Saturday, August 5, 2017

PROMO BLAST! Embers of Fire by Ally Shields

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Description

A chilling prophecy. A child in danger.

Following the defeat of the vampire elders, Guardian fire witch Arianna Calin and vampire prince Andreas De Luca are considering moving to his estates in Italy to raise their daughter in its idyllic setting. As if being descended from two powerful witch bloodlines wasn't challenging enough, Rayne was born with a mysterious star tattoo on her shoulder. Her parents suspect she is the Chosen, the focus of the Star of Esielen prophecy. But that's something to worry about in the distant future. Isn't it? After all, their child may be precocious, but she is only five.

Then the murders begin. The stench of demonic activity hangs over Olde Town, and a symbol carved in blood indicates Rayne may be the next victim. Suspicion points in several directions: a rival vampire prince, a mysterious stranger, and a werehyena leader attempting to break the bank at Andreas's new casino.

Abandoning plans for a quiet life, Ari and Andreas hunt for the killers. While Rayne may someday have to face her destiny alone, it's up to them to make sure she's ready...and to keep her alive.

Excerpt

A crisp breeze caught the last of the early morning fog and swirled it over the gravestones. The Olde Town cemetery slowly emerged from the mist, its silent memorial to the dead marred by an unusual amount of activity. A uniformed Riverdale cop completed a final loop of bright yellow tape around several stone vaults and two small crabapple trees. CS techs snapped photos and set out evidence markers as they processed the crime scene.

With a hot Styrofoam coffee cup in each hand, Arianna Calin bumped her jeans-clad hip against the iron entrance gate, knocking it open, and slipped inside, her footsteps crunching the brittle September leaves. When an eerie chill nudged her senses, she swept the scene with a sharp glance.

Nothing she hadn’t expected. Not yet. Nothing bad enough to trigger her witch alarms. But then, it was a graveyard. The remnants of so many dead souls could mask a great deal.

She ducked under a high section of the bright tape and focused on the blond man in jeans and a dark gray sweatshirt crouched beside a still form. “ME’s not here yet?” she asked.

Lt. Ryan Foster, her partner from the all-human Riverdale Police Department, looked up and stood, his blue eyes lighting on the cups in her hands. “On his way. One of those for me?”

A smile touched her lips, and she handed him one, withholding further comment until he’d taken his first jolt of caffeine. “Dispatch said it was a stabbing. Human female victim. Is the suspect one of mine?” As a supernatural cop and guardian for Riverdale’s Olde Town district, Ari wouldn’t be notified of an RDPD case unless the Otherworld was involved. Usually that meant vampires or werewolves—the predominant species in town—had run amok
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“I’m not sure….” Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry to drag you out so early on a hunch, but I have a weird feeling about this one.”

Ari nearly choked on her coffee. “Oh, no you don’t. That’s my line. There’s only room for one of us with spidey senses in this partnership.”

“Cop instincts,” he corrected. His early-morning face was grumpy, displaying his constant annoyance with things he didn’t understand. “It works for us mere mortals.”

“OK. Show me. What have you got?” She stepped around him, the humor slipping from her lips at first sight of the victim.

“Judge for yourself if something doesn’t feel off.”

Vivid red blood stood in stark contrast to the middle-aged woman’s light lemon sweater. Not a typical stabbing…her throat had been slashed, leaving a spray pattern of arterial blood on the fading grass around her and a glistening trail down the sides of a gaping wound. It had soaked her neckline.

Ari’s nostrils flared, taking in the sharp, metallic scent and seeking something more, whatever had triggered Ryan’s reaction. All kidding aside, working with him for eight years meant she trusted his gut feelings almost as much as her magic.

Bio

Ally Shields grew up in the Midwest along the Mississippi River, still considers herself "a river rat," and currently resides near Des Moines. After a career in law and juvenile justice, she turned to full-time fiction writing in 2009. Her first urban fantasy, Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1) was published in 2012, and she currently has thirteen published novels. She loves to travel in the US and abroad and incorporates many of those settings into her books. Ms. Shields enjoys chatting with readers through her website/social media and can frequently be found on Twitter.

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Saturday, July 15, 2017

Promo Spotlight! The Maker Chronicles by Danielle DeVor

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From Examiner’s Recommended Women in Horror comes THE MARKER CHRONICLES by Danielle DeVor. The First Trilogy contains books 1 – 3. Now, for a limited time, save BIG by buying this special bundle deal at a killer price!

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SORROW’S POINT (Book 1)

Not All Exorcists are Equal....One is Marked When defrocked ex-priest, Jimmy Holiday, agrees to help an old friend with his sick daughter, he doesn’t expect the horrors that await him. Blackmoor, his friend’s new residence, rests upon the outskirts of the town of Sorrow’s Point. The mansion’s history of magic, mayhem, and death makes it almost a living thing – a haunted mansion straight out of a Stephen King novel. Jimmy must decide if the young girl, Lucy, is only ill, or if the haunting of the house and her apparent possession are real. After the house appears to affect him as well with colors of magic dancing before his eyes, rooms warded by a witch, and a ring of power in his voice, Jimmy is met by a transient who tells him he has “the Mark.” Whatever being “marked” means, Jimmy doesn’t care. All he wants to do is help Lucy. But, helping Lucy means performing an exorcism.

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SORROW’S EDGE (Book 2)

Uncovering The Truth…Will Take An Exorcist Jimmy Holiday, defrocked priest turned exorcist, is trying to get his life in order. With his on-again off-again witchy girlfriend moving in, the spirit of the little girl from his last exorcism hanging around, and a secret organization of exorcists hounding him, Jimmy equals stressed. When a stranger calls in the middle of the night asking for help with a possession, Jimmy is about to land in a mess of trouble. Especially since the man on the phone claims to have gotten his number from Jimmy’s old mentor. Too bad his mentor has been dead for years. After a mysterious silver flask arrives at his doorstep, Jimmy is left with two options: either ignore the newest enigma the universe has tossed him, or listen to Lucy and travel to Arizona to solve the mystery before all hell breaks loose…again.

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SORROW’S TURN (Book 3)


Some things are worse than demons. Jimmy Holiday, reluctant exorcist, is finally getting the help he needs from the higher-ups. The Order of Markers is sending him to the Vatican’s exorcism school. Now, he’ll receive the training he should have gotten at the beginning. One problem, someone wants to sabotage him. When his time at the school is cut short, Jimmy receives an interesting new case. It is the assignment that no one wants—a corpse has come back to life. And it isn’t a zombie. Too bad nothing goes as expected. Armed with his usual bag of tricks, Jimmy thinks everything will eventually be all right. Well, that is until his betrayer turns out to be the person he trusts most.

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Bio
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Named one of the Examiner’s 2014 Women in Horror: 93 Horror Authors you Need to Read Right Now, Danielle DeVor has been spinning the spider webs, or rather, the keyboard for more frights and oddities. She spent her early years fantasizing about vampires and watching “Salem’s Lot” way too many times. When not writing and reading about weird things, you will find her hanging out at the nearest coffee shop, enjoying a mocha frappuccino. 

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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Spotlight! Deadly Inheritance by Karen Randau

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Book Description:

A poisoned hotel clerk, a ruined Scotland honeymoon, and a hidden Viking burial site, Deadly Inheritance is the second book in the fast-paced Rim Country Mystery series.

Rita and Cliff are together again, this time on a long-awaited honeymoon in Scotland, where Cliff also plans to meet his grandfather for the first time. While the newlyweds check into the honeymoon suite at a luxurious Scottish hotel, the reception clerk dies after opening a note meant for Cliff. The action shifts into high gear when a mysterious woman uses the hotel clerk’s car against Rita and Cliff.

The couple team up with Detective Ian MacDougal to discover who wants them dead and why. The search for answers takes them on a one-of-a-kind tour of Scotland.
Murder and a fistful of action combine to make Rita’s Scottish honeymoon something she didn’t envision!

Excerpt:

A swirl of damp chill startled me when I entered the jetway in Edinburgh, Scotland. I snuggled against Cliff’s warmth, longed for the sweater in our checked luggage, and blamed honeymoon jitters for my headache and upset stomach.

An airline employee herded us onto a bus then told us to collect our luggage before going to the Customs area. Cliff secured a cart and stacked our luggage. I pulled out our sweaters.

We cleared Customs, found our way to the car rental counter, and approached a thirty-something agent in an ill-fitting red company blazer. It took deep concentration to understand his heavy accent as he retrieved our reservation and described our rental. Despite his dialect, I was sure I’d never heard of that make of car.

“Could we get something larger and with an automatic transmission?” Cliff asked.

“We have no automatics available,” the agent said. “If ye get a larger car, yu’ll have problems findin’ a place to park.”

Cliff nodded.

The agent flipped a map onto the counter and asked if we needed directions to our hotel. Cliff said we could use the navigation app on our cellphones. The agent cautioned that our app might not be accurate on some of the rural roads along our route, that we may not have cell coverage in the mountains, and that we should watch for sheep in the Highland countryside. With a yellow highlighter, he traced our route to the Eagles Nest Hotel and Spa, then he directed us to the “car park.”

The tightness around my head eased when we left the terminal and entered the relative calm of the rental car parking lot. I wrapped my sweater tighter and wished for a jacket while a twenty-something attendant with dark hair and a red company blazer introduced himself. He gave us a short lesson on how to drive our tiny red car.

“It looks more like a rollerskate than a car,” Cliff said.

The attendant offered a courteous smile, as if he had heard the rollerskate joke a million times.

He described how to drive a stick shift from the right side of the car, and on the left side of the road.

We looked at each other and nodded.

The attendant seemed skeptical. “I’ll just review th’ most important highway codes with ye.” We listened politely and thanked the attendant for his help.

Cliff opened the trunk and handed me the map. A wind gust ripped it away.  It swooped up, hovered for a second, and landed in a puddle.

“We don’t need it, Rita.” Cliff gestured for me to get into the car.

Cliff didn’t have to tell me twice. I happily deposited myself onto the passenger seat and blew into my hands to warm them while the attendant chased after the map.

The attendant opened my door and handed me the map. “Yu’ll need this, believe me.”

I tossed the soggy map onto the back floorboard.

The attendant closed my door and offered to help Cliff put our luggage “in th’ boot.” When everything wouldn’t fit in the trunk, Cliff laid our garment bags onto the backseat.

Cliff attempted to cram himself behind the steering wheel, gave up, and suggested I drive. As I slid in, he entered the address to Perthshire’s luxurious Eagles Nest Hotel and Spa into his cell. A welcome female voice with an American accent said to turn east. Unfortunately, I was too disoriented to know east from south. I shrugged at the attendant, who pointed toward the Exit sign.

Despite heavy traffic on the streets of Edinburgh, and rain like I’d never seen in Rim Vista, Arizona, everything went well … until a large truck entered the lane beside us in a busy roundabout. I felt like an insect about to get crushed and drove as close to the center as possible. I forgot to downshift, and the car stalled.

Horns blared behind us, sending my nerves into overdrive. I got the car moving, and drove the front tire over the curb. The tiny vehicle felt like it might tip over. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be driving on this part.” The wobble in my voice seemed to alarm Cliff.


“Don’t panic,” he said in his calm detective’s voice. “Breathe.”

Bio:

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A native of the southwestern U.S., Karen Randau has been writing and telling stories since elementary school. She holds a degree in journalism/public relations from The University of Texas at Austin and has enjoyed a long career in marketing communications.

After a short stint working in a psychiatric hospital, when she wrote three self-help books, Karen joined an international relief and development organization to use her skills to help people struggling with extreme poverty. She has traveled to numerous developing countries, witnessing famines, violence, and hopeful people working to overcome a generational cycle of poverty.

She loves to read and write fast-paced mysteries and thrillers, especially those with intricate plots, lots of action, and rollercoaster-like twists and turns.

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Thursday, March 16, 2017

Release Week Blitz! Savage Yearning by Liza Street

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Book Description:

When a one-night stand feels like so much more…

Mountain lion shifter Laura Vidal has been given two choices: leave the territory to find a mate, or become a guardian of the pride. Unwilling to leave the only home she’s ever known, Laura chooses the rigorous and bruising guardian training. Honestly, she’s glad for the training because it keeps her too busy to see Dristan, the guy who rocked her world during an amazing one-night stand.

Dristan Rhees can’t forget the girl who stole his heart after a single night of unbridled passion. When she won’t give him the time of day, though, he vows to move on. Maybe he could focus on growing his small business and living a quiet life, if not for the vampires that invade their territory. With the vampires threatening their pride, Dristan and Laura are forced to work together, and they must confront the desire that still threatens to consume them.

Excerpt:

The bar top was warm beneath Dristan’s forearms as he hunched over it, trying to ignore the humans around them. He didn’t know why he’d let his brother talk him into going out—he not only hated going out in the snow, but lately he hadn’t felt very social. If he wanted to drink with his brother, they didn’t have to go any farther than the fridge in their apartment. But Frasier had some messed-up notion that Dristan needed to “get off his sad stick and go someplace fun.”

Thus, here they were at Hart’s. It used to be an old farmhouse, but the lower level had been opened up into a large room, booths added along the sides, pool tables in the center. There was an arcade upstairs, along with a few more pool tables, but tonight Dristan didn’t want to stray too far from the bar.

He felt like he was living in one of those country songs his buddy Rafe liked to listen to so much. Cold Montana winter, brooding man at a bar, trying to forget the girl who got away.

“You ever feel like you’re living in a song, Fraze?” he asked his brother.

“Only when I’m feeling melodramatic and self-pitying and generally no fun to be around,” Frasier said.

“Asshole.”

I’m rubber, you’re glue,” Frasier quoted in a sing-song voice. “Whatever you say bounces off me and goes back to you. Go get laid or something. You haven’t been the same since—”

“I know.” Since he and Laura had enjoyed a beautiful, perfect night in each other’s arms…and then she’d pretended it had never happened. For almost a year. It hadn’t been fun watching her go on with her life as if Dristan didn’t exist. He took a drink from his pint glass. “Why do you always think sex is the answer to life’s problems?”

“If you don’t start having fun on your own, I’m going to have to take drastic measures,” Frasier said. “There’s a blonde in the corner, sexy red dress. Or no, that cute little brunette in the silver halter top. She can’t take her eyes off you.”

Dristan didn’t even bother looking in either woman’s direction. “If she’s in a halter top, she’s a damn fool. It’s too cold for that kind of nonsense.”

“I’m no fool,” a familiar voice said from behind him.

Shit. Frasier had played him. “Laura?”

She shimmied around him and propped herself on the stool between him and Frasier. Her brown hair shone in a straight fall down her back, and her green eyes appraised him coolly. “Rafe, Mateo, and Justine are on their way. What game are we playing tonight? Take a drink every time a woman looks at Dristan?”

Was she teasing him on purpose? It was the same game they’d played the last time all of them had come to Hart’s—the same night that he and Laura had spent together afterward.

 Bio:

Liza got her start in romance by sneak-reading her grandma’s paperbacks. Years later, she tried her own hand as a ghostwriter of romance and it wasn’t long before she started developing her own series. Now she divides her time between freelance editing, ghostwriting, and mountain lion shifters with fierce and savage hearts.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Spotliight! Quinn's Honor by Shirleen Davies

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Description
Quinn’s Honor, Book Three, MacLarens of Boundary Mountain Historical Western Romance Series
“Every book of Shirleen's never fails to draw me in and make it impossible to put down until I devour it!”
Quinn MacLaren has one true love…Circle M, the family ranch. He makes it a habit of working hard and playing harder, spending time with experienced women who know he wants nothing more than their company. He buries the love he feels for one woman deep inside, knowing he’ll never be the man she needs.
Emma Pearce is a true ranch woman, working long hours to help keep the family ranch thriving. Feisty, funny, and reliable, she’s the girl all the single young men want—after they’ve sewn their wild oats. Few know Emma has her heart set on one man. A man who may never grow up enough to walk away from his wild ways and settle down.
When tragedy strikes, Quinn’s right where he doesn’t want to be—as temporary foreman of the Pearce ranch. Stepping in to fill Big Jim Pearce’s shoes isn’t easy. Neither is keeping his feelings for Emma hidden and his hands to himself. Honor-bound to do what is right, Quinn meets the challenge, losing Emma’s friendship in the process.
Adding to Quinn’s worries, something sinister is working its way through the thriving town of Conviction. Unforeseen forces are at work. Debt builds, families lose their ranches, and newcomers threaten to divide not only the land, but the people—including the Pearce family.
As events unfold, Quinn faces the difficult challenge of keeping his feelings for Emma hidden and his honor intact. Doing what he believes is right couldn’t feel more wrong.
After all, what’s a man without honor? 
Quinn’s Honor, book three in the MacLarens of Boundary Mountain historical western romance series, is a full-length novel with an HEA and no cliffhanger.
Excerpt:


“I wondered if you’d decided to quit.”

Quinn spun around. Emma stood not six feet away, wrapped in a thin coat, her arms crossed. He took a couple steps toward her, surprised she’d gotten so close without him knowing.

“I didn’t hear you come in.”

She walked closer, closing the distance until they were a foot apart. She hadn’t seen the complete exhaustion on his face or the slump of his shoulders until now. He’d been working from dawn until late each night, doing what her pa hadn’t been able to do since Jimmy’s death. The ranch was in better shape than ever, the ranch hands having a competence they lacked before Quinn arrived. Even though she still felt some justification for her actions, all she’d done was make his life harder.

Reaching up, she swiped an errant strand of hair from his forehead. The rush of feelings when her fingers touched his skin, caused her face to heat. She licked her lips as a pulsing sensation rushed through her. Dropping her gaze to his eyes, her heart tripped at the intensity of his stare. His gray-blue eyes turned stormy, the color of the night sky when lightning ignited the heavens.

Her stomach fluttered and heart raced when he said nothing, continuing to study her. Before she could step away, Quinn’s hand came up, his fingers wrapping around her wrist, pulling her close.

She didn’t flinch. Didn’t try to pull away or break her gaze. Instead, she leaned forward, almost touching his chest.

“Emma…” He breathed her name out, almost as a prayer.

She could see the vein in his neck pulse, hear the almost desperate agony in his voice. Still, she didn’t move away.

“What is it, Quinn?”

Searching her face, he sucked in a shaky breath, seeing trust and so much more. Lowering his head, he stopped an inch from her mouth, wanting her to pull back, needing her to meet him.

Lifting her chin, she placed her other hand on his chest, splaying her fingers wide. Her lips parted an instant before Quinn’s touched them.

His actions were gentle, a mere caress before becoming more urgent. Letting go of her wrist, he wrapped his arms around her, aligning her body with his. Melting into him, she lifted her arms around his neck, drawing him down on a deep sigh.

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Bio

Shirleen Davies writes romance—historical, contemporary, and romantic suspense. She grew up in Southern California, attended Oregon State University, and has degrees from San Diego State University and the University of Maryland. During the day she provides consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses. But her real passion is writing emotionally charged stories of flawed people who find redemption through love and acceptance.  She now lives with her husband in a beautiful town in northern Arizona.
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