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Thursday, November 1, 2018

Holly’s Hurricane by Marie Carter






Holly’s Hurricane

Marie Carter


Genre: Literary Fiction


Publisher: Grace Goodrich Press








Date of Publication: November 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1721563531

Number of pages: 192

Cover Artist: Marie Carter

Tagline: …a fantastical ode to New York City’s glorious and horrifying past, as well as a warning to us all for its future.


Book Description:

In the year 2040, Hurricane Diana descends on New York City. Holly Williams, an architect and immigrant from England flees to her home country, staying with her ailing stepdad in Boston, England. Her mother, who has Alzheimer’s, is living in a nursing home nearby.

Holly's purpose in life, it seems, has been to design factories and offices for robotics companies while overseeing the demolition of historic New York buildings. 

While seeking refuge from the hurricane that has destroyed New York City to the point that is barely recognizable, Holly begins to have strange hallucinations in which a mysterious stranger guides her through some of the city’s forgotten and dramatic past.


What others are saying about Holly’s Hurricane

"Holly’s Hurricane, smartly set in the near future after a category 4 hurricane hits New York, will appeal to futurists and history buffs. An absorbing romantic novel that will make you think in new ways about the past, present and future of our most vulnerable cities as humankind battles climate change."—Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Stowaway

"Here is New York City as we have never seen it, devastated by Hurricane Diana in 2040. Here too is our long overdue romantic heroine, Holly Williams, a sixty-year-old architect and immigrant struggling with ailing parents, unruly robotic aides, and an unexpected love interest twelve years her junior. Guided by a Virgil-like figure, Holly begins to realize at last her professional and personal potential as she embarks on a mission to preserve what's left of her adopted city. Prepare to be swept away by the sheer force of Holly's Hurricane—a fantastical ode to New York City's glorious and horrifying past, as well as a warning to us all for its future."—Molly Gaudry, author of We Take Me Apart

"Be prepared to travel through dimensions in time and space in Holly’s Hurricane. This is the kind of novel that haunts you, and you’ll find yourself thinking about it for days to come. You’ll become Holly, a brilliant architect, walking through the ruins of New York City in 2040 after a hurricane has devastated the city.  Gorgeously written and incredibly wise, it’s a page-turner that will leave you on the edge of your seat, wondering if you’ve just looked through the window of our very vulnerable future. But as Marie Carter asks, 'How could something so pretty and intricate emerge from some devastation?' Carter shows us that all is not lost, as she carves the beauty out of the destruction."—Liz Scheid, author of The Shape of Blue




Excerpt:


One minute I am
sitting with my mum in the nursing home in Boston, England.
The next I was
transported to the Strid, the stream that lurks about a hundred yards from the
nursing home, with all the danger signs. It looks perfectly benign, but because
of its deadly combination of fast currents and underwater rocks, anyone who has
ever jumped in, or gone swimming in the Strid, has died. They put the first
danger signs up about fifty years after the third person had gone missing, but
still, about twenty years ago some troublemaker had dipped a toe in and was
grabbed by the current as if by a hungry monster, angry with the daredevil for
even tempting fate.
I was standing
by the Strid when I saw a man who looked faintly familiar, sporting pince-nez
glasses, a salt and pepper thick mustache, and wearing a bowler hat. He was
stylishly dressed and a little portly—in fact, I would have said he had a
similar profession to mine—like an architect, except he seemed to be from
another era. He took his hat off as a gesture, and I could see his hair was
parted down the middle. He beckoned me to come closer and gestured for me to
look into the water. The remarkable thing was, I didn’t feel unsafe. There was
something fatherly about the man, something I trusted. As I drew closer and
closer, I noticed a kind of whirlpool gaining more and more momentum in the
Strid. The noise of the water suddenly became deafening which was a shock to
me, as I couldn’t hear it earlier.
The man said
very simply, “Hello, Ms. Williams.”
And then,
without warning, to my horror, the man pushed me in. I was instantly suctioned
into a whirlpool but, to my amazement, I didn’t get wet. And, in spite of my
age, I felt no discomfort. In fact, I felt light, and all of my daily aches and
pains seemed to evaporate. I found myself in a vacuous tunnel-like interior,
and I was falling like Alice down the rabbit hole, but in slow motion, as
though I had developed wings. This was a relief. At my age, broken bones are
harder to repair.
I landed
weightlessly at the bottom of the steps of an imposing building that looked
like an ancient Roman temple. I could barely feel my body, and I noticed I
appeared to be see-through; my hands were opaque. The Architect was right
behind me, looking at me and smiling, very proper and gentlemanly. He began
climbing the steps of the building like an animated fairy sprite, turning and
beckoning me to follow. But I stood gaping with a goldfish mouth, entranced.
The structure was reminiscent of French palaces and Italian basilicas. The
gigantic granite and steel façade was supported by Roman columns. The Architect
bounced impatiently on the steps calling to me, “Ms. Williams,” and becoming
afraid I might lose my guide, I began climbing to the top, punctuating each
stair with a heavy footstep. I felt like a Roman goddess. Staring at the
grandiose clock above me, I noted it was four in the afternoon.
Entering the gargantuan
doors, I could hear crackly announcements being made over a PA system for what
seemed to be the names of places and times. Commuters in stylish heels clicked
past me.
“May I offer you
a tour?” the Architect asked, presenting his elbow, his manners at once
charming and archaic. He even wore elbow patches. “No one can see you,” he
said, as if reading my mind.
“Are we ghosts?”
I asked him, but he scoffed at my remark. Was this it for me? Had I died?
“Where are we?” I pressed.
“The past,” he
answered.
“What is this
place?” It felt at once familiar and foreign.
“Penn Station,
New York City, 1920 when it was in its heyday.”
I gasped. I had
read about Old Penn Station when I was studying for my Masters at university
many years ago. I hadn’t thought about it in such a long time.
We commenced
walking at a regal pace. “Penn Station, New York, New York, was born in 1910
and died in 1963,” the man began.
On the interior,
we were greeted by Italian-style shopping arcades with drugstores, clothing
boutiques, and elegant restaurants, separated by columns of creamy, smooth
travertine marble. There were two statues of important-looking men who were
dwarfing the travelers; one was carrying blueprints.
“Not a lot of
New Yorkers know or remember the original Penn Station,” the Architect said,
smiling wistfully. “It was quite glorious, as you can see.” He gestured with
his arm for me to drink in the splendor of Penn Station and I did. The walls
were 150 feet high, I calculated, as I craned my neck upwards towards its
magnificence and abundance of light.
“Let’s look at
the waiting rooms,” he said, guiding me away from the stores, where patrons
were chattering merrily.
In the waiting
room, people were milling around smoking cigars or hugging and kissing, their
faces changed from determined desire to softness as though they had finally
found what they were seeking. Semi-circular windows bathed travelers in
sunbeams. World maps crowded the walls.











About
the Author:





MARIE CARTER is a Scottish
writer, editor, writing teacher, and tour guide, based in Astoria, NY.

Her first book, The Trapeze
Diaries, based on her experiences of learning trapeze, was published by Hanging
Loose Press. Her novel Holly's Hurricane will be published in November 2018.

Marie has been a guest on NPR,
and has been featured in The New York Times, Queens Gazette, Huffington Post,
QNS, and many other media outlets.

Her work has been published in
Hanging Loose, The Brooklyn Rail, Spectacle, Turntablebluelight, and
Yogacitynyc, among others and in the anthologies The Best Creative Nonfiction
(W. W. Norton, 2007) and Voices of Multiple Sclerosis (LaChance, 2009). She has
also been awarded and attended a residency at the MacDowell Colony.

Marie currently teaches Memoir
and Creative Writing at Gotham Writers' Workshop.

Fascinated by New York City's
macabre and little-known histories in her writing and life, she decided to
further her interest by becoming a licensed tour guide with Boroughs of the
Dead. She created and guides the "Haunting Histories and Legends of
Astoria" tour and also leads other tours in Greenwich Village, Lower
Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights, and Roosevelt Island. She also lectures on various
aspects of New York City's history on a regular basis at Q.E.D. in Astoria,
Queens.
Marie has provided editorial and
layout and design services to Hanging Loose Press, one of the oldest
independent publishers in the United States. She is the editor of Word Jig: New
Fiction from Scotland (Hanging Loose, 2003) and co-editor of Voices of the City
(Hanging Loose Press, 2004).

Marie graduated from Edinburgh
University with an MA in English Literature.






Interview with Marie Carter

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
A little bit of both. I tend to think of it more as I start out with the characters in a very wide angle. They’re not very clear to me in the early stages of writing the book and I give them lots of room to play. However, as I continue with the story they come more and more into focus. Their behavior becomes more understandable and three-dimensional. As I get closer to the finish line, the characters start to serve the purposes of the story more and more.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
The book is a page-turner and leaves the reader with many questions that don’t get answered until the end of the book. A lot of mysteries are set up in the beginning. What will happen to New York City following this destructive hurricane? Will the protagonist Holly ever go back to New York City? Why is she having these strange hallucinations or dreams about New York City’s past? Are they hallucinations or is this something that is happening to her in another dimension? Who is the mysterious guide who keeps meeting her in the dreams?
I think the book has a lot of urgent themes, climate change being one. It also consistently asks questions about memory, both the personal and the collective. Why do we remember certain events, both historic and personal, and not others? How does that shape our society?
Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes. I wrote a novel called The Wonder Wheel and a memoir called Let the Shadows Come, but they’re books I ended up abandoning for one reason or another.  Mostly because I couldn’t get them to work the way I wanted them to.
Pen or type writer or computer?
Computer, ultimately. But there is something about writing with a pen that makes me feel more connected to the story. It’s more intimate and personal.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
First of all, THANK YOU! This is my second book and it never ceases to amaze me when someone tells me they wrote something I wrote.  I am very grateful for every little bit of support I get.

Holly’s Hurricane was a labor of love for me. At a certain point I became so attached to the character and the situations that I found myself crying over certain scenes. I also found when I finally was ready to let go of the book I had this moment of being really sad that I wouldn’t be hanging out with Holly or Orlando anymore. I hope the reader finds the same level of connection with the story as I did.

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Book Blast for A LORD FOR CHRISTMAS by Ella Quinn, Lauren Smith, Collette Cameron, and Jenna Jaxon


A LORD FOR CHRISTMAS
by Ella Quinn, Lauren Smith, Collette Cameron, and Jenna Jaxon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The authors will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


GENRE:

Regency Romance


A Lord for Christmas: Heart-warming Regency Yuletide Tales is a collection of novellas with both holiday themes as well as those of love, passion, intrigue, and romance running throughout. With each story, you’ll long for your own Lord for Christmas.



Marriage by Twelfth Night by Ella Quinn – Lady Euphrosyne Trevor knows exactly what she wants in a marriage when she meets the Marquis of Markville. But when her father, the Duke of Somerset, refuses the suit out of hand and betroths Euphrosyne to another man, they must find a way to defy the duke and save the only chance they have for love.



The Rogue's Seduction by Lauren Smith - Perdita, London's favorite lady is desperate to avoid a fortune hunter and enlists the help of London's most wicked Rogue to fake an engagement, but her rogue has every intention of claiming Perdita as his wife.



A December with a Duke by Collette Cameron – After a horrific marriage, Everleigh vows to never marry again, but the enigmatic Duke of Sheffield is determined to woo the beautiful widow and make her his own.



A Match Made at Christmas by Jenna Jaxon — Sophia must allow her grandmother to arrange a match for her, the name of the groom to be announced at a Christmas house party. So when Sophia finds the true love of her life, she has no idea if he is her grandmother’s choice or not.


Read an Excerpt from The Rogue’s Seduction by Lauren Smith

She marched up the steps and rapped the metal knocker mounted on the stout oak door. Suddenly doubt assailed her. This was a terrible idea. Her mind screamed at her to flee as she stood upon the threshold to the underworld.



Perhaps she could beg her parents to let her go to the continent for a few years and avoid the fate that had driven her to this door at such an hour. Yet that would only spare her, not her family, of the consequences of running away from the blackmail she was facing.



The door creaked, the old oak protesting as the hinges grudgingly gave in. A middle-aged butler stood there, his beady eyes peering down at her over his long, thin nose and pointed chin. His professional demeanor lacked the politeness expected of a servant in a decent household. His shoulders were broad, and he seemed far too muscular for a refined position of a butler. But this wasn’t a decent household. This was the devil’s own home.



“Er…” He blinked at her, apparently startled by her appearance. It was a risk to be seen standing on this particular doorstep after midnight, a fact of which she was all too aware.



“I must see Lord Darlington at once,” she told the man, praying he would let her inside. She could not take the risk of being seen and starting a scandal. Or rather, a different scandal than the one she was meticulously planning already.



The man hesitated, his body barring her entrance through the still partially closed door. “This is late, even for my master.”



Perdita didn’t back down. “I am aware of the hour, but he will want to see me.” She raised her chin and announced this with such regal bearing that he would not dare question her. He sighed and stepped away from the doorway. Her mother’s lessons, it seemed, hadn’t been wasted on her after all.



“This way, madam.” He waved a hand for her to step inside. She entered the townhouse, her body relaxing, but only just. She may have been out of view of the street, but she was still in very dangerous territory.



Two dim lamps illuminated the hall and staircase. She was surprised they were still lit. Was the master of the house still awake? She had assumed he would be, but the house was hushed and ghostly quiet. She took a moment to study her surroundings with open curiosity. The foyer was bare of any decorations, paintings, or even end tables. The starkness of it surprised her.



So this is where the Devil of London resides.


About the Authors:



USA Today bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them.



She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat. After cruising the Caribbean and North America, she completed a transatlantic crossing from St. Martin to Southern Europe. She's currently living in Germany, happily writing while her husband is back at work, recovering from retirement.



Website: http://www.ellaquinnauthor.com

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

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ellaquinnauthor

Blog: http://ellaquinnauthor.wordpresscom/



USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Smith is an Oklahoma attorney by day, author by night who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She knew she was destined to be a romance writer when she attempted to re-write the entire Titanic movie just to save Jack from drowning. Connecting with readers by writing emotionally moving, realistic and sexy romances no matter what time period is her passion. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including: New England Reader’s Choice Awards, Greater Detroit BookSeller’s Best Awards, and a Semi-Finalist award for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. She is a 2018 RITA ® Finalist in the Romance Writers of America Contest. To connect with Lauren, visit her at www.laurensmithbooks.com



Website: http://www.laurensmithbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenDianaSmith

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSmithAuthor

Blog: http://theleagueofrogues.blogspot.com/





USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author, Collette Cameron pens Scottish and Regency historicals, featuring rogues, rapscallions, rakes, and the intelligent, intrepid damsels who reform them.



Blessed with fantastic fans as well as a compulsive, over-active, and witty Muse who won’t stop whispering new romantic romps in her ear, she lives in Oregon with her mini-dachshunds, though she dreams of living in Scotland part-time.



You’ll always find dogs, birds, occasionally naughty humor, and a dash of inspiration in her sweet-to-spicy timeless romances®.



Website: https://collettecameron.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collette.cameron.5

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collette_Author



Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical romance in all time periods because, she says, “passion is timeless.” She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She’s a theatre director when she’s not writing and lives in Gloucester, Virginia with her family, including two very vocal cats and one silent one.



Jenna is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well as an active member of Chesapeake Romance Writers, her local chapter of RWA. She has four series currently available: The House of Pleasure, set in Georgian England, Handful of Hearts, set in Regency England, and Time Enough to Love, set in medieval England and France, and The Widows’ Club series, also set in Regency England and available from Kensington Publishing in both print and digital.



She currently writes to support her chocolate habit.



Website: https://jennajaxon.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenna-Jaxon/146857578723570

Twitter:: https://twitter.com/Jenna_Jaxon



BUY LINKS: - on sale for only $0.99



Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JK77K9V/ref=x_gr_w_bb

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-lord-for-christmas-lauren-smith/1129769409



GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY a $50 Amazon/BN GC

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Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:




Breaking Josephine by Brooke Stanton


Breaking Josephine
Brooke Stanton
Publication date: November 1st 2018
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

From an award winning and #1 bestselling author comes a “HOT, sexy, and sinfully delicious historical romance!”

Widower Jack Harrington needs a young man to work on his farm, what he gets is eighteen-year-old Josephine Taylor—a spirited young woman from Manhattan. Stubborn and willful, Jo tests Jack’s limits. But soon the struggle between them awakens a passion neither can resist. Giving in to temptation could mean the ruin of Jo socially and the destruction of Jack’s carefully guarded heart. Do they have the courage to fight against the restraints of society and fall into the intoxicating embrace of love…

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

Jack closed his eyes and took in a long slow breath. But his attempt to regain control failed. In a swift movement, his hands circled under Jo’s thighs and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

One of his hands cupped her buttocks, holding her up, while his other sailed up her spine and over her neck. Their lips were a breath apart, and for a moment they stayed like that, breathing each other’s air.

Their heartbeats galloped together under the thin fabric of their clothes, and Jo didn’t know where hers stopped and his began. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she shivered at the temptation that was offered up in his sweet lips so close to hers. How quickly she forgot the inappropriateness of what their kisses had led to in the past. But her mind was a fog of want and desire, and propriety was as far off as the moon.



Her tongue flicked out, grazing his lip, and it was all the encouragement Jack needed. His mouth captured hers, firm and moist, and she sighed. Her tongue moved in an urgent rhythm against the velvety meal he offered up in his sweet mouth.

She felt him harden under his trousers, and Jo’s hands twitched, instinctively wanting to draw his desire out. Jack gripped her under her thighs and carried her across the barn, pressing her against the wall. Confidence lurched in Jo and she slid her legs down to stand.

She satisfied her twitching hands and placed them on top of the bulge that strained the fabric of his trousers. He groaned in her mouth, and the encouragement of his response thrust her desire forward.



Author Bio:

After her own misadventures in New York City, LA, and London, Brooke Stanton now lives in sunny South Florida. She's an award-winning author who has contributed to Natural Awakenings Magazine, wrote a column for Examiner.com, and is the author of The Bloom Sisters series. Visit her website brookestantonbooks.com.

Get a FREE copy of the prequel, IGNITE, here: http://ilovemyfans.info/ignite-download/

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Citadel by Jack Remick


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Women’s literary fiction
Publisher: Quartet Global Books

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Irven DeVore, an evolutionary biologist, writes that "Males are a breeding experiment run by females."  What if, in fact, women ran everything?  What if women rejected the culture of rape and violence to take control of their lives in the safety of the Citadels? What if women could exist without males? CITADEL is a metafictional, apocalyptic story braided into a contemporary post-lesbian novel built on genetics.






Advance Praise


"I loved the book and I'm suggesting it to all the writers, editors and women I know as a must read. You blew me away... the book drew me in completely... great experience! 
 I'm not sure how you managed to come up with this... let alone research it... a story usually follows one or two Characters... I found myself following the writer, the editor, the publisher, not to mention the Characters in the book... and never got lost, never ended up wondering who someone was or why they did that? I read the book in short spurts and longer chunks depending on opportunity... but never had a problem of falling back into the story... you had me from page one to the end. Great job"  -- Wally Lane, filmmaker, screenwriter.



About the Author


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Jack Remick is the author of twenty books—novels, poetry, short stories, screenplays. He co-authored The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery with Robert J. Ray. His novel Gabriela and The Widow was a finalist for the Montaigne Medal as well as a finalist in Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award. He reviews for the New York Journal of Books. He is a frequent guest and co-host on Michigan Avenue Media with Marsha Casper Cook. His novel Citadel, was featured in the July issue of the Australian magazine eYs.


Contact Links



Purchase Links



Goodbye, Kate by Nicola Haken

Title: Goodbye, Kate
Author: Nicola Haken
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 29, 2018
Cover Design: Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear Creative Covers




Goodbye, Kate is a thrilling, unpredictable ride ~ Heather, White Hot Reads

Deception, action, drama, angst, and love ~ Stephanie, Goodreads Reviewer 

Truly phenomenal read! ~ Michelle, One Click Aholics


Crime families and mob wars only exist in the movies. Betrayal. Violence. Murder. They don’t happen to ordinary people.

Right?

Wrong.

For Lincoln Hollis, this is his world, and there isn’t a clapperboard in sight. A trained killer and advocate of justice, he’s been sent to unravel the neat little bow tied around Kate Fletcher’s perfect life, exposing her to the brutal truths she’s been so meticulously shielded from, before delivering the ultimate punishment for her family’s sins.

There’s just one problem. They’re his family’s sins, too, and he must make a choice.

Who will he say goodbye to first?






Nicola lives in Rochdale, England with her husband and four children. She is the author of multi-genre romance, including the Amazon international bestseller, Broken. When she is not busy playing with her imaginary friends (or talking about them with real life friends) she can usually be found carrying out her ordinary mum/housewife/all-round-slave duties, bingeing on boxsets, drinking too much Pepsi Max, or fussing over her menagerie of pets. Oh, and if the kids ever ask, she moonlights as the Pink Power Ranger while they're sleeping…



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When Stars Come Out by Scarlett St. Clair


When Stars Come Out
Scarlett St. Clair
Publication date: October 31st 2018
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Anora Silby can see the dead and turn spirits into gold coins, two things she would prefer to keep secret as she tries to lead a normal life at her new school. After all, she didn’t change her identity for nothing.

As it turns out, hiding her weirdness is just one of many challenges. By the end of her first day, she’s claimed the soul of a dead girl on campus and lost the coin. Turns out, the coin gives others the ability to steal souls, and when a classmate ends up dead, there’s no mistaking the murder weapon.

Navigating the loss of her Poppa, her mother’s unpredictable behavior, and Roundtable, an anonymous student gossip app threatening to expose her, are hard enough. Now she must find the person who stole her coin before more lives are lost, but that means making herself a target for the Order, an organization that governs the dead on Earth–and they want Anora and her powers for themselves.

Goodreads / Amazon

Are you a book reviewer?

Request a review copy here!

EXCERPT:

A woman with blond hair and a pink blazer smiles at me.

“Can I help you?” Her voice sounds robotic, filtered through the round metal intercom.

“I’m new. I don’t have my schedule—”

“Oh! You must be Anora Silby!” She retrieves a folder from her desk and hands it to me via a small opening at the bottom of the glass barrier. “Inside you will find your schedule and your student handbook.”

I open the folder and stare at the materials. My schedule sits on top. I have already zoned in on my first hour: trigonometry…a.k.a. Hell.

“Be sure you are aware of curfew.”

“Oh, I don’t live on campus.”

“Curfew is countywide,” she advises. “No one’s to be outside after midnight.”

“Why?”

It takes the lady a moment to realize I’ve asked her a question. She blinks.

“It’s always been like that. Since the twenties. You know, after the murders.”

“No, actually…I don’t know,” I wave my folder around to remind her I’m the new girl.

“It’s nothing to be worried about,” the lady assures me. “There haven’t been any murders since then. The curfew’s just in place as…a precaution. It’s best if it’s obeyed.”

She says it like a warning, like she thinks I’m one to break the rules. I can understand curfew for campus, but why is it countywide?

“Would you like a guide to help you find your classes?” Her voice brightens, her smile intensifies. It looks fake, and I get the sense I’m not welcome anymore.

“Uh, sure.”

It’ll be nice to have a map of this place in case I get lost trying to avoid the dead. The lady disappears from view and I take a closer look at the pictures on the wall. I’m partly hopeful I’ll see a picture of the girl outside in one of the photos, but I don’t find her. The images are mostly of buildings on campus in their prime. Gold plates beneath the frames indicate the year they were built. My favorite is Rosewater—that sounds calming.

I run my fingers over the cold metal, tracing the name.

“You must be Anora Silby.” The voice is energetic and warm, but it startles me. I tear my hand away from the plate as if I’ve been caught stealing and yelp, twisting to find a boy standing beside me. He has striking blue eyes and sharp features. My gaze drops to his lips, which are initially pulled into a smile until I face him, then it falters.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

I study him for a moment—lively eyes, faint color in his cheeks, and…warmth. He’s definitely alive. I guess I stare too long because he clears his throat and says, “Can I help you find your classes?”

“Oh…um…the lady was getting me a map.”

A smile stretches across his face again, brightening his expression. “I’m your map.” He extends his hand to me, keeping the other in his pocket. “Shy.”

I stare at his hand, confused—did he just call me shy?

“Excuse me?”

He chuckles under his breath. “It’s my name—Shy Savior.”

“Oh.” My cheeks flame and I want to hide. I fumble as I cradle my folder in my arm and reach for his hand. “Anora Silby…er…I guess you knew that.”

“Yeah,” he breathes, and then quickly adds, “But that’s okay. You have a nice name.”

He doesn’t move his gaze from mine as he shakes my hand firmly, and it is a little unnerving, especially since the pigment of his eyes is so concentrated—seriously, he has to be wearing contacts.

“Um, are you going to let go of my hand?”

“Sorry.” He drops my hand and snakes his behind his neck. “It’s just…have we met?”

I laugh. “No. I think I would remember you, Blue Eyes.”

Shy smiles and turns the faintest shade of pink. “You just feel so familiar.”

“I hope I’m familiar in a good way.”

God. I’d have to say that, wouldn’t I?

I’m breaking my second rule: Absolutely no boys.

“Yes.” He narrows those gorgeous eyes and my resolve weakens. “Yes, only in a good way.”

I inhale and hug myself, feeling self-conscious.

“Mr. Savior, I think it’s about time Miss Silby made it to class,” the lady in the pink blazer advises from the counter.

Shy turns and smiles at her. “Yes. Sorry, Mrs. Cole.” He looks at me, clearing his throat. “So, what’s your first class?”

I’m glad the distraction gives me a reason to look away from him because my cheeks are on fire. I open my folder to look at my schedule. I’d seen it a few minutes ago but now, I can’t remember anything.

“Um, Mr. Val, trig … in Walcourt?”

Shy laughs.

“What?” I lean away to get a good look at his face, but he just shakes his head, eyes focused on my schedule.

“Nothing—what’s your locker number?”

Forty-four.

Shy directs me out of the lobby, down a hallway flanked with a large trophy case and a couple bulletin boards covered with flyers for homecoming.

“The lockers, dorms, and cafeteria are all located here in Emerson,” he explains. “It’s a little inconvenient, but you just have to make sure you have everything you need for your first four classes before lunch,” he pauses and nods to my locker, then the one next to it. “That one’s mine.”

I smile at him and it feels like I’m falling into a trap. “I guess I’ll see more of you, then?”

“Yeah.” He grins, showing his teeth, and runs a hand through his blond hair. I like the way his eyes crinkle at the sides when he smiles, all things I shouldn’t notice about him, considering my rules. “Yeah, you will.”



Author Bio:

Scarlett St. Clair lives in Oklahoma with her husband. She has a Master's degree in Library Science and Information Studies and spends a lot of time researching reincarnation, unsolved murders and Greek mythology-all of which made it into her debut novel, When Stars Come Out.

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The Winter Riddle by Sam Hooker


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Fantasy (Humorous)
Date Published: 1 November 2018

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Publisher: Black Spot Books (https://blackspotbooks.com)


When destiny calls on the Winter Witch to save the North Pole, will she pretend she’s not in?

Once upon a time, the North Pole was a very noisy place. A kingdom cowered under the maniacal rule of the White Queen, The Vikings raided and pillaged as they were wont to do, and the Winter Witch avoided talking to any of them.

When her peace and quiet are obliterated by threats of war and Ragnarok, she’ll try anything to get them back. When casting spells to become nearly invisible and dealing with otherworldly powers fail, the Winter Witch needs to forge an alliance with Santa—a retired warrior who’s anything but jolly—to save the North Pole from calamity.

Will the Vikings take up arms against the frost giants? Will an evil necromancer keep the kingdom in the grip of fear? And for the love of Christmas, will everyone who isn’t the Winter Witch please stop meddling with dark forces beyond mortal comprehension for a bit?

Deck the halls and bar the doors! We’re in for a long winter’s night.

Excerpt

Santa’s Detritus


Santa’s Village was always giving off some sort of minor nuisance that she could overlook. The occasional thunderous boom, the erstwhile blinding flashes in the sky, and the rare fluctuation in the Northern Lights were all easy enough to forgive and forget, but the wreckage of some infernal machine gone clog dancing over her herb garden was just the sort of thing to land an insolent neighbor at the top of the revenge list.

Oh, yes! The spirits were simply philanthropic with cause for revenge of late. There must have been a surplus. It was shaping up to be a very busy winter.

Adding insult to injury, Santa probably had no idea that his detritus had inconvenienced anyone. If she did nothing about it, he’d most likely go on with his life as if nothing had happened. Not a chance! Walking away from this would require legs! Functional ones, with knees intact!

Volgha stood there, fuming. She wasn’t very handy in dealing with people. Plants, yes. Animals, to be sure. The occasional Viking was fine, as long as they were full of mead and beef and you toasted Valhalla with them once or twice. However, your standard, run-of-the-mill person came with all sorts of things. Feelings, needs, complications. It was disgusting, really.


About the Author


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Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy. He is an entirely serious person, regardless of what you may have heard. Originally from Texas, he now resides in southern California with his wife, son, and dog.







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