Uncaged Book Reviews

ISSUE 25 | August 2018

cont featureauthors

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Christine Amsden

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Interview • Stay Connected • Excerpts from Highland Secrets & Lady and the Wolf • Reviews

Interview • Stay Connected • Excerpt from Cassie Scot • Review

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Rose Wulf

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Interview • Stay Connected • Excerpt from Dirty • Review

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C. Lee McKenzie Interview • Stay Connected • Excerpt from Sudden Secrets • Review

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Elizabeth Rose

R.M. Gilmore Interview • Stay Connected • Excerpt from The Scene • Review

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Jessie Pinkham Interview • Stay Connected • Excerpt from His to Hold • Review

tents

Issue 25 | August 2018

upcomingconventions a convention near you and meet 08 Find your favorite authors.

shortstory

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featureauthor 69

Thomas S. Flowers

Excerpt from The Last Hellfighter

The Roman Samaritan JB Woods

sneakpeek

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FangFreakinTastic

Nancy Thorne

Nancy brings us a sneak peek at her new novel, Victorian Town.

promospecials 10 4 5 76 86 90 94 98

2018 Summer Spectacular Sale

Editor’s Desk Blog Roll Call Uncaged Reviews Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews Myra’s Horror Blog Reviews Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews Jen’s Reviews

Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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from the

editor’s desk Welcome to Issue 25, August 2018 - Uncaged Book Reviews! Our Feature Authors this month we welcome Christine Amsden, Rose Wulf, C. Lee McKenzie, Elizabeth Rose, R.M. Gilmore and Jessie Pinkham.

FangFreakinTastic is also bringing us a feature with author Thomas S. Flowers.

The Raven Awards finals voting will begin August 12 and run through August 18. The winners will be announced in the September issue of Uncaged Book Reviews. This year the voting has been very competitive and good luck to all the finalists!

There are 2 special promotional ad sales going on until at least September 30, 2018. With the Raven Awards, the issues and the website will be trafficheavy, so take advantage of these great sales. The website normally receives on average, 40K hits a month, and with the Raven Awards, we double that number. So we definitely gearing up for the heavy traffic. To be eligible, books reviewed by Uncaged between July 2017 - June 2018 and received a 4 Star review or better are eligible for the semi-finals. All books that qualify and are reviewed after June 2018 (including this issue) will be eligible for the 2019 season.

Uncaged Feature Authors are now full through November 2018! Most of the authors in this issue are attending authors at the Wild Deadwood Reads convention - Uncaged has been honored to be a sponsor!

The Featured Authors that are promoted in Uncaged, is a FREE service to authors. The only requirements being that Uncaged has read at least one of the author’s books, (can be read right before the feature) and that I ask that the authors share the magazine with their networks. Read about that HERE. Uncaged is supported through advertising, both in the magazine, and on the site. Please see the Advertising tab on the site for more information on how you can advertise in the magazine and support the Uncaged mission to promote authors.

All inquiries: UncagedBooks@gmail.com or Cyrene@UncagedBooks.com So thank you and enjoy the August 2018 issue of Uncaged Book Reviews!

We have plenty of reviews for you to look over from Uncaged, Fang-Freakin-Tastic, Myra’s Horror Blog, Amy’s Bookshelf and Jenn’s Reviews.

Thanks to all the affiliates for the wonderful devotion to reading.

Authors can now submit a Short Story, and in return, I’ll give space for either a full page ad, or a 1-page Sneak Peek of a book for an approved story. You can read more about that here.

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upcomingconventions Romance Genre Con August 3 & 4, Kansas City, Missouri Whether you are a passionate romance reader or an aspiring writer, you will just swoon when you see our lineup of authors and activities. https://www.mymcpl.

Indie Bookfest August 9 - 12, Orlando, Florida Indie Bookfest celebrates Indie, Hybrid, and Traditional Authors and Artists and their freedom of expression. Join some of your favorite Authors for a convention filled with workshops, panels, parties and more! You won’t want to miss the sessions throughout the day, where several panelists will be speaking on a variety of topics relevant to readers, book lovers, and writers. https://indiebookconvention.com/

All About the Indies August 18, Arlington, Virginia All About The Indies 2018 is a multi-author, multigenre event put together to connect readers and authors from all over the nation. http://allabouttheindies. wixsite.com/aai1 8| uncagedbooks.com |

Mississippi Book Festival August 18, State Capital, Mississippi The Mississippi Book Festival, a nonprofit founded by literacy advocates, launched in August 2015 on the State Capitol grounds and continues to draw thousands to its annual “literary lawn party” and book lovers’ celebration. 150+ authors and 40+ panels. http://msbookfestival.com/

Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors September 6-9, Winston-Salem, North Carolina The four-day festival takes place primarily along Spruce Street and inside the contemporary Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. http://visitwinstonsalem.com/special-events/view/bookmarks-festival-of-books-and-authors

Kerrytown Bookfest September 9, Ann Arbor, Michigan The Kerrytown BookFest is held each September and is a celebration of books, those who create them and those who read them. https://www.kerrytownbookfest.org/

Brooklyn Book Festival September 10-17, Brooklyn, NY The Brooklyn Book Festival is one of America’s premier book festivals and the largest free literary event in New York City. Presenting an array of national and international literary stars and emerging authors. http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/

RomCon October 5-7, Richmond, Virginia Reader/Author Event http://www.romcon.com/

Boston Book Festival October 13, Cambridge, MA The Boston Book Festival celebrates the power of words to stimulate, agitate, unite, delight, and inspire by holding year-round events culminating in an annual, free Festival that promotes a culture of reading and ideas and enhances the vibrancy of our city. https://bostonbookfest.org/

Twin Cities Book Festival October 13, St. Paul, Minnesota The single-day TCBF will feature hundreds of exhibitors, dozens of presenting authors from near and far, special children’s programming and endless curiosities for all ages, all in a massive celebration of our vibrant Minnesota literary culture. http://www.raintaxi.com/twin-cities-book-festival/

Yallfest November 9, Charleston, South Carolina YALLFest 2017 kicks off on Friday afternoon with YALLCrawl featuring favorite authors greeting fans and signing books. Stock up at Blue Bicycle Books (420 King Street), then go meet your favorite authors at various venues around town. Signings are first-come, first-serve. If lines form early, wristbands may be used to help with line and crowd control.

Schedule of signings will be announced closer to the festival. http://www.yallfest.org/schedule/

Miami Book Fair November 11-18, Miami, Florida The Fair will open Sunday, November 11 with the popular Evenings With… series, featuring six nights of readings and discussions with noted authors from the United States and around the world. https://www.miamibookfair.com/about/ Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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Summer Spectacular Sale Purchase any Full-size ad two months in a row, get the third month FREE! Purchase any Half-page ad two months in a row, get the third month FREE!

Purchase any ad valued at $40 or more, get a FREE full-size standard ad the following month

Uncaged can design your ad at no extra cost!

This sale will run in tandem with the website footer ad promotion. Every full-sized ad purchased, will also receive a rotating ad on the website footer! With the Raven Awards voting starting in July and August, the website is gearing up for very heavy traffic!

This sale will run through September 30, 2018

feature authors

paranormal | young adult

Christine Amsden

Rose Wulf

C. Lee McKenzie

feature author Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember.

She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories.

Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children, Drake and Celeste.

Stay Connected

Uncaged welcomes Christine Amsden Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about the Cassie Scot series? With 7 books in this world, are you still planning on more?

Cassie Scot began as the only “normal” member of a magical family, desperate to find a place for herself.

I was inspired by the wave of strong female heroines with tremendous superpowers, but I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to show that there is more than one way to be a hero, and that even those of us who don’t have (or more likely, don’t think we have) special skills can make a difference.

There were only going to be 4. The original quartet, in my opinion, tells a complete story. Then Cassie’s two best friends took on a life of their own each demanded a book of her own. As for book 7, it begins with the line: Apparently, life doesn’t end when you get married.

Cassie kept on talking to me, even after I “finished” writing her story, and basically, I let her talk. I do have two more books planned after this one, a second trilogy that will all tie together. That should be it, but I said the same thing after book 4 so no promises!

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

I have a lot on my plate right now, all in various stages of completion.

christineamsden.com 12 | UncagedBooks.com

1. Metamorphosis is the story of a woman who finds

herself pregnant despite not having done anything to get herself that way. I’m calling the genre alien fantasy (urban fantasy with aliens). The tone and the style should remind readers a lot of Cassie Scot, even though the situation and challenges are different. The story is set in a completely new world, and will being a new series. It’s FINISHED but is sitting in limbo while I decide how to publish it.

2. Playing God is, on a very, very superficial level, an Anastasia retelling, but in reality it’s a layered story that is hard to pin down in terms of genre. (I’m sure my publicists will help me do that when the time comes!)

Relationships and family dynamics play a huge role in this book, which will appeal to a lot of Cassie Scot fans, but the tone is darker and more serious. This book is drafted but still needs significant revision. I am hoping to have something editable by the end of 2018.

This, too, will begin a series.

3. Forgotten Magic is book 8 in the Cassie Scot series.

I have a complete rough draft, but it needs revision. I am also hoping to have this finished by the end of 2018.

This is likely to be my next published book.

4. The Seer’s Fate is a novella set in the Cassie Scot universe. It’s a short romance between Adam Scot (Cassie’s younger brother) and a young seer. It’s almost done, and it stands alone.

Uncaged: Can you tell people more about what Speculative fiction is? What inspires you to write?

To me, speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. It’s fun, imaginative, and magical, but at the core of every great

story is a great character. And for me, real life has sometimes been challenging to write about. Every once in a while I consider telling the story of some defining moment in my life – what it was like to watch the world fade from sharp details to colorful blurs, for instance. (I’m legally blind.) I can’t seem to tell the story of a girl with limited vision in a visual world, but I can, for instance, tell the story of a girl with no magic in a magical world.

Uncaged: Are you nervous, scared or excited (or all three) when you release a new book?

All three, definitely! To tell you the truth, I’m useless during the month of a book release. When I’m thinking ahead, I try to clear my schedule of any creative work, leaving only business and marketing tasks. When those first reviews come in, my heart is somewhere in the region of my stomach and for a minute I’m sure – despite all evidence to the contrary – that this is it. This is the one that’s going to bomb. Everyone’s going to hate it. And then… wow! With Frozen, the first reviews universally claimed that it was my best book yet and suddenly I’m in the clouds. That’s right. I knew it all along. I wasn’t scared. :) Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I read the good reviews. Basically, anything with a four of five-star rating is fair game. Three stars… depends on my mood. Luckily, I don’t get many bad reviews, but I did learn early on that it doesn’t help to read a bad review. These are usually people who didn’t connect with the material, and Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | that’s going to happen.

week. I’m currently a blue belt (low intermediate).

That connection is what I’m looking for when I read reviews. Writing is, ultimately, a communication art, and communication goes both ways.

I learn a lot from reading reviews because in the end, every book exists in three separate modes: The story in my head, the story on the page, and the story in your (the reader’s) head. The story can look surprisingly different in each of the modes, so seeing that feedback from the reader helps me rediscover the story in a whole new light.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

My favorite place on Earth is wherever my family is.

I had a fan tell me once that Cassie Scot helped her get through Chemo treatments. Enough said!

Despite this, I am an author and an editor. By increasing the font size of a manuscript, I am capable of doing both developmental editing and copyediting. I prefer developmental editing, but mostly because it’s more fun.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

I love the writing itself most of all, especially on those days when I lose myself to a scene. Not all days are like that, but I take a lot of satisfaction from conquering those challenging scenes too.

I love hearing from fans, whether by e-mail or Facebook or at a con. On those days when I start wondering what it’s all for, reader feedback reminds me that I’ve touched people’s lives.

Marketing is often frustrating for me. I’m not naturally good at it, and sometimes I feel like it’s taking away from what I really want to do, which is write! I have recently hired a new publicity team that I believe will help shoulder some of the burden and leave me to do what I do best.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

I take daily walks and do yoga (almost) every day to keep my emotionally grounded and physically fit.

I love playing games, especially of the board or role-playing variety. I currently own nearly 200 board games.

I recently began practicing martial arts with my family, so you’ll find me at the dojo three times a 14 | UncagedBooks.com

Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?

I developed Stargardt Disease around the age of sixteen. Sometimes also called Juvenile Macular Degeneration, this gradually causes a loss of central vision and a corresponding visual acuity of somewhere between 20/200 and 20/400 (legally blind). Since it does not impact peripheral vision, it does not cause total blindness. Still, everything’s blurry and I’m drafting this in 36-point font.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

Thank you. First, for giving me a chance. I know that picking up a new, untried author is a risk. Second, for telling your friends about me, because it’s always easier to give a new author a chance if someone you know says you should.

Enjoy an excerpt from Cassie Scot Cassie Scot Christine Amsden New Adult/Paranormal/Fantasy She was born into magic, but she has none of her own…

Cassie Scot is the normal daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. She strives to find a place for herself, but living in the shadow of her family’s reputation isn’t easy. All she wants is a nice, normal job, but her dreams of independence from magic are threatened when she stumbles upon the gruesome body of

| CHRISTINE AMSDEN | sixteen-year-old Nancy Hastings.

Cassie is plunged into a paranormal investigation which gets her tangled up with the victim’s powerful family, the Blackwoods. Dark, dangerous, and handsome Evan Blackwood tempts Cassie deeper into a world she seeks to escape. Yet Evan – and magic itself – may not be ready to let her go.

Excerpt My parents think the longer the name, the more powerful the sorcerer, so they named me Cassandra Morgan Ursula Margaret Scot. You can call me Cassie.

I’ve been called a lot of things in my life: normal, ordinary, and even a disappointment. After the Harry Potter books came out, a couple of people called me a squib. Since I haven’t read them, I have to assume it’s a compliment.

Personally, I prefer normal, which is why the sign on my office door reads: Cassie Scot, Normal Detective.

You have to understand that around here, when your last name is Scot, people are easily confused. Not only are my parents powerful practitioners, but I have six talented brothers and sisters. Plus, my family hasn’t always been known for its subtlety. When weird stuff happens around here, the people who are willing to believe in magic are prone to suspect the Scots.

The day I opened for business I got a call from an old woman who swore her cat was possessed by the devil.

She also swore she’d read my web site, which clearly stated the types of work I did and did not do. Exorcisms were on the No list, and while I hadn’t specified pet exorcisms, I would have thought it was implicit.

After that auspicious beginning, things went downhill. It seemed people weren’t entirely convinced an associates’ degree and six months as a deputy with the local sheriff’s department was quite enough to fly solo. I did receive three calls from people asking me to cast spells to look for lost items, two from people in search of love potions, and two from a pair of neighbors who each wanted me to curse the other. I thought I’d hit bottom, when a ten-year-old boy wandered into my office one afternoon and asked me to help him summon Cthulhu.

It was a near thing, but I managed to rein in my sarcasm long enough to explain the difference between the real world and horror worlds created by early 20th century authors. He seemed more or less convinced until my brother, Nicolas, came in and started juggling fireballs. Kind of walked all over my point there. He’s a terrible showoff; thinks it helps him with women. For some reason, it does.

Sheriff David Adams, my old boss, stopped by once every couple of weeks to “check in on me” and offer me my old job back, but I always turned him down. It’s not that I disliked working for him.

In fact, he was a great boss and a good person, albeit in a little over his head. Eagle Rock, Missouri and the surrounding areas have more than their fair share of strange and unexplained cases. I would even say that I took the job hoping to use my better-than-average knowledge of the paranormal to help protect the innocent, but in the end, those cases only served to remind me that despite my magical connections, I, too, was in over my head.

So I quit. I got my private license, rented an office, and installed a frosted-glass door like in the old movies, then I furnished it with the sort of busted up furniture that costs an arm and a leg to make look just right. The old wooden filing cabinets behind the desk and the office chairs in front came from estate sales, but I finished the desk myself.

It was a beautiful piece of lacquered mahogany before my hammer and screwdriver got through with it. I did that just after the cat exorcism call. It was rather therapeutic.

By the door stood an old wooden hat and coat rack, while a nearby table held a coffee maker, compliments of my father. I don’t actually drink coffee, but Dad told me to have some for my customers, so I brewed a pot every morning while I waited for my tea to steep.

It was June seventh, a Monday. I’d spent six months in that office, going in to work at eight o’clock, breaking for lunch at noon, then going home at five. That day started like all the others.

I updated my Facebook page to say that I was at Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | work and feeling happy, though that last was a lie. I checked a few of my favorite blogs, posted a couple of comments that I’m sure were witty and insightful (though I suspect no one read them), and twittered that I’d just posted the comments to the blogs. After that, I picked up my kindle and buried myself in some mystery novel I’d already solved by page thirty seven.

When the door opened, I was sure it would be Sheriff Adams, in for his bi-weekly chat. As the months wore on with no sign of a client, it was becoming harder to politely turn him away. In recent weeks, my replies had become more blunt, bordering on rude. I’d really hoped he wouldn’t come around that day, on my half year anniversary, but just in case he did, I had come up with a story about a statewide convention I was sure would help me find work. The convention part was true–the certainty less so.

All I can say is, it was a good thing my parents were rich.

I lowered my kindle and raised my eyes to the door. The words, “Hi, Sheriff,” started to spill from my mouth when I realized it wasn’t the sheriff at all. It was Frank Lloyd, from Lloyd and Lyons, a man I knew more by name and reputation than anything else. My boyfriend had a summer internship with his firm, and a good friend of mine worked there as a receptionist. Lloyd and Lyons specialized in family law, especially divorces, and the gist of the reputation was that if your marriage was over, you’d better get to Frank Lloyd before your soon-to-be-ex did.

He looked impressive. His head nearly touched the top of the door frame, while his broad shoulders aimed for the sides. He wore an expensive dark gray suit that had been tailored to fit his athletic frame. His face was long and handsome, featuring deep, dark eyes and a wide, curving mouth that formed into a friendly smile. It was the sort of face that commanded trust.

Lightning flashed outside, brightening the room for the space of a few seconds, and I couldn’t help but smile. All the best stories started in a thunderstorm, didn’t they? I had no idea what the 16 | UncagedBooks.com

day would bring, but one thing was for certain–Frank Lloyd was not there to ask me to exorcise his cat.

He laid a long, black umbrella carefully against the wall near my coat rack, and strode confidently inside.

“Hello, Ms. Scot.”

“Cassie, please.” I wound my way out from behind my desk and offered him my hand. He took it, his grip firm and self-assured.

“Cassie, I’m Frank Lloyd.” He released my hand but held my gaze as if he could take the measure of me by looking through them to my soul. Some practitioners can do that, actually, but I’ve never met one.

“Yes, I know.” I did not lower my eyes. Something told me that would be a sign of weakness. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a small job for you, if you have the time.”

It was very diplomatic of him to say it like that, since I’m sure he knew I had plenty of time.

“What’s the job?”

“Serving a subpoena,” Ok, so it wasn’t sexy, but it was a job, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with magic–or so I thought. In any case, at that precise moment, I couldn’t have been more excited if he’d dropped some line out of a movie about someone trying to kill him.

“I can do that,” I said in a calm, measured tone. “Who am I serving?”

Frank broke eye contact and stepped around me to the desk, where he laid his black briefcase down and opened it. On top of a large sheaf of papers lay a plain white envelope with the name, “Belinda Hewitt” written on it in a long, slanted handwriting.

Hewitt was another name that many people in town associated with magic, though few were diplomatic where the Hewitts were concerned. Even my mom called them witches, and she normally wouldn’t call a woman a sorceress. (She thinks it’s sexist.)

Belinda was a gifted herbalist and an expert potion maker. A gift is, well, it’s a special power tied to the soul in such a way that it can be performed almost without thought, and it has a strong influence over the bearer’s personality. Most sorcerers possess a gift, as well some seemingly ordinary people, though in the latter case you can usually find magic in their family tree. Belinda’s gift was growing things, but to say she

| CHRISTINE AMSDEN | had a green thumb would be like saying a diva could sing. Belinda could grow things, anything, anywhere, and under conditions that would starve farmers out of business.

She sold a lot of her plants and herbs to local practitioners, though my parents refused to buy from her because of the other thing she liked to do–brew potions, especially love potions. At any given time, she would have two or three men under the influence of powerful love potions that made them hopelessly devoted to her. She would play with them for a few months or a few years, depending upon how interesting they were, and then cast them aside. She’d torn families apart.

It was mind magic. My dad liked to say that magic itself is never black; only the uses to which it is put, but mind magic is already tinted a deep, dark gray.

As far as I knew, though, Belinda had never been married, so I wasn’t sure what Frank Lloyd would want with her.

“Belinda Hewitt?” I raised an eyebrow at Frank in question.

“My firm is filing a class action lawsuit against her on behalf of a number of men who feel her love potions have caused them irreparable harm.”

“Gutsy move.” I approved. I whole-heartedly approved, but going head to head against a practitioner could be dangerous, to say the least. For the most part, they did what they wanted to do and suffered no interference, not from other practitioners and certainly not from the law.

I wasn’t entirely sure what Belinda would do to me if I showed up on her doorstep with a subpoena. Probably, nothing, since she’d have to answer to my parents for anything she did to me. That may even have been why Frank chose me, but I wasn’t too proud to take advantage of my connections when it suited me, as long as the job itself was normal.

“Belinda is going to curse you for this,” I said as I took the envelope from Frank.

He just smiled. “I appreciate your concern, but it’s about time the sorcerers living in our community learn they are not above the law.”

What a beautiful sentiment. I used to think that way, back when I’d first dreamed of becoming a cop. Fat

chance, though. The sorcerers in our community owned this town, whatever most of the regular folks thought. Everyone else was tolerated, and that included me.

For a minute, I wondered if I should try to talk him out of it. As much as I loved the idea of putting an evil witch in her place, Belinda wasn’t someone to mess with. That either meant he didn’t believe in magic, didn’t understand it, or he had an ace up his sleeve.

I lifted my eyes to his and saw the confident, calculating expression there. He was still sizing me up, and in that moment I took the measure of him as well. He wasn’t insanely successful because he walked into anything blindly.

“You have an ace,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

Frank just smiled.

“I’ll run this over to Belinda’s this morning,” I said. “I’ll give you a call when it’s done.”

Frank reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “If this works out, we may have some more work for you.”

I took the card from him, letting a genuine smile touch my lips. Lightning struck again and thunder rumbled. “Thank you.”

He packed up his briefcase and left without another word.

Uncaged Review This book starts a tad slow, but it’s well written and interesting all the way through. Cassie is from a magic family, but she doesn’t have any of her own, a magical “dud” if you will. But with her above average knowledge of the paranormal world, she opens her own detective agency, even though she doesn’t get much work. Cassie is under the protection of her family, so she’s relatively safe from magic users.

When she gets a job serving a subpoena to a woman who uses love potions on men, the suspense begins, especially when a different woman is found dead at the scene. And when her old Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | childhood friend turned bad-boy powerful sorcerer, Evan shows up – the book starts to pick up speed. Evan’s powerful reputation and the feud between the two families heats up this book well.

Even though Cassie has a boyfriend, you don’t meet him until you are into mid book. There isn’t any way to really bond with him.

When Cassie and Evan decide to work together on a case, Cassie will need to use everything at her disposal to take down a rogue vampire. I wanted the Cassie/Evan romance to move forward more than it did, but it seems like it’s one of those series that is going to keep the reader hanging for a bit longer.

I enjoyed this story, and will definitely be picking up the next in the series. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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NancyThorne

Victorian Town

sneakpeek

Victorian Town

I brought up a hand and covered his mouth. “It’s okay.”

Abby Parker planned out her whole life: complete her final year of high school, go to college, get a job, move away from her insane family, stay best friends with Jessica.

We walked down the hill without saying another word. A lot of activity was happening on Main Street: coaches lined the front of the Royal Hotel as travelers zipped in and out of the main entrance; horse carts delivered goods in dashes of haste; store merchants hurried beyond their open doors; street sellers sold goods out of baskets; helpers swept the boardwalk; ladies could be seen purchasing last minute necessities behind the windows of each shop.

Nancy Thorne Historical Romance

But, that was before she broke into the nearby tourist attraction and unwittingly answered a call from a centuries-old spirit who dragged her into the 19th century.

Now she must solve a Victorian mystery without getting herself killed, or worse, spend a lifetime trapped in the past, leaving behind everyone she loves and altering their lives forever.

When she meets gorgeous Benjamin, the future looks a lot like wreckage.

Excerpt The moment he leaned in, I closed my eyes. His lips, soft and full, touched mine with the modest pressure of an indecisive act. A warm energy coursed through my body, but the strangest thing was that everything felt unbelievably familiar, like it had all been rehearsed before that moment. I held onto this profound feeling, not wanting it to leave, until Ben removed his lips from mine.

Even with the whistled melodies from a pair of cardinals outside the church’s entrance, the following silence felt awkward. It persisted, and I assumed Ben was already regretting kissing me.

“Miss Abigail−” 20 | UncagedBooks.com

Ben accompanied me up the stairs of Town Hall’s entrance and stopped on the landing before we reached the front door. I peered through the window. Martha arranged long-stemmed flowers in a vase on a table at the side of the ballroom. A young man placed a candelabra on a table and then another on top of a piano. Ben had already started back to the street when I turned. He waved. I waved back. Still a chance he’ll change his mind.

The gloves were easier to remove now that one was missing its button. I placed them, and the button, on the ledge of the window and took off the ring.

Jess was still sitting on my bed when the haze cleared, but her tapping fingers had moved from her chin, which now rested on her knuckles. It was obvious it had taken longer for me to return this time. It made sense to me right then that the ring held within it a finite amount of energy with which to transport me to the past and back home, like a battery depleting its energy with each use. And, I had no idea how to recharge it.

www.nancythorne.com

feature author

Reader’s Choice Award Winning author Rose Wulf is a giant romance fangirl. Hot, protective, and occasionally barbaric heroes and spitfire heroines are her favorites.

Rose has been writing for as long as she can remember and has no intentions on stopping anytime soon! The bonds between characters have always captivated her, and as an author those are Rose’s favorite things to play with – not always to the relief of her fictional babies!

Behind the scenes Rose is a quiet personality. She enjoys spending her non-writing time with her German Shepherd, Shadow, her mom, and her friends. Be it a fun game of Cards Against Humanity or a relaxing movie night, Rose believes everything is better with company. As for her own romance, she’s still searching for her hero (and hoping that, when she does find him, he’ll be willing to cook).

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Uncaged welcomes Rose Wulf Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about your Elemental series?

The Elemental series is sort of like my baby. I originally dreamt it up something like twelve or thirteen years ago – of course, it looked a lot different then! – and I’ve worked really hard to get it where it is today! Before publishing the Elemental series, as you see it now, with the wonderful Evernight Publishing, it was available through another publisher (now defunct, and whom I won’t mention by name). That experience was very insightful. Ultimately, I am incredibly grateful I’ve had the opportunity to revise these books and re-publish them. I’m so proud of the end result. I’ll even tell you a secret. Dirty, my most recent release, was actually my least favorite of the originally published set. I was just never truly satisfied with it. Because of that, it received the heaviest revision of the series thus far, and I have to say, I am THRILLED with the result! So I hope my readers are, too!

As for more on the content of the series, I worked very hard with the Elemental series to pace it out so that not everything is revealed in the beginning. It’s not until book 2 (Blown) that the main characters even learn exactly who they’re up against! But I also wanted to leave little nuggets of clues along the way for the readers, so

it was entirely possible for them to have figured it out before-hand. Dirty is the third, and essentially middle, book of the series – there will be five in total. One book for each brother, and then a final book for their sister, Angela. Now that the readers know more about the antagonists’ identities, and some motivations, it’s time to learn about their histories. I also might reveal some other histories more connected to the protagonists and the overall elemental world, as well. But you’ll have to stay tuned to see how that all unravels!

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

The next Elemental book I’ll be working on is Dean’s book. I very much love Dean’s book, and I think my readers will, too! But before I get that out to my publisher, I’m first working on the third installment of my Dark Light series. The Dark Light series is set in a world heavily entwined in the conflict between demons and angels. In fact, Dark Light 2 (Sparks of Blue) was my first award-winning novel! Dark Light 3, which I’m calling ‘Burning Midnight’ right now, stars Gwen Manning – who was a prominent character in Dark Light 2, so readers will quickly recognize her. Her hero will also be familiar, but I’m not going to spoil that surprise! The premise of the book directly follows her storyline from the previous, but will be recapped well enough to keep any new readers from feeling terribly lost if this is their

jumping-on point. And for those who did read Sparks of Blue – it turns out, surviving the curse was only the beginning of Gwen’s story!

Uncaged: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

I’ve received a few pieces of helpful advice over the years. Most of us have heard some variation of ‘don’t write for the market,’ and I do agree with that, but I always fall back on a quote I don’t even know the origin of. “Write the story you want to read.” It’s pretty simple, isn’t it? Haven’t we all really wanted to read a certain kind of story – maybe with specific characters, or in a specific type of setting, etc – and just never found something that quite satisfied that desire? That’s what you should write. Every time. Because for as much as you want to garner a big, enthusiastic audience, the first person who has to enjoy your work is you. So write for yourself. Make it something you’re willing to revisit, not as the author, but as a reader. And, yeah, practice makes perfect, so write a lot. Then write some more. Then write until your eyes blur and your fingers hurt (okay, not literally), because the more you write the better your writing becomes. Your readers will see it.

You’ll see it. Then that story you wanted to read, that you wrote, will become something a grateIssue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | ful reader can’t put down – and that’s what we all want.

Uncaged: Are you nervous, scared or excited (or all three) when you release a new book?

I’m excited! Most of my nerves kick in when I hit ‘send’ on a new submission, and the fear hits when I get that first round of edits in my inbox.

But by the time the book is polished, tucked behind shiny cover art, and ready to go? I’m excited. I’ve worked hard on that book. I want the world to love it. I want it to do well. What if this is the one that puts my name out there? You never really know, after all!

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

Of course I read my reviews! At least the ones I find, when I find them. Reviews are an interesting thing. For starters, they’re great! Even if the content is depressing, just knowing that there’s a new review out there (they’re so hard to come by) is nice on its own. But sometimes they kind of leave an author baffled. I haven’t had the experience of a truly negative review (and I’m not complaining!), so it might be easier for me to say they’re mainly good than for others. Still, at the end of the day, someone took the time to review my book and I’m appreciative of that. But I sincerely hope they liked it, too!

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

Oh wow. Honestly, I’m incredibly humbled and flattered with every compliment my books – or I – receive! But if I really had to pick a single nicest thing pertaining to my books, it actually wouldn’t be something that was said in words. The truth is that, like so many others, I suffer from more than fair share of insecurities. And who doesn’t wonder if there are really that many people reading their books? So in 2016, when one of my personal 24 | UncagedBooks.com

favorite books of mine won Best in Category for that year’s Reader’s Choice Awards, I was amazed.

And so touched. That was proof that people – actual strangers – read my books. Not only read, but like! I became an award-winning author and I immediately felt so good about myself and my product. It was beyond words. So in a way, all of those readers who voted said to me “we love what you’ve given us,” and I cried tears of joy.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

My favorite part about being an author? That would have to be the ‘being a professional writer’ part. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, since I was a little girl, and while I certainly can’t afford to quit my dayjob right now, just being able to do what I’ve dreamt of doing is wonderful.

As for my least favorite … that’s trickier! Sort of.

But I think the answer is promo. I am horrible at promo. I’ve never been good at ‘selling myself,’ I always feel like I’m just nagging people, and it makes me self-conscious. So I end up making maybe a grand total of five posts about every new book and crossing my fingers that I did enough.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

When I’m not writing, I’m a big TV and movie watcher. I get a lot of my inspiration from media – sometimes just from a line of dialogue, or a passing visual, but whatever it is, it’s unpredictable. Plus, it’s a great escape. I can let the show do my thinking and just relax!

One of my favorite places on Earth is Old Station, California. It’s a small mountain town where I go for vacation every year. Formally, it’s known for its fishing, hunting, and camping. (And I do love camping.)

For me, though, it’s just so relaxing. I typically get a

| ROSE WULF | lot of writing done there, but sometimes instead it’s where I get my best reading done! It’s great for peace of mind – and soul. Also, there’s a local diner (JJ’s Café) with some of my favorite food and even better people. If you’re ever in the area, go there!

She’d have to think fast if she wanted to keep Logan from doing the heroically stupid thing and pulling away.

Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?

Clarabelle blinked up at the broad-shouldered man before her. She was as surprised to see him standing on her doorstep as she was to see him standing there with a box of pizza and a bouquet of colorful flowers. The overall sight had sufficiently tangled the frustrated lecture she’d planned to greet him with the next time she saw him. “Logan…?”

It wasn’t like he’d called first. Or answered her call from that morning. Or even said a word to her at all before leaving his family’s home the day before, apparently in a hurry to catch up on missed work. He’d been obviously avoiding her, and frankly, it hurt. He’d never treated her so rudely before.

But he’d never shown up at her door, unannounced, with pizza and flowers either.

Logan cleared his throat, possibly the most self-conscious sound she’d ever heard him make, and said, “I, uh, I owe you an apology. A big one.

And I thought maybe you’d take it better with pizza.”

Her lips twitched. She couldn’t help it.

“Pizza’s a start,” she relented, stepping aside and holding the door open for him. “Come in.” She waited for him to pass, telling herself it was the pizza or the flowers she was drawing a quick, deep breath of, and not the man carrying the items, before shutting the door and moving toward her kitchen. “Plates are in the cupboard to the right of the fridge,” she offered. “I’ll take the flowers.”

“Clare,” Logan said as she arranged the flowers so that each color spread out as evenly as possible. “I’m sorry.”

Clare paused, keeping her gaze on the flowers, and swallowed. “Thank you,” she said.

She wasn’t sure what about her learning his family secret had upset him, or if it was just that she’d stayed to wait, or if it was something else entirely.

She still wanted to know. But she didn’t want to

Very unique? Gee, no pressure! Well, I’m a not-socloset anime fan with a leaning toward adventure and romance stories. I probably never will stop fangirling, since I don’t intend to try! I’m also a long-time comic book/superhero fan. Yes, I have a favorite. Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing. (I recommend Google Images if you don’t know who he is!)

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

To my fans, I would like to say a sincere thank you.

Your continued readership is invaluable. I hope you continue to enjoy my work! I have many more ideas to keep you entertained for quite a while!

Enjoy an excerpt from Dirty Dirty Rose Wulf New Adult/Fantasy Clarabelle Buchannon never imagined the secret Logan Hawke and his family kept. But no amazing secret would change how she felt.

The real problem wasn’t that the man she wanted controlled the earth – it was that he was as stubborn as a rock. And he had some lethal enemies who’d recently bumped him to the top of their hit-list. Now that she’d inadvertently foiled an attempt on Logan’s life it seemed Clare was in their sights, too

Excerpt

Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | push him either. It was his secret, after all. Still, he could’ve been a little more grown-up about this whole thing.

A warm presence settled beside her, drawing her out of her thoughts, and Clare glanced over to see Logan had moved in closer. Much closer.

She felt her heart skip a beat.

“Please understand,” he said, his voice quieter than usual. “The more you know, the more involved you get, the more likely it is you’ll be targeted. The Matthews’ aren’t rational. If they think there’s a chance they can get to one of us through someone else, they’ll take it.”

Clare swallowed and turned to properly face him, inadvertently putting herself inside his personal space. She looked up in order to maintain eye contact and said, “And you being rude before protects me from that somehow?”

Logan looked away, turning his head slightly, but otherwise remained as he was. “No,” he said, “it doesn’t. That was just me reacting poorly.” The muscle in his jaw twitched as if he were clenching it too hard.

Without really thinking about it, Clare reached up and curled her palm around his cheek, angled so as to press the flat part over that area of his jaw. His eyes widened and she felt her own cheeks flush as he looked immediately back to her, but it was too late. So she plowed ahead. “I appreciate your apology, and I accept it.” She paused, took a breath, and added deliberately, “It’s not your job to protect me, you know.”

Logan’s blue eyes flashed, darkening slightly, and the next thing Clare knew he’d backed her into the counter and covered her lips with his in a firm kiss. His hands, strong and hot, landed on her hips. He held her against him as she twisted her fingers in his shirt and kissed him back. After a moment his tongue swept inside, rolling along hers before moving to explore as he angled his head and deepened the kiss.

Clare moaned and adjusted her grip until she was digging her fingers into the muscles over his spine, her back partially arched into his chest.

She’d never been kissed this way before—as if she 26 | UncagedBooks.com

were some long-desired reward—and it was making her head spin. To say nothing of what each sensuous stroke of his tongue was doing to parts further south.

And the way his thumbs had begun rubbing circles over her hips while his fingers dug in just a little deeper… Clare could hardly feel guilty for her instinctive responses.

Logan’s chest rumbled as he leaned a bit more into her and the kiss broke, but he didn’t step away or release her. He trailed feather-light kisses up her jaw to her ear, and, breath still heavy, whispered, “I need you … to understand. Associating with me right now endangers you.”

Uncaged Review Previously released with the title Rock Steady, Dirty was reworked for it’s release with a new publisher.

The paranormal part or fantasy part of book are the elementals. The family of five siblings are born, with four sons and one daughter. The daughter is the healer, and also the one in the family that will bear the next generation of elementals. Each son has an element, fire, earth, water and air. This book centers on Logan, who controls Earth.

Logan has blamed himself for years for the deaths that were not his fault, so he keeps to himself and doesn’t allow anyone to get too close. Along comes Clarabelle – a woman he’s admired since high school, and who smashes through his walls.

I didn’t get real attached to Logan, maybe because he was too depressing most of the time, and angsty like a teenager. I really enjoyed his family almost more than him. But he and Clarabelle are a good match, and she’s strong enough and stubborn enough to persist. When a feud with another family reaches its peak, Clarabelle and her family will be in the crosshairs.

This is book 3 in the series, but it holds up well as a standalone, with plenty of suspense and action. I am really looking forward to reading more within the

series and the other elementals. Reviewed by Cyrene

2018 Promotion Special Purchase any ad valued at $20 and up in 2018 (starting with the February Issue of Uncaged Book Reviews) and receive a FREE rotating footer ad on the website the following month!

The rotating ad will be seen on all pages of the website, and not be subject to adblockers and remain onsite for 1 month!

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Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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feature author

I’m C. Lee McKenzie. I love to write for young readers, and I write both young adult and middle grade fiction. Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative, and Sudden Secrets are my four YAs. My middle grade adventure/fantasy series is now a trilogy: Alligators Overhead, The Great Time Lock Disaster, and Some Very Messy Medieval Magic. I also have a stand alone MG fantasy called Sign of the Green Dragon. Italia Gandolfo represents me.

I’m very fortunate to have some great five star reviews from readers and reviewers. And I’m really pleased that I’m learning this business. Promotion has been my biggest challenge. I’ve had to learn how to schedule, so I can still write and do the promotion I need to do for my other books.

It’s a full-time job.

When I’m not writing I’m practicing yoga, doing sun salutations in my garden (AKA weeding) or scratching my head over how all of this writing stuff started. I’m still not sure, but the ride has been exhilarating and so much different than I’d expected.

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cleemckenziebooks.com

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Uncaged welcomes C. Lee McKenzie Uncaged: You write in the Young Adult and younger genres. What inspires you to write for the younger generations?

Like others, I find it fun and interesting to go back and be young again. I wouldn’t want to “really” do that, but being able to capture a time when I could climb trees and skin my knee and lick from a spoon coated with cake batter is a treasure. That first kiss and the rush of any first time is so exciting. I get to experience all of that when I write stories about middle graders and young adults.

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

I have two books with an agent at the moment. One is about justice, or maybe injustice. I’m always keen on people getting a fair shake. The second is about a senseless killing that alters many lives.

I’m currently working on something I said I’d never write—a young adult fantasy. So how did that happen?

Who knows? But I’m always curious about why people

treat those who are different from them so badly, and so this story popped into my head and stuck. It will be about being shunned because of fear and superstition and being different. I’m at 43K at the moment.

Uncaged: Are you nervous, scared or excited (or all three) when you release a new book?

I used to be all three. Now, I’m just excited. I know more about this business after having published eight books, but I love launching a new one. Here’s what runs through my mind: Will anyone like it? Will I get rotten reviews? Here’s my answer: Who cares? I loved the process, and whatever happens will be how it is.

Just release the story and enjoy the experience, Lee. That’s what I tell myself.

I think the best thing that people tell me is that they want to read more stories about my characters. I thought writing a middle grade trilogy was enough, but some readers have asked for a fourth book. I’ll have to think about that. And, while I write with a younger reader in mind, I find my fan base is an older group. I didn’t expect that either.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

This is a great question because it’s easy for me to answer. I love telling myself stories. That’s the best part. The least favorite is sitting. I have the darnedest time gluing my pants to the chair. I’m an outdoor person, so I often find I have to take a hike with a pad of paper and a pencil just to keep writing.

I read them when I need to “steal” their language and use them for my promo. Some reviewers are darned good writers. :-)

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

Wow! The first question is easy. The second not so much. When I’m not writing, I’m hiking or practicIssue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | ing yoga. As I said above, I’m an outdoor person, so I take to the trail whenever I have a chance.

And to from getting down or stressed, I practice yoga.

Now about that favorite place…I have so many: Istanbul (I have friends there and have visited several times), South of France (It’s like northern California with an accent. Love it. Oh and it has castles, which I adore—they are in some of my books), where I live is also a favorite place. I’m on the edge of a redwood forest and when I look out my window all I see are trees. I’m not a citydweller, so this is a perfect place for me.

Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?

I’m not sure I’m unique in any way. I’d like to be, but I’m pretty much a standard issue person.

One thing people often remark on is that I don’t eat sweets. Does that count as unique? I’ve never liked candy much. I’ll eat dates and peaches, but cake and cookies are far down on the list of things I enjoy. My family suffered because of this and often resorted to bringing their own desserts home. They knew I would totally forget to have any.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

If there are people who enjoys reading what I write, “Thank you.” There’s nothing more rewarding for writers (including me) than readers who “get” them.

Enjoy an excerpt from Sudden Secrets

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Sudden Secrets C. Lee McKenzie Young Adult One Secret Cleo has struggled to heal after her baby sister’s death, but the flashbacks to the accident won’t go away. With the move, she vows to keep her tragedy a secret and avoid pitying looks.

One Mystery Something’s strange about the abandoned house across the street—flashes of light late at night and small flickers of movement that only someone looking for them would see. Everyone says the house is deserted, but Cleo is sure it isn’t, and she’s sure whoever is inside is watching her.

Another Secret In one night, Belleza’s life changes forever. So famous, her only choice is to hide her secret from the world so she can silence small town bigotry.

Then Cleo happens.

Excerpt

I was glad my window looked onto the street and faced south, so I didn’t get morning light, but lots of afternoon sun. Still, I wasn’t crazy about it looking directly into the house across from us. Every time I glanced outside, I remembered back to a few months ago when we first came here, and I was sure I saw movement inside that second-story window. Thinking about that sent goosebumps trickling down my arms, but all I saw now was an empty derelict, sagging into the ground.

The first morning in my new room I stayed in bed, thinking that by the following week I’d be getting up early and walking to school—a new school, where

nobody knew anything about Cleopatra Brown. It wouldn’t be like at my old school, where everybody stared at me after the accident, even when they tried not to. I wouldn’t have to shut myself away like I did at Buena Vista High. I could be a normal junior.

“It will take time to heal, Cleo,” the counselor kept saying. “Leaving your old house will help, but it’s up to you to move on, to let go of the past.”

“Move on,” I said. “I’m trying.” Only, it was hard to move on. It was like I’d be leaving Aziza behind. I wanted her with me, with us, again. I wanted Dad with me, with us. I wanted— “Mail!” Mom called from downstairs. “Dad’s sent us a letter. Come down.”

I threw off the covers, grabbed my robe and pounded down the steps. This was the first news outside of short emails from Dad since he left, and I couldn’t wait to hear what he’d written.

Mom waved the letter and sat at the dining room table as I hurried in. Her face was lively and flushed. I could almost hear her heart beating, rapid fire, inside her chest.

Grandpa was already there, reading the morning paper. His thick glasses rested at the end of his nose, and he peered over the rims at me as I pulled out the chair across from him.

“It’s late.”

Grandpa believed in rising early. When I was five and he told me, “It’s the early bird that gets the worm,” I turned up my nose with an “Eww!” We didn’t agree on when to get out of bed, any more than we agreed about Clyde. At least that morning, Grandpa didn’t have his pet. Mom had set some rules: Clyde stayed in his cage until after breakfast. Clyde was never to come to the table.

“Things sound like they’re going well,” Mom said. “Listen.” She began to read: “‘Here I am up to my ears in Afghani sand and potatoes. Yes, I said potatoes. My colleague, Dr. Hamidi, has hit upon a brilliant idea for recruiting the farmers to our side. We’ve arranged to buy potato crops, providing the farmers will store the artifacts they’ve unearthed. I’m hearing everything through an interpreter, but the farmers seem happy, and so does my colleague. Now these valuable finds will have shelter until we can build a museum to house them. There’s so much to do here

| C. LEE MCKENZIE | if we’re going save these irreplaceable pieces of history, and our progress is painfully slow. Please take good care of each other. Don’t let Clyde eat Nefertiti, okay, Pops? All my love, Derek, AKA, Dad, AKA, your son.’”

I loved that Dad’s spark of humor came through in this letter. It was the first time he’d sounded like himself in such a long while. Maybe he’d answer one of my emails now. The last time I tried to contact him, he only wrote, “I miss you” –– he never answered my question about when he planned to come home.

Mom swiped her eyes. Grandpa used both hands on the table to push himself to his feet. He didn’t shuffle like many men at seventy-five, but his gait was stiff for the first few steps. Like he said, he needed to idle a bit before his motor warmed up.

Sometimes he still made me laugh. “Walk,” he said and he pulled on his coat, set his beret so it dipped over one eye and left through the front door.

“He’s worried about your dad,” Mom said.

Her voice was heavy with worry, too. I hated how what had been a happy moment shifted into another sad one. My eyes teared up, so I hurried into the kitchen and, at the sink, splashed water on my face.

It had been a terrible and very long journey from that tragic Christmas to now, and I couldn’t think about losing another one of us. We’d each done all we could to live without Aziza.

Dad went as far away as possible from where the accident happened. Mom sold our house and moved us to a new town. Still, we weren’t over that December day.

Mom buried herself in her work for long hours.

Grandpa pulled into himself, wearing that glazed look he’d adopted before the funeral.

I was almost sure he’d wear that look for the rest of his life. He loved Aziza. And what wasn’t there to love? Beautiful golden girl, my mom called her, forever poking her four-year-old nose around the corner daring any of us to chase her. Teasing, begging for attention, which we gave Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | because we couldn’t resist her.

Grandpa loved my sister a lot. I was afraid he loved me very little now.

I wasn’t so fond of myself, either. I shut out all of my Buena Vista friends and started running alone.

From the window over the kitchen sink I watched Nefertiti as she sat on the step, preening in a sunny spot around the back of the house. I went out to sit with her, stroking her fur and surveying the weedy backyard that Mom hadn’t had time to think about. She kept saying she planned to hire a gardener, but there was always something that derailed that plan. In September, it was the new show at the museum that she had to set up by October. She was in charge of staging the Egyptian pieces coming on loan, but she was shorthanded and putting in extra time to make up for only having two assistants. It was going to be a while before the toilet and other debris disappeared.

It was all too depressing to look at, so I walked around to the front and for a minute glanced at the windows of the house across the street. I almost expected to see someone staring out at me. I couldn’t shake the creeped out feeling I got every time I looked at that place.

I knelt to check my laces, and then I was racing down the street, hoping to shed old fears, old thoughts . . . at least for a while. I was at the end of the block, deciding which way to turn, when I spotted Grandpa. I went in the opposite direction, so neither one of us had to pretend that everything was all right since that letter from Dad.

The high school was only four blocks away––one of the reasons, Mom said, she chose this location. It also had one of the best academic ratings in the valley. Another reason she told me she zeroed in on our cozy cul-de-sac.

When I reached the school, I stared up at the two-storied building where I’d spend my last two years of high school. Then what? Junior college, or a job at K-Mart? I worried that I’d bomb on my SAT’s. I’d bombed on almost everything, hadn’t I? My grades, my friends––being a sister.

I walked up the stone path, leading to the main 34 | UncagedBooks.com

doors, imagining that first day here, my stomach balling up with worry just on the edge of dread. That first day was going to be the worst.

Off to my right, a thick oak sheltered tables with benches, so I jogged across the lawn and sat on the wooden slats and thought about how it was going to be when school started. Everything new. Everything different. The stares all newbies get. Nobody would know who I was or why I was here. They wouldn’t know my mom was famous for her books on Egypt, or that my dad was an archeologist—the one people called when they dug up important ancient anything in the Middle East. But they’d know something was different about me the minute they heard my name.

Cleopatra wasn’t on any baby name list they’d ever read. Neither was Aziza, but she was too little for her name to embarrass her. She’d only just learned what it meant. Precious. And she was that. She was.

Uncaged Review A very well written young adult that throws in a bit of a mystery. Cleo’s family has been torn apart by an accident that killed Cleo’s baby sister. Her mother buries herself in work, her father has been in Afghanistan as an archaeologist, and no one knows if or when he’s coming home, and Cleo’s Grandpa barely communicates. When Cleo’s mom moves them to a new town, in a new home, Cleo starts at a new school. She’s lucky though, she makes a few new friends and things seem to be looking up. But the crumbling house across the street that is supposed to be abandoned since the fifties, Cleo has seen lights flicker in the windows, and a van that pulls up every single week.

I like the author gave us great characters to latch onto, Ethan, the handsome jock with his own skeletons and his girlfriend Stacy, who turns out to be the bestie everyone wants, and of course Rudy. Maybe not the most handsome boy in school, but perfect for Cleo.

You’ll have to read the book, but the last 20% of the

| C. LEE MCKENZIE | book, really made this one. I have to admit, it was a bit slow going in the beginning, but the ending pulled a higher rating out of me. Will Cleo’s family ever pick up the pieces? Will the mysteries of the house across the street ever be discovered? The ending was a bit abrupt and it could have been pulled out a little more, but overall, this is an entertaining read and worth the time. Reviewed by Cyrene

Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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Short story

The Roman Samaritan

by JB Woods

| SHORT STORY |

The Roman Samaritan

by JB Woods Through the dust thrown up by tramping feet on the baked mud road emerged a detachment of Roman infantry of the elite Lanceari¹ of the Xth, ‘Fretensis’ Legion. Camp followers and store wagons covered in the thin white powder straggled along behind like an army of ghosts.

Their progress was watched by a shepherd with an injured animal slung across his shoulders herding his sheep and goats. What thoughts he had of these invaders of his country were hidden behind the immobile mask of a face burnt black by the sun.

At the head of the column rode Paulus Tiberius, recently promoted to Primus Pilus² for his daring leadership at the siege and desecration of Jerusalem.

His was the task of carrying the news of the victory to Rome, by none other than Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian. It was 70AD, the time of the Jewish, Diaspora.³ The column came over a rise and the soldiers breathed a collective sigh of relief to see their onward journey was downhill. The white band of the road snaked away into the distance to the port of Ceaserea which was hidden by the blue grey heat haze. The plain of Samaria below them where all the major conflicts of the Holy land had been fought shimmered in the glare of the sun.

As they approached a brown stone village Paulus raised his hand to halt the column by an olive grove that would offer shade for his soldiers.

He called forward another mounted soldier. ‘Centurion, disperse the men amongst the trees. We will stop here tonight. Have the women go to the village well and restock the water.’

He called for his servant. ‘Sergio!’

Close by a voice with a hint of whimsy, answered. ‘Yes, Master?’

Why did he bother? Whenever they stopped his servant appeared as if by magic.

Paulus reached up to remove his helmet and his fingers tingled when they came into contact with the hot metal. He eased it off, to reveal a ruggedly handsome man with close cropped black hair, dark brown eyes, and an aquiline nose. A scar ran diagonally from the centre of his forehead across his right eye, down his cheek and continued down to his shoulder and arm, a memoir of a close encounter with a Frankish warrior in an earlier campaign. It gave him an aggressive appearance contrary to his personality.

‘Sergio, some water before I have you flogged.’

He took the proffered goatskin and a cloth to wipe away the sweat that ran down the side of his head tracing two rivers in the dust that caked him in a beige mask. He tilted his head and took a deep swallow from the skin.

When he lowered it something caught his eye. A movement in a rocky outcrop at the top of a nearby hillock, a mere flash, or was it his imagination?

Curiosity got the better of him. ‘Sergio, prepare a meal. I am going to the top of that rise to look around.’

‘You go alone, sire?’

‘Yes.’ ‘Take care, there may be Sicari.’ Sergio spat out the name given to the marauding Jewish zealots.

‘I heed your warning, but I have no fear of the dagger men. I will take the goatskin, my throat is like a desert.’

He pulled his horse’s head around, gave her a dig in the ribs and set off at a gentle cantor through the white narcissus that grew at the side of the road and into the swathes of anemones which covered the hillside in a blood red mantle.

An excellent horseman he guided her with precision

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| JB WOODS | around rocks and boulders until he was some fifty metres from the summit.

Dismounting, he threw the reigns over her head and stood quietly for a minute or so watching and listening. He decided that he must have imagined whatever it was that caught his eye, but taking heed of his servant’s warning, he took a second sword from his saddle roll and slung it over his shoulder the hilt sticking up between his shoulders. With his regulation sword and a short stabbing sword hanging from his belt he felt quite secure.

‘It’s about time someone invented something lighter than these things,’ he grumbled to himself.

He took a long draught from the goatskin and hung it from the saddle before stealthily climbing the short distance to the summit. He rounded a huge parched rock and put a hand out to steady himself, quickly withdrawing it with a curse. The heat of the sun had made it white hot.

‘What a god-forsaken country this is. It’s only late spring and already it burns like a baker’s oven.’

He crashed to his knees on some loose shingle, thankful for the protection of his metal shin guards. Muttering, he turned over to a sitting position and surveyed the scenery around him.

To his right, through the haze, he could barely make out the town of Samaria some five miles distant. To his left, in the direction from which they had come, the road and the town of Shechem where the column had stayed the previous night were lost amongst the mountains and valleys of inner Palestine.

‘Help!’

Paulus grabbed for his sword. The cry had been so quiet and rasping he was not sure he had heard it. Was it the wind playing tricks?

him.

Paulus scrambled up with his sword at the ready and made his way cautiously around the rock, apprehensive as to what he would find. Stealth was impossible.

His feet scrabbled for a grip on the loose shards. His foot slipped and he threw out his left hand to steady himself.

Instinct made him withdraw his hand immediately as he felt the scales of a blunt nosed viper coiling to strike. He slashed down with his sword and watched in amazement at the thrashing headless body.

Paulus became aware of the same rasping, pleading voice.

‘Water, please.’

Throwing caution to the wind, he sheathed his sword so that he could use both hands to pull himself the last few yards around the rock. What confronted him in a small hollow under the boulder was not a brigand, but a boy of about fifteen in obvious distress.

Burnt red, his lips bleached and cracked and the once white toga stained by the dust of the roads his defiance shone through the brightest of blue eyes.

Paulus jumped down into the hiding place. The lad cowered away held up an arm to ward off this fearsome looking Roman.

Raising his right hand, palm outwards, Paulus spoke to the lad in Greek, the common language of the Mediterranean. ‘Have no fear, I mean you no harm.

Wait while I fetch water from my horse.’

He turned away and scrambled out of the hollow to return a few minutes later with the goatskin. ‘Here, drink your fill, slowly now.’

‘Help! Help me.’

The boy grabbed the goatskin and drank deeply, gulping the water down.

There it was again, louder this time. There was no mistaking it, someone had used their last strength to hail

Paulus snatched the skin. ‘I said, slowly, do you want to die of the cramps?’ He gave it back. ‘Now steady.’

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| SHORT STORY | He waited for the boy to drink his fill. ‘Now tell me who you are, and how you got into such a mess?’

Now that the dust of Palestine had been cleared from his throat the youth said hesitantly. ‘My name is, Iasonos, sire. I am a refugee from Jerusalem where I was a servant who escaped to Pella with my master and the Gentiles before the siege. I took a chance to flee from my bondage and ran for the coast to search for a boat to Cyprus.’

tion of Christianity. Stay there, I will speak with them and have you cared for.’

‘Why Cyprus,’ Paulus queried.

‘It is my homeland, sire. I long to look once more upon Mount Olympus,’ and feeling a little daring in the face of his inquisitor, ‘What do you yearn for?’

‘Return to the camp and fetch two of the women. Beyond that rock is an injured boy. Tend him and bring him down. He has water, but will need sustenance. He is badly burned by the sun. Cut some Aloe to sooth his sores. Hurry!’

Paulus hesitated, nonplussed, ‘Err, the red roses my mother nurtures in the garden of our villa outside Rome.’ He screwed his face up and shook his head and once more asserted his authority. ‘Enough of this, are you a Gentile?’

The search party turned about and Paulus followed them electing to walk instead of riding.

— Several hours later Paulus called for his servant. ‘Sergio, how fares the lad?’

The boy drew back, afraid of the vengeance carried out by the Roman army against their enemies.

‘He is responding well to the ministrations of the women who have adopted him, sire. He walks very weakly, but a good nights rest should restore him. His burns will take a little longer.’

‘Easy,’ Paulus spoke gently trying to allay the lad’s fear, ‘I have no quarrel with the Gentiles. I have some belief in your God and his Kingdom in Heaven, although I am not wholly convinced. Answer the question.’

‘Yes, sire. I am a Gentile.’ Feeling braver he continued, ‘You would be right to believe, he is a true God, not an idol. The Master showed us the way.’

‘How would you know that? He died thirty seven years ago.’

‘It is in his teachings, sire,’ replied Iasonos, ‘handed down by his Apostles. My father heard the preaching of Paul, who was Saul. That is when he converted to Christianity.’

‘Paul, aye. Now there was a troublesome man. Hush, I hear someone coming. They look for me. From now on you use your Roman name of Jason and no men40 | UncagedBooks.com

Paulus climbed out of the hiding place and went to meet the search party led by his servant.

‘Sergio!’ Paulus called out when they were still a short distance away.

‘Yes, sire.’

‘Good, bring him here.’

Five minutes later Jason was brought to him and he noticed that he was of medium height with a good physique.

‘Jason?’

‘Yes, sire.’

‘You will accompany us, but you will have to work when you are able.’ He turned to his servant. ‘Sergio, he will be your assistant and my sword carrier. Give him three sesterce a day and find him some better rags to wear. Now leave me in peace.’

A little over a week later when the boat entered Paphos harbour, Paulus called Jason to him and spoke to him in a low voice. ‘Yonder is your home, lad. I will not take it amiss if I am minus a servant on our departure. Take one

| JB WOODS | of my swords for your protection and here is a letter with my seal should anyone stop you. You will be safer here than Rome this day.’

‘I don’t know what to say, sire.’

‘Say nothing. Your endless twittering drives me to distraction. Be gone, and take great care.’

‘Thank you, sire, and may you seek the way of the Lord.

You have the compassion of a true believer and looked upon me as did the Samaritan in his teachings. I will always look upon you as a friend and not a Master.’

Paulus gave him a gentle cuff around the ear. ‘Go!’ — ¹Lanceari – Light Infantry ²Primus Pilus – Senior Centurion ³ Diaspora – Dispersion of Jews

The End

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Author’s Amazon Page

feature authors

historical | occult suspense | scifi erotica

Elizabeth Rose

R.M. Gilmore

Jessie Pinkham

feature author Elizabeth is the author of over 70 books. She writes medieval, paranormal, small town contemporary and western romance. With a background in art, she uses her talent to create her own bookcovers. She has been writing for over twenty years.

Elizabeth is a resident of the suburbs of Chicago but a country girl at heart.

She loves gardening and anything paranormal.

She is known for writing series and also for empowering women in her novels.

Stay Connected

Please welcome Elizabeth Rose Uncaged: You write in several genres, do you have a favorite to write in? Can you tell us a bit about your work?

Yes, I write medieval, paranormal, contemporary and western. I even have started a Young Adult Series. My medieval books usually have a big plot and I like to feature and empower strong women, such as in my Seasons of Fortitude Series and my new Series, Secrets of the Heart.

I also have a twelve-book small town contemporary series about the 12 Taylor brothers who are sons of a preacher but far from saints. Matter of fact, they are nothing but trouble! My Tarnished Saints Series is inspired by things in my life, growing up visiting my grandparents on the lake in Michigan.

Newsletter elizabethrosenovels.com

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Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

Well, Seductive Secrets – Book 2 in my Secrets of the Heart Series is now on preorder and will be released on Sept. 26th. This is Willow’s story. She is the daughter of Rook from Ruthless Knight. The Secrets of the Heart Series features the daughters of the triplets from my

Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series.

I also happen to have a new contemporary novella on preorder called Finally Home that will be released on Aug. 22nd. This is a book I started writing many years ago. I came across it in a drawer and decided to finally finish it. Smile.

Another book releasing on Sept. 11th is called Scottish Rose and is part of a multi-author boxed set, Rogues to Lovers. Each of the books are new stories that center around the legend of the blue rose. When the rare blue rose blooms, enemies turn to lovers. This book is about the secondary character, Coira, the heroine’s sister, from my book Aidan, part of my MadMan MacKeefe Series.

And one more that will be out as a new book and part of a Christmas boxed set with other authors is my novella Silent Knight. This story is about the baby form my book Summer who was a stillborn. Or so we think. Alex (Peter – but he doesn’t know it) has been stolen and raised by someone else. He has a disability with a twisted leg from birth. This book, after the set is no longer out will be part of my Second in Command Series that gives secondary characters from any of my series their own story so they, too, can have a happily ever after.

Uncaged: On your website, some of your characters have given you some of their favorite recipes. Have you tried them all?

The recipes on my site can all be found as recipes cooked and eaten by my characters – mainly in the Tarnished Saints Series. Yes, I have tried them all because I invented them all. They are meant to be simple and fast recipes for those who don’t like to cook or don’t have time to do it. I think it is a fun idea to read about what my characters are eating and then be able to make it as well. And of course the recipes are named after the characters who make the dish.

Uncaged: Are you nervous, scared or excited (or all three) when you release a new book?

I have published 70 books and have four more right now either on preorder or finished and getting ready to go up for sale. After that many I don’t get scared or nervous anymore. However, it is always exciting to have finished a book and be able to share it with my readers.

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | When I first started all this I would read every review. Now I have so many from so many different books, I don’t have time for that. One of the hardest parts about being an author is getting a not so great review, and it happens to everyone.

Not everything I write is going to be liked by everyone. Just starting out, I would get devastated if I received a bad review and it would shake my confidence and make me never want to write again. Reviewers sometimes can get a lot nastier than they need to be. No one but another author knows how much work goes into writing and publishing a book. We put our heart and soul into them. A bad review is hard sometimes not to take personally because it is like someone calling one of our babies ugly. That said, I have learned a lot from reading reviews and try to take them to heart to make each and every one of my books better.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

I think the nicest thing is when they say it helps them in some way. Lots of people have terrible hardships in their lives and if reading one of my books lets them escape those hardships just for a while and brings some joy and happiness into their lives, then I am grateful and honored that my books can do this for them. I also love it when they say my stories make them laugh and cry. To evoke emotion from readers in one way or another is always the goal of an author. I like to put a little humor in my books because life is too short not to laugh. There is a lot of humor in my Tarnished Saints Series. And of course the crying part – hopefully those are tears of joy at the end. I often cry my eyes out while writing the end of my books. When that happens, I know it is a good book. I just cried – a good, happy cry – at the end of Silent Knight. I guarantee you all will cry when you read it. To have a lost child come back to life would make anyone cry.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about 46 | UncagedBooks.com

being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

Let’s start with least favorite. I HATE doing edits.

Anything tedious and monotonous is not for me. I wish I could just write the first draft, hand it over to someone, and say here, fix it up and publish it. But it doesn’t work that way. I write, rewrite, put it through my editing program, send it to my editor, then to my proofreader, then to my review team, and then read it yet another time before it is ever published.

As for the favorite part, I love meeting new readers either at conferences, booksignings, or mainly through facebook. It is a thrill to have fans from all over the world and be able to converse with them. Back in the olden days when I got my first book published almost 20 years ago, it wasn’t like that at all. Another favorite part is being able to have control of my books since I am now independently published. I have a degree in art and love, love, love making my own covers. Every little thing you see on the cover can and will be in the book. I make my covers first and write the book around it.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

Is there a time I am not writing? I don’t think so. But I do like to garden, go to movies, and just sit and enjoy nature. I like quiet places. One of the most exciting places I’ve been is to Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas in Peru. My husband and I took a trip there and to the jungle right after we were married. The culture of Peru is what inspired my very first book, Eden’s Garden that is no longer in print. My heroine was Peruvian. I also took my inspiration from Peru and put it into my contemporary jungle novel, Curse of the Condor and also my book Praising Pete – Book 7 of my Tarnished Saints Series.

Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?

I believe in mind over matter and I also like anything

metaphysical or paranormal. Years ago my husband and I attended a fire walk. We walked with bare feet over hot coals three times, as well as broke boards with our bare hands. Is that unique enough?

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I thank each and every one of my readers for their undying support. Without them, I would not be able to do something I lover for a living. Fans can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Bookbub. They can read excerpts and find out more about my books on my website. I also invite them to join my Readers’ Group and to sign up for my newsletter.

Thank you, this has been fun!

Enjoy an excerpt from Highland Secrets Highland Secrets Elizabeth Rose Historical Highlands/Ancient Secrets run rampant in the Highlands and Lady Fia Douglas is the keeper of them all.

Excerpt Fia looked over her shoulder for the tenth time, watching for Highlanders to jump out of the bushes. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen or heard any. However, she did see several dead Scots and also some dead English soldiers on her way to the secret garden.

Knowing Lord Beaufort would be scouting the woods as soon as the sun rose, she hurried, wanting to check on Imanie and get back before the men found her in the forest all alone.

As she approached the gate to the secret garden, something sparkled from the ground, catching her eye.

| ELIZABETH ROSE | “My bracelet!” she said excitedly, jumping off the horse to see Willow’s brass button reflecting in the early morning sun. She scooped up the bracelet, bringing it to her lips for a quick kiss. This had to be a good sign. Everything was going to be all right. “Imanie,” she called out excitedly as she approached the gate. But the smile disappeared quickly from her face when she realized the gate was open and there was a bloody handprint upon it.

Holding the reins of her horse, she slipped the bracelet into her pocket and ventured forward.

Was Imanie hurt? Seeing a bloody handprint could only mean one of two things. Either Imanie was injured, or possibly the blood came from someone else.

The handprint looked larger than a woman’s hand.

Her head told her to turn around and run, but her heart wouldn’t let her leave until she knew Imanie was safe.

Cautiously and carefully, she entered the garden, ready to jump on her horse and ride away at the first sign of danger. She hadn’t gone more than a few steps into the secret garden when she saw the red and brown plaid of a Highlander on Imanie’s porch. She froze, wondering what a Highlander was doing inside the secret garden.

The man was down on his knees. When he got up, she saw Imanie lying on the ground, and she wasn’t moving.

“Nay!” she shouted, not wanting to believe her mentor was dead. But by the look of fear in the old woman’s open eyes, it told Fia that the Highlander had killed her. She started to mount her horse, but the man’s words made her stop.

“Fia, wait! I need yer help,” he called out.

With one foot in the stirrup, she looked up slowly, wondering how this rugged Highlander knew her name. From across the garden, she recognized his long, dark hair and his stance. His voice was familiar, too. Aye, she knew him. It was the chieftain of the clan of Highlanders she’d met in the woods three years ago. He was the man who stopped his men from killing her. It was because of him she was still alive today.

“Fia, come here. Please,” he called out, collapsIssue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | ing atop a wooden bench on the porch. His head fell back, and she noticed the look of pain on his face. Then she saw the blood on his clothes and the way he held his hand against his side. He was wounded!

“I dinna trust ye,” she called out. “Ye killed my friend.”

“What?” He lifted his head and looked at her from across the garden. There was a slight pause before he answered. “I canna hear a word ye say. Come closer.”

She’d learned from Imanie that when someone pauses before they answer, they are usually lying. She thought about turning and riding away, but she couldn’t leave Imanie. What if she wasn’t dead but only injured? Fia had to find out. She needed to help her.

Whether the Highlander was lying or not, Fia had to take the risk. Imanie would do the same for her.

The woman had risked her life that day in the forest when she took on the entire clan of Highlanders with just a bow and arrows to try to save Fia’s life. Fia owed it to her to do the same in return.

Tying the reins of her horse to a tree branch, she slowly walked toward the cottage, keeping her eye on the mysterious man.

“Why are ye here?” she asked, making her way closer to Imanie.

“It doesna matter,” he mumbled. “I am sorry about yer friend, but I had nothin’ to do with it.”

Fia dropped to her knees, checking Imanie for any sign of life but couldn’t find a one. Imanie was dead! Tears filled her eyes. She brushed them away with the back of her hand. Taking a closer look, she saw blood on Imanie, but it didn’t seem to be from her. The woman’s body was not cut or stabbed. The blood was on Imanie’s clothes as well as bloody fingermarks around her neck.

“Ye killed her!” Startled and shocked by her discovery, Fia jumped to her feet.

“I dinna kill her, lass.” The Scot got up off the bench. When he took a step toward her, she backed away. His body towered over her and his silver eyes bored into her, holding her in place.

“I was wounded by the English and came here 48 | UncagedBooks.com

lookin’ for help. The old woman was goin’ to sew up my wound, but before she could, she dropped dead at my feet.”

“How do ye expect me to believe that?” she spat. “I see yer bluidy fingerprints around her neck. Ye strangled her, didna ye?”

“Blethers, ye are a silly lass.” He gripped his side again and let out a low moan. “Why would I kill the only person who could help me? Look at this, if ye dinna believe me.”

He removed his hand from his wound, causing her to gasp when she saw the amount of blood leaking from his side.

“Y-ye’re hurt,” she stammered.

“I told ye that. Now help me by sewin’ up my wound, and I will help ye by buryin’ yer friend.”

“I dinna ken,” she said, still being very suspicious.

“Mayhap ye have half yer clan hidin’ inside the hut.”

“Och, ye try my patience.” He swiped his free hand through the air in a dismissing nature. “If I had anyone at all inside the cottage dinna ye think I’d have them sewin’ up my side instead of me standin’ here bleedin’ to death while I argue with ye?”

“I suppose ye’re right,” she said, looking down at Imanie, feeling her heart break. She should never have left her here alone yesterday. “What happened to her?”

“I dinna ken. She clutched her chest and fell like a rock. It was all so sudden.”

“It must have been her heart.”

“Could be.”

“Will ye really help me bury her body?”

“I promise,” said the Highlander.

“All right,” she agreed, bending down and using her hand to close Imanie’s eyes. She leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I am sorry I wasna here to help ye when ye needed me,” she whispered to the woman. Then she stepped around Imanie and made her way to the door of the hut. “The needle and thread are in her sewin’ kit in the house. It will be better if ye come inside while I sew ye up.”

He followed her into the cottage and collapsed atop Imanie’s bed with a loud thump.

Fia filled a basin with water and found some old rags, bringing them over to the bed along with a needle and

| ELIZABETH ROSE | thread.

“Have ye ever done this before, lassie?” he asked as she threaded the needle.

“Nay,” she admitted. “But I ken how to stitch, and I have tended to the wounded in other ways before.”

“Then let’s get this over with,” he grumbled, removing his weapon belt and lying it on the bed. With his eyes fastened to her, he reached behind his back and drew his sword. Her heart about stopped until she saw him toss it on the bed and heard his next words. “Help me off with my tunic.”

“What?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to help the man undress.

“Well, did ye think ye could sew me up right through my clothes?”

“Of course no’,” she said, feeling foolish. She put down the needle and thread and reached over to help him remove his tunic.

“Alastair,” he said once his chest was bare.

“Pardon me?”

“My name is Alastair MacPherson.” He feigned a half-smile. “I thought if I was goin’ to be half-naked and on a bed with a bonnie lassie and all alone, ye should at least ken my name.”

“Oh. Yes, I ken yer name. I remember it from the day ye saved me in the woods three years ago.” She cleaned his wound while she spoke.

“One guid turn deserves another, right?”

“Somethin’ like that.” Fia inspected his wound, pushing the needle through his skin.

He bit back a curse and closed his eyes while she sewed him up. “What is this place and why are ye even here alone?”

“It’s a secret garden,” she told him. “My cousins, sister, and I would sneak out of the castle to meet here with Imanie.”

“What for?”

She looked up, pulling the thread as she did so. She had started feeling comfortable around him and had already told him too much. She had to be careful.

“Never mind. I shouldna have even told ye that.” She put her head down and continued to sew. “What happened to ye?”

“I was stabbed with a sword,” he told her, sounding as if he thought she was daft even to have to ask.

“I can see that. It looks as if ye were lucky since the wound is mainly in the skin. The man wasna a guid aim. Why didna the person who wounded ye, also run ye through again to make sure ye were dead?”

Her statement must have sounded cold and cruel to him because he made a face before he answered.

“I suppose it was because he was too interested in stealin’ my horse.”

“Then ye have no way to get back to yer clan?”

“Half my clan has left without me by my orders, and the other half is either dead or have been taken prisoner by the English.”

“Aye, I ken. Lord Beaufort brought the prisoners to the castle before sunup. There was one who was claimin’ to be chieftain.”

“Dinna tell me,” he said, gritting his teeth and inspecting the job she did on his wound. “I am sure it was Brohain. Ye remember – the one who wanted to kill ye.”

“Yes, he’s the one.”

“Help me wrap this wound, and I will make guid on my promise and bury yer friend.”

“Ye are weak and need to rest,” she told him, tearing a bed sheet and wrapping up his wound. “I will cover up Imanie with a blanket and be back with my cousins and my sister. We will bury her.”

“Nay,” he said, starting to get off the bed. He moved too fast and grimaced. Then he shook his head and sat back down. “Dinna bring any Sassenachs here. I will bury her myself.”

“All right,” she agreed so that he would stop fighting her. She had to get help and wouldn’t be able to do it if he was keeping such a close eye on her.

“I will dig the hole. Please, lay back and close yer eyes. I will tell ye when the hole is ready and ye can help me move her body.”

“Nay, I am the man. I will do it.” He reached out and gripped her wrist, causing her to struggle.

“Stop that,” he commanded.

She panicked and fought him, raising her knee and hitting him right in his wound.

“Bid the devil!” he cried, letting loose of her hand and using both hands to hold his side. His eyes closed while he leaned back against the wall.

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | Through the open door, the sunlight streamed into the room. It was already daybreak. Fia had to get back to the castle quickly. If she didn’t, Lord Beaufort would be sending out a search party for her. She couldn’t take the chance they’d find the secret garden or Imanie. She also didn’t want them to find Alastair because they would most likely kill him if they did.

Scooping up the blanket from the bed, Fia hurried out to the porch without bothering to close the door.

“I will be back, Imanie,” she whispered, covering her mentor with a blanket. She wasn’t sure what to do. Imanie was dead, and there was no evidence that the Highlander hadn’t killed her. She needed to get help and back to the castle quickly.

“I will miss ye, my guid friend,” she said, kissing Imanie on the head for the last time. Then, getting to her feet, she ran for her horse.

Uncaged Review The first book in a new series and it starts the series off very well. This book really moves along well after the events in the blurb. Alastair is finding it hard to ignore his growing feelings for his captive. But when he discovers her heritage, she becomes the pawn that will free his father from a rival clan. But he’s finding it harder and harder to let Fia go.

Fia, struggles with the idea that the Scots and English are going to war, and uses her training as a member of the Followers of the Secret Heart to try to save lives. But lying to Alastair is starting to eat away at her as her feelings for him grow.

A nice original storyline, that brings tension, secrets, lies, betrayal and love. An entertaining read from cover to cover. And the reader will fall in love with Cerberus. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Enjoy an excerpt from Lady and the Wolf Lady and the Wolf Elizabeth Rose Historical Fantasy

Red Riding Hood.

A lady with a crossbow and a knight who is cursed and shapeshifts into a wolf meet in the forest in a tangled tale of adventure, love, and intrigue.

Lady and the Wolf is a twisted, tangled, romantic retelling of Excerpt

Danger lurked in the forests of Dartmoor, and it went by the name of Lord Hugh de Bar. Lady Winifred Chaserton of Tavistock made her way on horseback through the woods, sure she heard the soft pitter-patter of animal paws trailing behind her. The night was dark and the forest foreboding.

Branches reached out like the bony fingers of a harpy, trying to snag the cloak she wore – her grandfather’s cloak. She’d taken it from his chamber, wearing it as a disguise should she be noticed as she left the protection of Castle Chaserton’s walls.

Without a torch to guide her way, Winifred kept to the rough path. She did not need a light, because she knew this trail by heart.

It was a cool, autumn evening and the trees had started to turn to shades of blood red, amber yellow, and fire orange in the past few weeks. The winds lately had loosened many of the leaves, and they’d been dropping to the ground faster than enemies at the hand of her warlord grandfather, Earl Roland Chaserton.

The horse’s hooves crunched the dried leaves, and the sound of crickets filled the air as she bravely forged forward without an escort. No one knew of her whereabouts except one guard back at the castle who had sworn to keep her secret.

With her crossbow slung over her shoulder and a

| ELIZABETH ROSE | quiver of bolts at her side, Winifred felt well protected from any evil that might be lurking behind the trees. Or following her.

With a mission to fulfill, she wouldn’t stop until she found her answers.

Slowing her horse, she glanced over her shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the animal that was following her. The night sky was occasionally lit by moonbeams spilling out from behind the passing clouds. The long cloak she wore fell over the sides of her white horse.

It billowed out around her as she kicked her heels into the sides of her horse and rode hard through the forest. The damp night air felt heavy all around her. The breeze bit at her flesh. But its sting was naught compared to the teeth of the bloodthirsty wolf lying in wait somewhere in the shadows.

Rumor had it, Lord Hugh de Bar of Babeny was a wolf in disguise. He was said to be able to shift from the form of a human to that of a wolf at will. While in his animal form, he was naught more than a bloodthirsty killer looking for innocent young maidens to stalk. Or eat. She’d heard many stories of the infamous knight from traveling scribes. Each time the stories were told, the tale grew in enormous proportions.

None of it mattered because she refused to believe in such nonsense. She surmised these were only tales of terror devised by her grandfather to keep poachers out of his forest – and to keep her inside the castle walls.

Even if this man sounded darker than a midnight sky, she had nothing to fear. Her crossbow could take down a wolf from quite a distance.

A snap of a twig from behind her told her that her assumption was correct. She was being followed. The light of the full moon broke through the clouds and lit the path, enabling her to see the way to her destination just up ahead.

It was a place she passed by every day with her grandfather’s men when they entered the forest to hunt.

And every day, Sir Bradley disappeared somewhere with a basket of food in his hands. Then he’d return – with the basket empty. She needed to find out where he went each day and why he’d lied to her when she’d asked him about it. There was something he was hiding, and she had a feeling her grandfather was behind

it all.

Her grandfather, Roland Chaserton, Earl of Tavistock, was as ornery as the day was long. He was a brave warrior, but it seemed as if something about these woods had him spooked lately. It had been almost a year now since he’d set foot in the forest.

If he knew she was making this trip in the middle of the night and unescorted – he’d probably send her off to a convent just to keep her locked away.

That’s why she’d waited until after her grandfather was well in his cups and fast asleep before she ventured out.

In return for a kiss, the guard at the gate kept her secret. A small price to pay for the knowledge and discovery she’d gain from this little journey.

The horse came to a stop, and Winifred listened intently. A low growl from behind her had her grabbing for the crossbow at her side. It was a small, lady’s crossbow and much easier to load than a knight’s weapon that would take more muscles to use than she had in her entire body.

Her grandfather had his master craftsman construct it for her five years ago when she’d turned sixteen. She’d been trained by the knights to use it and could hunt just as well as any of her grandfather’s men.

With another growl and a snap of a twig, her horse became spooked and reared up, pawing the air with its hooves. She managed to stay mounted. Gripping her legs around the animal tightly, she regained control.

“We’re almost there,” she said to the horse in a calm voice. At the same time, she grabbed for a bolt from the quiver at her side. A shadow darted through the underbrush, sending a shiver up her spine.

It was a wolf! There was no denying that. Perhaps it was only a feeling, but something told her this was no ordinary wolf. Mayhap all the stories of Lord Hugh de Bar had filled her with fear after all. Because suddenly, she couldn’t get the silly notion out of her head that the dark lord of Babeny was stalking her.

The last traveling bard at the castle told her Lord de Bar – or Wolf as everyone called him, ate Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | young girls such as herself out of nothing more than boredom on a slow day of battle. He was rumored to have bloodlust in his veins and couldn’t sleep nights unless he killed a girl a day. She only hoped the story wasn’t true because she didn’t fancy dying anytime soon. Especially not before she could uncover her grandfather’s secret. *** The girl would be a tasty morsel in more ways than one. Lord Hugh de Bar craved her body more than any man had the right to. Then again, he wasn’t just any man. Right now, he was in wolf form.

He was also a knight and a lord, and one of the most feared men in all of England. Sadly enough, over the past year, everyone had forgotten the man he used to be and had started referring to him simply as Wolf.

The Earl of Tavistock was to thank for his wretched reputation. The earl – and his witch.

Wolf ran on all fours in his animal form, following the girl’s trail through the woods. She’d passed him, wearing a long, dark cloak. He’d hidden behind a bush so as not to alarm her, so he’d seen nothing more. However, his senses were sharp enough that he didn’t need to see her to follow her path. Through the darkness, he spied his companion wolf - his twin brother, Arnon, just up ahead. With a small nod, he gave Arnon the signal to track her.

Wolf’s bloodlust had grown stronger in the past year. His soul, as well as his senses, were now tied to his cursed wolf form. There was nothing he could do to control it. When the moon was full like it was tonight, everything within him felt intensified.

His hatred for the man responsible for all this, Earl Roland Chaserton, was growing immensely.

Each day for the past year, Wolf had imagined many ways to kill the earl. He knew the man’s scent perfectly. It was something he’d never forget, as it was embedded in his mind. The earl had tortured him as well as Arnon when he’d taken 52 | UncagedBooks.com

them as prisoners of war.

Tied, caged, poked, whipped, and left for dead, Wolf thought his life couldn’t get worse until they’d also been cursed by the earl’s witch. To the earl, a mere death in his dungeon wasn’t enough. The man wanted them to suffer as much as possible until they died.

He and Arnon would have perished in the dungeons of Tavistock if an anonymous person hadn’t helped them escape.

Yes, the earl’s scent was embedded in Wolf’s mind.

With it, came the bloodlust as well as pain every single damned day of his life.

The earl never came to the woods anymore, knowing Wolf would be waiting for him. Tonight was different. Wolf smelled the man’s unforgettable scent, and he was no longer patient for his vengeance. Tonight, he’d kill the bastard. Hopefully, with the earl’s death, Wolf’s curse would somehow be broken at the same time, as well as Arnon’s.

He ran after the girl, hoping the earl was with her.

But it didn’t take long to realize the girl was alone. A sudden sense of disappointment immersed him. The rage pounding in his temples slowed, but the anger still flowed through him like a hot poker in his veins.

The earl’s scent was strong tonight. Then, on the breeze, his senses picked up the scent of rosewater and honeysuckle as well. Damn! Now the girl had his lust growing as rapidly as his rage. Didn’t she know how dangerous it was for her to come here alone?

He could kill her in his wolf form or even take her in his man form, right here in the woods. No one would be the wiser. It would sate his lustful appetite. And though the knight in him told him it wasn’t a chivalric thought or deed, his animal instincts begged to differ.

His thoughts melded with those of his twin again as he searched the animal’s mind for a clear vision of his prey. Able to read Arnon’s thoughts, Wolf knew the girl they followed had long, red hair, a petite frame, yet a curvy enough body to tighten any man’s groin just thinking of her. He thanked Arnon silently in his thoughts for this tidbit of information.

But there was more, and he stilled his thoughts to listen. She rode a white horse with an expensive tooledleather saddle. Its trappings bore a knight’s crest of a chevron in the colors of red and gold. The upside

| ELIZABETH ROSE | down V had two swords in the gold partition at the top, while a Volant or flying charge of an eagle filled the bright red center.

Wolf’s heart leaped in his chest. This was the crest of the earl. There was no doubt this girl was somehow connected to him. She also carried a basket with something inside. Throwing back his head, he sniffed the air with his long, wet snout. Just a whiff told him she carried sweetmeats, mutton, and freshly baked bread along with some of the castle’s finest wine.

Food and drink of the nobles and a horse with trappings bearing the earl’s crest were all too tempting.

The scent of the cloak on the wind was so strong it was as if the earl were standing before him right now.

His senses reeled, threatening to consume him.

Wolf continued forward, melding Arnon’s thoughts with his own. They’d always been close and could read each other’s minds as well as feel each other’s pain. While Wolf was able to shapeshift, Arnon hadn’t been so lucky. His brother was trapped in the form of a wolf – a curse far worse than his own.

Close in around the front of the girl, he told his brother in his mind. I’ll come around the back. As he quickly approached, he stopped in his tracks, coming thru the foliage and seeing her clearly now in the bright moonlight. Her back was toward him, but he noticed that she reached for something. When she lifted the object his heart sank.

This girl – this beautiful girl, was sporting a lady’s crossbow! The only people who were allowed to hunt in these woods were the earl’s men. And the only woman he knew of who carried a crossbow was none other than the granddaughter of the wretched earl himself.

Wolf tried to send his brother a warning, but Arnon’s anger for the earl blocked his message. He felt Arnon’s anxiety as his own.

Wolf’s steed was tied up nearby where he’d left it while in his human form. It would be difficult to try to shift back at a time like this, and he’d have to fight the urge to stay in wolf form. A plain tunic and hose, as well as his sword, were tied to his steed. The question was - would he have enough time to pull this off before the girl tried to shoot him or Arnon?

He’d heard from his men she’d taken down quite a

few wolves in the past year on the nobles’ hunting trips. She knew how to handle a crossbow and had no qualms about killing a wolf.

He sat down on a bed of moss and closed his eyes, willing himself to shift. The change started, but he kept returning to his wolf form every time he lost his concentration.

With the sickening stretching of his bones, the air became even colder as his fur disappeared. Before he knew it, he was covered in sweat. His body shook like a leaf. It usually took a few minutes to regain composure and for his vision to clear after his shift. There was no time for that now.

Naked, he pushed to his feet and stood on wobbly legs – two legs – as his body had returned fully to that of a man.

“Lady Winifred,” he whispered her name on the breeze, forging forward to collect his clothes from his travel bag. He donned them quickly and mounted himself in the saddle, turning his horse and heading to where his senses led him – right to the girl.

He kept pace with her, hidden behind brush and trees, never letting on that he was there. All the while, he tried to reach Arnon with his mind to warn him, but his body and senses were dulled right after his shift. Wolf was the most vulnerable at times like this and felt more helpless than he’d ever felt in his life.

It was late and dark. She continued forward on horseback, riding through the woods faster than she should without a torch to light her way. This girl was so naïve not to be escorted by at least one or two of her grandfather’s guards. And she was so stupid to wear a cloak drenched in the earl’s undeniable scent around wolves that wanted the man dead.

He raced forward on his horse, feeling the wind in his long, black hair. At the same time, he felt the wind against Arnon’s face, too. Wolf had little restraint right now, but his brother – being an animal and nothing more - had none. Arnon would kill the girl if someone didn’t stop him. Rushing forward, Wolf only hoped he wasn’t too late.

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| FEATURE AUTHOR |

Uncaged Review A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, in the form of a historical fantasy romance. Two families, enemies for the belief that the once allies, were deceived into believing in the lies of a powerful witch, who cursed the de Bar family.

Hugh, known as Wolf and his twin brother Arnon take on the brunt of the curse, with Arnon in wolf form and Wolf being able to shapeshift from wolf to human. Lady Winnifred is the granddaughter of the enemy clan, and Wolf believing if he captures Lady Winnifred, as he vows to kill her grandfather, who cursed them.

Get all the Tangled Tales in box set

This is a shorter story, I read it in one sitting, and it’s a twisted and sexy look at the original fairy tale – and an entertaining read. The romance was a bit quick and a little unbelievable, but this is a fairy tale. I will definitely be looking forward to more in this series. Reviewed by Cyrene

Releasing September 26, 2018

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Releasing September 11, 2018

feature author R.M. Gilmore is a paranormal and mystery/suspense writer and creator of the occult bestselling Dylan Hart series.

She resides in California with her teenage minion, bearded manchild, and toys still in the box. With an awkward and incessant sense of humor, it is likely she will die laughing.

“STAR-CROSSED LOVE AND DEAD THINGS. IT’S WHAT I DO.” - R.M. GILMORE

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RMGIlmoreAuthor.com

Uncaged welcomes R.M. Gilmore Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about your Dylan Hart series? What inspired this series for you?

Dylan Hart is a series that I started writing back in 2005 on a bet. A drunken bet to be more accurate. I was on a drunken tangent about Twilight and a friend dared me to write something better. I’m still uncertain if I’ve won.

Dylan was born from angst and alcohol, which if you’ve read the series you can probably tell. The intention of the series was to take the reader on a ride, exploring the mind of a woman and her descent into the occult. A death defying thrill ride. I call it, the Dylan coaster. Book one is the line, the anticipation of what’s to come, setting up the ambience, getting the blood pumping. Book two is the climb. The rhythmic ticking of the chain as it carries the reader to the precipice.

Three, well, you can probably guess is the fall. You’ll understand that soon enough. 4 and 5? You’ll have to read to find out. But book 6… the track has shifted and things take a deadly turn.

Dylan Hart is everyone. She’s the best friend, and the person inside of most women. She’s irreverent, and witty, and self-deprecating, and in all that, she’s fighting for her life. Horror and humor are what drives me, and

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as such, they are what fuels this series.

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

The Dylan Hart series came to a climactic end in 2017, leaving a gaping hole in my head and in the hands of faithful readers. Thankfully, Prudence Penderhaus and the town of Flintlock had already been introduced in 17 Marigold Lane back in 2015. It has been a long road, with many twists and hair raising switchbacks on rocky cliffs, but it’s looking like book 2 in the 4 book series will be out later this year. Follow along on my Instagram for updates, and be sure to follow Prudence’s IG account for an inside look at her life in Flintlock.

Uncaged: What are the benefits of joining your Street Team?

Dealing with my nonsense. And free stuff.

Uncaged: Are you nervous, scared or excited (or all three) when you release a new book?

I drink a lot.

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I used to, but I’ve grown up a lot in the almost 10 years in the business. When I do—and thankfully I’ve not handled any horrid reviews—I take the criticism, work with it, and leave everything else for the buzzards.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

Someone said in a review that they hated me, wanted me dead… I liked that a lot. Meant I did something right.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

Writing. And writing. I’d never considered writing in my youth, though story telling had always been a means for my creativity to escape. I’d spent most of my younger years attempting to funnel that through other media, drawing and painting. Sculpting and the like made its way in too before I finally put pen to paper. Knowing I can, when the moon is in the southern house and Mercury is in retrograde, lay down words and create worlds without picking up a paintbrush soothes a fire in my gut. But then, sometimes, the burden of having all these thoughts trapped in my head can be unnerving. Others, the times when nothing comes out no matter how you Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | beg, feels like someone is maliciously withholding the Colace.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

Chew gum. I have stacks of it on my desk waiting for me. Sometimes I get so into my gum chewing a bite a hole in my tongue.

With that said, one could assume the emergency room is my favorite place in the world, they’d be wrong. Dead wrong. I don’t go to hospitals.

I also don’t necessarily have a favorite place. I suppose my place is wherever my people are. If that place also has beer, wine, and cheese, then I’d say it’s a favorite.

Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?

I host a YouTube show, or shows really, on the KG & Me channel. My personal show is called, This Drunk Bitch and is mostly me day drinking and talking about stuff I like. Which is really an unlimited subject seeing as though I like most everything.

I am also the owner and designer for RMGraphX. From book covers to banners and branding, I do it.

I like to wear a lot of hats.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

Sorry I’ve been a major corn flake as of late. I’ve recently quit my day job and moved 700 miles away from home to live a town that so closely resembles Flintlock I’m not sure I live in the real world anymore.

Instagram is my bottom bitch, so anyone who really wants the updates that’s where to go. How58 | UncagedBooks.com

ever, it’s linked to Facebook (which, I mean, sucks the big one these days) and Twitter. Sometimes I’ll go on Twitter tirades which I’d recommend not missing out on. Or skipping all together because who wants that negativity in their lives? Subscribe to my newsletter, that’s where the free stuff and major announcements hit first. No spam.

Thanks for letting me ramble on about nothing. It’s my favorite past time. If you feel so inclined, dear reader, pick up a book and leave a review.

Cheers.

Enjoy an excerpt from The Scene The Scene R.M. Gilmore Paranormal Suspense Irreverent, twenty-something journalist, Dylan Hart, is not your average heroine. With a big butt and an even bigger mouth, she has her work cut out for her when she decides to cashin on the blood-drained bodies of seven prostitutes scattered throughout southern California.

In an attempt to write her first bestselling novel and pay off her ever-growing student debt, Dylan begins the search for the culprit of the media-dubbed Vampire Massacres, diving head first into L.A.’s sanguinary ‘vampire’ subculture. Before long, Dylan finds herself tits deep in plastic fangs, velvet capes, and hooker corpses. Plastic or not, those fangs are razor sharp and out for blood, nosy journalist blood.

With her best friend in tow, and two contrasting boybabes at her heels, the crew is pulled into an all too real sanguinarian lifestyle and dragged through a bloody good mystery.

Horrible pun intended.

| R.M. GILMORE | Excerpt I flipped through the other photos, skimming the really gory ones, accidentally skipping over the M.E. report for the Bonita Terrace girl. I reached the end of the stack and started again from the beginning; slower.

Finally, sandwiched between a stack of photos and a thin police report, lay the three-page Medical Examiner’s report. The first page contained a basic synopsis of the findings along with a drawn diagram of a generic human body. The diagram indicated where any cuts or lacerations were located on the body. According to the document, there were two cuts high on the inner thigh and numerous cuts along the left forearm, from elbow to wrist. Lastly, there was a small puncture wound at the right wrist. Scanning the report, I discovered that the puncture wound had likely been created by a needle, and according to the ME, it was likely that it had been caused by an intravenous catheter. The report went on to state that perhaps the I.V. had been intended for removing blood and not for an injectable substance.

Like a sadistic blood bank? F**king lovely.

Finally, in big bold type, I found exactly what I was looking for. The words read: POSSIBLE SALIVA IN AND AROUND INCISION ON LEFT/RIGHT THIGH. Why Mike hadn’t mentioned it before, I had no clue, but it was right there in black and white. It would be at least three days, if not longer, before they got any DNA results back on the saliva swab. And Lord knows how long before they could match it to anyone. But, it was a start at least.

I began reading the police report, which was surprisingly short seeing as though it was a murder scene. In the small boxes provided at the bottom, HOMICIDE was checked off, as was TRANSIENT. It seemed as though they’d made a mistake because that was crossed out and initialed by someone other than the reporting officer. The initials M.P. were scrawled next

to the slash. Mike. I smiled at the thought that dear old Mike had the sense to check before turning that in. The poor girl’s mausoleum had been behind a dumpster in an alley. She was left bloodless and dishonored, and then was assumed to be just some homeless prostitute. Poor girl. At least she was dead before that humiliation. It was obvious that the original thought was that this was a random killing of a street-person, no biggie. The report was short and fact filled. Sort of.

There has to be more.

“They had to have investigated more than this.

This girl was murdered by vampires and this is all she gets!” I stood up from the couch in a huff, angrily tossing the stack of papers on the table.

“Vampires, Dylan? And you are talking to yourself. You are the epitome of sanity,” I said aloud, smirking.

I stood there for a moment allowing the blood to flow to my feet once again, still studying the faceless naked bodies sprawled on my coffee table. Other than the fact that they were, basically, drained of blood, and mainly blonde, there was nothing about the crime scenes that was exactly the same. Someone had cut deep into the arteries; someone slashed over and over into the flesh on the arms, and then someone jabbed a needle into their vein.

Why? I didn’t have the M.E. report for the other girls, just ours, so I didn’t know more than what the pictures and basic police reports told me. Mike had thrown some of his notes in, one Post-it read: Bakersfield in by Friday-no Fresno I was guessing he was waiting for more information from Bakersfield. Fresno was still a mystery.

Out of the four girls I had, all appeared to have had the needle. Only two had the slashes into her arm, and three had the deep cuts into the thigh. I Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | definitely was not qualified to come to any conclusions based solely on photographs and police reports, but I wasn’t an idiot. What I was looking at was either a complete crazy who had no plan and was simply wildly killing for some crazed need for the blood of hookers or there was more than one of those f**kers.

With a full photo of each girl in front of me, I examined them one at a time. Comparing them to each other, trying to get a picture of what happened to them. Jotting down notes on little yellow Post-its, I stuck each to the adjoining document. I marked each with an idea or question I needed to ask Mike later. Also, utilizing simple red stickytabs, I marked each photo I intended on secretly copying. I was writing my first novel. I kind of had to be cutthroat or I would never make it in the publishing game.

I began thinking about the book. I was never going to write it if they didn’t solve that bullshit. I thought that perhaps just the general idea of the story would make a good fiction novel. I thought further about how it could pan out. Who would die in the end? Who would be the hero? Who would be the villain? I suddenly thought about Cyrus and shuddered at the thought that he could possibly be involved. I doubted he was, but you could never rule anyone out in a murder mystery.

That’s all this is. A whodunit. Come on Dylan; solve the mystery, by writing it in. Truth is stranger than fiction and it makes for a killer story line.

I stared intently at the full color, bloodless, prostitutes I held in my hands. If this were a book, the killer would be the least suspected. Which would mean me, or Mike even. Just as in real life, Cyrus would become a suspect because he is the possible love interest of the main character, which in my book was me. But suspicion of him wouldn’t come to fruition.

Who, Dylan?

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I thought hard for a moment, picturing every character in the story. I couldn’t imagine anyone really doing it, offing those girls. No one I knew, anyway. There had to be a variable, a third gunman on the grassy knoll.

Perhaps our killer had yet to be introduced in the story.

Perhaps we were only in the beginning. The thought that it was only the beginning actually terrified me more than anything. Eight dead girls and he was only getting started.

“At some point, everyone will become a suspect.”

Uncaged Review This book is marketed as a fantasy/paranormal/horror, and it doesn’t really belong there, and although it is an occult suspense thriller, that’s not all it is. It’s hard to push this book into a specific genre slot.

Our heroine is not the average character we read so much about. She’s a bit chubby, with fuzzy hair and my one complaint about Dylan, is she is constantly putting herself down throughout the book. Most of the time, it’s in a funny way – but no one treats her as bad as she treats herself. Personally, she can be my BFF any time.

As a pair of journalists, Dylan and her BFF, Tatum are investigating a string of murders that all evidence points to it being vampires. Dylan’s ex-boyfriend, Mike is a cop and trying (not very successfully) to keep Dylan out of harm’s way. So are vampires really killing women and leaving their naked bodies behind dumpsters, or is this the work of a sick serial killer?

I’m not giving anything away. The first few chapters were entertaining in the dialog and writing, but I really had no idea where the author was going, but when it got going, it was almost impossible to put down. The book does have a few slower spots that hang a bit, but overall, this book shoots out of the cannon at full speed and its great fun on the ride.

You will laugh out loud in places, and be on the edge

of your seat the next. This is a 6 book series, and all books are out now, which is a good thing as readers will want to burn through them after the first one.

Reviewed by Cyrene

Don’t miss these titles

Get all 6 books in the Dylan Hart series in a set

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feature author Jessie writes M/M romance and loves a rich fictional universe as much as a good happy ending. Her published works include the novel Survivors and the Tea and Empathy series, and her work has been included in anthologies by Evernight Publishing and JMS Books.

She’s usually writing more than one new book at a time, and frequently rushing out at the last minute because she got lost in her own fictional world.

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Uncaged welcomes Jessie Pinkham Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about your Tea and Empathy series?

Welcome to the 26th century, where a small minority of humans are born with the ability to sense emotions, and they bond for life. There’s nothing more intimate than being an empath’s anchor, nor any larger responsibility. All the men in the series find love when they least expect it, and must wrestle with the staggering implications of making a lifelong commitment to having no privacy about their own feelings.

When we are in a romantic relationship with someone, we are vulnerable to them while simultaneously having power over their weaknesses. The series delves into this age-old dynamic through the lens of genetically engineered empathy.

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

Newsletter jessiepinkham.net

I’ve been on a contemporary kick lately. Last month I released a novel, Pursuing Happiness, exploring the impacts of religious abuse and how those emotional scars can threaten an otherwise wonderful relationship.

Now I’m writing a character with Generalized Anxiety Disorder who doesn’t think he’s going to find a partner willing to accept his struggles.

The sci-fi muse will return at some point, I’m sure. She always does, but in the meantime, I’m working with

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aspects of life which plenty of people face today.

Uncaged: What inspired you to write in the romance/ erotica genre?

Romance is character-driven, and I am drawn to characters. I’m endlessly fascinated by people. There are billions of us on this planet, all busily going about our own unique lives with personal pain and triumphs.

When all is said and done, we are inevitably mysterious to each other. For two people to find each other, fall in love, and build a lasting relationship is, to me, the ultimate mystery, and that’s what makes it so much fun to write.

Uncaged: Are you nervous, scared or excited (or all three) when you release a new book?

Two out of three: excited and nervous. It’s not the same with every book, though. The more of my heart and soul I’ve poured into a book, the more nervous I am about its release.

Of course, every book is important to me, and I hope each one is well-received. Some are more personal if I’ve drawn from my own experiences to create the characters, and those are the releases which cause more nerves. If readers don’t like a character I made up, that’s not fun, but it’s nowhere near as personally wounding as disliking a character with whom I identify.

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I do read them, though reviews are tricky for authors. A great one sends our spirits soaring, while a really bad one ruins an afternoon. Realistically, not everyone is going to love my book, and reviews are very subjective, so I tend to look more at the overall patterns. What do multiple people like about the book? I want to keep doing it. Is there something that repeatedly comes up as constructive criticism? There’s an area where I can improve in the future.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

When His to Hold came out, one of my reviewers wanted me to “keep writing about this wonderful world she brought to life.” Mr. Pinkham felt the need to come out of his guitar room and learn what I was cheering about. The downstairs neighbor might also have wondered.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

I have stories in my head whether I write them or not, so I love bringing them to life and sending them out into the world for others to enjoy. It delights me when others find entertainment and/or food for thought in my words.

As far as less fun aspects go, editing can be a very humbling process. It’s important, because an Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | author is very often too close to the story to see its flaws. A good editor is going to challenge me and the book will be better for it, but that requires stepping back from the story and letting someone else have say in a project which was, until that point, completely mine. It’s not always the easiest task, and egos have been known to be bruised in this way.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

I love to read in multiple genres, so if I’m not working on writing a book, there’s a good chance I’m reading one. Besides that, I have fun with recreational photography.

There are many places which hold a special meaning for me, as I am a sentimental soul.

Stonehenge stands out because I have never felt as connected to innumerable generations of human history as I did visiting that ancient site.

Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?

My first adventures in worldbuilding started around age eight, when I turned my entire backyard into a village heavily based on Little House on the Prairie and populated with some additional characters I invented. Naturally, they all adored me.

Yes, I am an only child. :) Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I hope you enjoy my books, and thanks for reading! I know you have tons of options, so it really makes my day when people choose me. =D

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Enjoy an excerpt from His to Hold His to Hold Jessie Pinkham SciFi/Erotica/Gay Love can be found when you least expect it ... if you take a leap of faith.

Cole Gallagher never intended to date an empath. Empaths bond for life, and they like to keep their bonded anchor happy, which is more responsibility and power over another person than anyone ought to have. Despite his lack of interest in being an anchor, Cole gets talked into meeting a coworker’s empath cousin, and he genuinely likes the man.

Aiden is everything Cole wants in a partner: charismatic, witty, cute, and a lot of fun. The catch is that he only has a few months to find an anchor, so Cole faces pressure to quickly make a lifelong commitment. When Aiden is kidnapped, Cole has to decide whether he will let his fears win and walk away, or take a chance on love.

Excerpt “Those must be the Hagemann Gorges. I hear they have some spectacular diving holes. No sharks, either.”

“No. Just the odd electric eel.”

Cole winced. Sharks were almost always harmless and didn’t bother him. Electric eels, on the other hand, inspired a less-than-rational fear. In retrospect, reading how an electric eel could stop a man’s heart one night when he was seven hadn’t been his greatest idea.

“The truth comes out,” said Aiden, his tone gently teasing. “You’re only Mr. Fearless about sharks.”

Cole attempted to salvage his pride. “More like I’m only not Mr. Fearless about electric eels.”

This failed to convince Aiden. “Sure. Nothing else

| JESSIE PINKHAM | scares you.”

Fortunately, Cole appreciated a man who stood up for himself and was a touch on the sassy side. “What else is there in life to be afraid of, besides electric eels?”

“Deep water sharks, for one. Falling from great heights. Death. Dismemberment.”

“Well isn’t this cheerful.”

Aiden shrugged with a glint of mirth in his eyes.

Damn, he was cute. “You asked.”

“Remind me not to do that again.”

They were headed toward Lemke Wildlife Reserve, according to the onscreen map. It was beautiful. A herd of bison grazed next to where the river meandered around a bend, across from where giant turtles sunned themselves and not far from a stately grove of prismatic vielefarbe trees.

Nevertheless, Cole was more interested in Aiden than the scenery. He gathered that Aiden felt the same way, if the frequent glances and smiles were anything to go by. The chemistry between them was almost palpable, so it wasn’t much of a risk to take Aiden’s hand when they stood for a better view.

“You do realize physical contact makes you an open book, empathically speaking.”

Actually, Cole hadn’t. He kept his grip anyway because he liked Aiden a lot and wanted to see if they were as good together as he thought they might be.

Sure, it was still a little disarming to know how little privacy he had around Aiden, and he wasn’t ready to make any commitments, but there wasn’t anything malicious about Aiden’s empathy. It was simply part of him.

He gave the younger man’s hand a squeeze. “Me being an open book hasn’t scared you off, huh?”

“No.” Aiden gave him another smile and squeezed right back. “I’m sorry to be the one to inform you that you really aren’t a frightening guy, Cole.”

“You’re crushing my self-image.”

They chuckled together and went back to admiring the scenery, hands still entwined. **** Alas, all good things came to an end, including the date. Cole started to slow his pace when they walked from the transit station to Aiden’s building, until he realized it was cruel to prolong the date at the expense

of Aiden staying out longer and getting hit with emotions from dozens of people.

“I don’t know why you feel guilty, but I hope it’s not on my account,” said Aiden.

Cole just looked at him, unsure how to respond.

“I’m not trying to pry. Negative emotions aren’t especially pleasant for me, so if I can make you less guilty, we’ll both feel better.”

“Oh,” said Cole, who promptly berated himself for not having a better answer. He tried again, deciding that brutal honesty was likely the best approach. “I was slowing down to make this last longer, until I realized that’s not being fair to you.”

Aiden smiled. “That’s sweet, Cole. No need for guilt. I’m glad we’ve both enjoyed ourselves. I’m busy for the rest of this weekend, sadly. I have a paper to write. If the weather cooperates, would you like to go snorkeling next weekend?”

“Absolutely.” It was pretty much a dream date as far as Cole was concerned. He loved being in the water, and he definitely wanted to see Aiden again, empathy and all.

“I was nervous about renting a boat just for the two of us, so my uncle offered to let me take a security drone. He works for O’Leary Drones, and someone owed him a small favor.”

“Nervous about your safety?”

“Yes,” said Aiden. “Unbonded empaths have to worry about these things. There are empathy detectors that people can use to hone in on us.”

“That’s awful.”

“Believe me, I know. It’s illegal, of course, but that doesn’t always mean much.”

“A security drone sounds good, then.” As they approached Aiden’s building Cole asked, “Bonded empaths are safer?”

“Much.”

“Good.” He didn’t like the idea of Aiden in danger.

“I’m looking forward to next weekend.”

“That makes two of us. I’ll call when I’ve made the reservation if that’s fine with you.”

“Absolutely.”

Aiden pressed his palm for the elevator to his floor.

“In the meantime, I’ve got to finish this paper. My last paper as an undergrad.”

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| FEATURE AUTHOR | “You’re graduating soon?”

“In two weeks, yes.”

Cole wondered if he should plan on attending.

Was it too soon? Nobody really enjoyed graduations, after all, and he’d only known Aiden for a week. The fact that he even wondered spoke volumes about how invested in Aiden he already was.

Aiden startled him out of this contemplation with a brief kiss on the lips. Barely a peck, really, and yet it was still enough to send sparks through his body.

“Thanks for today.”

“My pleasure. Talk to you soon.”

However reluctant he was for the date to end, it was time to head home when Aiden’s front door shut behind him. Cole made his way to the elevator, not entirely surprised when Patrick slipped in at the last second.

“Hello, Cole.”

“Good afternoon.”

“You can’t imagine what it’s like to know your child’s whole future depends on someone else,” he said. “We would help Aiden leave a bad anchor, of course, but his ability to function in society would be limited.”

Cole decided to say what he suspected Patrick was thinking. “Unless this bad anchor had an unfortunate, fatal accident.”

The older man met his gaze without flinching.

“Yes.” It wasn’t a threat, really. More an unspoken statement of fact. Cole respected this. “Since he can tell if someone would be an exploitative anchor now, we must be talking about a scenario where power corrupts.”

“Any scenario,” said Patrick.

“You’re right, I can’t imagine being in your position right now. All I can tell you is that I’m interested in Aiden despite his empathy, not because of it.”

“Despite?”

“It’s a big responsibility to be someone’s anchor, if you’re going to do it well. It’s daunting, to be honest.”

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The answer seemed to please Patrick. “Yes, it is. It’s also a privilege. We want to see Aiden with someone who deserves his devotion.”

“Of course.”

“I’m asking you, please, to not waste his time if you can’t honestly see yourself willing to make the commitment. Perhaps that’s unfair, but this is the hand he’s been dealt with his empathy developing late and quickly.”

“I’m still thinking about it,” said Cole. “I never planned on this, remember? What I can tell you is that I’m seriously considering it.” To his own great astonishment, no less.

Patrick pursed his lips. “That will do. For now.”

Cole had no idea how to respond to that statement. Fortunately, he didn’t need to, because Patrick changed the subject. “I suppose you have a train to catch. Will I be seeing you soon?”

“Next week.”

Patrick nodded as the elevator doors opened. “Good.

Have a pleasant evening, Cole.”

“You too.”

On the walk to the transit station Cole replayed the conversation in his head and concluded that Patrick liked him well enough, since he considered meeting again a good thing. He was just protective and probably felt pretty helpless other than to make sure his son’s prospective anchors weren’t complete bastards.

Fair enough. Cole couldn’t blame him, even if it wasn’t much fun to be on the receiving end.

Anyway, if he cared what Patrick thought of him, it just went to show that he really was seriously considering being Aiden’s anchor, and somehow that thought didn’t seem as crazy as it once had.

| JESSIE PINKHAM |

Uncaged Review A sweet quick read – with a feel good story. In a world where this message should be the norm, all wrapped up in a SciFi. Cole is a good man, with the genuine concern for people and how the emphatic community is treated.

Talked into meeting an empath, Aiden who needs an anchor very soon, Cole decides it wouldn’t hurt anything to meet him and talk to him. When one meeting turns into a series of dates, Cole can’t deny that he’s falling in love with Aiden. But when Aiden is kidnapped, is Cole too late to save him?

Readers! Reviewers!

Uncaged is growing!

This book is short, so I won’t get into more, but it’s a sweet story of two people finding love where they least expect it and the message in this story just has me hoping that I will live long enough to see it come true. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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fang-FREAKIN-tastic reviews

feature author

welcomes

Thomas S. Flowers

| FANG-FREAKIN-TASTIC FEATURE AUTHOR |

Who doesn’t love a good story? From great works such as, All Quiet on the Western Front and Salem’s Lot, Thomas S. Flowers has a passion to create similar character-driven stories of dark fiction ranging from Shakespearean gore fests to paranormal thrillers.

Residing in the swamps of Houston, Texas, with his wife and daughter, Thomas has published several novels, including, Reinheit, Lanmò, The Hobbsburg Horror, Beautiful Ugly and other Weirdness, Feast, and PLANET OF THE DEAD. In 2008, Thomas was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army where he served 3 tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2014, Thomas graduated from University of Houston-Clear Lake with a BA in History. He blogs at www. machinemean.org, where he reviews movies and books along with a gambit of guest contributors who discuss a wide range of strange yet oddly related topics.

You can follow Thomas by joining his MONTHLY mailing list at http://goo.gl/2CozdE or by going to www.ThomasSFlowers.com

Enjoy an excerpt from The Last Hellfighter The Last Hellfighter Thomas S. Flowers Horror In the year 2044, reporters from the Public Relations Ministry gather at the home of Benjamin Harker, the last surviving member of the Harlem Hellfighters. At the age of 144, he is the oldest recorded man alive. Hidden among them, Clyde Bruner is looking for a different kind of story. Across the United States, despite the Great Walls and patrol drones built to keep America secure, something has found its way in. And now towns are vanishing during the night. Entire populations, gone. Only to return after the sun sets, changed, unholy, and lethal. And whatever this evil is, its spreading west. According to a bedtime story Bruner’s grandfather told him when he was a boy, Benjamin Harker has seen this before. He’s faced this scourge. Fought this evil. Survived them. Killed them.

From the trenches of the Great War to the jungles of Vietnam to the sands of Iraq, Harker will search his past to save our future. But as each city light extinguishes across the country, is there no time left to stop what’s coming?

Excerpt “Hey, Mr. Green. Any ships due in tonight?”

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| THOMAS S. FLOWERS | “Huh?” the older man grunted, his full attention glued to the small box television set. Family Feud was on and Silas never missed an episode. As long as Julius had worked with him at least, in these past four months on the night shift, the seasoned longshoreman who acted very content with his life—who moved slow and never liked causing “trouble,” as he called it, to his superiors, could recite the most complex trivia questions.

Julius looked back to his monitor. Part of his job was to watch for ships that may have wandered off course, or even scheduled docks on the quay. The program displayed on his monitor was linked to AIS Marine database that monitored all vessel traffic around the world. He kept the screen displaying his assigned port—which showed a few red, which meant docked and inactive. The one that concerned him was another ship, inbound and blinking green.

“Mr. Green?” Julius pressed.

The older black man sighed loudly, turning away from his small TV screen. “What? Why the hell would— listen son, you can’t let this job spook you. Working nights on the dock, I know, the long hours can get to you. But trust me, this sure beats working out in that sun all day offloading ships.”

“But look,” the younger longshoreman pointed his screen.

Frowning, Silas rolled his chair over to the computer monitor. The green blinking ship reflected off his thick glasses. He pushed them back up on his nose, “That ain’t nothing, probably just a glitch in the system.”

Julius looked at the screen and then out the large window that overlooked the Port of Jerusalem. He’d just moved to town not more than six months prior from Bangor and he wanted to make a good impression.

“Okay,” the younger man said.

Silas nodded in quiet victory and rolled back over to watch his show.

Julius continued glaring at the blinking green ship as it approached the port on the screen. He swallowed hard as it inched closer and closer.

He glanced at the old man as he howled at some man on the TV having missed a question that Silas thought was a “no brainer.” On the monitor, the green blinking ship was upon them. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.

Closer.

And closer.

“Mr. Green, I don’t think is a glitch,” Julius protested.

Exhaling loudly, Silas stood and turned. “Listen, young blood, I’ve been doing this job for twenty years and I’ve never heard of no ship coming in that wasn’t on the manifest.”

Julius shrugged. “Yeah, but...” he gestured to the screen.

“There is no ship coming—” Just outside, a large wave crashed against the port levee walls. A thunderous metallic screech vibrated off the walls of the little trailer office on the wharf. Manuals and notebooks and ship logs fell from the shelves as the ground itself felt as if it was opening. The small TV still playing Family Feud rattled off the table and crashed to the floor, sizzling out. The florescent bulbs above them burst raining shards of glass and casting the room into a yellow gloom. The horrendous grinding seemed to go on forever, shaking and shuddering the world.

And then it was over.

Silas Green was the first to prop himself off the floor. Looking around cautiously, as if any wrong move would send the world into chaos again.

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| FANG-FREAKIN-TASTIC FEATURE AUTHOR | Julius propped himself up, moving into a crouch.

He peeked through the blinds. “What the heck was that?”

“Shit!” the older man hissed.

Julius glanced over his shoulder at him. “What?

You okay?”

Silas held up what remained of his TV. “No, damn tube is busted.”

Shaking his head, Julius peered back out the blinds. “I think we should go check the dock.” He stood, not waiting for approval and went through the door of the office.

“Hold on, young blood.” Silas gave the TV a final kiss—he’d had the device for more years than he cared to confess, and then set it down on the floor as gently as he could. Standing, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and retrieved a flashlight.

Outside, Silas trotted to catch up with Julius who was standing at the edge of the wharf looking up into the gloom.

“Somethings out there,” the young man said.

Silas wafted the fog around his head. “Can’t see shit out here.”

“Use the flashlight,” Julius suggested without taking his gaze from in front of him.

“Oh,” Silas grunted, flicking on the switch. A beam of bright white broke apart the misty smoke like haze. He shined out toward the wharf and at first still could not see anything. And then the fog parted as if controlled by some unknown force, separating and unfolding around a large cargo ship.

Silas traced the hull to the edge of the ship deck.

“Mother of God,” he whispered, taken back by the sudden massive size of the ship. He’d never been 72 | UncagedBooks.com

this close to one. The larger vessels normally dock at Freeport.

Julius stepped toward him, asking, “What do we do?”

The older man couldn’t think—this wasn’t on the schedule, the ship manifest, nothing. This ship shouldn’t be here. The harbormaster would have said something. Hell, his superintendent would have damn sure said something. It would have been on the log.

Silas moved the beam of light to the wharf itself, noting the broken shards of rock in the thick cement and the thick crack in the hull of the ship. It was taking on water for sure—it hadn’t even bothered slowing down. It ploughed into the quay. But why? Wasn’t there someone steering this damn thing? This wasn’t right. Something about this—everything about this wasn’t right.

“Mr. Green?” Julius pressed, whispering hotly.

Silas looked at him, the kid was rattled; he was rattled. He took a deep breath. “Okay, listen, I’m going to call this in—pray the lines in the office are still operating. Here, take the flashlight.” He handed it to Julius. “Stay put, yell out if you see anyone. Some dumbass is going to pay bigtime for this screwup and it ain’t going to be you or me.”

He gave one final glance at the monstrous freighter and started off for the office. Inside, he could use the phone on the floor. He scooped it up and dialed his supervisor.

“Green, there better be a good fucking reason why you’re calling me at—” Silas’s superintendent started through the speaker of the phone.

“A ship crashed into the port,” Silas blurted.

“What?”

“A ship, some damn cargo ship. Large motherf**ker.”

“Are you f**king with me?”

“No, I ain’t f**king with you, sir. A cargo ship crashed

| THOMAS S. FLOWERS | into the port, took a good-sized chunk out of our wharf too.”

“Was it on the manifest?”

“No—that’s what I’m saying. This ship ain’t supposed to be—” A scream from outside on the dock jarred Silas from the phone.

“Julius, what the hell was that?”

“Green, what’s going on?” his superintendent asked, sounding more and more irritated.

Silence.

“Green?”

“Hold on, sir.” Silas set down the phone, ignoring the muffled protest from his superintendent on the line. He glared at the open door and crept toward it. There were no other sounds, and he didn’t like that one bit.

Stepping outside he called, “Julius?”

It was hard to see through the fog as it rolled across the walkway.

Silas squinted, peering through the gloom turned yellow by the glow of the dock lights. “Julius, what’s going on?” he called to the dark shape in front of him.

And then he heard it.

A sucking sound.

He stopped.

The dark shape unfolded.

The fog parted slightly, revealing a tall, bald woman with pale skin. Her eyes burned red. She was looking at him with an expression of mild satisfaction, the look of a thirsty soul finally getting a cup of water. She was holding Julius, cradling him almost as if they were dancing.

“Who are—” Silas started, until he saw her teeth, her large fanged front teeth, salivating in blood. He took a step back as she let Julius go. His body crumbled to the wet dock.

“No,” Silas managed to say, like a child refusing to go to bed.

And then she was upon him.

Uncaged Reviews Diamond Embers

Jadyn Chase Gothic Fantasy Romance At an ultra-secret military base in Antarctica, Project: Reborn Fire has succeeded in creating genetically engineered dragons to serve as the perfect all-purpose weapons.

The Sapphire, Obsidian, and Diamond dragons are all beautiful and deadly. But the plan goes astray when the dragons, built in part from human DNA, begin to show a chameleon-like ability to fully change their shape and appear as men.

Uncaged Review: This is the first book in a series of where a group of scientists in Antarctica have developed their own weapons in the form of dragons. Each dragon is part lizard, part falcon and part human. There are the 3 different versions, and then clones of the original three.

Although in the beginning of this story, these dragons have never shifted – and when an asteroid strikes the Earth, and it is an apocalyptic event, the dragons are released by their “controllers” and each dragon chooses a human to ride with them.

I liked the premise of the book, and I really love dragons, but I didn’t get attached to the dragonmen as they didn’t get much page-time. I wanted there to be more meat to this book, and to see why the women that were all chosen decided without any fanfare why they all accepted being mated to a dragon. I would like to have seen more interaction with the women, I did enjoy the dragon scenes, they were well done and quite riveting. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Sea of Darkness Brown & Hamilton Paranormal/Urban Fantasy An unexpected partnership changes everything Sea Slayer Kelia Starling has grown up with one truth: Sea Shadows are vicious creatures that need to be eradicated. No exceptions. Not even for him.

The Society’s sole purpose is to protect the general population from supernatural monsters, and Kelia’s their top Slayer. But when her father is murdered and her handler insists it’s suicide, she starts to question whether The Society really has her best interests at heart.

Uncaged Review: I’m a huge reader of the urban fantasy/paranormal genre. This is a good start to a new series. It wasn’t perfect and it has it’s issues, but it’s a good solid base that makes me want them to hurry the release of the second book, slated for August.

The good, the world building and the characters. I like Kelia, even though she has more growing up to do, in some ways, she’s beyond her years and others she is lacking. I loved Drew, he’s a strong character – and as Kelia learns, not the enemy she has been taught all her life to believe.

The bad – there was a lot of repetitive stuff going on.

That happened more than a couple times, and mostly because I enjoyed the story as much as I did, I could overlook it. There also wasn’t much action, except in the first part of the book, so some of it got stiff and drawn out. And my last issue, is it’s billed as a romance, and although the groundwork was being laid in this first book, there isn’t much to speak of - but I hope that the authors have fixed it for the second book. Reviewed by Cyrene

The Girl Who Knew DaVinci Belle Ami Romantic Suspense Three destinies, three timeless loves, one remarkable painting.

Will her visions lead her to the truth?

Art historian Angela Renatus is haunted by dreams of Leonardo da Vinci and a mysterious painting of Giuliano Medici and his mistress Fioretta Gorini. A painting that, as far as the world knows, doesn’t exist. Compelled by her visions, Angela is determined to find out the truth.

Uncaged Review: This is one of those books you want to keep reading and don’t want it to end. It has multiple subplots, engaging main characters, a bad guy you can’t help but hate and a love story which spans centuries. No, no, this isn’t a huge tome, but it does take you from the 1400s to 2018.

Angela Renatus see visions of people from the past.

When the story opens it is 1944 and you see a Sophia Caro and Gerhard Jaeger at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Gerhard is a German who is an art historian and Sofia works at the gallery. They have a painting they believe is a da Vinci attributed to one of his students. They leave through the Medici secret passageway to the church to escape the fall of Florence as the Germans retreat. Gerhard takes on the name of Giorgio Bandini, an accountant from Piza.

The story jumps to 2018 Getty Museum. Angela is having a problem with her boss Angelo Scordato, the museum director, who is a lecher and is threatening her job as an art historian intern if she doesn’t do what he wants sexually. Angela can’t stand the man, let along having him touching her. She also believe she only dreams about the da Vinci and Fioretta Grini, Guiliano Medici, da Vinci and Lorenzo Medici, Sophia and Gerhard.

Enter Alexander (Alex) Caine who is a detective who hunts for lost or stolen works of art. He had been hired to find the missing Leonardo da Vinci painting of a wedding. This is where things get very

interesting. Alex is unusual in that he has two different colored eyes. Angela looks like Fioretta and Sophia. Meanwhile Scordato believes Angela will lead him to the missing painting he was hired to find over a year ago but never found, only he wants the painting for himself.

As this story bounces back and forth from the present to the past, the history of the painting is revealed along with the growing love of Angel and Alex.

When I started this book, my first thought, was oh no, another time travel, but not even close. Angela has visions from the past where she becomes part of what happened and leads her to help put the ghosts to rest by finding what they are leading her to with the help of Alex. The past and the present merge at various points of the story.

Alex and Angela go from California to Florence, Rome and Paris and Montefioralle in Chianti.

Along the way you learn a lot of history of the Medici period and the 1944 invasion of Florence.

It was one of the most fascinating romps through history all tied up in a missing painting, engaging characters and a lot of mystery and intrigue. This is a book not to be missed. If I could give it more than five stars I would. Reviewed by Barbara.

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Uncaged Reviews Something Chosen Alex Owens Paranormal Death isn’t always the end... sometimes it’s only the beginning.

Claire’s trapped in a dead-end marriage, strapped for cash and getting desperate. Her chance at freedom comes in the form of a music con in Florida. Her mission? Win over a few big clients and collect a fat bonus check. It should have been easy, but Claire didn’t count on a bewitched violin, its sultry Italian owner, Bette, or her dark and dangerous companions.

Uncaged Review: The start of a series,(that was released previously as a different title), then reedited and new content added – I hadn’t read the previous release. The book has a unique twist to it, and a bit of humor. I’m not sure which characters I liked the best, or if I was really drawn to any of them except Claire. I don’t know that I’ve met the character that I see Claire with the best yet. We will see.

As a new vampire, Claire also has extra powers that have been sparked to life with her new undead status. Her maker, Bette – is trying to unravel them, in the meantime, Claire tries to negotiate her new life as a vampire, with a daughter at home and a soon-to-be ex-husband.

The premise kept me interested, but I think it had a slow start for me. It wasn’t until I was well over half-way through when the book really took off for me. It will be interesting in the next books to see where Claire will go from here.Reviewed

by Cyrene

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To Fight the Black Wind Jennifer Brozek Horror/Occult Not all patients can be cured—or want to be.

Visiting psychologist Carolyn Fern’s newest patient is Josephine Ruggles, an heiress whose nightmares leave glyph-shaped wounds across her back.

Miss Ruggles’s case is unusual, even for an institution like Arkham Sanatorium. Her case takes an even stranger turn after she claims to have met Malachi— Carolyn’s former patient whose treatment was cut short when he was brutally murdered—in her dreams.

When Carolyn uses hypnotherapy to address Josephine’s trauma, they find themselves both journeying to a strange place Josephine calls “the Dreamlands.”

Together, Carolyn and Josephine discover that the mind is a powerful tool, but knowledge is dangerous.

What is learned cannot be unlearned, and not everyone is prepared to pay the price.

Uncaged Review: This is an Arkham horror story featuring doctor Carolyn Fern and her bizarre journey with a patient Josephine Ruggles. Life will never be the same again for them. The whole journey that both Carolyn and Josephine go on is very action packed and wild. I can definitely see myself reading more of these Arkham horror stories. I really enjoyed this one Reviewed by Jennifer

Raven Thrall

J. Elizabeth Vincent Fantasy Born an outsider. Betrayed by her mother. Forced from her home.

Mariah considers herself nothing less than a freak. After all, no one else is half-human, half-hawk. Living alone, away from judging eyes and a kingdom that would make her a slave, is the only way to survive. But her mentor starts to push, to hint that she is meant for greater things.

Two young raven shifters have been taken, and she may be the only one who can save them.

Uncaged Review: For series you are in the world of Whitelea.

Varidian is the north country separated from Cillian by the Granite Sea. There if Eaglespire, Grof, Glenley, Kannuk, Kilgereen, Laikos forest are the most commonly mentioned places.

Cillian is the south country of Whitelea. Wellspring, Firebend and Tennedore.

Mariah is the main character. She is a Ceo San which means the chosen ones who are shape shifters. Mariah is a Hawk with black wings tipped in silver. She has silver hair.

Rothgar is the king of Varidian but he wants to take over all of Whitelea.

Gwyneth (Gwyn) is a Ceo San but a cat. She becomes Mariah’s mentor.

Xaecor (Xae) a young boy who is also a raven who wants to save his family.

Shari is a Ceo San bear which Mari and Xae meat in Grof.

Other minor characters include, Magnus, Mariah’s father, Rose, Shari’s mother, Simone, Xae’s mother, Ruby a Wolf shifter. Tibbot, a fox shifter, Cam, a man sweet on Shari, Bria, Mariah’s friend and her husband Zach.

The book opens with Mariah straightening her father’s smithy and getting the forge hot. Mariah hasn’t

learned to shift, so she is half girl and half bird with long black wings with silver tips she keeps tied down and hidden. Her father tells her how bad Rothgar is and how he dislikes making weapons for him. He severely burns his leg. Mariah’s mother gives her a note to take to the apothecary in Glenley for ointment they can’t get locally.

As she is leaving, two soldiers with dragons on their chest come after her. She runs and her father and mother tell her to fly and not come back. She does, going across the sea and collapse in Tennedore from the flight. Gwyneth finds her and saves her life then mentors her. She attempts to get Mariah to shift, but she says she isn’t a shifter.

Mariah does learn to shift when Gwyn gets hurt and they aren’t sure if she is going to live. After Xaecor asks Gwyn for help. As I’m sure you can guess, Mariah does go with him back to Varidian to help free his family. They weather a storm while crossing the sea and Mariah ends up with a broken collar bone which means she can’t fly.

Shari befriends Mariah knowing she is Ceo San and ends up joining them as she knows the way to Glenley along with being able to move around the city without being caught by the trappers who capture all the Ceo San they find.

I’m not going to go farther until the story as you need to read it. It is well written with engaging characters who you want to hear more about when the book is finished. It kept me engaged throughout the book as I rooted for Mariah to show what she could do (which she does) and for Xae to get his family back. I’m sure you’ll be like me and wanting to read the second book of the series to find out what happens next for Mariah, Xae and Shari.

This is a definite five star book you’ll want to read if you like fantasy and middle earth type books.

Reviewed by Barbara

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Uncaged Reviews A Journey Home

Angela Scavone Contemporary Romance/Military Air Force Captain Stephanie Tyler’s sole duty is to fly overseas to war torn areas of the world to retrieve and escort the bodies of fallen soldiers back home to the United States. It is a tough and emotional job but she is honored for the privilege. Her duty also helps her to escape her past and her failed marriage.

Uncaged Review: Sometimes when I read a book,

I look at a few of the reviews, and wonder if some of the people reviewing actually read the same book as I did. This is one of those times. If I could give it more than 5 Stars I would.

The author has the readers running a full gamut of emotions with this book. The duty of bringing back fallen soldiers is a tough one, and Captain Stephanie Tyler is one of the best, even though the emotional toll is great, the respect that she gives every soldier she brings home is heartwarming and emotional. But the author doesn’t keep the book in the deep angst – when Stephanie’s ex-husband, Captain Aston is assigned to be her partner – the fun begins. I laughed, cried and cheered this book and the characters. There is also love and hate, betrayal and forgiveness, sadness and laughter. I had a tough time putting this down, and the only reason it took me two sessions to read it, is I couldn’t keep my eyes open at 2:00am. At 9:00am the next morning - I had it open again. Reviewed by Cyrene

Once Upon a Lady Addie Jo Ryleigh Historical Regency

Respectable Lady Katherine Baxton, striving to meet the requirements of her station, has become the ultimate dutiful daughter. And now, the Duke of Blackthorn’s betrothed. Far from a love match, Kate is nevertheless determined to do as expected and marry.

That all changes the night she panics at her impending future and runs, stumbling upon a private grove, a mysterious tree . . . and a half-naked man.

Uncaged Review: Lady Katherine has always been the dutiful daughter. Her announcement on her betrothal to a Duke is expected within her family and Society, even though it is not a love match.

When she runs off, she happens upon a mysterious tree, and a man. Jackson Cooper is a rake, he’s the son of a Viscount, and never attends Society functions. But when his father demands he find a wife or lose his allowance, Jackson only needs to delay him a bit to get his plan in motion of buying into a shipping business which will bring him independence from his father.

Everything the both of these people believe for their futures is thrown for a loop when they meet. They are drawn to each other – and can’t stay away from each other.

I liked the characters, even the secondary supporting cast and even though this is a shorter book, the author does a nice job. My biggest gripe is the ending. This book could easily have gone on for another chapter or two. Reviewed by Cyrene

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High Warrior

Kathryn Le Veque Historical/Ancient World The man known as the “High Warrior” is an Irish knight with an English overlord. Sir Bric MacRohan serves the House of de Winter as the head of the de Winter war machine. He is big, loud, and fearless.

Uncaged Review: The next time someone hears me say that I’m going to read a Kathryn Le Veque novel while I’m sick and already going through a box a tissues an hour, they need to steal my Kindles. This book took me through the emotional wringer – so my tissue count went way up.

One of the greatest things about this author’s books, is they are all connected in some way. One of my favorite characters I’ve loved from Le Veque’s books is Dashiel, who we met in Godspeed, and he is back in this book, and not as a one page cameo appearance. He’s a full on supporting cast member which just sweetened the pot for me. But I also fell in love with Bric and Eiselle. When Bric was going through a tough time and a form of PTSD for Knights of his caliber, I went through plenty of extra tissues. But then there was laughter, tears of joy and outright cheering.

To see Eiselle become the strong woman she was meant to be was satisfying. To see the camaraderie of the Knights and the strength of their bond was amazing.

The attention paid to true historical detail is always woven into the stories. The reader will feel like they are there, witnessing the story unfold, not just reading it, and feeling the emotions the characters are feeling.

So my hat’s off to Kathryn for another winner, she knocked it out of the park again. I have a long way to go to get through all of Kathryn’s books and they all read well as standalones, but I know it will only enhance my experience with her characters by reading the full catalog. I just have to make sure I don’t have a cold when I pick up another of her books.

Reviewed by Cyrene

Escaping from Ruby’s Ranch Rhonda Frankhouser Contemporary Western/Ghosts

Katherine Adams dreams of getting far away from her overprotective mother and the quiet, subdued life on Ruby’s Ranch. She’s drawn to the excitement of the city, the idea of her paintings hanging in glamorous art galleries, wearing the finest fashions and eating in quaint sidewalk cafés. Every detail of her escape is lined out until a handsome horse whisperer gallops into her world.

Uncaged Review: The last time we were at Ruby’s Ranch, was the first book in this series, and it was the story of Ruby Marie, inheriting the ranch from her grandmother Rube. But her mother had disappeared, and it had been years. This time the author takes us back in time to Ruby Marie’s mother, Katherine and her life at Ruby’s Ranch. We get a good look at how Rube ran the ranch with an iron fist, and even though most of the time I didn’t like her much, because in my opinion, she pushed her daughter away – even though she loves her more than life itself, she had a horrible way of showing it. You do eventually come to terms with Rube, and so does Katherine.

The mystery surrounding Katherine’s life and her disappearance is answered and it’s quite a ride.

From her life on the ranch, the mysterious shaman and the circle with all the warnings, the bad dust storm that threatens the ranch, to the love that Katherine shared with John, the author does a brilliant job of wrapping up most of the questions in quite an entertaining way. When you get to the end, things will fall into place and I’m glad I read this book after I read the first one now. Even though this could be read as a standalone, to get the full effect of these two books and the intricate storylines, I’d recommend starting with Return to Ruby’s Ranch. Reviewed by Cyrene

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Uncaged Reviews The Legacy of Old Gran Parks Isobel Blackthorn Dark Humor/Horror

quences.

Set in Cann River in Australia’s rugged southern wilderness, The Legacy of Old Gran Parks is a dark humor novel of a remote town haunted by a legacy, a legacy with ominous conse-

Uncaged Review: A dark comedy set in Australia featuring a group of women and the daily challenges.

They find themselves involved in or trouble. This book is quite gruesome in details at some parts of the story.

Without giving too much of the story away I think you will become a big fan of these women but not agree with every choice they make. I did enjoy this story and would love this to be considered for a TV series or film. It’s very dark and enjoyable. Reviewed by Jennifer

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A Perilous Pursuit Diane Gilmore Romantic Suspense

L.A. music insider Taylor Fairchild travels to England to escape a hectic work schedule and failed marriage.

There she meets sexy musician Craig Phillips, who, unknown to her, supplements his band’s income by working as a drop man for powerful drug kingpin Robert Cabrera.

Their new love burns hot with steamy excitement when Craig returns to the States with Taylor and moves up in the music industry . . . until Craig’s shady past catches up with him and threatens their love as well as their very lives.

Uncaged Review: This is a book which will keep you reading. It is good from start to finish, and no, I didn’t see the twist coming.

The story deals with a 25 year old feud and a budding romance. The feud is between Bruce Fairchild and a Roberto Perez who was using their law firm for shady securities. The romance is between Taylor Fairchild, who works for her Father’s Fairchild Management Group which handles celebrities and bands, and Craig Phillips, who play guitar in a band called Fury and is a drop man for a Robert Cabrera on the side to keep the band going.

Taylor meets Craig when her father forces her to take a vacation in London with her best friend, Susan. She has been overworking since her divorce from Derek ‘Diesel’ Barnes, a member of a rock group. She meets the four band members but it isn’t until Craig invites her to dinner, she is able to tell him about her wanting to send a demo recording to her father to see if he wants to manage the band. Of course, this is his dream, so he accepts, believing he will be able to walk away from his role as a drop man for the drug syndicate.

Taylor, who falls in love with Craig sees trouble in paradise when Steve comes to his room after being beaten by a Pierre Montangne, who is an enforcer for Cabrera. The band does go to America from England and get accepted and become famous. Now you know things can’t go smoothly here, and it doesn’t. Cabrera

is now in Mexico. He wants Craig back working for him, unwilling to let the best drop man he ever had get away again. He also sees a way of getting even with Fairchild, the man who put him in prison 25 years ago.

From this point on, you don’t want to put the book down as things deteriorate. This is a must read if you like a great romance with a lot of suspense. It is definitely a 5 star read. Reviewed by Barbara

Mountain of the Dead Jeremy Bates Horror History

The greatest unsolved mystery of the 20th century—until now.

Fact: During the night of February 1, 1959, in the remote reaches of Siberia, nine Russian hikers slash open their tent from the inside and flee into a blizzard in subpolar temperatures.

Fact: By morning all are dead, several having suffered gruesome, violent deaths. What happened to them has baffled investigators and researchers to this day.

It has become known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Now, an American true-crime writer seeking answers to the enduring mystery sets out to retrace the hikers’ steps on their fateful expedition—though nothing can prepare him for what he is about to discover...

Uncaged Review: Book five in the world’s scariest places has us traveling to cold snowy Russia. True crime writer Mr Smith and his friend Disco are keen to find out what happened. In a bizarre accident called The Dyatlov Pass Accident. Where nine hikers sadly lost there life’s This story is based on actual true event’s that occurred in the 1950s. I would think that this accident would still be highly spoken by people all round the world in today’s age. While reading this book I found myself hooked on Mr Bates writing style and solving this mystery for myself. I was surprised also by the ending of the book now finding myself addicted to. This new author I’ve came across and the world scariest places series. I would highly recommend this book with just the right amount of Horror and Mystery to wet any reader’s appeal. Reviewed by Jennifer

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Uncaged Reviews The Rose Thief Claire Buss Fantasy/Humor

Ned Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher has a problem. Someone is stealing the Emperor’s roses.

But that’s not the worst of it. In his infinite wisdom and grace, the Emperor magically imbued his red rose with love so if it was ever removed from the Imperial Rose Gardens then love will be lost, to everyone, forever. It’s up to Ned and his band of motley catchers to apprehend the thief and save the day.

Uncaged Review: Some one is stealing the Emperor’s roses. Each color rose represents a different emotion/virtue which had been infused into each stolen rose. The one they are after is the Red Rose of Love. If it goes away, the world will lose love.

One Ned Spinks, the Chief Thief Catcher is told he has 24 hours to find the thief or lose his life.

In him menagerie of helpers is: Sparks- a firefly, Willow-a nymph, Jenni-a sprite, and Joe-a spellcaster, with Peral-a mermaid added. Then there is Two-faced Bob who actually has two faces, Momma K the leader of the sprites, High Right and High Left, the Upper Circle, the Emperor (actually a female), a warlock or sorcerer and a lot more unusual characters in the investigation for who is stealing the roses.

A lot of the book is tongue-in-cheek analogies in a fantasy world where anything can happen if you have enough fae magic. (Like growing gills to swim underwater) You do need to pay attention to the different characters to keep them straight. It was a fun book but was confusing at first when I couldn’t tell the dialog from the rest of the paragraph with the use of single quote marks versus the tradition double.

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I did find the book different enough to enjoy it’s quirky characters and the situations they ended up falling into while attempting to stop the sorcerer from stealing love from the world. I give it a 4 star rating and see it as something to read as one of those odd books you want to enjoy between heavier reading.

Reviewed by Barbara

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Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews Pandemonium J.C. Michael Horror/Crime As the year draws to a close, a mysterious stranger makes a proposition to club owner Warren Charlton. It’s a deal involving a brand new drug.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: Pandemonium took me by complete surprise. I absolutely loved every minute of it and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. There was just so much meat to it, I couldn’t wait to see what it was building up to.

Normally, I stick to obviously paranormal based books. it’s just what I like. Occasionally I’ll read something different or out of my comfort zone, just to break things up a little bit, and that is exactly what I was doing with this book. It is not marketed as a paranormal book. I think it’s classified as a Thriller. Well, trying to classify this book into just one genre is definitely a waste of time.

There is a bit of paranormal, but it’s not your typical vampire, werewolf, or witch type book. It’s something else completely.

For much of the book we follow several people as they prepare for the night of their lives. Starting a bit before the event, we learn about their personalities and what their backgrounds are. We are given a peek inside their everyday lives. What their home lives are like, what drugs they like, what music they prefer, that sort of thing. There was a lot of stuff that I could relate to in this book because when I was younger, in the mid and late 90’s I went to a lot of raves. You can stop laughing at me now. There were things said and referred to in this book that would have totally been said and overheard by me when I was 18 and 19 years old. It made me somewhat nostalgic, but not

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enough that I want to relive those days lol.

There is a big rave coming up in a castle in the middle of nowhere that has been built for the sole purpose of hosting 4 raves a year. The builder has encountered tragedy in his life and building the castle seems to have been his release of his pain. He put everything he could into it, and in all honesty, it sounded really bad ass.

When Warren receives a call from a mysterious stranger, he feels compelled to meet with him to see what he has to offer. This mysterious creepy old man has had a new drug developed. It is supposed to be better than ecstasy. Without the nasty come down. In exchange for a rather large sum of money, Warren will allow the dealers to distribute this new drug free of charge to the ravers. Some things really are too good to be true.

It seems that Warren has the night planned out perfectly. Everything is going as planned until just after the clock strikes midnight and rings in the new year.

What happens next is something you will have to read for yourself because I really don’t have the words for what happens that I can use to properly describe the mayhem and extent of holy crapness that goes on.

There is some extremely violent scenes and activities.

There is a rape scene that is quite disturbing but is fairly short.

This book gave me a serious book hangover. I still haven’t been able to start another book, and this is not a good thing for a reviewer lol. When I finished this book, the only word that came to mind was, “Whoa”.

I’m not sure exactly who I would recommend this book to. I think it could be something of a specialized audience. The main themes are techno music, drugs, raves, and violence. I definitely would not recommend it to anyone under 18 or who has issues with reading about violence.

Despite the violence and total insanity of this book,

I really did love it. It kept me excited and interested and just really couldn’t wait to find out what happens.

There was a pretty disgusting scene about a penis and one of those fish that swims up your pee hole that sticks out its barbs when you try to pull it out, but the author does a much better job of describing it than I do!

A Kiss to Build a Dream On Jolie St. Amant Paranormal Romance

Each book in this series follows something of a pattern, but since the characters are so intriguing, it doesn’t feel repetitive. You kind of know what to expect, but it’s the little details that surprise you in each story.

Overall, I really love this series. You could probably read them individually out of order, but if you read them in order, it gives you more of the backstories of the characters around the hotel. I also adore the covers in this series. Covers aren’t something I normally comment on, but in this case, I think it’s deserved.

Stuck in a loveless relationship, Chloe spends her days bored and lonely. She can’t help but wonder what her life would be like if she had lived in an enchanting city like New Orleans.

So when she’s offered a job at the Chateau Rouge Hotel, she doesn’t hesitate for a second before leaving her old life behind.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: A Kiss to Build a Dream On is the third book in the Voodoo That You Do series by Jolie St. Amant. So far, I’ve enjoyed each and every book. I’m really hoping there are more in the series because the characters at the Chateau Rouge are so interesting I’m constantly wanting to know more about them.

Chloe is a relatable character because many people enter into marriages when they are younger that they eventually come to feel lost within the relationships. I think she is very brave for taking a new job and starting over. She is taking the time for herself that she didn’t get when she was younger.

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Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews Water of Souls Eli Constant Horror/Paranormal Winter is supposed to be beautiful.

Snowball fights. Hot chocolate by a fire. Brightly-packaged presents.

It’s definitely not supposed to be about frozen bodies, serial killers, and boyfriends with secrets.

Victoria and Kyle are in the midst of a stillblossoming relationship, but she hasn’t told him the truth about herself yet. She’s not ready. Of course, he’s hiding something too. And he doesn’t even know it. Love’s complicated.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: Water of Souls is the 2nd book in the Victoria Cage, Necromancer series by Eli Constant. I didn’t think it was possible, but Water of Souls is actually even better than the first book, Garden of Lilies.

I can’t get over how much I love Tori. She is such a realistic and relatable character, you can’t help but love her. She is flawed in ways many of us are. It’s nice to see a main female character who isn’t super confident and perfect. She’s an average woman with a couple of little extras. She trips over cracks in the sidewalk just like the rest of us, looking around hoping no one saw us look like a clumsy fool.

As the story goes on and we get deeper into the world of Tori and her Blood Queen status, we are learning more and more about the other people in her life and their dirty little secrets. I can’t wait to

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see what happens in the next book.

I do like how Constant has been tackling difficult social topics. There is a character in Water of Souls who isn’t quite who he seems and Constant handles it in a way that is respectful as well as informative.

She doesn’t turn this character into a novelty, which I’ve noticed has been lately occurring in many other books.

Overall, Water of Souls is another great book by Eli Constant and a fantastic step further into this world of forbidden Necromancy, Fae, Blood Queens, and Funeral homes. This is definitely one series to keep a sharp eye on!

Retribution Elle Klass Young Adult/Horror Maddie and zombie-slashing buddy Bryce choose separate paths. Bryce and Jack follow the U.S. military carrier while Maddie and the others head out to Jacksonville, Florida. They soon find a stowaway and he may be infected.

With him is evidence that sends them to Cape Town, South Africa. An area that had yet to be cleansed of deaders.

force to be reckoned with. It’s nice to see a character grow the way she has. It gives me a bit of hope for the teens of today.

Retribution picks up right at the end of the last book and launches you through the end of the story like a freight train. There are no slow-moving points in this book, which is quite an impressive feat, in my opinion.

Maddie must chance her life again and venture into an area infested with deaders to find the answers to how the illness started and search for a cure. Heather takes the lead with her and they run into allies and enemies, but in the deader world it’s hard to know which is which and who to trust. Allies become enemies as they get closer to finding the answers.

Fang-Freakin-Tastic Review: Retribution is

the 3rd and final book in the Zombie Girl series. I’ve really enjoyed this series from the first book, Premonition, all the way to the last. I’m a little sad it’s over, but I know all good things must eventually come to an end.

Overall this is a great wrap up to the series. There are little bits and pieces here and there that made me laugh and made me curious about viruses and all kinds of sciency stuff I’m not normally interested in.

I do feel like the ending was a little abrupt for my tastes, but not everyone is like me, so others may not mind it.

Maddie has grown from an annoying teenager into a

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Myra’s Horror Blog Reviews

Slow Burn 4 Bobby Adair Horror Dead Fire picks up following an infected attack on Sarah Mansfield’s fortified house, during which 3 people seek shelter with Zed Zane and his fellow survivors. In the confusion, however, Murphy is gunned down, and an unthinking, emotional Zed strikes out to enact revenge. Unfortunately, the shooting and commotion have only attracted more Whites. A diversion plan emerges to rid the horde of the Smart One trying to figure a way through the gates, and lead the other infected away from the compound. Momentarily safe, the survivors turn to the matter of where to bury the dead. Zed, being now the only one available who would not attract the attentions of the infected, accompanies Freitag on this morbid mission. In short order, Zed is once more embittered and hardened against trust, when he finds himself stranded.

After a series of developments that prove the Whites to be more formidable foes than he ever dreamed, he finds his way back to Sarah’s house to find the compound overrun with infected and his friends mysteriously vanished without a trace, leaving Zed to rely once more solely on his wits to survive…

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Myra’s Review: This the 4th book in the series and I keep wanting to quickly get my hands on the next book. Why? The storylines are interesting and characters well-developed, but it is Zed who keeps drawing me in. He is a multifaceted person; flawed, damaged from childhood trauma, self-depreciating, and yet very heroic…in spite of himself. Zed is the kind of friend I’d want on my side in an apocalypse.

We pick up with Murphy, who is on the mend in spite of a head wound. Zed wants to lead away the many zombies surrounding the walls. But how? He gets the idea to set off a car alarm and it works like a charm.

Continuing down the road, he repeats the process many times; like a pied-piper leading the undead away.

Zed decides to take Frietag on a supply run. No one in the group really knows her and he figures this is a good way to test her loyalty to the group. She not only leaves him stranded on shore, but guns the boat they took for the expedition, to attract Whites to Zed’s location. He is furious of course and heads back; he’ll deal with Frietage when he returns. She is unaware of his ability to survive among the undead, and he has found out she hates Whites to the exclusion of all else, even Slow Burns like him are included.

Zed runs into several Smart Whites involved in some strange behavior, along with servile, dumb zombies they use like beasts of burden to haul their treasure.

Zed’s luck gets worse as he is struck unconscious

and awakens to find himself chained to the enslaved Whites. Zed can’t believe he was so stupid as to be captured by Smart Whites. He decides to observe their behavior, while watching for an opportunity to escape. Perhaps it can help the groups’ survivability. As the days pass and he becomes weak with hunger, Zed wonders if he will ever escape. Finally, he manages to, along with another slow burner, Nico.

Leaving cowardly Nico with a friendly old man, Zed heads back to Sarah Mansfield’s mansion. Going through tapes on the security system, Zed discovers what happened to his friends and what Frietag appeared to share with them. Tracking down Frietag, he finds her alone inside a house, and he gets her to tell him the truth. She knew his friends did not believe her story of Zed attacking her and ran away from the group. He does not kill Frietag, but leaves her without the supplies and boat that she stole from him. Zed is overjoyed to be reunited with his friends and they share they definitely did not believe the traitorous Frietgag.

Another fun read for zombie and Slow Burn fans alike.

The Zee Brothers Grivante Horror/Humor TRAPPED inside a school, with NO WEAPONS and a growing HORDE of the DEAD! The Zee Brothers return for their second adventure, grab a copy today!

This time answering the call from a local charter school that fears they may have an outbreak amongst their students.

The brothers find themselves trapped inside the school, with no weapons, scared children and a host of hungry and toxic undead.

They improvise with the help of the school lunch lady and a rather intelligent young student to try and stop the toxic infection from getting out of hand.

The aftermath leads Jonah, Judas and JJ to a small farm on the outside of town, where they find the cause of the outbreak with mysterious links to the brother’s past.

Myra’s Review: The racy humor continues in the 2nd book of The Zee Brothers.

Tommy, a young boy at an elementary school becomes ill and the nurse/lunch lady calls the brothers in a panic. The boy is green and she thinks he is turning into a zombie, something she’d seen the past working in the medical field.

There’s an ironic scene where Jonah and Judas argue whether they should take weapons inside the school, since the rules are – none are allowed.

Of course one should never enter into a fray with the undead unarmed. The brothers discover things have already gotten out of control once they enter, when they are attacked by kid zombies and turned staff members.

Funny scenes include the sound of the principle being attacked by the receptionist after they engage in sex in his office, and the brothers trying to secure weapons, ending up using giant pencils.

Nat, a young girl, was an interesting character.

She’s a nerd and the one who concocts a bomb in the science lab to take down the zombies. JJ has joined the fray, along with Xanadu. The dog helps by using his stop time trick against the undead.

After securing the school, the brothers search for the source of the infection; Tommy’s home. They find a bunch of rednecks who do not believe their

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Myra’s Horror Blog Reviews story, and unfortunately one of the men was bitten earlier by the little boy.

Needless to say, the Zee brothers have to clear the house of zombies when things escalate fast.

Another short book filled with action and humor.

Much of the humor is spicy and geared more toward a male audience.

Zombie Fallout 4 Mark Tufo Horror She is coming for you....

Myra’s Review: Mike and some of his family members set out to find Tommy, who had left at the end of Book 3 to reunite with Eliza. The Talbot clan run across several survivors, including several kids. Looking for supplies, they discover a new, strange zombie threat. A huge, tangled pile of the undead made them think someone had stacked them after killing them. But then the creatures started moving, suggesting a type of hibernation when stimulation is not nearby.

Meanwhile, different family, ie Tracy and friend BT decide to take off after Mike when left behind. They are in different vehicles and run into separate troubles along the way. This was a road trip of action as each expedition is followed in the story. Fortune is smiling on the whole group, because they meet up when things hit the fan. Eliza has found Mike and as usual intent on destroying him and any loved ones around him. She, as 92 | UncagedBooks.com

expected, sends hordes of zombies against them.

Eliza picks a champion to fight Mike; his old nemesis Durgan. Eliza has already half-turned him into a vamp, and with Durgan’s increased strength plus speed, Mike doesn’t stand a chance. Thomas suggests Talbot let him turn Mike into a half vamp as well.

Although the vampire virus took long minutes to work on him, the fight is brutal. Mike was tough even when human. He kills Durgan and Eliza slips away.

Note: The Blood Stone is introduced and it will be fascinating to see how it’s used in the plot line.

There were a few minor points that although not negatives, were not positives to me, but did not detract from the review score. It became tiresome when the rescued girl, Angel, kept calling Tracy “pretty lady”.The road trip story line was not as interesting as Tufo’s other books in the series.

Ramses the Damned Anne Rice, Christopher Rice Horror Ramses the Great, former pharaoh of Egypt, is reawakened by the elixir of life in Edwardian England. Now immortal with his bride-to-be, he is swept up in a fierce and deadly battle of wills and psyches against the oncegreat Queen Cleopatra.

Myra’s Review: In the continuing rich story revolving around Ramses, a new fascinating character is introduced; Bekaten, the priestess who created the immortal gift. We pick up the story with Cleopatra.

She has been given aide by a young doctor, who is enamored with her. Although fully recovered physically and no longer the insane Queen Ramses awakened, something is wrong with her. Cleopatra’s long past memories are slipping away. Her suffering is sad to watch, especially when she cannot recall her son.

their engagement party. All the characters come together at the party and things don’t go as planned by Saqmos’ children. There is fighting and anguish as characters clash.

Although different themes are purported for the connection between Cleopatra and Sibyl, Julie thinks Sibyl is a reincarnation of the Queen and her soul is stealing Cleopatra’s memories. The end was endearing as Sibyl shares memories with Cleopatra which are woven throughout her books.

Another captivating read from Anne Rice. The only negative was that information from the previous book was a bit redundant. For me, a summary at the beginning works very well.

Next, another character, Sibyl Parker, makes her entry into the story. She is a beautiful writer who has published many romance novels set in Egypt. We discover she has always been plagued by dreams of the ancient land and its people. When Sibyl sees a photo of Ramses in a newspaper, she is determined to find him; for he has appeared in her dreams many times. How can she dream about someone she has never met?

Saqmos, the prime minister who stole the gift from Bekaten long ago, makes his appearance. He has created children from a formula that is not as pure as the original; therefore they die at 200 years old. He and his followers are determined to track down the pure gift, and settle on capturing Julie as the means. Then Ramses should hand over the formula in order to get his love back.

Meanwhile, Ramses and Julie are getting ready for Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews Confessions of a Comedian Kip Addotta Memoir From his first interactions with “The Mob” in his early childhood, his nightmarish life with his father until he was on his own at 15 years of age, through his marriages, and how he became one of the best and most famous stand-up comedians of his time, Kip Addotta tells all. He names names and details the how-to and fine-tuning of comedy.

Amy’s Review: An amazing story!

Now, I must admit that I never really knew who Kip Adotta was, and I didn’t really need to know that when i started reading the book. Now, I know more about him and his story. There is a sense of survivalness behind that comedian, and I’m guessing, he has a lot to build upon with his humor. The writing is wonderfully put together, and his story is laid out for the entire world to read.

There is always more behind the celebrity than people know, and this story shows it. Anyone who reads this may become a fan, if not one already, and I’ve just become one, not just of the comedian, but the writer as well.

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El Capo de Capos Imtiaz Latif Suspense/Crime Miguel is a wayward boy. Coming from a broken home he has seen his fair share of trouble. He wants to be somebody in this life and he is not going to let anyone get in his way. In comes Roberto Demario, smooth, charming and charismatic who acts as his father figure and mentor, helping him get initiated into The United Syndicate Cartel, the largest and most fearsome cartel in Mexico. And when Roberto gets promoted, Miguel gets a step up in the ladder also. Autobiography of a fictional character.

Amy’s Review: raw and powerful Rising in the ranks of the drug cartel, a powerful and gritty story from the cartel’s point of view. The book is riddled with bad men, doing bad things, all in the name of honor, loyalty and drugs. The author pens a great story, and brings to light the details of the darkness of the horror in the lives of the cartel. His characters have depth and are more than just doing wrong, they are human. It’s a story you don’t want to put down, but you must because it can get to you, and then, you pick it back up. I look forward to more stories from this new author.

Remember Shervin Jamali Metaphysical/Occult

Awake Under the Night Sky Vanya Sharma Contemporary Romance

As Daniel watches the life ebb from Grace’s body, he wishes they had more time, knew each other when they were young. His wife surprises him by insisting they did. And then she’s gone.

A deeply moving love story which will touch your heart!

He knows this can’t be true. Can it? They only met later in life, so why would Grace’s departing words hint at a shared youth? Haunted by this notion, Daniel journeys into the past to discover the truth.

Amy’s Review: Absolutely enticing!

The prologue brings you in, and makes you grab for the tissues. I’ve read other works by Jamali, and this is totally different, but it shows the abilities of this fine writer. This is definitely one powerful love story, as Daniel searches for answers to his wife’s deathbed insistence. Jamali has a remarkable way of painting this story with his glorious journey. I thoroughly enjoyed this emotional and yet, adventurous unique romance. It shows a depth of destiny and how its embedded into our souls. It is absolutely magnificent!

Truly.

A Twenty-year-old Andre is found unconscious on a raft off the coast of Murano, Italy.

Rescued by his father, Andre realizes his downward spiral over the past few months and strives to emerge from the clutches of his past.

Amy’s Review: inspirational and faith-building This was a light-hearted but inspirational read.

The characters came to life and the faith and hope drenched the pages. Vivian is a character filled with compassion and goodness, and is devoted to helping others. She is one of those characters that bring to life the part of humanity that even humanity is missing. Sharma writes well and shows a good story, connecting lightness that overshadows darkness and using humor to gain some levity.

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Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews A Husband’s Love T.K. Ware Mystery/Suspense

Second Nature Marie Lavender Fantasy/Paranormal

John met a woman who changed his future....

In the process he found SALVATION....

She never expected it…

Unbeknownst to Emma, John’s past prepared him for his future. He thought he could run away from them, but one day they found him.

Amy’s Review: Magnificent and inspirational I am a fan of Ware’s, so I jumped at the chance to read another book. This author writes very well, and brings the reader right in the middle of the story. It’s a powerful story about turning one’s life around, but also have the past catch up to you.

John Rivers is a remarkable character, who grows throughout the story, inspired by his faith, and his grandmother’s faith. It’s a story that is unpredictable with a great back story that helps you realize what’s going on in the present. Faith, love and inspiration, as well as sacrifice. Remarkable. I read it in one sitting, and it still holds dear for me.

96 | UncagedBooks.com

Desiree Edwards has a problem. She’s been attacked, kidnapped and forced to get along with a vampire of all things.

It’s something right out of the story books she reads, or her worst nightmare. But, sometimes he’s not the monster he appears to be. He seems so humanlike that she can’t help it when her emotions betray her, when her body betrays her. To make matters worse, she finds out more about herself than she ever wanted to know.

Amy’s Review: Something magical about an undead romance It’s obviously not a typical romance, nor is it typical about an undead ravenous vampire story. The vampire is Alec, and the human he desires is Desiree. I am a big fan of Lavender’s work, so this was something I definitely wanted to read. A start of something new, and very intense and filled with grand vibrant characters. The story builds so much the reader can feel the intensity of the chemistry between the vampire and his “captive.” I really enjoyed this story, and how Lavendar can spin a great tale of romance, even with the undead. It felt almost real. As Desiree says to Alec, “I can see inside of you, Alec. I know your heart. I swear I’ll keep that heart safe as long as I live.” It’s quite an undead story.

The Bloody Ring Prem Pilot Mystery/Crime Detective Crawford has another dead body to worry about.

This one’s on the 47th floor in a penthouse suite overlooking Vegas. The victim is a oncefamous paparazzo and gambling junkie, and Crawford discovers the man’s got a hot runaway wife too. Easy to solve, right? Find the wife, make her confess, and move on to the other cases he’s behind on. But Crawford’s burned out the job and having a hard time seeing things clearly.

Amy’s Review: Suspenseful crime thriller I am a big fan of crime novels, and the best authors can spread out the pieces and allow their crime-fighter, in this case, Detective, to put the pieces together.

This author has done that, remarkably well. Yes, there are a few pieces that are predictable, but even life can be predictable. The author sets a stage for a tanglement of cases and suspense as Detective Crawford must solve the case, while dealing with his personal life. It’s a great tale that keeps the reader on the edge of the seat, and wanting to read the book in one sitting. I look forward to more stories from this new author.

The Spiritualist Murders James Musgrave Mystery/Paranormal CLARA AND HER FAMILY MUST STOP A MESMERIZING MURDERER Women in 1886 San Francisco are killing their husbands. Attorney detective Clara Foltz uses an eighteenyear-old clairvoyant to track down the mysterious man using the powers of sexual magnetism and mesmerism to turn abused women into murderers.

This becomes a family mystery, as Clara’s two oldest children get involved.

Amy’s Review: Loved this story This is a powerful story, and it’s not something that should be read lightly. I enjoyed the premise of the story, and I read the first book in this series.

It’s a unique story that mixes paranormal powers with historical settings. I read this book from beginning to end, and I just was so engaged with this story. “”We grow daily beyond our yesterdays and are ever reaching forth for the morrow...” sets the tone for the story, and this reader was definitely engaged. It’s a terrifying and interesting trek to figure out the truth behind women murdering their husbands. Full of entrancing mesmerizing intensities and mysteries of the mind, and control over someone else. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

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Jen’s Book Reviews The God’s Eye Jason J. Nugent Horror The God’s Eye is a collection of four short stories perfect for the adventurous reader.

Prepare to be entertained with tales of dread and loss. Like episodes of the Twilight Zone or Tales From the Crypt, these stories are unique and a bit odd.

Jen’s Review: Four different tales that will leave you chilled to the bone. One that left me in goosebumps was about a routine looking house. Across the street and a strange neighbor let’s just say. You wouldn’t want to be neighbors with this guy. But don’t just take my word for it read if you dare.

Just maybe keep the lights on.

When Night Falls Kayla Krantz Short Stories & Poems/Thriller A fairytale ball with a not-sohappy ending.

A company that secretly experiments on the minds of the mentally ill.

The Angel of Death with a deathwish of her own.

Monsters who can kill with just one look into their eyes.

These are just some of the stories When Night Falls has to offer.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and filled to the brim with darkness and characters driven by the voices in their head, this collection focuses on the darker side of life.

Jen’s Review: I did enjoy this book and I thought a few of the stories were enjoyable. My favorite being the ones that were wrote with a hundred words or less. They stood out in my mind the most as some were a little dark and unnerving. I’m sure fans of dark fiction or horror would really like reading this book as I did. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Visit Jen on Goodreads 98 | UncagedBooks.com

Autumn Sky Helen Pryke Short Story The day Julia’s best friend Becky gives her a magazine article to read, her whole world falls apart. After years of emotional and psychological abuse, is Julia ready to face the truth about her perfect marriage to Simon or will she continue to hide her head in the sand? Autumn Sky is a short story of 7,000 words from the author of The Healer’s Secret and Walls of Silence.

Jen’s Review: A short story that focuses on a powerful message. Julia thinks she shouldn’t complain about her marriage after all. She’s well cared for and has a good home the problem is Simon and the power of his words. The story touches on abuse of a verbal and emotional kind. For a short book it’s an eye opening to read. I found this book a page turner and read it in one sitting.

Breakwater Errin Stevens Fantasy The sirens of Griffins Bay are in trouble, and the recent slew of royal suicides looks to be the least of their worries.

For one, unless a blood relative of the queen shows up, no one’s around to staff the monarchy. Well, except for a whack-job bureaucrat and he seriously won’t do. Worse is the community unrest threatening siren society, a problem caused by too many humans in the pool, which means Simon and his off-limit girlfriend will have to run and hide if they want to make more of their flirtation...

Jen’s Review: Book two follows up with some of the same characters from book one but can also read as a standalone novel. I liked this book as it picked back up on the story straight away featuring the sirens and the drama of the royal family. It’s quite an entertaining read with a lot of new sirens thrown in to the story. Plus some major plot twists. Now as the end of book two left us readers with a cliffhanger and a tiny spoiler of book three. I’m desperate to see what happens next.

Visit Jen on Goodreads Issue 25 | August 2018 |

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