#NewRelease from Seelie Kay: Vive la Resistance

Seelie Kay has a new release in her series about Vampire lawyer, Donavon Trait. In VIVE LA RESISTANCE, vampires are eliminating all half-bloods, those who are half human or half were. To save his family, Donavon has no choice but to fight. Seelie is here to tell us about herself and her writing, as well as her new book. Welcome Seelie!

An Interview with Seelie Kay:

Q.  Why do you write romance?

Since the onset of the pandemic, I have totally changed my attitude toward writing romance. While I was long enamored of the happily-ever-after because it brought me and readers joy, I have concluded that my true purpose in writing romance is to give me and my readers hope. Let’s face it, the pandemic has been traumatic—for everyone. It evolved into one of the most chaotic situations of our time, something we had never before experienced. I was grasping at anything that would give me hope and found myself turning daily to romance books and tales of finding or sustaining love. So now, I write to give people hope.

Q.  Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?

That also changed during the pandemic. While I still adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge, I found myself focusing more on principled men, those willing to fight for what they believe in. And now, you will that find my heroes also have a strong sense of family. They value the support a family can provide. Of course, the definition of “family” varies and comprises more than the traditional assortment of parents, siblings, and relatives.

However, these “heroes” continue pair with strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love.

Q.  Why did you write “Vive la Resistance?”

At the foundation of this book is the belief that people cannot be afraid to speak out against wrongs, especially those inflicted on others, and they must be willing to fight against evil, even at the risk of death. Soldiers and peacekeepers do that every day. We live in turbulent times. It is so easy to say, “Not my problem,” and turn away. But sometimes, you don’t have that choice. You have to stand up and fight back. Donovan Trait is a vampire lawyer. In the human world, a very respected lawyer. Now he must use his skills to save the half-bloods—vampires whose blood is mixed with human or Were. What began as a Vampire Coalition vendetta against his turned wife, Judge Shirley Magnusen, who gave birth to half-blood twins in violation of her marital agreement, has extended to the elimination of all half-bloods. A campaign of genocide. However, this is not a battle that can occur with boots on the ground in the presence of humans and Weres. It must be fought in the shadows to prevent exposing the vampire world to humans.  So it must be fought virtually, and soon it becomes clear that the resistance may be winning battles, but the Vampire Coalition will never concede the war. The final battle must occur in person. Sacrifices will be made, lives will be lost, and the vampire world will be shattered. But the real question is, what will emerge from the ashes? Vive la Resistance (Long Live the Resistance)!

Blurb:

Things are gonna get messy…

An illegal union, a banned birth, a Great Lie, and now, genocide. Vampire lawyer Donovan Trait and his wife, chemically-turned Judge Shirley Magnusen, are battling for their lives and the lives of their children. The Vampire Coalition wants them dead, but now the despots have also decided to expand their net, targeting any vampire whose blood is mixed with human or Were. Half-bloods are already treated like dirt by the Vampire Nation. They have been subjected to centuries of discrimination and cruelty at their hands. As the Coalition embarks on a campaign of terror, destruction, and slaughter, millions of half-bloods emerge from the shadows, ready and willing to reclaim their place in the Vampire Nation. The problem is, war cannot be unleashed out in the open in the human world. Battles must be fought in other ways. Even with an island of highly-skilled vampire nuns and a few Weres and humans at their side, it appears the Traits may be fighting an unwinnable war. Their only option may be to sacrifice their own lives in the hopes of setting all other half-bloods free.

Excerpt:

Donovan shifted on the lounger and muttered incomprehensively, then he emitted a rumbling snore.

“Hey, y’all. So yeah, vampires are real and they’re not above doing the dirty to those who share their blood. Take a look at this.” The Tik-Tokker grinned. “You are not gonna believe it. It’s so shady.”

Video of the Coalition camps rolled across the screen. Occasionally, the camera zeroed in a dirty or bruised Millennial, or a guard pushing a group of people into a building, their ankles locked together with some sort of rope. They were seen eating off of metal plates and lined up to fill a metal cup with something from a barrel. It wasn’t water. The liquid was rust-colored and thick, like blood.

“And the dudes running the place have a Marie Antoinette fetish. You know—” The woman mimicked a knife across her throat. “Off with their heads?” She giggled.

A guillotine appeared on camera. About ten people were in line, each with a black hood over their heads and their arms bound behind them. One at a time, they were pushed onto a stage and forced to their knees, their necks positioned directly under the blade. With manic efficiency, a guard released the blade. Most heads flew into a barrel in front of the platform. The ones that rolled off onto the stage were kicked to their final destination. The headless bodies were tossed onto a pile on the ground.

“Oh, grosss,” the woman complained. She leaned toward the camera. “Kind of like a bad zombie movie, isn’t it?” She sat back in her chair and made a face. “Whatever. I mean, like, are we supposed to believe that’s really happening? Isn’t that against the law or something?” She cackled. “As if.” She leisurely stretched her body, her crop top exposing a belly button ring. “I’m so shook.”

The woman tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. “Now, I’m not sharing this for the views. It is kind of sus. But if this shit is real, someone needs to get off the pot and do something about it. Aren’t there any woke cops out there who can play the James Bond card? Before anymore—” She swiped her finger across her throat and giggled. Then the screen went black.

Donovan shot up in his chair and blinked. Once. Twice. He shook his head and attempted to gather himself. What the hell? Sure, he had needed the sleep, even if it was only a thirty-minute nap, but the dreams he could do without. It had been less than forty-eight hours since the worldwide kidnappings. Donovan knew preparations for rescue were underway. But he also knew Bengotten and Hannigan were capable of even greater cruelty. He could only imagine the terror and the torture the victims were being subjected to. 

It was difficult to understand how the vampire world was capable of this. He had long prided himself on their natural superiority, their ability to rise up above the petty politics and unjustified violence in the human and Were worlds. Yet overnight, vampires had become the monsters, the tyrants capable of such evil. That astonished him. For the first time in his long existence, Donovan was ashamed of being a vampire. If it was possible, he might very well submit to being turned into a human or a Were. He buried his face in his hands. Yes, he could live as a human. Perhaps he could ask Dr. Alvarez to find a way to turn off his vampirism, maybe using the gene-editing Marilyn could not stop talking about.

Release Date:  May 27, 2022

Publisher: Extasy Books

Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Three flames, 21+

Book Trailer— https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fss8Vvhkh8Q

Excerpt #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk70WEWVEnE

Excerpt #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy8OZ83jga0

Buy links:

Extasy Books: https://www.extasybooks.com/Vive-la-Resistance

About Seelie Kay:

Award-winning author Seelie Kay writes about lawyers in love, sometimes with a dash of kink.

Writing under a nom de plume, the former lawyer and journalist draws her stories from more than 30 years in the legal world. Seelie’s wicked pen has resulted in twenty-two works of fiction, including the new paranormal romance series Donovan Trait, as well the erotic romance Kinky Briefs series and The Feisty Lawyers romantic suspense series. She also authored The Last Christmas, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, The President’s Wife, The President’s Daughter, Seizing Hope, The White House Wedding, and participated in the romance anthology Pieces of Us.

When not spinning romantic tales, Seelie ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. Currently, she resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, WI, where she enjoys opera, the Green Bay Packers, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine. 

Seelie is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Seelie can be reached at www.seeliekay.com, www.seeliekay.blogspot.com, or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.

Author links:

Website:  https://www.seeliekay.com

Blog:  https://www.seeliekay.blogspot.com

Twitter: @SeelieKay https://twitter.com/SeelieKay

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/seeliekay51/

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Seelie-Kay/e/B074RDRWNZ/

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/seelie-kay

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16492565.Seelie_Kay

TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@authorseeliekay

Newsletter sign-up:  https://rb.gy/w69pim

Prior Books:

Kinky Briefs:  https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs-1

Kinky Briefs, Too:  https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-too

Kinky Briefs, Thrice: https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-thrice 

Kinky Briefs, Quatro: https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-quatro

Kinky Briefs, Cinque:  https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-cinque

Snatching Dianna:  https://www.extasybooks.com/snatching-dianna

Infamy:  https://www.extasybooks.com/infamy

Cult:  https://www.extasybooks.com/cult

Hope:  https://www.extasybooks.com/hope

Martimus:  https://www.extasybooks.com/martimus

The Garage Dweller:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-garage-dweller

The President’s Wife:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-presidents-wife

Seizing Hope:  https://www.extasybooks.com/seizing-hope

The White House Wedding:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-white-house-wedding

The Last Christmas: https://www.extasybooks.com/the-last-christmas

The President’s Daughter:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-presidents-daughter

A Touchdown to Remember:  https://www.extasybooks.com/a-touchdown-to-remember

First, We Kill All the Lawyers:  https://www.extasybooks.com/first,-we-kill-all-the-lawyers

Ye Gods! The Law is an Ass!:  https://www.extasybooks.com/ye-god-the-law-is-an-ass

Judith Sterling: #NewRelease - THE SPEAR ALIGHT

 I'm welcoming Judith Sterling today on the occasion of the release of her new book, THE SPEAR ALIGHT, book four in the Guardians of Erin series. Make sure you enter Judith's giveaway of a $20 Amazon gift card. Welcome Judith!

 

The Spear Alight

The Guardians of Erin Book Four

by Judith Sterling

Genre: YA Fantasy, Paranormal 

Ashling Donoghue has almost lost hope of finding her missing parents. As her faith wanes, her love for two men waxes, rending her heart and causing friction in the Breasal household. The time has come to make a choice, to create a future untarnished by doubt. But how can she embrace the light when lured by the soft seduction of shadow? 

At last, her brother Conall channels the Spear of Illumination. He's a natural shapeshifter, and he sees through illusions in both the material world and the Otherworld…not a moment too soon. An ancient evil has surfaced, and it threatens all worlds.

Only the Donoghues can save Ireland. They must face their greatest fears and act as one to fulfill their destinies as guardians of Erin.

All aspiration toward sleep left me. I needed company. Now.

Lorcan.

Bad idea. Far worse than waking up my sister. But he wouldn’t judge. In fact, he’d probably be glad to see me. Me, Ashling Donoghue, pariah and maven of mistakes. I’d made a million of them. What was one more?

I imagined the interior of Lorcan’s tent at Dun Aengus on Inishmore. Then I flexed my will and was there, surrounded by rich colors, sumptuous fabrics, and perforated hanging lanterns. The intricately patterned Persian carpet felt soft and soothing to my bare feet.

Was he in bed? There was one safe way to find out. “Lorcan? Are you here?”

“Ashling?” His silken voice, warm and rousing, flowed from the bedroom and washed over me.

“Yes. It’s me.”

A heartbeat later, he appeared between the drawn, red curtains that separated his bed from the main section of the tent. He wore a black velvet dressing gown and an expression of mingled surprise and pleasure. With relaxed strides, he closed the gap between us. “You’re the last person I expected to see tonight.” His heated gaze roamed over me.

Too late, I realized I was wearing a thin, white night shirt that refused to cover anything below my upper thighs. I grabbed the hem on both sides and pulled downward…in vain. “I never planned to come.”

“Why did you?” His shoulder-length black hair looked as luxurious as his robe. I stifled the urge to touch both.

“I needed a friend.”

“Haven’t we traveled beyond the bounds of friendship?”

My stomach trembled at the memory of our passionate kiss. Stop it! I huffed. “That never should’ve happened.”

“But it did, because it had to.” His ice blue eyes held my gaze. “You belong to me. We belong to each other.”

“Aengus would disagree.”

“If he were here, but he isn’t.” He reached for my left hand and turned it over. Gently, he caressed my palm with the pad of his thumb.

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?” My palm tingled.

“You are the answer. Nothing and no one else.”

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The Sword Unsheathed

Guardians of Erin, Book Three

Ashling Donoghue is no closer to finding her parents than she was the night they disappeared. But hope returns as her brother Kian channels the Sword of Light, revealing past-life secrets and truths long suppressed.

The more she learns, the greater she fears the darkness that drowns the Netherworld also drives her. Is Aengus her true love, or is it Lorcan? Does her future wait in shadow or the light?

One point is clear: the threads of her past-self are woven inextricably into the tapestry of her soul. An impossible choice looms before her, and all the while, evil is poised to strike.

**Only .99 cents!!**

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The Stone Awakened

Guardians of Erin, Book Two

Since moving to Ireland, Ashling Donoghue has tackled one challenge after another. Now the mystery of her parents' disappearance seems unsolvable. Are they dead or only missing? No one—not even the godlike Breasals—has a clue. Hope and fear war inside her, but she's determined to find answers and stay strong for her siblings. Even as she hones newfound powers, her banshee-in-training sister Deirdre needs her support.

Ashling could use a little help herself. She's struggling to navigate her first romance, and while Aengus Breasal stirs her body, mind, and soul, his nemesis Lorcan does too. Both men harbor secrets about her past life as Caer. One has ties to Aoife, the scheming wind demon whose influence is on the rise.

As the Stone of Destiny awakens, so does the conflict within.

**Only .99 cents!!**

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The Cauldron Stirred

Guardians of Erin, Book One

Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.

At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate. For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.

But Aengus is secretive, with good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.

**Only .99 cents!!**

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Judith Sterling is an award-winning author whose love of history and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Whether penning medieval romance (The Novels of Ravenwood) or young adult paranormal fantasy (the Guardians of Erin series), her favorite themes include true love, destiny, time travel, healing, redemption, and finding the hidden magic which exists all around us. She loves to share that magic with readers and whisk them far away from their troubles, particularly to locations in the British Isles.

Her nonfiction books, written under Judith Marshall, have been translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida, she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England, Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket. She currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical twin sons.

Website * Facebook * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Amazon

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HEARTQUAKE: #NewRelease from Terry Newman

Wild Rose Press author Terry Newman is on tour with her new release, HEARTQUAKE. Check out the book and make sure to enter Terry's contest. Welcome to Journeys with Jana, Terry!

 

Heartquake

by Terry Newman

Genre: Paranormal Romance 

Coffee shop owner, Charlee Lightheart, views corporations with contempt. She believes her father died at the hands of the pharmaceutical industry. When she's approached to run for city council on an anti-fracking platform, she's reluctant. She's not sure this movement is her cause.

Billionaire Riley Brockton has given up on love. Then he walks into Charlee's shop. All he wanted was coffee and muffins. From that first electrifying touch, he knows he needs more. He withholds one piece of vital information: he's a lionshifter.

A rogue reporter sets out to reveal the one secret that can destroy the anti-fracking movement and the couple's relationship. Can their love survive the truth and public exposure?

Add to Goodreads

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Terry Newman has always loved words. As the editor-in-chief of a national natural

 health publishing company, she has written books on a variety of topics, as well as

 writing direct-mail advertising.

She’s also worked as a reporter, a communications specialist and a

 freelance writer.

 She’d had clients worldwide, and researched and wrote hundreds of

 eBooks and

 print books as well as ghostwrote novellas and short stories.

One day she woke and decided to make her dream of writing her

 own novel come

 true. She sets all her stories in fictional towns in northeast Ohio and

 writes about

 things she loves—like coffee.

Terry has led workshops on writing and character development.

She has a daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandpuppy, and lives in

 North Lima, a real

 town in northeast Ohio.

Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon

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PRECIOUS TREASURE: #NewRelease from Terry Segan

Terry Segan joins me today with a look at one of the secondary characters from her new release, PRECIOUS TREASURE from The Wild Rose Press. Tom Barton sounds like a great character. I'm pretty sure if I claimed to be haunted by a confederate soldier, my brother would have me put away! I hope maybe Tom will get his own story some day. Thanks for being here, Terry!

Secondary Character in PRECIOUS TREASURE

While Janie Holcomb is the star of the show in Precious Treasure, her brother Tom Barton is the comic relief. Most siblings poke fun at each other, while deep down their love and concern is genuine. The relationship between Janie and Tom follows this pattern. He’s been a huge part of her support system since her husband disappeared eight years prior.

When Janie approaches him about a new development in her husband’s disappearance, Tom doesn’t hesitate to jump right in. How many brothers do you know who would believe their sister is being haunted by a Confederate soldier and still agree to help? Not many, I can assure you. His infectious playfulness bolsters the mood of whoever he’s with, that is, when he doesn’t go too far and achieve annoyance rather than humor.

As the circle of people whom they can trust begins to blur, rather than give up the ghost (yes, pun intended), Tom remains all in to help his sister while trying to keep her out of harms way. While every book has a main character, his or her story can never be complete without the secondary characters populating their life. Who wouldn’t love a brother like Tom?

Blurb:

Eight years ago her husband disappeared. Does a hundred and fifty-year-old journal hold the answer as to why?

Janie Holcomb prays for closure once the courts declare her missing husband dead. Instead, she's sent spiraling down a dangerous path.

When her lawyer delivers a package held in trust, she finds a cryptic warning along with a Civil War journal promising buried treasure. While seeking a connection between her spouse and the decades-old diary, Janie attracts the spirit of a Confederate soldier pleading for help.

Enlisting her brother's assistance to chase down clues, they discover that not everyone they know should be trusted. Janie overlooks potential threats when the promise of new love stirs her emotions. Will her digging uncover the answers she craves or doom her to a similar fate?

Sneak Peek from Precious Treasure:

Janie dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Turning on the tap to fill the sink, she bent over and splashed cold water on her face. The refreshing drops rolled down her forehead, cheeks and chin, pulling her out of her funk. Sightless, Janie reached for the hand towel hanging nearby and dried her face as she stood upright. Opening her eyes, she leaned in to examine the damage of the late night on her complexion. Her reflection looked back, as well as that of a young man standing behind her. Janie’s heart leapt to her throat as she whipped around and found no one there. Looking back in the mirror, she saw only herself.

This is too much, she thought. First nightmares and now hallucinations. Janie shook her head. With the assault of information thrown at her in the last twenty-four hours, her imagination cartwheeled out of control.

Knowing the visions were a result of the wine, newspaper articles and journal, didn’t calm the raised hackles on the back of her neck. The foreboding in Brian’s letter snaked its way up her spine threatening to encircle her throat and squeeze tight. His writing had a tone of uncertainty and fear—uncharacteristic of the man she had married.

Buy Links:

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09PJXMD9Z

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/precious-treasure-terry-segan/1140834503

Author Bio:

Terry Segan resides in Nevada. The beach is her happy place, but any opportunity to travel soothes her gypsy soul. The stories conjured by her imagination while riding backseat on her husband’s motorcycle can be found throughout the pages of her paranormal mysteries.

Social Links:

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/AuthorTerrySegan

Author Website: https://terrysegan.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrysegan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeganTerry

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Terry-Segan/e/B087YQGXMD

#NewRelease and #Giveaway from Dariel Raye

 Dariel Raye is my guest today with a look at a brand new release! GATEWAY 1 is book one in the new Gateway trilogy from Dariel. If you love paranormal romance and urban fantasy, you're going to love Gateway 1. Welcome Dariel!

 

Gateway 1

The Gateway Trilogy Book 1

by Dariel Raye

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

Every predator has a weakness.

When an ancient being, the last of his kind, meets a fiery woman sought by evil, neither one of them is prepared for the consequences.

Gateway is a shape-shifting demon hunter who finds, protects, and prepares the Chosen - human females with the ability to redeem or destroy demons. For centuries, he has followed the rules…

Establish connection
Complete genetic imprint
No personal attachments…

Until he meets his newest charge – curvy, fiery, headstrong, and angry with the world. Following the rules while fending-off demons is going to take everything he has and then some.

*Please Note - "Gateway" contains explicit love scenes, profanity, and violence. Must be 18+ Part of this story was previously published in the "A Darker Shade of Evil" anthology under the title, "The Devil Upstairs."

Goodreads * Amazon

Honestly, I just didn’t care about the symbols anymore.  I even stopped worrying about the fact that no one else no seemed to see them besides me. After a few more minutes in his arms, I wasn’t thinking about much of anything besides Gateway and the way he felt against me. I had come here to lose myself and that’s exactly what I planned to do…all night in fact, if the opportunity presented itself.

I slid my arms over his shoulders and clasped my fingers behind his neck. His hands were heavenly, applying just the right amount of pressure in just the right places as he moved me effortlessly and skillfully on the dance floor. Our bodies melding together, those dark eyes boring into me until my gaze shifted from sheer intimidation. This was one hunk of man I was holding, but something was definitely...different about him. 

Taking a deep breath, I swallowed and gazed into those dark eyes. That rugged face could have been plucked right out of my most frequent fantasy. With so many questions, I still wasn’t sure exactly what to ask next, but I decided to move forward with the obvious, “You say you own the place, but I haven’t seen you here before.” I watched him intently again, hoping for more information this time. 

Gateway just smiled, a maddening curve of his perfectly shaped, delectably full lips. 

Well, it wasn’t really a question, I told myself, excusing his lack of response. 

“I haven’t owned the club for long, but I have seen you before. What brings you here tonight?” 

Yeah, now that was a real question, only it was coming from him.

“Let’s just say I needed an escape, Mr. Gateway.”

“Just Gateway.”

“Katrina. My friends call me Kat.” It had finally dawned on me to introduce myself.

“I know. Nice to meet you, Kat. I’m sure we’ll be fast friends very soon.”

I stopped moving and everyone else seemed to disappear, leaving the two of us in a premature yet intimate embrace. “How do you know my name already?” I didn’t bother to balk at his arrogance since he would have had to be blind to miss the fact that I was almost drooling over him. In fact, I was seriously tempted to do something else I had never done before. 

His smile evaporated, eyes smoldering.

 I could have sworn I saw fire in those depths.

He gave me the strangest answer, “I have my ways, but I only use them when I’m in need.” 

Before I could start trying to wrap my mind around that, Gateway tilted his head to the side, tiny lines between his brows as he leaned forward and kissed the top of my ear. 

A thrill went through me and I nearly lost it on the dance floor. My ears had always been extremely sensitive— erogenous zones for sure. I shivered, his gesture zinging straight to my core like firecrackers bursting into the black, wide-open sky. 

The resident butterflies were set in motion, all aflutter and I didn’t even have the presence of mind to wonder how the hell he knew about my ears. Same way he knew about my name, maybe?

As if the tender, unexpected kiss wasn’t enough, he whispered to me, “Can you honestly be so unaware of your power?”

 I was so busy swooning over his warm breath tickling the fine, microscopic hair follicles in my “fuck me now” earlobes that I nearly missed what he said...nearly. 

 “Power?” What power? I couldn’t even keep a job.

Five Questions for Dariel Raye

1. If you were not an author, what kind of work would you do and why?

I would sing opera or compose soundtracks for movies. My bachelor’s degree is in piano and vocal performance, and I considered relocating to pursue a career in music.

2. What are your favorite books?

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas, “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, “My Soul to Keep” by Tananarive Due, and Jacqueline Carey’s “Kushiel Series.” The list goes on.

3. What are some of your favorite television/streaming series?

“Grimm,” “Orphan Black,” “The Blacklist,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Wheel of Time,” “Snowpiercer,” “The Walking Dead,” “Britannia,” “Travelers,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Passage,” “Second Chance,” and a few more with names I can’t remember right now.

4. Who are some of your favorite characters from books, television, and movies? What do they have in common?

Charles Morse in “The Edge,” Will Graham in “Hannibal,” Nick Burkhardt in “Grimm,” Dexter Morgan in “Dexter,” Reddington in “Blacklist,” Four in “Divergent,” in no particular order. The main characteristic they share is intelligence. They also have fighting spirit and they are all multi-faceted.

5. What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Read voraciously in multiple genres. Notice what you like and dislike about characters and plots, then start writing one scene at a time. I also suggest completing at least 2 books before releasing anything, and giving away excerpts to help develop an audience as you build your social platform.

Dariel Raye is an animal lover, animal rights activist, musician, and USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of powerful paranormal romance and dark urban fantasy with IR/MC (Interracial/Multi-cultural) alpha male heroes to die for, and strong heroines with hearts worth winning. She fell in love with books and started reciting stories at the age of 3. A counseling psychologist, classically trained vocalist, and pianist, she plays over 11 musical instruments, and naturally incorporates behavioral psychology into her characters. Her stories tell of shifters, vamps, angels, demons, and fey (the Vodouin variety). She is also a mom, art tinkerer, and Netflix and Amazon Prime paranormal TV series binger.

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Book Lover's Swag Pack (US only),

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-1 winner each!

 

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Blog Tour: A Shiver of Shadows by Hunter J. Skye

 I'm thrilled to be today's stop on Hunter J. Skye's blog tour. I'm also excited to read more about the characters in the series. So many hot men, so little time! Make sure to enter Hunter's giveaway at the end of the post. Best of luck with the series, Hunter!

 

A Shiver of Shadows

The Hell Gate Series Book 2

by Hunter J. Skye

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance 

You'd think stopping Armageddon would buy a girl a bit of R&R with her freshly resurrected boyfriend. But things go south again when celebrity soul wrangler, Melisande Blythe, is abducted and dragged to Europe.
There's more to the darkness hiding in the reclusive, mountaintop country of Andorra than just garden variety evil. There's something dangerously wrong with her beautiful immortal hosts too.
Gifted with flesh again by the Grace of God, three-hundred-year-old former ghost, Colonel William Grayford, will move heaven and earth to find his beloved. But Europe's most wicked monsters stand in his way. Something more painful than death awaits Mel, if Grayford can't find her in time.
The world's been living on fifteen thousand years of borrowed time and it's just run out.

“We won’t make it in time, so I need you to do exactly as I say,” she clutched me by my arms then shoved me into a small convenience store that blazed white with artificial lighting. She dragged me down a narrow aisle, passed products with unfamiliar labels, towards a dead-faced man in a turban. His mottled eyes followed us as the woman pushed passed his small counter.

“Santuario,” she whispered to the man and he nodded stoically. Then she turned to me.

“Don’t stop. Don’t look around. Just keep moving.”

“What?” I asked as her hand closed over mine once more.

We hurtled down a dark slender hall to an ancient rat chewed wooden door with symbols painted on it in a dark, drooling liquid. Something about that viscous fluid made my skin crawl. The dingy walls pressed close and suddenly the hallway felt as though it was swallowing me whole.

“Wait.” My voice wavered. “Just wait a second.” Something big hovered on the other side of that door. Something I wasn’t ready for. It peeled away my thoughts. It knew I was coming.

“This is a mistake.” Not a bad tattoo kind of mistake. This was the kind of mistake that would burn through my being. It would hollow me out. I’d already rebuilt myself once. I couldn’t go through that kind of stripping again. “Whatever’s in there…it isn’t for me to see.”

“Then close your eyes.” She yanked the door open and pulled me through.

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A Glimmer of Ghosts

The Hell Gate Series Book 1

One night of filming in the wrong cemetery changes everything for a celebrity ghost-hunter with a half dead brain. When Melisande Blythe discovers that a secret society of wraiths wants her killed or worse, Mel will have to do the one thing she promised she would never do… trust a ghost.

But does the corporeal spirit of her dreams really want her heart or does he want her newfound ability to enslave souls? With Hell on the horizon, Mel is running out of time. She has to stop the fiery invasion or face the darkness warring in her soul.

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Easy Peasy Ectoplasm Squeezy

They say write what you know and as a paranormal investigator, I know ghosts. I also know what it’s like to suffer from a massive sleep disorder, so writing about a sexy four-man paranormal investigation team led by a hot mess, narcoleptic, female ghost hunter was easy peasy ectoplasm squeezy. Allow me to introduce the team:

Melisande Blythe – Art gallery co-op manager by day, celebrity Youtube ghost hunter by night. Hates to cook. Loves her wayfaring cat. Is desperately lonely and wants a boyfriend but is convinced she’s too broken to be loved. Has developed a way to hunt ghosts while in the hypnagogic state of stage one sleep. Tries to own her weirdness while hiding the truth she knows in the deepest part of her soul – her power is evil, which means she might be too.

Josh Grimes – The brains behind Ghost Towne Investigations. Cargo-yard worker by day, by night, he keeps the paranormal investigations on track by ensuring that everything is done by the book except for Mel’s contribution. He is almost sure her ability is legitimate, but he secretly worries that she might be crazy. If she is, he doesn’t care because for him it was love at first site. Now, if he could just find the courage to tell her.

Seth Carrigan – tech god and lady magnet. Being slightly height-challenged hasn’t left any blank spaces on his dance card. His natural charisma, high energy, and long strawberry blonde hair keep them coming back…and forward, and up, and down. His adventurous personality and mind for invention sets their team at the forefront of the paranormal investigation world. He’s one step away from catching a full body apparition…and she might just catch him back.

Gabe Montrose – the strong man with bulging muscles and other equally *cough* bulky parts. A quiet, intellectual, Gabe doesn’t boast about his vast knowledge. Most see him as the golden-eyed, mahogany-skinned model ready to walk onto a gladiator-themed photoshoot at any moment. Or a vacant-minded fitness freak with a well-used gym membership. He feels no need to prove himself. He’s been Seth’s best friend since elementary school and follows him anywhere. He’s not so secretly terrified of ghosts, but where Seth goes Gabe follows. Bros before—well—everything.

Matt Grimes – Josh’s older brother by a year and a half and second in command. With the same wavy, dark blond hair and Viking features. They are practically identical in every way. Funny how Matt feels second to Josh most of the time. They live together, work together, and investigate together. There’s never any time for Matt to just be alone and contemplate what he wants out of life. A confrontation is brewing between the brothers and it won’t take much to light that powder keg.

Toss in a handful of demented ghosts, a pinch of frisky fae, a skosh of exhibitionist vampires, a smattering of curse-dripping, mummified thieves, and one super pissed off ghoul and it’s a proper love story. A Shiver of Shadows is the sizzling second book in The Hell Gate Series and semi stand-alone. Don’t miss a minute of Mel’s rocky, but rewarding road to Colonel William Grayford, the three-hundred-year-old corporeal spirit of her dreams in book one, A Glimmer of Ghosts.

Paranormal romance and urban fantasy author, Hunter J. Skye, was born with a rare nightmare disorder, and raised in a haunted Victorian home. Those two factors predestined her to write ghost stories. A Glimmer of Ghosts, the dark and steamy start to The Hell Gate Series won 5 RWA awards. Book 2, A Shiver of Shadows, released in May, 2021. Look for book 3: A Rapture of Wraiths, Spring 2022.

One thing about the story:

Many of the spirits appearing in A Glimmer of Ghosts are based on actual ghost stories from the Olde Towne district of Portsmouth, Virginia. Once a year, these stories are told on the city’s annual Halloween Ghost Walk. These apparitions are well known to the residents of Olde Towne, Portsmouth and the city considers them ambassadors of a sort. One such ghost, Colonel William Crawford, founded the town three hundred years ago and is the inspiration for Grayford- Melisande’s haunting lover.

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