DarkSide DownUnder: DarkSider News for May: Part 2

Welcome to the latest DarkSider News!

Grab that cuppa and chocolate, take a seat and let the good news roll...

NEW RELEASES

Manu by Anna Hackett is Book 16 in the Hell Squad series and was released on 8th May.

As the battle against the invading aliens intensifies, a group of bad boy bikers and mercenaries will stand and fight for humanity’s survival…

When former berserker Manu Rahia lost his leg on a mission, he was forced to leave his squad. He knows his new role as head of the Enclave’s firing range and armory is important, but hates that he isn’t still out there fighting face to face against the aliens and protecting his brothers’ backs. But then one woman catches his eye. A no-nonsense woman dedicated to her job as head of security. A woman who seems cool on the surface, but who Manu is convinced is hiding more under her business-like exterior.

Captain Kate Scott dedicated her life to her career in the Army. Now she works hard taking care of security for the Enclave and its residents. She learned a long time ago that she isn’t a passionate woman, and that she’s better off sticking to her work. But seeing one big, bronze-skinned, muscled man at the range every day has her hormones going into overdrive. She’s never felt like this and she’s determined to get herself under control.

But when the aliens launch a viscous new attack, right on the Enclave’s doorstep, Kate and Manu must join forces to stop the raptors before more people get hurt. Kate will fight fiercely to protect her team and the base, as well as her heart. But Manu Rahia is a man who knows what he wants, will walk through fire to get it, and what he wants is Kate.

Available from: Amazon US | Amazon Aus |

Destiny's Queen by C.M. Simpson is a dark fantasy short story and was released by C.M. Publishing on 4th May.

A dark fantasy short story about royalty, rivalry, and assassination

Life’s not fair, when you have to find a fiancé or risk setting your kingdom up for a fall. It’s not fair, when your dead lover comes to call, assassins in his wake, and your dead maid by his side. And it’s really not fair, when everything happens on the night of your suitors’ ball. It never rains but it pours. I am a queen by blood and right, and not some random happenstance—yet who am I to argue when Destiny comes to call?

Rocky & the Raptors by Carlie Simonsen is Book 6 in the Otherworld Adventures and was released by C.M. Publishing on 11th May.

When Rosie’s teddybear is stolen by a bird, Rocky has to go into raptor territory to get it back, before Rosie tries to fetch it herself—and all without the raptors knowing he’s there. Just how far will he go to bring her Teddy home?

Magic, Markets & Murder by Janni Nell is Book 2 in the Little Shop of Spells Cozy Mystery series and was released by BOCHOK Publishing on 2nd May.

Welcome to the Spring Equinox Market—a weekend of magic, shopping and…murder.

When small-town witch, Maddie Goodcharm volunteers to help with the market, the last thing she expects is to stumble upon a murder scene. Even worse the crime appears to have been committed by a witch. Nobody’s talking and the sheriff is powerless until he enlists Maddie’s help.

Investigating a murder is hard enough, but it’s not Maddie’s only problem. Someone has given the mayor a love potion. Suddenly he believes Maddie is The One. He’s talking divorce and his wife isn’t happy.

Can Maddie dodge the mayor and his furious wife until she catches the killer? Or will the magical murderer get away?

Non spec-fic titles

His Outback Temptation by Annie Seaton is the 4th and final book in the Prickle Creek series and was released by Entangled Publishing on 14th May.

Freelance photographer Sebastian Richards has put aside travelling the world to show his grandmother he is capable of helping out on the family farm, even though it’s hard to let go of his wanderlust. But when he rescues a beautiful woman from a difficult situation, and Sebastian learns Isabella Romano is going to his hometown, heading back to Prickle Creek holds more appeal.

Isabella has come home to the Outback for a short visit to her father before she heads off to begin her dream job in England. Circumstances throw Isabella and Sebastian together at every turn—so maybe a short summer fling could be fun?

Isabella is determined to leave, even though her heart wants to stay. Sebastian is determined to stay, though his heart wants to go. But the only way for them to be happy is to take a chance on love.

Available from from: Amazon US | Amazon Aus | Kobo | iBooks |

PRE-ORDERS

Alien Captured by Marie Dry is Book 5 in the Zyrgin Warriors series and is due for release by Black Opal Books on 9th June.

In a bleak future, where government systems are breaking down and poverty and violence reign, on an abandoned farm in Montana, Susannah had a simple plan. She’d capture an alien, sell him to the resistance, and use the money to save her son.

Instead, Susannah had an arrogant alien trapped in a pit who acted as if she was the prisoner. He wanted to kill her dog and insisted she should care for the wound he sustained when he fell into the pit she dug to trap him. On top of that, she had no way to know if the resistance got her message. Every day that passed, she doubted her decision to hand Azagor over to the resistance.

But her son, her baby, was being held by people who considered him unclean because he was conceived out of wedlock—and time was running out.

Available from: Amazon US | Amazon Aus

COVER REVEAL

Hunter Hunted by Keri Arthur is Book 3 in the Lizzie Grace series and will be released in August.

No Ordinary Gift by Mel Teshco is the new cover of the book Believe and it's co-written with Kylie Sheaffe. Initially released in 2013.

Josie Bowheart has only ever wanted to be normal. Instead she’s highly sensitive and overwhelmed by visions and dreams, and obsessed by spirits who need her.

But if normal means living the same lie as her genius brother and doctor, James, she’ll gladly stay just the way she is. First she has to convince James to believe in his own sensitivities and open his eyes to his destiny before it’s too late … because ordinary isn’t a word that serves either one of them.

Can James let go of his fears and his growing drug addiction that suppress his mind and keep him numb to the truth … and finally accept the gift that is his birthright?

Available from: Amazon US | Amazon Aus |

Non spec-fic titles

Overdrive by Juanita Kees is the Book 1 in the Calhoun Customs Garage series to be released by Tule Publishing on 26th June.

Chase Calhoun has worked hard at making Calhoun Customs a world-wide sensation and keeping his father’s dream alive. He hasn’t had time to think about settling down, so he’s not expecting to find love or new life hiding in the attic of their garage among the ghosts of his family’s past.

Charlotte Jackson is on the run from a rebellious past, determined to prove she can be a good mom to three-month-old baby, Zoe. Tired of being delegated to the back office of the racing team her famous NASCAR family owns, she sets out to establish herself as a custom design artist. But she’s out of money, luck and time, and she can’t hide in the attic at Calhoun Customs forever.

While Chase slowly loses his heart to his refrigerator thief and the baby bundle asleep in his laundry basket, Charlotte learns that sometimes family is more than just blood and DNA.

Echo Springs is a 4 book continuity about a group of police officers in a small country town in outback Australia that will feature both Daniel de Lorne and Leisl Leighton. The anthology will be released in print by Harlequin Australia while each individual story will be released digitally by Escape Publishing in September.

Story 1 - Dangerous Echoes by Leisl Leighton,
Story 2 - Embers and Echoes by Daniel DeLorne,
Story 3 - Echoes of the Past by TJ Hamilton, and
Story 4 - Hope Echoes by Shannon Curtis.

Wholesome country living isn’t what it used to be… This town has a dark side, but what will these cops sacrifice to save it? A compelling suspense, set in the outback.

Blue lights in the red dust…

Echo Springs on the edge of the outback – a town where everyone knows your name, and your business. But the wholesome country living and welcoming community aren’t what they used to be. Echo Springs has a dark underbelly, and it is seeping ever outward.

Four cops…

The small police station is overrun, and officers are working overtime to stem the tide of illegal activity from graffiti through to murder. From prickly Leila to heartsore Ben, Cooper with something to prove to Mac who’s driven to succeed, the Echo Springs force is determined to keep the town safe.

Putting everything at risk…

But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, and it’s not just the town these officers have to keep safe. It’s their hearts as well. With bullets flying and bodies piling up, they will have to decide how much they’re willing risk and what they’re willing to lose.

AWARDS

Blood Kissed by Keri Arthur (Book1 in the Lizzie Grace series) won the Favourite Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Futuristic Romance Award at the 2017 Australian Romance Readers Awards.

AUDIO NEWS