 A subtle, psychological revelation of a family’s secrets. “Trust me it is better to accept a lie than invent the truth.” Family history defines your identity. Do you know who you are? A mystery of family bonds, love, lies, deception, and jealousy. The authorities place three-year-old Laura with a foster family. She has no relatives, no past life – she is a nobody. Years later, her trauma of feeling abandoned erupts in violence during a family history project. She returns to her birthplace; Russet House. In the attic, she finds old newspaper reports of a tragic event. Her mother is missing. Her father is dead. She persuades a retired police detective to investigate the unsolved mystery and find her mother. This unsettles her newly found relatives who advise her to go away and let the past rest. Through shocking turns, a fifteen-year-old secret unravels in a final twist. About the Author:
James McEwan is a writer of short stories and blogs flash fiction. After a career in engineering he completed a degree; BA (Hon) Humanities with Creative Writing combined with German Language and Culture. Missing is his first novel. Other work included The Listener–A collection of short stories. The Case of the Mahjong Dragon, an original variation on the Sherlock Holmes canon and the stories were criticised for not being long enough. He has contributed charitable work to: A Thousand Cranes – Scottish Writers for Japan. Simply Read Too - Lanark Writers - poetry and short stories, with an audio CD. Falling Leaves - Lanark Writers - poetry and short stories. The web sites Literallystories.com and Fictiononthe web.co.uk. publish his work. He lives in Central Scotland and has two adult daughters
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 On Thursday, August 15th, I will be releasing Bloodlines: The Dark Fae Chronicles. This three book series will be on rapid release with book 2 out August 29th and book 3 out September 12th.
Nova may be the last hope of mankind. When the Fae are released from their earthly tomb, they wipe out most of the human race. Only Nova, a half Fae girl, can save them. As heir to the throne, she must take down the Queen and claim the throne for herself. You can pre-order Book 1 for only 99c. Check out the link below. 
The Gauntlet
The Soppranaturale Series
Book One
Ashley Pagano
Genre: YA Fiction, YA Romance, Supernatural, Fantasy
Publisher: Inskpell Publishing
Date of Publication: June 20th, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-949931-15-0
ISBN: 978-1-949931-16-7
Number of pages: 171
Word Count: 40,109
Cover Artist: Najla Qamber
Tagline: Vampires exist. Werewolves exist. Witches exist. Shape Shifters exist. And now . . . Faeries exist.
Book Description:
Hidden in plain sight, is a mysterious hotel that doubles as a supernatural refugee: The Soppronaturale.
Each supernatural inhabitant has a specific purpose, job, and destiny.
All to keep the hotel running and its secrets safe.
Vampires exist. Werewolves exist. Witches exist. Shape Shifters exist. And now Faeries exist.
The last two Faeries, once unified, could be the most powerful forces on Earth.
Ommily, newcomer to the Soppronaturale, offensively controls and manipulates the four elements; Fire, Earth, Wind and Water. While Link defensively uses their energy to shield Ommily and himself from even the darkest magic.
They could protect all others. But first, they have to defeat the Gauntlet.
Excerpt:
When she walks into the hotel lobby, my world stands still. As if the earth suddenly stops rotating for a brief, suffocating second. Not just for me, but other men and women seem to pause just to stare at her, too. Huddled businessmen stumble over their words as they cut off their conversations in order to gawk at her. Their gazes follow her curves, from her forehead down to her heels. Their mouths hang open with no regard to impending drool. Wide-eyed women follow her path also, turning their heads just enough to hide their judgmental expressions. Even the teenage bellboy nearly trips over his luggage cart as he catches sight of her. For me, I have to grip the counter to stop myself from swaying and my knees from buckling, fighting the breath that’s caught in my windpipe.
Her hair, like fire, consumes her shoulders in perfect, flowing ringlets. Her eyes are like protuberant green emeralds that capture your soul, if ever your gaze aligns with hers. Her skin is as if it were painted on her face, pulling in the bronze summer highlights from outside. Her smile is one luminous hue of ivory, matching the sagging tissues directly in front of me. Her body is thin yet slightly muscular, bulging or pinching inward in all the right places. Her clothes even look as though they were made specifically for her, hugging her body seamlessly.
About the Author:
Ashley Pagano has always dreamed of being an artist both figuratively and literally. Her love of art was instilled by her mother who always inspired her to be creative either with a paintbrush or with a pen and paper. As far back as she can remember her life was always centered around introspection, storytelling, and imagination.
Because she is so artistic, she took to the idea of creative writing very passionately. Her ability to describe a scene, person, or place, she compares to painting a picture, where she can describe every detail vividly in order to make the reader feel like they’re truly living in the story. Her works of writing usually center around a powerhouse female protagonist (which reflect her own personality), who progresses through many wild and extreme obstacles. Ashley loves to write stories that end with a cliffhanger, that have the reader begging for more and questioning what happens next.
Her most recent novel sets the stage for the paranormal romance of the century and includes ghosts, poltergeists, and demons who just love to get in the way of true love. Ashley has won awards for her design, art, and writing.
Ashley doesn’t believe in down time whatsoever and actually loves having a full “To-Doâ€list. Ashley is a wife to her wonderful husband, Eric and a mother to a beautiful baby girl named Dakota. She is also a Graphic Designer and a health and fitness coach. Her husband and daughter inspire her to be the best person she can be and encourage her to pursue any of her dreams (no matter how extravagant they may be).
Review:
​ The supernatural world resides at a hotel and when a Fae arrives, with no idea that there are other supernatural out there, Link finds himself drawn to her. An interesting take on urban fantasy. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I would recommend it.  Thank you for joining us. I hope you enjoyed the event. We will be running a new event in early 2020. Theme to be decided.
Thanks for stopping by.  1) Tell us about your book
I have four published books and am currently working on the fifth; the second book of the Bloodline Trilogy. The Vampyr Trilogy: Song of the Vampire- After becoming a vampire, rock star, Quinn Forrester dropped out and became a recluse. The book begins nineteen years later, the night he reunites with his daughter, Nadia who he abandoned as a baby after becoming one of the undead. Under a Bourbon Street Moon- Things get complicated for the vampires when Quinn and Tristen's past comes back to haunt them. Masquerade- New romance is in the cards for Quinn and Nadia when Randi Brooks returns to New Orleans and Nadia's old flame, Chad Devereaux comes back into her life. The Bloodline Trilogy: Sex, Blood, Rock' N' Roll, and Vampyr- Where the Vampire Trilogy ends, the Bloodline Trilogy begins. My latest novel is Sex, Blood, Rock' N' Roll, and Vampyr, and the title pretty much says it all. Quinn and Nadia return with their night club act, After Dark performing weekly at Vampyr. Twenty-five years after Quinn's mysterious departure from his band, he is managing to keep his identity as an ageless vampire a secret until the opening of an art gallery brings his former band member to New Orleans. 2) What makes your vampires unique? My books are set in the present day. Vampires of legend would never survive in the modern world of forensics, technology, security cameras, and cameras everywhere. So my vampires have evolved into gentle predators; no longer allowed to drain and kill their prey. Only "little drinks" are permitted, and they must eradicate the mortal's memory of blood drinking. Vampires must live in secret with humans and play nice with them. Many rely on alternative methods for acquiring blood, and vampire bars have risen in popularity. Former rock star turned vampire, Quinn Forrester is the owner of New Orleans most popular music venue, Vampyr. Aside from being the French Quarter's coolest music club, it is also a secret vampire bar serving the most excellent quality human blood to its vampire clientele. If they prefer to drink from a donor, the dark, secluded alley next to the bar seduces the most delectable human specimens itching to quench a vampire's thirst. Welcome to Vampyr! 3) If you could have a vampire ability, what would it be and why? I think it would be great to be able to move at high speed or fly because I'm always late. 4) Is your book standalone or part of a series? My books are meant to be read as a series, but there are no cliffhangers, so they also read well as a standalone. Each is a continuation of the last one, but they begin with a new story. The Vampyr Trilogy focuses on Quinn and his family. The Bloodline Trilogy reunites Quinn with his band. A lot of people tell me they read Sex, Blood, Rock' N' Roll, and Vampyr first and then went back and read the Vampyr Trilogy to get the back story on the characters. 5) What is next for you? I'm working on the second book of the Bloodline Trilogy titled Vampyr After Dark to be released later this year. I also have some book signings planned. Check in with my website, www.kmmcfarland.com for updates.  True Blood, originally a book series written by Charlaine Harris, ran for seven seasons between 2008 and 2014. The show and the books, featured telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who struggles with her ability as she is privy to everyone's inner thoughts. When Bill Compton comes into the bar one night, she finds that she cannot hear his thoughts - because he is a vampire.
True Blood was a weird show which broke away from the books early on to do its own thing. The vampires featured in the show could glamour a person and force them to do whatever they wanted. Their blood was addictive and could be used to heal wounds. Sookie later discovers that vampires love her blood because she is part fairy and their blood is addictive to vampires. The show became a cult hit. Who was your favorite vampire?  1)Tell us about your book
“It's a fast-paced and standalone book that will keep you engaged from start to finish. There's action, adventure, drama, danger, suspense, twist/turns, enemies, survival, intrigue, mystery/secrets, surprises, good, evil, greed, betrayal, war, power, struggles, conflict, confusion, fear, anger, romance, passion/lust and love.” Amazon 5* review The Prophecy Whoever sacrifices the virgin, Raven Cole, on her twenty-first birthday will achieve a great victory in the war between good and evil. That’s bad news for Raven. Half-vampire, half witch, and cursed from the moment she was born, Raven has been a prisoner of the fire-demons for the last seven years. Now, as her twenty-first birthday approaches, time is running out. Kael Hunter believed he would do anything to stop the fire-demons from winning. Until he saw her. Now, rather than kill the alluring vampire himself, Kael has another plan: to prevent the prophecy by taking Raven’s virginity. But Raven is prepared for death not seduction. Can Kael use their one night of passion to convince her she has a future – and that he should be a part of it? The Prophecy will be included in an anthology of six fabulous paranormal romances, Sexy Supernatural Summer, available, free, during July 2019. 2) What makes your vampires unique? My heroine is the vampire in the story (the hero is a shapeshifter.) She’s different from most vampires as she was born a vampire, not bitten. She’s also not pure vampire. She’s a hybrid, the offspring of a witch mother (a daughter of the Morrigan) and a vampire father. Along with her vampire powers, Raven also gets the ability to see the future from her mother. 3) If you could have a vampire ability what would it be and why? I think immortality. I want to get to see what the world of the future is like. 4) Is your book standalone or part or a series? The Prophecy is a standalone romance. It’s also book 1 in my Daughters of the Morrigan series. The Darkness (book 2) Witch’s Moon (book 3) 5) What is next for you? I have a series called Dark Desires (my publisher refers to it as vampires in space). The books are a mixture of genres: romance, science fiction, paranormal, adventure… (and they were so much fun to write!.) The series is set around a thousand years in the future, where mankind has fled a dying Earth and settled on a new world. The series has my favorite character I have ever written – Ricardo Sanchez – vampire and pilot of the spaceship, The Blood Hunter. And right now, because I missed Rico so much, I’m working on a spin-off series, Dark Desires Origins. Which takes place about five hundred years earlier, when the ships which left Earth are just reaching their new home. And Rico is right there with them. The first book, Malfunction, comes out later this year.  Q1) TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK:
Crimson Shadow: Noir is the story of a deeply depressed and tormented young man who discovers a series of shocking truths regarding both his lineage and the reality behind his traumatic past. He then uses the strengths and abilities gained from the former to seek and exact revenge on the latter; gaining new insight (and a will to live) throughout the process. Q2) WHAT MAKES YOUR VAMPIRES UNIQUE? I’d say what’s most unique about the vampires in the Crimson Shadow books is the variety and “believability” behind them. I always liked the “this could be in the here-and-now” sort of stories when it came to the supernatural and paranormal; the idea that, though full of fantasy and otherworldly intrigue, you could genuinely plug yourself into the possibility of these things happening right outside the periphery of your reality. My wife and I researched a great deal of mythology and lore regarding all manner of creatures, and then began “adapting” the legends to fit in a world of biology and physics. I even went so far as to interview my dentist just to get the fangs right for the blood-drinking vampires (yes, we have other kinds, too). Q3) IF YOU COULD HAVE A VAMPIRE ABILITY WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? I guess the speed and strength would be cool. I think we all have those moments when we wish we could just—POOF!—be somewhere and then gone in a flash, and I think everyone’s had a moment of feeling limited in some way or another. I’m sure it’d be damning for me to say that I’d love to flash a set of fangs at some people, really put the fear in them… but I’m sure we’ve all felt that way at some time or another, too. Q4) IS YOUR BOOK STANDALONE OR PART OF A SERIES? Crimson Shadow: Noir is part of a series, but it’s also part of a universe that my wife, Megan J. Parker, and I co-developed: the Crimson Shadow series & Death Metal (by me) and the Scarlet Night trilogy by Megan. We co-developed the mythology, and so we share it as the setting for our series—everything eventually connecting and climaxing in the last book of the Crimson Shadow series. Q5) WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU? I’ve got a few side projects I’m working on at the moment, including a paranormal horror/mystery that I’m co-writing with another author from Upstate New York. I’ve also got a few sequels in the works—one for my Death Metal novel and another for a high-fantasy YA novel I co-wrote with my wife—as well as a rather sizable project that I’m not quite at liberty to discuss just yet (*wink-wink*).  We can't talk about vampires and not talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the cult TV show by Joss Whedon which ran for seven seasons.
Based on the 1992 movie of the same name, Buffy Summers is a teenage girl attending a new school in Sunnydale, California. She is also the Chosen One, granted supernatural strength and speed so she can take down vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. Over seven seasons, Buffy grew from a 16 year old girl, into a strong young woman, who faced many horrors and saved the world once or twice. While vampires were one of the main foes on the show, it also introduced Angel, a vampire with a soul who fought on the side of good. He even got his own spin off show. A lot of the monsters of the week were metaphors for the horrors we face in real life as we grow up. The kid who feels invisible, actually turns invisible and it is a bad idea to be a teacher's pet! Who was your favorite vampire on the show?  1) Tell us about your book
Hi and thanks for having me! I’m Melanie Nowak, and I write the venomous vampire series ALMOST HUMAN. The series is available as either 2 trilogies of 6 novels, OR as a series of 21 episodic novellas (in KU) - same story, two formats - pick your poison! *** Shy Felicity never expected to attract the attention of a handsome young man... or a vampire, but if she can keep them both from killing each other she’ll need all the help she can get to navigate perils of addiction, desire, morality, zombies, and...college. Cain is an elder vampire who displays quiet confidence even as he struggles to overcome sins of his past. Surprisingly, he found that in losing his life he gained his faith and a purpose. His mission: find the hostile vampires that inhabit this small college town, and educate them to live in peace with humans. Their leader, Sindy, is a wicked temptress who has set her sights on Felicity's new friend Ben. She will be difficult to control, but after meeting Felicity, Cain's most difficult task lies in controlling himself. *** NerdGirlVamp Melanie Newton of NerdGirlOfficial.com called it “My official must read vampire series of the year! This series has continued to be consistently excellent and I have to say I am seriously impressed that the level has remained so outstanding. The fact that I am so far in and craving a new installment the way a vampire craves blood is INCREDIBLE!!! If you aren’t reading this series, you should be!” 2) What makes your vampires unique? My vampires are unique in many ways, while still exploring the classic vampire traits and mythos. The most defining unique characteristic of my vamps, is that they have an addictive narcotic venom that they inject with their bite! Real vampire bats have a anticoagulant in their saliva called “draculin” (named after Count Dracula!) that keeps blood from clotting. I had the idea that such a thing would be useful for vampires as well - and what if they had something to keep the victim calm, like a drug? I always wondered about a vampire’s ability to put victims in thrall. In old movies, vampires are always able to hypnotize people, and it’s never really explained. People are just ‘under their power’. I always wondered – how does it work? I put that question together with the anticoagulant/drug idea, and took it further. What if vampires could inject their victims with venom, like a snake? Only the venom would not be deadly poison, but a narcotic combination of drugs that kept blood from clotting, kept the victim calm and even willing, and also could mark territory for the vampire – leaving a psychic-aura mark that other vampires could see. The vampire could then use the existence of this ‘drug’ in their victim’s system, to put them in thrall, as well as causing other feelings... I’ve done a lot of research in discovering different powers vampires have in various legends around the world. Using these ideas, my second trilogy goes further to introduce different breeds of vampires with different abilities, such as turning into mist, shape shifting into bats and wolves, flying, using thought control, and even manipulating the weather. All of this is woven into a larger plot in which our beloved characters find themselves trying to stop the plan of an evil coven master trying to take over vampire-kind, even as one of their own finds themselves thrust into a role destined by prophecy - divine leader of vampires the world over - The United One. 3) If you could have a vampire ability what would it be and why? That is a really tough question...there are so many! If I really had to choose, I think I would most enjoy being able to change shape into a bat or a wolf. I love animals! I would love to fly as a bat, run the woods as a wolf, and it would be useful for hiding or eavesdropping on unsuspecting humans as well, LOL. 4) Is your book standalone or part or a series? ALMOST HUMAN is a long running series that definitely needs to be read in order! You could read the second trilogy without having read the first, but there would of course be spoilers, as it is one continuous story - and why would you want to miss out on all of the juicy background stuff? I hope you will check it out - my venomous vampires love new blood! Novel #1 is FATAL INFATUATION www.amzn.com/B001C3ZTXC/ref=nosim/ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=menoauofthvev-20 Or, if you’d like your story in bite sized episodes available in KU, Novella #1 is CAPTIVATING VAMPIRES www.amzn.com/B01AVMDPRQ/ref=nosim/ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=menoauofthvev-20 Feed the addiction! |
 
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About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 
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