Hi, there! Rebecca Hamilton here to tell you how SUPER excited we are to bring you this MEGA giveaway! First place prize is a $1,000 Amazon Gift Card, but we also have 12 runner up ebook and paperback prizes! Entering will connect you with 21 paranormal romance and urban fantasy authors for more great deals, freebies, and giveaway, so in a way, everyone wins!
Before you enter the giveaway, check out an excerpt of STONE'S KISS by Lisa Blackwood, one of the authors sponsoring the giveaway!
Synopsis:
As a child, a near-drowning accident stole Lillian’s old life. Her new life began the moment she awoke at the foot of a brooding, stone gargoyle.
Years later, Lillian still finds comfort in Gregory, her gargoyle, never guessing he is more than cold stone until demonic creatures called the Riven attack. Gregory senses her terror and wakes from his healing sleep.
After the battle, Lillian learns the humans she thought were her family are a powerful coven of witches at war with the Riven. Lillian is something more than human, a powerful worker of magic, an Avatar to the gods. Gregory has been her protector for many lifetimes, but troubles in their homeland forced him to flee with her to the human world. And it wasn’t an accident which stole her memories—it was Gregory. He suspects Lillian is host to an infant demon, one capable of evil greater than the Riven.
Despite everything, Lillian fears she’s falling in love with her guardian. While she might be able to defeat the Riven with Gregory’s help, she doesn’t know if her fragile new love can survive the evil growing in her own soul.
With the hilt of her fencing sword a solid reassurance in her hands, Lillian followed the sound of running water as she retraced her steps until she came to the living room and the curving stairway that led up to the second floor. Discarded pieces of jewelry and the occasional smudge of a bloody footprint marked the path the creature had taken. She climbed the stairs and turned down one dark hall. The first bathroom on the second floor was silent and empty. That left one other. She entered her bedroom, intent on her master bathroom.
The door was ajar, a curl of steam drifted out across the floor. Inside, the bathroom was dark and full of steam. The monster didn’t know how to turn on a light switch, but could figure out a shower? She pondered that a moment. Perhaps it didn’t need light. She eased into a defensive stance as she reached in and flicked on the light. The room was flooded with yellow light and her breath caught.
Her rational mind had expected to find a monster, and there was one. He filled her walk-in shower, and the massive shower still wasn’t big enough for the entire gargoyle. His wings arched across the length and width of the large bathroom, and his tail sent water droplets spraying across the room as it lashed back and forth, its blade-tipped end twitching like an agitated cat’s.
One wing arched back and gave her a view of the rest of the gargoyle. His head brushed the ceiling and his horns clinked against the small tiles when he moved. With his eyes partially squeezed shut against the sudden intrusion of bright light, he turned his muzzle in her direction and flared his nostrils, drawing in a deep breath. She had the distinct impression he tasted the air.
When his muzzle dipped down, his eyes locked on the sword she held, and he turned fully toward her.
He had muscles most men would envy. Then she reminded herself he also had a tail, wings, horns and talons. Still, even in all his otherness, he was majestic. Scary as hell, but lovely as a predator.
Fear was absent and she should have worried for her sanity, but somehow it all seemed right. The statue of the gargoyle had been a prominent part of her childhood. Impossible as it was, he had always been home to her.
And ‘home’ was presently extracting himself from the shower. When he stepped out, he straightened and the bathroom shrunk.
Mercy, he was still hunched over.
Over eight feet of gargoyle crowded her master bath. She couldn’t beat that in a fight. Her sword’s point dipped again, but she didn’t lift it back into a defensive position. One solid hit and he’d put her through a wall. Heck, he could probably snap her blade in two with a thought. Yet she did not fear him. Foolish as it was, ever instinct whispered that she could trust him.
“Hello,” she said. Her voice came out faint, hollow sounding. She cleared her throat, unable to stop the nervous reaction. “I’m Lillian.” How intelligent. At least her voice sounded stronger.
He cocked his head, his jackal-like ears sweeping forward from the depths of his wiry mane. She hadn’t noticed his ears earlier. They’d blended into his ebony mane and the crown of bone that formed the base of his two large horns.
Then he spoke in a flowing language. Deep, beautiful, smooth like the wind in a forest, it reminded her of night’s shadows and the lull of beckoning sleep. He repeated himself, or she thought he might have. She couldn’t be sure because she didn’t know what he’d said the first time, and it became no clearer on the second try.
I'm also featuring a second excerpt from MANIPULATOR OF ELEMENTS: EARTH by Jae Vogel, another one of the authors sponsoring the giveaway!
Synopsis:
Lilly is in her senior year at high school. She looks forward to college in the fall and a bright future. But when Lilly meets Dion outside the local shopping mall, life as she knows it is about to change forever.
Dion is from a long line of elemental workers. Throughout history, his people have manipulated the elements of earth, air, water or fire.
But Dion is different...
Somehow he inherited the ability to manipulate all four elements. There is also a fifth element, of which little is known and no one has worked in hundreds of years.
The local shopping mall - The Fromatius Mall - appeared suddenly and with little announcement. What the regular mall-goers don’t know, however, is that the mall stands watch over an entrance to the Abyss, a place where the power of the fifth element is guarded by the mysterious builder of the mall. The mall has stores no one has ever seen before, and it's also the home to the four Elemental Grandmasters.
Dion’s parents vanished months ago and only he can bring them back. But to do that, he needs to find each Elemental Grandmaster in the mall to obtain full power for his abilities.
But the mall is guarded by dark forces who don’t want him to find the elemental grandmasters, fulfill his destiny or rescue his parents.
Will Lilly be able to help Dion on his quest? Will Dion return the affection she has for him? Will the dark forces within the Fromatius Mall prove to be too much?
“Have you ever faced something so horrible in your life?” Dion asked Lilly. “Have you ever been in a situation where any decision you made could turn out bad? I worry I’m approaching this whole thing wrong and I need some guidance. But the only guidance I get is from my dead grandparents and they don’t seem to stick around very long.”
“At least I can smoke outside.”
They turned to see the funny little Englishman, this time in a tailored business suit, with a pipe in one hand. He inhaled the fumes one final time and placed it back in his pocket.
“No one seems to mind pipes so far. This tobacco is beastly; I need to get a better variety. They say it will be the death of me, you know. This tobacco. Can’t understand why. I thought it was invented by the natives in this country and they seemed to be a healthy people.”
“You have a way of appearing at the most charming times,” Dion said. “Did you know that that floor polisher almost had me arrested for theft?”
“But it worked, didn’t it? The ghouls couldn’t stand the noise created by it. They’re sensitive to light and noise. I almost gave you a camera with a flash to take down there, but I felt it would be better to let you have the floor polisher since the operation of it was simple. By the time you solved the method of using a flash on a camera, it would’ve been too late.”
“It did work to keep the ghouls at bay,” Lilly pointed out. “Besides, the ghouls had mirror shades.”
“So now have you shown up to give me some wisdom?” Dion asked Edward.
“I can’t dispense what I lack,” Edward laughed.
“Then what ever shall I do?” Dion asked with a fake southern accent.
“Both of you are talking in circles,” Lilly said. “Edward, why can’t you just get to the point?”
“Because it would be too easy. And the longer I drag this encounter out, the longer I get to wear this suit and smoke my pipe. It’s the little things you miss once you’ve passed over.”
“You’ve never told us why you are involved,” Dion snapped. “Why didn’t they send Isaac Newton or Julius Cesar to help out?”
“Well, Mr. Newton would spend the entire time tracing out sun patterns. And what good is Julius Cesar without an army? I’m sorry, you are stuck with me. I made many mistakes the first time around. This is their way of giving me a chance to fix what I broke.”
Dion folded his arms. “We’re going to walk through those doors and Officer Karanzen and his good squad will be waiting for us. What do I do when that happens? I need to get to the Earth Element Grandmaster and have her blessing. I can’t approach the next element grandmaster until I have done it.”
“It’s not Karanzen you have to worry about; it’s the earth elementals who don’t want you obtaining full power. The ghouls in particular. They’re furious you’ve made them look bad to the mall owners and will do everything they can to keep you from reaching the elemental grandmaster.”
Lilly took a step forward. “Are they going to pull that cleaning crew stunt again?” she asked him. “Because I don’t want to deal with it again. Our friend Emily will never come back to this mall and I think she may be scared for life.”
“They’ll try something else this time, and they may be very direct how they do it. I would watch out because you have no idea where they will strike. And, rest assured, the security guards will be nowhere to be found if you need their help.”
Dion looked at the doors and took Lilly by the hand. “Okay,” he said to them both. “I can do this. It looks like I’m the only one who can get my parents back, and prevent even worse things from happening.”
Edward raised a hand. “You can’t even conceive what you’re up against. I would tell you more, but they only let me share so much information. But I’m sure you’ll come through, dear boy. In fact, you must…”
Edward pulled out his pocket watch again and looked at it. “Oh, lovely, time is up. You two take care and I will see you again.”
Then he vanished.
Don't forget to also check out the complete list of books included in this promotion! Some of the authors have even put their books on sale just for you! Click any book to check it out on Amazon!
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