The cold weather is still hanging on in the land of Oz,
so snuggle up as you read our news.
COMPETITIONS
D.D. Line
D.D. was awarded first place for her story Jimmy and Me in the 2022 Spooky Stories competition run by the KSP Writer's Centre. The story will be published in the anthology, Jimmy and Me and Other Stories. Purchase details to be confirmed.
You can have a look at D.D. reading her story out at the book launch (at 16.50)
NEW RELEASES
God of Summer
Kat Chant
Released: 12 September
Angus McCraggan sacrificed his life to break the Celtic curse laid upon his people in the Bronze Age. He failed. Millennia later, he returns to modern Ireland to find his people have become feral, vengeful shadows. With his hollow hill now a tourist attraction, he uses his power to keep his past hidden.
Until an American calls him out…
Since a banshee attacked her as a teen, Erin De Santos has been tormented by dreams of a boy she's never met. Armed with a new identity, she returns to the Emerald Isle determined to face her nightmare. But her discovery turns fatal.
When the banshee strikes again, Angus surrenders his heart—and his hope of freeing his people—to save her. With his life now hers and his curse descending, Erin must make a terrible choice: kill her savior or share his doom.
ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) has a Release Day blog post on Gods of Summer.
A Song of Sky and Sacrifice
Lana Pecherczyk
Season of the Elf 1, Book 7, Fae Guardians
Released: 31 August
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| Paperback and ebook |
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| Hardcover |
When famous human musician Melody wakes two thousand years after a nuclear winter, she thinks she’s landed on the right side of a war. Fae are called the Tainted. They’re warped, mutated creatures who hoard the bounty of the new magical land. It’s her job in the human city to sling propaganda in the form of daily songs performed to a select tower of the elite.
But this position makes her sought after by many, including a ghastly military man, the evil president of the new world, and an enigmatic stranger who turns up at her doorstep asking for help.
Forrest is the good guy—the elf people go to when they want help, no questions asked. And when he learns he’s the only Guardian with the looks to pass as human, he accepts the job to infiltrate the enemy city and bring a kidnapped fae child home. He never counted on meeting a woman so extraordinary, he hardly believes she exists. Melody—the human harbinger—swiftly captures his heart and tempts him out of a long lifetime of celibacy.
As trouble brews within the ranks of the human elite, Forrest and Melody must come to terms with their forbidden desires… and decide which sacrifice is worth the cost—one of their hearts, or one of freedom.
A Song of Sky and Sacrifice is the first installment in the Season of the Elf, but the seventh book in the Fae Guardians series.
Buy
| Amazon | Lana's website (print) |
Non spec-fic
Christmas with the Lumberjack
Daniel de Lorne
Short story
Released: 17 August in paperback
When the trees start to fall, Charlie’s heart follows…
Being caught with another man sends Charlie Young fleeing his family to the forests of south-western Australia to scrape together steamer-passage to the big smoke of London. But life as a lumberjack 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.
When the other men head into town for Christmas, it’s just Charlie and Jack and acres of forest. A few days alone is the perfect opportunity to indulge a passion that could set the whole forest ablaze, but Christmas is but one day of the year. When the men return, Charlie must make the tough decision about whether to make a new life with Jack or continue with his plans of running away to England.
And when there are sharp axes lying around, Charlie’s choice could be the difference between life and death.
Christmas with the Lumberjack is a historical gay romance set in the forests of 19th century Western Australia. If you like gentle giants, down-under Christmases, and lumberjacks that make you sweat, you’ll love Daniel de Lorne's short holiday read.
As I Am
Mel Teshco
Re-released: 29 August
Molly is no stranger to being sick having been regularly in and out of hospitals since the age of five thanks to Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She knows her limits and capabilities better than anyone, until she meets a handsome stranger whose compassion and understanding might just have her questioning her entire perspective.
Insightful, eye-opening, and bold, As I Am explores the story of a woman who must question everything she thought about being independent and fearless.
Buy
| Amazon | Other Retailers |
PRE-ORDERS
Nero
Mel Teshco
Book 1, Alien Fugitives
Expected Release: 31 January 2023
She’s afraid to love again. He’s afraid to lose again.
Jack Ashton appears from out of nowhere, saving Brynn like a knight in shining armor from her terrifying ex. Though her heady attraction to Jack opens up her heart again, she discovers her knight comes with scales and a fin. She should be terrified, but there is something about him that draws her in and makes her feel safe.
Jack hid his identity so well from the dronians—an alien enemy intent on hunting him and the last of his species down—he managed to brainwash himself in the process, forgetting his name and the real him while living and working on Earth. But when his memories come flooding back and he becomes protector of a human woman, he realizes life on Earth isn’t going to be any easier than what it had been on his own world, especially with a vulnerable human in his care.
Lying low and not drawing attention was his one and only goal. But when he falls for Brynn and dronians threaten her life, he knows he can’t lose another loved one again. He’ll do whatever he must to keep her alive and safe, even if he has to draw on every one of his unstable alien powers to do so.
Pre-order
| Amazon | Other Retailers |
Sienna
Mel Teshco
Book 2, Alien Fugitives
Expected Release: 10 May 2023
He’s a bounty hunter sent to Earth to capture her. She’ll fight tooth and nail for her freedom.
Sienna Moore is a revered rare—a Strazan native with unique powers—burdened with grief and guilt after her species died in battle against vicious Dronians while she and six other rares escaped to Earth. Sienna takes up residence in the carriage of an ever-moving train, where she uses her mind powers to conceal her true identity. But nothing can stop the Dronians from closing in on her and the last few rares.
Gray Bastine has tracked down Sienna with the goal to capture her before the Dronians find and kill her. With his own planet in danger of becoming the Dronians next world to destroy and conquer he will force Sienna to uncover everything there is to know about their common enemy. Except Sienna isn’t so easy to acquire and the longer it takes to claim her the more he realizes their attraction is making this a mission impossible.
Pre-order
| Amazon | Other Retailers - TBA |
Japser
Mel Teshco
Book 3, Alien Fugitives
Expected Release: 1 July 2023
She’s fed up with her mundane life. He yearns to escape the danger that surrounds him.
Jasper Finch wants to leave the Earth city of New Faxian behind where he and six other rares—the last surviving Strazans with extraordinary powers—are forced to live thanks to the freshwater river cutting through the city. Water nourishes his species and stabilizes their powers, which are volatile on Earth. A pity his relentless enemy is tracking him down. Then he meets an intriguing woman, and leaving becomes the furthest thing on his mind.
Suzy Grant is over her career as a car saleswoman, but then it’s fair to say she’s over everything and everyone…until a young man with afro hair and a ripped body walks into the car yard. That she is too old for him is as painfully obvious as his reluctance to buy a car. So why is he so reluctant to leave? But getting to know the real him comes at a price. He isn’t what he seems…and he has pitiless alien enemies that make her reconsider the serenity of her humdrum life.
Pre-order
| Amazon | Other Retailers - TBA |
Unwrapping the Alien
anthology contains story
'An Alien Mate for Christmas' by
Melody Beckett
Expected Release: 1 November
If all you want for Christmas is an alien fated mate, you've come to the right anthology!
Unwrapping the Alien is a stellar collection of Christmas sci-fi romance stories from all your favourite authors.
Steamy and sweet, spicy and hot with all the alien action you'll ever need. Hearts are made to sparkle again, aliens get naughty (or nice) with their mates, relationships from beyond the stars are perfectly wrapped and finished with a bow.
So curl up, get cosy and get ready to unwrap your very own alien for Christmas!
I Am Fire
anthology contains story by
Melody Beckett
Expected Release: 1 November
We will not go back.
A 1920s illusionist uses smoke and mirrors to deceive her clients into thinking they're being seduced. A princess recovers from a procedure with the help of four hot fae. A lawyer witch plans a protest, falling in love with a werewolf along the way.
Dive into this collection of over thirty-five romances featuring witches, dragons, aliens, and more, all with a story about controlling their own bodies and their own destiny.
The Fiendish Foe and the Deadly Jewels
Kelly Ethan
Book 7, Point Muse Cozy Mysteries
Expected Release: 30 September
There's murder at the fun fair, a fiendish foe on the loose, and a nosy librarian turned sleuth.
Let the mayhem begin...
It starts with karaoke and ends with murder. Xandie Meyers, librarian to the Supernatural Great Library of Alexandria, rued the day her grandmother, Elspeth Harrow, joined in Xandie’s wedding preparations…with a karaoke engagement party.
Suddenly her police chief fiancé’s bitter cousins are stalking Xandie, her jeweler won’t give back her engagement ring, and she’s been drafted into volunteering at the Point Muse fun fair.
The last thing she needs is for the fun fair to turn fatal and every finger points to the recently engaged librarian.
Xandie has no choice but to swing into Sherlock librarian mode and deal with the twisted carnival mayhem…
If you like snarky dialogue, murder and mayhem then you’ll love the next installment in Kelly Ethan’s Point Muse Mysteries, a cozy paranormal mystery series.
Unlock the mayhem of The Fiendish Foe and the Deadly Jewels!
A Crown of Cruel Lies
Lana Pecherczyk
Season of the Elf, Book 8, Fae Guardians
Expected Release: 29 December
Humans destroyed this world. The Fae rebuilt. Thousands of years later, humans want it back. Humans and Fae are at war over the last habitable piece of land left on earth. Neither fully human or fae, but something in between, a woman from our time must work with a lethal Fae Guardian of the future to uncover the sinister plot threatening to destroy the land once and for all. Saving the world starts with opening their hearts.
Each interlinked trilogy features a different breed of fae. Each book features a different couple with a satisfying HEA. Start at the beginning for the best reading experience, or start at your favorite trilogy.
Wicked Dreams
M.J. Scott
Book 4, Techwitch
Expected Release: 6 June 2023
In exciting dark and sexy futuristic urban fantasy series from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott.
I never dreamed of magic. Having a mother who dabbled in the darker side of witchcraft made sure of that. But magic found me anyway. And the world of power is stranger and more dangerous than I ever could have imagined. So if I don't want it to turn into a nightmare, I have to take what magic offers me…
Wicked Dreams is the fourth book in the TechWitch series, exciting dark and sexy futuristic urban fantasy from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott. This series has witches, demons, an ongoing relationship that will have an HEA, sexy times, and a lot of computer geeks. Perfect if you like the idea of a strong heroine, a hot protective billionaire and magic and technology colliding. Enjoy!
Wicked Nights
M.J. Scott
Book 3, Techwitch
Expected release date: 1 November
Chloe de Montesse thought her new life would be peaceful. But now she has an inconvenient marriage no one wants to let her end, a diplomatic scandal to navigate, and old troubles swirling around her. As well as trying to determine who might want her dead. And that’s just the beginning…
The Traitor's Game is the second book in the Daughter of Ravens series, a new romantic historical fantasy series from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott, set in the same world as the Four Arts series. This series has friends to enemies to lovers, political intrigue, royal witches, inconvenient marriages, sexy times and more. Enjoy!
Non Spec-Fic
Sheilding Bank
Khloe Wren
Book 15, Charon MC
Expected Release: 15 October
The novella version of Shielding Bank
will be in the Locked Up anthology at TNTNYC22 (see below).
Sometimes you get a second chance at the path you should have taken.
Bomber nearly had Bank where he wanted him, but the night didn’t end how he’d hoped. Then he got deployed, and spent the next six years avoiding Bank and the Charon MC. But now he’s retired from the US Airforce and back home for good, he needs to work out if, like him, Bank is still wondering what could have been.
Bank has always struggled with the fact he’s attracted to both men and women. After nearly falling for Bomber’s charms in the clubhouse he panics and fearing the club would reject him as his family had, he settles down with a woman in the hopes to appear normal.
But she’s no average female. She’s out to take everything she can from Bank, and she gets away with it until Bomber comes home. The former Airman is watching closely and waiting for his chance to save the man he knows is meant to be his from the woman who would happily burn the whole world down around them all.
Authors attending the Tempted and Tantalizing Event are participating in two exclusive anthologies, Lawyered Up and Locked Up (Khloe is in this anthology with a novella version of Shielding Banks). You can pre-order e-copies even if you're not going to the event.
Guarded Hearts
contains stories by
HM Hodgson and S.E. Gilchrist
Expected Release: 18 November
Guarded Hearts anthology presents 17 passionate protector romances and captivatingly hot romantic suspense novellas.
Military heros, undercover operatives, guns for hire, private security and first responders are the order of the day. This collection is action-packed with heroic men and the brave women who stand with them - then win them over.
Holding out for a hero? Here they are!
The Sheikh's Secret Mistress
Mel Teshco
Book 4, Desert Kings Alliance
Expected Release: 15 September
She's a commoner, he's a powerful sheikh. Will she ever be good enough?
Jazmina Fadel might be praised for her beauty and for being mistress to the powerful Sheikh Fayez Al-Khan, but she can’t ever forget she came from a broken and destitute family. Not that Jazmina craves material wealth. A lovely house and a closet filled with designer clothes and jewelry means little when she desires her fairytale dream of a husband and children. And she won’t take a backseat while every eligible princess and sheikha in the Middle East vies for his attention and, ultimately, his hand in marriage.
Shiekh Fayez Al-Khan never meant to fall in love. He never even dreamed it possible for someone of his self-centered ways and lofty upbringing to believe in love at first sight. Not when there are scores of women willing to enact his every sexual urge. But although Jazmina has no pedigree, she is his every fantasy come to life. He won’t give her up. Not for anything or anyone. Not even for the wishes of his people who would see him wedded to the Sheikha of Lomada to strengthen their nations alliance. In the end though, will he have a choice?
The Sheikh's Secret Mistress
Mel Teshco
Book 5, Desert Kings Alliance
Expected Release: 30 December
She desires the man of her dreams. Can she resist the attention of another?
Sheikha Aisha Al Wahed might be the sister to Sheikh Hamid—one of the most renowned and unconventional Sheikhs on the planet—but it doesn’t mean she is cut from the same cloth. She wants what almost every girl wants: to marry the love of her life. That she’s had a crush on Tabari Usamah for so long makes her more determined for him notice her. So why is Dhamar, one of her brother’s many friends, distracting her beyond all reason?
Sheikh Dhamar Qadir desires one thing—Aisha Al Wahed. A pity she is besotted with another man not worthy of her affection. But Dhamar won’t give up, he’ll do whatever is necessary to make her fall in love with him, and he’s not above using every tool in his arsenal to make that happen, including removing Tabari from the picture and sending him away. But will his interference cost him the love and respect of the one woman he wants above all else?
Covers by Eleni Konstantine's alter ego, HelzKat Designs.
Holiday Kisses
contains story by
D.D. Line
Expected Release: 4 November
‘Tis the season to fall in love in this heartwarming collection of Christmas romance stories.
It’s Christmas…a time for kisses under the mistletoe, tree decorating, fruit mince pies, fairy lights and snow in abundance. This holiday season celebrates the joy of romance with some Holiday Kisses.
Filled with love, romance, and a whole lot of heart. From a Christmas gift exchange program, Manhattan wedding, fireman’s calendar photography shoot, train trip to Edinburgh, Irish castle, holiday job, Christmas wedding photo shoot, missent text, plum pudding catastrophe, and a mischievous donkey named Colin. All with a kiss or two.
Families reunite, new friends are made, and old flames take a second chance at happiness. Escape between the pages and get swept away into these holiday stories celebrating the spirit of the Christmas season!
Light the fire, grab some hot chocolate and settle in for the night and dive into these Christmassy romances. With ten stories from Australian authors, you’re sure to find something to pull at the heartstrings while rediscovering the joys of Christmas.
Outback Dawn: The Visitor
Annie Seaton
Book 5, The Augathella Girls
Expected Release: 15 September
When Laura Adnum, sister-in-law of Braden Cartwright, arrives unexpectedly in Augathella to visit the three sons of her deceased sister, Julia, it seems she is there to cause trouble; Laura is not impressed that Braden is planning to marry Callie Young.
Newly-appointed local doctor, Harry Higgins, is surprised when Laura insists on visiting him to check that the care of her three nephews is adequate. Harry has his own demons and has come to Augathella for peace and a quiet life.
Harry is suspicious of Laura’s motives. Why has she suddenly decided to visit three nephews she has never met? He tries to ignore his instant attraction to this enigmatic woman.
What secrets does each of them hold, and can they each find peace through love?
East of Alice
Annie Seaton
Expected Release: 15 November
A gem-fossicking discovery echoes through time and leads to a dangerous journey through the red dust outback. A gripping mystery from Australian author Annie Seaton.
Gemma Hayden has returned to her hometown of Alice Springs for a new job as a primary school teacher. It's been six years since her family broke apart following the disappearance of her twin brother. And the scars still run deep.
Hard on the heels of her homecoming, Saul Pearce, the man she once loved, is reposted from Parks and Wildlife in Darwin back to Alice. When an old car wreck is uncovered, washed down the river to Ruby Gap, Saul investigates only to find that the wreck belonged to Ethan, Gemma's twin - and there's a coded note for her in the glovebox.
Joining forces, they trek through the rugged outback, piecing together clues that not only bring them to the attention of a criminal organisation, but lead them to uncover an even older puzzle ... One now lost to the history books.
With targets on their backs, will they unearth the truth in time?
Secrets of River Cottage
Annie Seaton
Book 5, Bindarra Creek Mystery
(multiple author series)
Expected Release:14 November
Forced to move from the safe haven of her in-law’s farmhouse, single mum, Cathy Kendall is horrified she must return to the renovated River Cottage – a house that holds secrets and sad memories. When builders discover bones beneath the old house and the site is declared a crime scene, speculation and gossip engulf Bindarra Creek.
Landscaper, Grant Cummings has returned to his hometown to seek justice and it suits him to keep a close eye on Cathy. As the investigation progresses, attraction flares between them.
But when a series of suspicious events threaten Cathy’s life, should she share her suspicions with Grant?
Or is his mysterious past a warning that trusting him could prove deadly?
Welcome to the latest Bindarra Creek romances. You will love re-visiting this quaint country town and its quirky community as compelling characters search for love and happiness. Don't miss out on these seven mystery romances by best-selling Australian authors.
COVERS
A Relic of Magic and Gold
HM Hodgson
Book 1, Three Gifts Trilogy
Expected Release: TBA
When you’re a witch on the run, do you trust your heart or your magic to lead you in the right direction?
Fiercely independent Evangeline has spent ten years studying witchkind’s most complex and potent spells. Now she’s finally starting her life as a spellcaster protecting dangerous relics.
But when a powerful relic goes missing and Eve is accused of the theft, she has no choice but to ask the sexy, way-too-smooth Private Investigator Raph Smith for help, or risk ending up in a Knights Templar dungeon.
Raph Smith always gets his missing person—even though the reason why is a closely guarded secret—so finding a lost trinket box should be easy money. But the relic has a deadly secret too … and those who know the truth will do anything to find the artifact, including killing anyone who stands in their way.
With the Knights Templar, an international crime family, Daemons from the Underworld, and Eve’s own coven on their heels, Eve and Raph are forced to work closely together. But as the sheets heat up, and with their hearts and heads on the line, can Eve and Raph really trust each other?
Because what started out as reclaiming Eve’s livelihood, has become a fight to save her life. And the rest of humankind.
Relics and Legends – where witchcraft is a business and legends aren’t consigned to history.
Outback Moonlight: The Rogue
Annie Seaton
Book 6, The Augathella Girls
Tripping Nitro
Khloe Wren
Book 6, Charon MC
has a new cover!
Sometimes The One That Got Away Comes Back… Bringing Trouble With Her.
It’s really her. Former Navy SEAL and member of Charon MC, Nitro can’t believe his eyes when he finds his high school girlfriend in a bar nineteen years after she disappeared, taking his heart with her.
Alone and running from a stalker since she was 16 years old, Cindy has avoided all contact with the opposite sex in order to keep her mysterious stalker appeased. Now, with Nitro by her side, he vows to keep both her body and heart protected, but can she risk believing him?
With the help of his Charon MC brothers, Nitro keeps Cindy guarded while he attempts to woo her back into his arms. But just when he manages to break through her walls, she vanishes again. Will Nitro be able to put together all the pieces of the puzzle in time to save his first and only true love?
Tripping Nitro is a military motorcycle romance. If you like Elle Boon, Joanna Wylde and Christine Feehan, then you’ll enjoy this fast paced second chance romance.
*** Tripping Nitro is book 6 of the Charon MC series, but can be read as a stand alone ***
Hades
Anna Hackett
Book 2, Sentinel Security
Expected Release: 20 September
He’s a gorgeous former Interpol agent.
Tall, dark, and Italian.
He’s way out of her league, but when danger explodes around them, she finds herself on the run with the sexiest man she’s ever met.
CIA analyst Gabbi Hansley has a plan—escape her dysfunctional family, excel at her job, and build a safe, stable life for herself. Boring? Maybe, but she likes boring. When tasked to meet a security contractor and give him an encrypted drive, a quick, simple job goes terribly wrong.
Gabbi didn’t expect her contact to be the hottest man she’s ever seen. Nor was she expecting the bad guys who turn up and spray the restaurant with bullets.
After years of wading through the muck, dismantling mafia crime syndicates in Italy, former Anti-Mafia officer and Interpol agent Matteo “Hades” Mancini likes his job at Sentinel Security. He also knows he has nothing permanent to offer any woman, so he keeps things fun and temporary.
But when his dangerous past rears its head, he finds himself trapped with the tough, no-nonsense Gabbi, and on a second glance, he sees past her sensible exterior to the tempting woman beneath.
Now Gabbi and Matteo are in a race for survival. While they work to track down who’s after them, attraction burns hot and bright. Gabbi knows a man like Matteo won’t be interested in her for long, and she asks him to show her all the things she’s been missing in the bedroom. But the possessive need to keep her safe is growing in Matteo, and soon he has two mission objectives: take down the bad guys, and convince Gabbi Hansley that she’s his.
ON SALE / FREE
JL Peridot
has a number of short stories available for free on her website.
There are some which need a sign-up to JL's newsletter.
The most recent story is Five Star Cottage.
Guardian's Heart
Khloe Wren
Book 1, Fire & Snow
is currently FREE
The last thing Snow-Leopard Shifter Dominic expects to find at an accident scene is his mate, the beautiful Adele, but after four years of dreaming of her, there she is, right in front of him. However, winning the heart of his lonely, grieving mate is no simple task.
Just as their relationship begins to heat up a gravely injured child, Kelly, stumbles into their lives after escaping and fleeing her abuser.
Will Dominic and Adele's bond grow stronger as they nurture and protect Kelly? Will their relationship be able to survive all that fate plans on throwing their way?
Get a copy
| Amazon | Other Retailers |
OTHER
Anna Hackett
Lana Pecherczyk
~~~
Congratulations to our DarkSiders.
Thanks for joining us. Until next week, be safe and well.
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