Uncaged Book Reviews

ISSUE 53 | DECEMBER 2020

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n o te fr o m t h e edit o r D

ecember 2020 - a holiday year that will more than likely look very different from past years for many people. But there is a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel. Two vaccines, with two more in the wings are rolling out soon and are safe and very effective. As we look back at 2020, I hope that 2021 is a better year for all of us.

Here at home, I will start baking, filling the house with the smells of Christmas cookies and pastries. I’ll decorate as I usually do, even if it’s only for us. And if you follow me on social media, you might even get to see a horse dressed up for fun photos.

Uncaged Book Reviews readership is still up dramatically.

New readers are finding the magazine and discovering new authors.

Uncaged will continue to bring the best possible content as usual.

We will be continuing with the “Buy 2, Get 1” promotion we’ve been running. It really does help from a marketing standpoint, to have an advertisment run three months in a row - to repeat in the readers mind. You don’t just see a commercial on TV one time and remember it, right? So we will continue to try and provide the best bang for your buck and get the most eyes we can on your work. Uncaged is supported through advertisements, but the prices will not increase in 2021.

You may now fill out a form on the Requested Reviews Page on the website for your book to be on list for a review. I cannot guarantee a review date for the book, but it will remain on the lists. The tables on the Review page will be revamped in the coming weeks.

form on the Reviews/Feature Info Page to request a Feature in 2021. Put in your top 3 choices and this is normally first come/first serve, but I do move around months to keep a good selection of genres in each issue. Soon I will also put up forms for Catch Up Features - these are for past feature authors that have a new book releasing, and we can do a shorter feature, and also a Short Story Submission form. Any author submitting an approved short story receives a full page ad in the same issue. The new forms for Catch Up and Short Story Submissions will be added very soon.

Enjoy the December 2020 issue of Uncaged Book Reviews and stay safe and healthy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The rest of 2020 is full for Feature Authors but you can also fill out a

X cyrene 4| uncagedbooks.com

contents featureauthors Regina Jeffers 12 historical mystery 28 38 48

Kate Archer

victorian historical romance

FangFreakinTastic 80

ancient world historical romance

Robert G. Penner dystopian

Jennifer Anne Gordon

66

Michelle Rene

76

Melinda Curtis

F.L. Journey occult/horror

catchup Lange 20 Rose Rose Lange gives us a peek at her Christmas romance, Seven Soulful Christmas Nights

Sky Purington

58

showcase

26

Vincent Hollow

72

Blaine Stewart

GHOSTS and other VITAL ORGANS Hourglass Socioeconomics

gothic horror/suspense

young adult/fantasy

contemporary romance

authors and their pets

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Issue 53 | December 2020

Uncaged’s Feature Authors introduce you to their devoted writing buddies, and the devotion goes both ways.

promotion special

03 2020 Uncaged Special Promo 4 7 88 92 96

Note from the Editor Contributors|Partnerships Uncaged Reviews FangFreakinTastic Reviews Amy’s Bookshelf Review

Uncaged on Instagram

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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Contributors | Partnerships

Follow Uncaged on Facebook

Paranormal lover’s rejoice. Uncaged review contributors.

A blog for horror fans. Uncaged review contributors.

A little bit of everything. Uncaged review contributors.

If you’d like your banner here, please email me at UncagedBooks@gmail.com Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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upcomingconventions Starting in October, Uncaged will start listing conventions for 2021 since so many have been cancelled or modified for 2020. Uncaged will watch for any cancelations or modifications for the 2021 season.

Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference April 10, 2021 Clark, NJ http://www.libertystatesfictionwriters.com/conference/

Coastal Magic Convention - VIRTUAL February 18-21, 2021 https://coastalmagicconvention.com/

Book Lovers Con April 8-11, 2021 Orlando, FL https://www.bookloverscon.com/

Interracial Romance Author’s Expo April 22 -24, 2021 Daytona Beach, FL https://www.irauthorsexpo.com/

8| uncagedbooks.com |

BookCon TBA, New York City, NY https://www.bookcon.com/Home/

Lori Foster’s Reader & Author Get Together (RAGT) June 2–5, 2021; West Chester, OH http://readerauthorgettogether.com/

​ oas & Tiaras Afternoon Tea B June 12, 2021; Allen, TX https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boas-tiaras-afternoontea-with-kristan-higgins-tickets-81400355655

feature authors

historical mystery | historical romance

Regina Jeffers

Kate Archer

Sky Purington

regi n a j effers

W

riting passionately comes easily to Regina Jeffers. A master teacher, for thirty-nine years, she passionately taught thousands of students English in the public schools of West Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina. Yet, “teacher” does not define her as a person. Ask any of her students or her family, and they will tell you Regina is passionate about so many things: her son, children in need, truth, responsibility, the value of a good education, words, music, dance, the theatre, pro football, classic movies, the BBC, track and field, books, books, and more books. Holding multiple degrees, Jeffers often serves as a Language Arts or Media Literacy consultant to surrounding school districts and has served on several state and national educational commissions.

Branching out into Regency and contemporary romance, Jeffers insists, “Every woman dreams of her one great love, the man who inspires an emotional response with just a glance across a crowded room. A romance novel must by definition exist purely for the advancement of the hero’s love affair with the heroine; yet, the reader must want the hero to win the woman’s love. To be believable, there must be a connection beyond the sexual appeal; there must be some conflict, which is character-driven. The characters must have believable reasons to be drawn together, as well as to be frustrated by their dreams.” This is the type of literature Jeffers writes–something truly beautiful and haunting.

Stay Connected rjefferscom.wordpress.com

12 | UncagedBooks.com

Uncaged welcomes Regina Jeffers Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! You’ve written a lot of historical mysteries with Pride and Prejudice as the inspiration for many. Your latest is The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy. What gave you the inspiration (and the courage) to take such a creative liberty with this beloved story and the different takes on this story, both fantasy and not?

Back in 2008, I was complaining to my Advanced Placement Language class that a book, one of what we now call “Jane Austen Fan Fiction” or “JAFF,” used incidents that were historically inaccurate. I told my students I threw the book across the room, which they realized meant I saw the book as a true travesty, for the walls of my classroom had multiple bookshelves full of all types of reading material.

One student said, “If you know how to do it, do it yourself.” I took the challenge and rewrote Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. I self published the book, allowed one of my students to draw the cover for she wished to go to art school and could add “published artist” to her resume, and pretty much forgot about it. One day, my son called to tell me the book was #8 on the Amazon sales list. A few days later, I received an offer from Ulysses Press to publish the book traditionally.

At the time, several large names in the publishing business had caught onto Austen’s popularity and were seeking writers of JAFF. I sold Darcy’s Passions to Ulysses. They asked for more, and I spent several years with them, publishing 10 books in all.

It was a great experience. I have published 24 (with another arriving the first week of January 2021) Austen-inspired stories. Unlike some of those who write JAFF, I pride myself on my research, keeping the history accurate, while staying very close to canon. In the JAFF format, the author, generally, takes the original story and changes one event sending Austen’s characters down a different path, but having them end up in the same place at the end.

Uncaged: You also write historical Regency and contemporary romance. What are you working on Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | next that you can tell us about?

I have a new book arriving November 30. It is entitled I Shot the Sheriff (I dare you not to hum “but I did not shoot the deputy”), and it is the second book in the Tragic Characters in Classic Lit Series. Eight Regency-based writers have taken “tragic characters” and moved them into the Regency era and presented the character a Happily Ever After. My story deals with the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham, who I once thought to despise, but now adore. Other characters being addressed by the group are Frankenstein, Madame Bovary, Catherine and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, Colonel Fitzwilliam from Pride and Prejudice, Macbeth, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Captain Miles Standish of the Mayflower fame and Longfellow’s poem. After that, I have a new JAFF story, The Mistress of Rosing Park arriving in early January 2021, and The Phantom of Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery in March 2021. I have 23 Regency stories (including one 8-book series and a separate trilogy) and 3 contemporary tales to my credit.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

As to being alone, the COVID pandemic has not changed much for my daily writing and researching. However, I cannot say I have had “more” time for my writing. I seem to find just as many distractions now as I did before the pandemic. I tend to be a very goal-oriented style writer. I work well with deadlines. The pandemic has, however, changed my traveling to book festivals, bookstores, etc., to meet fans. I desperately miss that connection. Some of my most faithful followers, those who trusted me to write both JAFF and Regencies, are good to send me the occasional word of encouragement. Those 14 | UncagedBooks.com

notes keep me going.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

Naturally, people would assume I would choose Jane Austen, and I would, but when asked a similar question I have always said I would like to sit down with Jane Austen, but add Ernest Hemingway to the table, along with new favs, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Frances Grose. I think Austen’s quick wit and my sharp observations could handle the “gentlemen.” Hemingway has always fascinated me. He had more than one close encounter with death, was a bit paranoid, and definitely hyperactive.

He wrote: “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”

As to Longfellow, he and I are both descendants of John Alden of Plymouth Colony fame. Longfellow is descended from Alden’s first daughter Elizabeth. I am from Alden’s last daughter Rebecca. I have used Longfellow’s “The Courtship of Miles Standish” as the basis of my second novel in the Tragic Characters in Classic

Lit Series. “Captain Stanwick’s Bride” will arrive in February 2021. Francis Grose, author of 1811 Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue, is my cousin six times removed.

Grose’s father was a jeweler to King George. Would not all these men have interesting tales to tell? I would love to learn more of my relatives and also discover if my fascination with both Austen and Hemingway is worthy of my admiration.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

I am a “pantser,” meaning I “write by the seat of my pants.” That does not mean that I do not have a plan for the book before I begin writing. I do. I call my method the “umbrella model.” I know how the story will begin, recognize the climax, and have the ending planned. I have a few ideas, like the spokes of an umbrella, that lead me to the next “spoke” or enticing action; yet, often, I plan one event and the character says, “I would not do that. Think of something different.” It is rare I do not bend to his/her will.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

I work in my flower beds when I am not writing, and I volunteer in the children’s programs with the Department of Health and Human Services in my county. That has not changed since COVID arrived. I find pulling weeds quite therapeutic, and I have a soft spot in my heart when it comes

| REGINA JEFFERS | to children in need. I also enjoy going to cultural programs, traveling Broadway plays, concerts, etc.

Alas, those activities have taken a major hit since the pandemic.

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

Like most authors, I wish one of my stories was picked up by a movie director/producer. I would love to be a best-selling author. Sell more books, etc. However, I would continue to write even if none of those things happen. I have always had a creative streak that required attention. I was a professional dancer (Broadway) and a theatre director and actor for community productions. Writing is my new normal.

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I prefer physical books, but I do not rule out an eBook. Many of the stories I read are on my eReader.

I am not much of one for audiobooks. I have quite a few, but I am always on the move. Audiobooks take too much time when I could be doing something else.

I am currently reading A Well Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler.

Living in North Carolina, I often visit the Biltmore estate. Alva Smith and William Vanderbilt’s marriage of convenience is anything but that.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I have made friends with many of my fans. Kim is one of my most loyal friends, and we met at a book signing. Marina rode her motorcycle 320 miles round trip to meet me in person. I send out Christmas cards to many—those for whom I have a physical mailing address and eCards to many where I have only an email address. My fans lift me up when I am having a bad day. I am blessed to name them as part of this journey.

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR |

Enjoy an excerpt from The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy Regina Jeffers Historical Mystery Fitzwilliam Darcy is devastated. The joy of his recent wedding has been cut short by the news of the sudden death of his father’s beloved cousin, Samuel Darcy.

Elizabeth and Darcy travel to Dorset, a popular Regency resort area, to pay their respects to the well-traveled and eccentric Samuel. But this is no summer holiday. Danger bubbles beneath Dorset’s peaceful surface as strange and foreboding events begin to occur.

Several of Samuel’s ancient treasures go missing, and then his body itself disappears. As Darcy and Elizabeth investigate this mystery and unravel its tangled ties to the haunting legends of Dark Dorset, the legendary couple’s love is put to the test when sinister forces strike close to home. Some secrets should remain secrets, but Darcy will do all he can to find answers—even if it means meeting his own end in the damp depths of a newly dug grave.

With malicious villains, dramatic revelations and heroic gestures, The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy will keep Austen fans and mystery readers turning the pages right up until its dramatic conclusion.

Excerpt She had left the pages resting on the small desk to stand and stare out the window. Heavily, she leaned against the frame. Elizabeth’s cheek rested against the cool pane. “Protect him, God,” she whispered to the night sky. She said no more. God 16 | UncagedBooks.com

would know her sentiments regarding the probability of Darcy’s demise.

There she had stood from three to five of the clock, staring out the window, gazing at the road: She had kept an anxious vigil awaiting Darcy’s return, but saw nothing. As dawn’s fingers broke through the blackness, her anxiety increased.

“Where is he?” she whispered as she searched the outline of trees and shrubbery on the horizon. Elizabeth reasoned, “If he were injured, Mr. Holbrook would have brought word.” For a brief moment, she felt the satisfaction of Darcy’s continued health, but the dread Elizabeth had forcibly placed aside returned. “But if Fitzwilliam were dead ...” She stared intently at the narrow path leading to the main road, the same road her husband would ride upon his return. Hot tears pricked her eyes, and Elizabeth could not catch her breath. “Would they not inform me?” she sobbed.

“Would they not permit me to comfort my husband in his last hours? His last minutes?”

A figure appeared at the far end of the path, and for the pause of three heartbeats, hope swelled in Elizabeth’s chest. She clung to the sash and watched as the figure moved closer. Her heart lurched. “Not Darcy,” she whispered. The figure belonged to a woman. “Too spry for Mrs. Jacobs,” she speculated.

Whoever it was, Woodvine was the woman’s destination. Elizabeth turned from the window. She quickly gathered Samuel’s journals and shoved them from view between the mattresses of her bed. She would hide them more carefully upon her return. Elizabeth shed the satin robe she had worn over a simple chocolate- brown day dress to ward off the night’s chill. She had chosen the brown dress for its warmth when she had hoped to accompany Darcy to the field. When her husband had refused, Elizabeth had remained dressed for an impending emergency.

Now, she caught up a heavy wool shawl before rushing toward the servants’ stairs. Elizabeth meant to meet their visitor and learn news of her husband. Surely, a woman would not be on the road at this hour without words of pressing importance.

She burst into the kitchen just as the door opened quietly upon the room. Few servants were about at this hour, and, other than a scullery maid filling a kettle

with water at the well, no one stirred. The familiarity of the visitor’s countenance subtracted from the surprise Elizabeth might have felt otherwise.

“Mrs. Ridgeway?” Elizabeth hissed. “What has brought you to Woodvine at this hour?”

The woman glanced to where the door to Mrs. Holbrook’s small room was propped open with a broom.

She stilled, her features, initially, proving unreadable.

However, with a grimace, the housekeeper caught Elizabeth’s arm and tugged her in the direction of an alcove, which served as a stillroom. “I came to fetch you, Mrs. Darcy,” she whispered.

“Why all the secrecy?” Elizabeth asked.

“Mr. Stowbridge did not want the others to know what happened in Mr. Rupp’s field.”

Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat. She let out a long exhale. It was her impatience showing, but Mrs. Ridgeway appeared to ignore Elizabeth’s exigency.

“You have word of my husband.” The housekeeper nodded curtly. “Is Mr. Darcy in health?” Elizabeth asked through trembling lips.

Mrs. Ridgeway tugged Elizabeth along a passage to a side entrance. “I cannot say for certain,” she said seriously. “For I have not seen Mr. Darcy personally. Mr. Stowbridge thinks such matters are not in the realm of a lady’s disposition.”

Elizabeth could hear the strained words, a sound of contention between the housekeeper and the woman’s new employer, but she had more pressing concerns.

“Speak to me of Mr. Darcy.” She rushed to keep pace with the housekeeper. They had exited Woodvine and had set off across the well-tended lawns.

Mrs. Ridgeway spoke over her shoulder at the trailing Elizabeth. “I possess only the knowledge of a second tongue in what I overheard Mr. Holbrook tell Mr. Stowbridge.”

Elizabeth caught the housekeeper’s arm and dragged the woman to a halt. For a discomfiting moment, neither of them moved. “I understand,” she said with more calm than she possessed, “that Mr. Stowbridge did not confide in you. Yet, if you possess any knowledge of Mr. Darcy, I demand you speak of it immediately.”

Mrs. Ridgeway’s eyes appeared distant, and Elizabeth could not read the woman’s true intentions; yet,

| REGINA JEFFERS | she would let nothing stand between her and her husband. The lady paused for what seemed forever, but was likely only a handful of seconds. Finally, Mrs. Ridgeway said, “If you will accompany me, I shall explain what I have learned. I think it best if we speak while we walk. It will save time, and, as I am certain you will wish to reach Mr. Darcy’s side as quickly as possible, we should hurry our steps.”

Elizabeth offered, “Should I have someone saddle horses or bring around a gig?”

Mrs. Ridgeway tutted her disapproval. “In the time it would take to rouse one of Captain Tregonwell’s men to assist us, and then have the gentleman locate us appropriate transportation, you could be reunited with your husband. That is assuming you do not mind a walk across a country lane.”

Elizabeth despised the challenging tone in the woman’s voice, but she hesitated only a moment to glance toward the house before making her decision. “Lead on, Mrs. Ridgeway,” she said with determination.

The housekeeper strode toward the line of trees, and Elizabeth quickened her step to keep abreast of the woman. They entered the shadowy overhang before the woman spoke again. “This is what I overheard when Mr. Holbrook came to Stowe Hall in the early hours.” Their pace slowed when they reached the rough terrain of the wooded area. “Mr. Samuel’s groom called at the squire’s house at a little past four of the clock. He told Mr. Stowbridge a most astounding tale.”

They climbed a stile and descended the other side.

Mrs. Ridgeway set a diagonal path across the field.

“Mr. Holbrook spoke of discovering a coven celebrating Beltane under the stars where the old monoliths are found. Do you know the area, Mrs. Darcy?”

Elizabeth wished the woman would speak of Darcy’s condition, but she understood the housekeeper’s perverseness. Mrs. Ridgeway held all the high cards, and Elizabeth was a mere player. She said encouragingly, “I am familiar with Mr. Rupp’s land.”

The housekeeper continued her tale and the punishing exercise. When they exited the field over a like Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | stile, Elizabeth realized this was a part of the Darcy estate with which she was unfamiliar, but she brushed the thought aside as she hiked her skirt to maintain her gait. If Mrs. Ridgeway thought her a pampered lady of the ton, the housekeeper was in for a surprise. Elizabeth was not afraid of a long walk or a steady stride.

“Apparently, Mr. Barriton had taken Mrs. Jacobs prisoner and threatened to kill the woman.”

Elizabeth heard the derision in Mrs. Ridgeway’s voice. She supposed the housekeeper thought Mrs. Jacobs deserved part of her punishment.

Elizabeth said cautiously, “Mr. Darcy and Mr. McKye journeyed to Mr. Rupp’s land to put a stop to Mr. Barriton’s plans.”

“Well, they certainly managed to accomplish their task,” the housekeeper declared. “One of Mr. Tregonwell’s men shot Mr. Barriton after the man shoved Mrs. Jacobs into the fire the coven had built in Mr. Rupp’s field.”

Fear skated along Elizabeth’s spine. She offered up a silent prayer that it had not been Darcy who had dispatched Mr. Barriton. She thought such an act would lie heavily on her husband’s conscience. “Was Mrs. Jacobs badly injured?”

The housekeeper led Elizabeth deeper into the woods. Elizabeth supposed this was the shortcut to Stowe Hall, which Samuel Darcy had traversed the night he died. The thought of how easily someone had overcome the trusting archaeologist sent a shiver of dread down Elizabeth’s spine.

She glanced around to learn her bearings.

“According to Mr. Holbrook, he was to seek the services of the junior surgeon Mr. Glover had once trained,” Mrs. Ridgeway shared.

“Mr. Newby.” Elizabeth provided the name.

Mrs. Ridgeway confided, “If Geoffrey Glover trained the man, Mr. Newby will serve this community well. Mr. Glover was a man of science.”

Elizabeth’s patience had worn thin. She had thought to permit Mrs. Ridgeway her moment. In some ways, she supposed she owed the housekeeper that much, for Mrs. Ridgeway’s forced exit from Woodvine had placed the woman in an untenable position. In truth, Elizabeth harbored 18 | UncagedBooks.com

a bit of guilt for having dismissed the woman, but she could no longer tolerate the lack of news of her husband. “Please,” she said as she came to a halt. “I beg of you; speak to me of Mr. Darcy. I cannot bear not knowing.”

The housekeeper came to an abrupt standstill. She turned to Elizabeth, and with a smile of what appeared to be satisfaction, she said, “Mr. Holbrook was to fetch the surgeon to tend your husband. It appears Mr. Darcy fought with the butler. Your husband was stabbed with some sort of ceremonial knife. Mr. Holbrook says Mr. Darcy has lost a sizeable quantity of blood.”

Elizabeth felt her legs buckle, and she could do little to prevent herself from sinking to her knees. Darcy had been seriously injured. While she slept at her small desk, her husband had lain in a field, possibly bleeding to death. “Dear God,” her trembling lips offered in supplication. “Do not take him from me.”

She swayed in place as the darkness rushed in.

“Mrs. Darcy,” the housekeeper said brusquely. “We have no time for histrionics.”

Despite wishing to rock herself for comfort, Elizabeth gave herself a sound mental shake. She bit her lip to prevent the cry of anguish on the tip of her tongue. She looked up into the disapproving countenance of the housekeeper. However, Elizabeth did not apologize; instead she managed to stagger to her feet. “What else should I know?” Elizabeth asked fearfully.

“Mr. Stowbridge sent word of his late return to Stowe Hall. In the message, he indicated the surgeon had seen to your husband and had advised Mr. Darcy to permit Mrs. Rupp to nurse him until a coach could be sent from Woodvine. However, Mr. Darcy insisted on returning to your side.”

Elizabeth thought how like Darcy it was to recognize her concern and, therefore, place himself in danger in order to relieve Elizabeth’s anxiety. “Where is my husband now? At Stowe Hall?”

“They found him on the road after he could not sit his horse. Mr. Newby is treating Mr. Darcy in a small tenants’ cottage while Mr. Holbrook escorts Mrs. Jacobs to Woodvine and returns with a wagon. Tregonwell’s men assist Mr. Stowbridge with the investigation and the prisoners.” The woman turned back to the path,

| REGINA JEFFERS | and Elizabeth fell in step beside her. “It was thought Mr. Darcy would prove a better patient with you in attendance.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, a smile shaped Elizabeth’s lips. She could easily imagine an aristocratic Darcy barking orders to the young surgeon. That is if he were able, Elizabeth cautioned the knot lodged firmly in her chest. “Where is this cottage?” she asked in concern.

“One more field to cross,” Mrs. Ridgeway said confidently. “See.” The woman pointed to where a thatched roof could be seen behind an overgrown hedgerow.

Elizabeth quickened her stride. “Why in the world would they have taken shelter in such a deserted area?”

The housekeeper shrugged her shoulders. “It is the way of men to make women’s lives complicated.”

Elizabeth rushed across the field, which now stood fallow. Her heart pounded in her ears from the speed of their journey and from the all-encompassing fear that surrounded her. Would she be in time? Mr. Holbrook had said Mr. Darcy had lost a sizeable quantity of blood. Men did not normally worry so unless danger existed. Was Mr. Newby skilled enough to stop the bleeding? What of infection? She lifted her skirts higher and quickened her pace. Soon she was running, needing to reach Darcy before it was too late.

Gasping for air, Elizabeth burst into the small cottage, nothing more than a one-room sanctuary from the cold, to discover a profound silence. Nothing moved within. Her chest heaved from her run and from the heart-stopping realization that Mrs. Ridgeway had erred somehow. She caught at the stitch of pain in her side. “Where is he? Where is my husband?” she croaked.

An arm caught her across the neck while another hand placed a large damp handkerchief over her mouth and nose. From behind her, Mrs. Ridgeway’s harsh words stung her ear. “Dead. Mr. Darcy is dead.”

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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CATC H UP

Rose Lange returns to talk about the seconnd book in The Taylor Brothers series

Uncaged: Welcome back to Uncaged! Can you tell us more about your book, Seven Soulful Christmas Nights? This is part of a series, The Taylor Brothers.

Are you planning on more to this series?

Thank you for having me! It’s great to be here.

This book is part of a trilogy that began as a standalone.

When I started writing the first book in the trilogy, Emma and Patrick’s story, Mike and Sarah, the secondary characters were so strong that I knew they needed there own story. I wasn’t able to start that right away so I began taking notes, jotting down ideas, and brainstorming anything that came to mind over the course of several months.

I ended up with at least three or four notebooks full in the end. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing a Christmas romance because it is my favorite time of year, and this story in particular was a natural fit for the story and the characters. I had a lot of fun writing it and incorporating all the sounds, sights, and warm feelings of the holiday season.

I am planning on one more book, the final in the trilogy, Caleb and Zoe’s story, which is my current work in progress. This book came as a surprise as well when a twist in book number two came to fruition.

I would say this trilogy, overall, has been full of many twists and turns, but it’s been the best adventure. It’s also been a great challenge, and a joy, to venture outside of my comfort zone.

Uncaged: How has the pandemic changed the way you are marketing your work?

Marketing has never been a strong suit for me, and something I’m still trying to get better at. It’s been a slow process, and I’d planned on starting to blog on a regular basis starting in October, but I recently had surgery and that put the brakes on that plan.

I’m hopeful that I’ll start after the New Year. Maybe sooner but we’ll see.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I’m currently working on the third, and final, book in the trilogy, Caleb and Zoe’s story. This project was the most challenging (so far) when it first began, because I put a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself. I didn’t allow myself to have fun with the story and let go.

It took time, a lot of patience, and encouragement from friends and family, but I’m finally going at a steady pace. I’m having fun writing it and these characters are lively and are truly coming to life on the page.

I’m hoping for a late summer/early fall 2021 release.

Fingers crossed.

Rose Lange has been a reader since she was little. Her joy for reading eventually turned into a passion for writing, which she started pursuing in high school. Her English teacher read her first manuscript, a contemporary romance, and encouraged her to keep writing.

Rose lives in Southeastern Wisconsin with her husband, son, and a soon to be standard poodle, Zuzu. She loves spending time in her “mommy” cave creating stories, and getting to know her characters.

When she’s not busy writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching old movies, reading, and shopping. roselangeauthor.wordpress.com

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| CATCH UP |

Enjoy an excerpt from Seven Soulful Christmas Nights Seven Soulful Christmas Nights Rose Lange Contemporary Romance How can one man change everything she’s never believed about love?

Sarah McCallen took herself off the dating grid. She’s had a string of poor luck, and bad taste in men. The dating game has been on the back burner for a while, and that’s suited her just fine. Until one night, and one chance meeting, shakes her faith to its very core.

Mike Taylor suffered a bad breakup over fifteen years ago, and after that decided to throw everything into his cabinetry business. Women and dating, he kept casual, but then one night at a bar, he meets a woman who causes such a potent reaction that it changes everything.

When a chance meeting turns into more than either one bargains for . . . this year St. Nick is serving up love.

Excerpt “Which room are you painting?” he asked.

She frowned. The question seemed random, and then she remembered the two cans of paint nestled at the front door.

“Oh, I was going to paint a spare room and turn it into a home office. One of these days.”

He shrugged. “How about now? I’ll help you.”

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s getting late.”

“Nonsense, I’ll help you. I’ve got some old paint clothes stashed in my truck. Give me a couple minutes to change, and we’ll start.”

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After prepping the space, and changing into her old paint clothes, it didn’t take long to get situated.

“I really appreciate this, Mike.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Pretty soon, they were settled, one can of mint-green paint split between the two trays and roller brushes scattered within the room. They finished one wall and she stood back, studying the lovely shade of green.

It would be a beautiful space once finished, and she already envisioned how she’d decorate.

Moving to the other wall, they continued to work quietly, but she couldn’t resist. She dipped her brush into the tray and pressed it against his back. He turned toward her, and she giggled at the serious look on his face.

Then, without a word, he took the brush from her hand and pressed the edge against the apple of her cheek.

She bent over, grabbed the roller, and decorated the front of his shirt. He looked at the offending paint and then back at her.

“Interesting. So, you want a paint war? I’ll give you a paint war.”

Sounds of laughter pierced the air, and before she knew it they were chasing each other down the hall.

They’d even made it into the living room before she got an idea and ran toward the spare bedroom. She was determined to get him one last time and win this war.

That idea went down the tubes when her foot caught on the ladder and she tripped. Her bottom slid and nestled into the tray of paint. She set her brush down, unable to stop the bubble of laugher now mixing with his.

He knelt to her level, and set his brush aside. “I’m sorry to laugh at your expense, but are you okay?”

“I’m okay, thank you. Help me up?”

| TROSE LANGE | The blasted man rubbed his jaw, as if in deep thought, and it annoyed the hell out of her.

“Gee, I don’t know. You look kind of cute, sitting there with your ass in a tray of paint.”

“Come on now, really?”

He leaned in until they were nose to nose.

“Definitely.”

This man was incredible, and sexy and kind, and thoughtful. She enjoyed seeing him everyday. He put a smile on her face for no reason. He made her laugh, and she could be herself around him.

“I really appreciate everything you did today, Mike.

You made Mom’s day, and I can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure.”

She settled her hands on his cheeks, not making eye contact, then rubbed back and forth. Nerves gathered and danced in her chest, but she forged on despite them and pressed her mouth to his.

Gently, she coaxed his mouth open, brushing her tongue against his, and he responded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her out of the paint, until one swift motion drew her against him.

She wrapped her legs around his and waist, and oh my word, this must be heaven.

They both sat upright, and he continued what she’d started, trailing kisses down her earlobe and neck before grabbing her buttocks.

“Mike, your hands are full of paint now.”

“No, Sarah, they’re full of you.”

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SERIES

showcase Vincent Hollow

GHOSTS and other VITAL ORGANS GHOSTS and other VITAL ORGANS Vincent Hollow Poetry

Put yourself in a mausoleum and be prepared to meet—again—the demons you have buried for so long. They are rearing their ugly heads at you once more along with haunting screams.

Can you take them?

But maybe it will do you good to let these demons roam around the glass house. Sometimes, all you need to do is look right back at it and never back down. Not even when they let out the most guttural, haunting moans.

Ghosts and Other Vital Organs is a revisit to one’s mausoleum of nightmares and confronting the monsters within. Facing one’s monsters headon can actually save one’s life, and a reminder that sometimes the scariest things lie within us, and are vital to our survival.

The horrors of your past can help shape your future. And revisiting them would remind you not to commit the same errors.

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U.S. Review of Books “does my reflection seem infected?”

In poems depicting the loss of self to one’s demons, psychological terror, and toxic relationships too enthralling and adrenaline-spiking to cleanse, what becomes apparent is that what most shapes a person psychologically and emotionally is often that which one cannot see. Poems such as “Mirrors” and “Our Nightmares” depict the intertwining of good and evil, lust and calm within one’s essence. With allusions to films like Nightmare on Elm Street, the poems within this collection possess an unequivocal darkness that, from the very first to the very last, leaves readers shivering and needing a nightlight to sleep.

With its alluring artwork that portrays each poem as a carved epigraph on a tombstone, this collection will appeal to horror genre lovers and fans. Some poems show life and existence as a movie with surprise slashings— emotional and mental ones. Others declare that solitude is not always the friend that transcendentalist writers like Thoreau and Emerson advocate: “sitting alone / watching the rain / sometimes / figures disappear / but some will stay.” Instead, solitude becomes just one of the many demons tormenting an already broken, writhing soul that walks waywardly and confusedly through relationships and moments that rest like abandoned graves in a neglected cemetery. “Mood Stone” takes a more dedicated, romantic approach reminiscent of Dickinson: “By the time it dripped / In Stygian nightfall / Smoke trails led you down / the steps to your crypt.”

The subtle rhyme lures in readers and creates the sense and the image of a person taking steps down into a lower level shrouded by darkness, cold, spider webs, and loss.

The poem “Necrodancer” is just one of the collection’s highlights. It opens with a bold declaration evocative of Camille Saint-Saens’ “Danse Macabre”: “Every night / I dance with the dead.” The statement then folds into something more sinister when the narrator observes,

“As they dangle / Like marionettes from unseen fingers.” Companionship and futility, nonetheless, fuse in the poem’s final three lines: “And we dance / In the darkness of my dreams / Until the sun turns them to dust.” By its end, readers see that the narrator has triumphed, but readers also intuit that the fear of what will return lingers for time immemorial. The sense of haunting depicted in this poem is one that permeates the collection. This haunting gives readers a feeling of always being watched by something they cannot see, which adds to the terrifying death-oriented symbols throughout the collection.

With its phenomenal artwork depicting grim reapers, bats, and skulls, this book is sure to appeal to anyone with an appreciation of and aesthetic for the darker side of life. For those seeking meditative yet jarring verses portraying the psychologically terrifying, this collection will be as refreshing as candles burning in the dark on a thunderstorm-ridden night. Others will appreciate the author’s book for its accessibility. Since the work reads easily and smoothly, it is perfect for novice poetry readers. Meanwhile, more seasoned fans of melancholic verse by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe will appreciate Hollow’s similar themes.

Author Vincent Hollow is a poetic poltergeist rearranging his hauntings and nightmares into tales of verse and pose. Living in a stained glass window, he sees his monsters in various colors. This gives him strength to battle with the monsters cloaked in shadows, creeping in at dusk.

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kate arc h er Uncaged welcomes Kate Archer Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest book, The Lord’s Desperate Pledge will release on Dec. 8 and is part of a series. Can you tell readers more about this book and series?

I

would like nothing more than to time travel back to the Regency (and time travel back to my twenties as long as we’re going somewhere) to take my chances at a ball. Who would take the first? Who would escort me into supper? What sort of meaningful looks would be exchanged? I would hope, having made the trip, to encounter a gentleman who would give me a very hard time. He ought to be vexatious in the extreme, and worth every vexation, to make the journey worthwhile.

I most likely won’t be able to work out the time travel gambit, so I will content myself with writing stories of adventure and romance in my beloved time period. There are lives to be created, marvelous gowns to wear, jewels to don, instant attractions that inevitably come with a difficulty, and hearts to break before putting them back together again. In traditional Regency fashion, my stories are clean—the action happens in a drawing room, rather than a bedroom.

As I muse over what will happen next to my H and h, and wish I were there with them, I will occasionally remind myself that it’s also nice to have a microwave, Netflix, cheese popcorn, and steaming hot showers.

Stay Connected

katearcher.weebly.com 28 | UncagedBooks.com

Thank you so much for asking me to stop by! This is the third book of the series, The Dukes’ Pact. Six older dukes are fed up with their eldest sons not getting around to marrying and producing heirs, so they put them under extreme financial pressure to force them into it. The bachelor lords, naturally, resist. They will all be defeated, one by one, by my fearless heroines.

This is book three and Lord Ashbridge is a renowned, and arrogant, gambler. Lily Farnsworth has paid for her season via a particular skill at piquet. When these two card players collide, they despise one another. Until they stumble on a dangerous plot and are forced to work together.

I had such fun with these two. Ashbridge presents a cool exterior, but the fact is, he’d watched in horror when his inheritance came very close to ruin and takes his responsibility to keep his family afloat very seriously. Lily grew up fighting off creditors and has developed nerves of steel on account of it. Both of them are prickly, and so very well suited to one another.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I’ve just completed book four of the series—The Baron’s Dangerous Contract. Lord Cabot and Miss Penny Darlington seemed once very well matched. However, they’ve had a very public falling out. She does not wish to see him, but there’s no avoiding him. Her father has invited Lord Cabot to stay at their house in Newmarket for the races. Newmarket is not what it seems and there

are those who’d like to rig an important race. Both Lord Cabot and Penny will have to decided how far they will go and what they will risk for one another.

Since wrapping that up, I’ve started on book five—The Peer’s Roguish Word. Lord Grayson is a dandy and a flirt and hasn’t picked up a book since Oxford. Kitty Dell is a bookworm who would be a member of the Royal Society if she were a man. So, you can see where that might go delightfully wrong.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

During the week, I work in social services and used to travel from place to place and meet people in person. I loved that and had my car set up to be a mobile kitchen/ living room. I even have a car mini-fridge. Now, living in the northeast, I have lived on Zoom since March.

HOWEVER, I never complain about being locked down. I know how much people have suffered—losing loved ones, losing jobs, worried about their kids’ mental health, worried about childcare, worried about getting evicted or facing a mortgage foreclosure, even worried about food. I and my family are doing fine and so I would slap myself if I allowed one whine about it.

In any case, it’s one of the joys of being a writer—if you’re not entirely satisfied with world as it is, it is the easiest thing to create a better world and go there for a few hours. I know we writers are not doing vital work right now, we are not holding the hands of the dying or keeping the grocery stores open. But I hope what we are doing is providing a temporary escape hatch for readers who may be carrying a lot on their shoulders just now.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

Charles Dickens would be first on the list—he was a master of the comic character—Mr. Micawber, anybody? I always try to include some levity in my romances, so I would ask him for some tips! To that

lunch, I would also invite the ancestor on my wall who is from an earlier era. He oversees my writing and since I don’t know his precise name, I have always called him Mr. Bennet.

For a second lunch, I’d invite Jane Austen, Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer all together. I would be the silent and delighted fourth at the table.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

Almost always! I am not a plotter. I generally know the beginning and the end of a story, and nothing about the middle. I write my way through and I do find that one circumstance leads to another and another. I used to be disappointed that I couldn’t be like writers who map out everything ahead of time but I think I see the benefit now—I don’t have my best ideas until I get there. When I began The Lord’s Desperate Pledge, I had no idea about the scheming of various characters until I got there. In fact, I didn’t even know that a particular lynchpin character existed until I stumbled into him. I could never have known what my hero and heroine would do about that situation until they were in it.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

At the moment, I am wrapping presents. I know most people find it a chore, but I love it! I have run out of things to wrap so I’ll have to buy more presents, which happens every year. (My niece and nephew think me very generous on account of it.)

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| FEATURE AUTHOR |

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

Well…I am not a marketing genius, that’s for sure. I’m one of those writers that likes to hole up alone and write and the rest of it gives me angina. The writing part, just me and the developing story, is the fun part for me. After a book is out, I take reviews to heart WAY too much.

I shouldn’t even read them, I have writer friends who don’t, but I take them very personally. I will probably feel successful when I get a thicker skin!

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I also like to knit but am hopeless with knitting needles so I have a knitting loom. (A seven-yearold could figure it out). I only know how to knit scarves so, once again this year, everybody I know is getting a scarf for Christmas whether they want one or not.

I read both ebooks and physical books equally. At the moment, I am getting ready to reread A Christmas Carol, as I do most every year.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

THANK YOU. It makes me so happy to think that we went on a journey together. You went to regency England and met all my people—really, it’s amazing!

Enjoy an excerpt from The Lord’s Desperate Pledge The Lord’s Desperate Pledge Kate Archer Victorian Historical Releases Dec. 8 A Steely Lady and a High Stakes Lord Book 3 in The Dukes’ Pact Series—six dukes take dire steps to force their heirs to marry, while those heirs fight just as hard to remain bachelors. A sweet regency romance.

Lily Farnsworth is a resourceful lady. As well she 30 | UncagedBooks.com

| KATE ARCHER | should be, her father has spent years dragging the family’s estate from the edge of ruin and she’s always had to make do with little. A proper season and the gowns to go with it seem entirely out of reach.

That is, until Lily discovers she has a particular skill at piquet. Pound by pound, she gathers the funds to pay her own way. Her aunt is delighted to play host in her modest London house and squire her niece to parties. Everybody is certain that one season will be enough to see Lily married well and with the means to help her sisters.

Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Duke of Dembly, may be in line to inherit a great estate, but that estate has recently tottered on the brink of collapse. He’s only rescued it through his skill at a card table. He’s a renowned gambler and he’s got firm opinions about it—the foremost being that women do not have the steady nerves for large bets. That is, until Miss Farnsworth challenges him in Lady Blakeley’s drawing room.

An uneasy acquaintance is born and neither party would much mind never again setting eyes on the other. Hayes may be drawn to Lily’s looks, but he has no intention of marrying just yet, which suits his friends in the dukes’ pact. Lily may be struck by Lord Ashworth’s person, but she does not aim as high as a dukedom, and even if she did, the lord is far too arrogant.

Despite their mutual dislike, it will not be so easy to escape one another. As Lady Montague connives, and a certain Mr. Shine schemes, Lily and Hayes will find that their acquaintance has turned from uncomfortable to deadly.

Neither of them knows who will win the final hand.

Excerpt Chapter One Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and eldest son of the Duke of Dembly, trotted his horse through the

early dawn streets of London. Horus occasionally reared his head, the lord’s favored mount being fond of an early morning jaunt and having been cooped in a stable all evening. Hayes held the reins in one hand and patted his inside coat pocket with the other. It had been a profitable evening and he was becoming more and more convinced that establishments like Lady Carradine’s club were where he should spend his time and efforts.

He’d spent the past year investigating every gambling opportunity that might be had in London.

It was necessary that he do so—his father had, through bad management and one failing investment after the next, put his inheritance in a precarious position. By the time Hayes had grasped the enormity of the situation, they had skated dangerously close to a mortgage or a sell-off. It still made his heart pound to think of it. If he had not chanced to discover the situation through some dark hints dropped by the family solicitor, they would have lost everything by now.

His father was a distracted and haphazard sort of gentleman. The management of multiple estates had been quite beyond him. For years, while the duke had admired his collection of dead butterflies, or spent hours rearranging his books, or even days at a time hiding from his duchess, he’d allowed lazy and corrupt stewards to run things into the ground. Worse, whatever money there was coming out of the farms was invariably invested in a losing opportunity. The duke’s hopes were always raised high and his scrutiny and skepticism kept low. The estates had paid a heavy price for it.

Hayes had exchanged some strong words with his father, the first of a hard nature that had been spoken between them. The duke had finally relented and turned the management of the estates over to his son. There had been the caveat that nobody was to know it, especially his duchess, and so the duke routinely took himself off to his library and shuffled various papers this way and that to create the illusion of remaining at the helm of the family ship. The newly-hired stewards knew the truth of it though, and communicated all serious business to Hayes by letter. Nobody else was the wiser, so Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | the duke held onto his dignity while Hayes took the steps needed to rescue the family legacy.

Hayes had put good men in place, increased efficiencies, straightened out lax tenants, and trimmed expenses where he could, but it was not enough.

His mother could not live without two carriages, his sister could not survive without her expensive fripperies, his younger brother appeared to require three horses at Oxford, and his father could not carry on without a cellar full of champagne and port.

The estates were on their way back to firm footing, but he’d required an infusion of money to fund his family’s bare necessities lest they undo all of his good work. More money could only be had one of two ways—marriage to an heiress or gambling. It had not taken a moment to decide which direction he would go; he had no wish to marry so soon and he would never marry only for money. That sort of thing was a distasteful business that smacked of the marketplace. Whoever his lady turned out to be, he would bring her into a situation that stood on stable ground and did not need rescue from a dowry. His self-respect demanded that much.

Once making his decision, he’d holed up in a rented house and studied. When he was satisfied that nobody, with the exception of Hoyle, understood odds and strategies better than he did, he ventured to sample all London had to offer, from White’s to low hells and everything in between. He found the gentlemen’s clubs too fixated on chance bets and had no wish to risk even a pound over which direction a bird might fly, or which lord would produce a son sooner, or which color cat would first appear on the sidewalk. In truth, he was wholly uninterested in games of chance and thought only fools approached a hazard table without foreseeing what was to be the end of it.

He was only interested in games of skill—it was in those games that one had the best odds of trouncing a man who had overestimated his own abilities.

He was particularly skilled at piquet. There were times he had difficulty finding somebody who would challenge him at it, and other times gentlemen sought him out in droves, it appearing to be some sort of badge of honor to play against him.

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He did not take much joy in relieving gentlemen of their funds, but it was a necessary occupation. When he thought of what might have happened if he had not taken the reins—his younger brother forced from Oxford, his sister’s dowry gone—he felt a surge of energy that propelled him forward.

He had been to Lady Carradine’s club often and it had a number of advantages. Lady Carradine herself was the primary recommendation. The air of the place was more a private house of a genteel lady than a gambling establishment. There was none of the opulence found at some other places he frequented—all shabby façade when one looked closely enough. There were no copious glasses of wine always at one’s elbow, meant to muddle the mind and judgment and invariably declining in quality as the night wore on. There was not even a hazard table, as Lady Carradine often said she would not be responsible for some young fool losing an estate over a roll of a dice and then doing a violence to himself. She charged a monthly fee, as any club might do, and fair interest on loans from the house bank.

The emphasis was on serious attention to skilled gambling, and that was what he preferred. That she called it “Lady Carradine’s Club for Ladies and Gentlemen” and had the odd musical evening was a touch absurd, but if the lady wanted to pretend it was anything other than a gambling house, that was fine with him.

One might go to Lady Carradine’s to play at any number of card games, confident the house was on the up and up. A gentleman could be assured that the cards were not marked, and if one needed to borrow, the daily rate was reasonable. The betting sometimes did not go as high as some more famous clubs, but Hayes preferred it that way. The bets went high enough and fortunes were not made by one lucky night, though they could certainly be lost in one un-lucky night.

Lady Carradine’s was a fair set-up, and as he knew all too well, fair was not often encountered in the world of gambling. There were no sharpers or shills and nobody was a pigeon unless they were determined to make themselves one.

That the club allowed females was the one point he did not find in Lady Carradine’s favor. She had set up the place to cater to them and kept a sharp eye on the proceedings. There were never ending rounds of tea and

| KATE ARCHER | dry cake—the sort of dull refreshment one might find at Almack’s. There were middle-aged matrons whose sole employment seemed to be assuring Lady Carradine that everything went on proper—their hawk eyes perennially scanning the room. Gentlemen turning up the worse for drink did not get through the door. The air of the place was of a private house party where a lady might be free to sit down to cards.

He supposed the likes of Mrs. Jameson and Lady Edith, both notorious for gambling away their husband’s money, must play somewhere. And then there was that peculiar older lady who was forever chattering about something. He was wholly uninterested in playing against any of them and wholly irritated by their overwrought emotions when the play did not go their way. It was not to be his problem to explain to those husbands what had happened to their four hundred pounds, and he very much wished not to have his name mentioned during the tearful explanations.

Females did not have the steady nerves required for laying down substantial sums over a hand of cards.

Still, he supposed the general atmosphere of the place, tea-soaked as it might be, was useful to him.

There would be no young and drunken fools inconveniencing him by loudly challenging him before vomiting on their own shoes in Lady Carradine’s establishment.

Hayes leapt down from Horus in front of his house on Berkeley Square. He’d rented it at a dear price, but his winnings helped him afford it. A groom, ever ready for his arrival, raced out of the early morning shadows to lead his horse to the stables.

His penchant for gaming had produced a remarkable surplus. He’d been able to fund his family in the way they’d become accustomed. He’d thought one other particular benefit would be that it would stymie the old dukes in their ridiculous pact to force him and his friends to marry. He’d come near to threatening his own father to give it up, but the Duke of Dembly claimed he’d no choice in the matter, his friends were that determined, and that he was more of an onlooker than anything else. Hayes had pointed out that his father could hardly cut him off, as it was himself that held the purse strings. Ominously, the duke had claimed he’d take the purse strings back if necessary.

That, of all things, could not be allowed to happen. His father would run the estates back into the ground, and they both knew it. They had reached an uncomfortable impasse on the subject.

Hayes reminded himself that he had one thing his father did not—an iron will to restore the family’s estates. He would not be pushed into marriage. He would marry at some point, of course he would.

But he would decide when and to who and he would bring that lady into a comfortable situation.

The very idea of counseling a wife that she must curtail her purchases or some other small-minded directive filled him with disgust.

In any case, he had not yet encountered any female he could contemplate joining with forevermore.

There were no end of pleasant ladies one might dance with, converse with, match wits with and tip one’s hat to. Pleasant was not enough.

It was true that he and his friends had lost Hampton, and now Lockwood despite their best efforts, to the state of matrimony. But that still left himself, Dalton, Cabot and Grayson. They would hold the line and when their funds were cut off, his winnings coupled with Dalton’s house would keep them afloat. If it came to it, his mother could live with only one carriage, his sister could make do with what she had in her wardrobe, his brother could survive with only one horse, and his father could drink his last bottle of champagne before Hayes Summersby would be pushed into a marriage he did not seek. When the estates were on solid ground, and when it was the right lady, he would not need to be pushed. He would chain himself happily enough.

But not until then. ~~~~~ Lily Farnsworth mused over the array of dresses strewn about her bedchamber. Never had this particular room been so graced with all manner of fine things. More usually, she might find herself examining a year-old garment and contemplating how she might spruce it up to look like new. Or, at least not horribly old.

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | she did not owe a bill. All her life had been a series of calculations, what could be had and what could not, and it felt very foreign to find herself in the midst of such abundance.

The clothes had begun arriving after she’d sent a letter to her childhood friend Cassandra Knightsbridge, now to be known as Lady Hampton. She’d written Cassandra that she’d scraped together enough money for a season and would come in a month. Her father had no need of renting a house, Lily would stay with her aunt, Mrs. Amelia Hemming. Though the lady did not live at a particularly fashionable address, it was respectable enough.

Lily had marshalled together the funds for theater tickets, a rented carriage to carry her about, a sum to compensate her aunt for the increased expenses of a houseguest, and perhaps even the means to host one dinner party, though not an elaborate affair. She’d used all her wits and skills to create a barely credible wardrobe, comprised of her old dresses reworked, reclaimed fabric from the attics, and a judiciously small amount of new material.

Nobody, she cheerfully assured herself, would guess that the blue velvet spencer had once been curtains. The end result of all her labor was the bare minimum, but it was just enough as long as nobody was looking too closely.

Lily had hoped, by telling Cassandra of her arrival, that her friend might provide some few introductions. She did not aim for the moon, but she doubted her aunt knew the sort of people who might throw a fashionable ball. She suspected Mrs. Hemming of maintaining a small circle of friends her own age who preferred tea and whist to dancing or routs.

Dear Cassandra had done more than vow to take Lily in hand and introduce her round the town.

Lady Hampton had sent a dressmaker with instructions to fit her out with ten splendid gowns made of the finest materials. There were silks and velvets and satins, and a particularly fine muslin intricately embroidered with gold thread. There had also been an order for several day dresses and a lovely traveling cloak of ruby merino wool trimmed in fox.

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Unbeknownst to Lily, Cassandra had gathered her measurements from the returning modiste and set about writing of her situation to the Marchioness of Lockwood, known to Lily through Cassandra’s letters as the former Lady Sybil Hayworth. The Marchioness had taken those measurements and had made more day dresses, spencers, and a velvet riding habit. Then, somehow, Lady Lockwood told a certain Miss Penny Darlington, a lady entirely unknown to Lily, who had sent a carriage-full of accoutrements. There were nine pairs of kid gloves, a basketful of ribbons, silk stockings, five wraps of various materials, an elegant fur tippet, three parasols of different patterns, and four charming bonnets.

Another sort of lady might have worried that she’d somehow become a cause, a charity case pitied by those in more comfortable situations. Lily did not see it that way. In her view, a network of amiable ladies in possession of an ever-flowing fountain of pin money had seen another lady in need and ridden to the rescue.

They had determined that one of their own would not arrive in London unprepared. In doing so, they had rid Lily of one of her worst fears—that great personages might raise their quizzing glasses and note the shabbiness of her refurbished wardrobe. That those elites might guess the truth of her family’s circumstances.

Her dear father had spent a lifetime dragging their estate from the brink of ruin. He’d made sure her dowry was suitable, but just. No fortune hunter would eye Miss Farnsworth with any sort of satisfaction. Other than a respectable dowry, there was little money for new clothes of any sort.

Still, Lily had been determined to go to London for a season. She had looked around her little corner of Surrey and found the gentlemen wanting, ranging from gangly to insipid to irritating. Further, she would be able to do little for her sisters if she married some local gentry. Marigold and Rose did not yet even have dowries and though it had never been said, Lily felt her father depended upon her to marry well and somehow provide. She must not let them down.

Lily bit her lip as she examined the finery given to her.

None of those generous ladies could be in the least aware of how she’d scraped together the money to install herself in London for the season. She wondered

| KATE ARCHER | if they would condemn her over it. While her father had no means to fund her, it turned out Lily herself did have the means. She had a particular skill at cards.

She’d spent the past year practicing that skill at a tidy profit. It had taken some doing, not the least of which had been convincing her mama and papa that it was the only practical solution. After she’d realized the potential value of her unique skill, she need only devise opportunities to use it.

Lily had, during this time, claimed an injury to her leg that made dancing impossible. She would arrive to an assembly with a slight limp, look helplessly about, and then make her way to the card room. She would not wear any of these new dresses to those outings, it would not be well to appear too prosperous. She donned one of her old, refurbished dresses and sat herself down of an evening. Most of local Surrey society appeared to pity her condition and find some solace in the idea that she was at least able to enjoy cards, while they graciously handed over their money.

Oh, she did enjoy cards! While she had struggled through her studies in the schoolroom, it seemed not the least trouble to remember which cards had been played and which had not. They arranged themselves in her mind like so many paintings, with gaps for those cards still in a pile or in another player’s hands.

She might have found it impossible to explain to her old tutor which English King took the throne at what date, but it was the simplest of matters to calculate the likely location of the king of hearts.

One was text and the other was picture—pictures formed in her mind like some kind of magic, while memorizing text was impossible, her mind a veritable sieve. Cards seemed as old friends that she’d known all her life. The cards spoke to her, and sometimes the backs even told her things. There might be the tiniest of variations in the design—a minute drop of ink or the smallest smudge. There might be a slight bend of a corner and she would know it was the nine of clubs. Over the course of an evening, it would prove handy to recall that the back of the ten of hearts had the smallest deviation.

Piquet was her particular game of choice. The thirtytwo cards arrayed themselves in her thoughts, very helpfully providing their various locations—in her

own hand, played, on the table, or in her opponent’s hand. Once she and her opponent had declared, she was able to make reasonable guesses at what her foe held. Piquet had the further benefit of being a game with only two players. Aside from her skill at cards, Lily also claimed a skill at faces and more importantly—hands. A skilled player might become adept at concealing various expressions, but they always forgot about their hands. A person holding strong cards moved smoothly and confidently. A person unsure of their hand moved ever so slightly less so and would often re-check their cards. The signals came to her as clear as daylight—she had a knack for detecting patterns.

Further, she could not bear to play with a partner.

There was nothing worse than being saddled with an incompetent at a whist table. Unfortunately, there were far too many people sitting themselves down for whist who were sadly incompetent.

The money had been slowly collected, pound by pound and guinea by guinea. Now, all of this finery sent from three generous ladies must be packed and readied. She would leave for London in the morning. Thanks to Cassandra and her friends, Lily Farnsworth would arrive for her season appearing just as prosperous as any other young lady. ~~~~~ Bellamy poured brandy for the gentlemen gathered round Lord Dalton’s table in the library. Since the Lockwood Affair, as the butler had taken to thinking of it, his master had been in high dudgeon.

Fortunately, that high dudgeon had not in the least affected how the house was run. He and his footmen remained free with the lord’s wine and must only be careful not to appear too cheerful in the face of their lord’s wrath. At this moment, Bellamy adopted an expression that was suitably grave.

“I still cannot fathom how we lost Lockwood,” Lord Cabot said, throwing back his brandy.

“We were hours from victory, then old Lord Blanding decides to start a fire and nearly get himself killed,” Hayes said.

“I wish the old devil had found the decency to perish,” Lord Grayson said. “If Lady Sybil was to wear the black bombazine, it would have bought Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | us a good six months to knock some sense into Lockwood.”

Lord Dalton, appearing to see no use in going over old ground said, “Blanding did not have the decency to kick off and Lockwood was the hero of the hour, launching himself into the flames to pull the old boy out. What’s done is done.”

Lord Grayson used his forefinger to move his glass, a signal that Bellamy ought to refill it. As the butler did so, the lord said, “I suppose Lockwood appeared a regular knight in shining armor.

Rescuing the lady’s father could hardly have been more providential, surprise though it was to us.”

Lord Dalton looked suspiciously round at his friends. “As we were all surprised to lose Lockwood, is there anybody here who might deliver a similar surprise? Any flirtation that might grow out of hand?”

“Certainly not,” Hayes said. “I’ve not encountered a single female I could countenance for a fortnight of close quarters, much less a lifetime.”

“Nor I,” Lord Grayson said. “My flirtations are many, but they never go too far. I am very particular to say nothing that might be construed as a declaration.”

“As careful not to declare yourself as you may be,” Lord Cabot said, “various mamas are beginning to complain. It is said that you led on Miss Mayfield most unmercifully last season and Mrs. Mayfield has declared you a rogue.”

“Miss Mayfield was a delightful diversion, I was quite taken by her,” Lord Grayson said.

“Until you weren’t,” Hayes said.

“Just so,” Lord Grayson said. “I fear I should never encounter a lady who can hold my feelings in the palm of her hand for more than a few months.

A curse, but there you have it. Anyway, what about you, Cabot? Precisely how many times did you dance with Miss Darlington last season?”

“Bah,” Lord Cabot said dismissively, “we all danced with Miss Darlington, she is a pleasant lady.”

“See that she stays only pleasant,” Lord Dalton said darkly.

Hayes folded his arms. “And you Dalton? Are 36 | UncagedBooks.com

you in any danger?”

There was a long pause before the gentlemen round the table erupted in laughter. Even Bellamy was hard pressed to keep his expression somber. The last man on earth who would be in any danger from female wiles was the scarred Charles Battersea, Earl of Dalton. ~~~~~ Lily’s aunt, Mrs. Amelia Hemming, lived in a tidy house on Cork Street. The residence had the advantage of being so nearby more elegant addresses that it often prompted the lady to refer to it as just off Berkeley Square. The house was not overlarge by anybody’s standards, but everything needed was neatly done.

There was a suitable drawing room where one might receive callers, a dining room where twenty might be seated, a cheery though rather compact breakfast room, and even a snug library, though it contained more furnishings than books.

Above stairs, the bedchambers were on the small side of things, though Lily’s aunt had been clever in avoiding oversized furnishings that might overwhelm the space they were given. Lily did not care two figs for a room any larger than the one she found herself in—it had a charming bedstead of wrought iron, a small fireplace enameled in a lively yellow and green diamond pattern, an overstuffed chintz chair, a slender and elegant writing desk, a large wardrobe, and a lovely view of the tidy rows of the kitchen garden.

Her aunt’s lady’s maid, Pips, had unpacked her trunks and helped her out of her traveling clothes. Lily had told the maid she was perfectly able to dress herself, as she had been in the habit of it all her life. Pips had not been daunted or put off and had muttered something about backward country ways. Lily had no choice but to let the maid carry on with it in all good humor.

Now, Lily hurried down the stairs to the drawing room to join her aunt.

Mrs. Hemming’s butler, Ranier, was just bringing in the tea. He was one of those individuals that Lily thought of as “grumpy-faced.” His jowls hung over his starched neckcloth, pulling his mouth down into a decided frown. She knew better than to think his depressing visage was any kind of representation of his spirit, as she had known him since she was a lit-

| KATE ARCHER | tle girl. Beneath that grim exterior was a kindly man who highly approved of everything she did, even if it would not have struck anybody else as noteworthy.

She fondly remembered being six or seven and favoring him with drawings of her puppy which she was now certain had verged on unrecognizable. Lily had been enormously pleased when he’d exclaimed that Holbein himself could not have done better. That Ranier had been the only person who had ever said anything nice about her rather mediocre drawing skills had further cemented him in her affections.

Now, he gave her the slightest of nods to indicate his approval of her current circumstances.

Her aunt sat on the sofa in front of a charming pink marble table. Mrs. Hemming was on the short and stout side, her cheerful round face and pink cheeks crowned with an elaborate pile of graying hair held in place with jeweled combs. She said, “There you are, Lily, come and sit by me and refresh yourself after your journey. Though, I suppose it was not a particularly long journey, and here I am speaking of it as if you had just arrived from the Americas. In any event, coming from near or far, you must wish for tea. Everybody does, I suppose.”

Lily smiled. It was one of Mrs. Hemming’s idiosyncrasies that the lady spoke all her thoughts as they arrived, no matter how willy-nilly they composed themselves. She sat by her aunt and clasped her hands. “It was so kind of you to allow me to come, Aunt. I could not be more grateful.”

“Bah,” Mrs. Hemming said. “Why should I not? Of course, there is always money to think of and I do not have all that much to think about as a general thing, though sometimes I have more. But here you are and somehow your father has come up with the sum. How did he do it, I wonder?”

Lily could feel her cheeks tinge pink. She had debated what she should tell her aunt about how the trip was afforded. In the end, she’d decided honesty was called for. Though, perhaps vague honesty would be best.

“We were fortunate to come into some funds that were not anticipated,” Lily said.

“Did you?” her Aunt said, pouring the tea. “Funds not anticipated sounds delightful. I should like to know about that! What a pleasant idea—one is just going

along as usual and then suddenly somebody gives them some money. Who was it, dear?”

Lily had somehow forgotten how inquisitive her aunt could be. While others might take the answer at its face and comprehend that the speaker wished to say no more about it, Amelia Hemming would take in no such hint.

Lily took her teacup and set it down on the marble tabletop. “Aunt,” she said slowly, “as you know, my father has had a time of it bringing the estate back to what it once was.”

Amelia waved her hands, “No need to be nice about it, your grandfather was a reprobate and nearly ruined us all. It was a blessing he got on his horse that day, drunk as a sailor, and returned in a wood box. I know I should have been very sorry to have seen him returned to us thus, but in fact I was delighted. We all were. He was a beast to our mother, cruel to his children, and careless of the estate—we did not miss him for a moment.”

Lily pressed her lips together. Of course she was aware that her grandfather had ridden out rather the worse for wear and it had ended with a broken neck, but she had never heard it described in such terms. “Indeed,” she said. “And so you know that my dear father could not have spared—” “Yes! And now we come to the unanticipated funds. Do go on, dear.”

“Well, it seems I’m rather good, as it happens, I find I have a penchant for—” “Yes?” “Cards, Aunt. I’m rather good at cards. I won the money. I’ve been gambling for the past year.”

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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sky puri n gt o n

S

ky Purington is the bestselling author of over fifty novels and novellas. A New Englander born and bred who recently moved to Virginia, Purington married her hero, has an amazing son who inspires her daily and two ultra-lovable husky shepherd mixes.

Passionate for variety, Sky’s vivid imagination spans several romance genres including historical, time travel, paranormal, and fantasy.

Expect steamy stories teeming with protective alpha heroes and strong-minded heroines.

Purington loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at Sky@SkyPurington.com.

Interested in keeping up with Sky’s latest news and releases? Either visit Sky’s website, www.

SkyPurington.com, join her quarterly newsletter, or sign up for personalized text message alerts.

Simply text ‘skypurington’ (no quotes, one word, all lowercase) to 74121. Texts will only be sent when there is a new book release. Readers can easily opt out at any time.

Stay Connected

SkyPurington.com

38 | UncagedBooks.com

Uncaged Welcomes Sky Purington Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! Your book, Scoundrel’s Fortune released recently with Dragonblade Publishing and is the second book in a series. Can you tell us more about this book and the series?

Thanks for having me! Set in fourteenth-century Scotland, Scoundrel’s Fortune follows Malcolm MacLauchlin and Isabella De la Croix on an enemiesto-lovers adventure complete with nefarious pursuers and even pirates. At the onset, we’re given to believe Isabella is forcing Malcolm’s hand in marriage for tarnishing her reputation. Malcolm, in turn, much prefers his freedom but will see through his pact with his brothers. Marry to replenish the clan’s coffers. Therefore, marrying Isabella fulfills his end of the bargain. Yet soon enough, it becomes apparent things won’t go quite that easily.

While this series revolves around three brothers restoring their clan to what it once was, it also tackles deeper issues. After ten years of fighting on behalf of the Auld Alliance with France, then battling alongside King David II, the MacLauchlins are battle-weary. To that end, the series delves into what it would have been like being a warrior in that day and age. What they suffered afterward. Which I imagine wasn’t all that different than soldiers of today coping with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Along those lines, the series peels back a few emotional layers while the couples navigate old demons together.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

Actually, I’m in the process of writing my first regency romance. Part of The Lyon’s Den series, my upcoming release, To Tame the Lyon, follows a couple who once cared for one another reconnecting in a most unorthodox way when the heroine seeks out Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s services. She needs a husband no matter what it takes. And as far as she can tell, the man she intends to marry needs a wife to save him from his self-destructive ways. All said, Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | it’s a steamy friends-to-lovers story with a touch of humor, a duel or two, and even an unforeseen twist that might change everything.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

For those who have followed my other historical romances, the hero is the distant descendant of the MacLauchlins from both my Highlander’s Pact series and my Pirates of Britannia stories. Even the English castle from Scoundrel’s Redemption (Highlander’s Pact, Book 3) is used for the setting.

Most definitely Emmanuelle de Maupassant. Not only is she a wonderful author but a truly fantastic person.

She does so much for so many. No matter what might be going on in her own life, she’s unfailingly gracious, professional, upbeat, and kind to all, whether they’re readers or fellow authors. To Emmanuelle, someday I’ll return to Scotland and most definitely take you up on your offer to visit!

Uncaged: For the holiday loving readers, you are part of an anthology, Twelve Days of Christmas in a Highlander’s Arms. How did being a part of this anthology come about?

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

The fabulous authors who came up with the premise invited me to contribute, and I thought it sounded great. Moreover, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to tell Tavish and Nessa’s spin-off tale.

Tavish is Fionna’s first-in-command from Scoundrel’s Vengeance (Highlander’s Pact, Book 1), and Nessa is the MacLauchlin brothers’ sister. So with Dragonblade’s permission, their scandalous tale of forbidden love, Ringing in Yule, was born. Such a wonderful set. Amazing stories. Highly recommend!

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

I pretty much do everything online, so, with the exception of sales being affected by so many out of work, it didn’t influence any promotional plans.

If anything, it’s made me want to help in any way I can. Since the pandemic started, I’ve periodically reached out to my readers and offered free ebooks, including boxed sets. The more ‘escape’ I can give people, the better.

To all those who have lost someone during this terrible time, my deepest condolences. Sending prayers and well wishes your way.

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Yes, Greer from my upcoming Scoundrel’s Redemption completely caught me off guard. I thought she was one sort of person, and she ended up being another. I’ll

admit, I enjoyed ‘getting inside her head,’ so to speak.

Very unexpected. While there were sad moments, there was humor too.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

When would that be? I’m a bit of a workaholic. *grins* When I do force myself away from the grind, I enjoy spending time with family and traveling. I adore losing myself in different cultures. My office reflects that.

From medieval French, British and Viking weaponry to an old-world décor mixed with an ethnic vibe, my tastes definitely run eclectic. Total Pier 1 Imports girl.

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

| SKY PURINGTON | Hands down, providing for my family. There’s nothing more gratifying than doing what I love while putting food on the table. If I were to give a second answer, it would be writing stories that touch readers. Ones that help inspire or offer them an escape when life gets too tough.

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I like both ebooks and physical books. There’s just something about holding an actual book in my hand.

Pure magic. As a kid—back in the dark ages before the internet—I all but lived at the library. I loved all those rows and rows of stories just waiting to be read.

Turning the clock forward, I’m not reading anything right now. I’ve had so many deadlines this year there’s been no time. On the bright side, I’ve ‘met’ all sorts of intriguing and unforgettable characters that wouldn’t have existed without said deadlines.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

To all those who have stayed with me over the years, thank you! Love you all! To those just learning about me, I hope you opt to spend some time with my characters. Just like their individual tales, each and every one is unique. Not sure where to start? Take a chance on Highlander’s Pact and my MacLauchlin brothers. You won’t be disappointed.

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| FEATURE AUTHOR |

Enjoy an excerpt from Scoundrel’s Vengeance Scoundrel’s Vengeance Sky Purington Medieval Historical A scandalous secondchance romance rife with passion, intrigue, and a life-altering secret.

Despondent from years of war, Keenan returns home to find his clan has been reduced not only in numbers from plague, but the family coffers are nearly depleted. Dedicated to restoring his clan pride, Keenan strikes a bargain with his brothers, they will each marry, but not for love, only for the generous dowries their future wives will bring.

Fionna has suffered the consequences of endless wars and plague, leaving her the unlikely laird of Clan Taylor. When her past love summons her to his keep under the threat of killing her clansmen he captured trying to steal horses, she has no choice but to meet him.

There she discovers a man much changed, heartless and bitter. Especially when he demands that Fionna help him get engaged to her best friend!

Unable to deny him, Fionna plays along, waiting for the right moment to strike, save her clansmen, and celebrate teaching Keenan the hardest lesson of his life.

But not everything is what it seems, and Keenan and Fionna discover that distance and time cannot change what their hearts truly want—each other.

Excerpt Excerpt:

42 | UncagedBooks.com

It had not been easy to say but needed to be said. Best that Fionna was perfectly clear about what he wanted from her. What it would take for him to see through his end of the pact he had made with his brothers.

“Ye’re out of yer bloody mind,” she hissed, at last showing some emotion. Not for long, though. She seemed to catch herself, and her expression fell flat. “I willnae be a party to something so scandalous.”

“Then yer brother and wee Dougal will be put to the sword.” He intended no such thing, but she need not know that. “Besides, as ye well know, such scandals happen often enough.”

Though he despised using what they had shared against her, it was best to be realistic. For as she well knew, there was no such thing as happy endings or undying love. So said what they had shared not being strong enough to withstand the division between their clans. Not being substantial enough to hold on to through their fathers’ squabbling.

“I dinnae ken how ye expect me to convince Aileen of such a thing.” As if she could not stand the sight of him, Fionna’s gaze settled on the fire. “Nor do I ken why ye dinnae just woo her and ask for her hand the proper way.”

“Because I cannae risk her or her da refusing me.” He swigged his ale, trying his damndest not to stare at her.

Not to reach over and brush his knuckle along her soft cheek like he once had. “Not only that, but ‘tis rockier than not betwixt us and the Campbells right now.”

Usually, the Campbells were one of their stoutest allies, but since Colmac married Rona, things had been on unsteady footing.

“Why?” She frowned. Evidently done sitting, she poured herself some ale and stood with her back to the fire, eyeing the hall rather than him. “I dinnae remember a time when MacLauchlins and Campbells didnae get on well.”

“My cousin married a MacLomain.”

“Ah.” She took a sip. “That would do it.”

Everyone knew the MacLomains and Campbells were rival clans. Nonetheless, even if he had been here and not off to war, Keenan would have still approved the match. The MacLomains had done right by the MacLauchlins for years and were powerful in their own right. As to the Campbells, he was convinced things would smooth over in good time. Especially if Aileen married the MacLauchlin’s laird.

Though tempted to ask Fionna how she had been all

| SKY PURINGTON | these years, he knew it was best to stick to the matter at hand. His ultimate goal. “Help me get Aileen into my bed, and yer brother will be returned safely.”

“I dinnae ken how ye think I can achieve such.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “If ever there was a day Aileen and I talked of lads, ‘tis long past. Even then, ‘twas not talk about laying with them.”

“Somehow, I find that hard to believe.” He could not help a small knowing smile, recalling all-too-well how close the lasses once were. “Did ye two not speak of me?”

“Nay,” she said a little too quickly before her accusing gaze snapped to his face. “What would I have told her?”

“What would ye have told her, I wonder,” he mused, speaking before he could stop himself. But curious, nevertheless. “That ye once claimed to love me?” He shrugged. “’Twould only work in my favor now, aye?

For if ye loved me, ‘twould mean I must be a worthy man.”

“I claimed no such thing to ye or her,” she lied. Her expression might be stony, but the flash of emotion in her bonny eyes was telling. “She knew little of what transpired betwixt us…such as it was.”

“Such as it was,” he echoed, remembering what it was from the moment they met to the last day he saw her.

Memories that had sustained him on many a battlefield. Some he wanted to repeat a thousand times over.

Some he wanted to reach back in time and make right.

Now was not the time to dwell, though.

Now was the time to strike a deal and work toward a better future for his clan.

“I can tell just by looking at ye that what ye already did tell Aileen about me is a good foundation to what ye will tell her about me,” he went on. “From there, I should be able to see things through.”

“Should ye then?”

The sarcasm in her voice was not lost on him. However misguided, she was reflecting on what had ultimately happened between them, wasn’t she?

“Aye,” he shot back, not about to let their past be on her terms. “I will see things through as readily as any other obligation I have made.” He narrowed his eyes.

“The key, of course, is to be given half the chance.”

He would have with Fionna, too, if she had not allowed her father to hold such sway over her. If she’d had even an ounce of courage all those years ago and did not turn her back on him.

Her eyes narrowed, almost as if she could hear his thoughts. She shook her head. “Ye dinnae know what it means to see things through.” Before he could bite back, she went on, clearly saying more than intended based on her suddenly flushed cheeks.

“Ye take what ye want, then lay waste to it.”

“I take what I need,” he retaliated, his doublemeaning obvious. “What is given to me freely.”

While some might think he spoke of the Campbell lass, they both knew he spoke of what he and Fionna had once shared. His need, even if it did land them in bed the one time, had been so much more than desire of the flesh, and well she knew it.

Or at least she once had.

“Ye really have turned into a bloody bastard.” she said softly, a mix of loathing and disappointment in her voice. On her face. In her beautiful eyes. “But then, I suppose ‘tis to be expected.”

Rather than ask her what she meant by that, he set aside emotions and laid out his plan. “Ye will send men to Campbell Castle this eve to announce yer upcoming arrival. We will leave on the morrow to follow.”

“And ye think the laird will just let ye ride up because of me?”

“Aye.” He had tracked her whereabouts enough to know it was a good plan. “Ye frequent there enough to be in verra good standing.”

Her gaze narrowed ever-so-slightly. “Are ye spying on me, Laird MacLauchlin?”

“Nay,” he lied, in part anyway. He had not known her da had died or that she had become chieftain.

Only her general comings and goings. “I am spying on Aileen Campbell, my future wife.”

Though away fighting alongside King David, he had kept track of Fionna’s whereabouts since he’d returned from France. So, he knew she frequented Campbell Castle and suspected she remained close with Aileen, and mayhap even her father.

“Aileen is set to be betrothed,” Fionna informed, apparently deciding to at least be honest about her frequent contact with the Campbells. “In fact, her intended is visiting Clan Campbell now.” She shook her head. “As to her impending marriage to him, her da willnae see it otherwise.”

“Which is why her honor must be taken first,” he reminded. “So that she might be made available again.”

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | “Och, ye’ve a poor mind about ye now, Keenan.”

Fionna’s gaze swept over the great hall and its lack of wealth. “A desperate mind that isnae thinking clearly.” Her attention returned to him. “What do ye think Laird Campbell will do when he learns of yer foul behavior? Yer pitiful premeditated intentions? Because he will.” She cocked her head. “Do ye think him incapable of finding another who will take her without her virtue intact?”

“Ah, so the rumors are true,” he said softly, having smoothly tricked Fionna into confirming what he had heard.

Though only a few years younger than Fionna, Aileen was far too old not to have already been married off and bedded. But then, as he recalled, she was a reclusive sort with an overprotective Da who knew she was a prize. Not only that, but he was in no rush to see her taken advantage of.

Fionna sipped her ale and scowled at him. “’Tis an awful thing ye intend to do, Keenan.”

What she did not voice, but they both knew, was that Aileen’s intended was an old man who would not have her if she came to her marriage bed without her chastity intact.

“What I do is a necessary thing,” he almost said but bit his tongue. The less Fionna knew, the better. For there was once a time that no one understood him better than her. Not even his brothers.

He best remember that, because if anything, she had only grown sharper with time.

She eyed him for a moment before she shook her head, and at last, the bargaining began. “I willnae do it.”

“Then Angus and Dougal will die.”

“I dinnae believe ye.”

“Ye should.” Keenan met her level gaze. “I have killed hundreds.” He shrugged a shoulder. “What are a few more?”

Whatever she saw in his eyes, likely the long trail of death in his wake, made her blink, then down the rest of her ale. No surprise, really, if she saw his soul as clearly as she once had. What existed inside him now was dark. Near vacant. All he cared about was kin. His clan. He would do whatever it took to see them as they once were.

Even if it meant suffering the unexpected.

For as their gazes held, he realized Fionna was still important. She ignited stirrings he no longer 44 | UncagedBooks.com

thought himself capable of. Not necessarily sexual, though lust was certainly there, but emotional. A light flickering in the darkness. A way out of the blackness he had been living in for far too long.

One he must ignore.

Her steady gaze remained on him. She clearly weighed what he might be capable of. “If ye truly meant to see things done yer way, ye would have proven it by injuring Angus.”

“Would that have done the trick then?” He considered her. “Would that have made ye agree to my demands right away? Because I tend to think ye’re more likely to see things through if ye know ye’re dealing with someone reasonable.” He gestured loosely at the weapons mounted on the wall. “If it takes whipping yer brother to show ye what I am truly capable of, then, by all means, it can be done.”

Hesitation lingered on her face as she considered such. How far she was willing to push him. Thankfully, as it happened, not very far.

“I will help ye under one condition.”

He perked a brow. “Ye think to make conditions?”

She always did have nerve.

“I do.”

“And what is that?”

“Keep my brother,” she stated. “But let Dougal return to my castle.”

“Nay.” He shook his head. “They both stay here.”

Her stubborn chin notched. “Then we dinnae have a bargain.”

“Then, they die.”

“Return Dougal,” she countered. “And I will not only help ye into Aileen’s bed but tell ye something about Laird Campbell that will make yer mission all that much easier.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and considered her again. He could counter back that she would tell him anyway or lose her kin, but he found himself willing to bargain. If only to push past the despondency in her eyes, so that they might at least be civil on their upcoming travels.

“I will honor yer condition,” he finally relented, meeting her halfway. “In turn, ye will honor one of mine.”

feature authors

dystopian | horror suspense

Robert G. Penner

Jennifer Anne Gordon

Welcome to Robert G. Penner Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! Your debut novel, Strange Labour released in August and is a dystopian fiction. Can you tell us more about this book and what inspired it?

It was inspired by a dream about the whole of our society leaving the cities to dig up the earth into strange monumental labyrinths. The book is a working out of what the ramifications of such an occurrence would be, written from the perspective of those who were excluded from this uncanny revolution.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

R

obert G. Penner is a Canadian living in western Pennsylvania. He has published short stories in numerous speculative and literary fiction journals under various pseudonyms and is the founder and editor of Big Echo: Critical Science Fiction.

Stay Co n n e c te d

robertgpenner.com

R o bert g . pe n n er

I am working on a historical novel about the late 19th century Hudson Bay fur trade that drifts into speculative fiction. I will be exploring in particular the arrival of Christianity into that territory, and its immediate consequences.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

No book tours! Which as an introvert I have mixed feelings about. It would have been fun, and maybe in the spring if things work out we can take another run at it. As for the rest of it. Let’s just say I miss going out and having a beer for absolutely no reason except I felt like it.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

Gertrude Stein. A well lived life, a masterful stylist, wonderfully witty, and probably quite capable of carrying on a conversation in which I would mostly just listen.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

Absolutely. Anytime a piece of work starts stretching

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beyond five or six pages I begin to feel like I am losing control over events and outcomes. It’s a constant effort to keep everything contained and constrained in a readable narrative and that of course includes character behaviour.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

Listen to music, read, cook.

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

I’m living it and have been for quite some time before Strange Labour found a home. If I am writing and getting pleasure from the process that is the bedrock of success. Which is not to say I don’t enjoy having people enjoy my work, and don’t want it to be widely read, or that a little bit of money in pocket isn’t nice, but when I’m happiest as an author is when I am at work, at play with an idea. A happy audience is a secondary pleasure. It is like cooking in that sense, it is lovely to make and share a good meal, but a good meal is a good meal even if it is only you there to enjoy it.

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

Oh, physical books! Its not even close. I like the thing itself, the density, the feel of it, of paper in your hand, the smell. I love a book. I am usually reading more than one at a time but the closest at hand is John Brunner’s Science Fiction classic Stand on Zanzibar.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I’m not sure what I would say except that I’m glad they enjoyed the book. I can be followed on twitter at @ billsquirrell (which is an old pseudonym) but it is not a particularly writerly account. A list of previous publications can be found at blindsquirrell.com. The official book website is robertgpenner.com

Enjoy an excerpt from Strange Labour Strange Labour Robert G. Penner Dystopian Fiction Strange Labour is a powerful meditation on the meaning of humanity in a universe that is indifferent to our extinction, and a provocative re-imagining of many of the tropes and clichés that have shaped the post-apocalyptic novel. Most people have deserted the cities and towns to work themselves to death in the construction of monumental earthworks.

The only adults unaffected by this mysterious obsession are a dwindling population that live in the margins of a new society they cannot understand.

Isolated, in an increasingly deserted landscape, living off the material remnants of the old order, trapped in antiquated habits and assumptions, they struggle to construct a meaningful life for themselves. Miranda, a young woman who travels across what had once been the West, meets Dave, who has peculiar theories about the apocalypse.

Excerpt The common room had a reclining chair, with a reading lamp from which a candle lantern was hung if it was gloomy. You could sit there and look out at the hills receding into the horizon. Esther would put her feet up for a few minutes after lunch and stare out at the black and white landscape, maybe read a bible verse or two, maybe fall asleep. The old folks sat at their beds or the long tables, Mary and Betty might work at an endless puzzle, sliding pieces about, clicking them into place, Joyce would come to chatter at Miranda in the kitchen, to warn her about the dangers in Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | the cellar – “don’t go down there alone, don’t go down there with Uncle Reg.” Arthur would mutter and pace.

When Miranda finished the dishes she would make a big pot of tea and carry it out. It had not taken her long to learn who took what, and once everyone else was set up she would bring a cup over to Esther – two sugar and a spoonful of powdered milk.

If Esther was asleep, square head at an angle, delicate rosacea flowering on each cheek, chapped hands clawed on her lap, Miranda would put the cup beside her, throw a quilt over her lap, and find something to do. If Esther was awake they would sit for a while and chat about the household, about who was out of temper, who seemed ill, what needed to be done, what Esther had planned for the immediate future. They only discussed their pasts once.

“Where were you?” Esther asked on that occasion. She was knitting a yellow sweater. Miranda had often teased her about the knitting – “Why scavenge for yarn when you can scavenge for the thing itself? I’d be happy to find you a cozy pair of socks the next time I go out.” – but Esther never took the bait. It was soothing for both of them: the flash of the needles in the lamplight, the soft clicking like rain against a window, the sedimentary growth of the rows, and in this instance the relaxation it induced was so total that Esther broached the subject of the world before.

Miranda looked up from her tea: “Where was I when?”

“When it happened.”

“I was working. In the city. In New York. I had just started a new job. I was an actuarial accountant with a big firm.”

Esther snorted.

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Miranda ignored her.

“I looked up and the office was emptying. For a second I thought it was an evacuation but there were no alarms. Then I thought it was lunch but the time was wrong. Some kind of meeting I had forgotten about, maybe. I opened my office door and called out but everyone just ignored me. A couple of blank stares like you can get sometimes. You know. Off they all filed. So I walked over to the exit and saw the hallway was filled, packed, everyone heading for the stairs.

Salmon up the stream. I stopped someone I knew and asked them what was happening. A colleague.

He listened to me patiently and when I was finished my questions he just turned away into the shuffling queue. It was so silent. No one talking.”

Miranda had a sip of tea.

“So I walked over to a window and looked out and I could see people filling up the streets. On the Brooklyn Bridge all the cars had stopped and the people were walking into the city to join the exodus. Everyone heading west. To the mainland. It made me think of 9/11, of refugees, of cattle herded toward the slaughter house, everyone walking away from a catastrophe, or to a catastrophe. But there was no catastrophe. I checked the radio, I checked CNN, MSNBC, everything. Just dead air and empty desks. Then back to the window and the streets were still full, the bridge an absolute throng. I was in shock I think. It made no sense. It took me a while to remember the phone, but no one was picking up. Eventually I joined the silent queue to the stairs and made my way down.

I had to walk against the crowd to get home. What struck me was how slow it was, their movement, so many trickles and rivulets and streams forming that implacable river. So many long stops and slow starts.

Lots of crying kids following their parents. And I saw a homeless guy I’d seen around before. He was walking against the flow as well but when I called out to get his attention he ran away. I often wonder how many people like us, how many of the unaffected just went along with it, just joined the masses because they

| ROBERT G. PENNER | couldn’t think of what else to do, how many people saw me but were too frightened or bewildered to say anything. The sense of loneliness in those early days was overpowering, it was horrifying. It was so silent.

The traffic had stopped. In New York City. It was so silent. So inhuman. Mostly you just heard the wind, birds, the endless shuffle feet on concrete. That shuffle sounded to me like a snake sloughing its skin.”

The knitting needles flashed.

“It must have taken a week for the city to empty.

People walking day and night. Even after the power went they kept walking in the dark. I mostly watched from my apartment but sometimes I’d go down and try to talk to people. Look for others like me who weren’t part of it. I kept calling my folks every couple of hours until the phones stopped working altogether.

I had tried calling friends. Acquaintances. Whoever. No one answered. It was almost a relief when it ceased to be an option.”

“So what did you do?” Miranda asked.

“What does it matter?” asked Esther. “What does it matter what I did? What does it matter what happened before? It doesn’t matter at all. I shouldn’t have asked you about it. It’s none of my business, it’s none of yours.”

Miranda sat there for quite some time listening to the click-click-click of Esther’s knitting. The needles kept flashing, the rows accumulating.

Esther kept knitting.

“What about you?” Miranda asked. “Where were you?”

Esther seemed surprised that she asked.

“Me? Here in town. I had been working nights at the hospital. By the time I woke up and had some coffee and a breakfast it was all over. I came downtown and everyone was gone. It didn’t look much different than it does now really. Except for the snow, of course.”

“There were a few other people wandering about. A fellow who was a bit of mess. A bit touched. Covered with burn scars from some horrible accident. Something to do with drugs I think. He had a girlfriend or a wife. A tiny thing with thick glasses and thin hair who would follow him around, pushing her empty stroller ahead of her. They were both here. And the kids, the ones who had been in school. Who had seen their teachers walk out the door.”

Esther frowned and fell silent.

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ROSE LANGE & Zuzu

SKY PURINGTON & Guardian & Apollo

This Christmas, our family is expanding by four paws! We are welcoming a new member next month, Zuzu, she’s a standard poodle and while we’ve only seen photos of her, we’re already so much in love. We pick her up from our breeder on December 20th.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t introduce my wonderful writing companions. Shepard/Husky siblings born in upstate New York, Guardian (girl-white) and Apollo (male-black) are absolute sweethearts.

The best friends a gal could have. They’ve been with me through thick and thin, even appearing in various books over the years. She’s the alpha, ever the protector, and he’s the glue that holds it all together. Always the one to rest his chin on my lap when life gets a little rocky.

Our first baby, Gizmo, passed away this March and we love and miss our boy every day.

This year has been fraught with unexpected happenings, ups, downs, but despite everything, it’s also been filled with blessings.

ROBERT G PENNER & Moo

This new adventure is something that will be good for my family and me, and one that we’re all very much looking forward to.

We have two cats. Both rescues. This one is Moo. He is a long, snake like creature. More-or-less a furry eel that climbs curtains. Occasionally he sleeps. I have too many photos to share… I have a lot of pets but the most photogenic is my dog 52 | UncagedBooks.com

A U T H O RS A N D T H E I R P E TS Pets and companions come in many shapes and sizes. From furry to feathered to hairy and scaley - there is a place for all of them. Authors have a special relationship with their pets - whether they remind them to get up and take a break or they inspire their writing. Meet the critters that share their love and devotion to Uncaged Feature Authors.

JENNIFER ANNE GORDON & Lord Tubby

Lord Tubby. He is a 2.5-year-old Cotton De Tulear. He is on Facebook @Lordtubby and I am including a photo of him…

MICHELLE RENE & Maudie

This is my ungrateful cat, Maudie. But really, aren’t most cats ungrateful? We rescued Maudie from a shelter, but it didn’t take her long to get spoiled. She’s my void, and I love her, even if she blends in with the darkness and scares me when I’m writing in the middle of the night.

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MELINDA CURTIS & Duke

This is Duke, a Yorkie-Shi Tzu mix. He has hair, not fur, so he gets chilled when the temperature drops below seventy. He requires professional grooming but as you can see, he doesn’t get a regular cut due to Covid. We recently moved from the hot central valley in California to the cold and rainy central valley of Oregon. He now has a variety of sweaters for every holiday and, of course, to support his favorite mens basketball team – Duke University Blue Devils (my husband has a man-crush on Coach K).

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CYRENE & Isla

If you follow on social media at all, you may have heard the story of Isla. In October, my cat Spencer’s breathing was very labored so he was taken into the vet. After tests, it was shown that he had an enlarged heart and medications couldn’t have helped him much and instead of being selfish and keeping him with me, I chose to say goodbye to him that day. Since Spencer was a stray, I have no way of knowing his history.

Isla looks like a Siamese, a seal-point with blue eyes, but believe it or not, she was born to a tabby barn cat. Born pure white, I thought she was an albino at first, until the gray started coming in. She was a bit small compared to the other kittens in the litter and started to get a bit of a cold, so into the vet we went. The vet believes she must have Siamese in her background. Today, she is a healthy 8 month old kitten that is growing quickly and Spencer had met Isla (pronounced EES - LA) and was OK with her, so I think that me saving another kitten would meet his approval.

J

ennifer Anne Gordon is a gothic horror novelist. Her work includes Beautiful, Frightening and Silent (2020) which won the Kindle Award for Best Horror/Suspense for 2020, and From Daylight to Madness (The Hotel book 1), and When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk (The Hotel book 2).

Victoriana: mixed media art of Jennifer Gordon Jennifer is one of the hosts as well as the creator of Vox Vomitus, a video podcast on the Global Authors on the Air Network, as well as the Co-Host of the You Tube Channel “Talk Horror to Me�. She had been a contributor to Ladies of Horror Fiction, as well as Horror Tree.

She had a collection of her mixed media artwork published during spring of 2020, entitled

Jennifer is a pale curly haired ginger, obsessed with horror, ghosts, abandoned buildings, and her dog

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Je n n ifer Anne g o rd o n “Lord Tubby”.

She graduated from the New Hampshire Institute of Art, where she studied Acting. She also studied at the University of New Hampshire with a concentration in Art History and English.

She has made her living as an actress, a magician’s assistant, a “gallerina”, a comic book dealer, a painter, and burlesque performer and for the past 10 years as an award-winning professional ballroom dancer, performer, instructor, and choreographer.

When not scribbling away (ok, typing frantically) she enjoys traveling with her fiancé and dance partner, teaching her dog ridiculous tricks (like ‘give me a kiss’ and ‘what hand is the treat in?’ ok these are not great tricks.) as well as taking photos of abandoned buildings and haunted locations.

She is a Leo, so at the end of the day she just thinks about her hair.

Stay Co n n e c te d

Hi!, Thank you for the interview. “When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk” is the second in a series of historical gothic horror/psychological suspense novels. It takes place in the late summer through the winter of 1873. It follows the story of Francis (a character that first appeared in From Daylight to Madness, the hotel #1) who is a tormented priest.

When we meet him in the first book it is unclear what his intentions and past really are. He is in his early thirties and presents with now what we would think of as bi-polar disorder. But there is so much more to him than that. When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk is at its core, a love story centered around someone who may or may not be hallucinating almost all the time. It is a story of childhood trauma and repressed memory, but also a story about hope and love. It does take place in a Victorian Asylum and that location may be haunted, or maybe it’s just him…

As for more books in the series, I will say this, From Daylight to Madness and When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk, are a duet. The story I started in book one is ending now. BUT ...I have had a lot of fans of the first book, and the ARC readers for the new work that have begged for a third book about one of my side characters, Agnes. So that is not off the table, but it would not be a directly related follow up to these books. The story of Isabelle (From Daylight to Madness) and Francis (When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk) are done.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

JenniferAnneGordon.com Uncaged welcomes Jennifer Anne Gordon Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk is your newest book and is the second book in The Hotel series. Can you tell readers more about this book? How many books are you planning on in this series?

It is still early days…but I am working on a contemporary speculative fiction novel, that is best described as either “The Stand with a meet cute” or “Contagion meets Lost in Translation”.

I was scared to write a virus book right now, but I came up with the idea of this story and these characters pre-covid and I really wanted to tell their story now when it is something “relatable”.

As a horror author, I always try to write form an emotionally honest place, but sometimes the scenarios are not overly relatable to all people and I Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | think this one is on a core level.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

Well, my first book “Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent” (Winner of the Kindle Award for Best Horror 2020 finalist for the Author’s on the Air Award for Best Horror 2020 and Best Book 2020) was up for presale late last winter, and then released the during the last week of February. It was a crazy time for me, I had JUST come back from Europe, my now husband and I were traveling in Spain. I came home and went back to my day job (which was being a professional dancer and choreographer and dance instructor) and then my book came out. It was incredible to have my dancers come in with my book and I was signing books and talking about the future…and then within two weeks of being home…the world ended. Our job shut down, out state shut down, the country shut down. So, I was on top of the world, I was a new author, fresh home from our annual trip to Europe and then there was nothing. So, to be honest I don’t know how my book promotion really has changed, as I have mainly launched new books in a pandemic universe. I will say it has allowed me to focus on writing more than I ever would have been able to pre-pandemic as my career as a dancer and performer has abruptly ended. I hope to someday be able to do” in person” events, and book readings, right now I am just thankful that zoom exists.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

I feel like “lunch” with either of these authors that I will mention would end up being drinking whiskey mid-day at a bar someplace in New England. I cannot choose between two authors, so I need to say both. One, is Shirley Jackson, the Godmother of horror. She is my writing idol (for fiction). She wrote true terrifying horror that blended reality, mental illness, and the idea of a haunting, in such a masterful way. I also know she suffered from 60 | UncagedBooks.com

mental illness herself and I would love to be able to sit with her over drinks, oh I mean “lunch” and try to make her laugh. My other choice would be Anne Sexton, who is the most profoundly emotional poet in history.

I would want to lunch with her for all the same reasons as Shirley Jackson….now I know both of these women are dead, so if I have to name a living author I will go ahead and say Stephen King. I say this because I know I cannot interview him on my podcast Vox Vomitus, so King.

(I would also love Peter Straub, if he was up to it, but I know I would just want him to talk about Ghost Story the whole time and there would be no eating.)

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

ALL THE TIME!!! Truthfully, my characters are more in charge of their stories than I am sometimes. I know there is a “throwaway” moment in my book “Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent” where someone offers my main character Adam some Oxy- Contin (he is an alcoholic but no drugs) he always says no, but one time, one time he said yes. I won’t lie, I screamed at my own hands as I typed it. I said, “No Adam, you are making the wrong choice.” I know now that it was the only choice he could have made, but he broke my heart when he did it, but even as a writer I knew I could not stop him.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

I used to have so many answers to this, but now the world has changed…I will say what I did “before” and what I do now. What I used to do was visit abandoned buildings and photograph them. My husband and I would travel to find beautiful places of “decay” or “haunted” locations. It was and is incredibly relaxing for me to take photographs and to spend time editing them. This is what I miss most about our current world, the fact that our world’s have gotten smaller. Now for relaxation I spend time teaching my dog some really ridiculous tricks like “crawl” and “give me a kiss” and “what hand is the treat in” and now even “jump through my hoop hands.”

| MARY LANCASTER |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | It’s been a long pandemic.

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

We all want a multi-book deal with an option for a Netflix limited series (Mike Flanagan…hello????).

But the truth of this to me it is having people that are actively reading my books and connecting when them on an emotional level. So, in many ways I have achieved this, I have had people write to me and talk to me about how my books have resonated with their trauma, grief, or even love. In that way I am successful, I have people that are emotionally moved by my books. When I was young I could not have dreamed for more than this, to have my work win awards, and be read….but that being said…

Mike Flanagan, if you are looking for a Haunting season three…I’m here. I was lucky enough to just interview Matt Ruff (Lovecraft Country) and he said it better than I ever will. He said, “I didn’t ask to be famous; I’m just thrilled I can pay my rent.”

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

My preference is paper, always paper. I owned a comicbook store for years, and I love paper. Give me a book any day. I read more on Kindle than I do paper nowadays, I have space issues in my house. I will say with authors I love; I buy the kindle and I buy the paperback/hardcover. I LOVE audio books.

I went to school for theatre, so it combines my live for production and writing. Now that I don’t leave the house much, I don’t do audio books as much as I did. But audio books are a true artform, and I love them.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I love facebook and Instagram (not so active on twitter) but the easiest place for all of the info is my website http://www.JenniferAnneGordon. com please find me on those platforms, I love new followers, expect a blend of books, memes, selfies 62 | UncagedBooks.com

(sorry) and photos!! What I say is “follow for the books, and stay for the pet pictures”

Enjoy an excerpt from Beautiful, Frightening and Silent Beautiful, Frightening and Silent Jennifer Anne Gordon Ghost/Horror Suspense Adam, a young alcoholic, slowly descends into madness while dealing with the psychological scars of childhood trauma which are reawakened when his son and wife die in a car accident that he feels he is responsible for. After a failed suicide attempt, and more group meetings that he can mention. Adam hears a rumor of a Haunted Island off the Coast of Maine, where “if someone wants it bad enough” they could be reunited with a lost loved one.

In his desperate attempt to connect with the ghost of his four-and-a half year old son, he decides to go there, to Dagger Island, desperate to apologize to, or be condemned by, his young son. Adam is not sure what he deserves or even which of these he wants more.

While staying in a crumbling old boarding house, he becomes involved with a beautiful and manipulative ghost who has spent 60 years tormenting the now elderly man who was her lover, and ultimately her murderer. The three of them create a “Menagea-Guilt” as they all come to terms with what it is that ties them so emotionally to their memories and their very “existence”.

Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent is a poetic fever dream of grief, love, and the terrifying ways that obsession can change who we are.

| JENNIFER ANNE GORDON | Excerpt She walks slowly to his bed, leaving a trail of wet footprints in her stead. She is a ghost ship, silently making its way across the sea of his room. She looks at his sleeping form, he is curled in on himself. When he was younger and stronger, he would sleep like a warrior.

He was so proud. He would dominate everything, his bed, his dreams, even sleep itself would bow down under his perceived strength.

He is so much older now. These days he sleeps like a child, or a cat, both starving but petrified of the mouse.

She hears the rattling of death, climbing out from the deepest parts of his lungs each time he exhales. It was the little things like these moments, she supposed, that she grew to love. They were her favorite part of all of this. Her favorite part of this very long endless day.

This existence, it is not a life, but it is not death. She is in the in-between. She is in the empty.

She climbs into his bed and into his world. She lies next to him; her body is damp and seemingly heavy.

Her wet hair and wet face, and waterlogged body creep into his dreams. She is a memory revitalized, a nightmarish creature, a visitor come back to stay.

She stares at him, intently, she is focused. You would think, after 60 years she would grow tired of his face, of this, her nightly ritual, but she hasn’t, and she expects she never will. She stares until she feels something building in her throat, it’s her anger, it’s her fear, it’s her rage. It feels like fire, it burns inside her, aching to get out.

He opens his eyes, with the confusion of age, alcohol and too many dreams. Before thinking better of it, his arm reaches across the bed. It reaches for her memory. He finds the other side of the bed empty, but damp. She doesn’t let him touch her, not for many years. In the morning, his sheets will smell like the ocean, at least her side of the bed will. It will have the aching scent of brine, salt, and wet. It is so different from the way his side smells, which is of tears, whiskey, and the sour sweat of fear.

He gets up, ignores the wet foot prints she leaves on the floor, the ones that lead to his bed, the ones that circle him while he sleeps. He plods to the bathroom, washes

his face, rinses the staleness out of his mouth, he thinks for a moment he sees her out of the corner of his eye. She will always look the same, with her soaked hair, white dress, her head down, no, she doesn’t let him look at her face, not directly.

His breath catches in his throat; he makes a sound, somewhere between a cough and a scream.

He should be used to this by now, used to her. The simple fact she can still surprise him like this is what keeps all of this from becoming commonplace. He thinks he picks up on the sound of her laugh, the way it would ring like silver in his ears, but he is mistaken.

She loves him.

No, that’s not quite right.

She loved him.

She tries to remember the time before she felt those things. this task of hers is more difficult than one would expect, the simplicity of trying to remember when she existed before they met, before she wandered into his life. This a burden she has not yet managed to bear.

Was there a time before they collided and destroyed each other’s worlds?

She hates him.

She never hated him while she was alive, she should have, she knows that he deserved it. He deserved her hate.

She does hate him now. She knows is both a beginning and an ending.

Hate can be powerful, but not as powerful as fear.

She fears him now.

She feared him then.

There are ghosts and memories in this house that even she fears. This man, he only fears her. It is what keeps her here.

She opens her mouth, and she invites the rage that burns in her throat to finally have a voice and it feels like fire, waiting to be born. She feels it rushing out of her. It is a scream that has taken 60 years to finally be birthed.

She opens her mouth, and all that’s there is saltwater.

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feature authors

young adult | contemporary

A.J. McCarthy

Melinda Curtis

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Mic h elle re n e

M

ichelle Rene is a creative advocate and the author of a number of published works of historical fiction and speculative fiction.

She has won multiple indie awards. Her novel, Hour Glass, won Chanticleer Review’s “Best Book of the Year” award in 2018. Her historical fantasy novel, Manufactured Witches, won the OZMA award for fantasy, the Discovery Award from the Writer’s League of Texas, and was honored by the Indie Author Project as Texas’s best Young Adult novel in 2019.

When not writing, she is a professional artist, museum lover, belly dancer, and autism mom. She lives as the only female with her husband, son, and ungrateful cat in Dallas, Texas.

Stay Co n n e c te d

michellereneauthor.com Uncaged welcomes Michelle Rene Uncaged” Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest release, The Canyon Cathedral will release Dec. 10, and is the second book in The Witches of Tanglewood series.

Can you tell readers more about this series?

Thank you for having me!

The Witches of Tanglewood Series sort of came out of nowhere. I wrote it for me and without really thinking it would get published. I had no idea it would get such a following. I am so happy it did.

My main genres are historical fiction and fantasy.

Manufactured Witches (the first in this series) was the first time I really combined the two genres. The story just came to me one day, and I decided to jot it down.

Loneliness and the search for one’s own family is often a theme in my work. That’s one reason I was drawn to the idea of lost children in the Dust Bowl.

It’s also why I tackled the LGBT+ themes in the 1930’s. You don’t see them represented in history very often.

Writing for Nat and the other people in the series came so easily for me. It’s like I knew them. They hung out with me, talked to me. I adored inventing new magic and a unique folklore for them. I mean, when else can a person get away with talking to imaginary people and not be considered crazy?

A story about a teacher taking in children and teaching them magic is not original. What I wanted to accomplish was a different version where every person had the capability of magic. You didn’t have to be special. No waiting for your letter from Hogwarts, so to speak. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish amazing things with the gifts you already have. I think it’s a notion that anyone can relate to.

The idea of using magic to deal with complicated things like gender identity, sexuality, and mental illness came along for the ride. Originally, I had no plans to incorporate those ideas, but now, the books would not be same without them. I hope that every reader can see a little piece of themselves in the books, and it makes them feel less alone.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I’ve been working on a middle grade series for my agent that is about a young boy who hunts monsters to earn enough money to bring his mother back from the dead. Lately, I’ve been having the most fun writing for teens and young adults, so why not something kind of frightening?

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Some people have asked if there will be a third book in the Witches of Tanglewood series. I would love to do another one. It all depends on how many people want it. I had such an outpowering of support for this sequel, I couldn’t possibly refuse the fans.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

Ah, the coronavirus. What a beast.

I’m a mom and a writer, so I’m used to working at home. That part did not change much. Having my son at home all the time made it harder. Seven-yearolds, what can you do?

Unlike a lot of authors, I’m an extreme extrovert.

The fact that I can’t go to conferences or events is killing me. Writing is such a solitary profession.

There’s nothing better than being around your tribe.

As an author, it is imperative to find others who get you. Virtual is okay, but I miss hugging my friends and meeting new people.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

That’s a hard question! My reading list is so eclectic. I’d love to meet Neil Gaiman, if nothing else than to listen to him read the menu. I’ve met David Sedaris once briefly, and I’d love to pick his brain over burgers. My first literary love was To Kill a Mockingbird, so having lunch with Harper Lee would be a dream come true.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

All the time… constantly. Just yesterday, I was writing a minor character. My first idea was to have him be snobby and elitist. I got two paragraphs in, and suddenly, he was a jittery, nerdy mess. Apparently, my first inclination of his character was dead 68 | UncagedBooks.com

wrong, and he changed it without my knowing.

It’s fine with me, of course. If you are writing and the character changes, go with it. They know themselves better than you do.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

I listen to audiobooks. I play with my son. I watch The Great British Baking Show with my husband. Probably my most interesting past time is belly dancing. I dance at festivals and renaissance fairs. Nothing better than a sparkly costume!

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

My vision of author success has changed over the years.

At first, I just wanted to get published. After I was published, I just hoped someone other than my family would read my books. Now that I have that, and some awards under my belt, success looks like doubling my readers by next year.

Your finish line should never stay put, in my opinion.

It’s easy to give up or become complacent in this industry. I marked myself with ever increasing achievable goals. Beyond that, I don’t know, world domination?

The truth is I never feel more successful than when someone tells me they read one of my books, and it touched them. When I found out a teenage boy used my book for a book report, I was ecstatic. That’s fame right there. If I can keep getting that response, I won’t fail.

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I prefer audiobooks. It fits my busy lifestyle. Right now, I have nearly three hundred audiobooks in my library.

Audible tells me that I read an average of eleven to fifteen days worth of audiobooks a year. I love paperbacks too. Ebooks are practical but probably my least favorite.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and

| MICHELLE RENE |

where can they follow you?

I hope you love magic. Whether literal or metaphorical, my writing always includes something magical. Also, I’m sorry if I make you cry. A lot of my books do that too. Overall, I would love my fans to see something in my writing that speaks to them personally. After all, stories are how we all connect with one another.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page. I regularly post book updates, belly dance costumes, and stupid cat videos.

Enjoy an excerpt from The Canyon Cathedral The Canyon Cathedral Michelle Rene Young Adult Fantasy/ LGBTQ Releases Dec. 10 This sequel to the awardwinning novel, Manufactured Witches, picks up the story of Nat after he’s been gifted with the limitless power of the goddess. Magic this dangerous is difficult for Nat to control, and he finds himself alone, ostracized from the people he loves. When a witch goes missing from a magical cathedral, Nat decides to work with his mentor, Camille, to save the lost girl from an unknown evil.

The Canyon Cathedral is a fantastic underground school for magic. Nat finds himself in a world of amazing things. Enchanted boats, magical nuns, and books that tell your history. Despite the wonders of the place, kidnappings and vicious attacks plague the school. Nat must learn to control his emotional powers to help the witches around him and find his place in the world.

Excerpt The house was quiet as I made my way through its halls. I tried to get a feel for the time, but my stint floating in the void left me confused and uneducated. All I knew was that it was dark. The deep evening type of darkness. Somewhere between dusk and dawn. Of course, that didn’t narrow things down at all. As I drifted through the house, I listened for others. The night held a gentle, breathy cadence to the place, as if everyone was asleep. If not asleep, they were turned in for the night. That idea alone made me slow down and calm my racing heart.

Had the others known she tried to kill me? Did no one check on me when I was absent from dinner?

How long had I been out? Then, another terrible idea occurred to me. What if none of them cared?

What if they wanted me dead? The deadly beast best slain before it could hurt anyone else.

Before I made it to the long corridor of bedrooms, I heard the slightest murmuring from the winter study where Buck stood vigilant. I ducked my head inside to see deer looking back at me with an expectant scowl. Well, as much a scowl as a reanimated, taxidermized buck mount was able to produce.

“Did you say something?” I asked.

“Of course, I did, and you’d would be wise to listen as I am wise in all things,” Buck said in his arrogant way.

“What was it?”

“Well, it is very important I should think. And particularly important for you,” he said with a flip of his antlers. “But you haven’t complimented me in weeks. Did you realize that? You can be so selfish sometimes.”

“Buck, please. Just tell me…”

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | “I’ll accept compliments about my antlers and my eyes, thank you very much. Not my nose though, for alas, I have a small insecurity there. You see, I fell the other day and scuffed my nose. Crow promises to repair me, so that I shall be my perfect self again.”

“Buck, look… I will…”

“It’s caused me so much distress, Nat. I know you can’t understand this, because of your many many physical defects, but I am not perfect for the first time in my life. It’s made me quite sad. A true friend would make me feel better.”

If a deer could look emotionally vulnerable, Buck did in that moment. He looked like he might cry.

Buck couldn’t make tears, but he almost pulled off the affect. My heart melted a touch. For better or worse, he was what I considered a friend, vain though he was. The poor creature couldn’t travel anywhere. Just stay in one place preening. I sighed to calm my nerves.

“You have lovely eyes, and the most exquisite antlers I’ve ever seen. Even if Crow takes a year to fix your nose, it wouldn’t matter. All the most beautiful creatures have a handsome flaw. Gives you character.”

“Nat, do you really mean that?” Buck asked.

“Yes, I do. Now, what were you going to tell me?”

“Oh, that. Camille is in the library,” he said.

“She is?”

“I figured that’s where you were going. She’s in here waiting for you.” Without another word, I crossed the chilly study and through the door leading to the library. I barely registered Buck’s voice in the background. “A thank you would be nice!”

70 | UncagedBooks.com

DON’T MISS THESE TITLES:

showcase Blaine Stewart

Hourglass Socioeconomics Hourglass Socioeconomics Blaine Stewart Hourglass Socioeconomics Principles and Fundamentals outlines the structural framework of a feasible and a thought-out social economic distribution system.

Because an entity or nation’s success and continued progress relies on it’s economic input-to-output system, author Blaine Stewart presents a way that facilitates both social and economic growth while minimizing the effects of negative external influence. Economic growth without social sustainability is malignant similar to growth from radiation exposure.

The circulation rate of accumulated resources and reciprocal expenditures of a nation characterizes strength and sustainability. A reliable cyclical process allows for movement and distribution of collected resources to and from the citizen population through a funnel of control to maintain continuity and prevent catastrophe or absolution.

A simple “trickle point” is insufficient to describe socioeconomics when a fluid dynamic state takes everything into account to pull our system toward the central goal of equilibrium. If our funnel control point is flawed in reason and logic then our

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system itself will be flawed like a small drop of poison or an undetected super bacteria in a fresh stream sending the system spiraling into collapse unable to turn the hourglass.

Q: What’s the hardest thing about being an author?

A: Finding time to actually write and the lingering hope that your writing changes what you are writing about.

Q: What is the best thing about being an author?

A: Knowing that what you wrote has purposeful affect.

Q: What book changed your life?

A: Not a book. I would suppose 1% of people that answer this question with a book are telling the truth and the other 99% never had anything change their lives. This book is the result of what changed my life.

Q: How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?

A: Technical and scientific without belief to gage understanding. Meaning, math is not something you can’t not believe in. It is only something meant to understand more and more with no end in sight. I rarely contemplate writing a fantastical novel with an ending.

Q: What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?

A: Writing the next word and the next and the next… then looking up to see what time it is.

Q: Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?

A: Both writing and reading are ingrained just like brewing and consuming a pot of coffee.

It takes just the initial effort to learn how and maybe fail once and make a bad pot. But, once you get the grounds right, the amount of water correct and you wait a bit for it to all mix… the first sip wakes you up as something sweet and then yes, everything flows.. that could just be the caffeine though.

Q: Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?

A: There are too many swirling in my brain but… continue with my app? If time persists..

Finish volume two? If time persists… build something else in my current line of work in a problem I see? If time persists…

Q: Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

A: Don’t just read and not apply.

Blaine Stewart is a 28 year old resident of the Bay Area. This is Mr. Stewart’s first published book.

After studying business and computer science in college, he entered the working population as a Head Golf Professional, and has since worked to build an available iOS application, Premise Hunts. Blaine enjoys working to fund projects he finds are the best use of his imagination as a creative outlet to extend to others the use of imagination as a way of understanding the world around us. His goal is only for the collective growth of knowledge in any capacity or vehicle it is encased. He believes in the effectiveness of education whether institutionally or self-learned but that in the search for individual higher understanding there is no one size fits all Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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m eli n da curtis

P

rior to writing romance, award-winning, USA Today Bestseller Melinda Curtis was a junior manager for a Fortune 500 company, which meant when she flew on the private jet she was relegated to the jump seat—otherwise known as the potty. After grabbing her pen (and a parachute) she made the jump to full-time writer. A hybrid author, Melinda has over 60 titles published or sold, including 40 works to Harlequin, five to Grand Central Forever and two to Arc Manor, mostly sweet romance and sweet romantic comedy. One of her books – Dandelion Wishes – was made into a 2020 TV movie – Love in Harmony Valley. She recently came to grips with the fact that she’s an empty nester and a grandma, concepts easier to grasp than movies made from her books or jet-setting on a potty.

Stay Connected MelindaCurtis.net Uncaged welcomes Melinda Curtis Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! Your two latest releases are holiday themed, one in a Thanksgiving Anthology called Thankfully in Love and the other a Christmas themed book called A Very Merry Match that is part of the Sunshine Valley series. Can you tell us more about both books?

I’ve just realized that both books feature characters who’ve been going through life spinning their wheels as fast as they can without getting where they want to be. In Thankfully in Love, Chef Drew Barnett has defined success one way – owning a 76 | UncagedBooks.com

restaurant. All he needs is the capital of a silent partner. Putting on the perfect Thanksgiving dinner for a wealthy man seems just the solution until a little boy, a big dog, a single mom, and a power outage make him rethink his priorities.

In A Very Merry Match, kindergarten teacher Mary Margaret Sneed wants to live an exemplary life, a life that everyone can approve of. But her dead husband left her with so much debt that she’s taken on a series of odd jobs this Christmas and the local matchmaking widows believe love, not a quiet life, is just what she needs.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I write for several different publishers, plus I do some indie publishing. That keeps me extremely busy. Currently, I’m writing a Book 9 in my Mountain Monroe series for Harlequin, plotting Book 3 in my Kissing Test series, writing a proposal for a new series, and waiting on two edits from books I’ve already turned in. I try to plan my publishing schedule 18-24 months in advance.

Uncaged: What advice would you give to new writers?

Be patient, write all the time, and study the craft.

Writing is like competing in any sport. You get better when you practice, and when you get tired, you rely on the rules and principles of the game.

Sometimes you have to sit the bench and sometimes you’re going to be a superstar. There’s room in this game for everyone. Be patient, work hard, and your time will come.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

Since I write full time, it hasn’t changed my lifestyle much other than to cancel my in-person promotional schedule. I’ve done several reader get-togethers online but it isn’t quite the same.

Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

I’m lucky to have great author friends who I’ve cyber chatted with during this past year. I love to hear what Brenda Novak is doing because her career is so interesting (and on fire). Sheila Roberts is always looking to find the lighter side of life, whether she’s under quarantine or not. And Jayne Ann Krentz is always pushing me to reach higher.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

Is it bad to say most of them? I begin each story with a good understanding of my characters, the first act, and the end. But it’s in the middle that characters surprise me. Most notably, I was writing the Harmony Valley series and got to Book 3 – Season of Change. The hero had appeared in the two previous books always wearing a tie. Somewhere in Act 1, I became convinced that he’d tried to commit suicide a decade earlier. I couldn’t shake this feeling and called my editor to talk it through. We ended up keeping that backstory, working carefully so that the book didn’t go too dark.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

My husband and I DIY. We’ve renovated bathrooms for our parents, put in flooring for our kids, and are currently in the process of fixing up a house we just purchased. In fact, I need to finish this article and order a light fixture for our bathroom.

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

Success is different for everyone, obviously. Having come from the highly pressured, fast-paced corporate world where a job title and achievements indicated success, I’ve been lucky to create a strong writing resume. I’ve hit bestseller lists a few times and had a TV movie made of one of my books – Love in Harmony Valley. I’d like my stories to be 78 | UncagedBooks.com

well-received, the contracts and sales to keep coming, and to be happy and fulfilled by my work.

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I love print books, but I buy a lot of ebooks, too. It’s the holiday season and I’m reading Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne. It’s lovely.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I write stories that make readers laugh a little, cry a little, and sigh a little. They can sign up for my newsletter on my web site (www.MelindaCurtis.net) and receive a free read to see if they like my storytelling style. And they can learn more about the travails of living in a fixer-upper and being a writer by following me on Facebook (@MelindaCurtisAuthor).

Enjoy an excerpt from Dog-Gone Holiday from the anthology, Thankfully in Love Thankfully in Love Anthology Contemporary Holiday Romance USA Today bestselling romance authors come together for Thanksgiving to tell the stories of four women who have not had the best experiences with the men they have dated in their pasts. With the help of family and loved ones this holiday season, can they learn to open their hearts one more time? If they can dare to make the leap, they could find themselves finally, thankfully in love…

| MELINDA CURTIS | Excerpt Thanksgiving used to be one of food critic and lifestyle blogger Claire Rothchild’s favorite holidays.

Who didn’t like turkey, gravy-soaked stuffing, and pie? Who didn’t enjoy loading their plate with food without judgment? There were no presents to buy and wrap. No carols to sing. And for Claire, there was no column to write, no subtleties to detect, no presentation to critique. It was just sit your hiney down and try everything – even have seconds!

Claire loved Thanksgiving so much that she’d planned to get married on that day.

And then the dish ran away with the spoon.

old fish in the water, just like his surfing champion father. “But it might be too cold.”

“Daddy says pirates are never cold in the water.”

Daddy says…

Claire gritted her teeth, silently ruing the fact that the sun was out over San Diego today after an extremely wet and gloomy November. Didn’t matter to Olly that the wind coming off the Pacific Ocean was gusty and cold this time of year. Stewart was fond of saying, “If the sun’s out, the water’s fine.”

And if his father said something, Olly took it as the gospel, even if it challenged his toddler balance and made his lips turn blue.

In this case, the dish was her bridesmaid Teri, and the spoon was her fiancé Stewart.

Nearly a year later, Claire still had six cases of California Cabernet she was working her way through, a toddler she was battling custody for with Stewart, and a newly-developed aversion to Thanksgiving. This turkey day, she planned to hide out at the coastal guest house of her married kid sister Mary Jane Plutarch. No turkey, no gravy-soaked stuffing, no pie, and certainly no Stewart. She’d told Mary Jane she and Olly weren’t going to be part of the fancy feast her brother-in-law was throwing. They’d be fine with fast food burgers; Olly with his glass of milk and Claire with a glass of Cabernet.

DON’T MISS THIS TITLE:

Knowing her sister, Claire was going to have to fight for her right not to party. Mary Jane was the family extrovert.

“Mommy, can I swim at Auntie M.J.’s?” Olly sat in his car seat behind her, sporting a black felt pirate hat and clutching his plastic pirate sword. His accessories and his love of all things pirate were a result of a trip to Disneyland last month with Stewart for his birthday.

“You can swim,” she told him. Olly was a four-yearIssue 53 | December 2020 |

79

fang-FREAKIN-tastic reviews

feature author

F.L. Journey

F. L . j o ur n ey How did you come up with the idea for Cerberus?

When I was teaching, I was talking to one of my students about Greek Mythology. While talking we got around to Cerberus, and I off the cuff said, “What if it was three brothers?” and that started me down the path.

Why are your books based in Oregon?

F

.L. Journey is a team of two writers who write what makes them happy.

From fantasy to horror, speculative fiction, and alt-history, they will write it all.

They are now just dipping a toe into paranormal romance with series based in Hood River, Oregon.

They strive to only kill those who deserve it in their stories, while staying grounded to the genres that they enjoy.

They live in the beautiful Columbia Gorge region of Oregon and enjoy spending time with their families.

Stay Co n n e c te d

I live in Oregon, and right now we want to stay with what we know. Hood River is near where we live, and the punchbowl that is talked about is a real place that you can travel to. In fact there are two punchbowls within about a 30 minute drive. Both are waterfalls and you can swim in both. Well you could until we recently had a big fire that shut one of them down.

Where do you sell your books?

While they are all available on Amazon, we are expanding our reach and have started attending bazaars and next August we will be an attending author at Orlando Book Reads.

What genres do you write?

Right now dystopian and paranormal romance, but we will write everything and anything that comes into our minds. Right now we are formulating a series about Cyptids and another about bounty hunters. One of the authors actually also writes Non-Fiction and one of their books is in colleges.

Any exciting news?

Book 2 of Cerberus Brothers “Crimson Scholar” will be publishing at the beginning of December, and we have a free short story “Panterra and the Serial Killer” that you get by signing up for the newsletter, or by joining the facebook group.

82 | UncagedBooks.com

Enjoy an excerpt from: The Cobalt Warrior The Cobalt Warrior F.L. Journey Occult/Horror Theo Cerberus is a Warrior.

Until recently, his life consisted of feeding Diego, his Bull Mastiff and canine companion and playing video games. He also happens to be one of three handpicked by Hades himself to protect the Gate to the Underworld. Usually his job is boring. Check Reapers in and out, and make sure no souls get rowdy. If it wasn’t for also helping Hades around his vineyard in Hood River Oregon, Theo would have it pretty easy.

However, that was all about to change when a Reaper arrived at the gate unexpectedly, and memories that should have stayed buried began to surface.

Memories of the love of his life walking out the door without a second glance.

Panterra is a Reaper.

She’s finally allowed to gather souls again. However, the first job she is given happens to be gathering a soul she loved and left centuries ago. Is her love for Theo stronger than the promise of freedom?

More lies in the balance than just Panterra’s heart and Theo’s soul. The fate of the Underworld is beginning to shift, and fulfilling her task may prove the tipping point.

Excerpt He opened the back door to let Diego in and walked around to the driver’s side door. Looking at his house again, he shook his head at his loss of prime playing time and jumped in. Theo made sure the minute he turned the key, he also turned on the heater. While he could handle the early morning chill, Diego turned into a petulant child if he got cold. Theo looked back at Diego who was shivering.

“It’s not that cold. It’s like 50 degrees Diego, stop acting like a child.”

Okay. First, I have short hair. Second, I do not turn into a child of any kind.

“Maybe it’s time we get you a little jacket you can

| F.L. JOURNEY | wear to work. Maybe something with glitter and bedazzling.”

Do you want me to eat your computer? Because that’s how you get your computer eaten.

“Do it, and no more vittles for you. Remember, you don’t get to eat if I don’t feed you.”

A gasp could be heard both in his head and in the car. Score two for me thought Theo.

If Theo had gone directly to the office, the drive normally only took 30 minutes, but he first wanted to get something to eat. Usually, when it was his day to work, he would have a full breakfast downtown and pick up lunch on the way. The brothers have had discussions for years about whether or not they should use their expensive kitchen, but Theo had been eating out for so long, it was ingrained in his life. It also looked a bit odd to not eat during functions or dinner parties. It didn’t hurt that the food at Bette’s Place was delicious.

“Diego, do you want something from Bette’s Place?”

MMM, can I get one of those Blueberry Muffins?

They are so good.

Theo speed-dialed the small café he ate at every morning if he was able. On the third ring, he heard, “Bette’s Place, Diana speaking.”

“Hey Diana, this is Theo. Can I get my regular and a Blueberry muffin for the mutt? To go this time, please.”

“It’ll be ready in 10 minutes. See you then.” Theo could hear her smile through the phone. If he were hundreds of years younger, he might have asked her out. But with his family’s business, along with a talking dog in his head, relationships were just not easy to navigate on the best of times. But for him, it was impossible.

They can be, you know. I met this cute golden retriever down the stree“Stop right there. I do not need relationship advice from a dog.”

Maybe it will make you less bitter.

Cursing himself for even getting into a discussion about this with Diego, he slid into a parking spot across the street from the café.

“Good Morning Theo, I have your food ready.

You’re late for work.” Standing a little over a foot shorter than Theo, Diana was a petite 5’2” with a lithe body and blonde hair reaching her shoulders.

Her light blue eyes always seemed to sparkle when she looked his way. He knew she liked him, but right now, a relationship with her was not a good Issue 53 | December 2020 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | idea, Theo thought.

“Yeah, I wasn’t supposed to work today, but you know how it goes.” With a smile, Theo paid for his food and walked back to his vehicle.

Gimme Gimme “We will eat when we get to the office, you just need to wait. You won’t starve, I promise.” With a grumble, Theo saw Diego lay down in the back seat. With the length of the drive, fighting with Diego was not something Theo wanted to do on the way. Theo drove in silence south, out of Hood River towards Odell, before taking a small road that soon turned to dirt. Ten minutes after turning, he pulled off the road and onto a wide spot bordered by large rocks in the road. Reaching up to the visor Theo pushed a button, which looked like a garage door opener.

The four large rocks in the center slowly sank into the ground. After driving over, then onto a former logging road, Theo pulled his Range Rover next to a BMW X5. He never understood why his brother would drive such a nice car to work. While their cars were protected for the most part from prying eyes, sometimes a random individual out on a hike will see the vehicles. Theo was not willing to lose anything of his, especially his nicer cars.

Looking around the front seats, Theo grabbed his food and shut the front door securely, making as little sound as possible. Opening the back, Diego jumped out with crumbs covering his black nose.

“Why do you have crumbs on your nose? I didn’t give you your muffin yet.”

No, but I always have a reserve snack in the car.

Shaking his head, Theo grabbed his backpack as they started the short hike up to the waterfall.

A path led from the parking lot to what the locals called Devil’s Punch Bowl. It was a favorite place for many locals during the summer to enjoy the cool water and beautiful surroundings. On many days, anywhere from 20 to 100 people could be seen jumping off the bowl’s cliffs or swimming near the waterfall. While the water was cold, the summer temperatures could soar past 100 degrees, making it a refreshing break. This morning, there wasn’t anyone out yet. Theo walked towards the glimmering, flowing portal. Just before reaching it, he stepped in front of the rock wall and placed his hand in a gap in the rocks. With a click, a door opened, and Diego and Theo walked through.

The door shut behind them as they walked into the pitch-black entryway. Due to their movement, the 84 | UncagedBooks.com

lights began to slowly turn on, illuminating a hallway with one door on the left and right, plus a door at the end. Taking the door to the left, Theo placed his stuff in a locker. Then he walked back into the hallway, turning towards the door on the opposite end of the hallway from which they entered.

He took a deep breath as he pulled his body to its full, confident height, and pushed through the portal. On the other side was a large cavern which looked like it could hold not only a football field or two, but also an airport. What should have been a wall to Theo’s right was instead a massive sheet of water cascading down.

The view to his left took his breath away, no matter how many years he had been working. Standing at least 10 stories tall was a massive stone arch with symbols flickering on and off along the sides. At the apex of the arch were various languages that all said the same thing, “Hello. Welcome to the Underworld.”

After thousands of years, they learned greeting people was better than transitioning them without speaking and resulted in fewer black eyes.

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Uncaged Reviews Whispers

Shayne Silvers Urban Fantasy The Vatican is broken… And Callie’s hearing Whispers in the dark corners of her mind.

One of the Vatican’s most infamous Shepherds has been murdered, and Callie’s friends are the prime suspects. To prove them innocent, Roland and Callie must risk their very souls…

Uncaged Review: This series is fast becoming a mainstay in the Templeverse for me. And what continually sweetens the deal for me is the crossovers with Nate Temple, I like that the author keeps these separate, but together, as I learn more about Callie and Nate in both. I still like this as a romantic pairing, but I don’t know that will be the goal.

There is a lot going on in this book, a Shepherd who was Roland’s mentor, has been murdered in Vatican City, and two young werewolf girls that Roland and Callie rescued are the main suspects and Roland and Callie will have to find a way to prove their innocence. Roland will pay a steep price. We still don’t know what the Whispers are that Callie hears, but she’s learning to go with her gut.

Nate Temple shows up for a short interlude, and things turn even more chaotic when he leaves.

With an Antipope and other top ranking Shepherds controlling and watching their every move, This book sets a great pace, and it’s hard to put down once you begin. Especially when you get to the halfway point. Highly recommended series.

Reviewed by Cyrene

88 | UncagedBooks.com

Chasing Arlo Ginger Ring Romantic Suspense/Crime A mafia princess doesn’t belong with a lowly soldier.

At least, that is what Arlo thinks.

He’s used to women only wanting steamy one-night stands and nothing more. Not until, to his surprise, he’s pursued by none other than the mafia princess herself.

Uncaged Review: The final book in this main series is a great way to wrap this one up and a worthy addition. Arlo is head of security for the family, and when a bomb takes out a boat, Arlo will step up to keep Layla safe. This family has always been strong and close knit, and it plays out well here. Many twists and turns will keep you guessing to the ending.

Although I’m sad that this book is wrapping up this main series, the epilogue in the back of the book was such a great touch and I “may have” needed a tissue or two. I am hoping that we can talk the author into something on the kids in the future, but for now, this is a great final book, and it’s a series to remember and re-read in the future. Reviewed by Cyrene

MacGuffin Booth & Mollard Suspense/Noir HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 2005.

road to stardom.

Rich MacGuffin, an aspiring actor with a talent for acting but a distinct lack of tinsel town looks, struggles to find work that will lead him on the

Uncaged Review: This book starts out pretty fast, and also with almost too much going on to the point of wondering how all this will come together and play out. But the authors do a great job bringing all the frayed ends of this noir crime story together. At times I even laughed out loud. This is a very twisted thriller that most crime readers will really enjoy. This is definitely a plot driven storyline and I would have liked to see these characters flushed out a bit more, as they felt a bit off in their reactions.

The pacing is great, and it kept me entertained, and those that know me and my reading preferences know that if a suspense novel keeps me turning pages, it’s worth a look. Reviewed by Cyrene

Genesis T. Sae-Low YA/Fantasy Myth As rumors swirl across the war torn lands of Eos of a possible Candidate—the long prophesied savior of peace— young Raden Nite finds himself unexpectedly chosen to discover the truth to these rumors. Raden’s top-secret mission will send him and his closest friends on a heart-pounding adventure through the mysterious Voras Mountains, the impenetrable fortress of Sargatum, and deep into strange new lands where dangerous enemies await.

Uncaged Review: I like the premise of this book and the author does a great job describing the lands and the two distinct dynasties. I would caution readers, that this is marketed as a Young Adult, and I would keep that to older teens as the battles are brutal and may be a bit much for younger teens.

The pace is pretty slow although it does kick in around the halfway point, but it also takes awhile for this world to really sit well with the reader, it doesn’t fully realize itself easily. I think the main issue I had with this one is that there were so many things going on without explanation too soon, that it caused a disconnect with the reader. All in all, I enjoyed the book and it’s a solid fantasy.

Reviewed by Cyrene

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Uncaged Reviews The Mocking Man Leslie Georgeson Romantic Suspense Deception.

Not a word I would have associated with myself fifteen years ago. Back then I was innocent and carefree, a teenage boy with big dreams.

Then my best friend Rafe was kidnapped, and my world fell apart. I foolishly thought I could save him.

I was wrong.

Now my entire life is a web of deceit. My every breath tainted by lies. I don’t like what I’ve become. But it’s essential for my very survival.

Uncaged Review: For a romantic suspense, this is a good one and even though most suspense/ thriller/crime novels include some of the same formulas, this one mixes it up a bit. Alex and Rafe are best friends, and when Rafe gets kidnapped by a drug cartel, Alex will do his best to try and save him and protect his sister, Isabella.

There are a lot of twists and turns to this book, and the book kept me interested, but I wasn’t overly attached to the book once I set it down.

Some books will have me carrying them around and reading every chance I get, and this one did not do that, but I do think it’s a well written plot with suspense, friendship and loyalty, romance, lies, deceit and a bit of steam. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Facets of Power Jamie A Waters Urban Fantasy The hardest stone protects the most precious gems…

Someone is killing dwarves.

Sabine is new to the city of Razadon, a mecca of stone and dwarven magic.

When a clan leader is murdered in a strange ritual, suspicion falls on the most likely culprits and those newest to the city—Sabine and her companions.

Uncaged Review: In the third book in this series, with the Wild Hunt underway, Sabine flees to Razadon, the city of dwarves. Corrupted magic and rituals have been killing dwarves, and causes Sabine’s demon protector, Bane, to unhinge. Wanting to blame the demon and locking him up, Sabine must find out the truth to save him from being killed.

Sabine will need to embrace her position as Unseelie Queen and this book keeps this series running smoothly and ramping up. Not only do I like the main character, there are several of the supporting cast that really make this mix-matched group of friends enjoyable and the intricate storyline is taken to new levels.

This is a great choice if you are looking for a new urban fantasy series to sink into. Reviewed by Cyrene

Queen of Hope Kristal Dawn Harris

Fantasy Romance Short The Fae King will stop at nothing to find his Queen.

A Queen in hiding will stop at nothing to avoid the Fae King.

Terrence Edward Lamon rose to power after the death of his cruel father. Repeated failed attempts to locate his mate, the true queen, forces him to hunt her himself. Their connection as fated mates acts as a beacon to her soul, and Terrence uses it to his full advantage. He knows she won’t accept him as The King, so he devises a plan to win Rana’s heart, but will it be enough for a reluctant queen to claim her crown, fall in love, and rule by his side?

Uncaged Review: This is a book that a great idea was pushed into a shorter holiday-ish tale, and I could have easily seen this book really dig out a great story in a full length book. This is a nice interlude if you have been reading heavy books, or series – to get a little break and read this steamy romance. For me, it was over a bit too fast, and of course, you can’t really get attached to the characters, but they were likeable and the story was entertaining.

So in between baking holiday treats this year, this is a nice little break as we all hang out at home more than we normally do. Reviewed by Cyrene

The Quarantine Cookbook Beth Carter Quick and Easy Cooking

Romance author Beth Carter created THE QUARANTINE COOKBOOK during the unbelievable 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 200 easy, delicious recipes will provide a much-needed distraction while sheltering in place—and your family will thank you!

Included are the author’s favorite five-ingredient recipes, plus plenty of comfort food, meatless meals, appetizers, salads, sides, soups, and desserts.

Uncaged Review: This is a fun cookbook, and one of the things I really like about it, is you’ve probably got 90% of the ingredients in any recipe already in your pantry. Another thing is that these recipes are so easy to manipulate to your own personal tastes. The author gives you the main recipe, but doesn’t weigh the recipe down so you can’t experiment.

One recipe I really enjoy is the Rosemary Pork Chops. I did everything, browning them beautifully in the pan, but then taking them out and putting them in the oven to finish cooking and also opening a can of sliced peaches and dropped them on top. Some cookbooks don’t allow this type of freedom.

There are also some fun surprises in the back part of the book that will keep you smiling.

I can’t say that I’ve tried all the recipes yet, but I’m working on them. With all profits going to charity, this is a win win. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews The Dociles Valerie Puri Dystopian Walls are meant to keep the monsters out…

Deep in the forest there is a wall where no wall should be.

Behind it live the people of the Commune, the last remnant of human kind.

Jennie Caraway has lived behind the wall her entire life, certain that it protects her and her brother from the lemerons, ravenous undead monsters whose only desire is to kill – and feed.

Jennie’s peaceful existence is shattered when she uncovers a secret organization whose purpose threatens to destroy not only Jennie, but her entire world.

The Order has a deadly mission, and they will stop at nothing to see it completed.

Jennie and those closest to her must expose the evil truth before they are killed – or worse.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: The Dociles was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t completely sure it would be something I liked, but I was willing to take a chance with it, and I’m glad I did. It is considered a YA book, but don’t let that stop you from reading it. There’s lots of action and light romance, but nothing I would be embarrassed to tell my teens about.

This story really is quite fast paced and exciting right from the start. I felt bad for Jennie bc her whole world has been turned upside down and now she has no idea who to trust. The lemerons are literally knocking at her door and she has to do her best to protect her family and community while also learning who is trustworthy or not.

The lemerons are interesting characters. I’m not 100% sure I understand what’s going on with

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them, but I get the gist of it. They are almost like zombies but not. It’s hard to explain, but I do think they add a level of violence while also adding mystery to the story bc where did they come from and what are they really? How did it happen? I know these are answers I’ll get eventually, but I want to know right now lol.

I think the plot twists come at exactly the right moments to keep things interesting. There is enough of a unique feel to this book to keep me guessing the whole time. Just when I start to get comfortable with what is happing (or thinking I know what’s happening) we get another twist in the story, but not in a way that makes it confusing. I like how she set the story into the future after the collapse of civilization. Most of what I’ve read has been only a short time since, or during the apocalypse and not enough of them tell us what happens later. Normally, we don’t see how the collapse future generations, but The Dociles is set some 200 years into the future. I’d like to know more about Marlene, but I’m hoping I’ll find those answers in the 2nd book.

This is an exciting read that gives a different spin on a post-apocalyptic world. I look forward to reading the next book.

Kayla and the Devil Bryan Smith Occult Horror College student Kayla Monroe seems to have everything. Stunning looks, smarts, and loads of money thanks to her privileged upbringing. But something’s gone wrong. Ever since the start of her sophomore year, people have been avoiding her. Her friends shun her.

Guys no longer flock to her. Even her former stalker, an awkward geek, now wants nothing to do with her.

She is on the brink of utter despair when she encounters a young man in the park. The man is charming and movie star handsome. Kayla thinks maybe her luck has taken a turn for the better. But she couldn’t be more wrong. Because this man is the Devil. Capital D definitely intended.

The ultimate embodiment of evil. And he has something to tell Kayla.

enjoyed was Lee. He was a former stalker of hers who shunned her after she was cursed. Due to circumstances changing, she managed to talk him into helping her. He seemed like a really good guy, and I hated seeing her treat him like crap.

This isn’t a book to read if you are looking for something serious. It’s fairly lighthearted compared to most of what I read and definitely uncomplicated. The most complicated concept is getting past Kayla’s ego. It was a good read for me because it wasn’t long and drawn out, and I could read it without really having to think too much. I really did enjoy it. The only downside to the story is I wish there had been more on Bathory and Jack, but sometimes I’ll take what I can get.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: I very much enjoyed this book despite how much I loathed the main character, Kayla. But I do think the author wrote her that way on purpose, so if that’s the case, he did a good job. In most books, the characters are likeable or at least easy to relate to in some way. Not in this book.

Kayla truly is a terrible person, and I really didn’t feel bad for her situation at all.

Kayla and The Devil had so many funny moments.

While I didn’t like her, I did think she was really funny. She has a huge ego, so she doesn’t really see anything wrong with the way she talks to people, but some of it is just downright hilarious.

The addition of side characters like Jack the Ripper and Elizabeth Bathory added another level of entertainment to this book, but the one character I really

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Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews Married with Zombies Jesse Petersen American Humorous Fiction A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things -- the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: Holy zombie brains I loved this book. From the first few pages until the very end it was pure entertainment for me. It’s kind of ridiculous in a way, but in a way I found entertaining.

The main character, Sarah, is horribly shallow.

Which normally would annoy me, but in this situation, I liked it. It kind of made me want her to get eaten at times, but at the same time I wanted her to make it. And I can, to some degree, understand why they’re on the verge of divorce. Both characters would make me want a divorce, which is probably why they’re good together.

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I liked that this was a romantic comedy without having a bunch of sex. I generally like my zombie books sex-free, so that was nice for me. The comedy for me was good. Sarah’s shallowness can get annoying at times, but it was easy for me to overlook because I took this book for what it’s worth: something to entertain me without having to get to deep into the characters or what’s going on bc let’s face it, these characters are about as deep as a glass of water. I can enjoy shallow entertainment. I didn’t go into this expecting some life changing book. I just wanted to escape the world for a few hours and that’s what I got.

In a nutshell, this book is funny, gory and shallow. The entertainment quality is good as long as you aren’t looking for some Oscar winning equivalent. Take it at face value and have fun with it.

Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case Kristen Painter

Vampire Mysteries Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year. Jayne Frost is a lot of things.

Winter elf, Jack Frost’s daughter, Santa Claus’s niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now...private investigator. Sort of. Needing someone he can trust, her father sends her undercover to Nocturne Falls to find out why employees at the Santa’s Workshop toy store are going missing. Doing that requires getting to know the town, which leads to interesting encounters with a sexy vampire, an old flame, and an elevator that’s strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has, but the answers lead her deeper into danger. Will her magic save her? Or will she come up cold?

Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case (which I think is a really cute way to say that, and I don’t normally like cute) is a really fun and easy read. It will keep you guessing until the very end. While I had my suspicions, I didn’t figure things out until right before it was revealed, so that’s a good thing. With the weather cooling off, it would be a nice way to spend an afternoon snuggled up on the couch under a cozy blanket.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: I had this book on my

Kindle for an embarrassingly long time before I remembered it was there. Now I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. It was cute without being too cute. I love a good murder mystery and try to avoid romance when possible, but the romance in this was just the right amount to not be too much for me.

Something I enjoy about the books that take place in Nocturne Falls is I don’t have to think too much to enjoy them.

Life has been really heavy for me lately, so being able to read something and fall into it without having to put any effort into enjoying it is nice. Sometimes, it’s the only way I can get out of my own head.

The entire world of the Nocturne Falls books is fun to me.

I love the idea of a town where it’s Halloween all year long. So with each book and spin off dealing with a different element of the paranormal, there is always something for me to enjoy. Different books have more or less romance in them, but not in a way that makes me want to put it down.

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Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews Flying with Dad Yvonne Caputo Biography At age ten, Yvonne vied for her dad’s attention. At twenty, they fought about race. At sixty, she struggled to talk with him about what mattered.

In Flying With Dad, Yvonne Caputo charts her journey to her father through the re-telling of why he went from repairing planes to being a B-24 navigator in WWII, how heavy German flak led to post-war nightmares, and why he suffered years of guilt after one particular bombing run over Unterschlauersbach, Germany.

Amy’s Review: Magnificent connection with family Caputo pens a wonderful title in Flying with Dad. This is the first book of this author’s that I’ve read. It’s set as a memoir, but it’s so much more than that. There is this grand connection between family, set through stories. As the stories bring the reader on a journey, it also brings the author and her father on a journey that brings them together, and gives an magnificent gift together. Caputo’s father was a bomber navigator in WWII, and his love of planes was shown in everything that he did. Mike’s experiences changed him and affected him, with both good and traumatic experiences.

It’s one of those stories that is unforgettable, particularly because of its truthful experiences.

Stories, especially family stories, can have a great impact on all of those who are not only involved, but those who learn about their family’s past.

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Haunted A Paranormal Awakening Julie Coons Memoir Haunted: A Paranormal Awakening is a frightening real-life supernatural memoir recounting how one woman coped with the experience of living with apparitions. If you like learning the secrets of the other side, engaging with the spirit world, and triumphing over evil, then you’ll love Julie Coons’s extraordinary account.

Amy’s Review: Amazingly told real-life encounter!

First, Coons is an author who writes very well, and tells her own stories very well. In this story, Coon writes about her own story in Haunted A Paranormal Awakening. Whether or not you believe in the paranormal (I happen to), reading and living through the ghostly spirits that surrounded Coons, is interesting and eye-opening. First, I believe everything she wrote about her experiences, but that’s me, and I tend to believe in things that cannot always be explained. Her haunting changed her outlook and perspective, and made her look at her life, both at the light and dark that surrounded her and her past. This is a frightening and terrifying memoir and I am very glad that Coons had the courage to share her story, not just with me but with anyone who reads this. You don’t have to believe, but you may after you read this story. Magnificent story, kept this reader turning the pages. All I knew from the beginning was that Coons survived and became stronger because she wrote about it.

Murder in First Position Lori Robbins Mystery Ballerina Leah Siderova knows the career of a professional dancer is short. But rarely is it as brief as that of her rival, Arianna Bonneville, whose rise to stardom ends when she is stabbed in the back.

New York City police detective Jonah Sobol fixes upon Leah as the prime suspect.

After all, she was the one who found the body, she had the most to gain from Arianna’s death, and it was her name Arianna whispered, just before she died.

Amy’s Review: Magnificent Mystery Robbins pens a wonderful mystery story in Murder in First Position. I have read word from this author before, and I really enjoyed it, and this was no different.

The mystery surrounds ballerina Leah, who’s rival was killed, and of course, everyone has eyes on her.

I am vaguely knowledgeable about the strictness of discipline of professional dancers, but in this story, I think that lends to helping Leah try to clear her name while the police are right there, behind her. If you love a great suspenseful and mysterious story, this book should be next on your list. A very well-written story, and I enjoyed it. Robbins is a magnificent storyteller and adds that layer of suspense and mystery, as well as other sub plotlines. It’s a perfect stage for murder, and this book has it. Magnificent story, kept this reader turning the pages. A definite attention grabber. The thrills and intrigue is written clearly and the characterizations are engrossing. Love this story.

The author’s technique of intense characters and great plotlines is a gift.

Silver Fox Phillip & Stella Lemarque Satire/Occult Pierre and Sophie take their culinary expertise to the extravagant country estate of a mysterious superstar, Silver Fox. The fantasy ranch comes with its own cast of characters and a phantom crowd of mischievous residents. The opportunity for making an easy million is too good to pass up--but may be too slippery to hang onto.

Amy’s Review: Another great work from the Lemarques The Lemarques pen (once again) a great story in Silver Fox. I’ve read their title Money Galore, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were unique and very interesting. The book is filled with satire and humor, but also tells a grand story. The Silver Fox is not only the title but also a mysterious superstar, with a grand estate in the country. It’s a fun and easy read, but it works with all the quirky and intriguing characters that are all looking for an easy payday. I really enjoyed this story, as I enjoy reading work from the Lemarques. The story is written by both authors but it’s written in a way that their styles connect into one great story. The title drew me in, but the story made me stay. The authors techniques of unique and intriguing characters and great plotlines is a gift.

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Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews The Enigma of Ted Bundy Kevin Sullivan History/Forensics/Crime For within these pages you’ll read of the many questions still surrounding this fascinating and intricate case, as well as the answers that are only now being provided here. There’s so much more to learn, and new information is still surfacing about Bundy, his victims and his potential victims. As such, there is new testimony included from those who had a brush with the killer, and others who played their own roles in this multi-state case.

Amy’s Review: Stunningly chilling Sullivan pens a remarkable sixth title about Bundy in THE ENIGMA OF TED BUNDY: The Questions and Controversies Surrounding America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer. This is the first book of this author’s that I’ve read. Sullivan did the research, and probably knows Bundy, the devious sociopathic serial killer better than anyone. It seems there are still controversies around Bundy and unanswered questions. Bundy is one of the more infamous serial killers and even after his execution, there are lingering thoughts behind what made this man, this man. It’s a compelling read if you love true crime and learning more about killers than you ever thought possible. It’s case files and author notes that give this story the facts and truths behind the investigation, and Bundy himself. It’s an incredible story that also makes references to Sullivan’s previous books on Bundy.

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The Long Tail of Trauma Elizabeth Wilcox Memoir/PTSD This is a story of mothers.

This is a story of daughters.

This is a story of the trauma we carry and the trauma we tend to. So begins this multigenerational memoir that explores the author’s maternal history of repeated trauma, separation, adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and their impact on mental health.

Amy’s Review: Magnificently told!

Wilcox pens an incredible memoir in The Long Tail of Trauma: A Memoir. This is the first book of this author’s that I’ve read. Wilcox writes, “This is a story of mothers. This is a story of daughters. This is a story of the trauma we carry and the trauma we tend to. This story begins long before me. It begins with the first trauma my ancestral mothers bore, something passed deep in our wombs, from one generation to the next.” And that is just the beginning. Wilcox had me hooked in the foreword, and I couldn’t put this down. It was heartbreaking, heart aching, and, yes, heart fulfilling. Sometimes experiences or life lessons of others can inspire and make one take a look at their own life, and that’s what this did. Besides it being well-written, it was one unforgettable book. Yes, it’s a memoir, and it delves into generational trauma, and connections. It’s a magnificent read, a definite pageturner.

The Psychic’s Memoirs Ryan Hyatt Cyberpunk SciFi Ted Kaza, a hot-tempered Los Angeles detective, and Lydia Jackson, his distracted partner, are assigned to find Alice Walker, an alleged teenage psychic whose capture might determine the outcome of a looming civil war and humanity’s relationship with a misleading alien force.

Amy’s Review: Wonderful Read Hyatt pens a remarkable story in The Psychic’s Memoirs. I haven’t read anything from this author before, and I really enjoyed the writing and plot. The characters were unique and very compelling. This author brings the story to life. It’s not just another sci-fi story slash apocalyptic, it has depth and chaos and great world creation. The story kept this reader engaged and story brings in the believable, even if almost impossible. A very well-written story, and I enjoyed it, as it was an intense journey of survival and twists at every turn. It was a magnificent story, kept this reader turning the pages, a definite attention grabber. This author has such a grand imagination. The characters were insightful and on a mission, which added to the depth of the story, not just the plot of investigation.

More than sci-fi and more than just paranormal.

The Chronicles of Talwin Steven Lazaroff SciFi What brings a man to the brink of despair and surrender?

When dark circumstances threaten to overwhelm him and his family, young Markus Talwin is forced to choose – lose all the people he loves the most or delve into the dangerous underworld of Beltran and forge a new destiny of revenge against a corrupt regime and the one man that rules it.

Amy’s Review: Wonderful read Lazaroff pens a remarkable, world-building story in The Chronicles of Talwin: The Incident at Beltran. I have read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. First, Lazaroff is a great writer with a fantastic and interesting imagination.

Readers are fortunate the author shares the stories, and we get to enjoy them. It’s a mix of sci-fi and space opera, which I find just works well together. The story was told with great detail, but not overly detailed. Talwin embarks on a journey to no only survive, but also to find himself, trying to overcome his own demons and whatever obstacles are thrown at him. I like the premise of the story, and I couldn’t put it down until I was finished. The author states this is book 1 of Talwin’s chronicles, so I can’t wait for whatever is to come next. The story brings in the believable, even if almost impossible. This book deserves a second read! (and maybe more). This author is not just a writer but a great storyteller, bringing the reader on a journey right beside Talwin.

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