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The Magic Wakes by Charity Bradford

Fantasy meets science fictions meets romance in The Magic Wakes. 

Since childhood, scientist Talia Zaryn has been haunted by recurring dreams, visions of an alien attack on her planet Sendek. Each time it ends abruptly with Talia’s death in the capital city Joharadin, a city that she has spent her life desperately avoiding. Talia keeps these dreams a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when she is unexpectedly transferred to Joharadin she is convinced that the conflict, and her own death, is at hand.

As Talia’s nightmares occur with increasing frequency, they reveal the imminent invasion of a half-dragon, half-human race called Dragumon, bent on the annihilation of her world.

In Sendek, magic is dead and science rules, forcing Talia to keep another secret, one that could cost her everything if it were known. Now, in order to save her planet, Talia must awaken the powers within her and rely at last on the magic that is her true inheritance.

Download The Magic Wakes  on Amazon.

Excerpt

Talia stood in the dark at the top of a tree covered hill waiting for the sunsrise. The breeze cooled her hot skin and sent goose bumps down her bare legs. She stared at the city of Gneledar sprawled across the valley below. The skylanes had already filled with aeroflyers, and it wouldn’t be long before the pedestrian zipways filled.

What would happen if they knew what I could do?

The thought made the hair on her arms rise. She shook it off; grateful the city consulate had allowed her to retain her parents’ home after their deaths. Her father had cared for the nature reserve all his life. Now she could hide within the shadow of the trees a few miles from the busy city below her. This was the one place she felt safe to drink the sunsrise without prying eyes.

How will I survive the dreams without the sunsrise? Talia directed her thoughts to the trees.

Don’t go. Their deep tones resonated through her mind, sending warmth with the tremor of their strength.

A sigh escaped. If only it were that easy.

All other thoughts disappeared as the first sun rose between Mount Riyou and Mount Gair on the other side of the city. Her shoulder-length hair filled with static electricity as the energy of the sun tugged at her. Sunbeams bounced off metal and glass in a glaring shower of radiance. As the second sun climbed into view, she raised her arms and drew the light to her.

The rays swirled and coalesced as she inhaled the flowing energy. Her lungs expanded as pure life flowed through her body, healing the damage from the dream. The blisters disappeared and the aching muscles relaxed. Her soul expanded until her spirit pushed at the skin, reaching for freedom.

She exhaled.

The excess energy seeped into the surrounding wildlife as the glow of power faded into the normal light of day. The euphoria of the sunsrise faded with each step home. Small animals and birds drew near, touched her feet or shoulders and skittered away again. They knew this was goodbye.

You will come back. The trees hummed.

Not this time. I’m going to Joharadin. Talia shuddered as she pushed back memories of a childhood trip.

Dreams can change.

This one never does.

Stay then. We will protect you.

Talia rested a palm against the trunk of a large tree. Energy pulsed from deep in the core, warming her hand. Power coursed between them like a heartbeat.

She spoke aloud, “They’ll come anyway. I have to fight for all of us.”

And she would. She didn’t know how, but she couldn’t leave her world in the hands of the Scalies or Draguman. Whatever they were called.

The trees sighed as she reached the door to her parents’ house. It was all she had left of them. Keeta clung to the vines growing up the side of the door, and launched himself toward Talia as soon as she was close enough to catch him. She carried him through the door.

“Computer, access tram schedule.” Talia called out while she sat Keeta on his favorite pillow to sleep.

“Destination required?” the automated voice asked.

“Joharadin, capital of Algodova.” Talia moved to the metabolizer and punched in an order for breakfast.

“Tram scheduled to depart Gneledar station at nine rising.”

“Delays?” She took a bite of eggs smothered in cheese and mushrooms.

“On schedule.”

“Of course it is.” She dumped the full plate down the sink as her stomach twisted. Another deep breath. “I can’t fight destiny. If this is it, this is it.”

Read the rest of The Magic Wakes  on Amazon.

Find more from Charity on her website, blog, Twitter and Facebook.

Finding Esta by Shah Wharton

Finding Esta is the tumultuous tale of one extraordinary woman’s journey of self-discovery within a supernatural underworld.

Excerpt

If you wrote those words, I doubt you could hurt me. His eyes shone, tears lingered, longing for release. Great swaths of grey grief poured from him and pierced my chest. I winced at the sting of his need, his loss.

Is it you? Did you ever find your Esta?

Despite the possibility of immense pain, I now longed for him to touch me. It made no sense, but I needed it. Perhaps to prove him real, not a hologram? Perhaps to see if I could? And like he’d heard my desires, he raised his hand towards my cheek again. This time I made no attempt to block him, I simply braced myself, the cloth of my outfit in my fists at my sides. I clenched my jaw and held my breath, but my eyes remained open; I had to see him, his reaction.

We stared at one another, waiting for the touch that might even kill me. His fingertips made contact with my cheek and a cool, soft, and electric stimulus passed through my skin.

Immense emotion poured from them, into me. But no pain followed, nor visions to flood or cripple me, no agonies of histories. When he saw me relax into his fingertips, he cupped my cheek fully and I felt, for the first time in my life, the absolute wonder of painless flesh on flesh touch. My hand flew to hold it in place. I never wanted it to end. And from his chest passed the purest of all emotions … love.

Is that for me? But …?

For a perfect moment, I thought if I died right then, it wouldn’t be too bad.

Tears of my joy soaked his gentle palm, and I forgot about the razor, the house, the loss of Flo and Ada, my mysterious loitering stranger with his messages, dreams and unspoken intent. Even the blood’s allure dissolved, somewhat.

We remained in this odd position for what seemed like hours. Until I coughed, feeling more and more weak. He removed his hand and licked my tears away with his blood soaked tongue. This broke my reverie and reawakened my hunger for blood.

Hovering above me, his face now over mine, I lay admiring him and the blood colouring the otherwise white glare of his complexion. The smooth glow of his flesh shone through a midnight blue, sheer woollen sweater. I imagined my tongue licking vanilla ice cream and finding his flesh instead. I wouldn’t have minded.

My head buzzed, stomach churned with physical attraction and mounting hunger, an intoxicating blend I found increasingly hard to resist. He sunk towards me, still suspended by some magical force.

What the hell am I feeling?

I should have screamed, fought, fled. But the tranquil aura circling us, overflowing with soft light, filled me with a sense of love, true or false. It oozed from him like blood from a wound. He was the most arresting being I’d ever encountered, other then Abby. Unashamed, transfixed, and willing, I lay yearning in silence beneath him. Overcome, my tears continued to dribble and my lungs stretched with held breath.

The fantastic finally killed all reason. He lowered further still, until a droplet of blood fell from the razor onto my cheek, then another fell between my lips. My autonomic response was to lick it, savour it, drink it, which of course horrified me. But the taste was too divine to deny myself. My hunger multiplied, my body screamed that I needed it. The blood raced through my veins, moistened dusty pathways, cleansed the drought.

“Ah …” I adored it, right up until my vegetarian conscience asserted itself, and as much as I’d savoured its taste, reason said to spit, choke, vomit. I turned my head to do so, but the demon grabbed my face to stop me.

He sliced the razor across his tongue, gasped in pain until his lips found mine and luscious blood flooded my mouth.

He delivered my first kiss and I sucked, licked, and drank him in.

No pain or visions interrupted the sensation of his unadulterated passion, which rode into me on each blood cell.

My body sang the sweetest sonnet. Such a kiss reached way beyond the famous Charlie Brown kiss I’d dreamt of as a child. I soared through midnight starry skies like an Apollo spacecraft, right up into a completely new dimension. I zipped around glorious moonbeams and chatted with the man on the moon … I mean this was epic.

My mind called out to anyone who might hear it, hoping that my Shadows shared my frequency, even if I couldn’t share theirs.

“If I die today, now, know that I died one happy lady.”

To read the rest of Finding Esta, you can download it from Amazon.

Find more from Shah on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Vampire in Defiance by Dale Mayer

Today I’m featuring the fifth book in Dale Mayer’s Family Blood Ties series, Vampire in Defiance.

This was it. For Tessa. For Cody. For Jared. Her family. Her Friends.

Moltere’s Mountain is collapsing. With Tessa, her friends and family still inside. Tessa won’t go down without a fight…and she won’t leave the others behind. But as she races to save everyone, time runs out.

Excerpt

Cody glanced around to find Tessa standing behind him. Tessa. I’m fine. Or I will be. Are you okay?

She nodded. My leg is damaged, but I’m alive. That’s what counts.

Pride and joy surged through him as she stood, injured herself but worried about him. She was such a warrior. You are so right. I’m going to be fine. Although I won’t be taking you for a flight around town any time soon.

She laughed, the sound bouncing through his mind and making him smile. Using his hands to push himself up, he slowly straightened. Once back on his feet, he took a deep breath and gazed around at the devastation. Rocks, dirt, and clouds of dust everywhere. Hearing a sound on his left, he turned to watch David, Ian, and Jewel approach.

“About time you woke up. All you’re doing is sleeping on the job.” Ian reached out to hit him,  realized his fist was aimed at his injured shoulder, and swerved away at the last moment.

Cody glared at him. “Yeah. Thanks for missing me.”

Jewel kissed him gently on the cheek. “I’m so happy to see you alive and well.”

“Almost well.” Cody straightened and shrugged gently, barely holding back the grimace of pain. “With any luck, I’ll be fine in a few hours.”

“And that brings us to the next item of business. We need food and rest. A place to stay in until you two heal and we can recharge. Doesn’t have to be too long, but we have to make sure it’s enough that we can fight our way out of here,” David said with a pointed look at Cody’s wing.

Cody nodded. “Damn good idea.”

“Tessa can’t move without help,” Serus pointed out. “Goran, can you carry her back to the tunnel opening? We’ll scout ahead and see what we can find.”

Goran nodded. “Give me a minute to move the two of them over.”

Cody snorted. “I can get over there on my own. Go get Tessa.”

With an assessing glance at his son, Goran lifted up and headed toward Tessa.

Stubborn.

He grinned at Tessa’s voice in his head as he made his way slowly back to the tunnel. Maybe. But I can walk. You can’t.

True. Her disgruntled tone made him chuckle. He caught their friends looking at him strangely. He dropped his smile and shrugged at them sheepishly. “Sorry. Inside joke.”

“You really can talk to her, can’t you?” Jewel asked?

He nodded. “It’s weird. And fun.”

“Sounds like it,” Jewel said.

Serus stepped up and said, “Talk when we’re back at the tunnel.”

Cody straightened, hating the damage his body had sustained. It had been a tough week. As long as he wasn’t floating ash, he was good with it. But that tunnel appeared to be a long way away.

In a quiet voice, Jewel asked, “Are you okay? Do you want a hand?”

He hid his grin as he gazed down at the tiniest vampire he knew. “I’ll be fine. But thanks.”

David smirked at him. “I could toss you over there.”

“You and whose army?” Cody scoffed. “You can barely drag your sorry ass around without trying to lift mine.”

The gentle wrangling continued as they made their way to the tunnel entrance. The whole way, Cody had tried to talk to Tessa, but she’d closed a door between them. Up ahead he watched his father land and stand almost protectively in front of her.

Was she more badly injured than they’d thought?

Tessa?

I’m here.

His breath wooshed out. You disappeared. I wasn’t sure what happened.

You were worried? Her smile rippled through his mind. No need.

Then why did you leave. It’s like you shut me out.

I did.

Silence.

Why? He asked cautiously. But inside, frustration built. Why would she do that? And how did she do that? He had no idea how to leave her mind at all.

Because the pain was so bad I didn’t want you to hear me screaming.

Oh shit. Are you that badly hurt?

My leg. It might be healing, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

Yeah, it must suck to be human. He couldn’t imagine a leg taking six weeks to heal. A bad break could take a vampire six hours, but normally a couple of hours would put one back to good health. In Tessa’s case, he had no idea. And you didn’t need to hide your feelings from me. I wouldn’t have thought less of you if I heard you scream, you know.

She smiled again, so faint it was like a whisper, something he felt more than saw. How weird was that?

I hated hearing your pain.

Oh shit. Yeah, that changed things. He thought she’d been worried about what he’d hear, and instead she’d been protecting him from being upset at her suffering. Somehow, he felt like he’d failed a test.

No! No tests here.

Maybe, but I didn’t understand, and I feel like I should have.

She laughed. We haven’t had time enough to know how the other one thinks or reacts for that.

I know. But you’re right. I hadn’t considered what hearing you scream would do to me. And you thought of it before I did.

So? It’s not a contest. Quit your complaining and get over here.

But her words were warm and tinged with humor, making him once again aware of how mature she was.

Yeah, life is like that.

No, I mean it. You understand people like no one else. Except… He thought about it. Your mother, maybe?

Then that’s easy, I learned it from her.

No. I think you learned because of the challenges you’re faced. You might have gotten your big heart from her, but you use it differently. Look at Jewel and how you handled her. Look at Xana and how sorry you were that I’d been forced to kill her. She needed killing, but you were worried about the effect of doing so on me. See, that’s all you. It comes from your heart.

Silence. He was almost close enough to see her face now. Her face was lowered. He wasn’t sure, but it looked like she was hiding it.

Are you okay? He asked in alarm.

She lifted her face and he could see the shy smile and bright pink cheeks.

He’d embarrassed her. I tell you the truth and you get shy and hide away. He shook his head in bemusement. You’re going to have to get used to it. I’m not going to hold back when I see something fantastic. Honestly, you’re something very different for me, and I’m learning a lot about myself through you.

He could feel a hesitation in his mind. He rushed to add, Different in a good way. You’re warmer, more caring than other females I’ve known. You’re almost… and he held the words back.

But she said them herself. Almost human?

Blood and Flowers by Penny Blubaugh

Today I’m excited to share an excerpt from Penny Blubaugh’s fantasy novel, Blood and Flowers. 

Three years ago, Persia ran away from her drug-addict parents and found a home with the Outlaws, an underground theater troupe. This motley band of mortals and fey,puppeteers and actors, becomes the loving family Persia never had, and soon Persia not only discovers a passion for theater but also falls in love with Nicholas, one of the other Outlaws. Life could not be more perfect.

Until an enemy with a grudge makes an unfair accusation against the group and forces them to flee the mortal world and hide in the neighboring realm of Faerie. But in Faerie, all is not flowers and rainbows—with blood thirsty trolls, a hostile monarchy, and a dangerous code of magic, the fey world is not quite the safe haven the Outlaws had hoped for. And they must decide what’s more important: protecting their right to perform or protecting themselves.

Download Blood and Flowers on Amazon.

Excerpt

“In case you don’t know, you use a thin paste of the flour water to stick the poster down.  Put them on boards, telephone poles, newspaper boxes – whatever.  The paste dries hard but clear, and it’s a bitch to get off.”

I slapped one of our flyers on the wood covering the broken window of Clem’s Furniture Store (furniture long, long gone) and demoed to Lucia.  Then I handed her the paste tub.  “Your turn.”

Lucia worked carefully, setting her flyer next to mine.  The double whammy.  The manicured nails on her scarred hands were perfect, cream with ebony tips.  Her hands were graceful and when they moved, her scars flared in the just turning on streetlights.  She finished and looked over at me.  “How’s that?”

I had to make myself stop watching her and look at the side-by-side flyers.  I don’t know what it is about Lucia.  She always makes me wish that we weren’t the same sex, or that I was attracted to women.

Our flyers said:

Outlaw Puppet Troupe

presents

The Bastard and the Beauty

A play of love, dislike, and anti-corruption

Place: You’ll know it when you find it

Date: Now and them

Time: Eight o’clock, usually.  At night.  But things can always change.

Read the rest of Blood and Flowers on Amazon.

Find more from Penny on her website.

The YA Fantasy Book Club Guide

Would you like book recommendations for you book club, with hundreds of questions about bestselling young adult series?

Download The YA Fantasy Book Club Guide today for $0.99!

• Get book recommendations
• Connect with friends
• Fall in love with a new book boyfriend!
• Read the young adult books your favorite movies are based on
• Vote for which young adult book you’d like to be made into a movie
• Start discussions about things that really matter to you
• Share favorite quotes and passages
• Laugh until your sides hurt

This will help you if…

• You’re in a book club at your school, university, or online… and you’d really like something else to discuss besides whether you “liked” the book or not. You’ll find every book has 10 thought-provoking discussion questions aimed at young adults.
• You love Young Adult books… even though you’re not a teen. You might even be (gasp) a mom. So what? True love is forever young! In addition to the 10 basic questions, there are 5 more sophisticated “adult” questions that dig deeper.
• You write reviews on a book blog or make video reviews of books, and you’d love to have an easy template to get you started to really make your reviews stand out.
• You’re a student in need of a study guide to help you come up with meaty book report topics.
• You’re a parent or teacher who wants to read and discuss the books that are at the top of the Young Adult charts. The questions here are probing yet non-judgmental.

Click here to get The YA Fantasy Book Club Guide for your Kindle!

Bestselling Young Adult Fantasy Books Recommended:

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
MockingJay – Suzanne Collins
Divergent – Veronica Roth
Insurgent – Veronica Roth
Incarnate – Jodi Meadows
For Darkness Shows the Stars – Diana Peterfreund
Legend – Marie Lu
Prodigy – Marie Lu
Graceling – Kristin Cashore
Fire – Kristin Cashore
Initiate – Tara Maya
Taboo – Tara Maya
Sacrifice – by Tara Maya
Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas
Falling Kingdoms – Morgan Rhodes
Poison Study – Maria V. Snyder
Magic Study – Maria V. Snyder
Fire Study – Maria V. Snyder
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
Team Human – Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan
City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes – Cassandra Clare
City of Glass – Cassandra Clare
City of Fallen Angels – Cassandra Clare
The Iron King – Julie Kagawa
The Iron Daughter – Julie Kagawa
The Iron Queen – Julie Kagawa
The Iron Knight – Julie Kagawa
Beautiful Creatures – Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Darkness – Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Chaos – Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Redemption – Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Pivot Point – Kasie West
15 Minutes – Jill Cooper
Mind Games – Kierstan White
My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century – Rachel Harris
Waterfall – Lisa Bergen
The Emperor’s Edge – Lindsay Buroker
Dark Currents – Lindsay Buroker
Deadly Games – Lindsay Buroker
Clockwork Angel – Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Prince – Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Princess – Cassandra Clare
The Girl in the Steel Corset – Kady Cross
Lady of Devices – Shelley Adina
Soulless – Gail Carriger

Download The YA Fantasy Book Club Guide for only $0.99!

Son of a Mermaid by Katie O’Sullivan

Check out this young adult fantasy novel from Katie O’Sullivan, Son of a Mermaid. The sequel is coming this May!

Shea MacNamara’s life just got complicated.

After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan is whisked away to Cape Cod. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he’s trying hard to deal with feelings of abandonment… and the emotions stirred by a girl he meets along the shore.

Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. But two things stand in the way of lasting peace: the ambitions of the foreign King’s regent, and rumors of the Princess’s bastard child.

Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?

Download Son of a Mermaid from Amazon.

Excerpt

The blue-green coolness swirled around him as his body tumbled down through the water, arms and legs flailing as he struggled to hold his breath. Millions of tiny bubbles of precious air traced the path of his descent, escaping from his clothing and through his nose.

Eyes wide even as the water rushed past, he watched a huge school of shimmering minnows part down the middle as they swam around him, surrounding him like a silvery box. Turning his face upward to the surface, he could see the blue sky receding further and further as he sank deeper into the water’s depths.

His throat and lungs burned from the effort of holding his breath. Darkness pressed hard against his eyes, and swirls of strange colors danced in front of him as his whole body strained against the lack of oxygen.

I need to breathe, he thought wildly, his whole body feeling like it was on fire. I can’t hold out much longer. His feet finally hit the mucky bottom with a thud, coming to a stop as the mud swirled around his legs.

There, hovering before him in the water, swam a beautiful woman with flowing golden hair…and a green fish tail that sparkled with golden flecks among the scales.

A mermaid.

Her big green eyes looked so familiar, like the ones he saw in the mirror every morning. She smiled at him, reaching out to take his hand. His head pounded as searing pain ripped through his throat, as if his entire body would tear apart any second from the effort of holding his breath.

The mermaid squeezed his hand and nodded. The pain receded as Shea stared into her eyes, lost in their green depths. As she nodded to him again, he opened his mouth to exhale the stale air that pounded like a jackhammer in his lungs. Large bubbles rushed to the surface as he struggled to breathe, but there was no air to be had. Only salty ocean water rushing in to fill his mouth, his lungs, his body…

Shea woke with a start, clawing at the sheets and disoriented for a full minute before remembering where he was. At the Hansen’s house. Because his own home – the farm where he’d lived and worked all his life – was gone, swept away and crushed by the freak tornado.

Download Son of a Mermaid from Amazon to find out what happens next.

Find more from Katie on her blog or her website, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Interview with Fantasy Romance Author L. Blankenship

As part of L. Blankeship’s blog tour for the Disciple Half-Omnibus I’m delighted to feature an interview with her!

1. What is your favorite place to write?

I write best at home, at my desk, surrounded by my sound system, with an adult beverage at hand. Oh, and my shoes off. Not sure why, but my shoes need to be off.

Music is a must when I’m writing. I organize my iTunes library into playlists with particular flavors — rough, fast stuff for action scenes, quiet background music for when I need to hear my characters’ voices clearly. Every writing project gets its own customized playlist too.

2. Tell us a little about your writing process.

I’m a plotter, not a pantser, so I plan out my nightly writing shift extensively. Every story has its master outline, and each scene within the story has its own sketch before I sit down to write. Since I have a daily Butt-In-Chair habit, I also have a daily habit of preparing to write before that. Going into my writing shift cold is difficult for me.

I love world-building and developing characters, so I generate copious notes on background details. I love research too, needless to say, and I consume a lot of non-fiction.

But I try to leave room for spontaneity in all of this. When the characters disagree with me or make suggestions, I listen. They’re usually right, I’ve found!

3. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

Because of my voyeuristic side, I think I’d be Mr. Universe from Serenity. Seeing all, knowing all, having all the stories at my fingertips…

Yes, I’m a Joss Whedon fan. But it’s dangerous to be a character in one of his stories!

4. What is the best writing advice you’ve been given?

The best advice I’ve gotten wasn’t exactly writing advice. It was said to me by a painter, actually.

“The universe will give you what you need for your art.”

This is true, IMO. Ideas cross my path all the time. I just need to be open-minded and look at them in the context of how they can help me with a WIP or a story that I’m developing. Not every idea will work, of course, but the mental goose it gives me can get me looking at a story problem from a different perspective and from there I can take the plot in an interesting direction.

It’s good practice at thinking outside the box, in other words — and no artist should be thinking inside the box.

Thanks for hosting my blog tour, Tara!

The Disciple Half-Omnibus collects the first three parts of Disciple, a gritty fantasy romance series.

War is coming. Kate Carpenter is only a peasant girl, but she’s determined to help defend the kingdom and its bound saints against the invading empire. Her healing magic earned her a coveted apprenticeship with the master healer; now she must prove herself ready to stand in the front lines and save lives.

She’s not ready for the attentions of a ne’er-do-well knight and the kingdom’s only prince, though. This is no time to be distracted by romance — the empire’s monstrous army will tear through anyone standing between them and the kingdom’s magical founts. All disciples must put aside their tangled feelings and stand in the homeland’s defense.

Available at all major retailers

Samples at my book blog: Part I • Part II • Part III

Disciple, Part IV arrives in March!

Get a reminder by joining L’s mailing list!

Or try out PART I for free! 

FREE at Smashwords • AllRomance
and sometimes at Amazon — working on that…

The Unseen by J.L. Bryan

If you like a darker fantasy novel, check out J.L. Bryan’s The Unseen.

Cassidy is a young tattoo artist living in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. She’s always suffered terrible nightmares, and sometimes the hideous creatures seem to follow her out of her dreams and into her waking life, though she’s the only one who can see them. Drugs and alcohol can blot them out, but never entirely chase them away.

When a demonic cult begins to take control of the people in her life, including her younger brother, Cassidy discovers that the unseen world of monsters is very real. She can no longer avoid it. To protect those she loves, she must accept her own hidden supernatural talents and face the forces of evil before the sinister cult achieves its twisted goals and casts the world into darkness.

You can download The Unseen on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo and Smashwords.

Excerpt

“Come on, Tami.  It’ll be fun.  Please?” Cassidy resorted to a begging tone, locking eyes with Tamila.  What she wanted to say was: I am desperately trying to make you part of the group here, so please stop acting like such a tromboner tonight. “As a favor to me?”

“It does work better with four people,” Barb added.

Tamila sighed, looked at the board, and reluctantly left her chair to sit next to Cassidy, while offering a shaky, frightened smile to no one in particular.

“Okay.  Let’s get it over with,” Tamila whispered.  She placed her trembling fingers on the base of the upside-down wine glass. “We should say a prayer first.”

Barb and Reese found this hilarious, and Tamila frowned at their peals of drunken laughter.

“Let’s go,” Barb said.  She closed her eyes. “Are there any spirits—”

“Come talk to us, spirits!” Reese interrupted, closing her eyes and also swaying from side to side.  In her best drama-club voice, she projected, “Speak to us, give us messages from the world of the dead…”

The glass trembled under their fingers, and Cassidy gasped.  Everybody leaned in for a closer look, but the glass became still again.

“You should say only good spirits,” Tamila whispered. “Or we could end up talking to demons, or evil ghosts, or dead murderers…”

“Calling all demons, evil ghosts, and dead murderers!” Reese cried out in a slurred voice, then doubled forward, laughing.

“Be serious, Reese,” Barb said.  In a louder, more formal voice, she asked, “Are there any messages from the Other Side?  Like from our spirit guides or totem animals?”

“Totem animals,” Reese snickered.

“We all have one.  Mine’s a frog,” Barb told her, and Reese laughed and shook her head, tossing her blond hair.

“You look like a frog!” Reese said.

“Sh!  It’s moving,” Cassidy told them.

The wine glass shuddered again, and this time it began to slide over the poster board, the lip scraping and smearing a few of the still-wet letters, gathering glowing paint around its rim.

The glass moved across the alphabet to the word YES in the upper left corner of the poster, scraping up glue and glitter from a sparkly red pentagram along the way.

“Who’s doing that?  Are you doing that?” Reese asked Tamila, who shook her head, her wide eyes fixed on the board.

“Hello?  Are you a spirit?” Barb asked.

The glass slid half an inch, then right back into place.  YES again.

“Who are you?” Barb asked. “I mean, to whom do we have the pleasure of speaking?”

The wineglass lay still for a moment, then vibrated and hummed as if someone had plinked it with a fingernail.  The glass slid over the alphabet.

Cassidy felt her heart racing.  She hadn’t expected it to work at all, and it was starting to freak her out.  She wished they hadn’t turned off the lights.

The wine glass smeared its way across the board, its entire rim glowing green now.  It stopped at the letter N, and didn’t move again until Barb said the letter aloud.  It stopped again on the I.

“N…I…” Barb said.

“Nipple?” Reese suggested.

The glass continued on to the B, then H…A…and then it stopped on Z.

“N-I-B-H-A-Z,” Barb said.

“It’s just nonsense,” Cassidy said.

The wineglass jerked under their fingers, then flew to the word NO, dragging their fingers with it.

“Who’s doing that?” Reese asked. “Is it you, Cassidy?  Barb?  It’s you, isn’t it, Barb?  You big Goth girl.”

“Sh,” Barb said. “Nib…haz?  Is that right?”

The wineglass zipped over to YES.

“What does that mean?” Cassidy asked.

The wineglass spelled out N…A…M…E.

“Your name is Nibhaz?”

YES.

“Sounds like a demon’s name to me,” Tamila said in a soft voice.

“Pfft, shut up,” Reese told her. “Like you would know.”

“Do you have a message for someone here, Nibhaz?” Barb asked.

YES.

“For who?” Barb asked.

C…A…S…S…

Cassidy felt her blood turn cold.

“Oh, shit, for Cassidy?” Reese asked.

YES.

“Nibhaz, what is your message for Cassidy?” Barb asked.

The four girls watched as the glass crept back and forth along the top row of text.  D…I…E…

“Die?  It’s telling her to die?” Tamila gasped.

“Sh, it’s not done yet,” Barb told her.

“Yeah, it’s not done yet,” Reese echoed, her eyes fixated on the glass.

Cassidy shivered, trying to think of any non-scary word that started with “die.”

“Diesel?” Cassidy asked in a shaky voice.  She expected someone to laugh at her, but nobody did.

The glass moved back to the letter D.

“Died,” Barb said. “He’s saying he died, I think.  He’s a ghost.”

The glass whipped over to the word NO, then returned to the letter D.

D…I…E…

D…I…E…

D…I…E…

To read the rest of the story, download The Unseen from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo and Smashwords.

To find more from J.L. Bryan, visit his website, Twitter and Facebook.

Mother’s Curse by Thaddeus Nowak

Discover Thaddeus Nowak’s fantasy series, Heirs of Cothel. The first two in the series, Mother’s Curse and Daughter’s Justice, are out now, with the third novel, Daughter’s Revenge, coming soon.

The Heirs of Cothel series is about Stephenie, a young woman, whose father and brother are fighting in a war two countries away.  Stuck at home in the castle with her mother, the Queen, Stephenie realizes her mother is plotting something and must to try to escape if she is to save her father and brother.

Born a witch, Stephenie’s powers are believed to be a curse against her mother for sins that were committed against the gods.  It is a curse that would fall upon her mother if Stephenie were to die.

Always fearful of discovery and execution by fire, Stephenie has concealed her powers her whole life.  However, in order to disrupt her mother’s plans and save her father and brother, she may be forced to learn what she truly is and make use of the powers everyone believes comes from the Demon god, Elrin.

With the help of some soldiers and an unlikely friend, Stephenie sets out on a personal quest that even if successful, could lead to her destruction.

Daughter’s Justice, the second book in the series, resumes the story and deals with the aftermath that is left in the wake of her mother’s plots.  With the revelation to the world that she is a witch, she has to find a way to survive, keep her family’s control of the throne, and avoid tearing apart the country in a civil war.

Download Mother’s Curse from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes. Download Daughter’s Justice from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.The much anticipated Daughter’s Revenge is scheduled to be released before the end of March 2014.

Excerpt from Mother’s Curse

It was dark and Stephenie ached all over. Her arms burned with what felt like hundreds of little cuts and scrapes. Her knees and ankles were throbbing as much as her head. She tried to look around, but there was absolutely no light. She smelled a pungent combination of urine, blood, and oil.

Below her was something cold and somewhat squishy. Slowly she tried to sit up and had to toss off several pieces of wood. As memories of what happened returned, she realized she was laying on top of a dead soldier. Scrambling away from the body, she stumbled over the debris of the walkway that had given out beneath their weight.

“Hello,” she called out and heard her trembling voice echo back to her. Fear of being caught was pushed away by the fear of being trapped alone in the dark forever. “Hello!” she called again much louder.

After several moments, she neither heard, saw, or sensed anything around her. Shivering from fear as much as the chill that had settled into her body, she searched with her hands in all directions to see what was around her. She felt a wall to one side, but nothing on the other sides.

“Damn it. I need light.”

She sighed. Feeling disoriented, she crouched down, uncertain if perhaps she was on a ledge, and taking a step in any direction would lead to her tumbling away into more darkness. After a few moments to build her confidence, she felt further around her immediate area.

Among the remains of the rotten walkway, she felt a sticky substance. Bringing her fingers to her nose, she identified it as lamp oil. “So, no light. Thanks for nothing Elrin.”

She knew the dead soldier was close by. Since she wasn’t wet with urine, it was likely that the soldier had soiled himself when he died. “Unless I happened to land in a waste pit,” she added ruefully.

Carefully, she searched around, hoping to find the dagger she had lost in the fall. She found the broken remains of the lamp, but not the weapon. She also realized the floor was mostly level with mortar joints. “So I won’t be falling off a cliff? Unless this is just the ledge they use to push people to their deaths.” Slowly she expanded her search, but did not find the dagger.

Eventually, apprehension of touching the dead man lost out to the apprehension of being alone in the dark with no weapons. After a brief moment, when she realized she had become disoriented in her prior searching, she found the body of the soldier. She found another dagger and removed it. His sword had become bent when he landed on it and she could not draw it from the scabbard. “Elrin, you really want to play with me before I die.”

To read the rest of Mother’s Curse, download it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

To find more from Thaddeus, visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Google+.

Everville: The Rise of Mallory by Roy Huff

Check out Roy Huff’s latest release, Book 3 of his Everville series, The Rise of Mallory. 

As the epic journey continues, a victorious Owen Sage stands undefeated against his enemies. His last battle in Everville gave rise to a new insidious evil, Mallory; whose determination to defeat him opens an unexplored Pandora’s box. Owen’s search for truth will unveil the mystery and surprising insights surrounding himself and his friends at Easton Falls University. New creatures will be uncovered and the true value of friendship will be tested, as Owen embarks on yet another battle in Everville.

Download Everville: The Rise of Mallory on Amazon.

Excerpt

Amelia sat down next to Owen and started watching the movie with him, but not before she purposely messed up his light brown hair with her hand after sitting down.

“Hey! Quit that,” Owen said with an irritated expression on his face.

Owen then reached over and did the same thing to her. She chuckled, turning her attention to the television screen.

‘You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There’s more gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!’

Owen lost himself in the screen, as he often did when watching something he was interested in. He imagined himself as Ebenezer Scrooge looking upon Marley’s ghostly face. Marley’s face morphed into the image of Owen’s father, the same image
that was the face of The Second Pillar.

Owen shook it off and got up to go grab some leftover turkey from the refrigerator. He reached in and pulled out a leg and some moist dark meat with a bit of gravy and stuffing. He popped the plate of food into the microwave for a minute and then returned to the comfort of the couch.

Visit Amazon to download the rest of  Everville: The Rise of Mallory.

Find more from Roy on his website, Twitter and Facebook.