Sugar Plum Kisses...a sweet Christmas collection..Day Five

 This is a fabulous collection of short and sweet Christmas stories. It has a 4.8 rating from 33 reviewers.

Here's the blurb:

o you hear the sleigh bells ringing?

Join over a dozen bestselling authors as they bring you an exclusive collection of Christmas-themed holiday romances. From small town coffee shops to cozy cottages, this set has everything you need to curl up in front of the fire with some hot chocolate or a pumpkin spice latte.

If you're looking to be swept up in the magic and romance of the holiday season, look no further. We are here to make this and every Christmas merry and bright.

So sit back, relax, and one-click this cozy Christmas collection, because baby, it's cold outside.

Featuring works from the following authors:
Samantha Calcott (aka USA Today bestselling author Lily Luchesi)
Monique Brasher
USA Today bestselling author H.M. Shander
USA Today bestselling author C.A. King
Melodie March
Donna Wright
Kristin MacQueen
Laurie Treacy
Amy Stephens
Alys Fraser
Rebecca Lovell
Raquel Anne & E.S. McMillan

Tis the Season for Romance...Day Four

 

There's just something about Christmas romance that feels so cozy. Cue the Lifetime and Hallmark moves. Bring on the book covers with a couple and Santa hats! We're there. Today's book is another anthology of sweet (like Hot Chocolate) Christmas romances. 

Here's the blurb:

Tis The Season For Romance is an abundance of heartfelt wishes, a touch of Christmas magic, and a guaranteed happy ever after, all while celebrating this most joyful time of the year.

Bestselling and Award-Winning authors fill your holiday stocking with novellas ranging from sweet to sassy, bursting with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Here's where you can pick up the collection. Only 99 cents!

JINGLE MY SNOWBALLS...Day Three

 Is it cold where you are? This steamy anthology will warm you up. Here's where you can get it for only $2.99.

Here's the blurb: 

 Get ready to be swept off your feet, because Santa is coming down the chimney tonight.

‘Jingle My Snowballs,’ is a compilation of short stories that thrive on the magic of Christmas night. You’ll be introduced to second chances, hidden desires, mistletoe kisses, forbidden romances, and more!

Sweet Treats...Day 2

 

This is a collection of short, cozy Christmas stories, some with recipes (mine has one). The proceeds are all going to a charity that supports mental health. It's only 99 cents so you can buy it with your couch cushion money! Here's the link. 

My story in the collection, "Cocoa Loco" is actually a middle-aged romance built around a recreation of the Christmas story set at a truck stop outside Bethlehem, Tennessee. I am really happy with the way it turned out.

Here's the link to Beyond Blue, the charity that'll be receiving our funds. 

Read some stories.

Bake some cookies.

And know that your purchase helped fund a really good cause!

Here's the blurb:

Warm the cockles of your heart, and experience the true magic of Christmas with SWEET TREATS, a Limited Edition collection of short holiday romances!

If you love sweet romance then you're in for a treat. From snowy ranches in the United States, to the small country towns in Australia, this collection will leave you sighing dreamily, and believing in the simple, and beautiful miracles of the festive season.

So sit back, relax, and be swept away in a flurry of snowflakes, red dust, and romance; and it's all for a good cause! Proceeds of this collection will be donated to Beyond Blue, anxiety, depression and suicide prevention, to help those that need it most. Visit their website to learn more about this important organisation: www.beyondblue.org.au

Featured Authors:

Katy Rose

Sofia Aves

Anna G Berry

Natalie-Nicole Bates

RK Phillips

Monique Brasher

Alys Fraser

Laurie Treacy

Tracy Broemmer

Brigitte Ann Thomas

Sunny Abernathy

Ainsley Jaymes

Katherine Moore

Kimberly Gray

Pandora Snow

Maya Lemaire

E.S. McMillan

Mysteries of Christmas Past..Day One

 

My story for this collection revolves around a sweet treat that is now a tradition in my family after my sister's girlfriend made it for us the first time.  It's called Bubble Loaf, and  you basically defrost two loaves of frozen bread dough, pinch off pieces, roll them in butter and then in sugar mixed with dried orange peel and bake. You can eat the "bubbles" hot or cold and they'll freeze if you have leftover. (You won't.)

Basically, my story is a love letter to my little sister who absolutely loved Christmas. I think that I captured the nature of our relationship pretty well in this story, especially that unspoken understanding that exists between sisters, even when they don't always get along well. 

You can buy it here

Here's the blurb:

Mistletoe, mayhem and murder merrily collide in this collection of holiday stories from six of your favorite cozy and historical mystery authors. Curl up by the fire to enjoy this limited-time anthology.

Harm for the Holidays by Katherine H. Brown: Having lost her post as a governess, when Annabeth Watson returns home for Christmas she's returning home to stay. A less than welcome reception from her father isn't surprising, but the murder of a maid is quite shocking. Can Annabeth find the truth of what happened during the house party, against her father's wishes, or will the lecherous Lord Gresham and mysterious Lord Wright keep her from investigating?

The Christmas Tree Caper: A Small Town Holiday Cozy Mystery (Wintervale Mysteries Book 1) by Melodie March: There are secrets hidden behind the perfectly starched curtains of the houses in the sleepy mountain town of Wintervale... but Meg Harrison and the rest of the Green Mountain Grannies are on the case!

Christmas Treasures by Katherine Moore: The notation on a treasured family recipe turns the holiday into a mystery and brings two sisters closer together.

The Mystery of the Christmas Bauble by Carmen Radtke: A clairvoyant, a crime, and a prophecy: Some mysteries ripple through time. When an inherited Christmas ornament reveals its hitherto hidden message, it connects the past and the present for the finders in more than one way.

A Christmas to Remember by Natalia Schellhaas: With Oliver's help, Ari tracks down a hidden piece of her grandmother's history, and uncovers feelings Ari never thought to act upon.

The Christmas Kettle Caper by C.H. Sessums: Christmas festivities are swinging into high gear, but it's the arrival of a stranger connected to their past that has Jenny worried about J.D.'s tenuous sobriety. Will the ghosts of Christmas past threaten their chance for better days in 1939?

Don't miss the Christmas Book Advent Calendar!

 

Image by Pixaline for Pixabay

Beginning on December 1st, I will be posting about one Christmas book a day, with info on giveaways and their sponsors as well. You won't want to miss the event!

For my story in this collection, I borrowed from a little family tradition--Bubble Loaf for Christmas breakfast. My family had our big dinner on Christmas eve, then ate a huge breakfast on Christmas morning to fortify us. And then we ate leftovers the rest of the day so my mother didn't have to cook. (There were always plenty of leftovers. My mother came from the Southern tradition of cooks who would put enough food on the table to feed an army and then make a last-minute batch of biscuits just in case someone didn't get enough to eat.)

When I moved out of the house, I took a lot of my mother's Christmas treat recipes with me, in that little blue and yellow tin recipe box that all mothers of her genertion seemed to have. 

There was cranberry orange bread and chocolate chip banana bread and an insanely good pumpkin bread with golden raisins and walnuts. But I didn't learn about Bubble Loaf until both my parents were dead and I was on  my own to create my own traditions.

This recipe came from my sister's girlfriend and I've made it every Christmas for at least twenty years. The girlfriend moved on and my sister did too but Orange Bubble Loaf remained.

Orange Bubble Loaf

2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 jar of dried orange peel, around 1.5 ounces

2 round 9-inch cake pans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the sugar and dried orange peel in a shallow bowl.

Cut the thawed bread dough into pieces about an inch square and then roll each square into a little ball.

Dip the dough balls into the melted butter, then roll in the sugar orange mixture until coated.

Place the “bubble” into the pan. 

Cover with a clean dish towel and set in a warm place until the dough has risen and doubled in volume.

Bake at 325 until golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

If freezing, slightly under bake the bread  so that when the bubble loaf is reheated, it won’t get too toasty. 

One loaf’s worth of of dough “bubbles” will fit into one pan so you'll have one pan to keep and another to give away. 

 

 

 

We've been through the wars together...

 

My boxed set, Call of Magic, did not make the USA TODAY bestseller list. This was really disappointing, as we'd worked a year toward the goal. But if it was easy...everyone would be doing it.

Still it was a great experience to work with these writers.

#callofmagic #friendsforver

Counting down the days until Call of Magic publishes

 

An all-genre book giveaway for fans of Dream Lovers.

 I am fascinated by dreams/comas/unconscious, subconscious states. If you are too, you might be interested in this curated giveaway of "Dream Lover" books. It has my novella Darkling in it, but a bunch of other really interesting-sounding books. You can find all the books here.

Fake It Till You Make It is Live!!

 It's a really busy month for my pen name Katherine Moore. My story "Fake Out" is in the new Fake It Till You Make It anthology, which went live yesterday. You can get your copy here. It's a whole collection of "fake romance" stories and mine is set in my mythical town of Silver Birch, Washington. I had a lot of fun writing it and intend to return to the characters--a mismatched group of housemates--before too long. 

While my story is sweet--some are spicy. Here's a taste.

Fairy tales as you've never seen them before!

 I love fairy tales and have rewritten a number of them: East of the Sun, West of the Moon (The Road Past Winter), Beauty and the Beast (the Summer Garden), Cinderella (Fashionista, Bride of the Midnight King), Sleeping Beauty (Spite, A Dream of Sun and Roses) and on and on. I've joined this collection of slightly twisted tales to revisit "Bluebeard" and give it  a vampire gloss. I think it's going to work.

In the meantime, here's a link where you can preorder the set for only 99 cents. 

Pre-order prezzies...CALL OF MAGIC

 

★✩★ PREORDER 99C & GIVEAWAY ★✩★ CALL OF MAGIC A Multi author Anthology Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56338689/ Genre: Fantasy / PNR Release Date: October 26 Hosted by DS Book Promotions   PREORDER for 99c! US https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Q1PM4T9/ UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Q1PM4T9/ CA https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08Q1PM4T9/ AU https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08Q1PM4T9/  Apple, Nook, Kobo https://books2read.com/callofmagic/   ★ GIVEAWAY! FREE books: Preorder Call of Magic and claim 22 FREE books while you wait for Release Day! ★ Enter HERE: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/s6s7a7 Featuring stories by: Maggie Alabaster Krista Ames Ashley Amy Marissa Ann K. N. Banet R.C. Barnes Becca Blake Dora Blume Margo Bond Collins Faedra Rose Cate Cassidy R. L. Caulder Jude Cocaigne C. L. Coffey Ariel Dawn Tia Didmon Elizabeth Dunlap Anna Edwards Faera Fenix Poppy Flynn Tina Glasneck K. Gorman Jarica James Finley Jameson Leigh Kelsey Zelda Knight Angela Kulig Nikki Landis N. R. Larry Ember Lawless A.J. Macey M.J. Marstens Claire Marta Stacey Jaine McIntosh K.M. McKenna Jennifer M. Miller Morgan Jane Mitchell LJ Night Helena Novak Naomi Panthera Kat Parrish Krystal Pena Joe Quackenboss Maya Riley Kira Roman Lavinia Roseknight Karine Saint Jacques Silvana G. Sánchez Angela Sanders DJ Shaw Avery Song Rosalie Stone Crimson Syn Bex Taylor Marley Tobin Suki Williams Aria Winter Harper Wylde Jenn D. Young A.C. Wilds J.D. Woolf   Blurb:  When power beckons, anyone can answer. Let the call of magic charm you!  Curses and hexes haunt the worlds of the witches, werewolves, dragons, vampires and the hunters who stalk them in the night. Fall under the spell of these fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance stories by over 50 New York Times,  USA Today, and international bestselling authors. #anthology #preorder #Books #keepreading #paranormal #fantasy #sale #freebooks #reading #booklove #booklife #bookaddict #indieauthor #bookish #fiction #romance #bibliophilelife #authorsofinstagram #readers #bookbloggers #multiauthoranthology #callofmagic #dspromotions @clubrisque1 @DS Promotions

 

Cover Reveal Coming Soon

 I am part of a list-aiming collection of fairytales called Fairy Tales That Bite, publishing next year, but you'll be hearing a lot about it. What makes this collection a little different is that it's not just about rewriting fairy tales, it's rewriting them and including a vampire element. That worked well for my Shadow Palace Trilogy, which started out with a vampire take on Cinderella, so I thought it would be fun to try my hand at another. I'm going to use the fairy  tale "Bluebeard" and can't wait to see how it'll come out.

#fairytales#vampires#boxedset#coverreveal

Runaway's Ruin is Live!

 

THE RUNAWAY’S RUIN, Part 1 Book 3 in The Runaway Series By HELEN BRIGHT AMAZON getBook.at/Ruin1 Available to read in Kindle Unlimited. Blurb: Motherhood suits Tess, and though being married to Kolya Barinov means living under a high level of security, she’s learned to cope with being the wife of an arms dealer. Kolya’s business often keeps him away from home, so he and Tess plan to spend quality time together, but you know what they say about the best laid plans… When an ongoing threat makes their move, Tess’s world comes crashing down around her. In a time of chaos and devastation, she learns the hard way that friendship and love are not always as they seem. With a broken heart and her life in ruins, will Tess ever feel safe or loved again?   Also Available in the Series The Runaway & The Russian Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075RH5XFC/ The Runaway In Love Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HJW839B/ #newrelease #therunawayseries #keepreading #reading #booklove #booklife #bookaddict #indieauthor #kindlereads #bookish #fiction #romance #bibliophilelife #authorsofinstagram #readers #bookbloggers #HelenBrightAuthor #therunawaysruin #dsbookpromotions @helenmbright @Ds_promotions1

'Tis the Season for Romance

 Under various names, I have a number of holiday stories coming out. I'm really excited about the one I'm writing for this collection. It'll be under my Katherine Moore pen name, and another Silver Birch story. Think HEA to the max. And there will be cocoa. And wine. And snickerdoodles, which are my favorite cookie.

You can preorder it now for $2.99 directly from Amazon or for all the platforms through Draft2Digital. 

Think of this collection as a whole lot of Hallmark Christmas movies gathered under one cover.

The book publishes on November 1, 2021 so you have almost two months to get into the Christmas spirit!

Heath Lowrance's I Was Born a Lost Cause

 

I am a huge fan of Heath Lowrance's short stories. I've read a number of the ones in this collection and I look forward to re-reading them and discovering new ones. Look for a review soon. And in the meantime, buy your own copy here.

Freebie for Halloween

 I know it's more than a month until Halloween, but I am feeling it! 

I recently offered this short story (written under my Kit Blackwood pen name but suitably dark for those who prefer my noir-ish side) to my newsletter subscribers and they seemed to like it. If you'd like it too, just click the SUBSCRIBE button on this page or email me at: kat (at) katparrish (dot) com with the message X and I will send you a pdf copy. 

I

Royal Pride has arrived!

 

A limited edition boxed set with shifters galore, Royal Pride is now available at all ebook outlets.

Here's the blurb:  

Each page of this anthology offers enchanting tales of transformation and seduction from royal prides to foxy thieves. Lions, tigers, dragons, gargoyles, werewolves, mermaids, and more inhabit each magical story. Fall in love with a shapeshifter in this limited edition collection of shifter romances brought to you by thirteen New York Times, USA Today, and international bestsellers, as well as hot new authors!

FEATURING:
Lion's Bride © 2021 Imani Jay
Stolen Mate © 2021 Juliet Moon
Breaking Chains © 2021 Margo Bond Collins
Cat Among the Demons © 2021 Lillia Hunter
For the Love of a Mermaid © 2021 Diana Dawn
Earthen © 2014 RaeLynn Blue
Ritual Island © 2019 J. P. Uvalle
Tricks, Treats & Trial by Fire © 2021 Sapphire Winters
Wings © 2021 Sofia Aves
Bonded © 2021 Isabeau Moon
Pride of a Lioness © 2021 Katia Kozar
Serpent’s Nest © 2021 W.M. Dawson
Foxy Heist © 2021 Zelda Knight

Coming Soon!

 I'm writing stories for a fair number of boxed sets this year. I'm really excited by Pride of a Lioness, which is in the same series as The Heart of a Tiger, which is already out. (Soul of a Leopard will be out in the winter.)

The story will be a part of Royal Pride and is available for preorder here. The preorder price is only 99 cents.

I bought the cover for Heart of a Tiger as a premade from Danielle Ritter of Locus Solus Cover Design, then commissioned the other two covers. I LOVE these designs.

Fire in a Haystack by Erez Aharoni

 I bought this book in 2015 and it's been sitting in my kindle for more than six years. Which turns out to be a shame, because I really enjoyed it. It's a legal thriller and the author, Erez Aharoni, is a well-respected attorney himself. (Among his other talents, which are many.) 

Set in Israel, with a prologue in 2005 and the rest in 2015, but the story feels fresh and very timely. I loved the local color. I loved Ofer Angel, our hero, an intern at a law firm who gets involved in murder, bad corporations and a danger that reaches into his past.

Here's the blurb:  What would you do if you discovered that a lethal virus is incubating in your body and would kill you within a week?

Unless an antidote is somehow found.

Ofer Angel’s life has never been simple. When he was a teenager - his father committed suicide after being rumored to be involved in shady business deals. When he became a man - he had to deal with difficulties at home, but thanks to his determination, he managed to finish law school and was admitted as an intern at a renowned law firm.

Ofer is sent to spend the night with an expert witness for the firm’s most important case. The following morning, he finds the witness dead in his hotel room, a flask from which they had both drunk whiskey on the previous night by his side, infected with the bubonic plague virus, supposedly eradicated from the world.

Before long, Ofer discovers that a certain unknown element is interested in framing him, perhaps even in bringing about his death. But even if that mysterious element is unsuccessful - the virus now incubating in Ofer’s body would eventually kill him anyway within the week, unless an antidote is somehow found.

Will Ofer manage to solve the secrets of his past?

Will he discover who tried to kill him and why?

Is there enough time to find an antidote?

    There's a lot to like here. Dead bodies piling up. Clandestine meetings. Evil corproations manufacturing deadly viruses. Great sense of place and an egaging hero. 

The return of Tsundoku no more

 I am determined to read all those books in my kindle, spurred on by the number of times I've seen a book offered for free on one of the daily newsletters I get, only to click over and find that I ALREADY HAVE IT. That happens pretty often, which means I am way, way behind on my pleasure reading. 

So returning to the mini-reviews of books I've read. Mostly, I will post good reviews, because who needs a recommendation of a bad book? But sometimes, as a public service, I will share my thoughts about bad books. 

I hope you enjoy the reviews and the recommendations. 

August Book Fair--feed your ereader!

 

Here's the link. #pnr#uf#bookfair#freeboks

Cover reval Time in a Bottle

 

Isn't this a lovely cover? Courtesy of Oliver Price of Bonobo Designs. It's for a reincarnation romance I'm doing for a boxed set later this year. So many boxed sets this year, but it's  a great way to get more work out into the wild, and also a great opportunity to try out new styles and new topics. 

Sin City Wolf: HOWL by January Bain

 

This is the first book in a series and it is a sizzling debut.  The world of billionaire werewolf Cristaldo Luceres (the people who work for him call him "sire") is filled with luxury. There's his expensive single-malt and his personal helicopter. And his bespoke suits.  It's also a world filled with danger--constant threats from a rival werewolf clan, the annoyance of dealing with a card counter at his flagship casino, the Glitter Palace--and the constant threat of betrayal. Although his clan his tight--his twin brother Lucius works closely with him, and their younger brothers are in school in Rome--there are temptations and power struggles, and all sorts of ...hungers.

This story of Cristaldo's cataclysmic connection to a woman who seemingly is fated to be his mate fuels the story, which  starts out hot and only becomes more incendiary. Because  unlike most of the women Cristaldo has met, Everly is not going to be a pushover.  She feels the attraction, but she doesn't have a great track record with men and there's a restraining order out on her last (her first) boyfriend, a dangerous psychopath. 

Bain has done a terrific job of building the world of this story. The characters  have real connections to other people--Everly to her two best friends--bandmates in a group they call THE SIRENS--and Cristaldo has his brothers and Serge, his consiglieri, and  Sly, the charming majordomo who's been put at Ellery's disposal. But there are also the characters from the other clans--all of them descended from Roman royalty and all of them with clashing agendas. There are also vampires in this world and they have a very interesting role in the werewolf world.

The course of true love is never smooth, even if it's between a man and a woman fated to be "Forever Mates."

There's a lot of heat in the love/sex scenes, including a spectacular take on the whole "dream lover" trope.  And yet,  the prose never shades over into purple. It's streamy. It's  hot, but it's not the kind of out and out erotica that can turn some readers off. (You will definitely be turned on.) 

Check  out SIN CITY WOLF: HOWL now. 

Lovers Masquerade--a Valentine's Day boxed set

 Masquerade balls have been the setting for great romances all the way back to Romeo & Juliet. This collection--a shared world project--takes place at a high society charity ball hosted by Madeleine Kane (a lovelorn tech billionaire and secret matchmaker). Everyone who's been invited has been asked to wear a touch of pink or red, indicating their preference for finding true lover or just a sex partner. And what happens at Kane mansion stays at Kane mansion--if that's how the partners want it. 

Lovers' Masquerade is a sexy Valentine's collection of stories that share setting, characters, and intention--heating up your night! Some of the stories--like "The Phantom and the Cheeseburger"--have rom com roots, others flirt with 50 Shades of Grey withe their dominant billionaires flying their dates off to Greece in their private jets. There's plenty of playful banter, lots of tenderness, a few misunderstandings, and many surprises.

The women are relatable--Nicolette, who has not quite perfected the art or walking in a ball gown (Kick/Step) and therefore makes a spectacular entrance; Addie who stops into a lingerie store to buy some dainties only to have the snooty saleswomen ghost her, not realizing she's the owner's daughter; Madeleine, the party's hostess who is the very definition of "poor little rich girl." The men--alphas all--have dimensions. One man seems to have it all, but his mother is dying from complications of MS and not even his manager knows it. 

These bite-size bits of romance are a perfect diversion for a cold winter's night. Get lost with the lovers.

Blood & Ash by Deborah Wilde...a rewview

 There’s all sorts of magic in Vancouver—the Van Goghs who manipulate art, the Charmers whose magic is literally charming people—but the one kind of magic that isn’t supposed to exist is blood magic and when it appears, it’s cast by someone who’s not supposed to have any magic at all. 

Deborah Wilde’s Blood & Ash  is the first in a new urban fantasy series that offers a snarky heroine who has a complicated life, really good friends, and  a mother who’s deeply into human versus  magical politics. And oh yes, there’s also her prickly relationship with Levi Montefiore, the head of  the most powerful magic “house” in the city, and a someone who’s known Ash almost all her life. 

Did I mention Ash’s life is complicated? She is at the center of a spiderweb of intrigue that begins when she witnesses a strange paranormal  event in which a dark smudge-like  THING possesses  a woman after using  up its previous host  and leaving  him dead on the sidewalk. When something similar happens a few hours later, it becomes clear to Ash that something dark has come to Vancouver and it’s up to her to stop it. 

Wilde has put together a believable  world in which magic-workers and mundanes know about each other and coexist.  It’s a diverse place,  and  Ash (short for Ashira) has real-world problems that make her relatable. (Her  relationship with her mother is  particularly engaging because Thalia is…a  piece of work.) 

The mystery of what’s going on in the story has several levels, and one is very personal for our heroine.  The  stakes of what’s  going on  in the main story are real and consequential, and readers will be  rooting  for Ash  every step of the way. 

The world is steeped in Jewish  mysticism and  culture, and that  automatically sets  it apart from 99.9%  of the other  urban fantasies out there. And when a golem shows up, it feels only natural.

It’s  a lot of fun  being in Ash’s world, and the steamy dose of sexual healing that comes in at the end, feels like a treat. It also sets up part of what’s to come in the sequels. This is definitely something a little different.

A thriller two thousand years old! Carolyn McCray's 30 Pieces of Silver

 

There is a heresy at the bottom of 30 Pieces of Silver,  Carolyn McCray’s thriller, a nicely worked out bit of (alternate?) history that’s bolstered with tons of bogus academic papers and made-up artifacts that feel persuasive. As the story plays out along two timelines—the present and two thousand years ago—the pace never flags, and there are action beats that build and build and build and build from the moment we meet Rebecca Monroe being squeezed to death by an anaconda to the final explosive revelation. 

The special ops team central to the mission is familiar in concept—like James Rollins’ Sigma Force—are not just warriors, they know their science and their religious history. Characters keep underestimating them and it’s a lot of fun to see them thwart those snooty expectations. It’s also fun seeing military people being portrayed as something more than meatheads. (Once an Army brat, always an Army brat.) 

It is a little disappointing that Rebecca is just about the only woman with anything to do in the book. While she does some brave things and she is an intriguing person, she doesn’t necessarily drive the story—Brandt and his team do. Still, you have to love a book that combines all these thriller elements so seamlessly with an ancient backstory. Worth the read if you’re a fan of Clive Cussler, James Rollins, and Dan Brown.

Good and Gothic--DREAM REAPER by Alistair Cross

 Remember the heyday of the Gothic novel, those books that all had the same cover--with the beautiful long-haired woman running from a castle/mansion/tower with one lighted window? (Here's a Pinterest board that proves my point.)

I gobbled those books up like  chocolate-covered cherries. The sub-genre is having something of a comeback right now and that is really good news for readers because the neo-Gothics are a lot more complicated and compelling than the Bronte imitators that spawned the first wave of books back in the Seventies. 

And I'm not even counting the O.G. Gothics, a list of which you can find here.

Which brings me to Alistair Cross and his novel Dream Reaper. Cross brings the goth with a capital G and this book delivers angels, demons, holy hell, and dark desires. 

The story takes place in a fictional California town where a new Chief of police has just arrived. Nick Grayson is looking for a fresh start but his initial impression of Prominence is not promising. He's afraid he's going to be bored to death with only the town's Fouinder's Day festivities to look forward to. (Town mascot Winkie the golden hedgehog figures prominently.) 

Just one day in, however, weird things start happening, and Nick finds himself caught up in a battle between good and evil. (Cue the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" as you start to read--you'll see why.)

The characters in Dream Reaper are fully fleshed out and real. Readers will immediately be caught up in heroine Madison's story because we know what we need to know about her before she has the accident that kicks off the narrative. Although the story takes place in present day, all the trappings and tropes of Gothic novels are in place. There are haunted rooms, whispering voices, an abandoned church, a cemetery with wrought-iron fences, and more. Dark secrets and hidden needs fuel the action as the battle between good and evil plays out. There are real stakes here--eternal stakes.

There are intense moments, as when a woman randomly admits to her greatest sin and several other women attack each other over a man neither one truly wants. The heroes and heroines of the story are all flawed, even broken, and that adds to their believability. 

The horror here is lightened with levity, and quirkiness, and emotions run the gamut. It's a terrific read.

Happy 2021

 If there was one thing 2020 was good for--and there wasn't much it WAS good for--the decline in my freelance jobs left me more time for my own writing. I really branched out this year, writing in my own name and under my usual pen name Kat Parrish. But as the year unfolded and I joined a writer's group interested in boxed sets, I started branching out into subgenres--paranormal cozy, paranormal women's fiction, horror hybrids, science fiction romance. And I started creating new pseudonyms for these different stories. I'm not sure that's a great idea--it's a lot of work to "build a brand" and also it can be hard when one pseudonym gets accolades and the others don't. (Kat Parrish is an internationally bestselling author, thanks to one boxed set and an Amazon bestselling author thanks to another.) 

I'm still not convinced that readers care about these accolades, but when you work at home and kind of ain a vaccuum, the affirmation they give can be balm to the soul. (So far, I haven't seen any increase in sales thanks to being entitled to use the phrase on my covers, but it's fun knowing I am entitled to them.)

I made a lot of plans last year and they were nearly all upended. This year, I'm thinking in broader terms and not making resolutions at all. But that doesn't mean I'm not making plans. I'll be launching a couple of cozy series this year (look for my work as Katherine Moore) and really mazing out on the holiday

stories. (Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving.) I'm going to write more suspense (which is my first love) under my real name. And as for the urban fantasy I love--there will be historical shifters, more about my conflicted werewolf Rezso, a couple of gargoyles, a few fae, and many, many vampires. Because really, can you ever have too many vampires?

So, basically, I want this new year to be more productive than last. We're going to be stuck with the plague for a while longer, so I fully intend to go my part by staying at home, wearing a mask, and writing. 

The Vampire Mistress by Samantha Calcott

 Billed as a "lesbian retelling" of the classic horror tale (one of the original "Gothic romances"), Vampire Mistress does not disappoint. We open with Bec Renfield--a woman who used to have an obsession with insects--and her friend Johanna Seward making plans to renovate a 19th century asylum they picked up for a song and intend to transform into a modern, low-cost mental health facility. As they sift through all the patient records, Johanna finds a file on R.M. Renfield, a patient whose initials are the same as Bec's. Bec doesn't believe in coincidences, and she becomes fascinated by the case of the patient, who was admitted with "a pet and a case of religious mania.

Enter Dr. Victoria Draconis, a graduate of a university in Transylvania who is willing to work emergency late-night shifts if necessary. Bec feels an immediate erotic charge upon meeting the doctor, and a connection is established. From there things turn decidedly (and deliciously) erotic in a story that embraces all the vampire novel tropes (fog, family feuds, wolves, blood) and turns them on their side with a bit of bondge and a dash of domination ni a F/F pairing that's emorable. (There's also a set up for more books in the series.)

There's plenty of action too, including a climactic fight in a forest awash in cold blue flame, (The outcome of this episode is later recounted by Bec--the book's narrator--with sardonic wit, a lightness that is a plus for the story.) Calcott has built upon Stoker's story and introduced refinements of her own that move the story beyond a clever bit of "fan fic." The women here are strong, modern protagonists who know their way around a sword. 

"You act with passion," Quincey says to Victoria in their ultimate confrontation and she does not see that as a flaw. Neither will the readers/ Calcott will not disappoint fans of erotic paranormal fiction.

A sense of place

I've been thinking a lot about "sense of place" lately. When I first started writing urban fiction, I was living in Los Angeles, and it was natural to set my stories and my first novel there. I have a love/hate relationship with the city where I spent decades of my life, and little by little, I incorporated both my favorite elements (the Griffith Park Observatory) and those I disliked (crazy celebrity culture, huge income disparity, ridiculous traffic) into the stories.

Photo: Matthew Field/Wikipedia

The Griffith Observatory is one of my favorite buildings in the world, and I turned it into a headquarters for the vampire family that runs L.A. and used it as the location of several pivotal scenes in Misbegotten, the first L.A. Nocturne novel. (It's currently available free in the collection After Midnight.)

Whatcom Falls photo by Ken Haufle/Wikipedia

When I first moved to the Pacific Northwest, it took me a very long time to get a feel for the place and write about it. I tried a couple of times to write UF set in Bellingham (halfway between Vancouver, BC and Seattle), even sketched an outline for something called Blood in the Rain. It just never quite happened for me. Then one day, when the wind had caused yet another hours-long power outage (a common hazard in Bellingham), I started sketching out a cozy Christmas romance and suddenly I realized I was setting it in an idealized version of the city where I'd been living for two years. And that made me happy.

I moved from Bellingham to another, smaller town nearly two years ago and from the first, I knew I wanted to use it as a setting for my Rezso and Witch War novels. My new hometown is not scenic most months of the year, but in the fall it is spectacular. (That's one reason Witch War is set in the fall.)
I am currently prepping for a move overseas. And I'm already wondering how I will write my very American books if I'm living in Europe. Under my cozy romance pen name (Katherine Moore), I already have ideas for a series of Expat romances, but I don't want to be a tourist...
Only time will tell.

Never Marry a Shifter by Azaaa Davis

New from Azaaa Davis, American author of urban fantasy (my favorite genre) and paranormal romance novels.

Jilted is the first of two books in the Never Marry A Shifter duology.

The Never Marry A Shifter (NMAS) duology is a thrilling blend of romance and horror, landing in the paranormal romance genre.

Here's the description:

Administrative assistant by day and boss lady on social media by night, Theresa enjoys sharing her charmed life with half-million followers. The only thing she loves more is being engaged to the hottest doctor at the clinic where they both work. Cementing her fame by reaching one million followers would be the icing on her wedding cake.

Life stops running smoothly when her husband vanishes on their wedding night and a leaked photo of a barely-dressed Theresa yelling at the police sparks a viral sensation. With everything at stake—love, reputation, followers, and job—she embarks on a reluctant voyage of discovery. Follow Theresa as she stumbles over her new husband's secrets and develops her own inner strength.

A thrilling blend of romance and horror, Jilted is a novella exclusive to the Soul’s Day Boxset for a limited time and releases October 2020.

About the boxed set:

Old Hallows Eve, when things go bump in the night,

Children come to play, and the witches provide the fright.

For 20 authors, USA Today and international bestselling,

The Halloween tales become more than this foretelling.

In the Soul’s Day Boxset, a mansion feeds on souls,

A gargoyle captures them, and a demon dungeon master makes the calls,

Campers gets picked off one by one,

The Karnaval’s corn dogs are less than fun,

Ghosts lurking around every bend,

‘I do’ at the wedding is certainly the end.

A boxset of chills and thrills to keep you up at night,

One-click pre-order to snap your copy filled with fright.

On old Hallow’s eve when creatures come to play,

With this spine chilling pages, it’s where you’ll want to stay.

One-click to pre-order today!

Buy it for only $0.99: https://books2read.com/u/4Dy5Ne

But wait--there are goodies.

Claim you gift with each pre-order: https://soulsdayboxset.com/pre-order-gift/

Connect with fantasy author Azaaa Davis online: 

Website:

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GoodReads:

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It's Bastille Day

I've been going through a French stage--reading French crime novels in translation, checking out travel books, enjoying books about French culture. (My favorite so far, WTF (What the French?), which is written in bite-size chapters that describe everything from the French fascination with Nutella to explaining oddball idioms. Check it out here. You can get a used hardback copy for less than $2 on Amazon.

Magically Delicious is here!

The third entry in my Ostrander Witches series is now live everywhere! You can get it on Amazon here. It's also available on Nook and Kobo and through Draft2Digital at a number of smaller sales platforms.

Where's number two, you ask? (Mother Nature, about Rosalind Ostrander). It'll be out soon. (I already have the cover.) It's just I ended up writing this novelette for a boxed set first because  it's a Valentine's Day story.

The stories don't have to be read in order, but the "origin story" is  Deus Ex Magical. That one has a five star rating on Amazon and a 4.5 rating on Goodreads (and you KNOW how picky they can be).

Merry Month of May Book Fair

Five different genres--so something for everyone, unless you like Grimdark or Anime or...well, maybe there's just something for readers who mostly like romance, mystery/thriller, paranormal, and horror. (I'm all in.) Find out more here. And while you're checking out the books, enter the give-away. Books and giveaways!

FREE!Something different in the zombie apocalypse genre

Free for the next five days.

Bloodsport: Z Sisters #1

I had a blast writing this novella. It's set in L.A. and all of the locations--the sisters' apartments, the house that Rose bought with her ex, their father's house--are real places. I'm currently writing the sequel (Bloodtrail) and getting back into the world has been like visiting old frends after being on lockdown for weeks. (In my case, it's been almost two months. Washington state's governor acted early and decisively after corona virus cases killed some nursing home residents in King County, where Seattle is located.

Writing a zombie story in the time of Covid-19 has been kind of surreal, because some of the things I'd outlined months ago-field hospitals being built in Central Park and sports stadiums--have come to pass.But so too have other things I imagined--like the resilience of the human spirit, the bravery of the frontline health care workers and those who have kept a semblance of normality going--postal workers and delivery workers, ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things. There's a William Faulkner quote that always resonated with me:  I believe that man will not merely endure, he will prevail. I believe that.

Stay home if you can.
Wear a mask if you can't.
Wash your hands.
Don't drink Lysol.
Listen to the doctors.
When you can't be with the ones you love, phone or text or Zoom or Skype or Facetime. They miss you too.