Rogue's Angels Present: The Riesa Series by LD Towers

Please welcome LD Towers author of The Riesa Series

LD Towers will be awarding a $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.

Teufel and New Austrian Order

by LD Towers

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GENRE: Military fiction

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

I think I always had stories in my head. (I refer to it as the movie theatre which plays in my brain) but I was really inspired by the stories my older sister Karen wrote. She’s almost 5 years older than I am, and as a little sister she was just SO cool. Anything to be like her. 

The first complete novel I wrote was a Star Trek:TNG fanfic. I was inspired by Mr. Worf. Funny enough, almost all my heroes and antiheroes are soldiers in one form or another.  That book is actually available over at FanFiction.net for free! 

2. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

New Austrian Order was a direct continuation of my first novel Teufel. As for Teufel… That’s complicated. As a military historian, my interest has always been WWI. WWII wasn’t overly interesting to me. Then I was watching a biography about Eva Braun (Hitler’s mistress and wife of a day) and many of the things she wrote about were very similar to a very toxic early relationship of mine. I wrote a play that was INCREDIBLY loosely based on her life. As I started doing some research into the characters in the play, a light went on in my head. Germany in the 1930’s was an incredibly strange time by our standards. We have this idea of Nazi Germany as being this monolithic block but it wasn’t in reality. What if I took people from the two worlds of Germany- the old nobility and the Nazi party- and told their story? What better way to show how different it was? 

3. What expertise did you bring to your writing?

Being a professional historian? I do a lot of research and try to be faithful to the times. IN my research, I’ve interviewed veterans from different countries about their experiences. I also have a 94 year old historical consultant. He reads what I write and tells me if I’m making any historical mistakes. He was there, so he knows. 

4. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

If you read my books and think… I wonder if LD Towers has a boot fetish? Yeah. I do. In fact, there is one scene in Teufel where my editor Rachel left me a note that said something along the lines of ‘do you and those boots need a moment alone?’

But I’m not the only boot obsessive in my book. Hagen Kohl takes his boots very seriously. 

Hagen reached for his polished, black boots. He could see his reflection in them. They were perfect. Pristine. Black mirrors. There was not a mark or a scuff to mar their perfection. He even polished the front of the heel and blackened the lip of the sole. A daily tribute to the days when the only boots he had were so caked with mud and human waste as to be almost unidentifiable. Boots held together by the laces he tied around the foot. Boots made so poorly for the German soldier, the cobbler's nails bit into his feet. When he came out of the trenches, he vowed he would never wear filthy shoes again, and he hadn't. Polishing his boots was much a nightly ritual as brushing his teeth.  - Teufel

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

Many many plans. The third book in the Riesa series is on the way in about a year or so. The Riesa series is planned to go from 1937 to approximately 2002- with some large gaps in time after the war. In my head, the endgame is 15 books- if the fans keep asking for them. There is also a prequel to Teufel coming, set in WWI and entirely from the perspective of Eugen Freisler.

Then there is another book to come out next year- Spring or Fall- called Murder Amid Slaughter- which is about an officer hunting a serial killer operating on the frontline of the Western Front in WWI. This story is also planned for a series. 

Also cooking at the moment is a series about my take on vampires. The unnamed first book is planned for the opposite spring or fall to Murder. This series is a little off my personal reservation as it doesn’t deal actively with war in the same way that the rest of my work does. (I sort of lie. In the first book, the Vampire was last seen as a soldier in WWI, but that’s a minor point. I’m both very nervous and very excited about this series. I will say why in a different question. 

6. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

I’ve said before that Hagen Kohl is the man I would want to be if I was a man. He’s clever, honourable and ruthless. He does do things he’s not proud of but then he will do something extraordinary. In both Teufel and New Austrian Order he has doubts about his actions, and those of the organisation he works for, but he’s loyal to those who are loyal to him and the oaths he’s taken. He gets the job done.  But he does some bad things in Teufel that will come out to haunt him later, so maybe I don’t want to be him! :)

7. Can you give us a sneak peak into this book?

One of my favourite scenes is below… but if it’s too long, I can find something shorter or snip it! :) I love the scenes with Dr. Goebbels. I’ve read some of his famous, actual diaries, and he was a very interesting man. Someone once asked me of the infamous people I write about, are there any I would actually want to meet. He would be at the top of the list. He was a bad man, but he was a very interesting one. 

8. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

I don’t and as a matter of fact, I’m not really a fan of them. I have a few test readers at the very end, and my editor, of course, but all are specifically chosen. I think with critique groups there is the danger of not following your instincts and trying to please all of the people all of the time. Sending a book off for reading is like getting a baby sitter. Would you trust your child with acquaintances? I advise people to find a few close but objective people- those who you know will tell you the truth and not just tell you it’s fab because you did it- and give it to them.

9. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

A now out of touch, but once good friend read Teufel and told me I would be an idiot if I didn’t. Who was I to argue with that? :D 

10. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

No, no, 1000X no. I just start writing, and I tell everyone to just write. I was a member of a Facebook group for writers and I watched so many people post about how they were almost ready to start writing because they had almost finished their plot files and their character files and their outlines and synopsis and blahbittyblaaaaah. Three months later they were still doing all this busy work and I came to realise that so much of that is a trap. If it’s part of a writer’s process, then I’m not going to judge but it absolutely mystifies me. I wrote the first draft of Teufel (269 000 words) in 4 months. When that story is in your soul, it will come out. For me, to outline it first would be a straight jacket. Teufel actually went places I didn’t intend, but it’s ever so much the better for it!

I do, now, (after I wrote the first draft of NAO) have a ‘character binder.’  It has all the characters from both books, from walk ons from a page here and there, to minor and major characters with every detail about them- partially so I don’t reuse a name and so I remember them if I want to bring them back from the ether. Horaz Vogel WILL return. 

11. How do you maintain your creativity?

Youtube. When I’m at a loss to describe something, or need to stick myself back in the 30s, I look at old Berlin or newsreels of the war or speeches on youtube. There is a ‘travelogue propaganda film’ that was made for tourists before the 1936 olympics and I wish I could package it with my books. This is Hagen’s Berlin.

https://youtu.be/P8hA8PmM8gY

12. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?

Hagen and Galiena are my favourites, of course. My hero and heroine. After, I don’t know. I love Hagen’s right hand man, Eugen Freisler. Eugen is huge and he’s fanatically loyal to Hagen; a big Bavarian farm boy with no interest in farming. I think of him a lot like a cat. He’s killed a shocking number of people and feels absolutely no guilt, but has surviver’s guilt for surviving WWI when all his comrades died. He makes jokes about hurting people and you would think that he’s amoral, but he rigidly keeps to his own code. In Eugen’s world, there are people you hurt- there are people who deserve to be hurt but you absolutely do not hurt innocent people and he is capable of great gentleness. Eugen knows that he loves Galiena long before Hagen articulates the thought but due to the difference in their station, it actually wouldn’t occur to him to give the feeling words. But we see it in the things he does. Eugen believes he is stupid because he is completely uneducated, and is absolutely unable to see that education and intelligence aren’t the same thing. 

Up near the front, a bent white head and giant shoulders in a camel hair coat had to be Eugen. As he approached, Hagen could see that Eugen was down on the kneeler; head low, lips moving silently, and fingers rubbing the beads of a rosary. Hagen was completely taken aback. In their entire association, Hagen had never seen Eugen pray. He’d never heard Eugen even acknowledge God, except to take the Lord’s name in vain.

Hagen slipped into the pew beside Eugen and waited patiently for the man to finish. Hagen took in the man’s shoes, hardly worn on the undersides. Eugen rarely wore mufti in Germany; living instead in his uniforms. Yet here he was; the press in his trousers was like a knife blade and his socks a frisky argyle. That too, surprised Hagen. He’d never especially noticed Eugen’s socks before, but would have put him as a basic black or brown man. Hanging from Eugen’s neck was the emerald green scarf Galiena had given him for Christmas. The beaded fringe sparkled in the light with every movement of the huge man’s arm. Hagen knew the scarf had special meaning for Eugen.

Eugen took his time, obviously not intimidated by Hagen’s presence. He dropped the beads from his fingers and pressed his forehead against his clasped hands. A moment more and he raised his head, staring forward before crossing himself deftly, before joining Hagen on the bench. The men were silent, each breathing slowly, lost in thought.

“Glad to see you, Hagen.” Eugen spoke at last. “Strohkeller told me you took a bit of a pounding the other night. What the hell,” Eugen paused and crossed himself suddenly. “What were you thinking?”

Hagen swallowed a grin at Eugen’s sudden showing of piety. “A bomb went off a block and a half from where I was and I had to take a look for myself?”

“Not good enough, you idiot!” One of those big fingers appeared right under his nose. “I hate it when you’re stupid, Hagen! Your presence here isn’t a complete secret! Don’t you think if the SA found out you were down here alone and unprotected they would make an attempt on your life?” The man growled with abject ferocity.

“And how many times do I have to tell you, Eugen, that I won’t let the SA dictate my movements to me,” Hagen retorted smoothly.

With a lightning hand, Eugen grabbed the exact place on Hagen’s arm where the Billy club impacted. Hard. Hagen tried to hide his reaction, but a quick in draw of breath told Eugen everything he needed to know. “Bloody fool you are! Great bloody fool.”

“Strohkeller has a big mouth,” Hagen grunted with irritation.

“Because he’s more afraid of me then he is of you.” Eugen sat back with some satisfaction. “Which is the way it should be.”

“You’re a bully, Eugen. Pure and simple,” Hagen grinned, almost by way of apology.

“Absolutely.”

New Austrian Order

13. Are your plotting bunnies angels or demons?

In my upcoming book about Vampires, the story involves a lot of religious (early Christian and Jewish)  mysticism, and there could be some definite discussion about angels. Our vampires are men cursed by God, (almost like a demon) and when you have the -, you always need to have the +. I’m very excited about this story. I think it’s an original take on vampires which involves no glitter!

14. Anything else you might want to add?

Thanks to the Angels for hosting me and for everyone who has taken the time to read all this. I can blether on when I put my mind to it!

LD Towers

BLURB:

BLURB FOR NAO:

1938. Germany is moving faster than Standartenführer Hagen Kohl thought possible. Sent down to Vienna to investigate a potential threat to Hitler’s plans for Austria, Hagen is drawn in to an aristocratic world he’s never encountered before. Without Hauptsturmführer Eugen Friesler at his side, Hagen is in more danger than he could have imagined as he hunts for a shadowy organization called the New Austrian Order. Back in Germany, Galiena von Steinberg returns to Riesa and the von Steinberg Gesellschaft, but taking over the reins of her Grandfather’s empire comes with many challenges. Can she protect her family holdings while keeping true to the new sense of self she has worked so hard to find?

BLURB FOR TEUFEL:

Against the politically charged background of Nazi Germany's police state, Standartenführer Doctor Hagen Kohl is trying to carve out a profession for himself in the SS. A middle class intellectual with a doctorate in Literature, Hagen is a an investigator who hunts criminals within the party apparatus itself. Hagen justifies everything by his personal code and patriotism, unable to see the flaws of the regime he serves. When he is ordered to investigate members of the army, he discovers patriotism is entirely a matter of perspective. His eyes are further opened by exposure to Galiena von Steinberg; an aristocrat whose own experiences bring him into the entanglements and intrigues at the highest levels of Third Reich society.

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EXCERPT:

Excerpt for Teufel:

“I don’t think it right to order a man to his death and then not have the fortitude to stand there and watch him die,” Hagen voiced gruffly to Best.

“What ever happened to plausible deniability, Kohl?” Best blustered.

“Damn, Best! Shut up!” Müller groaned again.

Hagen bored his eyes into Best. “I don’t give orders I feel the need to deny. I acted as I saw fit.”

Best stared back for a moment and then tore his gaze away. “I am only worried about potential legal entanglements, Kohl! I can only protect the SS from itself if it behaves in a responsible manner,” The words were insultingly spoken. “You already have half the SA trying to kill you. Do you want the Wehrmacht out for your blood too? If they hear about Bittrich, you could bet your car on the fact they would send someone to eliminate you. Quite rightly from a legal standpoint.”

Hagen stood, pulling his dignity and authority around him like a cloak. Very formally, he addressed Werner Best. “Oberführer Best, you seem to have a great deal of choler over this matter with Leutnant Bittrich. Would you care to step outside and discuss it in private with me? I really don’t think we need to clutter up the briefing with this sniping.” Hagen was more than willing to go toe to toe with Best over this. If anything, reducing the man would give him no end of pleasure.

Werner Best snapped to his feet. “Gladly, Standartenführer Kohl.” The tension between the two men crackled in the air as they bristled at each other like a pair of wild dogs.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

LD Towers travels the world like a rootless vagabond! A military historian, she searches out places of conflict to find a deeper insight to the things she writes about. Presently enjoying the warm weather and azure seas of Central America, she has lived all over Western Europe, including 5.5 years in the incomparable Berlin.

Primarily working in Historical and Military Fiction, LD sometimes sneaks in the odd Dystopian or Modern Thriller piece. Also look for a series of novellas about the despicable yet intriguing Meinrad von Steinberg from the Riesa Series, coming in fall 2015.

website:www.ldtowers.net

Twitter: @L_D_Towers

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LDTowerswalks

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/LD-Towers/e/B00ZMFTJTQ

Page for Teufel: http://www.amazon.com/Teufel-Riesa-Book-LD-Towers-ebook/dp/B00ZLT5LCW

NOTE: THE AUTHOR IS OFFERING A SMASHWORDS COUPON TO ALL OF YOUR BLOG READERS for New Austrian Order!  Please include this in your post:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/590036

The list price is $6.99.

Promotional price: $4.96
Coupon Code: YM67N
Expires: March 3, 2016

Also, Teufel is on Kindle countdown as follows:

Amazon US:

November 19, 2015 at 12:00 AM (PST) -- $0.99

           

November 20, 2015 at 6:00 PM (PST) -- $1.99

           

November 22, 2015 at 12:00 PM (PST) -- $2.99

November 24, 2015 at 6:00 AM (PST) -- $3.99

November 26, 2015 at 12:00 AM (PST) – Back to original list price $4.99

Amazon UK:

November 19, 2015 at 8:00 AM (GMT) -- £0.99

November 22, 2015 at 4:00 PM (GMT) -- £1.99

November 26, 2015 at 12:00 AM (GMT) -- back to original list price £3.27

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

LD Towers will be awarding a $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1392

EDITING BY ANGLES: HALF PRICE COVERS THROUGH NOVEMBER

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The Angels started editing in the 1990s--many Earth years ago. And Amber Angel began designing when personal computers were first introduced. Most recently, she's been focusing on designing book covers, garnering wonderful comments like these from authors.

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Through the end of November, the Angels are offering a HALF-PRICE SPECIAL!

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These are high resolution (300 dpi) front covers and will be sized to fit your project. When you purchase a cover from this page, it will not be sold to anyone else.

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Running from demons, Alexandra McMurdie stumbles into Forbidden Ground where up is down and elements of nature are contested. Straight to Heaven by Christine Young ~ December 1 release

Title: Straight to Heaven

Author: Christine Young

ISBN: 978-1-62420-278-0

Email: achristay@aol.com

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 4

Buy at: www.roguephoenixpress.com

TAGLINE

Running from demons, Alexandra McMurdie stumbles into Forbidden Ground and is transported from the twenty-first century to life in the 1800s, a life she is unprepared for.

BLURB

Running from demons, Alexandra McMurdie stumbles into Forbidden Ground where up is down and elements of nature are contested. Though a strong independent woman in the twenty-first century' she is unprepared for life in the 1800s. Her first site of the formidable James Lawrence makes her heart skip a beat, giving her cause to reconsider her desperate need to find a way home.

Born with a silver spoon, James’ life was torn apart during the War Between the States. Moving west he vows to put the life he once knew in the past. When he discovers a half-frozen woman near Gold Hill, his heart begins to thaw. His love for Alexandra and his need to keep her from a man who has pursued her through time might cost him his life as well as hers.

EXCERPT

Jacksonville, Oregon 1868

Midnight...the witching hour, a time to ease one's conscience and look to the next world for answers. Wild tales of a vortex told by the Native Americans where up was down and large was small, intrigued the valley settlers. One had only to expect the unexpected and it would occur. A ball could roll up hill but not down. No one ventured through the vortex unchanged, simply because the site defied the human mind. Here there were no limits set and no boundaries defined.

Mysterious tales ran rampant among the Native Americans. Fantastical stories portrayed visitors from other ages, other worlds, and even other dimensions passing through time and stopping here for a moment of rest before continuing their journey. Difficult to comprehend, impossible to believe unless one met his fate head on at the appropriate hour. Midnight. When spirits roamed the earth, anything could occur and anyone could vanish.

Midnight...an hour to be wary of, to remain at home and hope it passed by without illusions floating on the stairway, of distinctive flickering in the candlelight, or a hesitant knock on the door from some invisible apparition. No one would wander out at this hour or challenge another, unless faced with no other choice.

Captain James Lawrence had sworn to uphold the law. Tonight, he might have to venture into the unknown; meet any challenge. He might stumble upon an innocent unsuspecting traveler, perhaps encounter a miracle and find a path straight to heaven.

The deserted countryside lay as a freshly painted picture bathed in the moonlight, and the crystal ice that coated the laurel trees shimmered, sending prisms of light toward the heavens. Even February's freezing rains paused as if paying homage to the hour.

Midnight.

James watched the moisture hover in a mindless drizzle of mist; low lying clouds floated and swirled in gossamer veils near the earth, entwining themselves in the manzanita and laurel, around the blackberry bushes, and the fields of grasses and weeds that dotted the hillside.

"Not tonight. Not again..." He pounded his fist against the railing, hoping he heard wrong.

From the west, James Lawrence could hear the low baying of hounds and the steady beat of horses as he stood on the porch of his home surveying his land. Charles Majors would bring his hounds, six of them, merciless in their intent, and trained to hunt man. They did not give up and he'd never known them to fail.

"Son of a bitch!" he said fiercely, "not tonight!" His fist landed squarely on the wooden beam holding up the roof. He stared into the night, cursing the situation. Duty and honor in the forefront of his mind, he knew he would join the posse.

Soon the men would stand at his porch expecting him to mount and ride with them. They were law-abiding men from town. A couple of them owned stores, some panned for gold. One was the saloon owner and another owned the town newspaper. He owed the community, knew he couldn't avoid this responsibility. If they would only come without the dogs, the nightmares might stop.

He rubbed his temples and wished the hammering within would vanish, but the pounding hooves grew louder, the hammering worse. His muscles flexed and as a brittle tension radiated through him, he held his breath, purposely waiting.

Staring into the cold night, he reflected on another time. A time during the war when the dogs had hunted him and they had come so perilously close to his heels. Now, on this moonlit night, even his home offered him no protection, no safe retreat. They came to him for his help—for his expertise. James shivered, yet the sensation wasn't caused by the cold.

He had hoped they wouldn't call on him again, but now it seemed as if the trail lay fresh and in his direction. He hated the look in a man's eye when cornered with nowhere to go; loathed the utter despair that accompanied it.

And the fear.

"Poor wretched soul," he said. "He'll know what hell feels like before the morning sun rises."

Licking her wounds after ending a six-year marriage to a serial cheating husband, Julia has run away to her grandfather's house high in the Australian Mountains... Perceptions of Love Boxed Set READ FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

Title: Perceptions Of Love Boxed Set

Authors:

Angela Castle

Tamsin Baker

J. L. Addicoat

C. L. Kraemer

Maggie Mundy

Christine Young

ISBN: 978-1-62420-284-1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 5

Buy at: Amazon

Six full length novels that challenge conventional Perceptions Of Love.

Tiger Mine

Angela Castle

Licking her wounds after ending a six-year marriage to a serial cheating husband, Julia has run away to her grandfather's house high in the Australian Mountains, hoping to fix the old neglected building up while she contemplates her future, only to discover a huge white Siberian tiger on her door step. Tiger shifter Mohan has escaped, jumped ship and is in hiding from the hunter who has ripped him from his world and murdered those he loved, when a curvy Aussie woman turns up at the old house he’s managed to shelter in these past weeks. He offers his services as a builder by day, returning to her by night as a tiger. Despite the strong attraction he has trouble fighting, what he discovers in Julia is a new kind of warmth and kindness he is in desperate need of.

AN EXCERPT

Desperation was becoming a prevalent emotion in Mohan's life. With each passing moment, he slipped deeper into the unwanted state.

His food supply was limited, and he grew weaker with each passing week. Soon, he would be forced into the situation of journeying back into the human populace. It was dangerous for a creature in his situation.

As long as he remained in animal form, he had a chance of surviving. Yet, with each necessary shift to his human side, he grew weaker. His body ached with a gnawing hunger. Even in the warm climate of this new land, he was cold.

Mohan had been fortunate to find shelter; an old, abandoned farmhouse. It had several rooms and would have once been a comfortable home. Someone had left it to the ravages of time and was in need of much repair.

He would restore it if he had the resources. For now, it was a roof over his head and kept out the chill of the cold mountain nights. Still, even with a full blaze in the solid stone fireplace, it only partially kept the chill from his bones.

He had nothing with which to trade, nothing to barter, and he had limited English. All he would need to do was open his mouth to speak, and they would know he was not of this land. The clothes on his back he had taken from a pile discarded next to a large bin on a seaside street, near where he had come ashore. By day he had walked over many fertile, abundant fields through strange forests. As darkness fell, he had shifted and used the strength of his animal form. He hunted rabbits to help him continue on. As he moved further away from people and higher into the mountains, the safer he began to feel.

Stumbling across the farmhouse had been an answer to an unspoken prayer. He had collapsed in the old building, staying still until his exhaustion had faded.

Storm Clouds

Tamsin Baker

Naylaa is United to her beautiful unicorn Bronte. She knows the legends and is waiting for the United pair that will complete their life.  When Gorvan arrives with Seinna, his United, Naylaa knows instantly Gorvan is her soul mate. But Gorvan is stubborn and scared. He wants to keep moving from town to town and doesn’t believe Naylaa about their need for one another. Naylaa must make him see it...before greed and stubbornness tears them and their beloved unicorns apart forever.

AN EXCERPT

A laugh bubbled out of her as Bronte galloped through the forest. Naylaa loved the feeling of his powerful body between her legs. The power, the speed and pure exhilaration that came with riding an animal such as Bronte.

“You are incredible my friend. It has been too long since we have run like this.”

I know Naylaa.

Bronte’s home was just ahead of them, hidden amongst the rocks and trees. Beneath her hands, Naylaa felt Bronte’s skin prickle.

“What is it Bronte?”

I can smell something, foreign and delicious.

The tingle of excitement and arousal that ran through him made Naylaa shudder. She had never felt that particular current within Bronte before and in turn felt her own body soften.

I need to go.

He turned without her direction and began to run. She let Bronte have his head.

“I trust you, Bronte. Take me to it.”

Spirit of Love

J. L Addicoat

Old buildings have an eerie haunting feeling, and the 17^th Century Manor house in the Cornish countryside Julia intends to restore, is no exception. Originally her dead husband’s dream, she feels it’s up to her to complete it in his memory. When she arrives, she realizes it’ll take more than a quick clean to put the dilapidated old Manor to rights.

While exploring the house, she feels as someone, or something, is watching her. Darting shadows and movements, seen from the corner of her eyes, seem to confirm sinister happenings at the Manor in the past. The discovery of an old diary hidden in a chest of drawers and the story it tells, lead Julia in a different direction than she originally thought she would be taking.

AN EXCERPT

A sense of foreboding settled in Julia's stomach as she quickly returned to the car. She didn't know what it was about the manor, but each time she visited, the hair stood up on the back of her neck. It felt as if something or someone was watching her.

Starting the car's engine, she drove slowly down the weedy, rutted path, the car bouncing as its wheels sank into the potholes. Julia cringed at the jolts and scraping sounds coming from underneath the vehicle. "I should never have sold the Landcruiser. What was I thinking, bringing the Jag?" She knew what she had been thinking. She was the Mistress of the Manor now, and wanted to show off.

As she bumped along through the avenue of trees, the manor revealed itself. Grey stone blocks of the façade gave a haunting welcome. Julia swallowed a lump in her throat and tears pricked her eyes. It wasn't right. Richard should have been here with her. He'd wanted to restore the old mansion for a while. This was his dream house.

Instead, it had become his burial place.

She'd promised, while she knelt at his graveside, to restore the old manor in his memory. That had been two years ago. The memories of the time still haunted her. Grief and loneliness had held her back. Mentally, she felt stronger now, and able to accept having to carry on alone. "Get a grip on yourself Julia. It's an old house. It's bound to have a few creaks and groans."

Parking the Jag next to the front door, she unpacked, placing the bags in front of the massive wooden doors. The leering gargoyle face on the door knocker sent a shiver through her. Placing a hand over its face so she wouldn't have to look at it, Julia turned the door key in the lock and pushed the door open.

Dragons Among Us

Christie L. Kraemer

In a world full of anomalies such as the platypus and self reproducing Komodo dragon, is the human race willing to accept that dragons may be real? Sapien Draconi-human-dragon shape shifters-all over the world face this dilemma every day. The question has become life and death as their species is plagued with unexpected and unwanted shifting in the most unlikely of places. The Ancient Ones-full-blooded dragons-can offer advice, but few seem to put forward workable solutions to the problem. The fate of the shape shifters hangs in the balance, and an answer must be found before the Homo sapiens find, dissect, and hunt Sapien Draconi to extinction.

AN EXCERPT

Aleda crawled from her sleeping bag and, individually, stretched her muscles. She’d always enjoyed camping. It was the only time she slept well. Something about the unpolluted air, the nights sounds of nature and knowing there were no other people about produced a sleeping potion no doctor could recreate. She dressed warmly against the morning chill and meandered to the stream to get water for coffee and cooking. Not having done much the day before, her ravenous hunger puzzled her.

“Must be the good mountain air.” She made coffee, scrambled eggs, and toasted bread with a slender wire camp toaster, which she held over the fire. As she sat in her chair enjoying the taste of food and quiet of the surrounding woods, hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end and her skin tingled. She shook off the feeling and poured another cup of coffee. The sensation of eyes observing her movements overpowered her senses and her amulet began humming, the sound increasing in volume with each passing minute.

“Enough!” Aleda tossed her plastic plate to the table with a clatter, stomped to her tent and retrieved a heavy coat. “I’ll nip this foolishness in the bud, right now!”

She hesitated as she started to storm from the camp. Camera. Quickly returning to her tent, she stomped away from her personal sanctuary, Nikon in hand, stomach complaining. Half a dozen paces from the camp, after wreaking a rushing flurry of birds into flight, Aleda realized, if she was to find out what was inducing her amulet to hum and her hair to stand on end, she would need to slow her pace—think before she stumbled into trouble. She proceeded into the stand of trees serving as the backdrop for her camp. Sauntering to nearest the evergreen, she placed her hand on the bark and felt a buzzing sensation tickle her palm. Aleda stumbled backward, dumbfounded by the commotion stirring within her. Logic and reason said she shouldn’t be sensing anything by touching the tree.

“This whole trip is turning out to be totally illogical.”

World Change

Maggie Mundy

Clare gets transported from present day Florence to an alternate world, one that looks like fourteenth century Italy. The only way back is through a portal half a world away, plus the local High priestess wants her dead, and the only one she can trust is a vampire called Trevi. He is the only one who exits in this world, and she knows more about what he is than he does. He is hard to resist, especially when he saves her life. Trevi can take her home but he is keeping one big secret. She will have to be like him to survive the journey through the portal back to her world making a myth a reality.

AN EXCERPT

Oh my God, her head hurt. That would teach her to drink so much. Clare squinted as she tried to open her eyes. Tina had better be suffering as much or there was no justice. That had been one weird dream. She couldn't remember coming back to the hotel, plus her mouth tasted like the bottom of a birdcage. Not that she had ever tried licking one, but was pretty sure this was what it was like. Her hand hit thin air as she reached beside the bed for her water bottle. There was a bedside table with a glass on it. There was no hotel room, or sister in the other bed either; there was no other bed. She tried to sit up but her head thumped and she decided for now it was better to lie back down.

This place looked old, very old. The walls were white washed stone and the windows at the far end of the room had wooden shutters. They hardly let in enough sunlight to illuminate the room. The bed was a four-poster, with curtains around it that were pulled back. The other side of the room comprised a fireplace and a chair beside which were stacked books. The books, like everything else, appeared exceedingly old. They were leather-bound, not a modern looking cover amongst them.

This couldn't be happening. It had been a dream. She had been drunk. It had to be. Clare closed her eyes, hoping when she reopened them she would be awake and back in Florence. It didn't work. The panic was returning as her pulse sped up. The door opened and a man walked in with a tray. She didn't recognize him. Was he room service? He wore old-fashioned clothes and was followed by someone else. This man she knew. He was called Trevi and had taken her flying through the air and into the woods. What the hell was going on? Where was the hotel and Tina? She wanted to see her, not this. Clare pulled up the bed cover and clutched it in her hands as she pushed her body back into the pillow.

Sweet Sexy Sadie

Christine Young

From the first time Sadie’s eyes met those of Brody McKenna in the hot Sierra Madre Mountains, theirs was a potent attraction—not gentle, slow, and easy, but hot, hard, and all-consuming. The daughter of a dysfunctional family, Sadie had dreams no man could wrench from her with hot sex and an all-consuming passion. She’d challenge this alpha male with all the strength she possessed. But her red hair, fiery temperament, and indomitable spirit obsessed Brody...and he knew he had to find a way to show her he was more than he appeared and convince her to make a life with him.

AN EXCERPT

Sadie didn't know what to make of Brody. Exceptionally handsome and charismatic, he'd made her smile the first time she saw him sauntering down the road toward her. Good lord, but he looked as if he owned the world. Tall, tanned from the sun, amber-green eyes that sparkled as if he saw some light humor in everything. He was wiry and sleek; a quickness about him surprised her. His blue-black hair was tied back with a leather thong, his chin angular.

Perhaps he did own this part of the Sierra Madres. His family seemed to own most of this town.

Her research had brought her to this place, Cactus Junction. Now the prospect of getting to know an interesting man would be an added perk. In the bathroom she slipped out of her clothes and into a tepid shower. A few minutes later she emerged squeaky clean and ready for the next part of her adventure.

Unpacking her clothes and taking out her laptop, she opened it. What do explosive experts do?  Hmmm....

Why, they blow up things. What would he blow up around here?

Lord but that sounded crazy to her. Before typing in the necessary info to pull something up on Google, she leaned back, relaxing into her chair. The wallpaper was outdated, and the old fan complimented the air conditioning. She realized she liked the atmosphere.