#SampleSunday: An Irregular Arrangement

For #SampleSunday this week I’ve got the first chapter of An Irregular Arrangement for you. It’s free when you subscribe to my newsletter.

An Irregular Arrangement
An Irregular Arrangement: Chapter 1 : Val
“I do not think,” announced the vicar’s wife from the lane with some gravitas, “that you should be up there, young man.”
Val peered down from the top of the crumbling orchard wall where she was balanced, reaching over to get the very last apple. “Blast!” she exclaimed quietly and aloud said, “Just one more? It’s the last one. Mr Scott’s only going to let them all drop and then turn the pigs in, I heard him say.”
Mrs Downs sighed. “Oh, it’s you, Miss Wilkinson. Hurry up, so I can pretend you’d already finished by the time I saw you.”
Val flinched at being called Miss Wilkinson but did as she was bid and carefully scrambled down the way she’d climbed up. The apples were gathered in her cap and she passed them to Mrs Downs as she took a moment to brush her clothes free from dust. Mrs Downs observed quietly as she straightened her trousers and pulled down her waistcoat. Val eyed her cautiously. The vicar and his wife had only been in the village a few months and although everyone seemed to think they were decent sorts; decent sorts generally didn’t have much truck with people running round in unsuitable clothing and stealing apples.
“Flora Downs, by the way,” the woman offered a hand to shake, and Val took it. “Do call me Flora, please. I’m very pleased to meet you properly, we’ve only seen each other in passing. Would you like to come for breakfast?” Flora said, after a moment contemplating each other. “The vicar is away today…I’ve just walked him to the station, actually…and it would be nice to have some company.”
Val looked at her. She didn’t look much older than Val. Val was twenty-one but probably appeared younger with her hair cropped short and masculine clothing. “Valentine Wilkinson. Val. Hello. I’d love to,” she said in a burst of honesty, finally shaking the hand she was still holding. “But I need to drop the apples into Mrs Porter behind the smithy first. She’s not doing well since the new baby came and the other two young ones are hungry all the time. I said I’d see what I could do help.”
Flora gave Val an assessing look. “Come on then,” she said. “We can do that and then go and have some porridge at the vicarage. I’ve met most people by now, but I haven’t managed to pin you down.”
Val made a muffled yelping sound and juggled the apples to avoid answering. She’d made a categorical mistake in being noticed at all. Fading into the background was one of her special skills. She pulled energy from the border and thought herself small and people seemed to ignore her. She’d been so focused on the apples though, that she’d forgotten to keep it up when Flora spoke to her and now she was stuck. Although… Val glanced sideways to the small woman striding along beside her, skirts kicking around at a modest length above her ankles in the dust of the road, boots and dress pretty but practical, long hair turned up sensibly under a neat cloche hat, clear skin, pretty smile…it perhaps wasn’t the disaster it could have been.
“Have you met Mrs Porter?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t. I was told she probably wouldn’t appreciate a visit because she goes to the chapel, not the church.”
Val nodded. “That’s true. But none of them are talking to her because they realised she caught for the baby after her husband had died.” She grimaced. “No-one asked her what happened, they just judged her. I found out what was going on yesterday.”
“Well,” said Flora. “We need to get that sorted out as soon as possible, then. I’ll talk to the vicar when he gets home. We can help her if she’ll allow it.”
Val nodded. “I brought some bread and things this morning and dropped in and then I remembered the apples and thought I’d get them before the pigs. The children aren’t very old.”
****
It wasn’t long before they were in the vicarage kitchen. The ancient range was lit and Lily Richards, who came in every day to look after the house, was taking off her coat. “Morning, Missus, morning Miss Wilkinson,” she said. She didn’t quite meet Val’s eye. Quite a few of the more respectable villagers wouldn’t, these days. They didn’t like the trousers and they couldn’t see Val as a man, in the way that people who hadn’t know them growing up usually did if they met her dressed as she liked to dress.
“Good morning, Lily,” Flora said. “Are you going to get on with the bedrooms this morning?”
“Yes, Missus. I was going to strip the sheets from yours; and Sally’s coming to do the laundry in a couple of hours. I’m just going to light the copper for her.”
Flora nodded. “Wonderful, thank you. I’ll make a cup of tea and give you a shout when it’s brewed, shall I?”
“Lovely, thank you, Missus.”
“Take a seat,” Flora gestured to the long, scrubbed kitchen table. “We eat in here unless we’ve got company. The dining room is like something out of Dickens, it’s so gloomy. We get the sun in here.”
The room was on the corner of the house and faced both south and east. The early autumn sun was pouring in. It shot the soft brown of Mrs Downs’ hair through with red highlights, like a fox’s coat glinting russet against a hedgerow.
Val sat whilst Flora pottered about putting porridge in a pan and boiling the kettle.
“Don’t you have servants for this?” Val asked.
“Only Lily. I don’t much like having people in and out of the house, to be honest. I grew up keeping house for my father, so I’m happy taking it on for Tim and me.”
Val nodded. One of the reasons she spent so much time out of the house was that it was always flooded with people. The servants, then Mama, and their brothers’ friends. Val didn’t like the crowds and she didn’t like the way it felt, dressed up in girl’s clothes as Mama insisted, with the young men all looking at her like dogs eyeing a biscuit.

Get your copy here to continue reading

Guest Post: Ofelia Grand drops in to talk about The Blood Witch

Hello, everyone! Thank you, Ally, for allowing me to swing by again 🥰 (You’re always welcome!-Ally)

A couple of days ago, The Blood Witch was released. It’s a story I wrote for National I am in Control Day. If you don’t know me, I write stories for all those silly days out there – today, for example, it’s National Black Forest Cake Day. Always nice with an excuse to eat cake, right?

National I am in Control Day is observed annually on March 30th. It was created because when, back in 1981, there was an assassin attempt on Ronald Reagan, the secretary of state told everyone at a press conference that he was in control. Chaos erupted since some folks thought he was trying to take over after Reagan when he had no right to do so.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to create a holiday 😄

I seldom read stories where the characters are royalty – some, of course, but I’ve never gone looking for a story with a king or a queen, and I’ve most definitely never written one.

I’m Swedish, and Sweden is a monarchy. The royal family is mostly there as decoration and a waste of money. In case you didn’t catch it in my tone, I’m not a fan. I don’t dislike the king as such, the poor sod never had a choice, and I would never want to trade places with him, but…

So when I decided to write a king, I also decided there would be no fancy clothes, balls, princesses in expensive dresses, and the king would not be there as some kind of ornament.

Conri is a werewolf, and he rules over Northbridge, a small city. The world is divided into areas, most pretty small, and the supernatural population are ruled by a king or queen. The supes have fewer rights than humans – they’re not allowed to own businesses, they’re not allowed any higher education, the legal system doesn’t treat them fairly and so on.

To make sure no supernatural being is lying about their race, there are blood tests when applying for school and other things.

Nick is a blood witch, and as a blood witch, he can change blood. This makes him a great asset to a kingdom, but blood witches are often kept prisoner by their kings or queens so they can be forced to work for them. Nick managed to escape his former king, and he has no plans of going back to working for a king ever again.

He’s managed to hide in Northbridge for six years, but one day he outs himself, and now the king demands he come and pay his respects.

I loved writing this one, and who knows, I might write more kings in the future LOL

Available now: The Blood Witch

Excerpt:

A blood witch—Conri had a blood witch in his kingdom, and it could earn him power and freedom beyond any king’s dreams. He wasn’t sure how it would work, but it was what he’d heard—a blood witch could strengthen a king’s power in ways no one else could.
Conri had promised no harm would come to the man who’d saved Cellica, but now the little shit refused to pay his respects, and Conri was running out of options.
People flocked around him. They came to Twilight, his nightclub, simply to be close to him. His bed never lacked lovers, and his schedule didn’t have any gaps unless he put them there—which he tried to do as often as possible. Everyone wanted to be close to the king, and when he summoned someone, they showed up. He did not beg for anyone’s attention. He didn’t have to. He was king. The fucking witch.
“I’m going to talk to him.” He grabbed his phone and called Urien, his second in command.
Most would frown at a werewolf having a vampire as his closest ally, but it worked great. Conri didn’t do packs, so he didn’t have a beta, and if he’d picked an alpha from another shifter group, all hell would break loose. Urien was a godsend.
As soon as the call connected, he spoke. “Will you be in soon?”
Urien slept through the day, so Conri couldn’t fault him for not being in earlier—it was the only downside with having a vampire as his second.
“I’m already in the building. There was some trouble by the stage. It’s sorted.”
Conri hummed. In one area of the bar, they had live performances during opening hours. If there was trouble, it often started there.
“I’m going out for a bit. You can reach me on my cell.”
He ushered Zephirah out of the office and locked the door.
“I’ll come with you.” Zephirah fluffed her hair.
“No, I’m going alone.”
She pouted. “But it could be dangerous.”
He gave her an impassive look until she snarled “Fine!” and stomped away. Conri feared she’d become a problem one day soon.
The closer he came to the house where the blood witch lived, the deeper his frown became. Blood witches were wealthy beyond belief, and yet this one lived in the worst part of the city.
Cellica lived here because the pack had shunned her. She’d broken a mating—no one ever did. The male she’d been mated to had been picked for her and wasn’t her true mate. He had personally made sure the mate wouldn’t come back. He could do nothing about how the pack treated her, not without becoming a member, and he wasn’t going to. He had tried to move her to a better area which she had refused, but she had allowed him to pay her rent a couple of times when things had been worse than usual.
He jogged up the stairs of the decrepit building where he’d been told the blood witch had his apartment and knocked on his door.
“Hello?”
Conri frowned at the door but didn’t reply. When the footsteps moved away, he knocked again.
“Yes?”
“Open the door.” Conri would not shout through a closed door.
“No.”
“Open the door or I’ll open it myself.”
“I’m calling the cops.”
Conri cursed. “I only want to talk to you.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
Conri frowned again. He wasn’t patronizing. “I wasn’t.”
“How naive do you think I am?”
According to Cellica, the man was short, slim, and young-looking. Conri had been thirty-one when he’d become king, and he’d ruled this city for eleven years. When Cellica had said young-looking, he’d assumed the witch was in his early twenties—a pup. Someone he could intimidate and control. The months leading up to this day had told him the witch wasn’t easily intimidated. “Open the door.”
“I think not. Calling the cops now.”
Conri growled. “I’m the king.”
“I don’t care.”
For a second, anger flared in his chest, then he pursed his lips. “You’re not human, which means you belong to me.”
“I’m human. Now go away.”
A second later, Conri heard the witch talk on the phone, informing someone—the police most likely—there was someone trying to break into his apartment.
Conri growled. “I’ll be back.” He gave the door a soft knock before slinking down the stairs and out on the street. He walked to the back of the building and counted the windows. The tiny balconies didn’t look sturdy enough to carry his weight, but it was worth a try.

Buy The Blood Witch: JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/TheBloodWitch

About The Blood Witch

The Blood Witch cover

Nick Adore has been in hiding for six years. He does his best to pass himself off as human and only wants to be left alone. But one day, he walks in on a robbery. Instead of quietly walking away, he reveals himself as a blood witch, and now the werewolf king demands to see him.

Conri Biast is king. He has been the king of Norbridge for eleven years, but someone is trying to take him down. For months, he’s known there’s a blood witch in his territory who refuses to pay his respects, and that puts him on the top of his list of suspects. But when he goes to confront the witch, things don’t turn out the way he’d planned. The witch is his mate.

 Nick doesn’t want to be anywhere near Conri. Being close to kings always ends with him getting hurt, but he finds himself sucked into the power struggle. Conri doesn’t know who he can trust, but he knows he needs Nick by his side. Together, they’re strong, but are they strong enough to keep the throne?

Gay Paranormal Romance: 43,009 words

Buy links: JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/TheBloodWitch

About Holly Day:

According to Holly Day, no day should go by uncelebrated and all of them deserve a story. If she’ll have the time to write them remains to be seen. She lives in rural Sweden with a husband, four children, more pets than most, and wouldn’t last a day without coffee.

Holly gets up at the crack of dawn most days of the week to write gay romance stories. She believes in equality in fiction and in real life. Diversity matters. Representation matters. Visibility matters. We can change the world one story at the time.

Connect with Holly on social media:

Website :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest :: BookBub :: Goodreads :: Instagram

#AmReading

This week I’m all about the gay. A contemporary MM, To Take a Quiet Breath by Fearne Hill, a fantasy YA with a queer background romance (or is it NA? I’m never sure, I am neither and it was right in my ballpark, regardless) Fragile Remedy by Maria Ingrande Mora and a fantasy MM with dragon shifters, The Dragon Hunter’s Son by Hanna Dare.

To Take a Quiet Breath by Fearne Hill

To Take a Quiet Breath by Fearne Hill

I have a secret yen for books with ex-cons-gone-straight MCs and this fulfilled it perfectly. Guillaume killed a man who was abusing his younger sister and has done his time. He is befriended by Marcel, a high-up in the government department responsible for prisons, when Marcel meets him on an information-gathering exercise. Marcel is a chronic asthmatic and this is so well represented in this book. Stories with good disabled rep are another not-so-secret yen of mine. Disabled people are entitled to happy endings too.

This is perfectly realised in this story–the author doesn’t paper over the difficulties and challenges Marcel faces, but they don’t rule out his desire for (and right to!) love and intimacy. It’s book three of a series and I haven’t read the others yet, but I’m going to. I really enjoyed this.

Fragile Remedy by Maria Ingrande Mora

Fragile Remedy by Maria Ingrande Mora

This is a YA dystopian. The main character is Nate, who is sixteen. He’s also genetically engineered and needs the eponymous ‘remedy’ at regular intervals to prevent his body breaking down. This is hard to get hold of, as he lives in the lawless slum he escaped to as a young child to avoid being harvested for his organs.

This has everything you want from your dystopian read. Brilliant characterisation, a gritty plot and an interesting social set-up. The cast is a racially diverse queer found family with good trans rep. It’s plot-heavy with a background romance that chugs along nicely. Highly recommend!

The Dragon Hunter’s Son by Hanna Dare

The Dragon Hunter's Son by Hannah Dare

I’m a Hannah Dare fan from her Mind-Metal-Machine series, so I was predisposed to like this one from the start. It’s about Philip, who is the son of Jaxon the dragon hunter. Jaxon is, quite frankly, a jerk. I hated him. We’re supposed to hate him, so that’s okay–the author has done a brilliant job making that possible! Philip is kind and a bit bewildered by life, but toddles along behind his father because that’s what his dying mother asked him to do. He falls for Ejoler when they stop at a town Jaxon rid of a dragon decades ago. Ejoler is, of course, a dragon.

This was such a lovely take on the shifter trope. It’s a sweet low-heat romance and I thought Ejoler was wonderful, particularly his take on gathering jewels and precious things. It’s a lovely low-drama comfort read and I recommend it.

That’s the lot for this time!

Guest Post: K. L. Noone, Demons and Rock-stars!

Today K. L. Noone is here to talk about her new box set, A Demon in Love!

Hi there! A.L. Lester was kind enough to let me pop in and share some exciting news with you – so glad to be here, and thank you! (You’re most welcome and any time!)

K. L. Noone. A Demon in Love box set.

I’m K.L. Noone, and I write a lot of LGBTQ romance – often m/m, but occasionally f/f, or m/f with bi main characters, or even m/genderfluid fairy-person! My first-ever published novel, back in 2018, was A Demon for Midwinter, which went on to have a few (all right, eight – which is more than a few…) bonus stories and stories for side characters…and that’s the subject of today’s post, in fact!

Specifically, this month JMS Books has released the beautiful A Demon in Love box set, with all new cover art, and all the stories in one place – including the brand-new flash fiction short “A Demon’s Very Good Morning”! (You can buy that one separately if you already have the rest – no worries!)

When I wrote Demon, it was very much a love letter to…well, lots of things in my life: paranormal and urban fantasy, romance, queerness, hurt/comfort, pizza, Filipino desserts, and the history of rock-and-roll. It’s about famous-but-getting-older rock star Kris, and his manager-turned-eventual-boyfriend (and secret half-demon) Justin, and the two of them falling in love. It’s also about being lonely, and about not wanting to be lonely anymore, and about trying hard to be a good person, to be there for someone, to help when they’re in trouble.

It’s also got many many sneaky rock band and song references, especially if you happen to like seventies and eighties punk bands – but there’re others, too! (If you think you’ve caught them all, let me know…)

Since Demon first came out, I’ve written more in that universe – like the historical prequel, and the Justin & Kris wedding story, both of which’re included in the box set – and I’ve written other stories too, some high fantasy, some contemporary, some more paranormal, some longer and more complex and more personal in other ways. (Magician, for instance, which lived in my head for a decade!) But your first published novel is always special, I think – there’s a joy about it, a sense of sheer look what I made, I get to do this, this is real! delight, in that first cover art, first paperback, presence of your own book in your hands (or your computer screen; but you get the idea). So Justin and Kris will always be special for me, and I love that people are still finding them and loving them and their love story.

And now we’ve got this luscious new box set, with everything collected, so you can read them all start to finish – all the happy endings, all of Justin’s cheerful noisy family, all the quiet moments of Kris and Justin sitting together and learning how to touch, and of course all the music!

I’m so excited to share this new version (and the new final story, set on a sunny morning, at home together) with you – and thanks again to A.L. Lester for letting me drop by! I hope you enjoy A Demon in Love – I know I will.

Buy A Demon in Love

JMS BooksAmazon : Barnes & Noble

Meet K. L. Noone

K.L. Noone teaches college students about superheroes and Shakespeare by day, and writes romance – frequently paranormal or with fantasy elements, usually LGBTQ, and always with happy endings – when not grading papers or researching medieval outlaw life. She lives with the Awesome Husband and a large black cat named Merlyn, who demands treats on a regular basis.

Twitter : Instagram : Blog (I’ve utterly failed at actually updating the book list on here, but the blog gets updated!) : Facebook : Amazon author page : JMS Books author page

London Calling release day!

Today is the official release day of London Calling, the box set of my 1920s London Border Magic series! It comprises Lost in Time, Shadows on the Border & The Hunted and the Hind.

To celebrate I have a giveaway! Roll up, roll up! And read all about it!

London Calling Box Set

The London Calling Box Set

Queer British Lovecraftian historical romantic suspense set in 1920s London.

Lew Tyler is dragged from 2016 to 1920 by an accident with border magic whilst he’s searching for his missing friend. He’s struggling to get to grips with life a century before he was born.  Detective Alec Carter is trying to solve gruesome murders in his patch of London, weighed down with exhaustion and a jaded attitude to most of his fellow humans after four years of war. In the middle of a murder investigation that involves wild magic, mysterious creatures and illegal sexual desire, will Alec and Lew work out who is safe to trust?

Sergeant Will Grant, Alec’s right-hand man, is drawn to the mysterious Fenn. Is Fenn a man or a woman? Does Will care? And Fenn…Fenn has a secret. They live beyond the border between 1920s London and the magical Outlands and they need to get home. Are they prepared to achieve that by double crossing Alec, Will and Lew?

Two couples hold the fabric of reality in their hands. Will it make them or break them?

WIN!

To win a copies of the London Calling audiobooks, Lost in Time, Shadows on the Border & The Hunted and the Hind, pop on over to the Audiobook Draw and throw your hat in the ring! Id’ be really grateful if you could share it on social media once you’ve entered if you could bear to…you’ll get more chances to win and more people will see it! (You can also listen to excerpt and buy them here)

Lost in Time,. Shadows on the Border & The Hunted and the Hind audiobook covers

Read an Excerpt

Carter on his doorstep when he got home again was just taking the piss. All Lew wanted to do was climb into his bed and sleep and pretend he was in his comfortable flat-share in 2016 and could wake up and listen to his iPod.
He didn’t even bother to greet Carter this time, just wordlessly locked up the bike and opened the door into the flat so he could come inside. He was glowering again. Lew wished he could say it didn’t suit him. “Come in. Glowering doesn’t suit you.”
Carter grunted wordlessly and suddenly Lew had had enough of it.
“No, honestly. It makes your face all scrunched up—” he demonstrated, “—and I’m sure it’s bad for you. Wrinkles or something.” He couldn’t seem to shut up. Poking a bear would probably have been safer. He wanted to get through to him, though, he wanted to make him growl. The other day and being punched in the face had at least proved Carter had some emotion in there somewhere; he couldn’t feel anything from him, most of the time. He chucked his biking goggles onto the small settee and turned to the kitchen cupboard. “Do you want a drink? I’m having a drink. I’ve had a shit day so far...a shit week, in fact.” He paused, considering, “...maybe even a shitty two years. And so, I’m going to have a drink. You’re welcome to join me.”
He clattered the bottle and a couple of glasses out of the cupboard and smashed them unsteadily down on the counter top. He felt unsteady all over, actually, as if he’d already drunk too much. Adrenaline, and lack of sleep, probably.
He pulled the cork out of the bottle and started to slop spirit into the glasses. Then, all of a sudden, Carter moved to stand close behind him, still not speaking. He hadn’t been expecting it and it made him even more mentally off balance.
He could feel the warmth of the other man’s body through the back of his shirt, although they weren’t touching. He was boxed in by his arms, either side of him, hands flat on the counter. It was shockingly intimate, although Lew didn’t think Carter meant it to be. He meant it to be intimidating. The otherman said, softly, “Tell me. Tell me. Tell me what’s going on. Why have I got more dead men turning up with the same wounds as your friend Fornham?”
Bloody hell. More of them. That was very, very bad. “Get off me.” Lew spoke equally quietly.
There was a pause for a second. “No,” said Carter.
“You don’t know what you’re messing with. Get off me.” Again, that pause.
“No.” His voice was rougher this time.
Lew noticed Carter’s knuckles were white where he was holding the countertop either side of the whisky bottle and the glasses. He shivered.
Suddenly he could feel things coming off Carter after all: the want and the fear and the desperate sense of disgust at himself. The anger and the confusion he felt toward Lew because he wanted Lew and yet he didn’t trust him, with this or with anything, and it was all against his better judgement. The emotions hit him like a wall coming up out of the dark all at once and completely floored him; and he gasped.
Slowly, he pushed the bottle away from him—always with the drink when Carter was around, he absently thought—and turned around, careful not to touch him. They were nearly of a height—he didn’t have to tilt his head much to see that Carter’s eyes were green. Lashes long and dark. He didn’t pull back. It was mid-afternoon and his beard was coming through.
Lew swallowed. “I don’t want to lie to you.”
It came out rougher than he had intended and Carter’s eyes dropped to his mouth.
“Then don’t!” He pulled back angrily and turned away, hands shoving fiercely through his hair. “Tell me what’s going on!”
“Carter...Alistair...” He couldn’t bear the wave of confused anger and emotion coming off the man and he stepped forward and put his hand on his arm, turning him back toward him.
“Alec...”
Carter jerked back as if he’d been burned.

Buy London Calling
London Calling Box Set