Release day for THE SORCERESS QUEEN AND THE PIRATE ROGUE!

 

Today is release day for THE SORCERESS QUEEN AND THE PIRATE ROGUE!

     

“I thought I was ready for The Sorceress Queen and The Pirate Rogue but I clearly wasn’t. I eagerly anticipated it but I was in no way shape or form ready for how this book arrested me and held me captive for the duration. I loved Stella and Jak’s even though my heart took up residence in my throat for its entirety. There’s action, adventure, sexual tension, love and so much more. I loved it and can’t wait to be wrecked by the next book in the series.” ~ Timitra on Goodreads

     

A Lonely Road

Stella has always been one to count her blessings. Empath, sorceress, shapeshifter, and healer, she’s grateful for the gifts the goddess of shadows has bestowed upon her. Yes, she’s sensitive to emotions and can’t bear to be in large crowds for long. And yes, that means she’ll never be able to take a lover as she’s unable to withstand physical contact with anyone but her twin brother. Certainly now that he’s found his true love, she feels more alone than ever. None of it haunts her, however, like the vision of the lonely tower where her life path ends.

An Unrequited Love

Jakral Konyngrr is a man of simple tastes: good whiskey, some coin in his pocket, and a fine blade in his hand. Though he’s no prince, not a shapeshifter, and not blessed with any magic, he’s happy in his skin. And yet he seems doomed to live the life of a hero from a tragic ballad, because the only woman he’s ever wanted barely knows he’s alive. As much as Jak longs for Stella, he’s resigned himself to being forever in the background. At least he can guard her back.

A Quest to Stop a Monster

But now Jak and Stella have been thrown together—along with a mismatched group of shifters, warriors, and sorceress friends—chasing and attempting to avert magic rifts that release monsters into their world. Worse, the strange intelligence behind the bizarre and deadly attacks seems to have developed a fascination for Stella. Battling for their lives and the good of the realm, they must fight—and perhaps love—together to alter the course of the future before it’s too late.

     

Incidentally, our topic this week is: INTJ (Myers-Briggs personality typing system) personalities in relation to writing. Of the four primary cognitive functions, which one are you and how does it affect your writing? Intuition, Sensing, Thinking, and Feeling.

For the record, I am INTJ. I think a lot of writers are. *Mastermind fistbump*

Did I mention it's release day?? Even an INTJ gets a little giddy!

New #UrbanFantasy: THE SHACKLED SPY by K.A. Krantz

Snow is falling and so must the old cosmic moat surrounding the Mid Worlds in the latest installment of The Immortal Spy series. Yep, that's right, Bix and the Berserkers are back, trudging through the ick of winter on another mission to save the Mids. 

THE SHACKLED SPY

The Immortal Spy: Book 6 

Sometimes the strongest chains are the ones we craft for ourselves.

The Mid World defense system is finally ready to launch, but the millennia-old barrier of highly destructive ether must be removed first. Only one very special artifact can hold such a powerful force. To take down the old and make way for the new, Bix and her team race to locate and reassemble the pieces of the containment device scattered across the Mids.

Alas, they’re not the only ones searching for the shards. In the wrong hands, the fragments are weapons of mass destruction. Fearful magical races and fearsome deities alike scramble to claim the pieces, but lurking in the ether are entities who will not go quietly…and who will stop at nothing to keep Bix from interfering in the burgeoning war.

Darkness will fall and armies perish when manacles break from the shackled spy. 

Buy The Shackled Spy Now in eBook or Paperback
Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  B&N  |  Kobo | Google Play

New to The Immortal Spy series? Start here.

New Fantasy Romance: The Golden Gryphon and The Bear Prince by @JeffeKennedy

This week our favorite hard-working, award-winning Sunday blogger, Jeffe Kennedy, released the first book in a new fantasy romance series Heirs of Magic! 

THE GOLDEN GRYPHON AND THE BEAR PRINCE
Heirs of Magic: Book 1

A Legacy of Honor

Crown Prince Astar has only ever wanted to do the right thing: be a credit to his late father’s legacy, live up to his duties as heir to the high throne of the Thirteen Kingdoms, and cleave to the principles of honor and integrity that give his life structure—and that contain the ferocious grizzly bear inside. Nowhere in those guiding principles is there room for the fierce-hearted, wildly free-spirited, and dizzyingly beautiful shapeshifter, Zephyr. Still, even though they’ve been friends most of their lives, Astar is able to keep Zephyr safely at arm’s length. He’s already received a list of potential princess brides who will make a suitable queen, and Zephyr is not on it.

A Longtime Obsession

Zeph has wanted the gorgeous, charming, and too-good-for-his-own-good Astar for as long as she can remember. Not that her longing for him—and his perfectly sculpted and muscular body—has stopped her from enjoying any number of lovers. Astar might be honorably (and foolishly) intent on remaining chaste until marriage, but Zeph is Tala and they have no such rules. Still, she loves Astar—as a friend—and she wants him to at least taste life before he chains himself to a wife he didn’t choose. There’s no harm in him having a bit of fun with her. But the man remains stubbornly elusive, staving off all of her advances with infuriatingly noble refusals.

A Quest to Save the World

But things change when a new terror threatens the Thirteen Kingdoms. Following prophecy, Astar and Zeph—along with a mismatched group of shapeshifter, warrior, and sorceress friends—go on a quest to stop a magic rift before it grows beyond anyone’s ability to stop. Thrust together with Zephyr, Astar finds himself increasingly unable to resist her seductive invitations. And in the face of life-and-death battles with lethal monsters, he begins to lose sight of why having her, just once, is such a terrible idea…

BUY IT NOW: Amazon | Apple Books | B&N | Kobo

New Sci-Fi Romance Release: JAMOKAN by Veronica Scott

Veronica's been busy this year! Our favorite Saturday blogger dropped her latest Badari Warriors Sci-Fi Romance this week. JAMOKAN is lucky # 13 in the series, but it also stands alone. Get yourself a Happily Ever After for the holidays and stay warm with some futuristic steam!

JAMOKAN
Badari Warriors #13

Badari Alpha Jamokan and his pack are growing discontented in the sanctuary valley, tired of coming in second place to the pushy new South Seas pack when it comes to assignments and everything else. On top of the discord within his pack, Jamokan is distracted by the search for the right woman to be a proper Alpha’s mate to partner with him in combat and in everyday life. Even the Badari goddess is warning him in visions that he and his pack are on the wrong path for a happy future. In desperation, he receives permission to take his entire pack north to the mountains for a two-week hunting expedition, where he hopes to use the time and rugged surroundings to settle the soldiers down and restore order and discipline.

And figure out his own future.

When his men unexpectedly locate a hidden Khagrish lab, he goes to investigate and see if there are humans to be rescued. Little does he suspect he’ll be called upon to break one of the highest commandments of the Badari packs and bring a new disaster to those who look to him for leadership.

Before she became a Khagrish prisoner, Rosemari Parcher was a hydroponics technician on a gritty colony world, who unexpectedly won a planetwide contest. Tapped to receive her heart’s desire and move to a totally different life in the luxurious Inner Sectors, her life had become a happy dream. Kidnapped in space by enemy aliens and given to the Khagrish, she and other humans are the unwilling subjects of a bizarre medical experiment where a quick death seems to be her only hope. Rescued by Jamokan and his pack, she finds herself deeply attracted to the Alpha but the devious Khagrish aren’t through with Rosemari or the experiment.

BUY IT NOW: Amazon

New #UF Out Now: THE EXPOSED SPY by K.A. Krantz

 Well hellllllooooo, Dear Readers! The latest in my Immortal Spy Urban Fantasy series is out now at all leading online retailers! Bix and the Berserkers are back, and things have gone from fraught to fugly in THE EXPOSED SPY.

THE EXPOSED SPY
The Immortal Spy: Book 5

What does a traitor look like to you?

The desperately needed Mid World defense system is nearing launch, but a quality control test reveals a fatal flaw in the build. When the Consortium tries to silence the whistleblowers, it’s up to Bix and her team to identify the problem and devise a patch before more mortals die.

It’s not going to be easy. Nothing and no one is what they seem. Enemies are wearing the bodies of allies. Allies are under government attack. Angels have gone rogue. Gods are missing. Native magic is corrupted. With a World on the edge of collapse, Bix must defy powers that could destroy the entire collective…or herself.

No illusion can withstand the truths of the exposed spy.

BUY IT NOW: 

Amazon (affiliate link)

iBooks | B&N | Kobo

Overdrive (for libraries)

Haven't started the series yet? No worries! Book 1: THE BURNED SPY eBook is half-off for a limited time! Get to know the gatekeeper on a mission from Hel.

Ch-ch-changing. Titles and names, that is.

First and foremost, I have a new book out. It's The Blood Knife, the vampire novel that had been in a box set for three weeks. That fundraising promo is over and I've put the book up as a standalone. It'll go up in formats other than Kindle this weekend.


Ch-ch-changing.
Title and name changes. You knew I'd have a story about that. When I subbed my first book to Berkley, it went in as Enemy Within. Marketing didn't like that title. So, they asked for a name change. I wasn't thrilled, but I was eager to play nicely with the big kids. So I sent in a list of twenty possible other titles. Many blessings upon my ever-patient critique group(s) who helped brainstorm those, cause I was stuck after about five. Titles are so not my super power. Anyway, I sent the list. Marketing brought their own list. Not a single one of them stuck. After a week of wrangling, marketing went back to the editor and said, "Leave it." You know the rest. The book went out with the original title. I'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall at that marketing meeting. I really would. It would have been fascinating to hear what criteria made a good title versus a bad one. With that information, I might could have given them a better title option, but alas. I was not invited.

The only change that DID happen was in the name of the aliens in the book. The major bad guys are the Chekydran. Well. That's what they *became* because when I first conceived of them, their name had far fewer vowels. My point at the time was that not every species humans and humanoids ever encounter are going to have names that we can say. My agent at the time, who convinced me to buy a few vowels, argued that it didn't matter humans and humanoids were always going to name aliens something they could say, so I might as well throw my poor readers a bone and make the Chekydran readable. I'm glad I did. I can't even remember, now, how I had them spelled originally. So it clearly didn't matter.

Frankly, if I need to change a name, that gets caught in draft when my critique group catches that all of my character names start with the same letter of the alphabet or something. I've been lucky thus far. Editors haven't asked me to change anything I feel really strongly about. I expect that's just a matter of time, though.

New SciFi Romance Release: IVOKK by Veronica Scott

Our Saturday blogger and publishing powerhouse Veronica Scott released the latest in her Badari Warriors SciFi Romance series this weekend, so for those of you building your payday book list, be sure to add IVOKK to your cart and savor the Happily Ever After!

IVOKK:

A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel

Proud enforcer of the Badari South Seas pack, Ivokk undertakes a secret mission back to their former home, in search of a cure for a mysterious illness affecting his soldiers, now in exile in the north. He’s ready to make any sacrifice to find the answer and help his pack brothers stay strong. He’s even willing to accept responsibility for the human woman assigned to the mission, although she’s a headstrong civilian, difficult and rumored to dislike his kind.

Sandara DiFerria was once a three-star chef in the Sectors, but that was before the alien enemy kidnapped the entire adult population of her colony to use for experimentation. Rescued from the labs by the Badari, she does her part to support the rebellion now by running the vast commissary operation in Sanctuary Valley. All she asks is to be left alone until she can get back to the Sectors and pick up her old life again. Her one previous romantic brush with a Badari soldier turned out badly, ending in public humiliation. Add to that post-traumatic stress from her life before moving to the colony and she’s the last person to pick for a top-secret mission. Or so she believes.

The Alpha running the pack disagrees and sends her to do the job under Ivokk’s watchful eye. Thrown together by the nature of the task they must undertake, the undeniable attraction they both feel grows. Will the dark secrets of Sandara’s hidden past create an insurmountable barrier between them? Can Ivokk and the tempestuous human chef find the answer to the Badari illness in time? Or will the elements and the enemy bring disaster?

BUY IT NOW: Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo

#Horror Release Day: BOOMTOWN by James A. Moore

Oh dear readers, if you thought yesterday's post was a prank, I assure you, James is not April Foolin' around with his latest creepy #western #horror release, BOOMTOWN. Turn on the lights, grab a blanket to hide under, and try not to scream as Jonathan Crowley returns to scare the bejesus out of you.

BOOMTOWN

There is no peace in death. Some people know that better than others, In Carson’s Point, Colorado the dead do not rest, but rise every night and try to kill whatever crosses their path. Those dead are merely the symptom of something far worse, something ancient and evil that does not care for the Europeans taking the lands, or for those who lived there before.

The living do not matter, the dead are tools, the possible spawn of the pale, white thing lurking in the woods are all that is important to that dreadful force. It will kill anything that gets in its path and make the living and the deceased suffer for their transgressions.

Carson’s Point is on a course that leads straight to Hell unless something comes along that can fight back against the unnatural servants of the thing that wants the boomtown destroyed.

The wizard, Albert Miles, is in town for reasons all his own, escaping the latest terrors he’s spread across the land. He might well be able to save the town, but if he does, he’ll exact a terrible price.

The new sheriff has his work cut out for him. There are savages waiting outside the town, dead things crawling from the grave, bad men set on taking what they want and fools aplenty trying to survive the disasters coming their way until they can once again go hunting for the dreams they hope will change their lives.

Jonathan Crowley could very well be the salvation that the town needs, but he has no desire to help anyone living there and has settled himself on one mission and one mission only: revenge against the soldiers that left him for dead.

The Hunter has quit and no longer wants anything to do with justice for humans or stopping the evil things that feast on humanity’s sorrows. Evil grows throughout the town, mortal evil and things far worse. And when the sun sets, that evil takes root and spreads like wildfire.

BUY IT NOW: Amazon | BN |  IndieBound

New Release: ORIA'S ENCHANTMENT by @JeffeKennedy #Fantasy #Romance

As proof Jeffe put in a lot of work last year, her second release for 2019 dropped this week. The fifth installment of her Sorcerous Moons fantasy romance series continues the adventure, the passion, and the challenges of Oria and Lonen's love.

ORIA'S ENCHANTMENT
Sorcerous Moons, Book 5

The Temptation of Power
No longer a princess and not yet a queen, the sorceress Oria welcomes the rush of power the ancient mask brings her—though the obsessive connection to it frightens her and alarms her barbarian husband, Lonen. But retreat is not an option. She must wrestle the magic to prevent an annihilating war, even if she must make the ultimate sacrifice.

A World in Flames
If Lonen wants to reclaim his throne—and save his people from destruction—he must return by sunset on the seventh day. What he thought would be a short and simple journey, however, leads them deeper into the mountains—and Oria deeper into the thrall of foul magic. Until he must choose between two terrible paths.

A Heart-Wrenching Choice
Struggling with conflicting loyalties, Oria and Lonen fight to find a way to be together… lest they be separated forever, and their realms go down in flames with them.

BUY IT NOW:  Amazon |  Nook |  Kobo

If you haven't started this amazing series yet, pick up Book 1, LONEN'S WAR today!

New Release: WARRIOR OF THE WORLD #Fantasy by @JeffeKennedy

2019 is a-hoppin' with new books from SFF Seven Authors! Jeffe follows James's bangin' New Year release with Book 3 in her Chronicles of Dasnaria #HighFantasy series.



WARRIOR OF THE WORLD
Chronicles of Dasnaria, Book 3

Just beyond the reach of the Twelve Kingdoms, avarice, violence, strategy, and revenge clash around a survivor who could upset the balance of power all across the map . . .

Once Ivariel thought elephants were fairy tales to amuse children. But her ice-encased childhood in Dasnaria’s imperial seraglio was lacking in freedom and justice.. With a new name and an assumed identity as a warrior priestess of Danu, the woman once called Princess Jenna is now a fraud and a fugitive. But as she learns the ways of the beasts and hones new uses for her dancer’s strength, she moves one day further from the memory of her brutal husband. Safe in hot, healing Nyambura, Ivariel holds a good man at arm’s length and trains for the day she’ll be hunted again.

She knows it’s coming. She’s not truly safe, not when her mind clouds with killing rage at unpredictable moments. Not when patient Ochieng’s dreams of a family frighten her to her bones. But it still comes as a shock to Ivariel when long-peaceful Nyambura comes under attack. Until her new people look to their warrior priestess and her elephants to lead them . . .

BUY IT NOW:  Amazon |  B&N | IndieBound

Plz read these new releases cuz I can't

Dude! There is a lot of brand-new (very probably) excellent stuff out in the land of speculative fiction. But because I'm spending most of my time tending to a sick family member (she's recovering, and she's gonna be okay; this is just time-consuming for all of us), I haven't really been able to read much lately. Here are four books I've bought in the last month and am *itching* to read but can't, so click 'em and let me know what you think:

Cara Bristol's latest Intergalactic Dating Agency SFR, Caid: Dakonian Alien Mail Order Brides #3, released November 8 and is sitting purchased but unopened on my Kindle. Cara started out writing erotic spanking stories but bloomed on the science fiction romance scene with Breeder, which is awesome and the first book I rec to folks who have read a lot of romance and are considering a jaunt on the spec-fic side. She wields language with sophistication and ease, pays a lot of attention to details in her worldbuilding, and bundles it all up with charm. I have no doubt this one will be as fun as her previous books.

Chanta Rand's brand-new Androids and Anarchy (Intergalactic Huntress Book 1) looks super tasty. I mean, intergalactic bounty hunter facing mutants and rebellions and an evil aristocrat villain and she is a badass gal with superpowers? Yeah, this one presses all my buy-this buttons. Sadly it has no reviews yet, so please, if you do read it, put some stars upon thars.

I've been reading Rebecca Royce for years. She started out writing shifters, but she's gone in several fun directions since, including SFR. Her latest co-written piece with Ripley Prosperpina, Lightning Strikes, is a post-apocalyptic zombie reverse-harem adventure, and I have no idea how Rebecca and Ripley have made that work, but they are both accomplished writers and I trust I'm gonna like this one.

And that's about all.. Oh, wait. I actually have read one new release in the last few weeks. Well, okay, I listened to it. Does that count? John Scalzi's The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency Book 2) came out back in October but was released simultaneously in audiobook, so I spent an Audible credit on it and enjoyed the hell out of it. It's short, especially considering the price tag on the ebook (whoa), but it's crammed with tropes I adore, excellent pacing, and that signature Scalzi irreverence, so I'd rec it, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure it broke records for Most F-bombs Ever in a Book Not Actually About Fing. Or maybe they were just more noticeable in the audiobook? *shrug* Fair warning for pottymouthness.

Anyhow, that's my recent-release reading to-read list. I could tell you loads of others in genres that aren't spec-fic, but here on SFF Seven, if we do nothing else ever, we FOCUS!

(Which is totally why I whiffed on my Wednesday post the week before last. Not that you noticed, probably/hopefully. But still: sorry 'bout that.)

Release Day: THE WAY OF THE SHIELD by Marshall Ryan Maresca

Today, our Thursday co-conspirator Marshall releases the newest hero in the fantasy world of Maradaine! Welcome to the Maradaine Elite...

THE WAY OF THE SHIELD

The first novel in the Maradaine Elite series blends fast-paced high fantasy and political intrigue.

Dayne Heldrin always dreamed of being a member of the Tarian Order. In centuries past, the Elite Orders of Druthal were warriors that stood for order, justice, and the common people. But now, with constables, King's Marshals, and a standing army, there is little need for such organizations, and the Tarian Order is one of the last remnants of this ancient legacy. Nevertheless, Dayne trained his body and mind, learned the arts of defense and fighting, to become a candidate for the Tarian Order.

When a failed rescue puts Dayne at fault for injuring the child of a powerful family, his future with the Tarians is in jeopardy. The Parliament controls the purse strings for the Order, and Dayne has angered the wrong members of Parliament. He returns to the capital city of Maradaine in shame, ready to be cast out of the Order when the period of his candidacy ends.

Dayne finds Maradaine in turmoil, as revolutions and dark conspiracies brew around him, threatening members of Parliament and common people alike. Dayne is drawn into the uproar, desperate not to have one more death or injury on his conscience, but the Order wants him to stay out of the situation. The city threatens to tear itself apart, and Dayne must decide between his own future and his vow to always stand between the helpless and harm.

BUY IT NOW: Amazon | B&N | BAM! | Indiebound

READ AN EXCERPT

The WIP and a New Release

My favorite thing about the current Work in Progress (WIP)?  Well the central theme of the book, entitled GABE, involves a major plot development in this ongoing series, which is fun to write, but I’m not talking about it yet LOL. I did foreshadow this once in book two, so readers may or may not be surprised. It’s a fun thing, I think.

In general my favorite thing about any WIP is just the fact that it's the book I'm writing and thinking about right now. I can't wait to read whichever book it happens to be when it's all done and to share it with readers.

My other favorite thing about the current WIP is that it’s book #5 in the series - book #4 is at the editor -  and I just released book #3 this week, so if you’ll forgive me, I’m now going to share the deets on my new release!

The book is JADRIAN: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance (Sectors New Allies Series Book 3) and here’s the blurb:

Taura Dancer has been pushed to her limits by alien torturers known as the Khagrish and is ready to die when suddenly the lab where she’s held as a prisoner is taken down by an armed force of soldiers.

The man who rescues her from a burning cell block is Jadrian of the Badari, a genetically engineered alien warrior with as many reasons to hate the Khagrish as Taura has. This set of shared past experiences and the circumstances of her rescue create an unusual bond between them.

Safe in the hidden base where Jadrian and his pack take her, Taura struggles to regain her lost memories and overcome constant flashbacks during which she lashes out at all who come near. Only Jadrian can recall her from the abyss of her visions and hallucinations.

As the war against the Khagrish continues, it becomes increasingly critical to find out who she really is and how she can help in the fight. Until she can control her terrors and trust her own impulses, Taura’s too afraid to pursue the promise of happiness a life with Jadrian as her mate might offer.

When he’s captured by the dreaded enemy, will she step forward to help save him, or will she remain a prisoner of her past?

This is the third book in the series and each novel has a satisfying Happy for Now ending for the hero and heroine, not a cliffhanger. Some overarching issues do remain unresolved in each book since this is an ongoing series but romance always wins the day in my novels!

Amazon     B&N    Kobo     Google     iBooks

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My cover artist Fiona Jayde has given me another gorgeous cover, if I do say so!