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.

Tuesday 24 January 2023

DarkSider News: January 2023 Part 2!

           


More great news to kick off the year!






NEW RELEASES



A Perfectly Paranormal Valentine
A Perfectly Paranormal Halloween
A Perfectly Paranormal Easter
A Perfectly Paranormal Christmas
includes stories by
Leisl Leighton and Samantha Marshall
Volumes 1-4, Perfectly Paranormal Anthologies
Released: all now available in print format




A Perfectly Paranormal Valentine Anthology
Valentine’s Day - celebrating forever love with roses and chocolates, claws and fangs, and a magical spell or two ...

Whatever your paranormal pleasure, dive into these four original stories from award winning and new Australian authors in this magical anthology. Featuring sweet or spicy romance, action, revenge, secrets and curses, this paranormal anthology will fill all your Valentine’s Day desires. Witch, Vampire, Demi-God, Fae and Shifter: who will get their happy ever after this Valentine’s Day?




A Perfectly Paranormal Halloween Anthology
Who will get their happy ever after the night the veil to the Otherworld thins?

When Demi-Gods and Demons, Witches and Fae, Dracons and Shifters come out to play on All Hallow’s Eve, it’s a night for mischief, for revelry, for power plays. It’s not a night for love … or is it? Anything could happen this Halloween ... and probably will.

A Perfectly Paranormal Halloween is the second offering in the A Perfectly Paranormal Anthology series by new and award-winning Australian authors, and features continuing and standalone stories that will give you goosebumps of the romantic kind. With sweet or spicy romance, action, revenge, secrets and curses, delicious chills and emotional thrills, you are sure to fill all your Halloween desires with this exciting collection of paranormal novellas.




A Perfectly Paranormal Easter Anthology
A time to indulge in chocolate… and romance.

As the seasons change, bright laughter fills the air and chocolate abounds. Flowers bloom and new life flourishes as fairies, witches and even the gods take a moment to appreciate the miracle of love… Or do they?

Discover the hidden magic of Easter with this highly anticipated paranormal romance anthology, featuring four original stories from the award-winning Australian authors of the A Perfectly Paranormal Anthology series. Whether you like your treats sweet or spicy, there’s guaranteed to be something in this incredible collection to tickle your fancy. Just like chocolate, there’s no such thing as too much... bring it on.



A Perfectly Paranormal Christmas Anthology
Have you been naughty ... or nice?

Christmas is coming! Santa is readying his reindeer and sleigh with toys for all good girls and boys – but he’s not the only magical Being in town. Gods, Goddesses, witches, Fae and all sorts of magical creatures are gathering to celebrate the spirit of Christmas with a spot of tinsel-strewn mayhem.

But they better watch out what they ask Santa for … they just might get it!

The A Perfectly Paranormal Anthology authors are at it again, this time with a Christmas anthology to fill your heart’s desires – and your stockings! Whether it's making magic or making merry, these four novellas will jingle your bells and add a dash of spice to your egg nog.

Buy






Soul Bound
Leisl Leighton  
Book 1, Dawn of the Curse
Released: 3 January in print


Can soulmates survive a darkness threatening to tear them apart?

The Darkness is banished and a new era has begun for the Were and the Covens, bound together by the magical Pact that keeps them safe.

Spirit-talker Morghanna Cantrae doubts she’s strong enough to lead her Coven into their new life with Pack MacCrae, especially given she can’t even persuade her beloved yet stubborn sister, Morrigan, that the Pact is the only way forward.

Then a mysterious traveller, Alistair Sinoir, arrives. With one glance, they are mated. But the mating is the least of the wonders he brings. He carries the proof that the Pact is right: he is both Were and Warlock, and he is the strongest of them all.

But before Morghanna can reveal this revelation to anyone, the Darkness they thought banished strikes in the most devastating of ways. To save the pack, her Coven and her mate, Morghanna is forced to face the truth of her own powers … even if it costs her what she thought never to have: her love.

Set 500 years ago, Soul Bound is book 1 of the Dawn of the Curse Series, the much-anticipated start of a sweeping new prequel saga in the award nominated Pack Bound Series.

If stories of wild magic, shifters, witches, fated mates, terrible secrets, meddling Goddesses and the struggle against evil, all mixed with a large dollop of sexy romance are your idea of story heaven, then this is the book for you.

Start your journey into the Dawn of the Curse Series and discover the long-forgotten secrets of the ancient witches and shifters by binding yourself to a copy of Soul Bound today.










Wolf Mate
TJ Nichols
Book 4, Outcast Pack
Released: 14 January 2023


A witch who has been searching for his fated mate, and a wolf shifter who doesn't like commitment.

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.







A Crown of Cruel Lies
Lana Pecherczyk
Season of the Elf, Book 8, Fae Guardians
Released: 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.






Guardian Hearts Anthology
contains story by
Enisa Haines
(as well as HM Hodgson and S.E. Gilchrist)
Released: 18 November


Guarded Hearts anthology presents 17 passionate protector romances and captivatingly hot romantic suspense novellas.

Military heroes, 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! 17 Sensational stories to set your heart on fire!

Susanne Bellamy - Ties That Bind
Sandra Carmel - Hearts In Danger
Linda Charles - Trusting The Hunter
Renée Dahlia - Driven To Protect
Izzie Duffield - Heat of the Moment
Debra Deasey - My Sweet Protector - no book links
Louisa Duvall - Between a Heart and a Hard Place
Nicole Flockton - Securing His Heart
S.E. Gilchrist - Endangered Heart
Enisa Haines - When Darkness Stirs
Sara Hartland - Her Cowboy Protector
H. M. Hodgson - A sword of Stone and Magic
Tanya Nellestein - The Safe Place
Erin Moira O’Hara - Silver Lies
Ruby Rare - Guarding Kat
Eliza Renton - Rush
Rosie Miles - Operation Take Back

Buy







Ghosted: A YA Holiday Novella
Melanie Pickering
Released: 13 December


Holly’s having the worst Christmas of her life.

She’s single. Her best friend is holidaying out of town, and her mum is working instead of spending time with the family. Plus, Holly still hasn’t found her the perfect gift yet.

The local Christmas markets are her last hope, but her luck goes from bad to worse after she runs into her bestie, her ex, and the guy she’s newly crushing on.

But Christmas has plans for Holly.

Visited by three Spirits, will her unexpected encounter with a cute baker and his dog help her recover her Christmas spirit, or will Holly remain a Scrooge forever?

For fans of Groundhog Day and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, this YA holiday novella is a little spooky and a lot of sweet.


Buy 







Exiled
Mary Brock Jones
Book 3, Arcadia
Released: 21 December in paperback


Sentenced to exile by his home world, he’s hungry for revenge. Only he isn’t innocent and Alliance space is no safe haven.

When off-worlders promise Seolta den Coille revenge against those who helped falsely imprison him, he grabs hold with both fists. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t end well and he’s banished into exile. All that does is give his hunt for vengeance a few more targets. Top of the list, the two off-worlders who lured him into betraying his home world.

Anyara a Prithand2 wants only two things in life: to be left in peace to manage the biota systems of her space station, and to avoid giving her uncle an excuse to kill her. When a newcomer to her home world offers to help her escape, she accepts. Now she just has to survive the adventure - and the unexpected desire flaring to life between them.

Chased across Alliance space by their enemies, Seolta and Anyara’s only chance lies with the Alliance Council, the overall governing body of settled space. An organisation as riven with political strife as the enemies they are fleeing.

Can the cleverest of the den Coilles and the habitat worlds’ best biome scientist stay alive long enough to expose those threatening their worlds?









Non spec-fic


The Mistletoe Wish
Suzanne Gilchrist
Bindarra Creek Christmas Romance
(multi-author series)
Released: 18 December


Can a mistletoe wish gift two lonely people a second chance?

Sara Pyeon has paid the price for a devastating mistake – she lost her career, her friendships, and worse her parents’ love. Eager to find a sanctuary, she fled to the small town of Bindarra Creek. Whilst the community has been welcoming, she is unable to lower the barriers that guard her wounded heart.

Darim Cooper’s ex has delivered an ultimatum – settle down permanently or risk access to his only child. When a new Army training facility is built on the outskirts of Bindarra Creek, he applies for a transfer. Now all he has to do is find the perfect home.

Drawn together by an unexpected bequest, a fresh start beckons. But will their pasts destroy this second chance forever?




Fearless Love
Maggie Rose
Book 6, Pine Creek
Released: 29 December


Tina
I like the city and the high life. After-all, I'm a lawyer with expensive tastes. The only time I go to a small town is to visit my besties. That is, until life takes a wrong turn and I end up shot. Now I find myself in Pine Creek recovering with my sexy lawyer friend, Rudi to look after me. It would be so easy to fall for him but I don't do relationships.

Rudi
From the first time I saw Tina I was smitten. I wanted to get her sexy butt into my bed. She is not just playing hard to get. She does not want a relationship no matter how much I woo her. I have never been beaten before.











PRE-ORDERS


Sloth and Other Delights
TJ Nichols
Book 5, Mytho
Expected Release: 25 February


Wild magic creates chaos in San Francisco and Jordan slips under its spell...

Book 5 in the gay romance urban fantasy series that follows Jordan and Edra as they solve crime and figure out how to improve mytho and human relations. For readers who like crime solving couples, dragon shifters and mythological creatures.







Wrath and Other Troubles
TJ Nichols
Book 6, Mytho
Expected Release: 28 April


Fallout from the wild magic.

Book 6 in the gay urban fantasy series that follows Jordan and Edra as they solve crime and figure out how to improve mytho and human relations. For readers who like dragon shifters and forbidden romance.






Gluttony and Other Hungers
TJ Nichols
Book 7, Mytho
Expected Release: 28 June


You are invited to the wedding of Jordan and Edra...of course it will go smoothly.

The final book in the gay urban fantasy crime series that follows Jordan and Edra as they solve crime and figure out how to improve mytho and human relations. For readers who like dragon shifters and fated mates romance.







Wolf Lust
TJ Nichols
Book 5, Outcast Pack
Expected Release: 28 March


Can one night, that could be written off as a drunken mistake, become more when neither of them wants to mess up their friendship or be forced to leave the pack if things don’t work out?

Wolf Lust is a friends to lovers, steamy wolf shifter romance, with a wolf who’s scared to risk his heart only to find it safely held by the man who’s secretly wanted him from the day they first met.

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.








A Crown of Silver and Shadow
LJ Swallow
Book 2, Fae Fantasy Romance
Expected Release: 6 September


The courts are in ruin.
The fae realm shattered.
Jaren has claimed his throne but has he lost Tarlia?

A Crown of Silver and Shadows is the second book in a fae fantasy romance with a morally gray hero and a sheltered heroine who comes into her power. Part Rapunzel retelling, this series is perfect for fans of banter and tension leading to steamy scenes, set in a unique fantasy world of human and fae courts.
The first book, A Court Beyond The Mists must be read first.

The release date is temporary and will be changed.









Thornwood Academy: Never Say Day
LJ Swallow
Book 1, Thornwood Academy
Expected Release: 8 February (release date moved up)


I’m a witch-vampire hybrid with a fondness for necromancy.
Excuse me if I’m a little dead inside.

I tried to attend a human school, but they didn’t appreciate my behavior. Personally, I found biology class more interesting when the dissected animals fought back. The school didn’t.

My parents searched for somewhere new to send their deviant daughter, and doors open when your father is Dorian Blackwood. Then they close firmly behind once he dumps you inside an exclusive supernatural academy, along with instructions to become ‘a touch more amiable’.

Says the guy who spent his teen years tearing throats out. Luckily, I’ve inherited my father's sociopathic tendencies and my mother’s magical skills, a lethal yet useful combination when navigating academy life.

Thornwood Academy. Home to the elite who strive to excel—and now me, who strives to leave. Since the supernaturals revealed themselves to the world, the unluckiest human kids join the vampires, witches, and shifters at Thornwood. Hopefully, the humans aren’t dissected in this biology class.

I don’t care that nobody trusts me, but when the headmaster’s son is found unalived, fingers point at Dorian’s darkling daughter. Ridiculous. The human guy once attempted to bully me—I would’ve reanimated the asshole and demanded he perform tricks. Such a wasted opportunity.

If I want help clearing my name, I need to become ‘a touch more amiable’ to the three guys who seem oddly fascinated by me. Somebody doesn’t want the accords between humans and supes to last, and I’m not taking the blame just because I’m a Blackwood.






Wings of Ivory and Ice
LJ Swallow
Book 3, Her Dragons Reborn
Expected Release: 2 December


Wings of Ivory and Ice is the final book in the dragon shifter romanceseries Her Dragons Reborn.

If you like sexy dragon shifters, steamy romance, fated mates, magic, courts and royalty, plus a strong heroine who doesn't have to choose her prince, start the series today with Wings of Ruby and Flame.

The book will be available much sooner than the listed date.





Shadows and Fate
anthology containing 
'The Fae King's Prize' by
LJ Swallow
Expected Release: 7 February


Journey into the magical worlds of Shadows and Fate. From enemies-to-lovers, to fated mates and shifters, you’ll indulge in fantasies that will sweep you off your feet.

Join your favorite New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors K.N. Lee, May Sage, LJ Swallow, J.E. Taylor, Jessica M. Butler, Jessica Cage, Melle Amade, Tina Glasneck, Victoria DeLuis, Rhaine Storm, Nicole Zoltack on an epic adventure!

Phantoms of Dusk by K.N. Lee:
Elora was born different. She's always known. A new foster home each year taught her how to live a life free of relationships. She's fine with being alone. That way no one can hurt her...or discover her secret talent. College is supposed to be a new start. She never expected her new start to include being recruited by The Phantoms of Dusk, a sorority of witches that protect their fellow humans from the worst kinds of monsters. Nor did she ever dream she'd fall for Ripley Essex, her hot new study buddy with a few secret talents of his own.


Spiders and Silk, May Sage as Emm Darcy:
Taken as part of a tithe to the fae high king, Lena, princess of Saur, lost the future she’d resigned herself to. The creature who claimed her considers her his pet, and to survive the cruel, unfamiliar world she was thrust into, she’ll have to play the part, or suffer the consequences.

Pack Magic by JE Taylor:
Rejected because she’s not a purebred, Erica Young must fight to the death for the title of alpha.
Logan Blaez is more than willing to challenge Erica for the position. That is, until he lays eyes on her. Now he wants to claim Erica as his mate and rule as her alpha.
Too bad Erica isn’t willing to submit.

Escaping Red Eye by Jessica M. Butler:
She's a human scientist on a dangerous quest at the bottom of one of the most vicious biomes in the world.
He's the shifter determined to save her, unaware that she's his mate until it's almost too late and they're both trapped at the bottom of Dry Deep.
Together they must work to find a way out before they run out of time and before they are separated forever.


THE FAE KING'S PRIZE by LJ Swallow
I've safely visited these woods for years. Today I wish I'd stayed away and never spoken to the stranger. A man who claims he owns the land charms me into joining him and a friend for the evening, but when I wake up in faerie, I discover the truth. They're fae kings who enjoy toying with humans, and I'm the prize. Stuck between their two courts as the kings compete for me, I need to outsmart them before it's too late. What does the winner plan to do with his prize?

The Flame Within by Victoria DeLuis:
Twelve Chosen. One Dragon. No Choice.
Seren never doubted her path, never questioned her destiny, until the day she met Trilian…

Forbidden Love by Rhaine Storm:
Two shifters, one wolf the other a dragon. Neither allowed to mate with humans. One human girl who loves them both.
Mia Ephraim is your average college student who by chance meets two of the hottest guys in her life. Ignoring the dream of her father yelling at her for choosing Immortals, she falls for both. She has no idea what an Immortal is prior to meeting Killion Adone and Sammael Nazwari. A near death experience exposes Mia to things her world had long since declared as mythical or nonexistent. Mia doubts her eyes and beliefs. Dragons, werewolves, and the like don't exist, right?







Winterfall Legacy
LJ Swallow
Book 3, Nightworld Academy: Winterfall
Expected Release: 2 April


Winterfall Legacy is the third book in the Nightworld Academy: Winterfall series. Other books in the series must be read first.

Now that the group are back together, they have new challenges to face—including finally confronting Gabriella.

But what is the First and how dangerous is she?

And what problems will Dorian Blackwood's involvement create?.













A Crown of Cruel Lies
Lana Pecherczyk
Season of the Elf, Book 8, Fae Guardians
Expected Release: end January in print

Hardcover

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.




The Solace of Sharp Claws
Lana Pecherczyk
Season of the Wolf, Book 2, Fae Guardians
Expected Release: TBA in Hardcover


Sharp claws keep you safe.

That’s the brutal lesson Thorne learned as a young wolf-shifter. Abandoned as a child, singled out by an evil uncle, and then forced to work for the ruthless Order of the Well, Thorne’s anger was a weapon as much as his claws. Now a vicious Fae Guardian, he hunts monsters, the human enemy, and anything that gets in his way. On a mission to find his missing mentor, Thorne finds himself suddenly mated to Laurel, a beautiful, driven, but damaged human awoken from a time long since past. 

A forced marriage is something neither of them want. 

But everything they need.

Spending time with her teaches him that arm’s length might not be a good thing. Learning to love will mean scratching the surface of both their souls, revealing truths more painful than any wound. If he can get past the hurt, the pain, and the pride, Thorne will find a new use for his claws... to bury deep and never let her go. 

But when a dark figure from Laurel's past catches up with her, it's not Thorne's claws in question. It's hers. If he can't stop her from exacting bitter revenge, she'll cost him the safety of his mentor and perhaps trigger a war. If he can learn to put his angry past behind him, open his heart and trust new friends, he just might be rewarded with more than an advantage in their ongoing war. He'll find love.




Moon Rise
D.D. Line
Part 1The Artemis Course
Expected Release: 31 December 


A distant realm. A brewing war. An enemy who lurks in every shadow.

Her mission sounds simple. Unite four university guilds, prepare them for the coming battle–saving their realm and her own–and return home when the war is done. Only for Karisa Euterpe, crossing the realms comes at a price.

Heartbreak has taken on new meaning. Not everyone trusts her. The guilds don’t even trust each other, which makes her quest impossible. There’s every chance she might never return home, and her growing attraction to the most frustrating wizard she’s ever met is another complication she doesn’t need.

Determined to succeed, Karisa sets out to complete the task foretold by her youngest sister but soon realizes she’s out of her depth. The enemy is more powerful than she ever imagined and growing stronger every day. Her heart is torn between her friends and her mission, and everything is shrouded in secrets that threaten to derail her. Then there’s the Artemis Curse… the one thing Karisa can’t escape, no matter which realm she tries to hide in.

Moon Rise is the first book in the 5-part story, The Artemis Curse. Parts one through to four ends on a cliffhanger, with the fifth book concluding the tale. 








Non Spec-Fic


Need You Tonight
Leisl Leighton
Expected Release: 1 April


Not even fame will protect him from her violent past.

Reclusive music producer, Lexi Deningham, has worked hard to escape a violent past, building her reputation so world famous rock stars come to her at her isolated recording studio in the Victorian High Country. That includes the wildly talented Daemon Flagherty who has just arrived to discuss his band's next album. After a messy divorce, all Daemon wants is to focus on his music, even if that means going to the end of the world to work with the best, albeit mysterious, music producer there is.

When Lexi gets a call from her twin sister's secure mental health hospital telling her Cat has been attacked, Lexi has no choice but to bring her twin home. Lexi isn't ready to deal with both Cat and Daemon at the same time but if she wants to work with Daemon - and she does, desperately - she has no choice.

Romance should be the last thing on their minds, but it seems that neither Lexi nor Daemon can ignore the passion between them. Until the threat from Lexi's past comes crashing into the present, determined to make her pay and with no care for who might get in the way. Lexi is used to going it alone, but will she realise she needs help before it's too late?













COVERS

A Relic of Magic & Myrrh
HM Hodgson
Book 2, Three Gifts Trilogy
Expected Release: TBA 






Isadora Smith’s daemon mother left her one gift—the sight of the future—before she sacrificed her human-world life for Isa to live there as a mortal.

When a vision of a missing relic brings Isa into the world of the Templar Knights, she’s determined to prove her gift’s purpose.

Grayson, the icy, dangerous, Templar Knight in charge of the relic of myrrh, has zero time for a civilian on the team—especially the little sister of his best friend. But Isa claims she can control her visions and find the myrrh, so he grudgingly agrees. Because retrieving the dangerous relic is his only priority. Though when their hunt delves deep into LA’s underbelly, the investigation turns deadly, forcing Gray to pretend Isa is his girlfriend to keep her safe.

As the icy Templar shows his sizzling side, Isa can’t get enough of him. But Isa knows that when her secrets unravel, Gray will never want to see her again, so she's determined to make the most of their time together - even if it is make believe.

Except Gray and Isa must work together, because the relic of myrrh and Isa have something in common - if either of them falls into the wrong hands, it could destroy the entire human world.








OTHER


Katrina Coll

Twice Baked
has been reviewed over at N.N. Light's Book Heaven.







Samantha Marshall


Samantha is featured in an Author Spotlight on the ARRA blog (Australian Romance Readers Association). This is in the lead up of A Romantic Rendezvous in February.







D.D. Line

D.D. is featured in an Author Spotlight on the ARRA blog. This is in the lead up of A Romantic Rendezvous in February.








HM Hodgson

HM is featured in an Author Spotlight on the ARRA blog. This is in the lead up of A Romantic Rendezvous in February.


S.E. / Suzanne Gilchrist

Suzanne is part of a multi-author venture with the author name 'JT Sloane'. Check out the list of books on Goodreads.





Lana Pecherczyk

Book 2 of Season of the Wolf books (Fae Guardian series) is now out in German.



All of Lana's audiobooks are now on her website



Leisl Leighton

Leisl is featured in an Author Spotlight on the ARRA blog. This is in the lead up of A Romantic Rendezvous in February.





~~~


Congratulations to our DarkSiders.

Thanks for joining us. Until next week, be safe and well.





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