Books Tagged With what - concept - curse

Word Count: Click here to reveal222000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Contract killers don’t retire. They don’t start over and they don’t live normal lives. Zane Cortese doesn’t care what the unspoken rules are and he breaks away from a life of murder to become a regular, law-abiding citizen. He settles down to do what he’s always loved—writing songs. So what if he lives on a remote mountain side, has no friends, and there are discreet cameras situated all over his property. Being normal isn’t as easy as it sounds. Zane’s struggle to be like everyone else is second only to his infatuation with the cowboy renting the cabin on his property. There is a list of logical and ethical reasons why he shouldn’t pursue a relationship with the arresting man—not that Zane knows how to have, you know, a relationship. Despite what he wants or is even ready for, his pushy agent arranges for him to meet a popular band. Needing the distraction, he agrees not knowing that before the night is over he will be caught in a web of schemes. One thing’s for certain, Zane doesn’t care if life is normal as long as he gets to keep the people that he’s quickly coming to love. Tags: medium burn, polyamorous romance, unusual paranormals, an assassin trying to be normal, an abandoned cowboy far from home, an old eternal looking out for his favorite person, one man struggling—or not—with discovering paranormal beings, said beings striving to claim him in different ways, found family, blooded family, Scandinavian roots, Central American lore, oracles, Beowulf reimagined, dragons, all the world building

Word Count: Click here to reveal76000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A spy lurking in the shadows, a nation on the verge of an invasion, a man desperate to protect his home. Lucian is the Blade of Castrial, the kingdom's spymaster and first line of defence, lauded for his success in repelling an invasion from Garaner. But the war has left Castrial's economy in shambles, and when the neighbouring kingdom of Sarian musters their armies and sends spies into Castrial, Lucian realises two things: they have a spy in their midst, and they can't afford the cost of fighting off another invasion. And if that wasn't trouble enough, there is Alaric, the Shield of Castrial and the only man in the Echelon whose power is equal to Lucian's. Returned from banishment like the vengeful spirit of their long-lost relationship, Alaric carries a deep-set grudge against Lucian, a grudge that may well be justified. Lucian’s desire to protect his nation is nearly equal to his wish to reconcile with Alaric, but if he cannot get his act together and convince the Shield to work with him, Castrial will fall. Blade Broken is a queer, sword-and-sorcery fantasy and the first book in The Echelon Series. If you love flawed characters, betrayals and redemption, and gritty worldbuilding with lots of political machinations, you will love this book.

Word Count: Click here to reveal90,840 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Kell Shaw returns with a harrowing tale of strained friendship and murder in the Vestiges of Magic universe. Lukie and Tamlyn are searching for their client’s lost relatives, but their efforts only turn up a single name: a proprietor of the remote Brindlebranch Hotel. Lukie hopes their fragile partnership can survive the journey, as she suspects Tamlyn is hiding elements of his past while she still grapples with the events of her own murder. Neither of them expected the hotel to be home to a vengeful spirit, bound up with the dark magic of a fallen occult cabal. When Tamlyn is hurled into the past, forced to confront the horrifying origins of the curse, Lukie is propelled into a race against time to save the hotel’s innocent guests. With a malevolent spirit on a deadly rampage, Lukie and Tamlyn must confront their painful history and bridge the chasm that has grown between them. Their survival, and the lives of countless others, hinge on their ability to mend their broken bond and overcome the weight of two decades of anger and secrets. Can they conquer their demons and unite against a relentless evil? Discover the answer in this gripping new chapter of the Kell Shaw’s Revenant Records saga.

Word Count: Click here to reveal28,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: How far would you go, to save the one you love? The Gods themselves thrice blessed Cassia's life. All that is shattered when her wife contracts a magical illness. Now she must challenge Fate and the Gods to save the woman she loves and restore the life they had. Yet, how can she stand before the Gods when that means standing against the one she loves?

Word Count: Information not available

Summary:

“Is blood thicker than water?”

The answer seems obvious until a half-millennium-old blood feud ignited between twin brothers of a 16th century Scottish Reiver clan revisits violence generation to generation, pursuing their descendants from island to island and finally onto a new continent ,where the familiar proverb is ultimately pitted against this fluid tale of guilt, blood, water, and time.

Rich with magical realism, Is Blood Thicker taps millennia-old folklore to spin a modern fable of love, pain, and family wisdom consumed by a lived code:

‘Drink, Pray, Fight, Feck’ … and a fox.

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Sometimes the greatest romance can be found during one’s loneliest hours… William was a soldier until an IED severely wounded and scarred his body. Now he lives a quiet life in a small village in the Black Forest and is the caretaker of the church and caregiver to the local priest. He’s grown fond of the two stone gargoyles on the bell tower and often speaks to them, reminding himself of Quasimodo. But on his thirty-seventh birthday he learns a stunning secret—the gargoyles aren’t what they seem.

Word Count: Click here to reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: When Perfection Collides With Chaos, Sparks Fly Crispin Eladrin, desk fae at the Office of the Lost, could find a needle in ten haystacks. His desk is so neat it would make an accountant blush, and he's never failed to complete a recovery mission. He has no idea how adorable he is, especially when he's at his most annoyingly officious. Enter utterly chaotic Leopold Lane. His life is a masterclass in disastrous events--and it's about to get worse. He's the latest thing that Crispin has been sent to retrieve, but when they meet, sparks fly. Literally. And now they must find their way back before someone—or something—enchants them, eats them, or stomps them to death. Neither knows why the Office of the Lost is so hell-bent on acquiring Leo, but they're determined to survive long enough to find out--and to see if opposites really do attract.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Word Count: Click here to reveal98000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Zack thought he had a strange job before---Marine medic in a secret government base was odd, but personal assistant to a sidhe prince is downright bizarre and damn dangerous. Zack thought he had a strange job before. Working as a Marine medic in a secret government installation was odd, but working as a human liaison to the /fae/ and as the personal assistant to a sidhe prince is downright bizarre. Throw in the fact that he's pretty damn sure he's fallen in love with his boss, and things are close to unmanageable. Of course, around the fae, one never says 'things can't possibly get any worse.' Unexplained events plague the human world. Strange sightings, spontaneous magical explosions, and odd bends in reality crop up. When Finn falls ill and a monstrous creature attacks Zack, things quickly slide into disaster. Lycanthropy, loose-cannon mages, and Lugh conspire to make a hellish mess of things---but the real peril begins when Diego loses an important piece of his mind.

Word Count: Click here to reveal78,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: The mind of a befuddled muse... is full of odd nooks and crannies. This quirky, thoughtful, engrossing collection of short fiction contains twelve short stories and a novella across sci-fi and related genres including Time Travel, Alternate History, Hauntings, Circus Noir, Historical Fiction, Interspecies Communication, emails with the dead, and more... The Stories include: Curved Space: The crew of a sleeper ship awakes to find themselves lightyears from earth and in danger of starvation. They are shocked when a pizza deliveryman knocks at their airlock. The Daemon Muse A man tries to ignore his muse and finds out she is not a jealous lover, but she demands his creativity to express her inspirations. Times of Life and Death A field historian specializing in Tudor England becomes entranced by Lady Jane, England's nine-days queen. He convinces her to forgo her execution and come with him back to 2085 where, he says, she will be safe. Heart's Desire The newly elected president of the United States finds out that even when the devil loses his bet, he wins. A Sticky End A freak accident leaves an astronaut dying and stuck in the airlock with his robot. As he prepares for his end, he desperately tries to find humanity in his one remaining friend. The Singer of Starfish A young dolphin is convinced that she is the long-prophesied "Singer of Starfish" who can finally communicate with the strange animals keeping her and her pod captive. The Offering A sculptor weeps as he carves a memorial for his painter friend who had completely failed to understand the brutality of the French Occupation of Algeria. Both is French family and his secret Algerian family would pay the price of his naiveté. The Big Gumshoes A Clown PI must solve the murder of his friend and mentor in both his careers. Along the way, he breaks up a corrupt side-show, finds love, and returns a kidnapped dog to its owner. A Day in the Life of the Great Space Explorer A nursing home finds a unique way to entertain its staff and residents by celebrating the writing of their resident Sci-Fi author who can only remember the day he is living at the moment. Something That Will Not Let Go A woman returns to her childhood home to hide from the law. Once there, she finds out her imaginary friend, who helped her live through the abuse from her father, is not so imaginary after all. Together, they avenge the pain they suffered as children. Pea Soup A mild-mannered, puzzle-loving court reporter is duped by the beautiful, but corrupt prosecutor. The Severed World The Field Historian and Lady Jane from Times of Life and Death find out her decision to travel back to his time has dramatically changed history and that his promise that she would be safe in 2085 could not have been more wrong. A Thread Across The Veil An internet scammer discovers that he can converse by email with his recently deceased lover and that she wants to reform him from his evil ways.

Word Count: Click here to reveal18619 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Varon Cambeul has made it to the top: Royal Magician of the Kingdom of Lothia, at the right hand of the King, who is his lover. He has always kept the promise he made to his mother and his apprenticeship master: he has used his magic for good. This promise is tested when the King asks him to make a curse, a curse that will be cured by the King and so everyone will love him. Helping the King is using his magic for good, right? But, is Varon doing this because he has fallen in love with the King? What about those who will suffer from the curse and slowly transformed into ghosts, people like Theo and Russell in the town where the curse is released?   Can Varon undo this great wrong? Can he save Theo and Russell and the others as they turn invisible? How can he love someone who is not doing good?

Word Count: Click here to reveal96500 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Aik will never be the same … and neither will his world. War is coming. Aik has become the Progenitor, and the Seed Mother has released him to transform the world for her alien brood. Silya and Raven, Aik's former friends, are the only ones who can save him and the world. But what if the cure is worse than the invasion? As Silya rushes to prepare Gullton for the battle to come, she's determined to save as many people as she can. But new crises emerge that demand her attention. Raven has his own hands full, keeping the dragon-like verent in line, while helping Silya to save the world. But what if the only way to do so is to sacrifice Aik, the man that he loves? It's the end of the world … or could it be the start of something new?

Word Count: Click here to reveal114000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A Slow Burn Meet Cute! Baker. Wizard. God of Space and Time. Cupcake enthusiast. How long will it take to fan the flames and enrage this gentle phoenix? Start counting. What's a wounded and lonely little cinnamon roll to do? Stripped of his psychic powers, Calico Winghorse flees his homeworld and travels to 19th century Earth via his inter-dimensional portal. As a mixed-blood phoenix trapped in human form, he opens a bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area and quietly nurses his wounds. But the unique method of his arrival draws the unwanted attention of Infinity Corporation. Representing this angelic-run company is Agustin Chavez de la Cruz, the Demon Lord of California. Even though Agustin is IC's heir, he finds himself demoted from his duties to concentrate on his new assignment: take absolute control of Calico's portal. But Calico refuses to sell at any price. He is also very busy ensuring that the good people of the city are getting their fill of baked goods. Before Agustin can formulate a more gracious avenue of acquiring the gateway, the demanding head of IC interferes, further complicating matters. So as negotiations stumble along, Calico and Agustin come to realize they both want more than a stuffy business arrangement. However, due to Calico's injuries, the portal remains vulnerable to the darker forces that want it at any cost. Agustin will have to push both his angelic heritage, as well as his own psychic powers to the very limits to heal this sweet baker, who is also the portal world's God of Space and Time. The Demon Lord of California is the first book of an LGBTQ+ paranormal-fantasy series. You won't want to miss a first love found, hidden worlds, and a recovering workaholic grasping at his second chance. All centered around the control of an otherworldly portal. So curl up with your favorite beverage, and hang out with Cal and Gus for a while. You'll be happy you did!

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: The Fright Factory is here to help you as you labor in the control room, on the assembly line, or mixing the chemicals of inspiration and imagination in huge vats that give off dark and eerie vapors. Here you'll find guidance in drawing up the blueprints of your story along with a selection of tools to help you customize your design. The elements of horror include the setting, the tingle of suspense building into genuine fear, and of course the Monster. Those are the basics. From there horror can become ghost stories, tales of suspense, splatter and/or gross-out horror, and what might be called the O. Henry approach (twist endings). Cross-genre writing mixes in police procedurals, P.I. stories, and medical horror. Romance with monsters has become popular. You can also throw in the weird western, the Elder Gods, and Joe R. Lansdale - a category unto himself. Whether you're telling a weird tale in the classic tradition of Clark Ashton Smith or creating cutting edge steampunk frights, the long and venerable history of the horror story has also spawned a set of clichés you'll want to avoid. Now the whistle shrieks, signalling the beginning of a new shift. Time to set the machinery of the factory in motion as we explore the art and craft of building better horror.

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: They say, “Never work with androids or children.” Quirk had one job to do, deliver papers to a Milan mafia boss, before leaving Earth for his home in the asteroids. But that was before being tailed, poisoned—oh, yes—and hijacked into raising foulmouthed fourteen-year-old convent girl Angelika Moratti, aka Moth, who'd rather see him asphyxiate in space. Fleeing assassins, Quirk, Moth and her syRen® android S-0778 ride the space elevator to the Moon, where Quirk hires on to hunt an ex-terra-former who somehow used an android to murder his doctor. But which android of the two hundred under Lunaville’s dome? The trail of bodies grows, time is running out; the only way they can save the dome and the two thousand souls beneath it is to solve The Mandroid Murders. Genres: Science Fiction / Thriller / Mystery / Adventure / LGBT and Non Binary Market: Adult

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: WILL YOU BE ONE OF THE INVITED? A forbidden midnight market is coming to town. The Night Bazaar isn't new. In fact, it's as old as civilization. Its first recorded appearance was in Sana'a, around 700 B.C.E. with secretive merchants from the East who presented covered stalls of exotic goods and arcane services. Various mentions appear in obscure and controversial works from around the world. The only common element is that the market opens at midnight, closes before sunrise, and may appear for up to a week in the same city . . . Paris, 1796 . . . London, 1888 . . . Berlin, 1936 . . . San Francisco, 1906 . . . but never in the same venue each night. And never again in the same city. There's just one catch: In order to find it, you must be Invited. Tonight, The Night Bazaar opens in a parking garage somewhere in Manhattan. A whole subterranean city full of antique costumes, alchemical treatments, magical dentistry, palmistry, Tarot, tea leaf-reading, and water-, glass-, and crystal-gazing, oddities and objets d’art, medical curiosities and surgical instruments. Other lost arts and body alterations are offered in certain alcoves. Through the narrow aisles throng jongleurs, freaks, charlatans, mountebanks, faeries, prostitutes, and acrobats. The scents of opium, perfume, tobacco, greasepaint, incense, plastic explosive, alcohol, and sex permeate the air. But each object or service comes with a gift, a curse, or a haunting. (This is the summary of volume one. However, The Night Bazaar anthologies need not be read in any particular order; they are all designed to stand alone as well.) The Bazaar sells that which cannot be had elsewhere. Everything you’ve read about but thought had passed away, or perhaps never existed. How wrong you were! Your guide is Madame Vera, a tall, thin woman of uncertain age, ethnicity, and trustworthiness. The stories within are your invitation to join us. It seems you have already spotted something you desire . . . but don’t head off that way, not just yet. You have all night . . . but not a moment more.

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: The Hunt is On! When strength becomes weakness… And hope becomes doubt… As the past collides with the future…hard… Can Suzanne—Wild Hunt biker chick and one-time member of the fae High Court—stand strong as her world falls apart? She survived an assault by redcaps, an all-out battle with the High King’s armies, and her first encounter with roller derby… but how will she fare against her inner demons? Caught in the midst of a transformation she scarcely realizes and does not understand, her hard-won convictions are tested as never before. Suzanne is left with only one question—what if they’re wrong? The truth could mean the difference between saving her sanity and losing her soul…

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Too much family drama at home. That's what Morgan Patterson was thinking when she left the States to finish her final year of college studying abroad in Northern Ireland. She quickly finds herself immersed in a hidden world of magic and danger with the man of her dreams at the center of it. Only he's not a man. Tiernan Doherty is an honest-to-goodness faerie lord with family drama of his own. There's a blood feud to be settled, not to mention a messy chain of duty that binds him to the queen of the dark fae, a woman he truly despises. None of that matters to Morgan, though. She realizes Tiernan's not just the man of her dreams, he's the man she's meant to protect. But what she does to protect him surprises everyone, threatening the longstanding peace between humans and faeries, and causing more than enough tears for them all. "These Are for Tears," is the third book in the Will-o'-the-Wisp Stories, a serialized, epic urban fantasy that proves nothing is what it seems, promises are meant to be kept and words are binding things.

Word Count: Click here to reveal109000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Two brothers, one storm. After he’s kicked out for being gay, and still reeling from being abandoned by the man he loves, Jude goes to live with his brother, Beck, who thankfully is more than happy to take him in. But Jude has other secrets he’s yet to share, for fear that even Beck will reject him, leaving him well and truly alone. When he draws the attention of werewolves, Jude discovers that everything he thought he knew about Levi, the man who abandoned him, is a lie. But one lie leads to another, ending in a vast conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything Jude loves. Beck feels guilty for leaving Jude with parents who are barely tolerable on a good day. Now that he has his brother with him, Beck does everything in his power to keep Jude safe as he learns about paranormals. When Jude plunges head first into the dangerous side of the Otherworld, Beck must allow Jude to find his own footing even though he wants to protect his brother. But perhaps Jude doesn’t need protecting. Just maybe, his brother is the protector. Tags: rejected mates vibes, second chances, all the pining, found family, chosen family Jude is terrified of losing his brother, chased by werewolves, Jude has trust issues, supernatural people, werewolves, past and present collide, druids, seers, a brother who is trying hard to be what Jude needs, parkour, Jude’s destiny is not what he thinks it is, reincarnation, a love that transcends time and place, did I mention lots of pining, Jude dives in head first just like his brother was afraid of, example of what not to be as a parent, multi-POVs, 3rd person past tense, no cliff hanger, HFN ending. *Werewolf’s Tale and a Druid’s Sword has been significantly changed from it’s previous release by more than 30k. Enjoy!

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Strange circumstances brought Morgan Patterson from the sandy beaches of the US East Coast to rocky Northern Ireland. Some called those circumstances destiny. Morgan called it something else. For her, it was just a college senior year abroad. Until, that is, her studies were interrupted when she met the man of her dreams. A man who took her by the hand, leading her into a world where promises were binding things, where nothing was as it seemed, and where wishing for something could get you more than you bargained for -- including killed. But it was also a world of enduring love, hidden treasures, and the chance to right the wrongs of long ago. What Morgan called it was her kingdom. A kingdom she was willing to die to protect.