The world is full of corpses, and Jackson knows them by name. When a group strives to destroy the Inquisition, his powers may be all standing between the supernaturals and extinction.
However, when he learns the truth behind the deaths of his wife and unborn daughter, Jackson may prove to be the greatest threat of all to the survival of mankind…
Mama’s Thoughts-
Another great addition to the Witch and Wolf tales! I am totally hooked (or clawed I guess?) on this series and have to say that this was the perfect amount of creepy for the holiday season. Halloween is a great time to curl up with a howling good book- so grab your copy of Blood Diamond and get ready for the adrenaline to kick in! 4.5 stars
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When she isn’t playing pretend, she likes to think she’s a cartographer and a sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband, and obeys the commands of Tsu Dhi, the great warrior fish.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
Welcome to Little Raven: an unsullied, beautiful woodland hamlet in the heart of the Midwest. The sort of place where furry creatures romp about and spend their days bursting into song.
Actually, that’s a giant pack of lies.
Little Raven is a town…for witches.
And some of those witches might have bent the rules. A teensy bit. When six magical miscreants dabble with black magic, they end up together at Incantations, the town’s rehab center for witches gone awry. It’s a slap on the wrist for naughty witches. Pretty much a daycare center so they don’t wander off and start turning people into newts on a whim. Each witch must work through her addiction to black magic, and follow the tenets designed to lead them back to the path of the straight and narrow, as boring as that sounds. Even if following the tenets sucks worse than a group round of kum-bay-ya. Which sucks. Horribly.
We will admit we are powerless over magic—that our lives have become unmanageable.
We will make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of the Goddess as we understand Her.
We will make a searching and fearless moral and magical inventory of ourselves.
We will admit to the Goddess, to ourselves, and to another being the exact nature of our magical wrongs.
We will make a list of all persons or beings we have harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.
We will make direct amends to such beings whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
We are entirely ready to bow before the Goddess and have Her remove all our defect of character, even at the risk of being entirely stripped of our magic.
But this is just the start. There’s something rotten in Little Raven, something that seeks to take all the magic it can, and devour the inhabitants in the process. It will take the strength and power of all the witches to defeat the darkness seeping into their town, beat it back, and be rid of it forever…and maybe just make it through rehab while they’re saving the world.
I’m Miranda Stork, and I’m addicted. Addicted to writing and reading books, anyway. And chocolate, but that’s another issue – no interventions, please.
I live in the middle of a forest in North Yorkshire, spending my spare time as the wild woman of the woods, scaring small children and upsetting the sheep. On the days that I feel like being civilized, or I haven’t got any unicorns to ride, I sit down and pour the tumbling thoughts in my head out onto digital paper. Mainly the thoughts and characters come out in paranormal form, with a good smattering of romance, because everyone likes a good cuddle. But you can also find strong elements of thrillers, myths, and even dystopia amongst the pages of all my novels. I’ve wanted to write books ever since I first realised that fairytales were not the newspapers of the fairy kingdom, but the imaginings of actual people who wanted to tell fancy made-up stories to other people. From that moment, I was hooked.
Why do I write? Good question. It might be easier to just keep the stories in my head, or even just to write them for myself. But I want to share them. There is no greater delight for a writer than when a reader devours your book, and declares, “Something in that novel resonated with me. And I want MORE.” So grab your lucky clover and a baseball bat (there’s some nasty paranormal creatures where we’re going), eat the cookie with ‘eat me’ tagged on it, and enter through the tiny door into the world of Miranda Stork…
Tara Wood divides her time between creating domestic bliss and creating hot paranormal romance with the occasional side of kink. When not playing June Cleaver for her hubby and daughter, she can be found at the local Starbucks slamming back Frappuccinos and plotting out her next idea. Or she’s watching the BBC. Tara resides with her wonderful and tolerant family in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. She is currently at work on several projects, one of them being the next book in her In Blood series.
Elle J Rossi is a writer of Dark Paranormal and Fantasy Romance. Overly fond of the happily ever after, Elle lets her characters take control as they lead her down dark and twisted paths on their haunting journey toward love.
When not writing, you’ll more than likely catch her hanging with her husband, two kids and a cat who truly does rule the roost, or stealing the mic from her friends as the duel over country karaoke.
Cynthia Valero is an award-winning author of three paranormal romance novels and two anthologies written with Beth Ciotta as CB Scott. Her newest solo novella, A Cauldron Full of Goodbyes, is one of six dark and edgy stories in the anthology, Rehab is for Witches. A student of Natalie Goldberg, Zoetrope All-Story, and The Writers Studio, Cynthia is currently writing a rich tale of forbidden love and deadly feuds set off the coast of 1904 America. You can visit her on Facebook at Cynthia Valero Books or at cynthiavalero.com.
J.A Howell is an office drone by day, and a writer by night. Her love of writing took off when she was eleven years old and decided to fill a composition notebook with stories to read to her friends. Many years (and notebooks) later, not much has changed. She still loves writing and sharing her works with others. When she isn’t writing, she can often be found trying her hand at whatever artistic pursuit strikes her fancy. J.A. Howell resides in Apopka, FL with her husband and their menagerie of animal children.
Tyffani Clark Kemp might be the quietest person in the room, but that just means she’s probably the biggest freak too. She is a multi-genre author with a gift for the written word and a desire to help all Indies reach their full potential. In 2012, she and her best friend Kimberly Fudge started SideStreet Cookie Publishing for authors who want to remain independent, but don’t have the time or the knowledge to do it all themselves. From the age of eleven she dedicated her life to writing and making sure she was good at her craft. Now, she passes that knowledge on to others. Her friends would describe her as determined and giving. She may be quite, but she always has a story to tell.
This book is intended for anyone who has ever felt like someone different, knows someone who is of the LGBTQ community, or simply is open to a good, quality read. This book is very graphic in nature and deals with other topics as well such as child trafficking.
About the Book:
Warning: This book is graphic in nature. 18+ is advised. Have you ever felt like you were different, like you didn’t belong? Kellie Kingston knows that feeling all too well. She’s not who she pretends to be, instead from the inside out, Kellie is actually Kaleb. For years, Kaleb has wanted to break free from the reins of Kellie’s lifestyle. He knows he was born in a female’s body, but with a soul of a man. What happens when skeletons are forced to be kept in dirty closets? No one should judge a person by the gender of their body, but the passions found within their heart. Will the people of Kaleb’s community ever be able to accept him for who he really is? Will Kaleb ever be free to truly love himself or will southern socialite secrets keep him hidden forever?
Reviews:
I was gifted the ARC of Love Thyself by Layla Stevens. First off let me say that Layla stepped out of her comfort zone on this book.
This book talks about several topics that have touched many lives from transgender issues, sex trafficking, bullying, abuse, murder, child trafficking, and lies. I could not put this book down, I felt like I was Kellie when it came to some issues. Despite how you feel about this type of book, this is a must read.
I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but moved to Pensacola, Florida in 1996. I have a huge family who I shocked them when I told them I was writing my first book. I have had a love a reading since I was young. Reading has always been my escape. I can read and be a princess or a warrior. Reading for me was always something magical. And I hope to pass that on to you all. I am blessed to be the mom of a little girl named Sage who is the light of my life. {I call her Olga, and she hates it} I did not give birth to her but I choose her. I am blessed with great friends who have always had my back. I have a lot to learn in this world of writing but, so far I am enjoying the ride. I have a fantastic Four that are my true loves. No names will be mentioned as they know who they are. I Love you all very much. {I didn’t included alters in that comment}. I’m very opinionated and have no filter. I speak my mind without thinking of the consequences. Does this get me in Trouble? Yes it does every single day. But I will not change. I march to my own beat. My mom says that I can be a one man band. I am always willing to help out anyone who is in need all you have to do is ask. I never knew that writing a book would show me so much about myself. I have learned so much in a short amount of time. And I can’t wait to learn more.
How it works: Each day, the scheduled authors and bloggers will post awesome zombie-tastic content for your enjoyment along with a giveaway on their site/blog/page. You can hop around to all of the participating sites and enter as many giveaways as you like! If you would like to be emailed links to the new posts each day, join this Zombie Crawl Daily Digest list which will ensure you don’t miss a post (or join the party on Facebook to get notifications). Make sure to leave comments and interact with the participating sites. Thanks for joining the party!
To learn more about Band of Dystopian and/or to enter our Grand Prize Giveaway, visit BandofDystopian.com and don’t forget to join the group on Facebook!
Follow the tour!
Random Zombie Goodness- ready, go!
Zombies, and revenants and strigoi, oh my!! There are numerous myths about the living dead, but where did it all start? According to various sources (because it’s the internet and you should just believe whatever you want) Haitian slaves are the creators of the most common zombie myths, but from what I’ve read in mythology and history, revenants and other walking undead stories such as strigoi and wendigo are much older. What really fascinates me is the fact that some people are so terrified of coming back to life after they die that they take precautionary measures when planning for their funeral! I can’t imagine that kind of fear and just have to hope that if I reanimate, my loved ones will do me a solid with a 357.
There’s a very interesting article that busts the top zombie myths that you can find here: http://zombieresearchsociety.com/archives/9727
It’s a quick, fun read, you know, if you don’t mind the blood and gore stuff, since you’re here we’ll assume you don’t!
There are many timeless tales involving those who have come back to life, but one of my favorites has to be Haters by David Moody. I have read the trilogy at least half a dozen times and I just can’t get over how not-zombies the Haters are, yet how gritty and terrifying their reality proves to be. Seriously dark stuff, but well worth the read if you’re part of our mature audience. Viral infections are more common in our modern myths but they are certainly not the reanimates of old- less magic and more science.
What I’d like for you to do, should you choose to participate, is tell me some of your own favorite zombie myths, stories, movies, anything really, just talk to me about the walking dead! Anyone who comments will be entered to win an ebook of choice up to $1.99 from any BOD Author! follow the crawl for more goodness!! 🙂 Winner picked next week so stay tuned!
Time has passed since the crew of the League of Planet’s spacecraft “The Duster” played out a desperate gamble, crash-landing into the primal dawn of an alien planet. Alone on this sterile world, light years from rescue, Sam Alder, now commander of the survivors, faces desperate times. The ship is dying, the crew is dying, his beloved Elana is dying. Failure is not an option, Sam must find a new home…for the children.
Chlorophyll Probes is part two in the three part Alder’s World series set in the Dryden Universe, a Creative Commons science fiction environment open for development by writers and artists of all kinds.
Dudes…stop what you’re doing and go pick up these books! The first part is free and you will be sucked right on in! Part II continues the crazy chaotic action from the first part of Alder’s World, but now our characters are thrown into high gear to survive the devastation of a desolate planet. Poor Sam can’t catch a friggin’ break…not even a bit. Not your typical space tale, you will be on the edge of your floor, er um seat (I suppose most people have sitting devices of sorts) and you will not be able to stand the wait for book 3, but it’s worth it:) 4.5 stellar stars!
Like many great storytellers, Stottlemire made his break in the short fiction market. After a run of more than twenty short science fiction and horror sales and a several years writing articles, Stottlemire turned his attention to longer works, producing the novella “Summer of the Masters” and the novel “Season’s of Fire” within a year of each other.
Stottlemire is most noted for the surprising range of his voice. While clearly a master of genera fiction, he shows no difficulty switching to character driven novels (Seasons) or highly symbolic allegorical work (Summer.) He is equally versed in poetry which he publishes occasionally in limited release.
We are beyond thrilled to bring you all the Trailer Reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout’s OBLIVION! OBLIVION is a Young Adult Paranormal Romance being published by Entangled Teen, and is a part of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling LUX Series. It is being released on December 1st, 2015!! Watch the trailer then pre-order your copy today!
Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…
I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.
And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.
But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can’t stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.
Falling for Katy—a human—won’t just place her in danger.It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen…
# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.
She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
Welcome to my tour stop of Earth by Caroline Allen, a literary fiction novel. This is book 1 of the Elemental Journey series. The tour runs from October 26-30 and the full schedule can be seen here.
Print: $15.99
eBook: $4.99
ASIN: B00SUWJ5FQ
Apple ID: 962247664
ePub ISBN: 978-1-62015-665-0
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62015-651-3
Series Title: Elemental Journey series (Book One)
Winner of the 2015 Independent Publishers’ Gold Medal for Best Midwest Fiction.
In rural Missouri in the 1970s, thirteen-year-old Pearl Swinton has just had her first mystical vision. There is no place for Pearl’s “gift” in the bloody reality of subsistence farming and rural poverty. As her visions unfold, she must find her way in a family and a community that react with fear and violence.
When Pearl discovers that her Aunt Nadine, the family shame, has a similar gift, she bicycles across the state to find her. That trip unexpectedly throws Pearl into a journey to save her runaway sister and sends her into a deep exploration of herself, her visions and her visceral relationship to the earth.
Told with fierce lyricism, Earth is a story about the importance of finding one’s own truth and sense of self in dire circumstances and against the odds. It is also a story about the link between understanding ourselves and our relationship with the earth.
In this first of the four-book Elemental Journey series that will follow Pearl across continents and into adulthood, Caroline Allen introduces a form of storytelling that is unflinching in its honesty, filled with compassion and underscored with originality.
If you are looking for a gorgeously written, heartbreakingly realistic story, look no further. Earth delivers a cornucopia of emotions from a gifted (or maybe cursed) woman trying to make sense of it all. Too often I read a story about someone having visions that turns out to be a thinly veiled religious dogma, rather than something that makes you think outside of the confines of religion, like Allen does here. I found myself constantly reminded of what it is like to be misunderstood and that it isn’t always easy to explain yourself to others, so living in your head is one way to cope. While there were certainly some questions left open at the end, I did not fill at all unsatisfied with this story or the way it ended. I highly recommend this thought provoking novel to anyone with a sense of wonder, and to those who enjoy dystopian or wish to try it out for the first time. 5 stars!
Earth: Healing the Animal Body
By Caroline Allen
I was never one of those novelists who thought of writing as a healing practice. I was more interested in creating high-end fiction, a work of literature full of rich characters, dynamic setting and profound themes. I thought of healing as something one did in therapy. I wanted to keep my books sacred and professional and not turn them into an exercise is personal journaling.
I think writing really helps you heal yourself. I think if you write long enough, you will be a healthy person. That is, if you write what you need to write, as opposed to what will make money, or what will make fame. — Alice Walker
Don’t get me wrong. I use my own experiences in my novels in sweaty, heart-rending visceral detail. I purge my life onto the page and hope that in the end it resembles something close to poetry. But I did not expect it to heal me. I expected it to move me, and to affect the reader. To me, the concept of personal healing around writing seemed to de-emphasize its importance as a piece of literature.
So, it was quite a surprise the level of healing that washed through me after I finished Earth. The transformation Earth created in my soul was nothing less than epic. It was a miracle.
I grew up on a subsistence farm in Missouri, and our lives centered around the killing, skinning, scaling and gutting of animals. Deer, cows, chickens, squirrels, crappie, catfish, pheasant — the animals of the muddy rivers and scrappy forests were our food. I was around 5 when I started helping with the butchering. My childhood is full of bloody memories, of heads severed from bodies, of entrails dripping through the fingers. I fictionalize this experience in Earth.
When I finished skinning and gutting, I was washed in sweat. I felt almost loopy, like laughing hysterically. I put the intestines into a banged-up pot, walked them down the hill to where Lady Luck was chained. Lady Luck was a boy; Father named him. It was his sense of humor. You wouldn’t know it most of the time, but Father had a strong sense of humor. He had a bumper sticker on his truck: “A fool and his money are soon partying.” Lady Luck was a bird dog, meant for running and fetching. He was kept chained all day. His life was a circle of worn dirt, his whole universe the length of his chain. I came up to where he lay on his belly whimpering. I turned over the squirrel innards and plopped them into the dirt. — From Earth, by Caroline Allen
To my profound surprise, three major life changes happened after Earth was published. The transformations occurred both after completion of the book and after publication. When others read it, the healing seemed to intensify.
First, I went from an avid meat eater to a vegetarian and then a vegan. Second, at age 48, for the first time since I was a child, I moved back to the land. And, finally, I adopted my first dog.
Each one of these transformations could fill a volume. Bleu cheese bacon burgers were my favorite meal, but then after my exploration of butchering in Earth, I felt a spiritual calling to give up eating animals. The thought of eating meat began to make me nauseous. I took a year to prepare to go vegetarian, and spent two years as a vegetarian before going vegan.
After my time growing up in rural Missouri, I went on to earn a journalism degree and leave the Midwest. My adult life became a crazy, busy urban wonderland. Tokyo, London, Boston, Seattle — a jet-setting, cityscape of experiences.
After Earth, I suddenly could not abide cities anymore. I loved that I’d had so much experience of the world, and had no regrets, but now the noise, pollution, consumerism, the lives that were so filled with the pursuit of enterprise that no one had time to smell the roses, I just couldn’t abide it anymore. I moved from the Boston area to Oregon. Today I live on 80 acres, my first time back in wild nature since I was a girl. I’m around entities that care not what kind of clothes you wear or your hairstyle. I began getting to know the nearby farm animals, and I started painting their portraits. I looked deep into the eyes of animals, turned them into color and texture and began a long journey of healing all of the killing I’d done as a girl.
And then came Atlas. The reincarnation of Lady Luck, a Lab Husky mix, 100 pounds of pure animal joy. This dog would never be chained, I promised him and myself. This dog would be loved. I had no idea how to raise a dog. I’d only known sad creatures. Pets as possessions. Atlas daily continues to heal me.
More healing happened for me in novel writing than in 20 years of therapy. Does this negate the professionalism of the book? Just the opposite. If as a writer, the words do not affect move you to transformation, like Alice Walker, I don’t believe you’re doing it right. I am learning that words on the page have their own personality, and I am humbled by their power to transform.
To read more about Earth, and the other novels in the Elemental Journey Series, go to www.carolineallen.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caroline Allen worked in newsrooms across Asia and in London. She is now a novelist and visual artist who lives in rural Oregon. She is the founder of Art of Storytelling, a coaching service for writers. This is her first novel. To learn more about Caroline and the upcoming novels in the Elemental Journey series, visit: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
GIVEAWAY
The prize will be a 9×12 original watercolor painting that was done as part of Op365, featured on http://www.carolineallen.com. It has a retail value of $125.
In a world where class distinction means the difference between imprisonment and freedom and even life and death, being chosen to stay in the encampment and breed is the only way to guarantee survival for a teenage Producer.
Every year after harvest, the finest examples of teenage Producers are assigned mates; the rest are loaded onto carts and hauled away, never to be seen or heard from again. Trinity, a sixteen-year-old Producer, knows that she has no chance of being chosen to stay. She isn’t even full-blooded Producer. Her father is a House Servant and she’s spent her entire life hiding her differences, especially her claws and fangs.
She has one week to sneak into the forest and discover what happens to those who are taken. Her plan is simple, but she doesn’t count on being hunted and captured by predators long believed to be extinct. Can she elude her captors to uncover the fate of her kind and return to camp before her escape is discovered?
EXCERPT:
“Something’s following us,” he whispered as he unsheathed his knife.
The quiet rustle of vegetation behind them signaled that night was not the only thing approaching. He pointed to a large tree. She scurried up it and stopped on a limb high off the ground. He signaled for her to wait and then walked several yards farther before climbing another tree. He crouched on a low branch, knife in hand.
The woods were gray, the shadows growing wider as time passed. She waited, scanning the forest below, her heart pounding in her ears. What was hunting them, besides Guards? She pulled her knife out of the sheath and adjusted her position. Gaar always said that predators had to have patience, so the smart prey would too. She was still working on that. She shifted around again for a different angle. So far, she hadn’t seen anything dangerous in the forest, but she had traveled mostly with Mirra. She tried to relax her breathing, but it was coming in short pants. She had to calm down. Fear could be smelled. Fear attracted predators.
There was a soft whisper in the vegetation and a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the brush. A few feet away were two more eyes and then another set. There were at least ten pairs, shining in the darkness.
The first book of the series is on sale for $0.99 until the end of the tour!
My thoughts:
What an unusual book! I went in expecting pnr and got more of a highly adventurous scifi/fantasy, which was rather fun. Although I had some difficulties with the writing being stilted in a few places, the story was well-placed and the eerie tone had me biting my nails, then furiously turning the pages (ok clicking, but still.) If you want something spooky, here is a great pick! What’s scarier than a society in ruins and monstrous creatures roaming about? 4 stars for Lake of Sins Escape and Secrets in Blood
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
S. O’Dea grew up the youngest of seven. She always wanted to do what her older siblings were doing, especially reading stories.
Ill at a young age, she immersed herself in books. Her life changed when she read a short story written by her older brother and realized that normal (somewhat anyway, since her brother was a bit weird in her opinion) people created these amazing stories. From that day forward, she wanted to write.
However, as with all good stories, obstacles rose in her path (mostly self-created obstacles) and it took her many years to put finger to keyboard and type her first book.
Skyscape ~ “inspired stories from new and established authors, offering teen, young adult, and crossover readers remarkable books from contemporary to science-fiction to fantasy and more.”
Katalina Winter was prepared for life to change when she turned eighteen—but she never expected to actually change.
Learning that her birth parents were purebred wolf shifters is shocking enough. Now she’s expected to take her place in their unfamiliar world. Caught between two warring packs, Katalina must learn fast. One pack, led by the father she has only just met, wants to control her—and the other one wants her dead.
However, there is one bright spot to shifting, and his name is Bass Evernight. Tall, dark, and oh-so-handsome, Bass is the wolf that Katalina craves. He’s also strictly forbidden: a member of Dark Shadow, Bass is the son of her father’s mortal enemy. Yet deep down inside, Katalina’s new primal instincts howl that Bass is her mate. Can their love bring an end to the brutal war that has raged for so long, or will it spark the fighting around them into an all-consuming fire?
Revised edition: This edition of Winter Wolf includes editorial revisions.
“Shit!” Her leg gave way under her. Katalina sprawled face-first into the snow, the cold shocking the breath from her. She lay in the piercing cold, feeling the snow bite into her fingers, the chill frigid against her skin. “What was I thinking, boy?” she asked her dog as she sat up with a grunt. “I’m never going to make it to the bus stop, and even if I did, they’d never let you on anyway.”
It was tempting to lie back down and not move, to allow the snow to numb her body to the point beyond pain. A trickle of wetness rolled down her face. Katalina so desperately wanted to be home, in her family’s front room, watching TV. The fire roaring, its crackle and hiss the homiest of sounds. Only Katalina could never have that again. She’d never have the chance to enjoy another Sunday family dinner, or listen to her parents’ playful banter. She buried her head in her hands, tears dripping through her fingers and freezing on the snow. Arne whined, trying to comfort her with a lick and nudge.
“I know, boy,” she mumbled through her broken sobs, “I know.”
There was a rustle up ahead, further into the woods. Katalina lifted her head, squinting into the gloom of the trees. She scanned the area for movement. Arne growled low, the slightest of rumbles vibrating up his chest. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, her eyes never leaving the woods.
Arne barked.
“What is it, boy?” He positioned himself in front of her. “Show yourself!” she called, taking a few steps into the trees.
The wolf stalked from its hiding spot, eyes wary, hackles raised, its dark fur startling against the white snow.
“You,” she whispered, recognizing it as the dark wolf she’d felt drawn to in the shed.
Arne barked louder, jumping forward.
“No boy, come here!” she commanded, stopping Arne in his tracks.
The wolf studied her for what seemed like forever. Katalina couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Are you a shifter, too?” she asked.
He didn’t answer.
“You’ve lost it, Kat, talking to a wolf,” she muttered to herself.
Before her eyes, the wolf morphed into a naked boy. “Yes, I’m a shifter, but not from your pack.” His voice vibrated through the air, low and brassy, pleasing to her senses.
“So you’re here to kill me then?” she asked, surprised at her calmness.
“I should be, but for some reason, I seem unable,” he answered, his voice void of emotion.
“That’s comforting,” she sneered.
“I imagine it is,” he stated. His face remained stoic.
Katalina burst out laughing. Is this guy serious?
“What’s so funny?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“You! Are you always so . . . literal?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
Katalina shook her head. “Never mind. So if you’re not here to kill me, then why are you here?”
“You intrigue me, Katalina Winter.”
“You know my name,” she said, shocked. Everyone knows my name.
“Most know your name but not your face.”
“Well, that’s something I suppose.”
Silence fell between them. He stared at her as intently as he had when he was in wolf form. She found herself taking an unsteady step, an invisible force drawing her to him.
He frowned, looking down at her leg. “You are still injured?”
“I’m f—” Her leg crumpled. She braced for the cold snow, but he’d crossed the space between them in a blur of movement, catching her inches before impact.
Stunned, she stared openmouthed as he set her on her feet. This close she noted every detail. His hair was just long enough to tangle her fingers into, and the urge to do so was a potent thing. His bare chest was a solid muscled wall, and her fingers flexed where they rested, trailing through a smattering of dark hairs.
“Why haven’t you healed yet?” he asked, oblivious to her wandering thoughts.
“What? Oh, I . . .”
He leaned forward, breathing deeply at the curve of her neck.
“Did you seriously just sniff me?” she asked, shocked at the strangeness of the past twenty-four hours.
“Yes, I was just getting your scent.”
“Scent?” she asked, bewildered.
“Yes.”
“Shifters are strange,” she muttered to herself.
“You’re a shifter, too.”
“So I’ve been told,” she grumbled, still hardly believing it herself.
“Though you’ve never changed, have you?” He continued, not giving her a chance to answer. “Your father left you vulnerable. He has been foolish keeping you away so long. He’s left you weak. You’ll need your wolf to protect yourself.”
“Mmm.”
“Why are you out here alone? Unprotected? You should rest. You will need to have healed enough before the next full moon, for the change to go smoothly.”
His reference to change had her refocusing on his words, and not on the expanse of his chest. Tired of the wolf talk, she snapped, “I’m going home.”
He frowned. “Is that not home?” He gestured in the direction of the old farmhouse from which she’d escaped.
“No, those people are strangers to me. I don’t trust them. They took me away from my home.”
“You are the alpha’s daughter. No one will hurt you there.”
“That man is not my father. My father is”—she swallowed the lump in her throat—“is dead.”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, he murmured, “Don’t cry.”
Don’t cry? Don’t cry? “Why not?” Katalina stepped back from his hold, not caring about her wobbling feet. “I watched my parents die last night.” She stared at the ground, not seeing the snow-covered earth, but the crash. “Wolves attacked, almost killing me, and then I woke up in a strange bed, with strange people telling me I’m a shifter, and that I need to come back because my blood is pure and they want me to keep the line going. I turned eighteen yesterday. The last thing on my mind is children, and I most certainly will not be told whom I’m supposed to marry. And that man who claims to be my father . . . Where’s the proof? He doesn’t even look like me. For all I know, he’s just some nut job.”
Katalina sucked in a deep breath, lifting her eyes from the ground to meet his. “What better reason is there to cry?” Her cheeks heated as she realized she’d ranted to a complete stranger and told him things she maybe shouldn’t have.
He studied her. “Very well. If you’d like to go home, I’ll take you, but first you need to go back and heal.”
“What? Really?” She hadn’t expected that answer. She’d expected him to run for the hills after all she’d said.
“Yes, that’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“But why?”
“You intrigue me.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“Yes, it is.”
“You are very frustrating,” she laughed, surprised she still had it in her to. Around him, things seemed a little better. Her reaction to him was confusing, and Katalina added it to her mental list of things that didn’t make sense.
“Am I?”
Shaking her head, Katalina wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get warm.
“You are cold,” he stated.
“A little.”
“Right, time for you to go back.” He scooped her into his arms.
“Put me down!”
Arne barked.
“Shush!” he growled at Arne. To her he said, “You’ll only do yourself more damage. I’ll carry you back.”
“You can’t just go around picking people up without permission!”
“Do you have a problem with me carrying you?”
“Well, yes,” she muttered.
“Why?” he asked.
“You have no clothes on!”
He laughed at her. It rumbled in his chest and did funny things to her heart.
“You’ll have to get used to that. Being naked is just part of life when you’re a shifter.”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“A little, when I’m like this, but as a wolf, no. You’ll see how strong and resilient we are, after you’ve changed.”
“I’m not sure I want to be a wolf,” Katalina whispered, looking away from his face.
“Now that, Katalina, you have no choice in. Even if you lived away from the pack again, you’d still change. It’s a part of you, your blood. You’ll feel different after.”
“If you say so.”
“I’ll leave you here. The young boy is coming.”
“Oh, okay,” she hesitated, not wanting him to leave.
He put her down and ran off.
“Wait!” she called to his distant figure.
He paused, his voice whispering through the trees. “Yes?”
Shit, what do I say? “What’s your name?”
“Bass. Bass Evernight.”
“Bass Evernight,” she whispered, liking the sound of his name.
“See you soon, Katalina Winter.” His promise wrapped around her, like silk against skin. She held it close to her heart, wondering when they’d next meet.
Rachel M. Raithby started her writing career in 2013 and hasn’t looked back. She draws her inspiration from the many places she has lived and traveled, as well as from her love of the paranormal and thriller movies. She can often be found hiding out with a good book or writing more fast-paced and thrilling stories where love always conquers all. A Brit who left the UK in 2008, she resides in a quiet town in Queensland, Australia, with her family.
Her books include, the adult Paranormal Romance novels ‘The Deadwood Hunter Series’ and the Young Adult novel ‘Winter Wolf.’
Get ready for a rollicking action and adventure story set in a magical world where a creature emerges from thousands of miles underground, seeking revenge, treasure, and a key that once belonged to an old enemy. Fans of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and The Vampire Diaries by J. L. Smith will be enchanted by this new YA novel selected by Kindle Scout readers for publication!
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About Troll:
Author: Ashley C. Harris
Author Location: FL, United States
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Words: 319 pages
Publisher:Kindle Press
Format: Digital eBook
AISN:B013VAU5KA
Synopsis: At the age of sixteen, Abby is undergoing major household changes. Her mom is getting ready to remarry and her new step-brother is driving her insane. She is just trying to keep herself busy with school and her part-time job when a most deliciously handsome stranger moves to her little seaside town and won’t leave her alone.
New arrival Wilhelm is unlike any other student at Abby’s school. His emerald eyes and tattooed body don’t truly reveal what he really is: a creature emerged from thousands of miles underground, seeking revenge, treasure, and a key that once belonged to an old enemy – a key Abby wears suspended from a chain around her neck. Why she has it is a mystery that Wilhelm will need to solve, and fast, in order to defeat a powerful mortal adversary.
As an attraction between Abby and Wilhelm develops, more creatures like Wilhelm are drawn from beneath the ground to Abby’s town; wreaking havoc as they offer Abby’s classmates the fulfillment of their deepest desires. Will Abby and her new family survive as a game of magical warfare is unleashed? Her ability to reverse Wilhelm’s bargain depends on it.
Seconds went by and he found nothing, except a distraction. It wasn’t the human’s heartbeat drumming steadily on the second floor that he found unnerving, most likely it was the fact that she was reading a rhyme aloud – that wasn’t a human thing as much as it was a trolls’: “A kiss was made,” he heard her voice whisper, trying to ignore it. “A rose was dropped.” He looked up when she said the word rose. “A heart was snapped in half. The love of your life has left you in a world that’s dark and black.”
He moved toward the sound. Perhaps she was really one of his kind in disguise, here to spy on him.
“Thunder sounds, the sky turns gray, there is nothing recognizable at all. The love of your life has left you in a world that’s sad and small.” The words made him think about Helena, his Helena, kissing Klaus, while he had her fully under his control. It was sickened him and pissed him off.
He crept down the bookcase where a girl was reading from a book out loud, unaware of his presence. She was definitely not a troll, he concluded when he got a good look at her, growing bored. “But then the sun comes out. A rainbow appears. An angel has come to tell you, your hope is stronger than fear.”
“Are you sure that’s what an angel would say?” he asked.
Her blue, puppy-like eyes shot up, her body nearly jumping out of its skin from being startled. “Where did you come from?” she squeaked as she looked around, her heartbeat doubling.
“About five shelves over,” he answered as he looked her up and down. She was a tiny, petite thing compared to himself, with light brown hair and blushed fair skin that made her blue eyes pop. She also had four freckles on one cheek and three on the other. This human was both plain looking but also strangely captivating compared to others in the building.
“Oh, I see, and were you standing there the entire time?” she asked, her free hand going to her hip, as she tried to stand up straighter, trying to seem tall and authoritative. He could see she was irritated at being disturbed, and that was the most entertaining thing of all.
“Yes, is that a problem?” he asked with a smile.
“Yes!”
“I’m sorry … I thought you worked here. I was just looking for some help,” he lied. Did she think he wouldn’t notice the fact that she was standing next to a filing cart and wearing a library badge that read: Abigail? That, and the feelings of servitude and obligation that he could smell all over her.
“Oh, I – I do,” she said, as if this had just occurred to her. She was unable to wipe the annoyance and unease off her face, as she looked down his arm, judging him because of his numerous tattoos. Humans…so sadly sheltered. “How can I help you?”
He didn’t answer. This irritated her more.
“The college used book section is downstairs, and so is the art and tattoo section,” she suggested, trying to guess his reason for pestering her.
“Do I really look old enough to be in college to you?” he asked, half insulted because college years for humans were death years for his kind.
“Yes,” she said honestly as she took in his tall, six-foot-five frame. “You look at least twenty.”
“Nope, time to get your eye’s checked maybe?” he asked, stepping closer, letting her guess his age; this seemed like a game she didn’t want to play.
“Well you’re definitely a least eighteen,” she replied as she turned part of her body away from him, her eyes back to her books; as if being eighteen put him in a different category than her. “You’d have to be to get a tattoo, now is—”
“Or maybe I had really cool parents,” he cut her off. “And I’m seventeen. That was an enchanting poem you read by the way. Who was it by?”
He took another step closer as she took a step back, nearly colliding into a bookshelf. “Amber Paris.” She handed him the book she’d read from and appeared much more comfortable when he was looking at it and not her. He examined it with only partial interest. “She got it published when she was fifteen.” she seemed to know all about the subject.
“Well, that explains why it’s so good, then. People always come up with their best work when they’re young. I bet at twelve her poems were even better.”
Each word he spoke was like a hook, spinning magic to pull her in to him even as she wanted to get away. “Where are you from, exactly?” she asked as she noticed what he was wearing; heavy jeans instead of the more typically Floridian surfer shorts, and a thick dark green shirt that went down to his elbows, only showing off half of his tattoos. Probably weird attire for the hottest months of Florida, but as a troll he craved warmth and hated the cold. “Are you from up north?”
“No, not at all,” he said, offering no other explanation. “So, why read a poem aloud? What about you does it relates to?” he asked with a grin, it was a pretty personal question and yet she’d have to tell him. Soon his powers if he kept talking to her would be able to push Abby to do all sorts of things… for a short time anyway, until a price was paid.
He read over the beginning lines of the poem again. “A kiss was made, a rose was dropped.” The words tripped him up, making him think about Rosabel’s last feelings before she died. Feelings that held a deep meaning for him, letting him know that even though she had never been able to claim him as an inheritor, she still had cared about him more than any other treasure.
His eyes could have almost teared up just thinking about his murdered mother. Trolls could be insanely emotional – good thing for him he was better at shielding how he felt than most. He turned his face away, getting a hold of himself, as the little human rambled, her voice a comforting distraction.
“I don’t think it relates to me. I just write poetry so my teacher asked me to look over another writer’s work.”
“Because maybe you want to be like this writer, famous and well liked?” he stated to test if her interest in the author was shallow, sensing what she didn’t even know was one of her most hidden desires. Humans could be so naive about their own ambitions, but these were easily recognized by trolls. This one clearly had no idea what her body and mind were capable of yearning for.
“No,” she lied, as if insulted. “That’s crazy. I’ve never wanted that; it’s just an assignment.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, as her hidden wants started calling to him – they tasted satisfying too. Her craving for freedom, he could use that to trap her, and then trap all the humans here. He’d have some real fun after a day of anger and sorrow as he played with these fools until they broke.
Leave her alone! a small boy’s voice suddenly screamed into his ear. He turned around, startled, only to find no one behind him.
“Are you okay?” he heard Abby ask him. His face must have looked haunted. That’s when he sensed where the book that he had been searching for was.
“Yes.” Finding the book and his key were far more important than this girl or having a little fun. He looked back in Abby’s direction, now needing to get rid of her. She looked nervous and still confused by his presence, still not knowing why she was continuing to talk to him. He decided in that moment to show her the kind of mercy and kindness his mother Rosabel should have received. Besides, he really didn’t feel like killing anyone innocent so the knights couldn’t find them later.
Before she could move, he reached out and gripped her shoulder, sending heat through her body, making her look deep into his eyes. “If you ever see me or anything like me again, anyone that has markings like this…,” he lifted his sleeve so she could take in his entire arm. His tattoos on it came to life and moved hypnotically, numbing her senses and making her go into a trance. “… you probably shouldn’t trust us. You should be smart and stay away from anyone like myself that you ever come in contact with.”
And with those words, he had given her a precious gift he hadn’t given any other human in a very long time. If any more trolls came along she’d stay out of their way now, wanting nothing to do with them. He watched her walk off in a beautiful daze. She’d certainly stay away from him if he changed his mind in the next few moments and decided to pursue her after all. Trolls often did change their minds about most things. He imagined her lips would have tasted pretty good, for a human anyway. Her body would have most likely felt nice …
Please leave her alone! he heard the boy scream again, the voice coming from his head. He was hearing a past memory, one that was too dangerous for him to think about. He ran his fingers along the book spines one more time. They led him right to the familiar texture he had been looking for. To the very storybook a young knight had checked out and carried in his backpack years before Wilhelm had found him.
Mama’s Thoughts on Troll:
While I did enjoy the whimsical tale and the angsty teen supernatural drama, this book didn’t reach out and grab me at first. I think one of the issues would have to be the fact there were just too many pov switches that didn’t flow naturally. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing a story from more than one side, but it has to have a cohesive manner to it, it needs to make sense and not confuse the reader too much. The troll world was fascinating and there were definitely questions left unanswered about certain aspects, so know going in this is the first book in a series and not a stand-alone novel. This wasn’t an issue for me as I did feel there was some resolution to the arc of this particular installment, despite the cliffy. Harris has a way of wrapping you up in the story once you get used to the narrative style, reminding me of the very influence she cites- C.S. Lewis and his deft use of imagery. This is more new adult than young adult due to content, so I’d recommend it for 16 and up. Overall the characters were richly drawn and there were many aspects of the story which surprised me, so the experience was fun and I’d read more books in this series. ( 4 stars)
About Ashley C. Harris
Author and film director Ashley C. Harris resides in Florida. Ashley was first recognized for her edgy writing and unique film work when she wrote and directed the teenage film “Lines”. Lines was the first feature film in the world captured using only Mac Laptops. In 2013 she teamed up with Barclay Publicity to release the first in a new young adult novel series, “Shock Me”. Ashley then went on to author eight other titles, in multiple genres, as she also worked behind-the-scenes on a morning news show that aired on ABC. In 2014, four of Ashley’s books landed on the Amazon’s Best Selling Top-Ten-List. In 2015, she received her first publishing deal for “Troll”, a KindleScout novel winner. When Ashley is not dreaming up new manuscripts and working on film sets, she loves spending time with her family, obsessing about biblical mysteries, and watching lots of Doctor Who. Keep an eye out for her newest releases!
Book Info-
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