Skye MacKinnon's Blog, page 3

Festive Reads

It’s almost Christmas! Are you ready?

If you need some help to get into a festive mood (and distract you from all the stresses the holidays), here are three books full of baubles, Christmas trees and even aliens!

Grab a mug of hot chocolate, light some candles, curl up on the sofa and enjoy!

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New Audiobook: Thud

Grab a piece of gingerbread, make yourself a hot chocolate and settle in for a purrfect holiday listen! The Thud audiobook is now live.

THIS KITTY LOVES TO PLAY WITH BAUBLES…

Four years into being a mother, Kat needs a break. She’s barely killed anyone since she gave birth and the panther within her is frustrated. She needs blood, murder and mayhem.

When she’s offered the chance to infiltrate a strange cult’s annual festivities, there’s no stopping her. Along with her three devoted mates, Kat will have to look beyond the holiday cheer to find a killer.

A Christmas sequel to the bestselling Catnip Assassin series, an urban fantasy reverse harem romance featuring a bloodthirsty cat shifter assassin and her hunky mates. A book to warm you in the depth of winter.

This book can be enjoyed as a standalone without having previously read the Catnip Assassins series.

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Help, I’ve got Alien Implants!

I love writing about aliens. In fact, I’ve published five sci-fi romance series so far and have more planned. But do I believe in them? I’m not sure. I definitely believe there’s life out there – the universe is too big for there not to be – but green men with antennae? Maybe not.

(Although I’d love to be abducted – aliens, if you’re reading this, message me to get my address and I’ll be sure to pack my things.)

Anyway, on the search for something completely unrelated, I came across an offer on the service marketplace Fiverr to have alien implants removed.

Wait, what?

Alien implants? Inside of me?

Apparently.

Obviously, there was no way I could resist. So I bought it and dutifully sent my new ‘spirit healer’ a photo of myself. I didn’t see any alien implants on it, but maybe she could, right?

Three days later, I got my analysis in the shape of a surprisingly detailed document. I really hadn’t expected that for $5.

She began by telling me what’s wrong with me:

On a scale of 1-2600 your energy started out at 5500, which is a little over average and ended at 1050 which is better but I think we can get it higher. There was some resistance to release energy in the heart area, that might need more work. I feel like there’s a “mourning” that is going on there. I used a charged basalt (volcanic) rock from Cathedral Rock vortex in Sedona to clear a lot of your cords, attachments, debris and implants.

Wait, did she just say she found cords and debris inside my heart area??? Makes me feel kind of queasy. I have to admit, I felt them neither before nor after the cleansing (the only implant I’m aware of is my contraceptive implant in my arm and that’s easy to spot), but what do I know, I’m not a spirit healer who specialises in aliens.

To help me recharge my energy (mostly in my heart, throat and solar plexus), she recommended that I bring more yellow in my life – whether that’s food, clothing or flowers. I obviously put on the only yellow shirt I own right away. A quick look in the fridge showed some brown lentils. Can I count that as yellow? Sadly I’d already put all the bananas in a smoothie the day before.

You are being drained from your environment. Toxic people, environmental pollutants, and collective energies. Focus on cleaning up who you hang around, foods you eat, etc.

At the moment, the only people I’m around are folks online – I’ve not met anyone in person since March unless you count waving at neighbours or greeting the postman – and yes, there’s always some toxicity on social media. That must be where the alien implants come from.

I’m in several alien-related Facebook groups because of the anthologies and projects I’m involved in, so it’s no surprise really that I was damaged by that. Still, I don’t think I could step away from the Stolen and Seduced anthology (coming end of August!) or the three sci-fi romance series I’m working on. So come on, aliens, there’s enough space in my body for you all! I’ve gained lockdown weight just to make it easier for you.

The spirit healer also realised that I’m living in a turbulent time just now and recommended I meditate about water, which is “a symbol of emotion”. I did that and got thirsty. Maybe she overlooked an alien implant?

My favourite part of the entire letter was the end.

You are surrounded by fairies! They were watching me… hahaha.

So confusing. Are fairies related to aliens? Or are all aliens fairies? Are fairies watching me on behalf of aliens? Or are they attracted to all that alien debris?

So many questions. I wish she’d included a contact number for the aliens so that I could ask them. And beg them to abduct me. And maybe do some of the ‘fun’ kind of probing.

Anyway, if you now feel in the mood for some alien probing, check out my Intergalactic Guide to Humans series, a humorous take on alien romance full of probing, testing and even an implant or two.

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New Release: Eat Your Heart Out – Holiday Edition

The fourth Eat Your Heart Out anthology is now live! What started in 2020 as a random project to raise money for charity has now become a yearly tradition where a group of authors get together to write food-inspired romances. Usually, we publish these anthologies on the 1st April, but for the first time, we decided to do a holiday edition. From snowy mountain caves to hot shifters beneath the Christmas tree, this volume has something for everyone. And as always, all proceeds go to charity.

My story, Her Mountain Lords, is an m/f/m menage that is set in the same world as the Daughter of Winter series. It features two cursed Guardians, a woman who doesn’t believe in the impossible, a bottle of whisky and a cave in the mountains:

When she wakes up in a cave with two invisible men, mountain rescue volunteer Claire thinks she has suffered a concussion. But the two Guardians need her help to lift a curse and time is running out…The anthology is only available for a limited time as e-book and paperback.

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Romance Books Set in Scotland

Happy St Andrew’s Day!

On Scotland’s national holiday, I thought I’d highlight just how many of my books are set here in Scotland. As a Scottish author, I love showing off my country in my stories – even the negative aspects, like midges (I turned them into tiny demons in the Daughter of Winter series).

From Stirling, where I studied, to the islands I love to visit, to the west coast where I live now… I’ve covered Scotland’s past (Mary Queen of Scots’ story in Saving His Queen), present (e.g. life on Edinburgh’s streets in Frozen Heart) and its future (Scottish Mars in The Mars Diaries).

My latest release, Her Mountain Lords in the Eat Your Heart Out – Holiday Edition anthology, is set in the Scottish Highlands and features a Cairngorms mountain rescue volunteer who suddenly finds herself faced with two cursed mountain men… In a fire-lit cave, romance blossoms as she tries to free them from their curse before the winter solstice ends.

So there you go, all my books set in Scotland. Sometimes, I feel like Scotland has become a recurring character, not just a setting for me.

Have you been to Scotland? What places would you love to visit?

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Free Audiobook: Meow

For the first time ever, you can listen to Meow (Catnip Assassins #1) for free! This action-packed cat shifter urban fantasy includes a slow-burn reverse harem romance that develops over the course of the series.

Listen on Youtube!

(sorry for the ads, they help me make this possible)

The post Free Audiobook: Meow appeared first on Skye MacKinnon.

Free Audiobook: Meow

For the first time ever, you can listen to Meow (Catnip Assassins #1) for free! This action-packed cat shifter urban fantasy includes a slow-burn reverse harem romance that develops over the course of the series. Free during the month of September at the following retailers:
Assassin. Private Investigator. Cat shifter.
Kat is used to killing people, but for a blank cheque, she's willing to do the opposite and help solve a murder - even though it sounds boring as hell. That is, until she finds some body parts in her fridge, makes friends with the neighbourhood cats and realises there may be an assassin better than her...
Suddenly, things have become purrfectly exciting.
An urban fantasy full of cats, secrets and murders. This is a slow-burn reverse harem where Kat will find her love interests over time.

Audiobook Sale: Claiming Her Bears

Stock up your audiobook collection with this bearsome sale! For the first time ever, you can get Rescued by Bears for only 99 cents/pence at multiple retailers. And to make it even better, book 2 in the series is only $4.99/£4.99.

The Claiming Her Bears series is a reverse harem romance featuring one sassy heroine and four sexy bear shifters (including a polar bear!). Prepare for strong alpha males with a trace of vulnerability, an epic quest, Viking beards, very steamy scenes, Scottish landscapes, Celtic mythology and a post-apocalyptic setting.

Book 1: Rescued by Bears
When Isla finds herself on the run from an unwanted marriage, she’s found by not one but four rugged, sexy bear shifters. But rather than making her their dinner, they introduce her to a world of passion she’s never experienced before…
Book 2: Protected by Bears
With her new-found family in danger, Isla needs to gather her strength and take her destiny into her own hands. To save the bear shifters from extinction, she'll have to go up against the most powerful beings in the universe.
Because the bears are no longer just friends. They’re family.

Cover Reveal: Vikingr

I'm so excited about a new series that I've had to keep secret until now. Vikings in space. How much fun is that!

I've written about Vikings before (Taking Her Vikings) and even learned some Old Norse at university, but this time I'm transporting them into the future rather than visit them in the past.
 
Vikingr is the first book in the Starlight Vikings and releases in September. The trilogy is set in the same universe as last year's Starlight Highlanders and this year's Starlight Monsters. If you've read Thorrn, you might even recognise one or two characters in Vikingr. 
Pre-order Vikingr He’s an alien Viking. She has no intentions of being his captive.

Njal enjoys the life of a ruthless Vikingr captain: eat, drink and pillage to his heart's content. Then he and his crew of warriors get the worst possible news: their planet is destroyed.
If their species is to survive, they must claim females to breed offspring. Luckily, scientists at the Intergalactic University discovered that women on a backwater planet called Earth are compatible. And what does a Vikingr do once he's found his mate? Right, he abducts her.

Steff is terrified of the huge blue alien who's kidnapped her. He's wild, loud, and has never heard of table manners. But is there pain and vulnerability behind his bluster? Perhaps she can help him and his men. Not by becoming his mate, no way. By adding them to the roster of her dating agency. Maybe he won't hold her hostage if she finds him another bride…

If you want hunky alien Vikings, strong women who don't like being told what to do, steamy romance and happily-ever-afters, dive into the world of the Starlight Vikings.

Get ready for Eat Your Heart Out 3

Do you still have room for dessert?

After the successes of the past two years (over £3,200 / $3,900 donated to charity!), we're back for a third round of delicious romance stories. Eat Your Heart Out 3 will release on the 1st April 2023 and you can pre-order it already.

Get ready to dig into the third instalment of Eat Your Heart Out, a food-inspired romance anthology brought to you by New York Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling Authors.

Roll up your sleeves, grab your forks and knives, and feast on this eclectic collection of romances. From paranormal, to science fiction, to contemporary, to romantic comedy, there's something tasty for everyone!

All net proceeds will be donated to charity.
Pre-order