Tag Archives: Paranormal

DOGE- Supernatural Division (episode 5)

Hope everyone’s week has gone well. Sorry this is getting posted a little later in the day than usual, but it’s been a little hectic around here! Just a reminder that while these stories are fantasy in nature, they will allude to current U.S. politics. If you’re not up to date on the latest big news, a few things might go over your head a bit, but you should still enjoy it. This latest episode also has some minor references to past stories, which you can find here.

DOGE Supernatural Division (episode 5)

High Wizard Elron sat at his desk, plotting his next move.  So many possibilities for where the Department of Government Efficiency- Supernatural Division could cut waste and spending.  This was especially true of those regulatory agencies who abused their power by putting too many restrictions on the banking industry.  Ha!  He’d get the last laugh with them very soon.

“Excuse me, High Wizard,” Ruby said, appearing in his office doorway.

The raven-haired secretary was a good-looking woman for being in her thirties and nearly past her prime.  For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t settled down and made a few babies.  Instead, the woman had cats—three of them!  She even had framed pictures of them on her desk like they were her pride and joy children.  He’d surreptitiously removed them two different times, but new ones appeared the next morning.  Each replacement was worse than the last, with the latest photos having her felines wearing Halloween costumes. What kind of madness was that?

He’d fire the woman, but she was loyal and ruthless when it came to running his agency behind the scenes the way he preferred.  No one could do it better, but he wished she had better taste in pets.

He rested his elbows on his desk and leaned forward.  “Yes, Ruby?”

“The D.C. Ghost team has failed to email their five accomplishments for the week,” she said, pursing her lips.  “It’s not all that surprising, considering they haven’t done their jobs very well recently.”

He nodded.  “Hmm, yes.  They’re supposed to be annoying that insufferable Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez woman whenever she’s in town, but the congresswoman just gets more obnoxious every time she speaks on the House Floor.  I’m tired of hearing her complaints about the brilliant budget cuts that will save this country money.  She’d be falling asleep on her feet if the ghosts had done their jobs right, certainly not giving misguided speeches.”

“Should I send one of your minions…I mean, assistants, to speak with the ghosts?” Ruby asked, tilting her head.

His lips twitched at her “stumble” of words since she accidentally used the term quite often, but it didn’t bother him.  In his mind, his people were more like minions, but some would frown at him using such a term publicly.  Trying to be politically correct was so annoying.  Certainly not one of his better abilities.

Elron sighed.  “Sadly, only one of them has developed a sufficient talent for seeing ghosts, and I’ve already got him manipulating a few to spy on the NOAA water elementals in Florida.  I’m certain they’re up to no good after I fired some of them, and they might be planning revenge.”

“Oh.”  She frowned.  “I’d thought someone else would have built an aptitude for ghosts by now.”

“Axe is beginning to see and hear them a little, but he can’t communicate well yet.  Perhaps with a little more practice.”  The High Wizard rose to his feet, mind buzzing with a plan.  “I’ll bring him along to work on it more.”

She nodded.  “Good idea.  I’ll let him know to get ready.”

***

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Darkness Shatters is now available!

For those of you who haven’t caught it yet, Darkness Shatters is now out.  This is the fifth installment of the series and events are really heating up as we near the end (one book left to go, not counting spin-offs).  If you didn’t read the three chapter sample I provided in my previous post, you may not know Lucas has his point of view in this installment.  He only gets about twenty percent of the novel with Melena still narrating the other eighty percent, but it is important at times you see things from his side (for the sake of the plots and their relationship).  I really enjoyed writing this one and hope you’ll enjoy reading it.

Below is a summary for the novel and links to the retailers.  Thanks to everyone who has stayed with me this far into the series.  It’s meant a lot to me.

Darkness ShattersSUMMARY:

Winter has come to Alaska and it’s about to be joined by death.

Since moving to Fairbanks, Melena Sanders has watched too many of her friends die because she couldn’t react fast enough. When a mysterious illness comes along targeting only supernatural races she’s determined to stop it. But as the death toll climbs she realizes finding a cure is more complicated than she thought. Melena might have to give in to plans to reveal the existence of supernaturals to the human world—as it may be the only way to save them.

Word count: 96,000 (approximate)

 

 

 

 

 

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RETAILER LINKS:

AMAZON US    AMAZON UK     AMAZON DE     AMAZON AU     AMAZON CA

NOOK     KOBO     ITUNES

Darkness Clashes is now available!

Darkness Clashes coverThanks to everyone for their patience.  I’m happy to let you all know Darkness Clashes is now available on all retailer sites (Amazon/B&N/iTunes/Kobo).  You can find links to them at the bottom of this post.  My apologies to everyone who has been waiting and thanks for all the lovely emails.  I’ll be responding to them today.

I’ve also chosen four random winners from those who participated in the giveaway (see this post).  They can expect an email from me letting them know they’ve won.  Everyone else who participated will be receiving bookmarks soon if they’ve provided me with a mailing address.

What to expect:

Though this isn’t my longest book, it does have some complicated plot threads that required a greater balancing act than previous novels to make them as seamless as possible.  Character motivations are much more murky with no easy sides to take.  Melena will have a lot of tough choices.  It is also set at a faster pace and over a shorter period than what I usually do for my books.  I hope you enjoy the ride!

Purchase Links

Nook

iTunes

Kobo

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon Germany

Amazon Australia

Amazon Canada

Amazon France

Amazon India

Amazon Brazil

Darkness Divides is now Available!

Darkness Divides coverThanks to everyone for their patience.  I’m excited to let you all know Darkness Divides is now available on Amazon and as soon as it is available with other retailers I’ll post the links for them here as well.  For those wondering, this novel came to almost 108k words, which is the longest one I’ve released yet (see the book tab above for word count on the others).  This is honestly my favorite novel so far, but I’m biased so I’ll leave it up to you all to decide what you think!

As a release day bonus, the first twenty people who comment on this post will be eligible to get a set of series bookmarks (regardless of where you’re from).  Be sure to put a valid email address in the comment field so I can contact you.  Two random people from among the twenty will also get a free signed paperback copy of Darkness Haunts (the first book in the series).

*Update- The full number of comments has been reached.  I’ll be contacting everyone soon to get your addresses to send the bookmarks and I’ll announce on a separate post who won the paperback books.

 

Purchase Links

Nook

iTunes

Kobo

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon Germany

Amazon Australia

Amazon Canada

Amazon France

Indie urban fantasy series I recommend…

I know many of you are waiting patiently for Darkness Divides to come out on April 20th.  As an update, it’s coming along well and I’ll be posting the first two chapters this weekend.  So be on the lookout!

In the meantime, I thought I’d give you all a list of other urban fantasy authors who I follow.  Most of you are probably already aware of the big traditionally published names in the genre such as Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews, Karen Marie Moning, Chloe Neill, Patricia Briggs, plus many more.  This is to highlight the indies who I’ve found to be just as enjoyable.

Keep in mind that your mileage may vary as no two people have exactly the same tastes, but these are ones I’ve found to be good and think you might too if you haven’t discovered them already.  All covers are linked to the book’s Amazon purchase page.  I’ve also included some brief thoughts on my impression of each author’s books.

 

 

Blood Wager coverConnie Suttle– If you haven’t read the book that begins her Blood Destiny series and sets up the ones that follow it, check out Blood Wager first.  The key thing to know with her work is that it has a lot of emotional twists, action, and expands to include sci-fi elements as the series progresses.  The romance in her work isn’t of the traditional variety, but I love the uniqueness of her writing.  Her “voice” is very different from other writers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Demon Bound book coverDebra Dunbar– For those who enjoy a wicked sense of humor, this is a great series to try.  The main character is a demon imp who gets into a lot of trouble, but as you get to know her you’ll find she’s surprisingly relatable.  There are light romantic elements and a rather hunky love interest or two, but nothing too hot and steamy for those who prefer those elements toned down.  Do expect some naughtiness, though.  This series has five books out so far and Debra recently released two spin-off novels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleight of Hand book coverMark Henwick– His series is strong on action and suspense, while being lighter on the romantic elements (though you should expect some explicit content).  The thing I think readers love the most about his writing is how fast-paced it is  and that he includes investigative elements as well as a female character who has a military background.  This series has three books out so far, plus a prequel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Dates coverTracey Sinclair– I stumbled upon this author after seeing a review of one of her books from a blogger who also follows my series.  The cover is a bit different from most UF, but I promise this series is great!  The setting is in London, so with this one you get out of the United States so you can enjoy something a little different.  There is some nice humor and the romance will keep you intrigued.  If you like heroines who are always trying to do the right thing despite not being all that powerful, you should enjoy this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elemental Magic coverAngela Wallace– She has a nice UF series that features elementals (users of earth, air, water, fire).  Her novels are lighter than the ones I mentioned above, making them a great change of pace from the standard darker fare.  There’s more mystery to her books too and they have sweet romantic elements (nothing hot and heavy).  The main character stays the same for the first two books before switching to a different one with the third.  She should be releasing the fourth novel soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

shadowpath_coverP.L. Blair– She has a UF series featuring two main characters.  A human female and an elf male.  They are detectives who have been partnered together to investigate supernatural cases.  The criminals in this series are rather unique and the lore this author uses keeps me fascinated.  The romance doesn’t pick up until much later in the series and the author keeps things fairly clean, but I must admit I was ready for it when it came!  Expect the books to focus on the plot and have some nice action sequences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments section.  I know there are a lot of other good ones out there and that I didn’t name them all.  If you can tell us a little about why you like any particular author/series, that would be helpful too!