Book 3 Has Begun...

The crowd was surprisingly quiet for being so large. Of all the auctions they’d attended, the ones on Glausse always drew the biggest crowds. Of course, they were in the city of Decadence, where the selling of slaves had become a national pastime.

Dain kept himself perfectly still, swallowing the bitterness and hate as drunken citizens ogled him as if he were a prized heifer. The girl to his left, who couldn't be two decades old yet, cried silently as she was inspected and assessed over and over again. He tried to send her what strength he had left, willing her to calm down before she made things so much worse for herself.

This wasn't Dain’s first auction, wasn't even his hundredth. Over the last six hundred years, he’d become well versed in the buying and selling of flesh, as well as the many ways to take advantage of such situations. His captors would never actually sell him- he was much more valuable to them than any amount of coins- but they managed to make a fortune pretending to sell him at every opportunity, slipping out with their prize before the transfer could be made.

Between auctions, well… Dain didn't like to think about that. The long and humiliating hours spent in Mistress Leigh’s bedchamber were shoved to the back of his mind each morning, as if they never happened. Of course, it all returned to him in dreams, but there was nothing he could do about that........

Goodreads Giveaway!

Enter to win Oct 30 - Nov 30

Winner is chosen at random by Goodreads, and will receive a trade paperback copy of Faetal Distraction (book 1).

If you're not a Goodreads member, set up your free account today!!

Goodreads Homepage

 

 

Giveaway Page

Ready, Set, Publish!

 

 

 

The Reckoning continues to wreak havoc on the tribe of Fae, and Mae is feeling its effects. Not only is her past haunting her at every turn, her powers are out of control. Even the smallest of illusions can have deadly consequences these days.

Beyond that, life has simply lost it's oomph. Even in the middle of a family crisis and a potential all-realm war, Mae feels empty and unfulfilled. After 2500 years, nothing seems exciting anymore, and she finds herself becoming more and more reckless as she searches for any kind of thrill.

Then a man with a deadly secret changes everything...

An immortal with no memory of who or what he is, Abel is counting on Mae to help him navigate the world he thought only existed in stories. Unfortunately, she can't seem to separate her professional obligations and her personal desires, and both seem to be wrapped up in her mysterious charge. He's everything she never knew she wanted, all she'll ever need... and completely off limits.

Too bad nobody told her heart that.

 

 

Faetal Illusion ~ October 21, 2013

 

(will post links when they are live)





Stick a fork in me...

2:43 am and editing is DONE! Glossary and side bits are DONE! Tomorrow is all about the cover, compiling and uploading. Publication should happen Monday, which means the book should be live Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on the site).

So, now I need my 'reviewers' to inbox me with an email address and what type of file you need (mobi, azw, epub, etc.). I'll send them out tomorrow.

I'm so excited, more than a little exhausted, and totally proud of myself. And now, I'm going to bed... most likely, I'll have nightmares about something very, very wrong that I saw on fb today. There are just some things that you can't unsee (thanks Joe).

Thank you for supporting me, liking me, and for loving words as much as I do. <3



Tiny Snippet and News

Book 2 is done! I'm currently in rewrite mode, then will move on to "the land of a thousand edits" and then.... drumroll... publication on September 30th!

Also, I'm coming up on the end of my Amazon-only deal, so book 1 will be available on Barnes & Noble and All Romance the first week of September. If I manage to properly format the manuscript, it will be available on Smashwords as well (we shall see).

And now, your tiny snippet... Don't get too excited, it's just a teaser lol

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

    “Find that phone,” Mae barked, “and destroy it!”

Abel flung himself across her as he searched frantically for the ringing phone. Hard abs pressed against soft stomach. Good morning.

As he reached for the ground where the phone had apparently fallen, he slipped, crashing to the floor on his head.

“Gods, are you hurt?” she cried, sitting up on her knees to check on him. He sat up, rubbing his head and grinning at her, then handed her the phone.

 

 

 

Faetal Illusion - Sept. 30, 2013

And now, for a bit of tension....

Sneak Peek! Please keep in mind that this is a VERY rough draft!

~*~*~*~

 

 

 

Hiding her shock, she watched as Abel’s finger moved from his own knee to hers, still making slow circles. What the…?

“So, you can slip from place to place or realm to realm?” His finger never quit moving. She couldn’t look away.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “You gotta be careful where you go, though.” Was he really going to pretend he wasn’t touching her like that? “Tribes can be territorial and scrappy. Think of them as gangs, and their realms as their turf.”

“That makes sense,” he said, running his fingers back and forth over her knee. Why was… why… “I get what you’re saying.”

What was she saying? Mae couldn’t think much beyond the soft caress of his hand and her heart, which was about to explode. His hand left her knee and wandered up her leg. Not far, but enough to make her want to scream and jump him.

“You said mortals were like cattle. What did you mean by that?”

“I…” All her breath was gone, and she wasn’t sure it was ever coming back. Her gaze was locked to his hand, mesmerized by the back and forth motion across her thigh.

“Mae?” She snapped her head up, meeting his gaze. His eyes were dark, his lips slightly parted, and his fingers just kept rubbing her leg. Rubbing and rubbing…

“Mortals,” she managed, her voice too low and breathy. What had happened here? She’d lost control of the situation, and she wasn’t even sure how it had come to this. Actually, nothing much was happening, but inside of her, all hell was breaking loose.

“Mortals?” he prodded, the smile on his face saying he knew exactly how he was affecting her. But, why was he doing it?

“Mortals aren’t cattle,” she finally forced out, “but a lot of Fae see them as that, like I said. They don’t eat them or anything, but they’re kind of like food in an abstract way. We feed off of them, whether it’s their blood, their fear, their lust, their luck, their hate… It’s all energy.”

“You’re like psychic cannibals.” He spoke to her leg, where he watched his skin make contact with hers.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Abel?”

“Yeah?” he said, sounding distracted.

“What are you doing?”

His movements slowed, but didn’t stop. “I honestly don’t know.”

“I see,” she mumbled, staring with him.

After a long stretch of silence, Abel looked up at her. “Sometimes, I really want to kiss you.”

Mae’s brows reached for the sky, and she knew the shock showed on her face. “Abel, I… you…”

His fingers left her leg as he threw his hands in the air. “I know, I know. I have a girlfriend and I’m your student and I really don’t even know why I said that. Just forget I said that. Please.”

How in the hell could she forget he said that?

“No. Yeah, I mean, no… It’s cool. It’s fine. It’s… Yeah, okay.”

Abel jumped to his feet and all but ran for the door. “I should go.”

Mae was still stuck on how to forget that he wanted to kiss her. Kiss her. With his mouth.

 

 

 

Faetal Ilusion - Late 2013

Who Wants a Free Copy??

I'd like to give away a few books (epub files) in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads. If you're interested, please send a message to bethanyklovell@gmail.com with what type of ebook you need (epub, mobi, or just say kindle fire or nook hd, etc.) and the subject line of "Free Book."

Thanks!

Kindle Edition Now Live

The kindle edition is now live on Amazon!

You can find it here... though there's no picture and I can't figure out how to fix it!

Book Cover is Finished

And now... the book cover...

Prologue

PROLOGUE

 

 

 

There was blood everywhere. It pooled between the gravel in the driveway and stained the ominous stone steps. Ruddy footsteps seemed to lead in all directions and a crimson hand print smeared its way down the white front door. Bits and pieces of who-knows-what were scattered among the body parts littering the ground.

A severed head lay six inches from his feet. Cohn took an instinctive step back and sighed heavily, keeping his breaths shallow to ward off the acrid smell of death that surrounded him. This had been a hell of a fight.

As he registered the sound of labored breathing beside him, he turned to face his head of security. At least that's who he thought it was- hard to tell who exactly was underneath all the gore. “Our men?"

"All alive. These guys weren't so lucky." Ryn swept his bloody sword over the carnage.

"Their luck ran out the minute they stepped foot on my property. Apparently we've just run out of time. It's moving day... again."

"This wasn't a planned attack. I'm pretty sure it was a scouting mission gone awry. If it had been Daniel patrolling instead of Jaroz, we may never have known they were here. Jaroz smelled them, attacked them first."

"Doesn't matter. We can't risk keeping her here any longer- when these bastards don't return, he'll know he’s hit the mark. She has to be gone before he comes for her. And he will come for her, I assure you of that."

Ryn raised his brows. "You have someplace in mind?"

Cohn shook his head gravely. "Not yet, but I’ll work that out. How long do you need to recover and prepare?"

"Three days, tops."

Cohn squatted to sit on one of the steps then, remembering the blood, jolted to his feet. "I won't be attending this move. I've become too easy to track."

The first few raids had been hundreds of years apart, but the gaps had closed in over time. The last assault had been only eleven years ago. "I'm calling in someone to go with you. I need the rest of the men here for round two."

Ryn exhaled and said tentatively, "Do you think it's wise to only send two, especially now that he's upping his game? No offense, but have you thought this through?"

Cohn squinted his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ryn, for a thousand years, I've done nothing but think this through. Every soldier you take with you increases your chance for discovery, as well as slows you down. And we need defense here. You're an assassin, the best I'd dare say, and this woman is the most ruthless mercenary I've ever known."

Shocked, Ryn spat out, "Woman?"

"Yes, Ryn, a woman. A soldier who has taken the heads of gods, escaped from countless prisons and dungeons, and decimated an army of mortals by herself. Do not underestimate her simply because she wears a bra."

Ryn looked incredulous, but only nodded. "Three days, then. I'll be ready."

"Marchand!" Cohn bellowed into the house from over his shoulder. "Bring me a phone!"

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Faetal Distraction

Released May, 2013



And a Universe was Born...

Though not technically in the story itself, I thought the creation myth for the universe Tori lives in might be something I could share.

 

Creation Myth

from the Book of Knowing

 

 

An unfathomably long time ago, before time was but an idea being casually mulled over, Knowing moved restlessly across the Great Nothing. Restlessness grew and soon swelled into a dull ache of boredom. Knowing sighed, spilling particles over the void.

Feeling, that's what would quell the never ending boredom. Experience. Duality. Physical. Another shiver.

Possibility rose up, flickered, expanded and contracted quicker than the blink of an eye. All that would come- cause, reaction, counter action- sent shivers over the void, setting particles dancing and colliding into one another. Fusing and forming... waiting.

This would be messy. Would it be worth the effort? Oh, yes.

Decision made, Knowing drew in a deep breath, closed in on itself and bared down.

Existence exploded.

Ahh.. Physical. Knowing almost flinched at the voice, full and rich, rolling sensually across the vast expanse. Thought. It was a pleasing sound.

Wait.

And with that single command, creation held it's breath. Knowing savored this moment, savored the experience of savoring, relishing the eternities that were about to play out before itself. Unbound joy swirled in a fiery spiral, reaching ever outward, alive with twinkling particles quivering with eagerness to expand and be.

Yes, this would be worth it... this was already worth it, and it had yet to begin.

Universes hovered at the brink of subsistence, anxious for their awakening. Knowing drew in upon itself once again and whispered, Now.

 

Source looked out upon itself, the once empty void now alive with light and motion, and it was pleased. Stars blinked into form, galaxies swirled and collided, universes expanded and succumbed. Source felt the friction and the fusion, the creation and the destruction, and it was good.

Knowing had never been enough, and so it had birthed itself into form, into Source. How strange and utterly delectable to create thought, shape it, name it.. make it be. So much activity, so much feeling, so much physical.

And yet...

Restlessness hovered at the fringes, threatening to spoil this triumphant coherency. Yes, it would all play out.. no stopping it now. Source thought to be content with this cyclic birthing and destroying and re-birthing of itself, but physical always demands the next step.. always demands more.

Source felt... alone? That was new. Knowing was always content with the All, but now it was more, now it was Source, and Source needed more than a unified All- Source needed the details. I filled with a great need to be We. A new thought was formed.

I will create in my own image, free of thought and free of will. I will pour myself into physical and will immerse in being. Source overflowed into the expanse.

Each time Source poured itself into physical, each time it's pure creative essence met the edges of duality, it split itself- two parts of a same whole, each whole part of the same Source. Farther and farther down it condensed, pushing through the hazy veil of separation into physical. More and more acutely it concentrated into matter- halves of wholes and wholes of All... And the Seed was born.

Pure Source, begotten from Knowing, the Seed scattered across all of creation, full of wonder and willfulness and so eager to experience. Forged in creative fire, gifted with the power of the All, splintered by the double-edged nature of duality- the Seed were the first Adams and Eves of the cosmos. The heavens were theirs to command, to create and to destroy.

Within themselves they held the powers of life and death, good and evil, love and fear. Their sole mission, to experience infinite possibilities, allowing Source to experience through them thus sharing the wonders of physical with Knowing.

They spawned worlds upon worlds, populating them with wonders and creatures of all kinds, but soon they were restless for more.. physical always wants more. So the Seed also created in their own image.

Now, gods of their own making, the Seed gifted their children with the free will they themselves so cherished, as well as boundless blessings of powerful potential, and gave them reign over all the Seed had conceived.

And thus the Tribes were forged.



Hello and welcome! Not much to see here yet, but stick around... there will be plenty of book updates, excerpts and more to come soon. In the meantime, here's a small blurb about the book. A more detailed synopsis will be posted in the next few days!


After 2000 years of fighting countless wars, escaping numerous prisons, drowning repeatedly, and even being crucified, Tori would have never thought that babysitting would be the most dangerous thing she's ever done. But when the sleeping beauty she's been hired to transport across the mortal realm wakes up, her fairytale turns into a nightmare.

To make matters worse, her tribe of Fae has triggered a Reckoning- fate's way of bringing balance to the karmic scales- that is systematically bringing Tori face to face with her past, including the man she's just been partnered with. But Ryn is no ordinary blast from the past. He's the gorgeous hunk of flesh she duped, doped and ditched over 200 years ago, and has been running from ever since.

Oh, and he's her soul mate. Unfortunately for Tori, that's not a good thing, because being with Ryn will cost her a piece of her soul- literally.

So, between paying karmic dues, the nanny gig, and battling for her soul, Tori has been pretty distracted lately. And distractions will get you killed.

Faetal Distraction

Book 1 in Blood Crown Series

by Bethany Lovell

 

available late April, 2013