The Raven Lady (The Faery Rehistory, #2) by Sharon Lynn Fisher – Cover Reveal and Guest Post

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Cover Reveal, fae, fairy, goat, guest post, photographer, photography, series, Sharon Lynn Fisher, woods

I am delighted to be one of the first to reveal the this beautiful new cover of Sharon Lynn Fisher’s upcoming new release The Raven Lady.

If you click the book cover, you will end up on Amazon’s page for the paperback.  As of today, the Kindle version is not available for pre-order.  So if you are like me and that is your preference – patience!

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I have much more today!  I am also pleased to welcome Sharon to Whiskey With My Book as my guest today.  One of Sharon’s hobbies is photography.  Several of her photo’s have really captured my interest, so I am delighted she is sharing some of them here today.  Welcome Sharon!

LEANING INTO MAGIC MOMENTS
by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Riley suggested that I talk a little bit about my Instagram feed, and some of the magic of the world around me that I capture with my iPhone. I am 100% here for that, because right now I think we can all use a little magic.

I started my Instagram account a few years ago, but it’s only been over the last six months or so – after attending a workshop on Instagram for authors – that I sort of figured out how I wanted to use it. I had struggled with how to make it fun for me and interesting for the people who follow me, while also supporting my author brand.

I ended up marrying my interest in fairies, fantasy, and magic with my daily life and surroundings. Sometimes that translates to cozy fireside images, and other times to images (from my family’s small farm) that have a “fairy woodland” feel, as Riley described it – and that is exactly the mental lens I’m using when I head out with my phone on my daily walk. As a result, my feed has become richly colorful, with a play of light and shadow. And I’ve learned to pay attention to things I used to pass right by.

The beautiful place I call home also comes with some real-life perils – just a few weeks before the coronavirus began to impact all our lives, a mudslide rendered my community ATV-access only. A side benefit of my Instagram activity is that it helps me to lean into the magic that is all around me, which in turn helps to keep me grounded.

Below I’m sharing some of my favorite and most popular fairy woodland posts. You can see more on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonlynnfisherauthor/

This is a decorative pumpkin from TWO years ago! It sat outside on the ground for a long time. At one point it was still fully intact, while somehow completely hollowed out – there was only a tiny hole in it. Eventually part of it caved in, and that’s when I noticed it looked like a little fairy house, and I set it under this bush. I put a bit of moss inside to attract visitors.

One of my favorite photos of the beautiful filtered light in our wood – I think it gives it an enchanted quality. Even in the dead of winter, we still have brilliant color – it’s one of the best things about living here.

This was the year I discovered shelf fungus! (It has nothing to do with old books.) I’d of course noticed these on the trees before, but this winter, searching for more color variation for my posts, I started taking a closer look. This one looks to me like a little elf hat, or possibly a nose.

Last winter I took a series of “portal” photos, and this was by far the most popular with my followers. I love the drama of it, even though when I took it my husband and I were out for a leisurely afternoon stroll.

My girls LOVE building forts in the woods. They created this one shortly after we watched a few episodes of the reality show Alone, where people get dropped off in some remote area and have to survive on their own. We dubbed this one Fairy Fort, and you can even see a shy fairy peeking out from behind the tree.

This image definitely has that magical quality I’m always going for, with the play of light and dark, and that colorful bridge to the pot of gold. It’s also the only time I’ve ever caught a snowbow on camera!

This is Dusty! And one of the most popular images on my page that does not contain a person. Isn’t she a dear little goofball? She is super friendly and curious and we adore her.

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About The Raven Lady

In the aftermath of Ireland’s battle with her ancient enemies, Queen Isolde orders her cousin, smuggler Duncan O’Malley, to assume the throne of fairy as King Finvara. He’s a fish out of water when it comes to nurturing the alliance between Ireland’s mortal and fairy peoples. And the queen wants him to wed the daughter of Ireland’s enemy, the king of Icelandic shadow elves, to help keep the peace. But the Irish think of the elves as goblins, and Finvara refuses.

Elven princess Koli, affronted by the king’s rejection—along with his decision to bring her to court as little more than a captive—vows vengeance. Shortly after her arrival, she uncovers a plot that would bring swift satisfaction. A dark and powerful fairy lord, Far Dorocha, wants to take Finvara’s crown and lead both the fairy and elven people to war against the Irish. And he wants Koli to help him.

It’s the perfect setup for revenge, but Koli soon discovers that Finvara’s not the haughty lord she believed him to be. And as she navigates treacherous waters inside the court, she gets glimpses of the magic and passion that have been slumbering inside her. She must choose a side in the new battle for Ireland—will it be the fearsome father she has served for nearly a century, or the fairy king who has helped awaken her to herself?

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Add The Raven Lady to your Goodread’s shelf:

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Pre-Order The Raven Lady:

Visiting New Orleans by Pauline Baird Jones – Guest Post With Excerpt

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exclusive excerpt, favorite series, guest post, New Orleans, new release, Pauline Baird Jones, romance

Did you know there is a new Big Uneasy book coming out tomorrow?  Perhaps the fact that Pauline Baird Jones is visiting today is a clue.  Or maybe the beautiful big cover.

A big welcome to Pauline who is here to tell us about her new release!

I’d like to thank, Riley for letting me stop by her blog and share a little about my new release!

The good times are rolling in New Orleans right now as Mardi Gras celebrations heat up. The fun began on January 6 — twelfth night — and will build until Feb 25th.

While my essential hermit-ness kept me from attending the parades in person, it was amazing to watch them on television. There is nothing quite like the sea of people with the floats rising out of those masses.

Photo Credit: jovannig from DepositPhotos

My husband and I have been gone from New Orleans almost as long as we lived there, but no one ever really leaves New Orleans. We still order a turducken for our Christmas dinner because we and our kids need to fill the house with the spicy smell of New Orleans.

And I still have to “visit” New Orleans once a year with a new Big Uneasy installment. The Baker family is hanging in there, but there are still siblings who need to find their happy ever after.

This installment focuses on Nell’s (from RELATIVELY RISKY) best friend, Sarah, and a Baker we haven’t met yet: Calvin. Like the others, he has “protect and serve” imprinted on his DNA, but he takes it a bit farther. He belongs to a SWAT team. When he indicated to me that he was Sarah’s perfect match, I was a little dubious.

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He kicks down doors, and she serves hors d’oeuvres. And the Big Uneasy delivers them both a huge helping of high-stakes danger—and a chance at romance.

A happy-ending skeptic and caterer, Sarah Burland, has a high-profile gig at a fundraiser. It’s a coup for her catering company until murder kills the party spirit and triggers a hostage situation.

SWAT Team Member Calvin Baker’s job cost him his marriage. He’s done with romance—even if he does find himself taking an interest in a family friend, Sarah, from time to time. He’s sure his feelings are platonic until he finds out she’s caught in a hostage situation.

Cal’s team affects a rescue, but Sarah’s troubles aren’t over. The victim’s friends—and enemies—keep trouble cooking, and the deeper they dig, the more confusing things get—and the more their attraction to each other grows.

Can the cook and the cop survive long enough to work out their differences? Take a ride into another installment in the engaging Big Uneasy series and find out!

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Here’s an exclusive excerpt, just for this blog:

“It’s nice,” Sarah murmured.

“What is?”

“That you are all honest. I mean, this is New Orleans. My parents were…well, they had what I’d call situational honesty. As far as I know, they never broke the law but…” she stopped.

Cal glanced at her, but her lashes were lowered behind her sunglasses. Her hands were clenched in her lap, though.

“Their friends never assume I’m honest. I’ve always wondered if that’s why” —she hesitated, then finished in a voice wiped clean of warmth— “that’s why Dimitri’s uncle first approached me to cater for him. I wondered if…”

Instinctively, Cal covered her clenched hands with one of his, his arm going around her back. “Don’t. Don’t wonder. It won’t change anything, and you’ll never know for sure.”
She’d stiffened, but he felt her slowly relax against him.

“You’re right. Of course you’re right.” He felt her deep inhale, then exhale, then her face turned up to his. Her glasses still hid her expression and her smile was tense, but it was a smile. “Thank you. I should get it stamped on a tee shirt or something.”

That last remark held real humor, if a bit on the wry side.

“Is that what girls do these days?” he asked, hoping to get the humor going. “Helen was always stitching things on pillows and stuff and putting them in our rooms. She had a lot of hope.”

Sarah’s smile widened into something that dang near stole the air from his lungs. “My mom had people for that.”

Now Cal laughed too, and somehow, in the laughing, his arm got further around her. It didn’t even scare him because it felt so right. Only thing that would have been better was his mouth against hers. He looked at her mouth, grateful for his sunglasses that hid from her what he wanted, what he wanted so much it might have been a need.

It was only the unexpected sound of a car pulling to a stop behind the Hummer that stopped him from turning thought into action. He half turned to look, but the profile of the Hummer was too high. He felt his spidey sense tingling, and turned, the weapon he always carried appearing in the hand no longer cupped around Sarah’s waist.

Doors opened. There was the crunch of footsteps and then a man came into view. He heard Sarah’s sharply indrawn breath and he might have echoed it.

The intruder was a younger version of Dimitri Afoniki.

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I hope you enjoyed the excerpt and will check out the series! Thanks again for having me here, Riley! You can buy FAIS DO DO DIE at

Amazon          Apple          Kobo          Nook          GooglePlay

or find out more on Pauline’s website  or on Goodreads.

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About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author Pauline Baird Jones never liked reality, so she writes books. She likes to wander among the genres, rampaging like Godzilla, because she does love peril mixed in her romance. Loves chocolate, bacon, flamingoes, and mid-century modern anything. You can find her on the following social media:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Bookbub

Marie Dry, Author of Alien Redeemed – Guest Post with Excerpt

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alien world, aliens, excerpt, guest post, Marie Dry, new release, scifi romance, series

Today author Marie Dry is here to tell us about her new book, Alien Redeemed. If you have read any of the Zyrgin Warrior series you know the tales of cross-species romances to be full of trial, tribulation, heart and humor. If you haven’t read any of the series, maybe this would be a good day to start!  In order to entice you, Marie is giving us a glimpse of chapter 1…..

Guest Post by Marie Dry

Writing Alien Redeemed was a journey of epic proportions. At one stage I even started to draft, in my head, the facebook post I would put up saying I won’t be able to finish Alien Redeemed.

Going in, I had a lot of it written and I thought this one would at least be easy to write. Famous last words! I deleted most of what I had and started again. And again, and again. It took me a while and a lunch with a psychologist to realize that I was so focused on what Sarah went through in the raider camps that I wasn’t telling the story. What happened now.

That’s when the story slowly started to come together and she and Zaar suddenly had chemistry and sparked off each other. I planned to tie a lot of loose ends with this book, and I did, but there are still a lot happening that will be told in the Zyrgin scars series. Before I started this book, I had already planned to have a series with the Zyrgins in Time novellas. Then a series with Zacar’s brothers that will be set in the unclaimed galaxies. And also a series that will kick off with Zorlof, Natalie’s son. She is the heroine in the first book. The scars took me by surprise and I can’t wait to explore their characters.

I hope everyone enjoys reading Alien Redeemed as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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About Alien Redeemed

On a harsh alien planet, in a faraway galaxy, Sarah, a gentle human woman, is determined to start a new life, far away from the hardship she endured on Earth and the pitying glances of her friends.

Once on Zyrgin, Sarah finds that, instead of being the empress and helpmeet at the side of the Zyrgin leader, she is merely his breeder. She is trapped in a gilded cage, not allowed to go out and interact with the other women on the planet, until she’s proven her loyalty to the empire by birthing Zaar’s child. After her traumatic experiences in the raider camps, and the resultant PTSD, Sarah doubts she could ever make love to her Zyrgin warrior.

Zaar assures her he has a superior plan to cure her of her problem. But is he able to reach through all the barriers Sarah has erected against true intimacy?

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Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Alien Redeemed

(Zaar is watching Sarah while camoflaged……)

“If you can’t spin and kick yet, turn as fast as you can, and kick hard, and with meaning,” the instructor on the TC program said. Zyrgins never gave conquered planets their technology. They improved existing technologies if it was necessary for the smooth running of the planet. The TC that allowed the humans to watch programs and badly reported news, was the most primitive of all the technologies they’d encountered. That went for the instructor of this so-called exercise program, as well. Why did she want to learn anything from this human male that had no muscles and no fighting skills?

Breathing hard, Sarah paused the program and adjusted her stance again. “Julia’s right, I need more exercise,” she mumbled and played the clip again. Sarah turned and kicked. “Take that, Destiny,” she screamed at the same time the solid thwack sounded as her foot connected. Zaar didn’t know which of them was more surprised when her heel hit his groin.

His breeder jumped around on one leg. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.” She stumbled back from him. “What the h… What happened?”

Zaar made himself visible.

She looked up at him and whimpered and scrambled away. “Where did you come from?” Then that Zyrgin-like spirit he’d observed in her several times, stopped her in her tracks. She lifted her head and stood her ground, her gaze flicking from his jacket to his face.

“Who is Destiny?” he asked. His breeder will not have relations with a human male.

She made lines on her forehead again and then touched her hair. “Someone I’m going to kill,” she replied. “How did you get in here?” She moved away from him, in the direction of the door. “And why didn’t I see you enter? I faced the door the whole time.”

He glanced at the corner where the TC still played the exercise program and then looked her up and down. “You do not have the skill to kill this Destiny. It would be better if a superior Zyrgin warrior like me killed him for you.”

She gave a strange laugh. “Oh, I think I can kick his butt without any help.”

“You are small and weak and your fighting skills are inadequate.” He glared at the instructor, still showing off his marshall skills. “Learning from an inferior male like that will not help you. You need a warrior.”

Her face leaked of color, becoming as white as the clouds in the Earth sky. “I don’t need a warrior; I don’t need anyone.” She smoothed her hands over her jeans, all the while watching him with those jewel eyes. “You haven’t told me how you got in here and who you are. I will call Zacar if you take one step closer,” she threatened. Her gaze went to the door, measuring the distance.

“Zacar is under my command and I can be anywhere I want and calling him will not help you.” He ignored the way she trembled and looked her up and down.” You are too puny to kill this Destiny. I will kill him for you.”

She wrung her hands. “You don’t understand, Destiny is—”

She stopped talking and bit her lip. “Thank you, but I can kick his butt,” she said. What was she going to say about this Destiny? Was it a male she met in secret? She inched to the left, still giving the door those furtive glances.

“You won’t make it,” he said gently, not wanting to scare her. But he wasn’t about to allow her to run out, screaming for the guards or Zacar.

She froze and for a moment he saw sheer terror on her face. He’d seen it on many alien faces during his many conquest campaigns. He didn’t want that look on her face when she looked at him.

She took another step back, but pointed her chin at him. “You have no right to invade my privacy like this. Who do you think you are?”

“I am the Zyrgin,” he told her. Obviously, she didn’t understand when he’d told her before.

“I know you’re a Zyrgin,” she added under her breath. “Did he think I missed the green-and-copper skin, bulging muscles, ridge on his head, and those odd eyes?”
Zaar decided to never tell her how good his hearing was. He enjoyed listening to her strange ramblings.

“The Zyrgin,” he corrected.

She rocked back a little, as if the truth had hit her. She touched the band that held her hair together, then plucked at her shirt. She took two more steps back, her eyes so wide, it looked like Earth viewed from space. “You’re the emperor?”

“The correct title is Parenadorz, but you can address me as my leader.”

“If you’re the Parenz-whatever, how can you be here? Julia said it takes a year for your ships to reach us. Surely you can’t just leave everything to travel to Earth to talk to one insignificant human.” She said that pointedly, as if she wanted to convince him she was of no importance.

“Your feeble human mind cannot comprehend my powers and how I can be here,” he told her and she narrowed her eyes at him.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe. “Why don’t you try explaining it to me? My feeble human brain might surprise you.” She trembled so much, he was surprised her thin limbs didn’t rattle together. But she was brave, standing her ground. He was impressed that she tapped her toes at him, in spite of her fear.

“I do not need to explain anything to you. But you should know that you are the least insignificant human on this planet. As my breeder you have a status above all others.” He knew what impressed breeders. The next time he came, he’d bring jewels and silk clothes. And strings of silk to replace her peasant silk.

“B…breeder?” she stammered. And then in that undertone: “So that’s what Julia talked about? Wonder how she knew?” She sounded disappointed, as if she thought her friend had betrayed her.

“I give you the privilege to become my breeder.” He manifested and presented the gold eduki pelt.

“What’s that?”

“It is the pelt of the eduki that I hunted and killed with my bare hands. You are now my breeder.” Zaar had resolved never to do this again, and yet he felt a savage satisfaction at knowing she belonged to him now.

She shook her head, her hair swinging back and forth. She ran to the door, but he’d programed it to stay close while he was with her. “No, no, no! Not again, never again.” She slammed her hands against the door.

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About the Author

Ever since she can remember Marie Dry wanted to travel. She lived in Zambia, Morocco and Spain and did short stints in Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Rome, Brazil, Portugal, Botswana and Mozambique. Through all the travelling reading romance has been a constant.

She read romances since she was nine and was fairly young when she decided she would write a story that had all the elements she looked for in a romance. Her first book was published in 2014.

There are several wonderful moments in her life that she would never trade for anything. One of them is meeting President Nelson Mandela and the second being published.

Find Marie here:

Website: http://www.mariedry.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariedryauthor/
Twitter: @MarieDry1

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Links

Add Alien Redeemed to your Goodreads shelf:

 

Purchase Alien Redeemed on Amazon:

If you prefer a different retailer, Marie will be sharing links to other retail sites on her Facebook page and website.