Accidentally In Love Danica Flynn
(MacGregor Brothers Brewing Company, #1)
Publication date: December 7th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
At thirty-five and single, I’m tired of the dating game. Tired of men who look at me and say, “You’d be prettier if you shed a few pounds.”
There’s only one man I want a future with — my grouchy friends with bene fits, Nolan. But he’s adamant about keeping things casual.
All that changes when one night we get careless, and those pink lines show up on the pregnancy test months later.
Nolan wants to do right by me. He wants to give me what I’ve been searching for, but I’m pretty sure he’s only doing it out of obligation. It’s not like the bearded brewmaster loves me like I love him.
Are you sure you don’t have the flu or something?” Gemma asked from across the kitchen table, stirring her burrito bowl in thought.
Gemma lived in South Philly, but commuted to the brewery in Drakesville. When we could, we’d have dinner together before her shift. I tried to cancel tonight, but she insisted. My sister could be needy.
I shrugged and pushed my untouched bowl of food out of the way. I had zero appetite tonight.
“PMS?” she asked.
I stared back at her in silence.
“Avs, when did you last get your period?”
“Not since before the Arts Fest,” I admitted in a low whisper.
Her eyes turned to saucers. “That was two months ago!”
I cringed. “Maybe it’s stress?”
Gemma looked horrified.
When Gemma was in college, she had a pregnancy scare, and I drove all the way up to State College to be with her. She didn’t want kids, and an unplanned pregnancy hadn’t been in the cards. She ended up not being pregnant and got her period the next day, but to this day, she always was stressed if it was late. If Gemma had been in my shoes, she wouldn’t have ignored the signs. She would have taken a pregnancy test the day her period was late.
She stood up and put on her coat.
I furrowed my brow at her. “Where are you going?”
She glared at me. “Going to the pharmacy to get a pregnancy test.”
Before I could argue, she ran down the steps and out of my apartment. I cringed at my door slamming shut behind her.
Gemma was gone for maybe fifteen minutes before she clomped back up the steps and waved a bag of pregnancy tests in my face.
“Come on, let’s take these,” she said and led me into my bathroom.
Ten minutes later, we stared down at the third and final pregnancy test and waited for the results. The first two tests were positive, so I didn’t have a good feeling about this one. I knew I was pregnant before those pink lines showed up on the first test, but I didn’t want to accept it. I ignored what my body told me and tried to will the pregnancy away. I had even been avoiding Nolan because if I had seen him, I would have burst into tears and told him everything.
My timer chimed, and I handed the testing stick to my sister. “Please look. I can’t.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Oh, Avs,” she cooed and squeezed my hand in comfort.
“I’m pregnant, aren’t I?” I sobbed.
Author Bio:
Danica Flynn is a marketer by day, and a writer by nights and weekends. AKA she doesn’t sleep! She is a rabid hockey fan of both The Philadelphia Flyers and the Metropolitan Riveters. When not writing, she can be found hanging with her partner, playing video games, and reading a ton of books.
Heart Of Gold Quinn Coleridge
Publication date: November 19th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Workaholic attorney Simon Phillips negotiates multi-million dollar deals in the tech world, but he’s secretly falling apart. With an ulcer, insomnia, and a growing dependence on alcohol, Simon conceals his dark side from the other partners at his firm, until the day he wakes up on a bathroom floor in his good Tom Ford suit, smelling of Jose Cuervo. Simon barely remembers his intoxicated rant from the night before, but it lands him with a forced leave of absence and two months of community service.
After choosing to perform his service at an obscure nonprofit medical clinic, Simon meets Dr. Kate Spencer. A dedicated physician and widow at twenty-eight, Kate knows how painful love can be, and she doesn’t trust workaholic lawyers. Especially ones with cool blue eyes and a history of breaking hearts.
Yet a rocky friendship develops between these two world-weary souls, and when dangers from Kate’s past emerge, somehow Simon is the one standing at her side.
Can love help them heal? Or will they miss their chance at happiness?
Simon Phillips knew this in his gut. Just as he knew everything since then had gone to hell somehow.
Where am I? What happened? His muscles felt stiff where they rested on a hard, cold surface of some kind. Blinking rapidly, Simon opened his eyes against the blinding light overhead and inhaled a cinnamon sugar scent, thinking suddenly of the snickerdoodle cookies his grandmother had baked years ago. He detected something else as well.
Is that tequila?
The floor gleamed white beneath him. Simon recognized the Carrara marble and realized with sudden horror that he was in the executive bathroom at his law firm. While his brain urgently told him to move, his motor skills struggled to obey. The room spun when Simon finally pulled himself to his knees. He exhaled slowly and noticed the snickerdoodle-impersonating air freshener attached to the wall. More surprising still, the essence of Jose Cuervo clung to him like cheap cologne.
Leaning his head against a nearby sink, Simon tried to remember. What’s with the booze? And why am I on the floor in my Tom Ford suit?
Then, through the mental fog, the memories came flooding back in gruesome Technicolor. It can’t be true.
Except that it was.
“Shoot me now,” Simon muttered. “I’m as good as dead anyway.”
Leonard Cronin walked through the door at that moment. “Would that I could oblige you but there are laws against that type of thing.”
Author Bio:
Quinn Coleridge grew up in the Pacific Northwest where she learned to love rain storms and reading by a crackling fire. She wrote often in a variety of genres, studied literature as an adult, and created a humor column for a small town paper. Since moving to the desert with her husband and kids, Quinn doesn’t use her fireplace much these days, but she still loves books.
All Mason wants to do is fall in love, get married and live happily ever after.
The hunt is beginning to wear him down…until he meets (slightly) famous fashion designer Diego. Everything sparks between them—the banter, the sex, the fiery eye contact across a crowded room.
There’s just one thing: Diego is already married and living his happily-ever-after, which luckily (or not) for Mason includes outside courtships.
But not quite in the way he’d always imagined.
Mason thought he knew what would make him happy, but it turns out the traditional life he’d expected has some surprises in store.
I have enjoyed the other books in this series so I was excited to get to this one and it did not disappoint. The chemistry in this one was done exceptionally well and kept the book going for me as I couldn’t wait to see what was happening. I really enjoyed that the characters and story felt like a book that was meant to keep a smile on your face. Yes, there is a relationship that many would see as unconventional, so I enjoyed the way the characters interacted and the way they defined their “normal” as it actually tackled a broader topic regarding societal views. Still it had some amazing laughter inducing scenes and dialog and the writing was as excellent as it had been in the other books.
Kris Ripper lives in the great state of California and zir pronouns are ze/zir. Kris shares a converted garage with a kid, can do two pull-ups in a row, and can write backwards. (No, really.) Ze has been writing fiction since ze learned how to write, and boring zir stuffed animals with stories long before that.
What Happened to Coco VB Furlong
Publication date: December 4th 2021
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
When a girl disappears, long-buried secrets resurface…
Coco is missing. Her room’s a mess, and her phone is left behind in her dorm at Lainsbury Hall School
Ella, Coco’s childhood best friend, is desperate for her to return, although she knows that if she ever sees Coco again, there’ll be a lot of explaining to do.
Bea knows that her new group of friends attracts drama, and she thinks she has the last shred of common sense between them all. Only, if that was true, she would leave Genevieve, her toxic ex, well alone.
Conrad is confident that Coco will return safe and well. Only, the way his secrets are unravelling, he’s worried he won’t be when this is all over.
Harrison and Coco are the perfect couple. Everyone knows that. But looks can be misleading. Even the smartest boy in school can make a terrible mistake.
In order to navigate the web of secrets and lies that Coco leaves behind, her circle of friends needs to unravel a few of their own.
In the misty darkness lit only by a blue streetlamp, Ella knew that she was not alone. She turned and saw the faceless figure far down the drizzly street. It came towards her at speed. It didn’t seem to be moving, but she knew that it was gaining on her. She started to run, but her legs would not move. She was stuck, as though in quicksand.
When she dared check over her shoulder once again, the figure was only about five steps away, and she could see raspy breaths escape the black silhouette in a wispy white cloud. The scene whirred in front of Ella as she pulled on her legs, sobbing, begging them to move. But they would not. All she could hear was the breathing, slow and rattling, as though it was the figure’s very last. Four. Three. Two.
It was the skeletal hand on her shoulder that woke her. In the darkness of her room, she was alone. She turned her alarm off and felt uneasy in the silence. She was soaking wet, her back from sweat, her face from tears.
She washed her face, hardly daring to open her eyes and look into the mirror above the sink. She felt watched, hunted. As she brushed her teeth, she turned on all her lights and opened the dreary brown curtains that Lainsbury Hall School had placed in all the dorms. But even in her bright vanity lamps that took over her dressing table, drowning her in bright white light as she did her make up, her eyes darted around the corners of her mirrors, checking all angles of the room in the reflection for the faceless spectre. She was not herself today. Then again, she hadn’t been herself yesterday, either.
Author Bio:
VB Furlong is a trainee lawyer and writer of young adult novels living in Berkshire, UK. She wrote her first “novel” at aged ten and has not stopped since then. Through her writing she aims to explore many of the issues she faced herself growing up, in the hopes that others facing the same issues feel some solidarity. Her friendships are a huge part of her life and consequently is a major theme in her writing, exploring the way in which we interact with each other, especially in difficult times.
Originally from Mumbles, Swansea, VB Furlong enjoys the sun and the sea, and walking her three dogs across the cliffs. These walks have offered her inspiration for many pieces of writing, including What Happened to Coco which she is excited to introduce as a coming of age boarding school thriller.
Hey everyone! So as much as I’d like to forget that we just got through November, I sadly can’t. I was ready for NaNoWriMo this year, but the month had different plans. As you may know, I had a hard November, including the loss of a family member, so my head wasn’t really in the right headspace for writing. It started well enough, but after the first week or so things went downhill.
Sometimes these things happen and it seems this year just wasn’t the best writing year for me, capped off with not completing Nano. It’s ok, and I’ll definitely try again next year, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little upset at the way my November went.
I’m trying to get back on track now, after the difficulties of the last month, so hopefully I’ll have more to report in the future about my writing endeavors and process.
How did everyone else’s NaNoWriMos go? Happy writing!
Rogue Unbroken Angie Day
(Legends & Shadows Saga, #3)
Publication date: December 10th 2021
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Kate had survived. She had lived through pain and torment and now she was on the other side, where all the happiness was supposed to be. But with Alec’s vengeful punishment for escaping him, she can’t touch anyone without hurting them.
Alec still wants to create a Level Five and he’s dangerously close. That power under his control would mean unraveling the world as it stands. The world Kate has not yet started to enjoy. She won’t be able to rest until her body, her mind is fixed, and Alec won’t get his beloved power without her help.
The two warring sides of Rogues and Shadows will have to meet. Kate will have to confront Alec and his cruel ambition once again. But every moment with the Shadows is detrimental to those she loves, especially Kylan. So she must find a way to outsmart the person who taught her everything she knows, the most feared Shadow in the world.
Kate is strong. She survived once. But even the strongest people can break with the right pressure, and Alec is ready to tear her life apart.
Alec lifted a hand to my face but lowered it again. “But then you came back to me. You fell for me again. I saw it. If you say you’re done with me, then why can’t you just do the honorable thing and stop loving me?”
Alec looked down at the floor and he never looked so sheepish and small.
A trick. It had to be a trick.
But he was so small and broken and careening in his own mind. I knew what that felt like, all too well.
“I want to.” I leaned back on the shelves again. “You’re despicable and psychotic. You hurt the people I care about. You tortured me, manipulated me—”
“And yet that’s not good enough for you to kill me. All you can do is leave, and I’m sitting here hoping I can somehow get you back.” Alec raised his arms like he didn’t know where to put them anymore. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer. Why?” Alec moved closer to my face.
“Because you won’t let me.”
“Ha.” Alec grinned before his eyes turned dark again. “I wish I had that much control over your decisions. Try again.”
I shoved him away. “I don’t know, Alec.”
“Yes, you do,” he came right back. “Think, Mara.”
“Because you’re home to me!”
His mouth fell open and the pain created lines around his eyes. I just stared at him for a moment. I saw all the same years of complications that I felt in mine. We weren’t just similar. He and I were mirror images of each other.
“No matter what you do, no matter where I go. When I think back on my life, you are all I can see for centuries,” I said.
“I get it.” Alec backed off. I caught his arm.
“You don’t. You’re a terrible person. You’re the nightmare that just won’t go away.” I looked at the floor. “But you’re also a huge part of my life, whether I hate you or not.”
Author Bio:
Angie Day found her love of writing while in college where she studied psychology and eventually went on to a master’s degree. She noticed the need for romantic and fantastic adult stories that were still wholesome and clean. So, she took matters into her own hands.
The Legends & Shadows Saga is her debut series. When she’s not devouring the next book, she is spending time outdoors with her husband.
Hey everyone! November was a hard month for me. I had a number of things go sideways as well as some hard things going on, so admittedly not a ton of reading happened. I’m hoping to finish the year strong though. So without anything else, let’s get to the card picks for December.
First we got a queen, so that is of course a Calypso pick and this month she decided I was going to readh The Taking of Jake Livingston. We then got 9 of diamonds which was a fantasy, so I picked Thirteens. The next pick was a Jack, which means under 300 pages and at this point I was thanking the cards for being nice, for that one I’m going to pick up the next volume of Kamisama Kiss (I really need to finish this series as well as Fruits Basket).
We then got 7 of spades which is a wheel pick, so I did a random number generator to pick wheel 3. This was the romance wheel which has a mix of titles and authors on it, so it landed on Tessa Bailey and for this I’ll be reading Window Shopping. Next was 2 of diamonds which is middle grade and I picked Dark Waters which I have been wanting to read since it came out. Finally I had a little moment of crying because we got a king which means Rich’s stack of 5, and for that I picked Wintersong.
Other than that and some review books I don’t have any concrete plans for December, I’m just hoping I can get out of my slump and get back on track. What’s everyone else reading?
The Journey Kelsey Ketch
(Death Island, #1)
Publication date: November 25th 2020
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, New Adult
With her family name tainted by her great-grandfather’s crimes, Meriden Cummings could only dream of fleeing her oppressive life. Then she unearthed a piece of tanned skin, and her blood revealed an ancient map adorned with Mayan glyphs, launching her on the journey of a lifetime. However, she finds herself bound to the map, and there is a cost to her newfound freedom. One that will torment her mind as well as her soul.
After being shanghaied by pirates, Gregory Wilson escapes to a small English village where he runs into an obnoxious auburn-haired beauty. When he learns she is about to set sail on dangerous waters, he signs up to join her crew, hoping to defend her from the pirates seeking her great-grandfather’s treasure. But, will he be able to protect her from the ghost that haunts her or the curse running through her veins?
Tucker barked at something that had recently washed up onto the shore. Curious, I walked toward the obvious tangled mess. “What do you have there?”
I pushed him aside and grabbed the green and grey mass. I peeled off the debris and seaweed and rinsed the mud and sand off in the Mouth of the Severn. From the mess appeared an object, which I could only describe as an elaborate golden coin, about four inches in diameter. Yet, the slightest touch caused three outer rings of glyphs—similar to the ones painted on the map—to rotate around a sitting man with a long headdress, bowl, and club. His face profiled, and his legs crossed. The most outer ring consisted of nineteen complicated glyphs, including an eagle’s head, a goat-like face, and a demon face; the middle ring held twenty square glyphs with three curls underneath, some depicting things like hands, skulls, and faces; and the innermost ring had a series of dots and lines—much like Roman numerals—that counted up to thirteen. On the other side of the coin, the same skeletal figure from the map sat in the center while nine teetered glyphs were spaced out along the outer rings—five on the outer ring and four in the middle. Among the glyphs of the middle ring were four arrows pointing in what I would call the cardinal directions. Overlapping the middle and inner rings were three large arrows. Much like a compass pointing north, east, and west. And to the south, two skulls faced each other, leaving a microscopic gap.
My mind spun with disbelief. This had to be related to Death Island. I was sure of it. But how? And where did it come from? How did it get here?
The breeze carried my hair off my shoulder, a shiver ran down my spine, and goose bumps unraveled across my arms when I sensed a presence nearby. I turned to spy a man as pale as ash with a beard as white as snow watching me. Black veins stretched throughout his exposed flesh. His eyes nothing but two black pieces of coal. The mere sight of him made me jump in my own skin, nearly causing me to drop the Mayan coin as I gasped in fright. In an attempt to regain my composure, I took my eyes off the man for a second to steady myself, only for them to fall back on the gardener, or ghost, I met at the Railings’ home.
Author Bio:
Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new-adult author, who works as a Wildlife Biologist and Data Analyst. During her free time, she can often be found working on her latest work in progress. She also enjoys history, mythology, traveling, and reading.
Christmas in Smithville Kirsten Fullmer
(Hometown, #4)
Publication date: November 30th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
Even though Gloria is determined to change her reputation, most of the women in town still think she’s a tramp. Sure, she may have dressed a little flashy and dated pretty much every single guy in town, but that’s the past. Now that she wants to make a fresh start, will Smithville give her a second chance?
Ned has heard all the gossip, but being the Sheriff’s Deputy, he sees all the kind things Gloria does behind the scenes for the folks of Smithville. It looks like the upcoming Christmas Pageant will offer him the opportunity to spend time with her, but can he overcome a frustrating stutter and talk to her, face to face?
Your favorite characters from the Hometown Series bring craziness, love, and Smithville Christmas style, to a whole new romance about overcoming your past and sharing your deepest secrets. Fall in love and be swept away with the Christmas Eve celebration of your dreams.
“Then I just had to wr—wrap the baby up and hand her to her mother,” Ned said as he dropped his paint roller in the bucket of hot water.
Gloria stared at him, her eyes wide in fascination. “I can’t believe you delivered a baby by the side of the road. I don’t think I could have—”
“Sure you could,” he said with a shrug. “When the time comes and work needs doing, folks like us st—step up.”
Unsure, she scoffed. “Well, baking a casserole is one thing, but—”
Ned reached out to take her paint roller. “Yeah, okay, the baby was kind of a big deal,” he conceded, “Usually, I just end up learning w—way more about people than I want to know.”
“I understand that.” Gloria nodded. “Given my past, I know—” She stopped, realizing what she was saying. “Of course, I’ve forgotten all about those guys…” She faltered, her words fading away and her cheeks burning red under her freckles.
Ned’s laughter rang out into the workshop. “Oh, I’m sure you don’t know which guys in town burp at the table, who is connected at the hip to their momma, or who snores—” The words chopped off and it was his turn to blush. “I… I d—didn’t mean… I—I w—wasn’t…” His stutter always got much worse when he was upset. Frustrated, he stopped talking and turned back to the water bucket.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Gloria said, feeling bad for him. “It’s true though, especially with your job. What do you do when you meet someone on the street, and you know intimate details about their personal life?” She waited, but he just pumped the paint rollers up and down in the water, so she tried again. “I’m asking for advice, honest. Do they train you on this stuff at the police academy?”
He shrugged, then straightened and shoved one hand in the front pocket of his jeans. “Well we have to t—take ethics classes, but—” he looked up, making eye contact, “no, they don’t tell you that stuff. You just h—have to act like you weren’t at their house two n—nights ago with the fire chief, helping them get their hand unstuck from the k—kitchen drain they were trying to fix.”
Her eyes widened, and she chuckled in surprise. “Who? No, no don’t tell me.”
He shook his head; his hand raised to stop her. “I wouldn’t,” he said, but his eyes were bright with humor. “It’s a th—thing you have to learn to do I guess. I know you’re g—good at it, I’ve seen you in action.”
She shrugged modestly. “Oh, well, I just try to put myself in their place.”
They were both quiet for a minute, contemplating all the dirt they’d collectively compiled on the people of Smithville.
“Yeah, ” she continued with a sparkle in her eye. “Because if I were a great big guy, I wouldn’t want everyone to know that I scream like a little girl when I see a spider.”
Ned’s eyebrows rose, and a big grin spread across his face. “Now I have to wonder…”
“It will go with me to the grave,” she assured him, looking solemn. But she couldn’t help it and broke into laughter. “Oh my gosh, it was the funniest thing. I thought he was going to run away, but he kept screaming for me to ‘get it’. Of course, I was far too busy laughing and taking video.”
He chuckled, enjoying the way her eyes shone when she was happy. Her laughter was like music, and her cheeks turned rosy with happiness. His own heart swelled, catching him off guard. “You’re a mean one, aren’t you,” he teased.
“Me?” she asked, with her hand on her chest. “No, no, I finally took pity on him and smashed the bug.”
“Well that’s good,” he said, wishing he could make her laugh like that all the time.
“Anyway,” she trailed off, “I better get moving. I have a ton of sewing to do.”
“I wish I could help you with th—that,” he said, collecting the butcher paper he’d spread for them to paint. “But I have no idea how to even thread a needle.”
Her head tilted to one side. “I doubt that.”
“Okay, okay,” he relented, crumpling the paper to stuff it in the trashcan. “I can thread a n—needle, but choir robes and sh—shepherd costumes are way beyond my scope.”
She waved him off. “Oh, these are pretty simple. I figure they’re for one night and no one will really see them up close.”
“True.”
“Except…”
He waited for her to continue, watching her think, wishing he could hear what was on her mind.
“Well, it’s just,” She chuckled. “Practically every family in town has someone in this thing, so I guess in reality, everyone will see them up close.”
“Right?” he laughed. “I wonder sometimes, who is going to watch the show.”
“Me too!” she agreed. “We may need to set up a bus service to bring folks from Uniontown.”
He rubbed his chin. “Not a bad idea.”
She reveled in the shared moment, then turned away, looking for her purse. “Well, I’d better get going.”
“Thanks for the help,” he said, wishing he knew how to make her stay. “ Do you have to go?”
The question froze Gloria in her tracks. Normally at this point, if a gorgeous man was being funny and sweet and she liked him, she’d stay and talk. And not only that, she amended, she’d sign up for more. But things were different now. She was different. She wasn’t doing any of this to get a man, and, truth be told, she wouldn’t know what to do with one at this point anyway. She wanted to prove to the women in town she didn’t need to flirt, and that she could do a job and do it well, without attracting male attention. She frowned. That wasn’t going so well evidently. Was she attracted to Ned?
Turning back toward the shop, she regarded him carefully. He had a swipe of red paint across one cheek, but that only made him more approachable. The man was a knock out no matter how you looked at him. The paint spear made him cute. Shocked by her appraisal, her eyebrows lifted. When was the last time she’d thought a grown man was cute? Especially one with a physique like the deputy.
He grew uncomfortable under her stare, and she realized she was being rude. “I really do have to go,” her words said, but the rest of her said, “I want to stay.” He was easy to talk to and friendly. He didn’t judge her. He was nice. It came to her then; she had a friend in Ned. They had some things in common, and they could have a laugh together. Given her situation, a friend was something she needed. Gaging her words carefully, she hoped she could make him understand how much she appreciated him. “I really do have to go, but this has been… this has been great.”
He looked so disappointed that she nearly relented, but she knew it was for the best. This pageant was not the time or place to be looking for a new boyfriend. And she was sure she didn’t want to ruin the budding friendship they’d forged. This was new territory, and she had to move carefully and use her head.
“I have to go.” She turned toward the door, then, with her hand on the door handle, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “But I’ll see you tomorrow night at practice, right?”
For a minute she thought he wasn’t going to respond, but finally he nodded, and an easy grin lit his face. “Sure.”
All she could manage was a quick nod, and then she ducked out the door before she could change her mind.
Author Bio:
Kirsten is a dreamer with an eye for art and design. She worked in the engineering field, taught college, and consulted free lance. Due to health problems, she retired in 2012 to travel with her husband. They live and work full time in a 40′ travel trailer with their little dog Bingo. Besides writing romance novels, she enjoys selling art on Etsy and spoiling their three grandchildren.
As a writer, Kirsten’s goal is to create strong female characters who face challenging, painful, and sometimes comical situations. She believes that the best way to deal with struggle, is through friendship and women helping women. She knows good stories are based on interesting and relatable characters.
Terra Nova M.T.G.
(Terra Nova, #1)
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Evangeline is living the life of a normal teenager—going to school and hanging out with friends—until mysterious, severe symptoms begin appearing. After passing out in the middle of a party, life as she knows it spirals beyond her grasp. She is then diagnosed with a rare, genetic blood disorder that causes her body’s white blood cells to kill the red ones. In the delirium of her deteriorating health, a door to a parallel world opens before her; however, once she steps through it, the portal closes, and she is unable to return to Earth.
The place Evangeline now finds herself in is called Terra Nova, a world wherein vampires rule supreme, with no traces of humanity left to speak of. Curious but afraid, she quickly learns that Terra Nova is not the shadow-side of Earth, but rather the tragic result of government experimentation. In order to survive, she must keep her mind open and accept the changes her body is undergoing; soon enough, those who she initially thinks are murderers become her trainers, whose help she must enlist if she ever hopes to return home—and soon enough, a romantic bond begins to bloom.
Meanwhile, Evangeline’s brother and friends back on Earth try to figure out what happened to her, and how the government is involved, and how to bring her home. Unbeknownst to any of them is the mysterious outcast Bambi, whose secrecy disguises her power in making a devastating choice: save one world at the risk of destroying the other.
A horrible sound was ringing in Evangeline’s ears. She opened her eyes to find Eros standing above her, dangling a large bell.
“Stop! Oh my God. You can just tell me to go to my room. I must’ve passed out. I’m sorry. I’ll go sleep in my room. I’m going. I’m going.”
“You can go and get dressed and ready in your own room,” Eros said with a sardonic smile.
“What?” Evangeline asked, bleary-eyed.
“It is the middle of the night, again. We have all had our meal. Yours is waiting for you in the kitchen. Hurry up. The citizens are beginning to think we ate you.”
Evangeline sat up and looked at him, “I slept all day? Are you serious?”
“Do I jest much?”
She looked around his bed and then up at him, “I’m…sorry. You had to sleep on the chair.”
“No. I slept on my bed,” Eros said evenly.
“Oh,” Evangeline’s eyes went slightly wider and she immediately regretted letting him see her confusion. Eros narrowed his eyes and ran his tongue across his teeth, looking at her.
“Do you think I seduced you while you were sleeping?” he said, his lips curling down, “I believe Josepina explained the likelihood of that. I rested on the other side of the bed, wench. On top of the covers. We rarely feel cold, except for in extreme temperatures. The covers are for…nostalgia, I suppose. If you choose to hibernate on my bed do not expect me to sit on the chair all night.”
“You could have just woken me up, you know,” Evangeline said, standing up to go.
“I considered it. However, you had already slobbered on my book and the option of ringing a large bell in your face this evening appealed to me.”
Evangeline gave him a dirty look, which had the effect of bringing a wide smile to his face. She was about to leave the room without a word when a thought came to her head and squinting her eyes at him she began to laugh, “Sorry, I was just imagining you seducing someone.”
Eros’ smile began to lower into a confused frown and she burst out laughing harder, “It’s just that, well, how did you do it before? I mean, seduce someone? I can’t imagine you being charming for the life of me.”
Author Bio:
MTG has worked in numerous positions, mainly in managerial and executive roles. Terra Nova, her first publication, is Book 1 of a series. The series’ concept emerged when she, like the protagonist, was diagnosed with the blood disorder paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), and her then-boyfriend (now husband) joked she was becoming a vampire. She currently works and resides in Canada.
The Wandering Wordsmith 