Three is not a Crowd

Title: Three is Not a Crowd
Authors: Lily Velden, Asta Idonea, Eric Gober, Alina Popescu, Kay Ellis, L.V. Lloyd, Eddy LeFey, Aimee Brissay, Rian Durant
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
Genre: Gay Romance

Synopsis

Why would anyone think three was a crowd?

No. No. No. No. No.

Three is a triangle…

and did you know it’s the strongest geometrical shape?

All the best things come in threes…

Musketeers, primary colors, three-ringed circuses, stooges, blind mice, little pigs. The list goes on.

Of course they say trouble comes in three too…

but we won’t go there… or will we?

**giggle** There’s three sheets to the wind.

And **sigh… drool** there’s three piece suits.

And trust us, it’s no coincidence that there are three ingredients in a BLT.

Or only three elements to the game Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Want to get physical???

Well, there’s… three-legged races… (what were you thinking?)

Political? Of the people, by the people, for the people.

Or creepy? Hear no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil.

Why, three has so much going for it we don’t even need to mention a…

1…………            2…………            3………… sandwich

(substitute your own dream guys)

And of course, there’s: On your Mark. Get Set. And Go!

So Go! Read the short stories in…

THREE IS NOT A CROWD

Buy Links

WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/three-is-not-crowd-a-wayward-ink-publishing-anthology/
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01526M8EM/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01526M8EM/
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01526M8EM/
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B01526M8EM/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-threeisnotacrowdawaywardinkpublishinganthology-1885654-166.html

Watch the Trailer

Giveaway

Prize: $10 WIP Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway
//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Three Is Not a Crowd Stories:

Brad has a thing about elevators. He’s also had a tough week.

An accidental encounter with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome Aiden, and sweet, shy, and innocent Danny, will turn his elevator ‘thing’ into something very B.A.D.

 

I’m every bit the Everyman.

Or at least I was until I started my current relationship.

You see, there are three of us in this couple: me, my boyfriend, and my boyfriend’s alter ego…

Three college cheerleaders are bound together by unrequited love, secrets, and lies.

That is until dangers on a road trip threaten their lives.

Who will survive?

 

Plagued by nightmares of a lost twin, David struggles to uncover the truth of his past.

 His family insists he never had a brother, enlisting therapist after therapist to cure him.

David’s only happiness is his boyfriend Terry.

Is the dream-visiting twin real?

Or is he a symptom of a mental disorder?

And real or not, will David and Terry’s relationship survive his presence?

 

Flynn Jacobs is small, eccentric, and neurotic. He’s spent his whole life being ridiculed and bullied.

On a rare night out with work colleagues, Flynn finally meets Riley, a man he has admired from afar.

Riley isn’t looking for anything special. His boyfriend Mitch is out of town and Riley is bored. Shy Flynn is a challenge. He’s meant to be a one night stand but Riley finds he likes Flynn more than he should…

What will happen when Mitch returns from his business trip?

 

Richard believed his friendship with Laura was based around their passion for writing.

He didn’t realise he was falling in love with her, until it was too late. 

After all, how could he possibly be falling in love with Laura, when he still loved Bill?

 

Malcolm has a decision to make.

His two best friends, Jack and Thomas, have just given him a very interesting proposal to mull over.

His mind, his heart, and his Little Malcolm need to agree.

The decision could change his life forever…

 

Daniel and Michael go shopping for sex toys.

Michael believes their relationship is complete.

That is, until he lays his eyes on the gorgeous shop owner.

Perhaps things are better in threes…

 

Chrissie is a very smart Rottweiler who has never shifted until now, enjoying his life as a dog.

What happens when he and his owner, Simon, fall for the same guy?

Blind Redemption

A woman is missing, paths are misleading. Can Psychic Detective Jackie Vaughn see through the veil of lies to find her?

Synopsis

Kidnapped and sold into the Chinese slave trade the survival of Annette Freder, the wife of University Chancellor, Charles Freder, depends on struggling psychic detective, Jackie Vaughn.

Crippled by grief over the unexpected death of her wife, Jackie deals with her anguish through pills and booze. While these coping mechanisms numb her pain, the growing addiction hampers her abilities, and places her health and livelihood in jeopardy.  The missing person’s case of Annette Freder shifts Jackie’s focus, challenging her psychic abilities.

While on the job in China, Jackie finds herself with limited access to medication, resulting in bouts of withdrawal and depression. But that is just one of the many hurdles hindering Jackie in her quest to find Annette and return her to safety. Will corrupt police, maxed out credit cards, an ousted Greek intelligence officer assassin, and a revelation from an unexpected source prove too much for her?

Entangled deceit and unravelling lies Blind Redemption captures the essence of the human spirit and the power of redemption

Pre-order Links

WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/blind-redemption-by-denise-dearth-and-amy-gillen/
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014U2PX9G
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014U2PX9G
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B014U2PX9G
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B014U2PX9G
ARe:  https://www.omnilit.com/product-blindredemption-1887377-243.html

Giveaway

Prize: $10 WIP Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway
//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

About the authors

DENISE DEARTH is a novelist and songwriter.  Blind Redemption is the first novel in the compelling Jackie Vaughn detective series. She is a member of Broadcast Music Incorporated, a music performing right organization, and the National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981. When’s she’s not writing she may be seen riding a two-toned, sky blue and white Victory Vegas Steel horse into the Midwestern sunset.

Denise Dearth can be found at:

Website: www.fictioncorner.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JackieVaughnPI

AMY GILLEN is a co-creator of the Jackie Vaughn detective series.  She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Indiana University.  She is a poet, photographer, and entrepreneur with a passion for kayaking and travel.

Amy Gillen can be found at:

Website: www.fictioncorner.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JackieVaughnPI

Almost Invincible

Here’s an exclusive guest post from Mary Shelley Biographer Suzanne Burdon.

BEHIND THE BOOK

Don’t leave me alone with her. She’s been the bane of my life since I was three years old!” These were the words of Mary Shelley to her daughter in law, who kindly proposed giving Mary, then in her 50s, some time with her visiting step sister.

I read this some four years ago and found it so intriguing, that it led me on a fascinating journey into the early 19th century. What could have caused such vehemence? Why was Mary so anxious about being alone with her stepsister? I knew little of Mary Shelley. Like many people, I was vaguely aware that she had written Frankenstein when she was quite young. I knew also that she was married to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

That is when I discovered that I am an obsessive researcher. As a sociologist, most of my working life has been spent conducting market and social research and when I started reading Mary’s story there were many aspects of it that resonated strongly with modern life. It was operatic – even a soap opera! There were more scandals, deaths, tortured relationships, loves and losses than in several seasons of Desperate Housewives. Through it all there was Mary, a strong but also vulnerable young woman in socially unsympathetic times. I glimpsed someone who was a teenage rebel, grieving mother, determined author, and long suffering lover of a man well ahead of his time. I wanted to get to know her better, and especially to understand the insidious and damaging influence of her step-sister, Claire.

There are many biographies of Mary, but she is often crowded out by the famous people around her and the complexities of her lifestyle. Finding the real Mary seemed a bit like trying to find a lost child at central station in rush hour. I badly wanted to l understand her emotions and motivations more clearly.

One of the pleasures of writing this book has been the research, not only visiting many of the places associated with her life, but also spending hours burrowing in libraries around the world. There are two major collections of documents associated with Shelley. One is in the New York Public Library and the other is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. (Since I had daughters living in both the UK and NYC, this was an added incentive to visit). There are many boxes and files of letters and manuscripts from the Shelleys and those associated with them. Even though most of it has now been digitized, there is nothing like touching and seeing the originals. In the Bodleian boxes there was a lovely little notebook where Mary had sketched a story, with a lock of hair pressed between the pages.

The lock of hair

The first thing that struck me was how young they all were. Mary was sixteen when she met Shelley. He was already married with a child. With the Geldorfs recently, sadly in the news, it struck me how like Bob Geldof Shelley must have appeared. He was radical, wanting to save the world, wild in appearance, charismatic, and an atheist – a rebel who had been disavowed by his baronet father. He believed in poetry as a force for reformation and change. Poets, he asserted, ‘are the unacknowledged legislators of the world’.

One of the places I visited was Pancras churchyard in London, where Mary’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, is buried. (She died giving birth to Mary). Mary spent hours there to be near to her mother, and it is where she first met Shelley. I thought it odd that a churchyard would be a place to spend time, but it is still pretty, with lawns and trees and a smattering of monument style graves.

The Old Pancras Churchyard

Mary was just back from a year in the hills of Scotland with some family friends. She was strong-minded and clever, raised in a world of books and ideas. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Her father was William Godwin, a philosopher and political theorist, who wrote a groundbreaking book called Political Justice. Shelley was a disciple of her father, and in Mary he saw a girl who had the genes to achieve great things in literature and philosophy, as well as being attractive. His wife was beautiful but could not match him in intellectual aspiration. In Mary he had found his soulmate. However, she had a surprisingly conservative streak, and Shelley I suspected, would have needed all of his persuasive powers to convince her run away with him. Their diaries and letters are no help for this period, but the recollections of their friends give some clues as to their dramatic and clandestine courtship.

When they eventually eloped they were like kids on a gap year, recklessly setting off to France, weeks after Napoleon was defeated, through villages still ravaged from war. They had little money and few clothes and only the optimism of the very young. The only shadow on their bright future was that when they had left London in the early hours of a July morning, they had taken Mary’s step sister, Claire, with them. There seemed to be no good reason for it, especially as Claire and Mary were not blood relations and were not exactly close or even compatible. It was even more incomprehensible, because Claire was in love with Shelley and had a history of jealousy of Mary. Why did Mary let this happen, especially as it was a decision that infected every thing that happened to her from then on and impacted on her relationship with Shelley? This was one of puzzles I tried to unravel.

Penniless, they had to return to England cheaply and so they travelled on a boat along the Rhine. I discovered that there is an old Frankenstein Castle, near Gernsheim in Germany, where the alchemist Dippel lived, who was reputed to exhume bodies for anatomical research. The seed of inspiration for the novel’s title may have been planted there as the travellers passed close to the ruins.

Frankenstein Castle. I loved the way the leaves look like a bat!

On Lake Geneva, where Frankenstein was conceived in Byron’s villa as a result of a challenge to write a ghost story. The Villa Diodati is still there and overlooks the Lake as it would have in 1816. I had always been puzzled that it was July, when the driving rain

and thunderstorms set the scene. Then I discovered that 1816 was known as The Year Without A Summer. Mount Tambora in Indonesia produced the the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history and Europe was blanketed in dust. People thought the end of the world had come.

Villa Diodati

My researches also took me to the Buckinghamshire village of Marlow, where they lived a happy year just after Claire gave birth to Byron’s baby, and where Mary and Shelley helped the poor lacemakers. I visited many sites in Italy where they spent the last four years of their time together. In Pisa, in particular, they felt happy. They called it the Paradise of Exiles. When I was there I was surprised to discover that at that time they had camels pulling boats along the Arno, the wide river that runs through the city. Casa Magni, on the Gulg of Spezia is hard to imagine as the wild and isolated place of their last days. Now it is overrun with holiday makers, but there is till the verandah where Mary and Jane scanned the sea in hope that their men would return alive.

The Arno in Pisa. No camels now!

Author and guide, Maria, on the steps of Byron’s villa at Montenero

Casa Magni. It was one right on the sea shore

Another discovery was that Frankenstein was adapted for the stage several times in Mary’s lifetime. She seemed to feel no concern that they added music and meddled with the script. One production was so scary that women in the audience fainted.

I have loved every minute of the years I have spent with Mary Shelley and I hope that readers will, like me, see her as a complete person, flawed as well as favoured, applaud her courage and sympathise with her trials, as well as understanding something about life in the early nineteenth century.

FIND OUT MORE

Tales of Blood and Sulphur

Best part about my job is all the great authors I get to meet. And today I can showcase a fellow Brit and great writer (even if his covers give me nightmares) J G Clay and his book Tales of Blood and Sulphur.

 

Blurb for ‘Tales of Blood and Sulphur: Apocalypse Minor

 

Eleven Tales steeped in Blood and reeking of Sulphur

J.G Clay takes you on a journey through the voids of Reality and into dark places where demons, mutants and inter-dimensional creatures taunt, taint and corrupt Humanity. Survival is not guaranteed, sanity is not assured and death lurks in every corner. These are the Tales of Blood and Sulphur: Apocalypse Minor; eleven twisted tales of terror and mayhem………………………

There are cracks in the skin of Reality. Some are microscopic, others are as wide as a four-lane motorway. As the fault lines increase and widen, the door to our world shines like a beacon in the darkness, a warm and inviting sight to others beyond our understanding. When They cross over into our realm, The Tales begin……

A gambler taking one last desperate throw of the dice. A struggling writer making an unholy alliance. An eternal being fighting to stay alive in the financial capital of India. A man burdened with a terrible town secret. The Law Enforcers who must never cry. The End of Days live and direct from the rural heartland of England.

The blood is warm, the sulphur is burning, the tales will be told,  Apocalypse Minor is imminent!

 

Biography

J.G Clay was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire in 1973. A life-long horror and science fiction fan, he has written for his own amusement since his teenage years, taking time off to do the usual things that adolescent boys do and growing up disgracefully. Now in his forties, he has returned to his passion for the dark, the weird and the twisted.

Off duty, he has a passion for music, films and Birmingham City FC. He can also hold down a half decent bassline.

J.G lives with his wife and step-daughter in Rothwell, Northamptonshire – the heart of the English countryside.

 

J G Clay’s Amazon Page

 

In The Trenches

I am so excited to share this next book with you all. In The Trenches is a collection of incredible war based short stories and they really are incredible. I was very fortunate to get to read these stories before publication and they are definitely some of the most moving pieces of literature I’ve ever come across.

“In the Trenches” is about wars spanning history and taking place all over the world. Killing without mercy, bodies blown to bits before your eyes; Physical and mental devastation. Peer into the heart, mind, and soul of a soldier during active duty and beyond. War forever changes men and women, and impacts everyone around them. See through their eyes. View the horror of combat. See how it plays out when they come home to family and friends.

Download Now

Fang and Claw

New release time. Take a look at Fang and Claw by fellow awethor Markie Madden.

Over a hundred years in the future, it’s a world where supernatural beings live and work among humans. Of course, the governments of the world have forced them to take the Undead Oath in order to gain citizenship; they must not prey on humans for food. They’re given tasks in jobs suited for their species, but just as among other minorities, they must struggle to prove themselves.

Lieutenant Lacey Anderson of the Dallas Police Department heads up a new elite squad dedicated to solving crimes involving Immortal species like herself. Lacey, a Vampire left for dead hundreds of years ago when her family was slaughtered by Werewolves, still has nightmares about the grievous ordeal.

Detective Colton Scarber is her unwilling partner and second-in-command of the unit. He’s a Werewolf, a descendant of those who killed Lacey’s family. She doesn’t know this, but she still doesn’t trust him from the start. When the fragile beginning of the team is threatened by the truth, can they learn to trust one another as partners must, or will the Undead Unit be doomed to failure?

A mysterious suspect and strange, unknown physical evidence leads them to solve a case spanning decades, and leaves Lacey with no other choice but to rely on her enemy when her very life is in danger!

Pre-order Now

Breaking Bonds

Title: The Breaking of Bonds

Series: Bad Blood, Book Two

Author: Alina Popescu

Genre: paranormal, supernatural, paranormal romance, vampire

Length: Novel

Synopsis

A human sacrifice throws vampires of two worlds, trueborn and baseborn, into an escalating conflict. One side pushes for revenge, the other for freedom. The trueborns stubbornly hunt for Anthony and Louis, pushed by Hesrah’s desire to avenge her human best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are divided between rallying with those challenging the rule of Ankhsis and obeying the trueborns.

What emerges from the portal between Earth and Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Neither human, nor baseborn, and certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?

In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?

Book Trailer

Excerpt:

Excerpt

I shook my head, trying to focus on Seth. “Don’t move,” I said in what I imagined was a stern voice, but to be honest, it shook a little. “Not a muscle.” “What are you doing,” Seth asked. He did not seem scared either, but he certainly did not trust me around him. “Just shut up and do as I say!” I got closer to him and it all became harder to bear. The smell of his blood, the sight of it, the sound of it running through his veins, the scent of his sweat, it all made my vision blurry. My head was pounding and my stomach hurt worse than ever before. I reached out and put one hand on his shoulder, right next to the bite. I took a few deep breaths, but I tried to get used to the feeling of his skin under my touch and all that closeness to… well, my favorite dish. When it seemed to become something I could take without sucking him dry, I pushed his head toward his right shoulder. He resisted the move but finally moved it. The closer my lips got to the bite, the harder it was to keep in mind what I was supposed to do. I was breathing heavily and moaning, I think. There were some sounds coming out of my throat, but I was unsure what it all was. I licked tentatively and stopped when my brain registered the taste of his blood. I had vivid images about bleeding him dry distracting me, but I pushed through and continue to lick the fang marks a little longer, till I was sure I had covered it all in my saliva. All I wanted was to be far from him, fast. And the moment the thought formed in my mind, I started running backwards. I bumped into the furthermost wall and stopped. Seth and Magnus seemed to react very slowly, as if they were moving in slow motion. I could see their startled expressions at the sudden move but only long seconds after I had touched the wall. “All right, it seems you also have speed. Almost full feral powers on Ankhsis. That will certainly be a problem,” Magnus said in a surprisingly steady voice. In my experience, people tended to panic a little when they discovered a problem. Oh, shit was one of my go-to phrases. After making it through the earlier challenge, I started to trust my abilities of self-control more. So I walked back to the bed and sat on the very same chair that Seth had been sitting on when I had woken up. “Are you OK?” My shaky voice made me cringe a little. “Yeah, fantastic,” Seth mumbled, arching a brow and staring right at me. It did not take a genius to figure out he was being sarcastic; even Sheldon Cooper would have picked up on it that one time. “I’m really sorry.” I winced at the thought of what could have happened and averted my eyes. “I’m sorry, that was harsh,” he said, taking me by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to let it go so quickly. I sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten over someone trying to suck the life out of me so quickly. “We’re both new to this, I guess. I am not used to be someone’s prey; you don’t know how to control your urges. My ego is what you have bruised the most.’ “I truly am sorry, Seth! It really is unlike me to behave like that.” “You mean bleed strange men dry after trying to sexually take advantage of them?” He smirked but his smugness was not funny in the least. “I don’t remember you resisting that second part much.” I sneered and clenched my fists, starting to feel less guilty for having attacked him.

“Now, now, kids! Don’t fight,” Magnus said, getting closer to us, probably imagining they could have done a better job at stopping me together. The anger was so thick I could have cut it with a knife… if it took a material form. Oh, damn it, who cared, I felt it seething and my stomach coiled with the need to cause some damage and fill up on blood in the process. “Oh, no, Alexa, I wouldn’t dare say I wouldn’t have… encouraged you to have your way with me,” Seth continued on the same half-amused, half-mocking tone. “But see, I was not the one calling some idiot’s name when I finally emerged from the portal.” I couldn’t say if I ever had a chance to even think I should try to control my rage. I just threw Magnus across the room, grabbed Seth by the neck and jumped on top of him, on the bed. I could have just squeezed his neck a little and there would be no more mocking me. The skin on my inner thighs was touching his abs. A perfect six pack, I could feel it without looking. The raw sexual desire slowly overpowered the anger and the hunger. He was smiling, I eventually noticed. His hands were suddenly moving and I shivered at his soft but steady touch. He caressed me from my ankles upward over my knees and finally settled around my waist. I could smell his arousal and it only made my physical reaction worse. “Want to forget about him for a while?” Seth asked and I realized I had stopped holding him by his neck and I was tracing his upper arm muscles instead. I ran across the room once more. I heard him laugh, so I just ran out of the room and out the door. I kept running down the stony alley and into the woods.

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y4P5C5U

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Y4P5C5U

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00Y4P5C5U

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00Y4P5C5U

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-breaking-of-bonds-alina-popescu/1122051367?ean=2940151945226

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thebreakingofbonds-1814960-140.html

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/546554

Make sure you read book one of the series before enjoying book two!

The Edge of Hope – Bad Blood Trilogy, Book 1

Everyone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?

Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.

Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?

Take advantage of the sale for The Edge of Hope – $0.99 everywhere

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JEBJXDQ

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JEBJXDQ

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JEBJXDQ

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-edge-of-hope-alina-popescu/1119064391?ean=9781497436305

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theedgeofhope-1472664-143.html

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424918

Giveaway

Prizes: 3 e-copies of The Edge of Hope, 2 e-copies of The Breaking of Bonds, 1 bundle of Bad Blood, books 1 & 2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.

Social Links

Site & Blog: http://alina-popescu.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authoralinapopescu

Twitter: http://twitter.com/alina_popescu

Instagram: http://instagram.com/alinapopescuwriter

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/alina-popescu

Google+:  https://www.google.com/+AlinaPopescu

Amazon:  http://amazon.com/author/alinapopescu

Ari – Release Day

Title:  Ari

Author: Cheryl Headford

Genre: LGBT, romance, transgender, intersex, M/M, F/F

Length: Novel

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing

Synopsis

After having known each other online for some time, writers, Benji and Ari meet at a convention.

Their attraction is both immediate and mutual.

But all is not straightforward—Ari is intersex and Benji transgender.

Together they embark on a journey.

A journey that unites families, and heals old wounds.

But not everyone is happy with the blossoming love between these two unique and special individuals.

Will an act of aggression crush the flower before it can bloom?

Book trailer

Buy Links

WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/?p=1298

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YUT48QE/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YUT48QE/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00YUT48QE/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00YUT48QE/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ari-1820879-341.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ari-cheryl-headford/1122098431?ean=9781925222487

Excerpt

MY EYES slammed open to a world gone mad. Bella barked as an enormous flash of light was followed immediately by a god-awful bang and rumble that shook the house on its foundations. Before I quite got my bearings, another brilliant flash of lightning blinded me and thunder cracked and rolled down the valley. I yelled at Bella for howling, cursed her for waking me—then I checked the clock.

“Jesus. Marc, it’s ten past five. We slept in. We have to get up. Now.”

“Benji?” Marc’s sleepy voice was sharp with alarm. He cried out with terror when another flash of lightning was followed by a deep boom and the lights flickered.

“Benji?”

“It’s okay. I’m here. It’s just a thunderstorm. We need to get going. We slept late.”

Marc jumped up and scampered around the bed to hug me tight. The dog was still whining and yipping, clearly unhappy, and the rain absolutely hammered.

“Typical,” I grumbled as I pried my little brother off me and headed for the bathroom. Marc followed, so close he tripped me.

“Whoa. You can’t go in the bathroom with me.”

“But I’m scared.” He underlined his words with a yelp when another round of thunder and lightning rolled over us.

“You can’t come in the shower, so don’t be silly. I’ll leave the door open, okay? You can sit on the stairs, or in your room.”

Marc was unhappy, but I managed to take a quick shower. As soon as he was able he came in, sat on the closed toilet, and watched me do my hair.

“You have very pretty hair.”

“What’s brought this on? You’re usually criticizing.”

“You shouldn’t complain. You should take compliments where you can get them, at your age.”

“Cheeky bugger. I’m not old.”

“You are, compared to me.”

“Only by seven years. I’m still a teenager.”

“Only for four weeks.”

“Then I’ll have to make the most of it while I can.”

About the author

CHERYL HEADFORD was born into a poor mining family in the South Wales Valleys. Until she was 16, the toilet was at the bottom of the garden and the bath hung on the wall. Her refrigerator was a stone slab in the pantry and there was a black lead fireplace in the kitchen. They look lovely in a museum but aren’t so much fun to clean.

Cheryl has always been a storyteller. As a child, she’d make up stories for her nieces, nephews and cousin and they’d explore the imaginary worlds she created, in play.

Later in life, Cheryl became the storyteller for a re-enactment group who traveled widely, giving a taste of life in the Iron Age. As well as having an opportunity to run around hitting people with a sword, she had an opportunity to tell stories of all kinds, sometimes of her own making, to all kinds of people. The criticism was sometimes harsh, especially from the children, but the reward enormous.

It was here she began to appreciate the power of stories and the primal need to hear them. In ancient times, the wandering bard was the only source of news, and the storyteller the heart of the village, keeping the lore and the magic alive. Although much of the magic has been lost, the stories still provide a link to the part of us that still wants to believe that it’s still there, somewhere.

In present times, Cheryl lives in a terraced house in the valleys with her son and her two cats. Her daughter has deserted her for the big city, but they’re still close. The part of her that needs to earn money is a lawyer, but the deepest, and most important part of her is a storyteller and artist, and always will be.

Website: Nephylim-author.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.headford

Twitter: @SevenPointStar

SUCCESS: THE BEATEN PATH

Check out the latest release from Curtis Florence and his book Success: The Beaten Path.

I have found that success leaves a trail of clues for us to follow if we so will. This book is a guide to those things that lead to success. I wrote this guide for myself as much as anyone else.

Download the book HERE

Find out more about Curtis here:

www.florencepublishing.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/florencepublishing

The Lights In Their Eyes

Here’s an exclusive from sci-fi novel The Light In Their Eyes by Michelle Vongkaysone which is out now.

 

Her eyes were still locked with his, silently extracting his intent from them. Though she remained flustered over their reckless union, the woman could tell her companion truly meant no harm. His words had a sheepishly innocent tone to them, much like an apologetic child would possess. Sculpted cheeks began to redden, painting his disoriented face the fairest of pinks.

 

Gleaming white teeth bit her carnation tinted lips, which gradually eased into a knowing smirk. As her orbs became softly lidded, the woman’s eyes illuminated from within. They evoked a guardian’s kind, warm gaze, but with an otherworldly aura as well. Absurd as it seemed, she was like an aurora’s light taken human form, both radiantly beautiful and mystical.

 

Still dumbstruck by her “divine” presence, all Benjamin could do was remain locked under it. As he raked curious eyes against her form, Tanner stopped by his side, having caught up to them. The other man peered at their companion as well, observing her in a more studious manner, Stepping to his lover, he tapped his arm, forcing Benjamin’s gaze away from the woman.

 

“There you are,” Tanner called out, holding the other’s parasol in the air to shield his rapidly heating skin. “What’s happened now? Who’s this lady?”  His sunglasses returned to their owner’s person as alabaster and gold hands embraced once more. Prying his orbs away from the woman, Benjamin wrapped an arm around his lover’s, drawing him in closer.

 

“I accidentally ran into her,” the other man frantically explained as his other companion looked on calmly. “I didn’t mean to, but she’s okay. Well, I think so.” Nodding a bit, she smiled once more, bright and eternally cheerful. Her magenta orbs scanned the two as well, seemingly curious as they were. “Isn’t that right, Miss-?”

 

“Inanna,” the woman recited, tongue dancing along her given name’s syllables. As if imbued with magic, her voice struck both men’s consciousnesses. They jerked straight up, further drawing her intrigue. A burst of excitement welled within her, open to countless new possibilities. “I’m Inanna Donati, and it’s quite all right. And you two gentlemen are-?”

 

As she spoke, the compelling nature in her eyes made itself present through her dialect. It brought to mind an Italian’s natural accent. Eloquent and husky, her tones swiftly enthralled both men, their ears carefully listening to what she articulated. Like sirens of legend, her voice seemed to pull at their innermost selves, reciting some sort of manipulative spell.

 

Download this book here