Cover reveal The Shield of Soren by DM Cain

My dear author friend DM Cain has her next book coming out and I get to show off the cover!! 

This next installment in The Light and Shadow Chronicles is called The Shield of Soren. Set thirty years before the events of A Chronicle of Chaos, this novel covers the story of mischievous trouble maker, ten-year-old Soren Nitaya and the events that change the way he will see the world forever.  

BLURB

The Shield of Soren

Ten-year-old Soren Nitaya’s marked talent makes him the youngest soldier ever to become an apprentice to the legendary warrior, Raven Lennox. As a prince of Alcherys, he will be expected to fight in the eternal war against the Brotherhood of Shadow when he reaches sixteen.

But is the young prince up to the task when he’s more interested in causing mischief than in mastering weapons?

When one of Soren’s adventures goes off course, he unwittingly unleashes a deadly threat. It appears that an age-old prophecy is finally coming to pass, and Soren and his family must take a perilous journey deep into their enemy’s land. Does Soren have what it takes to save his country before the Brotherhood destroys everyone and everything he loves?

 The Shield of Soren EXCERPT

 With a loud clang of metal slamming into metal, the final bolt was undone. Reign slowly pulled the door open, and Vincent found his breath catching in his throat.

High-pitched whimpering came from the tiny bundle of rags cowering at the back of the cage. Her long silver hair parted for a moment and Vincent could see her wide, silver eyes, terrified and innocent. Vincent’s skin prickled with discomfort. He hoped that Reign had a damned good reason for capturing a small child like this.

Beside the glass cage were two oil lamps, both resting unlit. Reign reached up and took one down. Then, in a single savage moment, he slammed the lamp onto the floor of her cage. The girl screamed in terror and covered her head with her hands, but he hadn’t been aiming for her.

The shattered glass gave way to a stream of oil that spread out in a pool across the floor. This seemed to scare the girl even more, and she began to cry quietly, sobbing into her clenched hands.

Reign looked back at Vincent. Excitement flashed in his eyes as he drew a match from a box in his pocket. A small flare of light, a flicker of sulphur and a small flame danced on top of the match. With another laugh, Reign tossed the match into the glass cage.

Vincent gasped as the oil ignited in a rush of intense heat. The entire floor of the cage burst into flames. Vincent tried to rush forwards to save the girl from a fiery death, but the heat was too intense. A hand tapped incessantly at his shoulder, and he tried to brush it away, but Reign grabbed hold of his hand.

“Look! Look!” Reign shouted excitedly, pointing at the cage.

When his eyes fell upon the cage, Vincent froze to the spot, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets. “But…how?”

The girl, who Vincent had assumed would be burning in agony, was somehow floating above the flames, hovering at the top of her cage. From her back sprouted two enormous wings of the purest white feathers Vincent had ever seen. The two beautiful white fans could only just fit within the confines of the cage, and as she beat them to stay afloat they fanned the flames beneath her.

It wasn’t just her wings that dazzled Vincent with their purity. Her whole body had adopted an ethereal, almost ghostly, silver aura, her hair shimmering with radiance. She didn’t seem too frightened any more, but there was a definite hint of sadness in her gentle eyes.

Vincent studied her carefully, struggling to catch his breath, which he hadn’t realised he had been holding. “What is she?” he managed to croak.

Reign grinned and draped an arm across Vincent’s shoulder. “She, my friend, is an angel.”

D.M. CAIN BIO

D.M. Cain is a dystopian and fantasy author working for Creativia Publishing. The Light and Shadow Chronicles series features a range of books which can be read in any order. The first of these to be written was A Chronicle of Chaos. The Shield of Soren will be released in March 2017. She is currently working on the next novel in the Light and Shadow Chronicles series, The Sins of Silas, as well as two complementary novellas entitled Genesis of Light and Origin of Shadow.
Cain has released one stand-alone novel: The Phoenix Project, a psychological thriller set in a dystopian future. The Phoenix Project was the winner of the 2016 Kindle Book Review Best Sci-Fi novel Award.

D.M. Cain is also a member of the International Thriller Writers and one of the creators and administrators of the online author group #Awethors. Her short story The End was published in Awethology Dark: an anthology by the #Awethors.

Cain lives in Leicestershire, UK with her husband and young son, and spends her time reading, writing and reviewing books, playing RPGs and listening to symphonic metal.

LINKS

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/DMCainauthor

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dmcain84/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DMCain84

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/dmcain

Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/XevZH

Website: http://www.dmcain84.com

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+DMCain/posts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/DMCain 

Cover Reveal! Timeshaft – Stewart Bint

Today is cover reveal time for my good and amazing barefoot author friend – Stewart Bint.  He is funny, caring, a brilliant autbor (many of his books scared the living daylights out of me) and very supportive to other authors, including humble little me.

Booktrope are shortly publishing a revised edition of Stewart Bint’s time travel novel, Timeshaft…and here’s a sneak preview of the dazzling new cover created by Booktrope designer Troy Johnson.  Originally published on Smashwords in 2013, the new edition features a new beginning and ending, along with a number of new scenes.

Blurb

By the twenty-seventh century, mankind has finally mastered time travel—and is driving recklessly towards wiping itself out. The guerilla environmentalist group WorldSave, with its chief operative Ashday’s Child, uses the Timeshaft to correct mistakes of the past in an effort to extend the life of the planet.But the enigmatic Ashday’s Child has his own destiny to accomplish, and will do whatever it takes within a complicated web of paradoxes to do so. While his destiny—and very existence—is challenged from the beginning to the end of time, he must collect the key players through the ages to create the very Timeshaft itself.

“Do our actions as time travellers change what would otherwise have happened, or is everything already laid down in a predetermined plan?” he asks. Stewart Bint’s Timeshaft is an expertly synchronized saga of time travel, the irresistible force of destiny, and the responsibility of mankind as rulers of the world.

Stewart Bint  Stewart Bint is a novelist, magazine columnist and PR writer. He lives with his wife, Sue, in Leicestershire, in the UK, and has two grown-up children, Christopher and Charlotte.

He is a former radio presenter, newsreader and phone-in show host, but always wanted to become a fiction writer — a dream that came true when his first novel was published in 2012 at the age of 56. Now the author of five novels, a collection of short stories and a compilation of his early magazine columns, he was signed by Booktrope in 2015, who published a revised edition of his paranormal novel, In Shadows Waiting, in August.

They are publishing a revised and re-edited edition of Timeshaft shortly.

As a member of a local barefoot hiking group, when not writing he can often be found hiking in bare feet on woodland trails and urban streets.

Stewart Bint online:

Website and blog
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon UK
Amazon USA

The Bridge Between Yesterday and Tomorrow – Release Day!

Today my first short story will see the light of day. The Bridge Between Yesterday and Tomorrow.

Pianist Donna Verdell kindly provided the music for this book trailer. When it’s Raining – from the collection Songs of Summer.

The Bridge is inspired on my time in Sweden. I visit regularly as my family-in-law lives there. The Dalarna area is just so beautiful, so magical, it’s not hard to imagine a world beyond our vision, our knowledge. A world of trolls. Not scary looking trolls, but different. From us, anyway.
Eydis is such a troll. She’s a girl who falls in love with a human boy. As we’re not supposed to know trolls exist, you can see how this is going to be a problem.

Writing a short-story has been a real challenge for me. How to create a whole world and fascinating characters with just a few words? Jack Croxall has been a true inspiration. His short stories X and Dylan blew me away! They are so well-written and captivating, you just want to know more!

I wanted to create that same feeling. Of wanting more. At least it worked for me. I got so sucked into the world of Eydis, I think there’s definitely a larger story to be told. I’m not done with her world. Not saying there’s a Lord of the Rings in there, but definitely more, yes.

I truly hope you will feel the same. A big thank you goes out to my editor for The Bridge, the amazing Pam Elise Harris, you totally rock! If you have a minute, be sure to check out her own works. 

This book is also something of a family effort. I’m very proud of the cover, which was drawn by my own cousin Trudy v/d Bosch-Veldkamp. The poem featuring in The Bridge was made by my other cousin Tom van der Vlies. He just nailed the feeling I wanted to describe in the book. What was really special is that he wrote about a heart-shaped emerald in his poem without even knowing I’d actually written something along those lines in the book! How’s that for magic! The poem in Midwinter under the Bridge was created by me. Last but not least, my own husband, Maarten Bastiaan – a goldsmith – created the ring Eydis receives from her father. The emerald ring.

You can order The Bridge here from Amazon. UK or US in paperback or e-book.

And without further ado, here’s the cover! Yule blessings, happy holidays and a magical new year! X

Blurb

“Hello human child. My name is Eydis. I’m a troll-girl who’s in big trouble. You see, I’ve fallen for one of your kind. A human boy. Talib. He’s just so nice – I can’t stay away from him. If my father finds out though, I don’t know what will happen. Humans are not supposed to know we exist and I just broke the rules. Oh, did I mention he’s also the king and I’m heir to the throne? Yes – like I said. Big trouble.” 

Deep in the woods, below the rocks and in the caves, there lies a world unknown to us. They are part of our stories though. Part of our heritage, our legends and myths. Trolls. However, they might not be what you expect them to be. What if you meet one of them? Would you believe your eyes? Would you be brave enough to follow them? To go on an adventure?

Follow me on social media:

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Cover reveal! Simmering by S.E. Rise

As Beltane is fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to give some attention to a slightly more ‘steamy’ book. After all, this is the time of passion, fertility, the union between the god and goddess. My author friend S.E. Rise is not only a superb horror author, but also quite adept in the erotica genre. 

It is my great pleasure and honour to reveal his new cover for Simmering! So without further ado, here it is, folks! I’m getting flushed cheeks just by looking at it!

  
Blurb

Who would you rather find in your bedroom, a steamy hose-wielding fireman or a dangerously obsessed ex-boyfriend? What if you found both?  Romance writer Allison Fairchild is growing frustrated with her first attempt at Erotica until she reads a well-timed magazine article. What working man makes the best lover? The article sparks an idea and her eyes are irresistibly drawn to the top-ranked firemen just across the street. It might be coincidence or driven by fate but it is all the motivation she needs.

 Ali has herself assigned to a firehouse and is committed to doing her job; getting incredible sex stories from actual firefighters and, in the process, try not to become one. At least that’s her intention until she meets the Captain, a by-the-rules professional with an enticing off-duty wild streak. Ali and the Captain put their wills to the test to resist the chemistry heating up between them. But unbeknownst to Ali, her cheating ex-boyfriend has set his eyes upon her again and if he can’t have her, no one can.

Will Ali break “the rules” with the Captain before she can finish the book or will her ex’s frightening obsession inevitably destroy them all?

Booktrope Publishing- Republished Date May 16, 2015

About the author

 

 S.E. Rise attended Austin Peay State University on a Track scholarship. Later in life, he became a captain of an ALS ambulance. On his off time he enjoys salmon fishing and strives in achieving the impossible. He has the ability to find four leaf clovers with the simplest of ease. They pop out at him and that’s why he sees them. He now lives in Alaska with his wife and two children. In 2007 he published his first novel and he continues to write gripping and enticing stories, leaving his readers breathless.

You can still order the old version here or wait for the new one! 

  

Follow S.E. Rise on his website, twitter or facebook.

 

The Prophecies! Book 2 of The Sentinel Series by Holly Martin

The Prophecies, Book 2 of The Sentinel Series by Holly Martin will be published on October 1st, a week today and here is the stunning cover.

The world is a big place, will Eve really be the one to save it?

Eve grows stronger and more powerful every day as she strives to ensure she is ready to face her destiny. But some of her gifts are unwelcome. Eve’s visions of the future become darker and those she loves are in terrible danger. But when her actions result in tragedy, Eve is called before The Oraculum, the council that created her.
When she is summoned to their castle she becomes aware of a rift between the council members that not only could endanger her life, but could put the whole planet at risk. Would The Oraculum really turn against her and risk everything?
But in the darkness, a light burns bright. Her love for Seth is stronger than any of her powers.
But as she battles against a new threat, can she really forsake those closest to her in order to save the world? Will everyone Eve loves survive?

The Sentinel, Book 1 of the series is only 77p/99c so if you haven’t read it yet you can download it here

About the author

Martin lives in sunny Bedfordshire in a house with round windows. She studied media at university which led to a very glitzy career as a hotel receptionist followed by a even more glamorous two years working in a bank. The moment that one of her colleagues received the much coveted carriage clock for fifteen years service was the moment when she knew she had to escape. Martin quit her job and returned to university to train to be a teacher. Three years later, she emerged wide eyed and terrified that she now had responsibility for the development of thirty young minds. Holly taught for four years before History Off The Page came to her school to do a Tudor day. She now drives round the country in her little white van, dressing up as a Viking one day and an Egyptian High Priestess the next.

Martin loves to write. In her own words: “The characters do exactly what I want them to do, most of the time. Sometimes they do seem to go off and do their own thing without my permission. It is complete escapism into a world where I have full control.”

She’s been writing for five years now, every spare second Martin has, she’s scribbling ideas in a notebook or typing a scene on her laptop.

Changing Casanova, her first novel, was shortlisted for the 2012 Festival of Romance New Talent Award. Her short story, One Hundred Proposals won the Belinda Jones Travel Club short story competition and was published in the Sunlounger anthology alongside some of her favourite authors including, Belinda Jones, Miranda Dickinson and Rosie Blake. Her debut novel, The Sentinel, a YA fantasy adventure story, was published on 16th October 2013. She won the Carina Valentine’s competition at the Festival of Romance in 2013 and her first chicklit book, The Guestbook was published by them in February 2014 and subsequently went on to reach No.5 in the Amazon UK chart. Her second book One Hundred Proposals was published in June and has recently been shortlisted for Best Romantic Read at the Festival of Romance. The Guestbook has also been shortlisted for two awards, Best ebook and Innovation in Romantic Fiction.