PREORDER: Tied Up with a Bow by Maggie Blackbird

Everyone please give a warm welcome to my dear friend and fellow eXtasy Books author MAGGIE BLACKBIRD, who has a short story coming out next week, TIED UP WITH A BOW. It looks like it's a fun and yummy read, so get your copy on preorder NOW!

Cover by Martine Jardin

He’s got the perfect Christmas present for the community’s chief—vengeance wrapped in a shiny box with a red bow on top.

Joseph Slade Indian isn’t angry. He’s pissed. Pissed that the man who threw over his love for glory and money is back, and now leads their Ojibway community as the new chief. Holding the pain deep in his chest, Slade knows how he’ll celebrate the most miserable day of the year—opening a gift of recompense after being dumped by the one man he dared to love.

Gavin Pemmican is full of regret. He knows he made a big mistake leaving Slade for a materialistic dream of power and prestige. No longer the poor bullied misfit but an educated lawyer, he’s ready to put his skills to the biggest case of his life by brazenly challenging Slade in the kangaroo court of sexual torture he’s daring to stick Gavin in—and win back the only man he’s ever loved.

Genre(s):  Multicultural, m/m contemporary romance, adult, LGBT.


Heat Rating: Level 4


Publication Date:  November 29, 2019


Publisher:  eXtasy Books

Purchase at eXtasy Books:  https://www.extasybooks.com/maggie-blackbird/978-1-4872-2731-3-tied-up-with-a-bow/

About the Author:  An Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario, Maggie resides in the country with her husband and their fur babies, two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes.  When she’s not writing, she can be found pulling weeds in the flower beds, mowing the huge lawn, walking the Mals deep in the bush, teeing up a ball at the golf course, fishing in the boat for walleye, or sitting on the deck at her sister’s house, making more wonderful memories with the people she loves most.

Web Site:  https://maggieblackbird.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18176196.Maggie_Blackbird
Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/maggieblackbirdauthor/
BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maggie-blackbird
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BlackbirdMaggie/

eXtasy Books:  https://www.extasybooks.com/maggie-blackbird/

Featured Release: Sanguineous by Diana Waters

Good morning everyone! My friend and fellow eXtasy Books author Diana Waters drops by with her newest release, a Halloween short story - Sanguineous. Enjoy!

* * * *

Book title: Sanguineous

Author: Diana Waters

Genre: Paranormal Horror/MM Romance

Publisher: eXtasy Books

Date published: October 25, 2019

Book length: Approx. 5,000 words

Blurb:

Sometimes the past really bites.
Niccolo, a vampire-turned-private detective, is living peacefully in New York with his lover, Felix—until, on the eve of a certain holiday, a late-night visitor from his past comes calling…
Sanguineous is a 5,000-word paranormal horror/gay romance short story in celebration of Halloween.

Excerpt:

“Ignoring me so easily? And the night before Halloween, too—tut tut.”

“Show yourself!” Niccolo shot up from his chair, the harsh squeal of the wheels underscoring his alarm. He could protect himself well enough, but Felix—

“Perhaps I will show myself, if only you would agree to do the same…oh, very well.” The other vampire materialized with no further fanfare. Then again, it was not as though he needed it.

Shock had Niccolo’s body prickling. He was suddenly cold. His mouth felt clumsy, his words were nowhere near as authoritative as he would have liked. “What do you want?”

“My, what a foolish question. I did say I would be back to fetch you, did I not?”

EXtasy buy link: https://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2721-4-sanguineous/

Author Bio: Diana is a New Zealand M/M romance author currently residing in New York. However, she has also lived and worked for several years in Japan and several months in Thailand. She has no idea where in the world she’ll be this time next year and is pretty okay with that. Other than reading and writing, her main passions include international travel, amateur photography and competitive swimming.

Author Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/diana.c.waters

Author Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/diana_waters
Author BookBub link: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/diana-waters

Author Twitter link: https://twitter.com/diana__waters

Tour Stop: Pure Dumb Luck by Dahlia Donovan

Pure
Dumb Luck

by
Dahlia Donovan

Genre:
Contemporary M/M Romance 

When
two small-town country dudes win the lottery, they finally find the
courage to speak their truth.

An unexpected adventure
follows.

Linwood "Woody" Robinson has a routine.
He works for his baby brother in construction, buys three lottery
tickets every week, and lusts after his best friend from high school.
He's done the same thing for twenty years.

Eddison "Eddie"
Howard owns the only gas station in their small South Carolina town,
sells lottery tickets, and lusts after his best friend from afar.
They joke around but never speak their truth. He knows they're
cowards but can't seem to find the courage to bridge the gulf between
them.

And then they win eighty million dollars.

Life
changes.

They go from never talking about their feelings to
facing the world together.

Can anything pull them apart?

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to Goodreads

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Dahlia Donovan wrote
her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and
damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and
unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her
life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive
collection of books and video games.

Website
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*Amazon
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the tour HERE
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Tour Stop: The Holeshot Series by Lynn Michaels

Today, my dear friend Lynn Michaels drops by with her series, The Holeshot Series. Enjoy!

* * * *

The
Holeshot

Holeshot
Series Book 1

by
Lynn Michaels

Genre:
M/M Sports Romance 

In
the world of Supercross, taking the holeshot means one racer leaps
ahead of the crowd and into first, leaving the rest of the pack
behind. If Supercross racer Davey McAllister knows anything, it's how
to take the holeshot. When the hot rising star mechanic, Tyler
Whitmore, shows up in his bed, Davey does just that. But, dating a
competitor's mechanic threatens to blow his ride if anyone finds out.
With the fear of losing his sponsors, he has to keep his love life
completely under cover, but Davey is in deep and wants to tell the
world how much he loves Tyler.

Tyler
Whitmore wants to be out of the closet, but dating the competition is
a death sentence for his career. Overprotective of Davey's reputation
and his own dreams, Tyler refuses to commit to his lover and is
afraid of falling hard. Will they ever be able to find their way
through the Premiere racing league pitfalls and acknowledge their
love?

An
m/m romance with tons of hot sex - 18+ please.

Goodreads
* Amazon

Holeshot
2

Holeshot
Series Book 2

In
the world of Supercross, taking the holeshot means one racer leaps
ahead of the crowd and into first, leaving the rest of the pack
behind. Supercross racer, Tate Jordan, wants to take his holeshot on
and off the track, but no one else seems to cooperate. His love life
is in turmoil and his sponsors don’t expect him to win. Will Tate
find someone new to love and a team that believes in him?

Pilot
Mahan is a bodyguard and a street fighter looking to build a future,
but his plans get derailed when a Supercross racer catches his eye.
Can he make a go at a life with Tate Jordan, on the road?

Bryce
Nickel is new to Supercross and adulthood. He’s young and fun, but
super serious about what he wants. And what he wants is to win races
and Tate Jordan. Will he be able to take his holeshot or will the big
Apex bodyguard get in the way? Or perhaps, the three can make a
compromise?

A
super sexy MMM romance set in the Supercross industry – 18+ please

Goodreads
* Amazon

Holeshot
Christmas

Holeshot
Series Novella 

Christmas
isn’t all race tracks and dirt bikes for Davey and Tyler,
especially when they don’t see things about each other in quite the
same way.

A
short Holeshot novella

18+
please.

This
story officially takes place after the events of Holeshot 2; however,
it can be read as a stand alone novella.

Goodreads
* Amazon

Bike
Business

Holeshot
Series Book 3

Apex
Racing is expanding and absorbing Pilot and his lovers. Everyone is
happy with it…except Johnny. He's feeling constantly left out and
more alone than ever before. It's time to seek out his own win, and
find his holeshot even if its off the track and away from
Pilot.

Gavin
is determined to put together the hottest Supercross team, and he
wants that to include Bryce Nickels, but that seems almost impossible
since he signed with Apex. Perhaps, he needs a new angle, like the
sexy business partner of the bodyguard, Johnny Killebrew. Maybe he'll
sign on more than he bargained for.

Everyone
is chasing their own dreams, but Johnny isn't sure he even has one.

Goodreads
* Amazon

Lynn
Michaels lives and writes in Tampa, Florida where the sun is hot and
the Sangria is cold. When she’s not writing she’s kayaking,
hanging with her husband, or reading by the pool. Lynn writes
Male/Male romance because she believes everyone deserves a happy
ending and the dynamics of male characters can be intriguing,
vulnerable, and exciting. She has both contemporary and paranormal
titles and has been writing since 2014. Her stories don’t follow
any set guidelines or ideas, but come from her heart and contain love
in many forms.

Website
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* FB Group * Twitter
* Instagram *
Bookbub * Amazon
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the tour HERE
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The Knights of Camelot by Sarah Luddington - GUEST SPOT!

Good Morning book lovers! Today, Sarah Luddington drops by to talk about her series, The Knights of Camelot.

Don't forget the first book of the series, Lancelot and the King is FREE from June 29 to July 4th! You can get it HERE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DH999SP

* * * *

What inspired you to write this book?

I found Lancelot as a character in a book that will never be published, because I can’t write it well enough, and knew he needed a story of his own. So began my research into Arthurian mythology. What a rabbit hole that turned out to be!

When I studied the original texts I began to see a pattern. Arthur forgives Lancelot, but never Guinevere and her punishment is far worse than Lancelot’s for their affair. Why would a king forgive a knight for bedding his queen? Maybe the king loves the knight far more than the queen and maybe the knight bedded the queen to somehow reach out to the king…? That was the question I asked myself when I began Lancelot and the King, the first in the Knights of Camelot series. It took a lot of words to figure out the answer.

What can we expect from you in the future?

More stories where I turn icons of history and contemporary literature into heroes for the LGBTQ+ community. We deserve heroes and if I have to write them, then I will! These iconic characters, ones that have shaped our understanding of what it means to be heroic and honourable, should also be gay or trans or queer. Why can’t King Arthur or Robin Hood be gay? Does it make them weak? Or less able? Of course not, so that’s why I write these stories.

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?

Loads…

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Lancelot and the King?

The Knights of Camelot. You know the iconic characters I write about. What I’ve tried to do is inject them with the frailties of a real person, while maintaining their essential heroic motifs and the deep magic in the original stories that acted as metaphors for the medieval world view.

Lancelot’s mind breaks under the pressures Arthur, his king, places on him. The dead haunt him. His love for Arthur destroys him and he tries to walk away but fails, so has to find the strength to return and make Arthur really ‘see’ who he is and what he needs. Meanwhile he has to save Camelot from powerful enemies of the supernatural kind and battle gods to prevent England and Albion from being destroyed.

King Arthur was, in many ways, more difficult because I had to learn about him from Lancelot’s point of view. He’s strong, born to be a leader, but doesn’t want the mantel thrust upon him by his birth. It makes him petulant and selfish, especially over the object of his affection. If Arthur can’t have Lancelot, then no one can! As he grows older and sees the damage his selfishness causes to others, Arthur changes, probably the most out of all the characters. He learns that love comes with heavy responsibilities and he shouldn’t always expect to win just because he is a king. He learns about self-sacrifice and in that finds the true meaning of honour. He’s a complex character in the original myths and that doesn’t change in my stories.

Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?

I’ll talk about Lancelot but I could go on forever about the rest of them. His service to his king and country dominate every waking thought for Lancelot. Every decision he makes, every move, he is a soldier first and a man second. His warrior code is scored on his bones but his mind and heart are still fragile and his soul cries out for peace, for hearth and home. For a family. He can and does kill without conscience but he always tries to kill the right person and save the weak or vulnerable.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Easy one – Aidan Turner of Poldark fame. When I saw him in the BBC version of Begin Human he became my Lancelot.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?

In every book my favourite bits are killing the bad guys. Damn, I love it when Lancelot pushes his sword into some bastard and they die knowing he’s taken their life. And the slightly less psychotic answer… When he shares his heart with Arthur or Tancred. When they have those soft moments among the war and mayhem that makes them men, not machines of death. I love exploring the tenderness such a man is able to share with someone he trusts.

If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

I spent every day of ten years with Lancelot and miss him all the time but his story is done. If I could walk into a room with him I’d coax him outside, ask him to teach me more about fighting and ride off into the sunset to find adventure at his side as his equal.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reins of the story? Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

This one made me laugh… I wish I had some measure of control over them. I come up with the general outline of the book, but they write it. They often surprise me and when someone dies, it’s difficult writing through the tears.

Why should you read these stories? They are full of the ancient mysteries of a time lost in myth and magic. They have romance and adventure at their core and characters are so complex they fill your mind with passionate – What Ifs? These are stories to be told by firelight or while watching the stars turn overhead on a summer’s evening. They speak to the heart of love and how it can change entire worlds if one person is strong enough to make a stand.

When I first starting writing these stories gay marriage didn’t exist, that’s how much each voice can change a world.

Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?

I can’t answer this one easily though I wish I could. I love talking to writers. Euripides and Aeschylus would be first because their Greek tragedies filled my imagination with wonder as a child and when I studied them at collage. Makes me sound really posh but damn these guys could tell a story!

Jane Austen because she fascinates me. The depth of her understanding of society and a person’s mind is deep. Also, how she survived her own, very controlled, life for so long.

Men like Chris Ryan and Andy McNab – who to go from serving in the SAS to writing about it and living in a domestic world. It must be the most difficult transition we ask of our service men and women who become elite warriors.

Sarah Luddington is the author of historical gay romance and contemporary gay romance. She is a gay rights activist, holds three martial arts black belts, a degree in Medieval History and far too many dogs. She lives on a mountain in Spain and in her spare time writes and reads LGBT fiction.

Come and visit her website at www.romanticadventures.net or Facebook for more information. She always welcomes contact with her readers.

Many thanks.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads

Author Links

Website:  http://romanticadventures.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KnightsOfCamelot

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blakwulf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahluddington

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Luddington/e/B004741E46

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4649060.Sarah_Luddington 

Giveaway

Kindle Fire

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/the-knights-of-camelot-book-tour-and-giveaway

GATES OF HEAVEN by M. Tasia - Guest Spot!

Good morning, and happy Sunday book lovers! Today, M. Tasia drops by with her MM romance series, GATES OF HEAVEN. Please show her lots of love!

* * * *

Saint

Gates of Heaven Book 1

by
M. Tasia

Genre:
M/M Contemporary Romance 

MOUTH TO MOUTH RESUSCITATION

After the death of their mother, Frank "Saint" Jeffrey knew the
only way to protect his younger brother was to strike a deal with
their autocratic, cruel, abusive father. In exchange for his
brother's freedom to live his life as he wished, Saint promised to
follow in his father's footsteps and become a preeminent surgeon in
his father's medical practice. When events he never could have
predicted took away Saint's ability to perform surgery, the bargain
became null and void. With no safety net, and a life without purpose,
Saint moved across the country, bought a wreck of a building in DTLA,
and hoped while resurrecting the property he'd find a reason to live
again. Then Max Connor entered his life, and Saint was dragged from
the darkness of desolation into the light of love.

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to Goodreads

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Publishing

Finn

Gates of Heaven Book 2

Finn knew the life he’d found at The Gates was a dream his past would
ruin, so when everyone he cares about is threatened, he returns to
the streets to keep them safe, especially the man he loves.

HEART
MURMUR

Fleeing from his existence as an outcast child in a fanatic cult, Finn
Masterson makes his way to Los Angeles, only to find an unforgiving
city with little prospects for a teenager with few life skills. After
years of living on the streets in DTLA, doing anything and everything
required to survive, Finn finds a home, a job, and kindness with
Saint Jeffrey, who is renovating a grand old building mere blocks
from Skid Row. Finn knows better than to trust a good thing, so when
harassing texts and calls culminate in threats to the people he has
come to care about—especially a former Marine, Miguel
Fernandez—Finn returns to the streets to keep those he loves safe.
But one single-minded, stubborn warrior brings Finn back into the
fold, and they defeat his last remaining enemy giving them the
freedom to pursue their forever.

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to Goodreads

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Publishing

M. Tasia, is an author who lives in Ontario, Canada. She's a member of the Romance Writers of America and its chapter, the Toronto Romance Writers. Michelle is a dedicated people watcher, lover of romance novels, 80's rock, and happy endings, who grew up with a love of reading. Mother of three wonderful children, wife to one understanding husband and servant to two spoiled furry children who don't seem to realize, that they're actually cats.
Michelle writes both contemporary and paranormal romance and believes love should be celebrated. After all, we deserve to have romance, excitement, intrigue and passion in our lives.

Website

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the tour HERE
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Seeing Red by E.L. Esch - GUEST SPOT!

Hello book lovers! Today, my friend and fellow eXtasy Books author E.L. Esch drops by my blog to discuss her novel, Seeing Red. Show her tons of love, and don't forget to get a copy! It looks like a great story. ♥

* * * *

Hello, VJ! Thank you for having me on your blog to share my boys with you and your readers.

I currently have 2 M/M Romantic fiction works published with eXtasy Books, but today I'd like to focus on Seeing Red.

What would you do if you lost five years of freedom? If everything you’d ever known was torn away from you, all because the one person you counted on to save you didn’t come through?

This is the cruel reality for Gabriel “Red” Thatcher, convicted at age nineteen for the
murder of his father. Now twenty-five and eight months out of prison, Red has nothing to his name and no one to help him through the horrifying memories of his past.

Then he meets Silo Winters, a man so much like him yet so different that it drives Red crazy. How could someone who went through the same trauma he did in prison still look at life so cheerfully? And though Silo tries to show Red that life after hardship isn’t bleak and meaningless, Red finds it difficult after all he’s been through to let anyone in.

Excerpt:

“Silo?” I struggled with a bag full of marinara-oozing subs through the door, assuming Silo was asleep somewhere when he didn’t come help me. Of course I didn’t expect “somewhere” to be on the floor in front of the TV. I caught the flash of a spaceship zipping across the screen and smiled.

On my way to the kitchen to set down the bags and take off my coat, I realized I owed Loretta a favor and cringed. She’d been nice enough to take me to the sub place after my shift, and to top it off, she drove me home, too. She’d probably heard me complaining to myself about how I’d have to reheat the subs after the bus ride home. Well, I felt glad regardless. Food always tasted best fresh.

“Gabriel?”

What? I poked my head back into the parlor, an eyebrow raised. “Silo?” When he didn’t answer, I tiptoed over to him and checked his face. His eyes weren’t open, and his mouth slacked a bit in a quiet snore. Drool trickled out of the corner of his mouth, soaking a blotch into his shirt. I couldn’t exactly call him cute like that, but if I had a camera I would’ve taken a picture.

The rest of Silo looked just as disheveled as his face. He wore a pair of flannel pajama pants, unbuttoned to expose the crotch of his rather tight black briefs. Aside from those, he wore a plain red T-shirt, twisted around his waist so his belly stuck out. Stupid idiot would probably catch a cold like that.

A bit ruefully, I shook his shoulder. He struggled with my grip for a bit before he rolled over on his side and sat upright.

“Red?” His eyes didn’t seem to want to follow his brain’s coordination as he looked up at me with them closed. I waited until he cracked them open with a wince and smiled.

“Hey.” I pointed behind me to the bags of food I’d set down.“I brought subs.”

Following his sense of smell, he bumbled to his feet and into the kitchen after me. “You are amazing. I’m…” He yawned. “So hungry.”

“You look more tired than hungry.”

“I was until you woke me up. Now that I smell those subs, I’m starving.”

“Sorry for waking you.”

“Don’t apologize! I didn’t feel like cooking tonight, so this is bliss.”

I laughed, but I felt a bit guilty. Given his expertise, Silo usually cooked dinner. It wasn’t like I couldn’t or didn’t know how, but Silo knew his way around food like Ben Bailey knew his way around the streets of New York City. Thanks to Silo, I’ve become addicted to good food and game shows like Cash Cab. We couldn’t watch Wheel of Fortune without it turning into a competition.

Silo snatched the bag from me and dug through it like a kid in a candy store, an equally childish smile stretched across his face.

“Ooh! Meatball subs! You are a god.”

“A favorite of yours or something?”

“Meat is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Could you grab me a cola out of the fridge?”

“Yeah, sure. Can I have one?” I wasn’t the caffeine junkie Silo was, so when there was soda in the fridge, it was because he’d bought it.

“What have I told you? I don’t care what you use besides my toothbrush and my razor. We live together—what’s mine is yours and all that jazz.” He caught his cola as I slid it across the table, popped it open, and took a long gulp. “Get it?”

“Yeah…” I did get it, but understanding didn’t make me feel any more at ease. More and more every day Silo was burrowing down, making a home of the apartment that was supposed to be his temporary fix. Did that mean he wanted to stay? It’s wasn’t like I wanted him to leave, but… Would he just up and haul ass one day while I was at work? Like we’d never happened? Would he eventually want to go back to his old life, the one he’d lost three years ago? After all, living with a murderer only sounds good as long as you’re desperate.

 *****

A little about me:

  

     I’m in my 20s, a lover of books and art, and have a fascination for lizards and other small critters that borders on an obsession. Which is probably why I already own 3 and have to actively stop myself from getting more. 

     I began writing because I always loved the idea that words can create entire universes and characters from nothing but a blank page and an idea. Like one day you have an empty Word document and then in as little as a few minutes--boom! You just created a snarky art school graduate with purple hair whose blood may actually be 90% coffee. 

     I write erotic Male/Male romance. My books focus on realistic life topics--stuff everyday people go through and struggle with. I like when we as readers can feel connected to the characters we’re reading about. When we can understand their feelings and then suddenly they become truly human.

 You can find me and my books and some reviews on my website or Goodreads!

Kaidyn's Courage by Diana Waters - Guest Spot!

Good morning book lovers! Today, I'm featuring my friend and fellow eXtasy Books author, Diana Waters. She is talking about her latest release, Kaidyn's Courage, which was released on March 19, 2019 via eXtasy Books. Please show her some love, and go get a copy while you're at it!

* * * *

Book title: Kaidyn's Courage

Author: Diana Waters

Genre: M/M Romance / Fantasy

Publisher: eXtasy Books

Date published: March 15, 2019

Book length: Approx. 51,000 words

Blurb: Kaidyn is the son of the queen and a trainee officer in the kingdom of Sareen. He is also a Half-Blood—his father is from Iskandir, a neighboring kingdom which has been at war with Sareen for many years. Bitter and angry at the prejudice he faces, Kaidyn meets Sorin, a healer from one of Sareen’s most prominent noble families. As their relationship deepens, the war between Sareen and Iskandir grows worse. Not only will the pair inevitably become involved with the conflict one way or another, but Sorin is also hiding a secret, and time is running out for them both.

Note: This is the second book in the Wild Magics series (the first being the short novella, A Trust to Follow). However, both books are completely readable as standalone stories, as they take place in the same universe but feature different casts.

Excerpt:

“Oi! The Watch, run!”

Kaidyn’s ears had caught it, too—the clinking of steel as a patrol wandered nearby, perhaps attracted by the sounds of their struggle. No others could walk the city streets openly armed, even by day. Not that Kaidyn wanted to stick around any longer than his attackers. He had no wish to be locked up for the night either.

The man directly in front of him seized him by the collar of his shirt. “Something to remember me by,” he muttered, and Kaidyn knew his mouth was open but couldn’t hear his own gasp as he was dealt a final blow. The hit wasn’t in his stomach again, as he’d been expecting, but at the side of his head. It felt like an object struck him, not merely a fist, but something blunt and hard. He felt the blood begin to drip from the base of his skull and trickle down his neck. The world wavered around him as the last of the men ran off. Cowards, all.

Kaidyn took an uneven step, then several more. He tilted toward the ground but did not fall. Luck. Where is Luck? I have to find him, before...

He was still so angry, but his thoughts were leaking out of him along with the blood, the dizziness beginning to con-sume them. If I don’t hurry...

The stars were wheeling somewhere above him. When did I fall to the ground? He tried to search for a familiar landmark, but his sight was failing him. Kaidyn had either drank too much or been hit too hard.

“Oh!” Kaidyn heard a gasp, but it had not come from him. It wasn’t Luck, either. He tried to get up, to defend himself once more, but his hands met only empty air.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise—”

Kaidyn growled, his tone low and furious.

“All right, all right,” the voice soothed him. “I’ll just wait until you’re ready to walk again, shall I?” The unknown per-son sounded sympathetic. Gentle, even, and impossibly, unbearably kind. But that must have been in his head, because surely nobody who saw Kaidyn in his current state could be anything but disappointed, disgusted, or a combination of the two.

“It’s going to be all right,” the voice continued, and to Kaidyn’s astonishment he felt a cool hand touching his brow, brushing wisps of hair from his forehead. He could not remember the last time he had been touched with such tenderness. “I have you. You’re safe now. I won’t leave you alone here.”

Kaidyn shook his head, forcing his sight to clear. A pair of eyes stared anxiously back down at him and drew him in, as though calling him on from somewhere. But from where? Where...

Kai!

He had definitely imagined that part, because this stranger, whoever he was, could not have known his name, much less the one reserved for his closest friends.

Kai!

But he could not think any longer, he was falling, falling... and running again, running away from the pain and the bile rising in his throat, escaping everything but the darkness that finally overtook him to swallow him whole.

EXtasy buy link: https://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2218-9-kaidyns-courage/

Amazon buy link (print): https://www.amazon.com/Kaidyns-Courage-Magics-Diana-Waters/dp/1487423748

Amazon buy link (Kindle): https://www.amazon.com/Kaidyns-Courage-Wild-Magics-Book-ebook/dp/B07PN1RWN4

Author Bio: Diana is a New Zealander currently living in rural Japan. She has no idea where in the world she’ll be this time next year and is pretty okay with that. Other than reading and writing, her main passions include travel, amateur photography, and competitive swimming.

Author Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/diana.c.waters

Author Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/diana_waters

Author Twitter link: https://twitter.com/diana__waters