Stranger Rituals Kali Rose Schmidt Publication date: July 9th 2019 Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
A fighter with a venomous grudge.
A monster with an immortal curse.
A girl with a terrible gift.
All three out for blood in a land torn apart by harsh gods and holy wars. Each entwined with the other, on their own quests for vengeance, and yet held together by strange links to sinister pasts. As their fates unravel, a dangerous romance blooms, and violent darkness beckons.
At turns both darkly humorous and utterly morbid, STRANGER RITUALS is the startling first novel in Kali Rose Schmidt’s dark new series.
She swallowed, and then moved away, ducking her face from his grasp, hating how he knew her weakness so well. She rose from her knees. The Djavul stared up at her a moment, then gracefully stood to his full height.
“What did they want?” she questioned.
Vojtech smiled. “You have a job to do.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know. That’s guarding you. It’s a thrill a minute.” She gestured toward the ruined soldier beside them.
Vojtech frowned. “I actually thought you were growing bored here. No attacks in three months, only this idiot sneaking around in the desert.” He shrugged. “It seems Olofsson is losing his fear of me.”
“Good.” Scarko’s words mingled with fury. “Let him. It’ll serve our purpose for the second Holy War.” She stalked back to the Warskian soldier’s head, lifted it by the scraggly, blood-drenched hair. “So, what did the gods want?”
Vojtech watched her carefully, hands clasped before him. “You’re to go to the city of Kezda. A boy there is immune, it seems, to Vrakan abilities. You are to kill him.”
Scarko dropped the head with a thud. “What?” she hissed. “Why me? I’m your guard. Send someone else.”
Vojtech smiled. “As much as I enjoy you bossing me around, the gods are not so easily convinced.” He wiped his hands on his black robes and sighed. “This boy is a street fighter,” he wrinkled his nose, “taking on Vrakan defectives from the Warskian army. While he isn’t able to die from the usual Vrakan methods—ice, wind, fire, shadows—I think your magic could kill him. That’s why you.”
Scarko left the head on the stone floor and stalked toward the stairwell, behind the Djavul.
“I’m sure he’d die by sword just fine. Tell the gods I won’t go. A street fighter—the nerve of them…”
She made to pass Vojtech, but he snaked a hand out and gently stroked her dark blonde braid, the color of damp sand. She spun around to face him, fury in her eyes. But it was equally matched in his.
“I am the Djavul of the Order of Saints, Scarko Kadezska. You will not blasphemy our gods here. You know as well as I do that we cannot resist their orders, and we should not. They have guided me thus far.” He took a step toward her, brushed a cold finger against her cheek. “You will do this, and you will return to me.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and turned, clomping up the stairs. She heard him chuckle softly as she pushed open the doors from the dungeon, the Shadows on guard making way for her, black thread entwined in their grey cloaks, same as hers.
“Watch him,” she said unceremoniously.”
Author Bio:
Kali Rose Schmidt is an author, mother, and villain lover. She likes bloody tales of monsters, yoga with the lights off, and anything that goes bump in the night.
Through America’s Civil War and into the distant future…
Two ancient gods have made romance and waged war…
After the Great Rapture…
Will Sky Parlor become their final battlefield?
Do we ever really die? Or, do we return to live again with those we knew before? In the future, will man and machine learn to procreate? For generations, the population of Sky Parlor has believed that, long ago, the lands beyond their domed city were made uninhabitable by the “Great Rapture”.
When young Desmond Starr is appointed Alderman for Sky Parlor’s borough of Columbia, he is guided by a benevolent spirit during a dream’s strange vision and learns a hidden truth, exposing a shocking lie that has persisted for centuries. As rumors of a vast deception spread among Sky Parlor’s population, the president and his governing “sustainability” council propose what appears to be the perfect but distracting solution: An inspiring journey to a mysterious and distant world!
But does this grand proposal mask an ulterior agenda? Will a rebellious young man discover his own fate is bound not only to Sky Parlor, but to the survival of humanity?
About the author:
NEW! The highly-anticipated kindle E-book release of science fiction/fantasy/supernatural/suspense/thriller Sky Parlor is now live on Amazon, with discounted print editions soon to follow later on this June! The new release promises to be a superlative edition to the growing popularity of author Stephen C. Perkins exciting, thrilling, and often controversial brand of literary fiction. After visiting amazon.com/author/stephenperkins for a complete list of his available titles, stop by for a visit and begin following the author on Twitter (Twitter.com@RAGEOFWORDS).
See No More W.B. Dineen Publication date: July 2nd 2019 Genres: Adult, Thriller
Thirty-three-year-old music therapist, Kate Randolph, is at the top of her professional game. Her life is happily on track, until she receives a phone call announcing the death of the man who abounded her when she was eight-years-old. Kate has no interest in going to her father’s funeral, but soon realizes she must confront the past to move forward.
While in Oregon, Kate discovers why her scientist/father disappeared, and what she learns will set her on a path that will change her life forever.
With her father’s good friend, Jake, she uncovers conspiracies beyond imagination. She learns of secret societies, cover-ups, and that and the planet is in jeopardy from both terrestrial and extraterrestrial threats.
With the aid of a mysterious stranger, Kate must help save the world. Can she stay alive long enough to succeed?
—
“Dineen writes in a sharp, lively prose that is equally comfortable rendering emotional domestic moments, flashy action sequences, and humorous observations. The premise is wonderfully mysterious and immediately gripping. An expansive thriller that satisfies every absent-father fantasy.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A thriller filled with twists, turns, and many layers that unfold in the most wonderful, unexpected ways. This book is simply awesome.” —Readers’ Favorite, 5/5 Stars
“One of the year’s best thrillers, See No More is a near-perfect blend of sci-fi and spy fiction. Credit author W.B. Dineen with creating a powerful novel about personal identity wrapped within a breathtaking thriller. Sure to please fans of both Douglas E. Richards and Daniel Silva ” —BestThrillers.com
Oregon is the greenest state I’ve ever seen. Abundant, lush foliage carpets gentle, rolling hills as far as the eye can see. Farmland abuts forested areas. It’s breathtakingly gorgeous, and I can definitely see how someone could get lost here.
The green landscape whizzes by and hypnotizes me as my brain begins to wander. I think of my childhood in Pasadena, just off the Caltech campus. We didn’t live in opulence, but we lived comfortably. Jen and I went to the private polytechnic school down the street from our house. It was where a lot of the professors’ kids went. I don’t know how my mom was able to afford to keep sending us there after Dad left, but we spent all twelve years of our education happily ensconced within its walls.
Caltech was my playground when I was very little. My dad taught aeronautics and applied physics. In the summer, I used to run through campus and meet him in the green space in front of Beckman Laboratories for picnics. I remember lying on a blanket next to him discussing the possibility of him shrinking me some day like in the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
He used to look around all shifty-eyed before leaning toward me and whispering, “Can you keep a secret?” Of course, I always said I could. He’d respond, “I’m closing in on the technology and I should be able to do it by the end of the year! What do you think we should do with all the money we’ll make once I sell the patent to my people-shrinking machine?”
Then we’d plot what to do with our newfound riches. I wanted to spend a month at Disneyland before spending another month at Universal Studios in Orlando. Dad wanted to take my mom on a honeymoon, because they’d never gone on a real one. Then we tried to decide which house we’d buy. I had my eye on one we passed during our weekly walks to Huntington Gardens. It was a two-and-a-half story Spanish Colonial Revival with a pool. My dad joked that he wasn’t sure it would be big enough for the four of us, even though it had to be at least five times the size of our bungalow.
Memories burst through my subconscious like a storm-engorged river breaching a failing dam. As soon as one pops into my mind, at least thirty more push their way forward with unstoppable force. I’m sitting on the plaid blanket we always used for our picnics, and my dad says, “Katie, life is never what you perceive it to be.” Then I’m lying in bed and he whispers, “Believe the unbelievable. Things are never what you think they are.” Suddenly, I’m flying through the warm Southern California breeze on my bicycle, and he yells out, “Just because you think these are trees, doesn’t make them trees. Always be open to the truth. Believe in what you can’t see.”
In retrospect, it’s clear he was trying to prepare me for something. At the time I just remember thinking, Silly, Daddy, of course they’re trees. What else would they be? In my child’s eye, everything was exactly as it appeared. My dad was my rock, my mom and sister were ever-present love and comfort, the sky was blue, and life was good. Until it wasn’t.
Author Bio:
Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries — not always in that order.
Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.
She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.
Gold Medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.
Please consider sharing this announcement. A simple forward, Facebook share, Tweet, etc. can help us bring awareness to both this series and the important cause that a portion of the series sales will be donated to. ~Thank you from Emily Shore and the CTP
Serenity wakes to find she’s been sold into The Aviary—an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world, girls go by names like Raven and Nightingale, and will stop at nothing to become top Bird. To escape would mean losing her parents, but to stay means losing herself.
ALSO…
BUY A BOOK AND HELP US DONATE TO A WORTHY CAUSE.
A percentage of the first 30-days worth of sales for each novel in THE UNCAGED SERIES will be donated to Women At Risk, International—a nonprofit organization, established to create circles of protection around those at risk. Through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects and partnerships, they provide safe places to heal from abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and more. Their passion is to empower survivors to live and work with dignity and hope.
Author Bio:
Emily Shore is a MN author with a B.A. in Creative Writing from Metro State University and was a grand prize winner of #PitchtoPublication, which led her to working with professionals in the publishing industry. She is signed with Clean Teen Publishing for her anti-trafficking dystopian The Aviary, first in the Uncaged Series. For every sale, proceeds return to trafficking rescue and to Emily and her husband’s international adoption fund.
Throughout the years, Emily has connected with rescue organizations and survivors of sex-trafficking and injects the truths she’s learned into her books for youth. She loves motivational speaking on the issue of sex-trafficking and always hopes for more speaking events in schools, churches, and libraries. Please contact her on her website if you are interested in hearing her speak.
Emily lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two daughters. They are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from India.
Please consider sharing this announcement. A simple forward, Facebook share, Tweet, etc. can help us bring awareness to both this series and the important cause that a portion of the series sales will be donated to. ~Thank you from Emily Shore and the CTP
The Temple twins must unite as sisters or risk losing everything—including their own hearts.
“Gentlemen, we have a special treat for you today. Feast your eyes on this pure-blooded beauty!”
Serenity wakes to find she’s been sold into The Aviary—an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world, girls go by names like Raven and Nightingale, and will stop at nothing to become top Bird. To escape would mean losing her parents, but to stay means losing herself.
ALSO…
BUY A BOOK AND HELP US DONATE TO A WORTHY CAUSE.
A percentage of the first 30-days worth of sales for each novel in THE UNCAGED SERIES will be donated to Women At Risk, International—a nonprofit organization, established to create circles of protection around those at risk. Through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects and partnerships, they provide safe places to heal from abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and more. Their passion is to empower survivors to live and work with dignity and hope.
Author Bio:
Emily Shore is a MN author with a B.A. in Creative Writing from Metro State University and was a grand prize winner of #PitchtoPublication, which led her to working with professionals in the publishing industry. She is signed with Clean Teen Publishing for her anti-trafficking dystopian The Aviary, first in the Uncaged Series. For every sale, proceeds return to trafficking rescue and to Emily and her husband’s international adoption fund.
Throughout the years, Emily has connected with rescue organizations and survivors of sex-trafficking and injects the truths she’s learned into her books for youth. She loves motivational speaking on the issue of sex-trafficking and always hopes for more speaking events in schools, churches, and libraries. Please contact her on her website if you are interested in hearing her speak.
Emily lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two daughters. They are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from India.
Please consider sharing this announcement. A simple forward, Facebook share, Tweet, etc. can help us bring awareness to both this series and the important cause that a portion of the series sales will be donated to. ~Thank you from Emily Shore and the CTP
Our team at CTP is excited to share the official release of THE TEMPLE TWINS by Emily Shore, which released in all online retailers today, May 6, 2019. THE TEMPLE TWINS is the fourth novel in Emily Shore’s UNCAGED SERIES. Readers can dive further into this captivating and dynamic Young Adult fiction series today! If you haven’t had a chance to start this series, today’s the day since the first book—THE AVIARY—is FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME.Also, as a reminder, a portion of the sales from the first 30-days of each of the UNCAGED SERIES releases will be donated to an organization that helps survivors of human trafficking.
“Gentlemen, we have a special treat for you today. Feast your eyes on this pure-blooded beauty!”
Serenity wakes to find she’s been sold into The Aviary—an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world, girls go by names like Raven and Nightingale, and will stop at nothing to become top Bird. To escape would mean losing her parents, but to stay means losing herself.
ALSO…
BUY A BOOK AND HELP US DONATE TO A WORTHY CAUSE.
A percentage of the first 30-days worth of sales for each novel in THE UNCAGED SERIES will be donated to Women At Risk, International—a nonprofit organization, established to create circles of protection around those at risk. Through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects and partnerships, they provide safe places to heal from abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and more. Their passion is to empower survivors to live and work with dignity and hope.
Author Bio:
Emily Shore is a MN author with a B.A. in Creative Writing from Metro State University and was a grand prize winner of #PitchtoPublication, which led her to working with professionals in the publishing industry. She is signed with Clean Teen Publishing for her anti-trafficking dystopian The Aviary, first in the Uncaged Series. For every sale, proceeds return to trafficking rescue and to Emily and her husband’s international adoption fund.
Throughout the years, Emily has connected with rescue organizations and survivors of sex-trafficking and injects the truths she’s learned into her books for youth. She loves motivational speaking on the issue of sex-trafficking and always hopes for more speaking events in schools, churches, and libraries. Please contact her on her website if you are interested in hearing her speak.
Emily lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two daughters. They are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from India.
Please consider sharing this announcement. A simple forward, Facebook share, Tweet, etc. can help us bring awareness to both this series and the important cause that a portion of the series sales will be donated to. ~Thank you from Emily Shore and the CTP
Our team at CTP is excited to share the official release of THE TEMPLE TWINS by Emily Shore, which released in all online retailers today, May 6, 2019. THE TEMPLE TWINS is the fourth novel in Emily Shore’s UNCAGED SERIES. Readers can dive further into this captivating and dynamic Young Adult fiction series today! If you haven’t had a chance to start this series, today’s the day since the first book—THE AVIARY—is FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME.Also, as a reminder, a portion of the sales from the first 30-days of each of the UNCAGED SERIES releases will be donated to an organization that helps survivors of human trafficking.
“Gentlemen, we have a special treat for you today. Feast your eyes on this pure-blooded beauty!”
Serenity wakes to find she’s been sold into The Aviary—an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world, girls go by names like Raven and Nightingale, and will stop at nothing to become top Bird. To escape would mean losing her parents, but to stay means losing herself.
ALSO…
BUY A BOOK AND HELP US DONATE TO A WORTHY CAUSE.
A percentage of the first 30-days worth of sales for each novel in THE UNCAGED SERIES will be donated to Women At Risk, International—a nonprofit organization, established to create circles of protection around those at risk. Through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects and partnerships, they provide safe places to heal from abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and more. Their passion is to empower survivors to live and work with dignity and hope.
Author Bio:
Emily Shore is a MN author with a B.A. in Creative Writing from Metro State University and was a grand prize winner of #PitchtoPublication, which led her to working with professionals in the publishing industry. She is signed with Clean Teen Publishing for her anti-trafficking dystopian The Aviary, first in the Uncaged Series. For every sale, proceeds return to trafficking rescue and to Emily and her husband’s international adoption fund.
Throughout the years, Emily has connected with rescue organizations and survivors of sex-trafficking and injects the truths she’s learned into her books for youth. She loves motivational speaking on the issue of sex-trafficking and always hopes for more speaking events in schools, churches, and libraries. Please contact her on her website if you are interested in hearing her speak.
Emily lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two daughters. They are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from India.
Please consider sharing this announcement. A simple forward, Facebook share, Tweet, etc. can help us bring awareness to both this series and the important cause that a portion of the series sales will be donated to. ~Thank you from Emily Shore and the CTP
The Ruins T.H. Hernandez (The Union #2) Publication date: June 16th 2015 Genres: Adventure, Dystopian, Romance, Young Adult
Heartbroken, grief-stricken, and wracked with guilt, seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor returned to the Union, leaving behind the boy she loved.
Now, she and her friends must find a way to do the impossible – warn the citizens of the Union about an impending rebel attack without alerting the government and risking retaliation against her friends in the Ruins.
When every move Evan makes is thwarted, it soon becomes clear she’s being watched. Faced with a daily fight to stay one step ahead of her pursuers, she returns to the Ruins. But life in the Ruins has its own dangers, and soon she’s fighting a different battle – to stay alive long enough to discover the truth.
Grief, guilt, heartbreak, fear, loss, and abandonment all swirl in my head, creating a vortex of pain and confusion keeping me awake.
Three days ago I was planning a future with the boy I love. Cyrus was going to come back to the Union with me. We were going to figure out a way to warn the citizens here or stop the attack. Together. Now his brother is dead and Cyrus stayed behind, unwilling to abandon the rest of his family.
The scents of honeysuckle and fresh-cut grass float on a late summer night breeze. I stare up at the clouds from the chaise lounge on the balcony. A thick marine layer inched its way in from the coast hours ago, blanketing the sky and obscuring the stars I was hoping to see. With the moon hidden and the Union lights off for the night, darkness envelopes me.
Over the soft murmuring of desalinated ocean water burbling through the aqueduct, I hear the door slide open behind me and sit up. My bio-dad, Eddie, walks out and takes the spot beside me.
“Can’t sleep?”
I shift to my right, giving him more room. “No. You?”
He shakes his head, his cinnamon-colored wavy hair sweeping across his shoulders. “My grandmother used to say if you can’t sleep, it means you’re awake in someone else’s dreams.”
That’s a comforting sentiment. Is Cyrus dreaming about me right now? Or is he like me, too afraid of the nightmares to close his eyes?
Eddie presses his lips together and studies me for several long seconds. “Are you ready to tell me where you’ve really been all summer?”
His question catches me off guard. I thought he bought my story, the one I told him when I came back. The one Lisa fed him while I was in the Ruins. Posing as me, she texted my mom and Eddie from my tablet with regular updates on our fake adventures sailing off the southeastern coast. When I first showed up here yesterday afternoon, he didn’t seem to care where I’d been or what I’d been up to, only that I was here at all. I’m definitely not ready to have this conversation with him.
“I don’t know, are you ready to tell me where you were for the first twelve years of my life?”
He shifts his weight on the chaise next to me and sighs. “I don’t know how many times I can apologize.”
“You think another ‘I’m sorry’ is going to fix everything?”
He rubs his palms on his thighs and stands. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, but you might want to ratchet the anger down a few notches.” He moves toward the door before turning back. “You’re going to have to forgive me some day.”
I raise my head and turn toward his dark silhouette. “Why? You think sending me a ticket and letting me hang out with your new kids makes up for everything?”
“No,” he says quietly, “because hanging on to all that anger and resentment isn’t healthy.” He walks back into the house, sliding the door closed behind him.
With a heavy sigh, I fall on my back and stare back up into the blackness. Seriously? After being nothing to me for three-quarters of my life, where does he get off being all parental right now?
Author Bio:
T.H. Hernandez is the author of young adult books. The Union, a futuristic dystopian adventure, was a finalist in the 2015 San Diego book awards in the Young Adult Fiction category.
She loves pumpkin spice lattes, Game of Thrones, Comic-Con, Star Wars, Doctor Who marathons, Bad Lip Reading videos, and all things young adult, especially the three young adults who share her home.
When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside her head, T.H. Hernandez lives in usually sunny San Diego, California with her husband and three children, a couple of cats, and a dog who thinks he’s a cat, affectionately referred to as “the puppycat.”
Gwen gathered fruit as fast as she could in the dim of the early morning. Mangos and marionberries, peaches and papayas, star fruit and oranges… she shoved the land fruit into her bag, never breaking pace as she trekked weast across the island. She needed to get to the coast and back before any fairies awoke. The entire fairy population had indulged in joyful revelries the night before, celebrating some amorphous holiday unknown to humans. The dawn would find even the most temperate fairies still lolling in drunken dreams and merry slumber. But dawn had not yet arrived and not everyone slept; stars still speckled the bluing sky and certain inhabitants of Neverland were still speaking with them. Tromping over vines and fungi, Gwen bushwhacked her way through the forest-jungle on anxious feet. The mermaids had not been helpful as of late. The new mermaids she’d met wouldn’t even give her their names. Eglantine and Cynara had been snide at best, and contemptuous at worst. Gwen wouldn’t have minded it—she didn’t care what mermaids thought of her—but she felt certain they knew what had happened to Lasiandra and refused to explain. This drowsy morning offered her a chance to tempt them with an overabundance of land fruit without anyone noticing. She would persuade the mermaids to cede their starry secrets and hurry back before any stray fairy or curious child found her at the incriminating lagoon. Gwen reached the wood’s end and hurried down the steps carved into the chalky cliff face. She moved so fast she half-flew toward the slender figures half-submerged in the lagoon. Gwen had not seen Lasiandra since the night she escaped with Jay from Lake Agana. In the chaos, she had never retrieved the scale from Lasiandra, and thus lost her ability to call her friend. She hadn’t worried about it—until days and weeks passed without sight of her at the lagoon. “What business have you with Lasiandra?” Eglantine had demanded last time Gwen visited. “What matter is she to you?” “I’m just worried about her,” Gwen had answered, innocent and truthful. The region’s entire Anomalous Activity Department had been on duty that night, trying to apprehend lost children and capture whatever magic followed them. Lasiandra’s disappearance was ominous, to say the least. A few fairies had not returned from the mission, and there was no question of what fate had befallen them. In response, the mermaids had only mocked her, contorting their melodic voices into cackling imitations of her land-dwelling accent, “I’m just worried about her.” “Worried about her! Concerned about a mermaid?” Cynara had declared, insulted and amused. “We are not of such a feeble nature as you landmaids. Mermaids have more strength in a single scale than you have in all of your heart. You need not worry for a mermaid, girl. We can take care of ourselves.” Gwen had wanted to believe her.
Phoenyx Blake has a secret. When she wakes in a dungeon with three strangers, she is forced to face it, which isn’t easy seeing as her cellmate, Sebastian, has starred in her dreams. As days pass, they learn they are each one of the four elements bound in human form and they have been abducted by an ancient society that plans to kill them and steal their powers. If they hope to escape, they must master their powers, and Phoenyx must learn to let go of fear and let love in, before it’s too late.
The door clanked unlocked and then swung open. This time when the large bald man stepped inside, he paused, did a double take of the room and dropped the large paper bags at his feet. His face went sallow and he looked clearly distraught. “Shit,” he muttered. Then he approached the cell to take a closer look and assess his next move. As soon as he came close enough, Phoenyx grabbed his arm. He jumped in shock and confusion, but then quickly relaxed, soothed by her touch. “Don’t be afraid,” she said in a sultry voice. “You want to help us. All you have to do is unlock these cells and let us out.” “I would but I don’t have the key,” he said, his eyes locked on hers, looking like a love-sick puppy. There was a collective sigh of disappointment behind her. “Who does?” she asked. “Dexter has it,” he confessed eagerly. “Is there any way that you can get the key for us?” “Uhhh, I don’t know,” he said. “He keeps it hidden in his office and no one is allowed in there. I will gladly try.” She frowned. Why did we just assume this automaton would have the key? This really put a damper on their plans. “Ask him what we’re doing in here,” Sebastian whispered. “Right, why are we locked up in here?” she asked the oaf. “Because, you four are the Bound Ones, from the legend,” he said as if it was simple and obvious. “The Bound Ones?” she asked, feeling like she just stepped into The Twilight Zone. “What legend?” “Yes, the legend we learn when we join the brotherhood. The legend of the Bound Ones says that, thousands of years ago, man was a slave to the elements. Man could not master crops because Earth was fickle. Volcanic eruptions would swallow whole villages and earthquakes would topple any and all of man’s accomplishments. Man could not master the sea because Water was too proud to be tamed. Air constantly tore apart cities with tornados and hurricanes, and Fire ravaged everything in its path. So our forefathers, the wisest of the Celtic sorcerers, forged a powerful spell binding each of the four elements to a volunteer from the rite, so that man would have control over the elements, rather than be controlled by them.” “So…you’re saying that the four of us each have one of the four elements inside of us?” she asked, unable to keep the tone of doubt from spewing out. “Yes, you are Earth, Air, Fire, and Water in bound human form,” he said, as if none of this sounded ridiculous. Phoenyx turned around and looked at the others. Their faces were a mixture of skepticism and pensiveness. “If this is true, what makes you think we are these Bound Ones? Wouldn’t they be long dead seeing as this legend happened so long ago?” Skylar asked. “According to the legend,” the bald man began, “the spell was made to keep the elements bound in human form through reincarnation. The elements are eternal and cannot be destroyed, so if the bound human died, the element would once again be free. The spell was made to assure that once the human died, the element would be immediately reborn into another human vessel. Unfortunately for our forefathers, they didn’t take into account how that would make it impossible to keep track of them. After the first volunteers died, we lost hold of them permanently.” “That still doesn’t explain why you think these Bound Ones are us particular four people,” Skylar argued. “There was another partition in the spell,” the man continued. “When one of the Bound Ones dies, all die, and when one is born, all are born.” That struck a chord in all of them. “That’s why we all have the same birthday,” Lily said. “That’s why they want to keep us alive,” Sebastian said. “They think if one of us dies, we’ll all die.” “Yes,” the man said. “That doesn’t prove anything,” Sebastian said. “So we were all born on the same day. Big deal. There must be thousands of other people all over the world born that same day.” “You were all born, not just on the same day, but at the exact same time,” the man said. “Your births coincided with the deaths of four people who showed signs of being the previous Bound Ones.” “We were all born at the same time?” Lily thought out loud. “That would definitely bring the odds down quite a bit. Approximately two-hundred and fifty people are born every minute—at least, that’s what I remember from my nursery rotation.” This was ridiculous. It had to be. These people clearly had some screws loose…then again, the four of them did have powers. That couldn’t just be coincidence. That same nagging, writhing feeling reared its ugly head once more. She ignored it and went on with the interrogation. “Okay, so let’s say we are the ‘Bound Ones’,” Phoenyx said, air-quoting with her free hand. “What do you want with us?” “The Celtic sorcerers who bound the original humans founded a brotherhood to keep an eye on the elements, to keep everything in balance, and called it the Four Corners.” He moved the fingers of his free hand over the pin on his shirt. “Dexter Mauldive, our Grand Master, convinced the High Council that it was time to put the elements back under our control, and that it would be best to put all four elements into only one vessel, making it easier to relocate them after each rebirth. He has volunteered to be the first.” “Just how do you plan to do this?” Skylar asked. “We have realized that we can’t just kill you, because then the elements would immediately be reborn somewhere else and we would lose them once more. Our best researchers have said that the elements must be in a sort of limbo state in order to be manipulated and placed inside a new host.” Phoenyx swallowed hard. “Limbo state? How will you accomplish that?” “There is currently a massive solar storm happening. In three days a very rare, very large solar flare is forecasted to explode. Our researchers say the radiation and electro-magnetism this will release will both heighten the powers of all four elements and weaken their hold to your bodies. On that day, the four of you will undergo a series of electrocution which will further weaken that hold enough for the spell to work. In order to break down your bodies even more in preparation for the ritual, we were going to starve you. This is the last time you will be fed.” Phoenyx’s heart pounded wildly and the hand she grasped him with was trembling and dripping cold sweat. Holy shit, this was so much worse than anything she could have imagined in her head. The prospect of being killed was already bad enough but to find out that they were going to be starved an electrocuted? This was a goddamn nightmare! She sensed Lily was crying. Like hell she was going to let this happen to them! “What’s your name?” she asked, her steady voice disguising the panic and anger she felt. “Lucas,” he answered. She noted to herself how creepy it was that, even as he told them about all the horrible things that his cult planned for them, he still gawked at her like a horny gorilla. “Lucas, you have to bring us that key and get us out of here,” she commanded, pushing her will into him with everything she had. “At all costs but be discreet about it. Do you understand?” “Yes,” he said, almost like a moan of pleasure. She released his arm. “Now go, and hurry!” He nodded eagerly, moved the last brown paper bags closer to the cells, and left the room. Now that he was gone, the room was dead silent, except for the loud banging of Phoenyx’s heart. No one spoke for a very long moment. Finally a sniffle escaped from Lily. Phoenyx instinctively turned and put her arms around Lily, inviting Lily to stop holding it in and her tears soaked into Phoenyx’s already quite dirty shirt. Phoenyx had no words to comfort her with this time. If Lucas didn’t come back to free them, they would die.
Title: Everafter Author: M. Lathan Release Date: 5/15/2016
After years of battling leukemia, seventeen-year-old Sydney Long has made peace with her impending death. She expected pain, she expected tearful goodbyes, but she never expected to be turned into an immortal monster who can, with the slightest touch, control life and death.
Now, flowers are stirring when she walks by, she’s oddly drawn to death and the dying, and she must wear gloves to keep her living parents safe.
While her family toils with this supernatural nightmare and finding a way out of it, Sydney falls for magic and an equally as enticing boy who she can’t seem to stay away from.
But nothing comes without a price. When Sydney is targeted for her illegal magic, she’ll learn a whole new meaning of fighting for her life.
M. Lathan lives in San Antonio with her husband and mini-schnauzer. She enjoys writing and has a B.S. in Psych and a Masters in Counseling. Her passion is a blend of her two interests – creating new worlds and stocking them with crazy people. She enjoys reading anything with interesting characters and writing in front of a window while asking rhetorical questions … like her idol Carrie Bradshaw.
No more pain. I liked the sound of that. With closed eyes, I waited patiently for my favorite part of the night.
“Do you believe in fate, my dear?” she asked.
“I guess so. You mean like how everything has a purpose?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. I ran from my purpose for a long time while dancing and working all those odd jobs I told you about. I kept trying to reinvent myself and run from fate. I learned my lesson when …”
I didn’t hear the rest of the story.
Her voice faded away, and I listened to the calming mix of snow and wind beating against my window. After a minute, that sound faded, too. It was like someone was going around and muting the noise in my world, like turning off the lights in a house before leaving. I was left with beeping machines and the sound of my laboring lungs. Seconds passed, and those sounds vanished, too.
The monitor next to my bed delivered the screech I’d dreaded for years. My flatline.
When it ended, all sounds and all light left me, and I was floating in dark space. There was nothing there. No sadness. No pain. Just overwhelming coldness that blasted towards me like a cannon, until it swallowed me whole.
Nazafareen lives for revenge. A girl of the isolated Four-Legs Clan, all she knows about the King’s elite Water Dogs is that they bind wicked creatures called daevas to protect the empire from the Undead. But when scouts arrive to recruit young people with the gift, she leaps at the chance to join their ranks. To hunt the monsters that killed her sister.
Scarred by grief, she’s willing to pay any price, even if it requires linking with a daeva named Darius. Human in body, he’s possessed of a terrifying power, one that Nazafareen controls. But the golden cuffs that join them have an unwanted side effect. Each experiences the other’s emotions, and human and daeva start to grow dangerously close.
As they pursue a deadly foe across the arid waste of the Great Salt Plain to the glittering capital of Persepolae, unearthing the secrets of Darius’s past along the way, Nazafareen is forced to question his slavery—and her own loyalty to the empire. But with an ancient evil stirring in the north, and a young conqueror sweeping in from the west, the fate of an entire civilization may be at stake…
Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She lives in Westchester with her kid and a few sleepy cats. Kat is also the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day (Skyscape, 2014), about a world where the sea levels have risen sixty meters. She loves magic, monsters and doomsday scenarios. Preferably with mutants.
My eyes flew open at the crack of dawn. I groaned and rubbed my forehead. My scalp tingled, an icy, unpleasant sensation. I knew right away where Darius was and what he was doing. It was another side effect of the bond, I’d discovered. I could feel his heart beating. I knew that one of his boots was too tight. I could shut my eyes and tell you exactly where he was, even if he was hundreds of leagues away.
Why had no one told me what it would be like? I supposed Tijah did, but this was much worse than I’d expected. Much, much worse.
I threw on my new scarlet tunic and marched down to the river. Tendrils of mist swirled through the dead reeds at the edge. It was late autumn and the air had a dank chill that promised snow.
My daēva stood there, stripped to the waist, pouring water over his head with his right hand. He wore a gold faravahar on a chain around his neck, its eagle wings spread wide. His left arm lay at his side, grey and dead. I stared at his shoulder, at the juncture where smooth skin met rough. His Druj curse.
It slowed me for a moment, seeing that pathetic arm, but I wasn’t yet ready to forgive him for waking me. That was my excuse, anyway. Of course, what really angered me was the terrible realization that I was burdened with a sorrow not my own, but that bled me nonetheless. What really angered me was him—everything about him.
He was calmer this morning, but I wasn’t. I stopped about twenty feet away. He didn’t turn around although he knew I was there.
“It’s nice that you’re so pious,” I said. “But don’t you think it’s a little early to be down here performing the morning rites?”
He paused, then dumped the last of the water from the bowl. I felt the cold trickle down my spine and my lips tightened.
“I was taught by the magi to come at first light,” Darius said. “Did you expect to sleep in? I’m afraid that’s not the way it works for Water Dogs.” He smiled, and we both knew it was fake. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in some way.”
I stared at him, at the dark hair plastered across his forehead, his stubborn mouth. He looked so human. And yet there was something in the way Darius held himself, perfectly at ease in his own skin. Still but coiled, like the wolves I’d seen in the mountains.
“You haven’t offended me in the least,” I said. “I suppose you need the blessing more than I do.”
I spun on my heel and walked away, knowing I had wounded him. A small stab to my own heart. And I felt slightly ashamed. But that wasn’t the end of it. Then I felt his satisfaction at my shame. And my own anger that he knew and was glad.
And then his amusement at my anger!
I stalked off, determined to think nothing, to feel nothing, ever again.
Title: The Neverland Wars Author: Audrey Greathouse Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing Release Date: 5/9/2016
Magic can do a lot—give you flight, show you mermaids, help you taste the stars, and… solve the budget crisis? That’s what the grown-ups will do with it if they ever make it to Neverland to steal its magic and bring their children home.
However, Gwen doesn’t know this. She’s just a sixteen-year-old girl with a place on the debate team and a powerful crush on Jay, the soon-to-be homecoming king. She doesn’t know her little sister could actually run away with Peter Pan, or that she might have to chase after her to bring her home safe. Gwen will find out though—and when she does, she’ll discover she’s in the middle of a looming war between Neverland and reality.
She’ll be out of place as a teenager in Neverland, but she won’t be the only one. Peter Pan’s constant treks back to the mainland have slowly aged him into adolescence as well. Soon, Gwen will have to decide whether she’s going to join impish, playful Peter in his fight for eternal youth… or if she’s going to scramble back to reality in time for the homecoming dance.
Audrey Greathouse is a lost child in a perpetual and footloose quest for her own post-adolescent Neverland. Originally from Seattle, she earned her English B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University’s online program while backpacking around the west coast and pretending to be a student at Stanford. A pianist, circus artist, fire-eater, street mime, swing dancer, and novelist, Audrey wears many hats wherever she is. She has grand hopes for the future which include publishing more books and owning a crockpot. You can find her at audreygreathouse.com
AND NOW FOR ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE BOOK!!! Cynara and Lasiandra also began to eat the bright orange fruits as Peter asked again, “Can you tell me what the sky has been doing, what the planets have been telling you?”
Although disappointed she would get nothing more out of him than fruit, Cynara was now willing to discuss the heavens with Peter. “The planets have been all unaligned for quite some time. There is disunity in the sky, and disharmony in the world. Pluto and Neptune will remain in the far corner of this wayward house for many years, but that is the way of this time. The war’s end is not in sight, and nothing you do now will end it. “It is a turbulent moment, with Jupiter so far from its sister planets, and alone in its own distant house. Mercury is roaming quickly through the houses, but in little more than a week’s time, it will be alongside the other dark planets, just as Venus eclipses Mars.
“There is envy in the sky, Peter, and when the heavens are jealous, no good can come of it. The stars have stopped shooting. They are holding their breath and waiting to see what magic will govern them in the centuries to come. The sky will not help you, but it will not impede you. These bodies cannot assist in a matter such as your war, but they are firmly sided with you. When your stars and his align, you will have your chance to meet the minstrel. He still moves with the music of the spheres, for now. That music continues to play, but its sound is softening, Peter.
“You must understand that the magic is being drained from the mechanics of it. The constellations have left the stars and the man has left the moon. Your adversaries are emptying out the sky, Peter. They discover more and more every day, but they assign numbers and letters where once they gave names and legends. They are stripping the sky of its majesty. That is why the stars will not aid you in your battle—they are unable. They are too governed by physics and cannot bend to manifest their prophecies. They have whispered our destinies to us, but now it is in our hands to enact them.”
The mermaid bobbed in the water with playful mystery. Peter pensively considered her words. “Thank you, Cynara, this is… an interesting turn of events.”
“The one you seek is on his way,” she assured him. “His travels will be safe, and he will be invincible until he lifts his instrument again. The stars still love him, even if man has forgotten. If you want to find him, seek out the aviator, Peter. He is closer to the stars than you realize. The aviator has seen the whole world over from his place in the sky, and he will know how to find the piper.”
“Will it really be that easy, Cynara?”
“Oh, by no means. Even if you find that minstrel, you’ll still have to convince him to play his star-music once again… thank you for the papaya, Peter.”
Cynara swam off, slyly smiling. She stayed on her back, but sank into the waters, her fruit still in her hands. Lasiandra retreated, but she kept her eyes peeking out of the water. She still watched Gwen, hardly glancing at Peter at all during this encounter. Gwen held Lasiandra’s eyes, but Peter seemed to have lost sight of her as she drifted back behind a low rock.
“Perhaps next time, you will come swim with us.” Eglantine giggled. “Then you can speak to the planets yourself.”
“Little boys cannot speak to stars; that’s for those whose dreams are born beneath the saltwater sky.”
“Silly, Peter,” Eglantine replied as she, too, swam off. “Anyone can speak to the sky.” She left the rind of her papaya floating, having already devoured all of its flesh. “The only hard part is getting it to talk back.”
Across the Bookiverse 