Guest Post: Persephone's Raven by Mara Amberly ~ A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Author Interview @MaraAmberly

 

#halloween #halloween2020 #mythology #urbanfantasy #uf #paranormalromance #pnr #fantasy #romantic #whimsical #CursedHallowsEve

Blurb: 

I always believed mythology to be stories from the past, but what if they're prophecies... and now they're coming true?
I didn't want to take my little sister trick-or-treating on Halloween night, but I'm glad I did. 
I'm surprised to meet a handsome stranger with an otherworldly air in the shadows. At first he intimidates me, but when our paths cross again at a masquerade party, I have the chance to get to know him. I find him captivating, but I doubt his claims that his name is Hades—the name belonging to the Greek God of the Underworld. After all, what are the chances it's his real name, God or not, when my name is Persephone—the same as Hades' mythological queen?
What's he going to say next? That he's the real Greek God of the Underworld? That we're destined to be together? It seems more likely he's trying to win me over, and yet, I want to get to know him better. I'm drawn to him more than other men; the difference is like night and day.
I'll give him a chance, but I don't believe he's the real Hades or that we have a special destiny. Of course, I've been known to be wrong.


Excerpt: 

“So what do I call you?” I asked him, wondering if I should be using ‘Your Majesty’ or a term of respect like that.
“I told you,” he said. “My name is Hades.”
“Then I will call you that,” I promised him.
The room was steeped in luxury, but his attention wasn’t on it; it was on me. In my normal, everyday life I might’ve questioned why, but in this land and in my dream, I merely took it as a compliment. We walked on through his castle, and when we reached another room, which seemed a more relaxed reception room, we sat down together at a wooden table.
It wasn’t lost on me that the castle was exceptionally well-kept, with tapestries decorating its walls, ornate chandeliers, and many beautiful relics and paintings from all over the world. It made me wonder when he had gathered them, if he’d done so himself, but my instincts told me he had. I could sense his touch on everything in our surroundings, even the castle itself. It truly felt like his realm.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked me, as he leaned forward over the table, steepling his fingers beneath his chin.
I shook my head, because it was hard to explain. “I’m just experiencing this—your castle, the world it’s in, Hades.”
His name felt strange as I spoke it, as though it held more power here than in the mortal world. I finally understood then that speaking his name had meaning, and there were many who might not have dared to speak it at all.
“This is the underworld,” he told me, as he regarded me with interest.
“I know,” I answered softly. Prior to meeting him, it had merely been a concept, but now I knew it was real, and I was here for a time. I glanced out the window. It was stained glass, and patterned in blues and greens, but I could tell that the day was growing darker outside. It seemed night was swiftly approaching.

Where can readers find Persephone's Raven?


Available exclusively in A Cursed All Hallows' Eve: Limited Edition Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Reverse Harem Halloween Themed Collection

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Available to read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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The veil is thin. Darkness calls. Will you answer?

Halloween curses plague the daring heroes and spunky heroines in this spirited collection of tales. A Cursed All Hallows' Eve brings you 20+ stories stuffed with everything from dark gods to brooding shifters, delivering hours of decadent, pleasure-filled reading from bestselling and award winning urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors.
If you can't get enough of those supernatural creatures—vampires, ghosts, witches, demons, and fae—this limited edition collection will alternately thrill you with the spicy and tempt you with the sweet. Delve into these worlds where the living haunt the dead and the undead tempt the breathing.
Answer the call, because this Halloween, not all the costumes are disguises.



AUTHOR INTERVIEW


Hello and welcome, readers! We have Mara Amberly here with us today. Mara, thanks for visiting us.


How long have you been a writer and how did you come to writing?

One of my majors was in journalism at university (and I later studied a Masters in editing and publishing), and it improved my writing quality and speed. Around fifteen years ago, I got into text-based online roleplaying games, including freeform and system games. I GM’d games over the years: mainly 7th Sea and Serenity, but also other games like Legend of the Five Rings and Stargate. I think that time spent GMing and playing in games built up and improved my fiction-writing skills. I wrote my first book in 2015, and my first novel in 2016.

Tell us about your title featured in: A Cursed All Hallows’ Eve

‘Persephone’s Raven’ is a clean paranormal romance story mainly set during Halloween. It tells the story of Persephone, a student who lives at home with her family. She had party plans, but they were canceled and she was asked to take her younger sister, Deanna, trick or treating. While they’re out, she learns that someone might have seen a ghost in the window of a deserted house up the street, and she and Deanna check it out. The events of the evening lead her to meet a man who calls himself Hades.  

How did you come up with the storyline?

I had the idea of writing a romantic story about a god and a human woman. I was originally going to make it a darker story than it is, but as it took form, it came out lighter. I had ideas in mind before I started, but I made it up as I went along. I’d best define myself as a plantser – kind of halfway between a planner and a pantser. I usually plot out a framework for longer stories and plan out early chapters in detail, but this was a shorter story at around 10k and I didn’t need to plan that much.

What inspires you to write?

I feel compelled to write and put stories out there. Ideas just come together in my head, but I’m very much a visual person, so I’ll usually create or buy a cover before I’ve even written a story. It’s part of the process for me. Sometimes images inspire me to write, but usually ideas do. I watch a lot of shows (mostly sci-fi) and the genre I’ve read most is epic fantasy. I feel like things I’ve really enjoyed inspire me to want to create things of my own that are (hopefully) equally epic. 


Tell us about your other books:

I’m currently focusing on my A Paradox of Time series, which is time travel sci-fi. It’s probably my favourite series to write so far. I’ve written books 1 and 2, I have the prequel novella to write next (in that series), and I have covers created and bought up as far as Book 4 already. I’m just planning to keep writing books in that series for as long as   I feel inspired to. 

I’m also planning a new sci-fi vigilante series called Shadowstar Vigilantes. I have the first book (Red Astrea) on pre-order now and I’ve bought the cover for the second book (Octavia Rising) already.   

I’m planning to write another book in my Sisters of Destiny series. It’s epic fantasy, and I currently have books 1 and 2 out. 

I have other book plans too, but I’m just going to focus on these ones for the time being, because you can’t write everything at once.


Where can readers find you? 



About the Author: 

Mara Amberly is an author of epic and urban fantasy, time travel and military science fiction, and roleplaying game content. She's a trained journalist, editor and web developer, and she has experience working in the computer game industry in a support capacity.

She works as an author and graphic designer, and lives in Ireland with her husband. 



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Hex Factor by Andie M. Long

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Vampire Noah enters a TV talent competition with his band, only to find that one of his main rivals is his ex-girlfriend, Stacey. Can he win the competition and her heart?


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Five years ago, Maggie and Vanessa received a psychic reading from the mysterious Madame Fontaine. And now the reckoning has come.  Will all the prophecies foretold by the mysterious medium from Tempted by a Vampire finally come true? 


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“We should split up. Stay stealthy, stay low, and close to the walls.” Gage pointed to the building before crouching down close to the ground. “Or hide behind anything that will keep you hidden. And for Christ’s sake, stay out of the moonlight. But shit’s about to get real.” He pulled a long, jagged knife from his boot and, keeping low, he hurried toward the exterior of the house.
I glanced around at the others; everyone held some sort of weapon in their hand. Elvis had a sword that had been sheathed and hung from his waistband during the ride here. Cian sported a large blade as well. They all must have pulled their weapons out of the locked room downstairs. A room I’d heard them talk about, but I didn’t realize it was actually real. Thank goodness they never needed them before, but I was glad they kept them sharpened and maintained for situations like this. Lane carried a shorter sword with a thick blade. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he’d found it in the tool shed where all the garden tools were because it looked similar to a machete and was about two feet long. I was in awe of his stature as he carried the sword with authority, confidence, and power.
We were all vampires and usually never needed to carry weapons. But we were now going up against a powerful vampire who had somehow acquired magic as part of her terrorizing skills, unless Lane was right, and I had an inkling he was. She was working off a borrowed enchantment from another witch or warlock. She was a hateful, conniving bitch, and we needed every precaution available.
I reached inside my waistband and yanked out the black leather whip I’d stashed there right before we left the house.
Lane raised both eyebrows. “Holy shit! Where did you get that?”
“I told you when I bought it.”
“But I thought you were just kidding around. Why am I just now seeing it?”
“Quiet, you two. Talk about your erotic sex lives another time,” Gage harped while Ace giggled.
“Do you know how to use it?” Lane whispered close to my ear.
“Yes.”
I studied different techniques online and practiced for hours on end when Lane was in the studio with the band. It had come as a kit that I’d ordered with different floggers for different sensations. I’d planned on using it to add a little pizazz to our sex lives—not that I’d been bored with Lane; I just thought it all sounded fun.
The whip hadn’t been my initial choice, but it was included in the kit. I’d been going more for the soft floggers, blindfolds, and rope, but once it arrived with the other stuff, I’d decided to learn how to use it.
My aim had gotten pretty good at hitting close enough for a little sting, but not enough to cause pain—just enough of a little sting to achieve the perfect amount of excitement. I liked to surprise Lane every now and again. Plus, the leather bustier that came with the whip was so sexy.
I heard him gulp as we continued to walk. 

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