GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ I Smell Sheep: flash fiction
Showing posts with label flash fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flash fiction. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Excerpt: The Damned: A Dragon Soul Press Flash Fiction Anthology



The Damned: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology
September 23, 2023
Anthology Stories Include:
"The Drain"
"The Enforcers" 
"The Fog" 
"On a Spring Day" 
"The Trial"
Flash Fiction, Horror

Bite-sized horror stories are brought to you by thirteen authors. From creepy crawlies to the seemingly normal pets. From hideous monsters lurking in the dark to charismatic people showing their true colors.

Each tale is precisely 100 words and leaves a long-lasting chilling effect. Some will make you question the security of the world around you, and what’s more terrifying than that?

Featuring drabbles from Storm Lomax, Jonathan Reddoch, Zari Hunt, Kellee Kranendonk, Andreas Flögel, Simon Clarke, Jacek Wilkos, Ferenc K. Zoltán, Vanessa Bane, C.L. Hart, Natascha Eschweiler, Angela Zimmerman, and J.E. Feldman.


Excerpt
The Drain
Professor Vladimir Reed-Field wished he had never taken the job at Miskatonic University. He’d never had problems like this when he was teaching at the University of Hawaii. A volcanic eruption would be a welcome change over the sound coming from that damn kitchen sink.

The plumber from Blizzard Pipeworks could find nothing wrong with the drain. She’d scoped it, snaked it, and performed a full flush. She said that sometimes the plumbing in Arkham’s old houses just made odd noises.

The problem wasn’t the pipes themselves. It was the thing inside the pipes that kept whispering the professor’s name.


About the Author
C. L. Hart Amazon Author Page
Naughty Netherworld Press Blog
Naughty Netherworld Press Books
Naughty Netherworld Press Substack
Readers Roost Book Blog
Readers Roost Facebook
Readers Roost Twitter
Naughty Netherworld Newsletter
C. L. Hart, the owner and sole employee of Naughty Netherworld Press, is spoken of in hushed tones. She is described as The Mad Scribe of the Northeastern Colorado Plains, The Terrible Old Woman, and The Author That Should Not Be.

When not penning sanity-destroying works of dystopian fiction, Lovecraftian fantasy, or old-school horror with the occasional sweet romance thrown in to upset the cosmic apple cart, Ms. Hart enjoys creating baked goods she hopes will be considered palatable.

Ms. Hart shares a home in a remote rural town of 134 souls with her adult son and three cats. Her sense of fashion is best described as Early Twenty-First Century Unmade Bed. This disabled former nurse can usually be found arguing with herself about subplots or rehabilitating eldritch horrors.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

About the Cover Model for Paranormal Flash Fiction: 13 Stories: Angel C. Tallent + giveaway

About the Cover Model for Paranormal Flash Fiction: 13 Stories: Angel C. Tallent

I was very lucky finding just the right model for the cover of Paranormal Flash Fiction: 13 Stories. My actress/model daughter, Angel Tallent, became my alter-ego as I moved through my writing process. I’d seen one of her photo shoots and had fallen in love with a few of the images. I decided to ask her to be my cover model for this book after seeing her in full zombie makeup (which she did herself I might add)!
When I asked her why she said yes to being a zombie on a book cover for the world to see, she let me know pretty quickly that this was just the right way for her to look. She was a natural. It wasn’t the planned result of her photo shoots that brought her to the cover, though, because the shoot happened before the book was conceived. Initially, she would go into a session with an open mind and no expectations. Then something miraculous would always happen: There would be a connection between model and photographer that would take over the shoot. When the two bonded over the horror of these dreaded creatures, it was like the magic of shock—and why so many spectacular fearful scenes find voice on the covers of books.

It was pretty evident how such a connection translated to my book, though: mood, location, circumstance, and of course the general disgust of zombies… When this particular shoot was happening, the feeling was all about horror and intrigue. But none of these things were spoken between us at that time. There was, however, a link between us that held the feelings as part of the shoot—with both our love for the paranormal, we always remained connected. And she looked terrifying in her zombie apocalypse demeanor.

I asked her whether she had similar connections like this with all her camera people. She felt very lucky in that way. As part of all kinds of interesting and associated emotions, she’s been in a zombie apocalypse as a zombie and also sported an assault rifle chasing them through the woods, as the photo here shows—all sides of a family woman you might say! Some of that is surely her acting ability, some is the connection, and much involves the ability of the photographer to have an open mind and to see what no one else can see: the zombie, or hunter of zombies, at that moment.

All that to say that there couldn’t be a better zombie on my cover that inspires the stories inside the book!

Angel’s website is www.angelatallent.weebly.com.
 
July 2023
Genre: Horror/Paranormal flash
Date of Publication: 
Number of pages: 65
Word Count: approx. 12,000 words
Cover Artist: D. P. Roseberry
 Don’t worry. Sleep is over-rated …
 This collection of flash fiction is strictly paranormal ... and creepy.

Flash Paranormal Fiction will send your flesh crawling with ghosts, witches, aliens, cryptids, and creatures of all kinds.

These 13 Flash stories are for those readers (just like us) who love quick and fun ghostly gatherings!

Still ... maybe you shouldn't read it at night...

But don't worry. Sleep is overrated...
 
Book Trailer:

Excerpt - Zombie Love
It was a beautiful morning, just gorgeous. I was sitting back in my no-gravity lounge chair holding a cup of hot coffee and sipping away the sunrise. The temperature was just right and the plants along the front screen of the porch seemed to reach toward the warm glow of the sun. This was a day that made all the other days’ worth dealing with. It whispered relaxation and creativity.

The only thing I couldn’t get my mind around on this glorious day was the zombie that was trying to open the latch on the screen door. I’d been watching it for a good ten minutes or so, just as it was watching me drink my coffee. My question: Where the hell had this thing come from? And why was it ruining my perfectly quiet morning?

This one I was looking at was none too bright. It could easily punch through the screen, but instead, it fiddled with the sliding lock. I’d heard about these things. A bit short on brains. But then again, who knew? Maybe it thought I was stupid for drinking coffee. I’d thought that one or two times myself.

Just then I heard a voice. “Hey man, what’s that you got there trying to get into your house?”

It was my neighbor, Monroe. We were pretty close on most days. “Gots me a zombie, me thinks,” I replied after a nice long coffee swig.

Monroe, standing back from the door but still close enough to talk through the screen continued. “What’s ya gonna do when it figures out the door?” He yawned.

“Hmmm. Good point,” I said with a nod. “Guess I better go get the gun so I can take care of business if I need to.”

Monroe was nodding as well. “Terrible way to spend this beautiful morning, though. Still, zombies are nothin’ to mess with. So I heard.”

“Maybe wait a little while, though,” I said. “It’s too nice out to make things all blood and guts. We got time.”

“I hear ya,” answered Monroe.

Then suddenly, another voice erupted through the morning. “Outta the way, boys!”

At that point a woman and a teenage girl raised rifles and blew holes in the zombie’s head. The thing fell like a rock.

Both Monroe and I jumped back to keep from getting muck on our clothes. I’d had to roll out of my chair, and I spilled my coffee.

“Dam women!” I yelled out. “Know just how to ruin a morning!”

About the Author:
Website-FB-Twitter
Instagram-LinkedIn
GoodReads

D. P. ROSEBERRY has been writing about the imagined world for many years. She dabbles in paranormal flash and romantic intrigue (her most recent paranormal romance is Three Months to Change), sci fi, fantasy, horror, and many kinds of speculative fiction. With a special interest in UFOs, she is the founder of the UFO Management Group. Roseberry is also a practicing certified hypnotist with her practice centering on past-life regression, alien abductions, and other paranormal topics. She reads the Tarot and varied oracles as well and finds that divination brings sharp interpretation to daily living and uses it as a method in her writing. Her latest Tarot decks are First Light Tarot and A Christmas Tarot: Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future, both with a paranormal twist. Writing paranormal flash is a guilty pleasure and she finds herself in the middle of these quick and ghosty stories more often than she likes to admit. Flash Paranormal Fiction is her first attempt at putting them from mind to media for you to read.

Tweet:
Flash Paranormal Fiction is strictly paranormal. You’ll find ghosts and aliens and witches and creatures and weirdness that only those like us (who love it) will appreciate! Caution: don’t read at night…
#paranormal #flash #flashparanormal #ghosts #witches #creatures # BigFoot #aliens

Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon card
Print copy of the paranormal romance, Three Months to Change a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thursday, June 30, 2022

🎉Surprise party Flash Fiction🎉 with fantasy romance author Lorelei Johnson's characters + giveaway

🎉Surprise party Flash Fiction🎉
with Lorelei Johnson's characters

‘Surprise!’ the room shouts as Jafar entered the throne room, making him cringe. His first response was to reach for his sceptre but Jasmine had made him leave it tucked away, spouting something about having had enough magic for a while. Spoken like a true royal. Although, he supposed he was also a royal now, and no one was about to take his position. Still, he felt naked without it.

He looked around at the happy faces and the ridiculous extravagance of it all; the decorations, the ridiculous amount of food, the dancers keeping the old men far too readily entertained. His eyes finally settle on his wife standing across the room, her eyes holding his, a smug look on her face. Oh, she was going to pay for this later.

‘I thought we agreed no celebrations?’ he said flatly as he reached her side.

‘Come now, darling. I never agreed to any such thing.’

His mind wandered back to the conversation they’d had, where he’d told her absolutely not, leaving no room for argument, and what had she done in response? She’d distracted him with that tongue of hers.

‘You’re a witch,’ he grumbled.

She beamed at up with a breathtaking smile, victory shining in her eyes. Oh yes, she was definitely going to pay for this later. ‘Don’t be so bitter,’ she said, a scolding tone to her voice. ‘Our people are happier than they have ever been and they wanted to celebrate.’

‘But it’s my birthday, shouldn’t I get a say in what I want?’ he asked, leaning in close. He pressed his lips to her neck, sending a shiver through her that made him lick his lips.

As if remembering herself, she swatted him away. ‘Stop it! You can’t do that here,’ she hissed under her breath, her eyes darting around to see if anyone had noticed. They probably had but no one was letting on. Of course they wouldn’t, it would be perfect fodder for gossip later.

‘If it weren’t improper for our Sultan, I’d throw you over my shoulder and take you from here.’

‘Don’t. I know where this is going and we are going to celebrate your birthday if it kills you,’ Jasmine said, glowering at him.

He let out a sigh. ‘Very well, wife, if that is what you wish.’

He would let her have her fun for now but this was far from over.


by Lorelei Johnson
June 24, 2022
Genre: Fantasy Romance
ISBN: 9798433798182
ASIN: B09VYMX625
Number of pages: 201
Word Count: 50,018
Cover Artist: Lorelei Johnson
A headstrong princess, an ambitious sorcerer, and a forbidden love that could ruin them both…

A headstrong princess, an ambitious sorcerer, and a forbidden love that could ruin them both…

When Princess Jasmine returns home after fifteen years, she's determined not to choose any of the suitors her father has lined up for her.

She doesn't need a man to rule her kingdom.

Jafar has fought tooth and nail for everything he has and he never sets his sights on something he can't have.

Until her.

But the princess must marry a prince.

When the mysterious Prince Ali enters the palace stirring a curiosity in the princess, Jafar's jealousy in uncontainable. But when the choice before him is love or power, will he fight for the woman he loves or cling to the power he so desperately craves?

The Magic of the Lamp is the enticing eighth book in the Tantalising Tales Collection. If you like forbidden romance, sizzling tension and happily ever afters, then you’ll love Lorelei Johnson’s seductive twist on this fairy tale.

Each book can be read as a standalone

About the Author:
Website-FB-Instagram
Amazon-BookBub
Goodreads-
Newsletter
Lorelei Johnson is an Australian romance author, primarily writing Paranormal Romance and Fantasy Romance. She graduated from Flinders University, where she studied English Literature and Creative Writing before she discovered her degree was useless and she hated studying in an institution. She went into administrative work where she learnt just enough business sense to start publishing her own books.

Lorelei is fuelled by caffeine and sarcasm, priding herself as a true 90's kid. She labels her self-publishing as an antiestablishment, but really she's just a chicken who decided to avoid the gatekeepers altogether and enjoy the freedom to write whatever the heck she likes. Through her writing, she likes to explore the many facets of love and revel in a little magic and a little smut, of course.

Tour Giveaway 
1 paperback copy of The Magic of the Lamp by Lorelei Johnson

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular: A Demon's Embrace by Celia Breslin + giveaway


A Demon's Embrace (Cupid Dating Agency Book Four)
by Celia Breslin
December 2020
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Celia Breslin
ISBN: 9781393692881
ASIN: B08Q8JRLWN
Number of pages: 124
Word Count: 30K
Cover Artist: Brantwijn Serrah
She believes him the enemy. He's determined to prove her wrong.

Former relic-hunter and soldier for Hell, Stryker spends his days of redemption running a holiday store in a cheery little town in the California wine country. He’s not complaining. The gig puts him across the street from his one and only heart’s desire—a blue-eyed angel with a clever brain, a hot bod, and the wickedest right hook this side of Heaven. Too bad his delectable Angel Cake won’t give him the time of day.

Warrior-class angel and restaurateur, Zara keeps busy designing interesting foods and beverages for the eateries and gym she owns with her celestial teammates. She certainly has zero time or interest in the annoyingly sexy, darkly bronzed demon who drove her bonkers for eons while working for the other side.

But then a freak storm complete with hell beasties rampages their hometown, and God and the cupids order the pair to team up to investigate. Frustrating news for Zara. Fantastic for Stryker. His new mission? Show his feisty angel their partnership is meant to extend far beyond this one job for Heaven...


Happy Halloween Month, Everyone! For Halloween every year, I like to share my favorite spooky story from my family’s arsenal of tales about the Fae. In this one, my Irish grandmother recounts her personal encounter with a Banshee when she was a teenager. Enjoy!

Bumped by the Banshee
by Celia Breslin
… I lived in a large two-story house with my parents, younger sister, and grandmother. It was a cold, winter evening, nothing special or out of the ordinary. My family dined together, then my sister and I cleaned up while our parents and grandmother drank tea. We joined them at the dining table to do our homework, but my grandmother said she was tired and went upstairs to bed. My parents followed shortly after that, but my father paused on the landing.

“Maeve, it’s going to be a cold night. Fetch us some coal, please.”

I abandoned my homework, grabbed the empty coal bucket from the kitchen, and went down into the cellar. I filled my bucket and returned to the stairs. I had one foot on the first step when the temperature in the cellar, already cold, dropped dramatically. Chills ran down my back. Behind me, someone moaned.

But how could that be? I was alone...

Terror rooted me to the spot. The keening grew louder. I dropped my bucket and covered my ears. A cold wind bumped against my back. I stumbled forward as the shrieking wind rushed over me and up the stairs.

But how could that be? The cellar had no windows...

Above me, the cellar door slammed shut. The sound broke me from my stupor. I screamed and ran up the stairs and out of the cellar, through the kitchen and dining room, and up the stairs to my room. My parents and sister found me under my bed, shaking like a puppy lost in a snowstorm.

“Maeve! Maeve! What is it? What’s wrong?” They asked me, while pulling me from my hiding place.

“I heard the Banshee wail.”

We stared at each other in silence, all of us reaching the same conclusion moments later. We hurried to my grandmother’s room.

She was dead.

(Copyright 2021, Celia Breslin. All rights reserved.)


About the Author: 
Website-FB-Twitter
Blog-Goodreads 
Pinterest-Instagram
NewsletterCelia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, and the Fae. When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to fantasy TV shows and movies.

Tweet:
Angel Cake believes him the enemy. Stryker will prove her wrong. A Demon’s Embrace https://celiabreslin.com/works/cupid-dating-agency-series / #amreading #PNR #UF #ParanormalRomance #AngelRomance #FantasyRomance #SexyStories #TBR #ReadingList

Spooktacular Tour Giveaway
$20 Amazon US e-gift card

Monday, October 26, 2020

Halloween Spooktacular Flash Fiction (Double Alchemy by Susan Mac Nicol) + giveaway


EVERYDAY FEAR 

Have you ever had that creepy sensation that someone was behind you when you look in the mirror…?
Carrie Benton kicked off her shoes, did a little twirl around her bedroom, and sank gladly into the armchair beside the bay window that looked out onto the street. She gazed down dreamily at the road below, still seeing Gerald’s tanned face smiling down at her, still feeling the gentle touch of his hand against her arm. She decided there and then that it had been the perfect evening. Nothing could mar this, she mused, and it would be even better in the morning when he came to collect her for breakfast and they would share the whole day, not just the evening.

Tosca chose that moment to make his entrance, his pitiful meow shaking her out of the dream world she was currently in. Carrie gathered the cat into her arms. ‘Hi there, cattykins, who’s hungry then?’ she crooned into his fur. He arched his back and playfully shot his paw at her. She giggled and set him down on the bed where he regarded her with an air of suspicion.

‘I am going to fix you some food,’ she teased, ‘right after I wash my face and get my dressing gown on. You’ll just have to wait a while.’

Carrie switched on the en-suite bathroom light and hummed to herself as she picked up the facial wash from the shelf. She heard Tosca scratching the coverlet of her bed in what she assumed was an act of frustration at being thwarted out of his food. ‘Not long,’ she sang out, ‘Then I’ll get you your dinner and I’ll tell you all about Gerald and our date.’

Carrie heard Tosca hiss as if to say,’ Damn your date, just fix me some food!’ and she heard a soft plop as the cat jumped off the bed. A minute later she shivered as she felt a sharp cold draft blowing through the bathroom. Darn cat, she thought, he must have squeezed through the bedroom door to the landing and left the door open.

Carrie smeared the facial wash over her face, mixing it with water from the tap. The soapsuds bubbled on her skin. As she splashed warm water on her face, she thought she heard someone behind her. She looked up into the mirror, her face dripping water. Gerald stood there, framed in the entrance to the bathroom. She peered at him through a veil of soapy tears, thinking at first it was a trick of the light, or perhaps some water in the eyes making her vision blurry and unstable. It was only when she felt the quick bloody pain across her throat and smelt the scent of his Brut aftershave mixed with her blood that she realised, too late, it was Gerald and that her dream date had just turned into a nightmare.

Double Alchemy
by Susan Mac Nicol
23/03/2014 
Genre: Paranormal/urban fantasy MM romance
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
ISBN: 978-1-941260-04-3
ASIN: B00J7FVYRC
Number of pages: 335 pages
Word Count: 110 000
Cover Artist: Boroughs Publishing Group
The World in Shadow

Powerful yet tormented modern warlock Quinn Fairmont must initiate the silver-eyed Cade Mairston into the world of witchfinders, Withinners, and what can happen when two men fall truly, madly, deeply in love.

In modern London there lurks a warlock, Quinn Fairmont. Dangerous, powerful, tortured, sharing his body with the soul of an ancient Welsh sorcerer, Quinn is never alone—and never wholly himself. He fights against all those who would exploit his kind. He takes pleasure where he can find it.

In the forest of Hampstead Heath, Quinn’s hometown, Cade Mairston appears to him like a waking dream. Lithe, lean and silver-eyed, he evokes feelings in Quinn unlike any other: lust with true affection, immediate and shocking. Cade is clearly more than he seems. And yet, if a man of the world, Cade is innocent. He knows nothing of warlocks, witchfinders or Withinners. He knows nothing of what he is, what he might be, or what he might feel. For him, the story is just beginning. Magyck, peril and passion await. More awaits in book two…

They lay beside each other in Cade’s bed, snuggled under the covers together. It was a large king-size bed, one they’d made the most of it that evening. Quinn turned and regarded Cade with drowsy eyes as his fingers trailed soft patterns across his chest. Cade caught his breath at Quinn's lazy touch, his body still jazzed up from their love making. Quinn fingered the small metal piercing in Cade's left nipple with lazy indolence. Cade's hands caressed Quinn's stomach, lingering on an ugly, puckered three-inch scar which stretched down to his left hip. 

“You seem to be getting used to this whole situation,” Quinn murmured. He caressed the nipple piercing. "And this was a nice surprise. You didn't have it in the other night. I think I explored you enough to know you don't have any more anywhere." He grinned wickedly as Cade's fingers pinched his hip. 

Cade laughed softly. “I took it out for the benefit dinner. It doesn't fit well under a dress shirt. And as for all this -I don’t believe it all myself. But I don’t seem to have a choice. You’ve made that quite clear. And I have to say it’s not all that much of a hardship. You’re a pretty personable and sexy guy and to be honest, this just feels –so right- somehow.” He licked a wet tongue down Quinn's shoulder and grinned as Quinn lost his breath. 

Cade murmured, “I saw you in the paper with a man called Adam Carnover.” 

Quinn started and looked at Cade with hooded eyes. 

Cade watched his eyes. “Is he still in your life? The papers seemed to think you were getting married. “ 

Quinn leaned over and kissed his forehead softly. “I wouldn’t be here with you if I was with another man. Adam isn’t in my life any longer.” 

“What happened?” 

Quinn frowned, his face dark. “We had a difference of opinion and decided to go our separate ways.” 

“Was he like me, or was he normal?” Cade asked curiously, glad that the man was no longer around but still intending to find out more about their past relationship. 

Quinn was still. “He was normal, nothing like you,” he said shortly. 

Cade could tell he really didn’t want to talk about his ex. Wisely, he let it rest for the moment. “Another thing you haven’t told me. Who was that man I saw in the forest that evening? Was that something to do with you?” 

Quinn’s eyes narrowed as if debating what to say next. 

“Are you going to tell me?” Cade watched him closely. He reached down and grasped Quinn's semi-erect cock. "Or do I have to suck it out of you like I did earlier?" 

Quinn gave a low laugh and sat up, the bed covers draped across his waist as he leaned back against the headboard. "As much as I find that idea very appealing, I think I need to recuperate first. I don't think I've got any moisture left in my body after that very intense blow job. But please feel free to repeat the experience in a little while." 



About the Author:

Website -FB-Twitter
Bringing lovers together, one book at a time 

The official stuff
Susan writes steamy, sexy and fun contemporary romance stories, some suspenseful, some gritty and dark and hopefully always entertaining. She’s also Editor in Chief at Divine Magazine, an online LGBTQ e-zine, and a member of The Society of Authors, the Writers Guild of Great Britain, and the Authors Guild in the US.

Susan is also an award-winning script writer, with scripts based on two of her own published works. Sight Unseen has garnered no less than five awards to date and her TV pilot, Reel Life, based on her debut novel, Cassandra by Starlight, was also a winner at the Oaxaca Film Fest.

The ‘unofficial’ stuff…
She loves going to the theatre, live music concerts (especially if it’s her man crush Adam Lambert or the divine Cumberbatch) walks in the countryside, a good G and T, lazing away afternoons reading a good book, and watching re-runs of Silent Witness.

Her chequered past includes stories like being mistaken for a prostitute in the city of Johannesburg, being chased by a rhino on a dusty Kenyan road, getting kicked out of a youth club for being a ‘bad influence’ (she encourages free thinking) and having an aunt who was engaged to Cliff Richard.

I'd love you to stalk me so here you go.

Spooktacular Giveaway 
$5.00 Amazon Gift Card PLUS an e-copy of any of my backlist books 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular: ORIGINS (Tranquilli Bloodline Book 3) by Celia Breslin + giveaway


I love Halloween, and every year I like to share my absolute favorite spooky story from my family’s arsenal of scary tales. This one comes from my Irish grandmother, about her personal encounter with a Banshee when she was a teenager. Enjoy!

Bumped by the Banshee
by Celia Breslin 

… I lived in a large two-story house with my parents, younger sister, and grandmother. It was a cold, winter evening, nothing special or out of the ordinary. My family dined together, then my sister and I cleaned up while our parents and grandmother drank tea. We joined them at the dining table to do our homework, but my grandmother said she was tired and went upstairs to bed. My parents followed shortly after that, but my father paused on the landing.

“Maeve, it’s going to be a cold night. Fetch us some coal, please.”

I abandoned my homework, grabbed the empty coal bucket from the kitchen, and went down into the cellar. I filled my bucket and returned to the stairs. I had one foot on the first step when the temperature in the cellar, already cold, dropped dramatically. Chills ran down my back. Behind me, someone moaned.

But how could that be? I was alone...

Terror rooted me to the spot. The keening grew louder. I dropped my bucket and covered my ears. A cold wind bumped against my back. I stumbled forward as the shrieking wind rushed over me and up the stairs.

But how could that be? The cellar had no windows...

Above me, the cellar door slammed shut. The sound broke me from my stupor. I screamed and ran up the stairs and out of the cellar, through the kitchen and dining room, and up the stairs to my room. My parents and sister found me under my bed, shaking like a puppy lost in a snowstorm.

“Maeve! Maeve! What is it? What’s wrong?” They asked me, while pulling me from my hiding place.

“I heard the Banshee wail.”

We stared at each other in silence, all of us reaching the same conclusion moments later. We hurried to my grandmother’s room.

She was dead.
(Copyright 2019, Celia Breslin. All rights reserved.)


ORIGINS (Tranquilli Bloodline Book 3)
by Celia Breslin
September 9, 2019
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Number of pages: 250
Word Count: 94,000
Cover Artist: Melody Pond
The Chosen One is home. Bad little vampires beware…

In HAVEN and DESTINY, San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli finds love and fights her vampire family’s enemies. Now, in ORIGINS…

En route to reunite with her estranged father in Italy, Carina is kidnapped by a human organization intent on vampire genocide. Beaten, starved, and forced to fight fellow captives, she finally manages to escape. Along the way, she encounters the group’s leaders—their identities shock her to the core.

Once home, Carina warns her family of this new threat, but dear old dad is missing. In his absence, the Tribunal, the governing body for all vampirekind, lies in disarray, with an old enemy making a bid for her father’s throne. What’s worse? The usurper wants her for his queen…and slave.

With a human-vampire war looming on one side and a vampire-vampire battle brewing on the other, Carina will have to rally her troops, take back the throne, and fulfill her destiny as the Chosen One. If not, her whole world will fall, taking everyone she loves with it.


Excerpt
The car stopped. I couldn’t convince myself to step out. What if this was a freaking, injection-induced hallucination? What if I was still back in the damn prison?

Besnik helped me out.

The mansion’s mammoth double doors eased open. The man illuminated in the doorway chased away the numbness, pumped my heart so hard it might pound right out of my chest. He opened his arms wide, calling me. My lips curled upward in the first true smile I’d cracked since the last time he’d held me in his arms. That man, my man, loved me more than any other on this whole damn planet.

“Alexander.”

I ran to him.

Alexander’s arms closed around me, his hold so tight I could barely catch a breath. Tremors ran through his hard body, again and again.

“Carina,” he croaked, voice sandpaper rough. “Carina.”

Nuzzling his neck, I planted fevered kisses along his tan, heated skin. He’d fed recently to be this warm under my lips. Temptation had me licking his pounding pulse, nipping at the vein. Couldn’t resist it. My fangs slid home.

Energy exploded between us, our mate bond bursting to life and tearing away whatever magical wall had separated us for far too long. My bite, the catalyst, his blood the cure. Awash in the force of our reunion, Alexander staggered then clutched me closer while I pulled out of his neck and laved the rapidly healing holes.

As our power continued to bubble and stitch us back together, he whisked us into the grand entryway, planted my ass on an ornate, antique cabinet, and devoured my mouth like a starving man. His hands roamed everywhere, searching, cataloguing, as if to reassure himself this wasn’t a hallucination, that I was really here, in his arms, relatively unharmed.

The more he kissed me, the more those wonderful, golden threads of our connection resurrected inside me, around me, between us, and I felt like freaking Sleeping Beauty awakened from her magical slumber by a kiss from her fated handsome prince. The silly thought made me giggle against Alexander’s seeking mouth, and then I was crying while my love cupped my face between his hands, wiped away my tears with his thumbs, and pressed tender kisses to my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose…

“Alexander.” I fisted his shirt tight. Please, God, let him be real. “I… I don’t want to wake up.” Please, don’t let this end.

His smoky blue eyes bored into mine, his brown hair spiked in every direction, a bit longer than in my memory. It’s not a dream, baby. You’re here. You’re home.

Oh my God, I can hear you. I swiped some willful bits of hair away from his forehead, touched his full lips, ran my fingers along his strong jaw, taking in the whole handsome, bad-boy package. You’re back in my head. I’d never been happier to have someone inside my mind. Silence was seriously overrated.
And back in your arms.

About the Author:
Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has a particular fondness for werewolves, vampires, and the Fae. Her stories are action-packed and typically include one of the many varieties of romantic entanglements: fated mates, second chance, rescue romance, opposites attract, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and more.

When not writing, you’ll find Celia exercising, reading a good book, hanging with her family, or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon’s TV shows and movies, as well as everything in the Marvel Universe franchise. Of course!



GIVEAWAY



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Excerpt: Migration: Queer Sci Fi's Sixth Annual Flash Fiction Contest (Book 5) + giveaway

 Queer Sci Fi has just released the annual QSF Flash Fiction anthology. This year, the theme is "Migration."

Migration

Editor: J. Scott Coatsworth
July 24, 2019
258 pages
Genres: sci fi, fantasy, paranormal, horror
Pairings: All
Publisher: Other Worlds Ink; 1 edition
Cover Artist: J. Scott Coatsworth / Kelley York, Sleepy Fox Studio (typography)
MI-GRA-TION (noun)
1) Seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.


2) Movement of people to a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions.

3) Movement from one part of something to another.

Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorites.

Migration feaures 300 word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.



Excerpt

Each year, hundreds of writers send in stories for the Queer Sci Fi flash fiction anthology. Here are the opening lines from some of the stories chosen for the 2019 edition – Migration:

“Darkness has substance. It is tangible; different shades within the black, sounds, a taste. It is accompanied by self-awareness of time and thoughts, even when other senses fail.” —Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker

“The sky has been screaming for five straight days when the shrimps come to take us away. They’ve been boxing up the others and hauling them off. Now they’re here for us, soaking wet, dragging cords and crates behind them.” —Shrimpanzee, Sionnain Bailey

“Allister always had faultless hair. He’d comb and gel it to perfection while gazing in the mirror. One day a pair of eyes stared back.” —Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr

“On her sister’s wedding day Ari noticed that one of her ears had migrated to her hand. It was right after her high school crush, Emily, arrived with Cousin Matt.” —Playing It By Ear, Aidee Ladnier

“The wound was fatal. Their vessel wouldn't live much longer. This is what came from leaving loose ends. Frantically they sought out a new vessel to migrate to. “ —The Essence, by L.M. Brown

“That night, we were sitting in the bed of her daddy’s old pickup truck and the radio was playing the best song. We had a pack of cigarettes between us and her hand was almost touching mine. The wheat field was silver in the moonlight. When they came, we weren’t surprised, just disappointed that our time was up already.” —Our Song, by Lauren Ring

“Willow said she was my wife, but I knew it wasn’t her, not the right her, anyway. Sure she looked like her with olive skin and bright pink hair. She even smelled of mango flowers, just like I remembered, but there was something about her smile that was slightly off, something about when she said she loved me that didn’t sit well in my old heart.” — They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre

“Agnes is eight when she first sees the river. Cutting its way through town, the only thing she knows not coated in coal dust. She sticks her toes in, comes home with wet socks and a secret. See, the river hadn’t been there yesterday.” —Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz

“Terry twirled in her green synthsilk dress, looked at her reflection, liked what she saw. She felt good in her own skin, for maybe the first time.” —Altball, by RE Andeen

“The thing was in the corner. It had come through the window and had slid down the wall. Scratch went the sound. The noise of a hundred nails clawing at the wood. Nails of white bone. Alex pulled the sheets up quickly, covering every inch of skin and hair in a warm darkness.” —Whose Nightmare, by Jamie Bonomi


Included Authors:
A hundred and twenty authors are included in Migration:

Butterflies, by A O'Donovan

The Return, by A.M. Leibowitz
A New Spring, by Aaron Silver
Universal Quota, by Abby Bartle
The Call of Home, by Adrienne Wilder
Starfall, by Adrik Kemp
Playing it By Ear, by Aidee Ladnier
Rabbit, by Amanda Thomas
That Does Not Love…, by Andi Deacon
Inborn, by Andrea Speed
Saving Ostakis, by Angelica Primm
A Dawn Wish, by Antonia Aquilante
Diaspora, by Ariel E. James
Transmigration, by Ashby Danvers
Across the Mirror, by Ava Kelly
Between, by BE Allatt
The Speck, by Bey Deckard
The King of the Mountain Cometh, by Bob Goddard
Before and After, by C. A. Chesse
Home, by C.A. McDonald
Too Much Tech, by C.L. Mannarino
Ze Who Walks Into the Future, by Carey Ford Compton
The Gate, by Carol Holland March
Our Last Light Skip, by Chloe Spencer
Passage, by Christine Taylor-Butler
The Perils of Pick-Up Lines, by Colton Aalto
Parched, by Crysta K. Coburn
Changeling Dreams, by Damian Serbu
Destinations, by Dave Creek
Another Job, Another Planet, by David Viner
Thiefmaster Rosalind's Apprentice, by Devon Widmer
A Weight Off Their Shoulders, by Diane Morrison
Once a Year, by Dianne Hartsock
Mettle, by Die BoothForever Bound, by E.W. Murks
They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre
Til Death Do Us Part, by Elizabeth Anglin
Little One, by Eloreen Moon
GBFN, by Emilia Agrafojo
The Long Distance Thing, by Ether Nepenthes
Call My People Home, by Evelyn Benvie
Jace vs. the Incubi, by Eytan Bernstein
A New Tradition, by Foster Bridget Cassidy
The Curious Cabinet, by Ginger Streusel
Ready, by Hank Edwards
The Albatrosses, by Harry F. Rey
A Boy's Shadow, by Helen De Cruz
Portrait of a Lady, by Isobel Granby
Beam That Is In, by J. Comer
The Hunt, by J. R. Frontera
Repeating History, by J. Summerset
Neil's Journey, by J.P. Bowie
Homeward Bound, by J.S. Garner
Whose Nightmare?, by Jamie Bonomi
A Moment of Bravery, by Jessie Pinkham
Laetus, by Jet Lupin
Where You Go, I'll Follow, by Joe Baumann
Ambrose Out of Ash, by Jonathan Fesmire
Shooting Modes, by Joshua Darrow
TerrorForm, by Juam Jocom
The Curse, by Jude Reid
Throwing Eggs, by K E Olukoya
Fly, by Kayleigh Sky
The Keep, by KC Burn
Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr
The Risks and Advantages of Data Migration, by Kim Fielding
Irreversible, by kim gryphon
Looner, by Krishan Coupland
The Essence, by L.M. Brown
Our Song, by Lauren Ring
O Human Child, by Lisa Hamill
Goodbye Marghretta, by Lou Sylvre
Choices, by LV Lloyd
Endangered Species, by M Joseph Murphy
Planet Retro, Unplugged, by M. X. Kelly
Elemental, by M.D. Grimm
To Wish on a Love Knot, by Margaret McGaffey Fisk
Firebirds, by Marita M. Connor
Breeding Season, by Mary Newman
Kooks at Home, by Matt McHugh
Spring, by Mere Rain
Into the South, by Mindy Leana Shuman
Not How We Planned It, by Minerva Cerridwen
What Is Left Behind, by Monique Cuillerier
How Far Would You Go for the One You Love?, by Nathan Alling Long
Innocence, by Nathaniel Taff
Heart and Soul, by Nils Odlund
Tides, by Patricia Scott
Killer Queen, by Paula McGrath
Genesis, by Pelaam
If Pigs Could Fly, by Penelope Friday
Click, by R R Angell
Be Kind to Strangers, by Raina Lorring
Altball, by RE Andeen
Far From Home, by Riley S. Keene
Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker
Night Comes to the Bea Arthur, by Rory Ni Coileáin
MIG Ration, by S R Jones
Going Back, by Sacchi Green
World Behind and Home Ahead, by Sara Testarossa
The Call of the Suet, by Sarah Hadley Brook
Research & Development, by Shaina Phillips
Into the Void, by Shannon Brady
The Silkie's Dance, by Shannon West
Seal Hunt, by Shirley Meier
Shrimpanzee FIRST IN BOOK, by Sionnain Bailey
The Woman With No Name, by Siri Paulson
Memories of Clay, by Spencer Mann
Simulacrum, by Steve Carr
The Experience, by Steve Fuson
Flight, by Steven Harper
Birds of New Atlantis, by Stewart C Baker
Lurching Forward, by Sydney Blackburn
Spores of Retribution, by Tray Ellis
Skin Hunger, by Treasure Nguyen
Elvira, by Trevor Barton
Ever After, by Warren Rochelle
Into the Light, by Wart Hill
Dryads, by X Marduk
Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz


Giveaway
Queer Sci Fi is giving away a $20 gift Amazon certificate with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win: