Friday, April 18, 2025

Omega’s Choice

 

Omega’s Choice
Michelle Minnie
(The Omega Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: March 27th 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Helena has led an often restrictive life as a sacred Omega wolf and Princess of the Lichtenberg line. With unimaginable power, come responsibilities and dangers that fill her days, but the time has come for her to choose her Alpha and enjoy the freedom of her very own pack. Alpha Aldric Forst has been seriously scarred in numerous battles for his King while leading armies in the fight to protect their lands from the growing evil. Knowing his ability to attract an Omega mate was slim and he’d resigned himself to a life of loneliness filled with duty to his pack and King Leonidas.

Princess Helena has other ideas for the massive wolf, who both intrigues and sets her heart on fire. At the choosing ceremony, she intends to make her intentions of mating with Aldric Frost known to all. However, an evil is lurking inside the castle walls waiting for its chance to steal away the Princess and as many other Omega wolves as possible. Can Aldric uncover the traitor in time or are the lonely Alpha’s dreams destined to remain just that, dreams.

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EXCERPT:

I’m not planning on attending this year.” Aldric crumpled the offending piece of paper and threw it into the trash can beside his desk. “I refuse to parade around in hope of being chosen when we all know that’s not going to happen.” He stopped pacing long enough to point out the large scar that ran from his left temple across his cheek to his chin and down his neck before disappearing into his shirt.

“Brother, you’re the alpha of our pack and it’s your duty to attend this gathering. Not only is it a decree by King Leonidas, but who is to say an omega won’t choose you. You’re a respected and strong alpha, our pack is large, and we have our

own town and over five hundred acres of wooded

lands to let our wolves run free without fear.

There are a lot of benefits to becoming the alpha

mate and omega to our people.” Godric stood

and retrieved the invitation from the garbage,

flattening it out on the desk as best he could and

handing it back to Aldric.

“Your brother is right, son. You must attend.

We have a strong relationship with the king and

queen, which has been fortuitous since our lands

touch on their northern borders. To refuse an invitation

to the yearly Omegas Celebration by any

unmated alpha would be an insult.” Aldric’s father,

Karl, stood and placed his hand on his son’s back.

“I know it has been hard for you, son, since Senorfra.

That battle claimed far too many of our brave

men, but bless the gods you survived, protected

our king, and came back to us.”

Admittedly, it was odd that even in this modern

age of convenience and technology, most

supernatural beings lived by the old code of fealty,

honor, and loyalty. Considering most lived to be

well over one thousand years, having rules to live

by and a king to follow ensured the safety and

health of all werewolves.

“True, we fought bravely and many men never

returned from that damned forest, but the rest of

us came back scarred in one way or another. My

scars cover my body, and there’s no omega out

there who will choose me. When will any of you

see this? Omegas are rare and wield powerful

magic. They can pick any alpha and any pack they

wish and be given anything they desire because of

the blessings they will bring to that pack. I’m not

saying that an omega doesn’t deserve such things,

but none would want a battle-scarred alpha, no

matter how wealthy or strong our pack is. Perhaps

if Godric went, he—”

“No, don’t even finish that sentence. I am no

alpha, brother. I couldn’t even dream of taking

your place. This pack—hell, the entire town looks

to you for leadership. You have given all of them

a safe place to live and thrive with their families. I

respect you, brother. You will always be my alpha.”

Aldric stared at his reflection in the window.

He knew he was a scary-looking man; his wolf

was even more imposing. His human form stood

at 6’7” and weighed over 280 pounds of muscle,

which had been hard earned through his years as

a general in King Leonidas’s army before the war

ended and Aldric had settled with his family and

pack on these lands. His black hair was braided

halfway down his back, just as his father’s and

brother’s, but his dark blue eyes came from his

mother. Tattoos covered his right arm, wrist to

shoulder blade, depicting his family lineage and

his position as alpha. They revealed themselves

on the day Aldric assumed his position as alpha.

Should he ever be chosen as mate, his blank left

arm would reveal his mating tattoo, indicating the

lineage of his mate, their joining, and any future

offspring. The tattoos his kind wore could not

be given by their own hands or magic; they were

given by the gods, either at birth or upon claiming

their birthright.

Aldric knew in his heart that his left arm would

always remain bare. His great size alone would be

a deterrent to most omegas, who typically feared

a larger predator, but the scars from his many

battles that littered his body made sure to keep

all would-be mates away. Normally, a werewolf

could heal most injuries without leaving so much

as a scratch, but the ogres had coated their blades

with dark witches’ blood, which was poisonous to

all werewolves and much more difficult to heal,

leaving many warriors with these scars.

He just couldn’t figure out why his family chose

to ignore these facts and continued to make him

attend these celebrations, which allowed omegas

of age who had come into their powers to choose

an alpha as mate.


Author Bio:

Michelle grew up with a love of reading and writing as most authors do but her desire for action and adventure led her to create worlds far different from her own. With creatures of myth and legend, as well as from her imagination, Michelle crafted entire universes into her pages where she brings her characters to life in a stunning array from shifters, witches, demons, ogres, gods, fae, fairy, and dragon, to countless more. Hold on tight as her high fantasy stories take you on journeys to faraway lands where nothing is as it seems.

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Cowboy Watch

 

 


Someone—or something—wants Kellen out of town . . .


Kellen Brand’s inheritance comes as a monumental shock—

a rundown farm she doesn’t want and one paroled Watcher all her own.


Cowboy Watch

The Watchers Book 1

by Petie McCarty

Genre: Paranormal Small-Town Romantic Suspense



The Watchers Series—

Fallen angels cast out of heaven by the archangel Michael for coercing with Satan to gain control. Some of these turncoats—duped late in the game by Satan's lies—doubled back to seek redemption for their unwitting betrayal.  Offered parole in exchange for penance, these Watchers are given the toughest bodyguard missions with little leeway for success.
One last chance.
These are their stories . . .
 
  


Someone—or something—wants Kellen out of town . . .
 
 Kellen Brand's inheritance comes as a monumental shock—a rundown farm she doesn't want and one paroled Watcher all her own. Kellen's eccentric mother believed Watchers to be fallen angels seeking penance by guarding individuals who had lost their way. Seriously? A Watcher?
Only her mother  . . . 
 
Since Kellen vows no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she's on a mission to dump the old farm fast and to the first buyer who comes along. Unfortunately for her, the only buyer is a resort developer, spurned by a townful of objectors and one handsome cowboy—her neighbor, Luke Thornton. Luke must block Kellen's farm sale or risk exposure of his own family's secrets. He can ill afford his immediate and compelling attraction to his new neighbor.
 
Someone is watching Kellen, but not who she thinks. Someone deadly and intent on scaring her out of town. Or worse. Luke has a hellish choice to make—step in and rescue Kellen from her threats, or to protect his family, stand by and watch . . .

 

**On Sale for Only $1.99 for a limited time!**

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Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The  Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time. 

These days Petie spends her time writing new Cinderella series tales, her new The Watchers series, sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones to go along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who will make a cameo appearance in the upcoming Book 2 of The Watchers series, Christmas Watch

 

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Shadowed Skies

 

 


His mountain solitude shattered. 

Her lab prison escaped. 

Together they’ll find refuge or die trying.


Shadowed Skies

by Haley Cavanagh

Genre: YA Clean Dystopian SciFi Fantasy Romance



Hunted for their blood. Fighting for their future.

 

River

He’s the last of his kind, a winged warrior hidden in the mountains. River Shaw has lost everything: his sanctuary, the only shield from a world that fears and hunts him. When Delene, another of his kind, crash-lands into his life, wounded and on the run, his solitude is shattered.

Delene

She’s a fugitive with a secret, escaping the clutches of dark forces that took everything from her. Delene Fairborne’s flight to freedom leads her to River and the spark of a bond neither can deny.

In a landscape scarred by betrayal and danger, River and Delene must navigate their growing feelings and the sinister scientist who will stop at nothing to harness their power. Shadowed Skies is where love takes wing, hope soars, and destiny entwines. Dive into a world where every heartbeat is a rebellion, every glance a promise, and every flight a taste of freedom.

 

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Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She was awarded the League of Utah Writers 2020 Silver Quill Award for Retaliation, the second novel in her Oceanstone Initiative series. Haley is an alumna of Columbia College, a musical theater nut, and she loves to dive into any book that crosses her path. Haley resides with her family in the United States and enjoys spending time with her husband and children when she’s not writing. She loves to hear from her readers and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.

 

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Thursday, April 17, 2025

SMOKE & MIRRORS

 



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Joanie Olson will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Searching for an answer to a question you haven't asked yet? You are not alone. One small realization and a whole world unravels.

Woven through these pages are a series of my most significant life events relating to narcissistic victim/survivor syndrome. Inside are keys unlocking mysteries of complex PTSD, compounded through various forms of abuse.

A journey of highs, like the Freedom Convoy, and the lows of a failed longtime marriage. With spiritual forces at work behind the scenes, could a Christian home have so many secrets? The smoke will clear to reveal our true mirrored self.


Read an Excerpt

I was paralyzed, not just by fear but by dread and over exhaustion. It felt as though given the opportunity I could sleep for days, yet struggled to find rest. I relied on prescribed meds, and the morning was showing the outcome of dependence. Irish cream was a favorite to put in my first cups of coffee for added motivation. As nice as this hotel was, there was no minibar to ease the angst.

I was immobilized, unable to move, begging God to take me. How can I do this? How can I manage the full brunt of this day without any of the vices that helped me survive for some time?

I turned on the TV, made some hotel room coffee and laid there motionless, praying for the Lord to take me home. A text came in from my office manager, Sharon, a reserved woman who I had a sincere bond with. She encouraged me daily, and I valued her advice.

“Hey girlie, how are you doing over there?”

My response was as she suspected. She knew how hard the meetings were for me. She was my closest confidant, a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Such a blessing to me, she was gifted with an ear to listen, non-judgmental and caring. She loved me and I loved her right back.

I told her about forgetting my pills and couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t do anything. Her response was comforting. She said, “Then don’t, don’t go. Do what you need to do. Take care of yourself and don’t worry about the rest.” Her approval in this seemed to sooth my soul. She made me self-aware that I DID have the power to not go if I didn’t want to. I could just say I wasn’t feeling well, but something inside me won’t give up. I can’t give in to negative, intrusive thoughts just waiting for my demise.

About the Author: Joanie was raised on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Life revolved around chores, school and church. Six older siblings and all the nieces and nephews added up to a large family.

Strong in doctrine and armed with a passion for truth, she's walked the walk of faith, facing challenges to overcome. She was married at 19, became a mother to a stepdaughter, and later birthed two children. Following years of turmoil in her marriage, she hit the inevitable breaking point.

Starting life over, she attended broadcasting college, going on to anchor morning news for the airwaves. Feeling isolated and rejected, her drive to help others who have gone through similar circumstances inspired this book. Through the Refiners fire, she's ready to share tools required to escape the fake and embrace the truth.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/1779624719
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54144406.Joanie_Olson

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AFTER PEARL by Stephen G. Eoannou

 

After Pearl by Stephen G. Eoannou Banner

AFTER PEARL

by Stephen G. Eoannou

April 14 - May 9, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

After Pearl by Stephen G. Eoannou

A Nicholas Bishop Mystery

 

1942. War rages in Europe. Pearl Harbor still smolders. And alcoholic private eye Nicholas Bishop wakes up on a hotel room floor with two slugs missing from his .38 revolver. The cops think he’s murdered lounge singer Pearl DuGaye, mobsters think he saw something he shouldn’t have, and Bishop remembers nothing…

Together with his indomitable assistant Gia Alessi, who he may or may not have fired, a WWI vet who often flashes back to 1918, and a one-eyed female dog named Jake, Bishop tries to piece together the events that took place during his disastrous five-day bender. Along the way, he stumbles across a dirty politician, a socialite and her unfaithful husband, and a cabal of American Nazis who are undoubtedly up to no good.

Written in the spirit of classic noir, Eoannou adds his own unique voice and flair to the genre in this, the first action-packed outing of the Nicholas Bishop Mysteries…

Praise for After Pearl:

"...thanks to Stephen Eoannou, Buffalo has a hard-boiled detective to call its own. Say hello to the irrepressible Nicholas Bishop"
~ Tim Wendel, Author of Rebel Falls

"After Pearl is a wonderfully rendered hard-boiled historical mystery reminiscent of Chandler's Marlowe novels."
~ Bruce Robert Coffin, International Bestselling author of The Turner and Mosley Files

"Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammett would be proud of this next generation author who takes their styles and not only matches them but adds his own unique flair and voice to the genre. This is a novel dying to be made into a movie."
~ Historical Fiction Company 5 Star Review

AFTER PEARL Trailer:

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Noir
Published by: Santa Fe Writers Project
Publication Date: May 1, 2025
Number of Pages: 260
ISBN: 9781951631475 (ISBN10: 1951631471)
Series: A Nicholas Bishop Mystery, Book 1
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Talking Leaves Books

Read an excerpt:

Chapter 1

Nicholas Bishop named the one-eyed dog Jake even though she was female. Jake seemed like a good name for a pup missing an eye. He couldn’t remember where the mutt had come from. When he awoke on the floor of his room at The Lafayette Hotel, she sat close by, giving him a single eye stare. Strong odds said he stole the dog. She didn’t weigh much, maybe ten pounds, easy enough to scoop under his arm as he staggered home.

He struggled to a sitting position and waited for the room to stop teetering. Vertebrae ground together as he rolled his head, hoping that would end the pounding between his ears. It didn’t. He massaged his closed eyelids. The corneas felt swollen beneath his fingertips. Jake watched all this, never once taking her eye off him.

Bishop took inventory when the world righted itself. Rubbing his chin, whiskers whispered against palm. He tried to guess how long it’d been since he’d shaved. Two days? Three? His shirt cuff was dirty and frayed. He pushed it higher on his arm. The Bulova was still on his wrist, the crystal cracked, hands frozen at 2:30. His pewter-handled cane was on the floor next to an empty bottle of Four Roses. The pain in his right foot stabbed sharper than usual. He wondered if it would swell when he unlaced his shoe. No memory of reinjuring it came to him. He patted his suitcoat and felt his wallet in the inside pocket and the .38 Detective Special holstered near his heart. The wallet was empty. There were four slugs in the snub nose. Not six. He sniffed. It had been fired.

He crawled to bed and pulled himself on the mattress, not bothering with his clothes. Jake hopped up, circled twice, then settled by the footboard, keeping her eye on Bishop as if her doubts about him were increasing now that he was conscious.

Memories were slivered as he tried to recall when he had fired the gun:

Day drinking at the Kitty Kat.

The revolving bar at The Chez Ami.

Perfume.

A blonde.

A car ride.

No recollections about a one-eyed dog or gunshots.

He checked the .38 again. Who had he fired at? Had he hit them? Killed them?

The ringing phone was an ice pick to his ear. The only way to stop the pain was by answering.

“Hello,” Bishop said, his voice raspy.

“Coppers.”

It took a heartbeat for the desk clerk’s voice to register. The line died. When it did, Bishop slammed the receiver into its cradle and swung his legs to the floor. The world again tottered. He swallowed bile until his swollen eyes teared. His damaged foot bore weight but each metatarsal sent ripples of agony with each step. He retrieved his cane and hat from the floor without toppling, something he considered miraculous, and felt grateful to the angel or demon in charge of keeping crippled detectives upright.

The hallway was deserted. He limped to the stairwell before the elevator full of cops arrived at his floor. Bishop didn’t mind talking to the police, but he wanted to know what they were after before he did, certain it had nothing to do with a stolen dog but everything to do with two fired slugs. Guilt, thick and dark, oozed through him but he couldn’t tell if it was old remorse or something new, heavier.

It was slow going down the stairs. He couldn’t outrace the fattest cop, not with his 4-F foot. He gripped the railing and leaned on the cane as he eased down each step, moving like a man much older than thirty. Jake waited on the landing, tilting her head as if to listen for shouts or thunderous feet descending from the floors above. There were none.

Was Buffalo’s Finest tossing his room, rifling through drawers, pulling suits from hangers, checking pockets for…what? His gun? He wished he could walk into The Allendale Theater, buy a nickel bag of popcorn, and watch the last few days of his life projected on the silver screen, certain it would be more informative than any newsreel.

When he reached the ground floor, he pushed open the fire exit and was blinded by sunshine reflected off the sidewalk and car fenders.

So, it’s afternoon, he thought. But was it Monday or Tuesday? Bishop raised his hand to shield his eyes. He didn’t see his Packard anywhere.

Benny The Junk Man stood by the hotel’s dented garbage cans. His cart was loaded with the day’s salvaged items—bundled rags, andirons, dresses, blouses. The clothing looked newer and of better quality than what Benny usually found. Bishop wondered if they’d been pulled from clotheslines. Unlike the mean drunks and meaner children who tormented him, Bishop knew Benny wasn’t stupid. He’d left the best part of himself in the Argonne still fighting that battle two decades later. He spent his days pushing his cart through the streets, crisscrossing Buffalo, searching for discarded treasures. His body passed through alleys rummaging for things to pawn, but what remained of his mind was mired in that burning forest surrounded by the dead and dying. Still, Benny sometimes saw and heard things that were real:

A woman got her purse snatched on Genesee Street.

There was a new girl, a real doll face, working at the Michigan Avenue brothel.

A big card game was going on above The New Genesee Restaurant.

He would whisper these truths to Bishop, and the shamus would pay for the information—a quarter, fifty cents, maybe a buck—even if it had nothing to do with the case he was working. Other times Bishop asked him to keep an eye out for a certain car or dame—nobody paid attention to a junk man lingering on a corner, just like no one had paid attention to a fifteen-year-old Bishop when he’d started working the streets. The information that Benny provided that was relevant to Bishop’s investigation was worth a fin or more—a fortune to a rag collector. Benny was still the good soldier, putting the mission first, and most times getting information the gimpy detective needed. Jake sniffed the junk man’s unlaced army boots.

“Benny, what do you know? What do you hear?”

Benny turned from the garbage pails and squinted as if trying to pick Bishop out of a crowd of gathering ghosts. Recognition registered in stages from the top down—brow wrinkled, eyes widened, mouth curved to a smile. “I didn’t know you had a dog, Bishop.”

“You see her, too?”

The junk man wasn’t sure how to answer.

“Have you seen my car, Benny? The Packard?”

“Your car?”

“The green convertible.”

Benny looked around the hotel alleyway and down Ellicott Street. “There’s no green car here, Bishop.”

“Keep your eyes open for it, all right? You know which one it is, don’t you? Let me know if you spot it.”

“You think someone stole your green car?”

“It’s probably parked in front of The Kitty Kat or The Chez. Hopefully, it’s not in a ditch somewhere.”

“Why would you leave your car in a ditch, Bishop?”

“For safekeeping,” Bishop said. “Say, you hear anything about a shooting or why the cops are looking for me?”

“I haven’t heard about those things.”

“Okay, maybe it’s nothing. But if you hear something or find my car, you come tell me. If I’m not here, leave a message with Corbett at the front desk.”

Benny saluted, his hand slicing the air as sharp as it had in 1918.

“Good man. Carry on,” Bishop said, and the junk man resumed rummaging through the garbage pails.

It was a four-block limp to The Kitty Kat to hunt for his car. Bishop wasn’t sure he could make it. He was considering sticking out his thumb when Lieutenant Darcy rounded the corner. His face, flushed pink from the heat, broke into a wide grin when he saw Bishop.

“Rats are always in alleys, but I found a weasel. You think you can outrun the law with that crippled foot, Bishop?”

“I’m not running, Lieutenant. I’m walking my dog.”

“That’s a dog? It’s in worse shape than you.”

“Me and Jake aren’t morning people.”

“Morning people? The day’s half done, Bishop.”

“Time flies.”

“Not in prison it don’t. Which is where you’re headed, draft dodger.”

Bishop winced and hoped it didn’t show. “Is sleeping late a crime?”

“No, but murder is. What do you know about Pearl DuGaye, smart guy?”

“Never heard of heard of her. Who is she?”

“A singer from The Chez Ami gone missing. We found her purse not far from here. Cleaned out, of course, except for one thing.”

“Trolley fare?”

“Your business card.” Darcy pulled out the card and read, “Bishop Investigations. Civil. Criminal. Missing Persons Located. Licensed and Bonded. Who the hell would bond a coward like you?”

Bishop took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “When did this DuGaye woman go missing?”

“Saturday.”

“What’s today?”

“Thursday.”

Jesus.

Darcy wiped his face with a handkerchief. “Funny you never heard of her. Not only was your card in her purse, I got a revolving bar full of people at The Chez Ami who saw you two together. They say you weren’t exactly acting like brother and sister.”

“You ever seen my sister, Lieutenant? She’s a looker.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you. I wouldn’t put anything past a guy who sticks his foot in front of a moving taxi to keep out of the army. Were you working for DuGaye or just working her?”

“I honestly can’t say, Lieutenant,” Bishop said, and wondered if she was blonde.

“If she hired you to protect her, it looks like you did your usual swell job. Speaking of which, how’s business?”

“It pays the light bill.”

“Not at your office it don’t. Heard you had to close that down. Got rid of that good-looking secretary, too. Lucky Teddy Thurston must be rolling in his grave.”

“I work out of The Lafayette now. Teddy would be fine with that.”

“The hell he would. Only whores work out of hotels. Funny how business dried up on you. I guess folks who lost husbands and sons on December seventh and at Bataan don’t want to hire a chicken-shit Jap lover. Makes me wonder why DuGaye hired you. She must be as shady as Fat Ira. I read you work for him these days.”

“I hear you work for Joey Bones. Have been for a long time.”

Darcy took a step forward and jabbed a finger at Bishop. “Listen, you crippled shit. If this Pearl DuGaye shows up dead, I’m pinning it on you. I got a nice frame already picked out.”

“Pleasure talking to you, Lieutenant, but I’m late for an appointment.”

“With which bottle?”

“Say hello to Joey for me.”

“Watch out for taxis, weasel. Wouldn’t want you to have two crippled feet.”

Bishop caned his way down Ellicott as Jake trotted ahead. The sun was hot on his neck. He could smell bourbon seeping through his pores. His stomach cramped and he wondered when he’d last eaten, uncertain he could keep anything down if he ate now. Guilt weighed on him, its cause remained unclear.

***

Excerpt from After Pearl by Stephen G. Eoannou. Copyright 2025 by Stephen G. Eoannou. Reproduced with permission from Stephen G. Eoannou. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Stephen G. Eoannou

Stephen G. Eoannou is the author of the award-winning short story collection Muscle Cars and the novels Rook, Yesteryear, and After Pearl. He holds an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte and an MA from Miami University. He has been awarded an Honor Certificate from The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Best Short Screenplay Award at the 36th Denver Film Festival. His latest novel, Yesteryear, was awarded the 2021 International Eyelands Award for Best Historical Novel, The Firebird Book Award for Biographical Fiction, and Shelf Unbound’s Notable Indy Books of 2023. He lives and writes in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, the setting and inspiration for much of his work.

Catch Up With Stephen G. Eoannou:

www.SGEoannou.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub - @seoannou
YouTube - @stepheneoannou341
X - @StephenGEoannou
Facebook - @steve.eoannou

 

 

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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

The Sculptor Series

 

 


The harder you try to escape, the more darkness pulls you under.


Oblivion Black

The Sculptor Book 1

by Christa Wojciechowski

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Dark Romantic Suspense



LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD WINNER

 

The harder you try to escape, the more darkness pulls you under.

 

Art school dropout Ona Price is forced to clean up after a near-fatal overdose on a Manhattan sidewalk. While in recovery, she lands a job as the assistant to Antoni Azarov, the world-famous sculptor known as The Hands of God. Though he is difficult and brooding, his extraordinary talent reawakens Ona's passion for art, giving her life the meaning she so desperately craved. An undeniable attraction develops as they work together, but Antoni keeps his physical distance at all costs. When the predatory wife of a wealthy benefactor decides she wants the sculptor for herself, the monstrous secret that fuels Antoni’s art threatens to destroy all.

Oblivion Black is a lush transgressive fairy tale with the Gothic appeal of a Brontë novel. Literary fiction, romance, and thriller fans will appreciate this intense dive into existential confusion, intoxication, eroticism, and the volatile power of beauty.

 

**Only .99cents!**

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Hierarchy of Needs

The Sculptor Book 2



When self-destruction is the only way out ...

World-famous sculptor Antoni Azarov, and his muse, Ona Price are ripped apart after a shocking act of violence sends them into their own personal hells.

Trapped in Manhattan, Ona faces her most treacherous enemy, her addiction to heroin, while a dangerous new man claims her desire.

Antoni, an artist defamed, is hellbent on saving Ona before she destroys herself. What he doesn’t know is if she wants to be rescued.

Meanwhile, death haunts them on every corner as a vengeful crime boss called Warlock devours the city, poisoning its addicted population with a flesh-eating drug.

Amid this chaos, Ona and Antoni must struggle against their darkest selves to find a way back to each other—or else give in to the darkness forever.

The propulsive sequel to Oblivion Black, Hierarchy of Needs is an intoxicating exploration of the paradox of love, the chokehold of desire, and the deadly thrills of the underworld. This second book in The Sculptor Series will leave readers fiending for more.

 

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Darklands

The Sculptor Book 3



The intoxicating finale to The Sculptor Series ... 

 

After cheating death in New York, Ona Price's battle scars run deeper than her disfigured face. Antoni Azarov orchestrates a journey to jolt them out of their artistic dead zone. From the boozy streets of New Orleans to the sultry shores of a Caribbean archipelago, they explore forbidden desires, testing the limits of pleasure and pain.

No matter where their experiences take them, their personal demons hunt them down until their journey ends on a remote lagoon called the Darklands. Will their love survive the dark secrets that threaten to tear them apart, or will the Darklands become the ultimate test of their commitment?

Unveil the dangerous beauty of Darklands, where the human psyche unravels in a sensuous journey that will leave you breathless.

"Darklands is a hair-raising conclusion to The Sculptor trilogy. It reads like a David Lynch erotic fever dream that constantly veers close to the edge of nightmare, ending with a spiritual awakening of biblical proportions. I wept. Adapt this into a movie at once." —Joseph Sale, author of The Book of Thrice Dead

 

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Christa Wojciechowski is an American dark fiction writer who has lived most her career abroad. She is the author of The Sculptor Series, The SICK Series, and the founder of the Writers Mastermind virtual writing community.

 Christa’s novella “Popsicle” (Crystal Lake) was a semi-finalist in Screencraft’s Cinematic Short Story Competition and second rounder in the Launch Pad Prose Competition. Her short stories have appeared in various publications and anthologies, most recently “Blood Sisters” in the Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas (Hex Publishers), “Observer Dependent Universe” in the Chiral Mad 5 anthology (Written Backwards), and “The Oasis” selected for the Chromophobia anthology (Strangehouse Books).

 Christa Wojciechowski is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and editor at Gamut Magazine. She loves to play Chopin (badly) and sip Hendrick’s gin. When she is not reading or writing, she can be found wandering the world, collecting new experiences.

 

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Tuesday, April 15, 2025

BEING BROKEN

 



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Geoffrey R. Jonas will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


A young woman dies alone in a hotel room, her fentanyl-poisoned cocaine still on the desk. She had been missing for nearly 2 weeks. Social Services had been trying to find a place for her to live with her 3-year-old son, whom she had left with her parents. Six months later her father fights for his life in intensive care, but succumbs to his illness because of a lifelong use of alcohol and tobacco. A month after his death her mother is assessed by doctors to be unable to care for herself because of her Alzheimer's and mental health issues brought on by benzodiazepine and alcohol addiction.

The son, brother, stepson is the only one left to pick up the pieces. He begins a journey of the self and finds out the truth of his family. After going over letters, notes, emails, videos, and text messages, he uncovers a disturbing picture of the abuse his sister suffered at the hands of their parents. He also begins to better understand his own struggles with mental health and substance addiction because of the trauma and abuse he also suffered from their parents.

Follow the son as he looks through his family history to discover the generational abuse that trickled down through the years. Learn about how parents who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder emotionally abuse and manipulate their children. See how the abuse and trauma becomes mental illness in the abused, and how they fall into vicious traps of addiction, eating disorders, self-harm, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Witness the transformational change of the son as he works on the recovery of his inner child and tries to become the man he was meant to be.

Read an Excerpt

Essay: Fault vs. Responsibility and Blame

Before I continue, I wanted to interject a discussion on fault versus responsibility and blame. My ability to have forgiven my father all came down to a discussion with my therapist on whether they were at fault for my trauma, or if they were responsible or to blame for that trauma.

Human beings are not born with instincts. A baby left on its own will die. It will not search for food, it will not try to move or walk, and its only means of communication are cries. Many animals are born with instincts, such as marsupials or rodents that instinctively move to a mammary gland or an ungulate that will attempt to get up and walk or move, as soon as it is able, to find food.

With this truth in mind, the conclusion is that all human behaviour is learned from our caretakers, then our peers as we get older. Early childhood development dictates that children learn behavioural responses as soon as they are engaged by a caregiver. If we give them love and support, they develop healthy adaptations to the world around them. If their cries are unheeded and we leave them abandoned and rejected, a myriad of mental health issues will emerge as they get older.

This leads to how we apply fault vs. blame to behaviour and choices people make as they get older. We can’t fault a child for being racist if that is what their caregiver taught them; however, we can blame them for their actions if they are cruel and make the choice to harm others because of what they learned.

Further, we cannot fault an individual that suffers from a serious mental health issue if they have learned that adaptive behaviour due to not being provided with the proper love and support as they were developing. Again, however, we can blame them for making choices that cause harm to others. It is not their fault that their learned behaviours condition them to make poor choices, but they are still choices that have consequences.

This is a key factor in generational abuse and trauma. A child that grows up in an abusive home develops poor adaptive skills and behaviours. This can lead to all kinds of poor coping skills such as abusive behaviour towards others, self-harm, eating disorders, Substance Use Disorders, Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and an array of other mental health issues.

However, these disorders are treatable. It is critical that once we identify these types of behaviours, the individual begins a process of treatment and therapy to unlearn them and develop healthy ones instead. This took me years, and it is a lot of work. Many cannot do so without the proper support structures to allow it to happen. It is vital that treatment happens to end the generational cycle of abuse.

About the Author: Geoffrey is a first-time author. He lives peacefully by a lake, spending his time writing, painting, gardening, and woodworking. His recovery is ongoing, and he enjoys his privacy and seclusion.

Website: https://geoffreyrjonas.ca
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55118142.Geoffrey_R_Jonas
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/livingwithcptsd.bsky.social
Amazon: https://a.co/d/eJTO4wq

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Monday, April 14, 2025

Downeyoshun

 

 


A not-always-sentimental vacation to the '50s, '60s, 'and '70s. Bring your swimsuit.


Downeyoshun

by Art Young

Genre: Recent Historical Family Fiction



Sally Osterhoff is a genius. When she grows up, she wants to be a mathematician, a teacher, and a carpenter; and she plans to swim in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. 

 

Her mother has other ideas, and will emotionally and physically abuse Sally to fit them. After all, she only wants what is best for her child. But between her father trying his best, the family next door who practically adopts her, and her Aunt & Uncle down in Ocean City where she spends her summers, Sally just might have the support and love she needs to make all of her dreams come true.

 

Set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights struggles, the Vietnam War, and the early Feminist movement, the story explores the power of found family, and how unconditional love can come from the least expected places. Downeyoshun is a not-always-sentimental vacation to the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Bring your swimsuit.

 

Praise about the book:

“Arthur Young will introduce you to a special world, East Baltimore, and its vacation spot, Ocean City, with his warm Downeyoshun.  Not that life is perfect – not all mothers are kind, and the VietNam war casts a shadow. But you’ll feel as if you’ve met new friends as you follow his characters through the challenges of growing up. In his skillful telling, the fabric of a family and a neighborhood comes to life. You may even find yourself becoming a Baltimore Hon!”

–Pamela Zerba, Contributor Atheists in America, Writer, Creative York Contest Winner

 

“Be prepared to fall in love with one of the most endearing literary characters of the century thus far. Ultimately, this is a book about family, the one you’re stuck with and the one you make. By the end, Sally will feel like part of yours. You will thoroughly enjoy your trip Downeyoshun.”

-Robert Akridge, Writer

 

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Art Young is a Baltimore-born U.S. Navy / Vietnam / Agent Orange veteran and cancer survivor. He was once a carny in a traveling gadget show, and has worked as a fire-extinguishing-system installer and serviceman, a brewery’s route delivery salesman, flexographic press operator, licensed boiler-plant engineer, and a storyteller. He much prefers the last. 

 

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Friday, April 11, 2025

Revary

 

 


What if we could be the heroes we pretend to be? 



Revary

by Abigail Linhardt

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy Adventure



In a small Midwestern town, Celeste and her friends find escape from the pressures of senior year through their tabletop roleplaying games. But when Celeste stumbles upon a way to actually enter their imagined realm, fantasy becomes a reality.

Suddenly, the friends find themselves living out their greatest adventure. In Revary, they can be anyone they want: brave warriors, powerful mages, or cunning rogues. But as they explore this magical world of their own creation, they discover it is threatened by a mysterious force that is causing the fantastic world to vanish into darkness.

With Revary in peril and tensions rising in their world, Celeste and her friends must navigate the blurring lines between imagination and reality. As they fight to save their creation, they'll confront fantastical dangers and the real-life issues they've been avoiding.

"Revary is a spellbinding journey that explores the power of friendship, the courage to face reality, and the magic of storytelling." --ARC Review

 

 

**NEW RELEASE!!**

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Abi works part-time as a freelance ghostwriter, editor, audiobook narrator, and is one half of the partnership that owns Altered Reality Magazine. She hopes to one day make these passions her full-time job while she hunts for the next bohemian adventure.
She has published works of fiction, poetry, academia, and even won awards for her short stories in science fiction and horror. Her novel, The Trial of Two, was named an Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest 2021 self-publishing awards and won first place in the dark fantasy category in The BookFest Awards. Abi is also a proud mom of ferrets. She currently resides in Kansas.
She is one of nine children--all of whom share the creative spark.

  

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Omega’s Choice

  Omega’s Choice Michelle Minnie (The Omega Chronicles, #1) Publication date: March 27th 2025 Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance Helena...