The Shifter Chronicles by Michelle Areaux

Evernight

The
Shifter Chronicles Book 3

by
Michelle Areaux

Genre:
YA Fantasy Romance Thriller

For
Elle, she thought the day she learned she was a Shifter was the most
frustrating day of her life. Well, that was until she found herself
in the middle of a war between her best friend and boyfriend. 

Now,
everything is about to change for this trio as a known Witch in Shady
Oaks has decided to wage a war against the Shifters and Otherworldly
Creatures. This time, Elle may find herself battling with new powers
and without her trusted best friend, Maddox. Discover how hearts are
broken and mended in this exciting third installment of the Shifter
Chronicles, Evernight.

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Everpure

The
Shifter Chronicles Book 2

Sixteen-year-old
Elle's life changed in a matter of seconds after learning she wasn't
only human, but a shifter too. To make matters worse, her best friend
Maddox and boyfriend Asher have a mutual hate for one another that
leaves Elle in the middle of their constant battles. With a new
discovery now lingering over Elle, she is left with more questions
than she ever could have imagined.

Thinking
she has found a way to handle her new found life as a shifter, she
now finds herself faced with a much larger challenge. A huntress
named Evaline is now seeking to destroy all shifters and vampires as
she makes it her goal to avenge her father's death and end all
otherworldly creatures once and for all.

Will
Elle be able to survive the army now seeking to destroy her
world?

Will
Elle be forced to choose between her best friend and
boyfriend?

Discover
a new fantasy world with Everpure, the second book in the Evershade
Shifter Chronicles.

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Evershade

The
Shifter Chronicles Book 1

*New
and Lengthened 2018 Edition*

How
well do you know yourself? 

Sixteen-year-old
Elle thinks she's got life in Shady Oaks all under control until new
boy Asher comes to town. Elle can't explain it, but she can't deny
the connection she feels to him. Things with Asher are going great
until they're out one night and nearly attacked by a large wolf.
Before she knows it, Elle's life is spiraling out of control: Maddox
is in love with her, she and Asher are in danger… 

and
she learns she's a shifter! 

If
that wasn't bad enough, she finds herself in the middle of an
ages-old war between shifters and hunters. 

What
else can she do but join the cause? 

Will
Elle stay with Asher or break-up with him to be with Maddox? What
does it mean to be a shifter? Who will emerge victorious in the
battle?

**Only
.99 cents!**

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Michelle
Areaux is a wife, mother, middle school teacher, and author. As an
avid reader and lover of all things literature, she followed her
dream of becoming a published author and has never looked back!

She
earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Kentucky and a
Master’s degree in Literacy from Asbury University. 

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Ten After Closing by Jessica Bayliss

Ten
After Closing

by
Jessica Bayliss

Genre:
YA Thriller

10PM:
Closing time at Café Flores. The door should be locked, but it
isn't, Scott Bradley and Winsome Sommervil are about to become
hostages.

TEN
MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING: Scott's girlfriend breaks up with him in the
café's basement storeroom because he's late picking her up for the
big end-of-the-year party. Now he can't go to the party, but he can't
go home, either--not knowing his dad will still be in a drunken rage.
Meanwhile, Winny wanted one night to let loose, away from her
mother's crushing expectations. Instead, she's stranded at the café
after her best friend ditches her in a misguided attempt at
matchmaking. 

TEN
MINUTES AFTER CLOSING: The first gunshot is fired. Someone's dead.
And if Winny, Scott, and the rest of the hostages don't come up with
a plan soon, they may not live to see morning.

Told
from both Winny and Scott's perspectives, and alternating between the
events leading up to and following the hold-up, Ten
After Closing is
an explosive story of teens wrestling with their own challenges,
thrown into circumstances that will test their very limits.

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Jessica
Bayliss is a fiction author with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology who
loves all things reading and writing. Author of the young adult
horror novella, BROKEN CHORDS, and her upcoming YA thriller, TEN
AFTER CLOSING (Sky Pony Press, September 2018), she has been a
lover thrillers and ghost tales since her days scanning VHS rental
shelves—admittedly with eyes half-averted from the gory covers. She
also loves to eat, cook, and exercise—in that order—and is a firm
believer that coffee makes the world a better place.

She
has authored thirteen novels and several short stories that appear in
anthologies such as BEWARE THE LITTLE WHITE RABBIT, FRIGHT BEFORE
CHRISTMAS, and ZOMBIE CHUNKS and in such literary magazines as
Sanitarium Magazine. Jessica is a Senior Editor for Allegory
Magazine.

In
the psychology world, she has more than fifteen years of experience
and training in the cognitive-behavioral model. She’s a
psychotherapist, a teacher, and a researcher. One day it hit her: Why
not combine writing and psychology? Just like that, PsychWRITE, her
series of lectures, workshops, and coaching services for writers was
born. Her blog features motivational posts for writers that combine
her passion for writing with her love of psychology.

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Haunted Halloween Spooktacular Tour for Flesh by Laura Bickle

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and I love making decorations for this time of year. Most of the time, I look at the materials I have around the house and think about what I can do with what I already have. 

I dug up an old wreath that’s been sitting in my garage for more than ten years and has seen better days. It’s faded, and a lot of the foliage is dropping from it. I thought about throwing it out, but decided that it could make a fun Halloween project. For this project, I used:

• An old wreath

• Black spray paint

• Three strings of bat LED lights

• Two packages of sparkly bat clips

• Glue. This isn’t totally necessary – depending on the lights you use, you might not need it, or you could use zip ties or electrical tape to secure the light battery packs.

I had the wreath, the glue, and the spray paint, but found the LED lights and the bat clips at my local dollar store. So I’ve invested about five bucks in this project. I won’t too feel bad if it doesn’t turn out! 

First thing I did was spray paint the wreath black. I started on the back side. When it dried, I turned it over and sprayed the front. As is the case with all spray paint projects, I did it outdoors and painted it from several angles to make sure I got everything. 

Then I added the lights. I used three strands of purple bat lights. I wound them around the foliage and made sure the battery packs were in the back, where I glued the housing down to the sturdiest part of the wreath. If you’re using LED lights with button batteries, you probably wouldn’t need to do this step, since you could tuck a smaller battery pack in the foliage. Zip ties or electrical tape would also work to get those battery housings out of the way. I made sure to add my batteries first and didn’t add glue to spots that would interfere with the operation of the switch or changing out batteries.

I turned my wreath over and was pretty pleased with how it looked so far.

Next, I added my sparkly purple bats! The ones I got had alligator clips on the back, so I could perch them wherever I wanted. A couple were in precarious spots, so I added a bead of glue to make sure they stayed stuck.

And the wreath is finished! I’m pretty pleased with it…I can’t wait to hang it for Halloween!

Flesh

Laura Bickle 

Genre: YA Horror/Paranormal/Fantasy

Book Description:

The dead are easy to talk to. Live people, not so much.

Charlie Sulliven thinks she knows all the secrets of the dead. Raised in a funeral home, she’s the reluctant “Ghoul Girl,” her reputation tied to a disastrous Halloween party. But navigating her life as a high school sophomore is an anxiety-inducing puzzle to her. She haunts the funeral home with her parents, emo older brother, Garth, their pistol-packing Gramma, and the glass-eyeball-devouring dachshund, Lothar.

Chewed human bodies are appearing in her parents’ morgue…and disappearing in the middle of the night. The bodies seem tied to a local legend, Catfish Bob, who has resurfaced in the muddy Milburn river near Charlie’s small town. When one of Charlie’s classmates, Amanda, awakens in the cooler as a flesh-eating ghoul, Charlie must protect her newfound friend and step up to unravel the mystery…and try to avoid becoming lunch meat for the dead.

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Excerpt:

“Amanda, I…Oh.”

I don’t know what else to say. My brain just shuts down.

She is wearing the sheet, wound around her like a toga. It
trails behind her bare feet, sort of like a painting about Greek goddesses I’ve
seen in art books. She’s leaning over another body stored in the cooler unit on
a cart. Her back is to me, and I can only see her pale skin and her
burgundy-black hair shuddering.

“Amanda.”

She turns at the sound of my voice, seeming only to hear me for
the first time. Her face is covered in dark blood. In her hand, she’s holding a
big chunk of purple flesh. Her eyes are half-closed. The autopsy incision on
the elderly body below her has been ripped open, and I’m pretty sure that what
she’s holding is a lung.

“So hungry…” she murmurs.

I retreat until my back presses against the cold door. A
whimper escapes my lips, and I drop the laundry basket with a sharp crack of plastic on the tile floor. This
has to be a dream. A screwed-up anxiety dream that I’ll wake up from any moment
now…

Amanda’s black eyes snap open. She stares at the chunk of
flesh in her hand. “I…Agh…What’s
going on?”

Lothar waddles over to her and begins to beg. Bile rises in
my throat. “That’s Mrs. Canner,” I manage to answer. “She’s seventy-two and
died of surgery complications for varicose veins. Deep vein thrombosis, I
think. I don’t remember.” I’m babbling, trying to keep the bile down.

Amanda drops the lung with a wet splat. Lothar scrambles to it and begins scarfing it down. Her hands
are trembling. She presses them to her temples. “I don’t understand. I don’t
understand.”

I nudge the laundry basket closer to her with my foot. “I
brought you some clothes. And, um. Food. You should get dressed.”

I think I should be afraid. I think I really ought to be.
But Amanda seems genuinely confused. She reaches for the clothes I’ve brought
her. To be polite, I know that I should really look away. But I can’t move. I
am not turning my back on her. My heart pounds, and I struggle to take deep, uneven
breaths.

Amanda unwinds the sheet and slips into my clothes. Though I
avert my eyes, I see that her shoulder and side are still torn open. But my
mother hasn’t begun the autopsy yet, so there is no Y-incision across her chest
and abdomen.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” I manage to ask. I
congratulate myself for having a rational thought. Woot.

Her voice is halting, and her brow wrinkles as she struggles
to button my jeans. “I remember…something was chasing me. Jesus, it hurt…” Her
hand comes up to her neck, and she seems to remember, fingering the edges of
the wound. “Am I in a hospital?” she asks again.

I suck in a breath. “No. You’re at my house.” It’s not a
lie. Not really.

She scans the room, as if registering the sight of the
cadavers. “You’re the girl whose parents run the funeral home. The Ghoul Girl.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” I tell her.

“Why am I here?” Her breath makes ghosts in the cold air.

“The Sheriff found you, alongside the road.” That’s true
also, even if not the whole truth. “I think we should get you upstairs, so you
can talk to my parents…”

She shakes her head, and her dark hair slaps across her
face. “No. I…Oh my god. I’m here because…somebody thought I was dead?”

I swallow hard. “Yeah.”

Her hands press to the wound on her side. “But I’m not
dead!”

“I…uh…I think we need to get you to the hospital.” I
tentatively reach toward her, to grasp her arm and guide her upstairs, toward
the light of the much more civilized parlor and rational discussion. This is so
far over my head, and I need my parents to handle it.

She shakes her head. “No. No. No.”

I hold her elbow gently, trying to keep her calm until I can
get her upstairs to my parents. Her skin radiates cold through the sweatshirt,
and I can see that the edges of her neck wound are dry, not seeping so much as
a hint of blood. “Come with me.” I open the door and gently lead her into the
lab, as if I’m herding a frightened cat. She gazes at the stainless-steel
equipment. “I was here. I remember being here.”

“Come upstairs,” I urge, struggling to keep my composure. I
use all the empathy that I’ve learned, dealing with grieving family members,
trying to understand the shock and lead her away from the Body Shop.

She squints up at the buzzing light. “You were here, weren’t
you? You and that woman. Looking at me.”

“My mother,” I say. I’m thinking crap crap crap. I’ve heard of cases of people whose vitals have
dropped far beyond detection, who have awoken in hospital morgues. This has
never happened to us. Not ever. Oh shit. The other body. Maybe it the same
thing…

“The woman with that knife…” Her fingers go to her sternum,
where my mother’s scalpel had rested. All of a sudden, Amanda becomes rooted in
place, as immovable as a mountain.

“No one’s going to hurt you,” I promise. “Let me make you
some coffee.”

She shakes her head, and I feel her trembling. Her eyes
slide to the back door.

She slips from my grip. Before I can stop her, she rushes to
the back door. She slams it open with a sound like a gunshot and plunges into
the darkness.

About the Author:

Laura Bickle grew up in rural Ohio, reading entirely too many comic books out loud to her favorite Wonder Woman doll. After graduating with an MA in Sociology-Criminology from Ohio State University and an MLIS in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she patrolled the stacks at the public library and worked with data systems in criminal justice. She now dreams up stories about the monsters under the stairs. Her work has been included in the ALA’s Amelia Bloomer Project 2013 reading list and the State Library of Ohio’s Choose to Read Ohio reading list for 2015-2016.

More information about Laura’s work can be found at 

www.laurabickle.com

https://twitter.com/Laura_Bickle  

https://www.facebook.com/Author.Laura.Bickle

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The Sage's Reign The Final Lesson Book 2 by Shakyra Dunn

The
Sage's Reign

The
Final Lesson Book 2

by
Shakyra Dunn

Genre:
YA Fantasy

Eternal
night looms over Adrylis.

After
her Grimoire is lost to the Order of Helix, Leilana is left to
prepare herself in a newfound way before her return to the crown city
of Linmus to help reclaim Prince Remiel's throne. One by one,
countries lay burning at their feet. Magic is on its last legs, but
the Orb of Concord is within their reach.

From
the opposite spectrum, the mastermind awaits, playing puppet-master
as they march to their doom. Time is against them as the final
moonless night looms above. The final test from the Warlords of Old
has finally come into play.

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Excerpt:

The cinders crackled over the singed wood, rising through midnight’s earthy air. Gusts of wind drifted through the dry oak trees, the shades of early autumn teeming from the branches in the form of cracked leaves. The stars were absent from the sky, yet a faint glimmer hovered above.

The still night of a new moon; such times were hard to fall upon. That made things even more brilliant for such an announcement.

“You feel it, don’t you?” A gravelly voice cut through the silence, catching the attention of the group that surrounded him. “This air is thick. The stigma of the wind such as this besieges any and every lost soul, carrying them beyond the boundaries of time.”

“Master Hinju, you always make things more dramatic.”

Any means of a rebuttal were replaced by extended humming in a straight tone before finally, “Now is not the time for remarks.” Copper eyes opened to the sound of distant laughter caught in the indistinct gales, and a single glance at the source drew bitter silence. A stern expression coated his features as he gazed upon the group of fourteen seated around the open fire; no disturbances occurred, and he once more cleared his throat, running his fingers through the curly brown mop on his head.

“I have summoned you here today for your final examination.” For a moment, chatter progressed among the group, some questioning what he meant by a ‘final examination,’ and after a second glance, silence took over again. “Moving on… The fourteen of you have advanced through your courses with ease, rising through the ranks of your respective classes. You were hand-chosen by your mentors to reach this stage in your lives.”

“Master Hinju, what is this final examination?” One student piped up, a stalwart expression coating her pale features. “We’ve had plenty of tests, but this is the first that I’ve heard of this…”

“Curious as always, Leilana,” Hinju replied with a nod. “That is correct—you have had many of these examinations, using your time to study magic and overcome obstacles placed before you.” The man cocked his head to the right and smirked. “But how often have you been sought out by the Headmaster himself for one of them?” Leilana grew silent, tucking a loose strand of her shoulder-length dark hair behind her ear.

“He’s not wrong…” one of the students mumbled.

“I guess this is the first time we’ve had someone like Master Hinju try to teach us…”

“Your examination on the night of emptiness will be a test of your overall skill level and valor.” Hinju rose to a stand, extending his hand up towards the evening sky. “As Maesters and Arcana, under the blessing of an innovative and invisible moon, you will be guided by none other than yourself. I chose this night specifically for you to give your all.” The students turned to one another in silence before continuing to listen to their Headmaster’s words. “Two by two, you will duel one another. The winners of each respective battle will progress towards the title that you each so crave—a chance to grow closer to becoming a Warlord.”

Leilana’s eyes widened at the statement, and she clutched the golden-encrusted grimoire in her arms closer to her chest, the metal vines lining the book pricking her fingers. So, that was the prize for winning a duel. Seemed simple enough.

“Would anyone like to volunteer for the first battle?”

******

The kingdom of Linmus was abound in buildings and bustling crowds. The market was packed to the brim, and from his extended tower, he could see the forests stretch for miles on end. Further right was a cascading waterfall, his hidden passage into Adrylis. One day, he would walk through the water, watch the ripples disappear behind him. He could escape, if only for a little while.

“There’s so much to see,” Rem told Solus. “There’s a world beyond this kingdom. And someday, I want to meet all my subjects. I want to learn from them and see how they live.”

“The world is vast,” Solus agreed. He wanted to sigh rather than tip the boundaries of their conversation, for the truth was far out of reach from his young master.

Rem laid his hands on the windowsill and watched the mid-spring chill graze the trees from afar. How he wished that he could kiss the leaves himself. “My father got to experience a life like that at my age, and so did my mother. Why shouldn’t I have the same treatment? Why should I remain a prisoner in this castle for the rest of my life just because I was born differently?”

“Why don’t we take a trip to our favorite spot?” Solus responded, to which Rem smiled softly. It was best to consider the little details in their plans, and they always shared their best thoughts until the waterfall. Preferably with cream puffs, which added a moment’s bliss into any derails.

“How are we getting there without running into people? Surely we can’t just walk out the front door.”

Solus playfully smirked. “You know every nook and cranny; you tell me.” Rem gestured towards an open door, Solus trailing behind him. Rem shut the door once they were inside, running to a window and prying the latch open.

“Ever noticed that the castle walls are full of vines?” Solus shrugged, keeping an open mind on the subject. “My father used to tell me stories about how my mother would climb up to him. It was like he was playing the role of the princess, and she was the knight coming to rescue him. This is how they would meet before they were able to marry.”

“So, your suggestion is for us to climb down the vines,” Solus said flatly. “Isn’t that dangerous? What if you slip and break your neck? Or better yet, you have magic to secure you. Will you be catching me if I were to fall?”

“Only if you’re not careful, princess.” Solus shot Rem a glare, but the young prince was already taking his climb onto the windowsill and blatantly ignored him. Rem turned around, holding out a hand towards Solus, his free hand behind his back. “Come on, what’s the harm?” Solus stepped closer, wary of the distance between them.

“Please get down, Remiel,” he warned.

“Oh, I think my feet are slipping,” Rem egged on, his toes bouncing on the rim of the windowsill.

“I mean it,” Solus snarled, holding up a hand in attempts to stall his prince’s cruel intentions. This wasn’t uncommon for either of them. Remiel was full of tricks, but Solus could dispel them just as easily. “Come down from there.”

“You are not my father or mother,” Rem replied, both hands firmly placed over each side of the condensed space filling the window.

“This isn’t the time to show off!” Solus tried to reason, noticing that the situation was becoming dire. “You’ll hurt yourself-” Rem winked at him before jumping. Solus shrieked in surprise, racing for the window without a second thought, reaching out for Rem despite the increasing distance between them.

Rem hit the ground, but not in the form of a pancake like Solus anticipated. Instead, he charmed a barrier to manifest underneath his body, cushioning his fall. He was laughing the whole way down, loving the rush of wind across his face, kicking his feet like a toddler upon reaching the courtyard’s cut grass. Solus’s eyes narrowed, his knuckles going white from how tight his fists were clenched. So that was why he’d made such a risky jump.

“Come on down, Solus Brenner!” Rem called, though he was cautious about his volume in case someone else was around. “I’ll catch you like you wanted.”

Solus was reluctant for mere seconds before obliging, diving into the barrier that Rem placed at his side, patting his hand on the grass. Solus dusted off his clothes as Rem stood up, trailing over to him with his arms behind his back.

“You had nothing to worry about,” Rem told him. Solus snarled a second time, pushing Rem hard, knocking him back to the ground. “Hey!” he whined. “That hurt!”

“Oh, you’ll live,” he hissed. “Though, you almost didn’t. And for that, you can deal with a push. Now on your toes. We’re leaving.”

******

Leilana must have read through the notes that Hinju provided half a dozen times now, and she still couldn’t comprehend melding human emotions with magic. There was so much about the concept that seemed off-putting. The radio on her desk was blaring, the discussion heavy on news of the kingdom of Linmus. The details were nearly lost before she decided to acknowledge the static-filled device.

“It has been five days since the kingdom of Linmus was struck. No one is certain of the circumstances, and there appear to be no survivors from the castle grounds, with few having fled the city limits. Among the fallen are King Somano Vesarus and Queen Rira Lurin-Vesarus. The only remaining heir to the throne, Prince Remiel, has been declared missing-”

Leilana reached for the dial of her pocket radio and turned it down to a lower setting, continuing to look over her notes. She was stumped on the field of laughter. There were so many interpretations that Hinju could have specified for his notions, and instead, he stuck to the most literal statement.

Laughter is the expression of true happiness. Encountering someone that may possess the totem of laughter is most evident in how they carry themselves—they walk in the present, ignoring the past and looking to the future with open arms.

Come on, seriously? How many people still had reasons to laugh and be merry with war at their doorstep? How could they live a life where the future wasn’t even guaranteed?

Closing the spiral-bound notebook, she turned the radio up to listen to the news about Linmus again to find infomercials about ‘the land of sunny springs, Kinsley’ playing. They were holding a formal to shed some light in the world of chaos. It wasn’t the first time she had heard of Kinsley, but from acquired knowledge, it wasn’t her ideal vacation spot. Too much sun was bad for the skin.

She laid her head on her desk, giving a passing glance to the open window, where the school’s pride stood gallantly in the form of a mahogany tree. The skyline reflected a melodious blend of ginger, rose and amber, the premature light hovering over Adrylis promising a bright start to this pilgrimage she was granted. She turned to look over her room. It was minuscule but fit for one due to its custom options. Her floor was scattered in paperwork here and there, the wall space taken up with quotes she had written down from her professors:

‘Inspiration is everywhere.’

‘Magic stems from the comprehension of others.’

‘Happiness is not one note.’

Every moment spent in determination, every step in any direction held meaning. That was something she had come to learn through her time cooped up in this room, bound to her elements, spending each day diligently reviewing magical spells and the mystic word of Lasette. This would be her last time in this room as a student. When she set foot in this tiny space she called home again, she would be either a Warlord or a failure. She didn’t want to consider being trapped as a lowly Arcana for all eternity. Such a fate seemed too cruel with so much possibility at her doorstep.

The
Final Lesson

The
Final Lesson Book 1

"Trust
none but yourself."

Leilana
Erovina's got a bid for power as she takes the final test to become
one of her realm's Warlords. As such, she sets out to travel the
lands of Adrylis and log magical totems from respectful folk with
only one hitch—no ancestral help. The quest is a pilgrimage to
learn the basics of human nature. Some would call concepts like
gentleness and passion fables of the heart.

In
another perspective, war brews in the kingdom of Linmus, throwing
Adrylis into chaos. Prince Remiel Vesarus finds himself in exile,
vengeance on his mind for those who tore his life asunder. His
attendant Solus Brenner at his side, they plan on restoring their
kingdom against all odds.

Fate
has drawn these two parties together. Conjoined at the hip, the
traveler, prince and right-hand will learn the old saying of magic:
"It always comes with a price."

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Shakyra
Dunn can't stray away from the impression that there is always an
adventure around every corner! When she isn't playing the role of the
Creator, she is marching through the worlds of her favorite video
game characters or taking drives around her city to see the sights.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, she currently resides in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, striving to experience more than the little town.

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