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.

Saturday 24 November 2018

Darklight On ... Clare Rhoden

Today's Darklight On is ... Special Guest Clare Rhoden

Welcome, Clare



How did you come to write speculative fiction? What attracted you to the genre?
I suspect that a childhood devouring all things Dr Who may have had something to do with it, but I have also always loved fantastical stories. Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, and Paddington Bear all inhabit worlds just a bit removed from ours, worlds that make us reflect on our own. These days I find that the books I read are somewhat darker, but I guess that goes with the times. Speculative fiction allows us to observe, imagine, and explore. I just love it.

Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in-between?
I think you would call me a pantser, because although I have a general idea of where a story or character is going, I never really know until I sit at the keyboard. I write myself into quite a few corners. Then I have to find ways to escape or ways to make the corner work. Occasionally that means retreating to square one, but most of the time I just run with it. “Oh, is that what you want to say? Is that where this is going?”  I believe that some of story-telling is subconscious so I like to let my mind choose its own path. There is indeed something magic about writing.

Do you have a favourite of your characters?
I find it so hard to choose! I could just say “the one who is talking to me at the moment”. I like something about them all, or they would be too hard to write. Even the ‘evil’ characters are wonderful to play with. I do sincerely love the canini – the intelligent, compassionate wolf-dogs of the world of the Pale – but if I had to be on a desert island with someone, it would be the tribesman Feather. He’s gorgeous, and very practical too! A perfect post-catastrophe man.

What are you currently working on? 
I’m rattling along with the third instalment of the Pale story, and fighting gamely to keep some hope in dystopia. I think of that as my ‘work’. I’ve also got a WWI historical romance about to be published (on December 1) so I have publisher edits to attend to.

What is your favourite part of the process of writing? 
My own first round of editing, I think. If I’ve got to that stage, then I have heaps of words on the page. The first draft, for me, is just getting everything down. Usually way too much. Editing is like reading a book – something I love to do – but with the chance to make it better. Plus more cups of tea.

What can we expect from Clare Rhoden in the future?
I hope you’ll find more books in more genres, as well as my main path of speculative fiction. Spec fic gives me so much leeway to play with different philosophical perspectives as well as to imagine how it might be to be human in another place or time or entire world. However, I also just submitted a middle grade book about magic cats, and I have hopes that we will see it out next year.

Who are your favourite authors?
You do like to ask difficult questions! Here’s a list, in a very mixed order, and for very different reasons: Mary Renault; Sebastian Barry; Georgette Heyer; Cormac McCarthy; JK Rowling; Ali Smith; Mary Stewart; Katherine Kerr; Robin Hobb; Jasper Fforde. 

What are you currently reading?
Record of a Space-born Few by Becky Chambers. It’s brilliant. I now have to add her to my list of authors to watch (Emily St John Mandel; Rachel Nightingale; Belinda Crawford; Steven Amsterdam; Laura E Goodin; Jane O’Reilly; Jane Rawson; Chris Womersley).

Do you have a favourite spec fiction movie or TV series?
I am still devoted to Tom Baker as Dr Who, and I loved the first series of Star Trek to bits. As a very young child, I often wanted my family to be Lost in Space…

Do you have advice for emerging writers? 
Nobody else is going to write your book. It’s up to you. Only you can give it any chance of existing.

~~~

Thanks, Clare Rhoden!

Thanks for having me J


Clare’s latest book is Broad Plain Darkening (Pale #2):

 
The safe world of the Pale is under threat.
Inside the policosmos, the new Regent Adaeze strives for dominance over the all-powerful Senior Forecaster, but the Pale’s humachine citizens are unaware that their city is close to collapse.
Outside on Broad Plain, the exiled human Hector undertakes a dangerous trek to find a safe haven for the orphaned twins.
How can anyone survive as their world shifts underneath them?



The Pale (Pale #1)Amazon US / Amazon AU 

Broad Plain Darkening (Pale #2): Amazon US / Amazon AU

Find Clare: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram






Monday 19 November 2018

DarkSiders Around the Web for November

Join us as we whizz around the web...



Free Book!


The Guy Next Door (Book 1 of Sex, Lies And Family Secrets) by M.L. Tompsett is currently FREE.

Links Available from:






Newsletters


C.M. Simpson now has a newsletter and if you sign up, you can get a Starter Pack for five series. 





Blog Posts



Juanita Kees Calls for All Readers in Perth.














C.M. Simpson writes about short stories and other forms of return, and writing short stories from a creative prospective.










Keri Arthur features upcoming release Cursed in her Six Sentence Sunday - post 1 and post 2.

From Keri's blog






Kelly Steel features Dani Collins with a post on Writing to Your Market.
















Leisl Leighton  has Guest Author – Laura Boon and The Millionaire Mountain Climber.








Mel Teshco has an October Update














Eleni Konstantine shares her October 2018 Reading.
















Anna Hackett was mentioned for Soul Stealer on the Australian Womens Writer's Challenge Blog in the Speculative Fiction Round Up, Issue 10 AND the October 2018 Round Up of Erotica, Romance and Romantic Suspense.


Whiskey with My Book has reviewed Embrace the Passion (Pets in Space Anthology 3) which features a story by Anna.








Theresa Fuller talks Steampunk on her blog with posts the The Steam in Steampunk, The Punk in Steampunk, and Howl's Moving Castle and Steampunk













Whiskey With My Book has reviewed Dawn of the Cyborg by Marie Dry.

InD'tale Magazine has reviewed Alien Captured (Book 5 of the Zyrgin Warriors).  










Lilliana Rose talks Travel and Creativity,  Plan B, and Which Pen? on her Cafe Pondering blog













Thanks for joining us. 
Until next time, happy reading!





Tuesday 6 November 2018

DarkSider News for November!

Welcome!



NEW RELEASES


Twisted: Tango by Kim Cleary is part of the fairytale box set, Twisted Fairy Tales.
Nine paranormal romance tales take you to a magical world and leave you aching for more. 

Nine Melbourne authors bring you nine childhood fairytales, all with a sexy twist, a whole lot of love and angst thrown in. All stories are original and never before published, exclusive to this box-set. 

Queen of the Wolves: By Tamsin Baker. Based on Little Red Riding Hood. 

Twisted Tango: By Kim Cleary. Inspired by Rapunzel. 

Caught In: By Andra Ashe. Loosely based on The Little Mermaid and Selkie folklore 

Night of the Dragon: By Rita. H. Azar. Inspired by the tale of 'One thousand and one nights' 

Seductive Song: By Elvina Payet. Based on Siren Mythology and The Little Mermaid. 

Natural Awakening: By Sandra Carmel. Loosely based on Sleeping Beauty. 

Gold Touch: By Jess Devine. Based on the 'Midas Touch.' 

If the Shoe Fits: By Savannah Blaize. Inspired by Cinderella. 

Aladina: By Charmaine ross. Based on Alladin. 

All nine stories have sexy and romantic scenes that are recommended for adult audiences. 
Be swept away to worlds where the hero and heroine always find their happily ever after. 


Available from:




The Four Horsemen: Sinister and Tricked by LJ Swallow is part of The Halloween Episodes of The Four Horseman series and was released 27 October 2018.





Two Halloween episodes from the Four Horsemen series world bundled into one book.

SINISTER

The Four Horsemen and Vee prefer to keep away from the local village residents, but they’ve attracted unwanted attention from more the one

A group of teens from the village with a vendetta against Xander.
Amelie, the woman with an intense interest in the guys.
And Cinder, the strange black cat who has adopted Vee.

The Four Horsemen: Sinister is a special, standalone Halloween episode. This novella has a mystery to solve, a touch of horror, plus some time for fun and romance for Vee and her boys.

Also includes TRICKED (Halloween 2017 episode)


Available from:





Non spec-fic titles

Outback Hearts: Australian Romance is a box set which features  DarkSiders, Annie Seaton and S.E. Gilchrist.




Her Outback Playboy - Annie Seaton
Jenni McDougal’s family have worked hard to build their fishing and charter business in the remote coastal outback town of Second Chance Bay. Jake Jones, her childhood sweetheart, was once the poor boy from the wrong side of town. Jake knows that Jenni will always see him as a playboy, and can’t trust him, and his self confidence disappears when the town judges him on his past. Every time he tries to help her family business, she sees an ulterior motive. If Jenni can't trust him, what is there to keep Jake in Second Chance Bay? But can he leave the woman he loves a second time? 

The Cowboy's Gift - SE Gilchrist
Rosie Turner is done with denying her dreams and good-looking men who make her knees weak. To pay-off her two-timing ex-husband’s debts, she’ll sell Blackbird Tor, and set up a B&B to give her and her little boy financial independence.

Luke Williams is resolved to turn heavily mortgaged Flat Rock Station into a thriving property and bring a spark of life back into his dad’s tired eyes. But his options are limited. When Rosie and her son catapult into their lives, Luke’s father reveals the rumour of a rich opal seam located somewhere on Blackbird Tor. Problem is, Rosie and Luke aren’t the only ones desperate to find that seam.



Available from:






PRE-ORDER


Daniel de Lorne and TJ Nichols will be part of DreamSpinner Press's 2018 Advent Anthology Delivery Package.  




Celebrating the end-of-year holidays doesn't always mean sleighs, snow, and snuggling to ward off the cold. How about making merry when it's just as warm (or hot) outside as inside romantic hearts? Twinkle lights in palm trees, unity cups on the sideboard, bonfires in the backyard, eggnog by the pool, and no chimneys to be found... just the warmest wishes of the holidays bringing lovers together around the world.

A huge part of the world celebrates end-of-the-year holidays that aren't anything like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." In the southern hemisphere, it's not even winter!

Holiday reading fun! A story delivered automatically to your bookshelf each day in December. More than 400,000 words of romantic fiction in 31 stories that would sell individually for a total of $89.69. Buy the package early and save:

November - $49.99

*Sale of packages for daily delivery ends Nov. 25.

Beginning December 1, stories will be available individually as priced or as a bulk package for $89.69.


Pre-order from:


Daniel's contribution to the advent anthology is The Faller.



Being caught with another man sends Charlie Young fleeing his family to the forests of southwestern Australia to scrape together steamer-passage to the big smoke of London. But life as a timber faller isn’t easy and it’s made worse when the men he works with are brash, bigoted, and often brutal. All except Jack Tapper, who’s the kind of gentle giant that sets Charlie’s heart racing.

While the other men head into town for Christmas, it’s just Charlie and Jack and acres of forest. But trees tell no tales and a few days alone is the perfect opportunity to indulge a bourgeoning passion. When the men return and find things not as they once were, Charlie and Jack have to make the hard decisions about whether to stay where they are or run for their lives.



Binding Blood by Daniel de Lorne is Book 3 the Bonds of Blood series. It is expected for release by Escape Publishing on 20 December.




The groundbreaking romantic horror trilogy, Bonds of Blood, comes to a thrilling conclusion with a story of loss, grief, and redemption.
Monsters don’t get to be heroes…


Betrayed by his brother and imprisoned in his sister’s dungeon, Olivier d’Arjou isn’t about to let a few chains get in his way. A vampire for six hundred years and a plague on his family for longer, he has no reason to hold back from wiping out the last of his family members and anyone who gets in his way. But first, he’ll need to break free.


When Oberon North, witch and survivor of one of Olivier’s most heinous crimes, comes seeking vengeance, it should be child’s play to bend the witch to his will. But Oberon comes with more power and resilience than Olivier expects and forces him to confront truths he’d rather avoid.


But Olivier’s inner conflict must take a backseat when he learns of his sister Aurelia’s plan to save the world from the demon Xadrak. A battle generations in the making, to succeed requires the ultimate sacrifice from both Olivier and his brother Thierry – and the last chance Olivier has to reclaim his humanity and a future he never thought possible.



Pre-order from:




The Four Horsemen: Bright
 by LJ Swallow is a Christmas Episode of The Four Horseman series and was released 3 December 2018.



The Four Horsemen face Christmas, and the holiday season is a greater challenge than they expected. The parties are hell, the traditions confusing, and the angel they encounter isn’t the one Vee places on top of their Christmas tree.


Do you want to know what happens to the Four Horsemen and Vee after Reckoning? Their story continues in Bright, a Christmas themed book set in The Four Horsemen series world. Bright is the first in a new series of occasional episodes, which explore the fives' new future, new challenges, and their deeper connections as a group.

The events in Bright take place shortly after the end of Reckoning. The original series must be read first


Pre-order from:






Non spec-fic titles


Not So Happily Ever After by Christina Phillips (Book 3 of British Bad Boys series) is expected to be released by Entangled Publishing on 19 November 2018.





Two years ago, I accidentally, yeah maybe on purpose, crossed that line with my best friend and it ruined everything. I haven't seen him much since.

But now he’s standing at my door.

Same lumberjack build. Same dark hair that begs my fingers to run through it. And then he gives me that half smile, and I know I’m about to agree to do something I’m going to regret.

I’ve got to spend two months with him now… and that’s not the worst part.

Each book in the British Bad Boys series is STANDALONE:
* Cinderella and the Geek
* Once Upon A Player
* Not So Happily Ever After


Pre-order from:
Amazon US | Amazon Aus |  iBooks | Kobo | B&N |






COVER REVEAL


Dragon Wine (the complete series) by Donna Maree Hanson will be released on iBooks and Kobo.







Non spec-fic titles


What Were You Thinking Paige Taylor by Amanda Ashby is expected to be released by Entangled Publishing on 12 November.





After her carefully ordered world imploded, Paige Taylor cracks up. On her tenth self-help book, it seemed like a good idea at the time to reinvent herself––move from Manhattan to the tiny beachside town of St. Clair––and take over the local bookstore. 

But instead of discovering her spiritual Nirvana, she’s neck-deep in a floundering business, the locals treat her like a plague victim, and her mom’s suddenly decided to visit––with no end in sight––and keeps coming home with one surprise after the next. 

Added to that pot of crazy, the one guy who sets her pulse racing has sworn off women forever. He’s got a Samsonite filled with baggage, but damn he looks good hauling it down the street. And giving her those sexy half-smiles. And tempting her to take him for a test ride.

Soon Paige discovers that reinventing herself takes more than just a change of address and a pithy quote on Instagram. She needs to face the truth about her life, and that’s something she can’t do alone.




Mission: Her Security by Anna Hackett is Book 3 of the Team 52 series expected to be released on 13 November.




Hero: Former Navy SEAL and mountain man, Smith Creed
Heroine: Team 52 Las Vegas logistics manager Kinsey Beck
Artifact: Classified




BLURB


Unforsaken by Cassie Laelyn is Book 1 of The Fallen Guardians series.


One choice: Save his soul... or her life?

​Hidden deep in the Snowy Mountains, lives a brotherhood of immortal Guardians, banished from the Heavens.

After centuries of exile, Head Guardian Raven can taste Hell. One wrong move could destroy his soul. When Fate assigns him a female mortal to protect, his forbidden desire becomes a distraction he can't afford. Giving in to temptation risks plummeting into the fiery pits of Hell, dragging her along with him.

Tayla Eason is on the run, escaping a horrific attack on her life. When she lands in the arms of the sexy, alluring man who saved her, the shadows of her past swiftly close in. But when Fate throws a twist, Tayla's forced to choose between saving Raven's soul or fleeing before the creatures strike again.

In an ultimate test of love, the two must battle against the almighty Fate. But will it be enough to save them both?




EVENT



Bernadette Rowley will be at SupaNova Brisbane on the 9-11 November. 







BOOK TRAILER


Daniel de Lorne has a book trailer for his Bonds of Blood series.






Congratulations to all our DarkSiders!

Thanks for sharing in our news. Until next time....
check out all our books on our dsdu-books shelf:
DarkSide DownUnder's book lists (dsdu-books shelf)