Saturday, April 26, 2025

Tour Kick Off: Shadowed Skies by Haley Cavanagh #nowontour #giveaway #youngadult #yadystopian #yafantasy #rabtbooktours @haley_cavanagh



 

YA Dystopian Fantasy Romance

Date Published: 03-25-2025

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing


 

In the shadowed aftermath of global destruction, humanity’s hope takes flight on the wings of the Evol-humans. River Shaw, secluded in his high-altitude sanctuary, seeks solace after a life scarred by loss. His quiet existence is disrupted when Delene Fairborne, fleeing captivity and a dark past, crashes into his world. Together, they find strength in their unique abilities, resisting the sinister forces that hunt them for a cure only their blood can provide. As love blossoms amidst the chaos, they face a ruthless scientist hell-bent on harnessing their power. Shadowed Skies is a tale of survival, sacrifice, and soaring hope, where two souls, bound by destiny, fight for a world on the brink. Dive into a world where love flies against insurmountable odds.



About the Author

Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She is a multiple award-winning and best-selling author and the two-time recipient of the League of Utah Writers Silver Quill Award in 2020 and 2024. 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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April 27 - The Avid Reader - Review

April 28 - Candlelight Reading - Excerpt

April 29 - Chapter Break - Interview

April 30 - Nana's Book Reviews - Spotlight


May 2 - On a Reading Bender - Review

May 3 - Liliyana Shadowlyn - Spotlight

May 4 - Crossroad Reviews - Spotlight

May 5 - Books by Centeno - Interview

May 6 - Book Corner News and Reviews - Spotlight

May 7 - Texas Book Nook - Review

May 8 - The Faerie Review - Spotlight

May 9 - Book Junkiez - Excerpt

May 9 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up

 

 

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RABT Book Tours & PR

Tour Kick Off: Chasing Shadows by A.C. Adams #mystery #thriller #fiction #giveaway #rabtbooktours #nowontour




Mystery/Thriller/Commercial Fiction

Date Published: April 25th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

When renowned professor Dr. Aidan Ryan vanishes without explanation, he leaves behind a haunting message revealing he has a new life and can never return. His devastated daughter Sofia embarks on a global search to uncover the truth behind her father’s disappearance. What she finds is more shocking than she could have imagined—a web of family secrets and lies that challenges everything she thought she knew. 

After clues send her to Italy, Sofia reconnects with her estranged mother Ella who reveals a hidden past of trauma and deceit. When they discover Aidan’s ties to The Brotherhood, an elusive, powerful society that operates in the shadows of world affairs, Sofia and Ella become ensnared in a deadly conspiracy. Trapped in ancient catacombs beneath the Roman countryside, they must face Aidan’s mysterious captors and fight for their lives. But as they edge closer to escape, one question remains: Will Aidan choose his family or The Brotherhood?




About the Author

A.C. Adams is the nom de plume of co-authors Anthony Leigh Adams and Christina Adams, who have written, produced, and developed film and television projects for many studios, including Disney, ABC, and CBS. 

Christina is a producer of the Emmy Award-winning series, The Amazing Race and multiple programs for Oprah Winfrey. Anthony composed the music and co-wrote the book and lyrics for their most recent theatrical project, Sideways: The Musical, which is based on the Oscar-winning film and is in development as a Broadway musical. 

The Adamses also wrote and produced the original musicals Love-In: A Musical Celebration and Primal Twang: The Legacy of The Guitar. Both shows were filmed and aired nationally on PBS. Primal Twang won Best Documentary Feature at the Rome International Film Festival. 

Adams Entertainment, Anthony and Christina’s production company, is based in La Jolla, California, where they work and live with their two calico rescue cats. Chasing Shadows, their debut novel, is inspired by true events. For more information visit: www.adamsentertainment.com.

 

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Facebook: Anthony Adams

Facebook: Christina Adams

Goodreads: A.C. Adams

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April 27 - Crossroad Reviews - Spotlight

April 28 - Sandra's Book Club - Spotlight

April 29 - Texas Book Nook - Review

April 30 - The Avid Reader - Interview

May 1 - Liliyana Shadowlyn - Spotlight

May 2 - Momma and Her Stories - Excerpt

May 5 - Nana's Book Reviews - Spotlight

May 6 - On a Reading Bender - Review

May 7 - Book Corner News and Reviews - Spotlight

May 8 - My Reading Addiction - Interview

May 12 - Book Junkiez - Excerpt

May 13 - My Bookmarked Reads - Spotlight

May 14 - The Indie Express - Review

May 15 - Tea Time and Books - Spotlight

May 16 - A Life Through Books - Interview

May 19 - The Faerie Review - Spotlight

May 20 - Matters That Count - Spotlight

May 21 - Our Town Book Reviews - Review

May 22 - Novel News Network - Review

May 23 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up




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Friday, April 25, 2025

Release Blitz: Dancing with Darkness by Taniya Hussain #nonfictin #healing #giveaway #newbooks #releaseday #rabtbooktours

 

Non Fiction, Healing

Date Published: April 26, 2025

 

 

DANCING WITH DARKNESS is a guide for healers, practitioners, leaders and professionals who have been successfully supporting their clients finding light whilst struggling with their own darkness. Too often, we forget our own needs whilst helping others. This book, which combines personal experiences, channeling and practical work, is a useful tool to help you find the light, while dancing with your darkness.


About the Author

Taniya Hussain qualified as a Social Worker in 1991. She has been working for Wandsworth Youth Justice Service Team since 1997. She also runs Taniya Hussain Consulting offering Rapid Transformational Coaching to individuals and Training and Consultancy to Public Sector Service Providers and Private Sector Companies in identifying, preventing and overcoming onset of early burnout. 


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Thursday, April 24, 2025

Release Blitz: Chasing Shadows by A.C. Adams #mystery #thriller #giveaway #newbooks #releaseday #rabtbooktours @PublishingAcorn



Mystery/Thriller/Commercial Fiction

Date Published: April 25th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

When renowned professor Dr. Aidan Ryan vanishes without explanation, he leaves behind a haunting message revealing he has a new life and can never return. His devastated daughter Sofia embarks on a global search to uncover the truth behind her father’s disappearance. What she finds is more shocking than she could have imagined—a web of family secrets and lies that challenges everything she thought she knew. 

After clues send her to Italy, Sofia reconnects with her estranged mother Ella who reveals a hidden past of trauma and deceit. When they discover Aidan’s ties to The Brotherhood, an elusive, powerful society that operates in the shadows of world affairs, Sofia and Ella become ensnared in a deadly conspiracy. Trapped in ancient catacombs beneath the Roman countryside, they must face Aidan’s mysterious captors and fight for their lives. But as they edge closer to escape, one question remains: Will Aidan choose his family or The Brotherhood?


About the Author

A.C. Adams is the nom de plume of co-authors Anthony Leigh Adams and Christina Adams, who have written, produced, and developed film and television projects for many studios, including Disney, ABC, and CBS. 

Christina is a producer of the Emmy Award-winning series, The Amazing Race and multiple programs for Oprah Winfrey. Anthony composed the music and co-wrote the book and lyrics for their most recent theatrical project, Sideways: The Musical, which is based on the Oscar-winning film and is in development as a Broadway musical. 

The Adamses also wrote and produced the original musicals Love-In: A Musical Celebration and Primal Twang: The Legacy of The Guitar. Both shows were filmed and aired nationally on PBS. Primal Twang won Best Documentary Feature at the Rome International Film Festival. 

Adams Entertainment, Anthony and Christina’s production company, is based in La Jolla, California, where they work and live with their two calico rescue cats. Chasing Shadows, their debut novel, is inspired by true events. For more information visit: www.adamsentertainment.com.

 

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Website

Facebook: Anthony Adams

Facebook: Christina Adams

Goodreads: A.C. Adams

Instagram Anthony Adams

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Tour Kick Off: Love Before Covid by Greg Scorzo #nowontour #fiction #drama #dark #thriller #giveaway #rabtbooktours @gregscorzo





Dark / Drama / Thriller

Date Published: July 28, 2023

Publisher: Troubadour Books


 

“Love before Covid - A raw, philosophical dive into love’s messy reality—unflinching, dark, and unapologetically human. Unlike typical romance novels, LOVE BEFORE COVID is a dialogue-driven exploration of human flaws and ideologies, blending fiction with metaphysical inquiry. It’s not about comfort; it’s about confrontation and insight.”

 

Laced with dark humour, it is best described as traumatic (sur)realism. Love Before Covid takes the reader on a journey through the mind of Joe Pastorius - jazz fan, poet, and victim of horrendous sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of his mother.

The real-time dialogues between the characters that emerge from Joe’s unconscious come via arguably corrupted memories and dystopian dreams. They tell us more about Joe than he could ever know, and perhaps more about our world than you could ever imagine.

Dialogues entail an exploration of clashing perspectives and opinions, that cause reflection. Today though, our world has been infiltrated by online dialogues that tend to feel like wild unfiltered streams of human thought, raw, chaotic and often polarising and devoid of much reflection. Arguably that attitude, and lack of reflection is mirrored by the characters you will encounter. The reflection comes from the reader as the situations unfold. Your moral boundaries will without doubt be pushed to the limit.

You will meet an altruist who can’t stand up for himself, a charming but violent public intellectual, a beautiful dancer who hates fat people, a flirty and gregarious bartender who will do anything to get pregnant, a traumatised art historian who never wants to be a mother, a successful intellectual Mexican writer who is secretly disapproving of her childhood friend’s career as a pornstar, the teenage genius son of that pornstar who has sexual fantasises about his mother, a woman who is pressured into cutting off her penis and a successful therapist who has a habit of ruining people’s lives.

And yes, before you ask, some of the characters in this book eventually catch Covid 19. However, there is always hope. For Joe Pastorious, that comes in the form of the psychopath named Janet Waverley.

 


About the Author

During the pandemic Dr Greg Scorzo completed his first novel ‘LOVE BEFORE COVID’ as well as producing an innovative radio play based on 6 chapters from that book, also called – LOVE BEFORE COVID. available on our YouTube Channel.  and via Audioboom with links to all major podcast platforms.

Greg says, “I was interested in the challenge of writing a novel that was formally experimental, while still being easy for a mass audience to read and understand. I love the idea of a piece of philosophy that is simultaneously a work of fiction, and a philosophical thought experiment which can function like a great, twisty roller coaster of a story that asks the reader many questions. Unlike traditional philosophy and many fashionable works of literature, this book purposefully asks questions without giving answers, encouraging readers to think (and emote) for themselves.”

Since gaining his PhD in Philosophy in 2011, Greg Scorzo has aimed to find creative and original ways to take philosophical thinking outside of academia. By using modern accessible philosophical dialogue inpublic talks, podcasts and his novel Love Before Covid, Greg explores clashing perspectives and opinions that cause reflection. Based in Leicester, he was a founding member of Culture on the Offensive and runs the podcast The ‘Art of Thinking’.

Dialogues entail an exploration of clashing perspectives and opinions that cause reflection. Statements and declarations can close minds.

The ‘Art of Thinking’ with Greg Scorzo podcast is available on YouTube where he does friendly philosophical interrogation of ideas  with many interesting thinkers. Also available via Audioboom linking to all major podcast platforms.

His extended essays on Arts and Culture as well as Cultural Issues are available on this platform www.gregscorzo.com

He has a passion and extensive knowledge of film and music.

From 2017 – 2020 Greg Scorzo was active in running over 60 engaging voluntary community sessions, centred around ‘The Art of Thinking’  The focussed on  universal philosophical themes, arts and culture and cultural issues. The ethos behind these events was to encourage the use of EMPATHY, CLARITY and COURAGE in ensuing dialogues with the audience. These were organised by COTO.

He also took up invitations to partner and run sessions at other events, including the Battle of Ideas Festival at the Barbican London, the Philosophy Now conference, Leicester Comedy Festival and  DeMontfort University’s Cultural Exchanges festival. He is always interested to partner up with other like minded people.

 

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April 25 - My Bookmarked Reads - Spotlight

April 28 - Book Junkiez - Excerpt

April 29 - The Faerie Review - Spotlight

April 30 - Momma and Her Stories - Excerpt

May 1 - Ella English - Spotlight

May 2 - The Avid Reader - Interview

May 5 - Sapphyria's Books - Spotlight

May 6 - Texas Book Nook - Review

May 7 - Liliyana Shadowlyn - Spotlight

May 8 - Novel News Network - Review

May 9 - My Reading Addiction - Interview

May 10 - Book Corner News and Reviews - Spotlight

May 12 - A Life through Books - Interview

May 13 - Tea Time and Books - Spotlight

May 14 - On a Reading Bender - Review

May 15 - Matters That Count - Spotlight

May 16 - Frugal Freelancer - Excerpt

May 19 - Crossroad Reviews - Spotlight

May 20 - The Indie Express - Review

May 21 - Nana's Book Reviews - Spotlight

May 22 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up



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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Book Blitz: Beltane - An Anthology #fantasy #promo #excerpt #rabtbooktours @ReadersRoost


Fantasy (various sub-genres)

Publication Date: March 31, 2025


 

 

The maypole has been adorned with ribbons and blossoms, the bonfire has been lit, and the music is calling you to dance the night away. Join 25 AuthorTubers as they explore the stories of Beltane in the second AuthorTube Anthology.

The magic of SPRING is in full bloom.

 

Including works by:

Rose Adam, Rachel D. Adams, Aisling Black, Sarah C. Brody, Michael Dawn Brooks, Brandy Bullock, Cassandra Byrnes, Jodee Jean Daniels, S.C. Dickinson, Robert Dorris, C.L. Hart, Katy Manz, Nil , J. Noble, Jenna O'Malley, Kay Parquet, Melissa Power, Alice Reads, Megan Ryan, E.L. Summers, Kyle Thomas, Nicole Ford Thomas, M.M. Ward, Christina Whisler, Sam Wicker

 

 

The Beltane Laundress

 

Contemporary Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Small Town

 

Ernst Veselá is so mired in memories of his lost wife and daughter that he strolls onto a dark, rain-slick county road without looking. He is nearly run down by Annie Ainsworth, a young woman driving erratically in her hurry to escape her abusive relationship with her child’s father.

Ernst and his son Jozef offer shelter to Annie and her daughter Lizzie. Will the magic of Beltane spark healing in these four broken-hearted souls?

 

 

Excerpt

The Beltane Laundress

by C. L. Hart

 

The rain pounded down on a father and son walking through the tiny town of Honeycomb Grove, Colorado.

“It will be a good Mayday celebration this year, Pop,” said the lanky teenage boy. Tufts of gamboge-golden hair stuck out from his dark orchid baseball cap.

The boy’s similarly built father had graying oxide-red hair and wore a faded red baseball cap. The weary expression on his face and the look of hopelessness in sad eyes the color of a John Deere tractor matched glum words spoken with a thick German accent.

“I don’t want to dim the light in those hopeful hazel eyes. I wish I still saw life with the eyes of a tiger conquering his jungle, but today, I view the world through the eyes of an undertaker.”

The teenager was horrified to see a car barrel out of the fog as his father started across the county road.

“Pop, look out!”

The pair lost their balance on the slippery grass as the son pulled his father out of the path of the speeding vehicle. The battered cherry-red mini-SUV that pulled into the parking lot of the abandoned Honey Wash Laundromat had seen better days. A young woman no older than eighteen stepped out, regarding the pair with eyes like blue marbles peering from behind a curtain of unkempt mouse-brown hair haphazardly pulled back into a ponytail.


About the Author

C. L. Hart, the owner and sole employee of Naughty Netherworld Press and Ornery Owl Ventures, is spoken of in hushed tones. She is an editor who writes or a writer who edits. She is also described as The Mad Scribe of the Northeastern Colorado Plains, The Terrible Old Woman, and The Author That Should Not Be. She is a member of ACES Editing Society, the Denver Horror Collective, First Coast Romance Writers, the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, Passionate Ink (writing as Lil DeVille), Regency Romance Writers, and Rocky Mountain Romance Writers.

Ms. Hart shares a home in a remote rural town of 134 souls with her adult son and three cats. Her sense of fashion is best described as Early Twenty-First Century Unmade Bed. This disabled former nurse can usually be found arguing with herself about subplots or rehabilitating eldritch horrors.

When not penning sanity-destroying works of dystopian fiction, Lovecraftian fantasy, or old-school horror with the occasional sweet romance thrown in to upset the cosmic apple cart, Ms. Hart enjoys creating baked goods she hopes will be considered palatable by someone besides eldritch horrors.


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Cover Reveal: Scars of Sand and Soil by Jean K. Kravitz #coverreveal #bookcover #comingsoon #historicalfiction #rabtbooktours @publishingAcorn

 


Historical Fiction

Date Published: July 24th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

What’s left of a man’s soul when everything he loves is taken from him?

 

It’s 1864, and Gabriel Cooper couldn’t care less about the civil war raging around him. Framed for crimes he didn’t commit, he’s been sentenced to a Confederate chain gang, where swampland justice rules and alligators prey on the unwary.

So when Colonel Robert Tremont rides into camp offering freedom in exchange for fighting on the front lines, Gabriel jumps at the opportunity. He thrives as a soldier, but the end of the war leaves him adrift.

Gabriel ends up in New Orleans, where he meets Simone Livingston, a fiercely independent woman with hidden scars of her own. Kept on a tight rein by her overbearing father, Simone only wants freedom—and the enigmatic Gabriel.

But Gabriel has unfinished business and a mind for vengeance. Will he be able to create a peaceful life with Simone or will his greed and thirst for retribution keep them trapped in a dangerous web of deceit—a web Gabriel fears can only be untangled with murder.


About the Author

As the quintessential queen of “what if,” Jean Kravitz channeled her active imagination to pen her debut novel, Scars of Sand and Soil. However, achieving her childhood dream of being a published writer was not a straightforward path.

Jean earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in human development and aging from the University of California, San Francisco. She went into clinical research in pharmaceuticals, but left her career when her children were born. Then, she picked up writing again, honed her craft, published articles in a small newspaper, and passionately immersed herself in historical research.

Jean has many interests, including reading, gardening, needlepoint, and learning new languages. She lives in Southern California and has a husband, two daughters, and two cats, Lenny and Penny.

 

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RABT Book Tours & PR

Book Blitz: In Her Sanctum by Emma Bailey #lesbianromance #lgbtq #rabtbooktours

 

Lesbian Romance, Lesbian Fiction

Date Published: March 3, 2025

 

 

They’re opposites in the widest degree.

Elise Hahnfeld is the ‘perfect’, obedient, high-performing office worker. She’s been a doormat for so many years it felt second-nature, but she’s growing exasperated at the drudgery of her normal life, her job that’s taken more from her than she can afford to give. If only someone was there to show her a different path, one where the unknown can be exciting instead of terrifying. Someone who could distract her from the mundane. When Elise loses everything, desperation drives her to do something unthinkable.

She gives up control to a dominant woman with a taste of the forbidden.

Sierra Kernan isn’t a stereotypical Mistress. She’s masculine, cocky… and exactly Elise’s type. Sierra is a barber-turned disciplinarian with a body that could turn even the straightest woman into a flustered mess with just a command. Sierra is everything that Elise isn’t: confident, strong, and self-assured.

When their paths meet, Elise realizes that Sierra isn’t the revered Mistress she claims, but a woman with a dark past. Sierra’s jealous twin sister Abi is a toughened mercenary determined to make their lives a whole lot messier.

It’s a delicate dance of trust and submission. Elise is repressing a feistiness that only Mistress Sierra knows how to tame… but who says that being tamed is a bad thing?


About the Author

I'm an indie author, gamer, cat lover and geek culture consumer. I work as an IT technician. I'm creatively-wired and love technology.

I started writing as a hobby, poetry and creative writing, and then I branched out into writing novels. There were a lot of unfinished drafts that never materialised, until I finally found myself, seemingly out of nowhere, writing and fleshing out an entire novel. The ideas flowed, and so too did the words on the page.

Six years later, I have returned with an entirely new direction and narrative style. I focus on writing sapphic, lesbian stories that I feel are often underrepresented in media and especially on bookshop shelves.

Allowing the reader to have the freedom to interpret things in their own mind plays a part in my overall writing style. My writing isn't always black and white, but symbolic and colourful. I find power in writing strong, capable female protagonists.

 

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Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Preorder Blitz: Chasing Magic by Kira Stone #lgbtq #darkfantasy #preorder #comingsoon #rabtbooktours @ChangelingPress

 

Not In Use (#1)

 

LGBTQ, Dark Fantasy, Romance

Date to be Published: April 25, 2025

Publisher: Changeling Press


 

Love -- and Magic -- find desperate lovers in unlikely places.

Chase: It is a madness that draws Chase to the Louisiana bayou, leaving his sister and his art studio behind. The fact that he longs to strip off his clothes and run naked through the swamp with the wild creatures who live there isn't his first clue that something isn't right with him... but it just might be his last.

A Painter's Price: Jason has studied the Painter for years, but when he finally meets Eric he's not prepared for the powerful erotic feelings the artist provokes in him. His need to touch Erik slowly overrides every other, until there is nothing he can do but surrender, mind, body and soul.

Rythan's Becoming: Rythan knows he must harness his sexual energy and burn through his shell to truly Become an adult. But Becoming also requires the help of his catalysts, a pair of adults he's never met, and water doesn't combine easily with fire and air. Can Rythan pass the final test and meet his Destiny?

 


Excerpt from A Painter's Price

Copyright ©2025 Kira Stone

 

This is one fine orgy. The self-congratulatory thought filtered through Erik's lust-fueled mind as he licked expensive red wine off the impressive cock bobbing before his lips. Who his mystery lover was, Erik couldn't say. He had a nice meaty shaft, though. Not terribly long, but wide enough to split a man open. Erik's sphincter spasmed just from imagining the feel of that thick cock sliding into him.

Salty-sweet pre-cum hit his tongue. He gave his lover's ass a slap to bring forth another drop. Nectar of the gods, as far as Erik was concerned. Every man tasted different, and yet he loved them all.

"Oh, fuck me," the man whimpered around his mouthful of Erik's cock.

"Not this time."

The spirit was willing, but the body grew weak. He'd been going at it, in one form or another, for several days now. The need for a long, uninterrupted sleep gnawed at him. He was hard pressed to keep his eyes open. Silently promising to make it up to his lover later, if he remembered, Erik sucked in earnest.

His lover attempted to return the attention. Erik winced as teeth caught his sensitive skin. All the more reason to end this quickly, he decided. At the moment, this man needed more education than he had the patience for.

His lover bucked and groaned under him. It didn't take long to coax him into orgasm. Seed spilled across Erik's tongue in a honey-sweet river. He drank down every last drop, feeling it was his due for the hard work he'd put in.

Under his guidance, the man continued to pleasure him with hand and mouth. Finally a weak orgasm rolled through Erik in quiet surrender, proving he'd been right about his need for a lengthy respite. He might have stayed awake long enough to mumble a word of praise before he lost himself in the warm, dark embrace of sleep.

* * *

A cool breeze ripped through the room some time later. The long brocade curtains surrounding the bed writhed, and the firelight flickered as though it were about to die in its wake. That alone would not have disturbed Erik from his well-earned slumber. No, a great booming voice startled him out of a deep sleep.

"Since you love your art above all else, I hereby sentence you to an eternity of creation."

"What?" Fear trickled through the horrible hangover clouding Erik's brain. Though he couldn't yet see the shadowy figure standing beside the bed through his bloodshot eyes, he recognized the voice. The king's mage was not pleased, and that was never a good thing.

"For the rest of your life, you will produce some of the finest art ever created."

Well, that didn't sound so bad. Painting was, after all, his passion. "Errrr… thank you."

A sneer entered the mage's voice as he continued. "Your creative energies will be your only sustenance. You will not eat or drink or sleep. You will not be troubled by mortal weaknesses except on the one night a year when the price of being the greatest painter alive must be paid to me, a fragment of your inner spirit to be given to a vessel of my choosing. You will exist solely to create… until your soul is empty."

Now that last bit seemed a little extreme. Honestly, Erik didn't know what good his soul was doing for him, but he didn't think it would be wise to go around without one. "Is that really necessary? Painting is all I'm good at anyway."

"Painting… and debauchery. The king has lost all patience with the discord you create among his court with your callous, self-indulgent behavior. Could you not even leave the livestock alone?" the mage muttered with disgust.

"That wasn't me," Erik protested as he tried to extract himself from the tangle of limbs pinning him down. A small corner of his brain wondered again who the bed belonged to, how long he'd been in it, and if his host's largess would hold out until he had a bite of bread and cheese, maybe another mug of wine.

"Not in body, perhaps, but the act was done with your encouragement. You sow depravity into the souls of the good people of this land, leaving a trail of broken marriages and broken hearts behind. The king will have no more of this debauchery!"

"I hardly think all the consequences of the court's questionable behavior can be blamed on me." Erik looked around for his clothes, a little intimidated to be talking to the king's mage without a stitch on. However, every garment he found smelled rank with spent passion. He flipped the bed curtain over his lap instead. "I enjoy a good party. What soul doesn't? That's human nature, not a crime."

"The evidence is quite plain, and the king has rendered his judgment. He left it to me to determine your punishment. After a fortnight of observation, I see the only way to change your ways is to give you exactly what you desire."

Warning bells clamored in his head, but Erik couldn't puzzle out exactly what about that statement troubled him. "Would the king be satisfied if I left the city for a few weeks?" Surely he could convince one of the rich lords in the outlying districts to keep him sheltered and fed for a month.

"Your departure might satisfy him, but it will not satisfy me. From this day forth, you will breathe art, dine on creative passion, and survive as long as your depraved, artistic soul can sustain you." The mage's robes rippled as if an angry fall wind had whirled around him. "As I will it, so mote it be," the mage intoned with an earth-shaking power.

And, just like that, Erik's life transformed.

 


About the Author

Kira Stone has been around the block…the writer’s block, that is.

From vamps and witches to historical heroes, from futuristic scientists to paranormal corporate executives, from Canadian werewolves to off-world shifters, Kira has written about them all. Manlove has sparked hot and heavy in many of her plots, but Kira also finds a lucky lady to keep the sexy heroes company from time to time. While Scotland remains her favorite place in the world, Kira is constantly in search of new adventures to add to the creative primordial ooze where her best stories are born.


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