On August 21st, Lion in the Shadows releases! It’s a very erotic story—so consider yourself warned! 🙂
This opening scene I’m sharing today includes details of rescue procedures I gleaned from reading articles and speaking to a fireman in the Texas Hill County, who specialized in cave rescues. That was one fun conversation!
In Lion, things get hot…and weird…really quick. So, if you love a hot paranormal with hints of ghosts/demon possession/shapeshifting, Lion might be what you need.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you could see yourself crawling through caves for fun!
Lion in the Shadows
When a teen dies inside an unexplored cave, it’s Lani Kimmel’s job to bring him out. This is not a pleasant job, but one she’s handled many times as a member of the local fire department and an expert in cave rescues. The trek into the cave awakens a creature that will push this no-nonsense woman’s boundaries of belief and test her newly emerging love for one man.
Rafe Chavez, the new sheriff in this small Texas town, has already staked a claim on Lani. He’s a man with a goal in his sights, and he’s not letting anything get in his way—until he dreams about an Indian brave who died in that unexplored cave, savaged by a mountain lion. When his dreams cross into reality, Rafe realizes he may be possessed by the Indian’s spirit—but the spirit isn’t alone, and it wants Lani.
Just when Lani’s resistance to his erotic persuasion crumbles, Rafe must push her away to protect her from another creature that has also cast its gaze upon her…
Sounds other than the usual chirping of cave crickets and the incessant drip of water intruded on the sleeper’s dreams, echoing down the cavern. Voices, laughter, feet scraping over stone.
The sleeper opened his eyes and found that, for once, the exercise wasn’t futile. A sliver of grayish light penetrated the gloom.
He stretched, willing blood to quicken through his body, to heat and ease muscles that had remained dormant too long.
Then a new scent—musky, warm-blooded, human—entered his tomb. He rolled to his feet.
Then gathering his strength he roared up the cave wall.
* * *
Lani Kimmel drove over the cattle guard onto the gravel road that marked the beginning of rancher McKelvey’s property. She followed the ridgeline of the steep, oak and cedar-covered hill, bouncing in her seat despite her truck’s heavy-duty shocks. The tires churned in caliche, the fine sandstone gravel pinging on the wheel wells.
She tried to keep her mind focused on the task of keeping her pickup on the rough road and away from the reason she climbed to the remote spot. But her stomach already burbled, her palms grew moist, and that little voice in the back of her mind—the one that sounded like her father’s—taunted her, What do you think you’re playin’ at, little girl? You aren’t strong enough.
As she rounded a curve, a long line of parked vehicles forced her to pull onto the shoulder to continue forward. Further along, she passed an EMS unit, two county squad cars, and the trucks and SUVs belonging to other members of the volunteer fire department. Parking in a narrow space between two vehicles, she had her door open before the engine finished chugging to a halt. Heat blasted her, and she grabbed her volunteer’s baseball cap to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sun. Then she slid her duffel from behind her seat, kicked a booted heel against the door of her truck, and headed toward the mouth of the unnamed cave.
She nodded to the EMS team crouched beside two boys huddled beneath blankets, shivering despite the late afternoon heat. Compassion could have swamped her, but she quickly tamped down the emotion. If she thought too much about it, she wouldn’t be able to get through the next few hours. Their buddy likely lay on the bottom of the cave floor, and it was her job to bring him up.
Lani approached the group standing in front of a narrow black hole. Stones and gravel were already piled to the side as the men worked at widening the opening. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Anybody looked inside yet?”
Cale Witte, the captain of the volunteer fire department, turned and gave her a crooked smile that creased his suntanned face. “Glad you could make it, Lani. Did you bring your vertical pack?”
Lani lifted her duffel. “Got it here, boss. So, we have a drop-off? Anyone hear from the kid inside?”
He shook his head, his grave expression telling her he expected the worst. “Those skinny runts shimmied through that hole carrying ropes and Maglites,” he said, sounding disgusted. “Said they didn’t know there was another level until their friend dropped out of sight.”
Lani swore under her breath.
Cale spat a stream of chewing tobacco. “A couple of us crawled in. The entrance is blocked with loose-packed gravel and stone. It’s pretty unstable, but the cave opens wide once you’re through the mouth. About twenty feet inside, it bottoms out. We shined our lights around, but it was too deep to see much. We need to climb down.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for, huh?” Lani said, willing confidence into her voice.
He nodded. “No one knows caves like you do—that’s a fact. You better have a look for yourself.”
Randy Brandt, another member of the department, leaned on his shovel. “Think we’ve got this hole wide enough for your butt now?” His grin stretched across his handsome face.
Not for the first time, Lani thought Randy’s lean, muscled frame, and sun-tinted brown hair belonged in a firemen’s calendar. “Better put your back into it.” Lani gave him a teasing glance. “Gotta make room for that big head of yours, too.”
The men chuckled.
Lani took no offense. She’d long ago figured out she was one of the team when the men included her in the insults they traded. Besides, the banter helped drown out the voice that ate at her composure. The sooner she was in the cave—her world—the sooner she’d be in control. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the most compelling and sought-after romance books are shapeshifter romances. Do you love shifter stories? I do! Shapeshifter books have been a hot topic in romance for quite some time. What makes creatures that can change from human to animal and back to human again, so appealing?
I have a few thoughts but would love to hear what you think. How many types of shifters have you read? What’s your favorite? Dragons, wolves, bears, lions, leopards, tigers, deer, eagle or more. I even read one about a shapeshifting seal.
So, what makes a shapeshifter story element so HOT!
Readers, including me, love Alpha male characters. Brooding and troubled heroes and courageous heroines who can tame them. The rugged kick butt kind of guy who can battle evil, protect love ones, love intensely and save the world. He’s a primal, fierce being when his animalistic side emerges. Imagine the power and strength of predatory animals, then consider what a human male/female would be like possessing some of these traits. That makes for a powerful character.
Many shifters possess super powers, like heightened senses, Superhuman strength or other mystical powers. Birds and other mythical creatures can fly. Who wouldn’t want the power to fly? Some may travel through dimensions, move objects or read minds. They demonstrate keen eyesight, hearing or the ability to run fast. These animal traits occasionally transfer to their human form.
Conflicts and drama in these books are cranked up on high. A character’s human side may not always agree with his animal side, adding more dynamic struggles. Fights between two shifters or shifter vs human kick up the tension a notch.
Paranormal and Fantasy world. The paranormal or mystical quality of these stories are interesting and compelling. Fans of paranormal and fantasy worlds are fascinated with strange, unusual or bizarre settings. Add in non-human creatures, an adventure and steamy love story—what’s not to love?
Mythology, folklore and ancient history all report various shifters. I love the mythology and folklore that authors create. Some of these stories are based on actual mythology, other make up new realms. I used the Norwegian folklore of the Eigi Einhamr in a shapeshifting series, yet to be re-released soon. In this folklore, humans can wear the skin of any animal and change into that animal. Many people believed in shifters or believed that they were one. (more on that below).
THE OTHERKIN
Put fiction aside and look inside our real world. Within some subcultures, there are people who seriously believe that they are not human. These ‘otherkin’ are considered non-human and come in all shapes and sizes.
Some people claim that they’re truly vampires, not cosplay, pretenders or wannabes. Others call themselves theriomorphs (shapeshifters), some say they come from another world or other dimensions. There are those who claim they’re animal but can change into human form. Not sure I see the difference. It’s a wonderful, strange world we live in.
What are your favorite shapeshifter creature and/or books?
Share below in comments. I have a few shifter books and a backlist series that I’ll be releasing soon. My current shifter titles:
Dragon Witch and The Shifter’s Spell are two of my current shapeshifter stories. I have more coming. Visit my website www.kathykulig.com to learn more.
Dragon Witch is book one in the Dark Realms series.
A sexy space pilot on a desperate mission. A headstrong biologist he loves. And a dragon shifter caught in the middle as their worlds collide. Passion, love, greed and betrayal threaten their survival. When worlds collide, can love survive?
Kathy is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of steamy paranormal, contemporary, and suspense romance. She’s a science geek by day and escapes into her writer’s world at night. Kathy’s books are passionate, emotionally-charged and always have a happy ending. Some of her fav things: walks on the beach, traveling, curling up with her eBooks, binge watching Netflix series and having dinners out with her darling husband. She lives in Pennsylvania in a 100-year-old Victorian house with a garage built out of reject tombstones.
My name is Sierra Brave, and I’m excited to be featured on Delilah’s blog today! A big thank you to her and you for having me. In my recently released book, Real Cowboys Love Cats, the heroine is a volunteer with a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program.
So what’s a TNR program?
First, let’s discuss what TNRs are not. TNRs are by no means an alternative to responsible pet ownership and aren’t meant for cats that could easily fit into a family and be adopted.
TNR organizations attempt to manage feral populations through the non-lethal option of capturing strays, finding low or no cost spay and neuter resources and then returning the animal to it where it was found. TNRs have both pros and cons and as many opponents as proponents. Advocates of TNRs believe the program saves cat lives while also allowing feral cats to thin vermin populations. Detractors believe TNRs are irresponsible at best and dangerous at worst. Personally, I think anyone willing to donate their time in an effort to help others (humans or animals) is admirable. Which side of the debate you fall on is up to you, but either way, please spay and neuter your pets.
So, onto the main event! Real Cowboys Love Cats is a smoking hot, BBW + cowboy/shifter romance. Although the book is the second installment in the Horse Mountain Shifters series, it’s a standalone with a HEA and absolutely no cheating.
Real Cowboys Love Cats
Having grown up isolated from other shifters, Abram’s not completely comfortable in his own skin. Nevertheless, after the death of his beloved human mother, he relocated to Horse Mountain to reconnect with his father’s side of the family. Love was the furthermost thing from his mind until he met Maddie.
When Maddie meets Abram, she’s smitten but doesn’t see much of a future. A man, who doesn’t like cats, should be a deal breaker for a mountain lion shifter like her. Yet every time he’s near, her body goes crazy. Could he possibly be her fated mate?
***
Excerpt:
Absently, he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Wow. She’s super cute. She had porcelain skin and a short, button nose that accented her high cheekbones and heart-shaped face. Stop staring. You’re here on official business not to flirt with hot babes. His silent, self-scolding did nothing to deter his pounding heart; he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She lifted a meowing meat-bag from her lap, bringing his count to three, before placing the orange tabby on the floor. How can someone so good-looking have so many disreputable pets? As she stood, he eyed her full figure with interest. The tiny bounce in her step as she walked over made her large breasts jiggle beneath the snug tee shirt she was wearing. She stopped in front of him and presented her hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Maddie.”
***
Sexy Snippet:
He yanked her arm before twisting it behind her back while reaching out and grabbing a fistful of her hair and then pulling it taut. It’s as if he can read my mind! He began to buck his hips, gradually building speed. He pounded into her, creating an amazing slapping sound with each mighty thrust. “Yes! That’s it, Abram…so good.”
He leaned over her back, his lips near her ear. “You like?”
“Yes.” She teetered, balancing her weight on her knees and the one arm he’d allowed her.
Sierra Brave is a multi-published author of blush-inducing, racy romance. She writes across genres, dabbling in a little bit of everything, including ménage and BDSM. Her love of erotic fiction started in her last year of high school when she first read the sensual classic, Fanny Hill. She felt so naughty yet liberated with her copy tucked away in her book bag and hopes her work will have the same delicious effect on her readers.
Wyoming is a land of contrasts. There’s the rugged peaks of the Teton Range on the west side of the state, just south of the geysers and painted pots of Yellowstone. On the eastern edge of the state, you have Devil’s Tower among the rolling hills of near Hulett. In between, you have miles and miles of prairie and high plains, where there are more cattle than people.
But in the middle, there’s a strange geological site that few tourists ever see. Even from the highway that goes by it, you can easily miss it if you don’t know it’s there. Until a few years ago, you were able to stand right at the crumbling edge if you dared to look over the sight, but now it’s fenced off.
The area goes by the name of Hell’s Half Acre, and I’m sure the early settlers thought it deserved the title. It’s a lot bigger than half an acre-actually about 320 acres. It’s an area of cliffs and rock spires and boulders and an assortment of colors. It’s hard to imagine what geological forces created it.
Lori Grenville, the main character in my new release, Wolves’ Gambit, didn’t have the opportunity to visit Hell’s Half Acre while she was in Wyoming. (I couldn’t figure out a way to write it into the story.) She spent her time in the dusty plains nearer to the Bighorn Mountains. She didn’t have time for sightseeing anyway.
Wolves’ Gambit
Wolf-shifter Lori Grenville was rescued from near-slavery and a brutal pack leader by the Free Wolves. To pay back the favor, she’s dedicated her life to helping others in the same situation, leading shifters to safety and a new start, risking her life in the process. She’s faced down alphas and has no qualms in undermining pack structure.
Now she’s challenged with the task of restoring an alpha to his rightful place. If she gets it right, she can stop a war from ripping apart two packs and spreading across an entire state. If she fails, she’ll be among the first to die.
There’s still the option of walking away and letting the Jaeger and Destin packs destroy each other. That means she’ll fail in her original mission of rescuing the daughter of the Jaeger alpha before the girl is forced into marriage for political gain.
Lori hasn’t failed in a mission yet. This one may be the exception.
Excerpt:
“Breathe, dammit, breathe!”
Hands pounded on her chest. A spasm ran through her body and she gasped. Air rushed to her aching lungs. She struggled to breathe but her throat was blocked. She couldn’t stop coughing and bile rose. It settled at the back of her mouth. The acid mingled with the sweet flavor of blood and her stomach churned. She retched and a seizure wracked her body.
She was rolled on one side, too weak to protest. Her hair was gently brushed away from her face. She took a shuddering breath and spit, trying to get the bitter tang out of her mouth.
“I’ve got you,” a low voice said.
She heard the words both with her ears and her mind. She slammed the blocks into place. It was too risky to reveal herself when she had no defense against an attack.
A trickle of water slipped across her lips and her tongue darted out to capture it. “More,” she pleaded, and then coughed again.
“I’m going to sit you up so you can have a proper sip. Don’t worry, I have you, little human.”
Strong arms wrapped around her and brought her to a sitting position. The screaming pain in her leg settled into a dull ache. A warm body behind her gave her something to lean against. A cool object was pressed to her lips and she tilted her head back as water slipped into her mouth.
“Spit it out,” ordered a new voice.
Reluctantly, she did so. It seemed a shame to waste perfectly fine water.
“This time, swish it around and rinse out your mouth.” It seemed like a good idea. She didn’t want the bitterness of blood to ruin the water’s freshness. She spat out the third sip as well, and the coughing started again.
“It’ll get better. You can swallow this time.”
She lapped greedily as the water bottle touched her lips, demanding more. It was pulled away far too soon. She whined in disappointment.
“A little at a time.”
The swallow was bigger this time. She tried to open her eyes but they were glued shut. Like a tired child, she raised her fists to rub them. Someone grabbed her arms to stop her and she groaned.
“Let me wash your face first. We need to see what the damage is and don’t want to injure your eyes.” Another new voice. How many people were there?
While wet fabric stroked her face, she listened. She counted the breathing of four people close to her, but quiet murmurs told her there were many more nearby. A soft buzz in her head was either the beginning of a massive headache or a sign of many unheard conversations going on.
And a Giveaway! In celebration of the release of Wolves’ Gambit, one or more lucky people will win an e-book version of Wolves’ Pawn, the first book of the series. You can enter here:
Born and raised among the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania, P.J. MacLayne still finds inspiration for her books in that landscape. She is a computer geek by day and a writer by night who currently lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. When she’s not in front of a computer screen, she might be found exploring the back roads of the nearby national forests and parks. In addition to the Free Wolves’ stories, she is also the author of the Oak Grove series.
Timing is everything. Several years ago, a famous actress passed away. As I pondered her career and beauty, I got inspired to write a story about a mermaid, a human heroine, and the quest for revenge against a man who’d hurt her. Unfortunately, I wrote only a few chapters before shelving it. It wasn’t the right time, I guess.
Fast forward a few years and Decadent Publishing’s Wiccan Haus series caught my interest. Having already written three shared-world stories for them, I couldn’t resist adding to the series. Someone I met and some rough life experiences gave me the fuel I needed to write a different version of the story. One I had no trouble finishing. It’s finally time to release it!
Turning the Tide: A Siren’s Revenge
Book #25 Wiccan Haus Series Release Date: 19 January 2018
After a year of unemployment, Daphne Wells comes to Wiccan Haus to learn hydrotherapy for a new career as a healer. When her assigned patient turns out to be the sexy ex-boss who laid her off, resentment gets in the way of healing.
Giovanni Denaro arrives at Wiccan Haus, desperate to find a cure for the debilitating tension that threatens his high-level financial career. But after some intimate healing sessions, everything loses value except his need for Daphne’s forgiveness.
When a mermaid, filled with her own bitterness, offers Daphne a chance to get revenge on the man who ruined her life, will she dare to turn the tide?
“I had Myron give me a reading about the stock market. Apparently, it fell a lot today.”
“Hello? It’s been doing that for years.” She raised an eyebrow. “It always rallies, doesn’t it? Are you sure nothing else is bothering you?”
Nothing but the truth. The ugly reality that would turn her gentle eyes into hard pools of hatred. He couldn’t help crying out as the biggest cramp yet squeezed his body. She crouched over him on the stone bench, one leg on either side of him.
After crying out, too, she collapsed on top of him and laid her damp cheek against his. “Tell me what to do for you,” she said in a strangled whisper. “Or I’m calling the guys.”
Having her weight on him made breathing even harder, but feeling her soft skin was worth it.
“Kiss me,” he whispered back.
Her mouth covered his so fast it stole what little breath he’d managed to draw. Her lips were salty with tears. Nothing had ever tasted so good. He drank from her—her love, her healing, her very essence.
She shifted her pelvis, sliding it over his hardening cock. When the indentation in her blue terry cloth shorts contacted the head, he pushed, needing to enter her more than breath.
“I need—” he gasped.
“What?” When she dragged her torso across his chest, he felt her erect nipples through both their shirts. “Anything, Giovanni. I’ll do anything for you.”
Instead of replying with words, he forced his hand down the back of her shorts and gripped the sweet curve of her buttocks. The scent of her arousal mingled with the misty air, impossible to ignore.
“Yes,” she cried, swinging a knee to one side of him and tugging down her shorts.
His groin clenched at the sight of her wet panties. Knowing he’d aroused her so much gave him ten times more power than running a high-level board meeting. With one hand, he pulled up her white tank top so it rested above her breasts. With the other, he helped her out of her shorts and panties.
He’d never grow tired of gazing at the thatch of neatly shaved hair between her legs. It looked as businesslike as the suits she used to wear to work. How often had he fantasized about undressing her when he was her boss? Now he knew how those tantalizing dark hairs felt and tasted slipping across his tongue.
One by one, his muscles eased their tension from pain to anticipation. His cock was so wet with pre-cum when she grasped it, her palm slid to his balls in a single stroke. Although his neck still hurt, he lifted his head to gaze at her rosy nipples and the puckered skin around them. Droplets of mist from the hot water spring jet on their side of the pool dotted her smooth skin, making her resemble a goddess.
“Protection,” he muttered, letting his head drop back to the hard bench with a smack. “We don’t have any.”
“Yes, we do.” With a hand still on his cock, she rummaged in the nearby towel cabinet with the other. “They’re hidden in here.”
She wouldn’t have known exactly where they were unless she’d considered using them with him. More pre-cum pooled on the head of his erection. Finally having her, after years of lusting for her, was more than a fair exchange for missing critical time from work.
Hellbeastly hot for Halloween—and the fact that I have a deep fondness for canines—this was my inspiration for twins, Zol and Zin. They are relentless and ruthless hellhound shapeshifters serving the underworld god, Hades. On the opposite end of the hero spectrum—when in human form—Zin and Zol are the epitome of true, sophisticated gentlemen. Yes, they enjoy the finer things in life.
I admit it, I have a penchant for writing multi-faceted characters, heroes who embrace their fierce alpha side and their romantic-gentleman side. For example, the fictional hero, Tarzan, survived and thrived in the wilds of Africa, yet as Lord John Clayton III, Viscount Greystoke, he successfully negotiated the drawing rooms of Britain. Yep, my kind of hero.
Yes, Halloween is lurking, and this is the season of the witch. Growing up, I adored the TV show “Bewitched”. I mean who wouldn’t? The good and beautiful witch, Samantha, could at the snap of her fingers, the twitch of her nose, clean her entire house. Now that’s impressive, especially to a young girl faced with the drudgery of housework.
Hey, I even learned how to twitch my nose. Although, it was never as good as Elizabeth Montgomery, the wonderful actress who played one of my all-time favorite fictional witches.
In this early sitcom comedy, Samantha performed magical miracles thus saving the day—that is, despite her human husband’s disapproval. Ah Darrin, an okay guy and a sorta loving husband. Yet, even as a kid, I asked myself, was he really good enough for Samantha?
No. He was not. That was my final conclusion.
Over the years—because I’m fascinated with most things paranormal, including the history of witchcraft—I did research on real life witches, on their various Wiccan practices. It all began with the infamous and fabulous Sybil Leek when she wrote her first book, “Diary of a Witch”, published in 1968.
Wiki info: “Sybil Leek was an English witch, astrologer, occult author and self-proclaimed psychic. She wrote many books on occult and esoteric subjects, getting dubbed as ‘Britain’s most famous witch’ by the BBC.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Leek
Decades later, when I wanted to write a Halloween-themed erotic romance, Kandace appeared in my storyteller’s imagination. Because of her untamed mane of red hair, and her love of Halloween, she’s affectionately called Kandy Apple by friends.
Kandy is a real witch in the sense that she was born with her many witchy talents. She doesn’t know how or why this is true, and few know about her witchiness. This is because Kandace was adopted. Even with her supernatural abilities, she’s never been able to find her bio parents.
As I wrote KANDY APPLE AND HER HELLHOUNDS, I was determined to give her the mates she deserves. Zol and Zin admirably demonstrated their protective ferociousness, as well as their ability to cherish their chosen witch woman.
~~~~~~
HAPPY HALLOWEEN READING!
Savanna
Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance
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KANDY APPLE AND HER HELLHOUNDS
Kandace doesn’t know why she’s a real witch. Despite her powers, she can’t find her biological parents. When the Tuxedo Twins tempt her with knowledge about her heritage at a charity event, Kandace agrees to dance with the mysterious Supernaturals. Unexpectedly, they are threatened by the omnipresent evil she’s been warned about in her dreams. To keep from being enslaved, Kandace brings forth her greater magick. But, to save her homeworld, she needs her Hellhounds.
Zolivar and Zindale, two of Hades’s most mission-accomplished Hellhounds, see a witch sliding down the bannister after her heist of a painting. Spellbound, they know they’ve found just the right Kandy Apple to lick for Halloween. With every passion, Zin and Zol woo their chosen witch. Will their Triad mate stay once she learns they can’t fall in love like humans? Or will she return to her homeworld?
“Ready to unleash your inner being?” Zol asked his twin. Utterly naked, he pulled off his gold and onyx signet ring, twirled it once on his finger, then slid it inside his tuxedo pants pocket.
Zin stripped off his dress pants and tossed them inside their black sports car, affectionately known as the Twilight Mirage. He shut the door with a neat twist of his wrist. “I’m releasing my inner beast,” he returned with dry amusement.
Standing side by side, they traveled their supernatural gazes over the Mojave Desert’s moonlit landscape. As one, they searched out their target, a corporate hit man. Currently, he followed a prominent woman herbalist. Using biblical herbs, she had recently created a formula that rendered any virus inert.
Since the woman’s products already sold well, several of the flu vaccine companies had decided to go Mafia, eliminating the threat to their profits in the old-fashioned way.
“The only good competition is no competition,” Zol and Zin uttered in unison. On mission, they’d recently infiltrated a Big Pharma company party and heard that phrase spoken several times.
Sighting the hit man, the enemy to humanity that they’d sworn to hunt down and deliver to Hades, Zol and Zin used their internal radar, locking in his position. A second later, their heads swivelled and their fiery gazes connected.
Mirror reflections of each other, their eyes flared simultaneously, flashing to hellfire red. Their features took on a reddish glow, their gazes remaining intensely brilliant.
Growling like thunder in their throats, Zol and Zin morphed into what they were, hellhounds. Their guttural howls ripped through the night and seemed to strike the moon. Luna rode high in the midnight heavens, a glowing Halloween orange and nearly full.
As they gathered their sleek brute bodies, preparing for the chase, horrendous snarls issued from the twin hellhounds. Their coal-black lips curled upwards over their scimitar-like fangs, now dripping with poisonous saliva.
Together they leapt toward their prey. The explosive power of their beast muscles rippled beneath their hairless ebony hides. An impenetrable shield to most weapons and all manner of magic, their hides were composed of alchemically-arranged volcano magma.
Totally driven by the hunt, they raced in perfect concert with each other, their gargantuan paws skimming over the desert floor instead of striking fully. As they ran, Zol and Zin existed in two realms, the world above and the Underworld.
Scarcely aware of what else moved around them, they caught Geraldo’s scent and the smells of his expensively outfitted Jeep. With each giant-bounding stride toward their target, their hellbeast instincts grew.
Since Geraldo’s employers wanted the exact proportions of herbal substances used in Mary Sweetwater’s formula, and were willing to pay him a small fortune, Geraldo had first attempted to gain her trust but failed. He’d also tried ingratiating himself with her family and friends. That hadn’t succeeded, either, despite his vile seduction of her sister.
From their otherworldly vantage point, Zol and Zin had observed Geraldo ignore every divine urging not to continue with his corporate theft, then his murder of Mary. However, the hit man eventually crossed the invisible line and now belonged to their punishing jowls, to their boss, Hades.
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Kandace and her hellhounds, Zol and Zin, invite you to read their love story ~
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered ~ What happens when two of Hades’ most mission-accomplished Hellhounds find just the right witch for Halloween?
Some books take more time to write than others. I’m celebrating the release that took me years to write. We’re talking numerous rounds of edits where I thought I’d never get through the comments. I told myself to just forget it, I have other books to write. But I kept going back to it to write and rewrite the book that I couldn’t let go. Now, many versions and countless rounds of editing later, I am thrilled to announce my new release, When Darkness Whispers.
When Darkness Whispers
Some memories are better left forgotten…
Haunted by an unclear past, biologically enhanced Marine, Eva Montreaux, can’t be distracted from her mission. With American servicemen being brutally murdered on the island of Okinawa, it’s more than priority. It’s critical. But when her investigation brings her face to face with Marcos Delacruz, it triggers memories. Ones she lost. Memories that somehow include him.
Marcos Delacruz has tried to forget the woman who left him with nothing but empty promises. Even now, three years later, Eva doesn’t seem to express any guilt over breaking his heart. In truth, she seems to barely recognize him. This deployment has been challenging enough with too many restless spirits haunting the island. But when his own investigation forces him to cross paths with her once more, Marcos discovers there may be a deeper truth.
With the number of murders climbing rapidly and the rising need to track the murderer across the tropical island, Eva struggles to reclaim what she lost. But the island holds darker elements–a serial killer. One that doesn’t appear to be human.
Thrust into a world she can’t escape, Eva must discover a way to stop a murderer from destroying anyone else’s future, but how can she succeed if she can’t even remember what role Marcos played in her past?
When Darkness Whispers is a paranormal military romance you won’t want to put down! Go undercover with a supernatural team into a world of vampires, gargoyles, shifters, demons, and ghosts. If you like haunting mystery, spine-tingling suspense, and Japanese mythology, you’ll love When Darkness Whispers!
