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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Sweet Nightmares by Hazel St. Lewis

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Sweet Nightmares
Hazel St. Lewis
(Wicked Mirrors)
Publication date: September 17th 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

She was prophesied to destroy an evil god, but she becomes his minion instead.

Jane Whitfield rose from nothing to become the youngest Prima Ballerina in the history of the Royalle Ballet—despite having a violent husband three decades her senior. But her carefully choreographed world shatters when her husband’s enemies come to collect his debts. Jane is tortured into making an impossible die, or strike a bargain with an evil god trapped inside a mirror.

Nightmare is ancient, cruel, and feared for a reason. He trades magic, wealth, and knowledge for soul-crushing costs—and he believes Jane is the witch destined to destroy him. But instead of killing her, he toys with her, offering a twisted sell her soul, serve him, and receive an endless supply of riches—enough to satisfy her wretched husband and his debtors.

Now bound to a god who revels in ruin, Jane becomes more than just his minion—she’s his growing obsession. But obsession doesn’t spare her from his darkness. He’s evil. She’s supposed to hate him, but the more time she spends in his realm, the harder it is to tell if he’s her monster… or her salvation.

She was destined to destroy him, but love might destroy her first.

Sweet Nightmares is an adult romantic fantasy Prequel/Sequel novel to Gilded Wicked Mirrors. It can be read first, or after GWMs. It is a touch-her-and-die, villain romance perfect for lovers of the Hades and Megara dynamic or fans of Kingdom of the Wicked. It is not a standalone.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Jane stood up and put her body between them just in time to be slammed between the Vampire Prince and the ancient god. At the impact, Nightmare’s hands wrapped around her waist, steadying her.

Nightmare let out a low, wicked growl. The whites of his eyes bleeding red, fury painted on every curve of his body, his fangs and metal nails bared. Ready to kill every mortal in the room if Jane didn’t do something quickly.

“Everyone get out now,” Jane said, her hand on Nightmare’s chest and her voice wavering. Her eyes never left Nightmare. “Thorne, my monster. Keep your eyes on me.” She dug her hand into his shirt while he tightened his hold around her waist. At the same time, she heard movement from all around them. Everyone else, leaving them alone in the room.

When he still hadn’t calmed down, and his eyes hadn’t lost any of the red, Jane asked, “How can I help you settle down?” Jane flattened her palm once more over where his heart should beat—but it never did. “What do you need?”

“I need to feed.” Nightmare’s eyes flashed, and he darted around, presumably searching for an unsuspecting human he could eat.

“Are you going to kill your food?” she breathed.

“Yes.”

“Do you have to?”

Nightmare blinked, his black, well-manicured eyebrows creasing together.

“Are you able to control yourself?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said slowly, cocking his head, his eyes fixating on her neck.

“Then feed on me.” She cocked her head to the side, giving him permission to take her blood.

“You may hate it.”

“It’s fine. I am not afraid of you.”

An unreadable sound vibrated in his chest, and then, without warning, he pushed her fiercely up against the wall, pinning her in and biting down on her neck.

At first, it hurt, his fangs piercing her skin and claiming her. It was a sharp pain, but then the wound began to tingle and turn… the feeling becoming something hot and pleasurable.

Every nerve ending in her body lit up with an intense feeling that she’d never felt before. A moan escaped her lips, and she suddenly needed to be closer to him, to be touching him, one with him.

Author Bio:

Hazel St. Lewis is a Northern California-based Romantasy author. Diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, she struggled to read and write, but fantasy stories inspired her to start storytelling. Unfortunately, now, she is a little too obsessed with morally gray characters. When she isn’t writing, she can be found playing with her hoard of cats (too many to count…it’s a problem), singing songs to said cats, or painting.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Newsletter

 

GIVEAWAY!

Sweet Nightmares Blitz

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COVER REVEAL: The Goblin Crown by Brenna Raney

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The Goblin Crown
Brenna Raney
Publication date: April 7th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Who are you when you can wear any face?

Aren is a shapeshifter, able to run with a centaur herd, fly on a hawk’s wings, and scurry through the kitchens to the screams of the innkeeper’s wife.

At age six, she was a human foundling left at the edge of the woods to be raised by the local hedgewitch. When knights arrived from the capital to investigate a strange upheaval in the northern country, they sought out the witch’s help, hoping to stave off a foretold disaster that they were helpless to stop in the end.

Now, at nineteen, he’s living in disguise as an elf in the Queen’s Court, flirting with nobles to find out what killed his mother and cursed their village. With eyes in the court looking out for an infiltrator after a palace guard caught Aren shapeshifting, and a royal human delegation visiting that are all too familiar with him, he must walk a careful line to avoid being found as he pieces together the truth of what happened all those years ago—and how it may be tied to a similar disaster that happened three hundred years prior in the elfland.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order


Author Bio:

Brenna began her writing career with Amelia Bedelia fanfiction on hand-stapled printer paper. Her early original work was entrusted to gel pens and floppy disks, then ballpoint and flash drives, and briefly, receipt paper from her first job. In her Academic Period, she produced dry and esoteric works for which she was awarded a master’s degree. She has also dabbled in visual media, and her minimalist comic, Ice Cream Money from Grandma, hangs proudly on her grandmother’s refrigerator. She resides in Texas, where she teaches for a living and bakes for fun.

Website / Instagram / Newsletter


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COVER REVEAL: You Don’t Belong Here by D.M. Siciliano

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You Don’t Belong Here
D.M. Siciliano
Publication date: October 13th 2025
Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal, Suspense

A girl who feels invisible finally faces her worst fear on her sixteenth birthday and hastily makes a dark deal.

An old man returns to the same place every year on the anniversary of his wife’s death, to have one last moonlit dance with her.

A woman’s health concerns are ignored, and it leads to global chaos.

A young woman goes home to bury her father and sell his house but finds that the home is no longer hers.

An old man with Alzheimer’s becomes increasingly lost in his own house, which seems to be doing its own forgetting.

Two young girls find a Ouija board, thinking they’re communicating with a deceased relative, but find something much more cunning.

A woman, grieving the loss of her baby, takes a trip to a remote cabin in Tahoe. Her worried sister goes after her and isn’t prepared for what she finds.

A woman’s drive through California’s winding roads leads her to a perilous and sinister discovery lurking in the woods.

A woman takes a job as a nanny for two troublesome kids, only to find that the children aren’t the problem.


Author Bio:

DM is a lover of all things creative. From the moment she could speak, growing up in Massachusetts, she had a passion for flair and drama, putting on concerts for anyone who was even remotely interested (and even for those who were not). A storyteller by nature, she first pursued her young dream of becoming a singing diva while living in Arizona. She soon found that stage life wasn’t the only form of storytelling she craved, so she dropped the mic and picked up a pencil instead. She still hasn’t given up on her diva-ness, and hopes her pencil stays as sharp as her tongue.

A dark sense of humor and curiosity for haunted houses and things out of the ordinary led her down the path of completing her first novel, Inside. Several other projects are constantly floating around in her head and her laptop daily, and sometimes keeping her up much too late at night. Occasionally, those projects are so dark and twisted, she needs to leave a nightlight on.

She now lives in Northern California with her two fluffy furbabies, Cezare and Michaleto.

Website / Instagram / Bookbub / Facebook


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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Skating and Fake Dating by Ellie Hall

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Skating and Fake Dating
Ellie Hall
(Love in Maple Falls, #4))
Publication date: September 3rd 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

I’m pretending to be his stable girlfriend while he plays my successful boyfriend. But now faking feels a lot like falling.

Bailey
I’m a walking contradiction—professional on the job, a hot mess at home, and working my “I’ve got this” smile until my cheeks ache while hiding my hobbies: making maple butter and finding a husband. With my perfect sister’s recent engagement, I’m desperate to avoid Mom’s pitying looks and matchmaking attempts.

Carson
I used to be hockey’s laid-back southern charmer until a crushing rejection from my high school sweetheart transformed me into a workaholic. When I’m unexpectedly traded to a new team, rumors circulate about whether the gentleman wingman lost his edge. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove them wrong.

Bailey
When our worlds collide after a dessert disaster, we come up with a mutually beneficial solution to our respective woes: a fake relationship. The rules are simple: I get a “successful” boyfriend for family events. He gets a “stable” girlfriend for team image. No feelings, no complications, and a definite expiration date.

Carson
But between posing as a couple at the fall festival, midnight maple butter-making sessions, trying to keep our stories straight, and undeniable chemistry, what started as a convenient lie is beginning to feel inconveniently real. As the clock runs down on our arrangement, we’ll have to decide: walk away when the final buzzer sounds, or take a shot at the love neither of us saw coming.

***

Skating and Fake Dating is a heartwarming hockey romcom featuring Bailey and ‘Bama who are perfect for each other in all the most imperfect ways, plus, small-town charm, family shenanigans, and a guaranteed happily ever after sweeter than homemade maple butter blondies.

Welcome back to Maple Falls—the small town where hockey players fall in love! This is a multi-author series of seven full-length books that could be read as standalones, but we think you’ll enjoy them best in order.

Fake-Off with Fate by Whitney Dineen
Offside and Off Limits by Kate O’Keeffe
Checking Mr. Wrong by Anne Kemp
Skating and Fake Dating by Ellie Hall
Goalie and the Girl Next Door by Elsie Woods
Soulmates and Slapshots by Melissa Baldwin
The Icing on the Cake by Grace Worthington

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

“In one simple move—” Waving his hand across the links of the cuffs, my pulse skips and then plummets.

Nothing happens.

A consummate professional, he declares, “That was to show that no ordinary person has the ability to free these people from their bonds. No, it takes a special flick of the—” He motions again, and I expect the handcuffs to drop from our wrists, but they remain fixed, locked.

His smile wavers. My expression morphs into a scowl. Bailey grins as if this is all part of the act and she’s expecting the handcuffs to vanish like the coin from the box.

I know better … or at least, my stomach thinks it does.

The magician tries one more time, but we remain locked together.

“Ah, yes. I must’ve, um, we’ll just take a moment in my stall to—” Turning his back on the crowd, he ushers us inside and then closes the black curtain at our backs.

“Get these off, now,” I say, forgoing my manners and the word sir.

Bailey adds, “Please.”

Sweat dots his forehead. “I don’t know what went wrong. Yes, of course. Let me just find the key. It’s here—” He rifles through a little drawer in a wooden chest.

I glance at Bailey and her shoulders droop slightly. She mouths, I’m sorry.

No, it’s this clown show of a magician who should be sorry.

“Ah ha!” He says, pinching a small key between his fingers.

“Hurry up. We have a wedding to go to.” I belatedly realize I included myself when in reality I’m dropping Bailey off and then going, well, I’m not sure where. She must, though, having arranged my moving plans.

The magician slides the key into the lock, but again, nothing happens. Wrenching it from his fingers, I say, “Let me try.”

Author Bio:

Ellie Hall is a USA Today bestselling author. If only that meant she could wear a tiara and get away with it. 😉 She loves puppies, books, and the ocean. Writing sweet romance with lots of firsts and fizzy feels gives her joy. Oh, and chocolate chip cookies are her fave. Ellie believes in dreaming big, working hard, and lazy Sunday afternoons spent with her family and dog in gratitude for God’s grace.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook / Newsletter


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Skating and Fake Dating Blitz

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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Ashes and Echoes by Jo-Anne Van Gelder

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Ashes and Echoes
Jo-Anne Van Gelder
Publication date: August 22nd 2025
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller

A missing friend. A locked estate. A note that says, I know what you did.

Three friends. One is missing. The truth won’t stay buried.

Mara hasn’t seen Elise in years—until a handwritten invitation pulls her back to the crumbling estate they swore they’d never return to.

But Elise isn’t there.
Her handbag is.
So is the daisy.
And a note that reads: I know what you did.

Now Mara and Jodie—the third in their fractured trio—are trapped. No cars. No signal. Nowhere to run.

The house is full of locked doors and old ghosts.
Every secret points back to that night.

Elise’s absence is only the beginning.

Some friendships end in silence.
Some secrets refuse to stay dead.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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PROLOGUE:

There were three rules.

One: Don’t ask questions.

Two: Don’t keep records.

Three: If something goes wrong, disappear.

Elise memorised them before she knew what they meant.

Before she understood what kind of house she lived in.

What kind of programme she had been born into.

What kind of silence the adults needed in order to survive.

They were never written down. Just repeated in whispers.

Embedded in routine. Hidden in the space between a closed

door and a too-long pause.

The files were kept in a box under Ian’s bed. Locked, of

course—but not well. She picked the clasp with a bobby pin

when she was twelve and didn’t breathe again until she was

fourteen.

Inside: incident reports, training forms, assessment notes.

Faces she didn’t know. Names she couldn’t place. Her own

wasn’t among them. That unsettled her more than if it had

been.

She never told Grace.

She told no one.

But she remembered.

Not everything. Just enough.

Just the names that seemed misfiled.

The dates that didn’t line up.

The symbols that kept reappearing—on files, in margins, on

lanyards and notebooks.

And once, scratched into the underside of a metal desk in the

old admin wing: a daisy. Faint, but deliberate.

She started drawing them, too.

On the inside of her sleeve. In the dust on her windowsill.

With steam on the bathroom mirror.

By the time she turned fifteen, she no longer trusted the

silence around her. She didn’t fear it, either. But she recognised

it for what it was—a tool.

On the night of her birthday, she wrote a single line inside

the fabric lining of her mattress, using the ink from a leaking

pen:

If something happens to me, it wasn’t random. And it wasn’t

right.

She drew a daisy beside it.

And smiled, like any other girl.


Author Bio:

Jo-Anne van Gelder is the pen name of a Dutch novelist based in the Netherlands. Ashes and Echoes is Jo’s debut psychological thriller—a dark, emotionally layered novel about memory, guilt, and buried truths.

Jo lives with her partner, who is also an author, and their cat. She spends most days surrounded by books, coffee, and the quiet thrill of untold stories.


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Ashes and Echoes Blitz

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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Stalled Descent by Kel O’Connor

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Stalled Descent
Kel O’Connor
(DAG Team Series, #4)
Publication date: August 25th 2025
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

A man forced to work for the enemy and a woman on the run from her past…

For years, ace pilot Archie McKinley has been living a double life. Now that his role as a mole within DAG has been exposed, he has one chance to make things right: take down Elliot Essa, the man who’s held him captive with threats and manipulation for over a decade.

To infiltrate the impenetrable Red Winter compound, Archie needs help from the team he deceived and the one person who truly knows him—Meret Shahid, his childhood partner-in-crime turned photographer. The girl who once earned the nickname “the Imp” in their small Iranian village might be his only shot at redemption. But Meret has her own demons from Red Winter, and returning to the organization she barely escaped could cost her everything.

As Archie grapples with guilt over his betrayal and his growing feelings for Meret, they must navigate new threats, uneasy alliances, and shocking revelations. The mission is clear: destroy Red Winter’s empire and free the innocent families trapped within it.

But the price of redemption may be higher than either of them is willing to pay.

This book is a full-length romance with a happy ending. It is part of a 4-book interconnected series where each book features a different couple.
This is a steamy romance for readers 18+

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

The knock on her door had her glancing at the clock. Archie likely wanted her dinner order, even though it was a bit early. She opened the door before she considered her outfit. She’d changed into a tank top and loose shorts after lunch. For comfort. Which, of course, included ditching her bra.

Too late to turn back. She opened the door halfway and hid behind it as much as possible. Surprisingly, Archie walked a few steps into the room instead of remaining outside. When he turned to her, all the moisture in her mouth dried up.

Meret bit the inside of her cheek rather than moan out loud. Gray sweatpants hung so low on his hips, she saw the white elastic band of his underwear. A light dusting of dark hair curled across the top of his chest. There was none on his perfect abs and only a thin trail that began under his navel. The bruises from his recent fight were fading to a greenish yellow along the left side of his torso.

There were scars on his tanned skin, including a long strip across his shoulder, possibly from a knife. On his right bicep, there was a corner of a tattoo showing, but she couldn’t make out the design from this angle. Of course, he was still an agent, maintaining the top-shelf physical fitness that was required. Damn, he was beautiful.

Archie bit his lip, chagrin obvious on his face. He took a deep breath, shook his shoulders, and all the awkwardness fell away, replaced by steely determination. Meret swayed, mesmerized at the transformation. He held her gaze and this time, his voice was strong.

“What happened between us on the boat was good. But we can do much better.”

Shock held her muted. This was not what she’d expected, but oh, was it what she wanted. Her fingers flexed as electricity shot through her in anticipation. She tightened her mouth, loathe to say the wrong thing. Best to let him do the talking.

He continued, “I’m aware my experience and skills are lacking, but I’ve been studying.”

Her mouth fell open, and she managed a single word, “Studying?”

His slow grin was equally charming and sexual, even showing a hint of teeth. Her lungs shrank at least four sizes as she tried to breathe. What was happening? She was 90% sure she wasn’t dreaming. He was not only discussing her and sex, he had smiled.

His voice lowered, and she felt the vibration between her legs. “Yeah. Reading the sexy parts of romance books. I assumed it was better than watching porn made for men.”

Oh, dear God in heaven. Which books? Steamy, spicy, kinky? Okay, she’d gladly take any of the above, even if kinky was not her preference. Her nipples hardened until it was almost painful.

They both chuckled a bit, and he added, “Plus, there are actually helpful instructional websites. I only need someone to test my knowledge on.” His expression morphed to sincere. “Meret, you are the only person I want to touch me.”

Tears stung the back of her eyelids at his confession. What courage it took for him to lay it all out for her. She was honored, but mostly, she was aroused. His fiery gaze roamed all over her body, clad only in the thin tank top and short shorts. His growing erection became obvious under the loose sweats. She stood rooted to the spot in shock, so he moved closer.

He looked feral, reckless, slowly stalking towards her like a predator.

Why did she think he was reckless? Agents were never reckless. They always had a plan. And two backup plans, plus an “oh shit, everything has gone to hell” plan.

What was her plan? Meet him halfway, yank his head down for a kiss? Hold up a hand to stop him? Plot an escape? Oh, hell no.

Suddenly, she didn’t want a plan. It was time to live in the moment. He wouldn’t harm her as long as she held her heart back. Sparks sizzled along her skin, put there by the singular focus in his eyes. For this moment, she would join him in recklessness. Her anxiety broke free, and she waited for him to reach her.

Author Bio:

Winner of the Pencraft Award and The Chill Award and a finalist for The Book Buyers Best Award, The Maggie Award for Excellence and The Carolyn Reader’s Choice Award, Kel lives with her family in the mountains of North Carolina. In addition to reading and writing, she loves coffee, loud rock music, subversive humor and the smell of old books. You can find her online on Instagram, Facebook and at keloconnor.com.

3 Random Facts about Kel:
* She will buy almost anything if it is a hot pink color
* She watches any and every show/movie about crime-fighting, spies, detective work or secret agents
* She and her husband once owned a humor store

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / X


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Stalled Descent Blitz

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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Murder, Mystery and Misdirection by Pamela McCord

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Murder, Mystery and Misdirection
Pamela McCord
(An Erin Baily in Franklin Paranormal Mystery, #3)
Publication date: August 21st 2025
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal

Hold onto your coffee and get ready to dive into the charmingly quirky world of Franklin, Tennessee. Erin Bailey never expected her new Southern estate to come with a talking cat named Peekaboo and a parade of ghostly visitors, giving her life a supernatural twist beyond even her wildest imaginings.

In “Murder, Mystery and Misdirection,” Erin becomes embroiled in yet another haunting mystery when her neighbor, Derek, vanishes under suspicious circumstances. As she delves into the secrets surrounding Derek’s disappearance, Erin must navigate the demands of an irate spirit who wishes she’d mind her own business, and the wife he left behind who would prefer that Erin not meddle in her personal life. Despite her initial distaste for Derek, an admittedly abusive husband, Erin is determined to help his pesky ghost cross over—all with her signature wit and relatable charm.

With the assistance of her best friend Susie, a podcast-loving sidekick, Detective Ryan Cahill, the handsome detective who has captured Erin’s heart, and DC, a private investigator and Susie’s boyfriend, Erin faces breathtaking revelations and dangerous discoveries. Add in an unexpected visit from Susie’s all-knowing Italian mother, bringing her own mix of culinary talents and psychic insight, and Erin’s world becomes as dizzyingly delightful as it is unpredictable.

Immerse yourself in a tale where cozy meets paranormal, filled with laughter and suspense. When your closest advisor is a snarky orange cat and your sleuthing targets the world of the dead, nothing is off-limits.

Perfect for fans of mystery interwoven with humor, “Murder, Mystery and Misdirection” promises a journey that’s both heartwarming and hilariously unpredictable—because unraveling a murder mystery is just another day in the life when your companions are as spectral and sassy as the enigmatic Peekaboo.

Join Erin as she dances through danger, one ghostly encounter at a time!

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

“Peekaboo!”

I burst through the front door, Ryan in my wake. I stopped in the hallway and looked for any sign of the orange cat who was currently on my sugar (I don’t like to swear) list. It only took a moment before the little creature stepped primly into the hall.

“I was napping,” the grumpy feline said, shooting me a gold-eyed glare. She waited for me to continue.

“I acknowledged them,” I said, deadpan. Just what my cat warned me not to do.

“Oh.” Peekaboo’s snooty manner fell away, and she lowered those gold eyes.

“That’s all you have to say?” I stood, arms crossed, my eyes shooting daggers. Ryan, my boyfriend, stood mutely watching. He couldn’t hear Peekaboo.

But I could. Oh, boy, could I. My sweet little inherited orange cat bestowed on me, by way of tripping me on my way down the front porch steps, the “gift” of being able to communicate with her. Oh, and see ghosts. To be fair, her motives were pure. She needed me to have a near-death experience so I’d wake up and be able to listen to her.

Maybe I should back up, so you know what I’m talking about.

I used to live in Los Angeles. When I was twenty-one, I broke up a mugging and saved a dear little old lady. She was so grateful that seven years later she left me her estate in her will.

In addition to a house, an SUV and a large amount of money, I inherited Peekaboo, the talking cat. Of course, I didn’t know she was a talking cat at the time. After glaring at me for a few days, she apparently thought I was hopeless and pushed me down the stairs. So, I woke up in the hospital and saw a doctor with a clipboard walk through a wall. But that’s really immaterial to my story. My neighbor, who found me splayed out on the porch steps, called 911. When I was released from the hospital, Elsie, the neighbor, told me I’d flatlined and it took ten minutes of the paddles to bring me back to life.

As I hobbled into my house after Elsie brought me home from the hospital and made sure I was all right to be left alone, subject cat started talking to me. I thought I must have a brain tumor…somebody get me back to the hospital! I grabbed the fireplace poker and used it to keep her at bay. I think she may have rolled her eyes at me.

Then, before I was comfortable that she was talking…and I could understand her…she trotted out the ghost of Alice, the sweet little old lady who’d left me her house. Apparently, this whole episode was so I could see Alice and solve her murder.


Author Bio:

A Mom’s Choice Awards® Recipient, Pam started writing later in life when an author friend challenged her to create a book from his story idea. Being a never-say-never person, she met the challenge and managed to finish an entire novel, much to her surprise. Since that beginning, she’s written several books, in several genres. Romance, middle grade and paranormal comprise most of her work. Her first published book, The Haunting of Elmwood Manor, A Pekin Dewlap Mystery, is a Mom’s Choice Award Winner! Several of her books have also earned that award. Pam lives in Tennessee, where she shares a home with her My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable.

Website / Facebook / Instagram


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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Stranger Still by George Ochoa

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Stranger Still
George Ochoa
Publication date: August 19th 2025
Genres: Adult, Literary Fiction, Thriller

Paul Inster, a brilliant, insane Columbia college student majoring in English with an undisclosed minor in knives, is in love with graduate student, Tracy Iridio. Seeing her in the library every day, he mistakenly believes she is in love with him and that she is a goddess, Teresa. In fact, the two have never met, and she does not know who he is. When, for the first time, he sees her with her boyfriend, classical history professor Larry Post, Paul sets out to destroy Larry via a campaign of terror. As the campaign mounts, Larry, mystified, tries to figure out who is attacking him and why. Through a series of surprises and confusions, the campaign escalates to murder.

Stranger Still is both a thriller and a literary novel, combining suspense and violence with rich language, webs of cultural allusions, and themes of love and madness.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Teresa and I often made love, though never in the flesh. To this day the psychiatrists will scrutinize such a statement as if it meant something other than what it plainly says, as if it were the telltale boil of some rare mental pox that might explain the blood spills photographed by the police. But these doctors do not understand love, optics, metaphysics, error, or even good taste. As far as flesh went, I never touched or even talked to Teresa, not until our moral decline had already begun. Before then, seeing the chaste tables that divided us in the Columbia library less than a decade ago, in the middle years of the 1990s, you might have thought Teresa and I were strangers, that she didn’t know I was alive.

I first saw her early in my junior year, a new female sitting several tables away in the Burgess-Carpenter reading room on the fourth floor of Butler Library. She seemed at first like any other of the pretty women on campus whom I liked to ogle and who regarded me as if I were invisible. But the more I stared at her, the more she particularly interested me. A pile of books rested near her elbow on the blond pine table, her head bent with rapt attention over her open book. Hazy September sunlight from the tall windows bathed her small breasts in her magenta top, made the white skin of her forearms glow. Her dark-brown hair was long and luxuriant, her neck long, her face shaped like that of a Raphael Madonna. But what captured me most were her eyes—large, sad eyes, ringed with mauve circles as if she hadn’t slept well. Why was she sad? Was there something I could do to make her happier?

We sat like that for a long time, she near the east end of a table in the back, never noticing me, while I shot frequent glances at her from near the west end of the second table from the door. About twenty feet diagonally divided us, too far for me to discern her eye color, though I tried. Finally, she got up, gathering her books into a white canvas tote bag and walking toward the door. As her gangly frame passed me, I gave her eyes a good look and saw they were hazel, flickering elusively under their long lashes from green to brown to gold.

The thought of her big, sad, long-lashed hazel eyes kept me happy for the rest of my day at Columbia. Even when I boarded the downtown Number One train, the first of the three trains that every evening buried me back in Jamaica, Queens, I was still thinking of those eyes. But an hour and fifteen minutes in the subways will discourage anyone. By the time I left the second leg, the D train, for the final and longest leg, the F, my thoughts were turning dark. The train was crowded with smelly, loam-colored laborers imported from faraway continents, and me just one of the horde.

Most students at Columbia boarded, but because my family was poorer than that of the standard Ivy Leaguer, I was a commuter. Combined with my natural tendency toward solitude, this meant I had no friends either on campus or anywhere else. I longed to make contact with someone, anyone, but did not know how. Sometimes I just wanted to pet them—the young secretary sitting before me on the subway in vinyl jacket and glittery eyeliner—to touch her shoulder, her pulsing throat, and say, “I am here. I am lonely. Help me.” Sometimes I wanted to hit them—the goon in the Yankees cap. When I felt particularly desperate, I wanted to stab them. I had knives that would have fit that purpose, but I never took them out of the house.

Author Bio:

George Ochoa’s first novel is the thriller Stranger Still. In addition, he has written or cowritten thirty-five nonfiction books, including The Book of Answers, The Writer’s Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe, The American Film Institute Desk Reference, and Deformed and Destructive Beings: The Purpose of Horror Films. His short fiction has been published in North American Review, Eureka Literary Magazine, Eunoia Review, Bangalore Review, and elsewhere. He is also the author of published poems and essays.

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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Wolfsbane Hall by Hazel St. Lewis

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Wolfsbane Hall
Hazel St. Lewis
Publication date: August 13th 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller

Phantom meets Clue:

She’s forced to murder to survive—until it’s her turn to die.

At Wolfsbane Hall, a secretive 1930s San Francisco murder mystery club, actress Celestine Sinclair plays a deadly role: executing victims who can only return to life once their murders are solved. Haunted by guilt yet bound by unwavering loyalty, she obeys the orders of the Specter—the club’s unseen mastermind and source of its magic.

But when his nemesis seizes control and poisons her, the game changes. The only way to survive? Solve the night’s mystery and unmask the Specter—an identity that has remained hidden for centuries. Even worse, the three prime suspects are the men closest to her: her lover, her enemy, and her best friend. One of them has betrayed her, and she has only hours left to uncover the truth.

The clock is ticking, the stakes are fatal, and this time, death will last forever.

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EXCERPT:

Celestine stood in the Red Parlor, waiting for her prey. One minute until he was supposed to arrive, and James Ashbrook was always on time, even as his characters. He believed it was never appropriate to keep someone waiting.

As her character, Celestine raised her lips with feline delight, and she leaned against the side of a lounge like a seductress draped in silk and jewels, waiting for a midnight assignation.

James stormed into the room like a cowboy in a Western film about to rescue his damsel in distress. He walked with purpose, and, without hesitation, he cupped the back of Celestine’s neck and kissed her fiercely.

The kiss was beastly and consumed by unfiltered vigor. Almost as if they didn’t do this every week. But that was the nature of their relationship. They were a wildfire that burned until it would eventually flame out and die.

James was not for keeping.

No rich man was. A lesson she’d learned long ago. Poor girls don’t end up with ‘the man’, even if they desperately wanted to.

Yet James was for fucking and, tonight, killing.

Celestine’s back slammed against the wall as their mouths devoured each other, his hands stroking up her legs and bunching the fabric of her dress up to her core with their movement.

James pulled away, his eyes widening with betrayal. “I’m sorry,” Celestine breathed into his hair as his limbs went limp. “You’re the Specter’s victim tonight.”

Celestine had poisoned her lips with a tranquilizer strong enough to sedate a horse. Only a thin layer of plastic and Specter’s magic kept the lipstick from incapacitating her.

“How are you going to do it?” James croaked as his head lolled to the side.

“Stabbing.”

She caught him as his body slid to the floor.

“Ah…I’ve never been stabbed before.” James smiled, lopsided and bright. A sick part of him enjoyed dying over and over again. He once said it made him feel alive every time he died in Wolfsbane Hall. He enjoyed it so much that he volunteered as a victim, choosing to die every other week.

Although he wanted it and enjoyed it, killing still made Celestine’s stomach churn and her arms quiver.

While he was still conscious, she gripped an ornamental knife from above her head, rolled her hand into the stabbing position, and thrust down.

“Thank you,” he said, blood bubbling from his mouth as he stared gleefully down at his wound. She knew he thanked her for starting while he was still awake to experience it. He wanted to see and feel the knife as it slid in.

Celestine pulled the knife out and slammed it in again and again and again. It was a crime of passion, after all. Her character was overcome by rage and vengeful lust. But all of it made vomit snake up Celestine’s esophagus. She continued her job regardless. Celestine Sinclair was loyal—the perfect employee for her Specter.


Author Bio:

Hazel St. Lewis is a Northern California-based Romantasy author. Diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, she struggled to read and write, but fantasy stories inspired her to start storytelling. Unfortunately, now, she is a little too obsessed with morally gray characters. When she isn’t writing, she can be found playing with her hoard of cats (too many to count…it’s a problem), singing songs to said cats, or painting.

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BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Lavish by Tinia Montford

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Lavish
Tinia Montford
(California Kings, #2)
Publication date: August 6th 2025
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Romance

Serena King has spent years burying her sins beneath designer heels and ruthless ambition. But no lie lasts forever. When a ghost from her past returns, armed with secrets that could destroy her, she’s forced into a game she can’t control.
The first move? A marriage forced upon her

To him—her brother’s ex-best friend. Her first mistake. The man who was her first… and then broke her heart.
Miles Whitmore.

He’s not the reckless charmer she remembers. He’s colder. Crueler. Hungrier.

Miles wants to salvage his scandal-ridden family’s legacy. He needs power. He needs redemption. But he’s got secrets that could destroy everything too.

Their marriage is a business deal, a show for the public. But behind closed doors?

It’s a war.

A war of lies. A war of seduction. A war of who will break first.

But the deeper they fall into their twisted game, the more hatred turns to heat. The more vengeance turns to obsession.

Because in a world where power is everything and love is the most dangerous game of all…

The biggest threat isn’t their enemies.

It’s each other.

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EXCERPT:

I spotted Mama and Daddy at the far end of the room, whispering vehemently among themselves. It was only when I got close that I heard Mama hiss, “He’s on something, Vincent!”

I almost gasped as Omar Whitmore stumbled through the crowd, his champagne glass tilting dangerously in his loose grip.

That’s not drunk. I know drunk. Drunk is falling into a gardenia bush after too many martinis or flirting with someone’s husband.

What started off as a simple party was now becoming a Jerry Springer episode.

The day after the most beautiful night of my life. Of course everything went wrong.

“Relax, Vonnie. He’s fine,” Daddy said, but I could see he didn’t believe himself.

“This is not the first time. Look! He’s sweating like this is the Mississippi Delta! He’s falling over, and his eyes look blacked out like an alien,” Mama said. “He ain’t been right since his father died.”

“You weren’t any better,” Daddy reminded her. Mama glared at him.

I expected tonight to be low-key. Simple but luxurious. A big King party for the whole town before Laurene’s engagement party next week, complete with rosé, twinkling lights, and that laidback summer feel that Lush brings.

“You saw him at the mayor’s gala when the press was interviewing him. He looked unshaven and dirty like some drifter.”

“That’s just grief,” Daddy said, standing up for his best friend.

Mama’s glare didn’t ease up. “I never let myself go like this when my daddy died. Omar gave a sloppy, rambling speech at the town hall. He crashed my Women of Lush networking brunch, and you know much time I put into that, Vincent, don’t act dumb.”

“It could be depression. Anxiety?”

“And? What does that have to do with him messing up my party?” Mama put her hands on her hips. “The Ashbournes are here. Lord knows we don’t need to give them any more ammunition than they already have. All the families that matter in Lush are here. Mayor Johnson, the Lush Chronicles, investors, donors—”

I knew better than to interrupt when Mama was pissed. My eyes flicked back to Omar.

“He’s our friend,” Daddy said, wincing as he watched Omar fall into a guest who yelped.

Despite what Miles thought, Mama had been dropping hints about giving me King Developments. She wanted to add another venture to King Enterprises, but Erik was too busy with King Aviation. Laurene was obsessed with her art.

This was it. But one wrong move from me tonight, and she’d place it right back into Erik’s lap without blinking.

So, I stayed still.

Author Bio:

Tinia (TUH-NIA) Montford is a Pisces who’s a sap for romance, especially when there’s (tons of) kissing. Loves eighties sitcoms and will consume anything with chocolate. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in English and Graphic Design. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Fiction.

You can find Tinia at http://www.tiniamontford.com or on social media: @tiniawritesbooks

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