Queen of Jastain By Kary Rader

Queen of Jastain by Kary Rader

New release from Crescent Moon Press. What a gorgeous cover!

QoJlarge Kary Rader

 

The Light brought her to him, but does he have the faith to make her his queen?

For twenty years, Avant plotted revenge against the dark king, but when a mysterious woman suddenly appears, everything changes. Although his prophetic Gift reveals she’s the Seed of Light chosen to restore the Crown, his overwhelming attraction to the women threatens his long-held plan for revenge and two decades of fidelity.

Abby Randall is inexplicably transported from Dallas to the medieval land of Jastain. There she meets Avant, who claims she’s the foretold champion of his people. While the hot guy has her hormones pumping, his crazy talk of defeating an evil king leaves questions to his sanity. Through his supernatural Gift, Avant transplants his memories into her, but neither are prepared for how their hearts intertwine.

Together they embark on their quest, but when Abby and Avant come face to face with destiny, will they sacrifice what matters most to provide a happily-ever-after for the people of Jastain?

Excerpt:

When Avant climbed back to the cave, his hair was wet. He’d slicked it back from his face and tied it into a little ponytail with a leather string. The sexy shadow of a light beard softened his angular jaw, and the thick waves of his hair shined with chestnut highlights in the morning sun. It was a good look for him, but then again, what wasn’t? Abby ran her fingers through her own tangled tresses and pulled her hair back. What she wouldn’t give for a hairclip.

Would you like a thong for your hair?”

She giggled at the word thong, certain that what she pictured was not what he referenced. “Do you have an extra one? I’d like to get it out of my face, and I don’t have anything.” Actually she had her own thong, but she sure as hell wasn’t putting it in her hair.

He immediately unlaced the tie at the neck of his shirt and handed it to her.

She gasped and put a hand to her face to hide the heat in her cheeks as his shirt fell open below his breast bone. “You don’t have to do that.”

Her blood coursed wildly at the sight of the smooth muscles of his chest. A soft sprinkling of dark hair beckoned her fingers. She swallowed hard.

 “It’s all right. Please use it. It will be a hard day’s journey with hair in your face.” His words rang in her mind so sincerely she forgot her embarrassment, but her eyes kept flitting to his heavenly chest.

Thank you, Avant, and not only for the lace but for everything you’re doing to help me.

Holding her gaze, he nodded once, and her heart fluttered. Was it getting warm in the cave? She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

 “It is time to be off if we are to make it to the next shelter before nightfall.” He picked up his pack and walked to the mouth of the cave. She grabbed her bag and followed.

Climbing down proved to be more difficult than going up. The muscles required to lower herself from one level to the next worked her thighs and butt like no gym equipment she’d ever experienced. It was like doing hours of squats. She trudged down the mountain with the previous day’s tumult weighting her down like the “freshman ten.” Avant helped her along on the steeper steps, but, for the most part, she made them on her own, clippity-clopping in those damned Docinis all the way.

When he reached the bottom, he disappeared around an outcropping. Abby took the last little step to the base and hurried after him. As she turned the corner, Avant grabbed her arm and spun her around. Driving her back against the rock, he pressed the length of his rigid body against her. His face, barely three inches from hers, clenched in thin lines of stress. Her heart raced…with fear.

She was pretty sure it was fear.

More here on amazon

About Kary Rader

Kary Rader is a part-time Twitter sage, stay-at-home mother of three, and slave to the Kary Profile Piccharacters and worlds inside her head. Always creative, she’s drawn to stories with fantastical worlds and creatures. With a little bit of magic and divine guidance, there isn’t anything that can’t be accomplished with words. It’s the power of words that creates and destroys. Vanquishing evil and injustice while finding eternal love in the process is all in a day’s work. With the help of her critique partners and master cartographer imaginary places come to life.

 You can find her at:

www.karyrader.com

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Earth Day & New Book Contract Celebration!

Celebrating Earth Day and my book contract for the 2nd book in my series, An Angel Falls, I’m visiting over at a couple of my favorite bloggers sites and I am giving away 2 e-copies of Death Lies Between Us

For an amazing look into Death Lies Between Us and its author, pop on over to Author Open MIC on Wicked Romance Blog page. Jean Murray is hosting me and offering an ecopy of Death Lies to one lucky person. This giveaway will run April 22-29. Make sure to comment and enter the rafflecopter.

and…

Read a special excerpt from Death Lies Between Us and enter to win an e-copy of Death Lies Between Us here: Alythia Brown.com This giveaway is open from April 22-26 (These giveaways have ended)


DLBU cover

Earth Day is a wonderful day to celebrate, but I also have another reason to dance and jump up and down in celebration. Book two of the An Angel Falls series has just been signed to Crescent Moon Press. Release day TBD.

 

 

 

 

What others are saying about Death Lies Between Us.

“This story was very well paced. The characters were engaging, showed depth, character growth, and a lot of emotions. The conflict was well written, had some good plot twists, and a good amount of information to fill in any questions you might have about the Native American mythology and beliefs.
I really, really enjoyed this first book by Jody A. Kessler. Personally I’d suggest it for anyone that’s a fan of Amy Plum’s Revenant series or Kelley Armstrong’s Darkness Rising series. I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in the series!” Paranormal Reads

“The author has managed to write a story which pulls the reader in very quickly. There are so many different elements within its pages but they all work well together. I couldn’t wait to see how she would pull it off, or if these 2 two were destined to forever be apart. The ending will surprise some, but it is perfect in my opinion. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this author.” F.W. at I heart Books

“Death Lies Between Us is a fascinating paranormal romance that has twists and turns that can’t be predicted. I was on the edge of my seat, flipping pages furiously through most of the book. Jody A. Kessler has created the beginning of a series that keeps you wanting more. The story is tightly woven and flows beautifully from beginning to end. The supporting characters are just as well written as the main characters. There are those you love, those you hate, and some you just can’t quite wrap your head around. This is definitely an author, and a series, to keep your eyes on!” My Book Addiction

Cover Reveal -The Grave Winner

The Grave Winner by Lindsey Loucks

Single tree in field during winter 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW! I love this cover. The moonlight over the graveyard is spectacular and the girl sitting by the spiderweb speaks straight to my goth-girl at heart alter ego. Congratulations to Ms. Loucks and her amazing cover artist, Liliana Sanches!

The Grave Winner, from Crescent Moon Press, will be released May 15, 2013. I can’t wait to start reading it. Here is a little more information about the novel and the author.

The Grave Winner

Leigh Baxton is terrified her mom will come back from the dead — just like the prom queen did.

While the town goes beehive over the news, Leigh bikes to the local cemetery and buries some of her mom’s things in her grave to keep her there. When the hot and mysterious caretaker warns her not to give gifts to the dead, Leigh cranks up her punk music and keeps digging.

She should have listened.

Two dead sorceresses evicted the prom queen from her grave to bury someone who offered certain gifts. Bury them alive, that is, then resurrect them to create a trio of undead powerful enough to free the darkest sorceress ever from her prison inside the earth.

With help from the caretaker and the dead prom queen, Leigh must find out what’s so special about the gifts she gave, and why the sorceresses are stalking her and her little sister. If she doesn’t, she’ll either lose another loved one or have to give the ultimate gift to the dead – herself.

Lindsey R. Loucks works as a school librarian in rural Kansas. When she’s not discussing books with anyone who will listen, she’s dreaming up her own stories. authorphotoEventually her brain gives out, and she’ll play hide and seek with her cat, put herself in a chocolate induced coma, or watch scary movies alone in the dark to reenergize.

She’s been with her significant other for almost two decades.

Links:

Add The Grave Winner to Goodreads.  Check out Lindsey’s website.

Follow Lindsey on Facebook. Follow Lindsey on Twitter.

Speak of the Devil by Shawna Romkey

Speak of the Devil by Shawna Romkey    Crescent Moon Press — 2013

What can I say about Ms. Romkey’s debut novel? It is crazy good! Here is a review I wrote up. If you want a great read, I highly recommend this novel. Cheers!

A fun, entertaining, and light read — with a hint of dark.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. The author has a quirky and smart SpeakOfTheDevil - Copysense of humor that comes across through her characters.

Lily is an average mid-western girl who is a bit nerdy and just wants to get through high school with her two best friends. When tragedy strikes, Lily moves to St. Louis, starts a new school, and suddenly finds herself surrounded by a group of not so normal drama students. At first sight she feels an instant connection with Luc, but Luc’s friend, Mo, makes the first move on Lily, and Luc fades into the background — but not for long. When Lily begins to lose all hope that she will ever feel like a regular teenager again, she has a heavenly encounter with her deceased best friend and begins to realize that there may be more to heaven and earth than she realized.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers but let’s just say that Lily and I were both equally surprised to find out what her “new friends” — including Luc and Mo — are up to. The plot has plenty of action to keep the story moving along at a quick pace, but also enough down time so I didn’t feel like the story was forced or unbelievable.

Horns and tails vs. halos and wings? If you’re feeling intrigued, you’ll have to give Speak of the Devil a read and find out  how Lily survives a battle of good versus evil while falling in love.

From beginning to end this is a great book! Shawna Romkey does an excellent job creating a world where Angels walk among us — though they may forget their purpose, or even fall from grace.  Great writing, creative, and so entertaining. I can’t wait for book two.

I had privilege of receiving an advanced copy of Shawna Romkey’s debut novel, Speak of the Devil. It is fantastic! If you would like to purchase your own copy,

here is a link to amazon. Available in ebooks and paperback.

Back cover blurb

What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?

After dying in a car accident with her two best friends, Lily miraculously awakens to grief and guilt. She escapes to her dad’s to come to terms with the event and meets some people at her new school who seem all too eager to help her heal. Sliding deeper into sorrow and trying to fight her feelings for two of them, she finds out who…what they really are and that they are falling too.

Can she find the strength to move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, find a way to stop a divine war with fallen angels, and still pass the eleventh grade?
A little about the author

Shawna grew up in around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of SR (83)Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, two rescue dogs and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.

She has her BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis.

She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same. She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

Visit her website www.shawnaromkey.com

or connect with her here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawna-Romkey-Author/137998326331706?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/sromkey

http://pinterest.com/shawnarp/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6869437.Shawna_Romkey