Book Blitz + #Giveaway: Tempting Death by Elizabeth Holloway @eholloway300 @XpressoTours

Tempting Death
Elizabeth Holloway
(The Grim Trilogy #1)
Publication date: May 30th 2016
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

The truck should have turned Libbi Piper into a Libbi pancake, but a mysterious boy named Aaron saved her life. The problem? Aaron’s the local Grim Reaper. The bigger problem? He saved Libbi’s life so she can take over his job.
Libbi has just days to choose between dying like she was supposed to or living a lonely life as Death Incarnate. The choice only gets harder when she learns Aaron’s reasons for wanting out of the whole morbid business. Basically, his job sucks.

Still, when Aaron looks at her, there’s something more in his eyes. Something dark and secret. Something he’s hiding. Libbi will be damned if she’ll die without figuring it out. And she’ll be damned if she lets him go.

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EXCERPT:

The creep is back.

I may not be able to see him, but I know he’s here, somewhere. Call it intuition. Or maybe it’s just the eerie memory of when the guy stared me down last night. I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances.
I hunch over my history final and release my thick hair from behind my ears. It swings forward like a dark-brown curtain and hides my face.
Show’s over, buddy.
I can’t look around, not with Mr. Winkler on “cheater duty.” Hopefully, the guy will get bored and go wherever the hell he went last night when he took off.
The final is what’s important. I need to focus on this test.
I read the next question on the page, but the loser’s gaze bores through my dark shield of hair and my arms erupt in gooseflesh. Before I can skim the multiple choice answers, my eyes betray me and shoot up to scan the classroom.
Mr. Winkler sits at his desk scratching at some poor schlub’s paper with his red pen of doom. His bald head gleams in the harsh fluorescent light. God, I hope it’s not my paper he’s destroying. I can’t afford another bad grade in this class.
I quickly scan the rest of the classroom through the part in my hair, but everyone is working. Eerie feeling or not, nobody’s looking at me.
But I know someone is watching. Just like last night, I can feel his stalker stare.
This is ridiculous. I shake my head and rub my arms to dispel the goose bumps. This guy has freaked me out so much I’m imagining his eyes on me now. I don’t have time for this. I have an exam to finish.
The tip of my pencil hovers over the letter C, and something in my peripheral vision shifts. I snap my head up and finally see him.
The guy I caught staring at me at the art show last night, the guy who warned me something bad was going to happen to me today, stands at the tiny rectangular window in the door. He tilts his head and his ice-blue eyes lock on mine, sending a shiver through my body.
Shake it off, Libbi, I tell myself. He’s just a crazy boy with a crush.
Actually, with his tousled black hair and his nose pressed against the glass like that, he looks a little like a lost puppy. If he wasn’t so creepy, I’d almost feel sorry for him. But couldn’t he choose a better time than the middle of my history final to eyeball me? Plus, he said he wanted to talk to me alone, and this is most certainly not alone.
I point to my partially finished test and mouth, “Final exam.”
He nods. A half-smile lifts the corners of his lips.
“Bye.” I wave my hand.
“I need to talk to you,” he mouths.
“No,” I reply, but he continues to stand at the door.
Dude, catch a clue already. I spin away from the door, sneak a peek at Mr. Winkler, and shove the eraser of my pencil between my teeth. I yank the eraser out of its metal holder and flick it at the back of Haley’s head. Her chair squeaks as she jumps and whips around to glare at me.
“What?” she whispers.
“Look.” I point over my shoulder with my pencil to the classroom door. “That crazy guy I told you about is at the window.”
We turn to the door together, but the window’s empty. He must be a shy creeper.
“Where?” Haley says.
“Never mind. He’s gone.” I slump back in my chair. At least I can finish my test in peace.

Guest Post – The World of Carroll Falls

Carroll Falls is a small town in remote Pennsylvania that’s featured in The Grim Trilogy. It’s a completely made up place, but I modeled it after the many small towns I’ve visited and driven through as a resident of PA.

What I love about Carroll Falls is how normal it is. It’s one of those towns where everyone knows everyone else. When something tragic happens, the town doesn’t quickly forget, as much as Aaron wishes they would.

Carroll Falls, and Libbi for that matter, are normal on purpose. I wanted a normal girl from a normal town to be thrown into the dark life of a Reaper. I wanted her life to be flipped completely.

In The Grim Trilogy, there is not just one Grim Reaper. There are thousands. They are lorded over by Abaddon, aka Death himself, and are locked inside the territory they are responsible for reaping. It’s a very lonely existence. Reapers are invisible and inaudible to the living and can’t leave their territories. And they have the crappiest job ever. They have to watch people die. Every day. And they have to escort those people, sometimes people they love, to the Gateway, which may or may not be Hell. Basically, the job sucks. Well, except for the flying part. Libbi thinks flying’s pretty awesome.

Author Bio:
Elizabeth Holloway is a writer of young adult fiction living in Southern Pennsylvania with her two teen children and their growing number of pets. 

In addition to writing, she is a registered nurse, an avid reader, an out-of-practice artist, a karaoke singer, and a music lover. She is still trying to decide what she wants to be when she grows up. 

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Book Blitz + #Giveaway: Bound by Birthright by Janeal Falor @JanealFalor @yaboundtourspr

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Audiobook Blitz + #Giveaway: Three, Two, One (321) by J.A. Huss @jahuss @XpressoTours

Three, Two, One (321)
J.A. Huss
Publication date: January 27th 2015
Genres: Dark Romantic Suspense

ONE GIRL

Battered, barefoot, and huddled under a bookstore awning in the pouring rain, Blue only knows one thing. After fifteen months of captivity, finally… she is free.

TWO FRIENDS

Self-made millionaires JD and Ark are not out to save anyone when they stumble upon a wet and shivering girl one early Sunday morning. But when you sell sex for a living and salvation rings your bell… you answer the call.

THREE SOULMATES

After years of searching, love lifts the veil of darkness, and three people—with three very big secrets—find themselves bound together in a relationship that defies the odds.

Or does it?

Love. Lust. Sex.

This trinity might be perfection… but not everything should come in threes.

WARNING: This is a STANDALONE non-traditional M/F/M ROMANCE with a non-traditional ending.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Kobo / Audible

One week only – 99¢ for first time ever!
Buy the eBook for 99¢ and get the full audiobook version for only $3.47.
If you already own the eBook, you still get the discount audiobook price with Whispersync!

CAUTION: If you thought this book was stop-your-heart-sexy in print, just wait until you hear Sebastian York narrate the sexy scenes between JD, Ark, and Blue.! DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS BOOK IN PUBLIC, IN FRONT OF CHILDREN, OR YOUR HUSBAND (unless you listen together and want to get lucky!)

—

EXCERPT:

I walk quietly over to the door and press my ear against it to listen. I can hear the clicking of a computer keyboard, then the rolling wheels of a chair. Finally soft footsteps as he pads towards the doors. I back away, afraid of being caught. But he doesn’t slide them open. Instead, the lights flick off and then his footsteps retreat. I hear the crack of a beer bottle being opened, and then a sigh.

I slide the doors apart, just enough to peek inside.
There’s a large monitor on the desk sitting on front of a wall of windows. And on the screen are the images he took of me this morning. Of JD and me. And of the three of us out on the terrace. They flip by, hundreds of them, at least. Maybe thousands. I look over at the couch where he’s sitting with a beer propped up on his leg, staring at me.
“You can look at them if you come in here to do it.”
I don’t know how he wants me to respond, so I’m unsure if I want to look at them or run back to JD’s room and hide.
“I’m sorry about that,” Ark says, clearing his throat. “It’s just… JD stopped thinking about her, ya know? It took him so fucking long to stop thinking about her. And now here you are with a clue. And…”
I step into the room.
“And he’s gonna go looking for shit again, I just know it.”
I take another step towards him and Ark pats the space on the couch next to him. “I love these pictures. Come look at them with me.”
I take two more steps, and then I’m within arm’s reach and he slips his hand in mine.
My body shivers from his touch, but I let him pull me the rest of the way, and take a seat as he lets go. My butt is barely perched on the cushion, my hands in my lap, my body on high alert in case he wants to hurt me.
But he doesn’t. He surprises me by scooting away, propping his back against the armrest, and stretching out his legs behind me. They are long and in the way, so now I can’t lean back.
He takes a swig from his beer. “I saw you this morning. God, has it only been one day?” I know what he means. It feels like I’ve been in their house forever. “And answers were the last thing on my mind, Blue. I mean, fuck. I’d given up, just like JD. I gave up a while back, actually. Just accepted that this was the way things were. The way my life was gonna go. But fuck.”
I don’t know what any of that means, but I take that it’s not good by the way he finishes the beer and then throws it across the room, where it lands cleanly in an open-top trash can near the desk. “Get me another one, will you?”
I look down at him and squint.
He stares back. His eyes are bleary, and red, and now that I look closely, tired. Not tired like he needs sleep. But tired in a way I can relate to. The kind of tired where your body feels heavy and your mind feels empty. “Never mind,” he says in a soft voice that I’ve never heard before. He says it, but he doesn’t stop staring.
“What?” I ask, getting uncomfortable.
“Why’d you come in here?”
“I was…” I was looking for my money so I could leave. But this guy. These guys… they are pulling me towards them somehow. JD and his charm. Ark and his distance. And despite the fact that they take advantage of girls for a living, they feel very… vulnerable. It feels precarious. Like the whole thing might come crashing down at any moment. Like they are held together by some invisible thread. And not some mental connection or shared experience, either. Although I have no doubt they have all that too.
Held together by a thread that’s invisible because it’s nearly gone.
We are alike, then. Aren’t we?
Three people brought together by the early-morning rain.
Two of us clinging together, trying to stick it out. Ride the wave until it crashes, and then help each other up to start all over again.
One of us already dead. Still walking, but not living. Waiting to be saved. Or maybe wanting to be the one who does the saving.

Author Bio:
JA Huss is the USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending. 

You can chat with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorJAHuss), Twitter (@jahuss), and her blog, New Adult Addiction (www.jahuss.com). 

If you’re interested in getting your hands on an advanced release copy of her upcoming books, sneak peek teasers, or information on her upcoming personal appearances, you can join her newsletter list (http://eepurl.com/JVhAr) and get those details delivered right to your inbox. 

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Cover Reveal: Viewing Room by L.P. Dover & Heidi McLaughlin @LPDover @HeidiJoVT @XpressoTours

VIEWING ROOM: 
A Society X Novel
L.P. Dover & Heidi McLaughlin
Publication date: September 6th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Viewing Room Rules:

The rules of Society X are simple . . . break them and you’re out. 

Rule #1 – No names

It doesn’t matter if you want to know, it’s forbidden.

Rule #2 – No exchanging numbers

It doesn’t matter if you want to call, it’s forbidden.

Rule #3 – Everything is to remain strictly anonymous.

It doesn’t matter if you want to tell, it’s forbidden.

Whatever your desire.

Whatever your fantasy.

The Viewing Room will make it happen.

For Kennedy Vaughn, it’s an escape.

For Hunter Miles, entering the Viewing Room means he’s been selected.

What you witness in the viewing room will have you asking for more . . .

Goodreads

Buy Links:
Amazon (Coming Soon!)
B&N ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ Smashwords

—

Author Bio:
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is a southern belle residing in North Carolina along with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she even began her literary journey she worked in Periodontics enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries. 

Not only does she love to write, but she loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes, white water rafting, and you can't forget the passion for singing. Her two number one fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime and those songs usually consist of Christmas carols. 

Aside from being a wife and mother, L.P. Dover has written over seventeen novels including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, and her standalone novel, Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read is romantic suspense and she also loves writing it. However, if she had to choose a setting to live in it would have to be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae. 

L.P. Dover is represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency. 

You can find L.P. Dover here: 

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

--

Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. 

Originally from Portland, Oregon and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup, and their newest addition of a Highland Westie/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL. 

During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she's writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting courtside during either daughter's basketball games. 

Find Heidi here: 

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Virtual Book Tour: Murder at Morningside by Sandra Bretting @GoddessFish

Murder at Morningside

by Sandra Bretting

GENRE: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

Heads turn when milliner Missy Dubois waltzes into town to set up shop on the Great River Road in Louisiana. Heaven only knows the brides who get married in the grand old mansions there could use a bit of help.

But then Missy discovers a murder among the magnolias, and even the worst “bridezilla” seems suddenly tame.  

EXCERPT:

Time rewound with each footfall as I began to climb the grand outer staircase at Morningside Plantation. The limestone steps, burdened with the history of five generations, heaved their way toward heaven.

At the top lay a wide-plank verandah supported by columns painted pure white, like the clouds. By the time I took a third step, the digital camera in my right hand began to dissolve into the sterling silver handle of a ladies parasol. The visitors’ guide in my left hand magically transformed into a ballroom dance card bound by a satin cord.

Another step and the Mississippi River came into view as it flowed to the Gulf, languid as a waltz and the color of sweet tea. Could that be a whistle from a steamboat ferrying passengers past the plantation? If so, a turn and a wave wouldn’t be out of the question once I reached the top of the stairs, and good manners would dictate it.

I was about to do that when I realized the whistle was only my friend’s cell and not a Mississippi riverboat. “Ambrose! Turn that thing off. Honestly.”

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “I always forget you were Scarlett O’Hara in a past life.”

The mood was broken, though, and the sterling silver in my hand returned to plastic while the linen dance card hardened to a glossy brochure.

Author Interview:

What inspired you to write Murder at Morningside?

My husband and I traveled to the Great River Road in Louisiana a few years ago, and I fell in love with the antebellum mansions there.  I remember touring these gothic gardens and thinking they would make a wonderful site for a murder! Of course, I never told the tour guide that.

When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I got the writing “bug” when I was in elementary school, but I didn’t know what type of writer I wanted to be. Ironically, it was while studying journalism at the University of Missouri that I fell in love with creative writing and decided it was my life’s calling.

What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?

I remember reading the “Dick and Jane” books in kindergarten. One of the things I remember most is the inky smell of the pages. I’d pester my parents to buy me more at the school book fair, which they always did, God bless ‘em.

What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

I read in several genres; I’m not monogamous. I’ll read a cozy one week and a thriller the next, and maybe top off my month with a book for young adults.

What is your favorite book?

You mean I only get one?! My favorite work of fiction is probably To Kill a Mockingbird. I reread it every few years.

  
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

Again…only one?! If I had to choose, I’d pick Hemingway. Anyone who could make a story about a man catching a fish sound exciting is a genius.

 
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?

I think I’d travel back to the old South so I could attend a ball at one of the mansions I write about. I want to wear a hoopskirt and have a gentleman pull out my chair for me. At least for one night.

When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?

It’s somewhere in-between.  I think I’m a good writer; but I’m an excellent editor. The creative writing is the hard part, and then the clean-up lets me have a little fun.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

My family adopted a sweet little girl from the local shelter who’s half wiener dog and half Jack Russell. So she has this amazingly long body, but she can jump four feet high.

What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?

I love a good steak (I live in Texas, after all), and I’ll eat anything with chocolate on it for dessert. They could put chocolate on a dinner napkin and I’d probably eat it.

Do you have any advice for anyone who would like to be an author?

Definitely start by taking creative writing classes at a local college or through a community center. If there’s not one nearby, you can always go online and find out what books the “name brand” writing programs are having its students read. Most of all, it’s important to have fun along the way, because it’s all about the journey.

AUTHOR BIO:

Sandra Bretting works as a freelance feature writer under contract to the Houston Chronicle. She received a journalism degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and wrote for other publications (including the Los Angeles Times and Orange Coast Magazine) before moving to Texas.

Her Missy DuBois Mysteries series debuts from Kensington/Lyrical Underground in May 2016. Bretting’s previous mysteries include Unholy Lies (2012) and Bless the Dying (2014).

Readers can reach her online at

Website ~ Facebook

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon or B/N GC
 

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Book Blast + #Giveaway: City of Hope and Ruin by Kit Campbell and Siri Paulson @KitCampbell @GoddessFish

City of Hope and Ruin

by Kit Campbell and Siri Paulson

GENRE: Fantasy (with LGBTQ romance)

BLURB:

Every night the monsters hunt.

A city that is the whole world: Theosophy and her companions in the City militia do their best to protect the civilians from the monsters, but they keep crawling from the Rift and there’s nowhere to run. Theosophy knows she’ll die fighting. It’s the best kind of death she’s seen, and at least she can save lives in the meantime.

They say the Scarred carve you up while you’re still alive.

A village in the shadow of a forest: Refugees from the border whisper about the oncoming Scarred, but Briony can’t convince her brother to relocate his children to safety. Briony will do anything to protect them. She owes them that much, even if it means turning to forbidden magic.

When Theosophy and Briony accidentally make contact across the boundaries of their worlds, they realize that solutions might finally be within reach. A world beyond the City would give Theosophy’s people an escape, and the City’s warriors could help Briony protect her family from the Scarred. Each woman sees in the other a strength she lacks—and maybe something more.

All they need to do is find a way across the dimensions to each other before their enemies close in.

EXCERPT:

Briony edged out from behind the tree, shuffling slowly backward, making sure she hadn’t attracted anything’s attention. There was another crack. She took refuge behind a sizeable bush as a large group of something moved out of the dark and mist. Briony put one hand on Poes to calm him and pulled him closer. Poes’s light coat sometimes made him painfully obvious.

As the group got closer, Briony could tell they were human. She narrowed her eyes, keeping hold of Poes. People, this deep in the forest? Hardly anyone came in here, especially not this deep. Her mother had made sure she and Jael knew the forest’s ways, but their land backed up to it and Briony needed it for her medicinal draughts. Most people in Westenaedre avoided it unless absolutely necessary.

There was something unnatural about their movements. As they got closer, Briony could make out their features through the gathering dusk. Her breath caught in her throat. People they were, yes, but their faces were covered by some sort of horrific mask that hid their features and gave them insect-like appearances. Tubes twisted from the masks into metallic canisters on their backs. Now she could hear their breathing as well, rough and much too loud. Every whispered tale from the refugees flitted through her head. The Scarred. But they shouldn’t—couldn’t—be here. They were still at the border.

What did it mean that they weren’t?

AUTHOR BIO:

It is a little known fact that Kit was raised in the wild by a marauding gang of octopuses. It wasn't until she was 25 that she was discovered by a traveling National Geographic scientist and brought back to civilization. This is sometimes apparent in the way that she attempts to escape through tubes when startled.

Her transition to normalcy has been slow, but scientists predict that she will have mastered basics such as fork use sometime in the next year. More complex skills, such as proper grocery store etiquette, may be forever outside her reach.

Kit can be found cavorting about the web at her

Blog ~ Website ~ Pinterest ~ Twitter

Siri Paulson writes all over the fantasy and science fiction spectrum, including (so far) secondary-world fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk, Gothic, historical paranormal, and YA with spaceships. She is also the chief editor at Turtleduck Press. Siri grew up in Alberta, Canada, but now lives in an old house in Toronto. By day, she edits non-fiction for the government. Her other current passion is contra dance, a social/folk dance done to live Celtic and roots music. Her favourite places in the world are the Canadian Rocky Mountains and a little valley in Norway.

Siri's short fiction and the anthologies she has edited can be found on Turtleduck Press.

Blog ~ Twitter

Multi-region buy link:

Ebook

The book is on sale for $0.99 on Kindle or Nook the day of the tour.

Giveaway:

$50 Amazon or B/N GC
 

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Cover Reveal + #Giveaway: Burned by Fire by Danielle Annett @Danielle_Annett @XpressoTours

Burned by Fire
Danielle Annett
(Blood & Magic, #3)
Publication date: September 2016
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

Aria’s pyrokinetic ability has always been hard to control, and being pulled in so many directions, isn’t making it any easier. Now she has to help Inarus, a foe turned friend who is being targeted by the Human Alliance Corporation—the very organization he once worked for.

But the HAC has more than just Inarus in their sights. Aria finds herself going deep into enemy territory to save a witchling child with never before seen powers, that the HAC has kidnapped to further their own ends.

Aria has been hired to save a child once before, and she failed. That failure has haunted her even to this day and she won’t let herself fail again. With the HAC closing in, and complications between herself and the Pack rising, Aria has no choice but to succeed. A child’s life is on the line and Aria will risk everything to save that life.

Add to Goodreads

Previous books in the series:

Author Bio:
Danielle Annett is a reader, writer, photographer, and the blogger behind Coffee and Characters. Born in the SF Bay area, she now resides in Spokane, WA, the primary location for her Blood & Magic series. 

Addicted to coffee at an early age, she spends her restless nights putting pen to paper as she tries to get all of the stories out of her head before the dogs wake up the rest of the house and vye for her attention. 

You can learn more about Danielle on her website at Danielle-Annett.com or follow her on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDanielleAnnett and on twitter @Danielle_Annett 

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Cover Reveal: Summerlypse by Gerardo Delgadillo @Gero_Delgadillo @YABoundToursPR

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Kindle Scout Campaign + #Giveaway: Bitter Envy by Kimber Leigh Wheaton @Cymberle

Bitter Envy, a YA urban fantasy romance, is on Kindle Scout!

Don't know what Kindle Scout is? It is, "reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books."

Readers nominate their favorite books, and those books may receive a publishing contract through Amazon. If a book scores a contract, everyone who nominated it receives a free Kindle copy!

I would be honored if you would consider nominating Bitter Envy! You can read the first chapter and a half on Kindle Scout. 

Nominate Bitter Envy

As a special thank you, please enter my giveaway. You don't have to nominate my novel to enter, but I do appreciate your support if you decide to.

~Kimber Leigh

Bitter Envy

Enchanted Underworld, Book One

Kimber Leigh Wheaton

YA Urban Fantasy Romance

Currently on Kindle Scout

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2GETN8KN3WE8

Scarlet Angel—assassin, inquisitor, and overall bane to shifter existence.

Five years ago, my parents sold me to dark shifter lord Uriah Amstead in exchange for a house and a monthly stipend. He took my light magic powers, developed them, warping the light into something darker through means that would make a hardened criminal flinch.

Born an enchantress, I wield the light magic that is a natural constraint to shifter dark magic. But now I use my powers to help Uriah grow his criminal empire. I torture shifters with my light magic, and sometimes I’m forced to kill. Those who think it’s a choice don’t understand the atrocities that Uriah would commit to keep me in line. I always choose the lesser of evils. But even that doesn’t sit well with my conscience.

The faces of my victims haunt me every night. I’ve always coped by knowing the shifters I tortured and killed were evil people who thought they were above the law. Now Uriah has taken even that small comfort from me. Through his orders, I tortured and killed an innocent man. Sure I thought the man guilty at the time, but the damage is done.

In the shifter underworld of sunny San Diego, it can be hard to know whom to trust. But I have to take a chance… because this time Uriah has gone too far.

I am Envy Davis, the Scarlet Angel, and I am through being a pawn.

Excerpt

As I round the corner, my heart slams into an erratic beat. Donovan is leaning against my Camaro, and there’s no Jack in sight. Though the sky is overcast, I consider digging out my sunglasses. But that would be cowardly. I chased away one of Uriah’s hired goons with little more than a flare of magic and a scowl… I can certainly face Donovan head-on without getting lost in his eyes.

When I reach the car, I give him a bright smile. “Hi, Donovan. Something you want?”

“I heard you scared one of Uriah’s henchmen so badly he may have needed clean pants,” he says with a crooked grin. “Are we alone out here?”

“I assume you’re referring to spies?” I ask, not expecting an answer. “As far as I can tell.”

“Let’s get in the car so we can talk.” He walks to the passenger door. “Does Jack sweep for bugs?”

“Mmm-hmm, every morning.” I unlock the door, and slide into the driver’s seat. “Though, with that asinine thug here today… he could’ve planted something.”

Donovan nods but doesn’t say anything as he pulls out a small RF detector from his backpack. I watch in silence as he sweeps the interior of the car for electronic devices. After several minutes, he tosses it back into his bag before leaning back with a heavy sigh.

“It gets so old,” he says, shaking his head. “Can you believe I’ve been sweeping for bugs as long as I can remember?”

“I never really worry about it.” I run my fingers over the leather-wrapped steering wheel. “Jack was shifter special forces for a long time. He’s paranoid enough for both of us. I wonder where he is…”

“I asked for a few minutes alone with you,” Donovan says, pulling one of my hands from the wheel. “He’s lurking nearby, waiting to pounce if needed.”

“So, what’s up?”

“Well, I was planning to take you to see High Priestess Rowena this afternoon. Sound good?” he asks while caressing my knuckles with his thumb.

I bite back a sigh, unwilling to share just how good his thumb feels on my fingers. “Yeah, that’d be great.” My relief from his statement comes out in a slight giggle.

“Did I just hear the Scarlet Angel giggle?”

“I don’t giggle.” Of course another giggle belies that statement.

“I think it’s adorable.” He leans in to rest his forehead against mine. “I feel honored that you’re comfortable enough with me to share the side you hide from everyone.”

“What side?”

My question comes out in a breathy whisper. He’s close enough to kiss… all I have to do is lean forward an inch or two and close the distance. His hand moves to the back of my head, his fingers entwining in the hair at my nape.

“The softer side,” he says, brushing his lips across my cheekbone. “The vulnerable side.” His lips caress my temple. “The side that makes me want to hold you in my arms and protect you from everything… even if you don’t really need it.” He cups my face in both palms. “Why do I feel this way?”

“I don’t know,” I reply in a choked whisper. He just put into words everything I’d been feeling for the last two weeks.

“Since the moment our auras melded together, I can’t seem to stop thinking about you.” He shifts back so he can gaze at me. “At school, at night, my aura constantly searches for yours.”

“Our magic calls to each other… but it shouldn’t.”

“No, it shouldn’t,” he says with a strangled groan. “You’re light and I’m dark.”

“Sun and moon?”

He laughs. “Something like that. Our magic should seek to destroy the other… so why doesn’t it?”

“I’m not the light you claim me to be, and you aren’t the dark you claim to be.” When he continues staring at me like he expects some sage answer, I sigh. “Maybe your Wiccan will know.”

“You ready to go see her?”

The moment I nod, my cell rings—the opening riff to “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” by Judas Priest. Uriah’s ringtone. Jack programmed it in last week as a screw you to the spider shifter. It’s the last thing I want to hear at this moment.

“It’s Uriah,” I say, clenching the phone to the point of pain.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be good to ignore it.”

“Yeah, prob’ly not.” After swallowing around my dry throat, I answer the call. “Envy.”

“Ah, my precious Angel, I have wonderful news.” Uriah’s voice oozes syrupy saccharine.

I flinch from his words. Wonderful news for him is always devastating for me.

“What?”

“So impolite, little one,” he says with a dry chuckle. “All work and no play… well you know the rest.”

“I have tons of homework, Uriah.” The lie rolls off my tongue. Lying has become so easy, almost second nature. The realization makes me sad. “What do you want?”

“Someone has become too meddlesome for his own good,” Uriah says in a flippant tone, like he’s commenting on the weather rather than torture. “Not only that but this particular individual crossed a line last night when he raped Mickey’s fourteen-year-old daughter. No one crosses my people. An attack against them is an attack against me. Kill him.”

“I… uh—”

“That’s an order I expect to be obeyed,” he says in a much harder voice. “Don’t make me regret my decision to waive punishment for your earlier transgressions.”

“N-no. I-I mean yes,” I stammer as childhood traumas resurface at his words. “Please contact Jack with the info, and I’ll get right on it.”

“Tonight, darling Angel. I want Alfonse Dupree dead tonight. He’s one of Heinrich’s scientists. It shouldn’t be too hard for you. The man is closing in on the millennial mark, so I doubt he has much fight left in him.”

He disconnects the call. I stare at the phone clutched in my hand in silence. Another assassination. Is this one legit, or will I kill another innocent man? What choice do I have? It’s this criminal or something so much worse. Hot tears prick my eyes as the memories threaten to surface.

So many lost lives… all because I said no.

“Envy, are you okay?” Donovan asks, breaking my trance.

“Um, yeah. Fine.” My light sniffle betrays my true emotions.

“I’ll call my father. Maybe he can shed some light on this Alfonse Dupree.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Not that I have a choice either way. It’s him or… well I simply can’t deal with the alternative.

“Father, what do you know about one Alfonse Dupree, works for Heinrich?” Donovan puts the phone on speaker, and his father’s voice fills the car.

“Bottom feeder. Scientist willing to experiment on children,” Tiberius says in a booming voice. “Rapist, murderer, Nazi war criminal. He’s been a blight on our society for over nine hundred years… or so he says. In fact that lunatic claims to have created the Black Plague in his laboratory and unleashed it across Europe.”

I’m struck silent for a moment as I contemplate the atrocities this madman committed. How many innocent souls died at his hands? “What a relief,” I finally manage to blurt out.

“Who’s with you Donovan? No don’t answer that. Scarlet Angel—assassin, inquisitor, and bane to shifter existence.” His blunt words make me flinch. “You were supposed to go see our high priestess today… I suppose that’s off the table now.”

“No one is more disappointed than I am, my lord,” I reply, trying to control the rising anger. Yelling at Tiberius won’t help my situation at all.

“So I guess Uriah is having you play judge, jury, and executioner tonight then?”

“No, sir. Just executioner.”

“As you can imagine, based on what happened with Alexander, Envy is a tad reticent to follow Uriah’s orders without confirming the intel,” Donovan says, cutting through an awkward silence.

I close my eyes as a wave of nausea washes over me. Alexander was innocent, and I killed him. His poor family… how can I ever atone?

“Well, you can sleep easy tonight, Scarlet Angel,” Tiberius says, his voice mocking. “Dupree is a perfect target. Our government protected him after Germany fell in World War II. He’s as bad as they come.”

“I never sleep easy.” My voice is hard, grating. “I always choose the lesser of evils. But even that doesn’t sit well with my conscience.”

“Such the little philosopher.”

“Father, stop mocking her!” Donovan snaps at his father. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“You bet we will, son,” Tiberius replies in a deep baritone. “Now, Envy, I want you to meet with High Priestess Rowena tomorrow afternoon, no matter what… or I refuse to speak with you further. If you pass her tests, we’ll meet for dinner at Jake’s.”

He disconnects the call before I can comment. I really wish I didn’t need his help, but I can’t afford any pride right now.

My Favorite Time Period

By Kimber Leigh Wheaton

When Nancy asked me to write about my favorite time period, I thought it would be quite easy. I love the Middle Ages: knights, princesses, honor, and chivalry. Just don’t look too deeply into it because you’ll find: chamber pots, livestock living inside the castle in the winter, women treated like chattel…

Sorry.

I sat back and really thought about it, and I realized that I loved a fantasy version of the Middle Ages. The world found in the sweeping romances I read when I was a teenager. That fantasy where the hero loves the feisty heroine who speaks her mind (and somehow manages to avoid the many villains who would cut out her tongue for such an offense). I haven’t read about that time period in quite a while, so I guess that go-to response was actually the favorite of a teenager from years ago.

Lately I’ve been editing quite a few Victorian and Regency novels. I love that time period! It’s gothic and dark, where anything supernatural seems possible. Women are starting to come into their own or at least trying to. London society is always interesting to read about, and I love the books that take place in the wild New World. Add a steampunk or paranormal element to these novels and I’m there! Oops. There’s the fantasy aspect rearing its ugly head again…

What about the future? I read lots of dystopians and urban sci-fi. Of course that time period is nothing but fantasy since it hasn’t happened yet. I love the “In Death” series by J.D. Robb. It’s one of my favorite series of all time. I’ve been devouring those books for years—they never get old. I think I enjoy the gritty yet hopeful future societies like Robb’s to the despondent societies of many dystopians. Seriously, how can they possibly end well? Answer- many don’t and I need a happy, or at least satisfying, ending.

So what is my favorite time period? All of them—as long as they contain an element of fantasy. Why? Life can be hard and cruel. With the internet, we hear about atrocities hourly from all over the world. To balance things out, I need my books to have a happy ending, the characters to live a fantasy where it’s possible for everything to be okay despite the odds from the nature of the time period they’re in. I love variety, and my reading habits reflect it… but there will always be that element of fantasy in every book I read.

About the Author

Kimber Leigh Wheaton is an award-winning, bestselling YA author with a soft spot for sweet romance. In addition to writing, she works as an editor for two publishers, as well as select indie authors. She is married to her soul mate, has a teenage son, and shares her home with three dogs and lots of dragons. Kimber Leigh is addicted to romance, video games, superheroes, villains, and chocolate—not necessarily in that order. (If she has to choose, she’ll take a chocolate covered superhero!) Winner of the 2014 Rising Star Award at the BTS Red Carpet Awards in NOLA & a Silver Medal for YA Mystery/Horror in the 2015 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards.

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