Curse of the Hunted Release Day!

 

Meet Akila Levesque, Sphynx...

Akila's well-ordered world has fallen apart. Her delinquent brother, Cairo is the only family she has left after their mother's death. When she receives the letter from the High Council of the Supernatural to become a Keeper, she believes this could be a fresh start for both of them.

But the moment Akila presents a family heirloom to give to the Keepers as her part of her initiation, everything erupts into chaos as the cracked Egyptian statuette runs away. Corrupted by its broken aura, the rogue artifact hunts Akila in the ghost riddled seaside town.

It's doesn't help when the gorgeous Chaz Nowiki keeps turning up wherever Akila goes. She doesn't want a gargoyle in shining armor to save her, even when he looks so hot his firefighter's suspenders. Yet even with the help of a powerful guardian, things grow desperate when the relic targets Cairo as well.

Now Akila must risk everything to save her brother. But will that even be enough when she has no idea what it means to be a Keeper or a Sphynx?

"After all, every secret needs a Keeper."

10 books, 10 authors, 10 Keepers, 1 shared world.

BUY THE BOOK HERE!

Add the book to read on Goodreads.

I'm so excited to finally release this book to the world. It's been a marvelous experience working on a shared world series with several other talented authors. I've been reading each book as they're released, and I've been blown away by the stories. On of the big thrills was working with Catherine Stine and creating shared scenes between our protagonists. Indigo (her mermaid) and Akila became best friends!

It was also fun writing about a supernatural being I've never wrote about before. I didn't want to go overboard with the sphynxes, but hopefully I've made them unique enough to be interesting.

Enjoy!

Silver at Midnight & Secrets of the Mermaid are live!

 The next two books in the thrilling Keepers of Knowledge series are now available!

(Book #5 had a little bit of a technical hiccup. It's all better now!)

Meet Aisling ÓCléirigh, Fae . . .

More specifically . . . a Fae with a secret. And if she’s not careful, it could get her killed.

Once upon a time, a Fae and a human changed the course of the world in ways no one could have predicted. Ways that have left Aisling “Aish” O'Cléirigh with dangerous secrets she’s duty-bound to protect. Her race, her heart, her very life depend on keeping them safe.

Just as Aish begins to think she has everything under control, an invitation arrives at her door. Suddenly, every secret she’s been protecting is in danger of coming to light. The only way to safeguard her skeletons is to accept.

She’s heard whispers about the clandestine society that offers her a position in its ranks, so she anticipates the Cloak and Dagger experience that awaits her in the coastal town of Pyreshore. What she doesn’t anticipate is finding the one person who could expose everything she’s worked to protect.

The stakes are escalating.

Time is running out.

Will her secrets unleash a war that could destroy the supernatural races? Or can she prove herself worthy of being a Keeper of Knowledge? After all, every secret needs a Keeper.

Buy Silver at Midnight here!

Meet Indigo Rain, a beautiful but lonely mermaid.

Regretful of a dark past, she has vowed to remain alone and research ancient merfolk tribes. When she unearths a seabed burial site that even she cannot identify, she shares this with a High Council merfolk historian. But she keeps one shocking secret to herself.

Bay Finley is the flirty, dashing Royal merfolk Keeper assigned to teach Indigo on Pyreshore, a glamoured city of supernaturals tasked with keeping the invaluable knowledge alive. Indigo thinks Bay is a haughty know-it-all. She also thinks he’s dangerously handsome. He’s engaged to Abigail Torrent, a Royal, unlike Indigo. But he’s spending lots of time with Indigo in the lab…

Indigo has three quests:
Uncover the mystery of the burial tablet, resist falling in love, and never, ever reveal her biggest secret, even to the Keepers.

Some secrets heal, some kill. Other secrets change life as we know it.

10 books, 10 authors, 10 keepers, 1 shared world
Books can be read in any order!

Buy Secrets of the Mermaid here!

My book in this awesome shared world series, Curse of the Hunted, will be released April 12th! I'll have a cover reveal coming up soon. I haven't even seen it yet! I'm so excited.

 

Meet Elandra Wells, vampire and biochemical engineer.

When Elandra receives an invite from the High Council of Supernaturals to train for a coveted spot within The Keepers of Knowledge faction, she jumps at the chance. After all, the secret program might help the doctor, who hates being a vampire, find the last ingredient to craft a special serum to eradicate her condition. But finding Vlad Dracul’s ring isn’t a simple endeavor. Locating it isn’t the problem. Snatching it while a council member questions her every move makes the task too difficult.

Another obstacle? The sexiest, panty-dropping vampire she’s ever met. Camdyn Pryce. And he doesn’t trust Elandra.

What makes matters worse? Elandra struggles with her desire for Camdyn. Whenever they’re alone, she can barely control herself around him. He seems to be losing the same battle with the lovely doctor as well.

When Camdyn lets down his walls and tells her how he feels, she’s faced with a dilemma—be the doctor who develops a cure for her condition or follow her heart.

Will regaining her humanity be more important than finding love?

After all, every secret needs a Keeper.

10 authors, 10 books, 10 Keepers, 1 shared world.

BUY THE CRIMSON CURE HERE!

New Moon Rising (The Keepers of Knowledge #3) release!

 

Meet Tamsin Grey, witch extraordinaire…

At least, she would be if the High Council would heed her family’s warnings.

For decades her grandmother had tried warning the council that the supernatural races were not safe, especially the witches. She could feel the darkness that haunted the bloodlines, as could Tamsin as she got older.

A hopelessness often troubled Tamsin’s dreams, dreams filled with secrets hidden in the dark wood. Secrets the council had tried to hide. She feared for the witch’s future, as well as the other supernatural races, if she didn’t unravel the dreams meaning. But how?

It wasn’t until three years after her grandmother’s death and a life outside of Pyreshore, New Hampshire that she gets her chance. A letter inviting her to become a Keeper. It was the ticket she needed to bring her home and give her the opportunity to right a wrong so many chose to ignore.

But upon returning she finds that not only will she have to worry about the Witch’s Keeper watching her every move, but also Talon Strohm, son of the witches High Council. Talon tells Tamsin she can trust him but revealing the truth to him could put everything in jeopardy.

Tamsin will have to make a choice, trust Talon or let her only chance to save the witches slip away.

After all, every secret needs a Keeper.

The Keepers of Knowledge Series
10 books, 10 authors, 10 keepers, 1 shared world.

Buy the book here!

The Darkmoon Descendant (The Keepers of Knowledge #2)

 

Meet Katherine King, Werewolf...
 
Some bloodlines run dark. Some darkness can’t be overcome.
 
For Katherine “Kay” King, that could mean life or death.
 
After losing her werewolf brother, Kay stumbled through a perpetual fog wondering what wrong she had committed so severely against the universe to have her best friend snatched away. It was a loss that left her feeling like she didn’t belong and didn’t have a purpose.
 
Until the day a perplexing letter arrived. An invitation to join a centuries-old assemblage of supernatural creatures charged with maintaining the history of all supernatural races—The Keepers of Knowledge. However, when the letter arrived, so did the nightmares of being hunted by a pack of gray-eyed Alphas hell-bent on collecting a mysterious treasure she possessed.
 
Even accepting the invitation of the Keepers and moving to Pyreshore to train didn’t put an end to the dreams. In fact, day one of training brought her face to face with the eyes that haunted her dreams. Eyes that do something to her in the light of day she doesn’t feel when she closes her eyes to sleep. Eyes she’s certain will be the obstacle she must overcome in her quest to secure her race’s artifact—the one she protects in her dreams. The one tied to a curse that has plagued her family for centuries.
 
Can she trust the man behind those eyes to help her retrieve the artifact and move her bloodline in a new direction? Or will her family’s secret pull her into the darkness as her ancestors before her?

After all, every secret needs a keeper.

10 books, 10 authors, 10 keepers, 1 shared world.

Buy the book on Amazon!

Meet the new Keepers

 

Meet… the new Keepers of Knowledge…

Hidden within the world we live in are all the beings we tell tales about around the campfire, read about in books, watch in movies. They’re the ones we think about as going bump in the night, standing in the shadows as we walk through a dim area or following us down empty streets.

But in reality, they’re the people standing next to in the bank, buying coffee before us at the local cafe and maybe even ringing you up at the grocery store. They’re everywhere – Vampires, Witches, Mimics, Shifters, Fae, Merfolk, Banshees, Gargoyles, Sphynxes and Werewolves. Blending in with society.

However, despite their acclimation into the mundane world, they have factions of their own. A hierarchy within each race that all answers to the High Council of the Supernatural. And this council has recently deemed it necessary to add a member of each race to the Keepers of Knowledge.

The Keepers – a faction of supernatural beings charged with the vital task of authenticating and recording every major historical event and artifact that exists within supernatural world around us… and all of its secrets. Here, within these pages, you will get to meet each of the new candidates for these coveted positions.

Arriving in Pyreshore is a first look into this world, the town they live in, what brought about this change, and the characters you will come to love.

They who hold the knowledge keep the secrets. After all, every secret needs a Keeper.

10 books, 10 authors, 10 keepers, 1 shared world.

Find it on Amazon & B&N!

Lords of Lies and Prophecies Cover Reveal

 

It will take an impossible alliance to save the remnants of their kind.

But will the shifters slaughter themselves even before the Devourer destroys the world?

Morag, the great vampire stronghold, has fallen. Odran Rhys has led his people across the brutal desert to join with their enemy in the name of survival. But when they arrive at the shifters’ territory, he finds instead the threat of genocide at every turn.

Aderyn Wyndchaser is home at last, but her already tenuous position as Omega Alpha is further undermined by her sharing a bed with the vampire king. Now, she must not only convince her people that the alliance is needed, but that she is capable of leading them.

As Odran attempts to strength Aderyn’s position, civil war erupts. Loyalties are divided. Truth and lies blur. And the rulers’ feelings for each other are tested like never before. But they must rise above it all before the Devourer arrives.

Because it will annihilate them all.

Pre-order the book here!

Buy Heirs of Blood and Feathers (Age of Remnants #1)!

I'm so excited for the release of this book on December 19th. My co-author, Pixie Stormcrow and I had such fun writing this second book in the trilogy. There are so many layers. I love it! My talented friend also designed the cover. She does such fabulous work. Check her covers out!

Keepers of Knowledge series is coming soon!

 

They who hold the knowledge keep the secrets.

After all, every secret needs a Keeper.

10 Authors, 10 Books, 10 Keepers, 1 Shared World

Welcome to Pyreshore, New Hampshire—a quaint coastal town with pristine landscaping, elegant architecture, attractive homes, and a robust economy. But Pyreshore has more to offer than meets the eye. It’s not a town any regular person would pay attention to. To most, Pyreshore is a dying, run down, former tourist community barely fit to even ignore.

Yet, beneath the wards that keep this gem hidden from the mundane world is a thriving community of supernaturals. But not just any supernatural beings. Pyreshore is home to The Keepers of Knowledge. A small organization charged with the vital task of authenticating and recording every major historical event and artifact that exists within supernatural occurrences. They are the librarians, record keepers, and museum curators for all important things within the supernatural community.

One member from each race along with their families, heirs, and successor live there with a small cluster of others that both help run the town as well has have special abilities they lend to the Keepers. So, when one of the Keepers dies, a Mimic, it becomes apparent to The High Counsel that much of the Mimic’s histories may be lost with him. That’s when they decide it’s time to give every supernatural race a second keeper.

The Keepers of Knowledge Series is a shared world paranormal book series. Official cover reveals will be coming soon! Watch out for every book as they release!

Dec 21 - The FREE promotional novella

Jan 4 - R.J. Lloyd

Jan 18 - B.K. Rae

Feb 1 - Brandy Nacole

Feb 15 - S.F. Benson

Mar 1 - Bridgette O'Hare

Mar 15 - Catherine Stine

Mar 29 - M.R. Polish

Apr 12 - Christine Rains

Apr 26 - Michael J. Rinna

May 10 - S.W. Walters

Keep up to date on all the Keeper news on Facebook.

I'm so excited to be a part of this project. We have awesome authors, and everything is coming together wonderfully. I'm nearly done the first draft of my book, Curse of the Hunted. My protagonist is a Sphynx and the story has a paranormal cozy mystery feel. The covers you see in the promo image aren't the actual covers, but I still think they're really cool!

Fantasy and PNR Summer Book Fair

Over 100 authors are participating in this awesome promo!

FREE books and book samples from every sub-genre of Fantasy and PNR. This includes my edgy paranormal, The 13th Floor Complete Collection.

Fill up your e-reader and enjoy the last days of summer with wonderful stories!

Click on the image above or here!

Give Mom What She Really Wants! - #PNR and #UF sale and giveaway

I'm not one of those moms who like flowers or jewelry. No way. Give me books!

Check out this awesome paranormal romance and urban fantasy sale happening at Fantasy Book Giveaways. Great reads including three boxed sets. Make sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to win a fabulous bundle of ebooks!

Plus, for the next five days, Dark Dawning (Totem #1) is FREE!

Happy Mother's Day to all the marvelous moms, grandmas, great-grandmas, and like-moms out there!

Wicked Wednesday - new PNR couples

I've been hearing a lot of readers getting bored with the kick-butt heroines and Alpha males in paranormal romances. All the characters from various books blur together. The heroine and hero are becoming caricatures of themselves.

I still love a good PNR even when it has these same types of heroes, but I perk up when I find something new. I don't see these characters disappearing any time soon. Many readers still love the fantasy of a super possessive and domineering man and the beautiful warrior woman with a wit sharper than her blade. Yet there's room for different power couples out there.

Here are four trends that I'm seeing.*

1) The Alpha male beneath the surface of the "every day"** guy. You have the nice guy, usually smart and successful. He doesn't stand out in the heroine's eyes until he falls for her. He becomes driven to make her his. He might be smooth and savvy, but he gets arrogant and possessive.

2) The Alpha female and the Beta male. Many say this is the perfect match. Some women do fantasize about being in control. Just remember that the Alpha female isn't necessarily bossy and the Beta male isn't weak.

3) Geeky heroes. The girls who idolized Hermione Granger have grown up, and they prefer brains over brawn. A smart hero is better than one who muscles his way through life.

4) The "every day" woman emerges as the heroine. A woman with a crappy job, bad fashion sense, social anxieties, and/or obnoxious family members. The supernatural hero sees something special in her and falls in love.

Have you seen any new trends lately?

*I'm looking for new stories in PNR with different heroes, and I dig around all over the internet to find them. Are these books going to become the new big thing? I don't know, but I love seeing how romance novels evolve over the decades. (Check out this article on the evolution of the romance novel.)

**We are told these characters are every day folks, but it is fiction. Their lives have to be much more entertaining than ours!

Wicked Wednesday - wicked PNR quotes

I've noticed lately that my Wicked Wednesdays have lacked some wickedness. Since I'm busy with revisions at the moment, I thought I could have some fun by sharing with you some hilariously wicked quotes from my favorite paranormal romance authors. Enjoy!

“Why don't I just give you a pair of my panties to hang around your neck? Then whenever you feel jealous, you can wave them at whoever's pissing you off.”- Jeaniene Frost

"“Don't get pissy with me, leech." With a glare, Carrow pressed her print to his torque. "Even tapped out, I can still do a love spell to make you fall in love--with the sun.” " - Kresley Cole

"Stupid werewolf ninja sperm." - Molly Harper

"He looked like a sexy ninja. Or a tiger ready to pounce on his prey. She just looked like she was sitting sideways on an invisible toilet. Curse the male species for making danger look so good!" - Leia Shaw

"Which meant I got left with Quinn yet again. Given the time he was taking to make his decision, I wasn't exactly happy about that. I mean, putting me with him was like flashing chocolate my way then telling me I couldn't have it. It was just plain mean." - Keri Arthur

"It was like being leaned on by a very heavy, warm brick. A sexy brick." - Patricia Briggs

"One thing I've learned about vampires--they keep pulling new rabbits out of their cloaks. Big, fanged, carnivorous bunnies that'll eat your eyeballs if you're not paying attention." - Laurell K. Hamilton

"I don't suffer from my insanity -- I enjoy every minute of it." - Sherrilyn Kenyon

"Barrons was powerful, broodingly good-looking, insanely wealthy, frighteningly intelligent, and had exquisite taste, not to mention a hard body that emitted some kind of constant low-level charge. Bottom line: He was the stuff of heroes.
And psychotic killers." - Karen Marie Moning

What are your favorite PNR quotes?

* * * * *

There's still 2 days left to enter my HUGE Speculative Fiction Giveaway!

Enter to win a grand prize pack of books from 14 amazing authors.

Wicked Wednesday - original PNR heroines

I love the kick-butt heroines of paranormal romance (PNR). I love their physical and mental strength, their immense supernatural powers, their intelligence, and their wit. But sometimes they start to blur together.

It's fun to read and write about a strong female character, but there are a lot of them in this genre. When you get so many of the same type of protagonists, the books don't stand out from one another. It's the author's job to make sure their heroine is unique and memorable.

Here are a few tips to having a fantastic and original PNR heroine:

- Give her an unexpected job. We see many assassins, spies, and law enforcement officers. While those careers provide a good background for fighting experience and opportunities to mix with the dark side, there are several other jobs to choose from. What about a teacher or a nurse? Or even a rattlesnake milker. That's a dangerous job!

- Don't make her a loner. There are too many orphans and women from broken homes in PNR. Everyone needs some support. Give her good (smart!) friends and/or a decent family.

- Wit and sarcasm is fine. So is a little attitude. Yet don't go overboard. If the protagonist gives sass back to everyone, no one is going to like her. If she never follows her boss' orders, she's not going to keep her job no matter how good she is.

- Don't make her a glamor queen or a scarred beautiful killer. Not every man needs to lust after her. What's important is that her love interest finds her gorgeous.

- Make her strong, smart, and brave, but most importantly, make her flawed. Everyone has flaws. Protagonists become boring if they're perfect. Give the powerful characters flaws equal to or greater than their strengths. It'll be much more worth the reader's while when the protagonist overcomes them.

What types of heroines do you see too much of in PNR? Any additional tips on how to make them unique?

Wicked Wednesday - querying paranormal romance

Since I'll be querying my paranormal romance (PNR) novel soon, I've been doing a lot of reading about how to write the most effective letter. PNR stories are so varied and quite popular these days. You need to stand out to get noticed, and it all starts with this one email.

The same rules for any query letter apply here too:

- Be professional.

- Be concise.

- Mind your manners.

You want to hook the editor or agent. Most people reading queries for PNR don't want the email to start off with the boring "I'm seeking representation for my blah blah blah." Jump right into it. Ensnare them immediately with the story hook.

If you're able to capture the hook in one sentence, go for it. It's difficult because you want it to encompass the protagonist, the tone, and the conflict. Example: When reluctant psychic, Remy Jones, saves the life of an old woman, she doesn’t expect to be granted a wish in return. (Keri Arthur's HEART'S WISH)

The brief blurb for the book should be between four and six sentences. Make every word count. You must cover the who, what, where, when, and why. And it can't be an every day voice. This is PNR. You must take them out of the ordinary. Also remember that the romance is key. It's what everything hinges upon. Grab their hearts and twist with a great furry werewolf hand.

Include tropes. If you think you don't have any, read your manuscript again. They're there. The tropes like vampires-hate-werewolves-but-protagonist-falls-in-love-with-one or best-friends-turned-lovers are important for the agent or editor to know where you're coming from. PNR publishers tend to like Alpha males, but they won't totally discount you if you have another powerful trope. There's also a call for unique supernatural creatures.

I wish I could offer you more tips than these. I wish someone could tell me what the secret is to writing an amazing query letter. As much as we want to break it down and make a science of it, it's more about heart than anything else.

Do you have any tips for writing query letters?

Wicked Wednesday - What PNR author websites need

I've been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing these past few weeks. Online and offline. One of my projects this year will be to design a new website. A big deal since I have no web design experience, and I can't afford to have anyone else do it for me.

My current website is okay. I do like the template. (It was free!) But does it represent me as an author and my books? No.

My website wishlist: easy to navigate, easy to update, wicked, dark, and sexy.

So I've been doing some research and visiting a lot of paranormal romance author sites. Here's what I've found a PNR author needs on the home page of her site.

1) The color red. Dangerous and passionate. Most sites have a lot of red. The unofficial color of PNR authors? (E.g. Kresley Cole and Jennifer Lyon.)

2) A kick-butt heroine featured in the heading or background. (One of my favorite sites based on appearance and ease of use: Keri Arthur.)  OR a hot guy (human or not) in the heading or background. (E.g. Larissa Ione.) 

3) A quirky, sexy, or magical welcome to the site. Something a little different than the standard news scroll or "Buy my books!" (E.g. Alyssa Day.)

4) Book covers. Some covers are gorgeous, and I can see why authors make them the feature attraction. (E.g. Rachel Vincent and Sherrilyn Kenyon.)

5) A background to set the right atmosphere. Dark and mysterious. (E.g. Jennifer Estep.)

Do you have a website? If you do, did you have it designed to fit your genre?