Tuesday 31 March 2015

Book Spotlight: The Serpent's Eye

Today I'm venturing back to the dark side, with horror front and center, and shining the spotlight on the novel, The Serpent's Eye by Thomas H. Brand. Enjoy, my darklings...


The Serpent's Eye by Thomas H. Brand

When George Sandings is sent to Buenos Aires in the summer of 1816 to deal with the estate of the late Earl Edgar Leer, he sees it simply as an opportunity to prove himself to his employers and advance his career. However, as he delves deeper and deeper into the Earl's dark and immoral past, he discovers that not everything is as natural as it should be. Soon be begins to realise that something from the Earl's past, from the Earl's father's life, and from many centuries before them, is following him. Haunting him. Is this spectre real? Or is this simply a plot to undermine him? As George tries to rationalise what is happening to his life, he must decide whether the only rational answer is the irrational.


Links

Kindle edition - 

Paperback edition - 




Author Bio:

Thomas H. Brand is a writer and project manager, living and working in London. In his spare time he gets confused as it was so long since he last had any spare time he's not sure what to do with it.

Originally from Hampshire, he now lives in North London with his wife and a one-eyed ginger cat. He finds he spends more and more of his time sitting staring at the computer screen or notebook page. He loves every moment. When he isn't doing that, he can usually be found reading things other people have written instead.

Please visit www.thomashbrand.com for more information on the author and his writing.

Monday 30 March 2015

Book Spotlight: Crescent City

Today I'm spotlighting the paranormal thriller, Crescent City (Alec Winters Series, Book 1) by Chariss K. Walker. Enjoy...


Crescent City
(An Alec Winters Series, Book 1)
by Chariss K. Walker


Often, perpetrators don’t get punished for their atrocious crimes. Alec Winters searches the streets of New Orleans to give these sexual predators exactly what they deserve.

Alec Winters quietly moves through the streets of New Orleans, looking for predators—those who destroy and prey on innocence. Trained in close-hand combat, he uses these skills when necessary to kill the offenders. Sometimes, his military training isn't needed at all. Sometimes, the only thing it takes to end the lives of wicked, evil men is one look at him. After two suspicious murders in only a short time, the main problem Alec faces in his quest of redemption is a nosy reporter. Vivien Simon came to the metropolitan area to do a series on the effects of Hurricane Katrina—with crime rates on the rise, her interests are drawn to the seedier aspects of the city. She’s hoping to get the story that will make her career. When she discovers that both murder victims were pedophiles, Vivien begins a newspaper and blog campaign that frightens parents and turns the city upside down. Some say the perpetrator of the murders is an angel while others insist it’s a devil. With contrasting accounts, Vivien wonders if a vigilante is on the loose—or worse, a serial killer. She’s hell-bent on discovering the truth, but her persistence and stubbornness might bring her closer to death and damnation than she ever imagined. No one can stop the Angel of God…and they wouldn't want to get in his way.

Read the 1st chapter here: http://chariss.com/Excerpt.php

Purchase Links:



Author Bio: 





Award winning author, Chariss K Walker, M. Msc, writes fiction and nonfiction books with a metaphysical message. All of her books are sold worldwide in eBook, paperback, and many are in large print. Chariss lives in Amarillo, Texas and has authored 16 books to date.







Sunday 29 March 2015

Book Spotlight: Stifled by Rainy Kaye


Stifled Release


Today we're celebrating the release of STIFLED, book two in the SUMMONED series by USA Today Bestselling author, Rainy Kaye. A dark twist on genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him. In STIFLED, Dimitri trails an elusive jinn and finds himself in the middle of a community keeping dark secrets. The SUMMONED series is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. Scroll down to pick up your copy of STIFLED, get SUMMONED for free for a limited time, and enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
   

Stifled Final 2 PSD

Dimitri would like nothing more than to live a low-key life in Naples, Italy. His girlfriend, Syd, has other plans. After three months of researching, she is positive she has found a jinn on a killing spree in San Diego, California. Since Syd gave Dimitri the one thing he thought was out of reach, he feels obligated to use his ill-gained talents for her cause. A few hours back in the US proves that Dimitri and Syd didn't quite make the clean escape they had thought. As they trail the elusive jinn, someone else trails them. What should have been a simple trip to confirm once and for all if the jinn are living among humans, instead reveals a community keeping dark secrets. Unfortunately for Dim, the only way out is in. Get your copy here! Haven't read book one yet? No problem! It's currently FREE on Amazon.
 

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Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker. Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can’t tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn’t the type to tolerate secrets. Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl’s ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.
    
summoned free banner
 

about_rainy_kaye
rainykaye

Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at RainyoftheDark and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. Someone told her she's a USA Today Bestselling author. She thought there would be cake.


Giveaway
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Friday 27 March 2015

The Surrogate Sea: Blog Tour and Guest Drabble by Danielle Shipley

Today I'm again featuring the newest book in The Wilderhark Tales, The Surrogate Sea. Author Danielle Shipley has provided, for your reading pleasure, a delightful drabble, (which is a teasing prequel to the book), plus some book info, excerpt, and a giveaway over on her website.




Smarter, Wiser, Better

A daughter.
The South Wind eyed the newborn. Though he’d not especially wanted a child, neither did he begrudge the Great Sea’s desire. But why couldn't she have the sense to birth a son?
The Sea lifted the baby toward her rolling surface. “Will you hold her?”
Wiser not to. Smarter to maintain distance. Head shaking refusal, he turned to fly, but the child’s cry slowed him.
Less a cry than a song, and sung for him. The sound ensnared his heart.
Alas: He loved her.
Wiser to go. Smarter, too. But not better, he thought, and held her close.



Where you can find The Surrogate Sea:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads








Author's Website




Wednesday 25 March 2015

Drabble Wednesday: Prisons

Today on Drabble Wednesday it’s all about imprisonment…



  
What Lurks Beneath

I remember.
I remember the frigid between of spatial dimensions. I recall the lure of pitiful stars, those beacons of past millennia. I remember the screams, how the earth trembled with my passing. I miss the stench of brimstone snaking through my orifices.
I once ruled the universe. I was a god. Fierce, cruel, vengeful. How did I fall?
That’s what I ponder, those are the memories I swirl as I languish under the waves. I have waited eons in this prison, thinking, planning. When I am free I won’t make those mistakes again.
Cthulhu will rise.
And destroy everything.



Fate

Such a long way down. And so dark.
I can’t see the shadowy bottom.
Is that why I don’t do it?
I pull my foot from the edge of the cliff, and move under the cherry tree. A few petal blossoms drift into my hair. I stare at the inky mauve sky, at the stars and the indigo moon. I wish I could fly, soar to the bosom of the heavens, to unshackle my earthy constraints.
I wish I had the courage to jump, and be free.
I hear footsteps. They’ve come looking.
“Ah, Master Echyn, your students are waiting.”




Punishment

I gazed out my tower window at sunlight patterns manifesting in the morning mist. Not very entertaining, but less depressing than staring into my sparse cell. Seeing nothing but a bed, a chamber pot, four stone walls and a locked iron door could drive a soul mad.
I rarely received visitors, save for guards, so I amused myself. I looked at colours in clouds and haze, or imagined dropping my family from the tower window.
I didn't deserve this punishment. I simply did what my family asked. I gained the throne. My bad luck I got caught murdering my husband.



Tuesday 24 March 2015

Blondes, Books, and Bourbon Blog Tour

Welcome all you practitioners and fantasy fans. We're taking a journey back into the world of Jonathan Alvey and the White Dragon Black series today as a stop on the Blondes, Books, & Bourbon Blog Tour.








Sublime Noir And Urban Fantasy



Blondes, Books and Bourbon, is a gritty, witty, and downright entertaining series of short stories. The character of Jonathan Alvey, and indeed the whole White Dragon Black series, reads as if the author mixed Harry Dresden and Phillip Marlowe in an acid bath and then etched the page in the peerless prose that resulted.

The stories in the anthology vary in tone and temperament, some irreverent and funny like What a Nightmare (which reminded me a bit of a slapstick comedy), others darker and more foreboding such as The Cost of Custody, or The Ties That Bind.
I enjoyed this anthology greatly, and every enchanting story was a treat to read. In addition, there’s a fun character interview with a twist, and a tantalizing sneak peek at the next novel the White Dragon Black series. I highly recommend Blondes, Books and Bourbon.





Get to Know the Author:

1. Please share how you came up with the concept for your short stories? Which of the stories was the easiest to write and which was the most difficult?

All of my writing comes from my Muse, I can’t construct a story myself. From my perspective, I don’t create my tales - I just record them. Now doesn’t that make me sound crazy? But it’s true – the majority of the stories I write, are idea’s that come to me as snippets of conversations, or little scenes that play out in my head as images. My challenge is to turn those into words that capture what I ‘see’.

In many ways, ‘The Ties that Bind’ was the hardest story to write, as I wanted a thread that connected it to the next novel, ’Bindings & Spines’ and yet allowed the story to stand all its own. That made for a challenge that I truly enjoyed.

The easiest one to write was probably, ‘Sins of the Father’. Being the first story written in that world, I had no restrictions, no rules, and no history. I didn't have to keep anything straight, remember details, or worry about contradicting myself. Of course, when I wrote it, I had no idea that it would spawn so many other short stories, and novels.


2. Please name some of your other published works?

Tomorrow Wendell - first White Dragon Black novel
Horror Library, Volume Three – ‘Blink the Blood Away’
Tales of the Talisman Magazine, Volume 1 Issue 4 – ‘Pigeon Pete’
Mental Wellness: Real Stories From Survivors – ‘Ceaseless Cycles’
Legends and Lore: An Anthology of Mythic Proportions – ‘Charon’s Obol’


3. What is your preferred writing genre?

I’m a paranormal / urban fantasy author mainly, but I cut my teeth with horror, and that will always have a dark spot in my heart. I’m sure my mind will churn out some further grisly morsels yet.


4. And preferred reading genre?

When it comes to reading, I’ll take just about any sort of spec-fic, as long as it’s well written. Sci-fi, horror, fantasy, alt-history – give me a well told story, and I’m yours for the duration.


5. What are your top 3 favorite books?

Ignoring how awful question that is to ask of any book lover, these are three I certainly always come back to, both physically, and in my mind:
‘The Dark is Rising’ by Susan Cooper was my favourite book as a child, and it still ranks in the top three.
‘Snow Crash’ by Neal Stephenson was an amazing journey meshing cyber-punk, ancient myth, and philosophy and thus must have a place here.
‘Someplace to be Flying’ by Charles de Lint, in many ways is one of my favourites of his works. There is a darkness to it that really appealed to me and it stepped away from some of the better known characters and giving a fresh view into an odd world.


6. Do you have any particular writing habits?

You mean good ones? I try to get my writing done at the beginning of the day. After enough coffee to find words, I sit down and write what my Muse deigns to share with me. That way, no matter what else the day throws at me, I have got the important part completed.


7. Do you have a playlist that you created while writing your story?

Yes, definitely. It grows and shrinks every so often, as songs no longer seem pertinent to the world, or I find new meaning in songs that inspire me. I also have subsets for the different moods Jonathan goes through and, of course, one for fight scenes.


8. Panster or plotter?

Panster – Absolutely Panster! If I even try to plan a chapter ahead, the entire train of thought comes to a painful screeching halt and I’m left, chin in hand, staring at a black page, listening to the sheep Baa.


9. Advice for writers?

I think there are two things that I would recommend, one is easy and the other sounds hard, but is actually just a change of mindset. First advice is a standard – Just Write. Get it down, and don’t look back until you've told the story. The second thing is - Learn to Love Edits. It sounds impossible, but editing is just writing from a different angle. It is the same process, same creativity, same weaving of words but you are doing it from outside the box instead of inside.


10. What's up next for you?

Any moment now, my editor, McKenna Gardner, who worked wonders with my first novel, ‘Tomorrow Wendell’ and acts of magic to get, ‘Blondes, Books & Bourbon’ together, is going to show up with a red pen, and a cattle prod.  This will be my cue that she intends to help me get the second White Dragon Black novel, ‘Bindings & Spines’, ready for publishing. Everyone should take a minute and thank McKenna for making these works exist, by the way.


11. Please provide some insight, a secret or two about each of the stories.

‘Interview’ was actually written for a blog that was promoting the first White Dragon Black novel, Tomorrow Wendell’. They asked for a character interview and that really gave me pause. I tried to wrap my head around what sort of circumstance would find Jonathan Alvey giving an interview and realized there was only one. 

‘The Play’s the Thing’ is the second story written in the WDB world. It was a fun tale to write, and I did so quickly, but it opened up a deeper understanding of both Jonathan, and his world, for me. It was also the story that made me realize I would be seeing a lot more of that character in my future.

‘The Cost of Custody’ was written as a submission for Xchyler Publishing’s open call for their next anthology. It was the first time I had submitted anything involving Jonathan, and I was actually quite surprized when it was accepted into ‘Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology’. This was the first time the public was exposed to the character who had taken over all my writing time… clearly it was only the beginning.

‘Sins of the Father’ is the story that started it all. At the time, it was quite a digression from my usual style. I thought it a one off, a cute tale that stretched my writing ability and nothing more. However, once it had been written and edited, I found the writing department of my mind had been cleared of everything but a brooding figure with his feet up on a battered desk.

‘Legerdelivre’ was written long ago, and then about a year after, my Muse showed me a different possible ending to the story. I enjoyed it in my head but never put it into words. When we were editing that story for ‘Blondes, Books, & Bourbon’, I told my editor, McKenna, about the alternate ending and asked if she’d like me to write it up. She suggested I should write it and another, if I could. It wasn't that the original ending was bad, but the idea of managing to get a better one, was tempting. I went to work on it immediately, and not only wrote out the one I’d carried in my mind for quite some time, but a third ending as well. The version that is in this anthology is actually the best parts of all three ending fused into one. It wasn't the easiest to pull off smoothly, but I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

‘Do As I Say, Not As I Did’ holds a special place in my heart because it a story that shows that Jonathan can intentionally be, when he really wants to, a bit of a jerk. That, to me, is simply entertaining. Hmm, maybe this says something about me I should admit in an interview.

As I said, my stories come from my Muse, but sometimes I can say, ‘Hey, can we work with…’ and she’ll give me a story, there are two of those in this anthology. For the first, I wanted a story that was centered on Jonathan and his problems with keeping a secretary. That was it. That was what I asked for. After a day of musing (where do you think the term comes from?) what I got, was the story, ‘What a Nightmare’. The second was ‘The Ties that Bind’ and it came about because I wanted a short story that tied into the next novel ‘Bindings & Spines’. I wanted to create a tale that stood alone but, when read in conjuncture with the novel, enriched the understanding of the what, and why, of Jonathan trying to go ‘clean’ from magic.



Author's Favorite Things:

- Quote - “Don’t you smile at me like that … that’s not even a real smile! It’s just a bunch of teeth playing with my mind!”

- TV show – Doctor Who. I mean ALL Doctor Who; not just the new, not just the old. Doctor Who.

- Comic book character – Death from Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’

- Movie – Casablanca. Is there any other possible answer?

- Candy bar – Big Turk. I mean, how can you say ‘No’ to Turkish delight and chocolate?

- Junk food – White Chocolate. No, wait, ice cream. No, Gin. No, gummy bears. Coffee?

- Place you visited – I haven’t traveled much, or very far. The trip to Wales, my mothers country of birth, was taken when I was young but even so it floats in my dreams always.

- Restaurant – The mom and pop diner, in the small town where I live. They have big inexpensive breakfast served all day, and burgers that just hit the spot every time.

- Island – Roke. There are, I’m sure, many wonderful ones out there but I take Roke as my choice.






AUTHOR BIO:



R.M. Ridley lives with his wife on a small homestead in Canada, raising chickens and sheep. He has been writing stories, both long and short, for three decades, the themes of which range from the gruesome to the fantastical.
As an individual who suffers from severe bipolar disorder, Ridley is a strong believer in being open about mental health issues and uses his writing to escape when his thoughts become too wild.


BOOKS: 
WHITE DRAGON BLACK
Bindings and Spines (Book 2, 2015)
Ridley's work has appeared in two Xchyler anthologies: "The Case for Custody" in Shades and Shadows: a Paranormal Anthology, and "Charon's Obol" in Legends and Lore: An Anthology of Mythic Proportions.

WHITE DRAGON BLACK: Google + | Twitter
FIND THE AUTHOR ONLINE:

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Drabble Wednesday: Dragons

Today on Drabble Wednesday, we take to the sky on leathery wings and breathing fire…





Hatchling

She is puny thing, a half-formed creature like me. I can read it in her thoughts. A child? Yes, that’s the right word. Why is she here? I should claw her eyes out, scratch off her face, fly away.
But she likes me. I can feel it. And I—I don’t know what I feel. I like the way she cradles me, tenderly cupping the remains of my egg where I sit, and strokes my nose. I like the way she calls me dragon, and calls me hers.
I flap my wings, and puff smoke. She laughs. I will stay.


Star Sky

The beasts rests on the hill, a shadow silhouette against the moonlight. He stares into the ebon hued night sky, watching the heavens. His eyes drink deep of the spectacle, the flickering points of light dotting the firmament, those faraway celestial stars. He wonders, of their beauty, of what lies beyond their radiance. Sitting on a grassy knoll, he contemplates his existence.
He stretches his leathery wings, testing muscle and sinew, and lashes his tail, tracking furrows in the grass and earth. He leaps, sails on wings, air currents bearing him aloft.
Tonight, the dragon will soar among the starlight.


Retribution

A vast shadow shrouded the charred landscape, cast by the combative, incensed dragon circling the sky above. The beast paused in its fiery siege of the village, the thrum of its wings beating time until its next assault.
Below, structures blazed and the nearby forest burned. Some villagers fled to woods for safety, only to find the trees aflame and their death trap. Other poor souls still survived, huddled in the cellar of their ruined church, trapped beneath fallen rubble and smouldering remains. Their priest prayed for salvation, but his heart knew they should never have destroyed those dragon eggs.


Tuesday 17 March 2015

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's a creepy little poem to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.




An Irish Lullaby

Hush now, close your eyes
against the looming night
and the tempting moonlight.
Hush now, close your eyes.

Against the looming night
when the Fae Folk roam,
between morn and gloam.
Against the looming night

When the Fae Folk roam,
hear the banshee who wails.
I will sing you some tales,
when the Fae Folk roam.

Hear the banshee who wails.
Hush now, close your eyes,
dream of clear blue skies.
Hear the banshee who wails.

Hush now, close your eyes
against the looming night
and the tempting moonlight.
Hush now, close your eyes.


© All Rights Reserved A. F. Stewart


Sunday 15 March 2015

Book Spotlight: Mother Gaia by Ricky Baxter

Today I have another book in the spotlight, a philosophic fantasy, mixed with a mortality tale, Mother Gaia by Ricky Baxter. Enjoy.


Mother Gaia by Ricky Baxter



4.54 billion years the earth has existed – forming life that has continued to grow and adapt. Of all the species that have evolved, mankind has exceeded the most, from the discovery of fire, to the Internet and advanced machinery. Unfortunately, the hearts of men have changed for the worse, due to greed, corruption and manipulative warfare. As such, the wrath of the earth has been stirred, and its creator Mother Gaia takes it upon herself to end the human race. Bearing the appearance of a beautiful young woman, Mother Gaia will experience the darkest hearts of mankind, with no light in sight. Political – full of scientific and religious contradictions that will leave you questioning your own morality, Mother Gaia is a reminder that nature is a force not to be reckoned with.


Mother Gaia is available on Amazon.uk



Author Bio:

Ricky Baxter is the author of Gideon and the Crimson Samurai, and Mother Gaia. He is an avid blogger and speaker, giving advice and thoughts to fellow creators from all walks of life. His other works include Colours of Destiny, a Youtube visual novel. Currently he lives in Leeds England where he writes and blogs. Starting out as a composer since graduating with a Ba(Hons) in music and multimedia, Ricky worked for many independent short film directors, gaining notable IMDB credits. Since then, he has embraced his earlier passion of writing fictional stories.



Friday 13 March 2015

Book Spotlight: Blondes, Books & Bourbon by R. M. Ridley

Today I have another spotlight, this time for the new urban fantasy anthology, Blondes, Books & Bourbon by R. M. Ridley, released today. This post is also to help support the Xchyler Publishing book bomb event for the GiveForward Grauer fund.  All royalties in connection with the debut of his White Dragon Black short story anthology are being generously donated by R. M. Ridley.

Okay, now on with the spotlight.


Blondes, Books & Bourbon by R. M. Ridley



In this collection of short stories, Jonathan Alvey continues to battle the unraveling world of the White Dragon Black.

Interview: A rare sit-down with paranormal private investigator Jonathan Alvey.

The Play’s the Thing: When a blonde woman shows up in Alvey's office, seeking protection, he uncovers more than a murder attempt.

The Cost of Custody: Alvey helps estranged parents rescue their daughter from a terrible fate.

Sins of the Father: A pawn shop owner risks it all by asking Alvey to recover property that is more than meets the eye.

Legerdelivre: There’s nowhere Richard Tomlin can hide when it comes to the controlling powers of a dusty grimoire, but can Alvey truly help him?

What a Nightmare: Little old ladies do deceive, and secretaries come dear, in Jonathan Alvey’s office.

Do As I Say, Not As I Did: Alvey must air a CEO’s dirty laundry before a company ghost destroys too much.

The Ties That Bind: Can Alvey control a poltergeist and maintain his promise to not fall victim to the Dragon Black?

Bindings and Spines: A first chapter sneak peek of the second White Dragon Black novel.


You can find Blondes, Books & Bourbon on Amazon


And check out the Facebook Book Bomb Event happening today, Friday 13th





Author Bio:

R.M. Ridley lives with his wife on a small homestead in Canada, raising a small flock of sheep and a swarm of foul. He has been writing stories, both long and short, for three decades, the themes of which range from the gruesome to the fantastical. As an individual who suffers from severe bipolar disorder, R. M. Ridley is a strong believer in being open about mental health issues because myths should be kept to stories.

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/R.M.-Ridley/e/B006WS3PM4/



Wednesday 11 March 2015

Drabble Wednesday: Destiny

Today we spend some time with three woman, all embarking on a new journey in their life, and one woman at the end of hers…



 Dancer

She held her breath, as the studio held the quiet, counting the seconds in her head. One, two, three… stretched en pointe, flawless balance… hold it, hold it, keep position… perfect lines… yes, that’s it…
For a brief moment she felt elation. The pain, the sore muscles, hours of practice, all melted away. Embodied in one unblemished movement she saw her dream—Prima Ballerina. Across her ambition and drive lay centre stage, the spotlight, the faces of her audience.
Then the moment broke, and she returned to the practice studio, rehearsing for another role in the chorus. But some day…




 Bride

Sinyae stared in the gilded mirror. She made adjustments to her diadem and headscarf, to her jewellery. Everything must be perfection when she walked into the temple. Her bedroom door opened and her mother appeared.
“It is time.”

During the ceremony, Sinyae stood reverently, head bowed, proud she ceased to be a daughter of her father’s house and embarked on to a new path. She happily spoke her vows, smiling as the rites ended.
The officiating priestess placed a hand on Sinyae’s head. “Welcome child, within the Temple of Isnanya. Blessings be upon you, novice, newest Bride of the Goddess.




Warrior

Jai knelt at the altar, her head bowed. She grasped her sword—a talisman thrust upright before her—both hands resting on the hilt. She ignored the dirt in her hair, her bloodied face, and prayed.
“Give me strength for this last battle. Shore my weak spirit that I may instill hope in my men, and so we can triumph over this evil, and vanquish the enemy.”
Sunlight flickered through a grimy window to glint off the metal of her armour. She smiled. A sign. She rose and walked from the church to rally her men against the zombie hoard.



Out the Window

The old woman adjusted her frilled cap and smoothed the lace on her dress as she settled in the chair by the window. She pulled her shawl tighter about her shoulders and looked out to view the morning.
The lane and the adjacent common garden were empty, but she knew that would change. Mr. Knowles would be along shortly to tend the rosebushes. She chuckled.
Poor Mr. Knowles, such loyalty to your wife. Tending her roses even though you believe she ran off with that sailor. I wonder if you ever suspected? That I buried her under her precious roses.



Friday 6 March 2015

Book Spotlight: Magic of the Gargoyles

Today I'm featuring another book, this time a fantasy novel about one of my favourite creatures, the gargoyles. So please welcome author Rebecca Chastain and her book, Magic of the Gargoyles...


Magic of the Gargoyles by Rebecca Chastain

Mika Stillwater thrives at being ordinary. She’s a mid-level earth elemental with a strong quartz specialty and a basic grasp of the other four magical elements. Her highest ambition is to open her own shop as a quartz artisan, and she’s worked tirelessly to become her own boss. The last thing she expects is to be swept into the gritty criminal underworld of Terra Haven.

A nest of helpless kidnapped baby gargoyles are being used as pentagram focuses, where their magic—and their lives—are being devoured by those greedy for horrific, illegal power boosts. But the heinous trappers missed one gargoyle. Naïvely, the free gargoyle believes Mika is the only person who can be trusted to rescue the captured gargoyles.

Mika must jeopardize everything she’s worked so hard for to have a chance at being the hero the baby gargoyles desperately need. If she fails, not only will the gargoyles die but the city will be at the mercy of the gargoyles’ murderers’ overwhelming destructive magic.

Is it possible for someone ordinary to achieve the extraordinary?


Where you can find Magic of the Gargoyles







Author Bio:

Rebecca Chastain is the author of MAGIC OF THE GARGOYLES, a fantasy novella, and A FISTFUL OF EVIL, an Amazon Top 100 Fantasy Bestseller in the United States, Australia, and Canada. She has found seven four-leaf clovers to date, won a purebred Arabian horse in a drawing, and once tamed a blackbird for a day. She has been employed as a VHS sales clerk, bookshelf straightener, government pseudo-employee, professional finder of lost sporting goods, and strategy guide wrangler in the video game industry. Dreaming up the absurd and writing stories designed to amuse and entertain has been her passion since she was eleven years old. She lives in northern California with her wonderful husband and two bossy cats.

Sign up for Rebecca's newsletter to find out about new releases, sales, and freebies: http://www.rebeccachastain.com/newsletter/.


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