Shadow Pluck bonds to a user of magic.Earnest weaver, Petra scared but willing.Campus life thrives. Marty arrives.Overjoyed, Petra sees hope fulfilling.Nefarious Thoth plots to end Pluck and Petra,Declaring a pain born in history lost.He holds a grudge. Both jury and judge.And Pluck, he says, must pay the cost.Never will Petra abandon her shadow.Doctor Strom, too, takes their side. Love grows with a kiss. They vow to resist.Until peace again will abide.Courage outweighs the sins of the past.Kindness and love will not fall. Thoth strives against both, denying Pluck’s oath,That Secondhand Luck will save all. SECONDHAND LUCK by Kim Harrison Shadow Age #2 Against an ancient shadow with a deadly agenda, Petra Grady’s luck may be about to run out, in the next book in the enthralling contemporary fantasy series from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows novels. It’s been months since Petra Grady bonded with the shadow Pluck. With the help of researcher Benedict Strom, she has made a place for herself at St. Unoc University as the first weaver to use shadow magic in a thousand years. But some are not happy to acknowledge the new shadow/weaver pair, and Petra and Pluck aren’t surprised when they’re blamed for every…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Debbie Cassidy! Writes Hi, I write fantasy and paranormal romance featuring kick-butt heroines morally grey characters, and strong elements of found family. My stories blend magic, deep world building, and characters you’d want to hang out with. Books like WICKED ONYX, a dark academia about a cursed sorceress who will go to any lengths to prove her family innocent of a heinous crime. As the last of her bloodline, she gains admission to Nightsbridge Academy, a school at the edge of nowhere, responsible for keeping monstrous creatures called Horrors and Echoes at bay. The only problem is, you don’t graduate Nightsbridge Academy, you survive it. About It’s just as well I love the rain because England has plenty of it, and I can enjoy it to my heart’s content tucked away in the southeast. I’m a mum of three humans and two cats and am generally a homebody who loves nothing more than curling up with a good book, my sketch pad, or a…

I’ve had fun putting together this mini playlist for my new novel, THE WANDERING QUEEN. The novel is a historical fiction reimagining of the legendary Queen Dido, who left her home and travelled across the sea to found the ancient city of Carthage. The chosen songs are all great matches for the novel and for Dido’s story, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! ELASTIC HEART – SIA Well, I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heartBut your blade, it might be too sharp I feel like the lyrics to this song really sum up Dido’s emotional journey in THE WANDERING QUEEN. She goes through some real heart ache, heart break, and betrayal, yet through all of it she shows so much resilience. She learns how to protect herself, how to wrap up her heart after it is wounded, but she is still willing to risk everything and fight for love. Dido fights, but can she ever win? Even elastic hearts have a breaking point. DOG DAYS ARE OVER – FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back This is such a beautiful and subtle song, with lyrics open to interpretation….

Unlike many werewolf-themed paranormal romances, Atlas – in your book MUSCLES & MONSTERS – is furry and wolfy 24/7. What got you into writing “monster” romance? I had read a few monster romances before I started writing MUSCLES & MONSTERS, specifically the Monstrous Series by Lily Mayne and the Prime Mating Agency Series by Regine Abel. I love non-human love interests and their unique anatomy, so I figured I’d try to write my own. What really inspired me to write a wolfman was the anime Beastars. I found the wolfman main character, Legoshi, so kind and sensitive, but he had this strong, protective side. One thing I like about Atlas is that, though he’s super strong, he’s not aggressive in any negative context or condescending with Tegan. Years ago, I was surfing online and saw an author differentiate between an “alpha” hero and a guy who was an “alpha-hole”. An alpha-hole being a male protagonist in a romance who uses his physical strength as an excuse to be a jerk to everybody around him. What are your thoughts on alpha heroes? I love alpha heroes and alpha-holes in romance. I am a huge dark romance, mafia romance, and motorcycle romance…

Chapter 8 Excerpt from OUR BEAUTIFUL MESS by Adele Parks: Luke was snoring heavily, which annoyed her in a petty way that she wasn’t proud of. When they were younger, if he had slept peacefully as she lay counting sheep, she might have turned on her side and simply gazed at him. She’d have examined the contours of his face and plump lips, fought the urge to kiss them so as not to wake him up. Now, she often prodded him in the ribs, not caring if she disturbed his sleep. But then, when they were younger, he didn’t snore. She did not love her husband any less now than she did before – she probably loved him more as the years passed – but she was less dazzled by him, more prone to accept and expect everything he had to offer. That was what contentment was, she supposed: a surrender of the heady, exhausting days when emotions ran high and reactions couldn’t be predicted or counted upon. Anyway, his snores were not the reason sleep eluded her. She never could sleep until she heard the girls arrive home. It was nonsensical, because of course, the oldest two lived elsewhere…

Book Title: WE INHERIT THE FIRECharacter: Kewame How would you describe your family or your childhood?I grew up with my mother and her sisters and my grandmother and grandfather all in the same house. My mother and aunts were very close and I was closer to my grandmother than I was to my mother. What was your greatest talent?I could sing. I became very well known for it all over our township and later in the country. Significant other?I have been married for several years to a very strong, very hard-working and financially very successful man who is admired by everyone but resents that he is not as famous as I am. Biggest challenge in relationships?I have difficulty connecting with the present because I am so scarred by my experience in prison, so I have trouble staying emotionally open to my husband. Where do you live?Up on the hill in the township, in the place where the people who make a good living have all built big houses. Do you have any enemies?Yes. The government. I am considered a terrorist since I was once imprisoned under the Terrorism Act. How do you feel about the place where you are now?…

“Get It On,” Demolition Doll Rods (Album: On, 2004)MOTOR CITY LOVE SONG is my love letter to the Detroit indie and garage bands that came up in the 1990s and early 2000s, full of the DIY spirit and determination the city is famous for. The Demolition Doll Rods are a great example of this, with their elemental rock sensibility and distinctive visual presence. Definitely check them out on YouTube playing live. “Running Up That Hill,” Kate Bush (Album: Hounds of Love, 1985)A key element of MOTOR CITY LOVE SONG is “Heart Fire,” Paloma’s last release before she dropped out of the public eye in 2001. When the song becomes a viral hit decades later after being featured in a hit Netflix show, Paloma is back in the spotlight … a la Kate Bush’s resurgence thanks to Stranger Things. “Running Up That Hill” is ethereal, unapologetically theatrical, and fiercely feminine. Kate Bush isn’t for everyone, and that is her greatest strength. “Times Like These,” Foo Fighters (Album: One By One, 2002)Paloma’s “Heart Fire” is a departure from her gritty punk ditties as she reflects on her troubled childhood, her hardscrabble career, and her life with Jace, her girlfriend and manager. I…

What is the title of your latest release?UNTAMED HEART What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A British city girl escapes to her Wyoming family ranch and clashes with a rugged ex-rodeo cowboy, discovering that love, grit, and belonging might be a lot wilder (and hotter) than the life she left behind… How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I saw the TV show, Yellowstone, in 2024 – and it reminded me of my own time on a dude ranch in Wyoming years ago as a child. I’m from the UK, so to me, Jackson Hole is the quintessential, beautiful cowboy town amongst the mountains – the perfect place to fall in love! Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes! Lottie and her best friend, Hestia, are a mash up of the relationship I have with one of my closest friends. There are elements of us both in those characters, so I know we’d have a blast if we hung out. What are three words that describe your hero?Oh Cole! He’s such a cinnamon roll! But in three words – loyal, genuine and grounded. What’s something you learned while writing this book?That home…

A tour of Smile given by Presley Ayers Welcome to a tiny little island on the northern tip of Michigan. Smile is home to almost five thousand people and offers year-round activities for locals and tourists to enjoy. Thanks, in advance, for visiting our website. I’m going to give you about a dozen reasons to visit Smile, and while you’re here, swing by the incredibly charming, Get Lost Lodge. River Valley Lodge (Chilliwack BC) Smile was founded by Earnest Simel who was very excited to unveil the town sign and didn’t realize that it had a misprint. And the little town that was meant to be called Simel, was aptly named SMILE. About a forty-five minute ferry ride from Mackinaw City, Smile is a bustling town with local eateries you’ll need to visit such as: Pete’s Image found on Pinterest Brother’s Pub The Beagle Pub in Victoria Petal’s Pie Palace Once your belly is full of the most delicious food (try the waffles), you can take a bike ride to Tourist Lane. If you dig a little deeper, you will, no doubt, find out that I am biased. My fiancé owns and operates Beckett’s Bikes but I promise you, my…

What is the title of your latest release?BIANCA’S CURE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A single-minded young woman in Renaissance Florence uses her charm and cunning to pursue early science in a world controlled by men and filled with alchemy and superstition, religious dogma, and political treachery – including within her own family. Her cause is curing malaria, and her main tool is the herb artemisia – medicine still used today. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I decided on Florence because I teach in Tuscany and know quite a bit about Florence. It’s a romantic and popular travel destination, and I thought it would be fun to describe some of the magic and mysticism of the legendary Medici family, and of a young woman trying to break into it. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?She might be a little intense. The inspiration for my novel was the mysterious open window in Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence where the spirit of my heroine, Bianca Capello, is said to reside (if the window is closed, she screams) in one of Florence’s most popular squares. I guess I would hang out…