Antonia Aquilante
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Halloween Book Recs

10/30/2019

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October begins my favorite time of year—autumn is my favorite season, but really, I love the whole time straight through Christmas. It's definitely not time to think about Christmas, though, not with Halloween a day away and lots more fall still on the horizon. I love watching the leaves change color and smelling woodsmoke on the crisp air. I love pulling out my boots and cozy sweaters and walking with the leaves crunching under foot. I love baking pumpkin muffins and cookies and all sorts of autumn treats. I love dressing up for Halloween, though I don't always have the opportunity anymore. And I love reading books that put me into the feel of the season.

I thought I'd share some books recs for this time of year with you. Just so you know, I am not a horror fan at all. I'm good with spooky and eerie and a little scary at times, but horror and I don't get along. Most of the recs I'm sharing aren't super scary, but most are paranormal and because of that or because of a seasonal feel, they seem appropriate for this time of year and Halloween.

A Little Familiar and Nothing More Certain by R Cooper: I love these little gems. They're paranormal, and they feel so autumnal and warm and cozy, just the perfect mood for this time of year. The romances are lovely and sweet too. I probably read them every year.

Once Upon a Haunted Moor by Harper Fox: This book has all of the atmospheric and lyrical writing I expect from Harper Fox. It's seasonal and a bit scary and the beginning of a wonderful romance and series centered on Gideon and Lee.

Hainted by Jordan L Hawk: Actually lots of Jordan L Hawk's books would be good for this post, maybe all of them. I'm actually doing an audio reread of the Whyborne & Griffin series right now, which lined up well with October, though I've been doing it because the last book was just released. They're all paranormal romance, some contemporary, some historical, all really good.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness: Vampires, witches, daemons and a mix of romance, mystery, and history that is really compelling. This first book in the series is set around this time of year, so it feels even more appropriate to me. There's also a television show of the book now, which I really enjoyed even though it's a bit different from the book.

Vespers by Liv Rancourt and Irene Preston: I really enjoyed this vampire romance (which is the beginning of a series!), and I love the atmospheric setting of New Orleans.

Spindrift by Amy Rae Durresson: A really lovely romance and a seriously creepy ghost story all in one book.

Trick or Treat by Sydney Blackburn: This is such a sweet, adorable Halloween-themed short. Not a paranormal, but a meet cute romance set at Halloween.

I'll stop there, or I'll go on forever! Do you have any favorite books for autumn or Halloween?
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Release Blitz: He Dreams Magic by Emme C. Taylor

10/28/2019

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Title: He Dreams Magic

Author: Emme C. Taylor

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: October 28, 2019

Heat Level: 1 - No Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 88100

Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, fantasy, alternate universe, literature, horror, captivity, magic, magic users, action/adventure, monsters, slow burn

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Synopsis

Ren has always wanted to leave, to escape his quiet village life. He wakes up from gold-tinged dreams with his heart pounding and a yearning for something he can’t name, can’t hold. He longs to experience something magical just once in his life. Nico’s monsters don’t lurk under the bed. They walk in daylight. They haunt him every day of his life. He’s possibly the strongest magician of his time, yet he’s trapped. All he wants is an out. At a magical carnival in the middle of a forest, Ren and Nico collide. They’ve been on this collision course their entire lives, always hurtling toward each other. For both men, escape is now. They have no choice but to flee together. Monsters and betrayal hunt them across strange lands. They find themselves on a journey to save each other—and possibly the world. All they have is one another, Nico’s magic, and a lifetime of half-remembered dreams. But finding each other, finally having someone to rely on, might be the strongest magic of all.

Excerpt

He Dreams Magic Emme C. Taylor © 2019 All Rights Reserved Ren The lake was on fire. Ren dipped his oars into the water and swept himself closer to the blaze, each stroke an exultation. He’d been waiting months for this, counting down the hot summer weeks to autumn and rain and flames. He was ready to throw himself into the burn. The fire came on time, as it did every year. The first rainstorm of autumn brought them down from the sky. Or so the story was told. Ren couldn’t quite bring himself to believe they rode through the skies on storm clouds and dropped to the ground between thunderclaps, stealing their impossible power from the lightning. Then again, they were magicians. Anything was possible. Ren’s village, Klein, lay huddled in the dark at his back. On the opposite shore, half the forest flickered red. The low clouds caught and held the glowing light from below. The spectacle could be seen from every village in the surrounding valley, a beacon: come, step into the heat, play with us, burn with us. For the first time in his life, he was going to see it up close. From the quiet safety of Klein, the spectacle always gave the impression of a town set aflame. So near to it, it wasn’t like that at all. More like the whole world had ignited. His fingers around the wood paddles twitched with anticipation. This was it. Finally. Finally. By the time Ren reached the middle of the lake, half of it alight, a bright crimson flared across the surface and leaped like waves in wind. Reflections set the rest of the lake ablaze so that it seemed to Ren he was sitting in the very middle of the conflagration. So far, he had avoided the areas of the lake that had caught flame. Magic. God, yes. He could practically taste it in the air, and he wanted more of it. He’d dreamed of magic for years, a gold thread of it always in his mind’s eye. Since childhood, magic remained a ball of yearning lodged in his chest. Ren had to see it for himself. Touch it. Experience it. He wanted to drink it, have it sear his throat. For years, he’d heard whispers of this from people in nearby villages, those who had gotten close to it over the years. Those who’d walked through it—and come out on the other side. Ren paused in the middle of the lake to take it all in. He would be seeing fire in his dreams that night. His turn had come to walk into this wild world. He dug his oars into the lake, his reflection rippling away from the boat with each stroke. Ren pushed himself closer to the ruby burn, a moth drawn to the dangerous lure of light.

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Meet the Author

Emme C. Taylor can be found wandering stormy beaches with a pen and notebook in hand, waiting for inspiration or lightning to strike. She believes the atmospheric environment helps her to write the grittiest parts of her stories. Crochet and dark chocolate ease her mind when her characters aren’t cooperating. Emme will happily talk about almost anything to avoid having to talk about herself. How about this weather, huh?

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Rainbow Snippet October 26-27

10/26/2019

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

​More from The Spymaster's Secret this weekend. This week's snippet picks up right after last week's (and I went a sentence over—sorry!).
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​He tore his gaze away from the compelling sight of Marcus’s hand on him and sent it up to Marcus’s face. His expression gave 
nothing away, which disappointed Alexander terribly and left him somewhat worriedhe’d put himself at a disadvantage. He couldn’t imagine his own face had remained impassive despite years of practice in doing just that.

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Then he looked into Marcus’s eyes. They were a beautiful honeyed brown, and something moved in their depths, something hot, echoing the desire raging through Alexander. He stared into them, surprise and delight warring with desire. He loved that Marcus wanted him, maybe as much as Alexander wanted him, if that was possible


You can find out more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today!
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Writing Updates, News, and Gratitude

10/21/2019

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The Spymaster's Secret has been out in the world for a week now, and I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who's bought and read and reviewed it, who's talked about it and shared it and shown it some love on social media. I'm so grateful to you all! I had so much fun returning to Tournai and writing about Alexander and Marcus, and I hope you all enjoy them (and visiting with some old friends as well, if this isn't your first time in Tournai) as well. If you haven't read it yet and you'd like to know more about The Spymaster Secret, you can find buy links and an excerpt over here. 

In writing news, I'm so close to being finished writing the next Tournai book. So close. Really close. I've been working on this book since January, which is the longest it's taken me to write a book since before I was published (it's been a tough writing year, my darlings), so I'm very happy that the end is in sight for this one. It's Griffen's story with a kind of enemies to lovers plot, lots of kissing in the garden, a murder, and more dragons (yay for dragons!).

As for the first four Tournai books, NineStar Press will be rereleasing them. I'm so excited that the entire series will be together on their shelves with beautiful matching covers. No release dates yet, but I'll keep you updated. I do still have a few paperbacks of those four books with the original covers with Anne Cain's lovely artwork. If you'd like copies for your shelves, I'm selling what I have at the steep discount of $7 per book plus shipping, and I'm happy to sign them for you and include bookmarks and other goodies with them. You can use this form to order.

In other news, I'll be signing at the Barnes & Noble in Woodland Park, New Jersey, this Saturday October 26th at noon with lots of other local romance authors. I'll have copies of my NineStar Press published books--The Dragon's Devotion, The Merchant's Love, A Dance of Water and Air, A Harmony of Fire and Earth, and The Spymaster's Secret if the box arrives in time (fingers crossed!). I won't have the first four Tournai books as they're no longer in Barnes & Noble's system, so the store can't sell them. If you have your own copies, I'd be happy to sign them if you bring them along. Come say hello if you're in the area!
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Rainbow Snippet October 19-20

10/19/2019

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

I have more from The Spymaster's Secret (now out in the world!) for you today. This week's snippet follows directly after last week's, which you can find here.
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​Marcus’s hand was large and warm, his fingers wrapping around Alexander’s slender wrist, the gold of his skin stark against Alexander’s
porcelain pale flesh. He watched the point of contact, not even breathing, for a long moment, fascinated and yearning suddenly.

​
He wanted this man’s hands on him everywhere.

The realization left him gasping. He’d been intrigued by Marcus since the first moment he’d seen him—the man’s competence and confidence, his calm presence in the face of crisis and royalty, had set his curiosity alight. And now he wanted far more.

You can find more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today!
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The Spymaster's Secret Is Out Now!

10/14/2019

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Happy book birthday to The Spymaster's Secret! ​I'm so excited this book is out in the world now for you to read and get to know Alexander and Marcus better. If you've read other books in the series, you might have met these two before (though you can certainly jump in right here if you haven't—all the books in the series stand alone). Marcus's first appearance was way back in the second book of the series, The Artist's Masquerade, and at the time, I didn't plan on writing a book for him. But, as I kept writing, Marcus kept popping up here and there, and then in The Dragon's Devotion, he and Alexander were in one scene together. They didn't even talk to each other, but Alexander was intrigued by Marcus—curious about what he does and drawn to him by his confidence and competence—and I knew I'd be writing their story soon.

They were such a fun couple to write—I seem to like writing opposites attract! Alexander is a royal cousin who is younger, flirtatious, and seemingly entirely frivolous, but he has hidden depths that few ever see, mostly because he doesn't let them. He is also endlessly curious (I tried to refrain from too many "curiosity killed the cat" references, considering the magical Talent of the royal family to change into cats!). Marcus is a serious, older widower with children...and the princes' spymaster. He's been alone since his wife died and has no intention of ever falling in love again. He never expected Alexander or the attraction they'd feel for each other. Still, they have to learn to open up, to trust both themselves and each other, if they're going to find love that lasts. And of course, there's magic and spies and intrigue along the way.

I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I did writing it!

About The Spymaster's Secret:

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Alexander is doing his best to settle into life in Tournai’s royal palace after years living outside the country due to his father’s diplomatic work. The sense of belonging and home he feels is overwhelming, but none of his plans are going as he imagined. Many see him as only a lovely, charming adornment of the royal court and underestimate both his intelligence and abilities. His attraction to Marcus, a mysterious older man who does work for the prince, Alexander’s cousin, is unexpected but not unwelcome…if Marcus could possibly see who Alexander really is.

Lord Marcus is the second son of a minor noble family, a widower raising two children…and the prince’s spymaster. He knows his work is necessary for the security of the kingdom and its royal family, but he also knows it can be distasteful and dangerous to him and those around him. Marcus has vowed never to fall in love again, never to put anyone else at risk—a promise threatened for the first time by the vibrant, flirtatious Alexander. The attraction is unwelcome and entirely undeniable. He can’t believe someone like Alexander would want someone like him, but he also can’t stay away.

As they become ever more entangled, Marcus is investigating rumors of spies at work in Tournai’s university. As he gets closer to uncovering their plot, Alexander is drawn deeper into danger. Can their love survive when Alexander is put in peril by the very spies Marcus is hunting for?



​Add to your Goodreads shelf.

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Rainbow Snippet October 12-13

10/12/2019

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

I have more for you from The Spymaster's Secret, which will be out October 14th (Monday!). In this one, Marcus comes to Alexander's rescue. (It's a bit longer than it should be—sorry!)
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​The icy wind 
whipped around Alexander as he stepped out of thestables, and he barely bit back a gasp. He’d ridden to the university and back today, but it hadn’t felt so cold until clouds moved in and the wind picked up in the last few minutes. He rushed across the courtyard, intent on getting inside the palace as soon as possible.

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The clatter of hooves alerted him to the galloping horse, but he was almost too late to get out of the way. Someone behind him was yelling, and Alexander jumped back, his foot slipping.

A hand grabbed for Alexander before he could even blink, before he could shout, righting him and pulling him out of the way just as the rider galloped past. And then suddenly Alexander had no words to say. Marcus’s ungloved hand had found the bare skin of his wrist between his glove and the lace edging his shirt cuff. It was as if lightning arced through him, and his heart pounded even harder.

You can find out more about The Spymaster's Secret here, and if you didn't see it, I also recently posted an update about what's going on with my Dreamspinner titles, which you can find here. Thanks for reading today!
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Teaser Tuesday from The Spymaster's Secret

10/8/2019

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About The Spymaster's Secret

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Alexander is doing his best to settle into life in Tournai’s royal palace after years living outside the country due to his father’s diplomatic work.The sense of belonging and home he feels is overwhelming, but none of his plans are going as he imagined. Many see him as only a lovely, charming adornment of the royal court and underestimate both his intelligence and abilities. His attraction to Marcus, a mysterious olderman who does work for the prince, Alexander’s cousin, is unexpected butnot unwelcome...if Marcus could possibly see who Alexander really is.

Lord Marcus is the second son of a minor noble family, a widower raisingtwo children...and the prince’s spymaster. He knows his work isnecessary for the security of the kingdom and its royal family, but he also knows it can be distasteful and dangerous to him and those around him. Marcus has vowed never to fall in love again, never to put anyone else at risk--a promise threatened for the first time by the vibrant, flirtatious Alexander. The attraction is unwelcome and entirely undeniable. Hecan’t believe someone like Alexander would want someone like him, but he also can’t stay away.

As they become ever more entangled, Marcus is investigating rumors ofspies at work in Tournai’s university. As he gets closer to uncovering their plot, Alexander is drawn deeper into danger. Can their love survive when Alexander is put in peril by the very spies Marcus is hunting for?


The Spymaster's Secret will be out October 14th! Preorder now:
NineStar Press

Amazon
Smashwords
Kobo
Apple

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Release Blitz: Human Enough by E.S. Yu

10/7/2019

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Title: Human Enough

Author: E.S. Yu

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: October 7, 2019

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 52400

Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, romance, paranormal, Ace, Pansexual, Autism, Crime, Alt Universe, law enforcement, vampires, friends to lovers, interracial

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Synopsis

When Noah Lau joined the Vampire Hunters Association, seeking justice for his parents’ deaths, he didn’t anticipate ending up imprisoned in the house of the vampire he was supposed to kill—and he definitely didn’t anticipate falling for that vampire’s lover. Six months later, Noah’s life has gotten significantly more complicated. On top of being autistic in a world that doesn’t try to understand him, he still hunts vampires for a living…while dating a vampire himself. Awkward. When one of Jordan’s vampire friends goes missing and Noah’s new boss at the VHA becomes suspicious about some of his recent cases, what starts off as a routine paperwork check soon leads Noah to a sinister conspiracy. As he investigates, he and Jordan get sucked into a deadly web of intrigue that will test the limits of their relationship.

Excerpt

Human Enough E.S. Yu © 2019 All Rights Reserved Chapter One As a vampire hunter, Noah was used to his plans going south in the worst possible ways. This op, however, was currently vying for one of the worst—by annoying him out of his goddamned mind. On paper, it had sounded simple: a vampire had been responsible for some blood-drained corpses, probably a newly turned one based on how messy the crime scenes were, and Noah’s squad had been assigned to take care of the problem. They were in the unusual situation of being down one member while waiting for their new squad leader to arrive, but the op should’ve been easily doable for a three-person team. According to their intel, the vampire always left his suburban house after sunset to feed. Except Noah was still sitting in a backyard tree five hours after sunset, watching the vampire’s immobile heat signature through the second-floor window. His fingers were going numb in the cold autumn night, the colors from his infrared binoculars had practically been seared into his retinas, and he swore he was going to become part of the tree if he sat there for much longer. He finally got Casey O’Donnell to cover for him—which Casey only agreed to after making some snide comments—while he texted Jordan. Sorry, can’t make it to the movie tonight. Hunt taking longer than expected. And, after debating with himself as to whether a smiley face was too much, he finally added, L. Jordan texted back quickly: No worries. Be safe!! It was the third time he had to cancel plans with Jordan in two weeks, and it was making him cranky. “Who were you texting?” Casey asked, again, from his perch on the opposite side of the tree. “Someone,” said Noah for the third time. Casey was eyeing him in a way that made Noah uncomfortable. “That’s the third time you’ve texted during a stakeout.” Jesus, he’s keeping track? Noah put his phone away. “What, like you’ve never played Candy Crush on your phone during a stakeout?” Casey raised an eyebrow. “I thought not breaking rules was your thing. Along with not being able to lie and stuff.” And there it is. Noah suppressed the urge to snort. Casey was half right…but he was also half wrong, as usual. While Noah generally preferred not to stir up trouble, he was perfectly capable of breaking rules and lying through his teeth if he thought it was for the “greater good,” however he defined that. Which, in this case, meant passing on status updates so Jordan wouldn’t be up all night worrying. Noah raised the infrared binoculars to his eyes, turning the night back into neon colors, and scanned the second-floor bedroom again. Still no movement. He turned his comm back on. “Guys, the vamp might as well be asleep. We should move.” “No can do, Lau,” said Ava Lopez through the comm. She was currently keeping watch at the front of the house. “He might use the human as a hostage if he smells us.” That was the problem, the reason why they’d been stuck out there for hours, waiting for the vampire to leave. Through his infrared binoculars, Noah could clearly see the human’s heat signature in the same room as the vampire’s dimmer one. There were any number of reasons why a human might be living with a vampire, but standard hunter protocol was to assume that a vampire valued human lives less than their own. But what if that might not be true? an annoying voice asked in the back of Noah’s mind. His jaw tightened. He couldn’t say that for sure, and human safety always had to come first, he reminded himself. Besides, the vampire had already crossed the line by killing people. “Well, intel has clearly been faulty so far, so how much longer are we going to wait out here?” he groused. He hated faulty intel. At best, it scrambled their carefully created plans and forced them to improvise; at worst, it cost lives. Also, right now it was ruining the romantic movie night he’d planned. There was silence at the other end as Ava thought. At least, Noah hoped she was thinking of a plan and not a rebuttal as to why they should sit and wait for another five hours. “Okay,” she finally said. “I’m thinking doorbell strategy. Anyone have any objections?” “No, ma’am,” Casey drawled. The doorbell strategy was slightly risky for a three-person team. If they flushed the vampire out, they’d usually need someone to cover every side of the house. Noah couldn’t think of any other feasible, safe alternative, though. “All right,” Ava said. “Move out.” Noah continued watching the window through the infrared binoculars. After a few minutes, the human heat signature left his view. “The human’s answering the door,” Noah said over the comm. “Copy that,” said Casey. His boots scraped against bark as he climbed down from the tree. “What’s the status on the vamp?” “He hasn’t moved,” Noah observed. The muted sounds of Ava’s conversation with the house’s human inhabitant sounded over the comm. Then, Ava said, “I’m going inside to flush him out. Be prepared.” Noah put his binoculars away and clambered down from the tree. “I’m at the south window,” he said. Although the bedroom was on the second floor, vampires could survive jumping to the ground from that height with no problem. “Got the west window covered,” Casey added. Noah readied his rifle. One minute passed. Then, another. Ava shouted at the vampire, her voice carrying through the comm a split second before gunshots followed. Ava swore. “Missed him!” Noah heard the sound of a window shattering—at the unguarded front of the house. “He’s escaping through the front!” he yelled. He ditched his rifle and drew his handgun from its holster as he bolted around the side of the house, toward the sound of breaking glass. He raised his gun and shot as the vampire fell, but the vampire hit the ground, rolled to his feet, and immediately grabbed the human woman who’d been standing in the front yard, yanking her against him. She hadn’t moved away from the house the way Ava had instructed her to. Noah’s heart sank. Oh, crap. This was not the “easy, quick hunt and then go home” he’d been hoping for. Casey came around the other side of the house behind the vampire. “Don’t shoot,” Noah said into the comm. “There’s a hostage in front of him.” “Make one move, and the human goes!” the vampire shouted, keeping the woman in front of him as he turned to face Noah. The woman’s eyes were wide with fear. Noah hesitated, his finger perched on the trigger. His marksmanship was solid, but he still didn’t want to risk shooting the woman. Ava was still in the house, judging by the way the vampire glanced through the open doorway, but her options were also limited. “You don’t have to do this,” Noah said, and then nearly cringed when he realized he was reciting a line from basically every action movie ever. The vampire bared his fangs next to the woman’s neck. “I wouldn’t have to if you hunters just left me alone!” Noah’s grip tightened on his gun. “You know what the punishment is for killing humans. You brought this on yourself.” The vampire’s eyes narrowed. “You’d never under—” He suddenly cried out, crumpling to his knees. The woman scrambled away from him, and Noah took the shot, nailing him in the chest. He crept closer, making sure to shoot the vampire in the heart several more times. The vampire didn’t move after that. “Death confirmed,” Noah said into the comm. He glanced through the doorway into the house, to where Ava had knelt in the front hall to shoot the vampire in the knees. “Thanks.” Ava nodded at him as she got up. “No problem.” Casey came over to join them and whistled. “Shooting out his kneecaps? Impressive.” “Thanks, O’Donnell,” said Ava. “And nice job for finishing him off and keeping him distracted, Lau,” said Casey. “But you know there’s no point in reasoning with vampires, right?” Noah didn’t reply to that except to shrug. He went to grab the body bag from their van. He and Casey stuffed the corpse into the bag—while Casey moaned and groaned about being on cleanup duty, as always—while Ava made sure the woman was okay. She reported back to them that the woman was in shock, so after Noah and Casey lugged the bag and the rest of their gear back to the van, they dropped the woman off at a hospital. Noah hoped she would be okay. “Whew,” said Ava, once they’d dumped off the body for disposal and driven back to headquarters. “I don’t know about you guys, but I could really use a drink. Anyone else up for a bar crawl?” “Can’t,” Noah said immediately. “Sorry. It’s pretty late, and I have to get back home. Maybe next time, though,” he added, to be polite. “What’s the matter, Lau?” Ava teased. “Got a hot date?” Before Noah could answer, Casey beat him to the punch. “It’s his mysterious girlfriend he won’t let anyone meet. What’s her name again?” “Jordan. And for the last time, she’s shy and private and faints at the mention of blood,” said Noah, the practiced lies rolling smoothly off his tongue. “Can’t anyone keep their work life and private life separate anymore?” “Aw, c’mon!” Casey nudged him. “Can’t you at least show us a picture?” Noah rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t want to give you any ideas, O’Donnell.” He said goodbye to his squad mates before they could ask him any more questions and drove back to his apartment. Damn, it was late. Wearily, he trudged up to his unit, unlocked his door, and slipped inside. He made his way into the bathroom, stripped his clothes off, and stepped into the shower, sighing as the warm water hit his tired muscles. He closed his eyes, trying to let his mind drift away from work. A few minutes later, the shower curtain slid aside with a rustle and cool arms circled his waist. “Long day at the office?” a soft, low voice murmured against his ear. Noah smiled and leaned back. “Very long. Glad to be home at last.” “Me too.” Noah turned around to look at the hazel-eyed man with golden-brown hair and pale skin—a touch too pale—behind him. “Hey, Jordan,” he said, before leaning forward and kissing his boyfriend under the shower spray. Noah always felt somewhat bad for lying about his “girlfriend” to his coworkers. It wasn’t that he was afraid of people knowing he was dating a guy; he just didn’t want anyone getting too interested in his dating life and finding out he was dating a vampire.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

E.S. Yu is a writer of speculative fiction and a geek who lives for video games, superhero comics, and all things sci-fi/fantasy. E.S. is a recovering law school graduate who lives off green tea and dreams of writing full-time; for now, she follows wherever her muse takes her to places sometimes dark, sometimes quirky, but always hopeful.

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Rainbow Snippet October 5-6

10/5/2019

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

​I have more for you from The Spymaster's Secret today, which will be out on October 14th (a little over a week! How did that happen?!). This snippet follows directly after last week's with Alexander and his twin brother, Faelen, continuing their conversation about Marcus. Faelen knows Alexander too well to be distracted from what he wants to know.
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​“I don’t know exactly,” Faelen said. “But he seems to be the one who 
finds things out when Philip needs them. Etan mentioned Marcus was the person who discovered an Ardunnian spy ring operating in Jumelle. It sounded like something Marcus keeps an eye on.”

“Interesting.” He stretched the word out. “Philip said somethingabout Marcus having someone in every noble household. I wonder if that’s true or exaggeration.”

Faelen shrugged, a graceful motion. “I don’t know. And you didn’t answer my original question.”

Alexander sighed. “It’s only some harmless curiosity. He’s handsome, isn’t he?”

Faelen’s brow wrinkled in a little frown. “I suppose.”

He laughed and moved to the couch to lean into his twin. “Well, you wouldn’t notice with Maxen all you see.”

You can find out more about The Spymaster's Secret, including a longer excerpt and buy links, over here. Thanks for reading today! 
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    Antonia is a writer and a reader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

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