Something Wicked is Here

My supernatural romance, Something Wicked in L.A., has been released and is ready for its closeup. The book comes in two parts, beginning with Apocrypha, a short story about a demon who may or may not have lost her taste for leading the susceptible into sin.

Excerpt:

“I’ve been experiencing a little job dissatisfaction,” I said.

It just popped out. I couldn’t believe I’d said it, but the old man had the sort of face you could talk to. When he didn’t respond, I flicked a glance at him to make sure he was listening.

“Hold steady, my dear,” he said. “After I get your mouth right you can tell me about it.”

I sighed and waited for the geezer to finish sketching my mouth. To be honest, I really did want him to get it right. I have a very nice pair of lips for a demon, even if I do say so myself. It was too bad he couldn’t just take a picture, but since demons can’t be photographed, we were stuck doing my portrait the old-fashioned way. I shouldn’t have called him a geezer, even though technically that’s what he is. His name is Greer Richmond and he’s older than dirt. Of course, I am too, but I look considerably fresher than he does.

“You were saying?” Greer prompted, a few moments later.

“Oh, yeah—well, when I started out as a young demon, it was all fun and games,” I continued. “I made a big splash with the whole missing Roanoke colony thing.”

“That was you?” Greer’s bushy eyebrows lifted. “I’ve often wondered what the Lost Colony was all about.”

He was sketching my hair at that moment. I had to squelch the temptation to toss a lock of it over one shoulder. That took some doing—squelching temptation isn’t one of my strong suits. I’m usually better at egging it on.

“Yeah, Roanoke was one of my first projects. I really scored points with the Boss on that one. Lizzie Borden was another high point.” I took a moment to gloat. “Those were the days.”

“What has changed?”

“A lot of up-and-coming newbies are total buzzkillers. It’s become a demon-eat-demon world, and a bunch of recent flashy ‘inexplicable’ events have made it impossible to stand out from the crowd.” I shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong—9/11 was impressive, I’ll grant you. But it seems as if demons are increasingly sacrificing quality for the quick thrill.”

Greer leveled a look at me that had nothing to do with the sketch. “Are you sure that’s all there is to it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Other demons I’ve met speak about their work with a bit more enthusiasm. Just between you and me, Jem, are you quite certain you’re not losing your taste for promoting evil?”

“Did Loqi put you up to saying that?” I jumped off my stool. “You’re wrong. I’m dedicated to the diabolical, through and through.”

Something Wicked in L.A. is still at its pre-release price and its also available to read free through the Kindle Unlimited program, so don’t wait!

 

Something Wicked in L.A. • Book Trailer

Something Wicked in L.A. is almost here.

6 • 11 • 19. Reserve your copy HERE.

~ Suzanne

 

Guest Author Juli D. Revezzo • Druid Warrior’s Heart

The life of a budding druid in DRUID WARRIOR’S HEART
by
Juli D. Revezzo

In my fantasy romance series, Celtic Stewards Chronicles, a family whose bloodline goes back to the beginning of the world has to oversee a mythic battle. This battle happens at certain intervals throughout time (500 years to be exact), and in each generation, the duty falls to one woman. In the first book in the series, Passion’s Sacred Dance, the steward, Stacy, lived in our time. However, in the second—and latest book—DRUID WARRIOR’S HEART, the story deals with her ancestor, Ruth, who lived in Ireland in the 1500s.

Each time, the women are sent a guardian from the ranks of the Irish gods, the Tuatha dé Danaan. This time, handsome and mysterious warrior Isaac Connel is chosen as her guardian. He too was part of the first book, a very small part, so in DRUID WARRIOR’S HEART, I got to play with him a bit more. What could a man who, when we first met him, was learned, a doctor, no less, spring from? He’s a soldier, at heart, yes, and very much interested in Ruth and protecting she and her family (and does he fall in love with Ruth? Well, that’s a secret the book will tell) but also, it seems he’s very much interested in peace, in scholarly things, even when we first meet him. For, after all, all battles end and 500 years is a very long time. What will he do after the battle’s end?

Isaac helped me answer the question of on what do these guardians spend the bulk of their time. In his case, he wished to study; a lover of stories, and holding the druids of the Tuatha dé Danaan with which he works in high regard, he watches one he admires very closely, and wonders, what might it be like to become a druid. What magics and mysteries might he learn? What will the druid’s decades’ long scholarly career require of him?

That is, after he gets done battling the evil Balor, and securing Ruth’s heart and hand. How does he deal with the battles ahead? Well, you’ll have to read to find out!

Synopsis:

As the latest in her family’s long line of stewards, Ruth Macken awaits the arrival of a warrior sworn to the Tuatha dé Danaan, the Celtic gods her family has served since the beginning of time. For on that day, a magical battle will erupt. A war between druids and an evil that will decide the fate of mankind.

Isaac Connel knows the battle is imminent, and is ready to fight, once again but from the moment he sees Ruth flitting around the sacred ground, he’s captivated by her fiery charms and a need to protect her.

Despite Isaac’s assurances and the dreams that guide her, what can Ruth and her lover do to drive off this evil? Despite everything, will the world end at the hands of an evil god?

If you’d like to give DRUID WARRIOR’S HEART a look, the book is available at:
Amazon Kindle Unlimited, and in paperback

For more on these and other books visit Juli at her blog or Juli’s Amazon page. You can also find her on: Facebook, Good Reads, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter. Sign up for her newsletter HERE

Celtic Steward Chronicles Pinterest page, for images and articles that have inspired the Celtic Stewards Chronicles.

Thank you for hosting me and my hero, Suzanne!

Check out the book trailer:

RONE AWARDS • Week Four • Young Adult Paranormal and Novella

The InD’Tale Magazine RONE Awards continue! It’s Week Four, and I need your votes for my two nominated entries, Larken (Category: Novella) and Dancing With Raven (Category: Young Adult: Paranormal). Go HERE to vote (you must create a free account first), and I thank you for your support! ~ S.G. Rogers

The sole survivor of a train accident, young Larken Burke is dubbed the Miracle Orphan. Four years later, however, her life is far from fortunate. Because of her emotional and physical scars, she believes she’s un-marriageable. With little hope for the future, she agrees to wed a gentleman she’s never met. Unfortunately, his aloof manner proves difficult to take.

Marked by romantic tragedy and the loss of his brother, Brandon King has forsworn marriage. Obliged to take in a ward, he advertises for a mail-order bride to raise the boy. Since the union is to be a marriage in name only, his criteria are youthful age, a certain level of intellect, good breeding, and that the girl shouldn’t be so ill-favored she would embarrass him in society. To his dismay, he gets more than he’d bargained for.

Will it take a miracle for Mr. and Mrs. King to fall in love, or is their marriage another accident waiting to happen?

P.S. I’m writing the sequel to Larken right now, called Lord Apollo and the Colleen!

The Shakespearean Institute of London is the most powerful, prestigious, and top-secret demon-hunting organization known to mankind…and they want American Tori Moss dead before she turns eighteen. Demons are pouring into her hometown of Los Angeles as they await the end of the world, and she doesn’t know whom to trust or where to turn. After a handsome English boy enrolls in her performing arts school, Tori’s life takes a turn for the deadly. Sometimes in the fight between good and evil, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. And sometimes, you’re on your own.

Demons, Goddesses, and a Supernatural Series – Spotlight on Caitlin’s Book of Shadows

Fellow author Juli D. Revezzo has released the first book of her Antique Magic series, called The Artist’s Inheritance, but she’s now written a supplemental story that gives some additional texture to the tale.  Called Caitlin’s Book of Shadows, it’s FREE for a limited time on Smashwords (linked below), and just $0.99 on Amazon and BN.com.  I applaud Revezzo’s creativity, so if you like things that go bump in the night, this series is for you.  ~ S.G. RogersBlurb:

Something terrifying stalks Caitlin and her beloved Trevor. Something the bits and pieces she left claimed she had to make sense of–or so legend says. When the curator of their collection finds Caitlin’s long forgotten diary, she wonders will it tell the whole tale? Will it tell why Caitlin seemed so determined to tell the difference between reality and nightmare even as she continued the fight to defend her family from evil? Will it explain why she thought her world twisted? If she really became a witch?

Perhaps the answer lies between the lines of her story, one of lessons, struggles, and the hopes she carried like a warrior’s shield.

This is a side (or supplemental, if you will) story in the Antique Magic series, a companion to The Artist’s Inheritance (Antique Magic, Book One).

Download Caitlin’s Book of Shadows at Smashwords HERE  • Buy at Amazon ($0.99) HERE  • Buy at BN.com ($0.99) HERE • To follow Juli’s blog go HERE.

Shadow Eyes – Author Dusty Crabtree

The Inspiration Behind Shadow Eyes

The idea for Shadow Eyes actually first came to me as a screenplay for a Christian horror movie, if there ever was such a genre.  The movie would have been about a cast of intertwined characters going about their lives and making mistakes with dark, creepy shadows (demons) hovering around them, whispering to them, and influencing them to do evil things.  Only the audience would see the shadows.  The characters would be completely oblivious.

A few years after I’d had that idea, my friend suggested I write a novel like the paranormal angel books we’d been reading and loving.  I’d always loved the concept of angels and demons in stories and immediately thought back to that screenplay idea.  I just continued tweaking it until I had the basic concept of Shadow Eyes – a 17-year-old girl who had this special ability to see the shadows and light figures when nobody else could.

~ Dusty Crabtree

Synopsis:

Iris thought she could ignore the shadows…until they went after everyone she loved.

Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil.  But she is the only one who can see them.  She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters.  First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

Excerpt:

I meandered slowly to my locker. Even though I didn’t need anything, I rummaged through it as if I were searching for a tool on a job that paid by the hour. The longer I waited, the less people and, therefore, shadows would be waiting for me when I stepped into the parking lot.

I hated crowds and tried to avoid them as much as possible. Three years of dealing with the visions had taught me how to cope in various ways, but I’d never gotten used to walking among herds of people that were ignorant of the truth I was forced to see. It was like being the only one wearing ultraviolet glasses that unveiled every germ and bacteria around me and having to constantly witness unsuspecting people touching things and getting into things that are disgusting and potentially dangerous. Some people would feel lucky to have such insight. Me? I felt trapped, helpless, and exposed.

Luckily, since it was Friday, everyone wanted to get away from school as quickly as possible. By the time I stepped outside, the parking lot was basically empty. Only a few cars belonging to football players remained.

I began to trek the long distance to my car, which was at the end of the lot due to my near tardiness every day for the same reason I always left late. However, even though the lot was void of people, a couple of dark figures loomed over and around a yellow Camaro to my right. I recognized it as Marcus Beaman’s new car. He was a well-known football player and had been bragging about the birthday present for three months since he got it in June.

Why were these shadows out in the parking lot without any humans around? The bizarreness of it made me pause, and my mind began fabricating all possible explanations—none of which I could do anything about. Lost in my thoughts, I must have peered at them with critical eyes just a tad longer than was safe. One of them stopped, inclined its head to glare at me, and flashed an evil grin. I shuddered, closing my eyes tightly in an attempt to erase the image and pretend the scene away as I cowered toward my car like a timid little girl.

I threw open the driver’s side door, jumped in, tossing my backpack on the passenger seat, buckled my seatbelt, and locked the doors. As if that would help.

Check out Dusty’s blog at http://dustycrabtree.wordpress.com/

Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dusty.crabtree.1

Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dustycrabtree

Buy Shadow Eyes at http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=176

(also available at all major online bookstores)

Saturday Snippet – Clash of Wills by S.G. Rogers

Excerpt from Clash of Wills:

Suddenly Samantha spotted a mud demon skating toward her through the bulrushes. Unlike her father, she usually reveled in magical creatures. Demons, however, were an entirely different matter. One tiny scratch from a mud demon would ruin her day, and a bite would send her into a bout of depression for weeks. She reached for the sling in her pocket, and loaded a handy acorn into the cradle. With an expert flick of her wrist, Samantha struck the mud demon with the impromptu missile. The creature went flying to the center of the creek, where the fast current carried it off. It shook its little brown fist at her, but it could do nothing except float downstream.

Samantha coiled the sling and returned it to her pocket. The sling had been a gift from her older brother, a long time ago. David had taught her how to use it. She’d always had such uncanny aim, she’d often wondered whether or not the sling was magical. If only Father hadn’t sent David away, how different things would be now, she mused. Perhaps Mother wouldn’t lapse into tears when she thought no one was around. Maybe Father’s hair wouldn’t have turned white so quickly. And she wouldn’t have to wonder why David had left that curious compass-like device under her pillow, with a cryptic message that read, “If you ever need to find me.”

Buy this magical novelette at: Amazon (Kindle format), BN.com (Nook Format), and The Wild Rose Press (all e-formats)

Can Princess Samantha battle desperate highwaymen, evil snow demons and a handsome wayward prince to bring her brother home?

Princess Samantha’s magical compass will help her locate her long-lost brother, but only if she manages to escape her royal parents for a few weeks. When an unwelcome suitor comes to call, Samantha seizes her chance. She beguiles the prince into taking her north, intending to abandon him at her earliest opportunity. Unfortunately, his captivating good looks and charming manner present an unforeseen complication–especially when she is forced to accept help from the very man she has deceived.

To maintain his bachelorhood, handsome Prince Wills is not above deception. Although reluctantly entangled in Samantha’s scheme, he vows to protect her…until a lie threatens to destroy their alliance. Can his powerful attraction to Samantha overcome his mistrust? And can they survive a dangerous quest to the wild and magical Uncharted Region?

Apocrypha is Available Now

Apocrypha by S.G. Rogers…because sometimes even for a demon, love is in the cards.

Being dedicated to the diabolical doesn’t seem to satisfy Jem anymore.  When the gorgeous demon poses for elderly artist Greer Richmond, the two form a connection.  Greer senses good in her, but Jem rebels against the idea by going on a Vegas bender.  After Jem gets word Greer is about to die, she inexplicably wants to make sure he gets to heaven—but her boss has other plans.

As penance for her interference, Jem is assigned to take one of Greer’s descendants instead.  Unfortunately handsome Dare Richmond awakens feelings in Jem a demon isn’t supposed to have.  Will Jem be able to complete her task, or has fate dealt the demon an impossible hand?

As part of the twelve days of Christmas, Musa Publishing will make Apocrypha available as a FREE READ on Wednesday, December 7th.  Go HERE to download your copy.

– S.G. Rogers

Posing with Sword: © Jose Antonio Sánchez Reyes | Dreamstime.com

Handsome: © Piotr Tomicki | Dreamstime.com