Interview - Enchanted Guardian by Sharon Ashwood

Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.

Imagine encountering the Knights of the Round Table on the streets of your present-day city. Then imagine the mysterious, magical enemies of the past have returned to destroy the modern world. That’s the premise of the Camelot Reborn series that began with Enchanted Warrior and continue in Enchanted Guardian. Of course, these are romances and that means our medieval men run headlong into very modern women. These stories are great fun to write!

If you are a parent do you find it hard to juggle writing and parenting? Any tips for time management or sneaking in writing time?

I’m not a parent and can’t speak to the challenges that presents, but I do have a job and a packed schedule and have had to deal with time and energy management issues. I take on way more than I should and then pay the price. One thing I’ve learned is to break down big goals into tiny, tiny bites and to be happy with only one bite if that’s what I can do that day. As long as it’s something—an email, a paragraph, working out a plot point—it will move me forward in small, consistent steps. I’ve come to appreciate how those gains will get me to the goal line on time and without a big deadline drama. It’s a very different way of working, because I used to hurl myself at problems as if I could defeat them with sheer willpower. Now I’m more strategic.

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

A lot of people are surprised that I work in finance and spend all day playing with spreadsheets.  That actually works well for me because writing is a change of pace and also because authors need to understand the business side of bookselling.

Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that you haven’t tackled yet?

I love historical fiction. History creeps into my work now, but it would be great to write a full-on historical romance. I love the beautiful settings and fine manners and all the political intrigue beneath that fine polish. There are infinite story possibilities.

Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is your favorite and why?

If this book is part of a series…what is the next book? Any details you can share?

There are two more books in the series scheduled for next year. I’ve just started on book three, Royal Enchantment.

What book are you reading now?

I’ve just started Cast in Silence by Michelle Sagara.

What is in your to read pile?

Like most book lovers, my TBR pile is huge and spans all kinds of subject matter. Near the top is a volume of Arthurian stories, a survey of secret societies (must not be very secret if they’re in a book!), a massive archeological tome about the ancient Scythian tribes (research), and Naomi Novik’s  Uprooted.

Enchanted Guardian

Camelot Reborn Series

Book Two

Sharon Ashwood

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne

Date of Publication: August 1 2016

ISBN: 978-0373009763

ASIN: B01CNMT0DK

Number of pages: 300    

Word Count: 85000

Book Description:

Enchanted Guardian- A love of legendary proportion

In another time, in a place once known as Camelot, they had been lovers. Torn apart by betrayal and lies, Lancelot Du Lac and Nimueh, the Lady of the Lake, had each suffered greatly.

But the magic of the fae had reawakened a man once trapped in stone, and Lancelot was determined to find his long lost love. Only, Nim was desperate to hide her fae soul, as she was marked for death by their mutual enemy.

Though centuries apart had not diminished their passion, they would once again face a dangerous test to prove each was the other’s destiny.

Book Trailer https://youtu.be/btP6qzxOmpk

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Excerpt:

Lancelot caught her arm, pulling her up short. Nim scowled down at the long, strong fingers. Fine scars ran along his tanned knuckles, evidence of a life around blades. Heaviness filled her, a primitive reaction to the strong, aggressive male taking control of her in the most basic way. Once it might have grown into anger or lust, but now it confused her.

“Take your hand off me,” she said, letting her voice fill with frost.

“No.” He pulled her closer, turning her to face him. “You will answer my questions.”

Nim jerked her arm free. They were so close, she could feel his warm breath against her skin. “About what?”

His nostrils flared as if scenting her. Still, Nim studied his tense jaw and the blood flushing his high cheekbones. The heat of his emotions made her feel utterly hollow. His hand closed around her wrist again, almost crushing her bones.

“There are too many people here,” he growled.

“There are enough people here for safety. Perhaps I don’t want to answer you.”

His eyes held hers a moment, dark fire against the ice of her spirit. That seemed to decide him, for he pulled her close and took a better grip on her arm. “Come with me.”

“Where?”

He didn’t reply, but steered her toward the door, moving so fast she skittered on her heels. She took the opportunity to pull against him, but this time he held her fast. “Don’t.”

The threat was real. Her fighting skills were nothing compared to a knight’s. Lancelot could crush or even kill her with a single blow. Still, that didn’t make her helpless, and she would not let him forget that fact. Rising up on her toes, she put her mouth a mere whisper from his ear. “You forget what I can do. My magic is nothing less than what it was when I was the first among the fae noblewomen. I can defend myself against your brute strength.”

Just not against what he’d done to her heart. She closed her eyes a moment, feeling his breath against her cheek and remembering the past for a long moment before she denied herself that luxury. “Let me go,” she repeated.

In response, he pulled her to the side of the building, refusing to stop until he was deep into the shadows. The ground was little more than cracked concrete there, tufts of grass straggling between the stones. He pushed her against the siding, her back pressed to the rough wood. “Not until I’ve had my say.”

He had both of her arms now, prisoning Nim with the hard, muscled wall of his chest. Anyone walking by might glimpse two lovers in a private tête-à-tête, but Nim drew back as far as she could, something close to anger rising to strike. No one handled her this way, especially not him.

“Then talk,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Aren’t you even surprised to see me?” he demanded.

“Why should I be?” She needed to squash any personal connection between them. Even if she was whole and their people were not at war, he had betrayed her.

He put a hand against her cheek, his fingers rough. She jerked her chin away, burning where his touch had grazed her.

But he was relentless. “I’m told you were caught by Merlin’s spell along with the rest. I know what the fae have become.”

Soulless. As good as dead inside. Lancelot didn’t say the words, but she heard them all the same. “It’s true,” she replied. “It’s all true.”

His expression was stricken as if hearing it from her lips was poison. Good, she thought. Better to be honest. Better that he believe her to be the monster she was.

“Maybe that’s true for some. I don’t believe that about you. You still have too much fire.”

With that, he claimed her mouth in an angry kiss. Nim caught her breath, stifling a cry of true surprise. The Lancelot she’d known had been gentle and eager to please. Nothing like this. And yet the clean taste of him was everything she remembered.

His mouth slanted, breaking past the barrier of her lips to plunder her mouth. The hunger in him was bruising, going far beyond the physical to pull at something deep in her belly. Desire, perhaps, or heartbreak. She wasn’t sure any longer, but she couldn’t stop herself from nipping at his lip, yearning to feel what she had lost. A sigh caught in her throat before she swallowed it down. Surely she was operating on reflex, the memory of kisses. Not desire she might feel now. The warmth and weight of him spoke to something older than true emotion. Even a reptile could feel comfort in the sun. Even she…

Still, that little encouragement was all the permission he needed to slide his hand up her hip to her waist and she could feel the pressure of his fingers. Lancelot was as strong as any fae male, strong enough certainly to overpower her. That had thrilled her once, a guilty admission she’d never dared to make. She’d been so wise, so scholarly, so magical, but an earthy male had found the liquid center of heat buried under all that logic and light. They had always sparked like that, flint against steel.

But then his hand found her breast and every muscle in her stiffened. This was too much. Memory was one thing, but she wasn’t the same now and she refused to have a physical encounter that was nothing more than a ghost of what it should be.

Nim pushed him away. “I don’t want this.”

Something in her look finally made him stop, but his eyes glittered with arousal. “Are you certain about that?”

About the Author:

Sharon Ashwood is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English literature degree but works as a finance geek. Interests include growing her to-be-read pile and playing with the toy graveyard on her desk. As a vegetarian, she freely admits the whole vampire/werewolf lifestyle would never work out, so she writes her adventures instead.

Sharon is the winner of the RITA® Award for Paranormal Romance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is owned by the Demon Lord of Kitty Badness.

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sharonashwood/

Newsletter:   http://www.sharonashwood.com/newsletter/

Blog: http://www.sharonashwood.com/daily-strange/

Website:  http://www.sharonashwood.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SharonAshwood

Facebook Fanpage:  https://www.facebook.com/authorsharonashwood

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Playlist Dreams in the Dark by K. Margaret

Dreams in the Dark Playlist

Music is an important muse when it comes to my writing. A song can inspire a scene, a chapter, or even a book. Here are the top ten songs that inspired Dreams in the Dark.

1.      In the Night by The Weeknd: And I know that she’s capable of anything, it’s riveting But when you wake up she’s always gone, gone, gone

2.      Nothing Ever Hurt Like You by James Morrison: I was naïve and wide-eyed, but you made me see That you don’t get to taste the honey Without the sting of the bee Oh yes, you stung me good, oh yeah you dug in deep But I’ll take it, I’ll take it, I’ll take it ‘Til I’m down on my knees.

3.      The One That Got Away by The Civil Wars: I never meant to get us in the deep I never meant for this to mean a thing Oh, I wish you were the one Wish you were the one that got away

4.      Stiches by Shawn Mendes: Just like a moth drawn to a flame Oh you lured me in I couldn’t sense the pain Your bitter heart cold to the touch Now I’m gonna reap what I sew I left seeing red on my own

5.      Locked Away by R. City: If I got locked away And we lost it all today Tell me honesty, would you still love me the same? If I showed you my flaws If I couldn’t be strong Tell me honestly, would you still love me the same?

6.      Not Gonna Die by Skillet: This is how it feels when you take your life back This is how it feels when you finally fight back When life pushes me I push harder What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger

7.      What Have You Done by Within Temptation: Would you mind if I hurt you? Understand that I need to Wish that I had other choices Than to harm the one I love What have you done now? I know I’d better stop trying You know that there’s no denying I won’t show mercy on you now

8.      Circus for a Psycho by Skillet: You think you’re gonna hurt me Get ready to get dirty You created this beast inside Pull the noose tighter And lift a little higher Because you’re killing me slow I ain’t ready to die.

9.      Unsteady by X Ambassadors: Mother, I know That you’re tired of being alone Dad, I know you’re trying To fight when you feel like flying But if you love me, don’t let go

10.   Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran: I’m thinking ‘bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways Maybe it’s all part of a plan I’ll just keep making the same mistakes Hoping that you’ll understand

Dreams in the Dark

Dark Dreams

Book 2

K. Margaret

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Date of Publication: August 4, 2016

ISBN: 978-1534924017

Number of pages: 197 (paperback)

Word Count: 81063

Cover Artist: Ariel LeAnn

Book Description:

Whispers abound in Gehenna, Zeus knows the empusae is alive and he wants her dead. A war is coming, and a war is exactly what Empusa’s been training her pets for.

Deep down, Empusa only wants one thing—the demise of those who banished her to Hell, and she will stop at nothing to escape and exact her revenge. Traveling the Dream Realm, she spends countless hours searching for her ticket out, and she’s finally found him.

Krael Connolly, the Crown Prince of Gehenna, spends his days researching demons, particularly the elusive empusae, and his nights being visited by his Emmy in his dreams. As the Demon of Vengeance, he fights a battle with his inner demon every day, but his humanity continues to win out…although, the demon of his dreams is testing that control.

He endlessly fights against the dark, while she fights against the light. She calls to his demon as he struggles to bring out her humanity. She lives for chaos, blood and destruction, but he makes her experience something she'd never experienced before—emotions.

But ultimately, what will Empusa do?

Whatever hell she wants.

Excerpt:

Screams of torture and cries of agony surrounded Empusa. From her vantage point high atop a rock formation, inside her property line in the middle of Gehenna, the demoness looked out over the vast wasteland and liked what she saw. As far as the eye could see, numerous battles were taking place. Battles for food and power, and all of them to the death. The dark sky above shifted between varying shades of black, with a slight tint of red creating an eerie sight. The red grew thicker and darker by the minute, signaling the death of the demons below. As each one fell, the ground sought nourishment, inhaling the fallen’s essence and leaving behind a red mist. The sight comforted Empusa like a baby’s blanket would. She was raised on death and mayhem, became its lover until nothing was left of her soul but a darkened void that sought only one thing: the demise of those who banished her to the depths of Hell in the first place.

Another anguished cry split the air, causing a slow, devious smile to spread across the demoness’s blood red lips. By the gods, she loved the sound. The agonizing, helpless pleas of those of the damned who wouldn’t last another hour. Usually, Empusa forced such sounds from her fellow imprisoned demons, but she could be satisfied with someone else playing her a lullaby tonight.

Lowering herself against the hard, cold stone, Empusa stretched out on her back, one hand dangling over the edge into nothingness. She closed her eyes and allowed sleep to pull her into the Dream Realm.

Well over a century ago, Empusa had seduced the nightmare demon, Epiales, and stolen his powers, allowing her free reign over the realm. She could control it, manipulate it, and use it toward her advantage. For countless hours, she used it to search for the one who could free her from her prison. A prison her bitch of a mother tossed her into millennium ago when she was no more than a child.

Gehenna, the Demon Hell Realm, had been her home for so long, her childhood on Mt. Olympus became all but a distant memory. The sweet, loving child of her past got buried so deep, she no longer admitted to ever being such a creature. Living and surviving among the worst of the worst of the demon species, Empusa learned to become more than a survivor. She’d become the one demon all others feared, a force to be reckoned with. Not only did every being within the confines of Gehenna fear her, but they all wanted her. She’d become a legend amongst their kind. Living in a realm where once imprisoned you stayed for eternity, Empusa set her sights on the one thing no one before her ever accomplished. Escape.

The cries echoing through the night vanished the deeper into sleep she went. Soon she found herself standing in the center of a long, white hallway. Doors of the same nondescript color lined up on either side of her as far as the eye could see. She stood there for a moment, deciding on which direction she wanted to go. Epiales must seriously miss the power to control such a place. How lonely it must be to not be able to escape the prison he currently resided in. Not that Empusa cared of the hell she placed upon him. He’d possessed a power she needed, so she stole it. Out of all her weapons, it was possibly her favorite in the endless battle she fought.

The toe of her thigh-high black boot tapped with impatience against the white marble floor. The one man she wanted to be available to her wasn’t. Empusa didn’t know what time it was on the realm he resided in, but she didn’t care. She specifically came for him. The need to see him, to touch him, to taste him left her off kilter most of the day. Empusa did not appreciate the feeling. She didn’t like not having control over every aspect of her life. This particular male caused her to do the unexpected, like seek him out. The audacity of him not to be where she wanted him to be, when she wanted him to be there, grated on her nerves.

Her heart kicked in her chest as, one by one, each door around her vanished until only one remained. For a moment she thought she miscalculated and Krael would be available. Her body betrayed her with the mere thought, causing her heart to slam in her chest, but she knew right away it wasn’t Krael. The feeling in her chest changed, making it feel as if her heart plummeted to her feet signaling a disappointment she didn’t want or need. A snarl passed her lips and the urge to kill something invaded her thoughts. How dare he make her feel things? It was a good thing no one was around to witness her behavior. If there had been, she would have killed them. No way would she allow anyone to think of her as weak. 

About the Author:

K. Margaret is a paranormal romance author living in Georgia. Her love for words, storytelling, and mythology started as a teenager and continues to grow. When she isn’t sucking down pots of coffee and writing, or hanging out with her teenage daughter, she can usually be found in front of her TV watching football, her other obsession.

http://darkdreamseries.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/KMargaret79

https://www.facebook.com/DareToDreamStory/

https://www.goodreads.com/KMargaret

http://www.amazon.com/K.-Margaret/e/B017PK4TPY/

https://www.instagram.com/kmargaret79/

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Interview - Fierce Hearts Box Set by Lynn Crandall

Welcome!  

Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog!

Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release. 

Fierce Hearts, The Complete Collection released May 30. It includes the five books I wrote that focus on a colony of were-lynxes. Each story follows a developing love story against the backdrop of the overarching battle the colony faces to prevent their demise and that of their world. I loved writing these books. I hope readers see the characters as deep and troubled individuals who face typical personal demons as well as the life and death situation they’re called to handle.

If you are a parent do you find it hard to juggle writing and parenting? Any tips for time management or sneaking in writing time? 

LOL! Such a good question. That is such a difficult situation. I have been striving for balance for as long as I’ve been writing, which has been years. When I began writing seriously my children were young, so finding time for writing without neglecting my family was a challenge. I stopped cleaning the house much, and many of the other chores I’d previously been diligent about. I focused primarily on my family time and writing time. My children are grown, but finding writing time while being actively part of my family is still challenging. I do things that refuel my spirit, like biking or hiking, remain open to opportunities to be with family and friends, and write the rest of the time.

Is there a theme or message in your work that you would like readers to connect to? 

My main themes are carried through all the books I’ve written to date. Those are that family is comprised of whomever you find genuine love and support with, no matter what shape it takes. The other theme is that life is not what we believe it is. Life and people are so complex, there is no way we can know everything or be so very healthy that we have no faulty perspectives we view life through.

Which romance book or series (or other genre, if you don’t write romance) do you wish you had written? 

This is an easy question. The Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong and her Nadia Stafford series. Great suspense and strong characters.

What is next for you? Do you have any scheduled upcoming releases or works in progress? 

I love writing so I see no end in sight. I just wrote a short story I plan to post for free download on my website. It is loosely connected to the Fierce Hearts series. That was very fun! I’m in the development and research phase for my next book. I’m planning to make the heroine a bounty hunter with psychometry. I’m totally interested in how she will manage her life and find meaningful love.

What book are you reading now? 

I am reading three: Kelley Armstrong’s Forsaken; Jim Butcher’s Changes; and Jennifer Lawler’s DoJo Wisdom for Writers.

What is in your to read pile? 

So many books! I could retire and just read books for the rest of my life. More Dresden Files, more Kelley Armstrong, and so many more. I like reading romances, especially paranormal and suspense, but I also like reading Jodi Piccoult, classics, and self-help because I’m always growing.

Do you have a music playlist or soundtrack for the series?

Music has always played as a backdrop to my life. When writing, it has helped me find pacing and mood. Sometimes it has simply jump-started my day. The following songs were all of that and more while I wrote Unstoppable. I offer that playlist here as something extra to enjoy about Unstoppable, and in many ways, the entire process of writing the series. 

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/pjuKmk6H3Ko  Afterlife by Ingrid Michaelson -  A peppy anthem to claiming your own way of living and appreciating self.

https://youtu.be/0KSOMA3QBU0  Dark Horse – This song helped when I was writing scenes that I wanted to feature power and fierceness.

https://www.song365mp3.com/track/rachel-portman-alex039s-father-1380650.html  Alex’s Father from The Lakehouse Soundtrack – A mellow, sultry tone that helped me sink into deep emotional territory the characters needed to travel.

https://youtu.be/1GtKOfg-nX4  This Never Happened Before , another moving song from The Lakehouse Soundtrack, sung by Paul McCartney. It was a soundtrack for me in writing moments of developing relationships and romance.

https://youtu.be/3yDP9MKVhZc  Two Weeks -- I loved this music for helping me write “pain” in my characters. But a warning, it has seriously explicit language.

https://youtu.be/bTNLYeaL7No  Songbird, by Eva Cassidy – For me, the moment of realization that the characters were opening to love is clear in this song.

https://youtu.be/JGGO6hgu0fE  While writing the wedding scene, A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri, really set the perfect mood for me. I cried as it played and I took the characters down their perfect path to each other and lifetime love.

Is music a backdrop in your life? I’d be thrilled to learn what songs you love.

Fierce Hearts Box Set

Lynn Crandall

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Crimson Romance

Date of Publication: May 30, 2016

Cover Artist: Crimson Romance

Book Description:

This bundle includes 5 individual books: Secrets, Book 1, Cravings, Book 2, Heartfelt, Book 3, Probabilities, Book 4, and Unstoppable, Book 5

Five suspenseful paranormal romances, five stories of supernatural tragedy, triumph, and love in one beautiful bundle.

Amazon

Secrets

Page Count 256

With her penchant for premonitions, Michelle Slade has always had trouble connecting with other people, and a horrific attack five years ago only made her isolation worse. But working to help defenseless animals with her rescue organization, Cats Alive, has given her new purpose and joy in life. When several homeless cats start vanishing into thin air, she's determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Casey Mitchell has always kept his private identity as a were-lynx secret. But he's drawn to Michelle, and when he begins to help investigate the odd circumstances surrounding the cats' disappearance, he uncovers a powerful businessman's diabolic designs on the unassuming woman.

Now both he and Michelle are in grave danger, and their survival depends on trusting each other with secrets better left unspoken. Will these two lonely souls triumph and find true love…or lose everything?

Book Trailer for Secrets https://youtu.be/vRwHQX4bNx0

Secrets Excerpt:

Casey sat up in bed, the dream he’d been having still alive in his head. He rubbed his hand through his hair. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “Oh, my God.” His heart thudded hard and fast in his chest. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, sucking in deep breaths of air. Four in the morning. Loneliness heavied his heart.

The dream had been so real, so terrifying. So unusual.

He set his feet on the cold wood floor and sat still on the side of the bed. He took in the room, his room in his house, and sorted through the images in his dream as his body reactions calmed.

He was accustomed to dreaming as his lynx form. Dreams of running through fields with the speed and exhilaration of freedom made frequent nighttime appearances. But this, this dream made him shiver. He dropped his head in his hands and lived through it again.

He saw himself standing in his human form with Michelle in her backyard. Darkness enveloped them comfortably and above a starry, moonless sky contained their moments of shared solitude. He’d brought her warm hand to his lips, the scent of her skin heady and alluring. She’d laughed, delighted when he pretended to take a delicate nibble of her skin.

Casey balled his hands. The moment of togetherness in the dream thundered through him as he revisited what happened next.

He’d lost control. He’d done the unthinkable. He’d shimmered, right in front of Michelle, into his lynx form. Horrified, he’d stood there as his purest self and her screams echoed fiercely against his heart.

Cravings

Page Count 226

Were-lynx Kennedy's world implodes when she's sent to a facility for illegal and torturous experimentation. Only after she's rescued does she learn she's been living a lie for 22 years. She can count on nothing from her past - not her parents, her surname, or her safety. Only the brother she didn't know and his colony of were-lynxes offer any semblance of stability. Suspicious of everyone and unsure of her path forward, Kennedy reluctantly starts to realize that charming were-bobcat Asher Monroe might be her only hope.

Sportswriter Asher has been trying desperately to ferret out the truth behind why the sinister Nexus Group has been kidnapping and experimenting on were-cats. But he's also willing to use his special mind-controlling ability to discover whether the gorgeous Kennedy is a threat to the colony or simply a lost soul.

As their need for the truth takes them into escalating danger, they discover explosive secrets that could bring Kennedy and Asher together - or rip them apart forever.

Book Trailer for Cravings https://youtu.be/1llwRMiMvX4

Heartfelt

Page Count 222

The daughter of an alcoholic single mother, Asia Blue learned young that if she wanted to survive, she'd have to take care of herself. Tough and independent, she never encountered a challenge she couldn't conquer . . . until Asia discovered she was a were-lynx. Befriending sexy fellow were-lynx Conrad Pike and finding a colony helped her adjust to the startling revelation and get through college.

Now an investigative reporter, Asia faces an entirely different sort of problem when her mother goes missing and she suspects the mysterious Nexus Group . . . who seem determined to wipe out her colony. She reaches out to Conrad, now an investment banker and serial heartbreaker, for assistance, and they must once again join forces to save their colony - and her mother.

Will this strong-minded duo risk opening up their hearts and owning up to their long-simmering attraction?

Book Trailer for Heartfelt https://youtu.be/q8ubCUWY4IY

Probabilities

Page Count 222

Bubbly were-lynx Tizzy Sands mapped out her life years ago: she'd teach kindergartners, eventually marry, and start a family. But when cancer stole her dream of having children, her focus changed. As a member of a were-lynx colony that faces constant danger from the nefarious Nexus Group, her goal now is helping the colony defeat them--and steering clear of any romantic involvements.

With his genius IQ, Quinn Arons isn't the most socially skilled were-lynx in the colony and can't imagine party girl Tizzy would give him a second look. But although his past mistakes and childhood experiences haunt him, he can't accept Tizzy's fear that cancer will return and claim her life soon. Instead, he decides to show her that life is what you make it.

Now they're working as partners to prevent Nexus from launching its Project Powering, but can Quinn convince Tizzy there's more to save here than just their world?

Book Trailer for Probabilities https://youtu.be/1yf5cS_RbWY

Unstoppable

Page Count 234

Reeling from the recent Project Powering battle with the evil Nexus Group, were-lynx and veterinarian Lara Monroe struggles with thwarting the group's plans to eliminate her colony while dealing with her own traumatic past. Still, when her fellow colony cat - and secret crush - Booker Chase needs help, she's willing to use her special healing touch to help him survive his emotional hell.

A formidable were-lynx and a physician, Booker has his hands full helping patients who were seriously injured in the battle. But nothing can repair his soul, broken from the loss of his wife and the PTSD from his service in Afghanistan . . . or can it? Now that his good friend Lara is standing by him in his emotional struggles, he's finding there is more to their connection than he realized. But dare he open his heart?

In the epic conclusion of the Fierce Hearts series, the colony takes its biggest risk of all to shut down the Nexus Group forever - will Lara and Booker survive to take their second chance at love?

Book Trailer for Unstoppable https://youtu.be/5MYdBXkPMx0

About the Author:

Lynn Crandall lives in the Midwest and writes in the company of her cat. She has been a reader and a writer all her life. Her background is in journalism, but whether writing a magazine or newspaper story or creating a romance, she loves the power stories hold to transport, inspire, and uplift. In her romances, she focuses on vulnerable, embraceable characters who don't back down.

http://lynn-crandall.com/

http://lynn-crandall.com/blog/

https://www.facebook.com/LynnCrandallAuthor/

https://twitter.com/lcrandall246   @lcrandall246

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6198966.Lynn_Crandall  

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Improbables by Jonathan Charles Bruce

            Hello, all you delightful readers of this fine electronic information disseminator! I am Jonathan Charles Bruce and I am here to talk a little bit about my process for creating the antagonist for my book Improbables. It’s also a touch on the vague side, simply to spare anyone interested from having something spoiled. I mean, that’d be cruel, right? It’d be like telling you that [REDACTED] dies in chapter twelve. How utterly awful!

            With writing a story with a human heroine thrust into the world of the paranormal, it was really important to write a villain that is threatening to everyone involved. This could have been easily accomplished by simply making the villain a member of the supernatural community—an angry vampire, werewolf, something like that. But such a solution can very easily undermine the agency of everyone involved.

            What I mean by that is when a threat is sufficiently overpowering for a squishy human, it falls to the supernatural paramours to step in and become a sort of meat-shield. Unable to appropriately defend herself, my heroine would be relegated to a trophy to be won by whoever ends up slaying the big bad. In other words, she is damseled, taking a character ideally meant to have depth and consigning her to being a prize.

            While this happens to be a major criticism across all genres, it also has the unintended effect of undermining the quality of the character doing the rescuing. Forced into a situation where our supernatural love interests are the only credible defense against the antagonist, they rush to the rescue because the peril was built specifically for them to handle. Which, in a way, it totally is—the thing is written, after all—but nothing feels like being painted narratively into a corner quite like feeling that your hero could turn to the audience and say, “Well, looks like I’ve got no other choice.”

            Swoon, am I right?

            So the challenge, then, was to write the antagonist in a way that created a plausible threat for both the titular improbables and humanity in roughly equal measure. This way my protagonist, Abigail, wouldn’t routinely be shoved into a closet every time the baddie reared its head. At the same time, the improbables would also be caught unprepared, meaning that their presence doesn’t actually guarantee protection for their human cohort—or even their own.

            Don’t get too attached to anyone, is what I’m saying.

            Ah, just kidding.

            Or am I?

            Anyway, I think that it’s this shared vulnerability that helps to make my antagonist as threatening as it is. But on top of the drive to simply make it a physical match for the cast, I also wanted to make sure that it worked as an effective antithesis for Abigail. I tried to establish an interesting intersection between the two, each working as the others’ potential for good or evil. This is perhaps most obvious in the thematic connection between the two.

            Identity and visibility end up being key components of the novel. While their starting points are quite different, Abigail and the villain’s struggle with how they come to grips with how they fit into the world are meant to work as oppositional arcs. I hope that by doing this, the stakes are made that much higher and their confrontations more visceral.

            Well, that, and she totally nails the thing with a car door. That probably helps.

Improbables

Jonathan Charles Bruce

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Booktrope

Date of Publication: February 22, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-5137-0653-5

ASIN: B01BH86AWU

Number of pages: 334

Word Count: 107,360

Cover Artist: Ashley Ruggirello

Book Description:

Abigail Wren’s new life fresh out of college is dull, even with her (almost) dream job at the local newspaper. The only real excitement she can get is found between the pages of an endless stream of paranormal romance novels she can’t help but love.

Then, on a snowy night in December, Abigail catches a glimpse of what could only be described as a werewolf. Enamored with the possibility, her investigation leads her to discover a paranormal population—improbables—harmoniously living in the midst of humanity. Between making eyes at a perpetually grumpy werewolf and hanging out with a vampire with a lust for life (and liquor), Abigail’s life takes a shaky step out of the ordinary and into the fantastic.

Just outside of the sleepy town of Whitewater, however, a force of rage is building. Born of hate and delusion, a living cataclysm threatens to devour everyone in its path—human or improbable.

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Excerpt from Chapter Three:

          The trip back to the office was short and uneventful. Parking her car was also characteristically nondescript. On her way to the front doors, Abigail realized that the entire car ride had been on autopilot. Along with that realization came the panic associated with losing a chunk of one’s precious life to monotony. And along with that came a sudden worry that she might have flattened a child without realizing it.

          No. Surely that would have been memorable—right?

          Right in the middle of a panicked mental recap of the events from picking up her book to arriving in the parking lot, she slammed face-first into a surprisingly warm wall of a person. She rebounded, only now taking in the red-and-black flannel shirt she had plowed into. Her hands shot out in an attempt to keep balance. A moment later, she felt someone’s hands on her forearms.

          “Easy there,” came a gruff voice. Pulling herself out of her daze, Abigail looked up at the person she had run into, who was now also, kindly enough, keeping her upright. He was scruffy, a mop of brown hair bleeding into a full (if short) beard worried with the occasional silver strands. His eyes were an intense green, which, coupled with the red in his shirt, gave his appearance an unintentionally festive look. He was pale, but that was nothing out of the ordinary, considering Abigail had forgotten what the sun looked like in the weeks she’d been calling the Pacific Northwest home.

          He was cute. In a ruggedly handsome way. Like a grizzled lumberjack.

          Perhaps cute was not the word for it.

          Abigail giggled, suddenly overtaken with the silliness of what just happened. “Thank you,” she said, certain she was coming across like an idiot. “You can let go now.” She smiled. The man obliged, returning a tight-lipped smile that seemed to err on the side of suffering-the-eccentric.

          “Sorry. Didn’t mean to…” he began before clearing his throat, “exist where you wanted to exist at the same time.” He looked every bit as awkward as she felt, which made her own discomfort slightly less overbearing.

          She swallowed sheepishly. “It happens.” She suddenly felt the need to clarify what she meant, so she gestured back and forth between the two of them. “Existing at the same time and all.” She realized that the gesture didn’t seem to quite work in the situation, so she let her hand fall at her side as she averted her gaze.

          “Try as we might!” he said with an exaggerated shrug. They exchanged unconvincing laughs before silence filled the void, mutated into a pause, then sat long enough to be uncomfortable. While the quiet was maliciously evolving, Abigail couldn’t help but trace her eyes up the man’s exposed and muscular forearms. When she caught what she was doing, she wondered where her unintentional partner’s eyes were glued—no doubt, here was another person in Whitewater who would take any opportunity to drink in the sight of the newest and blackest resident.

          Instead, she was a little shocked—and pleased—to see he was staring at the ground. He was legitimately embarrassed for slamming into her. In the city, if someone ran into you it was either a pickpocketing or just a nonstandard and jostly hello. In her hometown, it had been met with an impertinent huff and followed by a subpar apology. Here… well, if this was the first, being bumped into was hardly the worst way to get to know someone.

          Hey, mountain man Joe, why don’t we walk into each other in front of a coffee shop some time? she thought. This Whitewater-only pickup line seemed dopey enough to be charming enough to work—and she couldn’t help snickering at the thought.

          “What’s so funny?” he asked. She looked up at his eyes which had made a momentary migration to her face.

          The smile from her laughter remained unbroken, but grew a touch larger. “Nothing, just, uh…” She gestured to her temple. “I’m hilarious up here, trust me.”

          He tilted his head back, enough to give her a full look at what she assumed was post-embarrassment face-saving stoniness. He nodded. “Sorry again.” And with that, he brushed aside her, carrying some intense body heat with him, and walked away. She looked over her shoulder at the man, watching him for a few seconds. Something registered as odd, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

          Regardless of what it was that presently pricked at her brain, she shook it off. She had spent weeks feeling exasperated when people felt they were privileged enough to stare at her like a lab specimen; she wasn’t too keen on forcing that behavior on someone else.

          No matter how green his stupid sexy eyes were.

          She turned around to the glass doors and jolted at the sight of Lacy Renault, the woman in charge of business coverage. A tiny woman in her fifties with short-cropped silver hair, she watched Abigail come in with icy blue eyes and a gotcha-smile. She wore an immaculately tailored red business suit, giving her the appearance of a circa 2008 female presidential candidate.

          Abigail stepped into the vestibule, grateful for the limited respite it provided from the elements. “Were you watching that the whole time?” she asked, trying not to look too confused by Lacy’s grin. The expression was becoming a bit too knowing for her tastes.

          “You running into Collins?” She asked. She opened her eyes widely, teasingly, and nodded. “Oh, my, yes!”

          Abigail shrugged. “Something I should know?”

          Lacy gave an embellished frown. “No, no. Just, uh…” She trailed off in the way people do when overstressing a manufactured difficulty with words. “Glad to see you’re taking in the sights.”

          Well, this conversation immediately failed the Bechdel Test, Abigail thought icily.

About the Author:

Jonathan Bruce began writing what amounted to terrible Star Trek: The Next Generation fan fiction when he was four… provided that you accept that “forcing other people to write what he said” is the same thing as “writing”. Although the original manuscripts are lost (or perhaps destroyed), we can rest assured that his prose has improved significantly since then. After high school, he began writing and directing plays which gradually improved depending on whom you ask. He discovered his love of a good fight scene after writing a Dracula knock-off which took a 19th century classic and made it less about Victorian yearning and 300% more about stabbing things in the jugular.

He has a Master’s Degree in History, thanks largely to his thesis focusing on MUSIC, a Milwaukee-based school desegregation campaign during the 1960’s. He also enjoys discussing/making fun of pop culture of the 20th century and reading books of a non-historical nature. In his off moments, you can catch him writing for fun or making inane movies about nothing in particular.

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