he thought, a righteous hatred, and they blaze all the brighter for it. The beast within told him so. For he was the beast and he was its creature, at once the same.
She could have been twenty or forty; the Watcher neither knew nor cared. She’d not see another year, another week, another night. The dim streets grew ever wickeder to those of her sort spreading around their sin, their poison. Defiling this town, this land, defiling HER. The Watcher shook his head; no more whores and this place would rise like the jewel it was. Not jaded and dull but glorious and fit for a queen. The beast within whispered in his head. “Cleanse this town, make it fit again.” And so he did. A knife in the darkness, once more.
Geneva liquor and poverty aged a person far better than mere passing of the years. In the greatest Empire on Earth, they blighted the land. Gin palaces, opium dens, and hash houses aplenty gave heaven and hell to those with money, and those without. Life was cheap, and oblivion cheaper. The Watcher knew these unfortunates dropped their drawers for a taste of it, panting and moaning beneath the bridges and in the alleys, with their grunting men, and their penny a tumble.
The sailor moved on. He’d had his pleasure with another of her kind and spent his last pennies in the tavern, and she was here to work. Nothing was free in her line of employment. Except for death.
So there she was, alone. Death walked these streets – and tonight it watched the red-haired whore, who sang and smiled and patted her new bonnet. There she was. The whore. Alone.
The minutes passed, creeping towards death; ebbing away from heaven and him ever closer to immortality. The whore did not know it. Of course, she’d heard the tales, everyone had. Screamed by newsboys on every corner “another ‘orrible murder” but rent still needed to be paid. And so she plied her trade. Afraid. Denying it would be her turn this night. A whore, alone.
November 19, 2024
What is the Secret of Blossom Rise?
When a young nurse takes a job at an old military hospital she finds the answers to an old family question – what is the secret of Blossom Rise Hospital? Who is the long-dead man who walks the grounds?
#Ebook #Audiobook #Paranormal #Ghoststory
November 13, 2024
Split – Blog Tour and Giveaway
The Source ishunting Talents… but Kara Jester is no distressed damsel…
Split
The Price ofTalent Book 1
by AK Nevermore
Genre: SpicyDystopian SciFi Romance
On an alternate earth, a cataclysm has altered a subset ofthe population. Talents are persecuted for their psychic and physicalmutations, giving rise to two conflicting societies based upon maintaininggenetic purity. And the Source, a shadowy corporate entity dependent upon theexploitation of captive Talents, is hunting them…
The city of Glynfyls is burning.
And Flynn Scot is powerless to stop it. Now that his statusis in question, the Assembly is calling for his head. The only thing keeping iton his shoulders is the commons rioting with the demand he be made Overlord.
Fluctuating between extremes, Kara’s talent deficiency isbecoming critical.
With her body failing and Flynn at the Assembly’s mercy,Kara Scot has no choice but to take his seat and fight for her House. Butclearing Flynn’s name and battering herself against the tide of public censurethreatens to drag her under.
So does the wave of Humanity Purists marching towardGlynfyls.
No Talent is safe outside the city. Refugees flock to thenorth fleeing extermination only to find a metropolis torn by prejudice andfear. Unless Flynn and Kara can find a way to survive the machinations of theAssembly, there will be nothing standing between them and annihilation. Becauseeven if they survive the extremists, Titus’s army is following in their wakeready to harvest whatever is left.
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**Don’t miss the other books in the series!**
Breaker
The Price ofTalent Book 1
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Binder
The Price ofTalent Book 2
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**FREEBIEALERT!**
**Get the PrequelBreeder FREE!!**
https://aknevermore.com/books/breaker/breeder/
AK Nevermoreenjoys operating heavy machinery, freebases coffee, and gives up sarcasm forLent every year. A Jane-of-all-trades, she’s a certified chef, restoresantiques, and dabbles in beekeeping when she’s not reading voraciously orrunning down the dream in her beat-up camo Chucks.
Unable to ignorethe voices in her head, and unwilling to become medicated, she writes ScienceFiction and Fantasy full time.
She pays thebills editing, wielding a wicked hot pink pen and writing a column on SFF. Shealso belongs to the Authors Guild, is a chapter treasurer for the RWA, teachescreative writing, and on the rare occasion, sleeps.
Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon* Goodreads
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
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November 12, 2024
Tis the Season to be Jolly – Audiobook Event and Giveaway
Join us for the most wonderful audiobook event yet!
12th -14th December on Facebook.
Take the chance to win #audiobook #prizes from a whole host of authors.
https://www.facebook.com/events/9225681324126391/?
Check out the event and meet some of the authors here https://uviart.blogspot.com/2024/11/meet-my-author-friends_10.html?
November 11, 2024
Kingdom of Fire – Blitz and Blog Tour #UrbanFantasy #Fantasy
A lost fae princess. A family united. A world on thebrink of war.
A Kingdom of Fire and Delight
Portals of Science and Magic Book 3
By Liz Cain
Genre: Urban Fantasy Adventure Romance
A lost fae princess. A family united. A world on thebrink of war.
Rebecca works with her colleague to fix the equipment thatcan send all the fae home. While Alexy searches for the lost princess, the twoworlds are soon to be torn apart, and something doesn’t feel right. Will Kavalhave to leave behind the love he’s found?When the dark fae finally break into the lab, all chances of escape to the faerealm hangs on the brink of collapse. Rebecca and Kaval must fight to survive,there is little hope they will make it out alive.
Rebecca must dig deeper than ever before to find the strength to save herself,and the fae she loves. Even if she is only human.
**Don’t miss the other books in the series!**
A Kingdom of Air and Duty
Portals of Science and Magic Book 1
A Kingdom of Earth and Devotion
Portals of Science and Magic Book 2
Liz Cain is an urban fantasy writer and NHS frontline staff.She was born in East Yorkshire in the UK and grew up near the sea with herparents and two sisters. She moved to the midlands, which was much too farsouth for her, graduating from Leicester University with a degree in Physicsand going on to complete an MSc in Medical and Radiation Physics. She hasworked in the NHS since 2008 as a Nuclear Medicine Clinical Scientist, helpingwith cancer treatment and diagnosis.
She has traveled at every opportunity from Thailand andAustralia to touring national parks in North America. Liz has done lots ofcrazy things for charity, including skydiving, running, swimming, and evencutting off her hair. While out on adventures she finds herself weavingintricate tales in her head which one day she had to write down.
Liz has loved reading her whole life, growing up with AnneMcCaffrey, Mary Stewart, and Terry Goodkind. Becoming an author happened bychance when she jumped at the opportunity to help a friend tell a story thatdeserved to be told. It inspired her to follow her lifelong dream and now shehas published books with her coauthor Anne K. Whelan in the fantasy romance andparanormal romance genre, finally taking that last step and publishing byherself in 2023.
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Follow the blitz HERE for special contentand a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
