Category Archives: Anthology

Kerbasi holiday story

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I get regular emails regarding the Kerbasi holiday story (Facing the Darkness) that I wrote for the “A Very Paranormal Holiday Anthology” back in late 2014.  This was for a collection of Christmas stories myself and five other authors wrote, all tied to our individual book series.  Earlier this year, we pulled the anthology from the retailers so Facing the Darkness has not been available since then.  I realize that new readers coming into the Sensor Series have not had a way to get it and I do apologize for that.

It had been my intention to re-release Kerbasi’s story (the only one so far told from his point of view), soon after we pulled the anthology. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I got behind on my schedule.  Before releasing Facing the Darkness on its own as a novella, I want to go back over it again to fine-tune a few things and have an editor look at it again because inevitably revisions create new typos.  I also need to get a cover designed for it.

I’m immersed in writing Forged by Flames (Dragon’s Breath #3) right now, but once it’s done I will jump over to the Kerbasi novella and work on it.  My plan is to release it at the end of November after Thanksgiving.  My apologies to everyone who is wanting this story and hasn’t had the opportunity to read it yet.  I hope you’ll find it worth the wait.  If you have any questions about it, do feel free to ask!

January 2015 updates

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UPDATE- A Very Paranormal Holiday is no longer available, but you can get the Kerbasi story (Facing the Darkness) on all major online retailers.  Amazon link here- http://amzn.to/2fGtpvq

I’ve got a few updates for you all. The first is that you can now pick up the Christmas anthology, A Very Paranormal Holiday, on the major retailers for 99 cents. It includes an all-new story from the Sensor Series with an event that will be referred back to in future books (though it’s not vitally important to the overall storyline).  There are also some other great paranormal stories in the anthology by other authors including Mark Henwick, Connie Suttle, Debra Dunbar, J.T. Bock, and J.C. Mells.  You don’t want to miss it.

You can still get it for free instead if you contact me and are willing to sign up for book release alerts, but the links are below for those who’d prefer to purchase it:

Amazon US– http://www.amazon.com/Very-Paranormal-Holiday-J-T-Bock-ebook/dp/B00S70U4FG/

Amazon UK– http://www.amazon.co.uk/Very-Paranormal-Holiday-J-T-Bock-ebook/dp/B00S70U4FG/

Barnes & Noble– http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-very-paranormal-holiday-susan-illene/1121029785?ean=2940150294042

iTunes– https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-very-paranormal-holiday/id957361001?mt=11

Kobo– http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-very-paranormal-holiday

 

I’m hard at work with Darkness Shatters and I’m shooting for a February 25th release date.  This novel will be a little different in that it switches to Lucas’ POV occasionally (with him in 3rd person).  There are certain parts of the story that just can’t be told from Melena’s perspective and I believe it makes the overall novel stronger with his viewpoint in it.  Expect the cover reveal for Darkness Shatters around February 1st. I’ll also be posting the first few chapters of the novel in a few weeks so you can get a taste of what the book will be like.

For the audiobook listeners, Darkness Divides will be out next week on the 20th and Darkness Clashes will be out on February 17th.  If you’ve been following along, please do leave a rating/review on Audible.  I’d greatly appreciate it!

Also, about the mailing list sign-ups.  I’ve got one list that is strictly for new book release alerts.  If you requested the Christmas anthology that is the one you signed up for.  The only thing you get with that one is an email on the day a new book comes out with links for where to purchase it.  Some of you have already gotten it in recent weeks with Tempting the Moon and know what I’m talking about.

If you’d also like updates on my publishing news, special giveaways, and early excerpts from future novels you will need to sign up for the newsletter.  All you have to do for that is enter your email address and name to the form on the top right corner of this webpage or click here.

That’s it for now, but feel free to ask questions below if you’ve got any.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tempting the Moon now available!

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For those of you who missed it, Tempting the Moon is now out.  Originally published in The Stroke of Midnight anthology in late 2013, it has since been revised (adding almost 2000 words to the story) and re-released on its own.  With the new year here, it’s the perfect time to pick it up!

Journey back to when Melena was still separated from Lucas and struggling to find her way in the supernatural world.  See what started the relationship between Emily and Hunter.  At 12k words this might be one of the shorter installments in the series, but it’s a story that makes every moment count. Below is the summary and retailer links:

 

Tempting the Moon cover

SUMMARY:

It’s New Year’s Eve and Melena Sanders is hoping she can survive the night without any more trouble in her life.  But then her adopted teenage daughter, Emily, confesses to a prank gone wrong.  Now her young werewolf admirer is caught in a trap on a full moon.  Melena’s got to figure out fast how to rescue him without either of them getting bitten in the process.  Of course, nothing ever goes quite how she plans…

 

It is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Germany
Amazon Australia
Amazon Canada

Barnes & Noble
Kobo
iTunes

Wishing everyone a happy new year!

 

Anthologies new and old…

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If you didn’t catch it before, the Christmas anthology is ready!  A Very Paranormal Holiday is currently not available on retailers, but you can get a free copy of it by emailing me or leaving a comment below.  Those who do so will be added to mailing lists of the participating authors so you can receive alerts for their new book releases.

With my 19k short story that is included, Facing the Darkness, you’ll see many familiar characters from the Sensor series.  There are updates on what they’ve been up to since Darkness Clashes, a revelation on Cori’s background (the tattoo artist), a fight scene, and quite a bit of character development as Kerbasi learns an important Christmas lesson.

I’m also going to be re-releasing a New Year’s story later this month.  For those of you who picked up and read The Stroke of Midnight anthology you will probably recall Tempting the Moon.  It’s often referred to as Emily’s werewolf story, though it’s told from Melena’s perspective.  The story was written between Chained by Darkness (book 2.5) and Darkness Divides (book 3).  Maybe we could call it 3.7?  That is while Lucas was still confined in Purgatory so you won’t see him in there, but you will see Micah and a few other familiar characters.

This particular anthology had a 10k word count limit on the stories included.  I still went over by about five hundred words, but it always bothered me that I couldn’t expand on some scenes further due to the limit.  Now that the anthology is being taken off retailers in a couple of days and I’m free to re-release Tempting the Moon on its own I’m fleshing some of those scenes out to make the story even better.  I’ve also had an awesome cover designed for it and written a new summary:

Tempting the Moon cover

 

SUMMARY:  It’s New Year’s Eve and Melena Sanders is hoping she can survive the night without any more trouble in her life.  But then her adopted teenage daughter, Emily, confesses to a prank gone wrong.  Now her young werewolf admirer is caught in a trap on a full moon.  Melena’s got to figure out fast how to rescue him without either of them getting bitten in the process.  Of course, nothing ever goes quite how she plans…

 

For those who didn’t read this story, you missed the turning point in Emily and Hunter’s relationship.  This is your opportunity to find out why Emily later gave him a chance.  Plus see Melena get into more trouble.

As soon as the anthology is available on retailers I’ll post links here and send a message to my release alert subscribers.  Those who have also signed up for the newsletter will be getting the first one at the end of this month with book release information and other publishing news.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

Update on Christmas anthology

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UPDATE- This anthology is no longer available.  I will be reformatting and re-releasing Facing the Darkness as a single novella late November 2016.

I’ve had several people asking about the Christmas anthology.  For those who don’t know, I’ll be participating with five other urban fantasy authors who are including short stories for the book.  They will range from between 10-20k words each.  You may recognize some of the names as they include Connie Suttle, Mark Henwick, Debra Dunbar, J.C. Mells, and J.T. Bock.  Below is the cover and the summary for my story:

path in the woods in winter“Facing the Darkness”

Kerbasi, a former guardian of Purgatory, has resisted every effort to help him find his humanity.  After forty-five hundred years of tending to his prisoners in the cruelest of ways he feels he’s above the petty concerns of mankind.  But what’s he to do when he’s charged with bringing comfort to a boy sick with cancer during the holiday season?  This is one child who just might break through that impervious wall he’s wrapped around his heart.

 

RELEASE DATE- December 20th, 2014

 

 

The anthology will be free for those who want it.  There’s just one catch.  To receive it you must agree to being added to all participating author’s book release alerts (your email won’t be used in any other way).  If you later find you’re not interested in certain ones you will be able to unsubscribe from future mailings from them.

For those who have already signed up for my book release alerts, I’ll be sending a message out on December 20th letting you know the anthology is available and confirming whether or not you want it after reminding you of the catch.  If you do, you’ll get the ebook file for the anthology right after that.  Whether you’re on my list or not, you are welcome to email me early saying you’d like to get it and that you’re fine with the stipulation.  In that case you’ll get the anthology first thing on the 20th.  Just make sure to let me know what type of ereader you use so I can send you the correct format.

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A short Q&A with further details on the story for those who would like to know more about it:

1)  Which POV will the story be told in?

Kerbasi’s

2)  What other familiar characters will be in there?

Melena (of course), Lucas, Emily, Hunter, Cori, and Kariann

3)  Will there be any action?

There is a brief fight scene.  Maybe two, depending on if you’d count it or not (sorry, no hints on that).

 

Hope everyone in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving.  Looking forward to sharing this latest installment in the Sensor Series with you!