Rebellion by Rowan Bishop (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT title

Rebellion
by Rowan Bishop

 ADULT title

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GENRE:  Science Fiction Romance

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BLURB:

Akyra Roux is an up-and-coming Security Operations commander: ambitious, dedicated, and fearless. Her soldiers have a reputation for getting the job done and cracking skulls, earning her a perilous mission to the far fringes of the galaxy.

As soon as she lands, however, Akyra learns the hard way that rival factions have a lot to gain by seeing her fail, no matter what the cost…

Captain Raemus Petrus is the hunky, charismatic leader of the genetically-engineered Titans stationed at the outpost. He has a job to do and battles to fight, and he doesn’t let anything get in his way. However, when Akyra and her team of hot-blooded females land on the planet, his need to protect her and his duty to betray her collide…

Can Raemus, engineered to be ruthless, prove he has enough humanity buried inside his heart to salvage his honor, save Akyra, and ultimately prove his ability to love?

Can Akyra, running from her past, learn to lose control of the one thing holding her back, her own heart?

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EXCERPT

  

“You’d give all this up?” Raemus pointed to the cluttered mess of the vehicle maintenance shed they’d been facing the whole time, “for a family?”

Akyra shrugged. “Family isn’t an option anymore.” She rubbed the birth control bolt deep in the skin of her shoulder, the one engineered with a homing beacon that would bring arrest, conviction, and death if removed from her body. “Being really good at fighting for The Church is all I got.” She felt pressure behind her eyes, and her nose began to itch, but she shook it off. “That’s why I’m the best commander I can be.” Akyra rubbed her hands against the intensifying cold. “What’s your excuse?”

Raemus didn’t miss any signs of sadness spreading over Akyra’s body, the slight slouch, the successive blinks, the three irregular deep breaths. “I’m with you,” he said. “I get it. When shooting bad guys gets you through the day, might as well become the best at it.”

She laughed through the frog in her throat. “Yes. Exactly.”

“Well, let’s see… I can let you shoot Levi over there if that’ll make you feel any better.”

She blurted out a big laugh.

Her smile! Raemus thought. Rich and honest. So… real.    

Amazon

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

All her life, Rowan Bishop has thrown herself into both romance and science fiction every chance she could, so it was destiny that she’d fall in love with the growing subgenre of science fiction romance.

Consequently, she stepped away from her retail career to focus on her dream of writing full-time. The new girl on SFR scene, she brings her electrifying love stories and her naughty fantasies to our galaxy.

Rowan Bishop is her penname.

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Stealing Magic by Alex C Vick (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

I have the pleasure of a guest post by author Alex C. Vick, who shares her thoughts on...

Difficulties of writing for Middle Grade

by Alex C. Vick

Firstly, thank you very much to The Reading Addict for the opportunity to write a guest post!

When I sat down to consider this suggested topic, I realised that there are definitely a few potential difficulties! However, I absolutely love writing for Middle Grade. I’ll try to balance this post with a bit of what’s good about it too.

1.      

What exactly is Middle Grade?

Defining the reader is tough, because the age range, in terms of reading development, is enormous. A nine-year-old might be visiting Narnia for the first time in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. An eleven-year-old, on the other hand, might be discovering Panem in The Hunger Games. There is no ‘typical’ Middle Grade reader.

And defining a Middle Grade book is difficult too. I could say that Middle Grade is written in the third person, with shorter word-count, younger protagonists, no romance, and not much self-analysis. Then again, I could also list several very successful Middle Grade novels that break most or all of those stereotypes.

But there is some common ground. Middle Grade books tend to have fast paced, original stories. Middle Grade readers, once they decide that they like something, can be a very loyal and enthusiastic audience. And there are authors that successfully rise way above all the challenges of definition. J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, to name two!

2.     What makes a great Middle Grade book?

The author needs to grab the reader’s attention immediately!
Here are three of my favorite opening lines from Middle Grade books.

All children, except one, grow up. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
 
      YEAH, I KNOW. You guys are going to read about how I died in agony, and you’re going be like, “Wow! That sounds cool, Magnus! Can I die in agony too?”

No. Just no. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis

Something interesting should happen, and then keep happening, at fairly regular intervals. There will be a major challenge or difficulty to overcome. And the reader has got to like the main characters, otherwise why should he or she care enough to read to the end? The protagonist will probably be older than the reader, and quite independent, although adults can offer occasional help and can definitely be an obstacle! Finally, humour works well in Middle Grade, even if the story is a serious one. In conclusion, it’s a challenge, but still a lot of fun to write.

3.     How do I, as an author, reach the Middle Grade audience?

The Middle Grade reader probably doesn’t have the same freedom to discover and purchase books that someone older would have. However, if I’m very lucky, parents, guardians or teachers will come across my books and give them a try. They might then share the books with their children or students. It’s about visibility and word of mouth, whether that be verbal or virtual!

A good place to start is with price promotions and giveaways, a mailing list, a choice of formats, and having an informative website that also expands on the world building. Going on a blog tour, like the one I’m doing right now, is a great way to find potential readers.

Before I finish, I’d like to say that I’m still very much in the learning phase of being an author, and will probably be there for a very long time. If you have different experiences or ideas, I’d love to hear them!

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Stealing Magic

by Alex C Vick

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GENRE:   Middle Grade Fantasy

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BLURB:

Shannon thought there was no such thing as real magic. Until that day. The day that changed everything.

Put yourself in her shoes. Would you open your eyes, if you were the one that heard them? Two magic-takers from another world, arguing about whether they can collect what they came for before you wake up. It sounds like a crazy dream, or a practical joke.

But what if the air around you started to vibrate with an invisible force field? What if, all at once, it felt scary, yet familiar too? You would have no way of knowing that this discovery would set you on a path no-one from our world has taken for centuries. Towards a deadly enemy, and a fight you will almost certainly lose.

All you know is that your heart is beating so fast you're worried they will hear it, and your brain is starting to buzz as the force field reaches it. Would you open your eyes?

Join Jax and Shannon as they live through the most exciting and terrifying ten days of their lives!

Stealing Magic will be $0.99 during the tour.

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EXCERPT

“Why do you-?” started Shannon, at the same time that Jax said

“How did you-?”

They both laughed nervously.

“You go first,” said Jax. “I’ve got a feeling I need to answer a few of your questions first before you can be any help answering mine.”

“OK,” replied Shannon. “Why do you travel to my world and steal its magic?” she began.

“Steal?” replied Jax, shocked. “Stealing magic is not what we do. We harvest it.”

“You steal it,” retorted Shannon. “If it’s not stealing, why do you only do it in secret? And why does no-one on my world seem to know that it’s happening?”

“Exactly!” said Jax. “If you don’t know it’s happening, and you don’t even know the magic is there in the first place, and you don’t miss it when it’s gone, how can it be stealing?

Besides, it has always been this way. For hundreds of years magic-takers have travelled from Androva to Terra to harvest its magic.”

“You still haven’t answered my question anyway,” said Shannon, crossing her arms. “Why do you do it?”

Jax shifted in his seat, and looked out of the window.

“I don’t exactly know why,” he mumbled.

“What?” said Shannon.

“I don’t know why!” repeated Jax, more loudly. His cheeks went a little red, and he scuffed his shoe along the floor.

“I am not permitted to know until I am of age. I only know that it has something to do with a very old Treaty, and that it’s a really bad thing if Androva doesn’t harvest its full magic Quota each month.”

    

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Alex writes contemporary fantasy books for a middle grade audience and older. There are three (self-contained) stories in the Legacy of Androva series so far, with a fourth on the way. You can contact Alex, and find more information about Androva, including a character interview, at http://www.alexcvick.com

Alex lives in the South of England with her husband and two daughters. When she's not working, or writing about magic, she also loves reading and photography.

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After I Fall by Jessica Scott (teaser for upcoming release) ADULT

 The third book in the compelling 'Falling' series will be released March 21, 2017. See below for a tantalizing excerpt...





After I Fall

by Jessica Scott

is an ADULT title

Blurb:

Her entire life has been a lie. Being with Eli is the most honest thing she’s ever done.

Parker Hauser lives the perfect life and knows exactly where she's been and where she's going. Parker has to be perfect. Perfect grades, perfect body, perfect life.

Until she meets Eli Winter.

Eli throws her entire life into chaos when he denies her the one thing she wants from him.

One chance encounter stokes her desire for the man who refused to touch her and left her questioning everything.

When Parker tries to help his new business, the spotlight turns on Eli's military record. And sins from the war he's tried to forget may come back to destroy them both.


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This week's teaser is a smoking hot scene where Parker gets to be in control for once. 

Parker

She is on her knees in front of me. It is the most erotic thing I've ever seen in my life.

There is trust in that simple gesture. I cup her chin, stroking my thumb over her bottom lip. I can't look away. Her lips part, and I slide the tip in, just a little. Her mouth is soft and warm and wet. She closes around the edge of my thumb, sucking gently, so gently.

I ache in a way I haven't ached in forever. This touch, this complete surrender to the feelings of erotic, sensual caress.

There is nothing about this that will end well. We are from two very different worlds. And no matter how much I pretend to walk in hers, I'm only visiting. Trying to get funding to keep my business open. 

Trying to make a difference.

Trying to pretend that the things I do still matter.

But this afternoon, when she walked away, I couldn't let her go. I looked in her eyes and saw something there that called to me. That made me need to make her believe that she was touchable. That she was worth more than the people in her life had led her to believe.

And now she is on her knees in front of me. Waiting, unsure about what to do next. My brain may want her some other way, but my dick is perfectly happy to oblige her at the moment with just how she is.

I have lost control of this situation.

But then she reaches for my jeans, her palm sliding over my cock. She squeezes me, still sucking gently on my thumb. She traces the tip of her tongue over the edge as she pulls my belt open. Jesus, 

I'm a fucking goner.

The air is cool on my stomach as she pushes open my jeans. I can't move even if I wanted to. I need to see this through. I need to do this right.

But I can't fucking move. I can't blink. I don't want to forget a single moment of the erotic image of Parker on her knees in front of me.

She slides my erection out of my jeans, stroking me gently. Christ, I'm hard as fucking rock. It's everything I can do not to guide her lips to me. To urge her to put that beautiful mouth around the tip of my cock.

I thought I didn't want this? I fucking lied.

She drags her teeth over the edge of my thumb a moment before she releases me. I have nowhere to put my hands now.

I drop them by my sides. I am not in control here.

"Can I kiss you here?" she whispers, rubbing her thumb over the aching crown.

"Yes please." The words are strangled. A plea. She has me under her complete control.

I am completely still as she moves closer. Rubs her lips over the tip. A soft, gentle caress. I'm ready to fucking beg.

And then she opens, tracing her tongue over the edge before sucking me gently, so gently into her mouth.

It's heaven. Pure fucking heaven. Her touch is electric, like a thousand points of heat with every slide of her lips over my cock.

I close my eyes and fight the urge to move, to rock into her.

This…this is supposed to be for her but it's not. Because I am a selfish bastard who is just like a thousand other guys who won't turn down a beautiful woman on her knees.

I'm no saint.

But goddamn, Parker feels good. Touching me. Licking me. Sucking me. I am lost in her touch. Lost in the complete and total need to let her control this, let her take this wherever it will go. 

She sucks me a little harder. A groan escapes me. My balls tighten, and I can't fight the urge to rock into her. Just a little.

I reach for her then, urging her to let me go. To stand. And when she does, I pull her against me, harder than I probably should, and kiss her. I'm too far gone at the moment to do anything but kiss her. To drink from her. To take all of her inside me in that single gesture.

"I don't want to come like this,” I whisper, nibbling on the edge of her meal.

"How then?"

"How do you want me?" A serious question. She needs to know that she's controlling things here. She gets to say how far we go. If we even finish. "Because right now? I'd sell the fucking bar to get you to agree to let me do terrible, forbidden things to your body.”

"What are you waiting for?"

I smile and rock against her a little more. "Those five little words."

And then she is on my sofa, her upper body braced on her palms. I capture her face in my palms and kiss her gently, lowering her until she is supported. Slowly, sipping on her lips. Savoring the taste of her. "Can I touch you here?" I slide my fingers down over the length of one of her arms. She makes a noise. "Say yes," I whisper near her ear.

"Yes."

"Can I touch you here?" I trace my fingertips over the edge of her ribs, just along the swell of her breast.

Her response is a huff against my lips. I smile. "Say yes."

"Yes."

I brush the back of my knuckles over the tight edge of one nipple. A shiver runs through her.

"Can I touch you here?" A slip of my fingers against her inner thigh.

She makes a sound. A whimper. Maybe a plea.

"I need you to say yes." I manage to get the words out. Barely. They are somewhere between a whisper and growl. It takes everything I have to restrain myself but this…this isn't for me. "Please say yes."

I slip my finger a little closer, running it gently, barely there, over the seam of her body.

Waiting, intensely and painfully hard, for her response.  

CONTINUE READING...📕iBooks  📗Nook 📘Kobo 📔Amazon 📙Play



The first 2 in the series:

                                                 



 

Glimmer by Rayna Noire (VBT, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

It is my pleasure to share a guest post by author Rayna Noire, who shares with us...

Would You Make a Good Druid?

by Rayna Noire

In the story, Glimmer, Meara’s father is a Druid. Whenever someone mentions Druids, people think of bearded old men in white robes with horns on their head. While there are some bearded old men who happened to be Druids, it’s not a requirement.

1.     Druids have no dietary restrictions. They can eat anything. Some might choose to fast before a ceremony or even reduce their intake of a particular item such as salt. This is a choice, not a requirement.

2.     Holidays. Druids celebrate all the fire festivals including Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasad. Who doesn’t love an excuse for a good bonfire? Many Druids celebrate the equinoxes (when you have the same amount of day and night) and the solstices, which acknowledge the longest day and night of the year.

3.     Sex.  Druids can be male or female.

4.     Church. While being a Druid is a recognized religion, they do not worship in buildings, but prefer the outdoors. A group of Druids is called a grove.

5.     Deities. As a Druid, you can believe in one deity or many. Most pick a Patron God or Goddesses such as Brighid, Lugh, The Daghda, The Morrigan, Anu, Danu, Diancecht, Miach, Airmid, Goibniu, and many others. Druids believe every living thing has an energetic essence. They reach out to departed ancestors and spirits from the Otherworld.

6.     Modern Druids never sacrifice animals (or people) in their worship. They may use fruits, vegetables, flowers, poems, and songs as an offering to their deity (deities.)

7.     Ritual Space. Rituals are conducted outside near water, trees, and preferably a large rock.  A cauldron of water and a fire complete the ritual space.

8.     Solitaries. Individuals can be a Druid without being part of a group.

9.     Garb. On special occasions, a Druid might don a white robe, kilt, or other Celtic garb.

10.   Mistletoe. The plant most associated with kissing is sacred to the Druids. It’s associated with fertility, life, and peace. Kissing someone under the mistletoe meant you were friends and bore each other no ill will. It also served as a primitive marriage rite and was an entreaty for children. This might make you think twice before you kiss someone under the mistletoe.

Want to know about Druids?

Check out Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Druidism – Isaac Bonewits or Druid Mysteries – Philip Carr-Gomm

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Glimmer

by Rayna Noire

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GENRE:  Historical Fantasy

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BLURB:

For seventeen years, the convent walls kept Meara Cleary from the secret of her own parentage. A bearded stranger claims she’s his niece and promises to take her home. Before he can, a cataclysmic event thrusts her into a war-torn world. 

Meara vows to journey to Ireland to find her uncle, unaware of how perilous a journey it will be. Her Druidic father guides her through dreams, explaining her magical heritage. Her dead parent can’t help her with the intricacies of village life, especially when she catches the eye of the very engaged Braeden. 

A whirlwind composed of equal parts menace, romance, and revelation sweep Meara across the continent while gathering allies and enemies with equal speed. Her intent to return to her family turns into a fight to survive her own destiny. 

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EXCERPT

Meara glanced back the way she had come realizing nothing looked familiar. How far had she’d wandered from the path. The rustle of movement and the snapping of nearby sticks sped up her heartbeat. A week ago, she’d panicked, sure, someone had followed her only to have a deer wander into the clearing, but this time two large shadows grew out of a nearby underbrush. People. She hadn’t expected this. Could they see her? One gestured in her direction and said something in a guttural language she couldn’t comprehend. The other answered in the same tongue. By the time, it took her to realize the men were after her, one had slipped behind her and grabbed her arm, pinning it painfully behind her back.

He spoke, as his companion reached out for her hair. "Kriegsbeute“

Meara twisted, knowing at an instinctual level she needed to get away from these strangers. The man holding her captive laughed, then muttered something before releasing her arm. She stumbled away recognizing an opportunity. A quick glance back showed the two of them being attacked by the bobbing lights. An occasional yelp assured her the attack was painful. They must be some type of glowing bees.

One hovered in front of her. Follow me. The musical voice sounded in her head. Besides the strangers behind her, there was no one else here. Certainly, no one with a voice as clear and bell-like that it reminded her of a raindrop or dew glistening on a flower. Somehow, this bobbing light placed the voice inside her own head. Her impulsive foray into the woods had landed her into a situation she didn‘t know how to handle. The shimmering light blinked, indicating a need to hurry.

    

Amazon

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Rayna Noire is an author and a historian. The desire to uncover the truth behind the original fear of witches led her to the surprising discovery that people believed in magick in some form up to 150 years ago. A world that believed the impossible could happen and often did must have been amazing. With this in mind, Ms. Noire taps into this dimension, shapes it into stories about Pagan families who really aren’t that different from most people. They do go on the occasional adventures and magick happens.



 

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Sweet Inspiration by Linda Carroll-Bradd (spotlight, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY)

This week's new Novella Niblets release...

Sweet Inspiration

Contemporary Romance

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Publisher: Roane Publishing

Release Date: February 22, 2017

Dependable Cadence Wills yearns for excitement. The owner of a yarn business, she is pulled in every direction by her demanding family. Haunting dulcimer notes draw her to a practice for the musical festival, and she spies an intriguing stranger.

Musician Rafe Frasco is a rover, bouncing from one competition to the next. Interest ignites at his first glance at the woman who is enthralled by his music. He is drawn to Cadence whose heart seems big enough to encompass everyone within her reach.

A fantastic opportunity for Rafe presents Cadence with a major problem—is she strong enough to negotiate the business deal that will take him away…maybe forever?

~~~oOo~~~

EXCERPT:

Unmarried and approaching thirty in a small town branded her as ready and willing to meet every unattached man who set foot inside the city limits. A sigh escaped. Like last week when Espe called Trent Sullivan over to their table at El Tres Amigos and then suddenly remembered an important errand, leaving them together. What Espe hadn’t known was Cadence and Trent already had been set up on blind dates—twice—by other well-meaning friends.

Nothing had clicked on those occasions either. Cadence craved someone with a mysterious past like in her beloved romantic suspense novels. A dark, shadowy figure who knew how to excite a woman with a molten look or a lingering touch. A man who fought to hide his pain and almost succeeded. Not someone like Trent—a guy whose high-school accomplishments she could probably recite.

Sweet plaintive notes of a stringed instrument floated on the breeze. Cadence stopped, straining to recognize the tune. A person didn’t grow up surrounded by folk music without knowing just about every ballad that could be plucked.

But this one eluded her. The twanging strings cried with a soulful sadness that grabbed her by the throat. Her thoughts were washed in loneliness, and she turned toward the sound, past the Heritage Herb Garden. A part of Cadence that couldn’t resist helping others had to see who was expressing such need.

She lifted the hem of her long skirt and hurried toward the haunting sound, as if the notes pulled her feet along the path. The compulsion to know who played added speed to her steps. Abreast of the groundhog pottery kiln, she slowed and peered toward the outdoor stage.

On the platform, several musicians were gathered—some unpacking instruments, others adjusting microphones. Off to one side, a dark-haired man sat in a straight-backed chair, one foot braced on a scratched case. He leaned forward and strummed a dulcimer, the light wood instrument cradled on denim-covered thighs.

Cadence stood a dozen feet away and studied the talented player. His too-long hair was tied back, his shoulders were broad inside his western-cut shirt, and his legs were long and lean. Scuffed boots, faded jeans and a worn Harley-Davidson tee-shirt composed his attire. Definitely more attractive than her own outfit. Even from this distance, she spotted a posture that meant the man had an attitude…or was mysterious. A thrill ran over her skin.

Who was this guy? He’d definitely swagger when he walked. Yummy. At the thought, she stepped closer, wanting nothing between her and the performance.

Long fingers picked the strings in a heated crescendo—note on teasing note, twang on shivery twang, strum on driving strum. He ended the song with a flourish, right hand arcing upward as the last note hung on the early morning air.

How did he know exactly how she felt on nights when everyone in Mountain View either had a date or was home curled next to a spouse? The isolation of being solo at the drive-in or enduring the knowing smile of a sympathetic waitress. His song wrapped all those feelings tight around her heart and squeezed. She inhaled, and the backs of her eyes stung.

Hadn’t she learned her lesson about musicians from the way Dale deserted her when his band got the chance to go on the road? Three years running, and he hadn’t yet steered the tour bus through his hometown.

The stranger laid a hand over the strings, rolled his shoulders, and lifted his head. Piercing brown eyes scanned the area, surveying the other musicians, and his gaze locked with hers. For a suspended moment, his gaze roved along her length, widened, and then returned to her face.

Under his scrutiny, she shifted her feet and tugged at the sides of her skirt. Her period costume didn’t exactly show off her figure to its best. Not that the fact should matter, but she couldn’t look away and chose to ignore the warning bells ringing in her head.

PURCHASE LINK

~~~oOo~~~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a child, Linda was often found lying on her bed reading about characters having exciting adventures in places far away. As an adult, she discovered romance books and read them at every spare moment. Upon reaching a landmark birthday, she decided to write one of those romances she loved so much. Easier said than done. Perseverance paid out and twelve years later, she received her first call from a publisher and a confession story was published. Now, Linda writes heartwarming contemporary and historical stories with a touch of humor and a bit of sass, and many have a tie to her previous home of Texas.

With interests as widespread as baking, crocheting, watching dog agility matches, and reading thrillers by Swedish authors, Linda is the mother to 4 adult children and grandmother to 2 granddaughters. She currently lives in the southern California mountains with her husband of 35 years.

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GIVEAWAY!

$25 Roane Publishing Gift Card, Bracelet with charm from Sweet Inspiration, Hot cocoa mixes and mug from The Crimson Curse

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use a RoanePublishing.com Gift Code.  No purchase necessary, but you must be 18 or older to enter. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter, and announced on the widget. Winner well be notified by emailed and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Roane Publishing's marketing department.