PDF - Eleanor Maine: First Chapters from 2012-2013

We didn't release anything for Eleanor Maine in 2013, but we have plans for her in 2014. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, you can read the first chapters of her published work in the file below.



Or you can download the PDF HERE.

Free Flash Fiction on C.M. Simpson's Blog - A Choice of Colour

C.M. Simpson has finished another terribleminds blog flash fiction challenge. It's to do with love pursuit and impossible love and choices, and is now available for reading over on her blog.  So head on over and check it out.

New Cover: Carlie Simonsen's Flying with Friends

We are about to release the newest chapter book in Carlie Simonsen's Wings series: Flying with Friends. Here is the cover - Enjoy!

 

Jack has been looking forward to the Christmas holidays. Not just because it was a break away from school, but because, this Christmas holidays, he was going to learn to fly. The only thing that mars his trip is the flash of blue he sees behind them on a remote dirt track. Why would someone be following them way out here? Is he seeing things?

Flying with Friends is the second book in the Wings chapter book series, set around a family with wings and bird-like feet.

E-book cover

Print-on-Demand Cover

Blogging Elsewhere: Ellie Moonwater is over at the Four Seduced Muses blogging with an excerpt from her latest release Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat

Ellie has gone to visit the Four Seduced Muses and talk about Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, the first book in the Kitty Cordello Case Book series. She has even provided a hot (and not at all suitable for under-18s) extract for your entertainment. Why don't you go over and check it out?

First Chapter: Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat (abridged)

In a world where magic has only just returned, a serial killer is on the loose. Wielding a form of magic that drains the fertility and life from his victims, he stalks Australia’s southernmost capital, Hobart. Officer Catriona ‘Kitty’ Cordello and her ex-pat American partner, Charles Herbert, use their growing skill at detecting and identifying magic to try and track him down. When Special Investigator Seranefret arrives from Egypt at the behest of a seer, they meet the one man who might be able to identify their target—and steal Kitty’s heart. But Sera is on a mission from the gods, and he has been told he cannot fail. Will his dedication to the task make him blind to Kitty’s need? And what part is Charles intended to play? Having failed with Kitty once, how does he feel about the idea of Sera standing by her side?

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat is an erotic romance set in a time when magic has returned to a mundane world, of travelling across the Fields of Time, and of an enemy ruthless enough to betray his brother and attempt to dominate an unsuspecting world. It contains elements of ménage, light bondage and explicit sex scenes set against a backdrop of the modern world and Egyptian myth.

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat is currently available at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook. It is available as an e-book and print-on-demand paperback.

Published on: June 8, 2013

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat

First Chapter: Kitty Cordello

“Please, Kitty,” the voice behind the camera begged. “At least pretend you don’t mind the smell.”

If she’d had whiskers and fangs, Catarina Cordello would have hissed at the photographer, but she didn’t. The best she could do was a dark-eyed glare.

“Ooh, stunning!” The woman smirked. “That’s the hottest look yet.”

“And I’ve got just the outfit to go with it,” added a vibrant tenor, full of delight.

Great! Chris had just walked into the room, and it didn’t sound like he’d run out of designs yet. What had she done to deserve this? Oh wait, that’s right—she hadn’t done anything; she’d volunteered!

Of course, that had been before Shauna and Chris had revealed that the ‘special favor’ they ‘desperately’ needed was for her to model sixty zillion sets of lacy—her mind searched frantically for a word—bits! It was the best she could do. Some of Chris’s outfits didn’t have enough material to cover a newborn baby, let alone a grown woman of her proportions. And she’d been right to be suspicious when they’d mentioned her ‘lovely lines’.

Just because she was a respectable five-eleven, and kept herself fit, didn’t mean she was without curves. And finding body armor that fitted some of those curves had become a source of amusement around the squad room. With any luck the advent of magic would mean she could find someone to create a supernatural force shield, one that wouldn’t put unseemly pressure on her more squishable attributes. Tall and fit did not mean skinny!

With an exasperated sigh, Kitty turned here glare on the red and white lilium Shauna thought she hated.

In truth, she didn’t mind the smell. Faintly spicy, and not strong enough to cause offense, the flower’s strange scent was more tantalizing than irritating. Kitty wrinkled her nose in curious delight, and wondered how Charlie would have responded. The odd perfume, she decided, would have brought out the kitten in him.

So, Shauna needed lingerie shots for her portfolio, did she? And Chris wanted to build up a catalogue for his on-line store… Well, she’d give them both something they’d be proud of—the blackmailing, golden-hearted mischief-makers.

Remembering the times they’d helped her out, with moving house, awkward boyfriends, and embarrassing faux pas, Kitty stalked the gold-maple dresser on which the lilium stood. She lounged against the gleaming timber, letting the delicate bodice of her latest outfit fall to form a dark film against it. She played peek-a-boo with the flower, and pretended to search the drawers, glancing coyly back at the camera.

Finally, when she grew tired of the furnishings, she lifted the flower from its crystal vase and began to stroke it over her face, her arms, and her thigh.

“Mmm, lucky flower,” Chris returned. “Do you think you can do that again, wearing the red number?”

Kitty bit back the urge to scream. ‘The red number’ was pure lace. Chris had crafted the entire thing by hand, laying down each red thread, and weaving strands of silver and gold through it. Real gold! Just looking at it made her nervous.

Something of her alarm must have shown.

“Oh, sweetie! It’s just a simple rag,” he cajoled, slipping the black bodice from her shoulders and holding out his masterpiece. “You’re not going to hurt it.”

Famous last words, Kitty thought, staring at it in alarm.

It was the most delicately glorious thing she’d ever seen—a sort of corset with strategically-placed cutaways and almost invisible fastenings. Pearls shone at odd points in the design. She wondered how he’d made it strong enough to give support, but delicate enough to remind her of intricate cobwebs. And why was he letting her anywhere near it? He’d known her long enough to know how clumsy she was.

Shauna came to her rescue. “And he’s not going to look while we get you into it, either.” her friend declared staunchly.

“Don’t be silly!” Chris admonished. “How can I show you how it goes on if I have to close my eyes? Besides, it’s not anything I haven’t seen before.”

“Thanks, Chris.” Kitty failed to keep the sarcasm from her voice. It wasn’t like she needed to be reminded.

Chris had seen it all; he’d shared a room with her for most of their college years, but he’d never shared her bed—or any other lover’s place with her. Chris had his own array of boyfriends; he wasn’t interested in her. It had made for some unusual double dates.

“Chris!” Shauna was aghast.

“It’s all right, Shauna,” Kitty said. “He’s right. If you or I try this on our own, something’s bound to tear.”

“Would not,” Chris retorted smugly, before hastily adding, “but let’s not risk it.”

With a sigh, Kitty surrendered the last of the black outfit and her dignity, and let them dress her. If her policing colleagues could see her now, she’d never live it down. As far as they knew, she was a plain-Jane, sensible-and-supportive-cottons girl, and Kitty was glad to leave it that way. Besides, if her superiors ever thought she was moonlighting as a model, well, she’d be bound to a desk forever, magic sensitivity or no.

“Turn.”

Kitty obeyed, trying not to think of what would happen, if even one of her work mates were to stumble over Chris’s exclusive site and recognize her in any of the outfits she’d modeled tonight. No, the thought did not bear entertaining. She was banking that the terms ‘boutique’ and ‘exclusive one-off outfits’ would deter most of them from even looking. With any luck, the prices would do the rest. Chris was aiming high.

“Breathe in.”

She breathed in, and felt thousands of silk and metal strands trim the edges on her curves.

“Breathe out.”

Kitty did so, and the corset tightened. Okay, so now her best friends were trying to kill her. Cautiously, she tried breathing in once more. Good, they’d left her just enough space to pant.

“Chris!” she gasped.

“Save it, sweetie,” he instructed. “You’ll need it. Stand still and lean on Shauna. Now, lift your foot.”

Kitty groaned and tried to think of something else. Of course, the last time she’d worn stockings, a garter belt and heels this high, had been on her first, and only, date with Charlie. Just the thought of him made her sigh.

One of the few men taller than she was, and not at all intimidated by her height, Charlie had a body she’d wanted to explore from the moment she’d set eyes on it. His beautiful blue-black skin had covered a physique that was sleek and graceful, but carrying enough muscle to avoid looking weedy, and his eyes… ebony pools that shifted from the darkest of chocolates to the almost perfect gleam of oil with just a hint of amber or green sliding through. Kitty felt she could drown in eyes like that—and almost had. He was the most perfect man she’d ever met. Chris still scolded her for breaking things off with him.

“Who cares if you work together?” her friend had cried. “He’s gorgeous! And he’s nice, and I think he could fall for you in a big way. Don’t give him up!”

But she had given Charlie up, although not without remorse, and tears, and lots of chocolate. She had put her profession first and her personal life a dead-set, heart-breaking last. It wasn’t forever, she’d told herself, and Charlie when he’d argued, and Chris when he’d weighed in with his two-cents’ worth. Just until the agency had found enough people to cope with having magic in the world. Just until they’d found more people like Charlie and herself to fill the gaps.

Unfortunately, people like Charlie and herself were few and far between… and then there’d been the whole ‘shift’ incident. That had been the best method, she could think of, for cooling a relationship, which had been hotting up way too fast. And it had been entirely unplanned.

One kiss… Okay, a couple of kisses and maybe hands going where platonic relationships wouldn’t have put them. And then the magic of their mouths and hearts had tapped a whole different type of magic, and they’d changed.

Literally. Changed.

It had happened so fast that their animal instincts had taken over, before they knew what was happening. Yeah, Charlie tearing out a couple of tail feathers and then taking a swipe at her with both paws… that had put a real dampener on the whole lust-love-relationship thing.

Jaguars can climb trees—she hadn’t known, but boy she’d been glad that peregrines could fly. And black leopards were really hard to see at night. ‘Bad kitty!’ had a whole new meaning when referring to Charlie. She’d screamed it to the sky, and he’d fallen out of the tree laughing.

Her butt had hurt for days afterwards. He’d walked with a slight limp for a week. Not one of their colleagues had bought the whole ‘fell-over-while-hiking’ thing, either, but they’d shut up quickly enough, when she and Charlie had announced their break-up.

They were both much safer, if they kept each other at arm’s length. Who knew when it would happen again?

“Okay… and pose!” Chris’s jubilant command jerked her back to reality, and the flash from Shauna’s camera reminded Catarina ‘Kitty’ Cordello that all friendships required the occasional sacrifice.

END FIRST CHAPTER

If you would like to read more, Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat is currently available at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes and Nook. It is available as an e-book and print-on-demand paperback.

First Chapters: Troll-Mist Morning by Carlie Simonsen

Troll-Mist Morning is the story of a teen who goes the extra mile so his mum can feel safe. Early morning starts, and standing around in the mist in the middle of winter, however, are one thing; trolls are another. When magic returns to the world and the trolls come, too, how is Daniel going to get his mum to see sense? Troll-Mist Morning is the first book in the series exploring what happens When Worlds Collide.

When Daniel’s mum wakes him at five-thirty in the morning, he knows it’s so she can go and take photographs. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times he points out that most photographers take their early morning shots in perfect safety, his mum just can’t feel safe—so Daniel goes with her, even when its early and cold and the mist hasn’t cleared. Especially when the mist hasn’t cleared. Muggers, Daniel can handle, but what on Earth is he going to do about trolls?

Troll-Mist Morning is about family, and caring for even the crazy members. It’s about a young person who looks after his mum, even when he doesn’t see the same kind of dangers.

Troll-Mist Morning is available from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.

First Chapters: Troll Mist Morning

Carlie Simonsen

Five-Thirty Start

My mum does crazy things like waking me at five-thirty in the morning and saying, “Hey Daniel, can you come for a walk with me?”

So, I roll over and look up at her, blinking my eyes against the light and pulling the quilt up to my chin, and I say, “Why?”

She says “I’d like to photograph that church in the mist.”

“Which church?” I ask.

“You know, that one on the corner. The white one with all the curves and that tower thing.”

Yeah, real good words, mum. But I know why she’s asking me to come with her. She’s not as happy-go-lucky as a lot of other photographers. She knows about the monsters that live in the real world.

There are days when she wishes she could be like the other guys in her class—the ones who go down by the lake on their own at weird hours of the day, or the ones that take their expensive cameras into the rougher parts of town to take pictures of graffiti. Poor mum.

She’s a bit scared of being out alone with her camera. She says when she’s behind the camera, she can’t see what might be sneaking up behind her. I don’t tell her that plenty of other photographers take photos in the early morning without getting mugged. She’d just point out the few who have been mugged, and tell me that’s what they said before they got the snot beaten out of them.

She’d say the others have just been lucky.

What can I say? She’s my mum. I’ve seen her when she’s behind a camera. Lost isn’t the word. It’s like she’s in another world. Forget muggers and murderers. Mum’s more likely as to step out in front of a car, or fall down a hole. When she takes pictures, all that she sees is the picture. Someone has to take care of her.

So, what do I say when she asks me to go for a twenty-minute walk at five-thirty in the morning? I always say “Yes”, and then I roll out of bed and get dressed, and do my best not to mind.

END FIRST CHAPTER

If you would like to read more, Troll-Mist Morning is available from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.

New Release: Troll-Mist Morning by Carlie Simonsen

Print-on-Demand Cover

E-book Cover

Troll-Mist Morning is the story of a teen who goes the extra mile so his mum can feel safe. Early morning starts, and standing around in the mist in the middle of winter, however, are one thing; trolls are another. When magic returns to the world and the trolls come, too, how is Daniel going to get his mum to see sense? Troll-Mist Morning is the first book in the series exploring what happens When Worlds Collide.

When Daniel’s mum wakes him at five-thirty in the morning, he knows it’s so she can go and take photographs. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times he points out that most photographers take their early morning shots in perfect safety, his mum just can’t feel safe—so Daniel goes with her, even when its early and cold and the mist hasn’t cleared. Especially when the mist hasn’t cleared. Muggers, Daniel can handle, but what on Earth is he going to do about trolls?

Troll-Mist Morning is about family, and caring for even the crazy members. It’s about a young person who looks after his mum, even when he doesn’t see the same kind of dangers.

Troll-Mist Morning is available from Smashwords, Amazon-Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.

First Pages: Nettlefold Princess by C.M. Simpson

Nettlefold Princess is the fourth short story to be found in An Anthology of Worlds. It is also available as a stand-alone short story.

A single gold coin shines on the pavement, but no one except me seems to have noticed it. I watch it, hoping someone will take it and claim it as their own. Needing someone to take it. Please take it.

Nettlefold Princess is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.

First Page: Nettlefold Princess

Nettlefold Hollow took its name from the myriad nettles that grew there. Stinging nettles mingled with greater and lesser nettles as well as wood and hedge nettles. Clambering amongst the rocks and mingling with clumps of grass or peeking from beneath the blackberries, the nettles dominated the hollow. With emerald leaves, highlighted in silver and dripping diamonds from the morning dew, the nettles were beautiful… until some unwelcome visitor brushed against them. Rumors of fairies were rife.

At first, no one lived in Nettlefold Hollow. No one even lived near it. No one visited it or traveled through it. No one. Even when settlers came and built farms, people left Nettlefold Hollow alone. When the farms grew into a small town, people stayed well away. It was only when the small town grew into a large town that the developers moved in.

Nettles can’t hurt bulldozers, and fairies fare poorly against cold iron and steel. Within a few short months, the suburb of Nettlefold Hollow was born.

New houses with green roofs sparkling in the morning dew lined the streets. Roses bloomed where white nettle flowers once ruled. Neatly trimmed lawns replaced the jostling tangle of blackberries. Not one fairy was seen welcoming the brightly painted garden gnomes.

People came to the Hollow and shattered the quiet with the sound of cars, buses and children. Moving vans brought whole families to settle there. Dogs and cats took over from squirrels and raccoons as the dominant animals in the valley. The Hardangers with their pet cocker spaniel were the first family to arrive.

They said nothing of fairies, or nettles, but their garden was wilder than most. This was more because they were too busy doing other things to care for it, than any other reason. On the weekends, Mr. Hardanger made pottery, and Mrs. Hardanger brewed herbal remedies. During the week they worked in the office towers in the center of town. 

Their daughter, Amity, had the darkest hair and bluest eyes of all the girls on her street. She went to school on the bus, and rode the internet at night. She did not roam the Hollow once the sun had set. When asked why, she said the shadows freaked her out, that something moved within them.

END EXTRACT

If you would like to read more, Nettlefold Princess is available as part of AnAnthology of Worlds, and also as a stand-alone title at Smashwords, Kobo, Kindle, iTunes, and Nook.