Why I Wrote BRADEN (Intergalactic Dating Agency) + Excerpt

One of my favorite old movies to rewatch is “Wedding Date” and when I was pondering what romantic tropes to use for this year’s Intergalactic Dating Agency novellas, I wondered if there was a way to write a fake date situation revolving around a wedding. I thought it would be amusing to have a fake date unfolding in the middle of this highly organized dating experience the Ardannan government had set up for their eligible men.

(As I’ve mentioned before in these “Why I Wrote” posts, I try to center each Intergalactic Dating Agency story around one romance trope and build my story from there.)

I always like to refresh my mind on what the reader expectations are for a story featuring a specific trope and so I read four or five of the best reviewed, top ranked fake dating romances, with emphasis on wedding dates. That doesn’t make me an expert on the subgenre by any means but I could test my plot against the various stories and feel confident I wasn’t missing a key element.

Then I launched into writing my story and had so much fun. I decided this would be a big interstellar celebrity wedding, with the Female Main Character being a childhood friend of the bride and serving as a bridesmaid. Her nasty ex is the Best Man of course and there’s about a week’s worth of events the bride has planned to amuse her guests at this destination wedding, leading up to the main event. Elodie, the FMC, had created a fictional hot boyfriend after the breakup with her cheating ex to save face, especially with her family, but now people expect to meet him. Lucky for her Braden’s date never showed up for the Ardannan contract and he’s free to step in and support her.

I gave them fun events to attend together and separately. For Braden it’s the thrill of a lifetime getting to play tisba (the highest ranked sport in the Sectors, which I’ve referenced before but never really got into any details of) with professional players since the groom is the most famous player in the league. For Elodie it’s a not-quite-so-happy bachelorette party where she becomes the awkward center of attention against her will.

Years ago I read an account of a group of ‘civilians’ who got to attend one of the cinematic award events and it always stayed with me how they expected, as I would have too, being at a table with celebrities and having a chance to chat with them and maybe make the start of a few friendships. Instead to the great disappointment of the group I was reading about, the movie stars and movers and shakers at the table basically ignored them the entire time and talked and laughed among themselves about people they knew and shared experiences they had which these Cinderella-like civilians were totally outside of.  (I think maybe they had a documentary in the running for an award.) When the evening ended the celebrities got up and left, still never having engaged in any conversation with the civilians. As if they hadn’t been there at all.

I used that for Elodie, who isn’t a part of her celebrity friend’s life except on occasions when she’s invited to a special event. So as the week goes on she realizes what an outsider she truly is, despite her old friend’s efforts, and the high flying people in whose circles the bride now moves don’t make much, if any effort to include Elodie. They don’t know her, she isn’t part of their world and won’t ever be, as it’s a fluke she’s even at the wedding.

But then there’s Braden, who stands up for Elodie and helps her deal with various setbacks and issues. And when danger seems to be stalking her, of course he steps in to help. (And since he’s a Soldier of the Ardannan, he’s also a shifter…)

And fake turns to real, as it always does in the best romances! HEA achieved.

Here’s an awkward situation where Braden saves the day (although I’m cutting the excerpt off before the details of how that happens – sorry!).

Depositphotos

Tamarind, the bride, wants to have her bridesmaids, of which there are many, do a dance routine with her at the reception…

When Elodie walked into the dressing room, it was empty and she heard music and laughter from the studio adjoining so she rushed to shove her things into an empty locker and join the others.

The two women who were professional dancers were performing a routine together, having fun, showing off their high kicks and seductive hip shimmies and even while she was enjoying the show, Elodie felt dread creeping over her. Surely they weren’t going to expect to teach the other bridesmaids to do anything similar? The precision of the moves and the skill on display was daunting. Elodie checked the faces of the other bridesmaids and was dismayed at how cheerful everyone looked. But after all they were models, actresses, influencers and even one of Tamarind’s own backup dancers. Probably none of them were going to have a hard time learning the moves.

Elodie never knew left from right, had never been on a dance team and wasn’t the most limber person in the room.

The music ended and the two women took a bow as the rest applauded. Then they were all business, lining the bridesmaids up in two lines, with Tamarind in the center. Elodie ended up on the end in the back, which was actually fine with her. The pros demonstrated the dance they’d created and a few tweaks were made in real time before they began teaching the steps to the women.

Elodie was lost from the third step. She did her best to keep up. She whirled and twirled and shimmied and tossed her hair (really? With the elaborate hairdos we’ll be wearing?) but was always behind the others and missed steps in between. Eventually one of the teachers took her aside and did one on one coaching during the break while everyone else was gossiping and practicing steps. She was embarrassed beyond belief, hot, flushed and sweating. Trying to imagine herself going through a performance of this routine, let alone in her bridesmaid dress and heels was a nightmare.

After the break, the bridesmaids and the bride lined up and ran through it three more times before the teachers were satisfied and told them all to clap for themselves because of a job well done. Elodie was positive they weren’t talking to her and she made a break for the dressing room before anyone else moved.

***************

Braden arrived at the dance studio gritting his teeth. This wasn’t his idea of how to spend a beautiful day on a resort planet, not when he had the ocean and a gorgeous girl to share it with. But he’d signed up for this mission when he’d agreed to be Elodie’s date and that meant all of it, not just the fun parts like playing tisba with sports idols. He walked into the studio with a group of the other dates, some of whom he recognized from the tisba match, to find the bride and her bridesmaids gathered in the studio, chatting happily.

Elodie was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, he asked the nearest woman where she might be. The bridesmaid gave him a seductive smile and eyed him up and down. “She’ll be back. In the meantime—”

“I think she went outside to cool off,” said another girl, frowning at the one speaking to him. “She uh she had a hard time with the routine.”

“Thanks.” Whatever that meant, Braden had a feeling things hadn’t gone well for his plucky lady so he hastened outside to search for her.

She was sitting on a bench under a nearby tree and even from a distance he could see she was crying.

Kneeling beside her, he said, “Hey, what’s this? Are you okay?”

Elodie shook her head and turned away from him. “I just spent the worst two hours of my life in that room. I can’t go back. I won’t. I’m going home.” She hiccupped and ended on another huge sob. He could tell she was having trouble breathing.

Never one to hesitate, Braden rose, picked her up and sat on the bench with her curled in his lap. “Tell me and we’ll figure out a way to fix it.”

BRADEN (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) SOLDIERS OF THE ARDANNAN BOOK FIVE by Veronica Scott

Braden Hartwell’s five day date on the Intergalactic Dating Agency’s Resort Planet has crashed and burned already. His date failed to show up, having gotten married on her home planet. While he’s absorbing this setback he receives a surprising offer. Elodie Farantson is on Resort Planet to be a bridesmaid for her childhood friend. Her cheating ex-boyfriend is the best man and Elodie has been telling everyone about her wonderful new boyfriend to save face. Except he doesn’t exist. Panicking she takes refuge in a noisy club before going to the first wedding party. Upon seeing Braden all alone at the club, she strikes up an acquaintance over drinks, inviting him to be her fake date to the wedding and all the activities for the week. With nothing better to do and all his friends matched up with IDA dates, Braden agrees. The situation turns out to be much more complicated than Elodie explained. The bride and groom are famous interstellar celebrities, the events are nonstop and he soon realizes he wants something real with Elodie. For her part, Elodie is falling head over heels for Braden but after her last relationship disaster she’s reluctant to take a risk. When danger from an unknown source stalks her Braden has to step up and do whatever is necessary to save her life.

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Ghosts,Curses & More! 6 Books from My Backlist for the Spooky Season

I thought it would be fun to do a list of the books on my backlist that are especially good to read in the spooky season!

I have to start with STAR CRUISE GHOST SHIP, which one reviewer said  “Lovecraftian”. I was inspired by the story of the Mary Celeste, a sailing ship in the 1800’s found sailing along uncrewed.

STAR CRUISE GHOST SHIP by Veronica Scott

After losing his Space Navy career due to an unfortunate accident, Theo Knox is looking for any opportunity to distinguish himself as an officer aboard the luxury cruise liner Nebula Zephyr. When they come upon a derelict freighter, he’s happy to lead a small crew to salvage the ship and bring her to port. But once he’s boarded the little ship questions pile up. What happened to the original crew? Why is the lifeboat still docked? Is the ship haunted? What’s in those mysterious crates in the cargo hold? Security Officer Jayna Evans has complicated feelings about Theo so she’s pleased to be assigned to his salvage crew. She hopes they can work out their future while bringing the derelict to port but the uncanny events aboard the abandoned vessel pile up and she can’t trust anyone, not even Theo. Can Theo and Jayna salvage the ship and their relationship? Will anyone survive a cruise on the Ghost Ship? This 38K word Star Cruise novella is the latest installment in the ongoing, connected series. Have you booked your Star Cruise yet? There is a very brief mention of the loss of a previous pregnancy.      Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     NOOK     GooglePlay

Next would be GHOST OF THE NILE, which is a ghost story of a completely different type, being set in ancient Egypt and using the beliefs and myths of the time about ghosts.

GHOST OF THE NILE

2016 RONE Award Finalist

Dear Author sez: 

“There’s Egypt and gods and magic and strong men and stronger women and love even beyond death and into the Afterlife. The historic details add spice throughout the story and these definitely aren’t 21st C people in linen kilts.”

The story:

1550 BCE

Betrayed, murdered, and buried without proper ceremony, Egyptian warrior Periseneb is doomed to roam the gray deserts of the dead as a ghost for all eternity.

But then the goddess of truth offers him a bargain: return to the world of the living as her champion for 30 days. If he completes his mission, he’ll be guaranteed entry into Paradise. Periseneb agrees to the bargain but, when he returns to the living world, two hundred years have passed and nothing is quite as he expected.

Neithamun is a woman fighting to hang onto her family’s estate against an unscrupulous nobleman who desires the land as well as the lady. All seems lost until a mysterious yet appealing ex-soldier, Periseneb, appears out of nowhere to help her fight off the noble’s repeated attacks.

Meanwhile, Periseneb’s thirty days are rushing by, and he’s powerless against the growing attraction between himself and Neithamun. But their love can never be. For his Fate is to return to the Afterlife, and Death cannot wed with Life…

Amazon       Apple Books      Barnes & Noble    Kobo   Google Play

Switching gears to curses, there’s BREAKING THE ALIEN LOVE CURSE, which was actually written for a Halloween-themed anthology, Figuring out how to deliver an alien curse and then break it was a fun challenge. The MMC was also my first ever alien with a tail. I’d like to write another Halloween-themed book with these characters, maybe in 2027.

BREAKING THE ALIEN LOVE CURSE by Veronica Scott

VS Note: This 23K word novella was previously in the Supra Vellum Anthology, which is no longer available, No new material has been added.

Amellia Taneek loved her job as the office manager for a group of Sectors agents from various organizations, all based out of her central location. She enjoyed the challenges of handling administrative details for them and the excitement of constantly meeting new offworlders. She was especially intrigued by Hagan Raljarr, seven feet of green, scaled, muscular SCIA agent, and more than a little curious about his tail. Hey, she was a healthy unmarried, unattached female and there was no rule against dating a co-worker.

But so far he’d shown confusing signs of reciprocating her interest.

Hagan was an honorable warrior and before he could pursue his definite interest in Amellia, who might even be his fated mate, he had to clear up one little detail – the engagement contract he’d been entered into as a child with a female from his own planet. They barely knew each other and she was highly ambitious. Surely in this modern day and age she’d be happy for him to sever the contract and set her free, right? Leaving him in the perfect position to begin courting the lovely human.

But the jilted fiancée sends a mysterious box across the galaxy to him and when he unwisely opens it, a powerful love curse is activated, striking both him and Amellia. They’ll die at dawn if the curse isn’t broken. With help from Amellia’s aunt, who is said to have magic powers, the pair set out on a desperate quest for three special ingredients needed to break the spell. Over the course of a very long night, will Hagan and Amellia find their way to a relationship, break the curse in time and survive? Is such a thing even possible?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     Nook     GooglePlay

My characters are also dealing with a curse in STAR CRUISE IDOL’S CURSE. My inspiration was the legends about the bad luck that befalls anyone who steals a rock from a national park or certain beaches in Hawaii.

STAR CRUISE IDOL’S CURSE

An unusual bequest….

Juli Shaeffer, the Nebula Zephyr’s cruise director, receives a mysterious bequest from the estate of a longtime passenger – a lump of rock taken from a reef on the planet Tahumaroa. Legend states anyone who steals from the ocean gods will be cursed. The passenger’s will requests the rock be returned to the beach so his heirs won’t be affected by the bad luck he believed he’d incurred. Juli doesn’t believe in superstitions and she agrees to carry out this small favor on the ship’s next stop at the planet in question.

Until the rock disappears from her office…

When the rock disappears and reappears in various locations around the ship, and seems connected to a steadily escalating series of mishaps, Juli turns to Third Officer Steve Aureli as the only one she feels she can trust. Along with Steve and his elderly Aunt Dian – a passenger aboard the Nebula Zephyr for this cruise – she investigates the strange series of malfunctions plaguing the interstellar luxury liner. Steve and Juli enlist his Aunt Dian’s dog, Charrli, a retired Sectors Z Corps canine, to help them track the missing rock as it moves about the ship.

Juli and Steve must find the rock, hang onto it and transport it to the planet’s surface, before the alien idol’s curse turns deadly. The attraction between the two of them grows as the threat to Juli becomes more and more focused. Can she carry out her task while he keeps her safe from the alien curse? Will the capricious alien idol bring them good fortune…or disaster?

This is a re-release of the 42,000+ word novel I included in the Pets in Space® 4 anthology, which is no longer available. No revisions or additions have been made to the original novel for this re-release. I have also now included a 4,000 word prequel story Butterfly Hair, in which the diva Azlaya arrives on board the Nebula Zephyr. This short story was a free reader magnet available only in the time before the anthology was originally published.

Amazon     Apple Books    Kobo    Nook    Google Play

For a wicked witch, try the Witch Queen in my romantasy THE CAPTIVE SHIFTER.

THE CAPTIVE SHIFTER

Concealing her own considerable magical powers, Caitlyn enters the service of the northern Witch Queen masquerading as a simple healer. Under order from her goddess, she’s searching for a magical gem stolen long ago from her own people, believed to be hidden in the massive castle. The task is daunting but Caitlyn is sure she can locate the gem and escape, bringing the prize back to the temple where it belongs. Until she meets the captive shifter and her loyalties become dangerously divided.

In payment for her past services to his people, Kyler the leopard shifter has entered into a life of servitude far from his forest home, allowing the Witch Queen to tap his magic to power her ever darker spells. Factions at Court are threatening to turn the Queen to the Shadow. Her increasing demands for magic will cut short his nearly immortal lifespan. Kyler’s resigned to his fate until the day he crosses paths with the new arrival, whose secrets and magic entice and attract both man and leopard. Has he met his mate at last?

The Queen will never willingly release him from captivity. Caitlyn’s goddess refuses to grant her any delay in accomplishing her own task. Can they locate the magical gem, fight the Shadow and win free of the Witch Queen to earn the right to be together?

Amazon    Apple Books Barnes & Noble      KOBO      Google Play

And to finish off the post, let me offer STAR CRUISE CHEF’S KISS, which takes place on an alien planet on a Halloween-like night and deals with an alien demon, who gives the ship’s chef one night to cook him the meal of a lifetime or be forever doomed to work in his kitchen in hell…I pulled on all my years of watching ‘Top Chef’ for this one!

STAR CRUISE CHEF’S KISS by Veronica Scott

Five star chef Stephanie Clemmons has a contract to cater a Halloweenlike party on the planet where her cruise ship the Nebula Zephyr orbits.  Little does she know the dangers of a night where alien demons walk among humans and never expects the deadliest demon of all to offer her a bargain. She has to cook a special dinner to satisfy him or spend the rest of eternity laboring in his hellscape kitchens. But as the night and the meal progress, Stephanie and the demon lord discover they both may be getting more than they bargained for, as undeniable attraction grows between them. Can an ancient Lord of the Underworld and a human chef find a way to make a new bargain for love? This story first appeared in the Celestial Seductions anthology, which is no longer available. I’ve added 6K words including an epilogue to the original story for a total of 17K words.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     NOOK     GooglePlay

Wishing you a spine tingling spooky season full of treats, not tricks!

 

Golden Bracelets from the Snake Goddess Excerpt DANCER OF THE NILE

In honor of my Kickstarter for the Special Edition of the DANCER OF THE NILE Trilogy I’m sharing an excerpt today:

Nima the dancer has been recaptured by the enemy general who desires her and put in a cell. Earlier in the book the snake goddess Renenutet had given her a golden bead and now Nima tries to use the magic contained in the bead to aid in her escape.

Tiny gold and red sparks were flying into the air from the bead, disappearing into the gloom. She sat bolt upright, watching wide-eyed as the five tiny serpents untangled themselves from each other. Only a few inches long, they were too beautiful to be frightening, golden scales glinting as each slowly undulated across the blanket, ruby eyes glowing in the darkness of her cell. Reaching out in wonder, Nima let the closest snake crawl into her hand, exclaiming at the tickling sensation as the snake’s belly rasped across her palm. The snake coiled for a moment, hood flared, wisp of an emerald tongue flicking in and out, tasting the air.

One of the others slithered across the bed, falling off the side. As Nima watched, still holding the first snake, the free-falling reptile winked out in a blaze of colorful sparks just as it hit the floor. Worried if she didn’t move quickly, she’d lose them all, Nima got off the bed, hand closed around the snake she held. Its tongue touched her fingers in featherlight sensations. She grabbed her mug with her free hand, tossed the dregs on the floor and dropped the snake into it, going back to the bed to catch the others. A second snake was working its way down the wooden leg of the bed, and Nima managed to capture it by the tail just before it reached the floor, dropping her captive into the cup with its fellow. Yet even as she did so, a third snake disappeared in a soundless explosion of color. She was searching in the blanket for the fifth when a voice spoke from right behind her.

“Foolish girl, you squander the weapons I gave you.”

Renenutet—for it was the snake goddess herself, in human form—reached past Nima’s shoulder, holding out one hand. The remaining three snakes flew through the air to her like tiny arrows, wrapping themselves around her wrist to create a fabulous bracelet.

Heart pounding, Nima sank down on the bed.

Stroking the living bracelet as if to calm the snakes while frowning at Nima, the goddess said, “You can’t call the snakes of Nebu merely to amuse yourself, girl.”

You didn’t exactly provide me a scroll of instructions with the gift. Nima bit her tongue as she left the bed to go to her knees before the Great One. “I’m grateful for your continued assistance, my lady.”

The goddess reached out to stroke her hand through Nima’s hair, patting her cheek as a mother might. “You are so like her, and she was my favorite.”

“My mother?” Nima asked hesitantly.

“Yes. She was trained to my service from the day she could walk, would have been the high priestess over all my temples one day. She was like a daughter to me, the child of my heart. Until she let herself be distracted—” Renenutet frowned, withdrawing her hand, and the snakes on her wrist writhed, hissing.

“Distracted by my father.” Nima closed her eyes for a moment, wishing for the thousandth time with a dull aching pain in her heart that her mother had told her more about the mysterious father she’d never met.

“You and I must both let the past go, child,” Renenutet answered in a low voice.

The goddess put her hand under Nima’s arm and effortlessly drew her to a standing position. Tingles of energy ran from the spot where Renenutet held Nima upright with inhuman strength. Passing through her body in torrents, the sensation fizzed and sparked, settling in her injured ankle. Pain assaulted Nima as the injured muscles and tendons knit back together. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

In an attempt to distract herself from the healing process, she blurted out a question. “How—how are you here? The Hyksos boasted to me no Egyptian Great One could enter this place because of their god’s spell.”

Laughing so hard the black plumes on her crown shook, the goddess released her and stepped back. “These males—gods and humans—they always think they rule the world, forgetting I’m an Elemental Elder goddess, born in the start of time. I have powers and abilities the modern ones like Qemtusheb and Horus fail to consider.” She raised a finger. “They forget my creatures own the cracks and crevices of the earth. Let foolish men block access above ground or through the sky—I can’t be deterred so easily. Luckily for them and all their schemes, I prefer my own duties to their endless quest for power and dominance.”

The door crashed open, startling Nima. Sword at the ready, the guard stepped across the threshold. “Who are you talking to—”

Turning her head, Renenutet snapped her fingers, and the man fell dead in a boneless heap, his sword clattering away across the stone floor. Nima ran to the corpse, swallowing her nausea, and wrenched his belt knife from its sheath despite her shaking hands.

VS: The adventures are far from over. Nima still has to be reunited with Kamin, the Egyptian soldier she’s fallen in love with and the enemy army is preparing to launch a surprise attack on Egypt…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this excerpt and are intrigued to know more about the entire story and the other two books in the trilogy, please check out the Kickstarter! The Special Edition is gorgeous, with character art, custom end papers, sprayed edges (and there are chibis available through the campaign (just one example below).

About My DANCER OF THE NILE Trilogy Special Edition Kickstarter

Having three of my ancient Egyptian romantasy novels available in a Special Edition hardback has been a dream of mine forever. Doing a Kickstarter for the DANCER OF THE NILE TRILOGY is so much fun and exciting besides. I commissioned three pieces of original character art, one for each book, and then I went deep into the character chibi universe. There are so many cute ones to go with this set of books, although we’ll need to unlock some of the stretch goals to make them all available.

I kept asking my daughter, who has done very successful KS campaigns for her own special editions and who is managing this one for me, “Don’t you think we need a chibi of a cat? A baby camel? Another god or goddess…” She assured me we had enough to offer now.

I probably drove my cover designer to distraction trying to explain what I was visualizing. I wanted a cover that really emphasized the richness and beauty of ancient Egypt while remaining clear this was a set of romances full of magic and adventure. I think she did an excellent job and the gilding is the final touch of perfection. We did a wonderful set of custom end papers and sprayed edges with more symbols. And I was very happy with the back cover and the gilded lotus flowers, which I felt really seemed as if they’d been plucked from a book in a Pharaoh’s tomb.

None of the photos do justice to the covers! The book is amazing in real life and the colors and the gold accents really pop.

Of course the books themselves are the most important piece of this Special Edition and DANCER OF THE NILE features one of my favorite couples, Nima the tavern dancer and Kamin the high born soldier. The duo comes together in an enemy camp where both are prisoners and clever Nima engineers their escape. Then it’s action and adventure as the pair are on the run from the enemy, fighting black magic, encountering various Egyptian gods and goddesses who help or hinder, a caravan master who may or may not be an ally, a troupe of Minoan dancers and more…and of course they fall in love.

In the sequel RETURN OF THE DANCER OF THE NILE (and okay I’m the first to admit I’m not too inspired when it comes to titles) Nima has to appeal to her patron goddess Renenutet the Cobra for help yet again while Horus the Falcon god assists Kamin. Another major figure in the Egyptian pantheon appears as well. This one is partially inspired by various actual events in ancient Egyptian history.

Then the third book DANGER ON THE NILE features their grown up son who is a captain in Pharoah’s Own Guard and a charioteer,  and the priestess of Isis who is his true love as they’re on the run from invaders at the southern border of Egypt and trying to keep a sacred golden statue from falling into the wrong hands.

DANGER was the most recent book I’d written in my connected Egyptian series (in 2023)  but I’m going to write a special novelette for this Kickstarter if we manage to unlock that stretch goal.

The Kickstarter did fully fund in the first 24 hours – thank you to everyone for their support! – but I’d really like to unlock the stretch goals and share all those cool chibis and the new story, etc.

Here’s the Kickstarter link if you’d like to check it out and support the campaign at any level.

The Creative Team:

Qamber Designs – design of cover, end papers, and sprayed edges

Maddie Moore – the couple illustration for The Dancer of the Nile

vitadrawss – the couple illustrations for The Return of the Dancer of the Nile and Danger on the Nile

Surya Dexter – chibi character designs

Eli Donovan – Project Manager

I am the sole author of these works.

Why I Wrote DERIUS (Intergalactic Dating Agency) Second Chance SciFi Romance

I had so much fun last year writing my first three Intergalactic Dating Agency novellas that I was happy to tackle the challenge again for 2026. My basic premise is that the IDA might have set up a whole resort planet by the time in the far future where my ongoing Sectors scifi romance stories are placed. It also seemed logical to me that a new race of aliens might have just entered the Sectors as citizens and thought matching with humans would be a quicker way to become fully accepted as members of the civilization. So of course they’d sign a contract with IDA to do matching and dating on a huge scale.

The Ardannans mandate every eligible male between twenty and fifty has to go on one of the five day dates IDA is arranging on their Resort Planet.

This series allows me to be more romance-y in tone than my other series and standalones set in the Sectors. With most books I write I start out knowing the Main Male Character and the Female Main Character and the broad outline of the adventure they’ll be facing and I go from there. I don’t give any particular thought to employing standard tropes of romance. If it happens, it happens but I concentrate on the characters and the situation. With this IDA series I have the world built – the Resort Planet and the Sectors beyond – and I consciously select one trope to anchor the story. Then the events of the MMC and FMC’s five day date come to me as I write.

For Derius, the story is a second chance romance. It was fun to write Leonie, the woman he ghosted three years ago, now matched to him by the IDA algorithm as his perfect match and livid about it. How are these two ever going to get past what happened before and find a future together?

I should mention that each of my Ardannan soldier MMC’s has the ability to shift into an alien lifeform under the right circumstances. Last year’s MMC’s became a dragon, a bear and a tigerlike beast. Derius’s alternate form is pretty extreme – no spoilers! Let’s just say I got to satisfy my love of doing research and wow, there are some fascinating, giant creatures in the depths of the ocean.

Of my other existing series I think the Star Cruises would come the closest in mood and setting, since they take place on a luxury interstellar cruise liner and the crew remains the same but guests come and go. “Love boat of the stars”, anyone? Those are fun to write too!

Here’s the excerpt when Leonie arrives at the resort and discovers who her date is to be:

“Maybe I’ve been stood up,” Derius said more or less to himself as he signaled the waiter for another feelgood.  Doesn’t matter, whoever IDA picked for me won’t hold a candle to my mystery woman. She’d been a one night stand by mutual consent, three years ago on a planet whose name he’d forgotten but the memory of the woman stayed warm and alive in his mind and dreams. He’d never forgive himself for the way he left. Not even a note. They hadn’t even exchanged names so he’d had no way to find her after the sudden deployment which had called him away ended so badly and he’d been in the military hospital. I was an idiot, he told himself not for the first or even the hundredth time.

Raising his eyes because the amber depths of his feelgood carried too many painful memories, he surveyed the dance floor, where lucky couples twirled and shimmied. A woman was coming across the crowded floor toward their table, moving with purpose. He blinked, afraid he was having a hallucination or had gotten drunk without realizing it. She was tall, blond, beautiful. She was the woman he’d been fantasizing about for the last three years.

His token beeped and lit up. He saw her check the one in her hand, which was the same.

Afraid to hope, Derius slid off his chair and stepped to meet her. “You!” he breathed in astonishment and joy.

“You!” she said with venom and vitriol as she came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the dance floor. Yanking at her purse strap, then putting her fists on her hips as if ready for combat, her face contorted into a scowl. “Oh no, I am not doing this. There’s been a mistake. I wouldn’t date you if you were the last man alive in the Sectors. Come to the resort planet for five days of fun, they said. Five days of sheer hell is more like it, if I’m forced to be in your company.”

“I don’t blame you for being upset,” he said, moving closer although he was surprised by how agitated she sounded.

“You didn’t even leave me a damn note, not a word. Just fucked me and left.” Her voice was ice and her face was set in unforgiving lines at odds with her lush lips and gorgeous eyes. She backed away as he advanced and he was afraid she was going to flee altogether.

“I got recalled to duty,” he said, resisting the urge to take hold of her wrist to make her stay. She’d probably swing the damn purse at him, as angry as she obviously was.

“In the middle of the night? Do you think I’m an idiot?” She retreated another step as he advanced. “Don’t touch me.” Her voice was pure ice, cutting and cold.

Derius held up his hands and stopped. “I can explain—”

“Said every man who ran out on a woman, ever.” She wasn’t giving an inch.

“Fate’s reuniting us, here of all places,” he said reasonably but inside his chest his heart was pounding as it never did in combat. He couldn’t lose her. There had to be a way to convince her to give him a second chance. “Can’t we at least sit and talk it out?”

She turned on her heel. “I’m going to demand to speak to the Resort Planet manager and end this farce.”

He hurried after her as she cut straight through the dance floor, ignoring the couples she brushed past. “Lady, wait.”

“For you to make a fool of me again?” She shook her head, blond hair swirling. “You do have that old saying on Ardanna too, right? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”

VS: Not a promising beginning for them…but it’s a romance so there will be an HEA, I promise. 

DERIUS: SOLDIERS OF THE ARDANNAN BOOK FOUR (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY by Veronica Scott

Ordered by his planet’s government to enter this year’s round of dating as arranged by the Intergalactic Dating Agency Derius Tate reported to the resort planet with low expectations. He’d never been able to get over the mystery woman he’d had a passionate one night stand with prior to his last, disastrous deployment as a Special Forces operator. Leonie Bradnum signed up for the five day date trip hoping to get over her feelings once and for all for the handsome soldier who’d seemed like her dream man and then cruelly ghosted her three years ago. The IDA’s infallible algorithm paired her up with…Derius, the very man she’d been pining for and hating equally since the morning she woke up to an empty bed and no way to contact him. Will five days and nights on the luxurious IDA Resort Planet be enough for the two of them to resolve the events of three years ago and find their way back to each other? And when danger strikes can Derius do what has to be done to save Leonie? Fate has given them a second chance.

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      NOOK        GooglePlay

Veronica Was A Red Shirt in a Star Trek Audiobook

CITY_ON_THE_EDGE_OF_FOREVER_Poster_CAtT_(1)smallVS Note: Happy 60th Anniversary to Star Trek! I’vr updated this 2016 post a bit and added the 2016 USA Today HEA post about my experience (and who my “co-stars were” at the end of this post. 

I’ve been a Star Trek fan since the series began – used to watch it in black and white! (My family were late adopters of the color TV, much to my dismay.)  And now I’ve finally had the opportunity to become a real member of the starship Enterprise crew, via a new audiobook version of Harlan Ellison’s “City on the Edge of Forever”. As a Kickstarter backer of the project, I have one spoken line in the audiobook….blogged about the whole experience on  USA Today HEA, sadly no longer in existence..It was a real fangirl experience and so much fun to do.

I didn’t mention it in that article but I also got the chance to play a Video Reviews reporter while in the recording studio, interviewing ‘Gene Roddenberry’ back in the day, about this episode. That was three more lines for yours truly, which will be in the part of the audiobook where Mr. Ellison discusses some of the controversy surrounding the script that was shot for TV, versus his original script, which is this audiobook. The interview actually took place decades ago and I read the transcribed questions the real reporter asked.

Just to be clear, when doing an audiobook, you don’t usually get to act with any of the other people playing parts so I didn’t meet any cast members but I did get to sign the cover of the script, alongside the signatures of some people a LOT more famous than I am.

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From the Author’s personal collection

I used to write to the show for autographed photos of the cast when I was a kid (and the series was being newly broadcast LOL) and I got these four, which in those more innocent days I never for a moment doubted were actually signed by the actors. Who really knows? I choose to keep believing!  I also received a number of colorful unsigned postcards from the publicity people. Found these in my scrap book box.

VS Note: Here is the USA Today HEA post about my experience in detail:

I’ve been a ‘Star Trek’ fan since the first episodes aired in 1966 and my little brother and I would sit in front of our black and white TV, glued to the voyages of the starship Enterprise. I wrote fan fiction before I even knew such a thing existed, in long hand during boring classes and would illustrate the stories with pictures cut out from TV Guide and other magazines. I wanted to be a crew member on that ship more than anything.

Flash forward to the present day and I am now and forever an official Crew Woman (which was how my parts were listed in the script I was given), undoubtedly a red shirt, on the Enterprise. How did this happen, you may ask?

One of my favorite episodes was “The City On The Edge of Forever.” Here’s the short summary  from the Internet Database of Movies website: “When a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high.” The story contained romantic elements by today’s definition but (spoiler) in a supremely poignant ending, despite being deeply in love, Captain Kirk must allow the visionary heroine played by Joan Collins to die in order to save the future.

Unbeknownst to me as a fan, behind the scenes there was quite a bit of controversy over the script, with the original as written by Harlan Ellison not being the version that eventually beamed over my television screen. I’m not going to delve into all of that but there is now an audiobook version of the original script Mr. Ellison wrote, along with a fascinating discussion of background. Here’s the description from SkyBoat Media, Inc.: “A full-cast audiobook of the original Star Trek episode “The City on The Edge of Forever” by Harlan Ellison and all the Controversy.”

I was one of many Kickstarter backers for the SkyBoat Media campaign to create the audiobook. My backer reward was to narrate one line as a character.  Since I live in Southern California, it was easy to arrange to get to the recording studio, which I did this week.

To prepare, I first rewatched the 1967 episode and then I read the entire original script from Mr. Ellison, as well as his discussion of all the events surrounding the story. The differences between the two scripts are fascinating to a Star Trek fan like myself but the heart of the story, including the doomed love between James T. Kirk and Edith Keeler, remains the same.

At Skyboat Media, rfecording my lines

The scene I’m in doesn’t appear in the TV episode. My character is Crew Woman (sounds like a super hero, doesn’t it? Although in the formal credits I’m listed as Crew Member.) and I’m proud to say the gender was changed to fit me. Going by the full original script as written by Mr. Ellison, my character was probably a Security red shirt who transported to the surface of the planet as part of a landing party with Kirk, Spock and a few others. I’m imagining myself in one of the short red uniforms like Uhura’s! After the crew member we’re chasing goes back in time and somehow changes the future, my character beams up to the Enterprise along with the rest of our party. To our great surprise we find that since history has been altered, our ship is now a marauder vessel named the Condor, crewed by a lot of less than savory renegades. Long story short, we take control of the transporter chamber, with one of our crew members getting killed. Kirk and Spock strategize what to do next. While they debate, my character utters these words: “Cap’n. I feel heat. They’re blasting.” The marauders are trying to break in and take us all prisoner.

That’s it, my sole spoken contribution. But I said this to Kirk! With Spock standing there! I said Harlan Ellison dialog!

Crew Woman is left aboard the Condor with the others, under the command of Yeoman Rand, fighting off the bad guys, while the Captain and Spock return to the planet to fix time and restore history. Their actions are the core of the story of course.

I’ve had several of my own novels done as audiobooks so I’m familiar with the process. I knew I wasn’t going to be recording with the other cast members. Their work is all completed and my line will get edited into the recording as part of the final product. It was still very exciting to meet award winning director and writer Gabrielle de Cuir, Senior Producer on this project, who patiently coached me through various takes of my line. I kept hanging up on saying “cap’n” instead of “captain.” It’s amazing how many ways a person can say the same six or seven words.

As a fun bonus, I got three more lines, not in character, but narrating part of an interview with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, which will go into the extra material of the book. I had less trouble with those lines, probably because I’m always interviewing people.

After the recording was completed, I also had the opportunity to chat at length with Ms. de Cuir, and Grammy and Audie award winning actor and author Stefan Rudnicki, a “Golden Voice” audiobook narrator himself. He’s the Executive Producer for this Star Trek audiobook. We talked audiobooks, acting, science fiction, theater and more. It was a thrilling afternoon for fangirl me.

My final act as Crew Woman was to add my signature to the cover of the script, next to the signatures of the other cast members. LeVar Burton, Jean Smart, John Rubenstein. D.C. Fontana, David Gerrold and Harlan Ellison himself have participated in this production, along with many others.

For more information about Skyboat Media, Inc., you can visit their web site at www.skyboatmedia.com     Here’s the cast list from their webpage:

TELEPLAY

Captain James T. Kirk                John Rubinstein

Mr. Spock                                      Scott Brick

Edith Keeler                                 Jean Smart

The Guardian of Forever           Stefan Rudnicki

The Trooper                                 Harlan Ellison

Dr. McCoy/The Orator              Richard Gilliland

Beckwith                                       Richard McGonagle

LeBeque                                        Alex Hyde-White

Janice Rand                                 Judy Young

The Cook                                      Jim Meskimen

The Janitor/Renegade              Paul Boehmer

Transporter Chief                       Larry Nemecek

Crew Member                             Veronica Scott

Tricorder                                     Gabrielle de Cuir

*********************************************

VS: The audiobook isavailable wide. Here’s the Amazon link. Crew Woman signing off!

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Author’s own postcard collection. Unsigned.

If My Alien Empaths Were Anime Chibis They’d Look Like This

I’m still having fun getting my characters made into chibis by the wonderful Fiverr artist Hema Hemo and this time I had my four alien empath books done!

I will also note that we didn’t do too good a job of portraying the green skinned, green haired empaths on the original covers way back when…

Here’s a brief note about the series (full details of each book on the series page here on my blog if you haven’t read them yet!):

Four alien empaths kidnapped by the interstellar crime mob and forced to do their bidding. Who can they trust to help them escape?

STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY

The first in the series. This was written originally for a Pets in Space anthology and Moby the ship’s cat and Midorri, an alien pet, were part of the action. Midorri was a cross between a red panda and a tribble in my head. The artist here has done a fun job of making the original Midorri art by Nyssa Juneau into a chibi pet. Midorri has six legs and I love the way the tiny paws are drawn here (five of them anyway).

 

DANGER IN THE STARS

She’s the sister of the FMC in book one and he’s a mob enforcer with a lot of secrets.

TWO AGAINST THE STARS

The FMC here is on the run from the mob, having escaped into the slums on an alien planet. The MMC is ex-Special Forces.

THE FATED STARS

My daughters challenged me to write a female mercenary because at the time I hadn’t. It was a fun twist to have the alien empath be a man who needed rescuing. The animals are the “Amusing Ones” from a sequence on a planet ruled by a giant, sentient tree. In ‘real life’ they’re much bigger but I thought the artist made them adorable here. This is their debut as they’ve never been depicted in any form previously. The FMC has an encounter with a group of them…

 

 

 

 

 

New Releases in SciFi/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance for AUG 19

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking quite a few as I prepare these posts LOL). 

‘AB’ denotes audiobook and the Amazon buy link.

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ON A BARBARIAN WORLD (PHOENIX ADVENTURES BOOK SEVEN) by Anna Hackett

VS Note: “lightly edited” re-release.

When she crash-lands on an alien world, the last thing she expects is to be claimed by a barbarian warrior. Previously published – has been lightly edited – Aurina Phoenix spends her time zooming through uncharted space and gathering intel for her family’s deep-space convoy. But her life takes an unexpected detour when a meteor shower brings down her scout ship. She finds herself on a barren, low-tech planet inhabited by dangerous beasts…and lands in the arms of a brawny barbarian warlord. Markarian warrior Kavon Mal Dor is known for his skill in battle. He lives to protect his clan…and to avenge the murder of his father. To get his revenge, he must find a legendary sword and marry a warlord’s daughter. But when a beautiful skyflyer crashes on his world, she is the one thing he never expected. Fighting their flammable attraction, Aurina and Kavon make a deal: she’ll help him find the sword and in return, he’ll give her the beacon she needs to get home. But as they plunge into a dangerous adventure, they uncover a powerful passion that will make them question everything they’ve ever wanted.      AmazonKU

Version 1.0.0

HAVOC (UNCHARTED STARS BOOK FOUR) by Constance Fay

Itzel grew up as the sole bright, sunny spark in the dark monastery of a death goddess. She was excellent at the killing part but she wasn’t so great at following commands. After being (mostly) booted from their order, she has a better life now with the ragtag crew of the starship Calamity. But when she and the rest of her crew attend a gathering of the most powerful Families in the universe, her old superiors come calling with one last chance at redemption for her worst mistake. She must kill Lucien Chandra, a prince of one of those Families. After her first attempt goes wrong, Itzel realizes that her target is far more than the repressed rule-follower he seems. Lucien is kind, intelligent, and open to new experiences, even if that new experience is waking up with an assassin poised over his bed. She’s just starting to explore a future where she doesn’t kill at her goddess’s whims when sabotage strikes the Family Summit. Itzel and Lucien are thrown into crisis as a new, inexorable enemy is revealed. With no help in sight, they must fight not only for their own survival but for the future of charted space. If they succeed in creating a new world, the question remains; what kind of man wants a future with his would-be assassin?      AmazonKU

THE NAGA WANDERER’S WOUNDED MATE (SERPENTS OF SERANT BOOK 11) by Robin O’Connor

He swore he didn’t need a mate… until she crossed his path. Jasmine – A rescue mission goes terribly wrong after an earth quake shakes the world. Now I’m lost, and hunted by enemy Naga. I’ve guided parties through Earth’s wilds, but this planet is different; it’s deadly. Lost in the alien wilderness, I rely on what I know: tracking, hunting, surviving. I can handle myself. Mostly. What I can’t handle is Ekkire; the quiet, green-scaled Naga who pretends he doesn’t care about anyone, yet keeps showing up whenever I’m in danger. He says he’s only returning me to Haven. I don’t believe him. He’s hiding something, watching me like I’m both a threat and a treasure, and I intend to find out why. Ekkire – I roam farther than any Water Weaver Naga, alone and unbound. I do not need a mate, and I do not need humans. Yet here is Jasmine; reckless, fierce, human. I cannot let her get lost in this world alone. Returning her to Haven is simple in theory. When we are trapped in an ancient cave, alone together, logic falters. I have secrets. She will want answers. I’m not sure I can resist the pull of sparks neither of us expected.      AmazonKU

I PUNCHED AN ALIEN AND NOW WE’RE IN COUPLES THERAPY by Kimberly Lemming

It’s not in Blair’s nature to just give up. Not when she’s beamed up to a spaceship and then dropped on an alien planet. Not even when she’s in the middle of a forest fire surrounded by dinosaurs. And definitely not when she’s captured by an arrogant alien king. If King Osid thinks he can break her, he’s in for a shock. Blair lives by one motto: If you stay ready, you never have to get ready. But absolutely nothing could have prepared her for finding out that she’s that arrogant King Osid’s mate.
Despite recent hiccups, the alien researchers are determined to get their breeding program back on track. With that in mind, Blair and Osid are bundled off to the research center for what they’re told is couples counseling. As they face a series of increasingly dangerous challenges, it soon becomes clear the research aliens may have confused an episode of The Bachelor with Survivor. Bonding over their common enemy, and shall we say…encouraged by love darts, Blair and Osid let down their walls (and take off their clothes). When they discover that there are—somehow—even more secret plans in the works, another hilarious, steamy, over-the-top adventure is in store.

Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

THE TYRANT DRAGON (TALONIAN WARRIORS II) by Celeste Raye

He was born to rule… not to love. Attoriann has always craved power—and now the throne is his. Ruthless and unyielding, he sees humans as nothing more than tools… until one woman forces him to question everything. As darkness rises and his rule begins to shift, Attoriann must choose between control and something far more dangerous. He was trained to dominate. But redemption may begin with the one woman he can’t own.      AmazonKU

C IS FOR CAPTIVE (ABC’S OF ALIEN ABDUCTION) by Honey Phillips

A hidden human. A captive alien warrior. A dangerous attraction. Amy survived being abducted from Earth by becoming invisible. She conceals the fact that she’s human, keeps her head down, and never takes unnecessary risks. Until she is ordered to bring food to a huge, chained alien warrior who refuses to speak. She should be terrified of the massive male. Instead, she finds herself intrigued by the secrets in those silver eyes—and the promise of protection in that powerful body. Brannik has his own reasons for remaining a captive. But when Amy’s secret is discovered, nothing matters more than protecting the tempting little human who has somehow become his. Because the one thing more dangerous than a captive warrior is a captive warrior with someone to protect.     AmazonKU

THE PLEASURE CONTRACT (PRINCES OF XAAVIA BOOK TWO) by Melissa Emerald

Contracts are there to make everything more simple, right? The Xavianns certainly think so. They even put contracts in place with their breeding partners. So when a huge, horned, pro-athlete, prince makes it very clear he’s into me, I do the logical thing. I sign a friends-with-benefits contract with him. Simple, fun, no strings attached. Except, Az’s has a way to melt down my defenses and crack open my boundaries. And suddenly, I’m all kinds of tangled up in the very strings I was trying to avoid. That is, until one day I’m shown something that makes me wonder if I ever really knew him at all.      AmazonKU

SPECIAL DELIVERY (SENTIENT OBJECTS BOOK SIX) by Skye MacKinnon and Philomena MacKinnon

Some deliveries come with tracking. This one comes with feelings. The box turns up outside Catherine’s flat one evening, enormous and bearing only her name. Inside is an expensive pink rabbit vibrator and a label containing one word: *Enjoy.* Catherine takes the hint and prepares for an extensive bathtub session. But when she pays far more attention to the toy than the packaging that delivered it, the box gets jealous. It follows her from room to room. It watches. It communicates through snarky labels. And it can provide whatever its recipient craves—even the things she would never admit to wanting. But the box has developed a craving of its own: Catherine. When it opens its flaps and invites her inside, Catherine discovers that the best part of a special delivery might be the box it came in. No returns. No refunds. Lingerie included. A filthy, funny sentient-object romance featuring voyeurism, an exceptionally talented rabbit vibrator, packing-tape restraints, bubble-wrap sensory play, one possessive cardboard box and a cat determined to sit in the middle of everything.   AmazonKU

DIVINE GARDENER’S HANDBOOK: OR WHAT TO DO IF YOUR GIRLFRIEND ACCIDENTALLY TURNS OFF THE SUN: A NOVEL by Eli Snow

VS Note: A sapphic dystopian fantasy.

In a Jenga-stacked megacity where glowing blue flowers hum in the dark and palace doors open into secret worlds, getting a job in the Divine Gardens is almost impossible—like being plucked from obscurity by a carnival claw machine. But Cyprin has spent her whole life trying. Her only chance is winning the annual flower pageant, dominated for five years by Purcell: brilliant head gardener, unbearable rival, and the one person Cyprin can’t stop thinking about. When Cyprin cheats her way to victory, she’s thrust into a world of sentient plants, ancient secrets, and a God who turns out to be just some exhausted man with a very good garden. What begins as rivalry, heated glaring, and increasingly personal acts of warfare spirals into something much more dangerous. As rebellion spreads through the city and the truth beneath the Gardens begins to unravel, Cyprin and Purcell find themselves caught between ambition, obsession, and the terrifying possibility of understanding each other completely. Even if they burn the whole world down in the process.       Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

DRAGON ME THROUGH SPACE by Catherine Banks

The plan was simple: don’t get caught, don’t get attached, don’t stop running. She was zero for three. Xoe lost everything when the Exostalons destroyed her world. For ten years, she survived alone—hiding from enemies, drifting across galaxies, escaping mad scientists, and trying to forget the life stolen from her. Trust gets people killed. And home is nothing more than a memory burned to stardust. Preston, Gage, Wayne, and Zeke are searching the galaxy for the one woman fated to be their shared mate. When Xoe crashes into their lives — bringing chaos, fire, and a scanner that checks food for poison — the necklace she’s worn for a decade and never dared open seems to confirm she’s exactly who they’ve been looking for. But Xoe doesn’t believe in fate. And she’s never had anyone worth staying for. Forced together in the close quarters of a ship hurtling through space, she begins to see what it might feel like to be truly chosen for the first time in her life. Her walls are cracking. She just isn’t ready to admit it. She’s spent ten years learning how to survive. Now she has to learn something far harder. How to stay.         AmazonKU

ACCIDENTALLY VITAL (BUREAU OF ACCIDENTAL ABDUCTIONS BOOK TWO) by Sapphire Dixon

Tabby Renner has spent eleven years as “just the tech” — the one who sits on cold clinic floors gentling the animals no one else can touch, doing the work that saves the patient and never once getting credit for it. So when a wall of white light yanks her four hundred light-years across the galaxy and a cheerfully bureaucratic alien congratulates her on her “selection,” she’s sure there’s been a mistake. There has been. A whole kingdom of enormous cat-shifting warriors spent the last of their treasury on the finest healer money could buy, and the universe shipped them her. Their king is dying, their court is panicking, and their prince is the most infuriating combination of devastating and impossible she’s ever met — all rigid warrior pride wrapped around a grief he won’t let anyone see. Ryhn is certain that strength is the only language that love speaks. Tabby knows better. She has thirty days, a deadline she didn’t choose, and exactly one skill — walking into the worst room on the planet and refusing to be afraid. It might be enough to save a kingdom. It definitely isn’t enough to keep her from falling for a man she can never, ever be allowed to keep.      AmazonKU

ROGUE STARFIGHTER (STARFIGHTER TRAINING ACADEMY SECOND WAVE BOOK ONE) by Grace Goodwin

Priya Anand has spent her entire career guiding strangers safely home. She never expected an alien to cross the galaxy for her. Priya thought Starfighter Training Academy was only a game—and Vesh was nothing more than the dangerously attractive alien she had chosen as her virtual partner. Then she completes the final mission, Vesh walks into her control tower, and everything she believed shatters.
The war is real. She is an Elite Starfighter. And Vesh is her bonded mate. Vesh swore he would never fly with another partner after the last one died. But Priya is impossible to resist. Brilliant. Fearless. Stubborn enough to follow him into the heart of enemy territory. Brave enough to make him want a future he stopped believing he deserved. Their first mission uncovers evidence of a devastating betrayal. Someone inside Velerion command has sold them out, their escape route is a trap, and their damaged ship may never reach home.     Amazon      Kobo      Note: Not on Apple Books yet as of the day I checked

KAVAK: THE ALLIANCE RESCUE SERIES by Annie Lucas

High General Kavak of Vaktaire arrives on Daristune for a political marriage meant to end a century of warfare. It’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make. Until he sees her. Olivia has been invisible for eight years—a human servant in a Romvesian palace, invisible by necessity, invisible by design. But the moment her eyes meet Kavak’s across a landing platform, everything changes. Their hearts synchronize. Their souls recognize each other. The mate bond—the one connection a Vaktaire cannot deny, awakens between them. But Olivia belongs to Princess Thallia’s household. And Kavak is promised to the princess herself. As Kavak grapples with an impossible choice between duty to his empire and destiny with his mate, a far darker conspiracy emerges from the shadows—one that will force him to choose not just between two women, but between the political alliance that keeps the galaxy at peace and the moral imperative to free the thousands enslaved in the planet’s hidden mines. Some bonds cannot be broken. Some choices demand everything. And sometimes, saving your mate means burning down the system that tried to keep her imprisoned.     AmazonKU

THE BONDING GAMES PART 2 by Loa B Hunt

In the city of Techtis, The Bonding Games continues. To the outside world, the event is what it always has been. But even those who silently reject the Games and its barbaric ways could never comprehend the true cruelty of its creator—the Game Master. And the only ones who do have already been torn apart by his brutality. To find their way back to each other, Ezla and her Bonds must outsmart the ultimate power. But there are more obstacles than just their physical distance that need to be overcome before they can truly be together, and with the once-emotionless Champion struggling to accept both her own feelings and her men’s, multiple unanswered questions with more arising, and a constant danger following them wherever they go, there’s no telling how soon that will be. Or if it will ever be at all.      AmazonKU

********************BRIEF BREAK BEFORE THE FANTASY/PNR BOOKS!**************************************

VS: Have you started binging the Badari Warriors Series yet? Here’s book one (with a few tropes superimposed):

AYDARR (A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL): Sectors New Allies Series Book 1 

Jill Garrison, a maintenance tech at the Sectors Amarcae 7 colony, goes to sleep one night as usual only to wake up in her nightgown stranded in the middle of a forest on an unknown world. There’s no time to think as she’s stalked by carnivorous predators and rescued by genetically engineered warriors calling themselves the Badari. Turns out they and she, along with her whole colony, are now prisoners of the Khagrish, a ruthless race of alien scientists. Working for enemies of the Sectors, the Khagrish have created the Badari to be super soldiers.

Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.

Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?

As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.

The situation becomes dire when Aydarr and his pack are sent offplanet on a mission, leaving Jill unprotected, prey for the senior scientist. Can she escape the experiments he has in mind for her? Will she be able to thwart the Khagrish plans and liberate humans and Badari alike? How will she and Aydarr reunite?       Amazon    Apple Books      B&N  Google   Kobo

(Or the box set of the first 3 books is only $.99 on Amazon.)

************************** THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IF YOU DECIDE TO CHECK OUT THE BOOKS (because my own books pay my bills) AND A BIG THANK YOU IF YOU ALREADY HAVE! AND ONWARD WE GO!*********************

IRON JAWS AND BANSHEE CLAWS by Lizzie Strong

Every Banshee has a fated wail. It’s an important rite of passage for every young banshee to hear the name of the person they will ferry into the afterlife. Any who don’t will face The Curse, i.e. continuing on as a specter trapped in this world. No Pressure. Unfortunately for Jessica Hardgraves, when her future is within her clawed hands, she’s told she wails for no one. Panicked and alone, she makes up the perfect hero to be her fated wail so her parents never have to worry that she’ll end up a ghost. Forever. Left eye yellow and the right is blue, Ironjaw, they call him. Fast forward 15 years and Ivan ‘Ironjaw’ Skullcrusher is done with revenge. Hanging up his hammer and shield, he’s ready for the good life. A restaurant in his dead parent’s honor sounds perfect for him and his crew of justice slinging adventurers. Only hitch is they don’t know anything about running a business. Whipping up a good meal? Sure! But business permits? You wish. Thankfully for him, a night off at the city fairgrounds runs him into a certain birthday girl banshee. With her nosy, opinionated family breathing down her neck and her secret on the verge of exposure, the two strike a deal. Her business major knowledge and Ivan’s magical cooking skills combined, they might just succeed. And so long as he keeps up appearances, her family will go on thinking they are star crossed lovers. But danger threatens to rip the restaurant and Jessica’s family apart. Is this just a fake-fated-mate story gone wrong? Or can Jessica finally find her happily ever after before the final banshee sings?   AmazonKU

WOLF’S DESIGN (TEXAS RANCH WOLF PACK LEGACY BOOK TWO) by Lynn Nodima

She came to Austin to save a client. She never expected to lose her heart. Audra Simmons has spent four years cleaning up her boss’s mistakes. When a critical client threatens to walk away, she’s given one last chance to salvage the account. All she has to do is convince the mysterious executives at Shift Happens that she’s the right person for the job. Simple. Until she meets Bobby Wachel. Quiet, capable, and impossible to read, Bobby seems determined to keep everyone at arm’s length. His younger brother Ethan is friendly enough for both of them, but there’s something unusual about the company they run—and the secrets they’re desperate to protect. As Audra is drawn into their world, business meetings become friendships, friendships become something deeper, and danger begins closing in from every direction. Someone is hunting wolves. Someone knows far too much. And if Bobby reveals the truth about who—and what—he really is, he could lose the woman he has waited his entire life to find. Audra thought she was designing a website. Instead, she may have stumbled into a war.      AmazonKU

TREEMENDOUS: A DRYAD ROMANTASY (SEEDS OF HOPE BOOK TWO) by Ellen Mint

They will regret making her a Goddess – Trish has nothing left to lose. After being kidnapped to a world of talking tree people, experimented on, rescued twice, kidnapped yet again, and now at the mercy of the demented Cypress…they’re calling her a goddess. Thanks to Willow, the dryads are worshipping her instead of killing her. But that worship comes with razor blades attached. If she wants to save Linden—the bandit who saved her, who’s about to be burned alive—she has to make their Golden Tree bloom. Which is something that hasn’t happened in hundreds of years. Her only chance is Hickory’s greatest shame and fear—Willow. Cursed to never be a citizen due to an accident of birth, Willow hasn’t seen the sun in two decades. Yet, despite his kingdom hating him, Willow’s given it everything he has, and that everything’s finally paid off. They have their Golden Goddess. They have hope. But Hickory can’t stand his secret lover trapped in this war between the crown and the church with an insane woman at the center. Even if it kills him, his people, his hope for a little farm with Willow, he’s stopping this charade. Magical tree women can’t save this failed land. Nothing can. As cancer races through her body while summer gives way to autumn, Trish fights with every last breath she has left to save Linden, to fend off Hickory, and to fall for the quiet Willow.     AmazonKU

SELKIE AU: BEYOND THE STORM (MM ROMANCE) by Ronan Marlow

On a stormy night, fisherman Rowan takes his boat out to sea, intending for it to become his coffin, instead it becomes a life raft for a beautiful stranger with inhuman features. Captivated and intrigued, Rowan sees no other option and takes the injured stranger back home, only when he wakes, Milo decides he doesn’t want to leave. Rowan has no purpose, and Milo is burdened with a purpose that feels too great for him. But Milo believes the burden of being the next chosen ruler might finally be eased when the ever present guidance from the Selkie Goddess urges him to stay with the fisherman. But what happens when he uncovers the reason his goddess wants him on land has nothing to do with Rowan at all? At the potential of losing Milo, Rowan must determine if the annoying sunshine constantly beaming out of the flirtatious selkie might actually be the lighthouse this fisherman needs to find home.      AmazonKU

WEREWOLVES AND WITCHES AU: OPERATION MAGPIE by Sam Northman

VS Note: MM PNR.

Milo always knew that spellcasting was unpredictable. What he didn’t expect was that it would land him on the doorstep of a giant ginger werewolf. Impulsive witch, Milo Tobitt, is prepared to do whatever it takes to slow the aging of his only remaining relative, grandma Ethel—even cast a very risky temporal spell. When the magic goes awry, and Milo uncovers a five-hundred-year-old plot by a Roman god to seal away all werewolf kind within a fold in the fabric of time, he realises he’s way out of his depth. If he’s ever going to stand a chance at putting things right he’ll need specialist help. Specialised werewolf help. Specialised military werewolf help. Now, Rowan Rangecroft—leader of the Dogs of War—is in charge of stopping the threat and keeping Milo safe. Under the alpha’s watchful eye, his pack spread across the globe in a race to stop a vengeful god from gaining the upper hand.
But when Rowan’s loyalties are divided between his pack and his growing attraction to the chaotic Milo, only one question remains: can a single wayward witch defeat time?     AmazonKU

WITCH IS THE ENEMY OF MAGIC (WITCH P I  MYSTERIES BOOK 53) by Adele Abbott

Jill is shocked by the warning from the man with the ginger moustache, and she knows she must take decisive action. Jill also believes that she may be getting closer to finding out what happened to Myrtle Turtle, but will she ever discover the truth? Meanwhile, Grandma has other things on her mind as she prepares to launch the wandroom onto the market.      AmazonKU

GARDENING AND GARGOYLES (PINE RIDGE UNIVERSE) by S C Principale

He woke up in the wrong century. Love is still right on time. June – I can’t believe the man I’m marrying spoils me so. I’m disappointed that Daniel can’t take me with him on his month-long business trip abroad, but the way to this city girl’s heart is through wide-open spaces, and I’ve never seen a more beautiful landscape than Pine Ridge. Daniel has arranged for me to spend the summer in a secluded mountain lodge. And the best part? I have acres of land to transform into the garden paradise I’ve always wanted—complete with an authentic gargoyle statue dug up from one of his real estate restoration projects. This summer is turning into a beautiful dream. Duncan – This summer is a nightmare, one I can’t wake up from. After over a century trapped in stone, I awake an ocean away from my time, my clan, and the ancestral home I once guarded. Now, Castle Mackintosh is owned by some human real estate developer, and he’s sent me to guard the lady of the manor, his bride-to-be. Who screams. A lot. And has nothing bigger than a wooden patio to perch on. Nothing to defend. Nothing to guard. This new world, to use one of Lady June’s phrases, “sucks a big one.” Loyalty – My beautiful summer is falling apart…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)       Amazon

THE TROLL’S SUMMER FLAME: A MONSTERS IN UNIFORM ROMANCE by S C Principale

Lieutenant Gordon Rockland – I’m used to being the odd man out. I’m the only monster at my station. I’m the only troll in my town, paranormal-friendly Pine Ridge. I’m the only troll in my family who lives among humans and other supernatural creatures. Does all of this absolutely make me the “grumpy loner”? Yes. And don’t you dare try to change it. It’s comfortable. Predictable. If there’s one thing first responders like, it’s when there’s some peace and quiet. And if there’s one thing we know—it’s that whenever you think things are going smoothly, disaster strikes. Andrea Flores – It’s a disaster! And just when everything was going so smoothly, too. My first year of teaching, my first summer break—and I miss my first-ever cruise. Why? Chopin. Not the composer—my cat, who should have been named Newton, because he wants to test the laws of gravity. What am I supposed to do? Call the fire department to rescue a cat stuck up a tree? How predictable. But the huge, hunky firefighter who plucks my kitten out of the tree like he’s picking an apple doesn’t seem to mind, and making him cookies is the least I can do to say thank you, right? Especially since I’ve missed my cruise now, and I’m bored as heck in this quaint little town…Could a tough firefighter with a surprising soft spot make this town a summer hot spot after all?…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)      AmazonKU

WINTERBORNE by J D Netto

VS Note: LGBTQ Fantasy.

Even before his mother’s mysterious murder, Henric Sabio never felt at home in his small town or at his private high school. He figured that was because of his cynical personality and tendency to daydream about dragons. But when a sudden supernatural attack transports him, his father, and his sister to a frozen magical world, Henric quickly learns he is different in ways he never imagined. He is Henric Iceheart, son of a disgraced prince and heir to a throne that desperately needs to restore the glories of a lost age. Plunged into the elegant hierarchy of court life, Henric starts to discover hints of a secret history beneath the kingdom’s glistening surface. As he navigates ruthless nobles, sacred laws, and a rival family hungry for his family’s throne, his dormant powers―a deadly command of ice and a bond with an ice dragon long thought extinct―ignite. And soon rumors are spreading, naming Henric the prophesized Prince of Winter who will unite the land, albeit at a terrifying cost. With help from the gentle elf Hundarian Silvermore and his ambitious twin sister, Kellenen, Henric attempts to prove himself worthy of this moniker and change his foretold fate. But his growing and complicated attraction to the Silvermore twins reveals long-buried prejudices that threaten his path to the crown. As rebellions rise and enemies close in, he must decide whether to claim his newfound destiny or reject it and face the consequences.      AmazonKU      AB

DEVIL’S DUE (VEGAS SLAYERS BOOK SIX) by Christine Pope

When your father is a dead demon prince walking, family dinner is off the table. But stopping him from opening a permanent gateway to Hell? That’s a whole different bet. Caleb Lockwood has worked hard to build a life worth living — flipping houses in Las Vegas, falling in love with a psychic who sees right through him, and burying the sins of his past so deep that even he’s almost forgotten them. Then his father Daniel resurfaces with the stolen power of a demon prince and a plan to crack the world open from inside the Luxor pyramid on the black moon. Delia Dunne’s abilities are growing stronger every day, amplified by a pregnancy neither of them saw coming. Her visions all point to the same place: fire, darkness, and forty-eight hours to stop it. But she doesn’t know the full truth about the man she loves — that the quarter-demon who flips houses and charms her with his smile once kidnapped and terrorized innocent people at his father’s command. To take on Daniel, Caleb and Delia need the demon-killing sword last used to destroy Belial, a team of supernatural investigators who remember Caleb as a monster, and an angel’s daughter who still flinches at the sight of him. Assembling a coalition is hard enough. Holding it together when Caleb’s darkest secrets come spilling out may be impossible. Daniel wants his son back, and he’s willing to burn Las Vegas to the foundations to prove that blood always wins. But Caleb isn’t fighting out of rage or revenge. He’s fighting for the woman who chose him and the child they’re building a future for…and destroying his father means destroying the last living embodiment of who he used to be.        Amazon     Apple Books      Kobo

BITTER SPIRITS (ARCANE WONDERLAND BOOK TWO) by Jami Gray

In the Arcane world spirits linger, secrets kill, and desire is the deadliest magic of all. When Wonderland’s alarm sounds in the middle of the night, Arcane bar owner, Isa Serrano expects to find trouble, but a hysterical server and a dead body exceed those expectations. As a Reaper, she’s a deft hand at dealing with the traumatized spirits that death leaves in its wake, but when it’s revealed that this victim died wielding magic that was never his to possess, she’s got questions for the dangerously tempting man stalking her every move. Locke Turon has answers, but he isn’t ready to share them with the fascinating woman he’s been pursuing for months. A relentless tracker, Locke’s loyalties lay firmly with the powerful Cordova Family and he’s on the hunt for a missing teenager who could be the key to a mysterious new drug leaving a trail of corpses in the shadowy corners of Phoenix’s underground club scene. He never anticipated his investigation would cross paths with Isa and her mysterious past. She doesn’t trust his Family, and he doesn’t trust the secrets she holds close, yet the two wary mages are forced into an uneasy alliance as they follow the missing teen’s trail through whispered conspiracies, bankrolled chaos, and straight into a criminal enterprise fronted by Isa’s nightmare. As Isa and Locke are drawn deeper into the dangerous scheme threatening to tear apart the magical fabric of Arcane society, will they risk believing in each other, or let the bitter bite of mistrust poison their guarded hearts?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

BEDEVILED (BEWITCHED BOOK FOUR) by Laura Thalassa

“My queen, my wife, my lovely Selene … You who saved me, died for me. Waited eons for me so we could exist in this moment … I am yours forever.” It’s been two thousand years since Selene Bowers first fell in love with Memnon Uvagukis, the sorcerer king of the Sarmatians. So when, at present, an unbreakable vow forces Selene to marry this soul mate she once died for, it is in many ways a dream made real. Unfortunately for her, neither she, nor Memnon, are able to bask in the moment for long. Not when demons keep ambushing her, and her husband’s magic appears to slowly be consuming him. And not when, despite eliminating the prior threats to Henbane, the coven still teeters on the brink of shutting down. And then of course there’s Eislyn, an age old menace who lurks somewhere in the shadows. She led to Selene and Memnon’s demise long ago, and now she threatens their existence once more. It seems she wants something from them, something she’s been waiting millennia for, and if Memnon and Selene don’t figure out what that is and stop her for good, she just might get it—and destroy them in the process.     AmazonKU

BLUE MOON CAFE & 24 HOUR OCCULT EMPORIUM by Lexie Sharabianlou

VS Note: FF.

In the tiny town of Pine Hollow, barista and fledging sorceress Talula Smith runs The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium, aka the worst coffee shop in town. The café’s horrible reputation hides its true purpose: providing new identities and safe passage to at-risk magical beings while keeping humans far, far away. That is, except for town local Dahlia. Dahlia’s devastating dimples, addiction to Talula’s cocoa recipe, and keen observation skills keeps the smitten barista scrambling to ensure that her magical abilities (or, lack thereof) stay a secret. But when big game hunters start preying on magical beings, her powerful sorceress mother is called away to track them down, leaving Talula and her barely-there magic in charge of The Blue Moon. With the impending Samhain festival to organize, magical refugees to help, half of the town turning against her, and her ever-growing feelings for Dahlia, Talula’s magical destiny feels further away than ever. But as the hunters set their sights closer to home, it’ll be up to Talula to master her craft, trust her heart, and bring her magical and human communities together . . . before she loses everything she loves.       Amazon     AB      Apple Books     Kobo

DEVILS DON’T DEAL (SINGSONG CITY BOOK 12) by Juliann Whicker

One mystery, one romance, and a soulful rabbit. In the heart of Singsong City, a fairy-goblin abomination has to save her father from the deal he made with the devil of Wonderland, but the only way to do that is to make her own deal with the handsome devil. At least she’ll get the bakery of her dreams out of it. All she has to do is keep his white rabbit alive. No one told her that the rabbit is his soul, and there are dark forces in the world that want nothing more than to see the devil in his own chains. Can she save him and his soul before time runs out? Devils Don’t Deal is the twelfth book in the Singsong City series. It is a standalone paranormal romantic comedy featuring fairies, witches, vampires, and enchantresses. It is packed with puns, battles, and a sweet, slow burn enemies to lovers romance between a fairy-goblin baker and the devil who might ruin her. Also sushi.   AmazonKU

THE NIXIE AND THE FROST ELF (FATED MATES AND MONSTER DATES) by Laura Greenwood

A chance encounter with the mate she’s been running away from changes everything for Lexi. Running into her mate should be a good thing, but for Lexi, it comes with unimaginable pressure. But when she sees Edur again after three years apart, she knows that there’s no escaping the mate bond between them, even if she’s scared to face what a relationship might mean for the two of them. Edur has missed Lexi every day she’s been gone, not just as his mate, but as his best friend, and now that she’s back in his life, he’s determined to keep him there. As the two of them explore her ace identity together and what it means for their relationship, they reach levels of trust that they never imagined possible. Maybe this time, the two of them can build something that lasts. The Nixie and the Frost Elf is a cozy m/f monster romance and part of the Fated Mates and Monster Dates series. It features an ace heroine, a cinnamon roll frost elf, fun dates, and a friends to lovers/one that got away romance.

Amazon     Apple Books      Not on Kobo yet as of the day I checked

CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE CATASTROPHE (MURDER IN THE MIX BOOK 57) by Addison Moore

My name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner’s impending doom. When Sterling and Sons Circus rolls into Honey Hollow for a week of performances and a charity benefit, I’m thrilled to showcase my animal cracker cookies at the fairgrounds. But the circus isn’t the only excitement in town, Everett’s thirteen-year-old twin daughters are staying with us for the week. Entertaining teenagers for seven whole days? I’ve got this. With twin babies in a stroller, a sugar-crazed two-year-old, and two eye-rolling teens in tow, what could possibly go wrong at a wholesome family circus? Of course, when someone ends up dead backstage with a knife in their chest and one of my cookies in their hand, I realize the greatest show on earth just became the deadliest. Between jilted lovers, blackmail victims, and enough secrets to fill a circus tent, half the performers had motive to commit murder. And what in the world does Suze Fox have to do with this? Well, it turns out everything. But when the investigation reveals this case has more twists than an acrobat’s routine, I know I’m dealing with a killer who’s been hiding behind sequins and spotlights. With my rolling pin in one hand and my detective skills in the other, plus a pint-sized pachyderm with a serious peanut addiction and enough suspects in spandex to staff a Vegas show, I’ll need to solve this case before the killer decides I’m the next act to disappear.   AmazonKU

HOMEWARD FOR A SPELL by Jamie Pacton

VS Note: Sapphic Fantasy.

Sage has made her living as a ranger, moving constantly between adventuring parties, but she’s never had the chance to lead one. So when she’s offered the opportunity to hire a crew of her own in pursuit of a rare magical artifact, it seems a dream come true—until she learns that they’re headed into the most inhospitable part of the kingdom with winter looming. Still, it’s a way to finally put her name on the map . . . and how bad could it really be? Araphi has always loved music, in defiance of her powerful family’s priorities. All she wants is one last occasion to perform before she marries a man she does not love for the good of the family. So when she sees a poster seeking a bard for a party, she eagerly sneaks away to audition, only to discover that the party in question is no festival but an adventuring party, led by a woman she’s been fascinated with since she first laid eyes on her. It’s an unexpected twist, but if she takes the job, she’ll still be back in time for her own wedding . . . and how bad could it really be? What follows is a life-altering journey for them both, filled with danger and misfortune as their ragtag band of adventurers—most of whom have just met—must learn to work together to overcome the many obstacles before them, not least the explosive chemistry between the rugged party leader used to watching her own back and the pampered city-girl bard, who may be far out of her element but is beginning to feel at home for the very first time.

Amazon     AB     Apple Books      Kobo

ALL HALLOWS’ FATE (SICK AND TWISTED BOOK SIX) by Leigh Kelsey

My legacy is death. We came so close to winning, to finally being free, but instead my husbands lost everything. Lost me. Now, life and death hangs in the balance. The curse, the Halloween party, the Stalker… everything has been leading to this. To Violence’s endgame. I might be the only one who can stop him, but not as a human, or even a jaguar shifter. The only way I can stop him is as Judgement itself. Conclude Cat and her death gods’ series with All Hallows Fate, a paranormal romance with dark gods, a snarky heroine who finds her inner badass, twisted romance, and a secret society.   AmazonKU

MANE RIVAL IN STORE (MATCHMAKER’S BOOKCLUB VILLAINS BOOK THREE) by Milly Taiden

When a Woman Who Lives for Chaos Finally Meets a Man Built for Control, the Noise Complaint Is Just the Beginning. Lark Coleman knows how to make the bad guy irresistible. She sells lipstick in shades called Morally Gray and Revenge Red, fills her SoHo flagship with purple neon and villain mannequins, and has never once apologized for turning up the bass. Then her new neighbor fills her doorway in a bespoke suit with white cotton gloves and eyes like a Scandinavian winter, and every villain she’s ever drawn suddenly feels like a rough draft. Rune Sterling, CEO of Sterling & Mane International and a lion shifter alpha, has built a rare comics empire on one principle: control everything, lose nothing. Cool, precise, and intimidating enough to make a room nervous by standing still, he hasn’t wanted anything he couldn’t categorize in years. Then Lark walks in with villain lipstick and a mouth made for arguments, calls him Your Majesty like it’s a dare — and every wall he’s spent twelve years building develops a serious structural problem. She runs on chaos and color. He runs on silence and control. They have no business wanting each other — but when her past comes back with a bought building and a rent designed to destroy her, Fallon Creed is about to learn what happens when a woman who built an empire on villains falls for a man who actually is one.    AmazonKU

DRAGON CHAOS AROUND (THE MATCHMAKER’S BOOKCLUB – VILLAINS BOOK FOUR) by Milly Taiden

She Runs the Villain Convention. He’s the Most Dangerous Thing in It. Alani Nores knows how to build a villain’s world from the floor up. She’s directed conventions that seat fifty thousand people, cosplayed under an alias at her own events, and walked into the Silverscale Villains Only Convention on day one and told its owner his floor plan was a war crime. Then the owner walks in — midnight suit, silver cufflinks, ancient eyes — and Alani, who has never once been intimidated by anything, has to actively remind herself to breathe. Chaos Silverscale, CEO of Silverscale Entertainment and a dragon king who has outlived empires, has run his convention on one principle: nothing changes without his approval. Then Alani walks in with a villain-print blouse, a floor plan redesign, and a laugh that fills two hundred thousand square feet like it was built for her — and Chaos, who has been untouchable for seven centuries, can’t stop thinking about her smile, her sass, and what it would mean to let someone that warm get close. She treats his centuries like a fun fact. He treats her chaos like a natural disaster he can’t stop watching. They make no sense — but when a rival dragon decides Alani is leverage, Chaos learns that all seven hundred years of accumulated power mean nothing until there’s finally someone worth using it for.      AmazonKU

MY NEIGHBOR LITERALLY BITES by Sabrina Sin and Milly Taiden

She moved in next door and ruined my century of silence. Her heartbeat threads through my walls every night. Her pulse calls to me through the pines. Her scent clings to every shadow I slip through to keep her safe. I watch from the dark. I fix what breaks before she notices. I fight the bond that demands I claim what was never meant for a monster like me. I watch. I protect. I fight the urge to claim what’s already mine. But the hunters circling her bloodline won’t stop. And the longer I stay away, the more certain I become. She was never meant to be safe….from me.     AmazonKU

SOBEK’S JOY (THE GODS MADE ME DO IT BOOK 18) by Lisa Oliver

VS Note: MM PNR.

Sobek, Egyptian God of Crocodiles and the Nile among other things, likes his peaceful life. He travels, collects antiques and goes where the winds or water takes him. Until the waters took him to a small pond in rural Louisiana and he comes across three unusual children invading the privacy of his pond… shifter children. No matter how many times he told himself that the children weren’t his concern, when he finally meets their guardian, Sobek’s perspective changes completely. A tall, dark mysterious stranger appears at your door…The only connection Rudy Crisp, regular human, had to the paranormal world was in his love of the romance stories he read after the children had gone to bed. Sure, his small found family might have some quirks – the odd flash of hair, fur, and scales, but that was just kids being kids, right? Rudy didn’t judge and he refused to let anyone insult his kids either. So when a tall, dark stranger returns his kids, after their excursion to a neighbor’s pond, Rudy wasn’t going to listen when that man started spouting nonsense about shifters. Clearly the sexy hunk had hit his head recently. “Sometimes people just need reminding that they’re okay.” Realizing he has no choice, Sobek sets out to win Rudy’s trust – a trust earned through house repairs and spending time with the kids, all while trying to work out how to approach that delicate “paranormals are real, and you’re my mate” conversation. But when one of the children gets deathly ill, Sobek realizes he’s run out of time. Will Rudy accept he’s actually part of his own paranormal romance story, or will he take the kids and run?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

BROKEN TIME (THE CRIMES OF KERRIGAN BOOK ONE) by W J May

Knock, knock…Life had finally settled into a rhythm on the magical little cul-de-sac in the heart of London. Or at least, it had settled into the best semblance of rhythm a block of supernatural intelligence operatives could find. The taskforce had disbanded, the evil puppet-master pulling the strings had been buried, and Aria Alden could finally put aside her fantastical problems and get down to the business of having her child. At least, that was the plan. Then came a knock on the door. When Kraigan Kerrigan’s teenage son shows up in London, the entire magical community is shaken upside-down. Not only does Sebastian have both his father’s massive talent and his sociopathic impulse control, but the community itself is changing. The older generation is passing the torch, and both agencies are looking at new leadership. When a huge mission goes terribly wrong, it’s up to the children to keep the mess off their parents’ desk and fix it themselves. The world is changing, and the gang needs to change with it. Old chapters are closing, and a new era is about to begin. After years of waiting, can they chart the future they’ve always dreamed of having? Or are some secrets too big to keep…?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

SKY’S EDGE (THE FOUR REALMS BOOK TWO) by Kristen Ashley

VS Not: I very much enjoyed book one and had this one pre-ordered.

Peace has been shattered in the Four Realms…But Catla Truelock has bigger concerns. Her father’s done what he’d been threatening to do. He’s arranged her marriage to a man not of Catla’s choice.
It’s the demon way, but Catla knows her new betrothed, and she doesn’t like him. He’s aloof. He’s arrogant. And he’s both in spades. Tanyn, the new king of Sky’s Edge, feels differently about the half-demon beauty from Night’s Fall. He’s made his decision on who he wants to be his queen. She’s perfect. He simply has to convince her. Tanyn sets about doing that, but he’s interrupted when his fiancée receives a death threat. It’s then all the royals of the Four Realms understand that the danger is not over. For reasons unknown, there’s a sinister faction in their lands who’s targeting them, and the women who will rule at their sides. Now, Tanyn has to keep his Catla safe, at the same time convincing her to wear his crown. And Catla has to decide if she can leave everything she knows to be the bride of the handsome king in a land that is not her own.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

CHILD OF ASHES (SEBA SEGEL SERIES BOOK TWO) by Elizabeth Hunter

Time travel fantasy. Ancient magical orders. A forbidden investigation, a hidden son, and a slow-burn connection that defies every rule this time-traveler has lived by. Narine Anahid Khoren has spent years keeping her greatest secret, her son Samson, a fourth-tier time traveler of terrifying power, hidden from an order that would claim him as their own. She thought she’d bought more time to shelter him. She was wrong. When a violent ambush sends nine-year-old Samson tumbling into the past with a dangerous enemy, Narine’s carefully constructed world fractures. With her son lost somewhere in history and a shadow war brewing against the Order of the Seba Segel, she has no choice but to release the one man who knows how to find her son, an enemy she thought she’d trapped in the past. Through it all, Jacob Martin—professor, time-traveler, and so much more—is at her side. The tension between them has been building, and now with everything at stake, the threads of their partnership will either snap… or be woven into a bond that cannot be broken. Saving Samson will mean crossing centuries, confronting secrets at the heart of the Order, and reckoning with the true cost of power, family, and revolution. Child of Ashes is the second book in the Seba Segel Series—an epic time travel fantasy set in the near future, where ancient mage orders, dangerous magic, and a slow-burn love story collide across the centuries.      AmazonKU’

THE SASQUATCH AND THE HAIRDRESSER: A COZY MM MONSTER ROMANCE (MONSTERS HOLLOW BOOK THREE) by Chloe Archer

Sometimes the biggest heart belongs to the biggest monster. Hal – Mystic Hollow is home, the place where I belong. I’ve found friends, purpose, and a community that embraces me exactly as I am. The only thing missing is someone to build a happily ever after with. Then Skylar Wright checks into my B&B. He’s beautiful, guarded, and carrying hurts so deep they make my heart ache. Every instinct I have tells me to shower him with care, make him smile, and help him build the fresh start he deserves. With every moment we spend together, I’m falling head over heels. For the first time, my happily ever after doesn’t feel like something that only happens in books. Now all I can do is hope he’ll let me be part of his happily ever after. Skylar – Starting over in Mystic Hollow isn’t an adventure—it’s my last shot at building a life that finally feels safe. I’ve spent too long surviving. Now I just want a quiet place where I can stop looking over my shoulder, heal, and chase my dream of running my own hair salon. I think I’ve found that in this close-knit magical little town. Then there’s Hal, the gentle sasquatch who owns the B&B where I’m staying. He’s patient, thoughtful, and so genuinely kind that I can’t help waiting for the catch. But the more time I spend with him, the more I believe this town—and this giant, soft-hearted sasquatch—really could be home. The only question is whether I can convince myself I deserve it.      AmazonKU

THE WITCH AND TIME TRAVELER (THE DAUGHTERS OF TIME BOOK TWO) by Leigh Ann Edwards

Darian Wyndham, a powerful fire witch descended from an ancient Celtic god, has never needed a man. As a gifted blacksmith in colonial Massachusetts, she’s built a life on her own terms. But her secret magic has awakened ancient demons, each determined to destroy her and the sister witches bound to her across time. Magnus Munro can bend time itself, a gift that makes him useful to the Celtic deities and dangerous to everyone else. When handed the unwelcome assignment of protecting the fire witch, the order is as clear as the warning: guard her but do not touch her. The command, he thinks, is simple. But he can’t heed the warning—not when the same fire burns in her eyes. Darian is drawn to the mysterious stranger, but she refuses to surrender the independence she’s fought so hard to claim. Then an ancient portal fractures time itself, hurling her into the heart of the Salem witch trials. To survive, she’ll have to embrace powers she’s spent her life hiding… and trust the one man she refuses to need. Together they must defy gods, demons, and history itself before the darkness hunting the daughters of the witches of time destroys everything they are destined to protect.      Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

DREAMLAND: A NOVEL by Olivie Blake

VS Note: Gothic.

The headlines are calling it the “summer of exsanguination” in LA—girls are being murdered, the Santa Ana winds are blowing a strange energy into the city, and all signs point to fire season. More pressing for Anya Morris, though, is the drudgery of living at home, working part time at the family store, and contending with her mother’s disdain for the acting career Anya knows she’s destined for but that feels more impossible by the day. It’s in this suffocating late summer heat that Anya receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, an invitation to work for the de Witt family, one of LA’s most influential film dynasties. Soon, she’s spending her days and nights at their strange villa high in the Hollywood hills, where she meets Jude, a recluse who is both the family’s heir apparent and its most closely guarded secret. There’s a magnetism to Jude that Anya cannot resist, despite warning signs that scream like sirens in the night. Because the villa holds generations of bloodstained history, and an occult family curse may even live within its walls—or within Jude himself. In this city, everyone cuts a deal with the devil. When Anya comes face to face with a devil of her own, she’ll learn just how far she’s willing to go to get everything she’s ever wanted.     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

HELL’S HALF ACRE (INTERNAL AFFAIRS BOOK TWO) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Being the heir to hell comes with enemies. Being a pawn in someone else’s game? That’s where Luke draws the line. Luke Tievel has always known his enemies outnumber his friends. When your inheritance is the underworld, that comes with the territory. But divine politics have escalated to a new level—and now both Luke and his partner, Detective Sorcha O’Malley, have targets on their backs. Old factions are rising. Heaven and hell are circling. And every side wants the same thing: total control of the mortal world and the destruction of anyone who won’t kneel. Luke has never minded being the center of attention. But he’s no one’s pawn—and he likes the world the way it is. Broken, messy, human. Worth saving. Now he and Sorcha must hold the line against preternatural forces tired of playing by the old rules. The stakes aren’t just their lives. It’s humanity’s extinction—and the only thing standing in the way is an heir who refuses to inherit and a detective who doesn’t know how to quit.      Amazon     AB     Apple Books      Kobo

THE VAMPIRE’S OMEGA – THE ROSE VAMPIRE COVEN by B A Stretke

VS Note: MM PNR.

In a world where vampires and wolves manage an uneasy coexistence, one bond ignites a challenge. At its center? A werewolf omega. Ben has spent his life as a powerless omega in the Garmr Pack—humiliated, used, and forced to watch the Beta’s cruel games. When he’s dragged to a tense diplomatic gathering, the last thing he expects is to catch the eye of Gabriel, a lethal vampire guard whose cold stare hides a devastating truth: Ben is his fated beloved. Gabriel has no interest in wolves… until Ben’s scent shatters every rule he’s lived by. But claiming his omega means facing James, a brutal Beta who refuses to let Ben go. Passion ignites. Blood will spill. And in the shadows of pack politics and vampire law, an omega and his vampire will risk everything for a love that could destroy them both.      Amazon

SQUATCH THIS by Deysi O’Donal

Jenny is a mafia princess on the run. Growing up in the italian mafia sounds great in books. In reality? Not so much. Orphaned as a teenager, my goal was to get into a good college to escape my Capo uncle, and the rest of my toxic family. It almost worked, until I witnessed a murder. One thing led to another, and I ended up in witness protection. Which is how I found myself in a small, bigfoot obsessed town at the edge of a rainforest, on the other side of the country. Fast forward ten years, now I’m living life on my terms–I’ve made friends, built a business…and lusted after Owen Ferral, the gorgeous AF park ranger. Owen is a cryptid shape-shifter that doesn’t think anyone could ever love him because of what he really is. I’ve been obsessed with Jenny Miller since the moment I first saw her. For ten years, I’ve made a weekly pilgrimage to the General Store where she works, just to talk to her. Quietly stalking her, knowing that I’ll never be able to get any closer. Because, how do you tell the woman you are falling in love with that you turn into Bigfoot? Turns out, I don’t have to because she catches me in the forest. I’ve never thought anyone outside my family would accept that part of me, but she sees what I am and doesn’t run. Could I really have a future with her? Before I have a chance to find out, the family she’s been hiding from finds her. Now that there are no more secrets between us, there’s no stopping me, or my squatch, from doing whatever is necessary to keep her safe. So we can both have the happy ever after we’ve been longing for.      AmazonKU

MOREL DILEMMA (TALES FROM THE DRAGON DINER BOOK THREE) by Lindsay Buroker

Retired mercenary Rylana and the dragon chef Jildarin are on the hunt for enchanted morels in the hope of enticing the visiting elf queen to their diner. But more than a desire for mushrooms has brought the queen to the city of Tranquility. For some reason, she has her people searching for Rylana’s best friend, the elven assassin Sylin. Even as Rylana worries about her comrade, a new problem thrusts its way into her path. Despite the Dragon Diner’s newfound success, their landlord has decided to evict them. After all that Rylana and Jildarin have built together, will they be forced to close the business?       AmazonKU

HOW TO SURVIVE THIS FAIRY TALE by S M Hallow

That can’t be the way this story ends. Try again? Ensnared by the whims of a cruel narrator, Hansel’s fairy tale has always revolved around tragedy. After being forced to abandon his sister Gretel in a witch’s gingerbread house, desert the cursed prince he adores, and cut the hearts out of innocent maidens to feed a flesh-eating queen, Hansel gives up on the possibility of his story ending in Happily Ever After. But when the queen orders him to bring her the heart of her own daughter, Hansel decides that it’s time to carve his own path by whatever means necessary. And when he does, he’ll learn Happily Ever After might not be the only thing worth fighting for.     Amazon     Apple Books      Kobo

SANDRO: VITTONE’S VAMPIRES BOOK TWO by Taylor Rylan

VS Note: MM MPreg PNR.

Alessandro “Sandro” D’Angelo feels as if he’s failed at everything important he was supposed to do in life. After the death of his younger brother, he’s wanted nothing more than to join his brother on the other side. When his family rescues him from the brink of death, he wishes they hadn’t. Only he can’t voice those feelings, as it’s the coven’s second who risked his life for the older vampire. And nobody wanted to upset him. Leonardo Mosca is all alone in this world. Forced into a life of servitude by his pride after his parents’ questionable death, he wants nothing more than to be able to escape and live a life of freedom. Plans change when he suddenly snaps and attacks the alpha’s brother in a moment of frustration. While Leo is working his way through the busy center of Rome and trying to avoid his pride, fate intervenes, and he runs into the arms of Sandro. Will his mate be the one to rescue him from his pride? Can Sandro and Leo figure out how to build a life together? Will Sandro’s young beloved teach him how to live again? Will Leo finally learn about his parents’ mysterious death, and will those responsible be brought to justice?      AmazonKU

GUARDIANS OF DAWN – SUHWA by S Jae-Jones

Min Suhwa has always longed to see the greater world outside the small, cloistered convent in which she was raised. Hidden there for her safety when she was a small child, Suhwa has learned to keep her unusual illusion magic to herself, but when the Bangtan Brothers come to town to perform, she can’t resist the chance to go see them for herself. But the world outside her convent is dangerous―the Morning Realms have fallen to civil war, and Huntsmen prowl the land in search of magicians and the fabled Guardians of Dawn, legendary elemental warriors with incredible powers. When Suhwa’s illusion magic brings her afoul of one of the Huntsmen, she must flee for her life. Meanwhile, the Guardians of Dawn and their allies are fighting a war on two fronts―against the northern insurrection seeking to claim the Sunburst Throne and destroy all magicians, and against the rising threat of the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. Zhara, Ami, and Yuli must travel to the Azure Isles to seek the Guardian of Water and save the Morning Realms from annihilation, restoring balance to order and chaos once and for all.

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IMMORTAL ROSE: A NOVEL by Alexandra Bracken

Members of the ancient Rosebourne family have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion. When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy. Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life—and fortune—that should have been hers. As Hugh and Viola race to find the perfume’s lost fairy ingredient, hidden deep in Albion’s dark underbelly, neither can deny the scorching attraction building between them—especially as the attempts on Viola’s life grow increasingly brazen. But a terrible truth lurks in the heart notes of their kingdom—and while every bargain has a cost, Immortal Rose may demand more than Hugh and Viola can ever pay.

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THE QUEEN’S BODYGUARD: A NOVEL by Lauren Blackwood

Queen Theora grudgingly agrees to make peace with the neighboring enemy who killed her predecessor and friend, making her the new monarch of Aranea, over a year ago. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to the negotiations unprotected. Theora quickly selects Argos, a prickly and formidable Warrior with a ruthless reputation, to act as her bodyguard in disguise. They are technically married, but Theora has no intention of finishing the ritual that would bind their souls together. Argos is merely a means to end the conflict safely. Argos may have his reasons for accepting this arrangement, but he refuses to be a pawn in Theora’s political games. If she wants a bodyguard, she’ll have to obey his sacred Warrior rituals, each one a show of defiance that frustrates Theora as much as it arouses her. Theora doesn’t expect to find her temporary husband so sexy, his possessive nature so addicting. And as peace talks begin, pretending to be married and in love is not nearly as difficult as pretending she doesn’t desperately want him—all of him.

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SCENT OF THE IDEAL by R Cooper

VS note: LGBTQ Fantasy

In the prestigious Academy Trianon, unwanted children are trained to become specialized guards to the upper classes—the swersoldi. Swersoldi learn martial skills, courtly manners, and the use of aer, the force inside all living things. At twenty, Rafi is nearing his final year, and expects an unremarkable future once he secures a placement in a decent noble house. But he’s facing a problem—his approaching heat. All three sexes, miná, miné, and nex, experience heats or ruts at the onset of sexual maturity, even though dual-sex nexes like Rafi aren’t capable of reproduction. If Rafi’s use of aer weren’t so strong, such a heat would be embarrassing but bearable. But since he’s not yet fully able to control his aer, he will need someone stronger than he is to control his for him. Rafi has no sweetheart, and even if he did, no one currently at the academy has that sort of strength. Enter Viau, the favorite swersoldi of the royal court: handsome, courteous, honorable—the ideal. As far as Rafi is concerned, Viau is unapproachable and untouchable, so he sees no problem in admitting to his worried instructors that Viau’s scent is perfect to his nex senses. Heroic, mannerly Viau will politely decline to be involved, and Rafi can hopefully figure out a less humiliating option in the meantime. Except Viau says yes. Unwanted, unremarkable Rafi is suddenly the center of the ideal’s attention, a confusing, arousing place to be. Viau treats Rafi as if there is more to him than an average swersoldi with an average future, and Rafi starts to wonder if he can have a different life if he reaches for it. One where the ideal was once an unwanted child too, and even an ordinary nex can become the ideal’s hero if he loves him.        Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

SINISTER (THE ETERNAL CYCLES OF LOVE) by Veronica Lancet

In Radcliffe, perfection is a mask. And Sinclair Arnoult wears his far too well. Sin is Radcliffe’s golden boy. Star athlete, top student, and heir to a family name that carries weight in every corner of town. With his easy smiles and effortless charm, he’s untouchable. Perfect. Petra Valentine has always been an outsider. Trapped in a world of wealth and privilege that barely tolerates her, she’s spent her life fading into the background—until one reckless night at a party changes everything. A fleeting, drunken mistake ties her to him. When a series of ritualistic murders forces them together to unravel Radcliffe’s twisted past, Petra discovers that Sin is connected to something far darker than a privileged legacy. The man everyone worships is hiding dangerous truths—about his past, about the town, and about her. He swears he’ll protect her. He swears he’d never hurt her. But in Radcliffe, devotion and destruction look a lot like the same thing.

Amazon     AB

DRAGON KISSED (THE SECRET KINGDOMS: THE DRAQUONIR BOOK FOUR) by Becca Brayden and Grace Goodwin

He came to recover an ancient manuscript never meant for human eyes. He left carrying the human woman he was supposed to kill. Veronica “Nica” Sokolov’s life revolves around rare manuscripts, museum archives, and history’s forgotten mysteries—until one innocent mistake uncovers an ancient dragon text powerful enough to ignite a war. Now every magical faction in the Secret Kingdoms will stop at nothing to claim it. So why does she feel safest in the arms of a man who should terrify her? Why does every instinct draw her closer to surrender? For nearly a thousand years, Demetri has never failed in his duty to protect the Secret Kingdoms. Until the moment he finds Nica. His true mate. Every instinct demands he claim her. Yet the laws of secrecy forbid her from knowledge of his kind. As enemies gather and long-buried lies begin to surface, can a forbidden bond neither want to resist save them from a conspiracy that threatens both the magical and human worlds?        Amazon     Apple Books    Kobo

BITE ME (DOXLOTHIA UNIVERSITY STANDALONE SERIES) by S L Cokeley

Emma Osborne is determined to make her mark at Doxlothia University—home to the most elite vampire and werewolf communities. She dreams of joining the culinary club, and culinary prodigy, Dacre Everhart, seems to be the only thing standing in her way. As she and her sisters make themselves known on campus, their blood is drawing new, unwelcome attention. Everything in Dacre Everhart’s life is exactly how it should be. He’s well on his way to becoming the heir his family desires until he discovers a troubling truth: He is scent-matched to Emma, the stubbornly optimistic baker he can’t seem to escape. The journey to the top is hard-won, and it’s even harder when the opposition is biologically attractive. In a world that wants to tear them apart, who will rise above the secrets and lies for a chance at sweet success? Or will their greatest craving turn out to be each other?   AmazonKU

LOVE YOU TO DEATH: MM FANTASY ROMANCE  (HOTTER THAN HELL) by Callie Colby

I choked on a pretzel and died for two minutes. Now I have a demon stalker who treats me like a toddler with a death wish. Technically, I’m supposed to be in the afterlife. But thanks to a zealous paramedic and a very sturdy ribcage, I was ripped back to the land of the living right after my soul was stamped for export. Rax, the demon assigned to escort me to Hell, is not happy about the paperwork error. Since he can’t return empty-handed without getting demoted to “latrine duty,” he’s decided to stick to me like glue until I kick the bucket again. He’s moved into my apartment, where he spends his time aggressively baby-proofing my furniture, hissing at jaywalkers, and slapping fast food out of my hand because “cholesterol is a slow killer.” It’s annoying. It’s suffocating. It’s also… confusingly hot. Because when Rax isn’t wrapping me in bubble wrap, he’s looking at me with hungry, ancient eyes. He’s obsessed with my heartbeat, constantly checking my pulse with hands that linger a little too long and wander a little too low. He’s waiting for me to die. But with the way he’s touching me, I’m starting to think he’s finding plenty of reasons to keep me alive.     AmazonKU      AB

MAPLE MUFFIN MAGIC (WITCHCAKES) by Sara Bourgeois

Ivy Merriweather only came back to Harvest Hollow to settle her grandmother’s affairs and decide what to do with Witchcakes. Clean the bakery. Make a plan. Leave before anyone calls it a homecoming. Then she finds an orange cat sleeping in a proofing basket like he owns the place. Nutmeg is nosy, bossy, underfoot, and somehow always exactly where he should not be. He is also determined to help Ivy reopen Witchcakes for Harvest Hollow’s fall market, whether she asks for his help or not. But when Rosemary Merriweather’s signature harvest spice tin vanishes, small acts of sabotage start piling up. Someone makes it very clear that they do not want Witchcakes back in business, and Ivy realizes that her return may have upset more than just the “official bakery cat”. To save the business, survive the market, and solve the mystery of who is trying to push her out, Ivy will have to trust her instincts, trust her magic, and trust the ridiculous orange menace currently sitting on her recipe cards.      AmazonKU

BRED BY THE BEAST (BREEDING SEASON BOOK 11) by Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino

Poppy – I came to the mountains chasing the photograph that could save my career. Instead, I witnessed something I was never supposed to see. Now ruthless men want me silenced, and my only hope is the mysterious recluse who lives deep in the wilderness. Wilder is gruff, guarded, and impossible to resist—but the longer I stay in his cabin, the harder it becomes to remember I’m supposed to leave. Wilder – I’ve spent years alone, protecting my land and avoiding the outside world. Humans only bring greed, bullets, and trouble. Then I find a terrified little photographer running for her life, and every instinct I have demands I keep her safe. She may not know my secrets, but she already owns my heart. Anyone who comes looking for my mate is about to discover why a grizzly never backs down from a fight.    

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WOLF REVEALED (SWAT – SPECIAL WOLF ALPHA TEAM) by Paige Tyler

He watched his family die…Ten years ago, werewolf shifter Mike Taylor watched his home explode, killing his fiancée, Lark, and their infant son, Kal. Back then, Mike was undercover DEA, deeply infiltrated in the cartel. When his cover was blown, his family paid the price––or so he thought. When SWAT is called to a hostage situation, Mike’s life goes sideways. Lark is back, desperate for help. Kal has been kidnapped by the very cartel that tried to kill them ten years ago. They think Mike has a sensitive flash drive and they want it back––or Kal dies. No mistakes this time. Mike and Lark have another chance at happiness, and working together to save their son shows them that their love––and their attraction––never faded. Mike will risk everything to have his family back, but it will take the entire Pack to take down the cartel for good. And when a traitor is revealed, the precious time it costs the Pack could mean life or death.

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TIGER BITTEN (AMBUSH BOOK TWO) by T S Joyce

Mars Ledger is a runner. He ran from his brothers when he was Turned into a tiger shifter. He ran from his hometown when his life got too hard. And now all he wants to do is stay hidden in the life he had built outside of the tiger Ambush with his brothers. They made a pact that every year the three Ledger brothers would meet up and keep connected, but it’s time for the reunion and Mars would rather do anything else. His life has fallen apart over the last year, and he has no news to report to his expectant family. But when he can’t stay away from a woman in town, he starts to realize he actually might need their help. Ren is sassy, drop-dead gorgeous, too kind for her own good, and seems too submissive to be a Cat, but he can see it in her bright gold eyes. She’s a monster, just like him. The problem? She’s too interesting to his inner tiger, and now his lust is starting to feel like a hunt. His brothers are the only ones who can protect the woman he wants now. Ren is living in two different worlds—humans and Cats. She has toed the line for so long that it’s natural for her now, but one chance encounter with a real-life Cat has her questioning everything she knows about herself. He has all the answers she has craved all these years, and the more she understands him, the more she wants to learn. She has a plan to keep Mars interested in her, and if she plays her cards right, he just might stick around long enough to teach her how to be herself. The problem? He keeps warning her that she’s in danger, and when she asks, he just says the danger is him.    AmazonKU     AB

OUT OF SIGHT (BETAS IN WAITING BOOK 40) by Viola Grace

Some people are forgettable, but that wasn’t a problem for her until a dark mage, a curse, and six years of fighting to be remembered when she was out of sight. Ted makes her living by creating apps for businesses who need something specific. She keeps in constant communication with the businesses she works for one precise reason: the moment she is out of sight, they forget she ever existed. It has been difficult to live with, but she has worked with a number of her family members, who recognize her the moment they see her and forget her when she turns a corner. She’s working for her cousin Sabin when he and Nora finally take steps to contact people who can help. It seems that people who know magic have moved into the neighbourhood, and they are willing to help. Ted’s not going to be left alone. She even has a bathroom buddy if she needs it. After meeting some of the strangest people she had ever met, she’s finally back and memorable. When she heads back to her apartment, she is fielding years of family contacts who suddenly remember her, but one is missing. Her cousin Lucia. Ted sends a contact to Lucia and is shocked to learn that she wasn’t the only family member who had a brush with the shadow mages; only Lucia had disappeared a decade ago, and she had lost her physical form in the process. This is going to require specialization. Good thing Ted has new and weird friends who are happy to help.

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FsandroONCE WRITTEN IN GILDED BLOOD (CRUEL FATES DUET BOOK TWO) by  K M Moronova

The war was supposed to end with their wedding. Alira made her choice. She married the Blood Knight to end the war that had ravaged their kingdoms only to fall irrevocably in love with her once-sworn enemy. Now, living in Devicit as his wife, she is determined to prove that peace between demigods and demons is possible. But something beneath the surface of their paradise feels wrong. The veil protecting the demon kingdom shimmers with secrets. The gods are restless. And beyond the veil, old enemies have not laid down their swords. Kalel would burn the world down to protect his bride, but the past he buried in blood refuses to stay silent. As suspicion creeps into their marriage and the threat of war closes in on Devicit, Alira and Kalel find themselves caught between devotion and doubt―between the kingdoms they were born to defend and the love they chose for themselves. Together, they must confront the truths that could shatter everything they’ve built. Because peace is never freely given. And the gods are not finished with them yet.    AmazonKU    AB

FATED TO THE GARGOYLE: A BLACK MONSTER ROMANCE (SHADOW WOLF CREEK MONSTERS BOOK ONE) by Tessa Stone

The statue outside Stanley’s Diner moves at sundown. I came to Shadow Wolf Creek with everything I own in my hatchback and one rule: I don’t date coworkers. This town has shifters at the grocery store, merfolk, a dragon with a podcast, and everyone is out in the open about what they are. Fine by me. I’m here to wait my tables and save my money, not chase a fated mate. But the gargoyle crouched on the diner’s roof caught my scent on my first shift. His name is Soren. He’s six hundred years old and has spent every one of those years guarding treasure that was never his to keep. Now he’s outside my window at sundown, and not one soul in this town sees a problem with it. This town, I swear. He says I’m his mate, calls me his treasure, and intends to worship me for the rest of his life.    AmazonKU

ICE DEVIL (KENDRICK BROTHERS BOOK TWO) by Piper Stone

She teased the devil. She ended up as my mate. When the human girl they sent to interview me teased me one too many times with that perfect body, I didn’t just spank her ass red and claim her like the wild beast her scent unleashed in me. I yanked her soaked G-string down and made her come hard for me right there in the elevator. But my feisty little mate will come much harder when she takes my knot for the first time tonight.      AmazonKU

HALLOWEEN TOWN by Joss Wood

Poppy McMaster was supposed to be getting married, not climbing out of a bathroom window in her wedding dress…She’s leaving her life behind and fleeing to the only place she’s ever truly felt like herself: the small town she grew up in, where Halloween lasts all year. But home isn’t waiting for Poppy the way she imagined. Her grandparents’ beloved inn is now owned by Thom Sheffield, who just happens to be: Her childhood hero Her ex-fiancé’s brooding older brother The last man on earth she should be fantasizing about…Because in a town full of pumpkins, cosy traditions, and Halloween magic, falling in love might be the scariest thing of all.      AmazonKU      AB

TATTOOED BY THE ELF by Mahogany Jaimes

Her heat brought her to his door. Fate made sure she stayed. Brooke knows the rules. When an omega’s suppressants fail, the last place she should be is near an alpha. Heat strips away control, instincts demand more, and the wrong person could turn a vulnerable moment into something she never wanted. Then she finds Saheime. The tattoo artist is everything her instincts warn her about—dominant, magnetic, and impossible to ignore. But instead of taking advantage of her weakened state, Saheime fights his own instincts to protect her. He gives her the one thing she never expected from an alpha: a choice. Because Saheime knows exactly what Brooke is to him. His mate. But a bond isn’t a claim. Not without her consent. Not without her trust. Because the most dangerous thing about fate isn’t being tied to someone forever. It’s finding someone worthy of receiving it. Brooke has to decide if she can surrender to the heat between them… only to walk away when it’s over. Or if she’ll accept the bond that connects them and discover why Saheime is so important to the Elven realm—and why fate chose him to be hers.      AmazonKU

CUFFED BY THE WOLF by Posey Parks

Getting arrested was not part of the Omega, Sasha Walker’s plan. She came to Morgan, Georgia hunting the con artist who stole from her, destroyed her reputation, and left her holding the bag for a scam she didn’t commit. What she didn’t expect was a fistfight with two locals, flashing police lights, and a one-way trip to the Lupton County Jail. Sheriff Gavin Drake is used to keeping order in his town. As the gruff, overbearing alpha wolf in charge, Gavin barks commands, takes no nonsense, and has little patience for troublemakers. Especially the fiery omega currently sitting in one of his cells. From the moment Sasha mouths off during questioning, she gets under his skin. When she overhears the sheriff’s office needs a secretary, Sasha sees an opportunity. Finding a job means staying in town longer, and staying in town means finding the person responsible for ruining her life. The last thing Gavin wants is the woman who drove him crazy working under his roof. But every day she spends in his office tests his control. Sasha is sunshine wrapped in trouble. Gavin is a possessive alpha with a temper and a badge. Their constant arguments ignite a dangerous attraction neither can ignore. What Gavin doesn’t know is that Sasha has been hiding behind scent suppressants. The stubborn omega he can’t stop thinking about is actually his fated mate. And when someone from Sasha’s past comes looking for her, Gavin will do whatever it takes to protect what’s his. Even if he has to break every rule to keep her.      AmazonKU

PROPERTY OF SCAR (KINGS OF ANARCHY NEW HAMPSHIRE BOOK TWO) by K E Osborn

She hunts monsters. She’s never wanted to keep one before. Calypso doesn’t ask permission. She’s half vampire, half hunter, and she crashes into my territory as if she owns it—guns drawn, unafraid, and looking at me as if she hasn’t decided whether I’m an asset or a target. I’ve had five centuries of people fear me on sight. This woman reloads and raises an eyebrow. I don’t do alliances. I do blood, empire, and control. But the Crimson Circle is back, and the evil moving through my territory is the same one that destroyed everything I loved three hundred and fifty years ago. Calypso is just a source. She has answers I need. I have knowledge she can’t survive without. So, I let her stay. Call it strategy. Call it temporary. The problem is, she keeps standing her ground and looks at me like I am a man instead of a monster. She came for the bodies. Not for me. And I was never supposed to want her to stay.      AmazonKU

WOLF’S FATED BRIDE by Milana Jacks

If they choose each other, the war begins. If they don’t, the world burns. Ash is the most dangerous werewolf alive, consuming seven times more alchemy than prescribed to keep his fire element contained. He is bound by treaty to marry a bride from the rival pack that will end decades of war.
But every instinct in his body pulls, away from the arranged bride, and towards her sister. Runa is a loyal wolf. To her pack. To her family, and to her beloved sister. But she despises her soon to be brother-in-law. He likes to tell her what to do, which she hates just as much as the rasp in his voice when he laughs. Or how possessive he gets when she’s around other males. And most of all, she hates how much she enjoys being near him. She wants the man she shouldn’t. He resists the woman he needs.       AmazonKU

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LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica

August 12

August 5

July 29

July 22

July 15

“New” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  And I may mention ‘special items’.

NOTE: I’m doing my best to avoid listing anything generated from use of AI but it’s sometimes tricky to detect from the resources I have available. As far as covers go, I list the Amazon cover whether it’s AI or not. 

I do NOT cover every single new release in SFR/FantasyR/PNR. I never have. That would be an impossible task for any human! I assemble my list by hand every week based on various informal inputs, and I do curate the list to some extent…

Some authors aren’t in KU but still don’t list books with Apple or other platforms. This report is very time consuming to prepare so I’ve always had to limit myself and cannot go and look up every book on all the platforms. If an author gives me their other buy links, I include them here but generally I develop the post on my own, not from author-supplied information. I curate and prepare this post individually every week to help connect readers/books/authors and I have to be very careful not to give it so much time as an activity that I don’t write my own novels! Thanks for the feedback and happy reading!

 

 

 

 

If My Badari SciFi Gladiators Were Anime They’d Look Like This

I love chibis, those cute manga and anime characters with oversized heads, big eyes and attitude.  I’m going to be offering some amazing ones as stickers for ancient Egyptian Special Edition Omnibus Kickstarter in September (the link is here if you want to sign up for updates now or to be notified of the launch). We just revealed the first chibi by the way…

I can’t show the Egyptian chibis yet, not before the Kickstarter kicks off but after I finished getting all of them done, I wanted MOAR! Yes, I’m now a chibi addict. So I decided to do my Badari Gladiators and their mates. I have a wonderful artist for the gladiator series (he’s doing my alien empath series now) Hema Hemo, who I found on Fiverr.

Here’s a brief note about the series (full details of each book on the series page here on my blog if you haven’t read them yet!:

VS: A spinoff series from my best selling Badari Warriors. In the novel LANDON, I made the point that there had evidently been some of the genetically engineered soldiers smuggled off the planet in the past and sold in the galaxy’s rough and tumble, lawless Hinterlands as gladiators. This series explores the fates of some of these men, from earlier generations, not the Generation 8 Badari who appear in the main series (although there may be a crossover novel at some point).

I hope you’ll enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed the process of having them drawn. We’re considering selling them as stickers when we get our online store set up but no decision yet.

Kyden & Elara:

Book Buy Links: Amazon     Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      GooglePlay

 

 

Rennyr & Jaine

Book Buy Links:

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     Nook     Google Play

 

 

Talinn & Bailey

Book Buy Links:

Amazon      Apple Books     Nook     Kobo     Google Play

 

 

Benet & Marushka

Book Buy Links:

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     NOOK     GooglePlay

Jamirr & Samyra

Book Buy Links:

Amazon     Apple Books     NOOK     KOBO     GooglePlay

Dmitri & (Who do you think she’ll be?)

Coming in 2027

 

 

The whole pack (with Dmitri’s mystery fated mate):

 

Why I Wrote JAMIRR (Badari Gladiators Series Book 5) + Excerpt

JAMIRR is another one of those books where I’ve had the basic plot elements in my head for quite a while but just wasn’t ready to write the book…until I was. (I’ve had the cover since January 2024.)  I always envisioned a Badari Main Male Character with amnesia from cryosleep being bought by a female gladiator to become part of her team, over the objections of her assistant.

Here’s what I’ve said before about why I love gladiator stories:

I love the old “sword and sandal” movies like ‘Demetrius and the Gladiators’ and any version of ‘The Last Days of Pompeii’, as well as more modern works like Starz’s ‘Spartacus’ series. So the idea of writing a scifi romance series involving futuristic gladiators fits right into my world view as an author.

And for those who wonder why my scifi gladiators wear what looks remarkably like ancient Roman uniforms – hey, it’s cool looking, it says ‘gladiator’ immediately and as a kid I imprinted on Demetrius’s dramatic, swirling red cape in that movie. I carefully established in the first book that the citizens of the galaxy Hinterlands have a romantic, inaccurate view of their own historical past and therefore the gladiatorial ‘industry’ relives the imagined glories of the old days, complete with ancient weapons…and red cloaks. There’s a lot of world building to my gladiatorial system, and readers have said it reminds them of various forms of highly organized professional sports in our time, among other influences. (I also did a lot of research on the actual Roman gladiators.)

Getting back to Jamirr specifically, one thing I try to do in all my series is to not tell a cookie cutter same story each time. So yes he’s a lost Badari and of course Kyden and the others are determined to rescue him but what if he doesn’t want to be rescued? He has strong loyalty to Samyra, the FMC who saved him from going to the mines to die. And of course she’s his fated mate. I enjoyed getting into Kyden’s head a bit as well, having to deal with a brother who rejected the help he was offering. Kyden’s used to solving every problem pretty promptly and this situation was a tangle.

It was fun to bring in a couple of past characters – the old pensioner Two Swords and the public relations expert Falayla, both of whom first appeared in RENNYR, and give them a moment or two to shine. We also see a bit more of Elara, Kyden’s mate-wife.

Writing some of the challenges Samyra the FMC of this book was facing made me really tense and I was glad to know I’d be giving her an HEA as well, just perhaps not the one she was expecting. But always with Jamirr at her side!

Here’s an excerpt from the first conversation Jamirr and Samyra have after she’s taken him to her compound. He’s been fed, had a shower and gotten clean clothes. Tazur is an alien great cat that Samyra keeps as a pet.

An entire wall was devoted to a display of the mistress’s trophies and championship crowns and belts. She was quite the consummate gladiator apparently.

Samyra in her Beast Lady arena persona Depositphotos

Samyra awaited them in a solarium, full of exotic plants. The air was perfumed by the various blooms and Tazur lolled on the floor next to her chair. Seeing Jamirr the cat emitted a raspy sound and got to her feet, coming to bump against his legs. He reached to scratch behind her ears and was rewarded with a purr that echoed in the room.

“You may go,” Samyra said to Darryl, who bowed and left. She studied Jamirr, who stood at attention despite the great cat begging for more affection. He stared over her head, focusing on a ten-legged spiderlike insect weaving a web in the midst of a dense cluster of spiky leaves. It was imperative he retain his self control for the coming conversation.

“You clean up well,” Samyra said at length.

He stayed silent. If she was waiting for him to thank her for the clothes, the food or the shower she’d wait forever.

“Why do you refuse to fight?” she asked, not at all disconcerted by his silence.

He debated with himself and finally lowered his eyes to study her face. “Because they, the previous masters, wanted me to. And my refusal was the only freedom I possess any more. I can’t be forced to train for the arena. I’d rather die than give in but unfortunately each time they saw more profit in selling me again than in putting me out of my  misery. The afterlife has to wait it seems.” More words than he’d probably spoken in a year and he cautioned himself not to be vulnerable just because she was a beautiful woman.

“Pity. But I didn’t acquire you for the arena so we can move on from that discussion. I was struck by how Tazur took to you immediately earlier today. She doesn’t like people aside from me although she tolerates Darryl. I need an animal keeper for my collection and I think you’ll be ideal.”

Jamirr was relieved and a bit intrigued but he had a key question. “Do the animals fight?”

“No.” She acted surprised and appalled at the question. “There are gladiators on the circuit who fight with animals but I’m not one of them. Perhaps you’re not aware my arena name is the Beast Lady and I’m always seen in public with at least one, if not more of my pets. I can write them off on my taxes that way, if they’re part of my brand. You’ll be coming along as their handler.” Samyra smiled and he was stunned by the softening effect of the expression on her sculpted face. “In truth, rescuing exotic animals and giving them a good home in my private zoo here is my one and only indulgence. My hobby. Occasionally I’m asked to rehabilitate an animal so it can be returned to the wild. More often Customs impounds a shipment of illegal creatures and I’m given a chance to bid on them, along with a few other collectors.”

“I see.”

“It won’t be exciting work, just feeding the animals, cleaning cages, doing light training exercises with them—I have a few I take on public media appearances and they need to perform certain natural behaviors on cue for a food reward.” She looked him over. “You do realize by refusing to fight you’re forfeiting the chance to ever purchase your freedom? Being my zookeeper doesn’t pay but winning prize money in the arena puts credits in both our pockets.”

He had no answer which would satisfy her so he kept his silence. Eventually she waved him away impatiently. “All right, go find Darryl and he’ll give you a walkthrough of the zoo.”

JAMIRR (BADARI GLADIATORS BOOK FIVE) by Veronica Scott

His memories gone, mistreated and abused by a series of owners, Jamirr knows only that he won’t give in and become a fighter in the savage arenas of the galaxy. He refuses to give his so-called masters the satisfaction. Destined for a grim fate in the mines, he waits to die. Raised by a gladiator father to become an arena warrior from the time she was old enough to hold a wooden sword, Samyra inherited his struggling gladiatorial house and has carved out a career as the ruthless Beast Lady. Looking for new fighters she knows she should pass Jamirr by. He’s nothing but trouble and untrainable. Something about him won’t let her walk away and she takes the risk of adding him to her team. Despite himself Jamirr has a growing loyalty and attraction to the Beast Lady. He’s drawn to the caring woman underneath the savage exterior she presents to the world. But she has secrets that threaten them both and he still has no idea what kind of past his amnesia is concealing. He knows he’s not human, not with claws and fangs, yet he loves a human woman. Will he fight for her? Could a gladiator and his mistress ever become mates and equals? And will the arrival of a group of men like him known as Badari create opportunities for freedom or destroy the life Jamirr’s carved out?

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