Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Bring Him Back

July 14, 2018 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where readers and writers come together to share in the magic of storytelling, one ten-sentence snippet at a time. I’ve been sharing from my freshly re-released urban fantasy romance, Death by Starlight. In last week’s snippet, Zeke, while on the trail of his lover Ian, instead found Ysolde, the ousted evil queen of the dark elves. Ysolde has offered Zeke information about Ian in exchange for his cooperation. Zeke speaks first.

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“How can I possibly trust you when I know you want nothing more than to see me and Ian dead?”

“You’re wrong. I respect you, Stormshadow. I thought your dallying with Evernight was merely a weakness of the mind and heart, but you saw what the rest of us took longer to see. He is a catalyst for the melding of dark and light powers, a resource to be exploited rather than a mutant to be despised.”

“You tried to kill him at the market place.”

“He’s too dangerous to be running free. Bring him back to the svarta, where he belongs. This will benefit all our people.”

Zeke knew Ysolde wouldn’t tolerate Ian benefiting anyone but herself. She’d enslaved Zeke and wanted to do so again with Ian as the lure.

***

Available on Amazon here. Currently a Kindle Unlimited book, so you can check it out and read for free!

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In Betwixt and Between, Ian and Zeke fought a battle against the queen of the dark realm in order to be together. Now, when they think they might settle into as normal a life as elves living among humans might be able to expect, a new enemy threatens to tear them apart. While Zeke helps the shaman Alistair in his hunt for an elusive mermaid, Ian is called to confront a wicked nymph preying on tourists along Seattle’s waterfront. Zeke and Ian soon discover that the defeated Queen Ysolde has spread her evil into the sea realms, and danger lurks beneath every wave, but it is too late to stop an escalating series of confrontations that lead to disappearances, death and the possible end of light in this world.

As Ysolde plots revenge and a mysterious prince seeks to win Ian for himself, the ancient war between light and dark sweeps Ian and Zeke into its maelstrom of hate, testing their trust of each other to the utmost.

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I’ve had some inquiries if my books are available in formats other than Kindle. At this time, only Gryffon Hall is out there on B&N, Apple, etc. One reason is because I’m re-releasing all my Loose ID titles and am just flat out overwhelmed. The other reason is that I’m experimenting with Kindle Unlimited to see how that goes., which means if you have a Kindle you can read the books for free! When the KDP select term is up, I’ll distribute the books to other retailers. If you’d like to know when that happens, you can sign up for my nifty newsletter here!

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Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. Click the link to check out the other writers participating today. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!

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Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous cover!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ A Scandal

June 2, 2018 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide range of genres share from their work in snippets of ten sentences or less. Books One, Two and Three of my Jacqui the Cat Mysteries series went on sale this week, and I’m happily working on Book Four as we speak. Jacqui has so much to say! I’ve been sharing from Prowl, Book 1. You can read the first chapter here. This scene is from Chapter Two. Jacqui and Wyatt have just met (officially). I skipped ahead a bit from last week, and succumbed to a little creative punctuation to fit the guidelines.

***

They stood there, Jacqui staring into Wyatt’s yummy caramel eyes and Wyatt staring right back.

He’s checking us out—sexually—imagining how we’d fit.

Yes, he certainly is. The power of Lycra is terrifying.

Wyatt blinked first. He shifted his boxes again. “Say, uh, have you heard about the recent theft in the neighborhood?”

“The three blue pots? Of course, it’s a scandal. What is Friday Harbor coming to?”

***

Jacqui the Cat Mysteries, the cozy gay shifter romance mystery series the world has been waiting for~

Jacqui Corleone is a fashion designer, a yoga-instructor and a concerned citizen who selflessly helps the police solve crimes. Oh, and he occasionally turns into a small wild cat. Probably due to a wizard’s curse or an evil government plot to create super warriors.

Or, he’s a cat cursed to turn into a human and only the bite of a sexy alpha lion will allow him to remain in his superior form of Cat.

Jacqui does not have a split personality, but sometimes his cat personality can get rather loud.

Loud? You’re loud.

Jacqui Corleone is a cat shifter who doesn’t know why or how he turns into a cat. He lives a solitary life in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. He’s not afraid of intimacy (yes, he is) but sensibly refrains from potentially awkward entanglements. Unfortunately, the sexy new deputy sheriff just moved in across the street and Jacqui’s vow not to get mixed up with island dudes is sorely challenged.

When the mysterious disappearance of three blue pots draws Jacqui to investigate, he’s drawn ever deeper into danger–and into the muscular but not too bulgy or veiny arms of deputy Wyatt West (he wishes).

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from author of fantastical gay fiction, Alexis Duran.

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

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Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Hey, Neighbor

May 26, 2018 by Alexis Duran

Woohoo! It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for Weekend Writing Warriors, and on top of that, Jacqui the Cat Mysteries, Books 1-3 are now available for pre-order. Yes, you read that right. I’ve released three books at once because it sounded like a really good idea at the time and besides, I have no life. It’s nice to see the shiny covers all lined up to together.

So I’m continuing to share from Prowl, Book 1. We left Jacqui in the middle of lurking behind Wyatt’s condo, musing on how to best approach him after their rather unsuccessful meeting, man to cat. This is their first encounter man to man. (In case you’re new to this, Jacqui is a cat shifter. You can read about what happened earlier on the Jacqui book page here.)

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“Hey, neighbor.”

Jacqui jumped, literally, nearly two inches off the ground.

Wyatt didn’t seem to notice. He was carrying a stack of flattened boxes, headed for the recycle bin at the end of the line of condos. This meant they naturally fell in step.

“Good morning,” Jacqui said, “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

“Thanks.” Wyatt shifted his boxes to fit under one arm and reached out his free hand. Nice long fingers, freckled and dusted with a sprinkling of white paint, ended in broken, dirty nails. Jacqui remembered the hand stroking his back roughly and suppressed a whimper.

***

Jacqui the Cat Mysteries, the cozy gay shifter romance mystery series the world has been waiting for~

Or, he’s a cat cursed to turn into a human and only the bite of a sexy alpha lion will allow him to remain in his superior form of Cat.

Jacqui does not have a split personality, but sometimes his cat personality can get rather loud.

Loud? You’re loud.

Join Jacqui (and Cat) in this new exciting and sexy gay shifter romance mystery series from bestselling author (she wishes) Alexis Duran. Coming soon! **UPDATE** All three books are available for pre-order on Amazon, with a release date of May 29, only two days away!

Here be the Amazon links:

Prowl

Pounce

Roam

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Thanks to Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. for the fabulous covers!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Don’t You Remember Me?

August 13, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Wow, is it really Sunday again? I guess it must be because we’re both here in cyberland, waiting to read fabulous fiction. So, Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors! I’ve been sharing from my latest release, Death by Starlight, an m/m urban fantasy set in Seattle. Zeke the dark elf and Alistair the disreputable shaman have been searching for Mellosa the not-so-friendly mermaid out on the Salish Sea. They find her, and Zeke notices she’s not quite the charming little mermaid type one might expect.

***

Mellosa’s eyes were huge, mouth wide and full of sharp teeth, including incisors that would put any vampire to shame. Her hair wasn’t really hair but a living, breathing part of her, more akin to fronds or feathery tentacles then the dead strands that covered a human’s head.

Her fingers were webbed, and fins sprouted from her shoulders and biceps. Still, as she drummed her fingers against the gunwale, it was easy to see how a lonely man or woman might become entranced by her.

“Why have you called me from my hunting?” she asked, speaking directly to Zeke in a high, almost screechy voice. Gills on her long neck fluttered softly.

Alistair sank slowly to the bench. “Mellosa, my love, don’t you remember me?”

“Of course I remember you, smelly old man.” The way she emphasized man made it clear she considered the word an insult.

***

Edge of Night 2: Death by Starlight

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“I love this author’s imagination and skill, from the magical, emotional, and erotic nuances of the romantic pair, the details of the underground world of the svarta, the remote and glacial world of the liosa, and the characters that support or thwart them. Highly recommended!” ~ Velvet Panic

Amazon

Currently on sale for $3.74 at Loose ID

Books2Read (nifty link that will show you all the places you can purchase the ebook)

Betwixt and Between: Edge of Night Book 1 is available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Books2Read

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This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ You Know You Want It

July 23, 2017 by Alexis Duran

Hey, look! It exists!

Cover by April Martinez

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. Death by Starlight released on Tuesday, and it has a cover and pages and everything. Sometimes we authors get a little nervous, but then magic happens and there’s this book.

So, on to the snippet. I’ve been sharing from the scene where Zeke and Alistair go out on Alistair’s little motor boat in search of the mermaid Melissa, who Alistair has been crushing on most of his long life. This picks up a little bit after last week’s snippet.

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“C’mon, Mellosa,” Zeke muttered. “You know you want it. Why else have you been hanging out in these human-infested waters, baiting and teasing this sorry excuse for a shaman?”

“What’s the rush?” Alistair asked, leaning over the other side.

“Ian’s about to get himself in trouble.”

“So what else is new?”

They rode the tide in silence, the slap of waves against the boat and the rush of wind the only sound. The clouds parted slightly, allowing a bit of moonlight to lighten the sky and outline the dark bulk of the Olympic mountain range and the landmasses to either side of them. The lights of Port Angeles peppered the distant shore.

The mermaid lure was now a mere pinprick, a remote star in an upside-down sky.

***

Edge of Night 2: Death by Starlight

Ian and Zeke fought a battle against the queen of the dark realm in order to be together, but just when they think they might settle into as normal a life as elves living among humans might be able to expect, a new enemy threatens to tear them apart. While Zeke helps the shaman Alistair in his hunt for an elusive mermaid, Ian is called to confront a wicked nymph preying on tourists along Seattle’s waterfront. Zeke and Ian soon discover that the defeated Queen Ysolde has spread her evil into the sea realms, and danger lurks beneath every wave, but it is too late to stop an escalating series of confrontations that lead to disappearances, death and the possible end of light in this world.

Amazon

Loose ID

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Betwixt and Between: Book 1 is available at these retailers: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Books2Read

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ That’s Him All Right

December 4, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Greetings and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors! I’ve been away for awhile but I had a good reason. And here is that reason:

Yup. Best writing retreat ever!

But I’m back now and ready for business. I’m continuing with a scene from my latest release, Matthias. Dylan, a reporter, is finding out from his senior editor that the story they were doing on Matthias has been shut down, for mysterious reasons.

***

Amanda crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath. She glanced over her shoulder. This late on a Friday afternoon, the usually teeming newsroom was mostly empty. “If you ask me, Krall’s influence has reached this paper.”

“You think Marley killed the story because—”

“Because he was ordered to from on high. Yeah, I do.”

Despite her anger Amanda leaned over Dylan’s desk to inspect the photo he’d enlarged on his desktop.

“That’s him all right. No man should be that good-looking.”

***

Matthias: Order of the Black Knights ~

From Louisiana swamp rat to revivalist huckster to skilled con artist, Matthias Krall clawed his way out of poverty using his natural gifts of grift and manipulation to become the leader of an exclusive retreat center. Exploiting the guise of spiritual guru, Matthias seduces the rich and powerful into turning over their lives and fortunes to his control. But wealth and a small cadre of loyal followers can’t protect Matthias from the betrayal he knows is imminent. Everyone wants what Matthias has, except for one man who wants to destroy it. Dylan Connelly is a reporter who’s determined to prove the charismatic recluse is not only a fraud but a murderer.

Irresistibly drawn to Dylan despite the warnings in his gut, Matthias lures Dylan to his island retreat, determined to destroy his enemy once and for all.

Check out this great review! “I have to commend Alexis Duran because this story truly sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. As much as I wanted to put it down, I just couldn’t. ” 5 Stars from Bayou Book Junkie

Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

Purchase on Amazon

Order of the Black Knights

Every century has seen its knights, but they are not always seen. Some of them do what must be done—getting their hands dirty when no one else is willing. Assassins and antiheroes who work from the shadows, they are called the Black Knights. From the time of the society’s creation in the 1100s, these men are cursed to repeat their lives of bloodshed. But for each knight, there is one who can bring out the man that waits inside and break the cycle. The question is whether or not the knight will kill his true love before he figures it out.

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