A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 7
June 29, 2025
Dare You Seek the Lost City of the Elves? #Fantasy #DarkFantasy
In a world of forbidden magic a group of outlaws seek a legend. Facing monsters, Witch-Hunters, hardship and unwelcome truths they must find what has been lost, and discover who they are.
18 rated for adult themes.
The Shining Citadel – the Light Beyond The Storm Chronicles Book II
https://www.books2read.com/ShiningCitadel
Ebook, audiobook, print, large print, hardcover
June 26, 2025
The Last Forest – Excerpt
When humans come to fell the last forest, they are in for a nasty surprise.
A short dark #fantasy tale of the wrath of nature #Audiobook #IARTG #ASMSG
https://www.audible.com/pd/B08S46627Q
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B08S5JP35Y
https://books2read.com/TheLastForest
June 23, 2025
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
Some Call Me Eve – Blog Tour and Giveaway #HistoricalRomance
Enemies bound by desire.
Allies torn by fate.
Some Call Me Eve
by T. Pike
Genre: Historical Romance
Princess Evangeline has an insatiate lust for power. As herkingdom’s most feared warrior and heiress to the throne, she plans to one dayrule in her father’s place, just as she rules over countless men during secretnights of sin.
But when the castle falls to a new enemy, Evangeline becomesa slave in her own kingdom, forced to obey the heartless queen’s commands tohonor her father’s dying wish: to protect her people.
The princess craves vengeance, but can she resist the carnalmagnetism between her and Prince Rune, the queen’s son and royal pawn? And asrebellion brews, can she trust Rune, the man with the power to quench hertorrid flames, to be her greatest ally?
**Releases July 21st – PreOrder Now!**
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T. Pike grew up in Northwest Arkansas where she swamcompetitively for more than 17 years. After graduating from Texas A&MUniversity with an English degree and All-American honors, she returned home topursue her master’s in English and write her debut novel: Some Call Me Eve. Nowa law student, she enjoys running and hiking with her dogs and exploring themountains with her partner.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a $30 giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 22, 2025
Duistere verhalen en verdraaide verzen
Duistere verhalen over oorlogsspoken, bloed uit de Herfst van Terreur, de toorn van de natuur, een ongewone moord en een cynische vampier. Verwrongen poëzie van verlies en chaos. Wat volwassen thema’s en taalgebruik
https://books2read.com/DarkTalesDutch #DarkFantasy #Fantasie
June 16, 2025
The Blood Queen Chronicles Blog Tour #Fantasy #HistoricalFantasy
Blood is the link betweenhumans, demigods, and demons
—and is the Blood Queen’s domain.
Brianag
The Blood Queen Chronicles Book 2
by David H. Millar
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Three childhood friends meet in the Scottish Highlands.Two hold secrets. One may be a monster.
As Gràinne reached for the still warm heart, tendrils of the red mistpreceded her. When they touched the heart, she felt power drawn from the blood.She steeled herself and bit into the organ. Such was the curse of the BloodQueen.
Brianag is the sequel to TheBlood Queen. It is 384 B.C. Ten years have passed since Sidheag’sexecution. Gràinne Ni Fearghal, the Blood Queen, has ruthlessly consolidatedher grip on the eastern tribes and reigns as High Queen. Meanwhile, herdaughter imprisoned in a gilded cage grows in beauty and power and terrifiesher guardians—the demigods of the Aes Sídhe. She must escape. Her grandma, thepowerful Sídhe, Mongfhionn, agrees.
Brianag trembles at two questions: how will her mother receive her, andcan she be redeemed?
Sidheag, was not the only Blood Drinker. Two others, Áine and herdaughter, Leannán want vengeance for Sidheag’s death. Both claim to beSidheag’s mother. Yet is Sidheag dead?
Can Cassán, Dùn Brion’s king, control his temper and work with thedemigods to defeat the Blood Drinkers? Will the beast known as the Hounddestroy every living being with three barks or will the ancient Cait Peopleawaken and intercede?
Content warning: Brianag: The Blood Queen Chronicles contains scenes of sex andviolence appropriate to the time it is set in (400 B.C.). It is not recommendedfor readers under 16 years of age without parental agreement.
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A ‘Bhanrigh Fuil
The Blood Queen Chronicles Book 1
“It is aking’s decision,” said Brion.
“It will not be you who deceives and delivers the lamb to the butcher’sblock,” retorted Eimhir.
True evil is a persistent andtenacious beast. Its desire for existence is eternal and insatiable. It needsto infect only one mind for its insidious philosophy to take root and spread.
It is 394 B.C. At a remote loch in the highlands of Northern Albu, a priestsacrifices nine innocents. Below the water’s surface, a shape feeds on theirblood and begins to take form. Soon, it becomes sentient and begins tohunt. Sidheag has risen.
Humans cannot defeat the abomination. Neither can Mongfhionn, the powerfuldemi-goddess of the Aes Sídhe.
The only remedy is the Blood Queen, and Gràinne is thereluctant heir to that throne. Will the Blood Queen stand alongside Mongfhionnto confront Sidheag? The cost for Gràinne may be too much—unless herdaughter, Brianag, is in jeopardy.
Passions, always near the surface of the Gaels, burst into flamesin The Blood Queen, where father is pitted against son, mother againstdaughter, sister against sister, brother against sister, and father againstdaughter.
The Blood Queen contains scenes of sex and violence and uses languageappropriate to the period it is set in, i.e., 400 B.C. It is not recommendedfor those under 16 without parental consent.
5/5 ★★★★★
Genre: Fantasy, Historical fiction
Review by Jan Foster/History Quill: Last updated Jun 12, 2023
A must-read Celtic ‘Game of Thrones meets Bernard Cornwell’, blending historywith dark fantasy and a truly terrifying villain. The Blood Queen will keep youturning the pages deep into the night.
The Blood Queen is a dark fantasynominally set in 400 B.C. Scotland, wherein a misguided priest sacrificesinnocents in the hope of bringing forth an entity that will do his bidding. Thisstarts a tale of ‘be careful what you wish for’, as the entity – Sidheag –forms a corporeal being and a consciousness complete with dark desires fordomination. No one can resist Sidheag’s allure and subsequent enslavement, andfew will survive her rampage across the land as she builds an army to fulfilher calling.
Aside from the descriptive prose and the brilliant battle scenes, the equalityof the sexes feels genuine rather than a nod to political correctness. Womenrule, fight, murder and fornicate as violently and passionately as the men andthe female characters are badass!
I thoroughly enjoyed The BloodQueen, even at its most uncomfortable. The historical accuracy of weaponsand battle strategies blended perfectly with the epic and fantasticalstoryline. I loved the tiny moments of humanity within the bleakest moments.Reading the novel felt like watching a horror movie unfold, compelling you toturn the pages in the hope that somehow, against the odds, humanity will win.
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Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, internationally published andaward-winning author David H. Millar is the founder, owner, andauthor-in-residence of A Wee Publishing Company—a business formed to promoteCeltic authors and literature.
David is the author of the five-volume, ancient Celtic-based Conallseries and the spin-offs The Dog Roses, The Dog Roses: Resolution,The Blood Queen and Brianag: A Blood Queen Novel.
David resides in Houston, Texas, with his family and two recent familymembers, tuxedos Beau and Stiletto.
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Follow the tour HERE for special contentand a $50 giveaway!
June 14, 2025
Pride Month – Rainbow Romance On Sale
Grab yourself a whole lot of Rainbow Romance – Proud to support love in all its forms. #LGBT #GayRomance #Lesfic #IARTG #ASMSG #MM #FF
Speak out for love. Get some raunchy romance this pride month, and let love conquer hate.
Adults only!
https://books2read.com/Rainbowromance1
Now only 3.99
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
June 12, 2025
Like Fantasy with Fizz? #Kobo
Love reading? Like #fantasy with fizz and dark #fantasy? Check out my books on Kobo https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/search?query=a+l+butcher https://www.kobo.com/US/en/search?query=a+l+butcher #FantasyAuthor
SHOPPING FOR A HIGHLANDER’S ELOPEMENT #Newrelease #Romance
(Shopping for a Highlander Series, Book 3)
Author: Julia Kent
Release Date: June 10, 2025
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Najla Qamber, Qamber Designs
Tropes/Themes: Sports romance, secret proposal, elopement, wedding, grumpy/sunshine, on the run, golden retriever/black cat energy, romantic comedy
Retailer Description:
I didn’t expect to fall for a Scottish footballer so annoyingly sunny you need shades to be around him.
I didn’t expect to say yes to his heart-felt, if loopy, proposal while he lay injured on the pitch, blathering on about banana pudding and sparkly unicorns.
What I definitely didn’t expect?
For our engagement to explode into a paparazzi circus, our mothers to turn into wedding bulldozers, and for our wedding protector’s perfectly reasonable elopement plan to spiral into a road trip escape.
So here we are.
In Love You, Maine, a town that celebrates Valentine’s Day every single day. We’re here to get married. Quietly. No drama. In disguise.
Although good luck hiding a 6’5” ginger Scottish striker wearing a knee brace and a perpetual extrovert smile.
Instead of being subtle and blending in? Our quiet escape is vibrating heart-shaped beds, mirrors on the ceilings, secret identities, interfering mothers, and one suspiciously enthusiastic moose that humps dumpsters.
This was supposed to be a simple wedding. Just me and Hamish. No fuss.
But nothing about us has ever been simple with us.
Still, this is what love is, right? It’s chaos. It’s compromise. It’s crying in a wedding planner’s office, then kissing in a hot spring.
It’s choosing each other again and again, even when everything goes sideways.
No matter what comes next… this is our comeback story, in more ways than one.
And no – that’s not a euphemism. 
Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement is a romantic comedy that blends the worlds of four bestselling series by New York Times bestselling author Julia Kent:
– Shopping for a Billionaire
– Shopping for a Highlander
– Whatever It Takes
– Love You, Maine
If you love sports romance, surprise proposals, grand gestures, chaotic weddings, Scottish footballers, golden retriever/black cat energy, and characters who love too hard, mess up spectacularly, and always find their way back to each other with plenty of laughter (and lovingly-used scrunchies) along the way, then this is your book.
Short Description:
I didn’t expect to fall for a Scottish footballer so annoyingly sunny you need shades to be around him. I didn’t expect to say yes to his heart-felt, if loopy, proposal while he lay injured on the pitch in front of forty thousand fans. What I definitely didn’t expect? For our engagement to explode into a paparazzi circus, our mothers to turn into wedding bulldozers, and for our wedding protector’s perfectly reasonable elopement plan to spiral into a road trip escape.
Other Books in the Series:
Shopping for a Booty Call (Prequel)
Shopping for a Turkey (Book 1)
Shopping for a Highlander (Book 2)
Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement (Book 3)
Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Shopping-Highlanders-Elopement-Julia-Kent-ebook/dp/B0DM3CR6M4
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shopping-Highlanders-Elopement-Julia-Kent-ebook/dp/B0DM3CR6M4
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Shopping-Highlanders-Elopement-Julia-Kent-ebook/dp/B0DM3CR6M4/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Shopping-Highlanders-Elopement-Julia-Kent-ebook/dp/B0DM3CR6M4/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/shopping-for-a-highlanders-elopement/id6737852494
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/shopping-for-a-highlander-s-elopement
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Julia_Kent_Shopping_for_a_Highlander_s_Elopement?id=e3IvEQAAQBAJ
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/shopping-for-a-highlander-s-elopement-by-julia-kent
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221247053-shopping-for-a-highlander-s-elopement
Excerpts
Love isn’t a football game.
It’s a feeling.
A feeling that uses instinct as a tool.
I’m smarter than this. When everything felt off, I should have known that it was off for a reason.
“Jody,” I say softly, “I canna do this.”
“Of course you can. You just have the jitters. Amy’s a wonderful woman and–”
“I dinna mean the proposin’ part. That’s fine. I can do that. I mean doin’ it on the pitch.”
His turn to go green.
“You want to cancel the proposal?”
“Aye. Nae. No’ the proposin’. The doin’ it in public part. I love Amy wi’ all ma body and soul.” I frown. “She’d hate to hear me say it that way. Soul and body.” I wink at Jody. “But it’s really the other way around. Ma body knows more than ma mind.”
“I don’t need to hear every thought that pops into your head, Hamish.”
“I only tell ye the important ones.”
“Like not wanting the big spectacle we arranged for you?”
“I’m tellin’ ye now, aren’t I?”
“We have extra cameramen here for this. Your parents and siblings are in the crowd. Declan and Andrew McCormick are here. We doubled the security.”
“Is this about money? I can pay for all that.”
“It’s not–well, yes, some of it is about the money. But it’s more about publicity and planning. A lot of people put forth a huge effort to make today special for you and Amy.”
“And forty thousand of ma closest fans.”
He closes his eyes and sighs through his nose. “A better time to realize this would have been weeks ago. Not a huge US exhibition game.”
“Ma instincts told me then that this was right. Now ma gut says something else. It all feels off.”
“Your gut.”
I pat my flat stomach. “It’s gotten me this far in life. Good gut.”
He’s right. I know how much work all the coaches, teammates, stadium staff and administrators, sponsors–hell, even the car park attendants–have put into helping me today. I don’t have cold feet, and I love Amy to the moon and back, but something feels wrong.
As Amy says, hinky.
I can’t explain it. If I had words for it, I’d use them. It’s a feeling, and those don’t always line up nice and neat in words that make sense.
Author Bio:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.
From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).
She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.
She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com
Social Media Links:
Website: http://jkentauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jkentauthor
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2PIBi9n
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jkentauthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-kent
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3238619.Julia_Kent
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Julia-Kent/e/B00A99V268/
Release blitz organized by Writer Marketing Services.
