Release Blitz: Magic or Die by J.P. Jackson

7/2/2018

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Title: Magic or Die

Series: Inner Demons, Book One

Author: J.P. Jackson

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: July 2, 2018

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 87300

Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, paranormal, demons, witches, magic

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Synopsis

James Martin is a teacher, a powerful Psychic, and an alcoholic. He used to work for the Center for Magical Research and Development, a facility that houses people who can’t control their supernatural abilities, but left after one of his students was killed, turning to vodka to soothe his emotional pain. The problem is he still has one year left on his contract. When James is forced to return to the CMRD, he finds himself confronting the demons of his past and attempting to protect his new class from a possible death sentence, because if they don’t pass their final exams, they’ll be euthanized. James also discovers that his class isn’t bringing in enough sponsors, the agencies and world governments who supply grants and ultimately purchase graduates of the CMRD, and that means no profit for the facility. James and his students face impossible odds—measure up to the facility’s unreachable standards or escape.

Excerpt

Magic or Die J.P. Jackson © 2018 All Rights Reserved One: Call Back “YES, MIRIAM. YES, I know. I know it’s been over a year. I’m not sure I’m ready.” The knuckles on my hand cramped from clasping my cell phone in a death grip. I glanced at my watch. This conversation had gone on too long. In the span of two minutes, Miriam had managed to exhume memories and history I wanted buried and forgotten. I sucked in a short breath as nausea surged like a tsunami of fear. Its behemoth wave washed bile against the back of my throat. I slumped down the stained and weathered wall of the coffin-sized studio apartment I reluctantly called a home. It wasn’t a bad place to live, except for the cockroaches I found on a daily basis. I’m sure they considered it a veritable paradise. Absentmindedly, I toed an old pizza box near my foot while listening to Miriam. One of the insects scampered across the matted Berber carpet. Gross. Cody. A pale ghostlike face flashed before me. His hair, the exact colour of fall fallowed fields, hung listlessly over one eye, as blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. His chapped lips parted, asking me, “Why?” I ignored the vision. Well, ignored wasn’t the right word, more like boxed it up with a heavy rock and pitched it into the abyss of my mind with all the other terrifying nightmares. “I know. I owe you, yes. I’m just not sure—” I crawled over to the upended crate being used as a coffee table, grasping for my last pack of smokes. I lit one, enjoying the soothing crackle of the tobacco as it ignited, and then inhaled deeply. Ah, yes. Hello, nicotine, my demon friend. Miriam continued blithering while I half-heartedly listened to her soul-sucking voice. She was demanding my presence. “What? You mean, tomorrow? Miriam, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I drew in another steady stream of the toxic smoke. It burned my lungs as the addictive chemicals flooded through my body. I really need to quit. Scraping together the smallest ounce of courage, I attempted to defy her. “No, I can’t.” A wraithlike hand, desiccated and fragile, inched its way across my shoulder and gripped my tense neck muscle. Its sharp nails dug into my flesh. Its bite, a warning. Cody’s lifeless lips brushed my ear, sending cold shivers skittering across my back. Eruptions of goose flesh covered my neck and shoulders. His voice was a memory and a sound I would never forget. “Don’t do this. You’ll kill me again.” His icy breath whispered to me. Another box, a bigger rock, another addition to the pit of despair in my head. “No,” I replied to one of Miriam’s inane questions. “There’s an Arcane too? I’ve never been good with them. They creep me out. No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Shit.” Miriam had just described a scene for me. My flesh turned buggy, as if I had chiggers nesting and burrowing deep into my skin. “Oh god that’s gross. It’s also not a good sign.” I pointed uselessly at the wall, waving my finger, trying to make a point to the caller. “I never took the exam for the third class.” Miriam had asked if I’d kept up my licensing. I instantly felt guilty. I should have done it years ago. One thing was becoming evident from the conversation—she needed my help. Help only I could give. “All right, maybe, I think I can. Consult only. Do you hear me, Miriam? Just a consult.” I had tried desperately to stay the hell out of this. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to go back there. “What time? Yes. I’m pretty sure. Miriam—” A thousand reservations ran through my mind, a wild stampede, unbridled, laced with dread and fear. “How many? How many in this class?” The question sat like the world perched on my shoulders. The higher the number, the bigger the world, the more responsibility, an undeniable possibility of… “Five! Are you kidding me? I can’t do five. No. No! It’s not possible.” She was out of her mind. “Yes, my sister is still on the streets. You know that’s close to blackmail, right?” I stubbed out the cigarette. The lacquer of smoke in my mouth tasted like I had just licked the bottom of an ashtray, and it was suddenly very hard to breathe. Why do I smoke again? “Fine. Tomorrow. Yes. Ten a.m. Yes, I’ll be there. What do you mean dress appropriately?” I looked at my cell phone, disgusted as the call ended. I flipped the device onto the floor as if it had burst into flame and branded the conversation into my hand. I snorted. Like, I’d forget. Stretching around to the other side of the crate, I grabbed blindly for a bottle I hoped was there. By all the gods’ great divine gifts, it was. And it still had liquid in it. In fact, it was surprisingly half-full. I tipped the vodka bottle back, allowing its burn to strip away the cancer stick’s smoky film inside my mouth. Swaying back and forth with my eyes closed, I tried to drown out the endless voices in my head. The words inundated my impending thoughts of doom and failure, and I could feel the chaos and panic mounting. Steadying myself and regaining my mental capacities, I gazed out the window. It was dark already and only six, early evening at best. Yay for daylight-savings time and late fall in Canada. Lights from the downtown cityscape lazily twinkled and danced before me. It should have been a pretty sight, but the darkness always seemed too oppressive, like a shroud. And I knew better. Things lived in the shadows. I took another swig from the clear glass bottle. The burn hit my throat and disintegrated the bile that had crept up there. Five very gifted students. I rubbed the stubble covering my face and took yet another nip. Except it wasn’t a quick sip, it was a good one. A long one. The window acted like a mirror, and my image reflected against the backdrop of the city skyline. I looked like shit. My short brown hair had cowlicks; thank god I kept it close. But the rest? No wonder Miriam instructed me to clean it up. The shirt I was sort of wearing was only half buttoned and stained in several spots. I had no pants on, but the pair of tighty-whities, which weren’t exactly white anymore, or tight, were ripped and showed more flesh than they were supposed to. Jesus. How did my life get here? Five young people had no control of their gifts. And I had a sister who was lost out in the sparkle-light of downtown’s darkness, up to who knew what, and doing it with god only knew who, mired in her own addictions. I glanced around my shit-hole apartment, wondering what the fuck I was going to do.

Purchase

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

Meet the Author

J.P. Jackson works as an IT analyst in health care during the day, where if cornered he’d confess to casting spells to ensure clinicians actually use the electronic medical charting system he configures and implements. At night however, the writing happens, where demons, witches and shape shifters congregate around the kitchen table and general chaos ensues. The insurance company refuses to accept any more claims of ‘acts of the un-god’, and his husband of almost 20 years has very firmly put his foot down on any further wraith summoning’s in the basement. And apparently imps aren’t house-trainable. Occasionally the odd ghost or member of the Fae community stops in for a glass of wine and stories are exchanged. Although the husband doesn’t know it, the two Chihuahuas are in cahoots with the spell casting. J.P.’s other hobbies include hybridizing African Violets (thanks to grandma), extensive travelling and believe it or not, knitting.

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Rainbow Snippet June30-July1

6/30/2018

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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 Merchant's Love for you today. Maxen and Faelen have been writing to each other, but this is the first time they've seen each other since the night they met.

Faelen was just as lovely as he’d been at the wedding. Maxen almost thought he’d exaggerated it as he’d read Faelen’s words. As if Faelen’s intelligence and wit had bled over into how Maxen saw him in all ways, and maybe it had, and maybe that was all right. Whatever the reason, Faelen was more and more appealing in Maxen’s eyes.

He wore rich sapphire blue, the coat velvet and fitting close to his slender form, the shade heightening his dramatic coloring. The wind had brought a slight flush to his ivory cheeks and sent a few curls dancing around his face, escaping from where they’d been pulled back. He smiled when Maxen raised a hand to greet him, an almost shy curve of his lips that Maxen immediately adored.

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. Today is the last day to get The Prince's Consort for 99c (at all retailers), and it's the last day to use coupon code PRIDE for 40% off your order at NineStar Press (where you could buy The Merchant's Love and lots of other great books). Thanks for stopping by and reading!

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Guest Post: Day of Wrath by Anna Butler

6/29/2018

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The award-winning Taking Shield series comes to its shattering conclusion in Day of Wrath.

About The Book
In less than a week, Bennet will finally return to the Shield Regiment, leaving behind the Gyrfalcon, his father, his friends… and Flynn. Promotion to Shield Major and being given command of a battle group despite the political fallout from Makepeace the year before is everything he thought he wanted. Everything he’s worked towards for the last three years. Except for leaving Flynn. He really doesn’t want to leave Flynn.
There’s time for one last flight together. A routine mission. Nothing too taxing, just savouring every moment with the best wingman, the best friend, he’s ever had. That’s the plan.
Bennet should know better than to trust to routine because what waits for them out there will change their lives forever.

Title: Day of Wrath
Author: Anna Butler
Series: Taking Shield
Necessary to read previous 4 books? Yes
Wordcount: c106,300
Category: Sci Fi, Gay mainstream.

eBook Publication Date: 28 June 2018
Paperback: Available now from Amazon or direct from Anna’s website
Publisher: Glass Hat Press © 2018
Editor: Val Selby-Wolfe at Scarlet Tie
Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas
Goodreads Link

More information and background on the Shield Universe here

Buy Links
Day of Wrath is available at Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords and iBooks.
Link to a digital bookstore near you

Giveaway

Rafflecoptor giveaway to win one of three prizes:
   - 25$ (or equivalent) Amazon gift card
   - signed copy of Gyrfalcon, the first Taking Shield book
   - your pick of an eBook from Anna’s back catalogue

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Excerpt

The storeroom was empty and Flynn had long ago learned how to over-ride the door mechanism and lock it from the inside. He did so now, not wanting to be interrupted.
And, of course, now that Bennet was back and he had the privacy he wanted, Flynn’s rehearsed speeches vanished from his mind and tongue. Which was annoying. “I don’t suppose you can tell me what you were doing back home?”
“What do you think?”
Flynn managed a creditable laugh. “That I’m playing for time.” He gestured to the back wall, where piles of new uniforms made a comfortable seat. They sat side by side, leaning back against the wall. “I took a leaf out of your book and I’ve been practising what I want to say. Trouble is, I’ve forgotten my lines.”
“Keep it simple then.” Bennet’s grin was lopsided. “I’m running on fumes right now, anyway. I can’t handle complex.”
Flynn nodded. “Well, ‘simple’ is that no matter what I might have said when I was mad with you—and the gods help me, I was so mad with you I couldn’t see straight—you are the most important person in my life. I kinda think you always will be. But we are where we are. You’re going, I’m staying here. You’re Shield, I’m Fleet.” He forced another laugh, but it didn’t sound quite as credible. “Doomed. We were doomed from the start.”
Bennet’s laugh wasn’t any better than Flynn’s. He slipped his hand into Flynn’s. “We were.”
“Star-crossed, I said when you left to go back to Albion.”
“Yeah, and that sucks. Because, you too. No one more important.”
“It sucks balls the size of planets. Galaxies.” Flynn tightened his grip on the warm hand in his. “We only have a few weeks, and I know better than to think things can be different just because of that. We’re still star-crossed. Except, maybe, at the end...?”
He hated that he sounded so unsure, but then Bennet’s mouth curved up a fraction.
“Maybe.”
It wasn’t much of a promise, but he’d take what he could get. Flynn leaned his head back against the metal wall. An instant later and Bennet copied him, rolling his head to one side until he was almost touching Flynn’s. A better outlook than Flynn could have hoped for, even a couple of weeks earlier.
Flynn let the deep, mostly subliminal hum of the Gyrfalcon’s engines soothe him. “I don’t suppose we could stay in here and never come out?”
“They’ll come looking for us.”
“Yeah.” Flynn had to concede that. “So, did you get the Hyperion back?”
“No.” Bennet pulled a face at him. “They bumped me up to major. I’ve got a Shield battle-group to look after. Three Shield ships to command.”
“A promotion? Seriously?”
“Yeah. Not formally until I step off this ship, but yeah. Shield Major.”
“We don’t have majors in Fleet,” Flynn said.
“Well, I’m not Fleet. And the Shield Regiment doesn’t have that ‘regiment’ tacked onto the name just because someone thought the two words sounded well together. Shield started out in Infantry centuries ago, and Infantry does have majors.”
Flynn made a tchtching noise. “Some people have no shame, confessing to low origins like that. But seriously, that is brilliant news!”
“It would be brilliant if I didn’t have work going on with the Strategy Unit again. You know, I’m seriously thinking that I’ll give it a year, then I’ll get out.”
Flynn blinked. “That’s a bit drastic.”
“It’s a family tradition that we all serve, Flynn. But some days I reckon I’ve done enough. More than enough.”
Flynn couldn’t hold back the derisive snort. “Only if you have that sense of duty surgically removed.”
Bennet stared at him, mouth turned down at the corners, his lips pressed tight together. After a moment he blew out a noisy sigh and lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “I know. It’s a fantasy that I have choices.”
“You said it yourself to the kids, Bennet. Stand and fight.” Flynn found his grip on Bennet’s hand had slackened. He glanced down at them, his brown hand curved around Bennet’s long white fingers. He used his thumb to make little smoothing motions over the back of Bennet’s hand, relishing the almost imperceptible shiver Bennet gave. “If you did leave the military, what would you do? The history thing back at the museum?”
“Maybe. But what I’d like to do some front-line archaeology. Trace our route back to Earth and do some star-mapping and exploration, run a few digs when we find something worth investigating. Never stay anywhere long, just keep moving. I’d like that.”
Flynn saw that for the first time in a long while Bennet’s expression was relaxed, open; that the fine, tight lines of tension around his mouth and eyes had eased. “A ship of your own? You’ll need a crew.”
“Do you want to sign up?”
“Well, there won’t be any fraternisation rules, will there?”
Bright eyes glanced at him sidelong. “No. There won’t.”
“Pay?”
“A pittance. You do it for academic glory.”
“I prefer cash.” Flynn smiled at Bennet’s amused snort. He was silent for a few minutes. Beside him Bennet relaxed. “Well, I like the idea of wandering around and exploring stuff and having adventures. That sounds exciting. The digging part of it sounds more like hard work than I’m strictly comfortable with.”
“It never killed anyone yet.”
“I’m gonna have to see the medical studies before I take your word for it. It’s beside the point, anyway. I have delicate hands and shouldn’t ruin them with a shovel. But all in all, it sounds like a reasonable job.” Flynn smiled at Bennet’s profile. “I’m on—if I can sign up as First Mate.”
Bennet tilted his head until it was resting against Flynn’s. “The job’s yours. Until I get a better applicant, of course.”
“In your dreams.” Flynn let it all smooth away, slip into a comfortable silence. He had less than four weeks of this before Bennet was gone again, and he wasn’t going to waste any of it. Not one second.
He brought his other hand across to enclose Bennet’s in both of his, and let his eyes close.

About Anna

Anna was a communications specialist for many years, working in various UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to organizing conferences for 10,000 civil servants to running an internal TV service. These days, though, she is writing full time. She lives with her husband in a quiet village tucked deep in the Nottinghamshire countryside. She’s supported there by the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockerpoo, who is assisted by the lovely Mavis, a Yorkie-Bichon cross with a bark several sizes larger than she is but no opinion whatsoever on the placement of semi-colons.

Website and Blog | Facebook | The Butler’s Pantry (Facebook Group) | Twitter | Sign up for Anna’s occasional newsletter

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The Merchant's Love and White Wine Cake

6/28/2018

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After dinner, Pia brought out cake sticky with honey and studded with nuts. It was warm and sweet and as good as anything Faelen had found at the bakeries he’d discovered since returning to Jumelle. He savored each bite, trying to keep from making too many noises of pleasure. Maxen was already watching him in a way that made him blush—and made his body heat. Faelen loved the look in Maxen’s eyes, but it also made his nerves jangle. Not entirely in a bad way, but in an unfamiliar one he had to think about a little. -The Merchant's Love

I thought I'd do one more The Merchant's Love and baked goods post to round out the month, though I will probably end up doing another when the paperbacks arrive. I'm sure I won't be able to resist pretty pictures with the paperback.

Today, I have a white wine bundt cake for you. I had some fun using a fancy bundt pan—and then realized after it was in the oven that I have a castle bundt pan that I forgot about and that absolutely would've been more appropriate, so maybe another cake next time. I really love this cake. The wine gives it a unique flavor, and it smells so good.

Usually I set up a prettier picture, or try to, but it's been not a great week, and that cake wasn't going to last uncut off the cooling rack. So a not so fancy picture this time!

White Wine Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil (I used olive, but another vegetable oil would be fine)
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio, but a different white wine would work too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, lemon zest, lime zest, wine, and both extracts.

Slowly pour the wine mixture into the flour mixture while whisking constantly. Mix until the batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serves 10-12.

About The Merchant's Love:

Faelen, cousin to the prince and son of a diplomat, has finally come home to Tournai after years away. The pull to return was almost tangible, and the sense of rightness at being back is absolute. He wants nothing more than to put down roots and build a life among family while pursuing his linguistic studies. Becoming involved in magic meant to protect Tournai isn’t part of his plans…and falling in love is even more unexpected and unfamiliar, but he finds himself doing just that as his friendship with Maxen deepens into something more.

Maxen, second son of a wealthy merchant family, longs to leave Tournai and visit everywhere he can. All his life, he’s found places on maps and dreamed, planning out routes to get to them. For now, he’s tied to Tournai’s capital city by family obligations and his position in their shipping business. Someday, though, he’ll be able to travel. His sudden attraction to Faelen shocks him, but their friendship soon becomes a necessary part of his life. Love, however, has no place in his plans, especially not love for a royal cousin with secrets who wants nothing more than to stay in one place.

For Faelen and Maxen to build something real between them, they must resolve their differences, but when magic goes awry and all Faelen’s secrets are revealed, will Maxen remain at his side?

Add The Merchant's Love to your Goodreads shelf.

Buy The Merchant's Love:
NineStar Press
Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Kobo

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Rainbow Snippet June 23-24

6/23/2018

8 Comments

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 Merchant's Love for you today. Last week was a snippet with Maxen and his best friend, and this week, I have a snippet with Faelen and his twin brother, Alexander. At this point, Faelen and Maxen haven't seen each other since the night they met and spent so long talking.

Faelen broke the seal on the letter and unfolded it, smoothing out the paper. The same neat handwriting covered the page. He skipped down to the signature first and felt a zing of surprise.

“Who is it from?”

“Maxen.” Faelen blinked at the name scrawled at the bottom of the page, the signature so different from the careful hand the rest had been written in. He looked up at Alexander. “You know, Tristan’s brother.”

“Your admirer from the wedding.”

“Not my admirer.”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “Fine. The man you spent so long conversing with at the wedding. Is that better?”

“Much, thank you.” Faelen forced back a roll of his own eyes.

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. And don't forget that The Prince's Consort is on sale for 99c at all retailers through June. Thanks for stopping by!

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The Merchant's Love and Cinnamon Rolls

6/22/2018

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Bundled up against the cold night, they walked hand in hand toward Maxen’s house. They didn’t stop in at any of the taverns along the way. By mutual agreement, it seemed they wanted something else. Faelen did anyway—to be alone with Maxen somewhere quieter. But Maxen tugged him into a bakery that was still open and bought two pastries, swirled through with cinnamon and spices and topped with sweet sugary icing.

Faelen hadn’t thought he’d be hungry after the filling stew, but the pastry was warm and smelled delicious...perhaps he might have room for something sweet.

Outside, Maxen grinned and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I know how you love your sweets. Go ahead.”

Faelen blushed, even as a delightful shiver traveled through him from the place Maxen’s lips had been so briefly. He ducked his head, letting his hair fall forward to shield his face. -The Merchant's Love

The Merchant's Love came out on Monday (yay!), but with the way the world has been this week, I haven't had it in me to promote it too much, which is probably not good. Romance novels are where I turn for comfort and escape and hope that things get better. I'm sure many of you do too, and I hope this book can maybe do that for you. So I thought it might be a good time for more books and baking.

This week, I made cinnamon rolls, which seem so appropriate for Faelen and Maxen (if you've read about these two, I think you'll agree!). Someone sent me this recipe a while ago and I hadn't tried it yet, so I decided to give it a go. While I was doing it, I realized that might not have been the best idea, since the recipe was a bit vague here and there, but they came out pretty well, I think. I tried to clarify the recipe for you a little.

Cinnamon Rolls
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup and a pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup hot milk
1 egg
3 cups all purpose flour

Stir together the warm water, yeast, and the a pinch of sugar. Let the mixture sit for a 5-8 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, salt, butter, and milk. Stir everything together and then allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the egg, then stir in the yeast mixture. Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time until a very soft dough forms. Continue to knead for a few minutes (or use the dough hook if you're using a stand mixer). The dough will be very soft but should hold together. If it doesn't, add another tablespoon of flour. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It should double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly butter a pan (the recipe doesn't specify what kind, but I used a 9 by 9 inch square pan and that worked fine).

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and roll out into a long rectangle (about 15 by 9 inches maybe). Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and brush the butter all over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with sugar and cinnamon. The recipe called for 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. I didn't measure, but I'm sure I used more than that! Roll up from the long side and slice into 12 pieces. Place the rolls in the pan and bake for 25-27 minutes until the edges are brown.

I iced my cinnamon rolls with bourbon cream cheese frosting. Here's the recipe for that:

Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
confectioner's sugar
bourbon

Beat together the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Add in confectioner's sugar and bourbon and beat until smooth. The original recipe that I have called for 4 cups of sugar and 5 tablespoons of bourbon, but I didn't use that much. I tend to add sugar by the cup a little at a time until it's as sweet as I want it to be, and then add the bourdon to taste as well. You can leave out the bourbon easily if you want them to be nonalcoholic.

About The Merchant's Love:

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The Merchant's Love is Here!

6/18/2018

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The Merchant's Love is out in the world today, available from all retailers. I'm so excited for you to have this book, and nervous too. I'm going to go hide by working on edits for Dance in a bit, I think (though I really have to finish those edits, so it does serve a purpose other than hiding, really). When I wrote The Merchant's Love last year, I wrote the book I needed. It's a warm, romantic story and a sweet, lovely romance. I wanted to wrap Faelen and Maxen up in a big hug, and maybe I wanted this book to be one for you too.

Faelen is my first published demisexual main character, which is big and important for me too. This book and Dance, which will be out in October, are the first books I wrote with demisexual characters, the first books with characters sharing that part of my identity. A lot of me and my experience went into Faelen (maybe more than I meant, since he also shares my sweet tooth and love of books, among other things). Writing them was more nerve-wracking than I expected, but I'm sure these characters won't be the last demisexual characters I write (actually, I absolutely know that since I'm in the early stages of planning something). We need more demisexual characters.

I hope you enjoy The Merchant's Love, Faelen and Maxen's relationship, and their relationships with their family, both blood family and found. If you've read other Tournai books, you'll see some familiar faces, and if not, you can jump in right here and always catch up on others later. All the Tournai books stand alone. If you leave a review after you read, you have my profound gratitude and appreciation, but please don't feel any obligation. I only hope The Merchant's Love brings you a little joy, especially with the world feeling rather grim.

About The Merchant's Love:

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Tomorrow!

6/17/2018

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About The Merchant's Love:

Faelen, cousin to the prince and son of a diplomat, has finally come home to Tournai after years away. The pull to return was almost tangible, and the sense of rightness at being back is absolute. He wants nothing more than to put down roots and build a life among family while pursuing his linguistic studies. Becoming involved in magic meant to protect Tournai isn’t part of his plans…and falling in love is even more unexpected and unfamiliar, but he finds himself doing just that as his friendship with Maxen deepens into something more.

Maxen, second son of a wealthy merchant family, longs to leave Tournai and visit everywhere he can. All his life, he’s found places on maps and dreamed, planning out routes to get to them. For now, he’s tied to Tournai’s capital city by family obligations and his position in their shipping business. Someday, though, he’ll be able to travel. His sudden attraction to Faelen shocks him, but their friendship soon becomes a necessary part of his life. Love, however, has no place in his plans, especially not love for a royal cousin with secrets who wants nothing more than to stay in one place.

For Faelen and Maxen to build something real between them, they must resolve their differences, but when magic goes awry and all Faelen’s secrets are revealed, will Maxen remain at his side?

Add The Merchant's Love to your Goodreads shelf.

Preorder The Merchant's Love:
NineStar Press
Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Kobo

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Rainbow Snippet June 16-17

6/16/2018

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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+.

The Merchant's Love will officially be out on Monday, though preorders from NineStar were available yesterday. I'm a mess of excitement and nerves, as always—though perhaps a bit more about this one since Faelen is my first published demisexual main character and that's so important to me. I'm sharing another snippet from the book today. This is Maxen talking with his friend Valentin about meeting Faelen.

“So what happened? You said you didn’t spend the night with him.”

“I didn’t.”

“But you wanted to?”

“Maybe. He’s beautiful. Just beautiful. But...I didn’t want to jump into bed with him. I wouldn’t mind ending up there someday, but I’d like to know him first. See if we like each other.” Maxen thought they would, maybe already did. He murmured, “I wouldn’t have minded a kiss.”

“What did you do? You aren’t the type to just stare at him all night.” Valentin waved a hand before Maxen could speak. “You aren’t the type to have these instant attractions either, not often, but you’re far more direct than most of us. You wouldn’t just pine.”

Maxen huffed. “Pine?”

Valentin shrugged again. “Some of us pine.”

You can find out more about The Merchant's Love, including an excerpt and links, here. Also, all my Dreamspinner books are on sale right now. The Prince's Consort is 99 cents at all retailers this month, and my other three DSP books are 40% off there through Monday. Thanks for reading!

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Two Days Until The Merchant's Love!

6/16/2018

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About The Merchant's Love:

Faelen, cousin to the prince and son of a diplomat, has finally come home to Tournai after years away. The pull to return was almost tangible, and the sense of rightness at being back is absolute. He wants nothing more than to put down roots and build a life among family while pursuing his linguistic studies. Becoming involved in magic meant to protect Tournai isn’t part of his plans…and falling in love is even more unexpected and unfamiliar, but he finds himself doing just that as his friendship with Maxen deepens into something more.

Maxen, second son of a wealthy merchant family, longs to leave Tournai and visit everywhere he can. All his life, he’s found places on maps and dreamed, planning out routes to get to them. For now, he’s tied to Tournai’s capital city by family obligations and his position in their shipping business. Someday, though, he’ll be able to travel. His sudden attraction to Faelen shocks him, but their friendship soon becomes a necessary part of his life. Love, however, has no place in his plans, especially not love for a royal cousin with secrets who wants nothing more than to stay in one place.

For Faelen and Maxen to build something real between them, they must resolve their differences, but when magic goes awry and all Faelen’s secrets are revealed, will Maxen remain at his side?

Add The Merchant's Love to your Goodreads shelf.

Preorder The Merchant's Love:
NineStar Press
Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Kobo

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Release Blitz: Magic or Die by J.P. Jackson

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