Josie Malone Rainy Day Rescue Book Tour and Giveaway

 

Deciding to take a second chance at love is an act of courage! 

Rainy Day Rescue

Seattle Lost Lovers #1

by Josie Malone

Genre: Contemporary Second-Chance, Fake Romance

Real estate broker, Claire Rocklin, buys distressed properties, rehabs, and sells them to support her pet project, ‘Senior Housing Apartments'. She believes nobody has time for the elderly–and no one ever had time for her. After the death of her mother when Claire was a child, her serial-cheater father remarried several times, but those marriages didn't last more than two years each.

Three years ago, Claire’s once-upon-a-time stepbrother, Master Sergeant Tony Baldusi, retired from the Army and became a fulltime business partner in Claire's brokerages. The son of a single mother who divorced Claire’s father, Tony learned how to survive long before he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He's been packing a proverbial torch for Claire, along with a diamond engagement ring for three years.

When Claire’s grandparents invite them home for Thanksgiving, Tony suggests they pretend to be engaged. After all, they’re already business partners, and their families would easily believe the relationship runs deeper. But can he convince commitment-phobic Claire that she deserves real happiness? Will their little deception turn into something real, or will she run from love again, breaking both their hearts in the process?

 

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Ghost Writer’s Inn

Baker City: Hearts and Haunts #6

by Josie Malone

Genre: Paranormal Ghost Romance

Former Army Ranger, Mac MacGillicudy served his country for almost twenty years, fighting in one hotspot after another. Since he retired from the military, he’s roamed the U.S., unaware he’s accompanied by a woman with a hidden agenda. He enjoys writing action-adventure romances which never turn out the way he plans or expects or designs. Still his agent, publisher, and readers love them. Learning he’s inherited the old family hotel, Mac heads to Baker City, Washington for Christmas. He’ll help restore the hotel, write his next book which will hopefully end the way he wants, and perhaps discover a home.

Registered Nurse, Lillian Bryce didn’t hesitate to answer the call when her country needed her after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She joined the US Army and went off to war but didn’t return home, at least not alive. Since she loved books, she went back to the Seattle Public Library where she’d spent so many happy hours. She was perfectly content studying, researching, observing and enjoying the other patrons—the live ones, until she saw Mac MacGillicudy. She was fascinated, focused on him—well on his writing, on his books, except he had them all wrong! So, she fixed them, not once, but again, and again, and again regardless of how many times he tried to change them while they traveled the country! Now, they’re off to Baker City.

Will the two of them find love in a place where ghosts are real or just continue writing about it?

 

**can be read as a standalone!

 

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Josie Malone lives and works at her family business, a riding stable in Washington State. Teaching kids to ride and know about horses, she finds in many cases, she's taught three generations of families. Her life experiences span adventures from dealing cards in a casino, attending graduate school to get her Masters in Teaching degree, being a substitute teacher, and serving in the Army Reserve - all leading to her second career as a published author. Visit her at her website, www.josiemalone.com to learn about her books.

  

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Pam McGaffin Shade of Wings Book Tour and Giveaway

 

Shade of Wings is a speculative young adult novel about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.

Shade of Wings

by Pam McGaffin

Genre: YA Teen Animal Fiction

For fans of Laline Paull, a speculative young adult novel about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.

Four-year-old Duncan needs to hurry up and find a mate—at least, according to his sister, Cloud. But she doesn’t know about the mistake that’s preventing him from leaving their family to start another.

Though he’s the eldest, Duncan doesn’t see himself as a father. Yet that’s what he must become when both his parents die of the mysterious illness that’s killing crows across New York City. He devotes himself to caring for his siblings, including three fledglings—but he soon discovers he can’t protect them from the “blind death.”

Meanwhile, a zoo pathologist’s worst fears are realized. It starts with dead flamingos. Then critically ill New Yorkers start showing up in hospital emergency rooms.

Some blame the crows.

 

A profound story of loved ones sticking together in the face of tragedy and hardship.” - Kirkus Reviews

 

An amazing and heartfelt read. McGaffin confirms what so many of us already know, that humans should learn from the smart ones around us, even if they're crows." - Lori Matsukawa, TV News Anchor and author of Brave Mrs. Sato

 

"Utterly original! I’m in awe of Pam McGaffin’s deft storytelling—she makes a family of crows both fascinating and deeply relatable.  I love a book that leaves me seeing the world with fresh eyes, and Pam accomplishes that in spades.” - Andrea Ezerins, author of When the Forest Dreams

 

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He and Sky went to the fountain to forage before dusk. The longer they take, the more she thinks he’s getting back at her for making him wait. She still feels the spot on her breast where his kick landed. She’d never seen him so angry. He became someone she didn’t know. Now she’s not sure she knows herself. Everything she thought she understood about being a number two helper—second to Duncan—was thrown into doubt when he attacked . . . as if she were the enemy. Before, when they still had parents, she shrugged off their sibling squabbles, crow fights being more common than play. Sometimes the two got confused. Either way, you forgave and moved on, no harm done. But this was different. This marked a before and after in their relationship, their roles. His eruption was perhaps the inevitable result of too much pressure, from all they had lost, all that had changed in just a few days. But why take it out on her? He seems to think that he alone bears the weight of that shift. He doesn’t know that every time she closes her eyes, she relives the soft rustle and thump of their father’s fall to the ground and Mother’s wailing cry, followed so quickly by her passing, silent and unmarked. And hanging over it all is the fear that they, too, might succumb to a sickness that’s as random as it is deadly.

Still, there’s nothing to do but carry on. The fledglings’ drop from the nest was only the first of many trials to come. Until they can fly and do their own foraging, they will demand constant attention. Worm, in particular. He and Duncan had taken so long to get down the tree. She and Sky tried to keep Kyra and Lucas calm and still as they waited. And waited. And waited, the fledglings growing crankier and crankier. And who could blame them in this heat? Then Sky, who never complains, said she was “dying” of thirst. They all were. So, Cloud led them down to the riverbank for a drink and a dip. The fledglings loved splashing in the water once they overcame their fear. Lucas, that rascal, found a tire and was happily playing in its pool of green sludge until Cloud ordered him out.

Pam McGaffin always knew she would write books when she grew up.

So, at age 51, after a long career in journalism and public-relations, she quit her day job and went to work. After seven years, countless rewrites, and a seat-of-her-pants course in modern publishing, she released her debut novel, The Leaving Year, with SparkPress Aug. 14, 2018.

Set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where she grew up, The Leaving Year, is a coming-of-age story about love and loyalty, family and friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in our search for meaning.

For her second novel, Shade of Wings, she looked to New York City to tell the story of the West Nile virus outbreak from the point-of-view of the first US victims – American crows. She hopes readers fall in love her hapless hero, Duncan, and his plucky crow family. She certainly loved giving them life.

Before tackling novels, Pam wrote short stories and articles. Her short fiction has appeared in the online literary journals, Eclectica and Amarillo Bay, and her articles have been published in many Puget Sound-area publications and websites, including The Daily Herald (in Everett, WA), Bicycle Paper, the MS Connection newsletter, and Seattle Children’s Story Project.

She has a BA degree in Communications Journalism from the University of Washington and certificates in fiction writing and advanced literary fiction from UW Extension.

When she isn’t writing or thinking about writing, she likes to read, walk the dog, swim, bike, garden, and watch birds.

 

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Love Across Time by Beth Ford Book Blast

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddes Fish Promotions. Beth Ford will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Ashley and Thomas, a medieval knight, are in 1377 England, escaping from present-day immigration authorities intent on capturing Thomas. Having fled to the past to ensure their togetherness, Ashley is faced with adapting to fourteenth-century life, while Thomas, new to his title as Baron after his older brother’s death, is called to Parliament, encountering enemies there and at court as he struggles to build his own alliances.

Ashley's work at a monastic hospital is deemed “miraculous” but draws unwanted attention as potential witchcraft. Meanwhile, becoming embroiled in a political movement, she realizes too late it’s a plot against the King.

How can Ashley conform to social expectations, counter the plot, and still keep her relationship with Thomas, in all the turmoil?

Read an Excerpt

The scene at Newgate was much different than when they had left only a couple of hours before. The crowd of everyday travelers had dispersed, and de Landys’s men had been reinforced, though a few of them lay on the ground with arrows through their chests. Most of them stood with their backs to Ashley and her group, intent on countering the King’s men, who were heaving against the gate to break it down.

The two knights who had agreed to accompany her paused. Ashley glanced up at de la Garde. “This is your moment, Sir Matthew. Your future reputation will depend on what you choose to do now.”

Sir Matthew set his mouth in a grim line. He glanced at his fellow, who nodded at him. They roared past her and attacked the men from behind, slashing swords into backs and necks. Ashley used the distraction to dash into the gatehouse, where she paused only to slide the torch into a handy sconce on the wall. The King’s men were still tied up. She would have to trust that their loyalty to the King held true. Ashley knelt and used her dagger to cut through the ropes, starting with de Mantel.

“What’s the situation?” he asked as soon as he was free of his gag.

“The King’s men are on the other side of the gate. We’ve reinforced them from inside.”

“You? Are there any fighting men in your reinforceme

nts?”

“Yes. Two.” The bloody body of one of the traitors fell into the gatehouse doorway. Ashley forced a smile even though the sight made her gag. “See?”

About the Author

Beth Ford writes historical and time travel stories that transport you in time. She is the author of the novels In the Times of Spirits, Love Between Times, Love Across, Time, and After the Spirits Come: A Continuation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. She also writes the Cassie Woods, Reporter historical mystery romance novella series. Her work has also appeared in a variety of literary journals. She lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Website: http://bethfordauthor.com
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John K. Danenbarger Waves of Light and Darkness Book Tour and Giveaway

 

Waves of Light and Darkness challenges and delights a reader’s perception with surreal and surprising world-building.

Waves of Light and Darkness

by John K Danenbarger

Genre: Speculative Short Stories

Waves of Light and Darkness challenges and delights a reader’s perception with surreal and surprising world-building.

Whether they are set in the past or the future, in a Kansas farmhouse or a potentially supernatural cave, these short stories share one commonality: a search for something beyond what one knows is needed. Through a multitude of unexpected perspectives (a cat, a coma patient, a ventriloquist), this utterly novel collection of stories examines and reconfigures universal themes of life, death, and human connection.

Several stories focus on finding identity amidst societal pressure, such as “Seduction,” and "Alexandria Her Smile,” while others like "A Pusillanimous Human" and "The Gift for Albert Smoots" explore mortality and grief.

 

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An excerpt of “Death of Angst” from WAVES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS: STORIES

“When my eyes have the ember slits of a viper, some humans think I must be plotting death and murder. Although it happens, out of necessity, most of the time I am merely researching, scrutinizing, and processing feline perfection, because I was found as an orphan under a box. I know now that I must have been in severe pain from having survived an attack by a thug, a ruffian tomcat that wanted to breed with my mother. I remember the sharp claws digging into my fur, the putrid breath hot on my neck. So, no wonder I am skittish; it just does not leave you. The trauma, I mean. My brothers and sisters, dead and gone. More to the point, leaving me with no one to learn from . . . to emulate.

I was certainly lucky to be found by Adele Petrini outside the building where I now live on the third floor. I think Adele was around five years old back then. Human years, I’m talking about. Just a tiny, muddy thing, with messy braids and curious eyes. She wanted to name me Anxiety, but it got shortened to Angst. I don’t mind; I am certainly happy with the name. I find it important that it’s easy for humans to call my name when it’s time to eat.”

John Danenbarger spends much of his time writing in Italy. Born in Atlanta, he graduated from University of Kansas with a degree in English and Creative Writing. With a backlist of short stories, Danenbarger established the Salem Massachusetts Writers' Club. After living in Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, and Salem, MA, Danenbarger achieved a merchant marine captain's license, sailing for two years on the New England coast including two round-trips to Bermuda.

 

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter the Waves of Light and Darkness Giveaway Here

K-Pop The 4 Lights and the Sharded Lullaby by Lotte Bluejay Book Blast

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lotte Bluejay will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

An epic K-Pop fantasy adventure series for readers ages 8-12.

Music becomes magic. Friendship becomes power. And every concert could save the world.

When four freshly debuted K-pop idols discover that their songs awaken ancient magic, their rise to fame turns into something far greater than a world tour.

At their first sold-out concert, Hana, Daon, Mira, and Noah expect a night of lights and applause. Instead, they uncover a broken lullaby and fragments of an ancient prophecy. Soon strange things begin to follow them from city to city - whispers in the lights, shadows beneath the rhythm, and a dark force determined to silence their music forever.

Because somewhere in the shadows, a forgotten enemy has been waiting for the music to begin.

To protect their dreams, their fans, and each other, the four must learn to unlock the hidden power within their songs. Because harmony is strongest when no one stands alone. And some melodies were never meant to fade.

Perfect for readers who love:

• magical adventures and epic quests
• powerful friendships and teamwork
• modern fantasy with a pop-culture twist
• stories where music becomes magic

Begin the adventure with Book 1 of The Four Lights. The stage is set. The prophecy has begun. And the world is about to hear their song.

The Four Lights Series

A magical middle-grade adventure about friendship, courage, and the power of music.

Book 1 - The Sharded Lullaby
Book 2 - The Shadow Band
Book 3 - The Crimson Solace
Book 4 - The Syncopated Harmony
Book 5 - The Hollow Beat
Book 6 - The Blinding Crescendo
Book 7 - the epic finale

Read an Excerpt

Daon’s fingers twitched. Tap-tap … tap.

The pulse matched him.

Hana’s breath caught. “Daon,” she said, low.

“I know, I know,” he whispered, but he couldn’t help it. The beat slipped out of him like a hiccup. He added a heel-thump, tiny, a heartbeat on the floor.

The bobbing steadied. The little bumps turned into a slow roll, the kind you could ride if you knew when to lean.

Daon leaned with it, eyes wide. “Are you seeing this?”

“I’m seeing you stop,” Noah said.

Mira pressed a new chord, soft and bright. The roll faded. The seatbelt sign blinked off.

Silence fell between them, the kind that wasn’t empty at all.

Hana looked from Daon’s hands to Mira’s keyboard to Noah’s steady grip on the bass case. No one said the word magic. No one said powers. The cabin was full of people, full of cameras, full of ordinary. The last thing they needed was attention.

Daon tucked his hands under his thighs like a kid in time-out. “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay. But did you feel how the bumps synced to me? Like the plane caught the beat?”

“It synced to the pilot,” Noah said. “Like it’s supposed to.”

Mira’s mouth curved. “Maybe both.”

The cart came back with snacks. Crackers. Cups. The clink of ice. The very normal world.
They ate. They watched a cartoon on the seatback screens without hearing it. They tried to sleep.

Hana couldn't. She stared at the little screen map and watched their plane crawl toward Japan. A bright line traced their path, pixel by pixel. She thought of the glow that had raced up the mic stands, and of how her body had hummed like a string in tune.

She reached into her backpack and slid out a notebook. On the first blank page she wrote:
Seoul: power went out – we sang – stands glowed – crowd calmed. Backstage: stands still warm – felt watched – not sure. Plane: Daon’s beat = air bumps? Mira’s chord = calm?
She added a question mark and circled it twice.

About the Author

Lotte Bluejay creates magical middle-grade adventures where music becomes power and friendship saves the day. Her Four Lights series blends the sparkle of K-Pop with the wonder of fantasy, giving young readers stories filled with rhythm, courage, and hope. Every book is written to light up imaginations, celebrate teamwork, and remind kids that even in the darkest moments, their own voices can shine the brightest.

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the4lights.official
Website with all books of the series: https://www.gocrazyhappy.com/the4lights/
Soundtrack: https://thefourlights.hearnow.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the4lights.officialbr> YouTube: https://youtube.com/@the4lights.official
BookBub: https://youtube.com/@the4lights.official

The Flames of Soulflare by LA Kayshal Book Blast

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. La Kayshal will be awarding $10 PayPal gift to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Dragons fear prophecy, and love may be the final weapon in this dark, multi-POV Romantasy perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and From Blood and Ash.

Feared as the harbinger of doom, Everin Haydon is stolen, broken, and reforged by magic into a living weapon bound to a Dragon Council that calls its tyranny justice.

Across the realms, Lord Tynan, the Demon of Darkness and Chaos, returns. His awakening marks the coming of the three days of darkness, and he tears through realms to reclaim what fate binds to him, the Hell’s Fire Dragon.

But one question remains. If the demon rises, where is the immortal meant to stop him?

As the dragon world waits for divine intervention, Everin must decide whether she remains a weapon or becomes the fate of the realms.

Read an Excerpt

The moon hung quietly above Helldreth Fort, its pale glow spilling through the tall windows and brushing the chamber with soft silver. A cool breeze drifted in and stirred the white curtains, their edges sweeping lightly across Everin’s skin. She pulled her silk gown closer, grateful for the warmth of the room. It felt comforting, far more so than the terrible, dark place she had left behind.

Her steps carried her to the mirror in the corner. The reflection staring back looked thinner, as if her body had been carved down to something she hardly recognized. The neckline of her nightie dipped too low to her liking, drawing her eye to the faint scars across her chest. The lamp light traced their uneven lines, pale and unsettling.

She touched them gently. Everin barely remembered how or when she got the scars. She pulled the outer robe around her until it covered more of her chest. At least the scars were low enough to stay hidden unless she wore something too revealing.

A sound of footsteps behind her made her turn.

Tariel Fenwick, her first love, stood at the doorway.

Everin froze for a moment. He looked different—stronger, more defined, more man than the boy she remembered. His dark hair rested just above his shoulders with two thin braids at the sides of his head, framing a face sharpened by a faint stubble. His amber eyes, once so warm, now carried a deeper, shadowed intensity. His shirt hung open across his chest, revealing sculpted muscle that rose with each slow breath, and a leather gauntlet, more like an open finger glove, hugged his left hand like a seamless extension of his skin.

Her gaze lingered longer than she meant it to. He saw that. A slow, knowing smirk touched his lips.

She straightened quickly. “We need to talk, Tariel.”

“Yes,” he replied, approaching her, “but not now.”

“There is a lot I want to understand,” she said quietly. “So much I don’t remember.”

“Later.” He reached her, lowering his voice. “I’ve long waited for this moment with you.”

He stepped closer.

She stepped back.

“You waited for me?” she whispered, searching his face.

“I did,” he said. “More than you know.”

He brushed a fingertip along her arm. She stiffened but felt a flicker of the old pull toward him, a warm memory trying to surface. Her eyes drifted briefly to his lips, those that she had kissed in the past, before she forced herself to look away.

His smirk deepened. “Are we shy now, Everin?” he murmured, amusement warm in his voice.

About the Author: La Kayshal is an Australian writer of romance, YA, and children's fantasy novels. She lives with her husband, daughter, and a playful Malshi puppy in the coastal plains of the Sunny State.
br> Her debut novel, The Lost Crown, is an adventure romance set in the exotic landscapes of India. She also created the much-loved Sylph Series, a whimsical children’s collection that introduces readers to the amazing world of Sylphs, with each book carrying a gentle moral lesson. A lifelong fan of wizards, magic, dragons, swords, and elementals, she poured all these passions into her YA fantasy Ariston Baker in the Weird Picture Book, a fast-paced journey filled with realms, riddles, action, and adventure.

Her latest project is the Hell’s Fire Dragon duology, a romantasy series filled with dragons, magic, and high-stakes conflict. Book 1, The Flames of Darkness, begins the story, followed by Book 2, The Flames of Soulflare.

Website: http://lakayshal.wixsite.com/my-site-1
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaysreads1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lakayshalbooks
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaKayshal
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lakayshalbooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/La.Kayshal/
X: https://x.com/LaKayshal

S & E Black The Chimera Snare Book Tour and Giveaway

 

Witness the vile acts of a monstrous heart.

Feel the vicious clash of duality in conflict.

Know the light of protection through valiant courage. 

The Chimera Snare: Reflections

The Chimera Snare Book 2

by S & E Black

Genre: Dark Epic Fantasy

-Winner: 2026 Literary Titan Gold Book Awards: Fiction
-2nd Place: 2026 BookFest Awards - Fiction- Dark Fantasy
-Book Nerdection "Must Read"
-Readers' Favorite: 5 Stars

 

Von is cast into the pages of Ananael, the Order's tome of secret knowledge. However, his venture into the past takes an unexpected turn as he awakens within a cosmic void in the presence of the eternal being, who grants him perspective through others woven through his existence. Yet before he may commence his time-altering quest, a trial of discovery, revelation, and horror surrounding his origin awaits him.

Benson's monstrous heart sews the seeds of a vile past brimming with betrayal and hate. Through unimaginable deceptions and buried secrets, familial bonds once forged from love, honor, and acceptance are upended and broken forever. The souls of integral births, sprouting from pillaged and neglected foundations, unfurl a path towards disarray.

Distorted memory fragments challenge Von's grip on reality, and the reveal of a horrid truth ignites a vicious fury of vengeance. Though his quest for answers falters along the way, he finds help from an unexpected ally. Meanwhile, a mysterious power awakens within Navaryn, putting her at odds with both her friends and herself. And as the motivations of Celestine's leader become questionable, her suspicions involving her role within the Halryn continue to grow.

As the disparate worlds of Celestine and Daeva teeter on the brink of war, Von and Navaryn are drawn together by unseen forces. Two destinies, once parallel, now collide. But where bloodshed beckons, a valiant act of courage challenges the course of their fates.

 

Clay Urn Publishing * Amazon * Apple * B&N * Bookbub * Goodreads

 

At last, an uneasy silence fell upon the sopping wet grounds, though the shambled arena creaked eerily. Von quickly Paralleled to the ground and proceeded to walk toward Navaryn’s limp body lying in a muddy crater several meters away. As he gradually brought his power down, his claws began to retract, and his horns receded into his skull. Clutching his side as he trotted along, he heard clamoring voices in the distance and a distinctive pair of boots running through the mud towards him.

“Von!” shouted a sober Claymar. “Wow, you’re alright.” He ran to his side and acted as a crutch to hold him upright. “That was, uh, really something back there. Care to explain what all that was?”

“Later,” said Von exhaustedly. “Where’s your uncle?”

“On his way, most likely. He nabbed Illiya and had her scout for other Celestines while you were off playing with the shimmery blue one. Why do you ask?”

“I need to know how much time I have,” Von replied.

“Time? For what?” he asked, peering ahead at Navaryn. His eyes widened as she slowly began to stir.

“Hold it, Clay,” ordered Von, pressing his hand against his chest to break his stride.

“What are you worried about? You got her!”

“It’s not that.”

Claymar scrunched his face and asked suspiciously, “Then what is it?”

“She’s strong,” said Von. “Immensely strong. She very well could have killed me.”

“Uh, but you’re the one still standing, are you not? Can’t be that strong,” he teased.

“Something happened, though. She lost control. Her power spiked with mine, but didn’t stay with her.”

“Ha! You almost sound like you feel sorry for her.”

Von ignored Claymar’s remarks and walked towards Navaryn, who was slowly rising to her knees with her back to him. Claymar followed behind, but Von turned to him with a furious eye.

Claymar folded his arms and asked, “W-what are you doing?”

The rain calmed, and the moon peeked through the parting clouds, casting a peaceful light onto the glistening, moist ground. Von drew closer, catching silver scintillations atop the bloodied and scorched wounds on her back.

Navaryn winced in pain as she struggled to rise to her feet, chattering her teeth as the cold, wet mud chilled her bruised skin. As squelching footsteps neared, she spun around. “W-who’s there?” she uttered, shielding the moonlight from her eyes with her forearm.

Navaryn’s inquisition made Von stop in his tracks. As her eyes adjusted to the razor-sharp rays of light over his silhouette, she quickly recognized the warm glow of his crimson eyes.

“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” Navaryn cried out.

Her strange and sudden outburst jolted Von. He looked around to find who she was pleading to, but saw no one.

“Wh-what happened to me?” Navaryn asked herself as she gazed down at her hands.

The confusion in her voice affirmed Von’s earlier assessment. “You’re fine now,” he assured. “You’re back.”

Navaryn’s eyes widened as she looked back up at Von. With the simplest of words, uttered with a palpable coldness, he gave her comfort and validation. In him, she found the first person able to convey an understanding of what she was going through when all others couldn’t begin to. An essence dwelt within her. One that seized control of her body once triggered into play, and left her only with the ability to spectate. A similar plight rang true for Von regarding his notorious beastly transformation. Yet, as his second encounter with Navaryn unfolded, his energy had learned to work in tandem with the essence that would otherwise overcome him. Von and Navaryn became locked in a stare just as before, only this time without the presence of aggression. They saw themselves in each other, in a reflection no longer distorted.

“Hey, Von!” Claymar called out. “Um, not sure what you’re doing over there, but you should know the cavalry is incoming.”

Sidwell approached with his entourage of soldiers and a vexed group of eastern Daeva in tow. As the last of his squadron funneled out of the arena, many of the ceremony attendees emerged from hiding within the surrounding brush and trees. Mixed in among the crowd were the rest of Daeva’s leaders, Killian, Morgan, Adair, and Godric, with Merisek alongside them. Weaving through the approaching crowd was Joro, whose surreptitious footsteps evaded the spotlight. Although the chattering among the crowd was indistinct, even for Von’s hearing, he could feel the tension steadily rising.

Sidwell stroked his gray, scraggly goatee, suspicious of the pair’s peculiar exchange. Marching with mighty strides, flaunting his prowess, Illiya approached him from the side.

“Have you done what I asked?”

“Yes, sir,” Illiya replied. “I’ve scouted thoroughly, and there’s no sign of any Celestine formations in the surrounding area. She seems to be the only one.”

“A spy. Just as I suspected. And a dumb one at that. She tipped a bartender with Celestine coin,” he replied with a chuckle as he dismissed his lieutenant.

Sidwell and his entourage moved in to surround Navaryn.

“Well, it took you long enough. But you managed to take down the Celestine without incident to life. That’s as much of a ‘thank you’ that you’ll get out of me,” Sidwell uttered to Von before addressing the chattering crowd. “People of Daeva! You’ve now witnessed our realm’s very threat with your own eyes…”

The Chimera Snare: Fragments

The Chimera Snare Book 1

-Winner: 2025 International Impact Book Awards - Fantasy
-2nd Place: 2025 BookFest Awards - Fiction- Dark Fantasy
-Winner: 2024 Indies Today Awards - Best Urban Fantasy
-Winner: 2024 Literary Titan Gold Book Awards: Fiction
-Finalist: 2024 Literary Global Fiction/Debut & Dark Fantasy Sci-fi
-Book Nerdection "Excellent Read"

 

For Rayshell and her best friend Trish, senior year of high school is going to hell in a handbasket. The feud between Celestine and Daeva is bleeding into their world. When a mysterious visitor infiltrates her dreams, Rayshell is thrust into a realm of profound, otherworldly secrets. Together, Rayshell and Trish uncover the unbelievable—they are the living vessels for two banished Celestine guardians.


Amidst mystical recollections and a wondrous magic system that shatters the veneer of their everyday lives, the two friends embark on a journey against time to connect with the Celestine guardians' allies in hopes of freeing them from their imprisonment. Simultaneously, the shadows cast by Daeva darken. The notorious outlaw, Merisek, has positioned himself to claim dominion over the Order of Existence—a trio of powerful artifacts capable of reshaping reality. Armed with two of these relics, Merisek races against the emergence of the Celestine guardians to claim the third. The stage is set for a showdown that will determine the fate of existence itself.


Rayshell and Trish are all that stand between Merisek and his unhinged desire to twist the fabric of reality into his making. As the threads of destiny unravel, the question looms: who will be the author of existence, and what profound truths will be unveiled in the final, decisive act?

 

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Breathing anxiously, Navaryn clomped atop a patterned runner carpet in her dirty boots. The gilded elements within the maroon corridor flashed as she passed under the waving candlelight of each chandelier. Though she tried her hardest to refrain, her eyes wandered back to the series of haunting paintings hanging on the walls. From treasured times with Von, Lowenna, and Claymar to bouts of training and battles in Opiri and Celestine, each painting depicted a memory from Navaryn’s past, seen through her eyes. Brimming with tears, she continued down the damned corridor with no end in sight and no way to turn back. Behind her, a cloud of darkness kept a close pace and consumed all that she passed.

Navaryn’s heart fell to her toes as the next painting came into view. Captured inside the ornate golden frame was Von lying shirtless on his back, in a moment of ecstasy. His lips, delicately parted, wore the glossy sheen of her passionate kiss, and his tense red eyes were rolled toward the headboard behind him. The very memory was etched within her mind so profoundly that looking upon it in such an outright fashion set her heart ablaze. Confused, distraught, and with no other choice but to press forward, Navaryn sprinted ahead unheedingly.

The corridor eventually ended at a remarkably ornate, dark wooden door. With the cloud of looming darkness twisting behind her, Navaryn wiped away her tears and steadied her breathing as she pushed it open. Amidst the scant candlelight, the gilded elements within the capacious room twinkled like gems inside a cave. She carefully scanned the room until she happened upon a curvy figure cloaked in elegant red and golden brocade standing by the far wall.

“Hello?” she called, but no answer came.

Navaryn turned back to the door and found a wall in its place. Apprehensively, she placed her fingertips where she remembered the doorjamb to be only moments before. As she motioned to approach her obscured, gilded companion, her gaze fell upon an immense painting hanging in the middle of the joining wall. One after another, the candles around the room caught fire.

With a racing heart, Navaryn muttered, “What is this?”

Standing arm in arm in garish, clinquant garb, Navaryn saw herself beside Kumiko as they gestured proudly to a Celestine crowd below. The false instance and her disturbing, unfamiliar expression, painted as if captured through a spectator’s eyes, sent chills down her spine.

Navaryn turned away but found the very same toothy, prideful smile mocking her from within the other paintings hanging on the walls. Her face soured in disbelief as she skimmed over them. She was depicted prominently, boasting her pristine Celestine wings beside Benson and Kumiko, sitting tall above the Halryn council. Just as well, she found herself pictured beside Kumiko in a catalog of moments when they had started a family. Yet, not a single painting in the cursed room housed her beloved friends Lowenna and Claymar, her dearest Von, Aalrija, Fallon, or the number of others who held a special place in her heart.

Dizzy from a fit of rapid respiration, Navaryn struggled to maintain her composure. When her eyes fell back upon the painting of her pregnant belly, draped in fine silvery velvet and lace, she frantically ran toward the embellished figure. Through teary eyes, her vision quaked with a white blur, and she lost her balance under her clumsy feet.

“What is this place?!” shouted Navaryn as she gripped the shimmery train of the woman’s dress.

The sound of Navaryn’s incessant crying filled the silent room. Lost in her despair, she felt the fabric slip from her hands as the woman turned around, gently hushing her. Her eyes jolted open once the delicate coos caught her ear. Fearful for what she knew she would see, she slowly raised her face to the woman.

“Everything that surrounds you here in this room will now be set into motion,” said the woman, placing her decorated hands upon Navaryn’s cheeks. “For our imperator commands it.”

The gentle voice and placid countenance, framed in a headdress of gemstones and twinkling gold, was undeniably her own.

Navaryn recoiled in disbelief. “Our imperator? Benson?”

She watched the sparkling ruby-painted lips of her doppelganger curl into a smile. “Look around you. Your imperator is no longer Benson.”

The ominous statement immediately coaxed heavy tears to her eyes. “I want nothing to do with anything here!” she roared with flashing white eyes. “This is not my life!”

Navaryn’s decorated doppelganger gestured toward a multitude of paintings that suddenly materialized from the shadows. Following a light chuckle, she replied, “You’ve never had a choice in the matter. It’s a shame you didn’t realize it sooner.”

One by one, the paintings morphed perspective, appearing as though they were moments Navaryn had experienced firsthand, like the ones that hung in the corridor.

“What’s happening?!” Navaryn shouted, then jumped to her feet.

One haunting image in the distance immediately grabbed her attention. While she approached the painting in disbelief, her doppelganger strolled to the far wall, placed her hand against a door concealed by darkness, then saw herself out of the room without another word.

Husband & Wife author duo Shannon Vierra & Edward Ayllon write under the pen name S & E Black. Together, they craft the award-winning series, The Chimera Snare. They share a deep appreciation for music and credit a great number of bands and artists for inspiring their writing journey. Currently, they live in the greater Chicago area amidst a rich and diverse culture with their clowder of rescue cats.

Shannon is an urban gardener and an avid seed collector. In the makeup community, she goes by the moniker zoomzoommacaron and hosts an international, zombie-themed makeup collab called the #zombabescollab. She also enjoys anime, horror movies, craft beer & kombucha, cooking (and eating), sunbathing, photography, and singing badly. Music fuels Shannon's many passions, especially writing and creating art. She credits music with saving her life on multiple occasions in her teenage and young adult years.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Edward first discovered the joys of creative writing through his early high school studies, and has spent many years exploring and developing a deep appreciation for the arts. Since first collaborating with his wife, Shannon, he has sprouted a passion and true affinity for storytelling and crafting literature. In addition to refining his skill in creating written works, his other interests include playing bass guitar, listening to music, and dabbling in photography.

 

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