Category: Updates

Updates: Mistletoe and Mages and more!

Hello, fellow readers! I have some exciting news.

Releasing this month

Mistletoe and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology releases…today! More below or… Download it FREE here.

From the Arcane: Relics of Legends and Lore (IFA Anthology) releases November 14. Preorder here.

Recently Read and Recommended

All Hallows Airship, by Liz Delton – Steampunk with a mystery, a Halloween party and one wonderful great aunt, plus some cute romance and chronic illness representation!

Fae Hunter, by Sarah K.L. Wilson – The whole series is phenomenal and I’ve been absolutely devouring it. Each of the books ends on some kind of cliffhanger so I’m glad I have the omnibus.

The Assassin Bride, by Anastasis Blythe – Releases later this month! I read an ARC and this is my honest, voluntary mini-review. I adored the magical palace setting in this story, the plot twists and the truly immersive world. Plus the love interest was fantastic. Add a dose of true friendship, some extremely high stakes and you’ve got a page-turning read.

On a podcast

Lord of the Hollow Court got the podcast treatment from one of the above authors (just a coincidence, I happened to download her book last year and read it this year!), Liz Delton. Her podcast, The Fictional Bookshop, is immersive story telling, and really relaxing. Every episode features a chapter from another book. Check out Lord of the Hollow Court’s episode here.

New release: Mistletoe and Mages

Mistletoe and Mages is a BookFunnel-only anthology with holiday/winter-themed paranormal romance (PNR) stories, put together by Laura Greenwood and Arizona Tape.

My addition to this anthology is the dystopian PNR novelette, To Thaw a Phoenix Heart, which is set in a future Cleveland and has forbidden romance, a phoenix shifter MMC and a STEM heroine. The two characters can’t seem to resist each other after meeting in the dead of winter, when survival is anything but guaranteed.

Download Free

This anthology is free, but readers must agree to subscribe to the newsletters of the authors inside it. You’ll get some emails from us telling you who we are (and you can always unsubscribe if it’s not your thing!), and you get stories from…

Arizona Tape

Demelza Carlton

Faedra Rose

Dariel Raye

Lulu M. Sylvian

Samantha Peppercorn

Lavinia Roseknight

C.K. Beggan (me!)

Iris Leigh

Jess Averill

Laura Greenwood

Rosie Wylor-Owen

That’s all from me for now!

Cheers,

CKB

Bound by Blood roundup: The Stars and the Stage, The Hawk and the Nightingale and The Magnolia and the Bleeding Heart

As co-organizer of the Bound by Blood spicy vampire romance series, I’ve been a bit delinquent in telling you about our latest releases! All of the published books are available in Kindle Unlimited (KU) or for $2.99. (If you snag them before they release, they’re 99c.)

Below, you’ll find queer romance, second chance romance (a popular trope in our series!) and the fiercest of female main characters!

The Stars and the Stage, by D.N. Bryn

The Stars and the Stage, by D.N. Bryn

The Stars and the Stage is a kinky, queer second chance vampire urban romance, and a prequel to D.N. Bryn’s beloved vampire romance series. And it has quite the hook line!

When their traitorous ex begs forgiveness ten years too late, what’s a vengeful vampire to do but make him bleed?

Read it in KU

The Hawk and the Nightingale

The Hawk and the Nightingale, by Jennifer Allis Provost

Veteran author Jennifer Allis Provost has this short, spicy vampire romance between a vampire who’s more than she seems and a noctural night club owner, set in Prague. The tag line?

The voice of an angel. The heart of a devil.

Read it in KU

The Magnolia and the Bleeding Heart

The Magnolia and the Bleeding Heart, by River Bennet

I’m so pleased to say that this sapphic second-chance romance, set in Texas, is author River Bennet’s debut! River has an ongoing story on Kindle Vella and a full-length novel, Heroines of Olympus, coming soon, but this easy to read FFF mafia romance is her first published book, and it had me hooked as a beta reader. Here’s the hook line, and boy is “risk” an understatement for narrator Jesse:

What would you risk for a second chance at love?

Read it in KU

The next release will be from another debut author, Alora Black, with the FFM Sleeping Beauty retelling The Nettle and the Nightmare. For more on the series, please visit boundbybloodseries.com.

Cheers!

CKB

Shift of the Seasons charity anthology is here!

Shift of the Seasons Charity Anthology

I’m pleased to say that the Shift of the Seasons charity anthology is out now! All proceeds go to breast cancer research, a cause that’s extremely important to me. Which is why I wrote a Season of the Fae novelette for it that you can’t find anywhere else!

My story, titled The Prince or the Bard? is an MFM “must choose” romance with a puca shifter narrator. Set in a fae high court in Ireland hundreds of years before the events of Revel at the Court of Claws and Lord of the Hollow Court, queen’s maid Laoise (pronounced LEE-shuh, like Alicia without the first A) finds herself caught up in unexpected romance…including a fake dating trope, a swoony bard and a rakish prince. There’s also intrigue and a glimpse of an underwater court!

A big thank you to author MJ Marstens for organizing this anthology!

Get your copy here

Have a couple moodboards for this story, too!

"You're going to be the center of a romantic scandal, my dear." Moodboard with stone architecture, a horse in water, a mermaid tail, a woman in fall leaves and two handsome men.
Shift of the Seasons: The Prince or the Bard? A Must Choose Season of the Fae Story; A moodboard showing a silhouetted couple by the sea, a horse in water, Irish contryside and a castle, and a woman looking out at ocean waves

And while we’re on the topic, please, please, make sure you and your loved ones are all up to date on their cancer screenings. They truly save lives.

That’s all for now! I’m trying to be a little less negligent with the blog, so you’ll be hearing from me again soon.

Cheers!

CKB

It’s launch day for The Tainted and the Tamed

After many months, The Tainted and the Tamed is here at last! Part of the Bound by Blood multi-author, spicy vampire romance series AND the Vampires of Kaiden series, it follows a maid and a vampire lord turned chairman, who’s struggling with his monstrous nature.

It also has…

  • An environmental theme
  • Class difference romance
  • Slow-burn to spicy hot romance (for mature readers only)
  • Friendship
  • Morally grey characters
  • A tormented MMC
  • Chronic (respiratory) illness representation

Now in Kindle Unlimited!

The Tainted and the Tamed, by C.K. Beggan
Start reading here

The synopsis:

His dangerous beauty cannot be tamed.

Murasaki is living on borrowed time. Turning to the mountain air to aid a difficult lung condition, she travels from a modern city of smoke-belching factories to a castle straight out of the past. Hired as a castle maid, she is convinced all possibility of romance is behind her. Yet the handsome servant she meets on her first day has her intrigued.

In an attempt to curb his monstrous nature, vampire Haruki has spent years denying himself. As one of the powerful, secretive vampires ruling Kaiden as a chairman, there are few alive who have ever seen his face. But when he almost literally stumbles upon a new maid from the city, he has little choice but to pretend he’s a fellow servant. Thanks to Murasaki, Haruki suddenly finds himself interested in the outside world again—even if he must lie to be a part of it.

As ruler and maid begin a delicate dance around one another, both must ask themselves whether that which is tainted can still be saved. Or are these slow-burn lovers doomed from the start?

I hope you’ll give The Tainted and the Tamed a try! A big thank you to everyone who has supported this book, preordered and ARC read.

Cheers!

CKB

The Sacrifice and the Spare (Bound by Blood) is here!

At long last, the first of the Bound by Blood spicy vampire romance novellas is here! For those of you who don’t know, Bound by Blood is the multi-author novella series I co-organized with Ophelia Wells Langley. We started planning this since January and I can’t believe it’s finally here!

Each of the 8 novellas are standalones by 8 unique authors. Many of our stories are also diverse, with LGBTQ+ rep, chronic illness representation and diverse characters.

The Sacrifice and the Spare is the first BBB novella to be released (today!). A new novella will launch every Friday from September 1st until October 20th. You will be able to read all of them in Kindle Unlimited, too!

Purchase here

About The Sacrifice and the Spare

An other world paranormal romantasy

  • Royal arranged marriage
  • Murder mystery
  • Vampire-human prince pairing
  • Political intrigue

Synopsis:

When a human prince takes a vampire bride, can love bloom where death is sown?

As the spare, Prince Kallan is duty-bound to wed the woman chosen for him–even if it means marrying a vampire. After Bria is selected from the neighboring vampire clan, Kallan can’t deny the heat that sparks between them, but his cautious optimism goes up in smoke when the heir to the throne is found dead and Bria is the top suspect.

Bria can’t remember her life before she became a vampire, but she knows she was made for one purpose: to wed the second prince of Dolbryn–a human prince. In a kingdom of strangers, Bria anticipates being a lamb to slaughter, but the last thing she expects is to be framed for killing the heir. Now, she must trust that the fledgling bond between her and Kallan is enough to see her rightfully freed.

Start reading The Sacrifice and the Spare here.

About the Author

Elle Backenstoe lives in Eastern Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and two dogs. She grew up with her nose buried in a book and sometimes emerges long enough to write some words of her own. She writes fantasy and romance, often together. Elle runs on pop punk music and Coke, and will always choose sweet over salty. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her at her home-away-from-home, the dance studio.

You can find Elle on:
Twitter
Instagram
Tiktok

An autumn of anthologies

As promised, here’s a look into what I’ve been up to…and it’s all about a multi-author series and anthologies!

First is the vampire romance series I co-organized with fellow fantasy author Ophelia Wells Langley, Bound by Blood. (You can visit the series website here to learn more specifics, but the first novella publishes September 1st.) The entire series of novellas is for spicy fantasy romance fans, and has a variety of books (contemporary, period pieces, second-chance romances and LOTS of LGBTQ+ rep), all linked by the common theme of spicy (open door) vampire romance.

Naturally, more than a couple of the stories involve some kind of forbidden romance!

My novella, The Tainted and the Tamed, is set in a brand new world. The country involved is called Kaiden and is heavily drawn from Japanese culture and history, almost like an alternate history of Japan if vampires were power players. I have a minor in Japan Studies, have been studying Japanese for many years (too many to still be this bad!) and was able to base story settings on places I visited while living in Japan when I was younger and more mobile. It was a really interesting (and nostalgic) setting to write.

The Tainted and the Tamed launches September 8th. You can preorder here for 99c if you so choose!

I created a concept of representative rule by secretive vampire chairmen, which opens the door to a whole series…which will be called Vampires of Kaiden. This will happen depending on reader interest…which is not to say that I might just go, “You know what? I feel like writing more vampires!” and write the darn thing anyway.

The second story I was working on this summer is a short story called “Bright Arrow.” This story is related to Horace and takes place within a couple years of those events (Sydney makes a cameo!). I’ll be submitting that to the Indie Fantasy Addicts anthology, which was newly opened to the general pool of writers this year. If it’s not chosen, I’ll probably add some additional scenes and publish it…but I hope I’m chosen! Wish me luck!

Anthology number three is called Shift of the Seasons, organized by MJ Marstens. (You can preorder it here!) Proceeds go to a breast cancer foundation, which is a cause near and dear to my heart. The story I’m writing for it is a “must choose/I won’t share you” MFM romance…that’s two males interested in the same female character, and vice versa. The story is linked to my Season of the Fae series and takes place in the Connor Court well before it was cursed and lost to history, and has a puca female lead.

That’s all the news I have for now! Thanks so much for reading!

Cheers!

CKB

Revel at the Court of Claws, by C.K. Beggan (A Season of the Fae Prequel Novella)

Revel at the Court of Claws is here!

Hi all!

I’m setting an intention to start blogging again more regularly, even if it’s just once a month. But of course I had to do an announcement for today because…

Revel at the Court of Claws is now available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited! Paperbacks are coming later this week, but for right now you can grab the ebook here!

This spicy fae fairy tale retelling (of Sleeping Beauty and Sun, Moon and Talia) is a prequel linked to Lord of the Hollow Court. It started its life as a novelette I gave away as a newsletter subscriber perk.

Now it’s a novella…and VERY steamy.

Besides having new scenes and revisions, Revel has a new cover and synopsis, too! (A big thanks to author Alora Black for the rewrite!)

Revel at the Court of Claws, by C.K. Beggan (A Season of the Fae Prequel Novella)

The synopsis:

The Hollow Kingdom meets The Cruel Prince with a dash of The Host in this spicy, witchy Sleeping Beauty and Sun, Moon and Talia retelling.

Her charmed life just became a cursed one—and then the fae arrived.

Susannah Wright gets what she wants, and what she wants more than anything is to become a powerful witch. So when her initiation into the coven is derailed, she will do anything in her power to reclaim fate’s favor and rid herself of this unwelcome curse. 

Despite meticulous planning, her spell goes awry when she pricks her finger on a piece of flax and the High Fae scent Susannah’s blood on the wind.

Whisked into the Court of Claws by the wicked, cunning, and unbearably beautiful Fae, will she survive their bloodthirsty revel? Or will the intense attraction between her and a High Fae Prince Charming be her undoing?
Fast-paced and sizzling hot, Revel at the Court of Claws is a prequel novella to Lord of the Hollow Court. It is intended for a mature audience.

Start reading now

I hope you’ll support the new version of Revel, or tell a friend who loves ACOTAR and spicy fantasy romances!

Cheers,

CKB

PS: If you’re wondering what’s next on my schedule…I’m putting the finishing touches on an anthology submission, then writing another story for a charity anthology called Shift of the Seasons. More on that later!

Snow-Swept is here!

It’s Valentine’s Day, so you know what that means…

Snow-Swept moodboard: Hope flies in on a gargoyle's wings. Sweet Fantasy Romance. (Images of winter, night, and winter clothing.)

It’s release day for Snow-Swept!

This no-spice fantasy romance novelette is now available on Kindle Unlimited.

Featuring hearts in need of healing, grief, and a sweet romance that blooms alongside a gargoyle’s protective instincts, I can’t guarantee this little story won’t make you cry!

Read Now
Snow-Swept: A Gargoyle Romance Novelette, by C.K. Beggan (pale wings, snowflakes and intricate lacy designs over a background the color of night)

Visit the book page for Snow-Swept for more info!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cheers,

CKB

New on Vella: The Lamp Post Society

Welcome to The Lamp Post Society, where you’ll trade your true name for a roof over your head and solid wages. Oh, and you’ll also fight monsters.

The Lamp Post Society Kindle Vella Cover (showing a woman in a red and black Victorian dress with a background of stars and a murky cobbled street)
Click the cover to start reading!

My new quirky Victorian gaslamp fantasy, The Lamp Post Society, is now available on Kindle Vella! The Lamp Post Society is perfect for fans of W.R. Gingell and Suzannah Rowntree. This story publishes Wednesdays.

(Reminder: Kindle Vella is a serial storytelling platform on Amazon.com–meaning, sadly, it is still only available for US Amazon users.)

The Synopsis:

While London enjoys the progress of the Victorian Era, an endless series of disappearances plague the foggy streets of Elloc. The Lamp Post Society is on the case. Unfortunately, so is its newest and most oblivious recruit, Newfie Blake—and nothing can prepare him for the things that go bump in the night.

The Lamp Post Society is quirky, exciting gaslamp fantasy for fans of W.R. Gingell’s The City Between series and Suzannah Rowntree’s Miss Dark’s Apparitions series.

Read it on Vella

Cheers!

CKB

Snow-Swept is up for preorder!

I have a Valentine’s Day surprise for you all. Snow-Swept, a sweet, no-spice fantasy romance between a gargoyle and human, is arriving on Amazon (and KU!) February 14, 2023.

The novelette is available for preorder from Amazon for 99c.

Order Now

Check out the pretty cover!

Snow-Swept: A Gargoyle Romance Novelette, by C.K. Beggan (pale wings, snowflakes and intricate lacy designs over a background the color of night)

To learn more, please visit the book page for Snow-Swept.

And since word of mouth marketing is so powerful for an indie author like me, don’t forget to tell a friend or share on social media!

I came up with the idea for this story in a weekend and I’m so excited to share it with you all. This may just be a novelette, but it’s jam-packed with heart and emotion. I really hope you’ll love it!

Cheers!

CKB