Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts

March 18, 2016

Excerpt, Author Interview & Giveaway! Daughter of Magic by Teresa Roman


Lilli sees things no one else does.


Desperate to make sense of the dreams and visions that have plagued her since childhood, Lilli confides in Devin, her closest friend, and the boy she’s fallen for.

Instead of questioning her sanity, Devin confesses to secrets of his own, which are far darker. His revelations about magic, witches and demons stun Lilli. But it’s what he knows about Lilli’s mother, long believed to be dead, that leaves her feeling betrayed. Despite her anger, Lilli will have to learn to trust Devin again, because he is the only one who can protect her from a dark danger that’s coming for her from a world away.




The third round of knocking was accompanied by a voice. “Lilli, it’s me. I know you’re in there. Open the door, please,” Devin pleaded.

At the sound of his voice, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I rose from my chair and started for the door, my need for him intense. Halfway there, I stopped. I wanted to open the door and run into his arms, but I was afraid. For a minute I considered pretending I wasn’t home, but I knew that wouldn’t do any good. He could probably hear me from where he was. 

“Go away,” I shouted. It hurt to say those words, they were the last thing I ever wanted to tell him, but the look of agony on his face from earlier was etched into my mind. I refused to cause him pain like that again. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” His voice sounded as tortured as I felt, and I was afraid that it was me hurting him all over again. “I’ll stay out here all night and all day and the day after until you open this door and let me talk to you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you again,” I said, trying to be strong, not only for myself, but for him, too.

“The only thing that hurts is being away from you. Please, just let me in,” he pleaded. “You won’t hurt me. I can help you. I can teach you how to control your power.” 

“No.”

“Lilli, please … I need you. I can’t breathe without you. I love you.” His voice cracked and I wondered if I’d heard him right, but then he said it again, and again, and again. 

Forgetting everything else, I ran to open the door and threw myself into his arms. Relief flooded through me as he wrapped his arms around me. I seriously doubted I’d ever be able to let go again.


Q. Why do you write? 

A. I love books. After being such a die-hard reader for so long my head became filled with all these ideas that I just needed to get out. I want people to smile when they finish reading my books, just as so many authors have made me do. 

Q. What is the inspiration for the story? 

A. I've always really liked the fantasy and paranormal genres. I just find stories about magic and supernatural creatures to be so much fun. There really are no boundaries when your story is a fantasy. The main character in Daughter of Magic is quiet, a loner. That was me at her age, and I constantly fantasized about my life being bigger than it was. Books gave me that escape, and that’s what I wanted to create with Daughter of Magic.

Q. Where can readers find out more about you? 

A. I have a website - www.teresaromanwrites.com. You can also find out more about me on my Amazon author page, Facebook and Goodreads.



Teresa currently lives in beautiful Sacramento, CA with her husband, three adorable children and a dog named Parker that her son convinced them to adopt. When she's not at her day job or running around with her kids, you can find her in front of the computer writing, or with her head buried in another book. If you'd like to find out more about her, she can be found at www.teresaromanwrites.comwhere you can also sign up for her newsletter to receive exclusive book release information.



March 7, 2016

Excerpt & Giveaway! The Changelings, War of the Fae #1 Elle Casey


NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, ELLE CASEY, brings readers Book 1 in the YA Urban Fantasy WAR OF THE FAE Series.

Jayne Sparks, a potty-mouthed, rebellious seventeen-year-old and her best friend, shy and bookish Tony Green, have a pretty typical high school existence, until several seemingly unrelated incidents converge, causing a cascade of events that change their lives forever. Jayne and Tony, together with a group of runaway teens, are hijacked and sent into a forest, where nothing and no one are as they seem. Who will emerge triumphant? And what will they be when they do?

Content Warning: Mild violence and significant foul language within. Meant for older Young Adult readers (age 15+).




I couldn’t take much more of the high school nonsense. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there. Where would I be if I weren’t there? ... I don’t know. All I did know was I was in the middle of all that crap, going to class, taking tests - but I was on autopilot, going through the motions, waiting for life to start happening. 

Sitting in World History and bored out of my mind, I was looking at a girl one row over who was the polar opposite of me. She was staring attentively at the teacher, her pen poised above an already nearly full page of notes, eager to write down every nugget of educational wisdom he was throwing our way. She loved high school, and she had big plans for moving on to college next year. She had cheer practice after school and a boyfriend named Mike who played wide receiver on the football team. Ugh. 

I owned a pen. I probably had some paper somewhere in my backpack too. That day, however, I was using my pen to draw symbols all over my right hand - temporary tattoos. I write and eat with my left hand but do just about everything else with my right. My own body was confused with what it was supposed to do. 

I was in the minority in that school. It seemed like just about everyone else knew exactly what they were doing now and what they were going to be doing until the day they died. Me? I didn’t have a clue. All I knew was this wasn’t it.



Elle Casey, a former attorney and teacher, is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling American author who lives in Southern France with her husband, three kids, and a number of furry friends. She has written books in several genres and publishes an average of one full-length novel per month.




December 17, 2015

Excerpt & Giveaway! Caelum: Olde City Angels Book 1


Eva doesn't claim to be a good guardian angel, but she tries. After she loses two charges, the Powers That Be begin to doubt her abilities. To redeem herself, Eva sets out to rescue Elsie, granddaughter of the former king of the Fae. A demon has kidnapped Elsie to complete an ancient ritual that will allow him to slip through the veil between Earth and Hell during the Sturgeon moon. Thomas, an angel liaison, finally lands his first mission. But when he's paired with the angel responsible for his uncle's death, he has to put aside their differences to get the job done. With unlikely friends in tow, Eva and Thomas are in a race against time. Save Elsie, save the world—oh, and save Eva's job.



~*~
A young brunette was positioned on Soren’s lap, fresh blood trickling down her neck. As soon as he saw me, he pushed her off and stood. The girl didn’t seem to care. She was still high from his bite. Soren looked to the girl. “Leave.” The words came out clipped and angry. His cheeks were flushed from feeding, I looked at the girl, wondering, but I wasn’t drawn to her. She wasn’t my charge. I did wonder if I had been sent to save Elsie from Soren. My entire being would know the moment I saw Elsie. George used to call it my angel voodoo. He moved toward me fast. The energy coming from him was like a lightening storm, and I wanted to be in the middle, letting his rain envelope me. Getting too close would mean being struck by his lightening. Everyone close to him always ended up scorched.

~*~


Mandie Stevens has always been accused of living in her own world so she decided to put it to paper. When she isn't writing you can catch her lounging on the beach reading. Mandie has penned both nonfiction and urban fantasy. She has ridiculously little feet and would be happy eating seafood every day.


October 22, 2015

Excerpt & Giveaway! Packmaster, Full Moon Rising #1 by Jess Buffett




Kyan had never known true kindness, or what it felt like to be completely entranced by one person...until he met Blaise. When his life spins out of control, and a whole new world is opened up to him, he finds that the only human being he can turn to, may not even be human at all.

Blaise has spent months trying to figure out the best way to approach his shy and nervous mate. As the Packmaster in the small town of Rowan Oak, he isn't used to having to show restraint or patience. When he finally makes his move a turn of events involving a forgotten note, a disappearing mate, and trouble with a group of hunters leads to disastrous results.

When Blaise finally catches up to Kyan, what he finds and the answers he gets are nothing like what he had been expecting. Will the pair be able to straighten out their misunderstandings and find the happiness they both long for, or will the Packmaster lose the only thing he has ever had to fight for?


Kyan ran. His legs burned, his chest was tight and the fear that clogged his throat was so completely overwhelming that he just knew at any minute his entire body would give out on him. The heavy rain pelted down hard, and his small stature, with hardly any muscle or bulk of any form, quivered from the strain. He pushed himself through the pain, refusing to give up. The abhorrent idea of allowing the monsters that chased him, to catch up, was the only thing that kept him moving. That, and the small flutter he felt in his stomach. The reminder that he was not only running for his own life, but that of his unborn child’s. Even now, with the small protrusion in his lower abdomen, the thought almost sent him careening off course.

Pregnant! How could a man be pregnant? It just shouldn’t be possible.
Kyan swiped his auburn hair out of his face, so that he could see better. The normally spiky locks hung plastered to his forehead by sweat and rain.

“There he is. Get him!” One of the many voices that had taunted him for the last hour, shouted.
Alarm shot through him when he realized just how close they had gotten to him. A whimper broke free as he darted his way through the thick foliage and branches that stuck out and cut through his skin. He almost lost his footing over a protruding tree root, but luckily he was able to leap at the last moment, landing firmly on his two feet.
Just as he regained his stride, a heavy mass ploughed into his side, sending him careening to the ground. He barely had enough time to twist so as not to fall onto his stomach. His entire frame ached, and all he could do was curl up into a ball, protecting himself and his child as much as possible.

“Please,” he begged. “God, please.”

“Shhh,” came a vicious hiss from above him. Firm hands clamped down hard on him as he attempted to shrug them off. “Do you want them to find us? Keep still and be quiet.”

He froze at the menacing yet familiar voice, and only then became aware that at some stage he must have closed his eyes. Prying them open, Kyan stared at the hulking man above him in shock, confusion and not a little bit of fear.

“Blaise?”

A hand quickly covered his mouth as Blaise growled. “For the love of god, Kyan. Shut. Up.”


Jess Buffett was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. She is a mum of two, married to her high school sweetheart. 

Jess is a hopeless romantic who is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance with a happy ending—anything with hunky men in all their glory, whether they be Shifters, Vampires, Cowboys, or the boy next door. 

A caffeine addict who shamefully can’t make a decent cup of coffee to save her life, Jess believes in soul mates, happily ever afters, and in love at first sight, but that sometimes people need a second or a third for the brain to catch up.




June 5, 2015

Cover Reveal! Angel Lover, Angel Assassins #2 by Tricia Skinner

Angel_Lover_500

There's no danger greater than falling for your enemy… Publication date: June 30th



The Nephilim are bound. Their powers cursed. But half-angel Kasdeja will do anything to free them from Heaven's tyranny. When Kas is approached by a striking, mysterious woman, she tells him his greatest enemies hold the key to his freedom.

Mariel keeps herself shrouded in secrets, using them to hide her true self. For she is not just employed by the Renegades--enemy fallen angels—she is a double agent, working on the sly for Heaven. Her directive is to seduce the gorgeous Nephilim—despite her insecurity about such sensual acts.

For Mariel is playing a dangerous game, and falling for Kas could only cause trouble; her assignment isn't just seduction. It's destruction.




He traced his fingers under her tank top and made small circles against her back. A soft sound escaped her lips, then she relaxed. “Mariel.” He barely recognized his lust-blown voice. She answered by renewing their passionate kiss, full and open and bone melting. She kissed him thoroughly, drawing the oxygen from his lungs as she twisted her fingers into his long hair. Kas lowered her on the comforter with care, never breaking their kiss. He eased back, and with his gaze on hers, he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it. Mariel’s gaze made several passes over his body. What did she feel for him? Admiration? Uncertainty? He’d never hurt her. No one would ever hurt her again, not if they expected to live. Then Mariel’s gaze fell away. “You are...beautiful.” Her shoulders drooped, and she pulled back. “You don’t believe you are.” She didn’t reply, except for the stubborn jut of her chin. Kas smoothed his thumb over her cheek then gently raised her head. She wouldn’t look at him. He wouldn’t allow her to withdraw from him, from them. He touched her shirt at the waist, and her hands clamped over his, her eyes wet. Her fearful expression tore him apart. “Trust me as I trust you,” he said gently. Kas waited until her grip loosened, and her hands fell to the side. He infused a smile with warmth and then eased the material up in torturous increments. Time she could use to stop him. Her flat stomach and tight abs were revealed. He smothered his reaction, afraid Mariel would mistake a groan for disapproval. Smooth, golden skin fed his hunger an appetizer. “You have control,” he told her. “If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop.” Mariel peeked through her lashes and nodded. He lifted the shirt higher, stared at her breasts, and bit back another sound. God of All, they made him salivate, but he tapped more of his self-control. Finally, the shirt was over her head and joined his on the floor. Mariel’s arms stayed locked at her sides like a soldier at attention. Kas moved around her and climbed onto the bed next to her. “Lie on your side, facing me.” “I do not know,” she said, whisper light. Again his chest felt as if it had crushed inward. No woman should be made to believe she was ugly. None should feel shame about her body. He wanted to beat bloody any man who’d ever looked at her wrong. Mariel expelled a long breath as if she’d resolved herself to do what he’d asked. She stretched out alongside him, chest to chest, her right arm pillowing her head. He leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her cheek and lips. “Touch me.”  



Tricia Skinner is an author of passionate dark fantasy. She is a features writer for Fresh Fiction and a project manager for Short Fuse. She began her writing career as a business reporter and wrote for The Detroit News, Investor’s Business Daily, MSN, and The Houston Chronicle. Raised in Detroit, Tricia graduated with a BA degree from the nationally acclaimed Journalism Institute for Media Diversity at Wayne State University. She earned a Masters of Liberal Studies – Creative Writing degree from Southern Methodist University and will obtain a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2017. Diversity in genre fiction is dear to Tricia’s heart. She is represented by Laurie McLean, co-founder of Fuse Literary Agency. When not writing, Tricia can be found reading, lifting weights, or geeking out over games, movies, and music. She has a Tom Hiddleston obsession, and she is Team Vader. Her family includes three Great Danes (so far).).


  

May 24, 2015

Review, Excerpt & Giveaway! Cronin's Key II by N.R. Walker




History isn’t always what it seems. 



With the battle of Egypt behind them, Alec and Cronin are enjoying the thrill of new love. Though fate doesn’t wait long before throwing them back into the world of weird.

They know Alec’s blood is special, though its true purpose still eludes them. And given Alec’s inability to be changed into a vampire, Cronin is free to drink from him at will. But the ramifications of drinking such powerful blood starts a ripple effect.

With the help of Jorge, a disturbing vampire-child with the gift of foresight, Alec and Cronin face a new kind of war. This time their investigations lead them to the borders of China and Mongolia—but it’s not what lies in the pits beneath that worries Alec.

It’s the creator behind it all.

In the underground depths of China, amidst a war with the Terracotta Army, they will find out just what the Key is, and what Alec means to the vampire world.


Alec sat on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table reading the New York Times on an iPad. He’d look up every so often at the apartment, at Cronin’s walls of memorabilia, smiling at the antiques shelved there, then at the vampire beside him.

“What’s so funny?” Cronin asked. He didn’t even look up from the Chinese newspaper he was reading, though a smile played at his lips.

“I was just looking over all your relics,” Alec explained. Cronin had told him about most of the artifacts he’d collected, and despite their conversations starting with good intentions, they usually ended up in the bedroom. Or on the sofa, or on the floor, or over the dining table. “I mean, those antiques are pretty cool, but you’re my favorite.”

Cronin looked up at Alec then. “Your favorite antique?”

“Well.” Alec’s grin widened. “You are a 744 vintage. I think you qualify.”

Cronin smiled, amused. “And you’re a what?”

Alec imitated the guy from Antiques Roadshow. “A contemporary piece, 1980s Americana. Perfect condition, well-endowed.”

Cronin laughed at that. “You’re bored.”

“Ugh.” Alec groaned and let his head fall back on the sofa. “So bored.”

He’d spent the last eight weeks holed up in Cronin’s lavish New York City apartment. His days, which were now fully nighttime hours, consisted of a workout regime—Cronin had installed gym equipment in the cinema room to curb Alec’s boredom—hours of foreplay and sex, the occasional movie on Netflix, and reading and researching vampire histories. He rarely left the apartment.

The view was spectacular, and if he wanted something—anything—he could simply order it, pay for it withCronin’s black credit card, and have it delivered. But he was still confined to quarters. Meaning he was still wanted by NYPD, his former colleagues no less, though the hype had died down.

The fact that his and Cronin’s disappearing acts, which had been caught on CCTV—once in his department’s office area and once in the department’s stores facility—had been leaked on YouTube, meant Alec’s relatively quiet and unnoticed disappearance had gone global.

The footage went viral, making news headlines around the world and him an internet sensation. Some called it a hoax and disregarded what was just too impossible to understand, and others called it what it was.

Quantum leaping.

Cronin’s ability to appear anywhere in the world—or leaping as they called it—was, in Alec’s opinion, the best talent a vampire could have. And it was awesome. Not that they really went anywhere these last eight weeks.

It still wasn’t a great idea for Alec to be seen in public, and Cronin couldn’t go out in the sunlight. That limited their outings to faraway places, wherever it was night.

Alec sighed and went over to the shelves lined with Cronin’s memorabilia. He had wanted to know about all the items Cronin thought important enough to collect over the last twelve hundred years. As a vampire, Cronin had seen things Alec couldn’t begin to imagine, and he wanted to know as much as he could. He’d asked about most of them, but went to one display that held three items he’d not gotten to yet. Alec put his hand out, almost touching the artifact. “Can I touch it?”

Cronin now stood beside him. “Of course,” he answered with a smile.

Alec carefully picked up the small, crudely glazed bottle, admiring it as he turned it in his hands. It was whitish-brown and looked like a child had made it in school art class “What about this one?”

“That is a Mayan poison bottle.”

Alec blinked. “Oh.” He changed how he was holding it, as though it would now bite.

Cronin smiled. “The year was 821. Jodis and I went there and were ill-received. Can’t imagine why.”

Alec laughed and rolled his eyes. “No, I can’t imagine why either.”

“A witch-doctor offered us a drink,” Cronin said, nodding toward the bottle. “Courteous fellow.”

“Well, it would have been rude to refuse,” Alec added sarcastically.

“Yes, quite.” Cronin said, amused. “In the end, he drank it himself rather than see his end with one of us.”

“And this one?” Alec picked up what looked like a bone knife.

“Ah, that’s a Peruvian weaver’s bone wand.”

“Of course it is.”

Cronin chuckled. “It’s from 1288. An old woman stabbed me with it.”

Alec’s mouth fell open. “She what?”

“She stabbed me, only barely.” Cronin was still smiling. “Eiji and Jodis thought it funny that an elderly human woman could do such a thing. She was no taller than four foot.”

“I hope you killed her.”

Cronin barked out a laugh. “Uh, no. Her heart gave out before I had the chance.”

Alec turned back to the shelves and picked up a long metal pin with a jeweled end. It looked expensive. “And this?”

“That is a seventeenth century French shawl pin,” Cronin said, almost wistfully. “A man tried to stab me with it. I believe it belonged to his wife.”

“What is it with you and being stabbed?”

Cronin sniffed indignantly. “It must be my charming personality.”

Alec snorted. “If by charming personality you mean vampire about to kill them, then yes, I think so too.” But the truth was, Alec knew from years of police work that stabbing was an intimate crime; the offender was well within the other person’s personal space. He frowned. “I don’t like the idea of you being close enough to bite someone else. Or that you have your mouth on their skin… or your teeth.”

Cronin took the shawl pin from Alec and put it back on the shelf. “It doesn’t bother you that I kill people, only that I have my lips on them when I bite them?”

Alec looked to the floor and nodded. “You get close, you touch them, you put your lips on them,” he said. He knew he was pouting, but he couldn’t seem to stop. “It’s not fair.”

Cronin put his finger under Alec’s chin and lifted his face so he could see his eyes. “It is not the same.”

“I know,” Alec said petulantly. He knew he was being unreasonable. He craned his neck, exposing it to Cronin. Alec knew there were vampire puncture wounds marking his skin, and he loved them. He wore them with pride. “I like it when your lips are on my neck, when you bite me. When you drink from me.”

Cronin leaned in and ran his nose along the bite wounds. “Do I not take enough from you?”

“Never,” Alec whispered.

Cronin licked the two bruised hole marks, making Alec shiver. “Do I not bite you enough?”

“Never.” Alec was getting dizzy with want. He had to remind himself to breathe. He leaned against Cronin, feeling the strength and warmth of him from his thighs to his neck. He was already getting hard. “It will never be enough.”

Cronin kissed Alec’s neck once more but pulled away. “I can’t keep feeding from you. It can’t be good for you.”

Alec chuckled. “It is really good for me.”

This time Cronin laughed, a purr rumbled through his chest. “You test my restraint, yet again. Please know, Alec, I’m not opposed to such a notion. Though the hours spent in bed this morning may suggest you need a rest. Just because I can bite you without changing you, doesn’t mean you are unaffected.”

Alec groaned. They’d found out after the battle in Egypt that Cronin could bite Alec and not change him into a vampire. It opened a whole world of questions, but more than that, it meant they could have sex while Alec was human. And yes, as much as he wanted Cronin to take him, fuck him, and bite him, his human body needed recuperation. The intense sexual pleasure and slight blood loss took its toll when it was for hours at a time. So as much as he didn’t like it, he knew Cronin was right.

But Cronin also had a warped sense of time. Living for twelve hundred years would do that, Alec conceded. So while Cronin was patient and content to sit and read or research for hours upon hours, Alec was restless for something else beyond that, some sense of normalcy. He was used to police work, and now he sat around doing a whole lot of nothing. Even though he’d left normal behind the day he’d met Cronin, the vampire he was fated to, he was still a twenty-nine-year-old man. He needed to do something human. He grinned at Cronin. “Come on, let’s go out.”

Cronin quirked an eyebrow. “Where to?”

“A club somewhere.”

“I meant in which city.”

“Oh.” Alec was thinking some nightclub in the Meatpacking District would do. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to being able to leap to any country he chose. He grinned. “Well, it’s night time in Europe. I’ve always wanted to go to London.”

Cronin smiled. “I know just the place.”


And N.R. Walker does it again. I loved this book. I can honestly say that it’s much better than the first one.

We’ve seen Alec and Cronin meet and fall in love. They had to face a lot of danger and their fears but they did it. Now, they’re settled into a relationship neither could have predicted.

But the danger is not over yet. They have to face one more challenge, the greatest of all and it may just destroy them and those they love.

There are still mysteries unsolved and an old enemy is just waiting for the right moment to strike. 

This is not all, though.

Both Cronin and Alec are changing and no one has any idea why or what exactly is going on. The clock is ticking and the race against time has begun. The two men have to find answers to their question before it’s too late and before what they fought so hard to obtain is forever lost.

I’ve been a fan of N.R.’s since I’ve read Thomas Elkin last year. She has a way of writing that makes you fall in love with the characters and get caught up in their stories from the first pages.

It was the same with Cronin’s Key. 

I loved Alec’s strength and determination even when he found himself in a complete new world, surrounded by people he would have never imagined existed.

He’s resilient and manages to remain calm and collected even in the most dire circumstances.

Cronin’s shyness is endearing. Instead of going all caveman on Alec and trying to dominate since he’s the one physically strongest of the two, he chooses to be his partner, to listen and support.

He’s tender and sweet and, most of the times, he gives more than he takes.

What I always liked about N.R.’s books is that the story doesn’t focus on the sexual aspect of the relationship. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there ARE steamy scenes but those happen as a natural development of the relationship. The main focus is on them, on the characters. You can actually feel their bond forming and developing, strengthening. They’re never perfect. They make mistakes and screw up just like everyone else. In this case, it was fate that brought Cronin and Alec together but even so, they still had to deal with the fact that having a fated partner doesn’t make everything easy. Love just doesn’t happen and it doesn’t automatically fix things. Their journey from a confusing first meeting to a pledge of eternal love will leave you breathless and asking for more. 

For a first attempt at writing a new genre, PNR, I think we can all agree that she did a great job but that doesn’t surprise me.

Someone who can bring me to tears every single time I re-read one of her books will always be a winner in my eyes.

Ok, this review has turned into an essay (LOL) and I could go on and on about it for days but I’ll stop here and tell you not to waste any more time. It is definitely a must read. And my “Favorites” list just got a little bit longer. Cannot wait to see what happens next!!

Happy Reading!!



N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn't have it any other way. She is many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don't let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words. She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things...but likes it even more when they fall in love. She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal. She's been writing ever since...





May 4, 2015

Book Blast: Excerpt & Giveaway! Bits Of Magic by Angela Benedetti

Buy your copy HERE


There's magic in the world, and its hiding in plain sight. Your friends, your neighbors, the guy who runs your favorite restaurant -- any of them could be more than they seem. A man trick-or-treating with his son finds the courage to go after what he wants when he confiscates and eats some unwrapped candy. A park ranger who's afraid of outing himself in public is reminded that his lover will -- and can -- protect him, no matter what. An apprentice mage learns that his master never forgets when he has a lesson to finish, and will always come for him when he gets himself lost in magic. And a boy from a mage-gifted family learns that life isn't over just because the gift has passed him by. Return to the world of Hidden Magic.


Sebastiano Fiorentelli studied the calendar -- a freebie from the Humane Society with photos of puppies and kittens on it -- on the wall of his cluttered basement laboratory and observed that it was the thirtieth day of October. Since emigrating to the United States and discovering the Halloween custom of sending children around to beg for treats, he'd made a habit of including something extra in the candy he made for the occasion each year. By the Nineteen-seventies, when hysteria over poison and razor blades swept the population, Mr. Fiorentelli had been living in his San Jose neighborhood long enough that no one fussed about letting their children eat his wax-paper-wrapped candies.

He paced back and forth in front of open cabinets and crowded shelves, pondering what to make this year, until finally he stopped and nodded.

"Courage," he said. "This year, I think I'll make courage..."




Angela Benedetti lives in Seattle with her husband, five computers, and thousands of books. She started writing as a teenager, and discovered soon after that romances with two hot guys are twice as good as romances with only one. When she's not at the computer, she enjoys cooking and baking, going to science fiction conventions, and cruising with her husband. She's one of the few people in the universe who loses weight on cruises. (Must be all those walking-around shore tours and the lack of free internet access.) Her favorite mainstream fiction genres are science fiction and fantasy, both of which tend to seep into her own writing; the Hidden Magic series is a fun blend of romance and fantasy.




March 28, 2015

Book Promo & Giveaway! The Edge of Hope, Bad Blood #1 by Alina Popescu

badblood cover blog promo
Ebook- Amazon US / UK / AU
Paperback- Amazon US / UK / B&N / CreateSpace

Everyone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?

Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.

Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?



Coming Soon: The Breaking of Bonds, Bad Blood #2

The Breaking of Bonds, book 2 of the Bad Blood Trilogy will be released on May 28th, 2015

A human sacrifice has forced vampires, trueborn and baseborn alike, into an escalating conflict with one side pushing for revenge, the other for freedom. The hunt for Anthony and Louis is the trueborns’ main objective, driven by Hesrah’s desire to get even with the two baseborns and avenge her best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are rattled and divided between rallying around the rebels and obeying the rules imposed by Ankhsis.

What emerges from the portal from Earth to Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Not human and not baseborn. Certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?

In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?

Teaser 2



Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.


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