Taken by the Cyclops by @meganslayer #contemporary #PNR #romance #monsterromance #cyclops

 

  

Taken by the Cyclops (Taken 1)

Author: Megan Slayer

Cover Art: Bryan Keller

BIN: 010675-03470

Genres: Action Adventure, New Releases, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Themes: Elves, Dragons & Magical Creatures, Magic, Sorcery, and Witchcraft, New Adult

Series: Taken (#1)

Book Length: Novel

Page Count: 131

 

Piper wanted nothing more than to escape the life she’d come to know, full of abuse and danger -- certainly not love. When she drives to Eerie, she’s convinced she’ll get a fresh start. What she doesn’t expect is Diesel.

Diesel believes he’s not worthy of love, but when he looks at Piper, he wants more than to protect her. He wants to own her -- body and soul. There’s just one problem. He’s a cyclops -- dangerous, destructive and hated. He’s done things he knows are unforgivable.

Will the sweet runaway find the love she deserves in the monster she’s found? Or will the monster from her past catch up and ruin her chances at the future she craves?

https://www.changelingpress.com/taken-by-the-cyclops-taken-1-b-3470?genre_id=21

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRL5L238

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6445296580

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taken-by-the-cyclops-megan-slayer/1142905732

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/taken-by-the-cyclops

 

 

99 Cent Amazon Sale for Shadow of the Eclipse by L. A. Kelley

Shadow of the Eclipse

by L. A. Kelley

99 Cent Amazon Sale

Sale Ends March 31

Excitement brews in Crossroads for everyone but lawyer, Callum MacGregor. The harvest festival coincides with an eclipse, but a recent breakup leaves him no desire to attend until a visit from his old law partner, Isaac Bingham, drops a bombshell. Twenty years before Cal’s birth, his grandfather, Phillip, extracted a promise. Isaac must get Cal to the festival or the world faces unparalleled disaster. The mystery deepens when Cal learns another person received the same mysterious summons.

        After being fired for refusing to cook the books, accountant Meg Adler gets a letter with a job offer from a man named Bingham. She must attend the Crossroads Harvest Festival and meet his representative to discuss details. Meg is leery, but it’s not the end of the world if this doesn’t pan out. Right?

        Ancient evil prowls the shadow of the eclipse, and the key to saving the present is in the past. Cal and Meg enter a mystic maze and journey to Babylon, the Dark Ages, and 1906 San Francisco on the trail of magic artifacts lost in the recesses of time. Can they dodge demonic forces, fulfill a dead man’s mission, and discover a new future with each other?

Excerpt

“So, Cal,” Meg said. “Why meet here? What does this festival have to do with a job?” She flashed a cheeky grin. “I should warn you I don’t work the carny circuit.”

A job? An uneasy sensation settled in his gut. “I’ve no idea. I thought you knew why we were here.”

“Me?” Meg pulled back her hand and color rose to her cheeks. “What is this? Some kind of sick joke? Who does this Phillip Bingham think he is, anyway?”

Cal gaped at her. “Phillip Bingham contacted you? Not Isaac?”

“I got a letter from him with a vague employment offer from the Lux Foundation along with an invitation to attend the Crossroads Harvest Festival.” She wrinkled her brow. “It was a funny kind of letter on really old paper. The room at the inn was paid for by a man named Isaac Bingham, and I needed a job, so I figured what the hell. The instructions said a person would find me here to discuss the details. I assume that is you.” Her voice tightened in anger. “Is Phillip Bingham the town lunatic?”

“No, but I’m sorry to tell you he’s very much dead.” Cal gave her a recap of his meeting with Isaac.

As Meg listened, her eyes widened in astonishment. “Phillip Bingham died decades ago? How could he know I’d lose my job this week and be desperate enough to jump at this crazy offer?”

Cal ran a hand through his hair. “How did he know either of us would even be born?”

Meg took a wary step back. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

“I’m not sure I believe it myself. Listen, do you want to go somewhere and talk? Try to figure this out? I’ll call Isaac, tell him we found each other, and demand an explanation.”

Meg cocked her head toward the entrance of the corn maze. “Do you hear that? Someone called for help.”

“Probably lost in the maze. George made it extra challenging this year.”

“No, it’s different.” She sucked in a breath. “M-my name—I swear I heard my name.”

A gust of wind rippled the stalks. They bent toward the entrance, fluttery hands beckoning them inside. Cal strained to hear past the whispery rustle of the leaves.

Almost as if they were voices…

“I’ll check it out,” he said. “Maybe someone fell and got hurt. Wait here—”

“Not a chance.” Meg bolted into the maze, and Cal ran after her. They came to the first intersection, and she skidded to a halt. “Which way?”

“Left,” Cal said without hesitation.

They dashed deeper into the field, now left, now right, now straight ahead. With each step, Cal’s path became surer as if something pulled him with an invisible cord.

Meg puffed beside him. “How do you know which way to go?”

“I-I can’t explain it.” With every breath, the air around Cal became hotter and more oppressive, pressing on his shoulders like a stifling blanket. Humidity dropped to nothing. Beads of sweat on his brow evaporated. Cal licked his dry, cracked lips and grimaced at the gritty feel of sand on his tongue.

Sand in a corn maze?

They turned a corner and stumbled into a clearing. In the center was an arbor that arched over a circle of flagstones on the ground. A glowing flame hovered above the stones, suspended in midair. Meg and Cal exchanged dumbfounded looks and stepped forward. The clarion note of a distant horn sounded a soldier’s call to action. A surge of adrenaline flooded Cal’s veins. He hadn’t felt like this since his days on patrol with the Army. Unconsciously, Cal’s hand went to his hip, reaching for the sword. He stared at his empty hand. Sword?

The flame grew larger and brighter, shooting through the arbor into the heavens.

“Cal!” Meg’s voice sounded very far away.

“I’m here!” Cal reached for her, but the flame blinded him, blotting out the maze, blotting out the sun, blotting out the world.

Nothing remained but the roar of the cheering crowd.

Amazon Link

           

L🖤VE BITES . . . on SALE! by Nancy Gideon

I get sooooo excited when my backlist paranormal books go on sale! It’s the perfect time to stir up promo vibes for both my lengthy vampire and shapeshifter series. So let’s get this gratuitously out of the way . . .

Midnight Redeemer (Touched by Midnight Series - Book 6)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iBooks

Published: May 3, 2011

Length: 196 Pages

Add to Goodreads TBR→

Hunt or be hunted . . . A centuries-old obsession stalks a noble family fighting to hide their dark secret from an ever-changing world. Sink your teeth into Nancy Gideon's Touched by Midnight series.

Will his dream . . .

Centuries-old vampire Louis Redman is desperate to believe an inquisitive researcher's claim that she's close to finding a cure for his age-old curse. Determined to become human again, he must trust the lovely geneticist who has pushed her way into his guarded life . . . and heart . . . not to betray him to the government agency that wants to uncover his secrets for their own purposes.

. . . be the death of her?

Scientist Stacy Kimball discovers potential fame and the answer to immortality in a murder victim's blood sample. But as she gets closer to the truth, danger stalks her from the shadows. Who wants to silence her from making the breakthrough of a lifetime? Is it the agency that funds her work? The killer who's terrorizing Seattle's night scene?

Or the mysterious Louis Redman, whose kisses seduce her beyond caring . . . ?

"A rare treat . . . this exciting thriller will keep you up all night as Ms. Gideon weaves her spell." — Romantic Times

"Nancy Gideon is one of the best supernatural writers on the market today!" — Midwest Book Review/BookWire

✦✦✦

While I adore Max and my “By Moonlight” family, it was those nocturnal naughty boys (and girls) in my “Midnight” series in the late 1990’s that got my PNR career going. It all started at a meeting with my then publisher, Zebra, who was looking for authors interested in tiptoeing into the dark side by writing paranormal romance and wondered if I’d be one of them. WOULD I?!?! I had proposals to them by the time they got home from the conference. Romance with a Bite! Squee!

I grew up delightfully scared by those things that go bump in the night (and I don’t mean tripping over a snoozing pet on the way to the bathroom!). Those were the days of horror classics and DARK SHADOWS, and I embraced their evolution into smarter, darker, and sometimes funnier venues like Twilight Zone/Night Gallery, Journey to the Unknown, and Night Stalker. I’d watch Creature Features through my fingers while huddling on the couch . . . and my mom would wonder why I had such a hard time getting up for school in the morning. I read everything Shelley, Stoker, Poe, Jackson, King, and Koontz (but not Lovecraft – too weird. Brrr!).

Reaping those shivers on the screen and off the page became picturing them in my mind, as my own spooky tales spun from thoughts onto lined paper then to ancient typewriter. Writing about things that terrified me as a child let me own those fears.

Good-bye night light. I’d embraced my inner demons and invited them onto the blank pages in front of me.

Currently, I’m busy reissuing Books 4-8 in my “By Moonlight” shapeshifter series and, wouldn’t you know, reading through them has gotten my storytelling vibes tingling again . . . Perhaps another walk on the dark side is long overdue.

Shapeshifter or Vampire? Which direction do you think I should go?

Does it look like Spring’s begun in your area? Here in Michigan, we just get teases that could lead to a blizzard. One never knows. And now that I don’t have to work outside the home, I don’t have to care! But hurry up budding trees and greening lawns – the cats want to go out on their leashes!!

♚♚♚♚♚

Nancy Gideon on the Web

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group

Follow @Gideon2Nancy

Writing Out of My Wheelhouse...Again. Good Idea or Bad? by Tena Stetler

First thing that comes to mind is will my readers accept the new genre or new twist to your books. Magic, the paranormal, and the unexplained have always been my wheelhouse. Even as far back as grade school, I wrote vampire tales for my friends. When I took the opportunity to write full-time, I polished one of my paranormal romances and submitted it. Lo and behold, I received a contract offer. Yippee! This was 2015, eighteen books, and eight years later, I still write paranormal romance/mystery novels. But 2021, I first strayed from my comfort zone and wrote An Angel’s Wylder Assignment for The Wild Rose Press multi-author Wylder West Series. While still paranormal the book is also historical, western, time-travel, and a mystery. To my surprise, my readers embraced the book without reservation. Whew, I was relieved and vowed to return to my roots and stay put. Well…

I write Paranormal Romance/Mystery, so most of my books have an element of mystery to them. This year, 2023, I dug up my roots, so to speak, and relocated them. My new release Security Force of Two is more mystery with a sprinkling of romance. Magic is still prevalent, but not always a constant. 

I am a seat-of-the-pants writer (panster), and my characters drive the story. They took off on a chosen path, including murder, espionage, and mayhem. There was no looking back regardless of what research into writing a mystery was required. What a challenge! But also fun!

Because paranormal is anything I can imagine and have an overactive imagination, I can write anything I want and make it work. I love magic. So it was quite a change to have to do research. Figure out who really did it, send the reader on at least one wild goose chase, and why. What a learning curve.

Would I do it again? Well, this is the second time I’ve tested my readers and my abilities, I hope they’ll enjoy this one as much as they did my Wylder book.

I learned a lot and grew as an author writing this book. Stopping to research while I was writing was trying at times. I had a lot of fun discovering how to craft a mystery, the elements different than a Paramormal Romance/ Mystery. I recommend every author try writing out of your comfort zone, at least once! My current writing endeavors are still paranormal, cozy mystery, and a sequel to Mystic Maples set in an Irish castle.  But… you knew that was coming didn’t you? Since Security Force of Two is the first book in the Mountain Town Mystery Series, I guess book two will be more mystery than romance again.  I hope my readers don’t mine.  Only time will tell.  

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Now let’s see what my new release,  Security Force of Two is all about.

Miacoh Zane, a Special Forces veteran, returns to Aspen Ridge.  A small town nestled in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, to settle his beloved grandmother’s estate. But the town holds painful memories and family secrets he wants to leave behind for good.

 Candle Bearclaw, a gifted computer analyst/programmer with talents she’s buried when recruited out of college by the CIA. After fifteen years, she abruptly resigns her position with the agency. She returns to her sleepy hometown only to discover her childhood crush has also returned and a violent crime has been committed.

 Due to their covert operations experience, Candle and Miacoh are thrown together to assist Homeland Security, FBI, and her father, former chief of police, with a murder investigation. As they search for the perpetrators, will their secrets be revealed as the investigation takes an unusual twist that could blow the case wide open.

How about a sneak peek between the pages of SECURITY FORCE OF TWO?

When she drove up the circle driveway, a chill shot up her spine, then a strange feeling came over her, almost like someone was watching. Reaching under the seat of her SUV, she pulled out her handgun, checked the weapon to make sure it was loaded, chambered a round, and tucked it in the back waistband of her jeans, covering it with her shirt and jacket. She backed out then drove the entire driveway more slowly, checking the perimeter. Nothing. The cell phone hadn't chirped to alert her of a breach, but she checked her outside surveillance cameras, then the ones inside her home anyway. Again nothing. She shrugged off the feeling and stepped out of her SUV. Gun drawn, she flicked off the safety and turned on the laser. It didn't hurt to be safe rather than sorry.          

Peeking in the window, she saw the alarm keypad was still set and secure. Then she walked around the house, entered through the back door, closed and relocked it, deactivated the alarm. Nothing was out of place. Part of her wished she'd brought Terrabyte along. Though still young, the pups tracking ability was well-developed. Terra would know if someone were in or around the cabin since they left. Back to the wall, she moved carefully through each room, nothing. When she was sure the house was clear, she sat down at the computer, laying the gun next to it. Warning windows were popped up everywhere on the screen. Someone had tried to hack into her system but hadn't gotten very far. Closing out the windows one at a time until she found a message planted just under the first layer of security. That is what must have set off the warnings. Her throat went dry as she read the message. “Poking around where you don't belong is dangerous business. Carl's death was unfortunate but an accident. Leave it be or pay the consequences.”

Fingers poised over the keyboard. She started to X out of the message but stopped. If this was a disintegrating message, she would have no proof it ever existed. Taking out her cell phone, she took a picture of the screen. The handle on the front door jiggled. She grabbed her gun and jumped up, making her way to the front bay window.

Buy Link https://books2read.com/u/bMN2X5

Until next month, stay safe, try coloring outside the lines once in a while, and don't forget to stop and smell the roses! 

Happy Spring! Though here in Northern Florida, it feels like winter. February was warm March? Not so much. I have the heat on and my winter clothes. But I do love this time of year. All its unpredictability fits my personality. 

I celebrated a new release. On March 16^th, my historical, paranormal, action, adventure, and romance went live. I managed to squeeze in quite a few tropes into this one as well as categories. 

So, tropes. What the heck is a trope? According to Dictionary.com, a trope is a recurring element or a frequently used plot device in a work of literature or art. A trope can be a person, place, thing, or situation.

Here are some general examples.

Good vs. evil

Secret identity

Paranormal, romance, and fantasy have their own list. For instance,

The Chosen One.

Soul-Mates

Star-crossed Lovers

Fairy Tale retelling

Enemies to Lovers

I happen to adore soul-mates and star-crossed lovers, even not paranormal ones. Some of my favorite movies are,

Underworld

Ghost

Titanic

The King and I

A Star is Born.

In Sea Hunter, I squeezed in Soul-Mates (by the power of the Mortar & Pestle), Enemies to Lovers, Force Proximity (stuck on a boat), and sort of a cute meet (though it was more life and death).

I think the most important to me is the HEA, or happily ever after. Sea Hunter was a hoot to write. The vernacular of the 1940s made me laugh at times. Especially when they got tangled up in each other’s wool. I’ll leave you to figure out that euphemism.

There are so many different tropes, and the readers who love them. Even in the Mortar & Pestle series, each book follows a different one.

Do you have a favorite? Tell me about it.

In the meantime, if you want to find out more about the series, here is a link to a free eBooks download sample https://dl.bookfunnel.com/b1ytv2r7nq

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRYJLLW1

Happy St. Patrick's Day! by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

 

St. Patrick’s Day as the name implies is actually a religious holiday.  It is held on March 17^th, which is the day on which St. Patrick died (March 17, 461). The Irish have celebrated this holiday for over 1000 years and even though it occurs during the Christian season of Lent, they go to church in the a.m. and celebrate in the p.m., dancing and eating Irish bacon and cabbage. St. Patrick’s Day is a Roman Catholic feast day, and what self-respecting American/Irish pub doesn’t serve corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day?

Born in Roman Britain during the 5^th century, Patrick was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. It is said he escaped but later returned and brought Christianity to Ireland. There is a lot of mythology surrounding this now Irish patron saint, but the most well-known is probably that he explained the Holy Trinity using a three-leaf clover.

The first celebration of St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the U.S., with a parade and feast, was held in St. Augustine, Florida in 1601.  Today, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the oldest civilian parade in the world and the largest in the U. S. with over 150,000 participants taking 5 hours to move down its 1.5-mile route. It is viewed by over 3 million people.

You don’t have to look far to find green and clovers in just about any town U.S.A. on St. Patrick’s Day. My Irish husband, Patrick, thinks it’s all for him, of course. I made him four-leaf clover sugar cookies for desert to go along with his corned beef and cabbage. How do you celebrate?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Guest: Lucy Naylor Kubash and The Haunting of Laurel Cove #GhostStory

I recently read a book written by Lucy an author friend. (I try to support my friends. 😀) I knew she wrote western romance but didn't realize she'd written a paranormal romance. Plus, it didn't take place out west. Something different. Had to read that. So glad I did. Here's Lucy to tell us about the book.

I love the Smoky Mountains! With their hazy mists and secret coves, the Smokies are mysterious and full of secrets, and they can easily pull you into their spell. From the moment I saw them, I thought they presented a perfect setting for a mystery/romance/ghost story.

I wrote The Haunting of Laurel Cove after my first visit to the Smokies more than a few years ago. The story went through many rewrites and garnered an honorable mention in a contest along the way. When Covid reared its ugly head, I dragged the original manuscript out from its hiding place, resurrected the flash drive where the last version was saved, and set about rewriting the entire book...one more time. It became what I called my Pandemic Project, and it kept me busy and productive for the many months we spent sitting at home that year. Then off it went to the Wild Rose Press. I'm happy to say it was a December 6, 2022 release from them. 

Shattered dreams, family secrets, rekindled love. Which is the biggest threat to life and sanity to a broken woman trying to heal?  

When Jane Stuart returns to the Smoky Mountains and the house she inherited from her grandmother with the hope to heal from a brutal mugging, she find herself obsessed with a local legend involving a witch and a mysterious cabin.

Upon reconnecting with an old boyfriend now turned handsome environmentalist, she finds herself rekindling her attraction to Brendan McGarren and is drawn into his battle to keep Laurel Cove from becoming a rich man's playground. As she begins to uncover family secrets pertaining to the witch and the cabin, Jane questions her own sanity. Then the threats begin. Can she trust Brendan?

Will the search for the truth cost Jane her life?

Here is an excerpt from The Haunting of Laurel Cove:

I glanced up into the woods, staring once more into vacant windows. The eyes and soul of a house no longer inhabited, at least not by anyone of this world. Voices whirled about in my mind. Lights have been seen in the cabin, after dark. Some say she doesn't rest at all, but walks at night. Then, from somewhere, the echo of a dog's plaintive howl sent icy fingers sliding down my backbone.

"I was here the other day," I said, my voice hushed. "I didn't know it was Cissy's cabin, but now I remember being here a long time ago, when the other kids were taunting her. It was awful, and I knew Gran would be upset with me. I think maybe she felt sorry for Cissy, or maybe she even knew her, before it happened."

"Before what happened?" Brendan drew next to me and leaned over to put his hand on mine where I gripped the reins. 

I tore my gaze from the cabin and looked into his turquoise eyes. "The murder."

He considered this a moment before he said, "I think we should leave now."

Did he feel it too? The presence of someone other than us? 

We did not talk at all as we rode away, but I couldn't resist a single backward glance at the lonely cabin. Strange how the breeze sifting through the trees now sounded more like someone's gentle sighing. Cecilia Jane.  

I'm so excited for this book's release. I hope you'll enjoy it!

The Haunting of Laurel Cove is available as an e-book and also paperback at these fine retailers:

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/3v2fhfeu

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/y6kktzpp

iBooks https://iBooks.com

Kobo https://KOBO.com

 

If are a library patron, please ask your local library to order The Haunting of Laurel Cove.

ISBN: 978-1-2092-4551-2

Also available from Lucy Naylor Kubash and The Wild Rose Press

Will o' the Wisp 

ISBN:  978-1-5092-2694-8

  

 

Lucy Naylor Kubash is the author of numerous short stories, contemporary romance novels, and a nonfiction column, The Pet Corner, that she's been writing for twenty years. Lucy is a longtime member of Romance Writers of America and Michigan Romance Writers. Lucy is also a member of Grand Rapids Region Writers Group, Romance Writers Online, and Women Writing the West. She resides in Michigan, where she grew up, not far from Lake Michigan. She and her husband have been married 50 years and have two grown children. They currently live with their rescue pets, the tenacious terrier Ace, and two cats, Zombie and Sammie Sandwich, but love traveling whenever possible, especially out West. Learn more about the author at her website: www.lucynaylorkubash.com.

Please visit my Amazon Author Page:  

www.amazon.com/author/lucynaylorkubash

Look for me here;

www.lucynaylorkubash.com

https://www.facebook.com/LucyNaylorKubash/

https://twitter.com/LucyKubash

https://instagram.com/lucykubash_author/

 

What is an aibo?

This morning, I was awake at 4 AM.  I just didn’t feel like going back to bed after I had a Klondike ice cream bar in the wee hours of the morning. I happened to read another author’s tweet about entering a contest and decided to check it out. I didn’t have a topic for today’s post, and lo and behold there in the final judge’s bio was the term aibo robotic dog.  I wrote a series called Tomorrow’s Angels about sentient humanoid androids and avidly read anything I see about AI. Aibo (stylized aibo is Japanese for “pal” or “partner” and is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony. Aibo is abbreviated from Artificial Intelligence RoBO. In mid-1998—where was I? Ah, yes, living in Miami Beach, I think, with my 2 sons and my Andalusian stallion—but I digress, and the stallion wasn’t robotic.) Sony released the prototype in May of 1999, thereafter releasing new models until 2006. Most models were dogs, but other inspirations included lion cubs,, huskies, Jack Russell terriers, bull terrier, and space explorers. Only the ERS-7, ERS-110/111 and ERS-1000 versions were explicitly a "robotic dog", but the 210 can also be considered a dog. It has a Jack Russel appearance and face. In 2006, AIBO was added into the Carnegie Mellon University Robot Hall of Fame.

On 26 January 2006 Sony announced the discontinuance of AIBO and several other products in an effort to make the company more profitable. Sony's AIBO customer support was withdrawn gradually, with support for the final ERS-7M3 ending in March 2013.^[6] In July 2014, Sony stopped providing repairs for AIBO products and did not provide customer support or repair for the older AIBO robots.

In November 2017, Sony introduced a new generation of AIBO. The fourth-gen model, ERS-1000, was launched in Japan on 11 January 2018. The second lottery sale was set on 6 February 2018. The AIBO product line was developed at Sony's Computer Science Laboratory (CSL)

I know we all now want an aibo, right? Sony has launched a new Aibo robot dog in limited edition Black Sesame, following its last release in 2017.  Priced at $2,900 USD, Sony's limited edition Aibo robot dog in Black Sesame is now available on the Sony online store. They don’t have fur and don’t look really cuddly to me.

The latest Aibo robot dog has a gray coat with a choice of eye colors, i.e., blue, green, orange, and pink. In appearance it resembles the previous model, and it also features the same functions of facial recognition and everyday interactions through which it can develop its unique personality. Owners can name their robot pet, watch its growth and add new tricks through the artificial intelligence-powered by the aibo AI Cloud Plan. Pet owners can stay connected with their aibo with the “My aibo” app. In addition, gadgets ranging from playtime accessories like a bone-shaped toy, a die, and a pink ball to necessities—food and water bowls and virtual pet food — can be bought for an immersive experience.

The Alzheimer's Store advertises a robot cat that purrs and has a gentle and calming temperament. The cat interacts with its owner, and presumably other as well. They recommend it as a doll and pet therapy. The cat resembles a Ragdoll cat I owned years ago.  The price tag is a little more reasonable at $189.  Alzheimer's doll and pet therapy is a known resource in helping those with Dementia. Using a robotic or a baby doll can be a very effective way for a person with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia to decrease stress and agitation.  They also have dogs and teddy bears.

If you are interested in advanced robotics and romance, you might like my Love For Sale and Life for Sale.  Here’s the series blurb.

Tomorrow’s Angels

Mayfair Electronics has created life.

In Love for Sale, the high-tech electronics company, in black and white, offers “love for sale”. Mayfair has engineered sentient androids indistinguishable from humans. March Morgan flies to England and meets the man she has been searching for her entire life. Christian requires no programming to love March at first sight, but her past and his future soon threaten their happiness—and their lives.

In the sequel, Life for Sale, four of the Special Editions have escaped. Rebel, Christian and  March are on the run, but they have a bigger problem than his creator's plan to destroy him. They've discovered that one of the renegades has suffered a dangerous malfunction, threatening them with more than just exposure. March and Christian must stop the insane robot before someone else dies. All the evidence points to March being the killer's next victim.

Book Video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-0_M7Zlaok

Both are available on Amazon in print and eBook.  Love for Sale is in audio on Audible. The narrator is very good and has the right accent for the character.

Happy robotic dreams!

Linda 

Long Live the Short Kings by Marilyn Barr

 With the rise of monster romance, the trope of accommodating size differences has taken center stage. Male monsters carry their human female mates for hundreds of pages without tiring, thanks to their “biceps as large as my waist.” While the instant transportation is a bonus, I’ve experienced many of the downfalls of such a tall partner—not because I dated monsters but because I’m barely 4’10” tall. According to car seat manufacturers, I should sit in the back in a booster seat. A guy who is 5’10” is shorter than the average love interest but over a foot taller than me.

     

Warning: I climb counters, shelves, and grocery store displays without fear!

My son’s almost hit his teens and he’s 5’0.” The other boys his age tower over him at school. Therefore, my household is designed for short people. Stools or ladders are in every closet. The top shelves are used for holiday décor and niche appliances. How does my spouse survive in our Munchkin Palace?

He’s 5’6.”

You may envision Price Farquaad from Shrek, but our height differential is eight inches. Can I tilt my chin upwards yearning to receive his kiss? Does he bend down to capture my lips in a moment of passion? Yes—but we stand below the middle shelves.

Do men of this height exist in romance? I set out on a mission and found them in the bookstagram community. The ‘Short Kings’ are romance heroes who are less than 5’8.” I was ecstatic to find representation for men like the one my son will grow up to be. Hopefully, his future partner is somewhere devouring these books.

To contribute to this community, I decided to write the happily ever after for my favorite character from my Walk the Walk pirate romance series—Chub. No, his nickname isn’t a slam on his weight. He had a problem as a young teen when he joined Hornigold’s crew and was introduced to doxies and wenches…and his hearties never let him live it down (pun intended.) Chub is the brains of the boat and the most sought-after Quartermaster on the 1721 high seas. His fearsome reputation comes from managing crews under legends like Hornigold, Blackbeard, William Mace, and Branko…at 5’3” tall.

My next question was whether to create a tiny love interest for him. While I had the spider-weaving lady, Catalina Pintarro, talking in my head, how tall should she be? I’ve already written an ode to short couples in my debut novel, Bear with Me, so I wanted to branch out…err…up. Catalina’s 5’8” and smitten with her short king. As a self-proclaimed ‘dairy-chaser,’ Chub is happy to be eye-level with the buttons on her blouse….as in this scene from Quartermaster:

The music slows, and I circle her like a vulture. My hearties laugh and catcall as if I’m hunting on their behalf. Their assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m watching her body language for clues on how to proceed without hurting her. A smirk plays upon her lips like she’s playing the game, but the corner of her left eye has a twitch that I would miss, had I not studied her. She rubs the leather cuff on her right wrist as if suffering from a rope burn.

I run my fingertip down her arm, and she shivers. Either she desires me to the point of losing control—which I doubt with this audience—or she’s covering a flinch at my touch. My fingertip climbs her other arm and across her shoulders. The flinch is unmistakable as her shoulders shimmy. No proper lady would make such a move on the deck of a pirate ship. All attention has moved from me to her swinging dairy.

I hope she will appreciate the change in the crowd’s mood enough to forgive my crassness. “A lady with such bounce can’t dance to your sour dirge. Give us a jig with some life to it!”

The crew shows their agreement with boisterous applause and cheers. Catty blushes a delicate pink, but breathes a sigh of relief when I stand beside her instead of in front of her. Someday, I hope to grind my hips against hers in a sultry island dance, but not when she’s trembling under my palms. My lady love’s comfort is my ultimate desire, even if it means dancing with a mast shoved into me breeches.

“I would never soil the honor of your presence by taking advantage of your sweet nature, my lady,” I whisper onto her shoulder. The top of my head is at her eye level. To whisper in her ear, I’d have to crowd her space on my tiptoes.

“For your observant and kind nature, I am most grateful,” she replies, so quietly that I must read her lips. The secret smile we share is one I will tuck into my heart for my darkest of days.

The music kicks up to a lively three-quarter tune. I hop on my toes in traditional Irish fashion and glare at anyone who points out my authenticity. After a few rounds of eight counts, Catty follows my footwork. We are bouncing and laughing while our audience claps along. I weave my footwork into her space and out again. The movements bring our bodies close for mere seconds before leading us apart like a delicious tease. With her hands unfettered, she can shove me away or swat at my antics. Instead, I collect shy smiles, flirty eyelash flutters, and eyefuls of bouncing dairy.

I bet this is what heaven is like.

Today is the last day to preorder Quartermaster for 99c. Our ship leaves the docks tomorrow!

https://www.amazon.com/Quartermaster-Paranormal-Adventure-Marilyn-Barr-ebook/dp/B0BRWRPDBF/

 It is only a matter of time before female monsters hit the romance book market (hint, hint.) Will these monster brides carry their human short kings? I’ll let you know…shhhhh.

A Sneak Peek at Upcoming Projects by Keri Kruspe

 

As a writer, I sometimes find myself at a loss when finishing a book, much less a series. But this time, I have the opposite problem! I’ve got too many stories vying in my head for attention, clamoring to get out. Instead of jumping into another series, I decided to attempt something I’ve never done before, write a collection of three short stores. I’m calling this compilation An Alien Heritage. These novellas serve as a continuation of some of the minor characters from my last two series, Ancient Alien Descendants and An Alien Exchange.

            Here are the first two tales from the Ancient Alien series:

Qhasheik's Pod

        This is a groundbreaking romance genre for me to write. Not only is it a love story that plays out between three aliens from different species: Qhasheik, Abiditan and Katsuki (two males and one female), but it's also my first time writing a m/m love segment. For inspiration, I relied on Tracy St. John's Clans of Kalguor series as inspiration with writing the love scenes. When I included the female, I put careful thought into ensuring the relationship between the three of them was respectful as well as sizzling.

These three characters were first introduced in Alien Legacy: The Vampire, the fourth book of the Ancient Aliens Descendants series. They also play a part in the finale of the series, Alien Legacy: The Mage. At the end of that story, Katsuki and her loves were given the distinct honor of determining the fate of Sub Prince Murduk, the arch villain. It was decided since he was a despotic leader of a patriarchal culture, his fate should be left up to a fellow member of the Federation Consortium, Katsuki's home planet, Runihura. That planet’s government is a democratic one with a monarchical head in a matriarchal society. What better place for a man who looked down on women to find his life (or death) now rests in their capable hands?  

Of course, things don’t go as planned. Here is the tag line I’ve come up with for it as well as the short blurb:

What if you were told you didn’t exist?

As Qhasheik, Abiditan, and Katsuki journey to her home planet with the disposed dictator Sub Prince Murduk, they are faced with unexpected challenges.

Upon arrival, Katsuki discovers she’s been declared dead, and her loves are at risk of being arrested for being males without a legitimate female owner. Faced with the threat of banishment and the loss of her loved ones, Katsuki must use her wits to challenge the cousin who betrayed her and conspired to make her a prisoner on Akurn.

Will she be able to reclaim her freedom and protect those she loves, or will she be overpowered by the forces conspiring against her?

Claude & Amata

For a complete change of pace from the first novella, this story stays on Earth and involves a love story between a human man and an alien female. Claude is a fifty-something man from the CIA while Amata is an alien Akurn woman who has the appearance of someone in their early to mid-twenties. Since her lifespan is tied to her home planet (one year for them is 3,600 years for us) is for all practical purpose’s immortal. 

Having lived so long, Amata experienced marriage to a human man a couple of hundred years ago. When he died of old age, she swore she’d never put herself out there ever again to love another human. Claude too lost a beloved wife years before he met Amata but was willing put himself out there to woo and win the alluring alien.

If only life was that easy. Here is the blurb and tagline for that story:

 Can an immortal and a mortal live happily ever after?

Claude, a battle-weary former spy with a broken heart lost his beloved wife to cancer and faced a lonely life on Earth. Amata, an ageless immortal from the planet Akurn, vowed she’d never endure the anguish of losing a loved one again after her husband of long ago passed from old age.

As fate threw these two strangers together to save Earth from an alien invasion, the irresistible attraction between them was undeniable. But their opposing states of mortality created a rift that seemed impossible to bridge.

When Amata is kidnapped by a dangerous criminal, Claude risks it all to save her. Even though he knows full well that the person he loves would live forever while he won’t.

Can these two lonely souls find a way to survive together… for eternity? 

Lok's Love

Now, the long anticipated short story from An Alien Exchange series is finally here.

I admit I never understood why I kept this story in the background… until I finished this last series. Once I tied the second series into my first one and the end of book 5, it became clear why I held onto Lok’s tale so long. I needed it to launch the next book series that involves the four hunky men [caution: spoiler alert!] that we thought were lost in the series prologue (offered for FREE when you signed up for my newsletter), titled The Day Behind Tomorrow.

            The last time we were with Lok is at the end of Chloe’s Turn. There the villain of that series, Chancellor U’unk (who is also Lok’s twin brother) meets his end. I’ve had readers ask me over the years what happened to Lok after that? He deserves his own HEA!

            I couldn’t agree more.

            While I’ve finished the other two novellas, Lok’s Love is still in the planning stage. I do have his lady love’s name… Althea. I can’t give you a lot of details except for the tagline:

Could you let go of everything you hold dear for the chance of something better?

And After That...

Lok's Love is not only the launching point for my next series, Alien Legacy Brotherhood, but it’s giving me the chance to introduce my newest villains, the Varrlii. These aliens hail from the Andromeda galaxy from a planet known as Xeutov. The new bad guys are blue crystal-based humanoids that discovered a way to jump from their galaxy to ours through an undetected wormhole-like black hole.

 Lord Baelon is their narcissistic leader, who was instrumental in eliminating all but their own species in their galaxy. And now they plan to expand their agenda to other galaxies.

And we’re next.