Friday, December 25, 2015

What's Up for the Debut Author Challenge Authors? - Part 11


This is the eleventh in a series of updates about formerly featured Debut Author Challenge authors and their 2015 works published since the last update and any upcoming works for 2016. The year in parentheses after the author's name is the year she/he was featured in the Debut Author Challenge.



Part 1 here.
Part 2 here.
Part 3 here.
Part 4 here.
Part 5 here.
Part 6 here.
Part 7 here.
Part 8 here.
Part 9 here.
Part 10 here.




Suzanne Johnson (2012)

Dark Secrets
A Paranormal Noir Anthology
      by Rachel Caine, Cynthia Eden, Megan Hart, Suzanne Johnson,
               Jeffe Kennedy, and Mina Khan
September 29, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 563 pages

Six award-winning authors bring you this spellbinding collection of stories about dark desires, mysterious worlds, and danger that lurks in the shadows of the night. Where nothing is black and white; where things might not be as they seem; where magic and mayhem rule.

MARION, MISSING by Rachel Caine
Valentine is a detective with two major problems: he's been offered a kidnapping case that will probably get him killed, and his partner won't let him turn it down. He owes her that much … since his partner's a ghost, and he blames himself for her death. A dark, haunting noir mystery of love, hate and loss.

FEMME FATALE by Cynthia Eden
PI Mick Swayne has seen it all—his clients have included liars, thieves, and even killers. He thinks he can handle anything and anyone. Then she walks into his office. Savannah Moreau is beautiful, seductive, and…a vampire? The gorgeous vamp hires Mick to help her track down a killer who is hunting in Chicago, but as Mick slips deeper into Savannah’s paranormal world, he wonders if he can really trust his new client…

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Megan Hart
When the devil starts the music, you'd better get ready to dance.

Kathleen Murphy has sold her soul to the devil. Fame, fortune, success...everything she's ever dreamed of is hers, and all she has to do is the devil's bidding. When love comes knocking, the last thing in the world she wants to do is involve Jake in her twisted world, but the devil's started up the jukebox and Kathleen has no choice but to learn the steps.

THE CONSORT by Suzanne Johnson
Faulkner Hearne, the captain of the ruthless Fae Hunters, finds his duty at odds with his heart when he’s ordered to capture the consort of Faerie’s cruel Prince of Summer when she flees across the veil into modern New Orleans. Can Faulk turn Liandra over to a certain death at the hands of the prince, or will he risk a war with Faerie in order to save her?

An all-new novella set in the Sentinels of New Orleans multiverse.

HEART’S BLOOD by Jeffe Kennedy, a Twelve Kingdoms novella
A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank, husband and even her name.

Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal who she really is, Natilde won’t carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future queen—for the sake of both their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix.

With broken vows, anguish and dark secrets between them, Cavan and Nix struggle to find the magic to restore what’s gone terribly wrong... if it ever can be.

THE DJINN IN THE MIRROR by Mina Khan, a Djinn World novella
A paranormal Cinderella story with a young witch as the heroine and a wicked, sexy djinn instead of a fairy godmother.

Dahlia, the step-daughter of a power hungry wizard, promises to free a djinn trapped in a mirror if he rescues her from impending death. But Ashmael the djinn has his own agenda: to trick & seduce his way to freedom. The only problem is he ends up falling for Dahlia. Can he win his freedom and save the girl?


Pirateship Down
Stories from the world of The Sentinels of New Orleans
Suzanne Johnson, November 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 280 pages

French pirate Jean Lafitte is tall, cobalt-eyed, broad-shouldered, and immortal. What’s not to love? But New Orleans’ most esteemed member of the historical undead is headed for trouble. He’s determined to reclaim Le Diligent, his gold-laden schooner lost at sea in 1814 and recently found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office might beg to differ.

New Orleans wizard sentinel DJ Jaco and her merman friend Rene Delachaise can either lock up their friend Lafitte or join him on a road trip to Cajun country in order to save him from himself. Terrebonne Parish—not to mention its jail—might never be the same after the events of the all-new novella Pirateship Down, presented here along with a collection of urban fantasy stories and essays.

Wizards and Cajun merfolk, sexy shapeshifters and undead French pirates. Welcome to the world of the Sentinels of New Orleans in this collection, along with a little Louisiana lagniappe.



As Susannah Sandlin

Wild Man's Curse
Wilds of the Bayou 1
Montlake Romance, April 5, 2016
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook

[cover not yet available]

The bones said death was comin’, and the bones never lied.

While on an early morning patrol in the swamps of Whiskey Bayou, Louisiana wildlife agent Gentry Broussard spots a man leaving the home of voodoo priestess Eva Savoie—a man who bears a startling resemblance to his brother, whom Gentry thought he had killed during a drug raid three years earlier. Shaken, the agent enters Eva’s cabin and makes a bloody discovery: the old woman has been brutally murdered.

With no jurisdiction over the case, he’s forced to leave the investigation to the local sheriff, until Eva’s beautiful heir, Celestine, receives a series of gruesome threats. As Gentry’s involvement deepens and more victims turn up, can he untangle the secrets behind Eva’s murder and protect Celestine from the same fate? Or will an old family curse finally have its way?

From award-winning author Susannah Sandlin comes the first book in the Wilds of the Bayou series.




J.A. Kazimer (2012)

The Lady in Pink
A Deadly Ever After Mystery 2
Lyrical Underground, August 18, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 222 pages

Coming home to find a dead body in your living room isn’t the best way to end a long day’s work, especially when that work is as New Never City’s premier blue-haired PI. It’s even worse when the corpse is your intern, electrocuted to death, and you’re the one with enough voltage flowing through your veins to power Fairyland.

Blue Reynolds has nabbed his fair share of criminals—with and without the help of his alluring half-fairy partner Isabella Davis—but this one is proving to be more slippery than most. As Blue and Izzy investigate who might have wanted a lowly intern dead—and why—they begin to uncover a diabolical plan that could put both of their lives in danger…and unearth shocking secrets that stretch deep into Blue’s shadowy family history.


A Very F***ed-Up Christmas Tale
A F***ed-Up Fairytale Novella
Obscure Publishing, November 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 43 pages

From the author of CURSES! comes a very f***ed-up version of the Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol.

She's not your fairy godmother's Scrooge, and this ain't no wonderful life.

On Christmas Eve, Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, plotting the murder of yet another husband, when along came a spirit with some bad news--tonight she will be visited by three ghosts.

According to the spirit, Miss Muffet, VP of Dastardly Deeds at New Never City's Villainous Union, must change her fiendish ways or else suffer a fate worse than curdled curds. As the bell tolls one, she begins her journey through her wicked past as a very short orphan, her depraved present, and a future terrifying enough to make her toss her gingerbread cookies.

Can she change? Better yet, will she?


The Fantastical Collection: Holiday Edition
      by J.A. Kazimer, Laura V. Keegan, Lisa Manifold, Corinne O'Flynn,
          and Bruce I. Schindler
Authors Collective; Limited Edition, December 20, 2015
Kindle eBook 

Do you enjoy fantasy? If so, you'll love The Fantastical Collection. Five books by five different authors of various fantasy subgenres like urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and other fantasy/supernatural elements.

Authors/Books
  • J.A. Kazimer - Beyond These Walls
  • Laura V. Keegan - Haunting at Remington House
  • Lisa Manifold - Three Wishes
  • Corinne O'Flynn - The Expatriates
  • Bruce I. Schindler - Touch Stones
Beyond These Walls - Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
In a world divided by genetics and a concrete wall, enforcer, Indeara Adair, survives by kicking the occasional gnome ass, a job her mutated cells make her terrifyingly skilled at.

Life is good with a few exceptions, namely, the reappearance of a man who betrayed her three years ago. A man she must now protect from a plague developed by her own grandfather in order to save those she loves.

With the help of a ragtag group, she slips beyond the wall to unlock the truth behind her own genetic code in order to save thousands of lives.

Haunting at Remington House - Supernatural/Paranormal
Haunting at Remington House by Laura V. Keegan is a suspenseful thriller that weaves together the experiences of the living and the dead, telling a haunted tale of love, revenge, betrayal and supernatural possession. Against the backdrop of coastal New England the characters come to life in a darkly detailed ghost story that stirs the imagination with rich descriptive prose and supernatural happenings. Remington House harbors a violent secret and sinister spirits with malevolent intentions.

Three Wishes - Paranormal Romance

The Expatriates - Fantasy

Touch Stones - Supernatural/Paranormal
Grandma Charlotte, dead four months, looked at him, concern clearly evident. "You are sensitive but you have no control. You are sensitive to the entire house. If you stayhere, your sensitivity will be the end of you."
Frank stammered, "It'll be the end of me?"
"Association with an object imbues it with the person's thoughts, personality traits, and outlooks. A sensitive person sees that as a vision, but until they learn control, the vision saps their energy and kills them."
"You say this person, Madeleine, can save me?"
"It takes an act of total devotion, but yes, she can."





Jay Kristoff (2012)

Endsinger
The Lotus War Book 3
St. Martin's Griffin, September 1, 2015
Trade Paperback, 432 pages
Hardcover and eBook, November 25, 2014

With Stormdancer, Jay Kristoff came roaring onto the fantasy scene—he has been praised as "the master of unique and intense plots and huge twists" (USAToday.com), while critics raved about the novel, calling it "[A] fast-paced, fantastical adventure [that] is sharp as a Shogun's sword." (The LA Times). And with healthy sales in hardcover and electronic—fueled by Jay's inventive, enthusiastic, and relentless promotion on his website, Facebook, Twitter, and the blogosphere—we know readers are hungry for the finale to his wildly inventive Lotus War saga.

As civil war sweeps across the Shima Imperium, the Lotus Guild unleashes their deadliest creation—a mechanical goliath, intended to unite the shattered Empire under a yoke of fear. Yukiko and Buruu are forced to take leadership of the rebellion, gathering new allies and old friends. But the ghosts of Buruu's past stand between them and the army they need, and Kin's betrayal has destroyed all trust among their allies. When a new foe joins the war, it will be all the pair can do to muster the strength to fight, let alone win. And as the earth splits asunder, as armies destroy each other for rule over an empire of lifeless ash and the final secret about blood lotus is revealed, the people of Shima will learn one last, horrifying truth. An exciting, vivid conclusion to a critically acclaimed series, Endsinger is sure to have fans racing through the pages to savor every last revelation.


Illuminae
   Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
The Illuminae Files 1
Knopf Books for Young Readers, October 20, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 608 pages

For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension.

“A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form.”Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of Red Queen

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.


Nevernight
Thomas Dunne Books, August 9, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

[cover not yet available]
In a world where the suns almost never set, a woman gains entry to a school of infamous assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers that destroyed her family. Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father's failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she wanders a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and its thugs. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the hearth of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic-the Red Church. Deadly trials await her within the Church's halls: blades and poisons, treachery and death. If she survives to initiation, she'll be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and be one step closer to the only thing she desires.

Revenge.




Shawntelle Madison (2012)

Windham Werewolves: The Complete Collection
Trade Paperback, April 30, 2015
eBook, May 29, 2015

For a werewolf hunter, falling in love with her prey is out of the question.

Contains all five parts of the Windham Werewolves story! This is the full 315-page story with no cliffhangers at the end.

Kaden Windham will do anything to protect his pack, including saving a dying werewolf hunter, but Cynthia McGinnis would rather take him down than become his mate. A fiery romance blossoms between the two, but things might end before they begin as they navigate the minefield of their new relationship, as well as the turbulent interrelationships among the Windham Pack and Cynthia's werewolf hunting clan.


This Wedding is Doomed!
   by Stephanie Draven, Jeannie Lin, Shawntelle Madison, Amanda Berry
InterMix, May 19, 2015
eBook,

In these stories of matrimonial madness from four sensational authors, unexpected couples find their happily ever after at a wedding that’s counting down to disaster…

When a perfectionist and a troublemaker have to stick together in Amanda Berry’s The Wedding Planner: Flirting with Disaster, more than sparks fly…

In Shawntelle Madison’s The Maid of Honor: Lovers in Lockdown, two best friends trapped in a wine cellar decide to sample the wine—and each other…

Covering up the groom’s many misdeeds forces the best man to choose between loyalty and the love of a wedding singer in Stephanie Draven’s The Best Man: Sex, Lies and Karmic Catastrophe.

And finally, a runaway bride, a hunky caterer and a stolen cake hit the road in a hijacked van in Jeannie Lin’s The Bride: Love on the Run.

Stephanie Draven is a national bestselling, award-winning, two-time RITA-nominated author of historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance whose mission is to write very smart books for very bad girls.

Jeannie Lin is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author best known for bringing Tang Dynasty China to historical romance. She also writes Opium War steampunk.

Shawntelle Madison is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of speculative fiction and contemporary romance. She is a web developer who loves to weave words as well as code.

Amanda Berry is a national bestselling author for Harlequin Special Edition books. Leaving behind a career as a public accountant, she followed her heart and began to write romantic fiction.


Nightshade
17 tales of Urban Fantasy, Magic, Mayhem, Demons, Fae, Witches, Ghosts, and more
Bayou Moon Press, LLC (September 21, 2015)
    by Annie Bellet, Deanna Chase, Sarra Cannon, SM Reine, Colleen Gleason, Selene Charles, Kate Danley, Anthea Sharp, Phaedra Weldon, Donna Augustine, Debra Dunbar, Hailey Edwards, C. Gockel, Helen Harper, Shawntelle Madison, Christine Pope, Colleen Vanderlinden
eBook, 418 pages

*Amazon Top 100 Bestseller* 17 original short stories by bestselling Urban Fantasy authors. Magic, mayhem, and mysterious doings, just in time for Halloween!

The Agency -Donna Augustine: Before Karma joins the agency, she's just another assignment handed to Fate from the Universe. But she's destined for far more.

De Facto -Annie Bellet: Verity Li's a bureaucratic cog, going through the motions until she interrupts a kidnapping next door, and now all the problems are hers.

Venom -Sarra Cannon: On the run from a coven of witches determined to capture and enslave him, Rend must overcome the limitations of the human world and embrace his true demon power. But will he survive?

Honeysuckle Memory -Selene Charles: Scarlett Smith's on a mission to track down the man who sentenced her to an eternity of purgatory, but first she needs to pass the mental health assessment board of the paranormal investigative department.

Spirits of Bourbon Street -Deanna Chase: It's Halloween and time to party, but when a spirit traps everyone in the past, white witch Jade Calhoun's forced to forgo the cocktails in order to save those she loves.

The Ghost & Mrs. MacKay -Kate Danley: It's Halloween and Maggie's mother has invited all the ghosts of the neighborhood over for a party. Unfortunately, one of the ghosts is wanted by the Other Side's finest. It's up to Maggie and Killian to find out what caused this soul's unrest and return him to his happy haunting ground.

Full Moon Mischief -Debra Dunbar: Getting summoned on Halloween isn't any demon's idea of fun especially when yanked from a rocking party into a coat closet. But rules are rules and Imp Sam must find a way to get rid of a gold-digger hussy then hope the pint-sized mage sends her back before the party's over.

Dog Days of Summer -Hailey Edwards: When a fae boy goes missing, Thierry is called to lead the hunt for the rogue. But the closer she gets to locating the boy, the further she gets from the truth.

Victoria Gardella: Vampire Slayer -Colleen Gleason: Balls, beaux, dance cards...and stakes? Lady Victoria Gardella must juggle her responsibility as a debutante in 19th century London Society while fulfilling her family legacy as a vampire hunter.

Atomic -C. Gockel: Sigyn is prophesied to be the consort of a king. Instead she marries a fool. Centuries after his chaos destroys their marriage, the fallout begins.

Highland Magic -Helen Harper: The Veil has kept the Highlands of Scotland free from demons for centuries, and ensured relative peace for the Sidhe Clans. However, a strange encounter on a dark, heather-strewn hillside might mean all that is about to change.

Contents May Have Shifted -Shawntelle Madison: Return to the Coveted universe in this tale featuring werewolf Natalya Stravinsky. Two werewolf shopkeepers in a mystical flea market encounter deadly merchandise that has no intention of being sold.

Illusions -Christine Pope: Warlock Damon Wilcox is plotting to kidnap the most powerful witch in a rival clan. But Damon's brother Connor has plans of his own.

Dying Night -SM Reine: Hell's trying to squeeze its way onto Earth via the Grand Canyon. Elise and James, a demon hunting team, haven't spoken about that thing that happened in Copenhagen for six months. With all the pressure boiling under the surface, something's sure to blow.

Brea's Tale:Arrival -Anthea Sharp: When a faerie girl is sent on a mission to the mortal world, she must learn to navigate the intricacies of life among humans - but will she survive undetected?

Angels and Demons -Colleen Vanderlinden: A mysterious woman haunts the streets of Detroit, dishing up her own version of vigilante justice. If the stories about her are true, she could end up being the city's biggest nightmare.

Dragon's Fury -Phaedra Weldon: A tragic part of Crwys Holliard's past is revealed when his lover becomes a target in a serial killer's vendetta against women who have crossed Crwys's path. Unfortunately, this also makes Crwys the prime suspect in their deaths.


Bound to You
An At Your Service Novel 1
Loveswept, May 10, 2016
eBook, 

Perfect for fans of J. Kenner, J. S. Scott, and Sylvia Day, this deeply sensual novel of pleasure and persuasion revolves around a high-stakes business deal in which the rules of negotiation are defined by desire.

Through grace, talent, and hard work, personal concierge Sophie Ashton has turned international corporate warfare into an art. But when she meets her new client, a suave CEO who radiates masculine heat, she knows this is no ordinary job. Given her painful past, Sophie tries to keep her professional relationships exactly that: professional. But Xavier Quinn is a man who knows how to get what he wants, and soon Sophie is tempted into his wicked dance of seduction.

Xavier needs Sophie’s charm and finesse to land a coveted contract with a Japanese tech mogul, yet he’s even more intrigued by the woman in front of him. He can tell that Sophie has a darkly sensual nature, that she’s been hurt before, that the passion inside of her is struggling to break free. Xavier is used to taking risks in work and in life, but the stakes have never been higher. Because the game he plays with Sophie will bind them together—or destroy them both.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.


Surrender to You (An At Your Service Novel 2) will be published on July 12, 2016.




Hanna Martine (2012)

Goddess Marked
Hanna Martine Books LLC, May 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 350 pages

William Everard was once a man of the sea. Then a terrifying incident in Egypt at the turn of the nineteenth century cast him out of the English Royal Navy and made him question his sanity. After stumbling into a hidden cave in the Nile valley, visions consumed his mind and directed his every action. When they compel him to commit theft in 1819 London, he is sentenced to the New South Wales prison colony, half a world away.

During a hellish five-month sea voyage, William is haunted by the face of a beautiful, troubled woman. He knows what he must do when he reaches Australia: Find the woman. End the visions. Regain control over his mind. But who is she?

When Sera Oliver awakes in a desolate, sun-baked land, she has no memory but her name. No possessions except the gold band with curious Egyptian symbols clamped around her arm.

She is reluctant to trust William—or anyone in this cruel, unfamiliar time and place—until an ancient enemy crosses continents and centuries to hunt her, and she must turn to William for answers, for life, and for love.

Two lives crossed, their souls knotted together…But will their connection bind the fraying strands of time or unravel the world?

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