A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 37
October 8, 2023
Excerpt Sunday – The Watcher #Horror #DarkFantasy #HistoricalFiction
Excerpt from The Watcher – A Jack the Ripper Story @A.L. Butcher
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.
Another night, another customer. Fear curled in her belly; these streets were streets of blood, four of her sisters slain in just a few weeks. But hunger was the greater force. Desperation made Mary-Jane brave – so she walked the streets, as she had often done. It wouldn’t be her, she thought. As they had. It couldn’t be her. Besides the police watched the alleys and the thoroughfares. The streets were largely empty, save the desperate and the foolhardy, and those too much in drink or lust to know or care. The Watcher stood, beyond the pool of light from the gas lamp. This night was his. She would be his. This woman wasn’t as much a drab as some of her sisters-in-sin. Lust rose, entwined with his loathing. Two joined as one, desire and disgust, powerful and compelling. He’d never understood why they went together, but then he was a simple man, not one of the mind-doctors who had been so influential of late. The beast within did not care.
Book Info
The year is 1888, and the place is Whitechapel, in the very heart of London. But the heart is bleeding. A mysterious killer is stalking women of the streets – his true name is unknown, but his legend will go down in history. This is a short tale of Jack the Ripper.
18 rated for scenes of violence.
https://www.books2read.com/TheWatcherJTR
October 7, 2023
Meet the Kitchen Imps
Ever wondered where your socks go in the laundry, or why you can’t find your keys? The Kitchen Imps have the answer.
The Kitchen Imps and Other Dark Tales – six short tales of mayhem and mischief.
Winner of the 2018 best fantasy on NN Light Book Heaven.
Naughty imps, missing socks, cunning thieves and baffled gods feature in this collection of short fantasy fiction.
Universal Link https://books2read.com/KitchenImps
Check out the Legacy of The Mask Series
Award-winning #historicalfantasy based on the #PhantomoftheOpera.
Echoes of a Song:
A dozen tumultuous years after the dramatic events at the Paris Opera House Raoul, Comte de Chagny is still haunted by the mysterious Opera Ghost – the creature of legend who held staff at the Opera House under his thrall, kidnapped Raoul’s lover and murdered his brother. In Raoul’s troubled imagination the ghosts of the past are everywhere, and strange and powerful music still calls in his dreams.
Madness, obsession and the legacy of the past weave their spell in this short, tragic tale based on the Phantom of the Opera.
Best fantasy 2019 on reviewer site NN Light Book Heaven!
Available on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and many other stores on the link below.
Universal Link https://books2read.com/Echoesofasong
Tears and Crimson Velvet
Madame Giry finds herself embroiled in the tragedy unfolding at the Opera house; mystery and murder stalk the corridors and, it is said, a ghost haunts the place. Giry knows the truth, for she recalls the caged man she met so many years ago. This is her story, their story.
When murder and mystery begin at the Opera House one woman knows who is behind it, and what really lies beneath the mask. Secrets, lies and tragedy sing a powerful song in this ‘might have been’ tale.
Winner of the 2020 Best Short Story award on NNLight Book Heaven
A short, tragic tale based on characters from Phantom of the Opera.
A Legacy of the Mask Tale.
https://books2read.com/TearsandCrimson
October 3, 2023
Twice Upon a Midnight Blog Tour and Giveaway #Regency #Romance
When once upon a time…becomes twice upon a midnight… With a masked ball, evil stepfather, jealous half brother, and unlikely fairy godmother, TWICE UPON A MIDNIGHT is a Cinderella story that readers of Regency romance will love!
Twice Upon a Midnight
A Regency Cinderella Story
by Anna Harrington
Genre: Regency Romance
WHEN ONCE UPON A TIME…BECOMES TWICE UPON A MIDNIGHT
When Lady Elenora Darby returns to London, what better way for her parents to introduce her—and attract suitors—than to throw a masked ball? But Ella prefers poets to peers, and in the dark gardens, she encounters a man she knows nothing about…except that he loves poetry. Before she can learn his name, midnight strikes, and he vanishes, leaving behind only one clue to his identity—a glove embroidered with his initials.
As the Duke of Pensworth’s unwanted stepson, Spenser Rhodes has nothing to do with society…until he meets Ella. He knows they have no future. After all, the daughter of a duke deserves a peer, not a printer. Yet Ella is determined to find her masked man. As her search brings them closer, more than society is keeping them apart—so is Spenser’s half brother Simon, who wants Ella for himself.
With a masked ball, evil stepfather, jealous half brother, and unlikely fairy godmother, TWICE UPON A MIDNIGHT is a Cinderella story that readers of Regency romance will love!
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Anna fell in love with historical romances—and all those dashing Regency heroes—while living in London, where she studied literature and theatre and found herself lost nearly every day. A USA Today best selling author, she loves to travel, fly airplanes, and ballroom dance, and when she isn’t busy writing her next novel, she can usually be found in her garden, fussing over her roses. She loves all things chocolate and coffee, is a terrible cook, and hopes one day to use her oven for something other than shoe storage.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Signed copy of A Problem Princess by Anna Harrington,
Signed Copy of A Remarkable Rogue by Anna Harrington
– 1 winner each!
(US Only. If international winner is chosen, a gift card will be substituted.)
October 2, 2023
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
September 29, 2023
Personal Demons – Blog Tour and Giveaway #UrbanFantasy
Dark, quirky, urban fantasy with a mystery plot, a dash of social commentary, and a sprinkling of slow-burn romantic potential.
Personal Demons
The Rifter Series Book 2
by L.R. Braden
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Suspense
Protecting her secret and hunting demons is a matter of survival for possessed-practitioner Mira Fuentes. She’s spent years learning to work with the snarky demon housed in her body, and it hasn’t always gone smoothly. Nor has her recent partnership with an agent of the Paranatural Task Force. Ty Williams—uncomfortably-attractive and overly-protective—may never fully accept that his partner has a literal inner demon.
But work-life-demon balance is the least of Mira’s problems when a figure from her past drags her back to the hometown she’s avoided for nearly a decade to investigate a string of potentially-magical disappearances. Someone or something is snatching teens from the local high school.
Emotionally off-balance in a city full of old ghosts and new dangers, Mira will have to confront her past to discover what is hunting the innocent.
Praise for L. R. Braden:
“My new ‘auto-buy’ author. I love everything this woman writes.”—J.D. Brown, award-winning author of the Ema Marx Series
“A fast-paced, engrossing, unexpected, and tension-filled magical work…A great read for every female lead Urban Fantasy enthusiast.”—The Queen of Swords, NetGalley reviewer on Demon Riding Shotgun
“I LOVED this book. It’s got fun. It’s got depth. It’s definitely going to stick with me.”—Lydia R, NetGalley reviewer on Demon Riding Shotgun
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads
Demon Riding Shotgun
The Rifter Series Book 1
Possessed by a demon since she was eleven years old, Mira Fuentes maintains a fragile alliance with the snarky soul who shares her body. Together they hunt down unstable Rifters– demon-controlled humans bent on causing chaos in the mortal realm. But when a routine hunt leads to a powerful Rifter with plans for Baltimore, Mira quickly finds herself in over her head and at the top of the city’s Most Wanted.
Recently retired from the PTF after losing his partner, Ty Williams now works for the Baltimore PD and keeps his distance from cases involving magic. But when a person dies of clearly magical causes and the PTF doesn’t have any agents to spare, Ty is the closest thing the department has to an expert. Saddled with a new partner he doesn’t want and a mountain of self-doubt, it’s his job to track down a suspect who looks suspiciously like the one-night-stand he brought home from the bar last night.
Mira will have to set her trust issues aside and enlist the help of a man determined to uncover her secrets if she hopes to learn the identity of the demon’s host and prevent the human race from becoming meat puppets for the denizens of the Rift.
On COURTING DARKNESS: “This book was a fantastic second installment to the Magicsmith series… Truly brilliant writing!”–Richelle Rodarte, NetGalley Reviewer
“The plot was engrossing, fascinating and action-filled.”–Pam Guynn, NetGalley Reviewer on Faerie Forged
**Only .99cents!**
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads
L.R. Braden is the bestselling author of the Magicsmith and Rifter urban fantasy series, as well as several works of short fiction. Her writing has won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy, the First Horizon Award for debut authors, the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban Fantasy, and the Colorado Authors League Award for writing excellence in multiple categories. She was also honored as a finalist for the 2023 Colorado Book Award in Sci-fi/Fantasy and for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year award in 2021 and 2023.
While she loves to travel, she’s always happy to come home to Colorado, where she lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her wonderful husband, precocious daughter, and two quirky cats. When not writing, she spends her time playing games, enjoying the great outdoors, and weaving metal into intricate chain mail jewelry that she sells in her Etsy shop, WimsiDesign.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$20 Amazon
Swift Six Author Interview – W. E. Parker #Scifi
Name: W.E Parker
Please introduce yourself (250 words or so):
My name is William Eric Parker, or W.E. Parker as I go by as a pen name. I’ve been writing since I was around 13 years old, I first started doing fantasy stories with a dose of comedy but then letter graduated into the Science Fiction genre – again with stories that didn’t take themselves too seriously. Nowadays, my books have developed to be a lot longer, more in depth, and with a focus on the narrative and most importantly the development/changes of the characters. I like to write for a range of audiences, but my more adult stories are the ones I feel I can explore without as much limitation in the content. My current novel is called the Cloudscape Chronicles, which I will expand upon in due course. I am from Britain, and so everything I write is steeped in British sayings and occasionally culture. This is something inherent to me that I feel is reflected in my work. Outside of writing, history is my favourite thing to delve into and to read about.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
My current novel, as I’ve said, is the Cloudscape Chronicles. It’s about a world surrounded by a poison mist called the Surround that threatens to slowly enclose in on the inhabitants of the planet. Despite this, life goes on in a very stab each other’s back world where organised crime and corrupt politicians dominate. Admdist it all, one criminal uncovers a deranged cult with a sinister plan that stemmed from a simple missing person’s case and so has to embark on a journey to undo the cult all the while taking no credit for it.
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
My inspiration comes from a number of sources. Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, both these have contributed to the humour I like to employ in my novels. While the worldbuilding comes from authors like Philip Pullman, writing about humanity but within a different world and context. I started the journey of writing this novel in 2021 and have been promoting it in any way I can ever since while working on future titles.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
The Cloudscape is a world where I feel I have struck gold, as such my writing plans surround the idea of expanding the world further and exploring new stories with new characters.
What do you like to read?
I like to read historical non-fiction mainly, I do like to read Fantasy and Sci-Fi stories but I find myself wishing for a certain blend of humour and drama that’s difficult to come across and so I may be termed “picky” when it comes to reading fiction.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
I wish I knew it was OK to improvise and come up with the next part of the plot on the spot. Planning is good and I always plan, but the story will often find itself and turn out all the better for it.
Author bio and book synopsis
(Refer to first question), book synopsis:
“In the Cloudscape, the only guarantee is the world will eventually be consumed by a relentless poisonous mist dubbed ‘The Surround.’ But that doesn’t stop the inhabitants from organising themselves appropriately, to their own benefit…
After another drunken stupor, the Scape’s seemingly most useless inhabitant Alphie Ateal finds himself pulled back from the brink of death for a new assignment that’ll put him face to face with the lowest scumbags humanity has to offer. Luckily, he’s one of them. Unfortunately for Alphie, he’ll have to clear his afternoon of organised crime as he uncovers a cult’s sinister plot that’ll threaten the Scape’s already fragile existence.“
Links/Social media
AMAZON BOOK LINK, PAPERBACK AND KINDLE
weparkerbooks_ = Instagram page
September 26, 2023
Remarkable Magic – Blog Tour #YA #Fantasy
Amid new threats and unsettling discoveries, hope still perseveres.
Remarkable Magic
The Hybrid Magic Chronicles Book 3
by Cristy L. Bowlin
Genre: YA Fantasy
Amid new threats and unsettling discoveries, hope still perseveres. Aaron is done letting the Defenders control his life. He refuses to continue running and hiding. The Defenders claim that hybrid mages are dangerous abominations, but Aaron and Lilith are determined to prove otherwise. Meanwhile, Elara and Theo are grappling with formidable new abilities that they never expected to possess. Striking out on their own, Aaron and his friends discover another group of hybrid mages living in the desert who are preparing to fight. New alliances are forged, yet not everyone agrees on how to confront the Defenders. When more people see what hybrid magic can do, it could either be revered or feared even more. Aaron and his friends must make some tough decisions before those choices are taken from them.
**Don’t miss the other books in the series!**
Hybrid Magic
The Hybrid Magic Chronicles Book 1
Innovative Magic
The Hybrid Magic Chronicles Book 2
Cristy L. Bowlin is an English professor at Oxnard College and author of The Temple Dancer’s Diary and The Hybrid Magic Chronicles, set in the fantasy realm of the Deravine Commonwealth. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter, and pet cat. When she isn’t reading or writing, she is most likely dancing, hiking, or getting invested in (another) TV series.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
September 23, 2023
The Magik Scarf – Blog Tour and Giveaway #YA #Fantasy
Magik, once unleashed, can have very unpredictable results…
The Magik Scarf
World of Daegries Series Book 1
by M.K. Browning
Genre: YA Fantasy
The journey into the World of Daegries starts with M. K. Browning’s exciting prelude, The Magik Scarf.“Powerful quest fantasy filled with magik and adventure.” – early reader “This book is great with characterizations!” – Andrea G. “This book is perfect for young readers seeking a traditional fantasy novel that emphasizes family relationships, self-worth, and loyalty.” – Liz R. Magik, once unleashed, can have very unpredictable results…
Sixteen-year-old Alyssa Chance Oh had been called many things. Magician, sorcerer’s apprentice, even witch. But nothing had prepared her for being called a failure.
After botching her first solo spell, where she only partially reanimates her grandfather into a voice in a toy jack-in-the-box, Alyssa has to set out to find and return a gryphon king’s magik scarf or else he will do something unspeakable to her grandmother.
But that sneaky scarf is not where the king said it was, and now the only way to get to it is through a dragon’s lair.
**Only .99cents!**
M.K. Browning is an emerging author of young adult epic fantasy. Author, grandmother, wife, and proud dog mom, M.K. is known for her character-driven fiction which stems from her fourteen-plus years of experience as an indie author under another pen name (see books by Kim Smith). M.K. lives in central Florida with her hubby and her Chihuahua, Darby, who runs their lives.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
September 21, 2023
Honey Mead Murder Blog Tour and Giveaway – #LGBTQ #MMRomance, #CozyMystery
Get ready for a charmingly quirky romance with a twist of murder mystery in Honey Mead Murder!
Honey Mead Murder
Honey Bear Cosy Mysteries Book 1
by Dahlia Donovan
Genre: LGBTQ MM Romance, Cozy Mystery
Get ready for a charmingly quirky romance with a twist of murder mystery in Honey Mead Murder!
Follow the heart-warming story of George Bernard Sheth, a devoted pug and bee lover, who has been secretly crushing on a local mead brewer. But when a customer dies during a mead tasting, Murphy Baird, the brewer, finds himself at the centre of a police investigation.
As the two navigate the murder mystery, they find themselves falling deeper in love, all while trying to stay alive long enough for their first date. With meddling friends and unexpected plot twists, “Honey Mead Murder” is a must-read for anyone who loves a good MM romance and a thrilling mystery.
Amazon * Apple * Kobo * Smashwords * Books2Read * Bookbub * Goodreads
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$5 Amazon
a Rafflecopter giveaway
