Tour Stop/Giveaway: Emily Carrington's Jack & Gil

Title: Jack & Gil

Author: Emily Carrington

Publisher: Changeling Press

Cover Art: Angela Knight

Genres: Action Adventure, Box Sets, Dark Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, New Releases, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Themes: 2nd Chance Romance, Elves, Dragons & Magical Creatures, LGBTQ+ Gay, Multicultural & Interracial, Shapeshifters

Series: Jack & Gil (#4)

Multiverse: SearchLight Academy (#11)

Book Length: Box Set

Page Count: 470

Synopsis

Gilbert Sullivan, crown prince of the basilisks, hates his name, but he fears the rhyme may be prophecy.

Rhyme of Longing (Jack & Gil 1): When Prince Gilbert Sullivan meets Jack Sowerby, the new head of SearchLight, his attraction won’t let him stay away. Jack’s need for Prince Gilbert blossoms and he’s unable to resist -- until he’s forcibly changed into a magical creature. Will their shattered relationship ever be restored?

Rhyme of Longing (Jack & Gil 2)

Jack is falling apart, but no one seems to notice. As Jack withdraws, the tide of war rises. Jack must find a way to regain his strength and determination or SearchLight will fall. And he’s convinced he must do it alone.

Rhyme of Love (Jack & Gil 3)

Gil struggles to hide his loss of status from Jack, but when he finally confesses, Jack blurts out his secret. Jack knows he screwed up. Well, almost. Running the risk of losing Gil, Jack must learn to lie convincingly, or he’ll lose SearchLight, his life, and Gil, as well.

Excerpt

Jack & Gil

Emily Carrington

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2025 Emily Carrington

Excerpt from Rhyme of Longing

Jack wanted so badly to be done with this night that he felt uncomfortable in his skin. That was not the proper way to begin thinking about his sixty-eighth birthday, his five-year anniversary as the head of SearchLight Academy. This was a party for both those things but no one said “no” to Agent Weinberg.

Not necessarily the most powerful magical being in the world, she was still the head of the entire organization. Even though she held the nominal title of “head of Public Relations,” SearchLight’s whole reason for existing was to protect the relationship between magical and nonmagical peoples. Which was, of course, officially, no relationship at all. SearchLight was a secret and must remain so.

The influence she held would make most magical creatures bow in submission. Jack, being merely human, was suitably impressed. And although as yet not cowed, he was too fond of his life to waste it needlessly. Not that Agent Weinberg had killed anyone. Recently.

Jack took a deep breath in through his nose as the limousine pulled up to the curb. He’d been commanded to take this limo and the implicit service of a driver, and although he hadn’t enjoyed it particularly, he was glad that he hadn’t needed to find a place to park in downtown Washington, DC. So, unsure if he was supposed to tip the driver but wanting to show his appreciation, he stepped around to the driver’s side after the car was parked at the curb and offered the person behind the wheel, whom, his telepathic sense, told him wasn’t human, ten dollars.

“Would you be trying to bribe me to take you home, Agent Sowerby?”

Jack saw the humor in the green eyes turned up to his and smiled. “Never in life,” he told the Irish-sounding sprite or Faery or leprechaun. Damn, sometimes he wished for a werewolf’s sense of smell so he’d know the magical creatures around him at once.

“You’re a good man, Agent Sowerby. Don’t let her bully you now.” And with that, he winked and rolled up his window. Jack stepped around the car to the sidewalk and watched the limo drive away.

“Hey there.” The voice was soft, lightly accented, and full of a syrupy, sarcastic undertone that put Jack’s hackles up. He turned more slowly than he could have, wanting to appear older and so less threatening. He gazed at the three people facing him and saw they were all armed.

He was aware of others watching from the doorway of the restaurant but knew they wouldn’t intercede unless it became obvious he couldn’t handle himself. That was one thing about Agent Weinberg he didn’t like much. She believed in the “sink or swim” philosophy.

The woman who’d spoken was smiling in a particularly condescending way. “Got a handout for me?” She twirled the knife in her right hand as she reached out with her left for the ten spot Jack still held.

Jack offered it, keeping a good distance from her, forcing her to step forward to take the bill. He was aware of the other two moving to flank him. He disliked using his telepathic sense against what he considered to be defenseless people, magical or mundane, and yet he wouldn’t risk his own life to preserve theirs. “I suggest you take this and be on your way,” he said softly, putting a slight psychic push into the words. He blanketed the area with his calming presence, lacking the ability to focus on more than two people at once. Both of the men who’d been flanking him stopped. One of them shook his head but the other was definitely under Jack’s control.

“Back off,” Jack said and watched the woman lower her knife a little.

She snatched at the bill and her knife hand flicked upward.

Jack dropped the ten spot and caught her wrist. The knife’s blade skidded across the waterproof material of his trench coat. He forced her to drop the knife as he said, “Go away.”

The man under his control turned and fled. But the other lunged at Jack. Yanking the woman close, Jack used her as a shield. The other man’s blade slid between her ribs. He swore, stumbling back, and lost his grip on his knife. As he turned to flee, Jack lowered the woman to the ground. He shouted, “Someone call nine-one-one.”

Someone joined him out on the sidewalk. It wasn’t Agent Weinberg. It wasn’t a SearchLight agent he knew. There was regal bearing in the other’s posture as he crouched beside Jack. “Let me heal her.”

Jack didn’t protest, although he did skate his telepathic sense outward to determine if this was a magical creature. The fact that he’d said “heal” rather than “help” argued for him not being human. He came into contact with an impenetrable psychic wall and winced as his telepathic sense bounced off. Well, there weren’t all that many humans who could resist even his most casual reach. Ergo, this was a magical creature.

Jack nodded and said, “Go ahead.” He retreated inside his own head and as he pulled out his cell phone, unwilling to trust to others to call for help, he watched the broad-shouldered male beside him spit into his hand and press the palm against the wound even as he pulled the knife free.

Dragon, Jack thought. Dragons could heal with their saliva or a blood exchange. But this wasn’t a dragon Jack knew.

Purchase at Changeling Press

Meet the Author

Emily Carrington is a multipublished author of male/male and transgender women’s speculative fiction. Seeking a world made of equality, she created SearchLight to live out her dreams. But even SearchLight has its problems, and Emily is looking forward to working all of these out with a host of characters from dragons and genies to psychic vampires. And in the contemporary world she’s named “Sticks & Stones,” Emily has vowed to create small towns where prejudice is challenged by a passionate quest for equality. Find her on Facebook at Shapeshifter Central or on her website.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Shapeshifter Central

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a $10.00 Changeling Press Gift Code! 

Blog Tour Stop/Giveaway: Almost Human

Title:  Almost Human

Author: Jo M. Airing

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 06/24/2025

Heat Level: 1 - No Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 71400

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, paranormal, urban fantasy, gay, lesbian, werewolf, vampire, magic user

Add to Goodreads

Description

Miles and Sammie haven’t seen each other since high school, and while they’re able to reconnect and pick up right where they left off, their happy reunion is short-lived when Miles is bitten and turned by a werewolf. They find themselves working through budding feelings as the supernatural world sinks its claws further into their fragile lives.

With the help of an Alpha who takes Miles in to help him learn his new powers, they uncover a winding plot to start a war between their two worlds. They find a few friends and even more enemies along the way as they go from one near death experience to the next. They just hope they can survive long enough to figure out their fragile newfound love.

Excerpt

Almost Human

Jo M. Aring © 2025

All Rights Reserved

Miles!”

The shout was drowned out by the sound of splintering wood, rumbling growls, and the feeling of his arm bending the wrong way as he landed on the old wood floor. Awesome. Really. This was just…the absolute best.

He groaned, wincing as he tried to get up, only for his arm to flare with pain from fingers to shoulder as soon as he moved it. “Dammit…” He looked up as footsteps approached, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Crap. He was going to die. There’d been a lot of close calls, but this was it. Was he a little relieved? Maybe, if he was being honest with himself…

“Are you dead?” a familiar voice called, and he relaxed as a woman crouched through the hole he’d left in the cabin wall. She looked pretty battered from the fighting outside, black hair matted with blood by her temple, claw marks on her forearms and sides, one of her boots half bitten off, even. “Ooh, looks like you might be wishing you were—” She knelt beside him and blanched. “God, Miles. Your arm…”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, I didn’t notice something was wrong with it. What’s the verdict, doc? Mild sprai—ah!” He yelped as she reset his arm, with little more warning than grabbing his bicep and forearm and twisting. He let out a strained breath through his teeth and glared up at her. “Your bedside manner sucks.”

She grinned. “Glad to know your sense of humor is still intact.” She looked away, and through his ringing ears Miles could hear the fighting outside getting worse, another voice yelling for help. She looked back down at him. “Listen, it’s getting rough out here. As soon as you heal up, you need to grab Sammie and get out of here.”

Miles shook his head. “What, but…no, I can help.” He grimaced as he got to his feet, cradling his arm against his stomach. “Just gimme five minutes, I’ll be good to go. You seriously can’t expect me to leave you alone out there.”

She shook her head. “I don’t, but you have to.” She gently pushed him back to the floor and settled him with a look, one he’d been on the receiving end of many, many times. “Miles, this is my mess. I don’t want either of you getting killed because of this. Now please, for once, just listen to me.”

He wanted to argue, but… “I… Fine.” He looked up at her as she started back out through the hole. “But don’t you get yourself killed, either. You better come back alive, all right!”

She glanced back over her shoulder at him one last time before Miles couldn’t see her anymore through the wall. He slumped back and looked down at his arm.

Pins and needles filled his fingertips before red-hot pain seared along his arm. Before his eyes, the bruising and lacerations melted away, the numb feeling in his fingertips fading with them. He clenched his fist a couple of times, just to make sure everything worked properly, before he got to his feet.

She had to be okay…right? She’d been at this for longer than he had; she knew how to handle herself in a fight.

Miles’s jaw clenched as he peered out of the cabin window to see at least a good couple of hundred hulking monsters outside, tearing through trees and one another, completely mindless, just thirsty for violence…

They weren’t going to make it, not like this. It was going to end here.

Miles looked down before he huffed out a breath. “At least I’ll have died fighting, right?” He stepped out and jolted as his foot passed through the Earth and kept going, and going and—

“Wake up!”

Miles jumped, then yelped as he rolled out of bed and slammed into the ground with a loud thud, earning a yell from his neighbor downstairs.

Where…what was…?

Oh.

“Wake up!”

“Shut up.” Miles untangled himself from his sheets and patted over his nightstand until he found his phone. He tapped the screen until it went quiet and slumped back to the floor. He really needed to change that.

“—les?”

Miles blinked an eye open and glanced about. He didn’t even know what time it was, or the day. Did he have something planned today? He could look at his phone to check but…sleep.

“Miles, yo, you up?”

“No,” Miles mumbled into the floor. Then the voice finally clicked in his tired brain. Sammie? But Sammie was halfway across the country.

“Miles, I swear, if you are still asleep, I’m gonna just leave. Pretty sure I can hang out with your roommate if you—”

“Ah!” Miles yelled, jumping from the floor and immediately slipping on the sheet and catching himself with a loud bang against the wall. “Dude, one sec! What the hell are you doing here?” He threw open his door and rushed out to see, waiting in his living room and looking just a little bit jet-lagged… “Sammie.”

Sammie laughed, standing from the couch and holding his arms out. “How am I doing here, huh?”

Miles shook his head and ran across the apartment to hug his best friend. It’d been years, it felt like, since he’d seen him. “Shut up, you’re so annoying.” He sighed as Sammie snickered. Sammie squeezed Miles back before pushing him away and straightening his glasses as he looked around Miles’s apartment. “Seriously, what are you doing here? I thought you were in college?”

“Dropped out,” Sammie answered nonchalantly, then let out an interested sound as he started toward the kitchen. “You mind if I make some coffee? The shop at the airport was closed because of some cleanup thing they needed to do so I’m desperate for some caffeine.”

Miles started to answer when Sammie opened the cupboard to find an empty coffee container and the words died in his throat. “Oh. I guess not. Pete must’ve used the last this morning.”

Sammie snarled. “I knew he was a dick. I could sense it.” He threw the container on the counter. “Who the hell puts back an empty one like that? That’s just pure evil, dude. Seriously.”

“And who the hell raised you where you don’t put trash in the trash can?” Miles quipped, grabbing the container and wiping up the spilled leftover grounds into the bin. “In that case, if you can wait long enough for me to get dressed, you wanna head out? I know a place that has some pretty good drinks.”

Sammie smirked. “Are you asking me out?”

Miles rolled his eyes. “You wish. Gimme a sec.”

“Wear something blue. It’ll compliment your eyes.”

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Jo M Aring is based in Kansas City, working in mental health by day, plunking away on her many works-in-progress by night. She is a moderately loud but supremely proud lesbian, who dabbles in D&D, video games, and whatever sparks her serotonin.

Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a $50.00 NineStar Press Gift Code! 

Discover The Road to Forever by Heidi McLaughlin

Title: The Road to Forever (The Beaumont Series Next Generation, #7)

  Author: Heidi McLaughlin 

Genre: Rocker Romance 

Release Date: June 24, 2025 

Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

Quinn James thought he had his life figured out. Successful rock band, sold-out tours, and a future mapped out in front of him. But sometimes life has other plans.

When Sinful Distraction embarks on their biggest tour yet, Quinn finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about love, loyalty, and what he really wants.

As the miles roll by and the music takes on new meaning, Quinn discovers that the road between where you are and where you're meant to be isn't always straight. Some detours lead to dead ends. Others lead to destinations you never saw coming.

Sometimes the best songs come from the most unexpected places. And sometimes the road to forever starts with a single choice to let go of the past.

BUY TODAY!

Heidi McLaughlin is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of The Beaumont Series, The Boys of Summer, and The Archers.

Originally, from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband, two daughters, and their three dogs.

In 2012, Heidi turned her passion for reading into a full-fledged literary career, writing over twenty novels, including the acclaimed Forever My Girl.

Heidi's first novel, Forever My Girl, has been adapted into a motion picture with LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe, and opened in theaters on January 19, 2018, and is now available on DVD & Digital.

To stay connected with Heidi visit www.facebook.com/authorheidimclaughlin or heidimclaughlin.com

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Keeping the Countess

Keeping the Countess
Lille Moore
Publication date: June 24th 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

In this first installation of the DAMSELS IN DISGUISE series, a passionate clergyman on a mission to steal an earl’s secrets finds himself captivated by a cunning and courageous countess.

Charismatic curate Jonah Sinclair survived the deadly streets of south London with two well-trained fists and divine intervention. He will let nothing—not his vocation, nor his yearning to find love—stop him from pursuing the criminals who killed his father. When he learns the notorious Earl of Rochford could hold the key to retribution for his family, he seizes on the chance to become tutor to the earl’s young ward. But the only trace of Rochford he discovers at the mysterious Ravenglass Hall is his abandoned countess, a woman whose fierce strength stirs a forbidden temptation.

Faith Trenton, Countess of Rochford, is on the brink of ruin. Betrayed and abandoned by her husband, she disguises herself as a man to defend her estate from an embezzling steward. Jonah’s arrival threatens her carefully constructed masquerade, and despite the irresistible spark between them, she must send him packing, or risk having him expose the dangerous secrets she keeps hidden. But when a succession of attacks threatens everything that Faith has fought to protect, she’s forced to place her trust in Jonah, and pray he won’t unravel the truth, or her heart.

Helping Faith could sabotage Jonah’s mission. Loving her might cost him everything.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Jonah marched out of the tavern, his vexation blinding him to any semblance of the direction where he headed. It did not take long to realize he was absolutely stranded, alone in a country wilderness.

In the disorienting shadows of the soaking evening, a seed of regret at his impulsivity sprouted. As he contemplated swallowing his pride and turning back to the tavern, a preternatural cry sounded on the moor.

The ground shook, heralding a beast rising out of the fog.

Jonah wouldn’t have dared called the creature a horse; that was far too earthly a comparison. It sped toward him as if it had escaped straight from the ninth circle of hell.

Unholy thoughts clouded his brain. Unholier curses tumbled from his lips. He was pleased to discover the passage of time and years of service in Her Majesty’s Church had not scrubbed them from his memory.

The shriek of the wind rose over the roar of approaching hooves. This was the exact reason Jonah avoided Gothic novels like vermin; he preferred interacting with the supernatural in the controlled boundaries of the King James Bible.

Through the sheets of rain, he spotted a slight figure mounted on top of the enormous steed. Was the rider attempting to bring the monster under control? Or did he urge it on, hoping he might flatten a weary traveler to the ground?

A shrill cry sounded from the rider. Was it a warning? An apology? A prayer?

“MOVE OUT OF THE BLEEDING WAY, YOU DAFT FOOL!”

With a screeching whinny, the beast reared up before him, a black wall of menacing horseflesh. As lightning flashed around them, Jonah braced his arms over his head and curled himself into a protective crouch, precisely as the hell-beast tossed its rider from the saddle.

A moment of raw stillness followed.

The rain relented, revealing where the rider lay motionless on the path.

Jonah staggered across the short distance toward the body. With a deep breath and a short prayer, he kneeled down to examine the fallen man.

The crash of two thick skulls meeting each other upended his balance. He slipped on the drenched ground, falling on top of the rider, who protested wildly by snarling in a manner more feral than a quayside cat. The body entwined with his was as scrappy and slim as one. He had to be a young lad.

“Get off of me!”

“I’m trying!” Jonah protested as they tussled in the mud. Muck worked its way beneath the collar he’d starched himself, to make a good impression for the toffs who’d forgotten him. The potential embarrassment he’d face if he ever arrived at his destination burned energy into his limbs.

An instinct he thought he’d long retired kicked in and he rolled, quickly pinning the rider’s shoulders by pressing his own weight into the lad’s chest.

And therein, he discovered a very distinct set of curves that most decidedly did not belong to a young man.

The body beneath him hissed.

Jonah scrambled away and staggered to his feet. With his last remaining ounce of sense, he extended his hand to the rider.

The woman he’d just groped in the darkness.

Author Bio:

Lille Moore writes romance with a twist on time-honored tropes and tales. Her first career in public diplomacy and strategic communications took her across five continents and six of the Seven Seas and spurred a lifelong love affair with uncovering new worlds through storytelling. She lives with her spouse in Texas

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GIVEAWAY!

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Tour Stop/Giveaway: The 21 Day Boyfriend

The 21-Day Boyfriend
A.S. Kelly
Publication date: May 21 2025 (Audiobook)
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Eric O’Shea needs to make a decision. The annual event his family forces him to attend is just around the corner, and he doesn’t have a date.

Eric never needs help when it comes to finding men. But this time is different – his ex and his new boyfriend will be there, and Eric can’t just bring along one of his usual flings.

His only hope seems to be him: the best friend of his best friend, who he never wanted to meet.

Sean Quinn is a calm, collected, and cultured man; someone who would rather stay at home and read a book than waste his time chasing a date with no future.

Sean isn’t in a rush to find the perfect man, and he certainly doesn’t intend to go out with Eric: his best friend’s other best friend, who he’s avoided meeting for years.

But Sean has a flaw: he can’t say no to anyone, especially not when it comes to his friend Jake, who has a habit of worming his way into other people’s lives.

But it’s just one date, after all: pure fiction. It’s a shame, then, that when Eric needs Sean for another favour, he can’t turn his back. It’s a shame that just when Sean is beginning to understand that Eric isn’t what he seems, he can’t seem to stop before he gets hurt.

Twenty-one days: that’s the agreement.
Twenty-one days of grazing hands, furtive glances, and unexpected kisses.
Twenty-one days where anything goes; except falling in love.

Goodreads / Amazon / Audible / Apple / Kobo / Google Play

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AUDIO TEASER:

Author Bio:

A. S. Kelly writes Rom-Com, Romantic Fiction and Family Saga.
Avid reader, hopeless romantic, lover of yoga, knitting and home baking.
She was born in Italy but lives in Ireland with her husband, two children and a cat named Oscar.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bookbub / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!

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Book Spotlight/Giveaway; Among Us

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. V.G. Harrison will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

She's in the most dangerous place in the world.

Prof. Meridia Vail, a member of the Bridgeway Space Station, has escaped the government stronghold and is on a mission among the human population of this "new" Earth. She needs to find scientists, engineers, researchers, anyone who can help her and her crew get back to their derelict space station that has crossed over into a different dimension. The sooner the better, too. The Bridgeway is in a decaying orbit and has the potential to kill millions, if it crash lands on the planet.

Trusting anyone in this New Earth is going to be hard to come by. The authorities have branded her as a maniac who has escaped from a mental hospital. For the past five years, multiple countries have colluded in declaring no survivors from the Bridgeway Space Station incident. When Meridia's finally able to convince a university professor, Dr. Dana Haden, of who she is, Prof. Vail realizes she's not home-free yet. She has to convince the entire world who she is and expose the lies nations have been telling their citizens. Will governments be forced to free her crew so they can work the problem...or will they take their chances and nuke the station from orbit to bury their secrets?

Read an Excerpt

“Is there supposed to be something good in this fridge?” I asked, staring at the food lining the shelves.

Dana glanced over my shoulder. “Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m betting Decker keeps the good stuff in here.”

“It depends on what your definition of good is.” All I saw were containers of leftovers that were various shapes, sizes, and colors. Everything screamed of unhealthiness to me.

“How about we start simple?” Dana placed her hand on my shoulder and ushered me over to a nearby stool where I sat at the counter. “We have this thing on our Earth called a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“I know what peanut butter and jelly is.” I paused. “It’s not that crunchy kind, is it?”

“Oh my God.” Giggling, she went through the cabinets until she found an unopened jar of strawberry jam. “What’s wrong with crunchy?”

“It’s…crunchy.”

“So it’s the texture.”

“You could say that. Everything is calm and serene when it comes to chewing the soft bread and gooey jelly…but then you hit the crunchy peanut butter that shatters the peace like a baseball going through a glass atrium. It’s barbaric.”

Dana laughed as she opened up the bread sack next. “So I guess there’s no crunchy peanut butter in your world.”

“Oh, there’s crunchy peanut butter for those who want it. I’m just not that savage.”

“Oh, stop.” Beaming, Dana threw a slice of bread that hit me in the face.

I laughed. “You must like crunchy then. I rest my case, savage.”

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

We both laughed.

About the Author:Amazon best-selling author, V.G. Harrison enjoys creating smart heroines who are more comfortable dealing with things like Fine-structure constant and quantum entanglement than the fallout from their conflict. She loves to write stories that leave her audience so engaged they can't sleep at night, thinking about the possibilities.

V.G. holds a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering and a Masters in Information Technology. When she's not writing, she's an IT manager for software company.

Her ever-growing list of hobbies include astronomy, attending comic cons, keeping an eye on the cryptocurrency and stock markets, hydroponics gardening, hiking, and connecting with her daughter on a cool level. Building Lego sets at night with milk and cookies on the side come in handy for that.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/booksbycoletteandharrison
Bluesky: http://www.bluesky.com/vgharrison.bsky.social
Author website: http://www.vgharrison.com
Blog: https://www.vgharrison.com/blog-1

Publisher Buy Link: https://mochamemoirspress.com/product/among-us/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Among-Us-Dyson-Bridge/dp/1962353257/ref=sr_1_1

Tour Stop/Giveaway: The White Deer of Kildare

 

Check out the latest tour stop for The White Deer of Kildare by Christy Matheson and make sure to check out the tour giveaway below as Christy Matheson will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour and a fine writing notebook with personalized art to a second randomly drawn winner. The tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and you can find all the tour stops HERE.

Talking with Christy Matheson about her latest book and more:

Tell us about your latest book, who are the main characters and what can we expect when we pick it up?

You can expect ordinary people who fall into Irish fairy tales. In White Deer, Maura is just trying to take care of her children and has just barely figured out there’s something odd about the castle she just moved into. When a dog, who might be a deer, shows up and helps sort Christmas decorations, Maura has a strong suspicion that there is something peculiar afoot. 

 

Do you come up with the hook first, or do you create characters first and then dig through until you find a hook?

I’d say that it is more that I have different possibilities for character, setting, and hooks floating around in my head, until one day I think of one particular thing and kazoom! I can see how a certain set all fits together.  

As I become a more experienced writer, sometimes I need to write something that fits certain criteria. So then I have one element fixed and can search back through those potential characters and settings and find what would make the most dynamic story.

 

Which of your own characters would you like to have lunch with?

Oh, I really love all of my characters! I spend a lot of energy really getting to know my narrating characters deeply and write in a way that stays very intimate to their perspective and experience. By the time we’ve worked together for a while, I feel very close with each one!

 

Tell us about what you are reading at the moment or anticipate reading in the future? Any favorite authors you enjoy reading in your spare time?

Right now, I’m reading Elaine Schroller’s Dare Not Tell. It is really nice and relaxing, following a couple from their young years and into their marriage. I really like love stories that don’t end on the wedding day.

 

Which of your own books would you like to live in?

I mean, living in an ancient Irish castle would be amazing. Part of the germ of these books was definitely driving around Ireland and England and thinking about the people who really, truly, live in these places, and wishing I could do that! 

However, honestly, I would prefer a castle that had a little bit less in the way of visiting witches and druids bent on murdering my best friend.

 

What do you do when you have free time?

I never actually have free time, but I try to make time for some joyful things. I embroider, watercolor, and train my dogs. When my husband and I can get away for an afternoon, we’ll go wine tasting. I’m not a huge wine drinker, but it’s a nice way to drive into the beautiful countryside and create a deliberate and sensory space for conversation.

 

How do you approach character development in your stories? Do you have any specific techniques or methods that you find particularly effective?

Character development is one of my favorite aspects of writing, but no, I don’t have any specific techniques. Before I start writing I figure out all the elements of my story, just telling scenes in my head and feeling out the emotions. During this phase, I get a sense of what the character thinks and does, how they move, the way they influence a room. So by telling all sorts of scenes, I learn what is right for each character.

 

What do you believe sets your writing apart from others in your genre, and why should readers choose to read your books?

I have readers who have come to me from both women’s fiction and fantasy.

For women’s fiction readers, what sets my books apart is there’s a lot of action, with plenty of twists and turns in the plot. This premise, of ordinary people slipping into a fairy tale, is pretty unusual.

For fantasy readers, what sets my books apart is the character development. The relationships—both internal and external—are the heart of the plot. One reviewer said something like “I was disappointed that the final battle scene was so short, but then I realized the true enemy was inside Aiden himself” — and it was. I deliberately wrote that scene short and simple, because our biggest problems can’t be defeated with a magical sword. The drumroll to the big ending came afterwords.

My work doesn’t fit in a small, neat genre box, but for many readers, it is just the right combination of adventure and emotion.

 

Can you discuss any upcoming projects or books that you're currently working on? What can readers expect from your future works?

I’m diving into the “Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales” right now. Because they are fairy tales, they are narrated by different characters in the same world. In June, I’m writing from the perspective of a teen girl whose boyfriend accidentally turned her into a medieval princess. She’s my narrator for a couple of books, but I’m coming back to Maura and her family. Next, Oona hides a swan in the spare bedroom and Saba tries to solve money problems with her wrong-century logic. Chaos ensues, but love prevails!

THE WHITE DEER OF KILDARE

Author: Christy Matheson

GENRE:  Time-slip Fantasy

 

There's a deer sorting Christmas decorations in Maura's kitchen...

 

All Maura wants is a peaceful winter holidays in her dilapidated Irish castle, but her ex is threatening her with family court, and her second grader has invited a strange--completely unclothed--friend, to spend the holidays with them. Oh. And the friend’s dog, which is not actually a dog but probably one of the white deer of Celtic myth.

 

Maura distracts herself from her husband’s threats by trying to discover why a Fae deer is in her kitchen, when the two women accidentally end up in the Ireland of ancient myth. The White Deer was the human queen of this castle, but it appears she has husband trouble too. Perhaps...the deadly sort of trouble.

 

Can Maura rescue her new friend — or is Maura herself so tangled in the White Deer's fate that she won't make it home to her children alive?

 

This novella will appeal to readers who enjoy cozy fantasy, ancient history, Irish folklore, and uplifting stories about motherhood and found family.

 

Universal Buy Link: includes Amazon (different countries), Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, Barnes & Noble:

https://buy.bookfunnel.com/exmh6b6hgx

 Amazon.com Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DPSGKQ5H

Kobo Buy link—book available on Kobo Plus: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-white-deer-of-kildare

StoryGraph App 

 

Excerpt Three:

 

Just think, you shall be at Dún Ailline and see your father soon,” Maeve suggests.

 

“No, I shan’t!” Saba bursts into speech. “That’s what Fionn told me while we were walking. He’s not taking me home after all.”

 

That’s too bad of Fionn, to disappoint his wife so soon after returning! And he went on about how he loved her more than the moon and stars.

 

“Where are we going?” Ailbe asks quietly.

 

“That’s the other trouble.” Saba squeezes Ailbe’s hand. “Most of you are staying here. Fionn wants to travel quickly, and is only allowing me one of my ladies to care for my needs.”

 

My heart swoops in fear. If Saba leaves me behind, I will be sickeningly alone in a strange land. And what about the best druids in the south of Ireland—they were going to help me return to my children.

 

The six ladies in waiting exchange looks, and all turn to me.

 

“You must take Maura, of course,” Maeve says.

 

“Of course,” the others murmur, eyes cast down.

 

Or perhaps I should stay with my own castle, and hope that one day I just walk through a door into my own rooms?

 

“There is something about the way she came to us,” Ailbe says. “I believe there might be a reason for her presence just now.”

 

“Besides”—Maeve drops her voice so only Saba and I can hear—“Maura is a mother herself, and our queen might need the advice of a married woman.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Christy Matheson writes award-winning fiction about friends, family, and finding one’s place in an ever-changing world. 

She is the author of "The Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales" novella series. Each one sets a traditional Irish fairy tale within a modern blended family, perfect for readers wanting a cozy family adventure. 

Christy's regular historical work (sans fantasy elements) can be found in the award-winning "Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women," of which she is also an editor. Her Regency novels are represented by Kristina Sutton-Lennon and have won pre-publication awards for women’s fiction. 

Christy is also an embroidery artist, classically trained pianist, and sews all of her own clothes. She lives in Oregon, on a country property that fondly reminds her of a Regency estate (except with a swing set instead of faux Greek ruins), with her husband, five children, three Shelties, one bunny, and an improbable quantity of art supplies.

 

Website: https://christymatheson.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christy_matheson_author/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091887100897

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@christy.matheson.author

Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/ChristyMatheson

Substack: https://unspokenstoriesofwomanhood.substack.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49771827.Christy_Matheson

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222331492-the-white-deer-of-kildare

StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/sonatasbooks

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/christy-matheson

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-white-deer-of-kildare-the-castle-in-kilkenny-fairy-tales-book-2-by-christy-matheson