Read a snippet from White Hellebore!

How about an excerpt from White Hellebore? Why not!

"Ready for your present?" His low voice sounded huskier than normal.

"Yes."

Nicholas placed a thin rectangle gift on the table and quickly yanked off the crushed bow. Maybe his super speed had ruined it. At least the present was still wrapped perfectly.

"Never knew you could cut a corner so tight."

"There're a lot of things you don't know about me."

A challenge. She touched her lips with her fingers. "A little mystery suits you. But not too much."

Beneath the wrapper was a decorative box. Inside, rested on a cushion of red, lay a silver pen. Julianna lifted it. It had some weight to it, and engraved on it was "Ace Reporter: Julianna."

"Do you like it? Gavina thought I should have gotten you jewelry, but you hardly ever wear necklaces."

"No." She touched her tiny diamond earrings, a present from her parents after she graduated college, the only piece of jewelry she consistently wore.

"And then she suggested flowers..."

But flowers had always been Justina's thing. Funny that a girl who spent her time running around, chasing cars and stars and dreams, would bother to plant flowers. Not that she stayed still long enough to prune them or tend to them or weed them. Her flowers had been just like her -- wild and free. A small patch of them still bloomed in the springtime every year in a corner of their parent's yard.

"And I know you aren't a reporter--"

"Let alone an ace," she said dryly.

He winked at her, but she could sense his apprehension. He so wanted her to like his gift. "You would have been if you went to school for journalism. Heck, you could quit being sheriff and become a reporter tomorrow. I know you could."

"Why not Julianna Paige?" She traced her finger against the indentations.

"Ah, well... There was a character limit." He chuckled, toying at the collar of his blue golf shirt. He'd left the top three buttons undone, and she could just glimpse the swell of well-formed pecs.

"Um." Julianna grabbed a napkin and wrote, "I love this pen more than you," and slid it across the table.

Now his laugh was carefree. "A pen won't make you coffee in the morning."

"You don't know. You're too busy sleeping after wandering the streets for no reason as Black Hellebore. Plus, we don't live together."

Yet hung in the air.

"Pens can't kiss you," he persisted.

She placed the cold metal against her lips and kissed it.

"Pens can't kiss back," he said hoarsely. He stood, leaned across the table, and lowered her hand. She closed her eyes, ready to accept his kiss, when their waitress cleared her throat.

"Would you like another flask of sake? Are either of you interested in dessert?"

Nicholas looked like he wanted to shove the dessert menu back in her face, and Julianna didn't disagree.

"No thank you," they said together.

After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.

Add it on Goodreads!

Be sure to get your copy! And if you email me (at Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com) with proof of purchase of either Black Hellebore or White Hellebore or both! you'll be entered to win signed print copies of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy! Mega bonus points if you buy both Black and White Hellebore in print!

Purchase links: Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Desert Breeze 

All Romance Ebooks

And don't forget to hop around on White Hellebore's blog tour:

Learn about one of the villain's here.

See where Julianna's mind is here.

Wanna learn how to create a superhero?

How about villains?

Top Ten Reasons to Read White Hellebore

Peek-a-boo with Marketing

With more fun to come!

WHITE HELLEBORE Release!

What with the 12-hour long FB party I had yesterday, I completely forgot to post here about White Hellebore's release!

You know you want to keep reading about Nicholas and Julianna and Gavina and the new villainS they face! Be sure to get your copy! And if you email me (at Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com) with proof of purchase of either Black Hellebore or White Hellebore or both! you'll be entered to win signed print copies of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy! Mega bonus points if you buy both Black and White Hellebore in print!

After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.

Add it on Goodreads!

Purchase links: Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Desert Breeze 

All Romance Ebooks

And don't forget to hop around on White Hellebore's blog tour:

Learn about one of the villain's here.

See where Julianna's mind is here.

Wanna learn how to create a superhero?

How about villains?

Top Ten Reasons to Read White Hellebore

Peek-a-boo with Marketing

With more fun to come!

Cover Reveal - WHITE HELLEBORE (NA superhero romance by @NicoleZoltack)

I've been so pleased with the reaction from readers concerning BLACK HELLEBORE> A recent review on amazon has a reader hailing it the best paranormal they read in a year. :D

Now, it's time for the cover reveal of it's sequel, WHITE HELLEBORE. Love this story. All of your favorite characters are back with new ones and new baddies. Yes, baddies. As in two. :D No one can dare claim I coddle my characters!

All right, all right, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I know you're dying to see it!

Told you it was awesome! I'm not biased at all. Nope. Not even a little bit.

BLURB: After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.
Add it on Goodreads!

So I'm sure you're dying to know the release date and luckily it's not that far away! WHITE HELLEBORE releases April 21st! Be sure to grab it on the 21st! :D

And I'd love for you to spread the word about WHITE HELLEBORE's cover! :D :D :D

BLACK HELLEBORE's release day!!!

It's finally here! BLACK HELLEBORE's release day!!!

And reviews are already pouring in:

This book was so much fun! It's a unique genre mash-up between paranormal, romance, and super-hero books. Even though there's a lot of heaviness in the story--between the death of Nicholas's girlfriend Justina years before, the death and destruction brought about by the bad guys, and some other elements I don't want to spoil--the witch Gavina provides comedic relief at just the right moments. Plus, the story had so many twists and turns, I had to keep turning pages. This is the first novel I've read by Nicole Zoltack, but it will definitely not be the last. Katherine Ernst's review from Goodreads

Nicholas Adams must face his demons as he returns to Falledge in Nicole Zoltack’s Black Hellebore...Zoltack has introduced wonderful paranormal and romantic twists to the storyline. My favorite character is Gavina, the witch. She’s a touch batty, but she adds a delightful sense of comedic relief...Black Hellebore by Nicole Zoltack spins a refreshing superhero tale with its fantastic paranormal elements! I look forward to reading the next book in the series. Cherie Reich's review from Goodreads

Add to Goodreads

Buy links:

Desert Breeze Publishing 
Amazon

Blurb: 

Once a year for the past decade, Nicholas Adams returns to Falledge and leaves a black hellebore on his girlfriend's grave. While fleeing Falledge, he spies a shady man sneaking into the laboratory. Nicholas chases after him and dies for his trouble. A witch brings him back to life, only Nicholas is not the same man. Turns out, magic combined with a black hellebore in his pocket changed him into a kind of a super man.

Julianna Paige, his girlfriend's twin and deputy of Falledge, struggles to solve several murders. Nicholas, and his alter ego the Black Hellebore, helps her, even as she helps him move on and start to truly live again.

Unfortunately, Nicholas wasn't the only one changed in the laboratory explosion, and now a super villain is bent on destroying Falledge, and killing the Black Hellebore. But falling in love might prove more dangerous than any super villain.

Excerpt:

Nicholas abandoned the couch. Ginny had been too tired to do dishes, so Nicholas did them for her. After he started up the dishwasher, he noticed a crooked shelf on the wall. He found a hammer and nails in the basement. He must be careful not to wake her up.

After he leveled the shelf, he held his breath and gently tapped the nail. The nail shattered through the wood, and the shelf cracked deeply.

What the heck? He barely touched it!

Tires squealing drew his attention, and he ran to the front of the house. A loud crash sounded.

He threw the door open, the door coming off the hinges. Nothing to the left. Nothing to the right. There, off the road.

A car.

Slowly sinking into the lake.

His heartbeat accelerating, Nicholas burst down the porch steps and stood beside the lake fifteen seconds later. By now, the car was completely submerged but still sinking.

He dove into the water and reached the car. Two passengers, a female driver and a young boy in the back seat.

Knowing time was running out, he cocked back his arm and punched the back window open. Water rushed into the car. He ripped at the car seat harness and freed the boy from the restraints. Two powerful kicks of his legs and they reached the surface of the water. Using one arm to hold the boy and the other to swim, he reached the shore as quickly as he could and dumped off the boy before returning to the car.

Time to save the mom.

The car was sinking faster now, already much deeper than it had been when he rescued the boy. He swam to the front of the car. It was completely smashed in. The crash must have been through the steel fence surrounding the lake.

Turning around, he realized the driver's side door was mangled, the woman's body trapped against it. It was too dark for him to see if she was bleeding or not, but he couldn't risk trying to open the door to save her. She could bleed out or become punctured on the sharp edges of the door, if she wasn't already.

But he had to do something or she'd die.

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Writing Update

Hi, all!

I've been busy editing and writing and more editing and more writing. Seriously  it's a wonder my fingers haven't fallen off! And son #1 spilled oil on my keyboard recently so some of the keys still or have to be pressed really hard. I just bought this keyboard so I'm hoping the keys will eventually work right again and deal.

Oh, and speaking of son #1, we registered him for kindergarten yesterday at the school's open house. Yeah, I'm a complete mess over that. I have a feeling that the first day he might be a little apprehensive, but the second, he won't even look back and that will be both a blessing and yet another reason to cry. :/

Anyhow, I'm part of a group of writers writing a novel with Cupid. That novel is a MG fantasy about a sister and brother who are trapped in a land ruled by the four seasons and they have to save Christmas when spring comes too early. It's the first in a five-book series. Right now, its called Winter Magic, but that might change. I definitely want to include either winter or snow or something like that in the title.

I'm also almost finished with my superhero romance! I really enjoyed writing this one. It's going to be published through Desert Breeze Publishing later on this year and will be the first in another trilogy. Still not sure of the titles of the three books but once they're finalized, I'll let you know.

I promise to start blogging more often again!

So tell me, what have you been working on?

Guest Blog with Patty Froese - Tight skin, sparkling eyes and gums that don't recede

Tight skin, sparkling eyes and gums that don't recede

By Patty Froese

I'm in my mid-thirties. A few days ago my husband's cousins arrived in Canada from Africa, and we've been going about helping them settle in. They are really delightful people in their very early twenties, all good looking and optimistic.

                I remember being twenty and looking at people in their mid-thirties. I thought one of two things. A: "I will never look that old. I will be much cooler." Or B: "I can't even imagine being that old."

                Well, here I am! And I realized as I chatted with my husband's young cousins that I'm that "older woman" to them. I'm the one they chat with and think, "I will never get to be like that." It's okay, though, because at the place I am now, I look at people in their forties and think the exact same thing. That will never be me. Until I went shopping for a pair of jeans at Winner's the other day and tried on a pair of "mom jeans..." You know the kind, high waisted and totally comfortable. I didn't buy them, because I'm still determined to be young and hip no matter how much I hate having my rear end squeezed into restrictive denim, but I heard the siren call...

                Aging takes us all by surprise. In my head, I still look like a twenty-year-old, and I don't imagine that is going to change much. In my head, I'm also a much cooler woman than I am in person. I have the right things to say. I can cast a scathing look that looks regal instead of just scowly. I'm also about twenty pounds lighter in my imagination.

                Novel writing suits me because it encourages my delusions. I was always one of those kids who could live in the novels I was reading, and when I discovered I could write those novels and create whatever reality I wanted to, I felt almost drunk with delight. Of course, back then I kept writing myself older, and now I'm doing the reverse.

                Truth be told, I don't want to go back in time. I'm wiser now, and that's worth the price of some skin elasticity. I'm also a better writer now, and that's exciting to me. I don't want to move backwards, I want to keep marching forward, getting steadily better at what I do.  And what do I do? I delve into my delusions and drag you with me. It's fun in my head. We say the right things. We're filled with attitude and snappy come backs. We're irresistible and we fall in love again and again. In my head, our skin is tight and our eyes are sparkling. Our gums go all the way down on our teeth, without that sensitive part right at the top...

                It's nice in my head.

Patty Froese's most recent novel, Perfect on Paper, was released in April 2012. She's a novelist and a blogger. You can find her online at her blog, http://www.pattyfroese.com, or on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pattyfroese).

               

Blurb for Perfect on Paper:

Anne Stanborough, a well known mystery writer, inherits her maiden aunt's book store, Perfect on Paper. The lawyer handling her aunt's estate is none other than the handsome Jake Harrison, but despite his attraction to the beautiful author, his painful divorce has made him wary of a marriage between two driven professionals. Anne can't let go of the career she's worked her entire life towards, and he isn't willing to make a second mistake in marriage. It looks like they should call the whole thing off until Anne discovers that her late maiden aunt might not have been so "maiden" after all… A love story from the past tugs this couple back together again, but will it be enough to prove that a love founded in God really can overcome anything?

Purchase link for Perfect on Paper

Steph Burkhart Talking about THE FABERGE SECRET

NICOLE: It's great to have you visit, Stephanie. Tell us about your latest release, "The Faberge Secret."

STEPH: It's a contemporary romantic suspense with an international setting. My heroine, Elise Goodwin, runs a colonial heritage museum in Brattleboro, Vermont. She travels to Boston and acquires a rare Faberge egg. She also meets Dimitri Romanov, a Russian businessman who is the rightful owner of the egg. The sparks fly between Elise and Dimitri, but Dimitri's rival, Gustav Kelch, discovers Elise is in possession of the egg and his pursuit of Elise places her in danger.

NICOLE: Where did you find the inspiration for the story?

STEPH: I've always had a soft spot for exploring a Russian Orthodox Christmas so I wanted the plot to center around Christmas. The Russian royal family was known to give each other the elegant and romantic Faberge egg. They usually exchanged these eggs around Easter, not Christmas, so I put a nice twist in the story to explain the Faberge Christmas eggs in the story.

The inspiration for the story is found in my deep love for exploring the Russian culture. When I was 17, I took a Russian History class in High School and was drawn to all things Russian in a way I can't explain, except to say there is a deep resonance in my soul.

NICOLE: For the "American" part of the story, you take us to Brattleboro, Vermont. Have you ever been there?

STEPH: Yes, I have fond memories of visiting my aunt who lived there. The rolling hills and quaint buildings give the city an early 20^th century feel. Since I grew up in New England, I enjoy weaving a New England setting into my contemporary stories.

NICOLE: Did you do a lot of research for the novel?

STEPH: I researched Faberge eggs, Carl Faberge, Orthodox Christmas customs, and St. Petersburg, Russia, as I've never been. I always enjoy the research aspect of a project because I often learn something new.

NICOLE: Tell us a little about your heroine, Elise Goodwin. What's her strengths? What attracts her to Dimitri?

STEPH: I'd like to think that Elise embodies the every day ordinary American girl who is career driven and won't settle when it comes to love. For me, Rachel McAdams comes to mind. Elise's strengths are her loyalty and steadfast nature. Dimitri's been hurt previously, so he finds her loyalty refreshing.

Intitially, Elise is attracted to Dimitri's classic Nordic looks, but what draws her to him is how fiercely protective he is of her.

NICOLE: How long did it take you to write?

STEPH: Approximately two months.

NICOLE: Did you make the book trailer yourself?

STEPH: Yes. For the music I choose "Jesu, My Heart is Desiring," by Kevin MacLeod. The song captures the ambience of the holidays and has a nice suspenseful undertone to it. Kevin's music is royalty free and can be found on Incompetch.com.  Then I used royalty free photos from Dreamstime. In my trailers, I try to establish the setting and mood of the novel as well as give the viewer a sense of the characters so this way, when you go to read the story, you can draw on the visuals to inspire your imagination.

NICOLE: For fun, what's your favorite TV Christmas special?

STEPH: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

REVIEWS:

Sue Perkins, Author of "Blitz"

The Faberge Secret exceeded my expectations. Definitely worth reading more than once. What more can I say? It is such a good book.

BOOK TRAILER

BLURB: Elise Goodwin finds herself faced with danger when she learns the Faberge egg she's bought belongs to a Russian mogul, Dimitri Romanov, but is Dimitri playing a game with Elise's heart to get his heirloom back?

ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:

Dimitri scrubbed his hand against the nape of his neck, and then said, "I've been trying to puzzle this out. Your friend stated that the men who ransacked your room mentioned the name Kelch."

"Yes?" She cupped her mug with both hands.

"Gustav Kelch is my rival. We've been rivals since childhood. He owns the other shipping company in St. Petersburg. He also collects fine art, and he possesses a collection of Faberge eggs. He knows I have a collection of Faberge eggs, as well. Alexi believes Kelch stole my egg, but he has no concrete proof."

"Really?" She paused. What had Alistair said? She snapped her fingers. "Well, Faberge did make eggs for Alexander Kelch."

"Yes, he did." Dimitri measured her with a cool, appraising look. "How did you know that?"

"My appraiser told me Faberge didn't just make eggs for the Romanovs."

"Very good. Gustav's great-grandfather was Alexander Kelch."

"And yours, I suspect, was Vladimir Romanov."

"Yes," he admitted. He paused and studied her thoughtfully for a minute.

A bit unnerved, she continued, "My appraiser knew that Faberge had left this particular egg in Vladimir's possession with the intent that Vladimir give it to the Czar's daughters."

"Very good, Elise. Unfortunately, my great-grandfather never had the opportunity to do that. The eggs stayed with us."

 "How was that egg stolen?"

"I loaned the entire set of eggs to a local museum. A man wearing a mask of Prime Minister Putin stole it. My cousin, Alexi, has been working diligently on the case. His contact told him the egg would be sold at auction today."

Fascinated by Dimitri's story, Elise sipped her warm milk. "Boris' van was in front of the auction house. He told me the auction didn't want his items. They didn't think they were valuable enough."

Dimitri snapped his fingers. "Ah, all right. That makes sense, but how could they miss the egg? They had to know it was valuable."

"Perhaps they didn't want it. Perhaps they suspected it was stolen and didn't want anything to do with it."

"So why did you buy it?"

"How could I pass up something so precious? I love the beauty of it."

"I'm glad you appreciate the craftsmanship and beauty of the egg."

"Of course I do. I'm an art history major."

Dimitri continued to look at her thoughtfully. He rubbed his chin. "Alexi didn't tell me, but I wonder... could Boris have been his contact?"

"Boris?" Elise sipped her milk. "I doubt it. If you want my opinion, he didn't strike me as the informer type."

"No... Boris mentioned a name. Anatoly, I believe, when I talked to him. I wonder if he was Alexi's informant."

Elise shrugged. The name wasn't familiar to her.

"Perhaps... yes. Perhaps Anatoly was Alexi's informant, and he stole the goods to give to Boris. Boris was supposed to use the auction house to sell them, but they didn't anticipate the auction house not wanting the items, so Boris sold them on the street," Dimitri mused.

"It's plausible, but how did Kelch's men know to track us down?" Elise asked.

Dimitri scrubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. "No... no... but..."

Elise put down the mug and placed her hand on his waist. The contact sparked a fire in her limbs. "What's wrong?"

"Your receipt--" He lowered his hands. Guilt splayed across his face. "I saw it, and that's how I knew Boris had sold you my egg. I... I crumpled it up and threw it on the floor of the van. Kelch must have broken Anatoly, and then sent his men to find Boris. And if they found him--"

"Oh." Elise swallowed at the fear glittering in his eyes -- fear for her. "They found the receipt with my name."

"Yes. Damn it! I should have pocketed the receipt, but I was furious. All I wanted was my egg."

Apprehension coursed through her. That's why Lucy had been attacked. Kelch and his men hoped to find the egg because they knew Elise had bought it. Lucy had just happened to be in the hotel room because Elise was on a date -- with Dimitri.

He pushed her hand off his waist, clenched his fists, and marched into the living room, halting close to the window. Was he angry at her, or at himself? Well, a part of her was angry at him, too. She and Lucy were in danger -- real danger -- because of that egg, but a part of her just wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, to tell him everything would be all right.

Elise shifted from foot to foot. Dimitri truly had protected her and Lucy tonight, but how much could she trust him? Was it all about his egg? That's all he'd thought about when he'd thrown the receipt on the floor. No. This man respected his family. He honored Christmas. He was spiritual. She couldn't let him beat himself up for a mistake.

She left the kitchen and walked up behind him.

He stiffened. "Elise, now is not the time. I want to be alone."

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GOOD READS

So Excited for the 1st!

I'm so excited I could jump out of my skin!!! Be forewarned, this post may have an excess amount of exclamation points!!!!

Tomorrow, Champion of Valor, the last book in my Kingdom of Arnhem series will be released!!!!

Isn't that a gorgeous cover???? (Oh, guess I'm abusing question marks too now!)

I've been organizing a blog tour for Champion of Valor and I hope you all will thoroughly enjoy it!! There will be prizes at every stop as well as a grand prize - one lucky reader will win the entire series!!!!

Later on today, I'll list the blog tour dates and locations. I'm trying to add more spots, so this will not be finalized yet.

And I have a winner to announce. From yesterdays post, one of the commentors will get to pick a story from the Kingdom of Arnhem series. And the winner is.....Charity Bradford!!! I'll be emailing you soon, Charity!!!

Desert Breeze Publishing Birthday Bash

Welcome to the Desert Breeze Publishing Birthday Bash Tour. Tomorrow the tour ends at the Desert Breeze blog. On May 1st, Stephanie Burkhart will pick the lucky winner of a GC from Amazon.

My giveaway as a part of the tour is a copy of one of my books from the Kingdom of Arnhem series - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, or Champion of Valor. All you need to do to win is to make a comment on the blog today. I’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

Why I Love Desert Breeze Publishing

I first learned about Desert Breeze through a publisher chat on a yahoo group. As the chat was winding down, Gail Delaney (the EIC) mentioned that she loved series, especially for fantasy and a few other genres. I mentioned to her that I had an unfinished manuscript that would be part of a series and briefly described it to her. She said to send it to her when it was finished.

The story I had mentioned was a Nano story (National Novel Writing Month when authors around the world try to write a 50K in November). I abanonded all other side projects and focused on the novel until I completed it. After finishing it, I submitted to Gail and waited. Shortly thereafter, she emailed me an acceptance for Woman of Honor.

Desert Breeze is a non-erotic romance publisher, which is perfect for me. My novels tend to have crossover appeal. Woman of Honor is a coming-of-age fantasy romance, so it's definitely for YA and adults.

Anyhow, I had mentioned to Gail about the series during the yahoo chat, and we worked together to figure out the direction that the series could take so that the entire series was fantasy romance, each book centering on a different couple.

Woman of Honor is the tale of young Aislinn, a girl who wants to become a knight and finds love along the way.

Knight of Glory is about Geoffrey as he travels across the continent to find allies for Arnhem, while he tries to decide between two very different, mysterious ladies.

Champion of Valor focuses on Selliki the selkie and Gabrael the mage amidst the finals battles between Arnhem and Speica.

I am so happy to be with Desert Breeze the past two years. My covers are gorgeous - Jenifer Ranieri is masterful. My favorite cover of the three is Champion of Valor. The contrast of the dark clouds with the glimmer of light - and the awesome castle - pure genius.

I already mentioned Champion of Valor. It releases May 1st, and I'm so excited for its release! I'm organizing a huge blog tour for it, and I hope you join me. At the end of the tour, I'm going to give away a copy of the entire series to one lucky winner, as well as small prizes at each stop. I'll post more about the blog tour tomorrow.

Champion of Valor blurb:

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is.

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end.

Cover Art Reveal!

Ah, Champion of Valor! The last book in my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy. It'll be released May 1st, and I can't wait! I just love this cover, it's my favorite out of all three.

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is.

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end.

I would love to set up a blog tour in May for CoV's release. If you are willing to host me as a guest blogger or for an interview, please let me know! I'm willing to host you on my blog in return!

And now I'll leave you with a brief excerpt from Champion of Valor:

Varun fixed her with a stern stare but did not argue the point.

I hope the Speicans will not know how to use the Conch Shell.

Varun shook his head. I'm afraid with their evil and treacherous ways, they will figure out a way to harness its power. But on to other matters, what did you learn from Tara'zai? Did you locate her brother? Naida thought she saw him the other day.

Tara'zai and Ven'jo are missing. I spoke with Mika'la instead.

The selkie leader closed his dark eyes. Then the Conch Shell might not even be somewhere within the ocean. He swam in a tight circle and then shored up beside her. You must go. Join the war, find the Conch Shell. I trust you to find it if it is on land. The rest of us shall remain, rebuilding our city, readying our army, and searching for the Conch Shell down here.

But...

Isn't this what you always wanted? A chance to see if you and that magical man could ever work out?

Selliki stared at the broken sand tower a few feet away. Marriages between selkies and anyone but their own kind ended disastrously. No female selkie had ever been able to give up her true nature to live with complete happiness on two legs. Not without constantly yearning for the sea. In every case, the selkie spouse abandoned their marriage and returned to the sea. In every case. Selliki knew the risk, but she also knew the calling of her heart, and she loved Gabrael. Even so, she shivered. This task would require her to be away from the water for much longer than she had ever been before. She fixed her gaze upon her leader. I will do as you wish.

Good. May the water be gentle in your passing.

And let the water save you from our troubles. Selliki flipped on her fins and swam away. She approached Naida, one of her closest friends. I have to go. Varun has a mission for me.

Compassion swam in Naida's eyes. Will you be able to see Gabrael at least?

Yes, but I must leave now. Tell everyone I'll be back as soon as I can.

I will, and be safe, Selliki. Naida used her strong tail to lift a portion of the broken sand wall.

Selliki watched the other selkies, her people, work to rebuild their underwater domain. Her entire body screamed to help them, but she had no choice. She had to do as Varun bid her. She ignored the confused looks some of the other selkies threw at her and swam toward the surface.