Charity Anthology: Of Storms and Stardust

November 10, 2024November 10, 2024Leave a comment

When Hurricane Helene devastated communities in western North Carolina, author E.V. Everest organized a charity anthology with the help of R.L. Perez and a team of authors all willing to pitch in. The result?

Over 2,000 pages of romantasy stories in one volume, with proceeds going to three charities local to the affected area.

Of Storms and Stardust Charity Anthology

Every story in Of Storms and Stardust was donated by an author who wanted to help. I contributed my YA dystopian PNR novelette, To Thaw a Phoenix Heart, about an ice phoenix raised to hate humans and the talented teen architect who just wants a chance to help her community rebuild in a cold, dystopian future.

Of Storms and Stardust is a limited-run charity anthology, so it’s the ONLY place to get To Thaw a Phoenix Heart until it ends in early 2025.

Here’s how you can get it:

Order Direct

Order from Amazon

Order Now (Universal Book Link)

All proceeds go to:

Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina

MANNA Food Bank

Samaritan’s Purse

I hope you’ll grab a copy, and if you do, please consider buying direct! Buying direct means a higher percentage of royalties make their way to charities, without the 2-3 month wait to receive them from Amazon. Thanks to direct sales, the Of Storms and Stardust organizers have already been able to make over $1k in donations to the three charities listed above!

Happy reading 🙂

Cheers,

CKB

Press Release: The Prince or the Bard?

October 18, 2024November 10, 2024

9/27/24

The Prince or the Bard?, a novella set in the world of Season of the Fae, published on September 27, 2024, from the author of Lord of the Hollow Court. The first in a spinoff series titled Season of the Fae: The High Court, The Prince or the Bard? is set in the fae courts of Ireland and has a fade-to-black heat level. The Prince or the Bard is described as rockstar romance meets royal romance meets Irish folklore.

This title is currently available in Kindle Unlimited.

Release date: 9/27/24

Category: Fantasy romance

Series name: Season of the Fae: The High Court

Series number: Book One

ASIN: B0DHTC3J38

Amazon paperback ISBN: 9798340567321

Where to purchase:

UBL: https://books2read.com/u/4j7p7o

Amazon ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHTC3J38

Amazon paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Bard-Choose-Romance-Novella/dp/B0DJ5FLGZM/

Other media:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219483867-the-prince-or-the-bard

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-prince-or-the-bard-a-must-choose-fae-romance-novella-season-of-the-fae-the-high-court-book-1-by-c-k-beggan

Trope list:

Irish folklore
Fade to black heat level
All fae characters
Strong female protagonist
Two love interests to choose from
A dash of mystery
Novella length
Fae romantasy
Slow-burn romance
“Must choose” romance
Fake dating
HEA guaranteed

Synopsis:

“I won’t share you.”

A fae musician who makes her heart ache. A high fae prince who makes her temper flare. Will good sense help her choose between her two suitors, or will this homesick maid be guided by her foolish heart?

Laoise should be honored to serve her royal cousin in the high court of all earthen fae. Instead, the sharp-tongued water fae shifter finds herself too far from the sea and home, and despising her role as a queen’s maid. When the famed bard Cillian Cloudtongue arrives, court suddenly doesn’t seem so bad—until dangerous rumors about Laoise and the prince force her to fake date the bard of her dreams.

Smitten as ever by the bard, Laoise can’t tell if Cillian is acting or if his feelings are true. As if that weren’t bad enough, the queen thinks that rakish Prince Ruairi might actually be in love with Laoise. Is there more to him than meets the eye? And how can Cillian possibly live up to her dreams of him?

To find out, Laoise will have to choose: The prince or the bard?

The Prince or the Bard? is the first novella in a spinoff series from Season of the Fae, focusing on the fae high court of the past, with fade to black heat level.

An autumn of anthologies

August 1, 2023July 18, 2023

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 her e!) 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

Naughty List (Mine This Winter) review

December 13, 2022December 13, 2022

Naughty List, by Melanie A. Smith

(From the Mine This Winter anthology)

steamy Christmas romance novella, open door romance

Note: This is an ARC review specifically of one of the stories in this anthology, Naughty List, by Melanie A. Smith. I received a copy and this is an honest, voluntary review.

The most important thing I could note here isn’t just that Naughty List is everything you’d want from a steamy-cute Christmas romance. It’s how funny this story is! Joanie’s frank and hilarious narration keeps the story rolling and adds so much depth and enjoyment.

Greg is a sweet guy and obviously caring, yet he doesn’t come off as a mismatch for Joanie. His efforts to play it cool can be really amusing, though he does find his footing when matching her naughty banter. Add the best friend and her fiance, plus ample self-aware jokes about Hallmark Christmas movies, and it’s a very well-rounded story even with the shorter page count. I felt like I got to know everybody really well.

This was a fun, short and steamy Christmas romance in a small, snowy town, with just the right number of missteps on its way to an HEA.

My rating:

 5/5

Cursed review

November 15, 2022November 15, 2022

Cursed, by Callie Pey

(A novella of The Dryad Chronicles)

Steamy fantasy romance, The Little Mermaid retelling, fantasy novella

Note: I received an ARC and this is an honest, voluntary review. This book is a steamy open door fantasy romance for mature readers 18+ only.

It’s so nice to be back in Voreios, a land of mythology and community. It’s also a place where multiple mates are both fated and common, giving us another steamy MMF romance.

What I love most about Callie Pey’s work is the loving spirit each story contains. It keeps all the steam from feeling tawdry, with love scenes that often celebrate the bond. Cursed really captures the joy of finding who you’re meant to be with after wondering if you’d always be alone.

There are also The Little Mermaid-retelling vibes! The undersea world was interesting and made for a great climax to the story. Since this story ties into the Dryad Chronicles, there are some series spoilers, so be forewarned!

I enjoyed reading this novella and getting to know its characters.

My rating:

 4.5/5

The Bests and Mosts 2020: awards

February 13, 2021February 12, 2021

Today, I want to recognize my favorite fantasy reads of 2020 (and encourage you to discover one of them yourself!). And I’ll be accomplishing that with these 11 awards show-style categories!

In order to “win” (no prize other than my great esteem and respect), books must have been reviewed by me on the blog, Goodreads or Bookbub during the long happening that was 2020.

Without further ado, the award goes to…

Best Female Lead

Lira, The Prince and the Poisoner (Carnival of Fae #1), by Helena Rookwood. I love this sassy, self-serving yet likeable character, who lies, cheats and steals her way into readers hearts in The Prince and the Poisoner and its sequel, The Thief and the Throne. [My Review.]

Best Male Lead

Numair, Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles #1), by Tamora Pierce. Like a sensible Harry Potter, the much loved character of Numair from Pierce’s The Immortals trilogy grows up in a school surrounded by a river god, a leftover prince and no shortage of intrigue. Numair does all the normal adolescent boy things, even as he does the extraordinary. [Review available on Bookbub; coming soon to website.]

Best Storytelling

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness #1), by Tamora Pierce. There’s nothing like the story of a young girl better at swordplay than sorcery, who trades places with her twin and seeks to become a knight. Not only does Alanna make room for a different kind of girl in YA fantasy, but it’s absorbing from page one. Now and always, a classic. [My review.]

Best Plot Twist

Conjure Women, by Afia Atakora. “Twist” needs to be plural for this story, which probably fits best under the category of magical realism. Betrayals, terrible truths, and a vengeful lie sit at the heart of this book like jagged wire. The truth about Bean, a black-eyed child born with what might as well be a curse, is only one revelation in the story of a Black community during enslavement and after, and the midwife-plus-medicine-maker Rue who tries to keep it—and a few of the lies—from falling apart. [Review available on Bookbub; coming soon to website.]

Most Magical

The Prince and the Poisoner (Carnival of Fae #1), by Helena Rookwood. It’s hard to beat the fabulous magic carnival Lira runs away to (with a catch) in the first book in the series. (Sigh. Why doesn’t anything like it exist?) Add in magical objects left by the fae, and you can almost smell the burnt caramel. [My Review.]

Most Original

Sting Magic (Empire of War and Wings #1), by Sarah K.L. Wilson. The concept of familiars for magic-users gets new life in a world where something is very wrong in the forest, and most pressingly, with protagonist *’s magic. When magic-users manifest, it’s supposed to be with an egg (soon be followed by a bird). But *’s angry magic is a pack of swarming bees (and sometimes a hopeful little golden bumble bee that just sounds cute). The magic system was fantastic. [My Review.]

Most Action-Packed

Daughter of Shades (The Venatrix Chronicles), by Silvia Mercedes. Young Ayeleth finds more than her fair share of trouble as she tries to become a full-fledged Venetrix. After a certain point in the book (about a third of the way in, I’d say), the action hardly ever pauses, and things get a whole lot spookier. [My Review.]

Most Romantic

Snowblind (Pler Trilogy #1), by Anna Velfman. A wonderful romance between two young people occurs in the first half of the book that is somehow wholesome and nostalgic without being chaste. Icedancer is now on my Kindle but still on my TBR list, but something tells me there’s more to come, both with Lanna’s original love and a potential new (and much less romantic) suitor. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of the cute farm boy! [My Review.]

Most Heartbreaking

A Song Below Water (A Song Below Water #1), by Bethany C. Morrow. A story of injustice, found family and lost ones, A Song Below Water doesn’t just share the two narrators’ feelings with the reader, it allows them to connect to them through universal truths: the need for family, true friendship, love, acceptance, and justice. And there’s one other essential right tying those needs together for Tavia and Effie: in a world where some magical beings are reviled and even killed, the friends-turned-sisters both seek the space not just to speak and be heard, but to be. [My Review.]

Most Satisfying

Spindle (Two Monarchies Sequence #1), by W.R. Gingell. This delightful, quirky and often outright funny book introduces Gingell’s special brand of enchanter/enchantresses. I can’t spoil anything, so I’ll just have to say that the ending feels just right. [My Review.]

Most Likely to be Read Twice

The Purple Haze, by Andrew Einspruch. This hilarious book has so many jokes and just-the-right-level-of-bad puns, I could hardly take them all in. Silly and endearing, the story of germophobe Princess Eloise and her quest to find her sister is the perfect read when in need of a pick-me-up. [My Review.]

That’s it for 2020. Congratulations to all the winners!

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C.K. Beggan

Category: Uncategorized