Book Tour Stop/Giveaway: From the Depths of the Stars by CD Clark

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. C.D.Clark will be awarding a digital copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Jordan Blue works to survive on the oppressive, corporate colony world, Shoar. A random, near-fatal encounter puts her in the company of Kuvett, a space faring creature of the stars. While Jordan tries to figure out the inscrutable Cosmari, Kuvett sneaks about the dilapidated Outskirts to find out just what happened to the planet, what secrets the impenetrable Meritopolis hides, and why it is there.

Read an Excerpt

Kuvett let go and hovered back to let Jordan continue.

“Yet, the reason why I have such a hard time accepting it is because—” the tears returned as she looked out to the doorway—“there was a time when I didn’t live here alone.”

“I assumed as much. Their presence still lingers here and on you.”

Jordan nodded. “We were together for about six years until one day, she just up and vanished. I don’t know where she went to, I don’t know if she is even still alive, but the fact she never told me where she even left hurts. It hurts a lot.”

“And you fear it may happen once more.” Kuvett leaned against the wall.

“Yes,” Jordan looked to the floor while she sobbed, ashamed. “That, and I don’t know how much time I have left before my lungs give out. Why would anyone want someone whose body’s falling apart? I don’t know for certain, but that’s what it felt like when Violet left.”

Kuvett was silent a moment before she reached up and wiped away the moisture on Jordan’s face. When she opened her eyes, Kuvett pressed her forehead against Jordan’s. “There is much I wish to tell you and how I disagree with how you see yourself. But for now, we are not safe here. If there is anything I can do to assist you, tell me and I will.”

Jordan sniffed again, nodding as she disengaged from Kuvett’s touch. There was still much to do.

About the Author: From his youngest days, C.D. Clark has always loved stories and the worlds they could take him to. His writing career began with original, fan-based fiction which led to his passion for writing. Over the past twenty-five years, C.D. Clark has developed his craft, all the while celebrating his successes and reveling in any spectacular failures, using them as learning experiences. Ever eager to learn, he continues leaping towards the future while creating fantastic new worlds and passing along poignant messages through his books.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CDClarkNovelist
Mastodon: https://mas.to/@CDClarkNovelist
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bass_prefect
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/cdclarknovelist
Website: https://www.cdclarknovelist.com/

 

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Book Tour Stop/Giveaway: Dark Ugly Places by Ashley Mansour

 

Some wounds don’t heal. They take over.

A Beverly Hills psychological thriller about grief, female rage, fractured identity, and revenge.

Dark Ugly Places

by Ashley Mansour

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Domestic Suspense 

Some wounds don’t heal. They fester. They whisper. They take over.

In Dark Ugly Places, trauma isn’t something you survive — it’s something that survives you.

Thirty-four-year-old Nicola Holiday loses everything in a hit-and-run: her husband dead, her body broken, her fourteen-year-old daughter Emmy forever changed. With no one held accountable, she spirals into grief, panic attacks, and financial ruin — awakening a hereditary darkness she’s spent her life trying to outrun.

That darkness has a voice now. Her name is Martha, and she aches for revenge.

As Nicola’s grip on reality loosens, Martha slips into another life — one of wealth, glamour, and moral rot. When she crosses paths with the wife of a famous actor, Nicola’s suspicions ignite.

Pulled between vengeance and annihilation, Nicola and Martha collide with a woman whose secrets may be the key to everything — or the thing that destroys them both.

Dark, provocative, and deeply unsettling — a haunting psychological portrait of female rage, obsession, and the terrifying lengths the mind will go to survive unbearable pain.

Because sometimes the most dangerous place isn’t the past. It’s inside your own head.

 

“A suspenseful and relentless tale of troubled Californians.”

– Kirkus Reviews

 

“A tense, viciously readable psychological thriller about the violence that lurks beneath polished surfaces.”

 – BookLife Reviews

 

“With fast-paced thrills and gripping psychological drama, Ashley Mansour’s Dark Ugly Places serves up vengeance for morally complex characters.” - Indiereader

 

**Releases September 15 – PreOrder Now!**

Amazon * Author’s Site * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookshop.org * Bookbub * Goodreads

 

PROLOGUE

No one likes to be kept in the dark.

In the dark, everything is murky, even the Los Angeles sky.

But the day of Nicola’s accident, I had a pretty clear view of things. It tends to be that way—clear—when Nicola isn’t.

Nicola, Ben, and their daughter, Emmy, were walking holding hands, something the three of them hadn’t done since Emmy was a little kid. I felt the itch in Nicola’s palm, like she didn’t want to hold hands. But Emmy insisted. She was between them, arms outstretched, making that little humming sound she sometimes made when she was nervous or lost in thought. Ben walked on slightly ahead, his head down, eyes focused on the phone in his hand. I could almost hear his teeth grinding.

Up ahead, the road was clear. The sun covered everything in butter-yellow light. Crows perched in the bare-barked trees and made long, scratchy cries like a group of smokers laughing. They rustled leaves and crossed the pavement before them. But the trees were still, like the air had been sucked out of the city. Up ahead, the road was clear.

The three of them approached the corner, Emmy and Nicola chatting aimlessly. Ben narrowed his eyes and squinted at the screen as if the sky was too bright. He stepped out into the road first. Emmy, next. She skipped slightly—braids flying—and pulled her mom’s arm.

Nicola looked up and saw one of the crows overhead, its beak open, making a dreadful sound. When she looked back at the road, her gut pinged with a horrible dread she couldn’t place.

Then she—we—saw it.

From the middle distance, something large and white hurtled into view, its body glinting in the sun. Emmy screamed. Nicola tried to pull her back, but one by one, her fingers slipped out of her grasp.

It was too late.

Nicola’s body collided with the big, white thing, and in the next moment, she was airborne, tumbling through the air as if she had been taken by a tornado. Her thoughts spiraled with her, spinning out of control.

I’m going to die.

I’m going to live.

Don’t let me die.

I’m going to die.

She kept spiraling, around and around, until I stopped her with a simple suggestion: Breathe, Nicola. Breathe. We have this power, those of us who live in the darkness.

The asphalt grated her spine. It must have hurt, but Nicola did not cry. Perhaps because the air was too full of Emmy’s screams.

She rolled to her left, her left arm pinned against her chest like a piece of limp fabric. Her left leg lay stretched out before her perfectly straight, but dead. Cold. Frozen in place. She rolled to her side and saw Emmy, blood coating half of her face as though she were wearing a mask. Five feet away, Ben lay in the road unmoving, his body contorted, his face turned away.

Overhead, the stretch of blue sky angled down Beverly Boulevard and went on forever. Cars passed, some honking, others slowing to stop and help or to get a better look. Nicola grunted and heaved herself along the ground, her jaw gritting with pain. She reached for Emmy, reached for Ben.

The white body of the car stirred. A door opened. A black polished shoe emerged onto the asphalt as the driver leaned out, then disappeared again as the door shut. I heard the engine as the car started and rolled backwards, slow at first, then picking up speed until it was gone.

Tropes:

Unreliable narrators; multiple POV; fractured identity / alter ego; trauma and grief; female rage; revenge; morally gray women; abusive celebrity marriage; obsession; betrayal; buried secrets; mother-daughter relationship; wealth and class divide; Beverly Hills and Los Angeles setting; cinematic suspense. 

Giveaway

$100 Amazon or Paypal

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

https://www.silverdaggerbooktours.com/darkuglyplaces

About the Author:

Ashley Mansour writes dark, cinematic psychological suspense and domestic suspense about dangerous relationships, buried truths, and the chaos waiting beneath the surface of ordinary lives. 

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Book Review: Nobody's Quest by Alyssa Day #NobodyChroniclesSeries

 

Nobody's Quest by Alyssa Day

Romantasy

Release Date:June 2nd, 2026

Entangled: Red Tower Books

All buy links HERE

#NobodysQuest

 #NetGalley.

When an indentured servant, who has felt like she was invisible and a nobody, is chosen by an imprisoned goddess for a quest to free her, Soli finds herself alongside a company of warriors who will help her and slowly become a found family she has always wanted amid the dangers that stalk them.

My Rating for Nobody's Quest: 5 Stars and a Recommended Read

**Note this is a spicy romantasy at times.**

Soli is a nobody, indentured to the sisters of the library and when she is taken to the King's throne room, she is mystified at what the heck is going on. When she is chosen by an imprisoned goddess to go on a quest for three ancient keys to save her world, Soli is even more dumbfounded. She's a nobody, someone who is overlooked and ignored, a GreyMind that is the lowest of the low in her world. But alongside her is a company of unique and complex warriors who will join her on this quest because danger is at the doorway for there is a goddess who is determined to stop them at every turn with her army. Soli, Prince Kaeleen and company race against the clock and as secrets from her fellow questers start to reveal themselves, Soli finds a found family she always longed for and hope to want. But danger is after them from all sides and as they get closer to their goal, the battles become more dangerous to everyone. 

My Review of Nobody's Quest:

Nobody's Quest by Alyssa Day is full of spice, adventure, unique & complex characters and a storyline that takes the reader on a journey that will keep them glued to the pages till the very end. I picked this book up on a whim and I am so glad I did because OMG! it's amazing, at time humorous, filled with characters that are complex and uniquely their own person and a setting that captivated me right from the beginning. This is the first foray into romantasy for this author and she does an amazing job with Nobody's Quest. Her characters are all uniquely alluring in their own way. Soli is what's called a Gray Mind in her world and one that is not welcome or even tolerated. Prince Kaeleen is  a prince without a country and add uin a few more characters to Soli's quest and you get a wildly intriguing group of main characters that keep the reader glued tot he story. I loved every minute of this book tot he point where I stayed up to the wee hours just to see how this first book in the Nobody Chronicles ends. 

Nobody's Quest is action packed right from the start. I found Ms. Day's storytelling fun and at times  heartfelt, especially as she has Soli explain what Gray Mind is to her fellow travelers, making them aware of what may happen when that happens to her. Drawing on personal experience of Depression, she delivers a complex, slightly broken character in Soli that eventually finds her strength along the way to be more than what others have labeled her as being. This is what makes Nobody's Quest more than a traditional romantasy epic story to something more real in my opinion. 

Nobody's Quest is a delight to read and yes, there are some spicy scenes between Soli and her love interest, Prince Kaeleen, that will make you blush but you can't help but root for her and everyone around her. So run, don't walk to grab this book as Alyssa Day is a powerhouse in creating complex characters with hearts of gold and story that will resonate with you. Now I hope I don't have to wait long for book 2.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

Book Tour Stop/Giveaway: Worse Than Any Bullet by Felicia Watson

Worse Than Any Bullet
Felicia Watson
(Fidelia Mysteries, #2)
Publication date: August 25th 2026
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Everyone thinks their mother is murder but for mafia-family renegade Lucia Scafetti, that’s the literal truth.

When she laid her hitman father to rest, PI Lucia Scafetti thought she’d finally escaped her family’s criminal clutches. Ten years later, her estranged mom blows into Philly for a short visit and within days a friend’s dad is brutally murdered and Lucia is being menaced by her cousin and his fellow mafiosi. After her mother disappears, everyone: foes, friends, and free agents, descends upon Lucia in search of the thumb-drive her mom stole from a Caribbean drug lord. Lucia learns the hard way that the criminals besieging her will gladly kill to get their hands on that thumb-drive.
With the help of an intriguing ex-soldier, Lucia employs her skills, both detective and deadly, to solve the murder and unlock the secret of that enigmatic thumb-drive before it claims another life, be it her own – or that of her recently re-discovered son.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Someone’s in there.”

Lucia snapped into action, ordering Robbie to stay in the car with the dogs and retrieving her Glock from the secret compartment in the back seat of the Chevelle SS 454. She shook her head, indicating to Robbie he wasn’t getting an immediate explanation about the compartment and then stealthily approached the house.

Lucia decided to go around back and enter from the kitchen. The deadbolt had been defeated and there was no sound from the alarm system. This was no ordinary burglar.

Weapon ready, she crept into the living room where she could discern the muffled footsteps of someone descending the stairs. Lucia pointed her gun at the source of the noise and at the opportune moment, flipped on the lights. A hefty, masked and armed man froze on the fourth step as he realized he was facing a cocked gun.

Lucia warned, “If you’re thinking of trying anything, you better be a better shot than I am. Which is…unlikely.”

The man held his right hand out to his side, his gun loose. In a weirdly thick voice, he rumbled, “Hey, I’m not looking for trouble.”

“Breaking into my house armed with a military-grade semi is a really strange way to prove that.”

He chuckled and moved the gun slightly in a non-threatening manner. “Military grade? Nah, this is just a—”

“A Beretta Cx4 Storm. Which means you are definitely prepared for trouble.”

Rather than refuting her point, he urged, “I just want the thumb-drive, the real one. The one your mother stole from me.”

Not recognizing the term ‘thumb-drive’, Lucia silently contemplated whether this guy could possibly be looking for a body-part from someone her mother had killed. “You worked with my mom? Who are you?”

“I’m not wearing this mask ’cause I’m ugly. Who I am is none of your business. Just hand over the drive and no one gets hurt.”

“Seeing as I have the drop on you, that’s a toothless threat,” Lucia declared. “And I don’t know what it is you’re looking for, but you’re not gonna find it here.”

“For your sake, lady, I hope you’re lying.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I’m not the last person who’s gonna come looking for that thumb-drive. And I’m sure as hell not the most dangerous.”

Nodding at his gun, she countered, “Hard to believe. And I don’t even know what a thumb-drive is let alone—”

“It’s a computer thing,” Robbie announced from somewhere behind her back, his presence until that moment completely undetected. “You use it to—”

“Robbie?!” Her eyes remained trained on the masked man as Lucia barked, “What the hell! What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you so I came to check. Don’t worry, I left the dogs in the car. You know, so they won’t get hurt.”

“But it’s okay if you get hurt?!”

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction this argument provided, the man on the stairs suddenly leapt over the banister and dashed towards the kitchen.

Lucia followed but he was too quick for her. Standing on the back deck, listening to his footsteps retreating into the darkness, Lucia briefly considered giving chase. She quickly discarded the idea. Not only was there Robbie to think of, but Lucia was loathe to incite a gunfight that might frighten Mrs. Schwartz, the elderly widow who occupied the twin house attached to her own.

When she got back in the house Robbie held up his backpack. “I got it.” He took a deep breath and then said, “Wow, that was….”

“Terrifyingly dangerous?” she offered, while surveying the wreckage around her. The intruder had obviously conducted a very thorough search.

“Nah, exciting! I knew it was safe when I heard you handling that guy like a pro. Otherwise, I would’ve stayed in the kitchen. I swear.”

Lucia sighed heavily and impulsively put her free arm around his shoulder. “Rule number one, Rob? When guns are drawn? The situation is never, ever, safe.” She pulled him to face her and stared intently into his eyes. “Capish?”

Author Bio:

Felicia Watson started writing stories as soon as they handed her a pencil in first grade. She’s especially drawn to character driven tales, where we see people we recognize, people who struggle with their mistakes and shortcomings, acknowledge them, and use that knowledge to grow into wiser human beings.

When not writing, Felicia spends her time chasing after her not-so-brilliant, but darling and beloved dogs, is chased by her truly brilliant, darling and beloved husband, is known to friends and family as an amateur pastry chef, and still finds time for swimming and her day job as a scientist.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!

Worse Than Any Bullet Blitz

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Book Tour Stop: Summer and Shadows by Kathryne Lentes

Title: Summer and Shadows

Series: The Pact of the Veil, Book Two

Author: Kathryne Lentes

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 08/18/2026

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 35900

Genre: Paranormal, Genre/lit, paranormal, pansexual, trans, poly, shifter, elves, witch, magic, conspiracy

Add to Goodreads

Description

Sah has gone through a lot in three years. I mean how often does a person find out their sister disappeared, meet a hot detective, get bitten by a werewolf, and discover they are part of a legacy of shape shifters? She thought her life would calm down and she could enjoy a summer vacation in LA. But now she is mixed up with the Fae and a magical serial killer. To survive she must find new allies and embrace her new self without reservation.

Excerpt

Summer and Shadows

Kathryne Lentes © 2026

All Rights Reserved

There are real monsters in the world. I know because I am one of them. After three years, I was still trying to get my head around that fact, even though I was getting ready to attend a convention full of them. The Menagerie, as they called themselves, were a group of shapeshifters who hid from the world. Still, since their discovery was always a dangerous possibility, they had created an entire intellectual property called the Façade to coax people into their world. It started as a game, and with my introduction, they had added novels to the mix. Now, I was traveling to California to try to sell my recent bestseller to a movie studio. I wondered if Dominique would ever forgive me if a werewolf novel of mine made it to the Cineplex before she did.

She didn’t speak up. She was the main character in my first book series and the voice in my head when I was doing something I knew, in most plots, would end with me dead. We’d had a really good run, and her adventures had brought me my first real success, but after most of the changes I had gone through, I had started a new urban fantasy series. It was almost autobiographical, not that anyone would ever believe it.

I mean how often does a person find out their sister disappeared, meet a hot detective, get bitten by a werewolf, find said sister, lose said sister and hot (now maybe new girlfriend?) detective, and blackmail an entire group of supernatural entities to get the pair of them back. Not to mention discover you are part of a legacy of shapeshifters and can now channel a snow leopard totem. And finish up by trying try to live happily ever after only to have to engage in a death match with a psychopathic grudge-bearing werewolf leader.

It was hard for me to believe, and I had lived through it—even if just barely. I took a deep breath and told myself to get out of bed. I don’t know why I was so focused on my past today when the future seemed so promising.

It was probably because Val was out of the house. This was the first big trip I was going to make without her, and I missed her. She was one of the only people I had ever met who accepted me for being the giant pansexual polyamorous mess of a partner I was. I looked in the closet, trying to decide on a dress to pack in my luggage. I was much more comfortable in jeans and a band T-shirt than I was in Chanel, no matter what my budget told me I could afford. I needed something more formal if I was going to meet with a movie producer. Great, now I was beginning to miss my sister Nisha. She was the clothes horse of the family and would not only have brought me six of her dresses but also tried to do my hair and makeup before I left. She was out in Montana with a pack of werewolves. My life was not the only one that had changed a lot in the last couple of years.

As I contemplated which outfit I hated the least, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was Val.

“Hey, babe, were your ears burning? I was just thinking of you.”

“Well, I did have some feelings in certain parts of my body, but not my ears.”

“Don’t be a tease when you are getting on a plane and going to be gone for a month.”

“Hey, don’t complain. It’s your fault I am going out of town. I can’t believe I am going to be guarding the Speaker at a meeting of the Council of the Pact. I liked my life as a regular detective. Now, I spend most of my day standing around waiting for something to happen.”

“I didn’t tell them to elevate you.”

“Yeah, but since you stole their book of secrets, no one believes me when I say I don’t know anything.”

“Really, but you run out of the room with your hands over your ears, yelling, no, no, no, every time I try to tell you something juicy.”

“Yeah, but it’s guilt by association.”

“You do remember I stole that book to save your ass, right.” Before she could respond, I added, “I mean, it’s a lovely ass that is totally worth saving.” I wanted to make sure she knew I was joshing.

“Yeah, I remember.” She chuckled.

“You know you could quit all those jobs. I make enough; you don’t have to work.”

“I am not going to be a kept woman. I like my job, and I feel there need to be some cops who understand what it is like being an outsider on the force.”

“That reminds me, I was wondering how you are getting time off from the Saint Louis PD for a month.”

“I am on a special undercover assignment with the feds.”

“You know, sometimes I love being part of the Menagerie, and sometimes it scares the fuck out of me. They had an actual FBI agent send a request for you to be excused from work.”

“Yeah…” She let out a slow breath.

“I have to ask you. Are you sure it’s okay if I go on some dates while you are out of the country? I just thought it might be simpler if the first couple were in a different city.”

“Listen, I know your previous partners freaked out every time you mentioned something even in the neighborhood of polyamory, but I am cool with it as long as you keep me in the loop of what you are doing. You can get out there and start figuring out who you are. We will conduct regular check-ins to ensure this works for everyone. So, take the opportunity to have some fun before I come back, and your number one relationship is with Google Calendar.”

“You are the best. Thank you. You were totally worth almost getting killed by a werewolf for.” I heard Val chuckle. We certainly had an interesting “meet cute.”

“Hun, I am getting on the plane, and from here on in, I have to go radio silent. I just wanted to let you know I love you and am going to miss you.”

“Same to you and more of it.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I shoved my phone into my back pocket, and now I was even lonelier. The first thing that popped into my head was chocolate, so I headed toward the kitchen.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Kathryne Lentes has been writing stories as long as she could hold a pen in her hand. She is a transwoman who, when not working on her own projects, operates Paper Phoenix Ink, a blog showcasing queer creators. She is currently living in Saint Louis with her wife, two cats, and a pile of science fiction and fantasy books.

Website | Facebook | X

Guest Author Day with Kelli A. Wilkins: Confessions of a Vampire's Lover

 

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover – A Late-Summer Paranormal Love Story

By Kelli A. Wilkins

www.KelliWilkins.com

Hi romance lovers,

To celebrate the summer months, I’ve been posting a “Summer Romance Series” of blogs. Summer may be almost over, but there’s still time to hit the beach. In fact, I wrote a romance that plays upon this “end of season” time of year.

My contemporary paranormal, Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover, is a different type of romance. For starters, the novella is told in the first person from the hero’s point of view. The story also makes use of a setting where you don’t normally find vampires—the beach! 

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover is a unique end-of-summer romance. The story is told in first person by Brian, the hero. Why? It just came out that way. As I was writing, it felt more believable to have Brian tell the story of how he met and fell in love with a vampire. Readers meet Brian and are swept into the story as it unfolds for him, so they’re more personally involved.

Most romances are told in third person and alternate between the hero and heroine’s points-of view. This story is different in that we don’t hear from Anya (the heroine) at all, other than in dialogue, and we only get to know her through Brian.

The setting also makes it a bit unusual. Most readers don’t think of the beach as a place to find a vampire. When Brian first sees Anya, she is sitting on the beach at night reading a book by moonlight. I wanted to contrast the differences between Brian and Anya from the start. He’s a sun-worshipping surfer who is outside all day, and she’s a nocturnal loner, happy to lose herself in a romance novel when nobody else is around.

The idea for the story came to me as I was sitting on the beach one afternoon in late October. It was cool and windy, and I had on a light jacket and sunglasses. Nobody else was on the beach (except for my surfer husband) and I liked the desolate surroundings.

I started thinking… what if a vampire went to the beach at night to do all the things regular people did during the day? What if the vampire fell in love with a surfer? It would be like night and day. Would he give up his life in the sunlight to be with the woman he loves? That’s the main question of the story, and Brian’s ultimate dilemma.

I liked the idea of contrasting typical sun worshipping beachgoers and surfers with a darkness-loving elusive vampire. Besides, what could be more mismatched than a die-hard surfer falling in love with a nocturnal blood-drinker?

As I was writing, I wanted to capture the essence of what Brian was experiencing when he was with Anya. So I gave the book a surreal, almost Gothic, dreamlike feel. I also knew that a vampire romance could easily become too gory or too realistic when it came to feeding and turn into a horror story.

When I’m writing a paranormal romance, I have to be careful I don’t cross the line from paranormal romance into horror. The “monster” character must retain human traits and remain a sympathetic character the reader can identify with and like.

If your paranormal creature is too scary or the story gets too gory it will turn off romance readers and cross over into the horror genre. I liked creating Anya. And I deliberately kept a lot of her background a mystery. Anya is a gentle, sensitive vampire… up to a point. We do get to see a more violent and assertive part of her vampire nature—but she has a good reason.

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover is also a very explicit romance. Anya is a sensual woman with needs that must be satisfied, and Brian is all for helping sate her desires. (Believe it or not, some e-book sales channels won’t carry the book because it’s labeled “erotica.)

But this isn’t just an erotic love story; there’s plenty of plot and drama for all romance lovers. It’s a unique blend of vampires, romance, and the beach. Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover makes a great summer read and I’m proud to say it got several excellent reviews. Readers and reviewers like the first-person aspect—it pulls you into a story that would seem unbelievable.

Here’s the summary and link:

Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover

The moment Brian spotted Anya sitting on the moonlit beach, he was hooked. Beautiful, smart, and sexy, Anya was the girl of his dreams. She didn’t mind that he spent the hot summer days riding the ocean waves, because once the sun set, he belonged to her—all night long!

Everything is perfect between them—until Brian discovers Anya’s shocking secret. Can Brian give up the sun, sand, and surf to be with the woman he loves?

Read Brian’s first-hand account of their unusual love story in… Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover.

Read reviews and order your copy of Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover here:

 

https://www.kelliwilkins.com/confessions-of-a-vampire-s-lover

 

I hope you’ll check it out. It’s the perfect blend of steamy beach romance and mystery to end your summer!

Happy Reading,

 

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Look for a new short story coming in August! Kelli’s story “Neighborhood Watch” will be included in the upcoming Witches Save the World: Covens, Cauldrons and Curses Gone Right anthology.

 

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

 

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.

 

New Release Spotlight: The Duke's Runaway Omega

Title: The Duke's Runaway Omega

Author: Autumn Montague

Cover Art: Bryan Keller

Genres: Action Adventure, Mystery /Suspense /Intrigue, New Releases, Paranormal, Romance

Themes:Capture Fantasy, Dark Romance, Historical (Dark Ages, Regency, Victorian/Gaslamp & Edwardian), LGBTQ+ Gay, LGBTQ+ Sex & Gender Shifters, MPreg

Series: Fated Mates (#1)

Book Length: Novel

Page Count: 137

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Phillip’s on the run, with not just one but two alphas on his trail.

Raised as an alpha, Phillip’s unexpected manifestation as an omega turns his life upside down. His father demands a handfasting, insisting Phillip be mated to whichever alpha wins the day with their pheromones. But when the triumphant alpha turns out to be his school friend Everett, Phillip realizes they are fated mates. However, as a diminished omega, his chances of bearing Ev’s children are slim. Heartbroken, Phillip flees to London.

Everett never expected to be Duke of Harriford. His title brings a slew of distasteful marriage and handfasting offers. The latest invitation for his old friend Phillip shocks Ev into accepting. Phillip is everything he remembers and more, and Ev soon finds himself responding to the potent scent of Phillip’s pheromones. When his mate runs, Ev questions whether their feelings are true, or merely the bond of alpha and omega. Despite his fears, he’s determined to find Phillip and bring him home.

As Ev searches London, Phillip questions the wisdom of his choices. His plans have begun to unravel rather spectacularly. To start with, he’s pregnant, the one thing he thought he’d never be. Worse, there’s an alpha hunting him -- and it’s not Ev.

Excerpt

The Duke's Runaway Omega (Fated Mates 1)

Autumn Montague

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2026 Autumn Montague

Yorkshire, 1811

Lord Phillip Tyerman stared through the barred windows of his tower room at the parade of men and women summoned by his father. All of them were well-heeled and every one of them was looking to make a prestigious match with the earl’s eldest son. The earl’s omega son, who was unable to inherit either lands or title. The earl’s useless son, who wasn’t even a full-fledged omega. Just a not-quite-beta whose first presentation had caused no scandal, lured no lusty alphas, and could have been passed off as little more than being in his second puberty. Not even the beta servants of the household had realized anything was amiss. Only his youngest sister had noticed. It had been Philomena, who was now heir to their father’s estate at fifteen, thanks to her unexpected and early manifestation as a dominant alpha. Lovely Phil, whose patrician nose had wrinkled as though a bad odor had just filled the air.

“What a dreadful stink! Have the oranges gone over?”

Phillip could hear it even now, a full year hence, and it still rankled to the point where he’d taken to wearing a strong sandalwood fragrance to avoid smelling like rotted fruit. His father’s shocked look had likewise never left his mind. The forbidding expression on the earl’s face had been bad enough, but Phillip’s subsequent banishment to the tower room from the heir-presumptive suite had cut even deeper. He had been nearly twenty-two at the time, grown tall and strong. He was the spitting image of his father. Everyone, even his omega mother, had assumed he’d manifest soon as an alpha, and his delicate sister as an omega.

The tall and strong young man had become the omega, and the petite, delicate, and winsome girl had become the alpha. God most certainly had a peculiar sense of humor, at least insofar as the Tyerman family was concerned.

With a snort of irritation at the memory, Phillip turned his attention back to the courtyard below, where the last equipage had rolled up to the front steps. The livery on the carriage door proclaimed the occupant to be a member of the Harrifords. Intrigued despite himself, Phillip opened the windowpanes and peered through the bars, hoping for a glimpse of whomever it was that had come from that prestigious family to gawk at the sale of the Tyermans’ awkward omega son. Of course, even if the occupant proved to be Ev Harriford, Phillip fully intended to be well away from this house long before arrangements could be made to pursue a match with any of these honored guests.

He sighed and turned away from the window, leaving it ajar to bring in fresh air to a room that was stuffy even in the dead of winter. He had no fear of his scent drawing unwelcome attention from all those alphas despite being near his heat. His pheromones were practically indiscernible, as even in heat they never carried much beyond his immediate person. The doors to the tower stair were securely locked, and only his mother and his beta valet carried the keys. He felt no qualms about allowing the room to air out while he dressed for this ridiculous charade.

Well, said charade would come to an abrupt and hopefully embarrassing end for his father. Phillip had a small bag packed with the most minimal necessities safely stowed in the bottom of the wardrobe. He’d return to his rooms to “refresh himself” when the alphas retired for brandy and banter, and he’d make his escape then, while his father negotiated with them for Phillip’s eventual marriage to the highest bidder.

The tiniest tremor ran along his spine. It seemed his estrus had chosen to come in a timely manner. At least he would not have to spend several days in isolation waiting for it to arrive so the festivities could begin in earnest. The mere thought of said festivities sent another shiver through him, this one of disgust.

A brisk tap sounded on the door, followed by the sound of keys in the lock and his mother’s quiet entrance. She gave him a mildly disapproving glance upon seeing him still in his ordinary daywear. “You should always lock the inner door, Phillip,” she chided him. “You ought to be in your tails by now. You have a scant half hour before dinner. Your father wishes you to meet the guests tonight prior to the formal ceremony on Saturday.”

“Ceremony!” Phillip winced as the word came out in shocked tones. “What ceremony?! I thought this was the usual idiotic dinner party series so he can twist the arms of his alpha friends and convince one of them to marry me to their offspring --”

“No, dear,” his mother interrupted with false serenity. She smiled at him, the attempt obviously meant to soothe, yet the smile did not reach her eyes. “The earl has decided to make this a formal handfasting ceremony, to ensure the chosen candidate does not hand you the mitten after. So only the most acceptable and honorable suitors were invited. If you don’t find anyone particularly to your liking, the earl will decide who wins the right to bond with you.”

The earl will decide. His mother’s use of his father’s title told Phillip that Lady Winifred Tyerman did not support this extraordinary decision. It also told Phillip that his father had chosen not to leave the critical matter of his awkward son to chance or romantic feelings. His thrice-damned sire would pick the person who would control Phillip for the rest of his life. Then the true significance of his mother’s words penetrated the fog engendered by the word “ceremony.”

“A handfasting? What on earth are you on about?” Phillip cursed himself for the shake in his voice.

Handfasting was an ancient custom, very much out of use, as it used a bonding bite to ensure the omega couldn’t flee with another alpha or beta. But to do so in this day? The handfasting ceremony included a public bite, binding the omega to the alpha forever, socially and physically, even if the alpha chose to marry someone else. While the ceremony wasn’t precisely outlawed, it was frowned upon as outré and generally reserved only for omegas of wealthy families perilously close to the end of their breeding years.

And this was to be his fate? He’d be damned first.

Purchase at Changeling Press

Meet the Author

Autumn grew up loving history, mythology, and all things Japanese, not necessarily in that order. This eclectic love affair has bled over into her writing, and her stories are always well spiced with the taste of Japan, strange mythological beasties, or the lords and ladies of the ton. Sometimes all three, leading to dark desires and forbidden loves. And after all, dangerous passions should lead to uninhibited love.

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Book Spotlight Tour Stop: This Never Happened

 

Title: This Never Happened

Author: Kent Heckenlively

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

Publication Date: June 23, 2026

Pages: 403

Genre: Romance/Political Thriller

Formats: Paperback

Watch the Book Trailer at https://f.io/rLzZemf1.

Heidi Scherzinger is just a typical working girl in Chicago in 1972. Well, maybe not so typical. In fact, she's running Chicago's most successful independent call girl outfit when she's summoned to meet with Sonny Battaglia, the country's most powerful Mob boss.

The other local call girl agencies are complaining about her success, so Sonny offers her a deal: either she gets whacked, or she relocates to Washington, D.C., where she'll be working for the "Agency" under the control of the creepy Sidney Gottshalk, the resident blackmail specialist.

The Agency wants blackmail material on all the horny Democrats flooding the Capitol in the run-up to the presidential election, trying to defeat President Nicholas Dixon as he runs for a second term.

The always efficient Heidi quickly sets up a first-class operation, aided by the quietly competent Milton Greenbaum. What follows is a Florence Gump-style adventure through a 1970s Washington, D.C., that might be just a little different than the version you read about in your history books.

This Never Happened: A Call Girl in D.C. is available at Amazon.

BOOK EXCERPT

My Life Now – November 21, 2024

Most of those who’d want to kill me for telling this story are either dead or living in a nursing home.

I’m not dead, I’m not in a nursing home, but I am living in a “senior community.”

I’m the kind of woman you’ll often see is such a setting, teaching a morning and afternoon Pilates class, then checking out a lecture or play in the evening with her friends. I dress immaculately, my hair and makeup are always perfect, people often wonder if I’m in my mid-fifties or early sixties, (seventy-six, thank you very much) and truth be told, often getting propositioned by the Viagra crowd of men convinced they’ve still got it.

The truth is I’ve always loved sex and I’m pretty good at getting men and women to fall in love with me. But I’ve also mastered the art of convincing a person I’m fascinated by them, while at the same time remaining just out of reach. They know I’ll come and play for a few hours, especially if the money and conversation is good.

And there’s nobody better than me, man or woman, at listening to what the powerful are really saying while they’re trying to get me into bed, or do the commitment thing (no, thank you). That’s why I was on the payroll of the Agency for such a long time, although, truth be told, most of them are a bunch of psychotic morons.

You might call me a prostitute, call girl, hooker, or even a whore if you’re feeling particularly righteous, but I prefer the term courtesan.

Everything in life can be done poorly, or with style.

For example, President John Francis Fitzgerald did everything with a certain devil-may-care nonchalance, from bedding beautiful actresses to getting himself shot in Texas.

By contrast, President Nicholas Milhous Dixon could find the grey cloud on the

sunniest of days, and that partially explains how he went from winning the biggest landslide in American history to resigning in disgrace a year and a half later.

I say only partially, because there’s the part I played, that nobody’s ever really understood. You see, I’m the woman who’s been whispered about for years, the main player in the story you thought you knew, protected by forces more powerful than you can imagine.

But was it really my fault?

Maybe after fifty years it’s time to finally tell the story.

I’ll let you be the judge of whether I’m a hero or a villain.

– Excerpted from This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively, Manhattan Book Group, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kent Heckenlively is an attorney, science teacher, and two-time New York Times bestselling author. He is best known as coauthor of the Plague series - Plague, Plague of Corruption & Ending Plague) with Dr. Judy Mikovits and Dr. Francis Ruscetti, winner of the Distinguished Service Medal from the National Institutes of Health. His book, Plague of Corruption reached #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list in June of 2020, has sold more than 200,000 copies to date, and is being turned into a documentary narrated by Liam Neeson. Kent has published numerous non-fiction books, focusing on the tech sector, controversies in medicine, and media bias.

His most recent two books,Twilight of the Shadow Government and Catastrophic Disclosure, focus on government corruption.

This Never Happened is his third novel and reflects his belief that we all need a fun book for the summer. With more than 15,000 Amazon reviews, a 4.7 average ranking out of 5.0 stars, more than 750,000 of his books in print, critical praise from Kirkus Reviews, including a highly coveted, “Kirkus preferred review” for his book on interferon, as well as his books being translated into ten languages, Kent is quickly becoming a powerhouse in the literary world.

Visit his website at www.kentheckenlivelybooks.com.

Connect with him on X at https://x.com/KentHecken.

 

Book Blast & Giveaway: Heidenröslein: The Little Rose on the Heath

 This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Christopher Whittaker 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.

Two men. Two worlds.

One war that will remake them both.

Peter Schiller, a disciplined officer from privilege, is trained to lead—but not for what war truly demands.

Günther Klein, a working-class recruit, is thrown into the trenches and forced to learn fast or die.

In the mud and ruin of the Great War, rank and class begin to dissolve. Orders blur into instinct. Honour bends under necessity. What remains is survival—and the thin, unspoken bond forged between two men who should never have met.

But war does not end when the guns fall silent.

Heidenröslein is a powerful, unflinching story of war, brotherhood, and the quiet, irreversible cost of becoming what the battlefield demands.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/183454193X

Read an Excerpt

The von Schiller estate sat upon a gentle rise overlooking the town, separated from the noise and smoke of industry by iron gates, trimmed hedges, and the unspoken certainty that families like theirs did not belong amongst ordinary life.

The house itself was not ancient enough to be called ancestral in the medieval sense, yet age clung to it all the same. Three stories of pale stone and dark timber stood behind carefully shaped gardens, its tall windows reflecting the morning light like polished glass. Ivy crept deliberately across portions of the outer walls, restrained rather than wild, allowed to grow only where it improved the appearance of age and permanence.

Nothing about the home was accidental.

Even the gravel upon the drive had been chosen for the sound it made beneath carriage wheels.

The front doors opened into a grand receiving hall floored in black-and-white marble tiles imported decades earlier from Italy. The ceilings rose high overhead, crossed with dark wooden beams stained almost black with polish and age. Portraits of Von Schillers long dead stared down from the walls in oils darkened by time—military officers, industrialists, stiff-backed women in lace collars and jewels.

Men who had built.

Men who had commanded.

Men who had expected obedience from the world and usually received it.

The air carried faint scents of furniture wax, old paper, polished silver, and the lingering aroma of Ernst von Schiller’s pipe tobacco.

About the Author: 

Chris lives in Perth, Western Australia with his wife Dianne.

Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN gift card.