Lords of Lies and Prophecies release day!

 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.

Buy the book here!

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

Today is the day! I'm so excited for my co-author, Pixie Stormcrow and I to share this story with the world. It's not been an easy year for any of us, but this is one of the bright shining moments of 2020 for me.

My talented friend also designed the cover. She does such fabulous work. Check her covers out!

Writing within the fog #writerslife

I hope you're all safe and well. 2020 has been a crazy ride so far, and it's not over yet. The image of the pier reaching toward the fog is how I feel. I don't know what lies ahead of us. Some days, I can't even tell where the water is and where the fog begins. It all blurs together. I'm just taking one day at a time.

Now that my homeschooling days are done for the summer, I had hoped to watch and read a lot more. I've not been doing either. My island is getting a lot of attention on Animal Crossing, though. Barovia will rise again!

My presence online has also stumbled and gotten lost in the mist. I need to find my way back and establish a regular schedule again. Slowly but surely I'll get there.

One thing that has picked up is my writing groove. I'm actually working on two projects, and they're coming along marvelously.

Project #1 - Heirs of Blood and Feathers. First book of a post-apocalyptic paranormal romance trilogy co-written with a good friend of mine, Pixie Stormcrow. I'll be publishing it under my pen name, Morena Silver. We're moving along so well, we might go with an August 1st release date! More news next month on it.

Project #2 - Ravage of Revenants (Book #1 in the Khthonia trilogy). I might keep that name for the second book in the series and name the first book <Something> of Specters. A Shudder of Specters? I'll figure it out. This is my LitRPG novel, and I'm nearing 65,000 words. I'm so excited I'm nearly at the end! This book has been so much fun to write. It appeals to both the gamer geek and the fantasy lover in me. It's a little grim dark and has a light touch of romance.

Please leave me a little message and let me know how you're doing. And be kind not only to others, but to yourself as well.

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!

Free Romance & Fantasy books!

FREE BOOKS!

Do I need to add anything else?

Other than the fact that my paranormal romance, The 13th Floor Complete Collection is part of the promo!

Just click on the image to take you there.

100 books for 99c!

This fabulous promotion includes the first novel from my pen name, Morena Silver. Love and adventure on the endless seas in Harnessing the Winds!

As an added bonus...

Please consider leaving reviews for these authors. Even though you're getting a book for free or 99c, it doesn't devalue all the hard work they put into these stories.

#13Treats - Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Book Giveaway

It's Friday the 13th!
Some might be leery of this day, but I'm particularly fond of the number 13. It's lucky in my eyes! And I hope to make it lucky for you too.

Fantasy Book Giveaways is trying something new. We want readers to Trick or Tweet for books. The rules are simple. Go to the site and browse through all the great reads up for grabs. Each author will have provided a tweet you can copy and paste. Tweet as many as you like, and at the end of the event, the authors will randomly choose winners.

I'm picking five winners for my dark urban fantasy, Of Blood and Sorrow.

You can make up your own tweet if you'd like. It must have my twitter name and the hashtag #13Treats in it. Here is my premade tweet for you to copy and paste:
 I want to win Of Blood and Sorrow by @CRainsWriter for #13Treats! Trick or Tweet for books with @paranormlcandy's big Twitter #giveaway

As extra incentive to tweet for my novel, I'm currently working on the sequel to Of Blood and Sorrow. The next two books in the trilogy will be out next year!

I want everyone to get a treat. So for five days only, I'm offering Ghost Dancer (The Paramours #1) for free! It's a ghost story with much more woo than boo.

Good luck!

Word Witch Wednesday - balancing formula and originality

This is a battle I've been thinking a lot about lately. Readers want familiarity. Give them their favorite types of genre books with the same formula. Readers also want originality. Something they've never seen before. Giving readers both? It can be done, but it's tough.

Formula - Most publishers will have a sheet on what you're supposed to have in a book in a given genre. For example, paranormal romance (PNR) requires a dual point of view from the heroine and hero, minimum 80% (with some publishers it's 90%) of the plot must have the hero and heroine together, the male must be an alpha, the heroine must kick butt, the key to the climax must hinge on their romance, and it must have a happily ever after or a happily for now ending.

With the formula, I feel like I'm reading the same two or three books over and over again. It's not enjoyable. Every now and then, I'll come across something different within the formula and it will rekindle my love for the genre. But as a reader, the formula is ruining my enjoyment of PNR.

It just isn't in this one genre. I've heard the same complaint about other genres, especially young adult (YA) and romance. The thing is these three genres I've mentioned are the best selling genres in the market.

Originality - Many publishers will not take a chance on a book that isn't written to their formula. Thank goodness for self-publishing! It is in indie books that I see more original tales. Yet sometimes I feel as if these stories are lacking something or wondering what the heck was that!

Making it in the indie world is hard work. Yet there is a lot of fabulous original material out there. Why aren't they selling better? Because readers want the comfort of the formula... while complaining they want something new.

 

The trick is then to give them both. But how?

 

I don't have the secret to that. I can only share what I've been doing. With formula, you can easily Google story structure for any genre and find hundreds of links. If you're aiming for a particular publisher, be certain you know what they want.

Here are some tips for adding originality into the formula:

- stick to the standard main plot but write twisty subplots

- choose a little known mythology to base your story on

- twist the clichés of your genre (e.g. the heroine isn't an orphan but a well loved daughter in a big family)

- have something familiar combined with something new (e.g. a greedy dragon stealing treasure from castles is really a scaly Robin Hood)

- write one main character off trope be it the hero, the love interest, the sidekick, or villain

How do you feel about formula writing? Do you have any tips to add to help make a story original?

#13Treats - Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Twitter Giveaway Signups

Attention paranormal romance and urban fantasy authors!

Fantasy Book Giveaways is trying out something new for our big October event. We're going to have people trick or tweet for a chance to win books! #13Treats is a Twitter giveaway which is fast, easy, and fun. It is a free event with the possibility of reaching thousands more eyes than newsletters alone.

Sign up here.

The event starts on Friday the 13th. If you know me, I can assure you it's a lucky number!

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!

Heads Up, #PNR and #Urbanfantasy Authors!

Attention to all paranormal romance and urban fantasy writers! This is a great promo offer, and it's free. It's a fantastic way to get your book in front of new readers and boost your sales.

This May promotion from Fantasy Book Giveaways is taking sign-ups right now. Click to read all the guidelines and get in before we fill up. It's a 99c and free promotion through newsletters and on Facebook. Plus, if you donate to the giveaway, all books are bundled into one huge prize. Readers just eat that up!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Get Lucky Sale & Giveaway, Plus 3 Freebies!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! While my little guy is making a trap to catch a leprechaun, I'll be filling my e-reader with all these awesome paranormal romance and urban fantasy books. These stories are on sale for a limited time, but if you have Kindle Unlimited (KU), you can read them any time for free! KU is as good as finding a pot of books at the end of the rainbow.

You can also enter to win a fantastic bundle of books. My urban fantasy, Of Blood and Sorrow, is included in the prize. Click on either of the images to take you to Fantasy Book Giveaways!

* * * * *

More good luck is coming your way! I'm offering three of my steamy novellas for free for the next five days. Three for free! If you have KU, you can read all three series for free. Just click on the images to get your free copies from Amazon.

Great opportunity for promoting!

I'm part of a fantastic group called Fantasy Book Giveaways along with two talented authors, T.F. Walsh and A.A. Chamberlynn. Every month or so, we organize and host a sale and giveaway for paranormal romance and urban fantasy authors. It's a marvelous way to promote your book and it's free! We have a huge combined audience, and the more authors that participate, the more readers we can reach.

This month is our Get Lucky! book fair. We're featuring books that are in Kindle Unlimited. If you're interested, pop on over and sign up.

I'll remind you later this month about the event so you can enter to win the big prize bundle of books!

Doubling the Reviews, Doubling the Awesome Reads!

These two books are from the Fated & Forbidden series. A group of authors wrote stories which all took place in the same universe and share one amazing hook!

Dark Burn by Decadent Kane

Blurb: The challenge wasn't meant to be easy. They were set up to fail from the beginning.

Priya's the last of her kind...
After death takes the only family Priya has ever known, she ventures out to find others like her, those who catch fire and fly. But shadow hunters prowl the night ready to kill firebirds like her, and one has found her trail. After a narrow escape she runs into the kind of man she shouldn't want...a man with silver eyes as if the very moon has been trapped inside his gaze.
His help won't be enough when Nicholas finds her.

Doulzen is a shade by birth, shadow hunter by rite...
When an extinct white firebird flies through the night sky, fire blazing behind the creature, he knows he has to have it. Pulling the shadows in, he notches his arrow and downs his prey, but when he arrives to catch it, he finds a female running from someone instead. He promised himself he wouldn't be her protector, he'd get her where she needed to go, but when Nicholas shows up and takes Priya from him, Doulzen finds the mark that tells him she is his fated mate. With darkness at his heels, he will stop at nothing to get her back as his very existence relies on it.

When Priya and Doulzen find out each other's secrets, it will take a lot more than fate to bring them back together.

My review: Priya believes she's the last of her kind. A race of beautiful shifters called firebirds. When her Gran dies, she plans to visit family she never met in another city, but a man who is stalking her chases her away too quickly, and she is injured by a hunter. Doulzen is that shadow hunter, but he has no idea the mystery behind the creature he hunts. When he comes across Priya instead of his prey, he vows to help her in exchange for firebird feathers, but he might find more than he bargained for when her stalker steals her away. In that moment, Doulzen discovers she is his intended mate, and he'll stop at nothing to get her back.

A compelling paranormal romance that hooked me from the beginning and wouldn't let go. My heart went out to Priya immediately at not only the loss of her grandmother, but not knowing the anything about what she is and her past. Sheltered as she is, she's a strong and admirable woman. Doulzen is a sinuous hunter who must deal with finding out everything he knows may be a lie. The tension between him and Priya is sizzling. Nicholas is a detestable villain and puts the heroes in what seems like an impossible situation. Fast action, great tension, and oh-my-god twists.

Buy Dark Burn here.

Find Decadent Kane on her blog.

Fallen Ashes by T.F. Walsh

Blurb: As the last of her kind, Fallen awakes in a holding cell, but being locked up is the least of her problems.

She's been magically bound to a cocky Queen's Guardian named Saber. Because Fallen is the last dragon shifter in Tapestry, she's on everyone's hit list... especially his... but she doesn't have time to die by his hand. Fallen has to find her life mate in four weeks or else all of creation in her world will be destroyed.

Saber never asked to be brought to life. He certainly never wanted to be hexed and forced to transform into a mindless shadow assassin. Exiled from the Kingdom, he must rescue his stepfather from the Collector to prove his innocence. Otherwise he'll be hunted and killed. But his plans are temporarily put on hold when he's captured, imprisoned, and bound to a mysterious blond-haired vixen with a major fire addiction.

With time ticking away for Saber and Fallen, will the two be able to come together to defeat the Collector and save themselves, along with the rest of the world?

My review: Fallen is the last of her kind and trapped in a holding cell. Bound by some frustrating spell to a gorgeous Queen's Guardian named Saber, they escape and flee. Their captors hunt them relentlessly as they try to learn to work together. Fallen has no time for the chase. She must find her life mate within four weeks or her world will be extinguished. Saber doesn't believe in her dreams and is determined to prove himself innocent of being exiled by saving his stepfather from the same villain that captured him. They must hurry or all could be lost for both of them.

This is one of my favorite books from T.F. Walsh. It's a unique premise of two parallel worlds; one our modern day society and the other, a magical fantasy land filled with both darkness and beautiful wonders. Walsh's lush descriptions of places and the monsters really bring the story to life. I especially loved she included the Hoia Baciu Forest. It's a haunting and fascinating place in Romania.

Fallen is a heroine that kicks butt. She's immediately sympathetic, and I rooted for her from the first scene. Paired with Saber, she's fiery in so many ways! I do love the story behind Saber and what motivates him. The tension between the two of them is hot, and I loved seeing how they worked with the chaos of their emotions with the conflicts going on. Noah is a villain you'll love to hate, and you'll wonder often if he's more than a match for Fallen and Saber. Tons of action and mystery. I couldn't get enough of this story. I ate it up as fast as I could!

Buy Fallen Ashes here.

Find T.F. Walsh on her website.

Find Your Valentine 99c Sale and Giveaway!

Find love in a book!
Check out 20 amazing books all on sale this weekend only.

The 13th Floor Complete Collection is on sale for the first time ever! Six novellas and one short story for only 99 cents. Get hooked!

Six supernatural tenants

living in a haunted building

on a floor that doesn't exist.

Purchase links: Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

Plus enter to win this awesome book bundle giveaway!

Shattered Spirit (Totem #4) Release & All It Takes cover reveal!

A haunted house isn’t going to stop Ametta Dorn from doing her job.

Frustrated that her family has left her out of the search for the missing totem tokens, Ametta Dorn loses herself in her work. She’s offered a dream job of a complete interior renovation of a famous Cremaschi house. Not even discovering the house belongs to Lucky Osberg can dampen her enthusiasm.

Lucky’s plan to spend more time with her as she works goes awry when the spirit who protects his home tries to murder her. Ametta won’t be scared off, despite being tempted to run and never come back. She was going to flee Alaska and pursue her designer dreams anyway, yet that means giving up on Lucky and the totem that is just within her grasp.

Buy it on Amazon!

Add it to read on Goodreads.

To celebrate the release of Shattered Spirit, the first book in the Totem series, Dark Dawning is FREE!

* * * * *

I’m thrilled to reveal the cover for Clare Dugmore’s dual-POV contemporary romance ALL IT TAKES, scheduled for release February 14, 2017, and announce that it’s now available for pre-order for delivery to your Kindle on release day.

Title: All It Takes

Author: Clare Dugmore

Genre: Romance

Release Date: February 14, 2017

Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing

Add to your Goodreads to be read list

Pre Order on Amazon US | Amazon UK

Description:

All It Takes is one night to change the rest of their lives.

Graduating Uni, travelling Europe and buying her own place – these are on Megan Green’s to-do list.

At just twenty-two, becoming a mother isn’t.

Fast cars, expensive clothes and bedding a different women every night – this is how Kian Murphy spends his time when not in the MMA ring. Pre-natal scans and birthing classes are not on his agenda.

After a chance meeting and passionate encounter, Megan finds herself pregnant with Kian’s child. But with a womanizing reputation, and a temper that often leads him into trouble, Kian is hardly boyfriend material, let alone father material.

Now Megan and Kian must work out if they have All It Takes to turn their one-night-stand into a relationship that will connect them for a life-time.

All It Takes is a dual-POV new-adult, contemporary-romance about responsibility, love and discovering who you are in life.