Throwback Thursday – The Halloween Edition

🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃

Enjoy an excerpt from Lost Time, still one of my all time faves, even after all these years. This story was inspired by a friend of mine who went on a UK vacation and got lost in Wales. Two very sweet people came to her rescue. But that’s about where the similarities end, from there on, my filthy imagination took over and the delicious Lockhart Munro took shape. And Oh, what a shape he has… 

supernatural, paranormal, time-travel, erotic, romance

(I’ve left another extract over on the original * Pick a Genre Already * if you’d like to read some more)

But first, here’s the blurb:

EXCERPT:

“How’s the headache?” Jake asked.

“Mmm, better, thanks. Just have a bit of a sore throat today.”

“Gran says you look a little flushed.”

Hannah chuckled nervously.

Jake’s gran set a bowl of porridge in front of her and sat down to join them.

Hannah took a spoonful of treacle from the fancy little pot and swirled it over the porridge, wondering how to bring up the subject of her missing man. She really should have got his name before she fell asleep. It would make this inquiry a lot easier.

“Um…” She tried the oatmeal. “Do you have…workers—you know, employees that work here—besides you?”

“Nope, there’s just me and Gran. When we need outside help, the neighbors usually pitch in.”

“Huh. Do you rent out rooms?” she fished.

“Nope, only to you.” He chuckled, scraping the last of his breakfast from the bottom of the bowl.

Hannah pinched her lip. “Um, okay, look… Last night, I, uh… My throat was sore, as I said, so I came down here to see if maybe you had some orange juice. I hope you don’t mind,” Hannah rushed. “Um, and I, uh, ran into a man…”

Jake’s Gran shot to her feet and she crossed herself just like she’d done last evening before she’d left Hannah’s room.

“You met a man…down here?” Jake said slowly.

Hannah swallowed and laughed again uneasily. “Yeah, he…um…he was here in the kitchen. He looks just like the guy in the painting in my room.”

Jake’s eyes rounded and his spoon fell noisily to the table as his gran spoke rapidly in Welsh and an overly excited voice. Uneasiness skittered across the back of Hannah’s neck.

“Did he give you a name?” Jake asked. “Gran wants to know.”

“No, I didn’t catch his name. I was hoping you could tell me.”

Jake shook his head. “Nope, I can’t help you.” He stood up from the table and took his bowl to the sink.“You let me know when you’re ready to go to the bus station, Hannah. I’ll gladly take you.”

“But…I was hoping…to stay and…”

Jake shook his head slowly with a skeptical look on his young face. “And hang out with a ghost some more? I doubt that’s what you had in mind for your holiday.”

“A ghost?” She gave a half-assed chuckle, watching Jake intently. “Right, a ghost. Funny. Canadian tourist, right here”—she pointed at her own face—“in haunted old Wales,” she tried to joke, but by the look on his face he didn’t find it funny.

“Look, Hannah, I don’t know what to say. Gran swears he’s here. I’ve never actually seen him, so I don’t really believe it, but I will admit some strange stuff goes on here that defies explanation. If you ran into him last night, I’m sorry that he scared you.”

“He didn’t…scare me… You’re scaring me, to tell the truth. You’re trying to make me believe that…that the guy I”—she almost said ‘fucked’ before she caught herself—“met was a ghost?”

“Well, I guess you should consider yourself lucky that he didn’t frighten you. I’ve gotta go get some work done before you need to leave.” He began to walk out of the room.

Hannah jumped up and gripped his arm, as near hysteria climbed up her sore throat. “The guy, in the portrait. He’s dead?”

“Well, I don’t know. I assume he is. That painting has been here as long as I can remember. It was here when Gran was a child, she told me before. Her family has lived here for generations.”

Hannah began to tremble uncontrollably.

Jake lowered her into a chair. “It’s okay, Hannah. You’ll be all right. I’ll get you out of here. I’ll take you to Swansea and you can just carry on with your trip. Just think of the story you’ll get to tell when you get back to Canada.”

The story she’d get to tell? Who the hell would believe her? Oh, by the way, Cassie, I shagged a ghost while I was in the UK. They’d lock her up and throw away the key for sure. “But…but who is the man in the painting?” She looked at him, needing answers.

“I don’t know. Like I said, it was here. For all we know it is just an artist’s vision and not a real person at all.” He looked over at his gran and shrugged.

Hannah didn’t believe that. He had been real. If he was a—she didn’t even want to think it—a ghost, then he had to have been alive at some point.

Near tears, she covered her mouth. What was going on? She felt that same awful ache of grief she’d experienced upstairs. She couldn’t be so sick and feverish, that she’d hallucinated this whole thing.

Jake bent down and patted her shoulder. “Why don’t you go throw some cool water on your face and pack up your things? I’ll take you to your hotel.”

Hannah swallowed hard and nodded, getting up and stumbling blindly towards the stairs.

She entered the room, keeping her back to the portrait, piling her things into her suitcase without folding them neatly. She went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, throwing cold water on her face then drying it without even looking into the mirror, afraid that she might see him there.

Hannah had to know. She pulled the collar of her shirt wide and looked down at her breasts. The bruises were still there. What the fuck? Wow, I’ve been ‘used’ by a ghost. Leave it to her to have a relationship with the most unavailable guy around. Oh, wait—he wasn’t a guy at all. She felt light-headed. Jake was right, she needed to get the hell away from here.

Hannah took her toothbrush and hairbrush from the sink, tossed them carelessly into the case, and zipped it up. Hastily, she looked around the room for anything that she might have forgotten.

“Can I help…?”

Hannah jumped a mile at the sound of Jake’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted to help with your bags.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. Allowing him to take the two bigger bags, she followed him out, slinging her carry-on over a shoulder. As Hannah passed the painting she had to expend an enormous amount of willpower not to look at it. It was as if it pulled at her, demanding her attention. She ignored it and hurried down the stairs after Jake.

As Hannah reached the bottom of the stairs the floor tilted. The room’s particles whizzed around and she knew he was near. Even though it felt like she was going to pass out or throw up, she bee-lined for the exit. Hannah pulled open the massive door and lunged outside, inhaling deep gulps of cool air into her lungs.

She sat down heavily on the front steps while Jake put her things in the car.

“You ready, Hannah?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Yes.” He reached a hand out to her and she took it gratefully, needing some support—not only physically but emotionally as well.

They drove down the lane. Hannah had already made the decision that she wouldn’t look back. But she did, and almost choked when she saw an old farmhouse. Last night when they’d driven up, it had been a castle. She’d seen it. The lightning had flashed and she’d seen a freakin’ castle. At least that was what she’d thought. Nothing was making sense. As she stared at the old house, she caught sight of movement at the very topmost, octagonal-shaped window in what must be an attic. The pane of glass took on the silvery hue she’d witnessed so many times during the night, as if the house or someone in it were trying to summon her.  

Hannah closed her eyes and turned back around in the seat.

Buy Link:

Totally Bound

Amazon

Universal Link

Also Available in Print

Totally Bound

Amazon

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!🎃

‘Tis the season for all things spooky… and a #sale!

For the month of October find all of my eXtasy Books on Sale including fan fave mafia romantic suspense, The Always Cambridge Series; Editor’s Choice, historical romance, The Devil Take You; AND the haunting Lustful Possession Saga.  A perfectly haunting read that’ll get you in the mood for all hallows’ eve.

Though this collection of short stories is predominantly dark erotic paranormal—at times verging on horror—it runs the gamut in sub-genres and eras—from contemporary to historical time-travel, and back again. Please note: the series also incorporates both m/f and m/m couplings, plus some multi-partner interaction.

A seemingly harmless paranormal investigation sparks a series of haunting events that ultimately sends an international team of supernatural investigators to Ireland and to one of the most haunted destinations in all of Europe.

Travel Through Time and Unravel the Mystery of Cairnnon Castle

Part 1 – Meet Me in the Dark
(m/f, paranormal, erotic, contemporary, ghosts, possession)

Crishtin Davenport thought she was attending a simple Halloween event—a good scare to get the blood pumping. Little does she know her actions that night would unleash an ancient evil.

Part 2 – Dark Foursome
(m/f, paranormal, erotic, contemporary, ghosts, possession)

A foursome takes on a whole new aspect when a fledgling couple, is hijacked by two randy spirits, who then use their corporeal bodies to recapture the sexual pleasures they enjoyed when they inhabited the physical world.

The saga takes a sudden medieval time-travel twist in Part 3 – The Fall of Cairnnon Castle
(m/f, time-travel, Ireland, historical, paranormal, dark erotic, verging on horror)

Cairnnon Castle is one of the most haunted places on earth and home to one of the most evil entities ever documented. When an enthusiastic troop of paranormal investigators descends on the ancient stronghold, all hell breaks loose.

Meet the O’Cairnnon’s – a fate most do not survive

Part 4 – Rising From the Darkness
(m/m, paranormal, erotic, contemporary)

U.S. paranormal investigators return to Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Fall of Castle Cairnnon. But what they find instead might set the paranormal community on it’s collective ear.

Part 5 – Dark Seed
(paranormal, erotic, contemporary, m/f story with m/m interaction)

The supernatural investigators’ extraordinary discovery, can only be described as a miracle. Or is one blessing, just another curse.

Part 6 – Bending Darkness
(m/f, paranormal, erotic, time-travel, historical)

The Cairnnon curse threatens to turn one woman’s dreams of happily-ever-after into a hellish nightmare.

And Part 7 – Dark Defeat – The stunning conclusion to the Lustful Possession saga (paranormal, dark erotic, time-travel, historical, an m/f story with f/f and m/f/f interaction)

Hell bent on saving her children, a mother will stop at nothing to defeat the evil that stalks her family, or at the very least, she’ll die trying.

Evil never gambled on battling one pissed off mother!

Please be aware: This erotic paranormal collection of short stories contains both mf  &  mm pairings, & cliff-hangers. Installments must be read in order.

Enjoy an Excerpt from Book 4 – Rising from the Darkness

After about an hour of lifting medium-sized boulders into a mining cart, Mishel slowed, his body heavy and listless. He could do this all day at any other time, but for some reason his normal drive was deserting him. But he didn’t want Joel to think he was a bad or lazy laborer, so he kept at it until he almost dropped a large rock on his foot.

“’Er now. Wha’ are ya doin’, mate? You’re gonna break your geddamn foot.”

“Good thing for steel-toed boots, eh, Ten?”

“Ya don look so good. Perhaps ya’d better sit. Grab my canteen o’er there and take a drink.”

Appreciatively, Mish did. He took a long draw on what he assumed was water, but came up spitting and sputtering. “Jesus Christ, Ten. What the fuck have you got in here?” Disgusted, Mishel dragged his hand over his mouth.

“Whiskey, o’ course. How the hell do ya think I keep from goin’ looney tunes down ’ere?”

“Well, there’s one way to do it. But you could warn a guy.”

Ten sat on a massive rock across from Mish and held out his hand. Mish passed him the flask. The big man took a big gulp. 

“Where are ya from?” Ten asked.

“South Carolina.” Just as he hadn’t been more specific with Joel, he was the same here. Most likely they’d have no idea whereabouts he meant anyway.

“‘Ere now, take another sip, and let’s get back ta work. The boss is the devil’s own when we slacken off.” Ten screwed the top on and tossed it to Mish. He then went to work. But Mish set it aside. He was already feeling somewhat queasy—another sip might make him lose his lunch. 

“Christ, when was the last time he cleaned the inside of that flask.” Mish spat, trying to get the revolting taste out of his mouth. 

Sluggishly, he attempted to work, but his head ached along with the rest of his body. The nausea led to dizziness. He wanted to escape the cavern in the worst way. But when Joel had gone above ground he’d taken the lift up to ground-level with him. 

Unable to locate Ten by that point, Mish sat on the ground. The blackest of moods settled over him. Dark thoughts plagued him. The longer he sat there, the worse it got. He wanted to crawl out of his own skin, beginning at the top of his head, and peel it away. The image of it developed in his mind. The urge to mutilate himself was almost overwhelming. 

He rubbed his eyes viciously, irritated by the dust he assumed. 

All of a sudden he heard scratching noises. “Oh just fuckin’ great. Rats, no effing doubt! God I hate this place. Joel, Christ! Come get me. I can’t stand it.” 

He listened intently. Somewhere off in the distance, he thought he could hear water trickling. But beneath that… there was something else. “What the fuck is that?” He shut his eyes and concentrated.

Weeping. 

It sounded like a woman, crying. She was in agony, as if she were being brutalized. Calling, begging, pleading for help. Her suffering was palpable, the sorrow in her cries crushing. It consumed him—the anguish to get to her was overpowering. 

Mish sprang to his feet with sudden energy. “I’m coming! Hang on!”

He started to run, but found himself knocked on his ass. He’d run into something absolutely solid.

With a shake of his head, he stared up.

It was a man, but it definitely wasn’t Ten.

Mish’s blood ran cold. The man was not of this time. His chest was bare except for a scrap of thin blue fabric worn like a sash. Mish gaped at the hardened warrior who stared at him intensely.

“Don’t you hear her?” Mish asked, his voice sounding puny and pathetic, even to him. “Why aren’t you helping her?” He stood up, facing the giant.

The ancient man opened his mouth to speak, but the horrid smell that came from his gape sent Mish to his knees, retching.

Mish was so drained he crawled on his hands and knees, finally collapsing with his face in the dirt. Unable to move, he was certain he was dying. The rock beneath him began to crumble away. He was totally aware, but too exhausted to save himself.

Just as suddenly as the earth had begun to disintegrate, it stopped. Most of his body had a solid base under it—only one arm dangled over the precipice. Mish groaned as his stomach roiled again. He had nothing left to heave.

Listlessly, he turned his head, dragging his chin through the dirt. He looked over the edge and peered into the clear blue eyes of a woman.

She reached for him.

With his arm hanging limply over the side, their fingers almost touched.

Help me, she pleaded, but her lips never moved.

He’d found her. But it was too late. For both of them.

For a more erotic excerpt hop on over to the original Pick a Genre Already and enjoy an extract from The Fall of Cairnnon Castle, and for a non-erotic, more evocative teaser, click over to Breaking Genre for a snippet from Dark Foursome.

Find The Lustful Possession Series On Sale through October 31st  at eXtasyBooks. Check out my author page for more savings!

Variety is creativity’s playground — it’s where you’ll find me

Out Now – New #UrbanFantasy Novel – Blindsided – by K D Grace @kd_grace

Blurb:

Book two in the Medusa’s Consortium series.

In New York City, away from those she loves, living with the enigmatic vampire, Desiree Fielding, Susan Innes struggles to come to terms with life as a vampire whose body serves as the prison for a deadly demon.

When Reese Chambers arrives unexpectedly from England, desperate for her help, she discovers that Alonso Darlington, his lover and her maker, has been taken captive and Reese has been warned to tell no one but her. Before the two can make a plan, Susan receives her own message from a man calling himself just Cyrus. He not only holds her maker prisoner, but also her lover, the angel Michael. If she wishes to see either of them alive, she’ll come to him and not tell Magda Gardener, the woman they all work for and fear.

With no help coming from Magda or her Consortium, Susan and Reese must turn to the Guardian – the terrifying demon now imprisoned in her body. He alone can help them, but how can she possibly trust him after all he’s done?

Available from:

Amazon (universal link): http://mybook.to/blindsidedmc

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2x7nAUk
iBooks: http://apple.co/2xstDT8
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2wpvd8O
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2y8RB2I

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36233244-blindsided

 

Excerpt:

It was a dark place where she found him, with walls so high only a small patch of starlight was visible above, but she was a vampire now. She didn’t need the light, and he, well he had never needed the light, had he? He stood naked with his back to her. He was broad of shoulder. There were white scars like latticework across muscles stretched taut over his shoulder blades. At first she thought they were from a whip, but as she drew nearer, she saw that they were more geometric in form, as though perhaps they were some sort of ancient ceremonial writing. She traced the shapes of them with the tips of her fingers, and his muscles rippled with the sensation. With a start she realized she’d never seen his body before.

“That is because I have none,” came his reply. “Only in dreams can I wear the flesh of my choosing.”

“You’ve worn flesh often enough. I would have thought it was always of your choosing,” she said, making no effort to hide her bitterness.

“It was not my own, though. That pleasure, I have never known.”

“Only in dreams, you say. Then this is a dream.”

“You know that it is.” He didn’t turn to face her but leaned toward her, and she slipped her arms around him and rested her head on the flat of his back. His belly tensed at the touch of her hands, and he caught his breath in a soft moan. “Touch is what I longed for most,” he said. “I thought the lack of it would drive me insane while I languished in my previous prison. But here, with you, I’m closer to touch than I would have thought possible. I do not mind it, you know. It is no hardship to be nestled inside you, close to your heart.”

She released him and took in their surroundings once more. “This is the place I’ve created for you?”

He pulled her arms back around him and sighed with contentment as she laid her head against him once more. “This is how I have decorated. The place you created for me was only the shape of myself, both boundless and infinitesimal. Oh, it did not matter. I could see through your eyes, feel through your flesh, even though it no longer lived as it once did, even though you never spoke to me. I hoped that someday you would.”

“And when I refuse, you come uninvited into my dreams?”

“All dreams are uninvited, Susan, and perhaps this time it is you who have come uninvited into my dream.”

She thought about that for a moment. Was it even possible to visit the dreams of a demon? Did demons even have dreams?

“Susan?”

“Yes?”

“If I had come to you more gently, if I had courted you and companioned you and been patient with you in the ways of your world, would you have loved me?”

“You never gave me that chance.”

About K D Grace/Grace Marshall

Voted ETO Best Erotic Author of 2014, K D Grace believes Freud was right. It really IS all about sex—sex and love—and that is an absolute writer’s playground.

When she’s not writing, K D is veg gardening or walking. Her creativity is directly proportional to how quickly she wears out a pair of walking boots. She loves mythology, which inspires many of her stories. She enjoys time in the gym, where she’s having a mad affair with a pair of kettle bells. Her first love is writing, but she loves reading and watching birds. She adores anything that gets her outdoors.

K D’s novels and other works are published by Totally Bound, SourceBooks, Accent Press, Harper Collins Mischief Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Black Lace, and others. She also writes romance under the name Grace Marshall.

Find K D Here:             

Websites: http://kdgrace.co.uk/

http://www.thebritbabes.co.uk

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KDGraceAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KD_Grace

Newsletter: http://www.subscribepage.com/kdnewsletter

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kdgraceauthor/

Release blitz organized by Writer Marketing Services.

Release Blitz + #Giveaway – Snow Blood: Season 5: A Vampire Mystery Thriller – Carol McKibben @CarolMcKibben

HAPPY RELEASE DAY

As this beloved vampire series draws to a close with Season 5, discover the true fate that awaits Brogio and his loved ones.

SNOW BLOOD SEASON 5

Carol McKibben

Series: Snow Blood Season 5
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Troll River Publications
Publication Date: July 15, 2017

Add to Goodreads

Snow Blood Season 5 Brings the Adventures of Brogio, the First Vampire, and His Family to an End.

A devastating loss sets Snow Blood and his vampire family on a path to revenge. Determined to use whatever means necessary, Brogio’s kindred dog risks the endangerment and potential destruction of all he loves and most especially the love of his master’s life, Selene. Only a surprising intervention can save them from a tragic destiny as the mythological gods unite to destroy them.

As this beloved vampire series draws to a close with Season 5, discover the true fate that awaits Brogio and his loved ones.

Snow Blood Season 5 was a fast-paced, exciting conclusion to one of the best series of books from Carol Mckibben I’ve read.

– Rickey Morris, Goodreads Reviewer

This was such an interesting way to close Snow Blood’s series! A truly well written and enjoyable series.

– Patricia Myers, Goodreads Reviewer

Purchase Links

Available now. Grab your copy today.

Amazon (US) | Amazon (International)

An Excerpt from the Book

Take an inside look at Snow Blood Season 5. Read this sizzling excerpt from the book.

Episode One

The Plan

Scrawny’s true death wrapped its cold, cruel fingers around me. Its grip remained relentless. How could I ever recover from the loss of my child? Even though I was surrounded by death and existed as an undead being, I had never experienced it like this. Each wolf that I had sired was a cherished family member.

I reflected on Brogio’s wisdom. My own sire and father of all vampires advised, “The reality, Snow Blood, is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over it. You will only learn to live with it. You will heal and rebuild yourself around your loss. You will be whole again, but never the same. You should not be, nor should you want to be.”

I looked into Nova’s blue eyes. She had stayed close to me in the days following Scrawny’s murder. My mate did everything she could to surround me with her warmth, even in her own sorrow. As we walked through the melting snow of a Nova Scotia morning on Brogio’s Wolfville Wine Estate, she nipped at my ear and ran out ahead of me, challenging me to chase her. She shook her gray-and-white fur seductively and put her front paws and face in the snow, her hind end stuck up, her tail wagging. I ignored her effort and looked up at the sky. The desire for revenge sliced through me like a silver arrow, deadly to my kind.

I would kill the one who had brought my family nothing but pain and despair. The Titan Hecate, goddess of all witches, would suffer as no other. She alone held the responsibility for my greatest loss. She had murdered Scrawny with pure malice. My family and I had once again thwarted her plans to spread evil throughout the world, and I had escaped her attempt to make me her familiar. She had executed her punishment for it.

I watched the sky and waited impatiently for darkness to overcome the light. My remaining pack—Nova, Chase, Fergus, Thor, Gaspar, and Joker—had the gift of daylight, bestowed on me by the goddess Artemis. We used that attribute to guard our human family—Brogio, his wife, Selene, and his first blood son, Kane. When night fell, they would arise, and I could discuss revenge with them.

I am a vampire dog. More than five years ago, I lay dying, accidentally hit by Brogio’s car. He turned me to save me. In this undead state, I have lived lifetimes and fought endless enemies to protect both my human and wolf families. I created my wolf kindred to help defend against the selfish gods, numerous vampire hunters and monsters, and finally Hecate. Scrawny, my second-in-command, held a special place in my heart. His hard-fought love and devotion had given me strength. That had to be defended.

Other Books in the Snow Blood series

Don’t miss the first four books in the Snow Blood series! Join the paranormal world of Brogio, the first vampire, as told through the eyes of his kindred dog, Snow Blood! The Snow Blood Series takes readers through the creation of the first vampire and how he saved a dying white husky to be his eternal companion. Together the two face a series of events that reveal sinister plots to destroy the father of all vampires and those he loves. Through it all, Snow Blood demonstrates the meaning of unconditional love and redemption.

Each book is available for 99 cents only at Amazon.com. Or get them FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

$0.99 Amazon.com

$0.99 Amazon.com

$0.99 Amazon.com

$0.99 Amazon.com

Giveaway

WIN $10 GC AND MORE!

One lucky winner will win the following:
$10 Amazon Gift Card, a signed copy of Snow Blood Season 1 or the Kindle version, and a Silver Wolf Pendant

Contest runs from July 15 – 21, 2017.
Click here to join now.

About Carol McKibben

Carol McKibben was a magazine publisher for 20+ years. She has published Luke’s Tale, Riding Through It and the Snow Blood Vampire Mystery Thriller Series. Luke’s Tale and Snow Blood are targeted to a YA market. Luke’s Tale was included in the Summer Solstice Top 12 Book Pick List. Carol writes from the heart of a dog’s eyes. Her books help support her dog rescue efforts and focus on unconditional love. Carol, her labradoodle Neo, lab Thor and Siberian Husky Ty are currently working on new adventures. Go to http://www.carolmckibben.com or email carol@mckibben.com.

Official website: http://www.carolmckibben.com/

Connect with Carol McKibben on social media:

Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads Author Page

For more information, visit the Snow Blood Season 5 Book Page at Book Unleashed.

---

In partnership with

Book Unleashed Blog Tours