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Giveaway – Taken By The Alpha King by Abigail Barnette @RoxanneRhoads

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Dear Reader: This post is condensed from a larger, previously published series entitled “The Worst Person I Ever Met,” which you can find in the “Classic Trout” section of my website, jennytrout.com, but it can be enjoyed as a spooky Halloween story all on its own.

Nearly twenty years ago, I was trapped in a toxic friendship with a woman who, like myself, practiced witchcraft. Cathy was going through a messy divorce and I, feeling like I couldn’t say no, let her stay with us in our home for days at a time. It was during one of her absences when my son asked, “Where do the other stairs go?”

We lived in a ranch-style house with a basement. There was no accessible attic and only one set of stairs. However, my son is autistic and had an interesting way of describing things (once, to tell me that he’d seen a cricket in our holly bush, he informed me that it was “nighttime in the plant”), so I asked some probing, but not leading questions. Where are the stairs? At the back of the basement, right under the real staircase. Then maybe he’d seen a shadow? No, he insisted. He’d seen other stairs.

Frustrated that I wasn’t understanding, he demanded I follow him down to the basement. He led me urgently to where he’d seen the other stairs, but when we got to the spot, he was perplexed. Not in a “clearly pretending” way, either. He was genuinely confused as to where the stairs had gone. I decided that he’d probably seen a shadow, somehow. The light had played tricks coming in from the high basement window. I told him if he ever saw the other stairs again, he should come tell me immediately. I wanted to see it for myself, so I could explain to him what he was seeing.

These weird occurrences became more sinister. My son was the soul of unflappable calm as he explained “the green, drippy people” to me. They were in the basement, he said, hanging from the ceiling. Their eyes were red, like the ghost mouse’s eyes.

“The ghost mouse?” I asked, trying to convince myself he’d just seen an albino rat on tv or something.

“The ghost mouse.” He acted like it was something I should have already known about. “The ghost mouse I can follow to the other stairs?”

I made him promise me that he would never talk to the green, drippy people or follow the ghost mouse. And he would never, ever go down the other stairs. I stressed the importance of that, and he solemnly promised that he would never have gone down the other stairs because they were so scary.

Once, I was putting a load of laundry into the dryer when a dripping, skeletal hand in a tattered sleeve reached out of a shadow, grasping for me. I screamed and raced upstairs, shaking. I lived in terror every day. To my son, these occurrences were normal. To my skeptical husband, they were non-existent. I thought I was losing my mind.

So, what link does all of this have with Cathy?

As mentioned previously, Cathy and I both practiced witchcraft. We did rituals and spellwork together, much of it at my home. Any of my spiritual practice that didn’t happen outside or during group gatherings happened in my office. Before we’d put down our wood laminate flooring, I’d drawn a permanent circle on the subfloor, both with a marker and with some low-level energy. I always knew where it was, and any spells or meditation or chanting happened in that circle.

Cathy knew where it was, too. Shortly before she left for Colorado, she told me how blessed she felt by all the positive changes in her life. “One night when I was staying over at your house, I went into your office, where your circle is? And I said, ‘Okay, universe. I want you to send everything I’m putting out into the world back to me three-fold, right here and now.’”

I realized then exactly what had happened. Cathy put nothing but toxic, destructive, outright malicious energy into the universe, and now it was doing what she asked: sending it all back, three-fold, right to the place where she’d requested. I hoped that whatever it was would follow her when she left for her new home.

It didn’t. However, as so many malicious haunting stories go, we couldn’t afford to move. Bad luck plagued us until we finally were forced to move due to foreclosure.

Shortly after I began writing about Cathy on my blog, my then teenaged son came to me and said, apropos of nothing, “Do you remember the other stairs?”

All of the hairs on my arms stood up. He hadn’t mentioned the other stairs in years.. “I remember you thought there were some other stairs. Did you figure out what they were?”

“There were other stairs,” he insisted. “But there’s stuff I didn’t tell you about them.”

He described the other stairs to me, in more sophisticated detail than he’d been able to at five. They were old stone, uneven like ruins. They led down into a dark hallway with shadowy doors. A dim orange light came from one of the doorways.

“And there was someone at the bottom,” he said in an uncharacteristically quiet, serious voice. “They had a person’s body, but their head was like an animal skull. With horns or antlers or something.”

I decided to do a cleansing spell while I had some alone time. I put some new age music on Spotify and set about doing the ritual. Just as I was getting ready to begin, an advertisement came on and a woman’s voice cheerfully called out, “Hi! I’m Cathy!”


Taken By The Alpha King
Abigail Barnette

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Trout Nation, Inc.
Date of Publication: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9798988035503
ASIN: B0BZ2TY27H
Number of pages: 472
Cover Artist: Covers by Kris

Tagline: He’ll never stop fighting to keep his throne…and her.

Book Description: 

Born into a secret society of werewolves and betrothed to a mate she didn’t love, Bailey Dixon made the choice to leave her pack for five years. Now, she’s back and fully committed to becoming the werewolf she was destined to be.

But destiny–and the new pack king–have other plans. Rich, handsome, and utterly ruthless, Nathan Frost demands absolute obedience from the Toronto pack. When he sets his sights on Bailey, she’s plunged into a world of politics, sex, and violence she’s not equipped to navigate on her own.

With her life in danger and enemies emerging from every corner, Bailey is forced to rely on the mysterious stranger who’s usurped the throne of her pack. And even he can’t be trusted…


Amazon     BN     Apple     BooksAMillion



Humans imagine scenes in movies where werewolves scream in agony and tear out of their clothes, which I’ve never understood. We know when the full moon is. It doesn’t take us by surprise. And we know how to dress for it.

Or undress. My breath freezes in my lungs as Nathan walks into the circle. He stops in front of the monolith to Lycaon and drops his robe.

I shamelessly look him over, the way he did to me, from his broad shoulders, down his chest dusted with dark hair that thins to a line on his shockingly sculpted abs. I wasn’t expecting him to look as good as he does. I wasn’t expecting that my mouth would water at the sight of his cock, that my thighs would clench together at the thought of how huge it must be hard.

I wish he could see me. I hope he feels me, smells me.

And I hope that the strange attraction between us is making him as crazed with need as I feel.

An acolyte—a thrall trained in our ceremonies and rituals—steps forward with a shallow silver bowl bearing a glistening human heart. It’s required for the transformation; Lycaon himself was transformed into a wolf after he angered Zeus by feeding the God human flesh. Nathan grabs the heart with his bare hand and bites into it.

That’s when he lifts his gaze and finds me, seconds before the transformation starts.

It begins with his eyes. They flash silver, then red. His face shifts, nose and jaw elongating into a muzzle. We don’t turn into wolves. That’s a myth. We turn into a creature that stands upright; body covered with short, silky hair from our clawed feet to our canine-like heads. The fur flows over every contour of Nathan’s body and his spine curves, drawing him into a hunched posture. His ears elongate, pointing straight back, a shape humans would consider more elfin than dog-like, with tufts of fur accentuating the points. His arms grow longer, as well; in this predatory manifestation, a wide reach is an advantage.

In his animalistic form, he waits for the others but stares up at me. Like this, I’m vulnerable. Far too human. I would be no match for him, should he want me. And he does want me, but even this way, he has self-control, as well as some common sense. He knows he can’t reach me, and so do I, but being the target of all that concentrated power and bestial drive is still heady and frightening.

The good kind of frightening. The kind that makes me wonder what could happen if I only push a little further.

 

About the Author: 

Abigail Barnette is the pseudonym of Jenny Trout, an author, blogger, and funny person. Jenny made the USA Today bestseller list with their debut novel, Blood Ties Book One: The Turning. Their American Vampire was named one of the top ten horror novels of 2011 by Booklist Magazine Online. As Abigail Barnette, Jenny writes award-winning erotic fiction, including the internationally bestselling The Boss series.

Jenny has been featured on television and radio, including HuffPost Live, Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show, and National Public Radio’s Here and Now. Their work has earned mentions in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Slate, Vulture, and Fangoria.

A longtime supporter of community theatre, Jenny has appeared on stages across West Michigan as Anelle in Steel Magnolias, Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Bea Bottom in Something Rotten, and Hunyak in Chicago, among many others. They’ve worked behind the scenes as everything from director to prop master. Jenny is a proud Michigander, parent of two, and spouse to their very most favorite person.









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In Appreciation – Wormwood- Only 99 cents!!!

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For the next two weeks, Wormwood is on sale for 99 cents !

Wormwood

Against a devastated landscape, a legion of one hundred fierce half-angels is hell-bent on purging the Earth of all humans. But one of them, the tormented Tiamat, struggles against his mission, and when he rescues a beautiful woman named Kali, he finds the attraction as troubling as it is miraculous. Can Kali trust the one creature who could be responsible for her ultimate demise? Beautifully written and excitingly told, Wormwood creates a world that is as strange as it is compelling. Filled with brilliantly executed twists and turns on every page that are guaranteed to keep you guessing, Wormwood is one of the most exciting debuts of the year.

You can read my review of Wormwood by DH Nevin here.

Check out this awesome Wormwood book trailer!

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Danielle just reduced Wormwood’s price to 99 cents on both

Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Wormwood-ebook/dp/B005V55BQM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1316797748&sr=1-1

and
Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91587

in appreciation of all the lovely comments from  her readers. We had such a huge response to the giveaways and review post and I agree with Danielle that it was very special.  Just click on the links to get your copy! Here’s to ya’ll!

D. H. Nevins was born in Toronto and currently lives in a relatively remote area of Ontario, surrounded by forests and lakes. By day she is a personable, friendly school teacher. By night, she silently chuckles as she writes about angels destroying the world. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, camping, flying around on her motorcycle or dabbling in live theatre.

She loves to connect with others and can be contacted or followed a number of ways:

Website: http://www.dhnevins.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/dhnevins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/133020440053518/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5158514D_H_Nevins

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Giveaway and Review of Wormwood by D H Nevins @dhnevins

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After this fantastic trailer, which is so descriptive of the world devastation in the book, please continue reading for my review.

Wormwood by D H Nevins

 

 Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I was walking along Cedar Creek Trail, my usual route. All of a sudden, the wind blew like an omen of doom, the ground felt like a roller coaster under my feet and as rocks fell around me, I ran, trying to find a safe place to hide. As I reached the cliff, the ground there was stable, but I looked down and saw lava, smoke, and ash.Total destruction.

As I reached the fire pit I would sit around with the campers I brought as a guide, I saw it was still alive, telling me someone was there. As I looked around, I saw him – Tiamat.

I remembered the first time we met. I had taken a corporate group out hiking the trails in Pinecrest National Park. Of course, there had to be one moron in the group, that would be Brian, constantly hitting on me. So when we came to the stream for the last team challenge, I removed one of the rocks. Petty? Perhaps. Gotta get your revenge where you can find it. After we crossed the stream, wet but no worse for wear, I told them about water and fire safety and that they would have to fend for themselves for food. Everyone was to be ready to go in the morning. I would be just across the stream from them, but only call me if it’s an emergency. I cleaned myself up and headed to Lookout Peak to watch the sunset. Someone was already there. It was Tiamat.

Before she could stop herself, she asked, “What have you done?” “It’s not what I have done. It’s what I must do.” There was something about him, an aura of sadness and danger.

I hit my head and blacked out. I didn’t remember what happened. How did I get up here to Lookout Peak? I looked around at the total devastation and I remembered Tiamat, standing as if he was God, as if he was the one making it happen.

I found him, buried in sand and unconscious. He had pushed me out of the way and taken the hit, but where were the boulders? Why was there all this sand?

It had been ten years since I had seen. He looked the same. I tried to reach out to touch him, and he quickly jerked away. Why wouldn’t he let me touch him? At times I swear he wanted to reach out and touch me, then he would run away.

I asked him about the boulders. He told me he’d show me how he did it, but he couldn’t tell me how. It wasn’t his story to tell. Why was he so cryptic about everything? Acting like there is this big, huge secret he has to keep.

He told me to remember ten years back and what he had told me, it hadn’t changed. When I asked if he was good or evil, he told me he thought he was good, but people would probably consider his actions evil. I asked what good would come from destroying the forest, he told me it wasn’t just the forest. It was everywhere, the whole world.

Why had he saved her, why not just let her die? Was there a reason he had to save her, even  though he was torn about it? He was asking himself these questions. Maybe God has his own plan and Tiamat wasn’t clued in on it.

Judgment Day? Every moment I thought, why is he keeping me alive? When will he kill me?

What was left of the world? What about survivors? Was he human, alien, demon or angel?

Has God forsaken us? Is he punishing us? What would you think? Do angels have feelings? Can angels be evil?

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos      5 STARS – WOULD BUY IT FOR THEM (LOL)

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I won this book through fuonlyknew’s blog. I would like to thank Laura and D. H.Nevins for the giveaway. Laura still talks about the book, though she read it a while ago, so I had to move it up on my list to see what she was raving about.

Right off, the cover grabbed me. I didn’t know what to think of the title, but as you read the book, you will find out what it means.

The writing was very good. Starts out fast and holds your attention throughout. The description of the devastation made me able to visualize the world around them. I can’t find the words to describe it myself, but D. H. did a great job of it.

The actions of Tiamat will make you question things yourself. Is God a kind, gentle person, or is he vengeful and vindictive? And what about angels?

I was torn between a 4 or 5 rating, then I remembered, as I was reading I kept thinking of Supernatural. I watch the reruns on TV most mornings. This book reminded a lot of how God and the Angels treated humans on the show. If you’ve watched it, you’ll know exactly what I mean. God has his own agenda and the angels will follow it, us humans are along for the ride.

The relationship between Kali and Tiamat, and Tiamat and God, was creative and complex. Raises more questions than answers. I am sure most everyone has asked “Why Me?” more than once.

The biodegradable soap made me chuckle along with Kali. He was thoughtful, like when he supplied her with toiletries and clothes, but stood away from her emotionally and physically.

The things that happened to her, could make the strongest person give in to the misery, horror, devastation, desolation, abuse………..

   Giveaway:  D.H.Nevins is offering 5 ebooks for this giveaway. It is international and easy to enter. Just leave a comment and your email address.

Giveaway is over.

About the Author

D.H. Nevins was born in Toronto and currently lives in a quiet area of Ontario, surrounded by forests and lakes. By day, she is a personable, friendly school teacher. By night, she silently chuckles as she writes about destroying the world. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, camping, flying around on her motorcycle or dabbling in live theatre.

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook  /  Goodreads

Click on the cover to get your Amazon copy of Wormwood by D H Nevins.

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THIS BOOK WILL BREAK YOUR HEART!!

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Where’s My Son by John C. Dalglish

Where's My Son?

Katie’s mom had come with a gift for the nursery. As Katie was trying out the rocker, she was seized with an excruciating pain, followed quickly by another. Wade picked her up and Shirley, Katie’s mother, ran to start the van. This was their third trip to the hospital, but the first two babies didn’t survive. The baby was in terrible trouble. Even though she was only six months along, they were going to do a C-section. Wade and Katie looked at each other with anguish, tormented by the thought they could lose this baby, also.

When he saw his baby son, he was blue. The neo-natal team stabilized him and took him to NICU. All he could do was stand in shock, unable to think, afraid the baby wouldn’t make teary eyes Pictures, Images and Photosit. When he was allowed to see his wife, they held each other as the pain and agony racked their bodies, the tears flowing freely.

Michael was trying to get the perfect picture of Tammy with Kristian, their baby son. When she got up to go in the house, Michael headed off to work. Tammy changed Kristian’s diaper and laid him down for a nap. She knew she should take one while she had the chance, so she laid down on the couch and promptly fell asleep.

When Michael came home and saw her still asleep, he woke her. She thought he was home early, because the baby would have awakened her if he had been gone for hours. Michael went to the cracked door, pushed it all the way open and shouted for Tammy. Kristian was gone.

Tammy ran from room to room, but Kristian could not have gotten up and walked out by himself, he was only three months old. Michael called 911.

Jason, the police officer on duty, answered the call and immediately put out an  Amber Alert. He believed the baby had been kidnapped and the parents were not involved. Two and a half years later and the investigation had gone cold. Seemed everyone, including Tammy, had given up ever finding Kristian.

They kept trying for another baby, but while trying, she found out she had ovarian cancer – the diagnosis was terminal. She had taken the blow with little reaction, pretty much having given up. She wouldn’t fight the disease. It was almost a relief to know she was going to die and end her torment.

Someone was going to pay. First his son was taken from him, now his wife. After she died, his mission – find his son.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos    4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

Won in Goodreads First Read Giveaway. The author was gracious enough to sign it for me. Thank you. I was happy I won it and wanted to get to it right away. The cover caught my eye, led me through the open door to the horror on the other side, but the title is what drew me in first and it speaks for itself.

Where’s my son? is a quick read and I loved the book. As I was reading along, I thought it would be a three rating. The last half of the book was full of so much anguish and despair, I had to change it to a four rating. If it would have had more depth and detail it definitely would have been a five rating. It was well written, with few editing errors.

Can Jason Save Michael from himself?

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Would you want revenge for the death of your wife and the loss of your child? What would you do if you felt you had nothing to live for?  What would anger and rage drive you to do? Feeling an overwhelming sense of loss, with nothing left to lose and wanting to make them pay, could you stay rational? Would insanity take over? The ending broke my heart, even though I couldn’t see it happening any other way.

Eye-Tearz Pictures, Images and PhotosI read a lot of murder/crime/mystery books and consider it pretty hard to get to me. I love to watch  CSI, Bones, NCIS  and all the other murder shows on TV. For being a short book, it was so intense and heartbreaking, by the time I closed the cover, I had tears in my eyes.

About the author

I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and adopted when I was just a baby.(Some may see the connection in my first book)
I lost my father at 13 and my mother remarried when I was 16, moving us to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
It was there that I met my wife of 30 years, Beverly, and became the father of three wonderful sons.
We moved to Missouri in 1989 and are still here. I became an American citizen in 1991.
I started my first book when I was 18 but it never got completed. Encouraged by my wife, I tried again and have loved every minute.
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do writing them.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about my writing.

jdalglish7@gmail.com OR @JohnCDalglish(Twitter) or my webpage (jcdalglish.webs.com)

God Bless, John

Also by John C. Dalglish

“BLOODSTAIN”

“FOR MY BROTHER” AUG/2012

To order any of the books below, simply click on the cover.