I was going to wait until September to show this off, because the story won’t be out until October, but I…just can’t wait that long. Look at this cover! I just…can not even ❤ ❤ ❤
My campy-horror loving heart is so happy!!!!
More to come on this short story in the next couple of weeks 🙂
The new podcast episode is LIVE!
Happy Sunday!
Hop on over to the blog to enter the first Salt and Iron giveaway 🙂
Happy Friday, my lovelies ❤
Salt and Iron is now LIVE! I’m so excited for you all to read this book 🙂
AMAZON ~ EVERNIGHT TEEN ~ B&N ~ SMASHWORDS
(I’ll add links as the book goes live elsewhere)
BLURB:
Hunting monsters is not an easy business, but for Billie Shane it’s the only career she’s ever wanted. At nineteen, her aunt and uncle give her something that means more to her than money—her first solo case. But there’s a catch, and his name is Galileo Beck, a psychic training with the state to help law enforcement with supernatural cases.
Billie has disliked the popular young man since childhood, but unfortunately for her the case involves his three best friends. The three managed to summon a powerful demon, and though locked in the cemetery, the demon is feeding off of them in order to gain the power to free itself.
With a large festival coming to Eden Hollow, Billie and Galileo must work together if they want to stop not only the death of his friends, but also to save their hometown from becoming a feeding ground for a demon.
EXCERPT:
Her uncle was not wrong.
The holy water had burned like a son-of-a-bitch, and the area of broken skin, though small, still felt the next day as if someone had poured acid on her. The rest of her body didn’t feel much better. Bruises, a mild concussion, and the overall feeling of being hit by a Mack truck had greeted her when she woke mid-morning.
Her uncle smirked as she walked into the kitchen. “You look like crap.”
She rolled her eyes as she came to a stop near the island. “Thanks.”
“Here.” He set a plate of homemade waffles with a side of sausage in front of her. “Eat something.”
As she sat on a stool, she said, “Smells good.”
“I called your parents last night, after you’d gone to bed. Give them a call when you have a moment.”
Upon her graduation the previous year, her parents had moved back to Oregon, where they’d grown up and still had family. Rory had agreed to finish her training, and she could stay with him until she was ready to be on her own.
She had worked part time while in school, but when she’d made the decision to be a full-time hunter in New England, her only job was training. The state paid handsomely, as her uncle liked to say.
Last night had seen eight grand placed into her bank account—her cut of the hunt.
Vampires came in on the low end of the pay scale. Witches, ghosts, and werewolves ranked far higher. The biggest payday came from demons, angels, and the ancient gods.
“I have a case for you … and you probably aren’t going to like it.”
He said that so nonchalantly that Billie was certain “probably” meant she would absolutely hate it.
She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to speak.
“I got a call from Detective Ellis Beck around five o’clock this morning.” He leaned his elbows on the counter, coffee still in hand. “Apparently, four days ago, three boys decided to have a good time at the Tinsbrook Cemetery. Séance. And by boys I mean Chase, Damien, and Ulrich.”
Billie choked on her orange juice, causing it to dribble down her chin and down onto her food as she coughed. When she got control of the shock, she said, “What the hell?”
Rory handed her a paper towel to clean her face, which she happily took.
Those three names made her want to immediately say no to the case. Three out of four of the biggest assholes I grew up and went to school with.
“That is the question,” Rory said. “Beck’s nephew said he saw flashes of whatever is attacking his friends through nightmares: black wings tipped with talons, long fangs from the mouth. But he’s pretty certain the beast can’t leave the cemetery.”
“Lashing out from afar,” she mumbled. Karma, you are a bitch…and damn funny. “Is he certain it’s just through nightmares? Is it syphoning their energy while they’re awake?”
“Right now, all Beck is certain of is that they are being attacked through dreams.”
Well, that narrows it down to ghosts, demons, angels, and a few dozen non-human spirits from around the globe. “You want me to investigate with you?”
He shook his head. “This is the part you won’t like.”
Billie picked her fork up again and inquired, “What won’t I like?”
Crossing his arms, he sighed heavily. “You are experienced with ghosts and demons because they are your mother’s specialty.”
Her father and Rory had mainly hunted werewolves, vampires, and other beasts of that nature, while her mother had focused on the ghosts, demons, angels, and the occasional god and goddess.
“But Harlow isn’t trained enough in her gift to block out a strong demon or ghost, so…”
Billie suddenly began to understand where he was going. “No.”
“No what?”
“No, I am not investigating a cemetery with Galileo Beck.” I fucking refuse. “He’s an arrogant ass.”
“I can be, too, but you still work with me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Har, har.”
“Look, you may not like him, or those boys, but he is well-trained in his clairvoyance and he knows what this thing looks and feels like. I’m sorry, ash-kicker, but you are working with him.”
Letting out a huff, she replied, “When will we be leaving to investigate? Am I with you or Aunt Ris on this one?”
Rory smirked. “I’m sending you out solo…so to speak.”
Her mouth agape, Billie stared at her uncle in disbelief.
A feminine laugh rang through the air. Billie turned her head and watched her aunt walk over to her uncle, giving him a kiss before moving to the coffee pot.
“Told her she was going solo, did you?” Rissa said with a grin.
Billie shook herself out of the shock and stood from the stool. “Aunt Rissa, this is not funny.”
After returning to her husband’s side, Rissa met Billie’s gaze. “Love, I know you and Galileo have issues with each other, but this is an opportunity you can’t pass up. We believe in your abilities enough to send you out without us, and if you prove us right, that moves you into the next level of training. Which, as you know, means you’ll be closer to being a full hunter with a fatter paycheck and being viewed as an actual hunter and not just the child of one.”
That alone was worth it, and she hated her aunt for a split second for pointing it out. She was Billie Shane—daughter of two respected hunters and from a family that was one of the top monster-hunting families in the country. To be viewed as a hunter in her own right, with her own strengths and proven skill, meant more to her than money.
She couldn’t say no.
“So, what do you say?” Rory asked with a tone that indicated he already knew.
Billie glared at him. “I hate you people.”
BOOK TRAILER:
Happy Thursday, my lovelies 🙂
For those of you who haven’t had the chance to grab the StoryBundle, it is still available!
The Blood Queen has a scene in it that I’m sure will give my poor characters nightmares every time they see something Disney *grin* It actually gave me chills writing it 😀 You can grab this book right now, along with several other wonderful stories, in the Crossing the Veil
Good morning 🙂
Here is the beautiful cover and blurb for Salt and Iron, releasing JULY 10th!
BLURB:
Hunting monsters is not an easy business, but for Billie Shane it’s the only career she’s ever wanted. At nineteen, her aunt and uncle give her something that means more to her than money—her first solo case. But there’s a catch, and his name is Galileo Beck, a psychic training with the state to help law enforcement with supernatural cases.
Billie has disliked the popular young man since childhood, but unfortunately for her the case involves his three best friends. The three managed to summon a powerful demon, and though locked in the cemetery, the demon is feeding off of them in order to gain the power to free itself.
With a large festival coming to Eden Hollow, Billie and Galileo must work together if they want to stop not only the death of his friends, but also to save their hometown from becoming a feeding ground for a demon.
Can’t wait for you all to read this one! ❤
Happy Wednesday, my lovelies! I’m excited to announce that my book, The Blood Queen, is part of a StoryBundle. To better explain what that is, here is a post from the wonderful Rhonda Parrish 🙂
https://storybundle.com/psychopomps
THE CROSSING THE VEIL BUNDLE
The Crossing the Veil Bundle – Curated by Rhonda Parrish
I’ve spent the last several years curating and editing short stories and poetry for anthologies and this year I’m very excited to expand that into curating books for a StoryBundle. I’m excited to share my first ever StoryBundle which is all about psychopomps and crossing the veil.
A couple years ago I stumbled across a word I’d never heard before — psychopomp. When I looked up its meaning I discovered that I’d been aware of the concept of a psychopomp for a long time, I just hadn’t known the word for it. A psychopomp is a being which acts as a guide for the souls of the recently departed, helping them move from this world to the next and occasionally carrying messages between the two.
It’s kind of impressive that I went so long without knowing the word psychopomp because I’ve always loved stories that involve crossing over from the world of the living to that of the dead. Always. As a kid we took Greek Mythology in school and while all the stories interested me it was those set in Hades that really fascinated me. I would seek them out and devour version after version. And as I grew, that never really changed. I still love stories set in the places we go after we die, or featuring characters that can cross between those worlds, which made choosing that as the topic for this StoryBundle an easy decision.
The Psychopomp/Crossing The Veil bundle includes fourteen books by eleven different authors. Excitingly, two of those books are short story collections which means there are actually far more than fourteen stories contained within all these digital pages.
Included are C. S. E. Cooney’s World Fantasy Award-winning book, Bone Swans, Nebula-nominated authors Beth Cato, Norton Award finalist Nicole Kornher-Stace, and NYT bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow. I could keep listing awards and recognitions, but you’re not here for them, right? You’re here for the stories.
And we’ve got them.
A woman grudgingly helping a ghost move on to the other side (so he’ll leave her alone)? Check.
A soul-devouring protagonist who has her life turned upside down by a harpy attack? Check.
Characters walking between worlds as casually as you and I cross the street? Check.
A snarky Newfoundland heroine dealing with an undead infestation in her hometown? Check (x3!)
A leucostic magpie with a lot of personality? Check.
There’s so much more. If, like me, you’re drawn to the stories about passing through the veil between worlds, or shepherding souls through it, this bundle is not one you’ll want to miss. And best of all, because it’s on StoryBundle, you get to set the price you want to pay.
And you can donate 10% of your purchase price to our charities, Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now, which aim to help foster the writers of tomorrow. – Rhonda Parrish
* * *
For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.
If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular books, plus eight more more books, for a total of twelve!
In case you didn’t notice that means for $15 you can get twelve books which include Archivist Wasp and its sequel Latchkey!
This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi) for all books!
It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook.
Hello, dear readers! I hope you are all well ❤
I have decided that I cannot keep these pretties to myself any longer 🙂 Here are the new covers for The Damned and Path to Damnation! I plan on re-releasing both sometime this spring, and will have that information to you as soon as I decided on dates.
These were brought to you by the amazing Skyla Dawn Cameron! ❤
Happy Sunday! I have a couple of things to talk about today 🙂
First up is the first two books in the Tuck Houston series: I have recently gotten the rights back to the first two Tuck Houston books~ The Damned and Path to Damnation. Those books are already down on several retail sites and over the next week or so they will be down on all of them. You may see the paperback version of The Damned up on Amazon or B&N but over the next few weeks those will be gone as well. I plan on self-publishing these two books in the near future~ The Damned is with an editor at the moment. I am giving these books a freshen up before releasing them. I already have new covers, which I will reveal in the coming weeks 🙂
The audiobooks are still live because those rights belong to me. But as much as I love them, I will be taking those down as well. I plan on having those redone because the books will have some changes.
Second: These are not easy times we are living in right now. With the pandemic and the panic, most of us have high anxiety levels at the moment. Books and music are a great way to relax and calm the nerves. I will be having another giveaway soon (I just had a birthday one!), so stay tuned for that.
Please take care of yourselves as well as each other. The only way we will get through this is together ❤ ❤ ❤
Hello, my lovelies 🙂
A short note to let you know that my very first podcast is LIVE!!! Go have a listen to Personal Ghosts 🙂
