Cover Reveal…INIQUITY

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book, cover reveal, dark fantasy, Dark romantic fantasy, demons, Iniquity, Melody Winter, New Adult, romance

I have been privileged and honored to have been a part of this book since this wonderful lady began writing it. Let’s be honest…as soon as she told me “demons” I was in. Then she said “romance” and I said “well, okay, I forgive you.” She laughed.

And sent me a draft to critique.

And sent me chapters to proof read.

And shared the fun she was having with the trailer and book cover designs.

Melody Winter is getting ready to enter the world of self-publishing. AND I AM CHEERING FOR HER!

So, when it’s time for the cover reveal…I SIGNED UP!

This cover is beautiful. It fits the tone of the book, the story all wrapped up in the images.

So let me give this gif to fully give you my excitement (and it’s one of Melody’s favorites)…

 

And the cover…

 

 

INIQUITY (The Ascent, Book One) by Melody Winter

Publication date: October 25th, 2016 (yup, waiting is hard)

Genre: New Adult, Dark Romantic Fantasy

Athena Harrow is about to turn twenty-one, but there will be no celebration. What is there to celebrate when the world is ruled by demons?

She hates the darkness the demons brought with them and longs for the light to return to the world—a world she only vaguely remembers. The people in her forest village blindly accept the life the demons forced upon them, even tolerating the yearly ascension ceremony where all the girls who have turned twenty-one are either sent away to serve the Master Demon or left in the village and forced to procreate.

But Paymon, the assigned village demon, selects a different role for Athena, a role that pits her against the village. While she adapts to her new life, Erebus, a younger, more powerful demon, arrives, and Athena must play a dangerous game with his emotions in return for information about the demon’s reign of darkness.

As Athena’s dreams of restoring the light begin to fade, her life with Erebus takes an unexpected turn, and this time it’s her life being put to the test.

Set in the forest around Buttercrambe in North Yorkshire, England, INIQUITY explores the frightening, darker side of romance and the uncontrolled emotions it can unleash.

PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon.com: Link to Iniquity on amazon US  

Amazon.co.uk: Link to Iniquity on amazon UK

 

And yes, I ask…

But the whole story had me all…

 

 

Bravo, Melody! Congrats on all your hard work on this step of you publishing journey. Thanks for including me.

Growing up, Melody showed a natural ability in art, a head for maths, and a tendency to write too long English essays. Difficult to place in the world when she graduated, she pursued a career in teaching, but ended up working in finance. Melody is convinced the methodical times she spends working with numbers fuel her desire to drift into dream worlds and write about the illusory characters in her head.

Melody Winter lives in York, North Yorkshire, England with her husband and two sons. When not dealing with football, rugby, and a whole plethora of ‘boy’ activities, she will be found scribbling notes for her stories, or preparing for another trip to the nearby beaches at Scarborough and Whitby. With an obsession for anything mythical, Melody revels in reading and writing about such creatures, and creating her own.

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Go find her! Say hi! And be excited to read this one.

 

#EverydayIsHalloween… Or Treat

Tags

#EverydayIsHalloween, demons, Midnight Society, scary, story, treat

Can you believe this will be my 23rd #EverydayIsHalloween post and my 22nd short story? I can’t. I’ll admit that I have become attached to my little creative moments of weirdness.

However, once the ProjectReutsWay challenge begins on Sunday, I won’t have time to miss my romps through everything scary. I’ll be focused on myths and folktales on writing the best story I can in hopes of submitting something acceptable. Can I dream of doing as well as I did last year? I just don’t know.

Failure is scary.

So, I’ll focus on what I can do now. Okay, brain, the word is treat, fitting with yesterday’s trick. Lol! Very good Midnight Society! I do have an image, the end of the story clear in my mind, which is BAD! I need the beginning… I hate beginnings. Give me a sec, I’ll come up with something.

The Boys

The line of nervous people stretches out behind me. I fight the urge to run, to chicken out. Shifting back and forth on my toes, I stare into the dark tunnel, an icy breeze sending chills down my spine.

When the haunted house appeared, as if by magic, the rest of the football team decided to go. I agreed, or face going down in legend as Tony, the wuss of the undefeated Littleton Lions.

My chest tightens as screams pierce the night. Fog crawls over the ground. My stomach clenches with every odd sound. The guys give high fives, roaring in defiance of fear. Hands slap my shoulders. I laugh, trying to hide the panic swirling in my mind. Flickering faces of jack o’ lanterns stare at me, accusing me of having the heart of a little girl, which is fine, as long as I don’t scream like one.

The strobe light flashes as we enter and I take a deep breath. Disembodied voices and evil laughter assaults us from everywhere. The guys chuckle.

Feet shuffle through layers of leaves. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling, creeping across my skin.

“This all you got?” Chuck says, spreading his arms wide in challenge.

“Really?” Andy says. “Black curtains, a strobe light and fake spider webs? Man, we paid good money for this.”

Tucked in the middle of the group, I keep my head down. The chant that nothing can hurt me repeating in my mind. I shove my clammy hands in my pockets.

“Lame!” a deep voice howls.

“Let’s get out of here!” a few people call.

A screech sounds by my head. I jump as a misty puff erupts a step from me.

An old woman creeps out of the swirling smoke. She cackles, her white hair quivering around her head. “Oh my! Aren’t you nice specimens.” Her bony finger pokes my chest.

Growling and hissing trickle from behind the black curtains. I glance at the waving material. Unease settles in my belly.

“Oh, boys! Come see.” She parts the cloth.

My heart stops.

Tiny figures swarm from a pulsating red light. Sharp teeth and jagged horns shine in the eerie glow. Too small to be kids in costumes. Their movements too smooth to be robotics… I step back.

“Oh, cool!” someone behind me calls. “How did you make those?”

My heart sinks. Fear swallows my senses. Clawed hands reach for me. Dark eyes gleam with evil intent. I scream in pain and terror as one of the devils sink its teeth into my arm.

The gnarled old lady shrieks in delight. “A treat for my boys!”

End

Ow. If the Halloween attraction appears overnight, don’t go. Just don’t. Or maybe, just say no to your friends and forget your pride.

One day left. One story to go. It’s going to be a bit tricky since I won’t be home much tomorrow, but I’ll finish. Hopefully, it’ll be a good end to a great month.

 

 

 

A Magical … and a Bit Creepy… Short Story

Tags

Believing, demons, fae, fantasy, fiction, ghosts, Guillermo del Toro, stories, thoughts, writing

My short story ‘The Day after I Died’ is now complete and posted – please check out all three parts in my menu at the top.

*bows* Thank you!

This story was my attempt at a bit of humor mixed with my favorite kind of weird … demon, faeries, or whatever you want to name it.

I believe in that stuff. Ghosts, demons, faeries, angels, and the other generally unexplainable exists behind a veil that most people’s limited vision can’t penetrate. All there and all the same, just given different names. Each person, who comes in contact with that other side, experiences something different. The person dying might witness an angel because they need comfort. Someone who is scared out of their mind will call it demon or ghost. Faerie isn’t a term as widely used anymore *points to my sad face*. But they’re there too … I recommend Guillermo del Toro’s movies ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’  or ‘Don’t be Afraid of the Dark’ for truly creepy fae.

Some people out there in the world, can see them. No not me. (I know! So depressing.) Some people are born with the gift and others gain it. When you die, I believe the veil lifts allowing you to SEE … all questions are answered, everything becomes known. So, when you die and are brought back, thanks to medical genuis, the veil remains gone.

I’ve watched ‘A Haunting’ on TV for years. I’ve seen ‘Paranormal Witness’. Encounters with these things from beyond don’t always go well, but I want my own experience. I want to see!

In my story, Beck dies, but is saved. Yea! Maybe. Now the veil has lifted for him. What is the thing he chases wildly through the city in his hospital gown? Demon? Faerie? Angel?

Anyone ever see a ghost? Anyone want to? Anyone think I’m crazy? *yells at hubs to put his hand down* *laughs* I’m not crazy.

The Magic of Why Not

Tags

books, demons, ghosts, horror, magic, monsters, movies, Oculus, Stephen King, thoughts, why not, writing

The monster under the bed, the demon lurking in the dark corner, the ghosts in the attic, all the unknown existing on the other side of our reality fascinates me. Why? I don’t know. I’d blame my dad, but really I think the interest was always in my head. I was born this way! Some people are. Some people look at me like I am insane.

And that’s okay.

My dad handed me my first horror book when I was 17. ‘The Talisman’ by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Something new! Why not? I found myself scared to death, sitting alone upstairs in my room with a single lamp on, staring out into the dark hallway. I raced out of my room, through the dark hall, down the shadowy staircase to reach the lighted rooms and normal sounds of my family. I LOVED IT! I was hooked. And will read anything Mr. King writes. ‘The Shining’ is one of my favorite books. Hedge animals … *shudder*

I always liked scary movies. If my dad was watching it, I wanted to know what it was … cause, you know, he watched the COOLEST stuff. So when, at the drive-in, he said, “You might not want to watch this part.” My sister hid her eyes, but I stared at the screen as a creepy clown doll attacked a kid, as a tree tried to kill him, and when a closet ate poor Carol Ann. Yes. Poltergeist. That one still haunts me.

Monday I saw Oculus. One … hello creepy horror movie. Two … Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Katee Sackhoff are in it! Love them. I didn’t quite know what to expect. The commercials offered a haunted mirror. Cool! I’ve always held onto the belief that mirrors don’t just reflect. They watch. They drink in the images of life playing before them. (Yes, I’ve been hoping to find just the right book idea to use this.) So I went. I watched perched at the edge of my seat. Losing the defined line of what is real and unreal … the tangled mess of a terrifying past experience melding with the present as a brother and sister face an evil that tormented them as kids. Both had moved on … one preparing to destroy the evil and the other working hard to believe it hadn’t been real. If you like creepy, you’ll like this movie. All the way home, my head buzzed with aftereffects. Don’t you love it when a movie, or book, takes you away from real life so much so that it is difficult to return? I do.

And the new movie The Quiet Ones is next on the list.

Horror has been on my mind lately. I’ve always loved it, but never gave much thought to writing it. My stories never go there, I assumed it wasn’t in my head to write. Then last November, I participated in Reuts Publishing’s contest called ProjectREUTSway. Why not? Each Sunday, they gave an assignment to add something such as ghosts, demons, vampires, shape-shifters, etc. to a story inspired by a fairy tale. I turned in a story every Thursday that month! And had SO MUCH FUN! The brainstorming! The rereading of so many fabulous Grimm fairy tales! With this contest, horror worked its way into my writing. From a blood drinking demon, to a killer ghost, to a fallen angel becoming pure evil, and a shape-shifter, I found my creepy side. Two of these stories were chosen to be published in an upcoming anthology (I will certainly share new information about this when I know) and one was chosen to be published on Reuts’ blog! The final one I sent not too long ago to a magazine and await news.

So, finally my love of the fabulously weird and creepy has gone a step further. Really, scary scenes and images have shown up into my manuscripts. That’s how my brain works. So now, my desire to write what I consider a full horror novel grows. Will my head go all the way there? I don’t know, but I am getting closer to wanting to try. Why not? There is this idea swirling in my mind … scary, weird, maybe fabulous. One can hope.

Have you ever loved something, but thought no way could you ever do it? When does an obsession, something you love, become something you do? Horror fan or no … I think everyone must have at least one time where they say, “You know THAT would be so cool to do … if only I could.”

Well, why not?