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 22 August 2023

DarkSider News: August 2023 - Part 2!



   
It's still freezing in this part of the world. 
Rug up with a hot chocolate as you read our news...
For those in the northern hemisphere, we hope you're keeping cool in your summer. 
Grab that iced cold drink as you read our news.... 








AWARDS

ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA
 RUBY AWARDS


1st place
Annie Seaton
Larapinta 
in Contemporary Long category




2nd place
Katrina Coll
Twice Baked
in Contemporary Long category




1st place
Dakota Harrison
Hometown Cowboy 
in Contemporary Short category






ROMANCE WRITERS OF NEW ZEALAND

KORU AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 

Finalist
Dakota Harrison
Hometown Cowboy 
in Short Length



DAPHNE  CLAIRE DE JONG FIRST KISS 

2nd place
K.E. Turner
Wolf's Prize


3rd place
K.E. Turner
Wolf's Keep




GREAT BEGINNINGS

K.E. Turner
Wolf's Prize






EVENTS



Fiction & Friction
Adelaide Convention Centre
30 September 2023


will feature the following DarkSiders:

Helen Walton
Keri Arthur
Khloe Wren
Lilliana Rose
Maggie Rose


Most closing dates are end of August.







Newcastle Book Boyfriend Author Expo
Concert Hall, Newcastle City Hall
20-21 April 2024


will feature the following DarkSiders:

Lilliana Rose
Maggie Rose




Perfectly Published Perth
Perth Town Hall
18 July 2024


will feature DarkSiders:

Keri Arthur
TJ Nichols






NEW RELEASES



Renew
Book 3, Black River Shifters
Angelica Grymm
Released: 12 August


Zac Jones is broken.
He'll never find the love his brothers have.
​Until one freezing night she shows up, desperate ...

Jenni Santos is the first to admit her life has been easy - the golden child of the grandmother who raised her, top of her college class, great internship - life is full of promise. Until she overhears her grandmother selling her off to a total stranger as breeding stock.
Cheetah shifter Zac Jones is broken. With his irreparably damaged shoulder, he'll never be strong enough to protect a mate. He's resigned to having a lonely life living and working at Circus Mirage. Then Jenni buys a ticket and makes him wish for something more.
When Zac discovers stowaway Jenni, half-frozen, hiding onboard one of the circus barges, he promises to help her, even if it means betraying his family
She is his mate, he's sure of it.
But when the barges' engines are tampered with, trapping them in an isolated part of Black River, all evidence points to Jenni. Zac will have to break his promise, even if it means shattering his heart.

Book 3 in the Black River Shifters series features fated mates, no cliff hangers and a guaranteed happy ending.  





To Catch a Fae
Book 1, Winter's Thorn
Mila Young
Released: 8 August in audio


He speaks in my mind. Seductive words, dangerous flirtations, promises to come for me. My dark Lord.

He exists in a deadly realm where war ravages the land. Where monsters roam the forests.

Where I belong, apparently.

In the dead of night, this powerful, sexy fae steals me away to this dark and mystical place where he claims I belong to him, but he isn’t the only one. Two other dark and handsome suitors also want to make me theirs.

They say I’m in danger, that only they can save me.

For I am the key to something important—something I don’t yet understand.

Despite how my body responds to theirs, I fear these brutal lands and that these cruel fae princes might drag me into their madness—and I’ll never escape.

To Catch a Fae, the first book in the Winter’s Thorn series, is full of secrets, danger, and undying love. The sizzling chemistry between the heroine and her three sexy fae men will keep you listening late into the night! Don’t miss this chance to listen to this mesmerizing series!







SilkSpicy Bites Anthology 2023
featuring story: 
Avenging Angel
K.E. Turner
Released: 12 August



From London in the 1820s to wartime in the 1940s and beyond, silk has been a decadent secret between lovers or a sensual slip of precious material covering the promise of heaven.

Enjoy the erotic warmth of a work-roughened hand sliding teasingly, torturously along a bare, silken thigh. Or go on a rendezvous with pure passion and pleasure. But why stop there?

In Romance Writers of Australia's Spicy Bites 2023 anthology, our amazing erotica writers will tempt and tease you. They'll take you to the far reaches of space, through moments in time, and to places where only the angels dare to sing.

This is a collection of heat, passion, the sweetest taboos and the rich decadence you'd expect from the luxury of Silk.

Avenging Angel
Life hasn't been easy for the survivors of the pandemic and the resulting war, but they'd made it this far. Nothing is going to stop them rebuilding this world. So when the angels came, blacked winged and bearing swords not halos, Kyra, like many others joined the resistance to fight yet another battle. When an ambush turns into a trap, getting kidnapped is all that saves her. But she's in more danger than ever when the kidnapper is revealed as the new, sexy resistance fighter Rami. Especially since he seems to have sprouted a magnificent pair of silky black wings?

Rami joined the resistance as just another survivor determined to survive. He lied. He's one of them. An archangel, sent to earth to send all of earth's survivors onto final judgement. Infiltrating them was easy, Leading them into a trap child's play. Watching Kyra die... She'd bewitched him with her fire, her tenacity and her dogged determination to believe things would get better. Breaking every law, risking his halo, he saved her. But now he has her, tied to his bed, what is he going to do with her? And what is she going to do when she finds out he lied?







The Spy's Familiar
Book 11, Sentinel Security
TJ Nichols
Released: 14 August


Captured by a witch as a teen and rescued by the Coven, Orion ‘Tooth’ Templeton vowed he’d make the witch pay. As a Coven agent, he works to ensure no other shifter suffers the way he did.

Now he’s been given the most important mission of his life. Not only will he have the chance to bring down the Shadow Board, but he’ll also exact his revenge.

The job is anything but easy, and it’s only complicated further when he’s paired with two other agents—both of whom are witches. How can he work with the man who is supposed to be his fated mate—and who also happens to be straight and doesn’t want him—and a prince who is keeping secrets and tempts Orion in ways he finds impossible to resist?
Mistakes get made.

When the secrets are spilled and the danger increases, Orion will have to choose who he wants to be…and, more importantly, who he wants to be with…

His fated mate, who doesn’t want to let him walk away, or the prince who can only offer him a place in the shadows, not by his side.

Discover the world of the Familiar Mates mm fated mates paranormal romance series. The Spy’s Familiar has a snarly Komodo dragon shifter, a jaded spy who'd give up the job for the right person, and a prince who might one day make a good agent. There is no MMM and no cheating.

Each book in the Familiar Mates series has a new couple and a HEA/HFN.







Wolf Soul
Book 3, Outpack Pack
TJ Nichols
Released: 14 August in audio


For the last couple of years, Kyle Ashfield’s friends have used his rural property as a place to gather and run beyond the territory of the official wolf packs. But now, their numbers have attracted attention, and some packs are not happy that a bunch of outcast wolves are living so freely.

Cooper Badr is a leopard shifter and the Coven agent tasked with interviewing and investigating the pack so the Coven can make an informed decision about its future. He’s supposed to be impartial, but around Kyle, he wants to do other things than talk.

Will Coven grant the pack of gay wolf shifters territory, or will they be shut down and banned from running together?

Wolf Soul is a steamy, gay opposites attract, age gap romance between a wolf who should know better and a leopard who has to learn to fight for what he wants.








Knighthunter
Book 2, Oronis Knights
Anna Hackett
Released: 27 July


 To save his soul, he’ll have to fix his one regret—the love that got away.

The summer between the end of school and the start of what came next was full of sun, surf, and sex. For Will McLeod, that meant Tom, his first male lover. He knew the romance had an expiration date and would end when Tom joined the Army, but that didn’t stop Will from falling in love.

Tired of being looked down upon for being poor, Will became a lawyer—but not just any lawyer. He litigates for the gods as they gamble with the lives of those desperate enough to make deals. His job is to make sure they don’t slip free. He has more money than he knows what to do with, but he’s fast running out of soul.

Twenty-five years haven’t dimmed the candle Will holds for Tom, and when they meet again, he has a chance to put things right. Back then, Tom wasn’t ready to fight for them. Now the decorated soldier is willing to get his hands dirty, but will he be a match for the forces trying to keep them apart?





Knightmaster
Book 1, Oronis Knights
Anna Hackett
Released: 10 August in audio


She was sent to forge an alliance with the deadly Oronis knights…and instead finds herself framed for abducting their queen.

Xenoanthropologist Kennedy Black loves exploring new cultures with Space Corps. Everyone in her life has left her, so she happily fills the void with exciting adventures. When she’s assigned to escort the new ambassador to the planet Oron for an opulent ball, she’s thrilled to get an up-close look at the Oronis knights and their culture of honor and duty to their knightqueen. But she never expected her reaction to cool, controlled Knightmaster Ashtin Caydor, head of the Oronis Knightforce.

And she really didn’t expect a savage alien attack that leaves the knightqueen missing and Earth fingered as the culprit.

Knightmaster Ashtin Caydor lives to protect his planet, his people, and his knightqueen. He came from nothing, and the code of knighthood is the cornerstone of his being. When Knightqueen Carys is abducted by their mortal enemies, the ferocious Gek’Dragar, he’s icily enraged, especially when he finds evidence that Earth, and the far too enticing Sub-Captain Kennedy Black, are involved.

But Kennedy vows to clear Earth’s name by helping Ashtin and his knights find the queen. As she and Ashtin embark on a risky mission to a dangerous jungle planet, they’re forced to rely on each other, and their sizzling chemistry is soon undeniable. But love can’t be an option, not for a knight bound only to his duty, and a woman whose heart already has too many scars.



Rogue Wolf
 Book 3, Protector of the Wolf Shifter
Lilliana Rose
Released: 11 August


Can human Tamaska become a wolf shifter?

If Tamaska wants to survive being hunted by vampires she must transformed into a wolf shifter.

But will Kodiak allow her to become like him?





Redeem Me (Single Mom Psychic Romance
Maggie Rose
Released: 6 July


Beth is a widowed single mom and Greg is an ex-con. They both have secrets that could bring them together or destroy them. Others are watching and could save or kill them.

These two lost souls have a random night of sex together. Nine months later they meet again — this time, Beth is giving birth to their son.

Everything changes in his world when Greg holds Josh, but this isn’t real, and they're not married, or a happy family. Plus there are ghosts from the past who won't leave them alone. Greg can offer money, but can’t offer love.

Their relationship should be doomed, but sometimes the most unlikely of partners bring out the best in each other... if they can only stay alive.







Non spec-fic


An Augathella Surprise
Annie Seaton
Book 1, Augathella Short and Sweet
Released: 31 July

.

When Jenna Wilson heads out to Augathella to start a new business venture with her friend, Alana Rickman, the last person she expects to meet is a long-lost relative who appears to be the town drunk.

Old Reg wants nothing to do with the newcomer who's bought his house. Silly girl is going to start up a business doomed to fail.

Will family relationships mend as Reg and Jenna get to know each other?


Ebook

Print





A Summer in Tuscany
Annie Seaton
Released: 16 August


Gia Carelli is a talented artist who works in the family restaurant in Tuscany and dreams of a life where her strict parents allow her to move to Florence to pursue the art she lives and breathes. The expectation that she will marry a local boy and raise a horde of bambini, as the rest of her siblings have done, is one she fights to no avail.

When a gorgeous, wealthy stranger visits their village, Gia wonders if maybe her stars are about to change.

Nic Baldini has returned to his villa for a much-needed summer break away from the responsibilities of his dominating family. The joy and sadness of Gia’s paintings touch his soul; her raw talent and passion eclipse the art he has always dabbled in.

In order to gain Gia’s trust, Nic lies about his identity so he can assist her to organise an exhibition. As their patron-protegée relationship is quickly overtaken by desire, Nic realizes that one tiny lie could cost him the woman he's falling for. Will their intense attraction to each other allow their love to grow, or will the lies and deceit prevent a happy ever after?








Saving Scout
Khloe Wren
Book 5, Charon MC
Released: 27 July in audio


Nothing worthwhile in life ever comes fast or easy.

Twenty-five years after she first met the Charon MC’s president, Scout, Marie is still waiting for him to realize they’re meant to be together. But instead, he comes to her asking that she hire his ex. Frustrated with his continued rejection, she leaves town for the weekend to clear her head and maybe find a man who’ll help her forget her infatuation.

When Scout first met Marie, she was way too young, and he hadn’t been looking to settle down. Over the years, he’d never bothered to rethink his stance. When he learns Marie has fled town, he panics and realizes he needs to step up and claim what has always been his. Tracking her down, he approaches her at her hotel and the sparks finally fly.

But before they can ride off into the sunset, trouble brews and Scout is taken by an enemy from their past that neither of them had expected. Can they overcome this latest hurdle to finally find their happily ever after? Or are they doomed to always be apart?


Buy










PRE-ORDERS



Their Pretty Little Monster
Book 1, Monsters Night
Mila Young 
Expected Release: 1 June 2024



Monsters ate my blurb...









Mark Me
Book 4, Immortal Vices and Virtues: 
Her Monstrous Mates
Mila Young
multi-author series
Expected Release: 30 August 


I’m marked…but I won’t be tamed.

Loss has scarred my life. I’ve trained relentlessly, endured unimaginable pain for one goal—to face the beast who watched me, who came for me. But took my family instead.

There’s nothing I won’t do for vengeance.

Until three sinful and unhinged monsters find me, emerging from the shadows with sharp teeth, and with claws that could pull apart my life as easily as they do the buttons on my dress.

They think they can break me... Absurd.

Yet I’m caught in their twisted war in a world in ruins and fraying at the edges. They won’t leave me alone, insisting I belong to them. That they’ll make me irrevocably theirs.

Resisting the fantasies they promise grows harder with every passing day, and it scares me how easily I’ve started thinking of them as my own monsters.

But I remind myself I obey no one. Especially when I’m starting to suspect that they had a hand to play in my family’s death.

They aren’t the first monsters I’ve faced. They’ll most certainly be the last…

Author’s Note: Mark Me is a steamy, shifter romance with darker themes, enemies to lovers tension, three possessive and cocky aIphahoIes, a tough and sassy heroine who refuses to choose just one man. Dive in and enjoy this standalone book.







Wild Forever
Book 4, Real Wolves Bite
Mila Young and C.R. Jane
Expected Release: 24 August 


The final book of the Real Wolves Bite Series.

Real Wolves Bite Series
Wild Moon
Wild Heart
Wild Girl
Wild Love
Wild Soul
Wild Kiss
Wild Forever






Phoenix Spy
Book 1, Brothers of Fire
TJ Nichols
Expected Release: 28 October


Set in the same world as the Familiar Mates series but following the royal phoenix shifters of Mont de Leucoy. 

Many deaths ago phoenix shifter Dalmon Vecker created the Coven, and once again he is running it instead of being king or heir or any of the other roles he has played to safeguard the secrets he and his brothers keep. Now the Coven is under threat as some want to expose shifters to humans.








Killer's Kiss
Book 11, Lizzie Grace
Keri Arthur
Expected Release: 31 October


An ancient vampire has returned to Castle Rock, and with her comes an even older evil intent on revenge…


Links for Kobo and Google play will appear once the book has been completed and fully edited.







Shield of Fire
Book 4, Relic Hunters
Keri Arthur
Expected Release: 19 March 2024


A new relic, a new threat...

This book is currently available for pre-order on Apple, Amazon, and Nook. Kobo & Google Play will be added once the proofreading has been finished.







Dark Moon Secrets
Book 1, Witch Moon
Lilliana Rose
Expected Release: 16 November


Chosen for a life she doesn’t want, Tanjie is been thrown into a magical world she never knew existed. She’s got powers that need to be controlled before she hurts someone.

Managing a store which is a cover for those who aren’t human. She’s the hope for the future.

Tanjie must learn quickly otherwise her mistakes will cost her life.






Claiming the Fae Crown
Monster Brides
Lilliana Rose
 Multi author series
Expected Release: 15 November


Elfyda must end a war against the fae enemy.

Elfyda isn’t about to stay in the castle and be betrothed to a fae male. Escaping during her brother’s coronation, she goes to the human realm ready for adventure. She finds so much more, especially with Ryker. Elfyda has the freedom she always wanted, and a life she can live as her own.

When fae guards find her, to take her home, she can’t refuse them. War has broken out, the Formorians have come to destroy the fae. As the last remaining princess of the royal bloodline which is strong in the fae magic, she is their only hope.

Problem is, she’s married to Ryker, and as human he will never be accepted. If Ryker comes back with her he could be killed.

Can Elfyda find a way for Ryker to be accepted and claim the fae crown?









Non Spec-Fic




An Augathella Baby
Annie Seaton
Book 2, Augathella Short and Sweet
Expected Release: 30 September



Sophie Mason learned to fend for herself in an abusive relationship; she recovered and married her one-time love, but her self-confidence is not what it seems. Her husband, Kent, wants to start a family but doesn't tell Sophie the real reason he is keen to try for their first child. Sophie's excuse is that she is busy helping her sister-in-law, Callie Cartwright, with the new twins and their three older brothers.

Will each of them share the truth with the other, or is the misunderstanding enough to threaten their marriage?

Ebook

Print






Love is in the Air: 
a limited edition second chance 
romance collection
contains story by
Helen Walton
Expected Release: 5 September (updated)


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!











FREE / SALES


Wedded Bliss
teaser anthology of Monster Brides 
with story excerpt by
Lilliana Rose
Free for a limited time!


Monstrous grooms and beastly brides? Don't be afraid of falling in love... it's super-natural! Explore the entire Monster Brides series, one tantalizing happily-ever-after at a time!

Discover a delicious tasting menu that highlights the upcoming release of the Monster Brides Romance series! You'll find sweet to steamy paranormal romances with every kind of monster in this multi-author series. Sample ten romance teasers that will leave you tingling!

By downloading this free copy and providing your email address, you agree to be contacted by the authors of this anthology:


Haunted Hearts: A Monster Brides Romance by S.C. Principale
Ripples for Skies: A Monster Brides Romance by Teshelle Combs
As the Tide Turns: A Monster Brides Romance by Grace Mirchandani
Betrothed to the Yeti: A Monster Brides Romance by Marilyn Barr
Claiming the Fae Crown: A Monster Brides Romance by Lilliana Rose
A Wolf's Bargain: A Monster Brides Romance by Rachel Abernathy
Phoenix's Eternal Flame: A Monster Brides Romance by Raven Hush
To Marry a Succubus: A Monster Brides Romance by Roslyn St. Clair
Tide to the Selkie: A Monster Brides Romance by Serafina Jax
Kraken's Vow: A Monster Brides Romance by Raven Hush






Spirit of Christmas
Mila Young
On Sale at Kobo for a limited time!


On Leven, on Jax, on Tatum, and Nickie! Getting three Reindeer shifters under the Christmas tree may be Nickie’s reward for being a good girl.

The only Christmas spirit Nickie has is what she makes in her boutique distillery. But on a last-minute delivery, she runs into three buff bucks who believe she’s the key to finding the missing Santa Claus and saving Christmas.

Working with this new team of reindeer shifters, Nickie must outwit Krampus and fight off his wicked helpers while tracking down where he’s hiding Kris Kringle. But the more time she spends with the svelte shifters, the more she’s drawn to them.

When Krampus takes her sister too, Nickie and the sexy stags must risk everything to save the little girl. Which for Nickie just might include losing her heart to the hunky harts.






Her Love Submission
Book 4, Billionares' Reluctant Brides
Helen Walton
On Sale for a limited time!


The path to love is in the pleasure and pain.

Zara Fuller had her life mapped out until one passionate night at her sister’s wedding with the best man leaves her pregnant, unemployed, and moving to a new state. She never thought she’d see Callan again.
Billionaire Callan McBride has only ever wanted a family. Money and possessions don’t satisfy his needs. And he has intense needs in the bedroom. He likes to dominate and have the woman submit to him. His one night with Zara will never be enough.

When he learns she’s pregnant with his child, he’ll do anything to keep her in his life. Even convince her to marry him. Zara’s submission might be what he wants, but her love could be the very thing to break through the secrets of his past.

Or it might tear them apart.









 OTHER



Christina Phillips

Christina now has a store direct on her website.



Christina will also be releasing special paperback editions of The Druid Chronicles though Kickstarter for the 13th anniversary of its first release! 




Helen Walton

Helen was a Guest Blogger on the ARRA blog.





Annie Seaton

You can now get ebooks straight from Annie in her store as well as signed paperback copies for those in Australia




Khloe Wren

Breaking Arrow (Book 13, Charon MC) is now available in German.


~~~


Congratulations to our DarkSiders.

Thanks for joining us. Until next time, happy reading. Be safe and well.



1 comment:

  1. Goodness! Such achievements this month. Kudos to all the hard work you have put in. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete

check out all our books on our dsdu-books shelf:
DarkSide DownUnder's book lists (dsdu-books shelf)