Santa's Present

 

 

 

 

Jack can't join Velma for Christmas,
but a present arrives for her.

 

 This book is a novelette in the Blitz series.

 

Available on:

 

Amazon 

Books2Read

BUY DIRECT FROM AUTHOR

Book delivered by Book Funnel

 

Cloud Kingdom Series - Free Book

 

 

Have you seen my Cloud Kingdom Series and not sure if you want to read it?

There are so many fantasy ebooks available on Amazon and other online stores it's difficult to choose. To help you make your choice I am offering the first book of the series – Blue and Silver - Caishel – for free from Book Funnel.

Book Funnel will assist in the download and they will help you put it on your Kindle if that's how you read ebooks. 

What have you got to lose? Click on the link below and download to start reading. 

Book Funnel (https://BookHip.com/SDNBMLW)

https://BookHip.com/SDNBMLW

Cloud Kingdoms - Castles in the Sky

Four strong women who develop into saviours for their people. In the background of each book are the Eos – spirit people who are responsible for the wellbeing of the planet Hejmen and both Eos and humans who live there.

 

Caishel – orphaned and living on the streets as a male urchin. She falls in love with a noble, but will he think her a suitable wife, or use her as he sees fit?

 

 
 

Elisette – starts work as a nursemaid to the children on a duchess, but falls in love with a young Capet and becomes pregnant. What will her future hold?



 


Tazia – has an arranged marriage to a duke. Her father's mistress instructs her into the intimate side of marriage, but the wild tales terrify the bride on her wedding night and anger her new husband.


 


Zaeyen – to escape an arranged marriage, Zaeyen goes in search of the lost Eos spirits. Only they can bring the planet back to health before it dies completely.



Please note these ebooks are updated versions of the Cloud Kingdom (Sky Castles) series. They are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and many other online booksellers. They are available under their new titles.

Blue & Silver – Caishel

Russet & Gold - Elisette

Ebony & Ivory – Tazia

Emerald & Amber - Zaeyen

Happy Reading.

Large Print

Great news!

Miri's Inheritance is now available in paperback in large print. This format can be purchased from Amazon.com

New releases

Sorry it's taken me so long to post on my blog. I've been getting my back catalogue ready to re-release and it's taken me longer than I thought. Plus I've been writing the third volume of Village of Shadows and also a new book which at the moment is called Darkhythe but this title could change.

I'm really pleased to be at last be writing the adult fantasy novel Darkhythe as I have had bits written down about it for over five years, but this year decided the time was right to get it all on the computer. As usually happens in life circumstances took over and I had to fit it in with other important events. Darkhythe should be released in early 2020 so keep watching this space. I'll announce it prior to the release.

The Village of Shadows books are now available in ebook in most online bookstores and paperback (and large print) on Amazon. Links are set out below.

 

Miri's Inheritance

 

Jayden's Innocence

Now it's back to the writing. Happy reading everyone.

Dragons Galore!

I am pleased to announce my Dragon World books are now available in online bookshops.

The three original ones, Dragon Flames, Dragon Clans and Dragon Ice follow Talei and her family through their meeting and interaction with the dragons. Adri's Journey reveals Adri's story. These books are available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and various other online outlets.

At a special price Dragon Flames, Dragon Clans and Dragon Ice are available in a box set under the name of Dragon World.

Not Long Now!

I'm ready to start re-releasing my books, just waiting for the official reversal of rights letters. Half of the covers are redone and tidying up the writing of the current WIP. It's a lot of work but my thoughts go out to Gail and Jenifer. Their workload must be astronomical. Thanks to Gail and Jenifer for their hard work and to the readers for being so patient. First three covers below.

Building a World

Fantasy authors build their own worlds and people them with humans and other unusual species and aspects to make the world unique. What readers and some authors don't realize is all stories partake in world building.

A romance writer for instance has the heroine and hero and around them is their world. A contemporary world peopled with friends and adversaries, but how they react and the influences of their world help to build not only who they are, but how their surroundings look to the reader. The author must build the scene they want to get the reactions of their characters and thus the story to play out in the way they anticipate.

Many authors will not agree they have to build a world, especially those who write in the pantser style (this means not plotting, just sit down and write with only a general idea of where the story is going). This means the story evolves as you go along rather than planning everything out before you start writing. I am a pantser writer and I find I do very little basic world building before I start and the rest evolves as I write. As I edit the drafts (usually up to three times before sending it to the publisher) the world pulls tighter together, including the influence of the characters on the scenes and people around them.

Without my characters there would be no world as they are the center of the story and the hub everything revolves around. From them comes the description and structure of the world and time they live in. Their supporting characters paint the backdrop. The description is not put down as "The land was green" etc. the image comes from the interaction of the characters with their surroundings and peers.

Bear in mind every book is like a play on a stage, created not only by the author, but also by the characters, supporting characters and their actions. Together they influence the story to bring the full essence of it to fruition. The stage is the world, the play brings the story to life.

Of course fantasy writers have more leeway, but sometimes this can be more challenging. When the imagination takes full reign, it has to be pulled in by reality. Everything has to merge together in a way the reader can understand and empathize with, plus they must fit into the world the author has created. Good luck with your building and I hope to see your world appear on my bookshelf sometime soon.

Steam Mountain - Rak Shoma Series 2

Steam Mountain the second book of the Rak Shoma series will be released on 21st January 2018. Although there is magic in this book, it is also a steampunk novel.

Maevens Ash and Orm continue their search for Ash's parents by riding on a mechanical carriage to Stavmo, a country based on steam. Stavmo is run by a dictator who ordains everyone must have red hair. Those without this color hair, and anyone else who goes against him, vanish into the mines or are thrown into the volcano.

Steam cars, whirlybirds, and small appliances, even guns, are all powered by steam. A huge factory has toxic smoke billowing into the air, and only the rich are able to escape the smell by living on the opposite side of town.

The magical pair make friends with the rebels and try to help them fight for their rights, but in doing so they get separated and place themselves in danger.

Excerpt

Once again, dust covered the floor of the circular room where they landed after teleporting from below. A huge wooden door closed off the entrance.

"How do we open this?" Ash gave it a shove, but the door refused to budge an inch. She tried to examine the other side with her mind, but found the door blocking her. "Orm, I can't sense the other side. We're trapped in here!" Ash felt the panic rising through her body until she thought she might choke. Instant calm flooded over her when Orm patted her arm."I think the walls and door must be lined with metal and we know metal makes it difficult to use magic, although I believe the floor is made of wood or we wouldn't have been able to teleport in from the platform. There's a lever over here. Let's see what it does."This time fear collected into a heavy mass inside her as Orm examined the lever. She hated having unknown things around her. He pulled the lever and she jumped back as the door opened with a hiss and a roar. She glanced at Orm who appeared to be frozen with terror. After a few moments he grabbed her hand and dragged her through the door. They raced up the curved corridor following the outer wall of the circular room, another roaring and hissing came from behind and Ash guessed the door had closed. They'd traveled half way round the outer wall when they came to the base of a stone staircase and stopped."I don't like this place, Orm. The noise of the door opening sounded like a wounded animal. Why do you think it made such a sound?" Ash cast a worried glance over her shoulder.

"It happened when I pulled the lever, so I think it must have been the mechanism of the door. I've never heard anything like it before and I agree, I'm not sure I trust this place. Despite you being able to check if anyone's on the next level, I don't think we should teleport and suddenly appear up there. I believe we should climb the stairs and take a good look around before we reveal ourselves."

Buy links:  Desert Breeze Publishing

                  Amazon

                  Fishpond NZ (Please note this is the Fishpond link for Book One of the series,

              the link for Book Two will be placed when it is on the site)

                  Also available on other ebook sites.

Author's website:  Sue Perkins

Broken Spire - Rak Shoma Series Book One

Spires is the magic college of Homas, but new student Ash has problems when her mind insists there is a better way to cast spells.

Ash's silvery purple hair sets her apart from her peers and at the magic college of Spires a few senior maeven consider her magic to be alien and unsuccessfully try to expel her. Ash feels a compulsive attraction tempting her to enter the broken North Spire. She believes this off limits ruin holds the answer to her origins, but is not willing to take the chance of expulsion from Spires. 

Orm, Ash's equally talented classmate, is determined to support the girl he considers his soulmate, and promises to help her find out the secrets of the North Spire when they reach the end of their third year. 

At the end of the first year, Ash nervously waits to see if she will be allowed to continue at Spires, or will she be sent home in disgrace.

Broken Spire is now available in paperback on Amazon. The ebook will be released on 21st May. There are six books in the series. 

Broken Spire - Amazon

Free Romantic Fantasy Ebook

Another free book with the option to receive another free book. If you read these books and like them it would be lovely if you could post a review on your favourite ebook supplier. Here are the details.

Merhnaz, a free book from the Cloud Kingdom series. Mehrnaz is a prequel to Book 2 of the series - Elisette. 

Description

Mehrnaz of Pator and Lusak of Rak live on the planet Hejmen. They fall in love when they meet at a ball in Rak, but her parents wish her to marry Dromarn, heir to the dukedom of Marn. On their first meeting Dromarn lays down the rules for their married life and how his wife should behave. Mehrnaz informs her parents she wishes to marry Lusak, but her mother has no intention of allowing her daughter to marry a second son and refuses to allow Mehrnaz and Lusak to meet. The couple plan to elope but to meet Lusak, Mehrnaz must cross the desert alone.

ExcerptThe mattporter couldn't take the Pator party all at once and they were lifted to the sky castle in groups. Up in the castle the noble family of Rak had already greeted Duke Osrat and his family, now Tikat and his family moved forward.

Duke Davak, his wife Elisette and their three sons waited to greet them. Patak, the eldest, stood with his wife just behind his parents. Dernak, the youngest stood to one side, trying not to cough. He looked quite sickly and Mehrnaz turned to look at the other son. Her breath caught in her throat. Lusak, the Duke's middle son, looked exactly like the heroes in her books.

Dark auburn hair curled down to his collar, while his skin glowed with a tan which told of a life spent mainly outside. He caught her looking at him and winked at her.

"Mehrnaz. Mind your manners."

Her mother's nudge brought her back to her duties and she curtsied to the ducal family then moved on with her parents. Servants arrived to show them to their rooms. As they left the main dock, Mehrnaz glanced over her shoulder. Lusak watched her and this time he grinned at her and mouthed the word later.

Download this book, join my mailing list and get another book free. 
https://instafreebie.com/free/NHsE5

New Series

I'm writing a new series. It's a magical mystery for young adults/ adults with the main character a young lady named Ash. Not sure when it will be released but will keep you all up to date with the progress.

Meanwhile, here are the books I'm reading at the moment - mainly fantasy.

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child (script by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne. 

Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik

Book 7 Crucible of Gold

Book 8 Blood of Tyrants

Book 9 League of Dragons 

The Scoundrel's Trespass (Men of the Marque Book 2) by Sandra Sookoo (Romance)

There are several others on my "to read" list and I'm still half way through Waiting for Elizabeth by Joan Rosier-Jones. We moved four times last year and due to this the book was packed away and I've only just got back to it.

Free for a limited time

Romantic Mysteries is free to readers for another day. Sign in to Amazon and download in the next 24 hours to take advantage of this free offer. Amazon

Christmas for Romance

Two anthologies of romance with three stories in each book. Only 99 cents as a thank you to my readers. Hope you enjoy.

Romantic Memories

Sweet romance anthology where the reader gets three stories in one book. 

Misty Memories - Gayle wakes up in a man's bed and can't remember how she got there. What happened to her the night before? 

Visit from the Past - a woman's past comes back to haunt her, dare she tell her husband the truth? 

Broken Dreams - Fay waits for her true love to come home, but he brings another woman with him, how can she cope with the knowledge her love isn't returned?

Can be purchased from Amazon

Romantic Mysteries

Sweet romance anthology of three stories in one book.

Wyrd Fortune - Jenna must clear her name after two reporters write an unflattering article about her ability to read the tarot cards. 

The Big C - a solo mother has to deal with the stress of test results and how to tell her children. 

The List - two lists to help a young woman lose weight. One for goals to achieve and the other for temptations to stop.

Can be purchased from Amazon

Cloud Kingdoms - free complementary book

Mehrnaz is a complementary book to the Cloud Kingdom series and it's FREE!

Visit Desert Breeze Publishing

to download your free copy now and see what other freebies you can pick up. 

Mehrnaz

Mehrnaz of Pator and Lusak of Rak live on the planet Hejmen. They fall in love when they meet at a ball in Rak, but her parents wish her to marry Dromarn, heir to the dukedom of Marn. On their first meeting Dromarn lays down the rules for their married life and how his wife should behave. Mehrnaz informs her parents she wishes to marry Lusak, but her mother has no intention of allowing her daughter to marry a second son and refuses to allow Mehrnaz and Lusak to meet. The couple plan to elope but to meet Lusak, Mehrnazmust cross the desert alone.

Elisette - Cloud Kingdoms Book Two

Elisette the second book in the Cloud Kingdoms seres is now available from Desert Breeze Publishing There are four books in the series, each following the lives of four feisty women on the planet Hejmen. 

Elisette, a young farm girl, gets a job as nurserymaid to the children of the Duke and Duchess of Lan. She falls in love with Capet Sard, but when Sard has to return to his home in Rak, Lise doesn't hear from him and she sets out to find her love. Unfortunately the journey turns into a disaster and Lise is positive she and Sard will never be able to share their lives.


Excerpt

When Sard asked Lise for directions the day before, he'd expected to be given a sharp reply from a coarse farm girl. Instead he found himself staring into brilliant amber eyes set in a delicate face. Her hair had been hidden under a scarf holding it out of the way. He couldn't believe this lovely creature lived and worked in such a run down place. All night he'd thought about her, and on his way back to Landon, Sard wondered if he could make an excuse to visit the farm again. With difficulty he resisted the temptation to turn off the main road.

He continued his journey and saw a girl ahead trudging toward Landon. Could it be her? No, a farm worker wouldn't be away from her duties at this time of day.

Luck was on his side. It was the girl from yesterday. Today the long, dark auburn tresses were gently restrained by a headband as they rippled down her back reminding him of a waterfall. The girl looked much cleaner, too. Sard had been disappointed when his offer of a ride on Vassar had been refused, but their subsequent conversation made him feel relieved he hadn't insisted. He knew how young and naïve Lise had been, but despite her youth, something about her commanded respect.

Luck remained with him when Lise told her reasons for travelling to Landon. Although he could guess why her mother had sent her away, this meant he could help both Lise and the Duchess.

He left the nursery with a big grin on his face. The Duchess now had a nursemaid and he had the chance to get to know Lise better.

Lise from Elisette - Cloud Kingdoms Book Two

Elisette

Today the heroine from Elisette, the second book of the Cloud Kingdom series, visits the blog. 

Hello Elisette.

Elisette:  Please call me Lise, Elisette is for people who don't know me. 

Very well Lise, thank you for visiting us today. Would you like to tell us a bit about your life?

Lise:  There's not much to tell. My mother, father and I lived in Lan until my father died in an accident when I was five years old. We had a happy life until then.

I'm sorry to hear about your father. Did you stay in Lan after his death?

Lise:  Mother and I managed for a while but then she got sick and couldn't work. A widowed farmer from Northside offered us a home if mother would marry him and look after his house and family. Unfortunately we had no other option.

You don't live there any longer do you?

Lise:  No. The men of my stepfamily began to take an interest in me when I started developing as a woman so mother sent me away.

What ever did you do?

Lise: I meant to try for a job in one of the big houses of Lan, but instead the Duchess of Lan engaged me as a nurserymaid to help her children's nanny. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

So what's it like living in a sky castle?

Lise: It's so different. The Duchess has put a proper bathroom in the nursery so I don't have to haul water up for the children's bath. They have dropchutes to move from floor to floor and the nobles travel downside by mattporters. I take the children to the castle gardens when the weather's nice, and did you know the weather is actually decided by the Duke?

Really? So what do you do when you're not working?

Lise: (blushes) I've made friends with a Capet. He's been very kind and shown me how to get downside, where to shop for personal needs. He's nice.

Nice? He's just a friend?

Lise: Well, we have kissed but we're trying to be discreet because it's not a good idea for a capet and an nurserymaid to become a couple. We go for walks in the gardens in the evening and have afternoon tea downside on my days off.

Do you think there's any future in the relationship?

Lise: I don't think so because his parents will want him to marry someone of a better social standing. I'm enjoying things while they last. Sorry I have to get back before the children wake up.

Thank you for talking to us, Lise. I hope everything works out for you and your Capet.


Excerpt

Outside, Lise pondered which way to take to the laundry. Guessing it would be on the same level as the kitchens, she headed for the staircase sack slung over her shoulders and her head bowed as she compensated for the extra weight.

"Watch out!"

Startled by the sudden appearance of a male body, Lise looked up quickly. Capet Sard stood in front of her, hands on hips and a big grin on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Capet. I didn't see you coming."

"Where are you off to?" Sard smiled at her.

"The laundry, sir."

"Here, let me help you. It's far too heavy for you to carry." He reached his hand toward the sack slung over her shoulder, but Lise quickly backed away.

"No, sir, really. I'm a lot stronger than I look. Besides, it wouldn't be right--a Capet like you helping me with my work. Excuse me, please."

Sard blocked her way as Lise tried to push past. He soon realized her determination and raising his hands in surrender took a step toward the wall.

"Thank you, Capet," Lise murmured and hurried toward the staircase.

"You're welcome, Lise."

His voice came from right behind her. He had followed her. How else would she have heard his words, especially when his voice had been low and soft?

"Please, Capet. I thank you for putting me forward for this job, but I really need to prove myself to the Duchess and Mesry Keva. The Mesry thinks you got me the job. I have to show her I can be trusted to do the work allotted to me."

"I understand, Lise." Sard's eyes bored deep into hers, and her head ducked to avoid his searching look. He lifted her chin with his finger and his gaze searched deep within her to find the real Lise. "You can't work all the time. I'll wait until you're on a break and we'll talk."

Lise fled. His touch stirred a wealth of emotions. Emotions her troubled mind had no idea how to deal with. Her thoughts tumbled in turmoil, but her survival instincts still worked and her feet came to an abrupt halt on the stairs as the familiar odors of washing soap and hot water drifted across her path. To her left a heavy wooden door barred her way and Lise tentatively pushed it open.

Buy Link

Sue Perkins books published by Desert Breeze Publishing

Webpage:  http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com

Blog: http://sueperkinsauthor.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: Sue Perkins, Author

Twitter: Sue Perkins, Author

Other books by Sue Perkins can be found on her website.