Books, Tea and Magic

Re-posted from A Pilgrim in Narnia  - Brenton Dickieson

According to legend, tea was discovered by Emperor Shen Nong quite by accident. While boiling water in the garden, a leaf from an overhanging wild tea tree drifted into his pot, and the rest is history. Since then, tea has appeared in literature throughout the ages.

It even shows up in genre fiction, a cultural appropriation from Great Britan who borrowed it first from China. Just think of authors like Lewis Carrol and his mad tea party, Jane Austin and the Bronte Sisters, CS Lewis, Tolkien... Kim Wilson writes about it in depth in her book, Tea with Jane Austen:

DC's Harley Quinn takes a cup of tea, no doubt right before kicking arse and taking names! Giffy from The Suicide Squad.

Tea in the Austen novels:

At the center of almost every social situation in (Austen's) novels one finds—tea. In “Emma,” does Miss Bates drink coffee? Of course not: “No coffee, I thank you, for me—never take coffee—a little tea if you please.” In “Sense and Sensibility,” what is everyone drinking when Elinor notices Edward’s mysterious ring set with a lock of hair? Tea, of course. And in “Pride and Prejudice,” what is one of the supreme honors Mr. Collins can envision Lady Catherine bestowing on Elizabeth Bennet and her friends? Why, drinking tea with her, naturally...

From Winnie the Pooh to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Rings to Queen of the Damned, the ritual of tea, or perhaps it's potentially magical and even lethal qualities, finds its way into the pages. 

And I've done it myself! In the world of Amassia, we meet the young green-robe savant who raises a warrior phantom, a sun leopard to be exact, and also loves Ochee Tea. What's the attraction? Why not find out for yourself?

My cats are a great help when organizing giveaways in the past!

As part of a giveaway swag for pre-orders of Crown of Bones, Entangled Teen and I are giving away packets of Ochee tea and other cool things. This is the real deal, made by Revenscraft Tea and Magic in Australia, to my specifications. Straight from the pages of the book!

     
     “I have camping and cooking gear.” Belair shrugs.

 “And some food. But most importantly, I brought a full bag of Ochee.”

     I stare at him blankly. “What’s that?”

     “Tangeen spiced tea, of course.” He rubs his chin.  “Don’t say 

you’ve never tasted it.” 

Pre-order Crown of Bones before the release date, Jan 5, 2021, and we'll send you cool swag!

This offer is for the hardback copy only and sent worldwide, for free.

Go here for details on how to pre-order and request your goodies!

Meanwhile, happy solstice, holiday season and New Year! See you on the other side!

xxKim

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About Kim Falconer, Currently Writing As AK Wilder:

Kim Falconer, currently writing as A K Wilder, can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Or pop over to throw the bones or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site.

Reader's Report: "The Gossamer Mage" by Julie Czerneda

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"The world, the magic, the mystery, not to mention a cast of very real characters  -- distinctive and original, THE GOSSAMER MAGE wove a spell that kept me reading well past 'lights-out.' "

~ Gemmell Award-winner, Helen Lowe

When you're asked to read a fellow author's work with a view to a cover blurb, it's a pretty big deal. Firstly, because it's an honour to be asked. Secondly, because you have to feel you can make the time to do the work and the reading justice. And thirdly – hauntingly! – because there's always that secret fear that even if you've enjoyed every other book by the particular author, what if you don't like this one?

As the quote featured above tells you, however, this third fear did not come to pass with The Gossamer Mage by Canadian author, Julie Czerneda. In fact, I would say it was quite the opposite – and although the quote does encapsulate my opinion of The Gossamer Mage, which is about to be released on 6 August, I would like to expand on it a little today.

I've said that I found the book "distinctive and original", and since those are pretty big words for any work of Fantasy, which is so deeply grounded in myth, fairytale, legend, and history, I'd like to focus on what made me feel that way about The Gossamer Mage.

This is a book by Julie Czerneda I'm talking about, so of course the worldbuilding is going to be masterly and the characters interesting. As a reader, I also had a reasonable expectation that I could rely on the plot to hold together. In my view, though, it's the magic system that binds all these elements into a cohesive whole and lifts The Gossamer Mage into that category of the distinctive and fresh.

If I were to play devil's advocate to myself, I could then point to elements of the magic system that one might find in other stories. For example, Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea may have cemented the importance of equilibrium to the magic of the Archipelago, but many fantasy stories deal with the ideas of the need for limitations on magic and a cost being exacted by its use. The price (or prices, because there is more than one depending on who in the society wields the magic) exacted in The Gossamer Mage is not one I have encountered before, however, and I particularly liked the way it pervaded every aspect of the magic and the world. I thought the magic system was very well thought through in that respect.

As the pen on the cover suggests, the magic practiced by the male mages, and in a different form by the Hold Daughters and their Designates – yes, this is a gender-differentiated magic system, but no, not in the way one might necessarily expect – is one based on language. And in the case of the mages, the spellcasting is written. Again, one could point to the poets of Daniel Abraham's Long Price quartet, or Blake Charlton's Spellwright trilogy, for broadly similar concepts of magic – but the way the concept of written intentions works in The Gossamer Mage, and the way in which it ends being bound into a far larger notion of magic, bearing both on the protagonists within this story and their world, is distinct unto itself.

And I really liked the way what I thought was the story, exactly like the magic system, opened out into something far larger.

Sometimes, too (if not always) – and just to answer my own devil's advocate – what makes a story unique and fresh is not the individual elements but the way they are put together into a new pattern. In this case, I really like the way Julie has woven the elements of The Gossamer Mage's magic system together in a way that imbues her characters and the world---and into a tale with an overall, indefinable sort of something...

For me, The Gossamer Mage worked. When I reached the end and closed the (e-)cover, I felt satisfied. I also felt that I had never read a fantasy quite like it. (And, dear readers, let me assure you that I have read a LOT of Fantasy over the years. :-) )

If you are not already a Julie Czerneda reader and still wondering whether this is the Fantasy for you, then I would say that if you enjoy the work of Ursula Le Guin, or like Neil Gaiman's The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, and/or either of the works mentioned above---Daniel Abraham's Long Price quartet, or Blake Charlton's Spellwright trilogy---then you will probably enjoy The Gossamer Mage.

As noted in several other posts regarding Julie Czerneda's work, we are friends-in-writing, having met at NZ's Natcon in 2009 and remained in touch since. I read an electronic advance copy of The Gossamer Mage manuscript, which is published by DAW books.

~~~

About The Author: Julie Czerneda:

For over twenty years, Canadian author/ former biologist Julie E. Czerneda has shared her curiosity about living things through her science fiction, published by DAW Books, NY. Julie’s written fantasy too, the first installments of her Night’s Edge series (DAW) A Turn of Light and A Play of Shadow, winning consecutive Aurora Awards (Canada’s Hugo) for Best English Novel. Having completed her Clan Chronicles series with To Guard Against the Dark, Julie’s latest SF novel is Search Image, Book #1 of her new SF series, The Web Shifter’s Library, bringing back her beloved character Esen the Dear Little Blob. Julie’s edited/co-edited numerous  award-winning anthologies of SF/F, including SFWA’s 2017 Nebula Award Showcase, but nothing prepared her for the sheer joy of opening her Clan Chronicles to fans of the series to produce Tales from Plexis, out December 2018. What’s coming next? Her new fantasy standalone, The Gossamer Mage, out August 2019, and so much more. Visit: www.czerneda.com. She is also on Twitter: @julieczerneda

~~~

The author quote and review for The Gossamer Mage were cross-posted by Supernatural Underground author, Helen Lowe, from her "...on Anything, Really" blog.

Supernatural Underground News

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It's almost the equinox, so that seems like a great time to catch up on Supernatural Underground news!

The Heir Of Night is Just .99c Now (USA Only)
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First off the blocks, Helen Lowe's multi-award-winning The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night, Book One) is a Kindle Monthly Deal all September!

This is a book recommended by Juliet Marillier, Robin Hobb, and Nebula Award-winner, Catherine Asaro – so if you haven't read it already, now could be your chance. And if you have, The Heir of Night could make a great gift for the Fantasy lover in your life!

You can check it out right here:
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E-book of The Heir of Night — 0.99c on Amazon for September

It's not alone either, some other great 0.99c specials include Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely, Kelley Armstrong's The Gathering, and Dark Alchemy by Laura Bickle.

Get 'em while they're hot!
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Cover Art Lead-In For Kim Falconer's New Series – Ascension (Working Title)

Kim tells us  – 

"Even though my release date for the new, Young Adult Fantasy series, Ascension (working title), is 12 months off, my publisher at Entangled Teen has sent me the ‘cover art’ form. 

It’s extensive, asking about the mood, themes and sub-sub-sub genres the book might be linked to, all the way to character studies and specific references. There’s a section to put links to cover art mood boards, like the one I’ve been making on Pinterest -
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https://au.pinterest.com/kimdfalconer/cover-art-mood-board-for-ascension/ 

And, I’m asked to include an extensive list of covers I like and why, what elements grab me. What don’t.

Also, they ask what I don’t want on the cover. I said, “No unicorns or pole dancers.”

We should be safe, given there are neither unicorns or pole dancers in the story, but believe it or not, this happened to Karen Miller, an author friend of mine. She sold rights to her fantasy series (I think it was The Riven Kingdom) to Russia and, you guessed it, they put both a unicorn AND a pole dancer on the cover. No, the story wasn’t remotely about either...

Which leads to the purpose of the cover – to intrigue the shopper to pick up the book, read the blurb and buy it! 

Meanwhile, I am immersed in cover art, and loving it. There are so many beautiful books out there!"

Great news, Kim. Here at Supernatural Underground HQ we're looking forward to the Ascension series – and we're sure the cover will rock!
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Stina Leicht's Blackthorne (The Malorum Gates) Is Out!

Stina Leicht's Blackthorne – a Flintlock Fantasy –  was published on 8 August and already has a fab review from reviewer Kelly Anderson on B&N's SciFi & Fantasy Blog:

"...nail-biting thrills of the hunt—when the prey is human lives, and the stakes are extinction... I definitely want to find out what happens next, and you will too."
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It sounds like a great read so if you want to to curl up with some Flintlock Fantasy, Stina's series could be just what you're looking for – although the first in the series is Cold Iron.

You can read the full review here:
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Blackthorne Deepens A Fascinating Flintlock Fantasy World 

 –  – 

And that's our Supernatural Underground round-up for now, but we'll be back with moar as it comes to hand!

Not a Superhero

Image by Igor Morski

I didn’t start out some kind of superhero, bent on protecting New LA. My relationship with this city is love/hate. I’m definitely not her minder. But I do look after my friends. That’s what kick-fired this whole damn story. One night. A new job. And, looking after Cate.

The Blood in the Beginning - An Ava Sykes Novel

. . . by the time I was working on round two of the best mushroom pesto linguine in the universe, Cate, my newly single BFF,  had purged. She even moved from victim mode to outrage, (all directed at the ass hat Joey) and that was a step up on the emotional scale, in my book anyway. I took a third serving and smiled. With a lifestyle like mine, which included martial arts training on my nights off, I loaded up on carbs when I could. Yum!

After doing the dishes – Cate wasn’t one to leave a spoon out of place – I had a quick shower, leaving enough hot water for her. While she dressed in her ‘uniform,’ which consisted of very little other than glitter and coconut shells, I opened the gun safe and slipped my Ruger .9 mm into my calf holster and smoothed down my jeans. I was licensed to carry, and I always did at work, more for the trip there and back, than anything else. New LA wasn’t really a city of angels, not good ones anyway. Cate threw on a light coat and we headed for the bus. I looked up and down the street, frowning. Something prickled my skin. 

            ‘Joey won’t come here, if that’s what you’re thinking. He’s scared of you,’ Cate said.

            'Good. The dirtbag should be afraid.' I was going for reassurance. 

            She changed the subject. 'Any news on Daina?’ 

Speaking of scared. Daina was our mutual acquaintance, the most recent missing coeds in a wave of unexplained murders, at least that’s what the press called them. Not all the bodies had been found.

            Cate sighed. ‘Nothing.’ The bus pulled up as we arrived at the stop. ‘Do you think she’s still alive?’

            I shrugged. ‘Can’t see how, but we can hope.’

Yeah, that’s how the night began. Off to work at Club Poseidon.

Innocent enough . . . but by midnight, not so much. I was in the elevator, on my way up, I thought, ready to take over the door, but that’s not what happened.

… In the elevator, my fingers hovered over the console. There was a dark smudge on the button below UP that hadn’t been there before. Without thinking, I swiped it, bringing my finger to my nose. Blood? As I did, the elevator kicked in. It took me a second to realise it was heading down. What the hell? I hadn’t even pressed the damn thing. I hit the UP button several times, but nothing happened. I was definitely going down.

The lights went from white to deep-green as the elevator descended. A moment later, it stopped. The bell dinged and the doors slid open. Noise hit like a tidal wave. The visuals were a blur, my senses bombarded. I stood, stock-still, as the undeniable smell of blood, laced with fear and aggression rushed up my nose. A gasp forced its way out of my throat and I slammed my hand over the UP button, hard enough to crack the console.

The doors remained open. I flattened myself against the side of the wall, unable to blink, or tear my eyes away. It was a ghoul’s carnival, a page right out of Hieronymus Bosch. Run! The command coursed through my body, but there was nowhere to go. I jabbed the UP button again. Nothing.

The music bounced off the walls. Amid blue lights and flashing strobes, naked bodies danced, gyrating to the rhythmic beats, but that’s where any similarity with upstairs ended. People’s faces were streaked, dark liquid dripping down their chins, and throats. Around the walls, victims hung from chains. People? Mannequins? I saw some move, struggling against the restraint. The far wall was taken up entirely with the floor to ceiling aquarium. It must run right up to the club level, but ... this was different. The unearthly waters teemed with sharks, in a wild frenzy as they fed on chunks of flesh and bone. What were they feeding them? The bodies on the wall? Some of the chained victims looked dead, some not; all dripped blood. It flowed down their limbs into crystal goblets.

My heart pounded, a sledgehammer in

my chest. As the doors slowly closed enough to block most of my view, I thought I would escape unnoticed. Then a man’s head turned, eyes looking straight at mine …

Kim Falconer's latest release is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel. Find this novel in a store near you.

You can also learn more about Kim atAvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and onFaceBook and Twitter.  She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook. All Welcome.

The Blood in the Beginning

Pre-order

Hi Everyone! I have two big reveals today. 

Over at AvaSykes.com the cover and pre-order is up for the first in the Ava Sykes novels, The Blood in the Beginning. Coming out through Harlequin Books Australia, the launch is scheduled for July 1, 2016, but you can pre-order now to make sure you don't miss out.

Knock down, kickass nightclub bouncer Ava Sykes takes us deep into a dystopian world and out the other side in this dark and gritty, high-action urban fantasy.

Undergraduate by day, bouncer by night, Ava Sykes is just trying to make her way in New LA, a city recovering in the ‘Aftermath’ the time after an earthquake tore the country apart. Ava studies hard, trains at the local dojo, and teaches kids self-defence. Sure, she has a rare blood disorder and a stolen identity, but who doesn’t keep a few secrets these days?

Life is tough, but when Ava takes a job at the trendy new club, Poseidon, her financial worries seem to be over.Then the evil wakes up.After stumbling into the VIP area of the club, where humans are on the menu, Ava is attacked in the street, and finds herself in the hospital, trying to put the pieces together. The bizarre hallucinations aren’t helping, and neither is Dr. Miguel Rossi, the man who claims to know more about her origins than she does.

Shocked to the core at the discovery, Ava begins a search for her birth mother — and the truth —  but with a copycat killer on her tail, the attractive and powerful Daniel Bane offering to protect her and a doctor bent on unravelling her mysterious ‘condition’, the facts are hard to pin down. Meanwhile, the ‘otherness’ in her blood makes her increasingly irresistible to all the wrong people.

Ava used to dream of knowing where she came from but faced with the truth, she’d give anything to forget.


Here's what best selling fantasy author Traci Harding has to say:

"Rich in atmosphere, intrigue and action, and a heroine who just will not quit. Long live Ava Sykes!"

 And reveal number two?

Ra and Kim

I want you to meet my newest muse, a demon cat from a feline dimension far beyond our familiar world. His name is Ra, and he means it!

If you want to know more about the new series, or the new Bengal, tweet, email or FB. I am about most mornings. Or pop over to AvaSykes.com for the inside scoop.

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, YA and epic science fantasy novels.

You can find out more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook and GoodVibeAstrology.com.

R is for Romance -- in "The Gathering of the Lost"

USA cover

 Giveaway Result:
The hands of Big Ben have ticked past the midnight hour in the UK — where April 5 has been release day for The Gathering of the Lost — so that means the giveaways have closed and its time for a result! 

(Drum Roll!) And the winners are:

• Starcryer: for the 1 x signed, complete "Helen Lowe" book set comprising Thornspell, The Heir of Night and The Gathering of the Lost  (Starcryer,  you will need to get in touch so I can send you the set: email me on contact[at]helenlowe[dot]info)

• Donna S and KayaH: each get 1 of the 2 x signed copies of The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two (I have both your details so will be in touch.)

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who took part and helped me celebrate release day, in several countries, for The Gathering of the Lost.

Also, if you missed out here on the Supernatural Underground there are currently giveaway opportunities on my own blog, here (as well as a draw to give your name to a character in the forthcoming third book in the series) on Civilian Reader, here, and forthcoming (on April 9) on ismellsheep The full Blog Tour schedule is here and I will be doing giveaways on several of the other stops; I'll update on my blog once I know what's happening with each scheduled stop.


And wait there's more: one very stop on the Tour is going to be right here on the Supernatural Underground again on April 16, when I'll be doing an "in-character" interview with the wonderful Kim Falconer. I am very much looking forward to it!


Note: If I have not heard from any winner by Tuesday April 10 (to allow for Easter) then I will re-draw that particular giveaway.
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Yes, "The Gathering of the Lost" (The Wall of Night Book Two) is here at last! Tuesday 27 was release day in the USA, Australia and New Zealand--and there's a fabulous Release Day post on the Harper Voyager site which you can check out here. And it's not  a long wait now until the book is out in the UK as well—just four days away on Thursday 5.

So of course I'm in the middle of the full on Blog Tour, visiting friends and fellow authors around the web and chatting about many things, including different aspects of the book. And what better to talk about on the Supernatural Underground than romance in The Gathering of the Lost.

Because Malian and Kalan, the two central characters from the first book, The Heir of Night, aren't kids anymore. They are five years older and so of course romance is going to be there in the story, especially as they are hanging out with other young people — and at least part of their adventures take place in the land of Emer, which even has a tradition of "springtime love": 

"A springtime love, Kalan thought now. It was one of the oldest traditions in the knightly history of Emer, with a cycle of songs composed around both the tradition and some of the more famous lovers." 

Why springtime love? Well in the story it's because of the nature of the society, where young people are brought up together and so of course there is love and romance — but they all know marriage is about political alliances and wealth and land, so such romances can usually never come to anything. But it's also springtime love because romance is not only an inescapable part of the fabric of life, but also brings that bubble of joy and delight, not unlike the first hint of springtime in the air — however fleeting that moment may prove to be.

" ... springtime love meant transience, coming into bloom and then gone again with the spring flowers. And already it was Midsummer ..."

And of course this is epic fantasy so there has to be an element of the star-crossed and the doomed to its swag bag of romantic love. But there are also beginnings ... 

"The light brightened, growing stronger as the maelstrom fell away and she rose through impenetrable white mist. Unexpectedly, she smelled jasmine, as dizzyingly sweet as when she first stepped into the temple grounds. The mist thinned and trees appeared, their trunks a smooth dappling of light and shade. Somewhere in the distance, a nightingale was singing its moonlit song.

The nightingale, Malian knew, was one of the enduring motifs of Emerian springtime love. She wanted to smile, but already her bare feet were touching grass and the mist had grown fine as a veil, with only a single drift, like smoke, crossing the crescent of the blue moon overhead. A second moon, three-quarters full and green as winter twilight, shone lower toward the horizon ...

as well as endings:


... The nightingale, which had been quiet for some time, was singing again and now the old Derai sorrow was all she heard of its song:  Kerem the Dark Handed and Emeriath; Xeria’s grief for Tasian; Yorindesarinen dying alone, her body hacked and riven, with the Chaos Worm’s venom racking her veins."

And Here's The Early Feedback Buzz for The Gathering of the Lost:

 “Helen Lowe’s Wall of Night series has the potential to become a classic, right up there with the likes of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire . . . .  Anyone who loves to read fantastic fiction from a true talent should read this series.” — SF Site

“Helen Lowe’s writing moves from strength to strength. Powerful story lines, memorable characters and a vividly imagined world make The Gathering of the Lost a strong follow-up to The Heir of Night.” – Juliet Marillier

“Helen Lowe writes wonderful stories, yes, but her work also speaks with lyricism to deeper questions of how we treat each other.  With lovely prose that brings vivid life to her characters, she creates a universe with people we care about. This is an author with a gift for fantasy.” — Nebula Award-winning author Catherine Asaro


And To Celebrate I am Giving Away —

2 x signed copies of The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two


1 x signed complete "Helen Lowe" book set  comprising Thornspell, The Heir of Night and The Gathering of the Lost

the giveaways to be drawn by Random Number Integer and posted here on UK Release Day, April 5

Don't forget to check back here (on this post) to see if you've won!

(And by the way there will be other giveaways on my own blog on the 5th — including the opportunity to enter the draw to give your name to a character in Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night Book Three.)

New Release Round-Up and Giveaway

CONTEST WINNERS:
Thanks to everyone who participated in our New Release Round-Up and Giveaway! Here are the winners (drum roll, please...)

Tiffany Drew won Prize Package 1.

Paris won Prize Package 2.

Thanks again and I will be contacting the winners today.
Please note: If we are unable to contact either of these people, different winners will be selected at the end of three days.

ORIGINAL POST:
Summer is in full swing and it’s the perfect time to curl up in a lounge chair with a great book. So, we wanted to let you know about some of our new releases—fun stuff from authors Amanda Arista, Karina Cooper, Leah Cypess, Merrie Destefano, Jocelynn Drake and Nicole Murphy. Covers and descriptions of their newest books are below.

However, on top of that, all of us here at the Supernatural Underground wanted to say thank you for being such loyal blog followers. We really appreciate you! So, after you read through some of the amazing new books that HarperCollins published in the last month or so, check out our amazing SUPERNATURAL GIVEAWAY at the end of this blog post.

NEW RELEASES:


DIARIES OF AN URBAN PANTHER by Amanda Arista
Violet Jordan thought the fairy tales her mother wove were just a way to get Violet to sleep, not a way to prepare her for the apocalypse she is the key to preventing. When she becomes a midnight snack for werepanther Spencer Haverty, his infectious bite invokes the first element of her destiny. When Violet’s budding instincts allow her to save a boy’s life, she realizes this new gig may come with perks: a slimmer figure, the attention of a handsome Guardian, and insights into her future embedded in her mother’s stories. But as push comes to claws, can Violet make the fatal strike against the men threatening her new family, her new home and her first boyfriend in ages?



LURE OF THE WICKED by Karina Cooper
Naomi West was plucked from one prison and placed undercover in another: the gilded cage that is Timeless, New Seattle's premier spa and resort, where owner Phinneas Clarke—the most seductive man Naomi has ever met—may be hiding a killer. She's an agent of the Holy Order, trained to hunt the guilty and render justice. But while she's tracking down a rogue agent on a killing spree, Phin is determined to uncover her most damning—and dangerous—secrets. Whatever the cost.


NIGHTSPELL by Leah Cypess
DESCRIPTION: In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger—not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours.

Darri's sister was trapped in this place of fear and shadows as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister . . . if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom—not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone
else.

In a court seething with the desire for vengeance, Darri holds the key to the balance between life and death. Can her warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all?


FEAST: HARVEST OF DREAMS by Merrie Destefano
Halloween is a bad time to return to the woods . . .

Madeline MacFaddin ("Mad Mac" to fans of her bestselling magical stories) spent blissful childhood summers in Ticonderoga Falls. And this is where she wants to be now that her adult life is falling apart. The dense surrounding forest holds many memories, some joyous, some tantalizingly only half-remembered. And she's always believed there was something living in these wooded hills.

But Maddie doesn't remember the dark parts—and knows nothing of the mountain legend that holds the area's terrified residents captive. She has no recollection of Ash, the strange and magnificent creature who once saved her life as a child, even though it is the destiny of his kind to prey upon humanity. And soon it will be the harvest . . . the time to feast.

Once again Maddie's dreams—and her soul—are in grave danger. But magic runs deep during harvest. Even a spinner of enchanted tales has wondrous powers of her own . . .


BURN THE NIGHT by Jocelynn Drake
DESCRIPTION: The Great Awakening approaches . . .
After eons in exile, the naturi have broken their chains and now roam the Earth bent on revenge. It is the sworn duty of Mira, the Fire Starter, to protect the nightwalker race—though even she may be powerless to withstand the horrific onslaught. As Mira and her brave lover, the vampire slayer Danaus, stand ready to do battle, thousands of winged shapeshifters darken the skies. The war of ultimate extermination has begun, and the battleground is Mira's home turf.

The humans don't yet recognize the doom descending upon them. And the nightwalkers will surely perish unless they unite with outcast naturi who claim to want peace. But these unexpected "allies" are the same demons who have long worked for Mira's destruction—and in these darkest of days the lines between friend and foe will blur treacherously before the bloody end of all things.


ROGUE GADDA by Nicole Murphy
Hampton Rourke has always lived under his father's shadow, and he's not convinced he's the right man to be leading the search for Asarlai and the Forbidden Texts. When the clues lead to Boston and he stumbles upon one of the fabled lost families, Hampton faces challenges that will test his faith in himself. Charlotte Haraldson has been taught to hate the bardria, so it stinks that the man of her dreams isn't just from Sclossin but is the most powerful of them all. Then she learns that everything she's been taught is lies and she has to find new meaning for her and the gadda. With Asarlai setting loose one of the most dangerous gadda who had ever lived and then gaining a powerful ally, the pressure builds to stop her and retrieve the texts before she can finalize her terrible plan and change the world forever.

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Remember when I said we had an amazing SUPERNATURAL CONTEST here today? Well, here it is. We’re giving away two prize packages, each containing at least 12 NEW BOOKS written by Supernatural Underground authors. (Is that fab, or what?) These are all the newest releases by the authors listed below. Take a look at the prize packages…

PRIZE PACKAGE ONE:

1. ASCENSION by Sable Grace
2. HUNGER UNTAMED by Pamela Palmer
3. HIS DARKEST HUNGER and HIS DARKEST EMBRACE: by Juliana Stone
4. FEAST by Merrie Destefano
5. BURN THE NIGHT by Jocelynn Drake
6. ARC of ENTHRALLED edited by Melissa Marr and Kelly Armstrong
7. SECRET ONES by Nicole Murphy
8. DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE and bookmarks by Terri Garey
9. VAMPIRE MINE by Kerrelyn Sparks
10. NIGHTSPELL by Leah Cypess
11. DIAMOND EYES by A.A. Bell
12. DEATH'S SWEET EMBRACE by Tracey O'Hara


PRIZE PACKAGE TWO:

1. HUNGER UNTAMED by Pamela Palmer
2. EMBRACE THE NIGHT ETERNAL and ABANDON THE NIGHT by Joss Ware
3. BLOOD OF THE WICKED by Karina Cooper
4. FEAST by Merrie Destefano
5. DIARIES OF AN URBAN PANTHER by Amanda Arista
6. GRAVEMINDER toe-tag from Melissa Marr
7. SECRET ONES by Nicole Murphy
8. NEON GRAVEYARD by Vicki Pettersson
9. VAMPIRE MINE by Kerrelyn Sparks
10. DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE and bookmarks by Terri Garey
11. ASCENSION by Sable Grace
12. DIAMOND EYES by A.A. Bell

I don’t know about you, but I would LOVE to have either one of those prize packages. The contest rules for these prizes is below and HAPPY READING to all of you!!

CONTEST RULES:

So here’s our question for you: How do you usually hear about the books you want to read? Do you read about them online or do you stumble upon them in the bookstore or does your best friend tell you about them? We’d love to hear what you have to say!

We’re going to give away Prize Package One to one reader and Prize Package Two to another reader, both of whom will be chosen through Random.org.

To enter to win, please post a comment below.

You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to this post on your own blog/website

NOTE: YOU MUST POST YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS CONTEST.

Post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Contest runs through midnight Friday, July 15. Winners will be announced in this post next Saturday, July 16. Please note that if we don’t hear from the winners within 3 days after the contest closes, we will select new winners.

And thank you all for following and reading our blog!!