The Blood Dynasty Chronicles #Excerpt by David L. Dawson #AmReading #PNR

A pretty nurse with blonde hair smiled.  In an instant, her eyes were red and her teeth were pointed.  Her body literally flew across the wooden beams of the corridor floor.  Ashlyn screamed and staggered back but all of a sudden Doctor Green was standing in front of her.  The nurse collided with the doctor and both of them went tumbling to the floor.  Ashlyn didn’t know what was going on, but she wasn’t going to let this stop her from escaping.

“It’s not safe for you!” Doctor Green shouted.

Ashlyn ignored her as she ran for a door that looked like it opened up onto a stairwell.  Not all, but most, of the vampires in the corridor were still staring at her, mouths open and drooling.  She didn’t understand why.  Surely they’d seen a human before?  They weren’t acting like that with Cary.

Another vampire pounced on her.  This one was an elderly man with intelligent eyes that were barely red.  He was still very strong, though.  He bit at her and scrabbled at her with fingers that were like claws.

“I hunger so much!” he cried.

Epic paranormal romance with a dystopian twist!All 6 parts of the epic Blood Dynasty Chronicles in one super-sized boxset!

Ashlyn Fountain has woken from a thousand year sleep.  Her family is dead.  Her friends are dead.  Her whole world is gone, replaced a new terrifying reality; a future ruled by vampires, where humans are viewed as cattle, and kept as slaves.  She is sold into slavery and bought by the powerful Sublimes, a decadent vampire family ruled over by the charming Grey Sublime and his wicked wife, Catherine.  Ashlyn resigns herself to her fate.  What can she do but accept what is her life now?

Then she meets Jensen Sublime and Union Jack.  Both are sexy, intriguing, and inject a little romance and mystery into her life.  Who will ultimately win her heart – the handsome vampire, or the man who could free her from slavery for good?

The Blood Dynasty Chronicles is a bold new paranormal romance series, fusing the passion and romance of vampire fiction with the adventure and intrigue of dystopian adventures.

This boxset contains the following:
1. The Girl From Yesterday
2. The Streets Are Paved With Blood

3. Masks
4. Movie Night
5. New Whitby
6. The First Vampire

That’s over 180,000 words of vampires, romance and dystopia!

OUT NOW – “Shadow of the Snow Queen”, a Blood Dynasty Chronicles Christmas Special, featuring a long tale all about Ashlyn, and several short stories featuring the other characters.

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Genre - Paranormal romance

Rating – PG-13

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Four Seasons from Claudette Melanson's RISING TIDE @Bella623 #BookClub #Paranormal

Caelyn – Winter

Caelyn is full of winter.  But though she may have an aloof chill about her, she still wants to offer her daughter warmth and comfort, like a cup of hot cocoa or a fire in the hearth.  She is crystal beauty, but keeps everyone, sometimes even her own daughter, at arm’s length, never allowing anyone too close.  As strong as an arctic wind, she carries the weight of many responsibilities, but her emotional shell is ever-ready to crack—like the ice at the thaw–at the wrong word or suggestion, reminding her of the love she’s lost.  Maura, at times, wants to break out of the ice, but Caelyn wishes to keep her safe, attempting to protect her from the same mistakes she made, when she was Maura’s age.  She is very anxious about her daughter’s relationship with Ron and wants nothing more than to protect her from the fake friends lie in wait to wound Maura, just as she begins to emerge from the winter respite she and Caelyn have taken from the outside world.

Maura –Spring 

Maura and Caelyn are both stuck in their own kind of winter, tucked away inside, just waiting for the right conditions to make them blossom.  They are closed off, emotionally, sheltering themselves against outside elements.  But, in Rising Tide, Maura is more like Spring, as she seems ready to break out of her antisocial slumber and experience the world.  She wants to try out love and the friendships she’s wished for her whole life, while Caelyn wants to keep her under that protective layer of ice, away from the harsh realities of life.  But Maura is changing in so many ways.  She’s growing out of the weak, shy girl she’s always been into more of a take-charge, independent woman.  And like spring, something new emerges within her every day.  Both emotionally and physically, she gives birth to changes continuously, as she transforms into the creature waiting inside, of which she isn’t yet aware.

Shane—Summer

Shane is warmth without cessation.  He never holds anything back and is sometimes very in-your-face.  Like summer, he sets people in motion, calling them to action.  He is the most gung-ho when the band he and Ron are a part of, books their first gig, displaying nothing but optimism.  At the amusement park, Shane drags everyone to the roller coasters, daring them to break free, just as the summer sun calls people outside to try new things after a long, cold winter.  Even though he may come across sometimes as too intense—like a relentlessly hot summer day—like the summer sun, he is a source of brightness and warmth in the lives of everyone who knows him.

Ron—Fall

Fall is the official end of the year.  Ron is there as the official end of Maura’s time in the town she’s grown up in.  Autumn is also regarded as a time of bounty and harvest.  Ron has a huge heart and is ready to give love, understanding and assistance without end.  He is mild, like fall temperatures—non-judgmental in his relationships with others, especially Maura—and as easygoing as the gently falling leaves.  Like the trees, in all their colorful splendor this time of year, he is also pleasing to the eye with his long, dark hair and deep hazel eyes.  Fall is considered the precursor to winter, and Ron is about to usher in a cold, lonely, barren time for Maura, as she must start a new life without him physically by her side.  And some of his actions in the latter part of the novel, definitely bring a chill to Maura’s heart.

CHOSEN AS ONE OF 400 FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD FOR 2014!!!

ARE YOU A FAN OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE?

Rising Tide will sink it’s teeth into you, keeping you awake into the wee hours of the night

Maura’s life just can’t get any worse…or can it?

Isolated and sheltered by her lonely mother, Maura’s never been the best at making friends. Unusually pale with a disease-like aversion to the sun, she seems to drive her classmates away, but why?

Even her own father deserted her, and her mother, before Maura was born. Bizarre physical changes her mother seems hell bent on ignoring, drive Maura to fear for her own life. And her luck just seems to get worse.

Life is about to become even more bewildering when her mother’s abrupt…and unexplained…decision to move a country away sets off a chain of events that will change Maura forever. A cruel prank turned deadly, the discovery of love and friendship….and its loss, as well as a web of her own mother’s lies, become obstacles in Maura’s desperate search for a truth she was never prepared to uncover.

Featured on one of the most popular health blogs on the internet as a giveaway!

Be sure to check out the blog on Maria Mind Body Health to win a free copy today! Go to Mariamindbodyhealth.com and check out the blog Chicken “Wild Rice” Soup for your chance to win!

Offered as a giveaway on Goodreads!

Head over to Goodreads for a chance to score a free copy today!

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Genre – YA Paranormal Romance

Rating – PG

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Connect with Claudette Melanson on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://claudettemelanson.wix.com/author

The Howling Heart by April Bostic #reviewshare #amreading #pnr

The Howling Heart by April Bostic
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the description and the cover, I really wanted to like this book. First let me highlight what I liked. The plot and concept were mapped out well and I was easily engrossed with writing style. Paige is on holiday with her parents and wanders off, she meets young Riley whom she mistakes for a puppy. More than a decade later, circumstances force them to meet again and this time he wants her all to himself.

Paige's attitude to a lot of situations are not plausible. Her job, her boyfriend cheating on her, when she meets Riley ... these felt put on as if the writer moulded the story to the character and the character did not lead the story. I have not read other books by this author but I would definitely like to give her other books a try.

Despite an amateurish feel, she strikes me as someone who has an eclectic taste in books which I look forward to reading. The Howling Heart could have been better for me. If you're not in the habit of dissecting plots and characters as I am please do give this book a try.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


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4 stars - City of the Fallen by Diana Bocco #ReviewShare #Paranormal #Romance

City of the Fallen by Diana Bocco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What did you think about the writing style? I was drawn in from the very first page. Bocco’s writing style is akin to a beautiful temptress who whispers in your ear and if you do not turn the page, you know it’s your loss. Despite the numerous twists in the story, Bocco keeps it smooth and you are not unwillingly thrown out of the mesmerising setting she has created.

What I liked about the book … Writing style which I covered above. The push and pull between innocence versus the ways of the world. While I was expecting the heroine to be naive as most are in this genre, Isabelle was brave, witty, cunning and had her head screwed on right. Additionally, despite the gloomy settings contrasted with the steamy lovemaking scenes and action scenes. Well done, Bocco.

Favourite character(s) … Marcus and Isabelle. At the end of the day, it takes two to tango and their performance keeps the reader glued. I’m watching you, you’re watching me, we’re making love … it was sometimes amusing and sometimes so very beautiful.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book from the author via Orangeberry Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.

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The Curse Giver by Dora Machado @DoraMachado

Chapter Five

THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE LOST to Lusielle. Her life was a jumbled sequence of snippets, blurry images breaking up long periods of dense darkness, triggered by a sudden jostle or a twinge of pain, cold, heat or thirst. She spotted glimpses of a gray sky, spitting out rain, and campfires burning deep in the woods. There was more rain, and a face—his face—hovering just beyond reach.

Occasionally, sound trickled into her muffled world from a distant place. The wind rustled through the trees. The horses’ hooves pounded on dirt, gravel, and mud. Men spoke, snorted, muttered and snored. A low, measured voice—his voice—echoed very near, urging her to drink, eat or sleep, accompanied by the pervasive masculine scent that was her constant companion.

There were times when she came to just enough to realize that she existed in the world in-between, where gods and mortals met in dreams, where dreams and reality were one and the same. In those moments, she realized that she survived only because of someone else’s will, that if she wanted a future, she had to wake up and seize it. She kept trying, even though it required great effort, like swimming against a colossal tide.

“This way,” the voice said.

She felt listless as a corpse, but she grabbed on to that voice and followed it to a semblance of consciousness. Fighting her heavy eyelids, she managed to glimpse the man’s stern face, outlined against a background of pewter clouds.

Brennus.

She rode with him on his horse, wrapped in an oiled mantle, mostly protected from the rain. His strong arms kept her from slipping off the massive beast. His armored chest offered a hard but steady pillow. The beat of his heart echoed through the copper plates, strong, vibrant, and enthralling.

He must have realized that she was awake, because his stare swooped down on her like a hawk on the prowl, even though his voice was gentle. “Hush,” he said. “We won’t be too much longer on the road today.”

His eyes were lined with worry and exhaustion. So were the faces of the other men who rode with him. All of them were wet, tired and miserable, picking their way up a steep mountain track as the relentless rain continued to pelt them. That same rain was dripping from Brennus’s face, drenching his hair and trickling down his neck.

“The rain,” she whispered. “It’s making you wet.” She reached out to dry the water from his face, but the wound on her back protested with a pang of pain.

He caught her hand and tucked it back into the blanket. “It’s no use,” he said. “You can’t keep me dry.”

“One can try,” she said.

And he actually smiled.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“South of nowhere and north of wherever,” he said. “Far from the usual routes. We’re seven days out.”

Seven days was an awful long time to be senseless among strangers.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Riva’s not going to find us.”

She winced when the horse missed a step.

“Hato!” Brennus called.

Why was he barking like that?

There was splashing, the sound of hooves clattering and then, “My lord?”

“We’ve got to stop. The fever’s back and she’s hurting again.”

“No place to stop around here, my lord,” the other man said.

“Send Severo and Cirillo ahead,” he said. “Tell them to find a decent camp and get a fire going. She’s got to rest.”

“My lord,” he said, “we have pressing business. We can’t slow down to accommodate her comfort—”

“Do you want her alive or not?”

The other man sighed. “As you wish, my lord.” He rode away.

She tried to tell him that she was fine, but ended up whimpering instead.

“Shush,” he whispered in her ear. “You need to sleep.”

And by the Thousand Gods, off she went, at his command, into the darkness again, following his heart’s steady rhythm as it sang a lullaby to her heart.

Award-Winning Finalist in the fantasy category of The 2013 USA Best Book Awards, sponsored by USA Book News

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Genre – Fantasy/Dark Fantasy

Rating – PG-18

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Website http://www.doramachado.com/

Dora Machado – How Fantasy Loves Romance and Romance Loves Fantasy @DoraMachado

How Fantasy Loves Romance and Romance Loves Fantasy

by

Dora Machado

People ask me all the time why I chose to write romantic fantasy. The short answer is that I can’t envision writing one without the other. The long answer might be more complex. The union of fantasy and romance is a marriage of convenience. The genres complement, enhance and enrich each other. Beyond that, romance and fantasy are the Yin and the Yang, ebony and ivory, Billy Joel and Elton John. They belong together.

I love writing epic fantasy. Fantasy is a subversive genre, requiring the mind to bend and the imagination to flex, perfectly suited for me. I love the genre’s creative freedom, the opportunity to rethink, redesign and reinterpret the human experience in fresh and diverse settings, and the mysteries that magic brings to the human equation. But fantasy without romance is like lemonade without lemons–blah, tasteless, inert. Add a voluptuous romance to a well-crafted fantasy and POW! Now you’ve got a story with grit.

This is exactly what I’ve tried to do in all of my books, and my latest novel, The Curse Giver from Twilight Times Books, is no exception. The Curse Giver is about an innocent healer named Lusielle, who is betrayed and condemned to die for a crime she didn’t commit. When she’s about to be executed, Lusielle is rescued from the pyre by an embittered lord doomed by a mysterious curse. You might think that Bren, Lord of Laonia, is Lusielle’s savior, but he isn’t. On the contrary, Bren is pledged to kill Lusielle, because her murder is his people’s only chance at salvation.

The curse tormenting the Lord of Laonia is at the action crux of the story, but it’s really the relationship between Bren and Lusielle that gives meaning to this grand adventure. The gradual transformation of enemies into allies, the clash of conflicted hearts and the forbidden passion that blooms between them, balance the action, deepen the story, and imbue the tale with a sense of gritty realism. This is the part that makes the reader care and the writer write. As Lusielle and Bren prepare to challenge the curse giver who has already conjured their ends, they must find the magic within, the inner strength to save not just themselves, but each other. In the end, romance lends fantasy the concept of affection, and affection turns out to be the most powerful magic of all.

In my fantasy novels, romance is not just a component of the story; it is the heart of the story. In my view, romance enhances fantasy by connecting the story to the experience of love, personal struggle and acceptance. Without this connection, fantasy loses focus, depth and perspective. The stories I want to tell are lush, vivid, passionate and exuberant. I can’t imagine telling them without a sizzling romance sprouting right in the middle of it all to make a mess of things. At the end of the day, romance and fantasy belong together in a genre that is as much fun to read as it is to write.

****

Dora Machado is the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, available from Twilight Times Books. She grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a fascination for writing and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She lives in Florida with her husband and three very opinionated cats.

To learn more about Dora Machado and her novels, visit her website at www.doramachado.com or contact her at Dora@doramachado.com.

For a free excerpt of The Curse Giver, visit:  http://twilighttimesbooks.comthingsTheCurseGiver_ch1.html.

E-mail:Dora@doramachado.com

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Suggested tags:

Dora Machado, The Curse Giver, fantasy, dark fantasy, romantic fantasy, fantasy romance, romance, epic fantasy, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance writing, fantasy writing, Twilight Times Books, Stonewiser.

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Genre – Fantasy/Dark Fantasy

Rating – PG-18

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Website http://www.doramachado.com/