Tag: fantasy romance

Paranormal Romance – When Darkness Falls: The Prophecy by Allie McCormack

Paranormal Romance – When Darkness Falls: The Prophecy by Allie McCormack

 

When Darkness Falls, Book 3

 

Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance, Vampire Romance

Release Date: July 1, 2021

The truce between humans and vampires has stabilized as the relationship between Alyssa and Lord Damien deepens. When a desperate group of refugees arrive at the city, bringing tales of a barbaric horde overrunning the lands to the west, the city’s resources are strained to assimilate them.

Just as life is settling back to normal, the worst of news arrives from scouts sent out to spy on the horde. The massive army is gearing up with plans to brave the hundreds of miles of stark desert to attack Al Khair itself, and Lord Damien must decide whether to follow their long code of non-involvement of human affairs, or to work with the humans to save their city.

*Please Note, this is a trilogy, with one sweeping story arc divided into three volumes. The books are not meant to be read alone, or out of order. If you prefer, you can buy all 3 volumes of the trilogy together in a boxed eBook set, When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy – Amazon

 

Want the Whole Trilogy in One Book?

 

 

When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy

Release Date: July 1, 2021

Ruled by a gracious, wise Sultana, the humans of the great desert city of Al Khair dwell in uneasy peace with the vampires and demons who claim the lands as their ancestral homelands under the leadership of an ancient, powerful vampire. Their shaky truce becomes strained when a young human woman arrives from distant lands.

Orphaned since childhood and outcast, Alyssa joins a caravan to the fabled Al Khair where she seeks only to make a new life for herself. A life that quickly becomes complicated when she draws the attention of the Dark Lord himself.

A thousand years ago, Lord Damien permitted the humans to build their city. When he senses a new, immensely powerful magical being in the land, Damien suspects the humans of plotting to overthrow him. Furious, he searches for the source of this power, but he cannot stop thinking of the young woman in the tower who had seen through his glamour spell that cloaks him from humans.

When he discovers that Alyssa is the mysterious being he has been seeking, his determination to have her for his own threatens to pit the two races, human and vampire, against each other in all-out war.


About the Author

A former career medical transcriptionist and disabled Veteran, Allie McCormack is now writing from home full-time. Allie has traveled quite a bit and lived many places all over the U.S., and also a year in Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student, and a year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia under contract to a hospital there, plus a short stint with NATO while she was in the Army. Allie now lives in the beautiful southern California with her family and her two rescue cats.

Allie says: “A writer is who and what I am… a romance writer. I write what I know, and what I know is romance. Dozens of story lines and literally hundreds of characters live and breathe within the not-so-narrow confines of my imagination, and it is my joy and privilege to bring them to life, to share them with others by writing their stories.”

Contact Links

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Paranormal Romance – When Darkness Falls, Book 2 – The Dark Lord by Allie McCormack

Paranormal Romance – When Darkness Falls, Book 2 – The Dark Lord by Allie McCormack

 

When Darkness Falls, Book 2

 

Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance, Vampire Romance

Release Date: June 17, 2021

Book 2 of a sweeping romantic saga in a medieval Arabian Nights type setting

Held captive in the Catacombs, Alyssa struggles with coming to terms with the loss of the life she had made for herself in the palace. She also has to learn how to deal with her strange magical powers that everyone but her seems to know she has. And she has to find a way to accept her new life with the ancient vampire who insists that she is his… but doesn’t seem to know what to do with her.

Lord Damien never thought to have a human woman in his life, and this one baffles him. He doesn’t understand his own need for her, but knows only that he must have her, at any cost. He had been prepared for anger and recriminations, but Alyssa surprises him with her determination to accept her new life, as well as her unexpected compassion and humor.

*Please Note, this is a trilogy! Books 1 & 2 have cliffhangers and are not meant to be read out of order.

 

Excerpt

 

Chapter 9 – The Craft Hall

Some distance from the city, Damien paused, holding up one hand. “We glamour,” he stated. “Until we reach the Craft Hall.”

Gabrielle and Kayja complied, a faint shimmering disturbing the early morning desert air as all three cast the small spell that would cloak them from untrained eyes. The sun wasn’t yet above the horizon, the days already shortening with the oncoming of fall. Damien focused his attention to the East, storm clouds gathering, building at his command, delaying the effects of the sun on himself and Gabrielle. Kayja, pure demon, was unaffected by the sun’s rising. Damien, with his demon father’s blood, could tolerate the sun until it was fully above the horizon, but Gabrielle would be susceptible to the sun’s influence much more quickly.

They reached the city, moving swiftly past through the lines of those waiting to enter through the huge gates. Passing unseen, the trio headed into the heart of the lower city, Damien leading them unhesitatingly toward the Craft Hall. He knew this city, every block, every stone. He had been here when it was a walled village. Had walked the construction at night as the city was built, the palace towering above all. There was no corner, no shadow, that he did not know.

Most of the shops and stalls were closed tight still, aside from a few stalls dispensing tea and thick bitter coffee, and flat bread with beans and fried balls of ground grain and herbs to early workers. The craftsmen, however, would already be up and working in their high-ceilinged hall deep within the city.

Indeed, the wide double doors of the Craft Hall were open, workers within milling about on various tasks. Standing just within the doors, Damien and his companions shimmered into sight of those nearby. There were startled gasps, then a wave of rippling murmurs, followed by silence, spread through the hall as craftsmen, journeymen and apprentices turned toward the great doors. The tension in the suddenly quiet hall was palpable. There was stirring, shifting of a group at one side of the room, and a man emerged, approaching the trio at the entrance. He was stockily built, with graying hair framing a lined face. Sharp, intelligent eyes held a wary defiance; not outright hostility, but Damien sensed little flashes of anger from the man, who wore a Master’s badge on one shoulder.

He knows your little human,” Kayja spoke on their private pathway. “I see her in his mind, his concern for her well-being.”

Damien gave a tiny, barely discernible inclination of his head, acknowledging her words.

The Craft Master came to a halt some few feet from them, bending at the waist in a slight bow.

My Lord Damien.”

Craft Master Ahmed.”

Damien suppressed his amusement as the man started in surprise. He was Lord over these lands. Of course he knew all those who rose to prominence. Craft Masters, even prominent journeymen who were rising swiftly in the ranks; he made it his business to know everything in this city.

The man made a swift recovery, schooling his face to express polite inquiry. “How may we help you, Lord?”

Again Damien sensed that flash of anger from the man, swiftly suppressed.

We have come for furnishings,” Damien told him, his gaze drifting about the spacious circular hall, sectioned into areas… tables, chairs, beds and divans, lounges, lamps, screens. He brought his eyes back to the Craft Master. “You are acquainted with the young Scribe from the palace?”

A swift startled murmur swept the room, starting with those in earshot who passed word to those nearby. Relief crept into Master Ahmed’s face, and some of the rigidity left his stance.

Alyssa? Indeed, I know her well. All of us do,” and he made a gesture with his right arm, indicating the room at large. “She… she is alive, Lord? She is well?”

A rush of impatience swept him. “Of course she is alive,” he retorted. “What did you think I was going to do, eat her?”

Absolute silence. His lips tightened in exasperation. Obviously, they had. Humans! His stern gaze swept them all, meeting their eyes, commanding their attention.

Do you truly believe,” and he raised his voice so that all in the hall could hear him. “That Zahira, your Sultana, would have permitted me to carry off one of her Court… indeed, any citizen of this city… without being assured that no harm would come to her? You do your Sultana a great disservice in this. Zahira would have gone to war, rather. She insisted upon, and received, my promise that no harm of any kind would come to the girl. She was prepared to risk outright war, had I not given her my word on this.”

The silence continued as the last echoes of his voice faded, then shifting and movement as the men and women returned to their various duties. Noises began to fill the hall…. sanding, pounding, hammering. Damien turned back to the Craft Master. The man was smiling, his relief almost palpable.

What is it you would wish to see, Lord?”

Kayja stepped forward at this point. Her tail was twitching, to the apparent bemusement of a nearby apprentice, a boy barely into his teens who’d apparently never seen a demon before, from his fascinated stare. “We need furnishings for Alyssa. A bed to start. A clothing press. Tables, chairs. These will be delivered to the Temple in the desert.”

Ahmed nodded thoughtfully, gesturing them to an area across the hall. “This way my Lord, Ladies,” he added a bit doubtfully, with a glance at Kayja’s red skin, her curved, pointed black horns and shiny black hooves.

This is excellent,” Kayja all but purred on their private pathway. “The human’s mind is already full of what he calls extras to include with the delivery, for Alyssa’s comfort. At no additional charge.”

I can see his thoughts for myself,” Damien reminded her in some exasperation. Kayja huffed, her horned head tossing irritably.

They stopped before a display room, set back off the main hall, filled with bedroom furnishings. There were massive, carved poster beds, and simpler lounges and chaises. Gabrielle stopped before one, a pretty, low bed with soft sheets and a light throw, topped with several pillows. She leaned down to poke experimentally at the mattress, testing its firmness.

What about this?”

No.” His refusal was instantaneous. Ahmed had moved off to point out to Kayja a monstrosity of a bed with heavy wooden posts carved with fantastic animals, sure to appeal to the demon. Maybe he should have brought Aleksei instead. He turned to Gabrielle, leaning close to murmur. “It’s very similar to her bed in her tower room, in the palace. I don’t want it to be a constant reminder to her.”

As he straightened, his eye was caught by a burst of colors across the way. He moved toward the bed that had caught his eye. It was a combination piece, clearly designed for multiple uses as lounge, bed or sofa. A carved wood base rested on wood legs that rose high to support a flat lattice work above, like a canopy. The mattress was low and large, covered in bright turquoise damask. Gracefully carved spindles rose from the base to a smoothly polished banister, framing the bed on three sides, a warm backdrop for an array of colorful cushions, embroidered and sequined, propped against the supporting spindles.

He was aware of his sister and Gabrielle joining him, Ahmed at a respectful distance.

Gabrielle pursed her lips thoughtfully. “It looks more suited to a patio perhaps, or a balcony, than to a cave.”

Kayja glanced her way. “He already has a stone crypt that’s perfectly suited to a cave. That’s why we’re here.”

True.”

It’s suited to Alyssa,” Damien stated, his tone brooking no argument. “That’s what is important.”

Indeed, my Lord, I think she would love this,” Ahmed concurred. “It would certainly brighten a… a cave,” he glanced at Kayja standing beside him. “If that is your purpose, this would do well. And Alyssa loves the jewel tones. Always, the jewel tones are what draws her. There is a chest for clothing that would go well with this. The workmen could put together a grouping to match, it would take perhaps a day or two, no more. Floor cushions, a chaise lounge. A mirror set into a mashrabiyya frame.” He warmed to his theme. “We could create an inlaid table using the same wood, the spindles, and inlay the top with hues to pick up the colors from the cushions.”

Damien nodded decisively. “Bring this bed and the chest, and whatever else you have made now, to the Temple by mid-day. Then the rest as it is completed.”

Ahmed bowed low, far different from the stiff, polite gesture he’d offered when they had first arrived. The man exuded good will.

It shall be done, Lord.” He paused. “If you would send some of your human servants to the city, Lord, the bed will need to be disassembled to transport. We will show them how to put it back together again.”

Leaving the Craft Hall, they again assumed a glamour. Gabrielle hurried for the distant Catacombs, using the preternatural speed of the vampire to outrun the rays of the sun, rising swiftly now above the mountains to the east. Damien, his demon blood making him less susceptible, took longer in following, strolling leisurely through the streets with Kayja as they made their way to the great gates of the city and then taking flight for the longer distance to the mountains.

Entering the Catacombs, Damien made his way to the Great Hall, ringing the bell that summoned the khadam and the other human servants not immediately in service to the vampire they looked to as Liege.

His indifferent gaze scanned the humans gathered before him. “A number of pieces of furnishings are being delivered to the Temple later this morning. At least two males are needed for the heavier pieces. Also I need one of you to visit the Woodworkers Craft Hall in the city for instruction in assembling the parts.”

Instantly two men stepped forward, and several women. One, a bubbly, rounded redhead, jiggled in place, seemingly excited.

Is it for Alyssa?” she asked, apparently flushed with excitement. “Is it a surprise?”

He turned his full gaze on her, little red lights flickering in his eyes. Fangs extending, he snarled at her. She gulped, visibly paling, and the humans closest to him fell back a step, watching him warily.

Not deigning to answer the woman, he turned on his heel, stalking away to his private chambers, where Alyssa still lay deeply asleep, faint smudges beneath her eyes. The sleep of exhaustion. He stood looking down on her. Yesterday had been difficult for her. He must remember she was mortal, and young. He reached down to stroke her hair, his fingers slipping through the short, silky strands.

A surprise. The idiot woman’s words came back to him. As if. He was no fairytale prince. And yet… an image arose in his mind’s eye. Alyssa’s eyes alight, her gasp of delight, her radiant smile as she saw the furnishings.

He straightened, turning away, dismissing the notion with a flick of his hands. He was vampire. Demon. An ancient. He had no place in his world for such human nonsense. And yet the image could not quite be dispelled, lingering in the back of his mind.

 

Other Books in the When Darkness Falls Trilogy

 

 

When Darkness Falls Book I: The Palace

Released: June 3, 2021

When Darkness Falls Book III: The Prophecy

Release Date: July 1, 2021

Amazon

About the Author

A former career medical transcriptionist and disabled Veteran, Allie McCormack is now writing from home full-time. Allie has traveled quite a bit and lived many places all over the U.S., and also a year in Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student, and a year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia under contract to a hospital there, plus a short stint with NATO while she was in the Army. Allie now lives in the beautiful southern California with her family and her two rescue cats.

Allie says: “A writer is who and what I am… a romance writer. I write what I know, and what I know is romance. Dozens of story lines and literally hundreds of characters live and breathe within the not-so-narrow confines of my imagination, and it is my joy and privilege to bring them to life, to share them with others by writing their stories.”

Contact Links

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

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Purchase Links

Amazon

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Historical Fantasy Romance – Clothilde

Historical Fantasy Romance – Clothilde

 

Book 3 in The Comet Trilogy

 

Historical Romance, Fantasy Romance, Historical Adventure

Date Published: May 7, 2021

Publisher: DCL Publications

Daughter of Norman aristocrats, Clothilde du Flaumier is hopelessly in love with the illegitimate son of a nobleman. Her father will never countenance their marriage, nor does the object of her affections want one. But who else is there for such a stubborn, reckless girl?

 

Excerpt

 

She was pointing at her nemesis, thirsting to see him extinguished before her eyes. God would have to forgive her later. Guie’s horse, trained to a fine art, jumped a prone body on the ground—Dain—and landed at a full stop just ahead of the fleeing kidnapper, allowing Guie to land on the backstroke. It was over in seconds. She heard his sword in the air, the thud as it met flesh, and then she didn’t want to see any more.

The others were running for their lives, but the second knight rode them down like chasing mice, leaning from his horse at a full gallop, hewing them down. Within moments, justice had been administered. Nothing but dead bodies lay in the road except for Clothilde and Dain.

Clothilde lay retching and heaving in the dust, gasping for air. She saw a horse’s forefeet in front of her, then felt hands on her shoulders. Her sister’s husband jerked her to her feet in a single motion and then had to hold her up.

Are you hurt?” he asked, one mailed arm around her like iron. “Clothilde, are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “Just winded.” She spared a glance for Dain, who was still sprawled at the roadside with the second knight simply standing in front of him, dismounted. But he had left him his head.

What the fuck is this?” Guie demanded furiously.

I…went over the cliffs,” Clothilde gasped. “He found me. He was bringing me home.”

From here?”

He took me to his home first. They took care of me. Please, Guie, don’t kill him.”

That is not a likely story,” the second knight put in. She glanced up at him long enough to know she didn’t know him. He was young, dark haired, with piercing blue eyes, and speaking with assurance. “I found where you went down and it was right on your own land. You didn’t fall, you were taken down. Then this turd grabbed you for a little ransom, which now is a reward, so he was returning you. Isn’t that the way it went?”

She saw Dain watching, not trying to defend himself. There was no point. They were aristocrats, he was a peasant. They would do with him as they wished, law or no law. But he knew now she was no lady’s maid.

You’ve taken Lord Hugo’s daughter, you idiot.” The unknown knight spat into the bushes—more disgust than dust. By her count, he had killed three men in mere seconds and his attitude clearly conveyed he wouldn’t mind one more.

Please don’t kill him, he doesn’t deserve it,” Clothilde begged.

That will be for Hugo to judge.” Guie was steadying her on her feet, but she could tell he was still furious. Well, let her father judge, then. There were no witnesses left alive. They were lying in bloodied heaps on the road. She turned aside, retching.

He will not be back for some time,” Guie said when she had finished. “Harold is defeated but they are harrying his remnant to the north. I’ve come back for Cecile’s confinement, no more, then I must return. But you…”

He looked at her with a dire shake of the head.

All I did was to go fishing,” Clothilde protested.

Alone. On an unguarded beach with everyone gone to war. Tilde, I do not know what to do with you.” He looked over at the second knight. “Estman, are you not in need of a wife?”


About The Author


Hailing from Pennsylvania, Miriam Newman has developed a prolific writing career that began in her twenties, although she published her very first novel some time later in 2009. She was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been her passion for as long as she can remember and she brings that background to her writing, along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18 year career in various areas of psychiatric social services, and many trips to Ireland, where she nurtures her muse. Her published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. It was in Ireland that she wrote The King’s Daughter. Ireland is her favorite place in this world. “I connect there with something I can’t even explain,” she says fondly.

Miriam spent many years working in Social Services, and after retirement, she found herself working part-time in local government. Currently, she lives in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. Her passion for animal rescue and fostering has included a number of fur babies, from horses to dogs to a pig that appeared on her porch one morning. Also a lover of great books, the one that she finds most responsible for her venture into fantasy and recommends is The Once and Future King by T.H. White.

Fans of Ms. Newman can follow her online at the following locations:

Website

Blog 1

Blog 2

Amazon Author Central

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Fantasy Romance – Destiny

Fantasy Romance – Destiny

 

Fantasy Romance

 

Published: April 2021

Book 1 of the Academy Series begins with Destiny, a thrilling fantasy story with magical creatures and sizzling romance.

Despondent after a failed career move, Jamie returns to her remote hometown to rekindle old relationships and hopefully rediscover her life’s purpose. While visiting the local coffee shop , she meets the rugged stranger Wren, who works as a park ranger and always seems to be around when she needs him. But he also appears to have a strange connection to the mysterious wolf residing in the forest.

As Jamie grows closer to Wren, she stumbles into a paranormal world of dark magic, shapeshifters, and deep, supernatural connections. At the same time, Jamie discovers the mysterious powers that have lain dormant within her for years.

A paranormal story about shape-shifting wolf, a fantasy about a young woman with special powers, and a sexy romance with a mysterious stranger, Destiny heralds the arrival of a talented new voice in contemporary fantasy and romance.

About the Author


D.D. Larsen grew up in a small town in Colorado. As a child, she was always formulating stories in her mind. Now, she gets to share her books with the world. She loves romance novels, and writing about mountain settings comes naturally (pun intended). But she’s a woman of many interests, as proved by her bachelor of science degree in biological and chemical engineering and her passionate pursuit of ski racing and other athletic endeavors.

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Fantasy Romance – Reclaiming the Magic

Fantasy Romance – Reclaiming the Magic

 

Fantasy Romance

Date Published: August 2020

Publisher: Broken Angels

 

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png
 

 

Vampire society knows him as the Thirteenth Elder first vampire in
creation, the mages know him as an immortal high sorcerer and the Keeper of
the Prophecy. Delgarias Dullahan only cares about the woman who knew him
simply as “Del.” Two thousand years ago, he gambled his soul for
the power to marry Nikkita Leonine…and lost.

Now he is finally on her trail. But Del is not the only one searching for
the missing luminite princess, and whoever finds her first will have the
upper hand in the battle against the greatest evil ever known.

 

 

 Excerpt

 

As they raced towards the sounds of the fight, Delgarias drew no weapon,
but his magic fomented within, rippling below the surface. “Remember,
we must be cautious. I want Annarkie taken alive.”

Radu’s brows drew together as he frowned. “But we don’t
know what she looks like.”

“I have a feeling we’ll know her when we see her.”

When they slipped through the door, Delgarias’s words proved
true.

Dozens of vampires swarmed a female warrior garbed in black leather, and
she fended them off with a blade that he immediately recognized.
Shellandrian steel. Medium-length and narrow, the sword looked like those
made in the eastern regions of Earth, only slightly more curved. The metal
itself was a work of beauty. The sword’s forging technique involved
folding the molten steel and another metal called Plitatia tightly together
and imbuing each molecule with magic. Only faelin royals and high-ranking
warriors carried Shellandrian steel swords. Delgarias’s astonishment
increased even as a fresh wave of unease that his assumptions and plans
regarding this rogue’s capture had been very wrong. How did she get a
sword like that? Vampires were banned from Shellandria, as the queen refused
to take part in the integration. The internal questions faded as the sight
of Annarkie’s fighting style drew his focus like a magnet.

Her movements were as exquisite as her body, bloodstained as it was. She
danced in a blur, dodging blows from swords and staffs, slicing cleanly
through elbows and ankles.

This was a warrior of the likes he hadn’t seen in hundreds of years.
But even as he watched her hack, slash, and dodge with lightning deftness,
oblivious to her own blood leaking from various wounds, frustration imbued
him with the need to see her face.

Because he felt more than admiration and curiosity at the sight of her.
Something else stirred within him: an old, aching wound, tormenting
familiarity.

Could it be?

As he watched her drop to the blood-soaked floor and use the slickness to
spin on her back like a modern dancer, severing the feet of her enemies in a
swirling dervish, Delgarias caught a glimpse of blazing bronze eyes, a
heart-shaped face, and full, arched lips.

Lips whose taste he’d always remember.

Razvan interrupted Delgarias’s stunned revelation by shooting a
vampire whose sword nearly came down to impale Annarkie.

Radu lunged forward, eager to join the fight, but Delgarias held him
back.

“That is no vampire,” Delgarias told the twins, unable to
control the quaver in his voice.

 

 About the Author

Formerly an auto-mechanic, Brooklyn Ann thrives on writing romance
featuring unconventional heroines and heroes who adore them. Author of
historical paranormal romance in her critically acclaimed “Scandals
with Bite” series, urban fantasy in the cult favorite, “Brides
of Prophecy” novels, and the award winning, “Hearts of Metal
Series, she’s now writing the “B Mine” series, horror romances
riffing on the 1970s and 1980s horror movies.

She lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with her gamer son, rockstar/IT Guy
boyfriend, and four cats.

She can be found online at https://brooklynannauthor.com as well as on
Twitter and Facebook.

 

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