Welcome to the first news issue of 2023.
We start off the year with a bang!
Let's start by giving our
Congratulations
to Donna Maree Hanson
for achieving her PhD.
She's now Dr Donna!
NEW RELEASES
Ghost of a Chance in Love
M.L. Tompsett
Book 3, Second Chance at Love
Expected Release: 2 January
As a teenager, her life changed forever.
Her parents were murdered, and she was taken into protective custody.
Started a new life, a new name, new family and gained a new sister with interesting skills and abilities.
As an adult, Laini Raiker is highly sought after as the editor and reporter for a popular international women’s magazine.
Laini was happy. Had everything in her life. A husband she loves and adores. A precious daughter and to complete their family a baby on the way until the day she woke up in the hospital looking down at her unconscious body.
With missing memories, Laini is relieved when her sister Essy can see her ghostly form and together they work to discover how Laini ended up in hospital.
The only thing–Essy knows Jaxton was in the car with Laini when everything went wrong. Even though the evidence is pointing, Jaxton is with his mistress. Nothing is making sense. Jaxton loves Laini and his daughter.
Time is of the essence. Can Laini discover the truth in time to locate Jaxton and be reunited with her body? Or is history repeating itself and the ones who killed her birth parents are now after her and the ones she loves?
A newborn baby cries for his parents. Hearts shatter and lives are on the line.
Who can you trust?
Awakening
Donna Maree Hanson
Book 1, Colony Five
Released: 30 November
Bring out the cold soldiers who lie in frozen sleep.
Do not wake them nor let their tranquil faces beguile.
They are purveyors of death.
They must burn!
What soldiers? Colony Five has been proudly peaceful since before living memory.
The cryptic new orders make no sense to Deleen Milo... until she sees the burning bodies in the stasis sarcophagi. She tries to uncover the truth behind the mysterious soldiers, only to become adrift in a colony suddenly full of secrets and threats. Who wants the soldiers destroyed and the colony defenceless?
Pursued into hiding, Deleen manages to revive Rik Chesson, a Cold Soldier trying to understand the new world waiting for him after 134 years of cryosleep. Deleen has never trusted easily, and Rik's nanotech-infused posthuman form sets her nerves on edge. But they are the only ones who can rescue the surviving Cold Soldiers and defend the colony against a deadly new threat. They have to work together, and as they begin to truly know one another Deleen realises that however Rik's body may have changed, the man inside might just be one she can love...
Monsters and Mistletoe anthology
contains story by
Kyla Quinn
Released: 1 December
Hot chocolate, snowflakes, jingling bells, and… monsters?
That’s what Christmas has in store for you this year!
Add a little spice to your holiday festivities by diving into this collection of monster-loving heroines who find love in the most unusual of places.
Fae's Wolf
Helen Walton
Book 2, Fated Mates of the Fae Royals
Released: 3 January
Two hearts, one fate… their love forbidden by all.
Fae princess Saoirse has one mission. Save the Summer Court’s dwindling Spring of Life. For if the spring ceases, so does their immortality. After the atrocities of the Trappers, the Fae King, her father, sealed the veil separating Earth and the Summer Court. Unbeknownst to him, her royal powers work on the lock and she passes between the two realms, searching for a cure.
That, and to avoid other Fae while she’s in heat.
After battling wildfires, wolf shifter, Arrow returns to his small hometown. He never expected to scent his fated mate, and a rare Fae at that. One whiff of her scent, one look into her eyes, one touch of her body, and he’s overwhelmed by the urge to mark her. Claim her.
Claiming Saoirse as his mate doesn’t mean she’ll accept him or his wolf. Nor does it mean his pack will accept her.
As a fire consumes all in its path, Saoirse faces revealing her secret powers to save the wolf shifters and risking the wrath of the Fae King. Will this convince the shifters and the Fae to work together? Or will the two realms forbid their mating forever?
The Summer Court is a fantasy romance series featuring powerful Fae royals who find their fated mates on their quest to save the Fae. Perfect for fans of portal worlds, intrigue, suspense, heartfelt emotions, explosive chemistry, love, and happily ever after.
Shadow Wolf
Lilliana Rose
Book 1, Protector Wolf Shifter
Released: 2 December in paperback
Ebook expected to be released 24 February
Can a wolf shifter who hates humans and a human who is afraid of dogs work together to save both their asses?
If Tamaska wants to advance her career, she must sell the Blood Opal to the highest bigger…but when the precious gem is stolen in front of everyone, her career ends up in jeopardy altogether.
The prime suspect? Zodiak, a security guard from Shadow Protection—assigned as a last minute change—and someone Tamaska isn’t keen to trust.
But Zodiak is adamant about his innocence and believes the culprit is a vampire. He claims he wants to help, but Tamaska isn’t having it…until an effort to recover the stone from a dangerous visit to a nightclub leaves her life hanging in the balance.
Now, if she wants to escape she’ll have to accept the shifter’s help…and hope he doesn’t end up killing her chances of getting out alive.
Fans of Twilight, Shadow Hunters, and The Winx Saga will devour Lilliana Rose’s world of unexpected adventure and dark imagination.
The Frost Prince
Cassie Laelyn
Short Story
Released: 9 December
From International Bestselling Author, Cassie Laelyn, comes a fun and frosty Jack Frost short story that will leave you melting!
Jace Frost balances on an icy peak. One wrong slip will extinguish his powers forever, thrusting the world into endless winter. With countless deaths already on his hands, it’s a risk he won’t take…until he finds an injured woman caught in a snowstorm.
Unable to walk away, he uses the last of his magic to save her. Only, as she recovers in his castle, her bright, intoxicating glow invades his thoughts, thawing more than his magic.
But as their connection intensifies, so does the storm descending around them. Now, Jace must open his heart to summer…before winter claims them both.
Tempt Me
contains stories by
Kristin Silk
Released: 6 January
Indulge your wildest fantasies with this steamy romance anthology. Dive into paranormal, and fantasy realms, immerse yourself in contemporary and historical worlds. Fall for an underworld god, make a deal with the Angel of Death, get sexy with a satyr and be voracious with a vampire. (F/M,/M/M, and F/F). There's something to satisfy every craving in this selection of short stories from three award-winning authors of erotic romance.
Let the temptation begin…
Content warning: These romantic short stories contain explicit sexual content and are not suitable for young readers.
Non spec-fic
The Sheikh's Defiant Princess
Mel Teshco
Book 5, Desert Kings Alliance
Released: 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?
Taken by the Desert Sheikh
Cathleen Ross, Mel Teshco and Christina Phillips
Released: 24 November in paperback format
Three Sheikh brothers, three virgin brides...
The Grand Vizier has a plan to save Qutum...To prevent a war...three royal brothers must wed
Stolen by the Sheikh by Cathleen Ross
London interior designer, Lilly Jones has the perfect job. When she lands an account to do up a mansion in Kensington and an old fort in Qutum, she can't believe her luck. What she doesn't know is that she is the piece of the puzzle that will prevent a war. When the commanding and sexy Sheikh Jamal El-Amin pays her bridal price, Lilly refuses to believe it means they are married, but it is legal in Qutum. Lilly must decide to escape or stay.
The Sheikh’s Rebel by Mel Teshco
As the daughter of an indulgent sheikh, Amber Al-Fayed has had everything her heart desires, including a western education. But her perfect life is shattered when insurgents try to overthrow her country, killing Amber’s mother in a mortar attack and forcing Amber and her father into battle. Now Amber will do anything she can to reclaim control…even if that means marrying Zafar El-Amin, a wealthy and formidable neighboring sheikh. Except Zafar isn’t quite as separated from the conflict as she believes.
The Sheikh's Reluctant Princess by Christina Phillips
He claimed her body, but can he capture her heart?
The last thing Tariq El-Amin wants to do is marry, but duty is everything and his country requires an heir. A political marriage is all he expects--until he hunts down his unwilling bride and duty becomes pleasure. But he soon discovers Princess Sofia has no intention of being a meek and obedient wife, and Tariq must make a tough choice if he wants to win the heart of his reluctant princess.
Finish Line
Juanita Kees
Book 1, Winner Takes All
Released: 16 December
In his embrace she could forget the shattered dreams that lay around her, but could she forgive him for breaking her heart?
Branded a race cheat, NASCAR race driver, Isadora de la Cruz, goes undercover as a personal assistant to the CEO of a San Francisco race wear franchise, Fit to Race. She has her career and reputation to salvage, and revenge on her mind. But when a favor for the boss blurs the line between employer and employee, proving her innocence buys her more trouble than she bargained for.
Carmelo Iannello is about to release a range of race wear that will set the international race scene on fire. He should be excited, but the recent cheating scandal by his NASCAR team has him on edge. He can no longer trust anyone, except maybe his quiet, steady, reliable personal assistant. Yet even the most innocent faces can hide a plethora of lies.
Victory is bittersweet when the winner takes all.
Buy
| Amazon | Other Retailers |
Striker
Anna Hackett
Book 3, Sentinel Security
Released: 20 December
He’s a hot British billionaire.
The rich, muscled, former special forces soldier.
He’s a temptation she doesn’t want and can’t afford, but now she’s working undercover in his company to catch a rogue arms dealer.
Former MI6 agent Hadley “Striker” Lockwood found a new life in New York working for Sentinel Security. Her work fills a tired, jaded hole inside her. Life is just how she likes it, and she definitely has no desire for a man to mess that up.
When her next assignment sends her back to London to hunt a dangerous arms dealer, she finds herself not only face to face with a darkly tempting billionaire, but going undercover as his newest employee.
Bennett Knightley left the SAS with dark scars scratched on his soul and a determination to help in different ways. His successful company Secura makes high-tech gear for soldiers around the world, but now it’s under attack. Shipments are going missing, and his people are being targeted.
Enter Hadley—intelligent, stubborn, beautiful, and with walls a mile thick. Bennett’s never been tempted to mix business and pleasure, but with Hadley in the office he’s torn between their mission and claiming the maddening woman for himself.
As Hadley and Bennett close in on their enemy, they fight hard against their overwhelming attraction. She’s been burned before but the hot billionaire is getting under her skin. With Hadley, Bennett feels parts of himself coming back to life—now he has to not only convince her to trust him, but convince himself he deserves her.
Hades
Anna Hackett
Book 2, Sentinel Security
Released: 12 December in audio format
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.
PRE-ORDERS
Nero
Mel Teshco
Book 1, Alien Fugitives
Expected Release: 31 January
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
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 |
Japser
Mel Teshco
Book 3, Alien Fugitives
Expected Release: 1 July
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 |
Fae's Alpha
Helen Walton
Book 3, Fated Mates of the Fae Royals
Expected Release: 3 March
Past hurts. Present secrets. Future of the fated.
As the eldest of the Fae princesses, Briana’s tragic past holds her captive with fear and regrets, but with her younger sister missing from the Summer Court, and her family at odds, she’s determined to find her. Leaving the safety of the Fae Kingdom for Earth, she finds more than she bargained for.
Next in line to the alpha wolf pack title, Sledge knew the Fae woman who walked into his arms from a tree of all things was his fated mate. But the woman has more walls around her than a city and denies what they both felt the moment they set eyes on each other. The moment they touched lips.
Forced to spend time together, Briana battles against their fate and Sledge’s charms. When someone attacks the alpha, Sledge has more pressing concerns with the wolf pack. Can they work together to find the culprit? Or will this new threat tear them apart before they’ve even begun?
The Summer Court is a fantasy romance series featuring powerful Fae royals who find their fated mates on their quest to save the Fae. Perfect for fans of portal worlds, intrigue, suspense, heartfelt emotions, explosive chemistry, love, and happily ever after.
Non Spec-Fic
The Sheikh's Fake Fiancee
Mel Teshco
Book 6, Desert Kings Alliance
Expected Release: 31 March
She’s an outcast. He’s a newly appointed sheikh. It can’t possibly work—can it?
Zania Akhtar has only one regret in life: falling for the smooth lies and seduction of an older man, the same man her once best friend and Sheikha of Imbranak imagined herself in love with. Now Zania is scorned by her friends and strangers alike, and with no money and apparently even less values, she has no one to turn to—until Sheikh Kain Al Hadi of Dumak, proposes an idea to her.
Sheikh Kain is in a dilemma. Not only is his beloved widowed mother desperate for him to marry and create heirs to the throne, he can’t keep his eyes off a young and beautiful commoner whose reputation is in absolute tatters. There is only one thing for it—a fake engagement. It will restore Zania’s reputation while getting his mother off his back about marriage and babies. Then once the dust settles, his libido is quenched and her mother realizes her mistake, he and Zania can go their separate ways.
But things don’t always go according to plan.
The Sheikh's Royal Widow
Mel Teshco
Book 7, Desert Kings Alliance
Expected Release: 30 September
He’s running from the past. She’s afraid to face the future. Can they create a perfect today?
Princess Takisha Hakim never thought she’d desire another man again. Not after Sheikh Fayez’s rejection, and certainly not after her sick and depraved marriage to Sheikh Arif. She’s learned the hard way that wealth and power comes at a cost and accepts she doesn’t deserve to be loved. Then she sees gardener, Akeem Al-Jalal, and all her doubts fade away. Perhaps a commoner is just what she needs?
Akeem enjoys his simple life as a gardener. For the most part, hard, physical labor drowns out the memories of his past and helps him to forget about his family and the brutal war that made him the hero he never wanted to be. He might have been a killer in the past, but nurturing plants soothes his black soul. A pity his life gets complicated the moment the princess begins to take a personal interest.
He doesn’t belong in her world anymore…does he?
Covers by Eleni Konstantine's alter ego, HelzKat Designs.
Bought at Auction
Mel Teshco
Book 2, Bachelor Brothers of Sydney
Expected Release: 31 March
If losing each other the first time was devastating, leaving the second time might prove impossible.
Aiden Black decided the moment he lost his parents at sixteen that loving someone meant losing them too. Now he enjoys his one night stands and the notoriety of being a love ‘em and leave ‘em playboy. As long as the women he sleeps with understand the rules, he’s fine with that. Then his old school crush takes part in the nightclub auction and he can’t resist bidding and winning her for the night. After all, he was on the cusp of admitting his feelings for her before his parents’ deaths put an end to it all, it’s now beyond time he expels her from his past for good.
Luna Morgan never got over the hurt and betrayal of Aiden turning his back on her at the tender age of sixteen. All these years later she’ll do whatever it takes to reignite his interest before she gets to be the one who leaves him this time. But will spending one incredible night with her flame from the past be enough to douse her feelings, or will it reignite them hotter than ever?
Love is in the Air:
a limited edition second chance
romance collection
contains story by
Helen Walton
Expected Release: 8 August 2023
Sometimes we don't get it right the first time around. That's why life gives us second chances.
This limited edition romance collection features 20+ stories of hope, happy ever afters, and the second chances it took to get there.
In this collection you will find stories of second chances at love and life as our heroes and heroines embark on life changing journeys, whether changing careers or moving half way across the globe.
What second chance have you been longing for? These stories just might inspire you to go out there and grab it.
About the collection:
All NET Author proceeds are being pledged to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the highest rated breast cancer organization in the United States and largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide.
The organizer of this collection, Mandy Melanson of Amaryllis Media, LLC, watched her aunt go through diagnosis, treatment, remission, then it returned as Stage 4. It was in that moment she watched her aunt refuse additional treatment because it made her so sick she felt the alternative was a better choice for her and she resigned herself to her diagnosis.
It is our collective hope no one will ever have to feel that way again. That is why she's brought together these 20+ romance authors, who build their careers on hope and happy ever afters, to write this collection of second chances.
Our mission, as the participating authors in this collection, is to use our voices to help BCRF in their mission to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the world's most promising research.
Scroll up now and claim your copy of this collection to help us make a difference in other people's lives!
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?
ON SALE
How the Grinch Lusted After Santa
Helen Walton
Book 1, Hollywood Hearts
is currently 99c
What happens in the play doesn’t always stay in the play.
Acting as Santa in the annual Christmas play isn’t every woman’s dream part, but it is for Candy because every year she gets to kiss the Grinch aka Devin Meyer or Mr. Hotness, as she calls him. And the man she’s secretly in love with.
But for the last four years Devin has been engaged to someone else, so feelings and stage kisses aside, it can only ever be acting.
Being the Grinch in his hometown play is one of Devin’s favorite roles because he gets to act opposite Candy Kane, the sexy Santa whose stage kisses dazzle him.
And this year he’s single.
Maybe there’s more to their kisses than acting?
How The Grinch Lusted After Santa is an unrequited love, friends to lovers, small town, Christmas romance short story in the Hollywood Hearts series of short holiday romances stories featuring actors and their co-stars.
Forbidden
Christina Phillips
Book 1, The Druid Chronicles
now free!
Between a warrior and a princess comes an all-consuming love that transcends the hatred between their warring worlds…
Determined to do whatever she can to rid her beloved land of the barbarian Romans, Carys, a druid acolyte, defies the order of her High Priest to remain within their safe enclave. She escapes to help her oppressed people, only to be captured by a dangerous, battle-scarred centurion.
Charged by his emperor to eliminate the powerful Druids in Britain, Maximus doesn’t expect his mission to be thwarted by the clan’s ethereal princess, Carys. Unaware of her true heritage, he’s enchanted by her beauty and intrigued by her bravery, and while he wants nothing more than to protect her, he reluctantly releases her.
Shaken by the encounter, Carys can’t forget the fearless warrior and is convinced her beloved goddess brought Maximus to her for a reason. Although he’s the enemy of her people she can’t stay away, but their clandestine assignations threaten more than their lives.
As Carys’ loyalties are twisted, and freedom is no longer her single-minded obsession, the avenging High Druid plans to crush Maximus’ people into oblivion. With time running out, Carys and Maximus must overcome the devastation of war and face the ultimate sacrifice if their forbidden love is to survive.
Forbidden was previously published by Penguin US.
OTHER
Christina Phillips
M.L. Tompsett
Leisl Leighton
Helen Walton
Kristin Silk
DarkSide DownUnder
~~~
Congratulations to our DarkSiders.
Thanks for joining us. Until next week, be safe and well.
No comments:
Post a Comment