For this excerpt, you may like to know we are in the great city of San Francisco at the bar inside the Grand Hotel. It’s about noon, and the bar is empty, but for Bo, the bartender, and Sebastian, the long-term manager who just asked Owen, our lead to try out the legendary piano.   “Fine,” Owen said again. “Why don’t you want a crowd?” (Asked Sebastian) “A woman unlike any other woman I have ever met ripped out my heart and stabbed me just the other day, and she did it for a good reason.” “So you’re heartbroken. Good,” Sebastian said. “A broken musician is far better than a solid one.” “I mean it. Right now, I like this room empty. I know you want to hear the living, but . . .” “Stop. I’m here, and you are there. We toasted death before, so here’s to being alive. In this time.” Owen tapped glasses, but this time, he sipped the contents and turned toward the piano that was as much a work of art as an instrument. Sebastian took his glass from his hand, and Owen didn’t waste time. Despite Sebastian’s words about the piano not needing to be tuned, Owen…

Excerpt from A DEAL WITH DARKNESS, Alexis L. Menard, City Owl Press © 2022 , Used by permission.   Prologue   My internal clock ticked away precious seconds. I didn’t usually give my target this much of a head start, but tonight I was feeling generous. I took a deep breath, scenting the trail of my prey in the darkness cloaking the forest. The Grimm Wood usually smelled like fresh earth and pine, but tonight the hint of copper masked the natural aroma. Nothing stirred in the trees—no sound carried on the breeze blowing east. The wind was my ally, revealing the panicked paces of the man fleeing from my attack. I could have finished him off before he escaped, but the truth was I let him go. The reaping was more gratifying when I had to work for it, more delicious when it was earned. This lowlife was a fighter, a despicable coward, and a runner. And I really liked it when they ran. I reached down next to his abandoned cot still unrolled by the fire, speckled with blood from the warning slice I made down his forearm. Snatching a half-empty bottle by the neck, I took a…

Your book SERENADE is described as a “Paranormal Fantasy”. What about paranormal fantasy inspires you as an author? Do you think you’d ever dip into a different genre or subgenre? A great question! I love books that whisk you away to other worlds—that transport you. A great book is one that makes me forget real life for a while. I hope to accomplish that with the worlds I create. And I also write Gothic Mystery! I have book I just signed a deal with that will be coming out in 2023, called THE DOLLMAKER, so be on the lookout for that! How would you describe your female protagonist, November Huntington? Does she evolve over the series, or stay the same? Initially timid but becomes stronger, or always confident? November is different because she struggles with mental health. A lot of my early readers have really related to her because of this. She grows through the series. I wouldn’t say she starts out weak—she definitely has fight and spirit and knows how to stand up for what’s right—but she learns to open up her heart and mind as the story progresses. How would you describe the dynamic between November and Vincent?…