Meet Decadent Beyond Fairytales' newest author, Gina Winn.

Into The New

2014 shaped up to be an interesting year. In March, I discovered the existence of critique partners and in July, after I finished my first story and put it away in the drawer, it was my CP’s who pushed me to request a fairytale from Decadent Publishing.

I sat back, rubbed my hands together and anticipated a dark tale from the Brothers Grimm with a moral to guide the way through my own version of it. Wrong! When I checked my email, I’d received a Hans Christian Andersen story – but that was okay, too. After all, I know a couple of his – ‘The Little Match Girl’, ‘The little Mermaid’ and… wait a minute ‘Dance, Dance, Doll of Mine’… what? Suddenly, all I knew about my story that it was written by somebody Dutch. Actually, no. He was Danish, so what I knew kept shrinking.

Worse came. I looked up my story found it a grand total of forty-nine lines long. Forty-nine. Almost like he never meant it to be a story on its own – more like the ideas we all scribble down when inspiration strikes but we have limited time. He probably wrote it on the 1800s Danish version of a napkin.

I read it, and then I read it again. I already had my starting point – “Once upon a time”, so I had that much going for me, at least.

But, slowly, the short story that seemed like a limiting factor turned around to be limitless. I didn’t have only forty-nine lines, I had ONLY FORTY-NINE LINES and I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I had little to guide me, but also nothing to constrain me.

I ended up with ballet dancers, toy makers, gang members, mortorbikes, a step mother, and a tattooed hero.

On December 22^nd, Decadent accepted my story for publication, and I received my contract. Christmas came early to my house and 2015 is going to be a fabulous year full of hard work and opportunity.

Last year I knew nothing about what to do with a story after I finished it, and this year I’m going to learn.

I’m really looking forward to 2015 – to the learning, the hard work, the new people to meet and network with, and the way my kindle is about to groan under an ever-increasing TBR list courtesy of all the new authors I find.

Happy New Year, everybody! I wish lots of luck, success, and opportunity for all of you.

Cover Reveal ~ Razor by Jon Keys

Blurb

James and Micah both face serious illness. Checking off things from their bucket lists, they find themselves drawn to a club like none they’d ever experienced. From the doorman’s leather kilt, to the waiter’s jockstrap uniform, they thought they had seen it all, when a tower of masculinity in leather and stainless steel walks onto the stage and turns the couples lives upside down and inside out. 

Excerpt

Micah made the landing and stood watching James ascend. A few seconds later, he reached the top and looked around. They found themselves outside a door almost as dark as the night, set into a wall of cimmerian brick that disappeared into the gloom on either side.  The doorman standing beside it was equally striking. He stood taller than James's six feet, and wore only a black leather kilt and heavy boots that seemed to consume the lower part of his muscular legs. No one would dare challenge the man. His torso rippled in ways James had never seen before. His face was rugged, covered with a few days scruff trimmed precisely along his jawline. Before he could think of what they should do, the doorman spoke.

“Welcome to Razor. What’s your pleasure tonight?”

He stood speechless as the deep bass of the man’s voice resonated through the night. “The music. The music is wonderful. We caught it from a few blocks off and wanted to hear more.”

A smile emerged on the man’s face and changed him from executioner to guardian. “Of course, the music. You’ve found the right place. Just in time, too. Tonight is drawing to a close.”

He grasped the bronze door pull that was easily as long and thick as James's forearm and opened the massive door with little apparent effort. He motioned them into the portal with a wave of his hand. “Go. Enjoy yourself.”

Want to know more about Jon? Visit his links below.

Links: 

https://twitter.com/jon4keys

https://www.facebook.com/jon.keys.773

http://jonkeys.com

http://www.pinterest.com/jonkeys/razor-contemporary-paranormal-novel

Science Fiction and Cowboys--A unique twist on a Grimm's classic.

Starlight Cowboy

By Stephanie Beck

From the storybook of the stars.
A groundbreaking mission to the moons of Jupiter should have been Annalina's big ticket for advancement, but instead of captaining her own ship, she's second fiddle to Shields Albright.

Playboy, adventurer, immature.
Shields has been called it all, but really, he just wants to fly and hasn’t spent a lot of time on his social skills. Mutual attraction grows as the walls of the space ship close in, and they come to an arrangement that satisfies them both, while allowing them professional distance. The distance doesn’t last, not as they grow to understand themselves…and each other as someone who just fits.

Not all is as it should be among the stars.
Their ship is attacked, and the moons of Jupiter are not exactly untouched when they finally arrive. The little world they’ve built high above terra firma is about to smack down in the middle of a dangerous, maybe even deadly, reality. If Shields didn't attract trouble like fireflies on a bug zapper, the two might have an actual shot at true love.

Available Now!

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Cowboy-Beyond-Fairytales-Stephanie-ebook/dp/B00NZIHIN6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412266710&sr=8-1&keywords=starlight+cowboy

Decadent Publishing: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=988&osCsid=217aca3imuk5ee7it44akq77o0

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/starlight-cowboy

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/starlight-cowboy-stephanie-beck/1120427083?ean=2940150348004

Sneak Peek:

Shields strode from the room, his gear already packed and waiting in the briefing room. He hadn’t settled into the base. Knowing he’d be flying soon, there hadn’t been much to unpack. In the small briefing area, the rest of the crews waited in full uniform. Annalina sat in the corner, isolated and flipping through a magazine. Anderson, the tiny boned, frail looking dick sat between the two other woman who would go on the missions—one older and one painfully young. One other man, much older and with chemist experience rounded the group.

Shields took the open seat next to Annalina. “Hey, Captain. How are you? Massage go all right? I was thinking of scheduling one.”

She didn’t glance away from her magazine. “You should. They’re wonderful, and Missy is a pro—who books out six month in advance.”

He leaned closer, loving her tough-nut exterior. “Well, damn. Maybe you could give me the lay version. You look like a woman who knows what to do with hot oil, candles, and sheets.”

“If you mean I look like I know how to cover a man in oil, set him on fire, and use a sheet to dispose of the body—you’re right.” She set down her magazine, but he didn’t miss the smirk on her face. “How’d it go in there?”

“How it always goes. I told them who I wanted to work with; they told me they’d put me with whoever the hell they want, and then I left. I’m heading to ship.”

“You got assigned a ship?” She sat straighter. “So you’re going to captain a ship.”

“Makes sense, doesn’t it? I’ve done these long stretches before, and everyone else in here,” he motioned to the rest of the room, not caring who listened, “has limited experience. I’ve been there before, too. So that helped. I’m guessing Aaron and maybe you will get a plane.”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up then cooled to disinterest. She was a smart one. If she didn’t get her own plane this time, she would after this adventure.

“Yep. Amy is too young, and Anderson is too much of a dick.”

“Hey,” Anderson protested. “That’s uncalled for.”

Shields winked at Annalina and stood up. “Whatever. I’m outa here. I’ll be on Ship Three. Good luck.”

Find out more about Starlight Cowboy and Stephanie Beck.

www.stephaniebeck.net

www.facebook.com/StephanieBeckAuthor

www.twitter.com/StephBeck123

Last Day of the 1 NightStand Bash.

Have you entered?

So, I've shown you my posts for the military fairytales I'm writing and shared a few excerpts. You can still get in on the drawing and see the excerpts here:  http://catemasters.blogspot.com/ I will be drawing my winners tomorrow, so you have until Midnight, Eastern Standard Time to leave a comment and get your name in my virtual hat.

So, now that I covered some of the military fairytale 1 NightStands I'm working on, I'm going to give you a sneak peek at the WIP of my unnamed story that follows This Endris Night.

But first an Excerpt from This Endris Night:

Master predators, the bears could smell the blood from miles away. If she found one—there would be more and not just that, it would draw other predators. Packs of wolves frequented this area and had been known to travel in massive groups.
What the hell was the guy doing by the glacier? The tracks appeared to stagger, leading off into a thick stand of trees.

So caught up in the reason a stranger might have traveled there, she failed to hear the monster behind her until he was on top of her. A rough chuff, followed by a hiss, and the impact spun Shiya around on the ice and sent her flying, where she slammed shoulders first into an icy bank. Her rifle flew from her hands, discharging when it hit the ground. She crab-crawled backward. The bear opened its mouth and roared, the sound shaking her to her soul.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.
Massive, twice the size of any bear she’d ever seen in the area, the herculean monster closed in, stalking forward on gigantic paws that looked like velvet-flocked snowshoes. Red stained his white coat, matting down

the thick fur on his leg, and hot breath steamed from his mouth and nose like an iron train.
He grabbed her boot in his enormous jaws and dragged her back until he straddled her body, his face now inches from hers. Shiya threw her arms up, keeping them vertical. A Nanuk wouldn’t turn his head to bite, or that’s what her father had told her. Make yourself bigger than the bear can bite, he’d said time and time again. But there was no way to be bigger than this bear could bite.

Nanuk didn’t have to turn his head to take her arms into his mouth. Her entire head could fit in those jaws lined with teeth at least four inches long and more like daggers than fangs.

Even stranger than his freakish size, his teeth hadn’t punctured her boot or crushed her ankle when he’d grabbed her. Her mind let that thought slip as he leaned in and sniffed her. Another chuff ruffled her hair. Not gentle or friendly—a well honed killing machine.
A cloud of warm breath puffed from the carnivore’s open jaws, washing across her face. The smell of minty toothpaste filled her nostrils. Shiya cringed. He’d already eaten the man, and from the smell of it, the toiletries the tourist had carried with him. Ah, shit.

The bear opened his jaws and roared again. His nose touched hers and he nudged her face with his muzzle, pushing her head back and exposing her throat. The sniffing, the huffing. Shiya couldn’t move and didn’t dare to breathe.
Here’s the part where he’ll tear my head off. Shiya closed her eyes, unable to look at death. She had many regrets, the biggest that she never had the chance to make amends with her family. It wouldn’t matter. They’d never find her body—never know she’d come home. The monster wouldn’t leave a scrap of her behind.

A coarse tongue licked her from chin to forehead. Her eyes opened and fixed on the beast before her. Shiya’s chest tightened and her heart pounded, making it impossible to draw a breath. The bear roared again. Its great maw gaped open before her, displaying rows of lethal teeth. More steam rolled over her face and then darkness. 

So, Inuit and alien doppelgangers? In This Endris Night you also meet a bad boy named Lucas, an alien hunter whose sole purpose on Earth is to eliminate any person who might put his people's secret at risk, which brings me to my WIP. Dr. Crane, meet your assassin:

Lucas perked up. He could be a rebound. Did anyone say he had to kill her tonight? Well, unless she started the shift, and then all bets were off. As her date, he could keep an eye on her. Certainly there would be a little bit more time. No, she wouldn’t change tonight. But soon. Very soon.
She sighed again. “He probably wouldn’t notice anyway. I bet it was all some kind of game to him.”

Now games, Lucas knew, and if anyone could show the bastard what he’d lost, it would be him. As she continued to talk, Lucas knew he would grant her last request, give her the night of her life, and show her first fling what he’d walked away from.

He knew this Madam Eve, had applied to her service to get close to prey before. He’d never gotten a response from her either, so he chose to crash her party in Alaska the year before, and found himself chin deep in an ocean of shit. If Nadia hadn’t had a response from Eve yet, chances were she wasn’t getting one. But there was no reason he couldn’t fulfill her request. He’d certainly paid for it, in more than one way.

He could step in and pretend to be that date and nobody would know. He’d also show her how a real man could worship her body. And then he’d kill her. He had no choice. He was a Tracker and Trackers didn’t let hybrids escape—with the exception of the last one who’d saved his life.

“Well, I’m not suppossed to be here after six, so I suppose I’ll see you in the morning.” She rose to her feet and started up the stairs. As she exited the chamber, Lucas’s stone exterior cracked and turned to dust, leaving him crouching on the stone pedestal in his true image. He hopped down, wearing a tee shirt, khaki pants and work boots. A quick dust off and he took off running toward the secret passage, hoping to cut her off.

Lucas skidded around a corner, pressed a block on the wall, and ran into the dark, using his enhanced vision to navigate the passage. He stopped in front of a wall, pushed another block and the wall slid open. He stepped into the narrow passageway. His people had provided the blueprints for the temple thousands of years before, making sure they were designed as they had been on his world. Not hard to figure out where hidden rooms and corridors sat, the sister to this temple sat in his home city of Qwurwa.

As soon as the passageway closed, Doctor Crane came around the corner and ran head-on into him. “Oh.” She staggered back. “I didn’t realize anyone else was....” Her mouth dropped open when she looked up into his eyes. “Here.”

Lucas caught her arms, steadying her. He raised a brow and gave her his best panty-melting smile. Trackers were hand-picked from youth. Only children that possessed certain attributes had the honor to train as one. They were intelligent, comely and warriors. A lethal combination that helped them to get closer to their prey. Whoo hoo for genetics. “Doctor Crane.”

“I fear you have me at a disadvantage.” She bit her lip, but didn’t shrug out of his hold. “And you are?”

What was the name of the professor replacing her, the one from Oxford?  Ah, yes. “I’m Lucas Stone, Doctor Lucas Stone.” His accent came natural, having lived in the United Kingdom for the majority of his twenty years on Earth, so it wasn’t hard to be convincing.

“I didn’t think you were so....”

Deadly? If only she knew. Now for the good stuff. Leave a comment under this post for a chance to win a copy of This Endris Night. I'd love some suggestions for a title for this Egyptian based 1 NightStand.

Oh, and make sure you enter the rafflecopter for a chance at the big prize.


RAFFLECOPTER CODE: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!