Valerie paced before her window, shoulders tight with worry, as she watched Diego and Cammie walk off. Sandra stood rigid, arms crossed protectively in front of her, looking like someone had kicked her puppy. Ella had reported in with her brother Peterson, and his cop partner, Wallace.
“I want the city walls up at all times,” Valerie commanded. “Day and night, got that?”
Ella nodded, but held up a hand of caution. “Just… what exactly should we tell the people of the city?”
Valerie looked at the former Enforcer, now wearing a cop uniform like her brother, and smiled. One who asks questions and thinks about repercussions, she liked that.
“Excuse my lack of knowledge about how the city works.” Valerie paced and then stopped. She looked out to the west, where she could see the edges of the city. Or, at least where the working city met what she’d begun to term the dead city. That’s where the walls went up, only at nights, until now. “What is it we currently tell the citizens of Old Manhattan?”
Ella shared a look with Wallace that said she wasn’t sure, so Wallace stepped up.
“Mostly we blame it on the wackos and nomads.” He had a way of glancing at Ella every once in awhile and did that now with a nervous smile. “Mostly we just enforce it, don’t really bother with what they know, because honestly… we didn’t know.”
“I had a hint of an idea,” Ella said. “I mean, I knew about the Weres and the hunting, so put two and two together.
“And she didn’t tell you any of this?” Valerie asked Wallace. “In spite of your… situation?”
He blushed, giving it away—she’d guessed right. Those looks were the type lovers shared.(more…)
We’ve all been patiently waiting for the newest urban fantasy werewolf novel, but the wait is over. Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce you to… (drumroll please) … Hounds of God!
And to celebrate the release, I’m giving away a $20 Amazon gift card! To enter, see below (it’ll ask you for the first three words in chapter 11 – whether you get it by purchase or free with Kindle Unlimited).
HOUNDS OF GOD BOOK DESCRIPTION
Torn from her parents at a young age, Katherine is raised in a pack of werewolves like herself and brought into the ways of the Hounds of God: An army of werewolves that will bring justice to evildoers.
But when their leader is killed and everything Katherine has believed is thrown on its head, she sets off with a small group of friends in search of a cure to what she now believes is a curse.
This search for a cure leads her to a fight for survival where she’s challenged to embrace the beast within. Will she give up everything to stop the nefarious army of werewolves, betraying those she once considered family? Buy HOUNDS OF GOD
It’s with great excitement that I get announce the launch of DEATH BOUND (Modern Necromancy Book 2). What makes it even more exciting is that the first book in the series, DEATH MARKED, now has over 100 reviews! This is a milestone for both myself and coauthor Michael La Ronn.
If you can help us out by grabbing a copy and leaving a review – awesome!
For you readers of urban fantasy and paranormal, we’ve decided to share a free copy of my werewolf audiobook, NIGHT’S CURSE to anyone who preorders DEATH MARKED before Oct 31, 2016. Just send the receipt (or screenshot) to JustinSloanAuthor@gmail.com.
What is Night’s Curse? It’s the short-ish (40 minutes) story that leads up to my new werewolf novel that will be out in Jan/Feb, following our Modern Necromancy series (of which Death Marked is book 1). You’ll want to read this/ listen to the audiobook, so you’ll know what’s coming. (more…)
My sequel to Back by Sunrise is now live – DAWN OF DESTINY. Check it out while it’s only $0.99, and please leave a review.
The Book:
It’s been a year since Brooke spent a night as a bird, and now she’s beginning to wonder if it ever really happened. She still grieves her father, but has her family and her new friend, Clarice, to keep her happy. That joy is replaced by confusion when two of her dad’s old Army buddies show up asking about a necklace.
Could they be after the same necklace that magically turned Brooke into a bird?
She thinks surely not, but when she overhears them saying that they’re all doomed if they don’t find that necklace, her worries are confirmed. It gets worse when another person shows up asking for the necklace, shadows move in ways they should not, and Clarice is put in harms way.
Will Brooke be able to navigate this storm of confusion and chaos? She’ll certainly use everything in her arsenal to try, and may see a little magic along the way.
This story was a lovely parable about the nature of death in the life of a young child. Brooke absolutely adores her father and when he goes away on active duty for the military and doesn’t come home, she’s distraught. He promised her that he would come home to finish painting birds and woodland creatures on the mural in her bedroom but now he can never do that.
As you can tell from the synopsis, Brooke turns into a bird when she puts on the necklace she finds from her father following his death and when she doesn’t make it back home by sunrise as the note she finds with it instructs her to do, she cannot turn back into her human form.
While she is stuck in her bird form, she feels an even greater sense of helplessness than she’s been feeling since the death of her father. She finds that making new friends eases her burden, especially when faced by a greater evil hat stands between her and becoming human again to rejoin her family.
She meets Roy, a kind young bird who teaches her how to use her wings and shares with her the loss of his father and Timmy, a mouse with his own sad story who teaches her to think about the feelings of her family as well as her own.
The message in this story comes through loud and clear, that friends and family are important in times of bereavement and that though the pain feels personal and lonely, other people have gone through the same thing too and others may be sharing in your grief.
What I like most about this story is that it doesn’t come across as sad, it is the story of a child on a magical adventure and coming across challenges but coming through the other side. The fairytale quality of the writing takes the edge off the painful topic and feels comfortably familiar.
I would definitely recommend this story for a primary aged child going through a bereavement or even to children in general to help them understand the concept of loss.
Rebecca Greene brought a great energy which would easily keep a child’s attention and lightened the mood of the story. Her character voices were very entertaining and she made Brooke’s grief seem very real, her performance and the production quality of this audiobook were second to none.
