Luck Be a Lady

One of my favorite things to incorporate into my paranormal romance novels are ancient myths and cultures and histories. I get so much enjoyment from researching them, learning about them, and figuring out how to make them a part of my stories.

This month, when we celebrate the luckiest day of the year--St. Patrick's Day--I thought it might be fun to take a look at mythologies involving lucky ladies--various godesses of good luck and fortune. Here are a few of my favorites that I've found while researching.

Anaisa Pye (Dominican)
A very popular loa within Dominican Vodou. She is considered the patron saint of love, money, and general happiness. She is often considered extremely flirtatious, generous, and playful by her devotees. She is also very jealous of the worship of other female loas, as she considers herself able to provide for anything a person could request.

Brigid (Celtic)
Brigid is the Celtic Triple Goddess known as keeper of the sacred fire. Her name means “exalted one” and she is sometimes referred to a “bride.” Goddess of poets, blacksmiths, brides and childbirth, she watched over the hearth, fire, fertility, creativity, healing. As a triple Goddess, she represents the three aspects of the divine feminine and three stages of a woman’s life —maiden, mother, and wise woman - all in one.

Felictas (Roman)
In ancient Roman culture, felicitas is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness. The divine personification of Felicitas was cultivated as a goddess. Different from Fortuna, who was unpredictable and her effects could be negative, Felicitas always had a positive significance.

Kuan Yin (Chinese)
The Chinese Buddhist goddess of compassion, mercy and healing. She is the “Compassionate Saviouress” worshiped for centuries throughout China, Japan, Korea and South East Asia. She is the patron and protector of women, children, sailors and artisans and those who are imprisoned. Her name is translated as the being who hears the cries of the world. She is a Bodhisattva, which in Buddhism is a human being who has completed all Karma and reached enlightenment.

Laima (Baltic)
A Baltic goddess of fate. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, and death; she was also the patron of pregnant women. Laima and her functions are similar to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.

Lakshmi (Hindu)
The Hindu Goddess of Good Fortune and Beauty. She is actively worshiped around the globe by millions of Hindus and is considered the personification of abundance, prosperity and wealth. It is said that three millennia ago, Lakshmi was born, fully grown, on a pink lotus that rose from the milky sea. Her ability to enhance good fortune is symbolized by the gold coins that you see pouring from her hands back into the ocean of life.

Laumė/Lauma (Latvian/Lithuanian)
A woodland fae, and guardian spirit of orphans in Eastern Baltic mythology. Originally a sky spirit, her compassion for human suffering brought her to earth to share our fate. It is said that Laumė was a beautiful goddess, who lived in clouds and had a diamond throne. Laumės liked to gather near rivers, lakes, swamps, in meadows, there dew fell in night in New Moon or Full Moon. They danced and enjoyed themselves, leaving circles (like Fairy Ring) in the grass.

Renenūtet / Wadjet (Egyptian)
A goddess of nourishment and the harvest in ancient Egyptian religion. The importance of the harvest caused people to make many offerings to Renenutet during harvest time. Renenutet was envisioned, particularly in art, as a cobra, or as a woman with the head of a cobra. Later, as a snake-goddess worshiped over the whole of Lower Egypt, Renenutet was increasingly associated with Wadjet, Lower Egypt's powerful protector and another snake goddess represented as a cobra. Eventually Renenutet was identified as an alternate form of Wadjet, whose gaze was said to slaughter enemies. Wadjet was the cobra shown on the crown of the pharaohs.

Dream Songs by C.J. Burright

Dreams have always fascinated me, the meaning behind them, how our brains decide what to dream about, how dreams can evoke emotions just as strongly as in real life. 

So it’s really no surprise that my Dreamcaster series revolves around characters who deal with dreams in a supernatural way. My heroes (and anti-heroes) invade dreams and require them to survive. My heroines dream up some spooky things, nightmare creatures they breathe to life while asleep. They need each other, like poison and an antidote, and not everyone is happy about it. Which makes their journey to romance all the more fun, right? J For my dreamcasters, the men of their dreams are the real deal with a side of scary. Want to know more? Get a taste of their world here.

I thought it might be fun in this post to combine two of my favorite fascinations: dreams and music.

MY TOP 5 (OR SO) DREAM SONGS

These Dreams by Heart

This song felt like the Wilson sisters walked inside my head and pulled out pieces of my dreams. Seriously. Maybe there really are dream-invaders out there…

End of the Dream and Imaginary by Evanescence

Evanescence is one of my all-time favorite bands, and I’m wondering now if it’s because they reference dreams so much. *Shrugs* Doesn’t matter. I still love them.

Once Upon a Dream - Sleeping Beauty Waltz

I think Disney may have played a part in my fascination with dreams. What girl wouldn’t swoon upon meeting the guy she dreamed about? I’ve dreamed of Alex Skarsgard, but he still hasn’t shown up crooning I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream… Hey, a girl can still dream. And I just love the version of this song by Lana Del Rey from the movie Maleficent. It’s Disney darkened, and fits quite right for my Dreamcaster stories.

Sandman by Metallica

My favorite head-banging song, and completely appropriate since it references nightmares. And a little CJ fun-fact: one of my friends edited my black belt test video to this song, making me look like a total bada$$. Watching it pumps me up! Ka-pow!

A Dream Within a Dream by Alan Parsons Project

A combination of Edgar Alan Poe and one of my favorite ‘80s progressive, a little-on-the-weird-side rock band? Yes, please. Makes a Goth girl happy.

If you want to listen, feel free to access my playlist here, where there are a couple bonus songs not included in this post (but well worth listening to).

Do you have a favorite song about dreams? What songs did I miss?

Happily Saying Goodbye by Guest Amy Braun

Happily Saying Goodbye

It’s never an easy thing to do, especially with books. There’s always the wish for one more chapter, one more scene, one more minute with characters you love in a world that has brought you a free escape from reality. It’s even harder for an author. We don’t just create these characters. We live as them for a time, experience their world and their trials as intimately as they do. I’ve carried the Dark Sky series with me since I was a teenager, and now that Obsidian Sky is released and the series has closed, I feel a mixture of pride, relief, and a little sadness that it’s over.

Don’t get me wrong––I love the world I created for the Dark Sky series. Aon, its capital city, Westraven, and the hellish dimension known as Hellnore were the first places I created as an author. It’s been an experience that has helped me grow, and has created connections and friendships that have progressed my career. Crimson Sky received way better reception than I was expecting, even going so far as to earn the attention and advice from renowned fantasy author (and one of my biggest inspirations) Michael J. Sullivan.

Still, there’s a piece of me that wishes I had more stories for Claire, Sawyer, Nash, Gemma, and the new characters I created to join them on their adventures. I’ve toyed with the idea of a prequel series, but the truth is that I don’t want to be an author who carries one series with her for most of her career. I have literally dozens of other stories I wish to write, and I want to grow and progress and learn and (hopefully soon) write full time.

The way to do that is to move on. I love the Dark Sky books. To date, this is my most favorite series to have written. I had the time of my life inventing these characters, putting them in dire situations with some of my favorite monsters, and watching them fight their way free in a world I’d envisioned for years. Sometimes I even go back and skim over scenes that I adored writing and recall why writing them kept me up until ungodly hours of the morning. There were definitely ups and downs to writing these books independently, and I had more than my fair share of stress, headaches, confusion, restless nights, and face-palm moments. And yet, the series took an unexpected turn, and ended up being better than I could have hoped. It proved that with hard work, trial and error, patience, and determination, any story can be told. Honestly, I didn’t think such a strange mash-up of vampires, pirates, and steampunk would be able to coherently combine and become what it has. I thought it was just a daydream brought on by the over-active imagination of a teenage girl who read too many of R. L. Stein’s Choose Your Own Adventure books and watched Pirates of the Caribbean until she could recite every line.

But now that I know it’s possible, I can only imagine what other possibilities are open to explore. So while I would love to stay with the Dark Sky series and its characters, there are other worlds to create, more adventures to bring to readers. I can only hope they’ll enjoy them as much as I have, and still do.

Obsidian Sky Excerpt

“I have seen your mind, Claire,” continued the Vesper. He hadn’t blinked once since the start of our conversation. “You know what it is like to be weak. To be desperate. Imagine that weakness and desperation, combined with pain. Every second of your existence consumed with an ache that burns like acid in your stomach. Constant hunger, giving up your own blood to feed your own.”

The Vesper’s grip tightened. The fabric of the tunic ripped, but my skin remained intact. For now. He bent closer. I choked on bile and the smell of blood and rot as he swarmed me.

“You have endured hardships, Claire. But you know little of true pain.”

Buy Links:

Obsidian Sky

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Smashwords | Goodreads

Crimson Sky

Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Createspace | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Goodreads | Smashwords | 

Midnight Sky

Kindle | Paperback | Createspace | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Nook |  iTunes | Smashwords | Goodreads

Amber Sky (Prequel Novella)

Kindle | Kobo | Nook | iTunes | Goodreads | Smashwords 

Smoke Sky (Prequel Novella)

Kindle | Kobo | Nook | iTunes | Goodreads | Smashwords 

Author Bio

Amy is a Canadian urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters, magic, mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and intense action. She has short stories in various horror and urban fantasy anthologies and has been featured on various author blogs and publishing websites, and is an active member of the Writing GIAM and Weekend Writing Warrior communities. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, watching movies, taking photos, gaming, and struggling with chocoholism and ice cream addiction.

More From Amy Braun

CURSED

DEMON’S DAUGHTER | DARK DIVINITY | DAMNATION’S DOOR

DARK SKY

CRIMSON SKY | MIDNIGHT SKY | AMBER SKY | SMOKE SKY

STANDALONE NOVELS AND NOVELLAS

STORM BORN

PATH OF THE HORSEMAN

NEEDFIRE

Social Media Links

Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

Tags

#DarkSkySeries #CrimsonSky #MidnightSky #ObsidianSky #amybraun #amreading #steampunk #YAfantasy #YAbooks #vampires #pirates #IndieBooksBeSeen #indieauthors #booklover #bookworm #bookaddict #bookaholic #bookpromo #bibliophile

The Enchanting Fairy Tale Horse - The Andalusion

Since last month I did a short piece on the Friesian, I must give equal time to another horse that stepped out of my dreams into reality.  The Andalusian has been called the Horse of Kings.

The Horse of Kings

Surrender to imagination.  Envision a fairy-tale horse prancing across the mountains and plains of ancient times, his unshod hooves lifted high in a dramatic trot.  This white stallion, his thick mane unfurled like a flag , canters boldly toward an angry bull and the cheers of the crowd rise into a blue-hot Spanish sky.

The Andalusian is an ancient pure breed that has been carefully preserved over the centuries.  In Northern Spain, cave paintings depict men leading Mesolitic horses with convex heads, solid muscular bodies, elegant necks and luxurious manes.  Circa 1,100 B.C., Homer refers to the Iberian horse in his Iliad.  Xenophon, the 'father' of modern equitation, praises the gifted Iberian horses and horseman who fought in the Peloponneisian Wars in 431 B.C.  Julius Caesar wrote of the noble steeds of Hispania in "Del Bollo Gallico."  The Iberian horse carried Hannibal across the Alps in his invasion of Italy (though the elephants got all the credit!).  History records Richard I and many of his knights mounted on "airy Spanish Destriers".

In the heyday of European monarchies, the Andalusian's flair, style and formidable carriage made

him the mount of choice for the aristocracy.  Not only did the Spanish horse excel in battle but he was a fancy parade horse and an elegant fine harness animal.   This popularity earned the Iberian horse a grandiose title, "Horse of Kings" or "Royal Horse of Europe."   Indeed, there was a time when no crowned head would consider having a portrait painted on any horse other than an Andalusian.

The 17th-century Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens, chose the Spanish horse, with its robust body and flowing mane and tail, for his paintings.   The artist is noted for his voluptuous, full-bodied nudes, and the Andalusian horse epitomizes the term "Rubenesque."  The Spanish horse and Rubens' passionate style were the quintessence of the opulent Baroque era.  As a popular painter and a pro-Spanish diplomat, Rubens' work and his pro-Spanish politics accompanied him on his diplomatic missions.  Thus, via canvas, the Spanish horse was introduced to the high courts of Europe.

Rubens painted portraits of such famous personages as the governors of the Spanish Netherlands, King Charles I of England, King Philip IV of Spain, the Spanish Duke of Lerma, Kings Henri IV and Henri XIII of France, the Polish Princes Ladislas Sigismund and the Duke of Lerma.  In "Capture at Juliers", Rubens allegorically depicts Marie de Medici mounted on a Spanish horse.  Many of his works, including "St. George and the Dragon" (c. 1606-1610), feature the Spanish horse in powerful and fierce battle poses, which seemed to satisfy his taste for depicting violent action and lovely women.

Van Dyke, Rubens' most celebrated pupil, depicted Charles I on an Andalusian, and the Spanish painter Velazquez painted Philip III and Queen Isabel of Bourbon riding Andalusians.  But in the late 18th and 19th centuries, the trend to greater size and scope in horses began to adversely affect the Andalusian's popularity.

Then a tragic plague followed by a devastating famine nearly swept the breed into oblivion, but, fortunately, in a few mountainous areas of the country, the Carthusian monks carefully preserved the depleted blood stock and began the long journey to re-establishing the breed.  In order to conserve these rare horses for breeding, the Spanish government placed an embargo on their export and, for over 100 years, the Andalusian was virtually unseen by the rest of the world.   Only a scattered one or two Andalusians came to this country prior to the 1960's, and it was virtually impossible to see one outside art or film.

Throughout history, the Spanish horse has remained remarkably pure.  The Andalusian is very sturdy, with a long sloping shoulder which gives him a lofty and pleasant trot.  His wide chest, deep heart, strong, short back and well-rounded hind quarters give him the ability to sit down on his haunches and balance on his hind legs.  The crested neck with its curtain of silky mane and the thick, long tail add elegance and a story-book beauty.  Though most people imagine the Andalusian as the dancing white horse, the Spanish Registry recognizes blacks and bays as well.  The Andalusian ranges in size from 15 hands to 17 hands, with the average being 15.3-16.0. 

In an era when the mounted soldier trusted his life to his horse, the Andalusian's strength and natural gift for collection made him the premier warhorse of Europe. When mortal conflict waged hand-to-hand, the Andalusian was the soldier's best friend or worst nightmare, depending on which side of the battle you faced him.

Dressage, today's fastest growing sport, developed as a means to school the superior warhorse.   The

so-called airs-above-the-ground, capriole and courbette, were designed to strike terror in the enemy foot soldiers.  In capriole, the horse leaps into the air and kicks out with his hind feet.  In courbette, he rears and jumps forward on his hind feet. 

It is easy to see why a horse, so bold and quick, that he can dart near enough for a mounted bullfighter to place a rose between the horns of a maddened bull then whisk away before being gored, is a definite advantage in battle.

 I know this is rather long but this horse is one of my favorite subjects.  I hope you get to meet an Andalusian one day if you haven't already.

.

Fly Me To The Moon by Diane Burton

 If you were around in 1969, you and your family were probably glued to the television set on July 20^th. I was. Since that was in the days before recording shows on VCR tapes (which we hadn’t even heard of then), my dad aimed his Super 8 movie camera at the TV screen and recorded Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepping out of a spacecraft onto the moon’s surface.

Exciting times.

Guess what? By the end of next year, we’re going back to the moon. SpaceX, the private spaceflight company, plans to send a crewed spacecraft around the moon in 2018 in time for the 50^th anniversary of the first trip around the moon. NASA, too, plans to return to the moon but not until 2021.

I don’t care who goes first. I’m just excited that we’re going back. You may ask why. We’ve been there, done that. Yes, we have. But we haven’t been that far into space since 1972. The flights have been to the space station. NASA has to contract out space launches.

Since this blog isn’t a scientific one, what’s the connection? I write science fiction romance, still considered part of paranormal romance. “Adventure and Romance in this world and beyond” is the subtitle of my blog. It’s what my writing is all about. Notice “adventure” comes first in that subtitle.

Space adventure. My first love.

When I write about adventures in far off planets or on spaceships, I use my imagination to build those worlds. Of course, I use movies and books for ideas. Pinterest, too. But soon those worlds won’t be fictional. Not in my lifetime and probably not in my children’s. Maybe my grandchildren will see us venture beyond our moon to other planets in our solar system. Maybe their grandchildren will get the chance to venture beyond that.

Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

In my science fiction novella, Mission to New Earth, pioneers fly to a Goldilocks planet to settle, explore, and populate.

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind?

In 2172, Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four.

Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

Guest Toni V. Sweeney Returns

To our readers, due to a scheduling glitch last month Toni Sweeney's post was partially hidden, so we invited her to return. Welcome back, Toni. 

SINBAD’S TRIUMPH:  You can’t keep a Good Smuggler Down

I never really intended to write a series when I started The Story of a Peace-Loving Man.  It just happened. 

I was just going to tell a love story set in the future, a single-shot, stand-alone novel—of a sexy, strutting half-breed smuggler who hated Terrans and the Earthwoman who made him forget that.  There would be strife, of course, because she was married and he was trying his best to keep from falling in love with her.  There would be adventure as they tracked her fugitive husband across the galaxy through various dens of iniquity, but it would be definitely end Happily Ever After.  As usual with things having to do with Sinbad sh’en Singh, it didn’t turn out that way.

Studying it now, I realize what I really wrote is just one gigantic soap opera set in the future on a planet far, far away…and the introduction to this sudsy space saga might go something like this;

Welcome once again, dear reader, to the Adventures of Sinbad…the stories which ask the question:  can a halfbreed human-hating smuggler find happiness with a very human adopted Navajo in spite of threats from the United Terran Federation and many of his nefarious criminal cohorts? 

Therein lies the question, to misquote ol’ Will Shakespeare, who wrote some mighty epics but whose comedies were slightly soap opera-ish if one wants to look at them close enough.  So why don’t we give the Adventures a once-over and see if they really do qualify to sell soap to the intergalactic masses?

The story of Sinbad and Andi is a lesson in the course of True Love running as rocky as it can. The Story of a Peace-Loving Man is more or less a prequel, telling why the things happened making Sinbad sh’en Singh a smuggler. Then, at the end of Sinbad’s Last Voyage, in between searching for Andi’s husband, fighting off old enemies, and having a child with Andi, Sinbad learns he’s dying of a disease contracted while he was a prisoner in the Toxic Zone, the Federation’s deadliest prison.

Well, I couldn’t just leave it there.  Could I?

I had to get Sin and Andi married, and save my hero to fight another day.  So, along came Sinbad’s Wife, in which, among other things, Sin struggles to convince Andi to make an honest man of him, he discovers he has a 15-year-old son, then promptly collapses into a coma brought on by his terminal disease.  Piling it on even thicker (after all this is a space opera), there is only one doctor who can save Sin and he blackmails Andi into becoming his mistress before he’ll perform the surgery. After much soul-searching, she agrees, and the surgery goes without hitch. Andi is subsequently kidnapped by her former husband, a power-mad Serapian general named Tran, who makes her into a sex slave.  She’s rescued by Sinbad who kills Tran in a duel-to-the-death, but not before Andi has given birth to Tran’s second son.  Sin, a sucker for infants and his wife’s tears, accepts the baby, they go into a clinch…roll credits…

Whew! Are you still with me?  Is this getting pretty sudsy and soapy so far?  Did you see the kitchen sink peeping out from behind that last paragraph? Could I stop after that?  Nosiree. 

 So, let’s continue:

Sinbad’s Pride:  You can’t keep a good smuggler down!  He tried the Straight-and-Narrow but it just didn’t work,

Sin’s been pardoned by the Federation, he’s a law-abiding citizen (much to his dismay) and he’s back on his home planet, being re-instated as his grandfather’s heir and about to inherit one-third of the planet Felida.  Having now reached the age of thirty-one and considered a mature adult (though Andi sometimes denies that), Sin is bored and looking for some trouble to get into.  He finds it in the Peace Treaty Felida signed after being defeated by the United Terran Federation.  In it there’s a loophole which no one, not even the Federation realizes is there, a clause preventing prosecution of any Pride member for any future crime against the Federation. 

Well! 

When someone who hates the Fed as much as Sin does finds a document like that, you know something big is going down. With the aid of the other Pride Chiefs, Sin decides to turn Felida into the biggest smuggling planet in the galaxy…and thumb his nose at the Fed at the same time.  Of course, there are immediate complications, such as the fact that the Pride Chiefs want a personal affiliation with the operation, and send their nubile daughters to Sin as concubines.  Sin tries to explain to Andi they mean nothing.  It’s all politics.  Andi doesn’t see it that way.  There’s trouble brewing in the bedroom tonight.  And for many nights to come.  If Sin doesn’t watch it, he’s going to be sleeping on the sofa until he’s an octogenerian.

And now we come to Sinbad’s Triumph…

At first it may not seem like much of a victory.  In a dogfight with Tsan Hsi who’s been attacking his ships since the Brotherhood returned the trade routes to Sin, Sinbad’s ship the Dream Mariner is shot down and our hero doesn’t walk away from the crash.  Now an invalid, he’s bedridden and for the first time in his life has to rely on others for assistance.

The triumphant part?  How Sin accepts, then overcomes his disability.

 No matter what happens, however, one thing is certain:  Sinbad loves Andi and he’ll do anything to keep that love.  It’s also a story about family, and how a man who has lost everything must now try to keep together the one he’s suddenly blessed with in the face of crises which would usually blast that family apart.  How Sin works it out is an erotic, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic adventure, and one I think readers will enjoy it. 

Kudos for Sinbad’s Triumph:

“You’ll take every rewarding step with Sin as he triumphs over his tragedy, and you respect the way Andi deals with his physical challenges, never giving him any reason to feel he is less of a man than he was before his crash…this plot will have you glued to the pages…you'll be anxious to read book six...I highly recommend this entire series.”—Two Lips Review

“…is just as gripping and exhilarating as its predecessor…”—Amazon Review

“…the dramatic sh’en Singh family dynamics…in this book makes for a truly wonderful read” –Merrylee review

About the Author:

This year, Toni V. Sweeney celebrated her 74^th birthday and penned her 74^th novel.

Toni has lived 30 years in the South, a score in the Middle West, and a decade on the Pacific Coast and now she’s trying for her second 30 on the Great Plains.

Since the publication of her first novel in 1989, Toni divides her time between writing SF/Fantasy under her own name and romances under her pseudonym Icy Snow Blackstone. Her novels have garnered awards from The National Writers Association, Preditors & Editors, The Maryland Writers Association, and The Paranormal Romance Guild. In March, 2013, she became publicity manager for Class Act Books. She is also on the review staff of the New York Journal of Books and the Paranormal Romance Guild.  Recently she was named a professional reader by netgalley.com.

Sinbad’s Triumph will be released March 15, 2017 by Class Act Books and will be available on the publisher’s website, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and  Draft2Digital,

More about Toni at:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tvsweeney

Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLQBB8

MySpace: https://myspace.com/tvsweeney

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

Twitter: @ToniVSweeney

. .

Creating a Feisty Yet Vulnerable Heroine by Guest Siren Allen

Creating a feisty yet vulnerable heroine.

Creating the heroine for Claimed By The Succubus was such fun. I got to watch her grow up and mature into the fine lady she becomes by the end of the book. However, the journey from naïve to confident wasn’t an easy road.

In the beginning of Claimed By The Succubus, you meet sweet Izzie who believes there’s good in everyone. She’s never been treated unfairly or witnessed anyone being treated harshly. It isn’t until she makes a decision to go save her best friends that she realizes not everyone has your best interests at heart, not everyone wants you to succeed.

This realization floors her and causes her to question everything she believes in. Things go from bad to worst once it’s revealed to her that her whole life she’s been living a lie. She’s not who she thought she was, who she was raised to be.

Izzie has two options, she can fall into a state of despair and let anger and rage control her actions. Or, she can embrace the truth, develop a tough skin and learn to tune out the haters and naysayers.

My Izzie chooses option B and becomes a force to be reckoned with. You can learn all about Izzie’s journey in, Claimed By The Succubus, which will be available April 22^nd. Preorder it today for only 0.99 cents.

Claimed By The Succubus

~The Half-Breed~

She is Izeria’Azhul, the long-lost daughter of my king. She was raised away from our people and knows nothing of her heritage. Our kind are a myth to her. She doesn’t believe we exist and there’s no way she’ll believe she’s one of us.

~The Beast~

I am Shun’Uhl, the soldier ordered to return her to my king’s side so she can marry a royal and produce an heir to save our people. To get her to trust me, I shed my beastly form and take on the form of someone she knows. I choose unwisely. The form I’ve selected is a male she despises.

~The Forbidden~

The more time I spend with her, the more she comes to like me. And though I’ve tried to resist, I find myself falling for her also. Her feelings for me will change once she learns of my deception and sees how I really look. Part of me wants to complete my mission and return her to her father. Another part of me wants to remain in this form forever and spend my life with Izeria.

I have a choice to make: be honest with the female I love and risk losing her or lie to her for the rest of our lives. Unfortunately, the choice is made for me when we come under attack and I have to release my beast to protect her.

Now it is she who has to make a choice: Me and my beast or a kingdom?

Excerpt

My beast is trying to take over.

Even now, as I escort Izeria to the dining hall, he’s pushing against the barrier that separates Drahken from dragon. He’s clawing at the barricade that keeps him inside. Moments ago, he came close to breaking free.

Not only did I hear his growl, so did Izeria. She assumed it was my stomach growling in hunger. Luckily, she’s too naïve to think the worst of me. She senses something is wrong, yet, she doesn’t want to believe me capable of deceiving her, of hurting her.

I should feel guilty for what I’m doing. I don’t. I can’t. Too much is riding on me getting her to my territory. My beast snorts his displeasure, unhappy with our current mission. It’s funny how he can kill viciously, yet he frowns upon lying to our half-breed princess.

I can feel him pacing the recesses of my mind. In this form, he cannot speak to me. Right now, that’s a good thing. I don’t want to hear his thoughts on what is happening. He knew what we’d have to do when we found her.

He knew we’d have to lie or maybe even kidnap her to achieve our goal. His feelings for her can’t change that. Nothing can change what has to be done. The lives of our people are more important than Izeria’s opinion of us.

When we arrive in the dining hall, I step to the side so she and her rodent can enter the room before me. I’m glad I did. The look on her face as she walks into the dining hall is priceless. It’s almost like she’s never been on a spacecraft before.

“This is the biggest dining hall I’ve ever been in. Not only on a ship, but on land also.”

She turns to me and smiles. For a moment, I forget how to breathe. I sense my beast’s pleasure, or is that my own? The line between what I want and what he wants is starting to blur.

Preorder price only 0.99 cents.

 

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XDHQ5YL

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XDHQ5YL

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XDHQ5YL

Giveaway

March Madness Giveaway: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/a576fb1c15/

Author Bio

Hi, my name is Siren Allen. I’m a writer and lover of all things supernatural and romantic. I reside in southern Mississippi where I write steamy romances that are guaranteed to make you blush. When I’m not listening to the characters in my head and jotting down their adventures, I am busy working as a Clinical Laboratory Technician.

My hobbies are reading, writing and shopping, though I hate trying on clothing. If I wasn’t a writer or a Laboratory Professional, I would probably be a Secret Agent. But that’s the beauty of being a writer. You can create your own world and be whoever you want to be. In my imaginary world, I am Queen and my siblings are my minions.

~Author Links~

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – www.amazon.com/Siren-Allen/e/B00ELF795O/

WEBSITE – http://sirenallen.com/

FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/authorsirenallen

TWITTER – https://twitter.com/SirenAllen

PINTEREST – http://www.pinterest.com/sirenallen/

SIREN’S NEWSLETTER: Join to stay updated on my new releases and giveaways:

http://eepurl.com/Wr6Jn

SIREN’S GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7163788.Siren_Allen

SIREN’S MONTHLY GIVEAWAYS:  https://sirenallen.com/giveaways/

#Ghosts by Guest Leah St. James

I love reading stories about vampires and shape shifters, mermaids and other mythical creatures. Who doesn’t!? But when it comes to writing, I tend to go with the gold standard—ghosts.

My fascination with ghosts started at an early age, in mystery books and TV, but mostly in my real-life ghost experiences...or so I imagined as I sat around the campfire at the Girl Scouts’ Camp Nomoco, deep in the woods of Central Jersey. The sky pitch black, girls’ faces glowing eerily in the illumination of their flashlights held under their chins, and the thought of the ghost of Mr. Nomoco himself on the prowl. Legend told  how he roamed the woods at night, searching for wayward Girl Scouts! And once he found them? ... I still shiver as I think about it! Later, after we’d gone to our tents, I’d invariably have to make a trip to the latrine. I remember racing through the dark woods to escape Nomoco’s clutches. (It was probably a distance of about 25 feet, but hey, I was 10 years old.)

For many of us, there’s something fun about being scared. According to articles I’ve read, you have to know that you’re not in any real danger to enjoy the feeling of fright. Like when you go through a haunted house at an amusement park, you know it’s all staged. The enjoyment apparently comes from the kick of the flight-or-fight hormones, followed by that almost instantaneous comprehension that you’re not in any real danger.

Another article I read speculated that we need that come-down effect on a psychological level, not just physical. That we push ourselves to experience fear so we can have an accompanying sense of satisfaction at having survived and vanquished that fear. I’m not sure I buy that one, but I do like scary stories, and ghosts provide the perfect scare-inducing medium. (Sorry..I love puns.) Throw in a romance, and even more fun is in store.

That’s what my goal was in writing Adrienne’s Ghost, a romantic suspense novella about the discovery of a body in the basement of FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. I wanted creepy, suspenseful. and romantic rolled into one.  

Here’s the opening scene:

Jackson Yates wasn't easily spooked, but even he succumbed to a shiver of apprehension when he stepped onto Floor 3B of the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building. The air smelled of rotted paper and dust, and simmered with a cold clamminess that plastered an instant sheen of sweat to his neck. Overhead, a light flickered and buzzed, its life forces waning into oblivion. Somewhere in the dim depths, voices echoed, hushed and eerie.

Jack is about to find out that the body belongs to none other than agent recruit Adrienne Garza who had disappeared shortly before graduating the Academy.

Later, when someone–or some thing–that sounds just like Adrienne speaks to him in the deep, dark recesses of the echoing space, he fears he’s hallucinating and calls on the help of paranormal psychologist Rachael Sullivan to help him sort fact from fiction. (Cue the love story!)

In this scene, Jackson leads Rachael to the scene of the crime.

Rachael moved to the center of the taped‑off area, closed her eyes, and waited.

After several minutes of silence, Yates chuckled and said, “Yeah, good luck with that.”

“What?” Her eyes opened to see him watching her, arms crossed over his chest, mouth twisted in a half-smile, eyebrows lifted in obvious amusement.

“You really think you can conjure up her spirit?”

Lifting a shoulder, she said, “Maybe.” Even as she admitted it, the ridiculousness of her theory struck her, and her mouth scrunched with the effort to hold back a laugh. “I'm sorry. I don't mean to make light, but I got a sudden mental picture of antennae rising out of my head.”

“Yeah, me too. Only my vision has you in costume.” His half-smile turned into a grin, and he laughed in a tone so teasing, so engaging, she shivered with the warm tingle that ran up her spine, out to her fingertips.

“Really.” She crossed her arms in a pose mimicking his. “And what would that be?”

Before he could answer, the room chilled, instantly, as if they'd passed into a freezer container. Their gazes locked, wide-eyed.

“This is it, the cold I mentioned to you.”

“Shh.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Wait.” ...

An aroma of amber and musk, strong and pungent yet not unpleasant, whooshed into the room, and along with it, a humming, a kind of energy Rachael had never before felt. Like a pulse. A heartbeat. ...

A frigid tingling filled the air, hovered overhead, and settled in front of them. The energy materialized, less than five feet away. A hazy image of someone dressed in khakis and a blue polo. The image firmed, took form. A pale, oval face, skin as smooth as melted caramel. Huge brown eyes, filled with despair, and torment. The apparition reached in slow motion, its hand slender, ringless, beseeching¼

Adrienne’s Ghost

Do you believe in ghosts? FBI Agent Jackson Yates never had . . . until now.

Paranormal psychologist Rachael Sullivan has spent her adult years searching for the knowledge of life after death.

Joined by forces beyond their control, beyond their understanding, together they seek a killer. Together they encounter . . . Adrienne’s Ghost.

Amazon: http://a.co/2GRII4Z

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/adriennes‑ghost‑leah‑st‑james/1107017554?ean=2940014813709

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/adriennes‑ghost/id905804969?ls=1&mt=11

Leah is a worrier, a self-described neurotic who tends to imagine the worst-case scenario in response to brewing troubles. She hasn’t decided if this leaning toward the dark side is what draws her to write edgy, gritty stories, or if the suspenseful mysteries and Gothic romances that filled her childhood bookshelves somehow imprinted their shadows on her psyche.  Despite (or maybe because of) this propensity for infusing her fiction with murder and mayhem, she still craves those happily-ever-after endings and the romance of everlasting love.

You can read more about Leah at www.leahstjames.com

Connect with Leah on 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LeahStJames/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeahStJames

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/leahstjames/