Wednesday 30 May 2018

Your Mid-Week Update for 05/30/18


You know what’s harder to get out of your clothes than blood? Stomach acid.

That may seems obvious but how many of you have actually gotten stomach acid on your shoes?

It may not even be stomach fluids. After all these years, I’m not as good at forensic anatomy as I should be. Maybe I should take a class. Really brush up on the human body. It really is fascinating. I already have all the tests subjects a girl could ask for – a whole city of them. Sometimes even beyond the city.

We treated Jason to a camping trip for his birthday. Well, we told him it was for his birthday but it was just an excuse to spend time together as a family. We really don’t see each other often, despite living together. Jason is always in his room, James is mostly working nights, and I’m dancing between a thriving double life and pure insanity. I swear someone was watching me a few weeks ago. Like, broke into my house to spy on me levels of stalking. Of course that’s crazy but it kept me up for a few nights.

Needless to say we all needed some time away from the house. So we packed up the car, rented a cabin for the weekend, and took off.

The cabin was actually quite nice: running water, electricity, no cell signal because it was fairly isolated. So of course, because it’s us, it stormed all weekend. We couldn’t leave the cabin all weekend. The electricity went out Saturday afternoon and given the raging lightning storm in the middle of the forest, we didn’t feel it was safe to drive home until the weather calmed down.

We ran out of board games and all of the books were boring so we had to find something else to entertain ourselves.

Unsurprising to any of us, Jason sat in the corner silently and started drawing what he saw outside. Anti-social and weirdly talented at everything. Sounds like him. James, on the other hand, got bored very quickly and went out into the storm to search for amusement. He pulled me outside a few hours later to present the hunter he’d lured over with the promise of shelter. The man even brought his own murder weapon: a shotgun. James brought a shovel which was so sweet so I used that instead. I love when my victims make it easy – sometimes; depends on my mood – but guns are so messy. And loud, good lord. So instead, James caught the man’s attention and I dealt a singular blow to the back of the head. Of course he didn’t die right away but we let him bleed out while we carried him deeper into the woods and dug his grave. By the time we’d finished, we was certainly dead.

It really was sweet of James to do that for me but I hated leaving Jason for so many hours. It was supposed to be family time.

The storm passed by Sunday afternoon and we were on the road before night fall. Didn’t even have to miss work. Life continued on as normal.

Except yesterday. I was sitting at the table after dinner, waiting for the dishwasher to finish. I was clearly bored and thought it was just me in the house – the boys were still at their respective jobs. Jason walked through the front door and straight to me, calmly placed a piece of paper in front of me and went up to his room for the rest of the night.

On the paper was a drawing – a pretty good one – of James and I carrying the hunter through the trees.

He has officially hit the trifecta: he’s been told about murder, he’s done it himself, and now he’s seen it. It’s been over a year since he killed Andrew and while I’ve never told him outright, I think he’s always known what I do. He was so calm; and not a speck of me think he would tell anyone but I never meant to bring him in to my world – either of the kids – but it’s happened. It’s official.

What do I do now? Do I do anything? What can I do? But continue.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Tuesday 29 May 2018

Release Day for Cinderella's Inferno by F.M. Bougham



I am so excited that CINDERELLA'S INFERNO by F.M. Boughan is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author F.M. Boughan be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of F.M. and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.



About The Book:

Title: CINDERELLA'S INFERNO (Cinderella, Necromancer #2)
Author: F.M. Boughan
Pub. Date: May 28, 2018
Publisher: Month9Books
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Pages: 324
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NiBooksTBD

Purity cannot abide the darkness.

It’s been two years since Ellison defeated her stepsisters and sent her evil stepmother back into the Abyss.

Though she’s learning to control her dark magic and has spent time traveling with Prince William and bringing peace to the kingdom, one fact remains. She is a necromancer and he is a paladin of light. And so, the king refuses to give his blessing for them to marry.

To appease his father, William has begun to avoid her. But when even her younger brother Edward grows distant, Ellison learns her mother’s spirit has been visiting Edward in secret, threatening to overwhelm him with her own loneliness and longing. When Ellison accidentally touches her mother’s spirit, her tainted touch condemns her mother’s spirit to eternal damnation.

Ellison resolves to descend into hell to save her mother’s soul and bring her physical body back to the world of the living. William hopes this good deed will bring Ellison into favor and finally allow them to be wed.

But the journey through hell is fraught with peril. Temptations abound and the demons Ellison sent back to the Abyss are thirsty for revenge.

Evil cannot be defeated without sacrifice—but when that sacrifice means choosing between the ones Ellison loves and her very own life, how far is she willing to go to make her family whole again?


About Book 1:
Title: CINDERELLA NECROMANCER
Author: F.M. Boughan
Pub. Date: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC
Pages: 324
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: AmazonB&N,  iBooksTBDGoodreads

CINDERELLA,NECROMANCER is CHIME meets ANNA, DRESSED IN BLOOD and was inspired by a real medieval grimoire of necromancy from 15th-century Germany.

Ellison lost her mother at an early age. But since then, her father has found love again. He’s happy and doesn’t quite notice that Ellison does not get along with his new wife or her mean daughters.

When Ellison discovers a necromantic tome while traveling the secret passages of her father’s mansion, she wonders if it could be the key to her freedom.

Until then, she must master her dark new power, even as her stepmother makes her a servant in her own home. And when her younger brother falls incurably ill, Ellison will do anything to ease his pain, including falling prey to her stepmother and stepsisters’ every whim and fancy.

Stumbling into a chance meeting of Prince William during a secret visit to her mother’s grave feels like a trick of fate when her stepmother refuses to allow Ellison to attend a palace festival.

But what if Ellison could see the kind and handsome prince once more? What if she could attend the festival? What if she could have everything she ever wanted and deserved by conjuring spirits to take revenge on her cruel stepmother?

As Ellison’s power grows, she loses control over the evil spirits meant to do her bidding. And as they begin to exert their own power over Ellison, she will have to decide whether it is she or her stepmother who is the true monster. 



*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*


Exclusive Excerpt
William’s panic was plainly engraved across his features. “I won’t let them do this to you. You’re my betrothed. You belong here in the palace, by my side, not shackled in the dungeon.”

He should have known as well as I did that a prison couldn’t hold me, but seeing the disgust on his father’s face … well, there was a greater plot at play than I understood, and I didn’t want William to suffer even more for my sake than I already asked of him.

“It’s all right.” I released my conjured spirit, permitting its return beyond the veil. It slipped through a seam in the air and the soldiers didn’t waste a moment before placing the restraints around my wrists.

“I’ll have you out as fast as I can,” William said, placing a chaste and yet defiant kiss on my forehead. He lingered, and so in my own surge of defiance—oh, my damnable soul, I cannot explain why I do these things—I lifted my head to slide my mouth upon his. His lips were soft and tasted of sweet wine, and I felt him press against me without hesitation.

It had been so long. I wished to sink into the earth with him then and there and remain that way for all time, but gasps arose from the assembled guests and a tug at my sleeve pulled us apart. The soldiers had grasped my shoulders and arms to drag me from William, who watched, still stricken and unable to calm his emotions, as I was pulled from the Great Hall.

As the doors swung closed behind me, my mother’s face came once again to mind. Without William, I wouldn’t be able to help her. I would never see her again, and she might spend all eternity enduring new tortures—horrors unimaginable, paying for sins she did not commit—alongside the most abhorrent dregs of humanity.

I could not allow it. How much was I willing to give?

About F.M. Boughan:

F.M. Boughan is a bibliophile, a writer, and an unabashed parrot enthusiast. She can often be found writing in local coffee shops, namely because it’s hard to concentrate with a cat lying on the keyboard and a small, colorful parrot screaming into her ear. Her work is somewhat dark, somewhat violent, somewhat hopeful, and always contains a hint of magic.

You can follow Faith on Twitter (@FaithBoughan) for plenty of flailing about food (she likes to cook!), TV shows (she watches too many), and world dance (did you know she's been performing & instructing in Bollywood-style dance for over 8 years?).

Or catch her on Facebook where she just might post pictures of her adorable cat & bird... among other things.

F.M. Boughan is represented by Bill Contardi of Brandt & Hochman


Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Your Mid-Week Update for 05/23/18


It’s too nice outside to write. It’s too nice outside to do anything inside.

It’s very early in the morning and already the sun is up. Like it’s suddenly summer and we just skipped over spring. Which is a little unfortunate for me because mud is fun to work with when it comes to burying bodies – namely, soft and pliable ground makes for easy disposal.

That being said, the weather is lovely and I hate that I have to work in an office with no openable windows. Therefore you, dear readers, will have to enjoy the sun on my behalf.

So, go outside and enjoy the day. While you can. Because today could be your last day. I try not to kill my fans but it happens. It has to. I know I’m not the only one who reads this and I kill a lot of people.

The odds are against you.

Please don’t stop reading.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe.

Friday 18 May 2018

Excerpt for Power of Five by Alex Lidell




Four elite fae warriors. One mortal female. A magical bond they can’t allow—or resist. 


Orphaned and sold to a harsh master, Lera’s life is about mucking stalls, avoiding her master’s advances, and steering clear of the mystical forest separating the mortal and fae worlds. Only fools venture into the immortal realms, and only dark rumors come out... Until four powerful fae warriors appear at Lera’s barn. 

River, Coal, Tye, and Shade have waited a decade for their new fifth to be chosen, the wounds from their quint brother’s loss still raw. But the magic has played a cruel trick, bonding the four immortal warriors to... a female. A mortal female. 

Distractingly beautiful and dangerously frail, Lera can only be one thing—a mistake. Yet as the males bring Lera back to the fae lands to sever the bond, they discover that she holds more power over their souls than is safe for anyone... especially for Lera herself. 


Power of Five is a full-length reverse-harem fantasy novel. 

*********************************************

“Hello, Shade,” I say to the giant predator prancing toward me, his tale high up in the air. Now that he isn’t snarling over Zake’s form, he looks more like a gray plush toy than a deadly killer of Mystwood. I’ve no notion as to whether he understands human speech, but I might as well be polite. “Would you mind closing the door?”

Shade cocks his head, flicks his right ear, and proceeds to sniff the base of the tub, then the room itself, and finally leaps smoothly onto my bed to curl up into a large ball of deadly fluff.

Grabbing the towel that the servants left for me, a thick woven terrycloth with just the right amount of softness, I wrap it around myself as I step out of the tub. My thick hair drips in darkened brown waves down my shoulders as I pad to the door and push it closed again. My back now to the wall, I assess the situation. Namely, the presence of a large sleeping wolf in the middle of the mattress that I’d fully intended on occupying.

“I’ll share the bed,” I tell Shade, “but you are not evicting me to sleep in a chair.”

Shade’s ear flickers but his eyes remain closed and his considerable bulk shows no signs of relocating.

Body still wrapped in a towel, I climb onto an unoccupied part of the bed and tentatively push Shade with my foot.

The wolf growls without opening his eyes. The rumbling sound echoes through my body, failing to insight fear. I know this wolf. Somewhere deep in my soul, if not my head.

“Fine.” I curl myself into a ball and slip under the covers, a calm finally washing over me despite the invasion of my privacy and space. The room, still warm from the steam, sways as fatigue claims me. After a few heartbeats, the mattress shifts as Shade rises and circles in search of a better spot. When the wolf settles again, I feel his warm breath on the back of my neck and a solid mass of muscle and fur pressing against my curved spine.


“I dreamed about you, wolf,” I murmur, my eyes closed. My hand reaches back, caressing the wolf’s soft fur, and the beast purrs beneath my touch, the sound a rumble that vibrates his body. I smile. “Before I ever met you, I knew you.”
*********************************************
About the Book:
Title: POWER OF FIVE
Author: Alex Lidell
Pub. Date: May 4, 2018
Publisher: Danger Bearing Press
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 312
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon


FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!!!
About Alex:
Alex Lidell is the Amazon Breakout Novel Awards finalist author of THE CADET OF TILDOR (Penguin, 2013). She is an avid horseback rider, a (bad) hockey player, and an ice-cream addict. Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school, where a thoughtful librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA in Alex’s hands. In addition to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, ALANNA started Alex’s life long love for YA fantasy books. Alex is represented by Leigh Feldman of Leigh Feldman Literary. She lives in Washington, DC.
Join Alex's newsletter for news, bonus content and sneak peeks: www.subscribepage.com/TIDES 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | Book Bub | Instagram


Giveaway Details:


1 winner will win a $25 Amazon Gift Card, INTERNATIONAL.


Rafflecopter Link:


Tour Schedule:
Week One:
5/7/2018- Bri's Book NookReview
5/7/2018- RH WhyChooseReview

5/8/2018- Love in a time of FeminismReview
5/8/2018- BookHoundsExcerpt

5/9/2018- Books a Plenty Book ReviewsReview
5/9/2018- A Dream Within A DreamExcerpt

5/10/2018- Pervy Ladies BooksReview
5/10/2018- Book BriefsReview

5/11/2018- What's Beyond Forks?Review
5/11/2018- Two Chicks on BooksExcerpt


Week Two:
5/14/2018- Le Petit PhotographReview
5/14/2018- Under the bookmarkReview

5/15/2018- Smada's Book SmackReview
5/15/2018- Book-o-CrazeReview

5/16/2018- Paperback PrincessReview
5/16/2018- Hauntedbybooks13Review

5/17/2018- Reese's ReviewsReview
5/17/2018- BroadwayWorldExcerpt

5/18/2018- The pages in-betweenExcerpt
5/18/2018- Writer of WrongsExcerpt

Wednesday 16 May 2018

Your Mid-Week Update for 05/16/18


Detective Watts: the human embodiment of a yawn, has actually become manageable. I was expecting to have killed him by now but James somehow managed to get him off my back. He still comes around for dinner every once in a while, but we never discuss – what he doesn’t realize is – my case. In fact, the last time I heard them talk about it, he agreed that there was nothing to be done until new evidence surfaced.

It’s so rare that I encounter a police officer who has a healthy relationship with their job. It seems like that’s all we see in fiction – because “by the book” isn’t as engaging as “handsome rogue” and I know that’s true because I married one – but really, the mavericks are severely outnumbered. For that, Gary gets a pass; that does not make him any less boring. I swear, it’s like talking to the real-life version of mashed potatoes. Fine; but so bland. Remember in high school how you sometimes had that one really plain friend so you’d always look cooler by comparison? It’s the same reason bridesmaid’s dresses are stereotypically unflattering. If there were a male equivalent, this would be it.

I suppose I’m not one to comment on odd friendships. Mary, the woman I’m planning to kill in the next year or so, she invited me over for dinner this week. It wasn’t sudden, mind you; we’ve been meeting for lunch and exchanging text messages. We’ve almost friended each other on social media. Things are moving along nicely. What I’m most looking forward to is seeing her home for the first time from the inside. I’ve scoped out the location a few times incase I needed to move my timeline up but now I have permission to enter her home which I hear the justice system is partial to.

If only they knew about all the other shit I pull. For example: arson. Weren’t what you were expecting, was it. In my years as a serial killer, I’ve ignited several fires. I know others enjoy it for other reasons but for me, arson has always been a means to an end. Namely a way to dispose of a body I’ve just stabbed thirteen times.

I know that it’s not uncommon to find a body or body parts in suspiciously lit fires but what about leaving the gas on and lighting a match? Or semi-spontaneous combustion during an intense storm. Fire is more trouble than it’s worth 90% of the time so you have to pick your battles. Like last week: the ground is now soft enough that I could burry a body pretty much anywhere I wanted BUT this man would definitely be missed and a search party would definitely go out for him. It was actually better to just completely get rid of his body and thus: fire.

Like I said, fire is not always the best option but when it is, the smell of burning flesh is not as fun as a campfire, let me tell you. You’ve got to really need/want it.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Thursday 10 May 2018

Cover Reveal for Chloe Shipton & The Quill of Lefay by Lynn Veevers




Today Lynn Veevers  and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and an exclusive content for CHLOE SHIPTON & THE QUILL OF LEFAY, her new YA Fantasy which releases June 12, 2018! Check out the awesome cover and enter the giveaway!

On to the reveal!



Title: CHLOE SHIPTON & THE QUILL OF LEFAY
Author: Lynn Veevers
Pub. Date: June 12, 2018
Publisher: Lynn Veevers
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 263
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon

When fifteen-year-old Chloe mysteriously disappears, the rumors at Grammaire Hall point to murder, but spiritual entrapment isn’t the same as dead. In a library that’s believed to be nothing more than a myth, Chloe's spirit is separated from her body after witnessing another student's murder. Try as she may she can't remember what happened to her before she woke up as a spirit in the campus graveyard. As Chloe uncovers clues leading to the mythical library's location and her body, a secret the Magical Parliament doesn't want to get out, starts to unravel. Rogue sorcerers have infiltrated the school, intent on reinstating the Third Edict, and sorcery students are dying because of it. Destroyed long ago for horrific crimes against humanity, the return of the Third Edict would spell disaster for both magical and magicless societies. To prevent her own demise and the fulfillment of the Third Edict’s return, Chloe must find a way to reunite body and soul without giving the rogue sorcerers the weapon they need to succeed, a weapon only Chloe can activate.


Exclusive Excerpt!

The screams ripped at my heart as I listened to the desperation that permeated them, “Please don’t hurt me anymore,” the voice cried, “I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

The girl’s voice in my mind was a familiar one, and not in a good way either. Unwanted concern weaseled its way into my heart because there was genuine pain echoing in her words. I tried shaking off the unsettled emotions her pleas left in their wake and headed toward the librarian’s desk again. I didn’t want to care about whatever jam she’d gotten herself into. Suppressing the guilt that riddled me proved difficult, but for a short time, I was successful. Mrs. Martin checked out my books and the inescapable feelings of guilt kept growing as the desperate cries continued. Finally, my conscience caught up with me as I reached for the door leading outside. A defeated sigh wiggled its way through my lips, and I cast my eyes upward because I couldn’t ignore this even if I wanted to.

I needed to do the right thing, not because it was my first choice, but because I felt compelled to. My morals demanded nothing less. If someone was in trouble, you tried to help, even if you didn’t like them. That’s what my parents raised me to believe anyway, and so it didn’t make a difference that the girl’s voice belonged to Lydia Nostredame—the single biggest bane of my existence. Hate is a strong word, but my feelings toward Lydia were something dangerously close to that. My gut told me not to get involved, to ignore my conscious and leave instead. Unfortunately, my intuition was next to never wrong. Maybe I should have listened to it. However, my views of right and wrong were a force to be reckoned with, and they weren’t pulling any stops. The two opposing sides battled it out as I stood there with my hand on the knob. After a few moments of inner turmoil, my moral stance won out. So I left the door and headed back into the library. Lydia’s cries ricocheted through my head like a stray bullet looking for a mark. They became tortured screams as I hurried in the direction my mind told me they were coming from.

“Ms. Shipton,” Mrs. Martin said sternly. “We do not run through the Library!”

I cringed at the sharpness of her tone and slowed my pace to appease the librarian. As soon as that same group of snickering girls snagged the stoic woman's attention, I darted forward. Lydia’s screams had grown to a deafening intensity. Like the tolling of church bells, they drowned out every other sound. The sharp shrill of them poked at my temples, and the pain was worse than any migraine I’d ever had. My feet carried me across the familiar parts of the library and into the further reaches which were seldom ever visited—by anyone. That should have been my first clue.

“Stairs—dark, ominous stairs, of course; why wouldn’t that be the case,” I sarcastically mumbled as I came to a door.

I assumed I’d just never noticed the stairs. After all, I’d only ventured to this part of the library maybe once before. The stair’s door was only partially open but had it been closed I would have thought it was a broom closet. The stairs twisted down into the unknown depths, dimly lit, and narrowing by the second. I was starting to feel as if they might spiral on forever when I finally reached a stone floor. The smell of musty tomes and aged ink filled the stagnant air. There were rows upon rows of shelving easily fifteen feet high. Layers of dust covered sheet draped chairs and tables. Cobwebs, also thick with grime, adorned most everything in this hidden library.

“Please stop, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I swear—I don’t know anything,” Lydia screamed, but it was weaker than before.

I was close enough by then to hear her conventionally. Her voice was drenched in terror and quivering with tears. It echoed and bounced off the milled stone walls of this underground secret I quietly snuck through. Once again my gut adamantly insisted that I turn back, but I stubbornly ignored it. My tendency to be good-natured had baited and lured me into the situation entirely. There would be no turning back no matter how much my intuition screamed at me. I slinked through the columns of shelved books as the feeling of danger settled over my skin like static cling on a warm blanket. I glanced at my arm as goose bumps raced across its tawny surface and the thin layer of peach fuzz stood on end. The sensation sent an unsettling shiver running down the length of my spine. The further in I moved through the rows the thinner the air seemed to become. It felt like I was trying to breathe around a piece of food lodged in my throat. Sweet smelling smoke wafted around me in a lazy wisp as I stood at the edge of a row of books. I recognized the scent immediately as sweet grass, a common reagent used in spells. 



About Lynn:

Lynn Veevers is originally from Washington State. With her mother being from Christchurch, New Zealand and her father being a well-traveled retired Navy Chief, Lynn has always had a fascination with different cultures around the world. An avid reader, she prefers books that take her to a place she's never been and teach her something new at the same time. The Young Adult Genre is her absolute favorite to read, so it comes as no surprise that it is also her favorite to write. Lynn, on average, pens two to three novels a year with the sequel to Pinnacle in the publishing process now!

Today Lynn lives with her husband and kids in Southeast Oklahoma. Her young adult and adolescent children are supportive and avid beta readers of her work and give her a straightforward and honest point of view about how authentic her characters voices and personalities are for their age group. What better reference than someone close to the same age as the main character. Her kids always have and always will be her greatest inspiration.



Giveaway Details:
One lucky winner will receive a $25Amazon gift card, International.


a Rafflecopter giveaway