Sunday, February 22, 2015

Embers by Karyn Pearson




It all begins with a Spark . . .

Ardentia, a demon hunter with a demon’s spirit bound to her own, goes on a journey to restore honor to her mother’s name. One by one, she hunts down the Saligia, who are responsible for her family’s curse. The closer she gets to bringing the Seven Deadly Sins down, the higher the chances are she’ll lose herself along the way. As the demon inside her awakens and grows stronger, it will only be a matter of time. Ardentia faces but one choice—trust the demon to help her break the curse, and pray he doesn’t betray her in the end.

. . . and blazes into an Inferno . . .

A new threat has emerged. Belial, one of four Crown Princes of Hell, has risen. The Crown Prince intends to free the rest of his brothers. If he succeeds, he will raise Lucifer from his centuries’ long slumber. Belial will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. His influence even extends past the defenses of the holy city of Salvatio. The Crown Prince must be stopped before the last great defense of mankind falls. Ardentia stands to answer the call. She knows the task alone will be dangerous, and that she could easily die in the attempt. But the threat of certain death won’t sway her. She and Noxius will do whatever it takes to thwart Belial, regardless of the consequences, even if those consequences mean paying the ultimate price.

. . . leaving behind a world of Embers  . . .

Though she won the battle against Belial, the war for mankind has just begun. Lucifer is rising. With each passing day, time runs out for the human race. In sixty-six days, the fate of the world will be decided. But before Ardentia can focus on saving the world, she must save her demon. Noxius is dying, and his only hope for survival is to return to his own body. Ardentia must brave the horrors of Hell and its armies to reach Noxius’ court. If she manages to survive, she’ll still need to face the Lucifer, and something far worse—a foe far greater than the Devil himself.

On February 27th, the final chapter in Karyn Pearson's Hellfire trilogy will be told.


“You’re only human. Don’t ever forget that. Even the greatest of leaders can fall, but not all of them will succumb to darkness.”



 
 

Excerpt:
 
A rushing sound filled her ears, Noxius’ power surged to life within her, willing her to dodge to the left. She whirled aside, watching as a hook-sword sailed within an inch of her, the blade singing in the air as it passed. A nearby soul cried out as the sword pierced him in a spray of blood. He slumped over and remained still, put out of his misery at last.
“I thought I smelled a mortal,” said the all-too-familiar voice of Malacoda. “What ever shall we do with you, my dear?”
“She’s pretty,” said a second voice. “Can we keep this one?”
“She is rather interesting, isn’t she?” Malacoda agreed. “How could a mortal make it so far into Hell unscathed?"
 
The sound of wings was all around them, the Malebranche laughing as they circled their prey. The huntress didn’t need to look to know she was surrounded. This was it, they were done for.
 
Run!” Noxius yelled. “We need to make it to the next ring!”
Ardentia didn’t need to be told twice. She broke into a sprint, moving as fast as she could down the road. Behind her, she heard Malacoda wrenching his sword from the body of the tortured soul he’d inadvertently killed. The demon was in quick pursuit; the huntress knew she’d be no match for his speed. He was upon her within a moment, so she did the only thing she could. She turned to fight.
Using her forward momentum, she made a quick about-face, swinging her leg as she turned. Her kick connected, the blow startling the demon for a few seconds, as black blood seeped from a fresh wound on his cheek. He snarled at her in rage, raising his hook and sweeping toward her. She dropped and rolled under it, the sword passing over her head harmlessly. Her feet were back under her in an instant, and she was up and running, the demon roaring from somewhere behind her as he chased after her again.
“Keep running!” Noxius encouraged. “We’re nearly there.”
She kept moving, her eyes finding the end of the road ahead and what looked like the edge of a cliff. As she neared the end of the road, she saw the ground gave way into a sharp drop of at least one-hundred feet to the next circle below. To the far right, she saw a set of stairs carved into the side of the cliff. She started for them at once, moving off the road and cutting across a line of staked bodies.
Suddenly, Malacoda materialized before them, standing at the cliff’s edge and barring their path. He smiled, thinking he had her cornered. In her mind, she heard her demon shouting for her to turn around and head the opposite direction. The huntress ignored him, running toward the demon instead.
She barreled straight into the demon, her full body weight slamming into him hard. He doubled over and gave a grunt of pain, losing his balance, and together, they tumbled off the cliff.
Pre-order your copy now at: Smashwords and Amazon And RSVP to the February New Release Round-Up! To celebrate this and other Distinguished Press releases.
 
About the author:


Karyn Pearson is the author of the Hellfire Trilogy and Arcturian Bloodlines. She is a full-time pet parent of her two dogs Nikki and Jamie. Karyn has a B.A. in Anthropology and has explored dozens of cultures in her studies, but has imagined countless more. She enjoys reading, playing action RPGs, and plotting the next adventure for her characters whenever she has a spare moment free of the dreaded and undefeated “puppy dog eyes attack.”

Her upcoming project will be the first novel of a new vampire series, Arcturian Bloodlines. When she's not writing, Karyn can be found playing with her puppies or Googling various dangerous topics for novel research that make her constantly question why federal agents haven't yet knocked down her front door.
 


Thursday, February 19, 2015

Cover reveal Sabine Priestley



 Happy to host the fantastic Sabine Priestly for the cover reveal on the second book in her Alien Attachments Romance series, Rebellion!

 Synopsis:

Ria Montori is no stranger to kicking ass. Despite her petite size, she’s a former Sandarian military officer currently serving the Cavacent clan and adjusting to life on a strange planet called Earth. She has no time to search for her psi-mate: the one being who could bring her pleasure beyond any mere physical intimacy. Which doesn’t explain why she’s bonding with a Curzan native who just killed a government official.

Ty Sordina hates Ria’s kind. The Sandarians enslaved his people, and murdered his parents in front him when he was a child. He has sought revenge ever since, and nothing will get in his way. Especially not a feisty redhead who challenges his every instinct, and calls to his psi like no other.

But there is a war coming. And the two beings who want nothing to do with each other hold the fate of an entire planet in the heat of their undeniable desire…
               
About the Author:
 
Sabine Priestley Sabine is a lifelong fan of Science Fiction and Romance novels. When the characters in the Alien Attachments series started talking to her, she had no choice but to write. They’re still talking and she’s still writing. Sabine lives in Florida with her husband, kids, cats, and a whole mess of characters in her head. 
 For more please visit www.sabinepriestley.com.

Available for pre-order now.  Amazon


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Restless in Peaceville

Now available in print!

Blurb:
Welcome to Peaceville, population 2067 and rising...from the grave...

Luke Chester has had enough. He’s the school geek, the girls laugh at him, he’s lost his dead-end job at the pizza place, and in the midst of the world’s messiest divorce his parents don’t even know he exists. An overdose of his mom’s tranquilizers and a stomach full of whiskey should solve all his problems...

But they don’t. Instead, Luke finds himself booted out of the afterlife for not dying a natural death, with nowhere to go but back to his recently vacated corpse and reality. How the hell is he going to pass for one of the living without someone trying to blow his brains out for being one of the undead?

And it just gets worse. He’s got to fight his own desperate craving to consume the living, evade the weird supernatural hunter who’s having a field day with the new undeads rising, and there’s this creepy black shadow following him around. Add to that the distraction of female fellow undead Annabelle burning to avenge her own murder, and clearly there’s no rest for the wicked. Jeez, all he wanted to do was R.I.P.

Restless In Peaceville is a young adult zombie story with a twist, set in a Louisiana that never was and released by Lycaon Press on the 20th August, 2014. Add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE. Sign up to my no-spam newsletter HERE to stay up to date with releases, cover reveals, sales and giveaways for all my titles and more.

Suggested tags:
zombies, paranormal, YA, angels, redemption, teen fiction, revenge, romance, afterlife, Louisiana



Excerpts:

1.

I suppose I should count myself lucky they hadn't started carving me up, and that I'd gone for an overdose rather than throwing myself in front of a truck or out of a window. I'm in damn good condition...for a corpse. Still in one piece as far as I can ascertain, and that ain't easy to determine, let me tell you. You know how an arm or a leg goes after you've sat on it for a while, cutting off the circulation? But before the blood flow starts again and you get pins and needles? That numb heaviness? My whole body is like that. Like every part of me is full of lead.


Also, the not breathing is weird. I take a couple of breaths out of habit, for the familiar feeling of air moving in and out of my chest. After that I don't bother. It takes too much concentration and there are other things I need to focus on. Like, what do I do next, for instance?

So, what, I'm just gonna lie here?

It's an option, but I'd probably give the next person who opens up my drawer a heart attack. I don't want another death on my conscience. Not when I already have my own.

2.
A creak is all the warning I'm given before the floor gives way and I plummet through the rotten woodwork like a kingfisher diving through the water. I can't see a thing for dust and chunks of wood, but I know I've gone through the ground floor of the house when I break through a second layer of wood and hit earth. Damn, how long will this body hold up if I keep crashing like this?
I lever myself up, and find my head just above ground floor level while more dust and splinters shower down around me. I turn, looking for some way to pull myself back up...and find myself being stared at by three kids.
Oh, shit. For a moment we all just gaze at each other, no one sure what to do or who's going to do it first. Then one of the boys, maybe eight or nine and his mouth hanging open points at me and screams, "Zombie!"
What else can I do? I yank myself out of the hole and lurch at him, moaning fit to scare them to death. They don't hesitate. Each of them competing for the most piercing holler, they scarper out of the house so fast I expect to see scorch marks from the acceleration.
I laugh. Seriously, it's the funniest thing I've seen since I died. Maybe I could get to enjoy this.




Bio:

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitudeof subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3rd place), the EPIC eBook awards SF category, and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.




Goodreads Book Giveaway

Restless In Peaceville by Pippa Jay

Restless In Peaceville

by Pippa Jay

Giveaway ends February 28, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Friday, February 6, 2015

Cover reveal: Seth and Logan

Last year, I've had several fans of the Mirror series express wanting to know more about the secondary characters. It got me to thinking about their lives before the ISC. How did Charlie recruit them? What did they do before? Thus, A Mirrors Beginning was born. This is a series of short stories giving a look into the lives of John, Seth, and Logan Brooks, Jackson Gray, and even Mackenzie. Although hers won't be a short story. John's story was released earlier this year. Now his brothers are in the spotlight.





Synopsis:

Split from their family at a young age, the twins Seth and Logan Brooks went down very different paths. Seth became a pilot. Logan became a strongman for a Middle Eastern weapons and drug dealer.

Charlie Westlake is a man on a mission to bring together one of the top teams the universe has ever seen. A twist of fate will reunite the twins and bring them on an adventure beyond their wildest dreams.

Seth and Logan Brooks joins the ISC in this short story, a prequel to KG Stutts' Mirror series.

Excerpt:




Seth and Logan Brooks were helping a village recovering from a drought when they were approached by an older man. 

He was average height which meant they had several inches on him. He was slightly heavy set with graying hair and brown eyes. 

“Are you the one in charge here?” the man asked Seth.
“I guess you could say that. If you’re here to lend a hand, check in with Amy in the supply tent.”
“I’m not here to aid in the recovery.”
“Then I’m going to ask you if you would get out of the way. We’re a bit busy here.”
“I was hoping you would make time to speak with me, Seth. You and Logan.”

Seth paused as he bent to pick up a supply crate. He slowly stood up straight, looking cautiously at the older man.

“How did you know my name?”
“You are Seth Brooks, right?”
“I am. Who are you?”
“My name is Charlie Westlake and I need to speak with you and your brother.”

Seth studied the man who was looking at him earnestly. He looked over his shoulder at Logan helping unload a truck.

“Hey, Logan. Can you come here for a sec?”

Logan raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Seth motioned him over and after a moment, he joined them.

“What’s going on?”
“This is Charlie Westlake,” Seth introduced. The two men shook hands. “He says he needs to speak with us.”
“If you are here to help with the relief efforts—" 
“My matter is of greater importance.”
Logan crossed his arms over his chest. “Look, I don’t know what you have heard about us, but we’re not for sale.”
“For sale?” Charlie looked confused.
“We’re not hired guns,” Seth clarified.
“No, nothing like that.” He shook his head. “My offer is something more. Can we talk privately?”
“There really isn’t a private place around here.”
“Don’t brush me off. Look, I know I appear like a crazy old man to you, but I need you to hear me out.”

The twins exchanged looks. Neither of them looked convinced.



“Give me five minutes,” Charlie implored. “If you don’t like what I have to say, you can kick me out and never see me again.”
“That seems fair.” Logan nodded.
“Yeah, we’ll hear you out,” Seth agreed.
“Thank you.”

A Mirrors Beginning: Seth and Logan Brooks will be available February 13th!  Available for pre-order now: Amazon Smashwords