E.G. Manetti's Blog, page 11

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays, and safe, warm travels for those not staying home.





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InD'tale Crowned Heart for Elemental Fire!

I am super-thrilled to have my first attempt at urban fantasy/paranormal romance, Elemental Fire , receive a crowned-heart review from InD'tale Magazine. It wasn't until the third volume, Transgressions , that The Twelve Systems Chronicles achieved a crowned-heart. Only twenty-percent or so of all InD'tale reviews achieve the 4.5-star or 5-star rating required for the crowned-heart. With this kind of recognition, it looks like I'll be returning to The Hidden Realms for a second volume.

Read the full review on the InD'tale website: Review

To see the review with the crowned heart, check out the Holiday Issue . Page 106.

Sin Marston is a rare human who can see through glamor. With the veil with the treaty of 2010, the magical visitors, known as the Hidden, flowed into the Terran realm. With her unique talent, Sin's services are in demand from businesses and law enforcement with Hidden problems. She also has a growing clientele of Hidden visitors wishing to avoid confrontation with the Human Protection Society and other anti-Hidden Terrans.

After thwarting a daring art heist, Sin encounters a stunning fire elemental who reveals the theft was something very different. Everything she thought she knew changes.

Radzik Cray has lived for centuries, building his magical and political power base. The appointment as the Elders’ Council Warden for the Eastern United States comes with untold wealth and power, as well as untold danger. When he meets Sin Marston, he is interested in a pleasant distraction. Instead, he discovers that Sin is not all she appears and his control over his territory is not as absolute as he thought.

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Elemental Fire

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Pirates & Warlords! Aliens & Cyborgs!
Free, Bargain Priced, & KU!

Indie Spotlight on Romance; A few favorite Free & 99c Reads

What with one thing and another, I've managed to miss two regular Spotlight posts. To make it up to all my readers, here are a few of my favorite free and bargain reads to ease the strain on overheated holiday season wallets.

Contemporary

Mr. Stone

Damon Slone wanted his new assistant. And not only to type his memos. It was his personal policy to never mix business with pleasure, but he was a man who went after what he desired.

His solution?

Make her job so unpleasant, she’d beg to quit. And then he’d have her begging for something else entirely. There was just one problem with his master plan. He hadn’t counted on his lovely assistant being so damn stubborn.

Raising her teenage brother, Emma Jones couldn’t afford to lose her job and nothing her boss dished out would make her quit.

Not the late hours. Not the menial errands. Not even his infuriatingly inflexible and stony attitude.

But though Emma may hate her boss, she was content in knowing her brother was taken care of.

Then, one night changed everything.

US 99c and KU Link
AMAZON

Tempt

Wicked Sanctuary: surrender your inhibitions

Escaping her ex-boyfriend's horror-themed campout, Sierra Blake stumbles into a world she never imagined. Curious and spirited, but with a history of picking the wrong man, she must learn to trust her instincts and find her inner strength to become the woman she is meant to be.

Max Preston has shut himself off from women, until Sierra crashes into his life. An intense attraction ignites inside him, and he's determined to make her his.

Discovering a new confidence under Max's protection, Sierra finds herself falling for him. But when his too-perfect ex-wife triggers old insecurities, she runs--smack into her own past. Can she rise above old scars and fight for true love?
Freebie Links
AMAZON* NOOK * KOBO * APPLE

Sexy Cyborgs
Passion Surge

This cyborg never expected to become an instant father.

Surge is fascinated with newly manufactured offspring. He has studied them extensively, was one of the few medics present when the very first freeborn cyborg entered the universe.

He’s currently assigned to a battle station with an all-male crew. The probability of tending to an offspring is a dismal 0.0000 percent. That changes when an unknown ship ventures into the sector they’re protecting.

Nu is an extremely exhausted single mom with a fussy newborn daughter. She has no time or energy for anyone or anything else. That includes a cyborg medic with gentle hands, brilliant blue eyes, and a voice deeper than space.

He claims she’s his female, the one being genetically designed for him. She has heard those types of declarations in the past. Only a warrior without equal—and some much-needed rest—would prompt this universe-weary mom to believe in romantic love again.

Freebie links
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Stone Cold Cyborg

Dante Stone is an emotionless cyborg who commands a military space fighter. His ship picks up an SOS call from a settlement on the outer edge of Alliance territory, but by the time he can get there, most of the colonists have been massacred. He rescues the traumatized survivors, including archivist Miranda Lowell and her robot dog. His orders are to deliver the colonists to a space station where they can receive the medical and psychological help they need.

However, Miranda awakens Dante's emotions in ways he never thought possible, and he begins to hope for a different kind of future. But before he can act, the colonists begin mysteriously vanishing from the ship, and he soon realizes Miranda's robotic dog may hold the clues to saving her, the passengers, and the crew.

99c Links
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Holiday Centered
Blue Christmas

Four-year-old Maggie Bock loves living aboard her parents’ space cruiser, but it’s almost Christmas. What if Santa doesn’t know where she is now? Someone will have to find him and tell him, of course. But when she stows away on her mother’s transport to Terr, she sets off a chain of events that brings the holidays to the Atlantis.

Join Maggie and her family for a hilarious and heart-warming adventure as Matirans and Terrians come together to celebrate what makes the holiday season so very special.

99c Links
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Shifter Mate Magic

A lonely bear shifter meets his mate. She’s running for her life and doesn’t have time for romance.

Pregnant Jackie Breton just escaped from a corrupt feline pack intent on selling her half-shifter baby to the highest bidder. She’s smart, independent, and has a desperate plan to keep her baby safe: Get away from the pride as fast and far as possible.

Trevor Hammond, prehistoric bear shifter, has been rejected by everyone in his life for… being born, basically. Well, except for the beloved aunt who raised him. He’s built a career as an independent trucker, but life would be much better with someone he can hold in his arms and claim as his own.

When Jackie meets Trevor at a truck stop, his bear demands he help her. His aunt even calls with a dire warning: Get Jackie to the magical sanctuary town in Wyoming before she’s killed.

Freebie Links
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* Prices reflect time of posting.



The first volume in The Twelve Systems Chronicles, The Cartel, released in 2012. Ten years later, the series is complete with ten volumes and nine separate awards. It’s been a wonderful decade long adventure. To celebrate, the price for the entire series has been cut by 50% through December 31!

Purchase Now: https://egmanetti.com/2022/11/29/10th...

Already read them all? My new urban fantasy romance is live!

AMAZON APPLE KOBO NOOK

GOODREADS LINK
Elemental Fire

Twelve Systems Chronicles Giveaway!

I've added a book tour and giveaway to the celebration sale!

https://egmanetti.com/2022/12/06/10th...





The first volume in The Twelve Systems Chronicles, The Cartel, released in 2012. Ten years later, the series is complete with ten volumes and nine separate awards. It’s been a wonderful decade long adventure. To celebrate, the price for the entire series has been cut by 50% through December 31!

BUY LINKS


Already read them all? My new urban fantasy romance is live!

AMAZON APPLE KOBO NOOK

GOODREADS LINK
Elemental Fire

Twelve Systems Chronicles 1/2 Price Sale!

The first volume in The Twelve Systems Chronicles, The Cartel, released in 2012. Ten years later, the series is complete with ten volumes and nine separate awards. It’s been a wonderful decade long adventure. To celebrate, the price for the entire series has been cut by 50% through December 31!

Purchase Now: https://egmanetti.com/2022/11/29/10th...


Already read them all? My new urban fantasy romance is live!

AMAZON APPLE KOBO NOOK

GOODREADS LINK
Elemental Fire

Indie Spotlight on Romance: Stalkers, Shrinks, and Suspense

I love a good romantic suspense story. Lately, they all seem to feature heroes who are part of (or own) a high-powered security firm with oodles of military and quasi-military contacts.

In a pleasant change of pace, Scarlett Finn's Take A Risk features a former cop turned private-eye who works out of his brother's strip club. Lyssa, a psychiatrist who specializes in sexual disfunction has picked up a stalker, but the police can't help.

A sex therapist walks into a strip club, sounds like the set up for a bad joke. Instead it is the start of an entertaining story that nicely blends suspense, mystery, and action with serious chemistry between the MCs and some great tongue-in-cheek moments. I did find it dragged a bit in the middle, but it picks up again and finishes strong.

Trapper. Risque.
Two names is all that sex therapist Doctor Lyssa Cutler has, but it’s all she needs. Those two words reveal the name of a man and the name of the strip club that she’ll find him in. She might not have expected to find the solution to her stalker problem in such a place, but she does. In fact, Trapper turns out to be far more than just the man capable of tracking down her pursuer.

Colt Warner’s better judgement tells him that he should reject the job offered to him by the inquisitive doctor because he can tell that this sassy sexpot is going to be trouble. Being attracted to a client goes against his usual ethics, but playing by the rules has never been his strong suit.

Giving in to their sparking attraction lures reality into harsh focus. The stalker that brought them together doesn’t like the picture that the new couple presents and seems prepared to do anything to tear them apart.

Questions mount up, answers are allusive, and only one thing is clear, time is running out.

Freebie Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

AMAZON * APPLE * KOBO * NOOK

GOODREADS LINK
Elemental Fire

FREE & 99c
Evil Galactic Empires, Dragon Slayers, & Witches
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Tempest Tossed

My latest guest blog on Spacefreighters Lounge explores science fiction and space opera romance where the cataclysm is only the beginning of the story.

READ IT HERE.



AMAZON * APPLE * KOBO * NOOK

GOODREADS LINK
Elemental Fire

FREE & 99c
Evil Galactic Empires, Dragon Slayers, & Witches
No Newsletter Sign-ups

Indie Spotlight on Romance: The 2022 RONE Goes to--

Closing out my coverage of InD'tale's 2022 RONE awards, here are the winners of the categories featured in my blog. For a complete list of all category winners, check out the November edition of InD'tale .

*Due to space limitations, blurbs have been abridged.

Time Travel & Science Fiction
The 7th Lie

Agent Sabine Harper is thrilled to receive her first mission—until she learns what it is. Turns out, all she has to do is save the world from certain destruction. And she has two weeks to do it.

Sabine is transported to an isolated civilization hidden beneath a dome. She assumes the identity of the invalid prince’s caretaker and finds herself strangely attracted to the prince. But she's perplexed by this strange island’s many mysteries. What Vortech told her may not be true. She may not even know where she really is. And someone doesn’t want her to leave—at least not alive.

US 99c Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

Suspense/Thriller
Serve 'N' Protect

Ambushed and left for dead, U.S. Secret Service K-9 Officer Markus York is on the mend and laying low in a safe house while his team tracks down his attacker. But Markus isn’t good at sitting still. Even with his K-9, Ghost, for company, he gets restless and decides now is the perfect time to do some repairs around the house…and inadvertently tears open his wounds.

Fresh out of a bad relationship that ended after a car accident left her with limited mobility, freelance accountant Cassidy Morgan has sworn off men. At least, that’s the plan. Until a frantically barking dog leads her to a neighbor’s house where she finds a mysterious man out cold and bleeding on the floor...and mumbling things like “no, they’ll find me” when she tries to call an ambulance.

Yeah, that’s not at all concerning.

US$4.99 Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

Paranormal/Long
Craved

RAFE
I’m in Montreal to discover what vampire Zoe Tremblay, a.k.a. the Ice Princess, knows about my brother’s kidnapping.

Not to finish what I started with Zoe two years ago.

Not to find out why she deceived me and allowed her mother’s enforcers to beat me bloody.
And definitely not to reignite the blood feud between our covens.

ZOE
Rafe Kral, the cocky, bad-boy son of my mother’s most hated enemy, was the forbidden craving I had to taste. But our Romeo-and-Juliet romance was doomed to crash and burn. Now Rafe’s back, and he needs my help to save his kidnapped brother--and maybe himself.

US$4.99 Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

Cops, Jocks, & Cowboys
Chute Boss

The perfect vacation: Rest. Therapy. And miles away from Reid Browning.

At first Eden thinks she's spending three weeks at Broken Hearts Ranch to heal her head. But the longer she works with Kellie, the more she realizes her head is not the only thing hurting. Images from her tour in Iraq stay hidden but not deeply enough, and she knows she will need to forget or heal or both if she is ever going to move on. As a bonus, the ranch was going to be a good opportunity to avoid the dating scene, and men in general. Or so she thought.

As a world class bareback rider, Reid has given his all to rodeo and does everything he can to forget his law degree and the fast paced life he left in Washington DC. That includes the woman he recently met who got under his skin in all the wrong ways. The trouble is, she got under his skin in the right ways too. When he escapes to Texas to support his college brothers in the Lost Creek Rodeo, he couldn't be more surprised to find her there.

US$3.99 or KU
Amazon

Historical ~ Regency
Exiled Duke

He's the key to her future and a brutal ruler of the underworld. She's the only woman to have ever cracked into his cold heart. Now, he's determined to force her exactly where he needs her to be...exiled.

A desperate woman trades everything for a chance of escape.
Penelope Willington is an innocent—innocent to a fault—and she never should have stepped foot into the rookeries, much less sought out the man that had once been her whole world—when she was ten. But that was a long time ago. Desperate times call for extraordinary actions, and Pen can't afford to miss her one and only chance to find a future free of the vile man determined to force her under his thumb and into his bed.

US$4.99 or KU
Amazon

Contemporary/Steamy
Read Me

Summer Pierce is determined to date only nice guys. But when her latest prospect reveals himself as an alpha jerk in decent clothing, Summer doubts her ability to distinguish good from bad. Especially when her hot, pierced, tattooed library patron with an aloof attitude ends up supporting her on her darkest day. Could trusting a “bad boy” be a huge mistake?

Cole Allemand visits the library for the books, but he stays for the librarian. Summer is as bright and warm as her name, and luckily, she has a hero worship for authors. While Cole works days at a local animal shelter, at night he’s putting the finishing touches on his novel. All he needs is a book deal, and the woman he’s been crushing on for months will be within reach. Only, Cole finds he can’t wait for the publishing world to give him his go ahead, especially when he knows his past may push Summer away.

US$4.99 Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

Fantasy
The Witch Collector

Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.

Today is that day—Collecting Day.

But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for twenty-four years he has passed me by.

His mistake.

Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister.

US$5.99 Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

Historical~Ancient 17th Century
The Ghost

While searching for his son, he finds something he never expected: a woman to love.

If only she didn’t hate him...

Clan MacCoinnich is the only family Magnus de Gray has ever known. But when a message catches up with him five years too late, he discovers he has more family than he thought. He has a son. But the dear lady who gave him this gift died while bringing the wee one into the world. Magnus isn’t about to abandon his child—not the way his father abandoned him. He’s determined to find the boy and bring him home to Clan MacCoinnich.

Brenna Maxwell loved her sister Bree with all her heart, but if she could reach beyond the grave, she would shake her until her teeth rattled. All Brenna ever wanted was to be a healer and even convinced her cruel father to let her leave the keep for training. She returned to find her unmarried sister pregnant and both of them banished from the clan. While on the run, her sister died bringing the babe into the world, leaving Brenna with the precious child to love and protect.

KU/US$2.99 Purchase Links
Amazon

Historical~Victorian through 20th Century
A Proper Scoundrel

As the successful owner of multiple railroad lines, Diana Barton is all too accustomed to fending off suitors seeking to stake their claim on her wealth. In order to keep the wolves at bay, Diana has contrived the perfect plan: appeal to the most notorious rake in London, the Baron Lord Bryant, to ruin her reputation and scare off the worst of the time wasters. The ruse will be no hardship—she’s secretly been fascinated by the man for years.

Lord Bryant is well aware of his questionable reputation. Indeed, he has cultivated the image carefully, and the last thing he wants is a wife. But when he’s approached by the younger sister of a business associate, he tells her in no uncertain terms that he cannot help. However, when he sees for himself what she is up against, Bryant grudgingly offers his assistance.

US$5.99 Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo *

* Prices reflect time of posting.

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Indie Spotlight on Romance: Regency Romance and Espionage

A lot of historical romance tends to be modern behavior in fancy dress. In Educating Elizabeth, Kate Pearce teeters on the edge of that hazard but manages to remain clear, for the most part.

This somewhat improbable tale of high-society chicanery, espionage, betrayal, and romance is engaging, with well-drawn characters and a page turning plot. There is even a well-aimed brass clock that plays an important role.

When Miss Elizabeth Waterstone encounters the enigmatic Duke of Diable Delamere in the most shocking of circumstances, she is determined to exploit his rakish expertise to the fullest extent. The duke agrees to teach her everything she needs to know, but in return expects to receive her unwitting cooperation to uncover an assassination plot against the monarchy. But Elizabeth is hard to deceive, and the duke finds himself needing more than her innocent skills in his bed. Together they must use their remarkable abilities, to thwart a villain, save the Prince Regent and accidentally and inevitably fall in love.

FREEBIE LINKS
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Subscribers to my monthly newsletter received nine free books so far this year. There are still three months left to get on in this deal!

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Slipstream Dreams

Check out my latest guest blog on the Spacefreighters Lounge.

The definition of slipstream fiction has evolved since the term was coined. In current usage, it commonly refers to “novels not categorized as strictly under science fiction, fantasy, or horror,” but some combination. In relation to space opera, space opera romance, and science fiction romance, it encompasses a growing group of novels that reside at the intersection of science fiction and fantasy or the paranormal: shaping shifting aliens, vampires from the stars, and other paranormal creatures.

Read More . .

Subscribers to my monthly newsletter received three free books so far this year. There will be a different free book offered each month for the rest of 2022.

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90+ SFR & PNR FREEBIES!