A Wicked Paranormal Romance by Luna Joya

Wicked Crown (Wicked Book 1)

By Luna Joya

When a blood vow comes due, a supermodel/goblin princess must team up with a bad boy witch to collect seven cursed jewels and stop a supernatural killer from destroying the world in DISCOVERY OF WITCHES meets SUICIDE SQUAD.

Blurb

She’s not who—or what—she appears to be. Neither is he.

 

Supermodel Vori would be happy to stay in the human world, blissfully ignoring her true nature. But no. The blood vow she once made requires her to return to the Goblin Court. And since going alone would mean consenting to an arranged marriage, she needs a fake husband. Someone no one would miss if there was an unfortunate…accident. Vori knows the perfect man for the job.

 

Witch Perry used to be a hotshot lawyer. But that was before he made all the wrong choices, wound up in league with a demon, and was left to rot in prison. Now, he has a second chance. He can finally earn his redemption. Too bad his last hope is the woman he ghosted two years ago.

 

It’s not long before Vori and Perry realize they aren’t as different as they thought—and that the line between enemies and lovers can be razor thin. But if they want their happily ever after, they’ll first have to stop a supernatural killer and survive a royal smackdown. Should be easy for a goblin princess and her dashing antihero, right?

 

If only.

Available via Amazon

Tropes

Fake marriage/Fake fiancé

Royals

Bad boy/Villain/Antihero

One bed (because I can’t help myself)

Second Chance with a dash of enemies to lovers snark

Beauty and the Beast (But she’s both. Or maybe he is.)

Excerpt

“Hello, Perry.” 

Vori. 

He opened his eyes, sure he’d imagined her. But no. She walked out of the shadows, tall, ethereal, and pissed off judging by the glare.

She was here. 

He stood too fast. His head spun like a demon-summing circle. “Vori?”

“You’re a hard man to find. You took off on me two years ago without a word. I understand you’ve been preoccupied—joining a demon-led cult, almost killing witch Senate heirs, prison, jailbreak, being locked up again. You could’ve just said you weren’t interested.” 

“I shouldn’t have left you that night.” The truth he’d waited so long to tell her rushed out.

“But you did.” She twisted her mouth into a mockery of the supermodel smile that flashed from magazine covers. “How was your time in witch jail? Not so good, it seems.”

“I…” He couldn’t admit it. Not to her. Not the horrible crimes he’d committed. The witch world would never forgive him. Hell, he didn’t blame them.

“I know what you’ve done.” Her condemning tone made it sound like he was being sentenced for his crimes. 

“Then why are you here? How?” Maybe that was the better question. “I didn’t hear you come in. Not your footsteps outside. Not the door opening. Not your breathing. Nothing.” He inhaled. “Wildflowers and rain.” The same scent he remembered from when they’d met, the scent he’d had to lean close to breathe in over the smoke and booze and sweat of the nightclub. “I couldn’t smell your perfume a minute ago. How’d you get in?”

“Getting in is the easy part. It’s the getting out that seems to be difficult for you. I let you out once, and here you are locked up again.” She sounded as if his being recaptured was an inconvenience.

“Why did you help me?”

“Were you faking the speechless act at the prison? So I wouldn’t know who you were?”

“No.” Although he should have. Running into a love interest while not looking your best was one thing but seeing a crush while imprisoned took it to a whole other level.

She lifted her chin. He’d seen her strike that pose on a fashion runway. “The night we met, you told me you’re a survivor above all else. Were you lying?”

“I never lied to you.” He hadn’t.

“You didn’t die in the demon’s Revelare, and you made it through whatever torture the witch Senate dished out. So I’m assuming you possess some self-preservation skills even if you were a witch out on Halloween.” She huffed a disapproving noise. “Not a wise choice.”

No, it hadn’t been, but not for the reasons she might think. He’d been tricked into going to the club for information about his sister Lili’s murder. How could he have known the woman who’d walked into the club looking exactly like his dead sister was a demon-summoned succubus wearing her skin? He’d followed the creature out of the club and into the ranks of the Revelare. 

Vori flicked an Arctic gaze over him, one so unlike the looks she’d given him that first night. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Yes?” Despite the way she wielded her proposition like a death sentence, the promises and possibilities of that word had the electricity under his skin jumping toward her. He slammed what little of a lockdown he could on his powers, but not before sparks danced across his fingertips. 

She gestured toward the magic as if it hadn’t surprised her. Or scared her. “We can deal with that as well.”

“Stolen magic that’s devouring me from the inside out isn’t something you deal with. It’ll kill me if the Senate or Revelare can’t finish me off first.” 

“Don’t be so dramatic, Sparky.” She laughed. Not a polished giggle. No, this was more of a snort. It should’ve been annoying, off-putting, anything but attractive. Why did everything about her have to be so sexy? “I’ll figure out a fix for your demon powers.”

“Male witches don’t have active powers.” He recited the universal truth.

“Yes, I know the rule. Everyone knows the rule. But here you are with powers. That magic should’ve killed you when the demon put it inside you. Or scorched through you the first time you invoked it. Yet, you live. I’m counting on your ability to survive. Or that you’re so very expendable if something unfortunate were to happen.”

Her last words had all his internal alarms screaming danger, danger, but he couldn’t seem to worry when she was here. With him. Again. “What do you need?”

“I need you for a job. A five-day, make it out alive and you walk away with your freedom gig.”

“Doing what?”

“I need a husband. You in?”

About Luna Joya

Award-winning author Luna Joya writes steamy witch romances with mysteries, strong heroines, and the heroes who love them.

 

Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes crimes by day and writes at night. A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup.

 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3arysxr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunajoyawriter

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/luna-joya

Website: https://lunajoya.com

Savage Smoke ~ Why I wanted to kick a Story-stars A**

I continue to find it amazing how friendships can be formed Online. At this point in time, I really shouldn't find it surprising. One extra special friend to me is Kay Dee Royal, a "sister" at Ravencraft's Romance Realm. Please give her a warm welcome!

Hi everyone;) Hello Louisa, *hugs* thank you so much for having me today and allowing me to vent a little about one of my story-stars in Savage Smoke. Well, he was also in Staring Into the Eyes of Chance as that is book 1 in my Lycan International Investigation Series.

Smoke is a culprit, the villain, the notorious, dangerous rogue of all rogues. A fall off a cliff left him with an open sunken cheek (shows a few of his teeth) and a milky blind eye. It definitely gives the impression he’s a bad-ass, even though on the short side in stature (runt of the litter), his wild appearance and muscularly buff bod keeps larger opponents at bay.

He comes from a paranormal dysfunctional family…or so it is to him. Smoke isn’t his real name, but it works for him since his brother, Chance, the Alpha leader of the LIIA headquarters in Upper Michigan, constantly tracks him and his rogue pack.

Smoke plans a major take-over. He’s had his fill of the Elders creating rules and over-seeing who lives and who dies. It’s time for a new league of justice or injustice…and he’ll do anything to get what he wants. Even if it means kidnapping, impregnating, slaughtering, drugging, or anything else required in making it happen.

I had him dead to rights…seriously, dying in book 2 (Savage Smoke). I played hell writing the last chapters because his lights were out for good…but, he kept kicking and yelling, insisting he should get the chance of redemption, AND he demanded something else, too. Something he never had before…and it was his due to claim it.

Well, after much deliberation and rewrites…and suckin’ it up–he lives. Got his dang wish come true, too…but you’ll have to read it to find out what that part of the equation isJ *Big deep sigh*

Yes, so Smoke lives on for book 3, Smoke ‘n Bliss.

Savage Smoke – Book 2 Lycan International Investigation Series

Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

Sizzling HOT! Warning: Lots of two-somes, three-somes, even more-somes, like it stimulating, arousing, and positively natural…or supernatural.

Tagline: Will Trevor rescue Lindsey in time to save her from shifting into Smoke’s pack, and will she even want saved?

Blurb:

Chance and his LIIA pack of agents search for rogue Lycan mastermind, Smoke, kidnapper of Lindsey and fifteen other human women he plans to use for procreating his own army.

Trevor, Chance’s right-hand Lycan, wants his mate back, but believes she’s fallen for her captor. Lindsey loves Trevor but believes he’s given up on her.

Will Trevor come around in time to rescue Lindsey and save her from shifting into Smoke’s pack, and will she even want back with Trevor after spending so long apart?

***Releasing in June 2013***

Amazon: Muse It Up Publishing Store:

Also available at many other fine e-book stores.

Short Excerpt:

So far, Smoke didn’t share Lindsey with other males, but she was aware of the orgies inside the central building. She heard a few women talk of them. Some even liked them, being surrounded by hard-bodied men hung like rocket launchers. Those women went at it without the use of the stimulation drug Smoke used on everyone else.

She was used to the little needle pricks and welcomed them. It made acting the part with Smoke so much easier, believing in her heart Trevor made love to her, but guarding that fact from Smoke by holding Trevor’s name in the secret place, locked safely away.

Lindsey understood some of the sexual attraction. She had that once, but she couldn’t go there in her mind. Smoke searched her thoughts almost daily and always found if she’d tapped into any memory nuggets of people she loved. He possessed psychic abilities others didn’t. Already, the thoughts of Trevor that had emerged she’d need to bury before Smoke returned.

If an orgy ensued during their pack meeting, Smoke would be preoccupied for a good while. She reached her arm underneath the mattress, where a few weeks ago she saw Smoke slide his journal. Lindsey had fallen asleep with her back to the fireplace. A crack of thunder wakened her in time to witness Smoke closing a journal and placing it beneath the mattress they shared.

              Lindsey touched its leather cover, wrapped her fingers around it, and hauled it out.

Staring Into the Eyes of Chance – Book 1 Lycan International Investigation Series

Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

Sizzling HOT! Warning: Wild and lust-filled love scenes, extra stimulating, arousing, and positively natural…or supernatural.

Tagline: Olivia swears off men until she meets Chance, a Lycan alpha. He ignites an undeniable hunger they can only sate together.

Blurb:

Olivia endures a thirty-four year passionless marriage, discovering her dead husband’s philandering history at his funeral. She devotes her energy and life-long sensitivity with animals to her wildlife refuge and preserve.

Chance, a Lycan alpha and leader of the Lycan International Investigation Agency (LIIA) throws himself into his investigations. He chooses to neglect his duty of finding a primal-mate after watching his father become an empty shell over the loss of his.

A murderous rogue pack draws Chance onto Olivia’s wildlife preserve, sending Olivia’s animal sensitivities into overdrive. Chance and Olivia discover a sizzling force driving them together.

Will they succumb to its enticing tether, or fight to resume their loveless lives apart?

Amazon: Muse It Up Publishing Store:

Also available at many other fine e-book stores.

Kay Dee Royal Bio:

Kay Dee Royal writes paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary erotic romance—maybe because it's also her favorite genres to read! She pens tales with wild, rugged heroes and strong, intelligent heroines. She'll give them both a few shadowy secrets, making her stories intriguing and fun. She resides in Southern Michigan with her family (her dogs, her cats, her caged husband... you get the idea). You can find the latest on her titles from her publisher, MuseItHot.

Website: FB: Twitter: GoodReads: Muse It Up Publishing

Blogs: http://www.kaydeeroyal.blogspot.com; http://ravencraftrealm.blogspot.com

Writing the Spooky with Cate Dean

We're going a little darker today with our guest Cate Dean, and her release "Rest for the Wicked." If you're looking for the Hop Against Homophobia, it's right below ...

I love being scared, have ever since I was little. So it’s no surprise that I am drawn to the spooky, the scary, the supernatural in my writing.

In Rest For The Wicked I go deeper into the supernatural than I have before – and the consequences for my characters were more devastating than even I planned when I first started out on this journey with them.

As a writer, it is startling – and often unsettling – when the ending that was carefully plotted is not the ending that actually occurs. As I headed toward that now inevitable conclusion, I realized that the choices I had made, the choices my characters made, could have led nowhere else.

I have written my share of scary – scenes that make me sit back when I’m done, my hands shaky. I have a vivid imagination, and because I’m so visual, I do my best to bring that to the page. But this book had me sucking in my breath more than once – and readers have given me feedback that proves I’m not the only one.

When Louisa so graciously offered to host me today, she asked this: What was the scariest moment I had while writing the book? I have to say it was while I was barreling toward that conclusion, and knowing that it was going to be the hardest scene I ever wrote.

Thank you, Louisa, for giving me such an interesting topic to explore, and for having me here today.

Rest for the Wicked

By Cate Dean

Book One The Claire Wiche Chronicles

Claire Wiche is an ordinary woman, running her Wicca shop, The Wiche’s Broom, in an ordinary California beach town.

But Claire wasn’t always ordinary, and she isn’t quite human. She hides a secret, and a past she thought she had put behind her.

A past that is about to explode into her present.

When it does, and everyone she loves is in danger, Claire must face up to her past – and become what she left behind in order to save them.

Excerpt

Claire Wiche guided her unhappy customer through her shop, one arm around the woman’s hunched shoulders.

“You know I don’t do love spells, Mildred.”

“But I know if he could see me, really see me, he’d fall desperately in—”

“Would it be real, if he’s under an enchantment?”

Mildred pouted, not a pretty sight on an eighty-year-old woman. “What happened to the customer is always right?”

Biting her lip on a smile, Claire walked her through the open door.

“Never been my policy. And I have good reasons for that.” She rubbed the old woman’s arm. “You go on home now. I’ll phone you when my new shipment of crystals shows up.”

Leaning against the narrow porch post, Claire watched her toddle down the sidewalk, sunlight bouncing off the thin silver poodle curls. The morning gloom had burned off early, and it looked like the start of another beautiful day.

She crossed her arms, cold despite the sweater she slipped on earlier. It took longer to warm up lately, a fact she did her best to ignore.

“Are you cold again, Claire? It’s got to be at least 80 in the store.”

Unless, of course, a well-meaning friend shoved it in her face.

She turned around, forced a smile. “Is it, Annie? I must have forgotten to turn it down this morning.”

“How could you not notice? The candles are sweating.” Annie Sullivan—the lively, no-holds-barred friend Claire never expected to have in her life—stepped across the small porch that ran along the front of the shop, her almost six foot height topping Claire by a good ten inches. She caught one hand before Claire could shove them in her pockets. “You’re like ice. Again.” She looked down at Claire, concern in her warm brown eyes. “And you’re avoiding. Again.”

With a sigh, Claire squeezed her hand before easing out of it. The warmth in Annie’s fingers made her skin tingle, yearn.

“Time to turn that heat down before the candles become a puddle.”

Annie followed her back inside, hovering while she adjusted the thermostat to a more reasonable temperature. She would need a heavier sweater.

“Come on,” Annie said, hands on her hips. “Give.”

Shaking her head, Claire smiled, a real smile this time. “Would I’m just cold and tired do it for you?”

“Hardly.” Annie stood in front of the counter, looking like a golden Amazon ready for battle. “But it’ll have to until I can get you drunk and pry the truth out of you.”

Laughter burst out of Claire. “I’d like to see that.”

“Yeah, so would I. If you actually touched the stuff.” She gave Claire a wicked smile. “I could always slip you a mickey.”

“You could—if I wasn’t able to smell it from across the room.”

 “Slapped down again. Hey—what if we just tried—”

“Not again. Never again.” Claire still felt the residual agony from her one failed attempt at social drinking.

“How do you do that?” Those warm brown eyes narrowed as they studied her. “How do you always know what I’m going to say?”

Claire reached up and patted her cheek. “I’m a witch, sweetheart. It’s what I do.”

“Wait.” She grabbed Claire’s hand, pushed her sleeve up to reveal the bandage that peeked out. “Is that another tattoo? What is it this time?”

Claire flushed. The second reason she put on a sweater this morning.

“A triquetra.”

“More protection? Jeez, Claire, the pentacle on your hip isn’t enough?”

“There is no such thing as too much protection.” She pulled free and walked around the counter. “And the subject is closed.”

“Okay, I can take a hint. I’ll drop in sometime tomorrow, see if you need any help during the festival madness.”

“That will be most appreciated.”

Annie strode to the door, her long legs taking her through the small shop in a few paces. She paused in the doorway. “Hey, Claire—I’m worried, and I poke when I’m worried. I’ll leave it alone for now. But if you don’t get better, I’ll do more than poke.”

“Annie.” She stuck her head back in. “Don’t you even think about taking on Mildred’s love spell.”

Color rushed into her cheeks.

“I wasn’t—”

“I mean it. Last time you nearly had your victim falling in love with her cat.”

“Never gonna let me live that one down, are you?”

Claire smiled. “Not if it keeps you from trying again.”

Annie cursed under her breath and stalked out.

Chuckling, Claire made a mental note to put feelers out. Annie had more than enough power, and just enough knowledge to make her dangerous.

Without warning the pain stabbed her; a blade of ice in her gut.

Bracing her hands on the counter, she fought to breathe, fought to keep herself upright. Shaking so hard her rings clattered against the granite countertop, she gained enough control to lower herself to the chair that she recently added, out of necessity.

“God above—” She pressed both arms against her stomach, prayed for a slow morning. If she believed God would actually listen to her, after all this time, she’d ask the single question that haunted her.

Is this how it feels to be dying?

About the Author

Cate Dean has been writing since she could hold a pen and put more than two words together on paper. She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world. A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge. When she’s not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.

Website: Cate Dean

http://catedeanwrites.com

Twitter: @catedeanwrites

https://twitter.com/catedeanwrites

Facebook Page: Cate Dean Writes

http://www.facebook.com/catedeanwrites

Goodreads: Author page http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5694181.Cate_Dean