Herringbone and Howls by @meganslayer #gay #LGBTQ #romance #wolves #wolfshifter #shifter #PNR #billiondollarwolf @firstforromance

 

Herringbone and Howls By Megan Slayer

Book 2 in the Billion Dollar Wolf series

 

Can overcoming the past let them have it all?

Daniel Meade isn’t looking for love, but he needs a night of fun. He’s made his billions in finance and has the Meade pack well in the black, but he’s lonely. One night to snag a partner, scratch an itch and walk away isn’t bad, right? Until he meets Rory. Then his world flips upside down. He wants to dress Rory in fancy suits and love him until they both can’t see straight. But will Rory accept him?

Rory Simpkin desperately wants to be loved. He’s been the odd man out in the Simpkin pack for as long as he can remember. His relationships tend to implode because he doesn’t seek out anything to last. When he connects with Daniel, he finds his heart. There’s only one glaring, clawing catch. Daniel is part of the rival pack.

Can these two wolves find their forever together on common ground or will the rivalries be too much to heal the wounds of their collective past?

 

https://www.firstforromance.com/book/herringbone-and-howls

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY365PXX/

https://books2read.com/u/mK7WAV

 

EXCERPT:

©2023 Megan Slayer, All Rights Reserved

“I brought you something to drink.” Daniel offered the second glass. “I hear you like ginger ale.”

“I do.” Rory’s smile increased in intensity and appeared genuine. “Do I know you?”

“I doubt it. I just saw you and wanted to get to know you.” It was a terrible come on, but whatever. He wasn’t great at the dating game.

“I’m glad you did.” Rory held the drink with both hands. “My name is Rory.”

“I’m Daniel.” He stood beside Rory. “Are you having fun here?” God, he was really bad at flirting.

“I am.” Rory turned his back on the crowd. “You saw me? Among all those other beautiful men out there?”

“I did.” He couldn’t tell him the wolf had chosen him. The animal scratched him from within and begged to be unleashed. He didn’t understand the strong reaction, but he’d worry about it later.

Rory sipped the drink, then toyed with the condensation on the glass. “Want to dance?”

“Sure.” He wasn’t sure why he’d said that—he hadn’t done much of it lately—but when he looked at Rory, he wanted to take a chance. He abandoned his drink on the ledge and held out his hand.

Rory grasped his fingers and allowed Daniel to sweep him into his arms. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He barely heard the music or noticed the tempo change. All he saw was Rory. His wolf calmed the moment he and Rory touched. He eased his arms around Rory, holding him close and swaying to the tempo they created. Up close, he noticed the flecks of gray in Rory’s eyes, the few freckles on his cheeks and the way a blush crept over his face. He also liked the way he smelled—like lavender.

His wolf paced within him. He’d always been a fool of the scent of lavender. How would Rory know that? He rubbed along Rory’s back, loving the feel of his strong, but lean body in his hands.

“I’m glad you noticed me.” Rory nuzzled Daniel’s cheek. “I like this.”

“Do you?” His wolf did. He brushed his nose on Rory’s and blood rushed to his cock. HIs wolf’s interest grew. He wanted to pull this man into one of the alcoves and make out. God, he hadn’t felt that way in forever. “Come here.”

Rory allowed Daniel to tug him to the dim light of the alcove. “Want to dance here instead?”

“Yes.” He kissed Rory, allowing his desire to be his guide.

Rory didn’t fight him and instead ground on Daniel’s thigh. Need and the sheer craving of his wolf spurred Daniel on. He pushed the kiss deeper and when Rory opened to him, he sucked on his tongue. He liked the way Rory tasted, too. The more he touched Rory, sliding his hands along Rory’s ribs, then down to his hips, the more he liked him.

Rory continued grinding and smoothed his hands over Daniel’s chest. He drew a growl from deep within Daniel and his wolf growled in tandem.

Daniel pressed Rory to the wall. Every ounce of his being needed Rory. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on Rory’s. “You make me crazy.” His wolf wanted to mark this man and keep him—odd since he’d never been this drawn to someone.

Rory grasped the lapels of Daniel’s jacket. “You’ve got me all turned around.” He panted and his breath warmed Daniel’s skin. “I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone. This is…I don’t know what to think.”

“Me neither.” He wanted to let his wolf guide him, but his wolf had steered him into trouble before. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Rory held on to Daniel’s jacket. “All I know is that I want to be with you.”

He wanted that as well. He resumed dancing and swaying with Rory. As he looked into Rory’s eyes, he understood some of the connection. Rory was a wolf shifter. He knew that peculiar feeling and the shimmer of gold in Rory’s eyes. No wonder his wolf wanted to be with this man—he’d found a kindred spirit.

Should he slow down? Or let this continue to unfold between them? He swayed with Rory, allowing the chemistry between them to grow. He barely heard the music. Rory consumed his attention.

“Is this your first time here?” Rory asked. “At the club?”

“No.” He breathed the scent of Rory in. “You?”

 

AI: Are you ready for Ebooks Written by the Borg Queen? by L. A. Kelley

photo by cottonbro studio

Recently, I did a blog on AI narrated audiobooks, but that’s not the only place AI is showing up. ChatGPT is one of the big producers where content is created by AI. What kind of content? Any old thing you can think of; essays, blogs, book blurbs, fiction. In February of this year, ChatGPT announced over 200 self-published ebooks in Amazon with ChatGPT as, at least, one of the authors. It’s suspected countless others were published under a human’s name. How did Amazon react to the news? It didn’t. Unless it’s self-reported, Amazon has no method to detect if a book is written by an AI. Nor does Amazon have any rules in place to prevent or encourage AI publications. In effect, it closes its algorithmic eyes and hopes the problem resolves itself. Unfortunately, the more accomplished AI becomes, the more difficult it will be to detect their content or enforce any rules, if and when they become available. To put it simply. Nobody knows if this will be a problem and nobody is willing to do anything about it or even be sure that they should.

Another issue is only a small number of companies have the smarts to deal with the exponential increase in processing power. Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft, among a few others exercise near-total control of AI technology. It’s an exclusive club that few understand. Even those who write the code, have admitted they don’t have a perfect understanding of certain AI functions. Who will write the rules to protect the rest of us? What happens if AI’s goals don’t align with our own? If you don’t have a clue, watch or read more science fiction. It never ends well.

It isn’t just wild-eyes authors like myself expressing concern. Important people in the field are jumping on the bandwagon. Until recently, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton was the AI expert at Google. He quit his job to speak freely about his concerns, specifically AI can already disperse misinformation. When the internet is flooded with false photos, videos, and text how will anyone be able to detect the truth anymore? There is also the fear of AI’s effect on the job market. Better AI interface means it can eventually replace paralegals, personal assistants, and translators among others. As Dr. Hinton says, “I don’t think they should scale this up more until they have understood whether they can control it.” The more sophisticated AI-authors become, the more difficult it also becomes to pinpoint content written by programs like ChatGPT – which ultimately means that any limitations set by Amazon might already be unenforceable.

Will AI take over the self-publishing biz? Should authors be worried?

Maybe yes. Maybe no.

First, you need to understand how AI content is created. Information must be given to a system such as ChatGPT. For instance, say you needed a book blurb. One way to start is by feeding ChatGPT a synopsis. Then the AI grabs content from the internet finding examples and scouring similarities. The more detail in the synopsis, the more accurate and understandable the blurb will be. The problem is there is no way to know where it pulled its data. The internet is open and ChatGPT can “create” a synopsis using language from another similar one. It can even “create” a book by pulling content from anywhere. It doesn’t look for permission. It doesn’t accredit. The worst case scenario is a chunk of content taken from other works and there’s no way to know. The idea of my book plots stolen by others doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies.

It's a scary thought, but we’re not there yet.

Very few AI books are on the marketplace and they aren’t well-written. AI’s can’t feel human emotions and their writing is flat and not emotionally engaging. However, every author knows, the bottom line for success is the almighty dollar. For an AI book to pose a real threat to authors, they have to be marketed to become a best-seller. No artificial intelligence tool can do that (at least not yet.) However, it’s a sad fact the marketplace only cares about success. If even one AI-written ebook makes the best-seller lists, it’s down the toilet for the rest of us, and all hail the Borg Queen.

L. A. Kelley writes science fiction and fantasy with humor, romance, and a touch of sass. Her intelligence is not artificial.

Sink Your Teeth Into A Midnight Temptation You Can’t Resist!! by Nancy Gideon

MIDNIGHT TEMPTATION was something new and exciting for me – the chance to expand into what would soon become one of the industry’s most successful mass market areas – paranormal romance. It combined a feisty coming of age heroine running from a dark family secret to lose herself in the decadent freedom and upheaval of pre-Revolution Paris, an honorable noble casting off his privilege to follow a subversive cause, and my favorite of all my dark heroes – a vampire too deliciously dangerous to resist. Now I HAVE to interrupt other plans and reread their story! But first today’s 2-for-1 post for both Weekend Writing Warriors and Paranormal Romantics each with their own different excerpt . . .

Midnight Temptation (Touched by Midnight Series - Book 2)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iBooks

Published: August 14, 2015

Length: 256 Pages

Add to Goodreads TBR→

 The Excerpt 

Lying beside him, longing for his closeness as much as she feared it, Nicole remained awake until the early dawn, listening to the sounds of her companions’ slumber and the night music of the city beyond. She found it difficult to sleep, her system attuned to those dark hours where energy pulsed in the Paris streets. The cool breeze beckoned to instincts she didn’t understand. She lay next to Marchand, watching over him, not daring to touch him, her desire for him growing as severe as the constant hunger threading through her veins. 

What had begun to attract her appetite was not served upon a plate. It throbbed, a rich and forbidden temptation, through those around her. 

As she lay there, remembering the taste of Marchand’s blood, that secret contemplation horrified and fascinated. She could feel his heart beating even though they weren’t touching, could hear it sending those rivers of delight through his body with every soft thrum. The taste . . . ambrosia, whetting a desire like none she’d known. 

The desire for more.

Writing Book 2 in my “Touched by Midnight” series was an unexpected pleasure. Selling Book 1-MIDNIGHT KISS had come as a delightful surprise after my first big writers’ conferences in New York and meeting with my publisher . . . because it came with a contract from Zebra/Pinnacle for THREE books in the historical market (there wasn’t a PNR line back then, just Horror). This was the kickoff for something brand new to me – and the industry. I’d written Regencies, Contemporaries, Historicals, and Western romances but this was different – these would be released under MY name. These were books with a different kind of BITE!

Take a walk on the dark side with the continuing characters of the “Touched by Midnight” world as their stories thread through decades of danger and dark desires.

♚♚♚♚♚

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Time Stops for No One By Tena Stetler

With the passage of another Summer Solstice flying by at the speed of light. I began to muse how fast time was passing. There's a common saying that time flies. It seems like it was just yesterday when we were young and carefree, but now, here we are, wondering where all the years have gone.

The passage of time can be a strange thing to navigate as we age. It's like a river that keeps flowing, taking us along with it, and we're unable to reverse the course or slow it down. The older we get, the faster the current seems to move, leaving us feeling like we barely have time to catch our breath.

When we were younger, time seemed to stretch out before us, endless and full of possibilities. 

As we age, our perception of time changes. We become more aware of our mortality, and the finite amount of time we have to achieve our goals and make an impact. We may find ourselves looking back on our childhood or teenage years with a sense of nostalgia, wishing we could go back and relive those moments. I wouldn't want to relive those moments in my life, but I find myself thinking it was a better life than kids have now.  Yes, the opportunities are more, but so are the expectations, stress, and safety.  Gone are the carefree days of playing outside until the street lights come on. 

But amidst all this change, there's also a sense of self-awareness and growth that comes with age. We become more comfortable in our own skin, more confident in our abilities, and more appreciative of the time we do have. We learn to prioritize the things that matter most to us, to let go of the things that don't, and to savor each moment as it comes.

In the end, the passage of time can be bittersweet. We mourn the loss of our youth and the carefree days of our past, even as we embrace the wisdom and experience that comes with age. But regardless of where we are in life, time keeps moving.

Speaking of moving, here is a reason I live and write in my own fantasy world. I can control time there.

My upcoming new release Raven's Hollow Spring Magic hits the online stores July 10, 2023. Check it out before time runs out.

 

Spring is in full bloom in Raven’s Hollow, a small town in the Colorado Rockies with a population of unique townspeople. Blaze, a dragon shifter, and Wynter, a witch, are neck-deep in wedding preparations when Wynter’s mother, Jade, goes missing after opening her new antique store, and attending the Simon estate sale where she procured an ancient jelly bean machine. Frantic with worry, Blaze and Wynter track her last movements via the store’s ancient, grainy security footage. What it reveals is nothing short of shocking. As deputy sheriff, it’s Blaze’s responsibility to find his soon-to-be mother-in-law. But at what cost?

Reserve your copy today at:

Amazon and Barnes and Noble 

Check back next month to see what tantalizing or scathing topic I've decided to bend your ear about. Until then, slow down and take time to smell the roses. 

Walking a Fine Line: Mythology and Folklore in Paranormal Romance by Catherine Peace @lexcade #romance #PNR #mythology #folklore

 

WALKING A FINE LINE:

Mythology and Folklore in Paranormal Romance

Guest Post by Catherine Peace

 

The year is…sometime between 2005 and 2008. I’m a plucky English major with a concentration in creative writing, and I’m loving my classes after a year and a half of thinking I wanted to be a psychologist while calling myself a “recovering English major.” The follies of youth, am I right?

Transferring to Northern Kentucky University changed a lot for me. I was absorbed in these amazing literature classes, having a ball with assignments (though sometimes the ball had me instead), and taking religion classes to fulfil my religious studies minor. So, imagine my excitement when a Native American spirituality class opened up. Taught by an actual Cherokee man.

Almost twenty years later (barf), there’s not much I can tell you about my courses, but something we talked about in that class was the myth of swan maidens. Because of the nature of the class, we stuck to Native stories, so when I started researching for the Solstice Quartet, I thought about that lens.

Well, when you Google “swan maiden myths,” the world OPENS UP.

Swan Maidens by Walter Crane

Like, the entire world.

There are a lot of stories that cross cultures. For example, world-destroying flood stories pop up in Jewish, ancient Greek, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Mayan, Tai, and way more mythologies. Likewise, giant serpents show up all over the place. Well, so do swan maidens. There are stories in Romanian, Native Canadian, Chinese, Celtic/Irish, Greek, and many more cultures that follow the same motifs and general plotline: swan maiden is found bathing in a body of water, dudebro takes her cloak of feathers, and she’s forced to marry him. This is also common in selkie stories.

Apart from Ember’s Secret, because it sets up the groundwork of the mythology, the Solstice Quartet is based on different swan maiden myths. Amy’s Hunt and Trina’s Sacrifice share the Wabanaki story of two wolf brothers who fall in love with a swan maiden. One marries her in secret, and the other kills her in anger. Dia’s Lure is based on a Romanian story of swan maiden in the court of a king and the witch who betrays the swan maiden. Does that happen in Dia’s story? You’ll have to read to find out!

The trick to using mythology/folklore, regardless of whose it is, is to approach the culture with the utmost respect. Research is your best friend, but you also have to be careful of your sources. It can be tough to find primary sources for some cultures, especially those that have more of an aural history. Over the four books of the Solstice Quartet, we have 3 different cultures: Maori, Wabanaki, and Romanian. Extensive research into history, cultural norms, and way more than you ever think will be important for your book (like Maori midwifery pre-European contact) is all necessary to create the world you’ll be working in. Both Maori and Wabanaki cultures relied on aural history before Europeans came, so any written history is post-European contact, and that wasn’t what I needed for groups that kept themselves hidden away from everyone. (Primary sources were SUPER HARD to find, so some artistic liberties were taken that still stayed in line with the culture as I read about it.)

The extra work was difficult to say the very least. I spent a lot of time staring slack-jawed at the computer screen like PLEASE JUST GIVE ME ANSWERS. My writing partners helped me maintain my sanity as I wrote the last book, where all of the cultural stuff comes into heavy play. However, it was ABSOLUTELY worth it. Trina’s Sacrifice is one of the hardest books I’ve ever written, but it’s also one of my favorites and a perfect ending to the Solstice Quartet.

This is why the next series is based on Greek myth, just FYI.

TRINA'S SACRIFICE

by Catherine Peace

A chieftain’s forsaken daughter….

Trina Huxford knows the old stories: wolf takes swan, wolf kills swan. When her beloved older sister is taken by a wolf, she fears the pattern will play out again, but her father’s inaction stuns her. After all, the tribe needs Margot to seal the alliance between the Kaqtukaq and Whakamanu warriors. If he won’t save her sister, then Trina will. Her only ally? A young warrior whose quiet strength and gentle spirit both soothe and entice her.

An outcast craving acceptance….

Pou Ngata has spent years battling against his family’s tarnished lineage, so the Tane’s invitation to join him and his chosen warriors in Windsor comes as an honor and a shock. The problem? The bride intended for his cousin is missing, and the Tane has forbidden them to interfere. Refusing means losing any goodwill he’s gained, but Pou can’t stand by. Especially when Trina might be her sister’s replacement.

Two hearts bound by lies….

As Trina and Pou piece together the truth behind Margot’s disappearance, they can only trust each other. Lies and betrayal culminate in a battle that threatens their fledgling relationship. But there are greater dangers than the Windsor wolves, and Pou and Trina will need more than love to survive.

How can the truth set them free if it destroys everything they know?

TRINA’S SACRIFICE is the final installment of the Solstice Quartet, but in order to find the answers Ember, Amy and Dia seek, they must go back to the past and find the mystery surrounding their parents’ romance. The story their father shares could shatter the beautiful memories they have of their dead mother and change the way they look at their father. TRINA’S SACRIFICE and the Solstice Quartet is the perfect read for fans of Carrie Ann Ryan’s Wolf shifter series or Elizabeth Briggs’ Zodiac Wolf series. While each story can be read on its own, you will want to grab them all and dive into the unique Maori culture and the mystery that sent the three daughters running for their lives.

Buy link: https://books2read.com/TrinasSacrifice

Enjoy an excerpt:

Taking a deep breath, Pou covered her slender hand with his and savored the silkiness of her cool skin. She stared at him from beneath dark, wet lashes but didn’t pull away. Perhaps she needed the comfort more than she let on. "I'm sorry. I have four sisters. If anything happened to one of them, I would burn down the world to get her back."

She turned her attention from him back to the pond. Her hand stayed in his, and she rested her chin on the other. His pulse thundered in his ears. Did she hear his heart? What just touching her hand did to him?

“Can I ask you something?” she asked after a while.

“Anything,” he replied on a breath.

Facing him, she met his gaze. So far, none of the Kaqtukaq had made eye contact with him. Of course, she’d be the one. “At the river during the Solstice, why were you staring at me?”

The memory flashed across his vision again. Her stunning plumage like raw stone, the way she shimmered like molten gold beneath the glow of Matariki, as if the Seven Sisters themselves demanded he see Trina in all her glory. Then the following morning, she glowed in the hazy light like a beacon, flaxen hair damp against light brown skin, yellow eyes searching. Always searching. Something in her had called to him and continued to.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said. “Because you’re beautiful.”

 

Catherine Peace has been telling stories for as long as she could remember. She often blames two things for her forays into speculative fiction—Syfy (when it was SciFi) channel Sundays with her dad and The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells. She graduated in 2008 from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in English and is still chasing the dream of being super rich and famous, mostly so she can sit around in her PJs all day and write stories.

Catherine currently lives on a farm in South Carolina. E-I-E-I-O.

Find Catherine at:

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The first ghost story in print. Or how to exercise a spirit by temptation.

So you think paranormal is new? Nope. 3,500 BCE or thereabouts, on a Babylonian tablet. 

A museum curator, Irving Finkle, discovered the oldest-known ghost drawing on a 3,500-year-old ancient Babylonian tablet. It also includes instructions for how to exorcise the unwanted spirit.

The drawing on a clay tablet is of a bearded male ghost, tied with rope, being led by a woman to the underworld. It must also be a romance because the instructions are to get rid of a ghost-get him a girlfriend. (paraphrased by yours truly)

Here we are 5,523 or so years later, men are still being led by their…uhm…rope by… well, you get it.

I found this by trying to see how far back PNR goes. It wasn’t as easy as Googling the earliest paranormal romance. What I did find were Gothic novels which are sort of paranormal. I understand from the information that they were/are a combination of horror and romance. Early on, these encompassed a damsel in distress, an angsty hero, and another element like a ghost, curse, etc.

From what I could find, without giving up my day job, is that it wasn’t until 1977 that Alice Norton writing as Andre Norton, began adding a touch of romance to her sci-fi novels.

Ten years later, Rita Clay Estrada wrote The Ivory Key, which seems to be the first book with a paranormal love interest. And things began to roll.

But we’ve come a long way, baby, to quote the 1970’s commercial. Today’s paranormal romance has strong lead female characters who are more often than not equal partners with their love interest. Vampires, Werewolves, and Aliens, Oh my.

I’ve even entered the genre with my historical paranormal Sea Hunter. 

Who has more to add to this blog? I’d love to hear about the first PNR that hooked you. Does anyone have better information about the history of the genre? I just scratched the surface.

Happy reading, all!

Ugly Crying over Beautiful Stories by Marilyn Barr

 

Grab the tissues. Sometimes when the positivity is overwhelming and toxic, you crave a tear-jerker. Is it the release of pent-up stress, the mind’s way of making room for gratitude, or catharsis? The first movie I loved, because I used a box of tissues, was “My Girl” in 1991. Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin’s portrayal of young adults processing death was burned onto my brain from the time I saw it. My parents gave the video to me because I wanted to be a coroner and the female main character’s father runs a funeral home. I can’t imagine what it was like for those who saw the saddest movie I’ve ever seen in theaters. Did they use all the snack bar napkins or smuggle full boxes of tissues into the screenings?   

Where do you go when you prefer spooky entertainment, but you need an ugly cry? There are a plethora of tear-jerkers in the paranormal genre, but are they romances? The definition of a ‘romance’ includes a happily ever after, so when selecting my favorites, I selected titles from the paranormal and fantasy genres. What are your favorite paranormal titles that use up your tissue stockpile?

1.     Ghost (Movie 1990) – Who can forget the pottery scene of Ghost when it is parodied on television and comedies to this day? This paranormal romance movie is about a dead banker (Patrick Swayze) who uses a medium (Whoopi Goldberg) to warn his wife of danger (Demi Moore). While Home Alone was the highest-grossing film of 1990, Ghost was a close second with the two movies fighting for the top spot all year. Ghost was nominated for many Oscars but only won two (Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress – Whoopi Goldberg). (Facts from IMDB)

2.     The Shadows (novel) by JR Ward—While the Black Dagger Brotherhood book series kills, injures, reanimates, and diagnoses many female main characters with terminal diseases, this book hit me in the feels. Not only is the paranormal romance between Chosen Serena and Trez heart-breaking because she is destined to turn to stone, but the relationship between Trez and brother iAm is put to the test. I don’t know whom I cried for more—the romantic couple or the brothers.

3.      Storm of Swords (novel) by George R R Martin—Some of you may have an eyebrow raised at my inclusion of a Game of Thrones book in my favorite tear-jerkers. My response is two words—Red Wedding. When the Red Wedding episode aired on HBO, many fantasy readers (including myself) ran to the nearest bookstore to buy the series. Could an author write a scene this heart-breaking and destructive to his main protagonists or did HBO pull it to the extremes for ratings? The books are not close to the televised version of Game of Thrones, but the red wedding is horrifically identical.

 

With a collection of tragedies on my bookshelf, I could assuage the guilt of writing my own dark fantasy tear-jerker. Strawberry Shifters Book 4: Rotten Apple is the tale of Ryan’s demise. We’ve known from Book 1:Bear with Me, that the vampires aren’t healthy and die young. Ryan the Vampire King is a “vampiric dinosaur” in his fifties thanks to the stem cell treatments developed by Dr. V. When they stop working, Ryan is given two months to live by the doc…and the promise of immortality if he betrays his friends and family on Earth…

There are many tender moments between Ryan and his love interest, Orchid, but my favorite scene in Rotten Apple is when he says goodbye to Gran, the matriarchal witch of Strawberry. Here’s an excerpt of their banter:

“I miss the days when you pretended vampires needed an invitation to enter someone’s home,” Rafaella croaks while trying to climb out of bed.

“I miss the days before air conditioning systems when I could fly into any home with an open window. Jeez, don’t break your hip trying to get up. I’m here to answer your summons,” I say while dismissing her with my hand.

“You look like hell,” she states with a subsequent coughing fit.

“As do you,” I reply, holding her water glass to her cracked lips. I remember when she was a beauty. Her violet eyes have dulled and sunk into her head. Her lustrous black hair has dried into straw. I say a silent prayer of gratitude that I will die before being as crippled as she looks. The once-powerful witch is as hollow as a chocolate bunny in an Easter basket.

“I look like I’m dying.”

“Well, aren’t you?”

“Yep, I’m dying to get to the afterlife so I can get laid.” I catch the twinkle in her eyes before her wheezing starts again. I offer her another sip of water, but she swats me away. “You, on the other hand, aren’t dying with grace. You are fighting nature with everything you have. Isn’t young love waiting for you in the afterlife?”

“The first Terika.” Her name drifts out on my sigh before I can stop myself. An image of her spinning in her graduation gown fogs my thinking and the words take flight from my mouth. “She was a stunning vampiress with fiery red curls, quick wit, and legs that seemed to go on forever. She died before I could wed her. I let my ambitions get in the way. Vampiresses are a sickly bunch. She died a virgin when I wasn’t looking.”

“How did you say goodbye?”

“I didn’t.” Pain stabs my chest with the memories that define my life. I traded the crown for the love of my life, so I dedicated myself to the job. The story is like a runaway train pulling my heart off the cliff of despair. “Her father said she died of a broken heart. He blamed me and banned me from the funeral. In hindsight, I could have pushed the issue or charged him with contempt, but I didn’t have the time. There was my brother’s wedding, his subsequent abdication, my coronation, endless challengers for the throne, and my father had only been dead for a few years. The colony was a mess. People were starving.”

When she pats my hand, my thoughts snap back to the present. “It doesn’t matter anyway. She wasn’t mine.”

“The fairy.” Her words are whispered so quietly I almost miss them. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. I want a deal for my secrecy,” she says with more strength. She struggles to sit up on her elbows to look into my eyes.

“Nope, this is too big and I’m not leaving debts for Lucien.” I stare down my nose at her. My fangs itch to descend as fight my temper. I will not be tricked by a witch.

“Okay, one big secret for two small favors.”

“Rafaella, my last grains are falling through the hourglass. I haven’t the time to do anything for you. Lucien will not honor any claim you or your mongrels lay at his feet when I’m gone.”

“Believe it or not, Lucien has his guardian angel hidden under five pounds of goth makeup. He doesn’t need you. You can rest, Ryan. Betty will protect him for the rest of his days.”

 

Rotten Apple is available at multiple retailers as well as the rest of the Strawberry Shifters saga. Say goodbye to Ryan the Vampire King here and find out whose mistake starts the clock to the prophesized Fae wars and the end of either Magmell or Strawberry…

Stellar Romance: SciFi Love on the Big Screen by Keri Kruspe

 

As I grew into teenagehood, (is that even a word?) I had an older cousin who introduced me to the exciting world of science fiction novels. She encouraged me to read the classics: Heinlein, Asimov, as well as Herbert. I devoured those books, and hungered for more until I reached my early twenties. By then, I found a new love.

Romance novels.

Jude Deaveraux, Julie Garwood and my all-time favorite, Kathleen E. Woodwiss. For the next couple of decades, that was the only genre I’d read. Until Paranormal romance came out. Then I discovered Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Amanda Ashley.

It never occurred to me that anyone would ever combine my first love with my second. Even though some of the old-timies (H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine is a perfect example) of blending romance with science fiction. But the underlying opinion in the science fiction world is the two genres are completely different. After all, science fiction is more about logic (no offense, Mr. Spock) and contain a variety of futuristic concepts about space, time travel, aliens, or time-traveling aliens in space. These stories seemed to be too complex and rich in detail and didn’t have time for something as mushy as romance. Folks immersed in the genre argue their favorite type of entertainment can’t possibly have anything in common with a trashy romance novel. They pooh-pooh the mere idea of reading any SciFi romance book because they’d never lower themselves to do such a thing.

Humph. I’m here to tell you they do it all the time. To outline my argument, instead of books, I’ll look at some of the most popular science fiction movies since they’ve been seen more than any book read in recent years. And all of them contain a formidable romantic theme.

Avatar (2009)

James Cameron's Avatar is a groundbreaking science fiction movie that tells the story of a paraplegic marine, Jake Sully, who travels to the planet Pandora to explore its rich natural resources. There, he meets and falls in love with Neytiri, a Na'vi princess, and becomes embroiled in a battle between the humans and the Na'vi.

While the movie is primarily known for its stunning visual effects and action sequences, you’ve got to admit the romantic thread between Jake and Neytiri adds an emotional depth to the story and makes it more compelling than without it. Avatar grossed over $2.7 billion at the box office, making it one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the second installment in the Hunger Games franchise, based on the popular book series by Suzanne Collins. The movie follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they are forced to compete in the Quarter Quell, a special edition of the Hunger Games that brings together past champions.

While the movie focuses primarily on the action and political intrigue of the games, it also explores the romantic relationship between Katniss and Peeta. With is a huge motivator on what drives each of the characters. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire grossed over $865 million at the box office.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

Based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife tells the story of Henry DeTamble, a time traveler, and his wife Clare Abshire. The movie explores the challenges of maintaining a relationship while one partner constantly moves through time.

Watching how these two maintain their relationship is what drives this captivating story. A lot of movie goers must think so as well, it grossed over $101 million.

The Fifth Element (1997)

OMG – one of my favorite movies EVER! Had to include it…

Luc Besson's The Fifth Element is a visually incredible science fiction movie where a young woman named Leeloo is the only hope for saving humanity from an evil force that threatens to destroy the world. The movie is filled with action, humor, and a whole host of colorful characters. But at its heart, it is a love story between Leeloo and the hero of the movie, Korben Dallas.

And what would this move be without the romantic thread between Leeloo and Korben? Boring, that’s what. The Fifth Element grossed over $264 million at the box office.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

I love a movie that keeps me guessing and The Adjustment Bureau did that for me. While the theme of this move explores the concept of free will and destiny, the romantic underlay is the story's foundation. Here we have a politician named David Norris who falls in love with a dancer named Elise Sellas. David and Elise soon find that their relationship is threatened by a mysterious organization that controls the fate of all humans.

While the science fiction elements might be intriguing, it’s the relationship between David and Elise that drives the movie. Lots of folks agree since it grossed over $127 million at the box office.

And last…. But never least…

Star Wars (1977)

(Just so you know, when this movie first came out, it wasn’t called “A New Hope”)

Now I ask you, what would this freakin’ huge spic space opera be without the hint of a romance between Leia and Luke/Han in the first installment? 

And That's a Wrap!

The genre of SciFi Romance novels hasn’t exploded like I would have anticipated in the last few years even though science fiction movies with a romantic thread have been highly successful. Which is odd since these types of stories appeal to both our emotions and our fascination with futuristic worlds and technologies.

Even so, let’s recognize it's the emotional connection between the characters that make any story truly memorable. And, as we saw with the addition of the romantic thread in these movies, we realize romance gives them an added layer of depth that allows the audience to connect on a more personal level they wouldn’t normally have without it.

But I’m hopeful. As us authors continue to explore new science fiction stories with a romantic thread, we’ll do our best to captivate our audiences so our stories will stand the test of time. Just as these movies remind us, no matter how advanced our world becomes, love and human connections will always be at the heart of what makes us human.

Even in space.

It's the End of the World! Post Apocalypse Recommendations by author Jessica E. Subject

 

Lately, I have been reading books and watching shows and movies that are set in a post-apocalypse world. I have enjoyed these stories for a long time, and have always been thankful that I do not currently live in a world like these, as I don't think I would survive. I would be the character who dies early on from helping another person or animal to survive. That's just who I am. 

I also recognize that many people have lived, or are currently living in apocalyptic situations we only read about or watch in fiction. Their worlds have been changed forever due to colonization, racism, war, famine, industrial pollution, climate change, homophobia, transphobia, along with many other factors.

In the book I recently finished and loved, the apocalypse is caused by a virus, set loose by a cult to bring about the end of the world, that turns people into unspeakable monsters. HELL FOLLOWED WITH US by Andrew Joseph White is told from the points of view of a teenage trans boy and a young autistic man. It was a fabulous read, and I highly recommend it!

The book I'm currently reading, AT THE END OF EVERYTHING by Marieke Nijkamp, a respiratory virus is spreading throughout several US states, and in its wake, authorities abandon a group of teens at a juvenile treatment center. The story is told from the points of view of several of the teens throughout their realization that they were abandoned, and their struggle to survive. I'm really enjoying this one as well! And I love the diversity of the points of view!

When it comes to movies and television, the series that I recently streamed and HIGHLY RECOMMEND is BLACK KNIGHT. As soon as I saw the preview for this, I knew I had to watch it. A comet has hit the Earth, and killed many people. On the Korean peninsula, only 1% of the population has survived, but air pollution is still a huge problem. The series focuses on 5-8, part of an elite delivery service that battles rough terrain and pirates while delivering food, oxygen, and other supplies to the districts of container houses.I really, really loved this six-episode show!!

I've also recently watched RESIDENT EVIL, the 8-episode series based on the video game about a zombie virus. It goes back and forth in time between Jade and Billie first arriving in New Raccoon City, to several years in the future. This was a great series, and while I'm not good at playing video games, it did prompt me to watch the movies.

And I just finished streaming both seasons of BLACK SUMMER earlier this week. It's another zombie apocalypse show, and goes back and forth between characters, some of which make it to the end of the episode, and others who don't. I'm not sure what I thought of this show, but I couldn't stop watching it. LOL

I have a zombie apocalypse romance story, and a dystopian romance series of my own. In all of them, the characters are struggling to survive and to love who they want.

IT TOOK A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Home for the summer, RJ heads to the annual fun fair to see if his hot neighbor has also returned from university. When he spots her at the kissing booth, he can’t believe his luck. But even though she never spewed racial slurs at him like the rest of the community, will she grant him a kiss?

Missy is tired of the blatant prejudice she’s seen all her life. If not for her brother’s plea for help, she never would have returned to the small town of West Vitula. When the guy she’s had a crush on since grade school asks for a kiss, she knows it will piss off her parents and leave the entire town talking.

After one kiss, RJ wants another, but a sudden zombie outbreak puts him and Missy on the run. To stay alive, they must learn who they can trust. And even if they can trust each other.

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

THE COMPLETE UNDERGROUND SERIES

In the future…

The corporation Planet Core holds all of the power. They place restrictions on the lives of those living within their boundaries, including who they can love. And there is no escape.

Deception runs deep…

The rebel group, calling themselves The Underground, is disputing the corporation’s leadership. With the desire for freedom, they will fight.

And betrayal can come from anyone…

Will the rebels defeat Planet Core, or end up fighting for their lives?

Includes: Never Gonna Let You Go, Never Gonna Desert You, and Never Gonna Say Goodbye

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

Do you have any post-apocalypse book, movie, or television show recommendations for me?