R.E. Hargrave's Blog, page 319

RELEASE TOUR: Blood of the King by Bruce Blake

by

Bruce Blake
GENRE: Epic Fantasy



A kingdom torn by war.

A curse whispered by dying lips. A hero born against his will. Khirro never wanted to be anything more than the farmer he was born to be, but a Shaman's curse binds him to the fallen king and his life changes forever. Driven by the Shaman's dying words, Khirro's journey pits him against an army of the dead, sends him through haunted lands, and thrusts him into the jaws of beasts he wouldn't have believed existed. In one hand he carries the Shaman's enchanted sword, a weapon he can barely use; in the other he holds a vial of the king's blood, the hope of the kingdom. His destination: the Necromancer's keep in the cursed land of Lakesh. Only the mysterious outlaw magician can raise the king from the dead to save them all from the undead invasion, but can Khirro live long enough to deliver the vial?

Can a coward save a kingdom?


“Help me.”

Khirro flinched. The king’s plea came again, a breathy whisper barely audible above the sounds of battle. Chickens ran about after their heads were removed, but nothing could speak without life remaining within. Khirro shifted painfully onto his side.

“My king,” he whispered.

Braymon lay in a tangled heap, hips wrenched farther than possible, one arm pinned beneath him, the other twisted behind. Blood streamed from his shaven head onto his cheeks and into his eyes, a mask of red through which little flesh showed. He blinked clearing his vision, a slow, lethargic movement, then directed his gaze toward Khirro. A pained smile twitched his lips; it quickly turned to a grimace.“I thought you lost, lad.”

The blood drained from Khirro’s cheeks.

“No, your highness. I... I was knocked unconscious. I’ve only just woken to find you here beside me.” The lie tasted more bitter than the coppery tang of blood on his tongue.

Braymon coughed a fine spray of bloody spittle. Khirro knew it meant something inside him was bleeding.

“I’ve not much time. I need your help.”

“I owe you my life.”

“Then you can return the favor.”

Fear lumped into a mass at the back of Khirro’s throat. “What can I do?”

“The healer will know I’ve fallen,” Braymon said coughing again, face strained with the effort. “Take me to him.”

Relief. He didn’t ask to be avenged or dragged back to the battle to die a soldier’s death. Khirro glanced at the blood pooling beneath the king’s contorted body, flowing from some unseen spot under his plate mail, and pushed himself up to kneel beside Braymon to better assess his condition. The battle raged above but no one appeared on the stair.

“You shouldn’t be moved,” Khirro said after consideration. The way the king’s body twisted upon itself made him feel sick. “It would mean your life.”

Braymon shook his head minutely. “It matters not. I must get to the healer before the warmth has left my body or all is lost.”

“I don’t think--”

“Soldier,” Braymon said with a tone of command befitting a king. “If you do this thing, all else will be forgiven.”

Khirro gaped at the king’s words. He fought to keep tears at bay as guilt siphoned the strength from his limbs. His mouth moved trying to form the words to apologize for not rejoining the fight, to beg forgiveness, to explain, but his constricted throat choked them. Instead, he nodded.


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SPIRIT OF THE KING

A shattered vial. A failed journey. Two spirits joined as one.

An army of dead men led by a sorceress with an unquenchable lust for power occupies the kingdom of Erechania. The kingdom's traitor-king seeks to redeem himself, but the sorceress has stolen his son, his last reminder of the wife he lost. Neither the king nor his enemy can know the importance of the role the child will play.

The Necromancer's last act of magic joined a fallen king's spirit with Khirro's, making him the vessel carrying the kingdom's hope. But the haunted land of Lakesh, the outlaw city of Poltghasa, and the enemy country of Kanos lie between him and his homeland. Dangerous creatures and murderous men seek to end his quest, but he is also stalked by something far deadlier:

An assassin he once loved.


HEART OF THE KING

It began with a vial of blood, a curse, and a quest to a haunted land.

It continued through a strange subterranean land and a city of the damned, where an assassin raised from the dead sought to end it all while a sorceress invaded his home.

Now, Khirro's Journey comes to its end.

A king's spirit. A coward's heart. Together, a kingdom's last hope.

Sheyndust, the Archon, desires to be Necromancer and wield dark magic the likes of which the world has never seen. For years, her deadly plan has fallen into place piece by piece, treachery by treachery, death by death. With her enemies on their knees and an army of the dead at her command, nothing stands between her and the ultimate power for which she thirsts.

Nothing except a farmer and a dead king.

The curse that bound Khirro to his task was broken when the blood of the king spilled, but the king's spirit--a tyger of vengeful flame--burns bright within him. It pushes Khirro through hostile lands to return to his home. It pushes him to be more than he ever thought he could be despite the doubt and fear devouring him. It pushes him in a race against time to save the kingdom, a race he is bound to lose.

As the final pieces of the Archon's plot fall into place, and her power and army grow, it looks certain that all will be lost.

Unless a coward can look inside himself and find the heart of a king.


Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.

Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" than he does shovelling (and watch out for those pesky double l's). The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of a burlesque diva.


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RELEASE TOUR: Laguna Beach KINDLE WORLD Pt 1

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the Laguna Beach Kindle World!

I’m so glad you are here and diving into this wonderful story. All of the Laguna Beach Kindle World stories are set in the same town of Laguna Beach, where my original series takes place. And if you’re familiar with the series, you’ll no doubt run across some of your favorite characters. The difference is, this book is entirely the work of the author. I didn’t help with plotting, writing or editing, but I was thrilled that when I asked her, she agreed to bring her imagination and storytelling skills to Laguna Beach!

Happy reading. For more about Laguna Beach, stop by my website: www.KairaRouda.com

Enjoy your time at the beach!

Kaira Rouda

LOOK at ME! A Journey Home by Angela Scavone

by

Angela Scavone
GENRE: Contemporary Romance



Stephanie Tyler’s sole job is to fly overseas to war torn areas of the world to retrieve and escort the bodies of fallen soldiers back home to the United States. It is a tough and emotional job but she is honored for the privilege. Her duty also helps her to escape her past and her failed marriage.

But those flights have become increasingly more dangerous and she is forced to have a partner accompany her. Much to Stephanie’s surprise and dismay, she is partnered up with her ex-husband, Captain “D.A.” Douglas Aston.

From the moment Captain D.A. enters the scene, he irritates her. It could have something to do with the fact he slept with her best friend while they were married. As they go on several missions together, Stephanie is forced to be courteous and professional with D.A. even though the very sight of him irritates her beyond comprehension.

Then, Stephanie’s cheating, husband stealing, ex-best friend is killed in Afghanistan and Stephanie and D.A. must escort her body home. While executing this difficult duty, a myriad of conflicting emotions makes Stephanie ponder how short life really is . . . and to question her own ability to forgive.


“Do you have any idea how hard it is to make friends when you don’t trust anyone anymore?”

Our eyes met and he let the question linger in the air before answering.

“I understand that.” He held my gaze. “But why can’t you just have fun?”

“I used to have fun. A lot of fun, in fact, with this person I called a best friend. He and I would go on walks in the evenings, to the beach on the weekends. We’d go to movies, the theater, concerts. I could even convince him to go get a pedicure and a massage with me once in a while.”

DA smiled at all the memories.

I added, “I also had this other really good friend. She wasn’t as close as my best friend, but she and I would do all the girly things that my guy friend wouldn’t do with me, like shop for hours on end.”

“Yeah, I still hate shopping.” DA maintained his smile.

“Then, both of them broke my heart and my trust in one afternoon.”

The smile on his face disappeared and he dropped his eyes to stare at the floor.

I could feel the familiar prickle of tears and jumped off the couch. “I gotta go. It’s past my bedtime.” I headed toward the front door. “Thanks for the pizza.”

DA had risen from the love seat and crossed the room in two strides to waylay me. He shut the door with my hand still on the knob. He was so close behind me I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.

“Steph . . . I’m sorry.”

I refused to turn around. I didn’t want him to see that I was about to start crying.

“If I could do it all over again, I would never have become such good friends with Alex,” he whispered against my hair. “If I had known what her intentions were, I would’ve stopped it before it ever became an issue. I honestly didn’t know what she was trying to do until that day in the kitchen. Then you left so fast and wouldn’t take any of my calls or see me.”

He pressed his forehead to the back of my neck. “I’m so deeply and truly sorry for ever hurting you. And I really hope one day you can forgive me.”

By the time he’d finished speaking I had tears streaming down my face and I didn’t know what to say to him. He kissed the back of my neck, the warm sensation so familiar that I couldn’t resist turning around. He had me pinned against the front door as we began kissing, lightly at first, then deeper, urgent.

I wanted to believe him, but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t get past the image of the two of them together. I abruptly pushed him away.

“I have to go,” was all I could say, then I opened the door again and this time he let me go.



✯✯✯✯✯honor and forgiveness highlight this spiritually inspiring tale of love, love lost By Frank Scozzarion Verified Purchase Sometimes in life, one is thrown into situations which defy imagination. In A JOURNEY HOME, a twist of fate throws Air Force Captain Stephanie Tyler into a cockpit with her cheating ex-husband, Captain Douglas ‘DA’ Aston. Flying long hours overseas with him is uncomfortable enough, and made even more unimaginable when the two must retrieve the body of an Afghanistan War casualty (the woman who caused the demise of their marriage). Powerful emotions, reverence, honor and forgiveness highlight this spiritually inspiring tale of love, love lost, and salvation. It is a sobering look at the true cost of war. Several times while reading this book I felt a shiver run through my body. The story, and how it’s told, is that compelling. Angela Scavone does an excellent job of writing with realism and sentiment in a way that literally swept me away. A moving book that will keep you reflecting long after you’ve turned the last page.

✯✯✯✯✯Grab some tissues and a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream---A Journey Home is an awesome read!By RebeccaA Journey Home is beautifully written, balancing the tragedy of fallen soldiers with light-hearted moments of a couple falling back into love. Honor. Protocol. Faith. Trust. Friendship. Love. This novel will stick with me for a long time.

✯✯✯✯✯A MUST READBy Amazon ReaderI don’t remember the last time I had tears rolling down my cheeks from a poignant passage in a novel. An ex-marine friend of mine who worked at an airport in Afghanistan verified the authenticity of these scenes of bringing fallen soldiers home. I felt so honored to share in this beautiful reading experience. We are reminded by Angela Scavone of the ultimate sacrifice that some must give in order for us to live free while sharing a sweet love story of a marriage reunited.There was much love and humor between the couple who needed to learn to trust each other again. At the end, I sighed, with a wonderful, ahhh and slept soundly for the first time all week.


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Angela lives in Ontario, Canada sharing her home with her father and her two much-loved pups (and one evil cat). She currently works for the Board of Education behind the scenes supporting and analyzing student data, however, in her spare time, apart from her avid love of storytelling, she likes to read, spend time with family and friends and concoct dairy free recipes from scratch. Sometimes she wins some, and sometimes she loses some – tofu, banana and peanut butter pudding we are looking at you.

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RELEASE TOUR: Lord of the Jungle by Sheri Fredricks #GIVEAWAY

by

Sheri Fredricks
GENRE: Erotic Romance



A shipwrecked woman.The uncharted island.

Jane Porter craves a thrill but when marauders scuttle her ship and she washes ashore onto an island inhabited by animals and one sexy wildman, that’s when the real adventure begins. Dependent upon her vine-swinging rescuer who acts more ape than musclebound man, she places her survival in his rugged hands and relinquishes her desire to his raw sensuality.

For more seasons than he can remember, Tarzan has lived among the tiny island’s gorilla band. Instinct propels him to save the female he finds half-dead in the surf, but gazing into her eyes, his mating tool dances an ancient tribal beat.

While the pirates search for their bounty, Tarzan and Jane are in danger. To survive, they’ll have to hang onto each other as they swing for dear life. Their adrenaline-rush of passion among the canopy of the jungle threatens not only a dizzying fall from a great height, but also into love.


Before the next surge pushed forward to cover the human’s head, he made a quick decision to help the weakling, who floundered like a newborn gorilla caught in the drag of the sea.

Less than two leaps away, a sharp-pointed fin broke the water’s surface. Drawn by the smell of blood, more would appear in a matter of time.

The stranger lifted a hand out of the water, weaker now, vainly reaching for a source to save him. The arm bore a reddish skin cover sprinkled with tiny yellow flowers that ended below the crook of a delicately boned arm. Colored rocks circled the wrist and a shiny type of silver metal circled the middle finger.

The fin turned with a splash from the meat-eater’s tail. If the human were to survive, Tarzan had to act now.

Avoiding the human’s injured palm, he grasped the small wrist and hoped the bones beneath his tight grip wouldn’t break. Instead of pulling the limp body up, out of the surf, he waited for the next wave to lift the dead weight. Carefully stepping horizontally across the rock and sharp barnacles, he moved away from the dangerous part of the shore. Only when the soles of his feet touched coarse pebbles of shallow water did he move backward to where the sand lay warm and dry.

Safe from the fish that tore meat from the bone, he dropped the thin arm lacking necessary muscle to survive. He stepped back a few paces and crouched on his haunches to watch. Stomach-side down, the small human lay still for so long he feared he’d been too late.

Two thin legs, covered in dark blue to the knees, jerked and twitched. One cough, then another, followed mouthfuls of regurgitated water and a long string of more hacking coughs. The weakling’s arms moved under his chest and pushed at the sand. Turning to flop onto his back, the person lay there taking in great gulps of air and coughing out droplets of sea water. Sand covered a portion of a child-like face; the rest of the features covered by wet, matted hair.

From his huddled position, Tarzan scanned the beach before crab-walking closer to investigate. Curious, he reached his finger forward and slid a hunk of wet hair off the small, pale face.



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Always on the hunt for the uncommon things in life, award-winning author Sheri Fredricks thrives on creating romantic adventures.

A former engineering secretary, she lives on California’s beautiful central coast. "I wanted to move away from a profession of inflexible right angles and create an unboxed world with no boundaries." A voracious reader since her early years, Sheri found her brain crowded with stories of her own. "Ultimately," she says, "my husband encouraged me to write them all down."

Winner of the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award, and a Finalist multiple times for InD’Tale eMagazine’s Reward Of Novel Excellence award (RONE), she has numerous five-star reviews everywhere eBooks are sold.

Sheri loves to spend time at home and connecting with readers. A computer hutch keeps her focused on creating stories, but the panoramic view of life on a ranch will call her outside to play in the sun.

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LOOK at ME! HOTSHOT Alphas {Boxset} #GIVEAWAY

Because you just can't get enough! Hotshot Alphas are men who know what they want and get what they want. Will it be you? 6 full-length heroes, oops, I mean, romances with brash and exciting lovers from NY Times, USA Today, and International bestselling authors. Get your cowboys, chefs, special operatives, and sexy bad boys today. LIMITED TIME OFFER.


Clocking in at over 528000 words, this super boxed set is packed with action, romance, suspense, love, danger, and fun. Look for other Hotshot Romance Collections: Hotshot Heroes: Strong Enough to Love and Hotshot Danger: Packing the Heat for more full-length stories from your favorite romance authors.



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IN HIS CONTROL by Nina Bruhns

Enemies by Day... Detective Jean-Marc Lacroix is obsessed with catching a clever art thief who has outwitted him at every turn. Lovers by Night... Little does he know the thief is really the beautiful woman he just seduced. Or does he...?





HOT ON HER TRAIL by Sable Hunter

Sexy cowboy, Jacob McCoy, longs for a family. His wish is fulfilled when beautiful Jessie walks into his life. Pregnant. With his child. The only problem? They've never met before.







CLAIMING CARLOS by Rachelle Ayala

Choco Sanchez has been friends forever with chef Carlos Lopez until flashy food consultant Johnny Dee steps in to makeover both her and the restaurant. Carlos isn't about to lose his best friend. He sets out to claim Choco's heart by cooking hot, spicy, and steamy.






LOVE & REDEMPTION by Chantel Rhondeau

Former special agent Shelley Daniels is struggling to tame her bad-girl tendencies. Jewel thief Gavin Hart wants fast money and a fresh start--until he witnesses a murder. Gavin drags Shelley back to the world she was desperate to escape with rogue agents, assassin plots, and a frantic race to stop a terrorist group.





SHADOWS OF THE SOUL by Angelique Armae

When Hell's sexiest bad boy--Nicolai Valentine--defied Lucifer, he lost everything. Now Heaven's fearless human warrior--Isabel Heart--has come to Nicolai's aid. When the two meet... A haunting past is reborn...






THE DEAN'S LIST by Kelly Collins

Twenty-five-year-old honors student, River Roberts, knew her life had to change. With only forty dollars to her name, she was hungry, tired, and out of options. Sexy, charming and motivated, she met the requirements for The Dean's List, a university society that offered alumni anything they desired. It was the perfect job for her or was it?








New York Times and USA Today Best Selling author Nina Bruhns pens adventurous romantic thrillers that contain a unique blend of interesting characters and settings, twisty suspense, and sizzling romance. To date, she has published over 35 award-winning novels, including several under the pen name Nikita Black.

Aside from hitting #16 on the New York Times Best Seller List, Nina’s had three RITA nominations, and her books have won a bunch of awards, including three Daphne du Maurier Awards for the Year's Best Overall Mystery-Suspense Book, two RT Awards, and the National Reader’s Choice Award.

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Sable Hunter is a New York Times, USA Today bestselling author of nearly 50 books in 7 series. She writes sexy contemporary stories full of emotion and suspense. Her focus is mainly cowboy and novels set in Louisiana with a hint of the supernatural. Sable writes what she likes to read and enjoys putting her fantasies on paper. Her books are emotional tales where the heroine is faced with challenges. Her aim is to write a story that will make you laugh, cry and swoon. If she can wring those emotions from a reader, she has done her job. Sable resides in Austin, Texas with her two dogs. Passionate about all animals, she has been known to charm creatures from a one ton bull to a family of raccoons. For fun, Sable haunts cemeteries and battlefields armed with night-vision cameras and digital recorders hunting proof that love survives beyond the grave. Welcome to her world of magic, alpha heroes, sexy cowboys and hot, steamy to-die-for sex. Step into the shoes of her heroines and escape to places where right prevails, love conquers all and holding out for a hero is not an impossible dream.

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Rachelle Ayala is a bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She writes from sweet to steamy and believes that everyone should find love as often as possible, even if it's within the pages of a book. Rachelle is working on a sweet series of romances with pets and firemen, Have a Hart Romances, and one full of bad boys, Bad Boys for Hire. She also writes sports romances in both football and baseball, as well as many holiday romances, both sweet and spicy.

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Bestselling Author Chantel Rhondeau became hooked on romance after picking up a romantic suspense novel she thought was a mystery genre. After reading that first romance, she never looked back. Chantel is author of several romantic suspense novels, Christmas novellas, and the McCallister’s Paradise contemporary romance/family saga series. She lives in the western United States and when she's not writing, she loves playing cards with her family, bowling, and binging on Netflix while snuggling with her lazy kitties.

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Angelique Armae / J. C. Makk is a native New Yorker who loves all things royal, can trace her Irish roots back to the Scottish Highlands, is half Italian, and is owned by a long-haired Tuxedo feline. She spends most days writing, unless her cat deems otherwise.

Miss Armae's books and novellas have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the Sapphire Award, P.E.A.R.L. Award, and Word Weaving Award. Her books have also been featured on Midwest Book Review's Book Watch TV. Angelique's first novel, COME THE NIGHT, made Fictionwise's Best of the Best list, rounding out the top five bestselling Dark Fantasy books of the year. Her Urban Fantasy/Paranormal romance, SHADOWS OF THE SOUL, as well as COME THE NIGHT, were Kindle bestsellers. Under her J.C. Makk pen name, Miss Armae writes Contemporary romance. Her Royals of Countavia story—HIS ROYAL REDEMPTION—was featured in the International Bestselling anthology ROYALS AND ROGUES. Aside from writing, Angelique/J.C. also dabbles in digital art. She is the recipient and two-time nominee of the Dream Realm Award for best cover art.

When not working, Miss Makk enjoys traveling, learning about the ancient Celts, exploring history, and learning new languages. J.C. studied history and French literature at Skidmore College.

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Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she is inspired by real-time events mixed with a dose of fiction. She encourages her readers to reach the happily ever after but bask in the afterglow of the perfectly imperfect love.

Kelly lives in Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her husband of twenty-five years, their two dogs, and a bird that hates her.

In her spare time, she enjoys walking the trails and visiting the mining towns like Cripple Creek. Could be there is gambling there, but she likes to think it's the ambiance that brings her there and not the amazing slot machine in the back of the casino.

In the winter, you'll find her tucked into her seat at The World Arena cheering her beloved Colorado College Tigers Hockey Team. After several losing seasons she knows there's a win coming soon. Kelly is no fair weather fan.

She has three amazing children, and she wonders how they all turned out to be engineers when only the creative side of her brain seems to work. She just chalks it up to the engineering genes her husband contributed to the mix.

Creative minds need an outlet and writing books is where she focuses her excess energy.

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LOOK at ME! The Sleepless by Nuzo Onoh

by

Nuzo Onoh
GENRE: African Horror
Content Warning: 18+. Graphic Depiction of Death.


An innocent boy is lured to his death by the one person that should have protected him. Someone knows the truth about his disappearance; his little sister, Obele, a child that hears a secret voice which tells her terrible things no child should know about. Obele knows too much and must be killed. Her salvation lies in the hands of her new friends, a group of giggling little girls she meets at an abandoned "cursed house." Except their friendship comes with a terrible price. And suddenly, Obele starts to ask herself who exactly...or rather, what exactly are her new friends. Worse, how can she free the tormented ghost of her dead brother, trapped by a witchdoctor's curse? Set amidst the Biafran War, "The Sleepless" follows one child's struggles against both the natural and supernatural forces that threaten to end her life before the deadly enemy bombs can do so. And perhaps, death from the skies is a better option than the terrifying alternative. "The Sleepless" - Another chilling tale about the restless and vengeful dead by the Queen of African Horror, Nuzo Onoh."


Papa yanked Obelé close and placed a large hand over her mouth, shutting off the song. ‘You will shut up right now or I will kill you myself, I swear,’ his voice was like thunder, blackened with rage. ‘If I hear another word….’ Papa broke off, his words suspended in the air. He stared towards the witchdoctor, beyond the witchdoctor, his eyes goggled. His hand on Obelé’s mouth dropped and the hand holding her arm went slack. Obelé stumbled away, following the direction of Papa’s eyes, his pointing finger. The Dibia turned to look. Two great black Mambas were slithering towards them from the tree next to the caged cats. Their movement were fast, their intention clear. Death glinted in their twin mercurial slits. Obelé froze, struck with terror. Of all God’s creatures in the world, nothing petrified her as much as snakes, not even cats. She would chose a hundred strokes of Papa’s utali any day over the sight of the tiniest snake. The two snakes slithering with incredible speed towards the Dibia, were huge, gigantic. The Dibia screamed and turned to run. He made it to the entrance of his hut and stopped, horror coating his face. Obelé saw what the witchdoctor saw, what Papa and Abundance saw; The Ghost Girls, beautiful in their scaly nakedness, their shiny skin as grey as ash, green eyes glowing in the night, sharp teeth white as death.

This time they came in multitudes, in their tens. They lit up the night with their spectral glow, illuminating everything with terrifying clarity. They blocked the entrance to the hut, giggling, laughing. Water dripped from their skin, forming a steady stream that flowed into the hut. In seconds, the compound was transformed into a swamp. The buried cats howled as water covered their heads. The Ghost Girls giggled louder at the plight of the cats. The Dibia stumbled back, slipping on muddy water, dropping the cat and his machete. The cat scuttled away with a loud yowl. The giggling wraiths advanced towards the Dibia, their movement fluid, ghastly. The phosphorous glow followed them like a bright shadow, a hovering cloak of brilliance. Some of them crawled, their arms like crabs, even spiders. Others flew, floating around the Dibia, hovering over his head like birds of prey. Soon, they formed a ring around him and began to dance. Obelé knew what would follow; the circle of torment. She had witnessed that ghastly ritual multiple times inside the drenched bedroom of Ike Okoye’s cursed house.

Except the victims then were ghosts. This time, it was a living victim. She steeled herself for what she knew was coming. The Ghost Girls began singing the familiar tune, The Sleepless song. Their voices echoed in the forest, disincarnate, chilling. They pulled the Dibia’s hair and bit into his skin, staining their teeth red. They carved deep marks on his skin, their claw-like fingers wet with his blood. Nails, stones, sticks and broken glasses drew patterns of agony across the medicine-man’s body. The little spectre, Promise, she of the Nwa mulu-amu fame, reached out and snapped the carved cat charm from the old man’s neck. The witchdoctor shrieked, arms flaying, trying to ward them off, slicing through empty air. He fell to the ground, next to the three buried cats, babbling, incoherent with terror. The girls giggled, their laughter gleeful, chilling.

Abundance screamed and ran towards Papa. She didn’t make it. The Mambas struck, felling her to the ground. Their fangs sank into Abundance’s legs. Twin assassins, they plunged a rapid succession of bites, their movements aggressive, swift and deadly. Abundance screamed, scrabbling on hands and knees towards Papa, who was rooted to his spot like a stone statue.

The Mambas raised their heads and struck again, this time on Abundance’s naked thighs and arms. Over and over, their heads dived, piercing her skin, dumping lethal venom into her bloodstream. Abundance’s movements grew sluggish, heavy, tortured. Terror and pain glazed her pupils. She opened her mouth and Obelé gasped, staggering back. A black protrusion that was once a tongue, crawled from Abundance’s mouth, the size of an orange, swollen beyond reality. She struggled to speak but all that came out was a low grunt. Abundance began frothing, her mouth covered in thick white foam. Her arms and knees collapsed underneath her as she lay twitching, convulsing like the epileptic boy in Obelé’s classroom, the one they called Ike Nwanyi, because he trembled like a fat woman’s buttocks when the sickness hit him.

The Mambas raised their great heads and stared at Papa. They looked at him with deadly intelligence, the way a human would look at another, enemy to enemy. Then they turned and slithered back into the forest, leaving the dying body of Abundance by Papa’s feet.
ABOUT AFRICAN HORROR
1. African Horror is not a reference to AIDS, famine or Ebola, just as Indian Horror is not a reference to rapes or honour killings. African Horror is a literary genre in its own right, a sub-genre of horror that has existed for centuries, albeit without a formal title till my book, The Reluctant Dead, began spearheading the term, African Horror.

2. African Horror encompasses several horror sub-genres like supernatural horror, psychological horror, demonic/occultic horror, sci-fi horror (popularised by Nnedi Okoroafor) slasher/gore/splatter horror and paranormal romance to mention a few. My books are focused on African supernatural horror, specifically, ghosts and hauntings.

3. Just like the old Japanese Kaidan tradition, African Horror stories are geographically targeted, depicting the core traditions, beliefs and superstitions of a particular village/tribe within a horror context. Thus, my books, The Reluctant Dead and Unhallowed Graves will resonate with anyone familiar with The Ring or The Grudge.

4. African Horror is usually steeped in the moral values of individual tribes, with most stories reinforcing these values and the dire consequences of ignoring or abandoning them. Thus, in Unhallowed Graves, we witness the terrible events that befall a grieving mother who goes against the village traditions and attempts to resurrect her son buried in Ajo-ofia, the unhallowed burial ground of people deemed to have died an unclean or bad death.

5. African Horror has a strong cinema presence in Nollywood films, a Nigerian film industry that produces popular drama, depicting terrifying supernatural events within an Igbo/African setting.

6. Amos Tutuola, the famous author of The Palm-wine Drinkard and My Life in the bush of Ghosts, is the father of African Horror. His books are considered modern classics today and have been translated into several languages.

7. Africans respect, fear, revere or abhor their Medicine men. Some cultures refer to them as Juju-men, Root-healers, Voodoo-men or witchdoctors. By whatever name they go, they all boil down to one thing - powerful men (and at times, very rarely, women) whose actions, good or bad, always impact on the daily lives of their people. No African Horror story is ever complete without reference to these powerful and controversial Medicine-men.

8. The Gullah culture of the American South has very strong ties to African culture and their horror stories are very similar to African horror. Today, Eden Royce, author of the book, Spook Lights and one of the few people that still speak the Gullah language, is spear-heading the Southern Gothic Horror, steeped in Gullah beliefs and culture. People that love Southern Gothic Horror will enjoy African Horror too.

9. African Horror stories are not Folktales, contrary to popular conception. These days, modern African Horror is written in prose and style similar to mainstream horror, which readers from all over the globe can relate to. My last book, The Reluctant Dead, enjoyed wide readership from fans worldwide, proving that true horror does indeed cross all boundaries. My latest book, Unhallowed Graves, follows in the same style, while retaining its distinct African voice.

10. Finally, African Horror books and films are out there for anyone interested in discovering the terrifying tales from our mysterious continent. Unfortunately, due to the unsatisfactory classification of literary works, one is likely to find African horror books under "Multicultural" rather than under "Horror". Hopefully, in the near future, an overhaul of the classification system will see more horror works by Africans writers and non-African writers writing African Horror, classified under their rightful category - Horror.


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BBC interview with Nuzo about The Sleepless

Nuzo Onoh is a British writer of African descent. Born in Enugu, the Eastern part of Nigeria, formerly known as The Republic of Biafra, Nuzo lived through the civil war between Nigeria and Biafra, an experience that left a strong impact on her and has influenced some of her writing.

She attended Queen’s School Enugu before proceeding to the Quaker boarding school, The Mount School, York, England and St Andrew’s Tutorial College, Cambridge, from where she obtained her A’ levels. Nuzo holds both a Law degree and a Masters degree in Writing from The University of Warwick, England. She has two daughters, Candice and Jija and her cat, Tinkerbell. Nuzo lives in Coventry, from where she runs her own publishing company, Canaan-Star Publishing, a self-publishing company that publishes authors from around the globe.

A keen musician, Nuzo plays both the Piano and the box guitar and enjoys recording demos of her songs. Nuzo also runs African story-telling workshops for primary school children. Nuzo is a strong believer in The Law of Attraction and the philosophy of mind over matter.

Now recognized as the front-runner of African Horror, Nuzo is the author of The Reluctant Dead (published 28th June, 2014) a collection of African ghost stories and Unhallowed Graves (published 28th June, 2015) a novella collection of three ghost stories. Her latest book, The Sleepless, a novel of hauntings and vengeance from beyond the grave, will be published on 28th June, 2016. Nuzo has made 28th June as her annual publishing date so her fans know when to look out for another African Horror chiller from her writing desk.

Otherwise, she publishes her other books as and when ready. These are the books written under her pseudonym of Alex Stranger-Onoh.

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LOOK at ME! Ameereh by Rebekkah Ford #GIVEAWAY

by

  Rebekkah Ford
GENRE: Paranormal Thriller



Sometimes even the dead seek salvation.

In 1925, eighteen-year-old Ameerah Arrowood is murdered in an insane asylum. She finds herself transported to a dreary realm that turns out to be a recruiting station for the dark spirits. With animosity in her heart toward humanity, she decides to join them.

For the next ninety years, Ameerah possesses soulless humans, living a hedonistic, mischievous and sometimes vengeful existence, but now she's seeking salvation so she can crossover and save her lost love who is stuck in the lower world.

Ameerah enlists the help of her dark spirit friend Derek, who is straddling the line between Heaven and Hell. She tells him how it all began, weaving between historical timelines to now, hoping to gain understanding about why her parents betrayed her and wanting to get rid of the guilt weighing on her heart. In the end, the unexpected unfolds, which changes her forever.


We entered an uncarpeted, vacant hallway that branched out on both ends. Several metal doors with bolts lined the walls. The blue paper booties I wore crinkled against the bottoms of my feet sliding across the shiny white floor.

“What did they give me?” I asked when we stepped into the restroom straight across from the room I was in.

Ann led me to a stall with no door, only an off-white partition that separated it from the other johns. “It was a barbiturate used to sedate patients. Sleep therapy is what some doctors dubbed it.” She continued to talk while I emptied my bladder, keeping her word to give me as much privacy as she could.

Once I finished, I went to the sink and cringed at my reflection in the mirror. The right side of my face had a purple, yellowish bruise across my cheek, and the luster in my hazel eyes was gone. My complexion had a grayish cast. Whatever was injected into my body created a carbon copy of myself.

Ann handed me a washrag, and I realized there was no hot water when I went to dampened it. After I cleaned off my eyes and face, we headed down the north side of the hall. I listened to Ann tell me that most of the residents were in the common room, which explained the eerie silence.

“There you are,” a manly nurse with thick forearms and a broad forehead said when we rounded the corner from another corridor. She was heading our way and seemed quite annoyed.

Ann stiffened but held her head high. “Ameerah caught my attention. She needed to use the lavatory, and now I’m taking her to the dining room for lunch.”

“I realize you’re new here, Ann,” the other nurse said, “but we do not call patients by their first name in their presence. Each one has a number.” She pointed at me. “This one is number sixty-four.”

A laugh of disbelief escaped my lips. I couldn’t help it. What type of place was this, sedating people, tying them to a bed, and calling them by numbers instead of their names? I found being called Sixty-four another check in the box under the dehumanization category. “Excuse me,” I said when they looked at me, “I don’t know what type of facility I’m in, but regardless, I have a name. It’s Ameerah. To refer to me by a number is demonizing my identity, so I’d appreciate it if you would stick with my name instead.”

The coarse nurse scowled. “We will do no such thing.”

I made a face. “Why? What’s the purpose in such a demoralizing act? And what the hell is this place?”

Still scowling the nurse snapped, “Watch your mouth.”

“You’re in an insane asylum,” Ann said.


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Rebekkah Ford grew up in a family that dealt with the paranormal world. Her parents Charlie and Geri Wilhelm were the directors of the UFO Investigator's League in Fairfield, Ohio. They also investigated ghost hauntings and Bigfoot sightings in addition to extraterrestrial cases. Growing up in this type of environment and having the passion for writing stories is what drove Rebekkah at an early age to write tales dealing with the paranormal world. Her fascination with the unknown is what led her to write the Beyond the Eyes trilogy, its companion Tangled Roots, and Ameerah.

Rebekkah resides in rural North Dakota, in a farming community of about 1,800 people and loves where she lives. She has an irreverent sense of humor, loves coffee, and yummy food makes her happy. She also loves books, history, antiques, animals, connecting with her fans and other authors, as well as watching her favorite TV shows.

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RELEASE TOUR: Summer Lovin' by Jacquie Biggar #GIVEAWAY

by

Jacquie Biggar
Cover Designer: Killion GroupOfficial genre of book: Contemporary Romance



Mitch Taylor and Rebecca Sorenson share a secret.

Rebecca’s job as secretary of Cascade Elementary, the same school she attended as a child, is rewarding. She has a great group of friends, many of whom are married now. And if sometimes she wished it were her up there in that sparkling white dress…

Except, wait—she did get to wear bridal white. Granted, it was a slinky party dress and the justice of the peace was Elvis in a gold lame jacket, but still, the deed was done.

She’d tied the knot.

Mitch Taylor doesn’t do regrets. It would be a waste of energy bemoaning the mistakes he’d made in his life. The end of his promising football career taught him nothing in life was a guarantee.

Like love.

What were the chances two people from the same po-dunk town in Washington would end up together in a nightclub in Las Vegas? A few too many drinks later, a hasty ceremony performed by the king of rock ‘n’ roll, and they’d been hitched. The night that followed lived on in his dreams, but when he’d woken the next morning she was gone.

Can these two mismatched lovers find a way past their mistakes, or will they keep their lonely hearts forever guarded?


Mitch’s gaze zeroed in on her lips and darkened. “You and me—later. I’m tired of waiting. It’s time we settled our past so we can move forward with our lives.” He leaned in and gave her a quick, hard kiss, their breath co-mingling and tasting of the coffee he’d stopped and bought for her.

Rebecca sighed and gave herself up to the moment, though in the back of her mind his words nipped and stung, warning her that it was going to hurt when he left. How did this happen? When did Mitch Taylor become necessary to her happiness?

God. She was in love with him.

Her mouth slackened. Mitch sat back and looked at her quizzically for a moment, then he turned away to help young Jasper, and she tried to pay attention, she really did. But, all the time he was asking Tommy what happened, and running gentle fingers over the injury, and she was smiling and murmuring reassurance, her heart was breaking into a million tiny pieces.


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Wounded Hearts Box Set (Books 1 - 4)



I live in paradise along the west coast of Canada with my family and love reading, writing, and flower gardening. Oh, and I can't function without coffee! Preferably at the beach with my sweetheart. :)

I write Romantic Suspense with tough, alpha males who know what they want until they're gob-smacked by heroines who are strong, contemporary women willing to show them what they really need is love.

I've been blessed with a long, happy marriage and enjoy writing romance novels that end with happy-ever-afters.

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NEW RELEASE: The Dragil by Holly Barbo

Quick Reads Book 3

 by

  Holly Barbo
GENRE: YA Fantasy


A YA fantasy adventure. Original Dragilio art by Ian Styer.

When Willum, an apprentice book maker, has a nasty fall, he loses all of his memories…including the strictures concerning protective magic for the exquisite miniature dragons called Dragilios. Not knowing he is breaking the magic law, and sending the little Dragil, Malle, into deadly peril, he draws the friendly, little dragil.

The moment the picture is finished the protective spell shatters. Her anguished cry as she disappears restores his memory.

Devastated at what he has done and wanting to right the wrong or die trying, Willum undertakes a dangerous quest into the malignant world of the giant leather-winged dragons. Can he find her in time before she is ripped apart and eaten? If he stays too long in that lethal land, he becomes stone.

The hourglass sands are slipping away toward the doom of the boy and the fragile little dragil. Can he save them both?


The bright sunshine was muted behind the curtains when he woke to the sound of a door opening. A girl of about seven years nudged it wider and brought in a tray. There was a small dragon-like creature fluttering in behind her. It landed on the window sill and closed pale blue wings edged in gold scallops. Though the wings folded against the creature’s back, they weren’t solid in color, but instead resembled those of a butterfly in their delicate patterning. It cocked its head and studied him.

The child set the tray down on the table and poured water in a glass. She glanced at the little blue-winged dragon. “Raik told me you were awake. You’ve got to be thirsty. You’ve been out for days. Both Mother and the healer thought you were going to die.” She brought the drink to him. “Slow, now, or you will either choke or throw it back up. Sip it.”

The moisture felt so good on the parched tissues of his mouth and throat that he struggled to resist gulping the welcoming fluid. Sighing with pleasure, he looked at the child. “Thank you. What’s your name? Where am I? What happened to me?”

The little girl blinked and her jaw dropped in dismay. “You know me! I’m Isolde, daughter of Guarin, master papermaker and owner of this bookbindery. Remember?”

He began to shake his head but changed his mind when the movement activated a headache. “No.”

The child turned and with “I’ll be right back!” ran from the room. During the few minutes she was gone, he carefully turned his head to look for the small butterfly-winged dragon that had eased his pain with her croons. Finally, he spotted her asleep in a shadowed shelf near a braid of garlic and assorted pots. His pleasure at seeing her seemed to be felt by the creature, as in the next few heartbeats she yawned and stretched.


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A Beltane Gift ✯ The Tin of Honey



Holly's world is shaped by her love of family, the beauty of the natural world and an irrepressible creative drive. She has always been curious and sees life through questions. These four characteristics color her writing voice and her stories frequently evolve from her asking "What if....?" Her tales tend to have non-urban settings with nature contributing to the plot, building discordant themes inside a seemingly peaceful refrain. My motto: Weaving Alternative Worlds with Threads From Today.

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reRELEASE: Lex's Melody by Leigh Stone

Release Day - Lex's Melody: Belfast Bound #1 - Leigh Stone¨Book - Lex's MelodyAuthor - Leigh StoneRelease Day Blitz - 28th JuneHosted by Hooked on books & Cherry0Blossoms Promotions



Lex's Melody - Belfast Bound #1



By day Alex Matthews as an architect. He gives life to bricks and mortar and his meticulous attention to detail is legendary. By night, Alex demands submission and control. He dominates and in doing so gives life to women willing to submit.

Melody Anderson is uninspired with everything in her life, that is until she meets Alex.

Alex and Melody find themselves in a bond of submission and dominance so tight it will either make them or break them. Alex needs control, Melody threatens that whilst promising so much more.

Can Alex breathe life into Melody? Or will it be her who breathes life into him?

Submission never tasted this sweet.
Melodic Minor new synopsisThey say the course of true love never runs smooth. Alex and Mel know that first hand. Fear drove them away from each other. Tragedy almost tore them apart forever.

What does fortune now hold for the lovers? Can they settle down and have the future together that they both deserve, or will old fears be renewed and threaten to shatter their fragile happiness?

A twist of fate can change everything.

Pulled Apart new synopsisBroken. Abused. Pulled apart.

For twenty five years Juliet Monroe has experienced just how cruel life can be.
Abandoned as a child. Abused as a teen. She's seen more than her fair share of demons.

Can she ever recover? Can she find the strength to make it back?

Sometimes friendship can be a lifeline.


Contains graphic sexual scenes including those with BDSM overtones. Also contains graphic language, and therefore is not suitable for under 18's.







Titanic Signing Belfast, 2018 - March 24th.Held in the iconic Titanic Belfast museum - Saturday March 24th 2018, this international book signing will be an event that will not be forgotten! Afterwards we head on to the Europa Hotel for 'A Night to Remember' with a Gala Dinner and partying on into the wee hours.Tickets: https://titanicsigningbelfast2018.eventbrite.co.ukHooked on book's & Cherry0Blossoms Promotions







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WEBhttp://www.authorleighstone.com
I'm Leigh Stone, I live in Northern Ireland, just outside the capital city of Belfast, in a house I share with my teenage daughter, and our personal zoo (1 Labrador mix, 3 cats, and 2 rabbits!).
I'm first and foremost a reader, and a fast reader at that, often devouring books in a single sitting over a period of hours. I have always had aspirations to write and become a published author, but as a teenager I was encouraged to look for a different profession, as being an author "wouldn't pay the bills."
It was that reading that lead a friend of mine to suggest that I had read so many of those books that I could probably write my own! It seemed like a good idea, and I thought that I would give it a try :) a few months later Lex's Melody was well underway, and the rest as they say is history!





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