Realm of Crows (Wings of Ink Book 5) by Angelina J. Steffort

 

Realm of Crows (Wings of Ink Book 5)
by Angelina J. Steffort
August 31, 2025
Book 5 of 5: Wings of Ink
“You know I will devour you, Ayna.”

Ayna has escaped Ephegos’s claws—but war is far from over.

As the rebel forces rise and the King of Tavras readies weapons that could shatter the fairylands, the battle for Askarea begins to burn. Crows and fairies alone won’t be enough to hold back the storm. And with ancient bargains unraveling and magic twisting loyalty into chains, not every ally will be free to stand beside their queen.

To save both her kingdoms, Ayna must do the impossible: unite fractured realms, survive betrayal, and outwit a tyrant with nothing left to lose. But as war threatens to consume the world she’s sworn to protect, one truth becomes clear—power always demands a price.

And this time, the cost may be everything.

Realm of Crows is the heart-racing finale to the bestselling high-stakes, heart-break epic romantasy Wings of Ink series—perfect for fans of Quicksilver, From Blood and Ash, and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

This series is part of the ALCUNAIRE.

AMAZON

 

 

 

 

About the author
linktree
"Chocolate fanatic, milk-foam enthusiast, and huge friend of the southern sting-ray. Writing is an unexpected career-path for me."

Angelina J. Steffort is a bestselling, award-winning Austrian novelist, best known for her Wings series and her Shattered Kingdom series. With over twenty YA and adult fantasy and paranormal romance books under her belt, Angelina is far from done with inventing and exploring new worlds. That might have something to do with her passion for following the narrative of new characters and getting surprised by the twists they spin on her stories. Angelina has multiple educational backgrounds including engineering, business, music, and acting. Currently, Angelina lives in Vienna, Austria, with her husband and her son.

Subscribe to Angelina's newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/ajs_zon_nl

Poets in Hell: A Heroes in Hell Anthology Compiled by Janet Morris + giveaway

In the underworlds, injustice always reigns: Join us and our damnedest poets for the crookedest poetry festival in perdition where language comes to die and no rhyme goes unpunished.

Poets in Hell: A Heroes in Hell Anthology

Compiled by Janet Morris
Genre: Dark Epic Historical Fantasy
The best, the worst, and ugliest bards in perdition vie for Satan's favor as poets slam one another, Satan's Fallen Angels smirk up their sleeves, and the illiterati have their day. Find out why the damned deserve their fates as Hell's hacks sink to new poetical depths!

The first Bible writer drafts a deal with the Devil.

Attila the Hun learns his punishment's just begun.

Mary Shelley and Victor Frankenstein make a monstrous mistake.

Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp get their unjust deserts.

Hell's Undertaker goes on holiday.

The Damned Poets Society slams away.

A nameless soul shows Dorothy Parker that fame is a bitch.

In the underworlds, injustice always reigns:

Join us and our damnedest poets for the crookedest poetry festival in perdition where language comes to die and no rhyme goes unpunished. 

Stories inside:

• Words - Chris Morris
• Seven Against Hell - Janet Morris and Chris Morris
• Reunion - Nancy Asire
• Hell-hounds - Bruce Durham
• The Kid with No Name - Jack William Finley
• All Hell to Pay - Deborah Koren
• Poetic Injustice - Larry Atchley, Jr.
• When You Gaze Into an Abyss - Matthew Kirshenblatt
• Pride and Penance - Tom Barczak
• Grand Slam - pdmac
• Undertaker’s Holiday - Joe Bonadonna and Shebat Legion
• Red Tail’s Corner - Yelle Hughes
• Faust III - Richard Groller
• Tapestry of Sorrows and Sighs - Bill Snider
• Haiku d’État - Beth W. Patterson
• A Mother’s Heart - Bill Barnhill
• We the Furious - Joe Bonadonna
• Damned Poets Society - Michael H. Hanson
• All We Need of Hell - Michael A. Armstrong

**On Sale until the end of the month!**
Amazon-B&N-Bookbub-Goodreads

 

Excerpt from Poets in Hell
Words by Chris Morris
In the beginning was the Logos, the Word. In the beginning come always the words. Words are the mortar of the mind.

“Look, you!” J the Yahwist, first author of the Old Testament, exhorted empty air, waving her hands about her on a blasted heath encircled by dark and cold.

As in ancient times, this command brings light out of darkness, souls out of nowhere. All the heath fills with them, the detritus of the damned, singing and keening and rhyming aloud at the top of their lungs, each trying to outshout the other: the prolix, the wordy damned of perdition. Here are the teeming illiterati, the poor poets of pride and ignorance, angry and bleating like sheep at the altar, romancers of death, hoping for slaughter, dreaming of surcease.

J would give them peace if she could, but she couldn’t: peace was oblivion, oblivion was escape, and escape was unattainable in hell. Death could be had, and cheap, but never lasted long: no sinning soul could win its way to heaven’s grace.

J’s god reigned as a jealous god, tempestuous; unfair, equivocal. As her skin glowed caramel, neither white nor yellow, brown or black, so her eyes were inconclusively hazel, flecking every color in creation. Like her god on high, set up from eternity before the earth was made, she belonged nowhere in damnation, not to this New Hell nor any other. She was only visiting here. Or so she thought; so she hoped.

“Look, you,” J called a second time aloud, and a thousand heads turned her way; a thousand mouths clamped shut as she began to tell her tale to their minds’ eyes.

Invariably, these words are her signal to infernity that she is ready to begin. Inevitably, those words summon not only story, but the Deceiver, a lord of hell himself.

Sensing joy, incensed by pleasure, now comes Satan, white- winged and glorious, amid his host of fallen angels, circling to land, streaming intolerance and wrath on all the fools below, who howl the more.

At times like these, J misses Solomon. That wise warrior-king (her fellow writer of words worth hearing) would enjoin even such rabble as this to vie with the lords of hell themselves, if she’d but ask him.

About the Authors:
Website-Facebook
Twitter-Instagram
Bookbub-Bookbub
Amazon-Amazon
Goodreads-Goodreads
Best selling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.

Christopher Crosby Morris (born 1946) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction, as well as a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to author Janet Morris. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a principal in M2 Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris, but occasionally uses pseudonyms.

Choice of print or ebook of Poets in Hell,
$20 Amazon giftcard – 1 winner each!

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Epic Romantasy: The Ballad of the Last Dragon by C. A. Farran

The Ballad of the Last Dragon
by C. A. Farran
April 2025
Genre: Epic Romantasy

• Grumpy/sunshine
• He falls first
• One horse
• Found family
• Hurt/comfort
• Touch her and
• Tavern ambience and vibes
• Semi unreliable narrator

"A bard never reveals her secrets, only everyone else's."
 

There is no place for elves in this world, but Sylvaine knows she's destined for greatness—a world-famous bard entertaining the finest nobility as far as Lindale. Unfortunately, performing in her local tavern off the beaten path lends scant opportunity to distinguish herself.

Until a group of adventurers arrive, promising fame, wealth, and glory when they slay the last dragon of their age and find the lost hoard. Syl convinces them they’ll need a bard to spread word of their heroics, and if she can claim some honor for herself along the way, well no one could fault her for recognizing a mutually beneficial arrangement. Even if it means ignoring the glaring disapproval of the hulking warrior assigned to protect her.

Jaromir is rude and ill-tempered. He makes no effort to hide his distaste when she joins their group. But as they grow closer, and are unable to deny the heat of their attraction, she discovers there's more to him than his poor manners. He brings her passion, peace, and safety in a world in which she’s never felt welcome.

When the group suffers a great loss, they must use the power of a convincing story to keep their quest alive. A future that once seemed impossible, is suddenly within reach with Jaromir by her side. But even the ballads of love are rife with sorrow. Syl must slay her own dragons before she has a chance at surviving this journey and writing the ending she yearns for. Every bard knows the victorious ending comes at a price. Syl will see this tale through, no matter what it costs her…

Warnings: strong language, explicit sexual content, graphic depictions of violence, death, attempted SA 

Amazon 

 

About the Author: 

website

Farran grew up by the sea on a steady intake of fairytales, renaissance faires, and mythology. She's always felt a profound connection to horror and dark fantasy, and spent her childhood searching the woods for monsters and magic.

Now, she spends her days photographing nature in Maine with her husband and wildling daughter, writing dark fantasy, reading, and chasing said wildling through the forest 

To Free the Waves - Kingsport Chronicles Book 3 by C. H. Carter

It's the last day of Mer-May, and we have an amazing rec for you! To Free the Waves is now available and it's the last book in the Kingsport Chronicles by C.H. Carter! You know what that means? COMPLETED TRILOGY!

To Free the Waves - Kingsport Chronicles Book 3
by C. H. Carter
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Genre: Epic Fantasy/ Mermaids/ Pirates

🌊 Epic fantasy
🌊 Mermaids, pirates, and spies - Oh my!
🌊 Found family
🌊 Friends-to-lovers
🌊 Slow burn
🌊 Mental health rep
🌊 Multi-POV
🌊 Queer normative society

The tides have turned.
The call has been made.
And the legends of the sea are awake.

All seems well on the Birde Isles. Ally’s first year as a mermaid is nearly at an end — and despite the comfort of building a life beneath the waves, the call of the land is inescapable. But something ancient stirred in the depths when Pasha left her home to aid Ally’s rescue mission. A source of magic that holds the key to releasing a deadly enemy, intent on the destruction of mermaids.

When a member of Pasha’s long-lost shoal suddenly appears with a dire warning, Ally and Pasha are faced with a choice: stay and guard their home, or journey across the seas to save the rest of Pasha’s kin.

Whichever they choose, freedom threatens to slip through their fingers like sand…

The Kingsport Chronicles trilogy concludes with To Free the Waves.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

BOOK BLITZ ORGANIZED BY:

R&R BOOK TOURS

YA Epic Fantasy: The General (Heroes of the Empire Book 2) by Israh Azizi

We are thrilled to share the second epic installment in the Heroes of the Empire series, The General by Israh Azizi!

The General (Heroes of the Empire Book 2)
by Israh Azizi
November 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Epic Fantasy
THE EMPIRE IS CRUMBLING, AND THE FATE OF A KINGDOM RESTS IN THEIR HANDS.
Tropes:
Morally Grey Characters, Mistaken Identity, Royal Intrigue, Multiple POV, Chosen One, Slow Burn Romance, Found Family, Warring Kingdoms, Forbidden Love, Hidden Powers, Character Driven

Mordon dedicated his life to his father; his only dream was to prove himself worthy of Verin’s general. But with the ruthless Tariqin attack comes a brutal awakening. Captured by enemy forces and dragged into a war camp full of the people he was trained to kill, his hopes of proving himself worthy are dashed to pieces. When the enemy offers him a chance for a grand future, he’s faced with a test that stretches him beyond his limits.

Coralie’s burden has never been heavier. After the Dark Lord Prolus’s recent assault and her uncle’s declining health, it is up to her to keep her kingdom together. The inevitable return of the Tariqin army lurks at their doorstep and her time is running short. Coralie turns to the newest residents of Verintown for assistance. Branded traitors and hated by many in the castle, they may very well be her downfall. Using their pledge for change in her favor, she tasks them with a mission most would consider a death sentence.

Two determined warriors separated by a river of blood. Mordon must risk everything to become the man he yearns to be, and Coralie must fight to become the queen she was born to be.

GET IT HERE

IG: @heroes_of_the_empire @rrbooktours
Tags:
#rrbooktours #rrbtTheGeneralTour #heroesoftheempire #hote #thecavalier #thegeneral #yafantasy #youngadultbooks #yafantasyseries #booktours

Excerpt: The Staff of Beckoning (A Symphony of Spheres Book One) by Praneet Menon

The Staff of Beckoning (A Symphony of Spheres Book One)
by Praneet Menon
September 18, 2024
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Kaaran Publishing
ASIN: B0DDVVN76P
Number of pages: 437
Word Count: 115,000
Adir Nathar’s search for safety ignites a battle against ancient forces, where survival means confronting the shadows of fate—and his own destiny.

In the meticulously-crafted world of Leakarha, where epic fantasy, mythos, and ancient prophecies intertwine, the existence of its inhabitants is shaped by forces beyond their control.

Adir Nathar's tough childhood and prescriptive, quiet life in the village of Marafel made him yearn for more. He got what he wished for, but not in the way he expected. His proximity to an inexplicable death made him the target of revenge, forcing him to flee from his family and home, seeking only safety and a fresh start. But existence had other plans. The Khasmia Shadow, a secret society with a divine purpose, is hunting Adir, unbeknownst to him. Their purpose: rid the world of a destructive creature called a venna, using the sacred Staff of Beckoning. Leakarha itself is undergoing a seismic shift. Rakhor, terrible demonspawn, are being seen in increasing numbers!


As the Khasmia Shadow closes in on him, Adir is thrust into an existence-altering journey across Leakarha with companions new and old. As he is pushed deeper into his own shadows, Adir realizes that he may not merely be a piece to be moved but rather the key to the game itself.

Amazon-Books2Read

 

Excerpt:
"Where are you going?” Tia’s eyes were wide with anxiety.

“Out.”

“But I don’t know this town at all.”

“Don’t leave the inn then!”

As soon as he stepped out into the night, all of his warmth left him. However, the wheat ales—much stronger than he was used to—had begun to take effect. That, combined with the fact that his last meal had been hours before, made the cold a distant sensation. Strapping his staff to his back, he picked a direction and wandered off—his mind getting mushier and more vulnerable to his increasingly foul mood.

Tia had always been a very supportive girl. What had changed? Or had she always been like this and her support was just an act? Did she really think that he would abandon her? I would never do such a thing, he thought indignantly. He wasn’t his father. Sure, yea, he could be a little flirtatious, he admitted. But that was harmless. Why couldn’t Tia see that? After all, he’d asked her to run away with him. Didn’t that imply he wanted to start a life with her? Didn’t that mean anything to her? His mind was plagued with too many questions and not enough answers.

Abruptly, he found himself in a dark, dimly lit alley, with buildings rising up around him.

Everything seemed ... slightly off. Hesitantly, he walked down the alley and made a few turns. A few moments of wandering later, he admitted that he was lost and decided to retrace his steps, but it all looked unfamiliar. With no other option he kept walking, hoping to find his way back, when he came upon three men in a dark corner.

“Give it up, you unworthy bastard!” said one of the men, who had a lilting accent. He was clutching another man’s collar in one hand while wielding a knife in the other. A third man stood and watched.

“I did not steal it! He gave it to me!” cried the captive man.

“Do not lie, you swinespawn!”

“I swear by the names of the Miakos. He gave it to me!”

The third man still just stood and watched.

Adir wasn’t sure what came over him. Maybe it was his anger and he just needed to let it out. Or maybe he understood how the captive man felt; after all, he had been ambushed a couple of times himself. Whatever the reasoning of his drink-addled mind, he unstrapped his staff and charged.

The man who’d been watching noticed Adir and whirled around, pulling out a knife of his own. However, knives were a poor defense against the long reach of a staff. Adir whipped his staff sideways, cracking the man in the skull, who dropped to the ground, motionless.

The man who held the captive by his collar was startled by the sudden attack and shoved his captive to the ground. The captive lay on his stomach, face cupped in his hands as if trying to shut out his current plight.

Adir felt a surge of energy course through him as he pulled his staff back, preparing for a thrust.

He lunged, briefly catching a look of horror on the man’s face, and thrust his staff square into the man’s chest. The impact sent the man flying a few paces before he slammed into a wall and slumped to the ground.

For a moment that lasted one flap of a bee’s wing, Adir saw a rain- bow-colored haze on his hand, creeping up his arm. Fearfully, he jerked his hand to his face for a closer examination, but the haze was no longer there.

The once-captive, now-free man looked up from his prone position and surveyed the scene, then stood. “Thank you, master,” he said, bowing and scraping. “I am forever in your debt.”

The man’s words seemed to tumble out of his mouth in a clatter, or maybe Adir couldn’t understand him on account of being severely drunk. “What did you steal from them?” Adir asked, eyeing the man suspiciously, his inebriation fueling his paranoia. Sure, he’d saved the bearded man, but that didn’t mean the man was harmless.

“I did not steal anything, master,” the man said, still pronouncing every word oddly.

Adir looked at him, trying to force his eyes to focus. “All right,” he said, realizing that he’d do nothing even if the man admitted to stealing something. All he really wanted to do was get back to the inn and sleep. “Do you know the way to The Soft Pillow?” he asked, trying and failing miserably to strap his staff onto his back.
“Ya, master,” the man replied with enthusiasm. “I will take you there.”

 

 About the Author:
Website-FB-Instagram

Goodreads

Born and raised in India, Praneet’s life began immersed in a medley of cultural, linguistic, and spiritual traditions that sparked his passion for storytelling. Then, he moved to the United States and has now spent more than half his life there. The two cultural backgrounds have led him to embrace a fusion of Eastern and Western philosophies that deeply influence his writing.

Praneet also spent the better part of two decades working as an engineer and flight instructor, which instilled in him a precision that he brings to his existence-building, pursuing that perfect blend of reality and fantasy. His exploration of philosophy and psychology at an early age allows him to imbue his stories with age-old themes of identity, purpose, and destiny. These themes play a central role in his debut novel, The Staff of Beckoning, Book 1 of the series A Symphony of Spheres.

Praneet lives in Vermont, embracing a homesteading lifestyle, community involvement, and writing while pursuing a master’s in counseling.

 

Halloween/Days of the Dead tour- Author Gail Z. Martin talks Costumes, Candy, and Characters

Costumes, Candy, and Characters
By Gail Z. Martin

I love to see creative costumes at Halloween, especially the off-beat, homemade ones. A boy once came to our door wearing a table (completely with tablecloth) that had a big serving dish on top. When he lifted up the lid, his own head—with plenty of gory makeup so it looked severed—lay on a plate. He definitely got extra chocolate for that!

The most adventurous I ever got was dressing up as a Roaring Twenties flapper when I was in graduate school. At the time, the town had an amazing costume rental store!

That got me thinking about what the characters in my series would wear if they went trick-or-treating or to a costume ball.

For the medieval series (Chronicles of the Necromancer, Fallen Kings Cycle, Ascendant Kings Saga, Assassins of Landria), ‘costumes’ are usually disguises, used to help collect information or avoid being arrested. In peacetime, the characters might have attended a costume ball, but the stories are set during times of upheaval, so elegant events need to wait until order has been restored. The same is true of the characters in our Wasteland Marshals near-future, post-apocalyptic series. For Jake Desmet and his friends from our steampunk series, going to a costume party would probably mean dressing up like historical figures or characters from books.

In the modern-day stories (Deadly Curiosities, Night Vigil, Spells Salt and Steel, and Joe Mack), it’s fun to think about how the characters might approach Halloween and what costumes they might consider.

My Deadly Curiosities crew would have fun with the concept. They use magic and psychic skills to stop the things that go bump in the night, but they wouldn’t hesitate to decorate Trifles and Folly, Cassidy’s antique shop, for the season, or give out candy.

I can definitely imagine Cassidy, Teag and their friends dressing up on Halloween as the cast of Buffy, knowing that most people won’t get the in-joke that Cassidy and her team really do fight monsters.

Sorren, the nearly 600 year-old vampire who is Cassidy’s business partner, wouldn’t pick a Bela Lugosi costume. He’d be more likely to dress like the real European nobility he mingled with hundreds of years ago.

Travis and Brent from the Night Vigil might take the easy costume choice of dressing like the Winchesters from Supernatural, since they also fight demons. Or they could go as characters from The Walking Dead, because they’ve dealt with more than their share of zombies as well. If they felt particularly sarcastic, Travis still has his old suits and clerical collar shirts from when he was a priest, and Brent could do a dark suit and fedora as a private eye.

If Mark Wjocik from the Spells, Salt, and Steel series went to a bar that threw a Halloween bash, he could be a zombie hunter (since he hunts monsters in real life) and pay homage to Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead which were filmed not far from his corner of Pennsylvania.

Joe Mack, who is immortal after being brought back from the dead by a Slavic god in the late 1800s, could pick from any of the eras of his long life. I think he might favor dressing up like Eliot Ness from the 1920s.

One thing I’m sure of—they all like Halloween candy and would never turn down chocolate! 

Deadly Curiosities (6 books)

 

Night Vigil (2 books)

Jake Desmet Adventure (2 books)

Joe Mack Chronicles (4 books)

Spells, Salt and Steel (2 books)

Chronicles of the Necromancer (4 books)

The Darkhurst (3 books)

Assassins of Landria (6 books)

 

Wasteland Marshals (1 book)

 

 The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (4 books)

The Fallen Kings Cycle (2 book)

About the Author
Website-Square store
Follow me on Facebook in the Shadow Alliance reader group (www.Facebook.com/Groups/MartinShadowAlliance), X/Twitter, @MorganBriceAuthor on Instagram and @MorganBriceAuthor on TikTok!Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy, steampunk and more for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria.

Together with Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of Iron & Blood, Storm & Fury (both Steampunk/alternate history), the Spells Salt and Steel comedic horror series, the Roaring Twenties monster hunter Joe Mack Shadow Council series, and the Wasteland Marshals near-future post-apocalyptic series. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow series. Gail is also a con-runner for ConTinual, the online, ongoing multi-genre convention that never ends.