Tour Stop/Giveaway: Nocturne by Tricia D. Wagner

Nocturne
Tricia D. Wagner
Publication date: April 14th 2026
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

In NOCTURNE, sixteen-year-old Livi learns the truth of who she is—a Siren, her people known only to legends. She must learn to master her powers of influence, strength, and destruction to stop a warmongering Admiral from drafting her best friends, capturing and killing her people, and decimating her homeland of Nocturne.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

Livi stood before the tavern’s bleak threshold, its heavy door cobbled of wrecked ships.

She peered through its ragged window, quieting the wiser part of her, an inner voice calling for her to turn back. And truly, she was stunned that she’d mustered the daring to try this.

There were dozens of men here—sailors all brooding over their flagons, many looking to be harboring grudges.

The tavern’s splintery walls were studded with trophies—toothy payaras, dry in their death throes, tacked beneath golden portraits of infamous Korps Mariner ships and their dread captains.

The men frequenting this sand-dusted, fish-pongy tavern—The Orphic, were the sun-beaten sailors and damaged soldiers of Merritaine, mercenaries and relieved fighters who’d reached the shore of old age still breathing.

No one dared step a toe in The Orphic unless he bore epic tales—bloody acts of acclaim on the baleful blue seas.

Many here had killed. Some for honorable causes in noble wars, yes. But they’d killed.

For all their savagery, though, they were brave.

Livi had heard enough stories to understand them as uniformly dauntless and skilled. If anyone could help her skip Merritaine’s coast and reach Nocturne, he’d be drinking here.

Through the brume of pipe smoke, she measured each face for hints of affability. Or at least for traces of good humor—signs that someone might consider her offer. If she could just single out one sailor more approachable than not, perhaps she could move to him unnoticed.

But that wouldn’t happen. Women scarcely set foot here, and sixteen-year-old girls certainly didn’t.

A few of the sailors came across as jovial—but even they harbored an undercurrent of trouble in their looks, their ease striking like a gusty southerly bathing the seaside, forecasting a typhoon’s assault.

The afternoon seemed all at once to grow late, a shaft of misted sunlight sluicing through the windows and casting the place in watery relief.

In fixing on that panorama of ocean, Livi could almost see Nocturne’s peaks in the deep west, its moonstone shores marbled with the shadowy ash given by its volcanic chain.

Those heights, she had to reach. For it was said that Nocturne’s high places were hived with sea caves—chambers shining with waters rumored to have healing properties.

Some believed those springs could stave off even death.

Livi eased from her jacket a small jar of pearls, each perfect, as plump as a blueberry—these a mere sampling of the trove she’d collected. They ought to be more than enough to buy passage to Nocturne from someone here bearing the skill, and the gall, and the ship, and the time to set sail for the Isles, along with some assurance that he could ferry her through storms, over waters where lurked sharks and killer whales and squids that tore up boats, and finally beyond the dread Maelstroms.

Livi had imagined this moment many times—making her bold approach in The Orphic, striking a deal. She’d imagined that arriving at this brink would feel like the onset of her escape.

But in finally standing here, readying to approach men alleged to be the most barbarous in Merritaine, the idea seemed beyond reckless.

Célian, her best friend—maybe more—would be sick at the thought of her here. And truly, in darkening this threshold, she felt she was skimming the rim of the Maelstroms, those great whirlpools unceasing in their churning, twisting what strayed near straight down in a tempest, claiming ships and seafarers alike as a part of themselves.

The bright Merrow Ocean glinting in, though, delivered some steadfastness. For at the sight of its rolling, Livi could gather a sense of what it might feel like, teaming with someone here, cruising on his scabrous ship to the treacherous west.

A man seated at the tavern’s back corner stood out a touch.

He looked a decade younger than the rest, and he had all his limbs, which was saying something. He seemed not resentful, or affable, or angry—just somber. His solemnity made it clear that he wanted to be left to himself.

But it also lent an impression of patience. Maybe he’d listen.

She edged open the tavern’s door and crept in. She eased behind a column in the entryway and held still.

She’d have to get to the somber man quick. If she drew too much attention, the barkeep—a tall man, his eyes sharp to check all the action, his manner busy and swift with his bottles—would cast her out before she could lay down one word of her offer.

Or worse—he’d let the men handle the disruption.

Livi stepped from the shade, into the amber light of the tavern.

Author Bio:

As a young reader, writers were like gods and goddesses to now author Tricia D. Wagner. She never could have imagined weaving tales like her favorite storytellers, until a fateful April dinner conversation with her husband about a lecture he attended got her mind whirling. By the end of that summer, she’d written 400,000 words: a speculative fiction trilogy. Wagner felt as if she’d emerged from a cocoon as some new sort of creature. She was hooked.

It was important to Tricia to sharpen her skills, and she immersed herself in workshops, guides, and writing communities, learning from editors how to hone her craft. She did this for years, and the result is her newly released novella The Strider and the Regulus, two independently published novelettes, four soon-to-be published novellas, and five as yet unpublished novels. She found writing to be a method for becoming the person she felt she was born to be. Wagner finds that writing inspires her to be a better person, truer to herself.

The ideas and substance of Tricia’s writing comes from a very deep place that is strongly stimulated by setting. Often, when she has completed a story, she feels as if she’s been to her story world, whether it’s on the map or not. She likes to believe all the places she writes about exist somewhere, somehow.

In writing her stories, Wagner was surprised and delighted to discover how real the characters become to an author; that for many writers, their characters end up as their most treasured friends. She loves to delve into them to mine their natures, secrets, and desires—to tell their stories with the legitimacy they deserve. In studying her characters, she finds she has the opportunity to shape herself, inching closer to the person she wants to become.

Wagner believes revision is magical in its power to make a good book great, and early drafts are only the beginning of a story’s journey. Any idea can wind up a good story, but with reflection and time and improvement, it can become art. Once Wagner completes a revision project, it feels miraculous how many fresh approaches have manifested and how much truer the story feels.

Wagner hopes her readers feel enchanted when they read her stories; that after completing one, it seems they’re drifting out from under a spell. This is exactly how she feels when she finishes writing a story. She hopes to that her writing might expand their minds, spirits, and worlds a bit, and she hope they fall in love with her characters and are moved by her artistry of language.

When she isn’t writing poignant works of literary fiction, Wagner is a Director of Adult Education – ESL Programs at a community college, a job and staff that she loves. In her spare time she enjoys refining her writing craft to discover new angles and landscapes that might enrich her writing palette. One such example is a recent course she took in learning to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, something that’s sure to end up in a story at some point. Wagner lives in Rockford, Illinois, with her husband and three darling cats.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / X

GIVEAWAY!

Nocturne Blitz

—

Book Spotlight/Giveaway: Maiden Tomb by Cynthia Sally Haggard

Maiden Tomb
Cynthia Sally Haggard
(Twelve Cursed Maidens, #1)
Publication date: February 5th 2025
Genres: Adult, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Historical, Retelling, Romance

Follow twelve princesses down a dark tunnel into a grove of jeweled trees to a too-placid lake, where a prince will row you across to a gleaming castle to dance the night away. This historical fantasy—a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses folktale—drifts backwards in time from the Early Middle Ages of Sicily to the Bronze Age of the Trojan War. It is perfect for fans of Circe and Spinning Silver.

Sixteen-year-old Justice wants to release her sisters from the jaws of Father’s imprisonment. But what can she do? The easiest way would be to find suitors for them.

However, that is not so easy, for Justice’s elder sisters are strange. What with All-Gifted’s madness, Protectress’s hair writhing with snakes, Death-Bringer’s grief (not to mention her strange name), Shining’s scandalous doings, Maiden’s tart tongue, Shadow’s crippling shyness, no sensible man would want her sisters as wives. Which leaves Justice, the seventh daughter, the one who possesses a quiet authority.

Maiden Tomb, Book One of the Twelve Cursed Maidens series, is a clean enemies-to-lovers romance.

The original fairytale—about twelve young ladies dancing all night—sounds so jolly doesn’t it? But I don’t think Twelve Dancing Princesses is about dancing at all.

I think it is about death.

Why do I think that? Well there appear to be some elements to the tale that go back, way back, hundreds, no, thousands of years, back into the Ancient World.

First of all, being rowed across a body of water sounds like a thread of Greek Mythology found its way into this tale. It is very reminiscent of Charon the boatman rowing the souls of the newly dead across the River Styx.

Then there are those jeweled trees. Where do they come from? Several scholars believe that element of the story comes from the Tale of Gilgamesh, which may have been originally composed around 1800 BCE. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, a King of Uruk a city-state in Sumeria, who is grieving for the death of his best friend. According to scholars, Gilgamesh ruled the Kingdom of Uruk in around 2700 BCE.

Then there are the princesses themselves. Have you ever wondered why their are twelve princesses? Again, the answer points towards the ancient kingdom of Sumeria, which existed in what is now present day Iraq, beginning in around 6,000 BCE. The Sumerians were renowned astronomers who used a base-12 numerical system, unlike the base-10 or decimal system we use today.

And so, there you have it. When you dig below the surface, a charming story from Europe has roots in the Middle East and seems to be thousands of years old!

And so, when I came to write Maiden Tomb, a piece of women’s fiction that explores the all-too-often captivity of women, I put back all those elements. We have the Gilgamesh epic, and elements of Greek Mythology, complete with snakes, ancient gods, and powerful goddesses. And far from being a jolly novel about young people dancing, as the title suggests, I made it a book about death.

I hope you find this coming-of-age novella as enjoyable to read as I found it fascinating to write.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

In the past week or so since we’ve arrived, life has taken on a predictable rhythm. I spend the mornings entertaining the ladies of the castle, with the lyre, my singing, playing knucklebones, and listening to their gossip. Truth to tell, nothing they say is particularly interesting as high-born ladies spend their time inside. When they are not diverting themselves with such pastimes as I provide, they are spinning, weaving, running the household, and caring for their children. They talk incessantly about their children. They know little of the outside world.

I escape after the midday meal, taking advantage of the ladies’ habit of resting as the sun’s chariot crests at the highest point of the day. While they sleep, I head out into the scorching countryside looking for Father.

We sit together in the shade, while Father does some task, usually repairing something, while I tell him everything I’ve learned the evening before. It is not that hard. Because I am small, and people are now familiar with my face, no one pays me any mind as I take my seat at the bench that runs along the side of the huge table where all the working folk of the castle eat their meals.

Father has told me never to be inquisitive, but I am dying to know more about the twelve mysterious ladies locked up in the castle tower, the ones people whisper about behind their hands when they think no-one is noticing.

As the light of the sun drains from the sky, as the king’s men sink lower onto wooden benches eating dish after dish, quail, pheasant, peacock, duck, eggs, bread, olive oil, wine, and olives, the noise of seven hundred men sharing jokes, laughing, and swilling wine reverberates around the hall.

Finally, I can take it no more.”Is it true what they say about the King’s daughters?”

The grizzled stranger on the bench next to me wipes the grease off his mouth with the back of a hand and spits out an olive pit.

“Where’ve you popped up from? You shouldn’t be here. You’re only a young lad.”

I am used to these remarks. After I left home I took a ship that was blown off course, taking me west to the land of the Italoi. I had to beg for money in the streets and in the taverns and it was not long before I heard news of Father, who was sailing to the west of this land.

And so I made my way across steep mountains before coming down to a lush plain. Playing my lyre to entertain strangers I followed their directions to the sea, to a wide bay within sight of a simmering, high, conical-shaped mountain.

And there, in a tavern, I met Father.

Now we are traveling home together. But Father is not here on the bench beside me, as he should be, but outside at a nearby farm pretending to be a stable hand.

This is one of Father’s clever strategies. He is a master at extracting information. He calls his strategy “divide and conquer” and it means that I have to use my lyre to find a berth for the night in some local chieftain’s house. This is not usually difficult, especially if there are ladies around because for some reason they always want to pet me.

Meanwhile, Father finds work on the outside as a shepherd, farmhand, or stable boy. By concealing his origins and pretending to be dumb, drunk, or both, Father is able to overhear a great many things. We have a plan to meet every day at noon, I escaping the blandishments of the ladies to visit the local farm for milk, cheese, eggs where I could happen upon the new stable boy, farmhand, or shepherd.

The only fly in the ointment is my age. I am only twelve years old and to my great annoyance, I look it. So Father made me memorize some phrases to offer when this issue arises.

“Father is here with me, but is suffering with an ache to his belly.”

One sentence is usually enough for most people. Father has instructed me never to offer explanations that are not asked for as it only makes people more curious.

But the fellow is staring at me, waiting for more.

I turn my eyes down. “Father told me to eat supper and then berth with him in the stable yard.”

“He’s the new stable hand, is he?”

I nod.

“Much good he’ll be with a bellyache.”

I look up. “Do you have a remedy for that good sir?”

Father always stresses the importance of asking for advice when a conversation turns sour, as it flatters the vanity.

The fellow hawks and spits, rising from his seat. “You’ll have to go to the kitchens for that, son.” He ambles off.

Author Bio:

Cynthia Sally Haggard was born and reared in Surrey, England. About 40 years ago, she surfaced in the United States, inhabiting the Mid-Atlantic region as she wound her way through four careers: violinist, cognitive scientist, medical writer, and novelist.

Her first novel, Thwarted Queen, a saga set in 1400s England with a Game of Thrones vibe, won the 2021 Gold Medal IPPY Award for Audiobook. Her second novel, Farewell My Life, a dark historical about a hidden murderer, won the 2021 Independent Press Award for Women’s Fiction and was the 2019 Distinguished Favorite for the New York City Big Book Award.

Cynthia graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge MA, in June 2015.

When she’s not annoying everyone by insisting her fictional characters are more real than they are, Cynthia likes to go for long walks, knit something glamorous, cook in her wonderful kitchen, and play the piano.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!

Maiden Tomb Blitz

—

New Release Alert: A Wolf-Changing Incident by Karenna Colcroft

 

I am so thrilled to showcase Karenna's newest book, A Wolf-Changing Incident, with you today. 

Paranormal/Fantasy MM Shifter Romance

Release Date: March 12th, 2026

Available on Kindle Unlimited as well.

Buy at Amazon

When werewolf Yves Diamond happens on a multi-vehicle crash on a Manitoba highway, he ignores the danger and rescues Will Mandel from a burning car. The moment he sets eyes and hands on Will, Yves knows the man belongs in his life. If Will survives his injuries.

Waking days later in a hospital, Will is confused by the presence of a man the nurses believe is his relative. But something in him recognizes that Yves is meant to be in his life. As Will’s recovery continues and Yves visits him frequently, the connection between the two grows into something neither can ignore–and neither dares to admit.

Werewolf law prohibits telling humans that werewolves exist–and once Yves’s Alpha learns about the visits with Will, he forbids Yves any further contact with the human. Having Will has changed Yves’s life for the better, but their bond might be severed before it can fully form.

This story includes description of a vehicle accident scene; fears of losing mobility that border on ableism; and references to PTSD. The story is set in the Real Werewolves Don't Eat Meat universe but is not part of that series.

Story snippet:

My heart sank, and a tear trickled out of my eye as a deep black grief covered every thought like ash. I might never be ready. I’d wanted to be a doctor my entire life, since before I could clearly speak the word. I’d done everything I needed to do, studied my ass off from primary on up, gotten through university and medical school. This position at the health center in Norway House was to have been the start of my life as Dr. Will Mandel. And the fucking accident had taken everything away from me.

I tried to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse croak that sent more spikes through my throat. The pain infuriated me, setting the grief-ash ablaze with heated rage, and I pounded the mattress with my fists.

“Will!” Eyes wide, Mom got up and tried to hold my hands down. “Stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Will.” Yves’s calm, even voice cut through the screeching rant in my mind. “You’re angry. Of course you are. But your mother’s right. Breathe. Be angry, but breathe.”

“Fuck you,” I muttered, not caring about my throat. Or about whether I would piss him off.

To my astonishment, he laughed. “Watch your language in front of your mother.”

I rolled my eyes, but his voice and his laughter helped cool my anger. I was still furious. My life’s dream was going down the drain, and I didn’t know if I would ever get it back. My entire body hurt in ways I’d never imagined. I couldn’t speak or make a sound without my throat aching, though at least that was better than the day before.

But I was alive. Thanks to Yves Diamond, whoever he was and whatever had possessed him to pull me out of my car, I was alive. Even if I never managed to work as a doctor, I would have a life, and I couldn’t be too angry about that.

For the rest of their visit, I drifted in and out of an uneasy sleep. After the third time I woke up, a nurse came in and not so politely invited Mom and Yves to leave. Before they did, Yves bent over the bed. “I’ll come back. Every day, if you’d like. Yes?”

“Yes.” The word was barely a breath.

He heard, though. “Good. See you tomorrow.” With a slight smile, he walked away.

About the Author:

Karenna Colcroft is a mother, wife, and former teacher who began writing romance in 2006 and took a hiatus beginning in 2016. In 2022, Karenna returned from beyond the figurative grave with updates of her previous books and new books set in her paranormal romance universe. In Karenna's world, love is love regardless of who or how many, and happy endings tend to prevail.

Karenna lives in eastern Massachusetts with her husband and two and a half cats. (Half in terms of the amount of time the cat spends with her, not the cat itself.) She is a mother of two plus three "bonus" kids and grandmother of four.

Amazon Author Page

Website

Tour Stop and Giveaway: Land of Two Moons by D. L. Gardner

 

Please welcome author D. L. Gardner as we spotlight their latest book, Land of Two Moons.

The Joy of Creating!

Indeed, life is what you make it. I can’t express that enough. I’m in my 70s and look back at my younger years, recollecting all the drama I experienced and happy I found a way to lay it all aside. Peace comes with old age. I spend my days now creating things. Hardly a day goes by that I’m not painting, writing, or cooking, or growing plants because that’s what settles my soul. Creating.

My best friends are the same way.

It makes me wonder when I’m on social media and see mobs and mobs of people yelling and screaming day after day, what do they have in life? If more people took a break and developed their own individual lives doing something constructive, perhaps we wouldn’t be living in such a ruthless age. And I’m not just talking about the Western world; I’m talking about all people everywhere.

When I was a child, I loved making things, whether it was braiding dandelions into bracelets, bars of soap into statues, making up tunes on the piano, or painting and writing; I found solace in creating. What worries me is that today, arts and crafts (and music) are put on the back burner in child-rearing. Those are the skills human beings need the most for their own happiness, and to make this world a better and more beautiful place!

 

Land of Two Moons

by D.L. Gardner

Genre: YA Epic SciFi Fantasy Adventure

Land of Two Moons will be a limited edition leather hardcover signed and numbered, a special edition case laminate hardcover, an eBook, and a paperback with printed edges. A rigid slip case is available for the hardcovers. 

 

***Check out the kickstarter campaign!**

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chonisi/land-of-two-moons

 

"The gritty reality of trench warfare and the smoky chaos of riots is striking in D. L. Gardner's Land of Two Moons...a rich and ambitious fantasy novel that successfully builds a world trembling on the brink of magical and political upheaval. This is a delicate, intricate novel that rewards patient reading." - Independent Book Review 

Arthur and Hallie are twin siblings, son and daughter of the Duke of Lodesmoor. Humble teenagers who befriend the village people and sympathize with their grievances. Their father, Lord Balmier, whose duchy is approaching financial collapse, uses his subjects as pawns in a battle over a string of valuable mines.

Lord Balmier sees his son's sympathy toward the serfs as an alliance against him and soon acts to squelch Arthur's sedition.

Hallie clings to a forbidden love, and both siblings must resist their father's harsh rule.

All the while they are unaware that their mother keeps a mystical dragon named Killian, bound in chains by a spell, whose fate will affect them all.

As the twin moons approach a rare and magical eclipse, alliances shift, secrets unravel, and Arthur and Hallie must choose between loyalty, freedom, and sacrifice to save their people and themselves. 

“With strong pacing and a cast of memorable characters – including a homesick dragon, this is the perfect book for fans of the ‘fantasy’ genre. Highly recommended!” - The Wishing Shelf

 ***Check out the kickstarter campaign!**

Book Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bgjj2S

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-two-moons-d-l-gardner/1149312501

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/ap/nBvawn/DL-Gardner

  

Book Trailer:

https://youtu.be/R-l7KrR5p6s

 

 Giveaway

$20 Amazon or Paypal

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter the Land of Two Moons Giveaway Here

About the Author

D.L. Gardner is an award-winning author, artist, filmmaker, and screenwriter with over 28 published works to her credit. Writing and painting are her passions and fantasy her forte. When she's not pounding keys on the computer, she's canning salsa, picking apples, listening to the voices of critters in the woods, or watching flowers grow. She loves visiting far-off lands through books by both reading and writing. 

Her genres include all fantasy, historical, and mystery. 

Get to know D.L. through her websites and blogs or send her a message her on Kickstarter. 

Currently a FINALIST (2025 March) in the Cannes World Wide Film Festival for her screen adaption of her book An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody. 

Other awards include Wishing Shelf book Award 2023 for audio, B.R.A.G. Award 2022 for the Cho Nisi series, Book Excellence Award 2019 and 2015 for Ian's Realm and Cassandra's Castle. Best Screenplay adaptation from her book Dylan at the Paris Screenplay Awards, Mile Hill International Screenplay Awards, L.A. Edge Awards, European Cinematography Awards, and Moondance Film Festival. Best Screenplay Award for adaptation from her book An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody at Veers Film Festival, Best Screenplay Award for adaptation of Ian's Realm at the Twin Falls Sandwiches Film Festival and many more. 

 

Website * Newsletter * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Goodreads

 

Tour Stop/Giveaway: The Regressor King

The Regressor King
AJ Sherwood
Publication date: February 10th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Romance

Death, Paradise, and the gods themselves–all rejected for the sake of love.

When King James Kronenscheld dies at the hands of the Demon King, he thinks his suffering is finally over and he can join his Edwin in Paradise. And, hey, at least he’d taken the Demon King with him, right?

But then the gods try to send James to Paradise WITHOUT his Edwin, and that is simply unfathomable. So he does the unthinkable–he turns it down and negotiates for one more chance to fix his mistakes.

Armed with memories and regrets, James regresses to before he was crowned. He is determined to woo the man he lost, even if it means facing down all his previous failures. For Edwin alone will James face Wraths and plagues, court politics, and demon kings. He will avoid the horrors of the crown and attain Paradise for them both.

Failing this time means losing Edwin forever. And that is not an option.

Tags:

Romantasy, High fantasy, M/M romance, inspired heavily by webtoons, calling all passengers: hop on board, this ship is about to sail!, remember to take water and bathroom breaks, don’t start this book at 8pm, time regression, fated love, reluctant ruler, PTSD, hurt/comfort, both characters are near 30, Paradise without Edwin isn’t paradise to James, competence is sexy, so says James, power couple, Edwin finds Prince James very strange, and rightfully so, Victor has climbed to the very top of the shitty life decisions tree and was hitting every branch on the way down, Helena is a BAMF princess, Royce is a pharmacologist but make it medieval, James doesn’t want the throne, no seriously, stop asking him to take it, the gods play favorites, heavy is the crown, James wishes he’d paid better attention to details the first go around, that’s currently biting him, demon portals are a pain, horse lovers unite, Titan is best horse ever, Edwin realizes his Task in this life, Edwin has no problem unaliving James’s ex, buying books is a love language

Tropes: MM Romance, Regression, High Fantasy, Fated Love, Demon King, Reluctant Ruler, Hurt/Comfort

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Interview with AJ Sherwood

What is your latest book about? Hook, Line, and Murder features retired grade school teachers as amateur sleuths solving the murder of a former student. It is set in a fictional coastal community inspired by Long Island’s North Shore and blends small-town charm, close-knit friendships, and a puzzling mystery - with clean content and a strong sense of family and community.

Taking the story from a concept to a published book is a long and involved process. How does that usually work for you? For me, the story starts with the “Who?” I like character driven stories so it’s important for me to fully flesh out my amateur sleuths. Next is “Who died?” Because that’s where the mystery unfolds. And the plot twists and the red herrings. It’s the relationships between the sleuths and the community, and between the victim and the community, and finally between the sleuths and the victim that make the story wheel turn. Once I have the backbone of the story, then I go ahead with revisions, then polishing and edits. Only then is the story ready to head out into the wild — hopefully with a bit of charm and a few surprises in tow.

Which of your books would you recommend for readers to choose first if they’re new to you and your books? Hook, Line and Murder is my debut cozy mystery, Book 1 of The Sweet TOOTH Murder Mystery Series. Book 2 should be out by end of 2026. I also write cozy mystery short stories featuring a retired detective. Readers can get their free copy by visiting my website at https://www.ggcalpo.com

Do you have a favorite personal development or writing book you would recommend? Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. Highly recommend. I use it to check that my beat sheets are on target.

Tell us something fun or interesting about you.  I love to travel, especially on a cruise ship. There’s something magical about waking up somewhere new without the fuss of planes, trains, or long car rides. You open the curtains to the window or balcony door of your cabin to take in this new delightful destination – or you gaze into that endless ocean and let the waves soothe you.

What have you learned throughout your writing process? I’ve learned patience. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a very patient person. But writing has taught me not to force a story before it’s ready. To not be afraid of the blank page. To let ideas fully form. Playing with storylines makes all the difference, for me, in whether my characters come alive to readers or if they lie flat on the pages. 

What has inspired you to become a writer? I used to make up stories in my head when I was younger, usually when I was doing nothing except look at the sky, waiting to get called in for dinner. When I retired, with nothing to do again, I remembered my stories and thought, why not?

How do you keep your ideas fresh and avoid traveling over well-worn territory?

Cozy mysteries lean heavily on small-town vibes and community, but readers still love a good plot twist. I like to take an ordinary relationship — friend or family — and ask “what if?” then follow that question from the familiar to the unexpected. Letting those ideas simmer often leads me to storylines that feel both comforting and fresh.

What trope have you not written yet but want to? I write urban fantasy and have been working on a trilogy for some time. The first book is currently under revision, and the second has a completed first draft. The third and final installment is still at the concept stage.

Do you have a specific writing process? I work intuitively. I let story ideas simmer in my mind. Stew in their juices, so to speak. I let the characters talk, fight, and get into trouble. It’s like waiting for an avocado to ripen. You buy an avocado when it’s rock hard from the store, and it gradually ripens as it sits in a bowl on top of your breakfast table while you wait for that right moment to cut the avocado into slices. Too soon, and it’s inedible. Too late, and it’s brown and mushy. Same thing with a story. I write when the story feels ready, not a moment before.

Do you have a favorite author and/or favorite book? I adore Terry Pratchett who wrote Good Omens with Neil Gaiman, a comedic fantasy about the end of the world, since serialized by Amazon. Pratchett is also famously known for his Discworld series, about a flat world set on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle swimming through the void of the universe. I love his dry wit and humor.

What do you do when you’re not writing? When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading or watching cozy crime shows on TV while crocheting. It’s good to get away into someone else’s world — and I love following the trail of a good whodunit.

Author Bio:

AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.

She currently resides in Michigan with aforementioned dogs and cats. Being in snow country gives her the excuse to stay inside and watch bl dramas, which suit her perfectly.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Instagram / TikTok

GIVEAWAY!

The Regressor King Blitz

—

New Release Book Review: Moonborn by ANNAIA ROWAN

 

Moonborn

Series: Book 1 of the Soulstar Saga

Fantasy Romantasy

Release Date: February 2nd, 2026

Amazon Buy Link HERE

My Rating for Moonborn: 3.5 Stars

I'm nothing more than property as that is all I am allowed to be for the last decade and the darkness rules Bronich. Magic is a whisper that could get you killed. Until I witnessed something that has me fleeing to the forgotten world of Rea as I try to stay alive. Here is where I thought I would be free except I am having dreams not my own, feeling things I am at a loss of feeling and secrets that are about myself that I need to know. I am done being powerless, nothing and am determined to discover my true self and the power that is mine.

My Review of Moonborn:

Moonborn is one heck of a ride from start to finish. With a main character that just screams for the reader to fall in love with, an intricate magic system and a world that is so unique and intriguing that I couldn't help but find myself flipping pages like mad to see what happens next. What didn't work for me was at times the worldbuilding became a bit stagnant and slow to reveal things. I like a fast paced storyline and there are gleams of it here that completely absorbed me but then I would be thrown out of the story as the pacing got bogged down on details the reader was told several pages or chapters ago. I can honestly say this isn't a lightweight read at all. It's got depth and can be dense at times. Moonborn is an interesting tale and one I am glad to check out as it hit a lot of my happy reading boxes.

Laina is a woman chained to servitude, powerless, invisible and just another one in the cog. The brutal and cruel world she is in comes across beautifully and the reader gets a sense of secrets that surround her. She is a wonderful FMC that delivers to me as a reader. She is complex and I found myself rooting for her by chapter three. I was really drawn to her story and the other characters introduced in this world are just as complex and unique as well. I liked how the author delivers such intriguing characters tot he reader but I have to cautiont hat this is light on romance but that could change in the next book(s). 

Moonborn is a book that had some issues but overall, it hit most of my requirements for a romantasy that made me glad I got it. It was a fun and intriguing book that sets up the series nicely. If you  like Sarah J. Maas books, than you might enjoy this one.

Thank you to The Nerd Fam for the gifted eARC. #moonborn #thenerdfam

Tour Stop/Giveaway: To Hell and Back by Bill Bloom

To Hell and Back
Bill Blume
Publication date: January 20th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

For one pair of swordfighters, their marriage is worth going to Hell and back.

Ty and Dani are a modern-day, swordfighting husband-and-wife duo who help with exorcisms until a demon kills Dani’s mother and all of their fellow exorcists. Now, they’re on a quest for revenge through the realms of Hell, and killing the demon is just the start of the journey. To keep the demon from reviving, Dani and Ty must escape Hell within seven days and cast the demon’s head and heart into an Eternal Flame. To get back to the mortal realm in time, they rely on their small terrier Wicket to lead them past the demon’s army and thousands of other horrors.

To Hell and Back takes readers on an epic journey perfect for those who believe love can overcome any challenge and that a devoted dog makes the perfect guide no matter where you need to go.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

—

EXCERPT:

They didn’t drive far, parking on a cobblestone street next to the café, sitting on a street corner. The entire front wall of the café was made up of tall doors that were all turned open to take advantage of the pleasant spring weather. Ty sucked down his coffee. It tasted stronger than what he preferred, but as tired as he was, he considered that a good thing.

“I imagine you have a lot of questions.” Maria sat at one of the tables closest to the sidewalk with people dressed in business suits and hospital scrubs walking by. She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair, draping her arm over the back of it.

“I’m told you work for the church?” He decided against gambling on whether it was the Catholic or Episcopal Church.

“Heard that, did you?” She cracked an amused grin, as if she’d been privy to his conversation with Barry. “That’s only partially true. We’re funded by the Church of England, but we don’t answer to them.”

Taking a chug of his coffee, Ty then asked, “And who is we?”

“A fair question, and I’ll get to that soon enough.” She paused for her own sip of coffee. When she continued, she stared out at the street as cars rumbled across the cobblestones. “I’d like to talk about you a bit first. I notice you’ve started the transition.”

“The what?”

“Oh, you’re trying to find a way to make a living off that sword arm of yours that doesn’t require a nine-to-five job typing on a keyboard or some other nonsense. You’re going the usual route: giving lessons to wannabes drunk on fantasies of medieval knights or Star Wars. You know. The usual stuff.” She looked at him with a smirk that assured him she already knew the answer to her next question. “You enjoying all that?”

He cleared his throat and sniffed. His sinuses were still killing him.

“I’m paying my bills.” He shrugged, trying to mimic her nonchalance by turning his focus out onto the street and the passersby. Didn’t keep him from seeing her amused reaction to his answer, that she knew he was full of shit.

Yeah, he’d taken to giving part-time lessons at a local fencing club that included saber fighting. Most of the job seemed more about punishing clients into the realization that they weren’t going to turn into Inigo Montoya overnight and that fighting with a sword required both finesse and brutality. Being good with a sword required a killer instinct. Forcing others with limited skills to realize they didn’t have that certain something was taking a toll on him.

“Look, Mr. Faison.” She leaned forward, crossing her arms on the table. “For some people that’s enough, and that’s fine.” The way she said “fine” left little doubt it was anything but that. “But someone like you…” She shook her head.

He tried to bluff, acting amused and disinterested, but his acting skills failed him again. “You think so?”

The way her expression hardened, that single eye narrowing on him, forced his full focus on her. “I think you’re the kind of person who’s only ever whole when he’s got a sword in his hand and a real fight in front of him.”

She leaned back in her chair again, with all the satisfaction of a wildcat dining on a fresh kill. The silence offered him a chance to respond, but she’d left him speechless. No one had ever peeled him down to his bones like this—not even his parents—not this fast or with such ease.

After giving him his chance to answer and seeing he wasn’t able to, Maria sipped her coffee and then continued. “You’re twenty-six. You used to finish in the top three at most competitions you entered but you haven’t in more than a year. It’s not that your skills or body are fading, and it’s not because you’re distracted by the side work that pays the bills. No, it’s because even the competitions are starting to bore you. Those fights aren’t real anymore, because all that’s at stake there is pride.”

“And what? You’re offering me a ‘real fight’? What is this? Some kind of underground sword fight club, where the loser dies, and the first rule is to not talk about it?”

She shook her head, grinning at his attempt at wit. “This is no game or club. Underground? Somewhat. But what you’ll be doing will make a real difference in people’s lives. I’m offering you a chance to reclaim that fire that ignited the moment you first touched a sword.

“I’m giving you a chance to find your heart.”

Author Bio:

Bill Blume discovered his love for the written word while in high school and has been writing ever since. His latest novel, West of Apocalypse, is now available from Time Killer Publishing. His short stories have been published in many fantasy anthologies and various ezines.

Like the father figure in his "Gidion Keep, Vampire Hunter" novels, Bill works as a 911 dispatcher for Henrico County Police and has done so for more than two decades. He served as the 2013 chair for James River Writers, which produces one of the nation's best annual conferences for educating and connecting writers.

He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1995. In the years after, he worked as a TV news producer, first in Columbus, Georgia, and then in Richmond, Virginia, which has become home for Bill & his family.

You can learn more about Bill at his website: www.billblume.net.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

To Hell and Back Blitz

—

Bok Tour Stop/Giveaway: Cupids' Arrows by Mell Eight

Title: Cupids' Arrows

Author: Mell Eight

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 01/13/2026

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 17300

Genre: Holiday Fantasy, MM Romance, Valentine’s Day, anthropomorphic, established couples, magic, grief

Add to Goodreads

Description

Sable and Wynn have kept their relationship quiet. Love cupids and loss cupids are too different, after all. But cupid society wasn't always separated. When Elder Meir hatches a plot to use Sable and Wynn to prove cupids work better together, Sable and Wynn are all in. However, the plot requires they travel to the human world to tackle a very complicated case of love and loss where failure isn't an option. They can only hope their bond will be enough to overcome the odds.

Excerpt

Cupids’ Arrows
Mell Eight © 2026
All Rights Reserved

Prologue

Sable shook his head and sighed. The poor guy sitting at the park bench on the other side of the path from where Sable stood, reading a brochure with a picture of white sand and blue ocean on the cover, really was suffering, and all because a love cupid had hit him with an arrow. On the one hand, the man was clearly very in love with his wife. He adored her and the life they had together. On the other, his real love was the opportunity to travel. He wanted to see the world, exactly as the brochure in his hands invited. However, as long as he was married to his wife and tied up with her social calendar, he was never going to have the opportunity.

Sable concentrated, using his magic to sift through the pieces of information he felt emanating from the subject as the man closed the brochure and tipped his head back against the top of the bench to stare at the blue sky. To find his true happiness, what the man needed was to be able to say no to the next charity ball, to skip the musical or play that month, or even to miss the golf tournament his wife signed him up for every year.

There was no need to negate the marriage or remove the love cupid’s arrow completely, Sable decided. The man really did love his wife, and he didn’t mind most of the events she dragged him to. He just needed enough free time between those events to get on a plane and fly to another country. To do that, he had to develop a backbone and the ability to be firm about advocating for himself against her demands to escort her to all her events.

That wouldn’t be too difficult to manufacture. The shaft of an arrow appeared in Sable’s hand, cedar to hold the spell and fly true. He added goose feathers with a bit of twine and glue on one end of the shaft because they symbolized both loyalty to family and a transition. A steel broadhead for resiliency went on the other end. Sable concentrated on the finished arrow, calling up his magic.

Barefoot on soft white sand, the quiet rush of the waves, and the glow of the moon overhead. Beauty and peace. And then his wife walked up to him and took his hand, holding him close to enjoy the view together, and the moment became perfect. All he had to do was find the courage and ask, and this dream would become reality.

Sable let out a breath and opened his eyes as the spell snapped into place. His fingers tingled with the backlash, but the arrow was complete. The glue was still a little damp, but there was no time to wait. This opportunity while the subject sat on the bench was too perfect. Sable called up his bow, the recurve crossbow appearing in his free hand. He loaded the arrow and aimed.

“Don’t you dare!”

Sable jumped. Thankfully his finger hadn’t been on the trigger, because he would have shot the arrow into a tree instead of his target.

“Don’t you loss cupids have anything better to do than ruin all of the love cupids’ hard work?” the voice continued.

Sable turned to look, already scowling. The man standing behind Sable, hands on his hips, was vaguely familiar. Sable had definitely seen him flying around the clouds the cupids called home but had never spoken with him before. Down on Earth and confined to a human form, he didn’t look all that different to what Sable remembered. Long blond hair, windswept and slightly tangled in the breeze, and blue eyes darkened by scorn, he was the embodiment of what a love cupid should look like. Minus the wings, of course, since those were hidden from human view whenever any cupid came down to Earth. He was also incredibly hot, particularly the way his lower lip jutted out—begging for a nibble—as his scowl deepened.

“I have my mission,” Sable replied, but that only made the love cupid scoff.

“Some mission.”

Sable managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the level of sarcasm in those two words. Sable had his mission, exactly as he had said, and no love cupid was going to get in the way of that. Still though… Sable bit his lip, and when the cupid’s eyes dipped down, tracking as Sable slowly let his lip slide free from between his teeth, Sable made his decision.

“Use your magic on him. What do you feel?”

The love cupid stared at Sable a moment longer before huffing out a breath and refocusing on Sable’s subject.

“He’s happy and in love,” the cupid replied after a moment.

“Is he?” Sable replied, keeping his tone bland. While the love cupid was distracted, Sable lifted his crossbow, aimed, and fired. The arrow flew true, slamming into the man’s chest directly over his heart where it shimmered for a moment before vanishing.

“Hey!”

“Feel him now,” Sable said, cutting into the cupid’s ire as he spun back toward Sable. “Now tell me if he’s happy. Tell me!” Sable insisted

The cupid glared at Sable, but when Sable only looked back, firm with the knowledge that he was right, the cupid huffed out another breath and turned back to the man.

The subject was no longer staring longingly at the sky. Instead, he had the brochure open again and was running a finger down the line of departure dates on the final panel, a broad smile on his face. A moment later he pulled out his cell phone, tapping to make a call before bringing it to his ear.

“Honey, remember how you were complaining that you didn’t want to see that one-man play where the character has multiple personalities that Jan insisted we needed to see because her son helped produce it? What if we already had other plans?” He paused, listening. “Well, we don’t need to tell her when we booked our other plans, but I think we would both enjoy two weeks exploring Panama and Colombia with a few days relaxing on the beaches in Aruba rather than seeing that play.” He listened again, his smile growing even wider. “Exactly! Should I go ahead and book it?”

Sable turned away, satisfied both by what he was hearing and by what his magic told him. The man had taken the first step toward truly being happy; there was no reason for Sable to linger.

“How did you do that?” the love cupid asked, hurrying to catch up to Sable. “You didn’t break my arrow. You layered your own on top of mine!”

“I needed to break his attachment to always saying yes to ensure his wife was always happy,” Sable explained. “You were right that he and his wife are a perfect match, but his happiness was entirely dependent on hers. My arrow gave him the incentive he needed to balance ensuring her happiness and his own.”

“Huh.” The love cupid suddenly stopped walking and held out his hand. “I’m Wynn.”

“Sable,” he responded, taking Wynn’s hand and shaking it. Wynn let go slowly, his fingers almost caressing against Sable’s.

“I like the way you think, Sable,” Wynn said, his voice when he said Sable’s name dipping low and sultry. “I’ll definitely be seeing you again.”

He winked before abruptly turning and jogging away into the trees. A moment later, he vanished with a brief flash of light, heading back up to the clouds.

Sable looked at his hand for a moment, his skin still tingling faintly from Wynn’s warmth.

“Huh,” Sable said, echoing Wynn from a moment ago.

He had a feeling Wynn was lingering in the landing zone up in the clouds, waiting to see whether Sable might be interested in a game of chase. A game, Sable thought, smiling to himself, that would likely end up in one of their bedrooms.

Sable was definitely interested in giving Wynn’s little game a try.

He walked the last few steps into the trees, reaching the spot where Wynn had vanished, and paused to double-check himself. Wynn was a love cupid, after all, and Sable a loss cupid. They were so different, and this really wasn’t a good idea, and yet… Wynn’s playful wink said he didn’t care. Sable… He shook his head. He cared, but despite that, he still wanted to see where a tryst with Wynn might lead.

Sable signaled, and the flash of light enveloped him. A moment later, the cloud where the landing zone was located appeared around him. Wynn stood in the doorway, his bright white wings spread. When he saw Sable looking at him, he grinned and took off, flying over the clouds in the general direction of the city.

Sable rustled his own wings, stretching them out after their confinement while on Earth, then took off, too, following Wynn.

While the chase might be fun, catching Wynn was definitely going to be much more so. Sable honestly couldn’t wait.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

When Mell Eight was in high school, she discovered dragons. Beautiful, wondrous creatures that took her on epic adventures both to faraway lands and on journeys of the heart. Mell wanted to create dragons of her own, so she put pen to paper. Mell Eight is now known for her own soaring dragons, as well as for other wonderful characters dancing across the pages of her books. While she mostly writes paranormal or fantasy stories, she has been seen exploring the real world once or twice.

Website | Facebook | X

   

Tour Stop: Moon's Shadows by Shannon Blair

Title: Moon's Shadow

Series: Duskblade, Book Two

Author: Shannon Blair

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 12/23/2025

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 354

Genre: Fantasy, fantasy, elves, family, spies, sexual discovery, royalty, established relationship, revenge, betrayal, intrigue, coming out

Add to Goodreads

Description

Moranthus and Gerrick return to Dawn’s Gate in hopes of a happy homecoming, but Moranthus’s past as a duskblade stands in the way of his future. When a delegation from his native Moonridge pays a surprise visit to Dawn’s Gate’s court, Moranthus is enlisted as a guard for Prince Orthenn: a man he once tried to kidnap. With Gerrick still employed as Orthenn’s double, Moranthus welcomes the opportunity to shield his lover from harm alongside the prince he protects. Then, a familiar face reappears and calls his loyalties into question once again.

Gerrick, struggling to balance his duty with his love for Moranthus and the young daughter he’s only just returned to, hesitates to work alongside his lover. With his heart divided, he must find a way to reconcile his authentic self with his work as a false prince—all while trying to expose a suspected traitor in Dawn’s Gate’s court.

Meanwhile, in Moonridge, Matriarch Ilendra faces the consequences of her failed plot against Prince Orthenn. As she scrambles to save her reputation, both a new suitor and an old flame compete for her already divided attentions while her estranged half-brother makes an unexpected reappearance in her social sphere. With her personal affairs now as treacherous as her court, Ilendra must choose her allies carefully—or risk losing both her reign and her life.

Excerpt

Moon’s Shadow
Shannon Blair © 2025
All Rights Reserved

From the Prologue

It was not yet dawn. The bone-chilling winds that made Moonridge’s winters so infamously harsh screamed across the sea ice of Aurora’s harbor like a host of vengeful dead. Even tucked away inside her study, shielded by the fabled impregnable walls of Aurora’s palace and layers of furs, Ilendra could feel their icy bite. She should be in bed at this hour, waiting for the sun to rise and blunt the edge of winter’s chill. Instead, she sat in a hard-backed chair designed more for its regal appearance than its comfort, burning through precious firewood and candles as she pored over the contents of the most recent missive to reach her desk.

As Moonridge’s reigning Matriarch, she would be within her rights to leave the matter until morning and see to it that the courier responsible for disturbing her rest received a sharp reprimand for rousing her at this hour. But she had assumed a letter delivered in the dead of night by a goblin courier who had no business traveling so far into elven lands deserved her immediate attention. She had assumed correctly.

The courier’s letter was almost unnecessary. The red braid it contained was a message in itself. Ilendra eyed the length of hair coiled around her hand as though it were a viper poised to strike. It shone in the firelight like blood welling from a fresh wound. A fitting comparison, when she took the severed braid’s meaning into account. A meaning that she understood all too well.

Betrayal.

The image of her father as she’d last seen him surfaced, unwelcome and unbidden, from the depths of her mind. Anguish shining in his violet eyes like unshed tears as he dragged a razor across his throat, washing away any questions surrounding the legitimacy of Ilendra’s ascension to Moonridge’s throne with the rushing torrent of his lifeblood. Ten years later, Ilendra could still hear the soft gurgle of his dying breath as his features went slack and his eyes grew vacant. The soft thud of his body crumpling almost gracefully to the floor, as composed in death as he’d been in life. Exactly as an elven Patriarch should be. And exactly as Ilendra strove to conduct herself as Moonridge’s new Matriarch.

Sparing the life of her father’s lover, Moranthus, had been a mistake. In the wake of her father’s death, his declaration of loyalty to her had seemed genuine. But it had been an act of foolish weakness to believe such loyalty could last when Ilendra was responsible for the death of a man he’d been so utterly infatuated with. The moment Ilendra set him to a task of any real significance—his long-awaited chance to escape the shame of his unseemly involvement with a man above his station—Moranthus had turned on her, reducing years of immaculate planning to a smoldering ruin of folly.

A light, hesitant knock sounded on the door. Avalanche, the hulking ice bear who served Ilendra as a symbol of office, loyal mount, and steadfast companion, raised his head off his front paws and yawned. He tilted his head in curiosity as he regarded the source of the noise from his vantage point beside the ornamental fireplace at Ilendra’s back. His glossy, white coat glimmered like fresh snow in the firelight, interrupted only by the ink blots of his eyes, nose, and paws. Beneath that soft fur was a beast strong enough to kill a grown elf with a single swipe of his paw, each foot tipped with finger-long claws and jaws lined with dagger-sharp teeth. With such a stalwart guardian by her side, Ilendra hardly had need of the two frostguards posted outside her door, standing still as living statues in their slate-gray plate armor, their faces rendered expressionless by the blank visors of their helmets.

“Enter,” Ilendra called out, her voice clear and sharp. She ran a hand over her jet-black hair, woven into an eleven-strand Matriarch’s braid. As usual, not a single hair was out of place. She allowed herself a small hum of satisfaction at the knowledge. Unlike her fool half-brothers, she hadn’t been lucky enough to inherit her father’s royal-white hair—and, much to the chagrin of her advisors, had refused to have her hair powdered or magicked white to conform to her people’s expectations of what a Matriarch should look like—but at least she knew how to conduct herself with proper decorum. And speaking of fool half-brothers…

The door to her study swung open on well-oiled hinges. Corendin, the younger of their late father’s legitimate sons, stepped into Ilendra’s study, gray eyes still bleary from sleep. Still, there was no denying the concern Ilendra saw reflected in them, or the way his dusky lavender skin looked a touch paler than usual. Receiving a summons from his Matriarch at such an early hour and with so little notice had unnerved him.

And he had wasted little time tending to his appearance before answering her. He wore his ice-white hair draped over his shoulder in a loose, dismal attempt at the nine-strand nobleman’s braid that he was lucky to still be wearing. His elder brother, Vandorys, was living a life of exile in the goblin territories after refusing to accept Ilendra as his new Matriarch. Corendin’s more biddable temperament had spared him from sharing his brother’s fate.

Avalanche sniffed at the air as Corendin approached Ilendra’s desk, the beginnings of a growl rumbling in his chest. Corendin tensed at the sight of him and breathed a visible sigh of relief when Avalanche rested his head on his paws with a satisfied huff a moment later.

Corendin knelt before Ilendra, head respectfully inclined as he asked, “What is required of me, Matriarch?” His voice was low and soft but filled the room as effectively as if he had shouted all the same—almost an exact match for the way their father had spoken. The similarity never failed to send a chill down Ilendra’s spine. “I hope my actions have not displeased you.”

“They have not.” Ilendra fought to keep her exasperation at his groveling from showing as she spoke. It troubled her to see Corendin still so fearful of her a full decade after her ascension and his brother’s exile. A part of her wanted nothing more than to embrace him as the sibling he had always been to her and reassure him that she bore him no ill will. But to make such assurances was to undermine her own authority and diminish the gravity of his brother’s refusal to accept his new place in the hierarchy of Moonridge’s nobility. Surely, he understood that. “You may rise. A matter has been brought to my attention on which I would seek your counsel.” And a source of comfort in the wake of such an unexpected betrayal, though she could not say so aloud.

Corendin rose, eyebrows raised in a mix of surprise and curiosity as he regarded her with eyes that, for the first time in the last decade, were neither guarded nor wary. “Of course, Ilen—” He caught himself, pretending to clear his throat before he continued. “—Matriarch. How may I be of assistance?”

Ilendra shifted her gaze to her study’s door, shut tight behind Corendin by her frostguards the moment his feet had passed its threshold. It was thick enough to prevent her voice from reaching her frostguards’ ears, so long as she did not shout. And her frostguards were disciplined enough not to spread news of her conversations to unworthy ears even if they did overhear her. This was as close to a chance to speak freely as she could get as Moonridge’s Matriarch. “‘Ilendra’ is more than adequate in this context.”

“Very well, Ilendra.” A ghost of a smile lightened Corendin’s features. “If I may ask, why is it that this matter caused you to seek my counsel? Surely your advisors are better suited to such a task?”

Because her advisors would question why she had involved Moranthus in the matter instead of leaving it in the more trustworthy and capable hands of her frostguards. Why she had promised her father’s disgraced and unsuitable lover a pardon she had no intention of granting him as a reward for completing a mission she’d expected him to fail. And she was not yet ready to face their scorn and judgmental stares.

“Because it is, to a certain degree, a family matter.” And Corendin was the only family she had left. Her mother had not spoken to her since her father’s death, justifying herself by claiming she lacked the mental fortitude to abide the presence of the woman responsible for the death of the man she had loved. Even if that woman was her own daughter.

“I see. Has there been news of Vandorys, then?” Corendin’s expression looked almost hopeful. Ilendra chose not to hold it against him for the moment.

“No, and for that, we should count ourselves grateful. This matter concerns Moranthus.”

Corendin’s eyes drifted to the braided length of red hair still wound around Ilendra’s hand. “You’ve exiled him?”

“He chose exile for himself as the penalty for an act of treason.”

“Are you certain? That seems unlike him.” Corendin’s brow furrowed. He doubted her. Of course he did. He hadn’t shared Ilendra’s distaste for their father’s base-born lover, even going so far as to attempt to intercede on Moranthus’s behalf ten years ago, when Ilendra had sentenced him to half-exile.

It wasn’t his mother who had been disgraced by their father’s decision to set her aside for a piece of trash he’d plucked out of the gutter, after all. It wasn’t his future that had been rendered uncertain by their father’s decision to sever the bond that served as his only public means of including his illegitimate daughter in his family line. It wasn’t him who’d been forced to stage a coup against his beloved father in order to preserve his suddenly precarious political standing and forcefully lay claim to a throne that should have been freely given to him. 

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Shannon Blair is a fantasy author with a fondness for elves, goblins, and general otherworldly goodness. Their love of fiction and storytelling drove them to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing from Regis University, where a short writing exercise spiraled out of control and eventually became their first novel. When they aren’t on a quest to make the fantasy genre a more LGBTQA-friendly place, Shannon can be found inventing whimsical backstories for the colorful crafts and vendors at the craft market where they work. They live on the outskirts of the Denver metroplex with their partner and two spoiled rotten cats.

Facebook | X | Instagram