Reign of Silver & Stardust (Stardust Trilogy Book 1) by Diana A. Hicks

Reign of Silver & Stardust (Stardust Trilogy Book 1)
by Diana A. Hicks
August 27, 2026
Series info: Cliffhanger, trilogy
Genres: Romantasy, Sci-Fi Romance, New Adult Romance
Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, He Falls First, Dual POV, Forced Proximity, Independent Heroine, Found Family, Protective Hero, Supernatural Powers, Revenge, Immortals v Mortals, High-Angst, High-Chemistry Romance, Morally Grey Rebel Commander POV: First Person- Alternating

CATALINA I was never supposed to exist. As the mortal spare to an immortal sister, I lived in the shadows until Ry was murdered by a weapon that shouldn't exist. Now, justice is all I want. To find her killer, I must take her place in the Queen’s Elite Cadre and become the very monster everyone fears. But becoming a weapon means losing my humanity… and losing the one man I can't resist.

VALOREK The immortals bleed my world dry while my sister rots from the inside out. I swore to burn their reign to the ground, until I met her. Sterling is the enemy, a silver-blooded soldier of the regime that destroyed my family. But the electricity between us is undeniable. We are on opposite sides of a brewing war, and falling for the enemy is a dangerous mistake neither of us can afford.

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About the Author:
Website
Diana Hicks writes dark, emotional romance where obsession runs deep, secrets cut sharp, and love always comes at a price.

Her books blend steamy billionaire drama with forbidden marriages, high-stakes betrayal, and antiheroes who will burn the world to protect what’s theirs. Best known for The Empire Trilogy, Diana’s stories deliver heart-pounding romance with morally gray men, strong heroines, and just enough heat to leave you breathless.

When she’s not writing about power and passion colliding, she’s probably sipping coffee like it's a love language, sweating off a plot twist at yoga, or posting angsty book teasers on TikTok.

The Ruthless Billionaire Society 

Reading Order:
Book 1: King of Beasts
Book 2: Queen of Beasts
(Rex and Caterina’s Duet)
Book 3: Big Bad Wolf
Book 4: Big Bad Red Duet
(Santino and Luce’s Duet)
Book 5: Wings of Ruin
Book 6: Wings of Silence
(Enzo and Aurora’s Duet)
Book 7: Wicked Seduction
Book 8: Wicked Temptation
(Luca and Donata’s Duet)

Battlepug: Cosmic Doggyssey trade paperback + free comic read

Battlepug: Cosmic Doggyssey delivers the perfect blend of sword and sorcery, humor, and heart. Picking up right where the Image series Battlepug: War on Christmas left off, the last Kindmundian and his oversized companion find themselves in dreamlike worlds of demented danger!

Battlepug: Cosmic Doggyssey trade paperback
(ISBN: 9781534333864)
Wednesday, August 26

Prepare for an absurd, action-packed journey across the cosmos in the upcoming Battlepug: Cosmic Doggyssey graphic novel continuing Mike Norton's Eisner and Harvey award-winning fantasy comedy. This trade paperback graphic novel from Image Comics will hit comic shop shelves next week and be available this September everywhere books are sold.

“This new book is my way opening up the Battlepug universe so that I can tell all kinds of stories besides the weird fantasy that it began as," said Norton. "I mean, it’s still WEIRD, mind you… Only now I can do any genre I’ve ever dreamed of. That’s what Battlepug is… Just an excuse for me to draw everything I liked when I was growing up. It’s unfiltered weird kid energy!”

 You can read the first issue of Battlepug: War on Christam at Image Comics!

Mother of Trees (Thaumatropic Roots Book 1) Part of the Fractured Arcana Universe by Steven J. Morris + giveaway

Two series, one shattered universe:
an ancient war that forged magic,
and the modern invasion that it made possible.

Mother of Trees (Thaumatropic Roots Book 1)
Part of the Fractured Arcana Universe
by Steven J. Morris
Genre: Epic Fantasy
A dying goddess. A fractured prophecy. A magicless elf who shouldn't exist.

Elliah has spent her entire life being told what she is—bereft, wrong, a mistake the world would prefer to correct. Drifting from town to town with a mother who won't explain why they keep running, she has no magic, no place, and no future. Then a single misstep draws the attention of those who've been looking for her, and everything her mother was hiding comes apart.

She isn't ready for what she learns. But ready was never an option.

Mother of Trees is the thrilling first book in the Thaumatropic Roots epic fantasy series. Enter a world of dangerous magic, ancient powers, and one impossible girl who refuses to stay down.

**Get it FREE!**
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lliah ~ 1

My mother told me many times that all adolescents feel like they don't belong, but… I really didn't. So I spent my free time away from other elves, on my own but for the animals… they didn't understand how broken I was. And I was quite pleased with my current find, so I snarled when a noise behind me scared away the drakeling that had settled in my hands. Black with a pattern of red scales along its spine, its body the thickness of my finger, it took flight with a flurry of thin leathery wings and disappeared behind a massive brown trunk.

"The real ones are much more intimidating," said an unfamiliar voice.

Time slowed as I tensed to run, shocked that I'd let my guard down so much that anyone had gotten that close. How many lurked behind me? On the outskirts of town, in the thick of the woods near the river, I had expected solitude.

"Stay, Bereft. I am not afraid," said the voice. His words provoked me.

"No one's afraid of me," I blurted. Bitterness stained my words as surely as the pollen of the bloodcups had stained my ragged clothes.

I turned away from the vanished drakeling to focus on the intruder who'd scared it away. A man. No, I corrected myself, someone my age. Someone not quite old enough for adults to consider one of their own, but too old to call a child.

But not Bereft. No other elf shared that with me.

The newcomer was slightly taller than me with a thin frame, his light hair hanging long, wild, and tangled. He was new to the village—I would have noticed an elf with skin so light. I'd heard whispers of him at school. Kethryllia had called him Salt-kissed, and I'd wondered what that meant, but his light skin answered that question. He'd undoubtedly caught whispers about me, heard of my… condition. Bereft. Yet at that moment, I thought only of the hours of coaxing I'd spent to draw the little drakeling into my grasp, and that the stupid elf had scared it away. I wanted to punch him.

"Maybe they should be," he said, taking a step back, though it would have taken me two leaps to get to him, and he'd have me pinned in one, if he had any skill with magic at all. But I'd prepared a leap already, only not in his direction. As I sprung away, he continued, raising his voice, "And you're right, they're not afraid of you."

I landed with a tree between us. His magic wouldn't be able to snag me there. Unless he was very good at it.

"They're afraid of what you represent."

Continue the Thaumatropic Roots Series

Magic is as natural as breathing in Elliah's world — except to her. Born without a single spark in a war that runs on it, she has nothing but her will and her refusal to accept the limits everyone else has already decided for her. This is what happens when the world writes you out of the story, and you refuse to leave.
Get them:
Mother of Trees
Bones of Cenaedth
Secrets of Deara
Shepherds of Truth

The Guardian of the Palace (The Guardian League Book 1)
Part of the Fractured Arcana Universe
by Steven J. Morris
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Magic isn’t real.
Red Hernandez is very sure of that.

She wants a quiet life after Special Forces—just a steady security job at a half-finished Manhattan skyscraper.

But then a sister tower implodes in a way physics can’t explain.
Witnesses report creatures in the smoke.
And something hunts her in the tunnels beneath.

Red wants answers. What she gets instead is an elf with a sword, a troll with a wry sense of humor, and a dwarf who believes every battle requires an audience. They insist an ancient enemy has crossed into our world—and Red becomes an accidental gatekeeper simply because she’s standing on the fault line when it cracks open.

As a hidden war erupts in the shadows of New York City, Red must decide: run from the past that nearly destroyed her… or fight for a world she’s only just beginning to believe in.

A veteran with nothing left to lose.
A threat born of magic and shadow.
A team she never saw coming.

The Guardian of the Palace launches the action-packed Guardian League series—perfect for fans of urban fantasy, modern-world magic, found family, and heroines who refuse to back down.

**Get it FREE!**
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Prologue
Corpses patterned the ground as far as my eye could see, a patchwork quilt of death.

I stood atop a skeletal tower, overlooking the broken ruins of an ancient civilization, so very far from home. I envisioned the beauty that the soaring arches once held, the bridges between the constructs reaching out with broken arms, buildings leaning against one another like ancient lovers in a final embrace. Crumbled remains powdered the bases of former statues, and, everywhere, all of it was littered with the dead.

Like a phoenix, I stood, bathed in fire. An Angel of Death. Not the Angel of Death—he was an ass.

A part of me wanted to go down and see for myself. Maybe just to make sure… to make sure I had done my job… and killed everyone that used to inhabit that world. The magic I was wielding should have destroyed them all—something inside of me could feel that it had—but I wanted to see it.

Yet I knew that was unrealistic. I didn't have the time. There were other worlds that needed my infection, and Earth was on my shortlist.

Chapter 1
Red - Day 20, Sunday, the day after the attack

"Ms. Hernandez?" a muffled voice called from a distance, accompanied by a gentle rapping on a door. My consciousness registered the interruption as a nuisance and pulled me back under.

What seemed like seconds later, the rapping came again, more insistent. "Ms. Hernandez."

Ms. Hernandez was my mom… why were they bothering me?

Then a scraping sound, and an alarmed voice. "Ms. Hernandez! Are you okay?"

Some scrambling, some grunts, more scraping… shit, I was going to have to wake up. Why couldn't they just let me sleep?

I tried to answer, but my throat was dry and nothing came out. Coughing, I attempted to sit up, not wholly returned from my trip to dreamland. "I'm here. I'm okay." Was I though? I wasn't sure.

I was in my flat. Not the desert. My door was partway open, and a slightly overweight man had paused in the act of pushing his way in. I recognized him, but his name escaped me. Swinging my legs off my cot, I did a quick modesty check. I was fully dressed, though rather tragically, in some semblance of civilian fatigues—muddied, disheveled, and a little bloody.

The reason came screaming back to me. There had been creatures, unearthly monsters, in The Palace. They'd done things I could not explain by any of the rules I knew. And they'd beaten the hell out of me and then patched me back up in a matter of seconds. I'd blown the head clean off of one of them and fled the scene.
Not my smartest move.

Continue The Guardian League Series!

Earth, through its technological advances, supports nearly eight billion souls; from a cosmic perspective, that makes it ripe for the picking. 'Red' Hernandez, trying to put a questionable military life behind her, finds herself caught in the middle of stopping an apocalyptic invasion of Earth. But to do that, she has to figure out who the good guys are, and how she can combat forces in which she does not believe.

Get them:
The Guardian of the Palace
Stars in the Sand
We’re Going On An Elf Hunt
The Song Unsung
Get the Box Set Here

About the Author:
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Steven J. Morris writes fantasy where magic runs deep and the consequences run deeper. By day he's an engineer and father of three in Austin, Texas. He's the author of eight novels across two completed series — the epic Thaumatropic Roots and the urban Guardian League — both set in the shared Fractured Arcana universe. Find him at sjmorriswrites.com.

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway! Enter The Fractured Arcana Giveaway Here

One-shot horror comic: The Snail from Image Comics

When you are offered your heart’s desire, what (and who) are you willing to sacrifice to achieve it? And should you really be making that deal with a… talking snail? The Snail is an all-new, standalone horror tale from top talent out of the Ninth Circle line of comics.

The Snail (UPC: 70985304936400111) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, November 11.

From the twisted minds of Eisner Award-winning writer Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher) and long-time artist collaborator Eisner Award winning John McCrea (Hitman, The Demon, Dead Eyes) comes a disturbing, psychedelic tale in the upcoming, The Snail. This one-shot story full of lust, power, and possession will hit shelves this November from Image Comics.

"It might be said that a talking snail is not the best source of life guidance, but given the scum and villainy people are taking advice from nowadays, perhaps it’s no worse than any of the other options? Find out in The Snail, by myself and the good Mr. McCrea," said Ennis. "If I was a talking snail I’d definitely be telling you to buy it."

McCrea added: "When Garth asks you to work on a horror title with him you have to be ready for some disturbing shit. I said yes and wasn't ready. This is some disturbing shit."

 

Key 13: And other Stories by Rose Titus + giveaway

Key 13: And other Stories
by Rose Titus
October 6th 2017
Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror
Rose Titus, author of The Vampire Next Door Trilogy, now brings together a collection of her best short stories. Here in this book you will find tales of vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, space aliens, and even a few angels. These stories answer questions such as where do we go after we die? What is the future of this planet? And what is the future of humanity? There are also stories of young runaways, old hippies, worried mothers, troubled families, love gone horribly wrong, selfish billionaires, people who find themselves suddenly homeless, old men with their recollections of days gone by, and girls gone wild! There may even be a murder or two.

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About the Author:

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Rose Titus resides somewhere in cold, dreary New England with two manipulative cats and a very out of date computer with which she creates horror and fantasy fiction. She also has a restored classic Buick to ride around in while in search of adventure.

For travel she has stayed the night in an allegedly haunted castle, has taken a boat ride on Loch Ness, and has visited the Bermuda Triangle -- without getting lost.

Her work has previously appeared in Lost Worlds, Lynx Eye, Bog Gob, Mausoleum, Weird Terrain, Descend, The Dead River Review, and other literary magazines. She also writes regularly for Blood Moon Rising Magazine.

When she's not working or writing or messing with her old car, she waits by the mailbox for her Fortean Times to arrive. 

GIVEAWAY!

Key 13: And other Stories Blitz

Cover Reveal: Court of Light and Dark( Hidden Courts of the Fae Book 1) by Heather D. Grace

 

Court of Light and Dark( Hidden Courts of the Fae Book 1)
by Heather D. Grace

October 9, 2025  

Genre: Slow Burn Urban Fantasy Romance, romantasy
Reluctant, Half-Fae Chosen One
Slow burn Forbidden Romance
Hidden Magic and Portal Realms
Found Family
Bonded Animal Companions

Half-fae, half-human—entirely unprepared to face the war my bloodline dragged me into.

The moment I touch the broken rescue stallion, scars thicken like armor across his back and wings begin to regrow. I've barely processed this when a gruff man with glowing eyes and a pulsing energy shows up on my ranch, claiming I'm half fae...and the key to saving three realms.

I refuse to let anyone else decide who I become, but that doesn't stop my fae "guardian" from black mailing me to follow him to his realm, where small folk are vanishing, only to return stripped of their magic and dying slow, tortured deaths. And while my healing magic is stirring here, it’s barely enough to help with the demons hunting us, let alone save anyone.

As for my guardian? Seems like even being near me is painful, and I can’t tell if it’s from resisting the connection between us, or something darker. Especially when it feels like his blood commands mine... and my own might destroy him.

But distraction could cost us everything; if I fail the prophecy, demons will enslave the fae, destroy the human realm, and take the creature I care about most: my Leath Pegasus.

They say I’m the key to saving the realms, but as time runs out, I can't help but wonder if anyone can stop what’s coming.

Fans of Anne Bishop’s Pillars of the World and Faith Hunters' Jane Yellowrock Series will love this fast-pace, hidden magics, and forbidden love between a grumpy fae guardian and a sunshiny but reluctant chosen one.

Amazon

 

About the Author:

website

Heather D. Grace is a fast paced urban fantasy author that loves to add a slow burn romance. When she's not busy writing about tough as nails female leads and their alluring protective mates, she and her husband spend time with their 4 children and 7 fur-babies, spending time exploring the beautiful mountains near her home and she helps in the veterinary field as an Registered Veterinary Technician. 

Sci-Fi: Aurora Rift: A Man Out of Time by Thomas LeBrun

A Man Out of Time is an epic blend of historical adventure, science, survival, and emotional human drama. Spanning thousands of years of civilization from Stone Age Norway to the Persian Empire of Xerxes, from Viking seas to the vast Mongol world the novel asks a haunting question: 

 If time itself opened before you… Would you ever truly find your way home again?

Aurora Rift: A Man Out of Time
by Thomas LeBrun
July 18, 2026
Genre: Science Fiction
Dr. Kyle Richards thought he was chasing wonder.

An Evolutionary Anthropologist, respected lecturer, martial artist, husband, and father, Kyle journeys to Northern Norway in search of the breathtaking Aurora Borealis and the ancient petroglyphs of Alta. But beneath the dancing northern lights, something impossible happens. A violent geomagnetic phenomenon tears Kyle from the modern world and hurls him across the corridors of time.

What begins as scientific fascination quickly becomes a desperate fight for survival.

Thrown into the Stone Age among primitive hunters, Kyle unknowingly leaves behind clues that will survive for thousands of years. He battles Viking warriors, walks beside Silk Road caravans, witnesses the rise of empires, and survives civilizations most people only read about in history books. Along the way, he encounters moments that forever alter him—including an unforgettable friendship with a young boy who will one day become Genghis Khan and a journey east with Marco Polo toward the legendary court of Kublai Khan.

But every jump through time comes at a cost.

As Kyle struggles to survive brutal landscapes, ancient warfare, and the terrifying instability of the auroral corridor itself, the man he once was slowly begins to disappear beneath scars, grief, and centuries of memory. Meanwhile, back in present-day Pennsylvania, his wife Samantha refuses to give up hope. Alongside archaeologists and scientists searching for answers, she uncovers ancient carvings, unexplained historical anomalies, and evidence suggesting Kyle may still be alive somewhere… in another time.

Amazon

About the Author
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Thomas LeBrun began his martial arts training in the early 1970s, inspired by Bruce Lee and Joe Frazier. He formally studied Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Okinawan Kenpo, later expanding into Yoshitsune Ju-Jitsu under Sensei Michael DePasquale Sr. and Jr., as well as Aikido, Arnis, pressure-point applications, and boxing. His dedication earned him rank in multiple disciplines.

LeBrun’s path led him to the Close Protection field, where his martial arts knowledge evolved into specialized training in defensive arts, non-traditional weapons, and personal security. He has protected high-profile clients such as Bill Gates, Elton John, and Whitney Houston, working in more than 45 countries. In 2009, he created LeBrun’s American Combatives, a modern system bridging traditional martial arts with real-world application, later authenticated by Grand Master Ron Van Clief and Shidoshi Glen Perry.

A recognized authority in defensive arts, LeBrun earned his 10th dan in Hogoshin-Do in 2022 and has been honored with multiple awards, including Security Expert of the Year (2021) and induction into the Ultimate Warrior Class (2022). He is also a multi-award-winning, #1 international best-selling author of Hiding in Plain Sight and the Cameron Stone series, and was named Best Action & Thriller Author in Alabama, United States of 2025.

Excerpt: MalaBrava by Carol James Marshall

 

MalaBrava
by Carol James Marshall
Genre: Horror, Dark Comedy
Date of Publication: August 1, 2026
ASIN: B0H12RB68Z
Number of pages: 241
Word Count: 58,477
Welcome to Malabrava a town where the squirrels carry knives, the vampires have HOA problems, and the local mad scientist is still workshopping the perfect dick.

When Grizzy Del Monstruo isn’t decapitating problems or resurrecting boyfriends in her basement lab, she’s navigating family dinners, supernatural bureaucracy, and the inconvenience of having a moral compass. Around her, monsters bicker, humans wander in by accident, and nobody seems particularly concerned about the body count as long as it stays within city limits.

Malabrava is a brutally funny, deeply inappropriate adult dark comedy packed with gore, sex, monsters, and unhinged domesticity.

If you like your horror ridiculous, your comedy filthy, and your towns aggressively cursed, you’ve just found your new favorite place to never visit.

Amazon

Excerpt:

Griselda grew up in Malabrava. Her family founded the town. The streets, the smells, the houses, the people, and even the squirrels with knives run through her veins. She loves Malabrava and all its quirks.

Grizzy is a Del Monstruo. Not the youngest, not the oldest. She’s the middle-aged one. The Auntie. The one who never married, never wanted to. Grizzy’s the one people call when something needs to be handled. Because that’s what Grizzy does. Grizzy handles things.

Nobody asks how. It’s understood. Grizzy is what some might call sketchy with a heart of gold. She’ll go to war for the people she loves, and she has a clean, no-fuss method of decapitation for the ones she doesn’t.

She lives in the family home, dead center in the town of Malabrava. Her parents retired to a smaller place on the outskirts, saying they needed more land for at-home burials. Her sister Gracie prefers her condo near their parents. Gracie said that the convenient burial space is a plus. Makes cleanup easier.

They left Grizzy the house. You’d expect a gothic mansion, right? This is Malabrava, where things creep in broad daylight. A home for someone called Del Monstruo should come with bats, cobwebs, a gong, a butler who only groans, and a maid with wild frizzy red hair and access to the gong.

But no.

Grizzy’s grandfather was a modernist. Way ahead of his time. He wanted to be a supervillain, and in his mind, supervillains needed sleek, sprawling homes with underground bunkers, hidden rooms, and plans for a moat.

He never made it to “super.” He was a decent villain. He refused to recycle and regularly flipped off children, but he lacked the follow-through. He couldn’t commit to one evil scheme long enough to earn the title.

Grizzy’s grandmother was the true force. A science-minded woman with dangerous ideas. She adored the modern mansion. It gave her room for her lab.

That lab became Grizzy’s favorite place in the world.

Grizzy the fixer, the inventor, the one always tinkering away in her lab is deeply loved by her family. But her mother, a devout occultist with a dramatic streak, had other hopes. She wanted Griselda to be witchy. Ideally, a Voodoo Priestess. She always said Griselda looked striking in white. Though, in the end, she would’ve settled for a kitchen witch with a solid essential oil game.

Her father, a known vampire, had his hopes too. Gracie inherited the thirst. Gracie was the one born with a taste for blood.

But not Grizzy.

Instead, she snuck into her grandmother’s lab as a child. Touched everything labeled “Do Not Touch.” Sniffed everything marked “Hazard.” Dreamed of beakers and blueprints. She ignored every warning.

At twelve, she came out to the family as a Mad Scientist.

Her parents told her they loved her. Accepted her, a little reluctantly. Gracie grinned. She had another reason to be the favorite now.

They threw a family barbecue for her official announcement. The cousins came. The uncles, the aunts, the vaguely-related lurkers. Grizzy cut a cake shaped like a beaker and declared, “I’m a Mad Scientist, like Granny.”

There was a pause.

Some awkward glances.

Then applause.

The Del Monstruos were known for monsters...being them, birthing them, bargaining with them. But Grizzy wasn’t rattled by the hesitation. She knew the truth.

What was better than being a monster?

Inventing them.

About the Author:

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Carol James Marshall is a storyteller who loves serving up scary stories with and sometimes adds some laughs.

Carol writes genre-bending horror packed with comedy, paranormal twists, sci-fi, and suspense. As a bilingual, low-vision author, she uses adaptive tech and bold fonts to bring her stories to life, crafting her books in English, Spanish, or sometimes both.

When she isn't weaving nightmares or getting lost in an audiobook, Carol works as a medical coder and biller. Her journey spans from the sunny streets of Los Angeles, California, to the vibrant culture of Mexicali, Mexico, and she now happily calls Georgia home.

The Art of Keeping Dangerous Books (The Apothecary’s Secret, #1) R.J. Blain + giveaway

The Art of Keeping Dangerous Books (The Apothecary’s Secret, #1)
R.J. Blain
July 6th 2027
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
To master the art of keeping dangerous books, one must learn the golden rule: some knowledge should never be shared.

Bookshop owner by day, restorer of rare and dangerous books by night, Kita James is thrilled to acquire a new poisonous book from the Victorian era. From the swirling patterns on the cover to its unusual leather binding, IN SEARCH OF LIFE is truly a unique find. However, testing of the vibrant tome reveals its darker nature: the leather is that of a human along with an extinct animal from the ice age. To further complicate matters, a new radioactive element is discovered lurking within its pages.

The deeper she delves into the toxic text, the less she likes about what she learns. From the dawn of humanity, people had searched for the secrets of eternal life and resurrection. And if Lugalbanda-Alad, the author of the mysterious volume, was to be believed, he had found it.

Joining forces with Dav, a rather vocal book in her collection, Kita works to unveil the apothecary’s secret. With the right magic and a strong enough will, the forbidden lore might be able to set Dav free along with the other sentient books confined within her shelves.

But all knowledge comes at a price: if IN SEARCH OF LIFE were to fall into the wrong hands, it could usher in the destruction of all Kita holds dear and the enslavement of all mankind.

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EXCERPT:
Copper, when mixed with arsenite or its equally toxic cousin acetoarsenite, created a vibrant green. Some dubbed it Paris green. Some preferred the name emerald green. No matter what one called the pigment, it remained a silent killer of those foolish enough to handle it for long.

It had come as no surprise to me, when I first began learning the art of keeping dangerous books, that nobody knew for certain how many had died to the beautifully lethal covers and the pages they contained. One confirmed mortality from the pigment had involved a floral arranger specialized in artificial blooms by the name of Matilda Scheure, and she had breathed in the substance on a daily basis while going about her work.

The Victorians had adored brilliant shades, and they had unwittingly sickened themselves with color. Mercury, in the form of the vibrant vermilion pigment, could bring about madness among other things. Lead, offering shades from pristine white to fiery reds and oranges, sickened in a myriad of ways. Then there was cadmium red, which had limited toxicity unless handled often.

I marveled over how the Victorians had managed to discover so many shades of toxic pigmentation.

Within the walls of my personal library, tucked behind a secret door in the back of my bookshop, I owned books of every hue from every era I could get my greedy hands on. I’d outgrown my single shelf of emerald hue years ago, and the toxic volumes now consumed an entire wall. Each color of the rainbow offered some new and interesting way for someone to perish should they fail to handle my collection with care.

To the few who knew of my art, I offered a glimpse into a dark past decorated with a glorious veneer, one willing and able to kill at a single mistake.

I charged a reasonable amount for access to specific volumes of my archive, making use of a different room on the other side of the bookstore for those sessions. I required waivers, and I even had an agreement with an insurance company so I held no liabilities should they be sickened from the inappropriate handling of any one of my pieces.

The waivers eliminated my personal risk, as I refused to hold responsibility for the stupidity of others.

But the colors I held in safekeeping were not, by far, the most dangerous of the volumes.

Knowledge had become power, and I safeguarded all from the deepest of darkness and the brightest of light, for both, when used inappropriate and to their extreme, caused equal harm.

A little after midnight, after closing my cash, locking the doors, cleaning up the self-serve coffee machine, and otherwise preparing for yet another grind in the morning, I retreated to my sanctuary. Most of my work—and all of the magic—took place in the ten by ten closet with a ventilation fan installed, which piped through a series of specialty filters to keep any fumes or residue from making it outside. Those filters would cost me my sanity one day.

They needed to be cleaned or replaced every three weeks, and failure to do so ran the risk of making me the next victim of my collection.

The latest tome to be tamed waited within a glass box on my desk, and it was a marvel of toxicity, magic, and lore, most of which society would deem forbidden if they knew it existed. Thus far, nobody had unlocked the secrets of raising the dead, but the author of the volume had gotten uncomfortably close.

With the right materials, skills, and incantations, the dead could walk again, puppets for the book’s owner to control.

On the outside, it seemed harmless enough for those who lacked knowledge of dangerous books. Swirls of bright reds, oranges, and white decorated the spine with stamps of vibrant emerald green declaring the book to be titled In Search of Life. Everything within had been penned with a careful hand, and a date on the first page declared it to have been from the year 1725, over a hundred years before the popularization of the toxic tomes made famous in the Victorian era.

In 1725, magic had not yet been acknowledged, although society had always told tales of witches and arcane arts in hushed whispers.

In Search of Life, should I be able to authenticate it, would once again change the timeline on humanity’s introduction into practical magics and the role of superstitions in protecting from malevolent incantations. But as was the nature of my work, if all went well, only I would know.

The knowledge held within the pages, which defied time and refused to turn brittle, was best kept a secret.

About the Author:
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RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.

In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.

AI is never used in the creation of RJ's novels.

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Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Freedom's End by SE Estes

Freedom’s End is a mythic sci‑fi/fantasy saga about a reincarnating rebel fighting to break cycles of oppression across lifetimes. Born a slave in the mines of Septra, Paintr rises again and again—across bodies, eras, and worlds—to confront a necromancer who seeks to enslave every sentient mind. Blending science fiction, dark fantasy, and supernatural western elements, the story explores identity, liberation, trauma, and the cost of reclaiming one’s soul. With its emotional depth, genre fusion, and expansive worldbuilding, Freedom’s End speaks to readers who love character‑driven epics, mythic resonance, and stories about resilience in the face of impossible odds.

Freedom's End
by SE Estes
May 5, 2026
Genre: sci-fi, fantasy, space marine
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
Born a slave in the mines of Septra, Paintr dies seeking freedom-only to rise again. Reborn across lifetimes, he battles slavers, loses and reclaims love, and faces a necromancer bent on enslaving all sentient minds. With allies from myth and legend, Paintr must break the cycle of death and reclaim the soul of a universe on the brink.

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About the Author
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SE Estes is a sci‑fi and fantasy author whose work blends mythic symbolism, emotional depth, and genre fusion. A multicultural military‑brat upbringing and early career in computing shaped SE’s fascination with identity, technology, and transformation. Now based in Indianapolis, SE writes expansive, character‑driven universes—including Freedom’s End, the first book in a multi‑volume saga about liberation and the soul’s long journey across lifetimes.

Secrets of the Cryptids (Cowboys and Cryptids Book 1) by Sharon Buchbinder + giveaway

She never belonged to the pack—until fate led her to him.

 

Secrets of the Cryptids (Cowboys and Cryptids Book 1)
by Sharon Buchbinder
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Romantasy
She never belonged to the pack—until fate led her to him.

Cybersecurity expert Hayil Rufus Rose has spent her life hiding one impossible truth: she’s a werewolf who has never shifted, a failure by her pack’s rules and a woman on the brink of exile. A solo hike in Glacier National Park is meant to clear her head—but instead, a chance meeting with Will Penn, a guarded federal agent with powerful instincts and secrets of his own, changes everything.

As Hayil becomes entangled in a missing persons case involving Will’s brother, she uncovers corruption, cartel money laundering, and violence threatening the Blackfeet Nation. She forms an unexpected bond with a Bigfoot family, who are not monsters, but an ancient people who recognize her latent power. Through trauma, loyalty, and near‑fatal danger, Hayil finally undergoes her full transformation, claiming her identity at last.

Secrets of the Cryptids launches a thrilling paranormal romance series about found family, fierce hearts, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.

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Hayil had the advantage of excellent night vision—super vision compared to other humans. Plus, she possessed an almost uncanny ability to connect with most wild and domestic animals. Hayil mentally grimaced. She could also thank her grandmother for her long overdue ability to shift. What would it take to trigger her body into the lupine version of herself? Was it like a growth spurt that hadn’t hit her body yet? Or was Hayil destined to remain the one person in her pack who wasn’t able to wolf out?

Once again, her mother’s constant refrain came back to her: “You’re a late bloomer, like your grandmother. She was older than you when she shifted. All in good time. You’ll see.”

Sure, Mom.

Hayil knew her mother wanted the best for her, but found her cheerfulness a bit forced. Beneath her mother’s optimism, Hayil sensed an undercurrent of concern about her thirty-year-old daughter’s ability to integrate into the red wolf clan. This missing piece of Hayil’s identity called to her like a siren’s song, demanding she complete herself. Would she ever be a true part of the pack? Or would she forever be the unmated one? What then? She was an anomaly, something the pack didn’t tolerate well. Tradition dictated that if a pack member didn’t shift by the end of their third decade, they were banished.

A chilling thought struck Hayil mid-stride.

If I don’t shift this year, will they force me out of the pack?

They were the only family she’d ever known. Her mother would fight for her to stay and would probably win. But at what cost?

Hayil would be an outcast. She’d never be invited to pack meetings, deliberations or celebrations. Those were reserved for shifters. If she married a non-shifter, the pack would drive her out, of that she was sure. What if her offspring were able to shift? Would that make things better? Would the pack let her stay then? It wasn’t as if she could go to a genetic counselor and ask for a DNA test for werewolves.

The thought of losing her extended family through no fault of her own made her gulp back tears. Angry at herself for allowing her thoughts to go down that dark rabbit hole, Hayil reminded herself she was a scientist. Review the facts, not the fears.

Fact one: Grandma had been in labor with Hayil’s mother when she’d shifted for the first time.

Fact two: The majority of the pack members had shifted when they’d hit puberty.

Fact three: Hormones! It had to be related to hormones! The rush of hormones at puberty and the flood of pregnancy hormones had to be related somehow.

Hayil was long past puberty and the associated mood swings and acne, thank you very much. She was not ready to be pregnant. For starters, she would need a romantic partner in her life. She’d had zero luck on that score so far.

“I still have time. It’s not too late. I won’t give up hope.”

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Hayil double-checked her wild animal deterrents. All in place. Then she tugged her knit cap down over her ears and pulled her hands-free headlamp into place. She zipped her fleece jacket against the breeze and adjusted her twenty-five-pound backpack. With an altitude gain of almost nineteen hundred feet, she planned to take her time, pacing herself for the strenuous four-hour hike. She grasped her lightweight hiking poles and took a last look up at the stars. Time to see that spectacular view at the top.

As promised by the trail blog, the dirt path was well maintained. The morning air was cold and crisp, layered with the woodsy scent of damp earth and pine needles. An owl hooted, and Hayil spotted movement in the brush between the thick pines beside the trail. Her headlamp reflected in the eyes of small critters, all of whom skittered deeper into the woods.

For three hours, all she heard was the crunch of her hiking boots on dirt and gravel, the rasp of her own breaths, the glug of water when she drank and the jingle of her bear bells. She looked at yet another incline on the trail and decided she needed a hiking song for inspiration.

“Country roads, take me home,” she sang, belting out “Mountain Mama”—and something crashed through the bushes ahead on the trail. Something large.

She froze.

An enormous black bear stood on its hind legs at the top of the hill.

Shit, shit, shit. If only I could shift, shift, shift!

The animal had its back to her, but if it got her scent, it could turn and charge at her in a flash.

Heart pounding like a jackhammer, she placed her hand on the bear spray.

A breeze sprang up, making her eyes water with its intensity. The good news was that it meant she was downwind of the bear. The bad news was that the air smelled like a wet dog had rolled in a dead animal. The worst news was that the bear turned and looked right at her. 

Omigod. It’s not a bear. What the heck is it?

About the Author:
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Sharon Buchbinder is an award-winning author who has been writing stories since she could hold a pen. The paranormal romance genre is her writing home, a place where the impossible is simply the beginning, where women find their power in the most extraordinary circumstances, and where love is always worth the danger of seeking it.

A Maryland-based author with a background in healthcare and higher education that has informed her vivid, grounded storytelling, Sharon is drawn to heroines who have been underestimated — women who carry something extraordinary inside them and spend the whole book learning to trust it. Sharon believes passionately that readers deserve stories where the heroine doesn’t just survive — she transforms. When she’s not writing, Sharon can usually be found unplugging in her garden, obsessing over cryptid mythology, and convincing her pets they are not, in fact, supernatural.

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