2024 COVERS

2024 covers

Welcome to the Dark Side!

We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Monday 20 November 2017

DarkSider News for November: Part 3



Welcome to the latest DarkSider News!

Grab the ice bucket -  our latest issue of news is sizzling hot....



NEW RELEASES


The Forbidden Heir by M.J. Scott is Book 2 in The Four Arts series. It was indie published on the 7th November 2017.


She fled to save her life, but surviving what comes next might destroy everything she believes in… 

The royal witches of Anglion have always been bound to serve their country. But Lady Sophia Mackenzie, whose unbound magic and near claim to the crown made her a target, was forced to flee Anglion, leaving behind a dead assassin and shattered loyalties. Now she finds herself in Illvya, where the magic is everything she’s been taught to fear and the only person she can trust is her new husband, Cameron.

Sophia and Cameron must navigate a strange world of illicit temptations, dangerous threats and political intrigue, where as a royal witch Sophia is both prized and reviled.

As she begins to master her powers, the factions seeking to control Sophia close in, and her magical and emotional bonds with Cameron are pushed to the limit. To survive long enough to claim the future she seeks, she may have to choose between love and loyalty, and hope the price of her choice is one she can bear.




Buy links are available from M.J. website.


Non-paranormal title
Nothing to Fear by Claire Boston is Book 1 in The Blackridge series. It was released by Bantilly Press on the 18th November 2017.


The gifts were innocent… at first.

All Hannah Novak wants to do is to live a simple life, but her traumatic past refuses to let go. Her trust in men is at an all-time low, but when she becomes the target of a dangerous stalker she’s forced into close proximity with the sexy new cop in town.

Ryan Kilpatrick has travelled across the country to get away from his manipulative ex-wife. Now, all he wants is to build a stable, loving home for his son. The last thing he needs is to be attracted to the secretive Hannah but he’s duty-bound to protect her.

As the stalker’s gifts turn nasty, and time is running out, Hannah must face her fears and learn to trust again. Because if she doesn’t, she may not get a second chance.



Buy links are available on Claire's website.




COVER REVEAL


Rogue by Anna Hackett is Book 8 in the Galactic Gladiators series. It's expected to be indie published on 28th November 2017.

Rogue has two stories in it. The first novella, Information Rogue, stars arrogant, intelligent information merchant Zhim…who’s having his world turned upside down my a certain hacker from Earth.

The second novella, Desert Rogue, stars caravan master Corsair. This man of desert is determined to help a stubborn, prickly woman from Earth…whether she wants his help or not!












Dahlia by Mel Teshco is Book 4 in the Dragons of Riddich series. It's expected to be indie published sometime in December.



More details to follow.












EXCERPTS



The Black Tide by Keri Arthur will be released in 2018 but Keri has put a teaser on her website with the first chapter. You can go directly to the download here.


Though Winter Halo–the pharmaceutical company behind the evil experimentation on both children and adults–has been destroyed, the danger is far from over. Not only do seven children remain unaccounted for, but some of the vampires are now able to walk in light.

The key to stopping the unthinkable lies in finding Ciara Dream, the last member of the trio behind the plot to give full light immunity to both the vampires and the Others. But Ciara, like Tiger herself, is a shapeshifter, able to take on any human form she desires.

To find her, Tiger will need to use every skill in her formidable arsenal, and even that might not be enough to save the city and the people she has started to care about.

Because the vampires are coming, and this time, the lights won’t stop them.






FREE READS


Apprentice Bound by Eleni Konstantine is her first fantasy short story published in Shortz: Flights of Fantasy edition, 1999!  She has just made it 
available on her website as a tribute to her early writing. 


Ddrill is scouting the country-side looking for wizard apprentices. Can he find anyone worthy in the backwards country of Marinndi?


You can have a read HERE. (It opens up a pdf file). 











The Day You Went Away by M.J. Scott is Book 0.5 in the Wilde Side series. It was indie published n 2014.

Ashley Keenan thought she'd found the one in Daniel Gibson. That they were going to be in love for a lifetime. But it only takes a moment to change forever. 


The Day You Went Away is a short story prequel to The Wolf Within, the first book in my urban fantasy series, The Wild Side. The Wolf Within. It's short (about 8k). It's the story of what happened in the first stage of the romance between the hero and heroine of The Wolf Within before that book starts. While Ash and Dan have some ups and downs in this story (that's what happens when one of a couple becomes a werewolf), I promise they'll get their happily ever after in the end! 


Buy links are available from M.J.'s website. 










PREVIOUS 2017 RELEASES


We mentioned Anna Hackett's latest release in the Hell Squad series, Ash,  in a previous DarkSider News. Anna was busy publishing more titles in the series in 2017.


Theron is Book 12 in the Hell Squad series. It was indie published on 30th April 2017.

Squad mates, best friends, and fighting to survive in the middle of an alien invasion. Can she make one stubborn alpha male soldier see her as something else?

Sienna Rossi has always been a mix of contradictions. She loves ice cream, likes cooking, and is skilled at taking down aliens with her squad. Sweet and tough, soldier and woman, most people can't seem to make sense of her...even the loving family she lost in the invasion and especially men. One man accepts her as she is, her best friend Theron. But the big, silent, muscled soldier has her firmly in the 'friends' zone...except that Sienna knows he wants her, and she's determined to claim the stubborn man as hers.

Theron Wade lives to fight aliens. They killed his parents, his foster siblings, and his fellow Rangers. Now he has a new team--the tough, mostly-female Squad Nine. But one certain female haunts his dreams and stars in his darkest fantasies. Sienna is his sunshine in the darkness. He wants to her to be happy...and he knows that would never be with a man like him. A man with darker, rougher tastes that would shock her.

As Squad Nine works to track and destroy a dangerous alien device, best friends collide. Theron introduces Sienna to a world of rough, edgy passion that she craves. But as a mission goes off track, the two of them will risk everything for love, for their lives, and to save the world.

Note to readers: This sci fi romance contains a lot of action (think climbing shattered skyscrapers and daring rescue missions), tough warriors (the kickass ladies of Squad Nine and the badasses of Hell Squad) and a steamy romance (lots of edgy sexy times between a quiet, stubborn soldier and his tenacious best friend). So if you like it fast, and gritty, and sexy, this is for you!




His Light in the Darkness is Book 12.5 in the Hell Squad series. It was indie published on the 16th May 2017.



A short story featuring a quiet moment between Marcus and Elle. This story fits into the Hell Squad timeline between the books Theron and Hemi.

Available from: Anna's website (opens pdf)








Hemi is Book 13 in the Hell Squad series. It was indie published on 29th May 2017.

In the middle of an alien invasion, a big, tough, tattooed former mercenary is finally going to chase down his woman.

Camryn McNab knows love is a lie. Okay, maybe not for everybody--her fellow soldiers on Squad Nine have managed to fall in love in the middle of a vicious alien attack. But it's not for her. She comes from two people incapable of love. For now, her life is about survival, fighting to protect others, and kicking some alien raptor butt. What she doesn't need is a certain wild, bearded, tattoo-covered soldier always underfoot, messing with her things, and driving her crazy. But no matter how hard she tries to outrun Hemi Rahia, she can't seem to shake him, and a terrified part of doesn't even want to...

A member of the Squad Three berserkers, Hemi knows his squad has a reputation for not following the rules and being a little wild. Former bikers, mercenaries, and...other less savory things, they fight hard and party harder. But Hemi has known for a while now that there is only one woman for him. One courageous, sexy, attitude-filled woman he wants to claim as his own. But he has to catch her first.

Tasked with a top-secret mission deep in alien creeper territory, Hemi and Cam will fight side-by-side to achieve their dangerous goal. Their chemistry is off the charts, but persistent Hemi wants more than Cam's body...he wants her heart and soul as well. As their battle with the aliens turns deadly, they will have to fight not only for their love, but for their very survival.

Note to readers: This sci fi romance contains a lot of action (dangerous missions and deadly aliens), tough warriors (the kickass ladies of Squad Nine and the badass berserkers) and a steamy romance (lots of sexy times between a bearded wild man and his sexy soldier). So if you like it fast, and gritty, and sexy, this is for you!





The Sorcerer's Spell by Dani Kristoff is Book 1 in the Cursed Ones series. It was indie published on 18th May (It was previously published by HarperCollinsPublishers via their Impulse imprint).

Asleep in bed, widow Annwyn dreams about making love with her dearly departed husband and wakes up in another woman's body. The other woman is Nira, an evil sorceress, who is in bed with Dane, a sorcerer she has cursed. Nira has used Annwyn’s body to escape Dane’s binding spell. Annwyn has to fight her own attraction to the powerful sorcerer Dane and find a way to get her body back. But Dane’s curse is not what it seems. As a werewolf he is consumed by the beast, losing his humanity. If the curse is not removed he will be changed into a mindless wolf forever!


Available from: Amazon US | Amazon Aus | iBooksKobo | Google Play








Dragon Wine, Volume 1 by Donna Maree Hanson is Book 1 and 2 in the Dragon Wine series. It was indie published on 23rd June.

Shatterwing

The world of Margra is a desolate wasteland after one of its moons shattered. Factions fight over resources as pieces of the broken moon rain down, bringing chaos, destruction and death.
Dragon wine is a life giving drink imbued with the essence of dragons. It is what keeps people alive. But the prison vineyard where Salinda works to grow grapes is in jeopardy. Not only does the Inspector, the sadistic ruler of the prison vineyard, make her life and the life of others a misery, he wants to rule the world by hoarding all the dragon wine. But Salinda has a secret power, an ancient gift called a’ cadre’, that may one day save the world.
When the Inspector suspects that Salinda has secrets, she may have to die to protect the cadre from falling into his hands…


Skywatcher

Salinda recovers in the subterranean city of Barrahiem and learns more about the mysterious Hiem creature, Nils of Barr, and his vast store of pre-Shatterwing technology and knowledge. Meanwhile, Garan, Laidan, Danton and Brill flee from the Inspector only to have him pursue with his rebel army. Imbued with pure dragon essence, he also wants Laidan’s power!

Salinda must gather them together to defend the observatory so Margra has a chance to survive final moon fall…


Donna has continued to publish more in this series with books 3 and 4.



Deathwings  is Book 3. It was indie published on 18th June.


Life on the ravaged world of Margra is more difficult than ever… Salinda and Garan blasted the evil Gercomo into the sky. Except … he didn’t die, he transformed into a dragon. Final moonfall looms ever closer and the world is on the brink of destruction.

Gercomo’s vile influence spreads among his dragon herd and he is reaching for power in both the human and dragon worlds.

Salinda has the means to stop him and save the world.


And Gercomo wants her dead.







Bloodstorm  is Book 4. It was indie published on 23rd July.


The planet of Margra is drawing closer to the brink as Shatterwing's debris field grows increasingly unstable.

Salinda and Garan fight Gercomo in dragon form, with unexpected consequences and end up making matters worse. Laidan’s life is saved but at great cost.

Sartell has become dangerous with conspiracies and betrayal everywhere. Brill and Danton gamble with their lives to find the location of the stolen dragon wine while Mandin gambles with her life to save her daughter.

Nils searches for the writings of his grandsire, Trell of Barr, which may contain the much needed information on how to avert moonfall.

Gercomo’s influence and power within the dragon herd peaks just as he is able to reach out to old human allies and the battle begins…







Buy links for all the Dragon Wine series can be found on Donna's website. 


Existence by Mel Teshco is Book 4 in the Dragons of Riddich series. It was published by Totally Bound Publishing on 2nd May.


Escaping the nest of their vampire master is an amazing triumph. Surviving will be their greatest challenge of all.

Alexander. I’ve been a blood slave to my vampire master for forty-six years. My rare blood makeup gives my master the perfect nutrition. My addiction to the couple of drops he feeds me in return ensures I have no compulsion to leave. I’m a willing blood donor, an immortal slave. And then my master brings yet another blood slave to his nest, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her.

Maya. I can’t believe I’ve been kidnapped. I definitely can’t believe vampires are real. But I soon learn they’re not just real, they’re cold and brutal, and will do anything for their bloodlust. Everything within me burns to escape, and if I have to use the other blood slave to do just that, I will. If I’m all too quickly seeing past his addiction and good looks to the man beneath, that’s just too bad. Survival is my focus; love and desire have no place in this nightmare I’m living. Does it?





Non-paranormal title
Exclusive by Mel Teshco is Book 3 in The VIP Desire Agency series. It was published by Tule Publishing on 6th June.


Rock star Amos Drynn isn't interested in a relationship. He’s been there, done that, and wished he’d listened to his better judgment. As the lead singer of the famous band Frankenstein’s Blood, he’s not short of female attention, but in his world, a long term relationship isn’t feasible. That is, until he purchases a night with a call girl who makes his blood run hot and has him forgetting about his fear of commitment.

Tiffany doesn’t believe in fairytales, not anymore. In her world trust is thin on the ground and promises are meaningless, especially from the mouth of a married client. A night in bed with her rock idol, Amos Drynn, will surely salve her wounded pride. But will their explosive chemistry shatter her infatuation with an ex-client or will she turn her back on Amos, the one man willing to give her everything, including his heart?



Buy links available from Tule Publishing.







WEBSITE UPDATES

Updated pages since the last DarkSider News: Dani Kristoff, Donna Maree Hanson, and M.J. Scott







AROUND THE WEB 

Juanita Kees joins Theresa Smith for the column, Behind the Pen











APPEARANCES
Keri Arthur was at Supanova Adelaide this past weekend signing books at the QBD Bookshop stand. 

Check out the author cupcakes with Keri second from right. Photo courtesy of Keri's tweet







Congratulations to all our DarkSiders!


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