urban fantasy

Let me introduce…

 

jasperactor1

JASPER MOREAU!

Who is he? Well, besides sexy and hot as hell…that’s more what he is, not who though.

Jasper is one of my absolute favorite characters to write. He’s not just eye candy, but I may stare at this inspirational photo when I need my muse to help me create his lines, his expression, and his attitude.

You see, Jasper is vital to the fantasy/paranormal story I need to tell in the “Greylyn the Guardian Angel series,” starting with Book 1 “Rekindled Prophecy”.

Rekindled Prophecy Hardcover 3d

If you’ll pay close attention to the book cover you will notice that is NOT Jasper on the cover. Must be mistake, right? How can someone THAT sexy not be on the book cover? He HAS to be the love interest, right?

Sorry…NOPE!

But don’t worry, after this series I have every intention of giving Jasper his very own story because he is absolutely fascinating.

So back to the original question…who is Jasper Moreau?

Jasper is from French royalty (many centuries ago). He’s a guardian angel with a heart of gold and a body for sin. His panty-dropping smile is legendary. A simple come hither look from his ice-blue eyes will have you in his thrall before you even have a chance to blink.

So why isn’t he the heroine’s love interest then?

No one knows exactly. It would seem to make sense that he would be, but things are a bit complicated.

What we do know about him is that he’s a guardian angel and he was the one present when our heroine, Greylyn, dug herself out of her own grave over 450 years ago in the rural fields of Ireland. He took her under his wing and talk her everything she needed to know about being a guardian angel, including who to stay clear of (dark guardians to be precise – which turns out to be much more difficult than either one of them realizes since…hmmmm…Kael is a dark guardian — much more Kael in a later posting, I promise).

Greylyn has kept things platonic between her and Jasper for centuries. Silly girl! And Jasper, being a gentlemen, respects that. After all, humans come and go but guardian angels live on and on. So he’s got all the time in the world.

So why don’t we just let Jasper introduce himself…

***

Now how to explain Jasper’s arrival and abrupt departure? She’d peeked out the window while she was on the phone. Everyone was assembled under the gazebo except for the bride and her father, the groom … and Kael. They had all seen him come inside her suite.

“Act like we’re arguing but trying to be quiet about it. I’ll explain that you’re an ex- boyfriend making a last-ditch attempt to win me back and I’ve sent you packing…again.”

Jasper’s eyebrows raised inquisitively. “Now who in their right mind is going to believe that?”

The crowd under the gazebo was oddly quiet as Greylyn walked Jasper to his car. No one even tried to feign disinterest as they put their plan into action.

Taking his cue, Jasper began to gesture wildly with a pleading look on his face. Greylyn, in turn, pretended to speak softly, but firmly, hands on her hips for effect along with an occasional dramatic hand gesture. They must have been convincing because her sensitive hearing picked up the shocked comments from the young ladies of the wedding party. The buxom blonde was more than dismayed that the hunk appeared to be leaving.

“Oh, what is wrong with that girl? He’s divine!”

Jasper even audaciously glanced over at the woman and gave her a wink. Sure enough, it gained him what his ego wanted to hear, a soft gasp as she was drawn into his orbit without him even needing to take a step closer. The woman looked as if she’d swoon any second now. One of her friends reached out to grab her by the elbow.

Yes, Jasper had yet another female under this thrall.

“Works every time,” he breathlessly whispered as they reached the car.

***

If you’d like to read more about Jasper, and the other characters in Rekindled Prophecy…

Check back each week as I introduce the rest of the cast of characters from the Greylyn the Guardian Angel series, inspirations, muses, musical motivations, scene settings, and future plans for these characters.

XOXO!

KC

As a bonus, here’s some more photos of guys I used as inspiration for writing Jasper Moreau.

book cover model 7 jasper

Hope you enjoyed today’s eye candy!

Teaser Tuesday

paper bags near wall

Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

It’s the day after Cyber-Monday, a four days after Black Friday (hope everyone finished their holiday shopping and everyone is giving and receiving books this year), and two weeks since the release of my debut fantasy/paranormal novel, Rekindled Prophecy (Book 1 of the Greylyn the Guardian Angel series).

Rekindled Prophecy Hardcover 3d

If by chance you haven’t finished your shopping, and the person(s) on your list enjoy reading fantasy/paranormal fiction, check out this little teaser from the above story. Regardless of the completion of your gift-giving list, check out this excerpt from the book.

***

Just as a small ray of early morning sun peeked between the slate-gray clouds, the shadowy outline of Gaelic Haven came into view. There were no lights on in the main house or the Carriage House. Breathing a sigh of relief, she tiptoed from the car to the Carriage House and opened the foyer door without so much as a creak.

“Didn’t realize you were such a partier, Greylyn. If I had known you wanted to party all night, I could’ve joined you.”

She froze in place. Despite the sarcasm, there was an underlying tension behind his words. The words were more clipped than usual. Greylyn didn’t know what to make of it and was too tired to care. Ignoring him, she reached for the door to her room.

The shadow at the top of the stairs pounced like a preying tiger to stand between her and the door. The little light that was available in the foyer from a small tabletop lantern reflected the gold in his eyes as they stood almost nose to nose, staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. No matter how she tried, there was no looking away.

How could she be this tired and still be so affected by his closeness?

Without warning, his hand came up to her face, causing her to flinch. Instead of striking as she expected, his hand caressed the place just below her eye where she had been sliced earlier. His fingers softly moved over the now dried and crusted blood. Her skin warmed, as if she’d stepped too close to a bonfire.

His eyes strayed back to her own. The pupils enlarged, registering alarm and something else she couldn’t place. In a strained, gruff voice, he whispered through clenched teeth, “Who or what did this to you?”

It was difficult to think, much less speak or move, with Kael this close to her. His hand, still cupping her face, paralyzed her. She repeated to herself, “This is the enemy. This is the enemy,” in an effort to free herself from his hypnotic gaze.

The best she could manage was to say, “What’s the big deal? Worried that someone else might kill me before you’ve had your chance?”

She had wanted to sound sarcastic. Instead, her words came out more like a breathy whisper that ended with a pitiful squeak.

He leaned in closer, a mere inch or two from her face, his eyes locked on her own. “I don’t want to kill you, Greylyn. I would never allow anyone else to hurt you either. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

***

If you are enticed by the above teaser, please check out the entire story. Rekindled Prophecy is available on numerous book retail sites, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible, Walmart eBooks, Google Play, Abebooks, Book Depository, Alibris, Better World Books, and Indie Bound.

Here’s a link to the ebook at Amazon, but the hard cover is also available.

Also, I’m trying to build up my newsletter. If you believe you’d enjoy regular updates about the book, the series, general discussion of all things related to guardian angels, my silly rants and ravings on a myriad of topics, please check out my newsletter signup at http://www.eepurl.com/gDp4Jr

As an added enticement, I’ve joined with 9 other authors in a December Reader Appreciation/Newsletter Buildup campaign. Leann Ryans, L.P. Dillon, Becca Dawn, Nora Nolan, L.V. Lane, Krya Fox, Rowan Thalia, KC Freeman. V.T. Bonds, and Mandi Konesni have joined together to offer 24 days worth of prizes in December.

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From December 1st through the 23rd, one person on our newsletter subscriber list will be chosen each day to win a prize leading up to the grand prize drawing on the 24th. The grand prize winner will receive 15 ebooks, an audiobook, 3 paperbacks, and Amazon gift cards totaling $50.

You must sign up for all 10 newsletters to qualify to win a prize. The winner each day will be notified and announced on Facebook once their subscriptions are verified. Each author is responsible for delivery of their book and prizes to the winner.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LCoDbQsFeACRukRT_t0ZjyTQLDs7oKdXezS9HsCADgY/viewform?fbclid=IwAR25TxaSx_2wYzQgdX4-JfGXz-SgFHnb31SqsNlxJqav6Tay4_O7YVgb5BU&edit_requested=true

Happiest of holidays to everyone! Ciao for now! Come back next week for another teaser.

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

In the spirit of the holidays, and to celebrate the excitement of publishing my debut fantasy/paranormal novel, Rekindled Prophecy (Book 1 of the Greylyn the Guardian Angel series), I’ve arranged to gift some lucky reader with a free Kindle copy of the book. The winner will be announced Cyber-Monday (12/2/19)!

But that’s not all…

Even if you don’t win the book, a second winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card. The winner of the gift card will be announced the next day (12/3/19).

How to enter the contest to win either the Kindle version of Rekindled Prophecy, or the $10 Amazon gift card?

Simple!

Follow the author (That’s me!) on social media and then let me know you’ve done so with a quick comment here on  my author webpage or by sending me a direct message to me on my author FB page @KCFreemanAuthor.

My social media links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KCFreemanAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KCFreeman5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kvcfreeman5/

Newsletter (should be a link to it on my FB page as well): http://eepurl.com/gDp4Jr

It’s that simple!

Rekindled Prophecy promo with review

XOXO!

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving Teaser Tuesday

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for…including the publication of my debut fantasy/paranormal novel, Rekindled Prophecy (Book 1 of the Greylyn the Guardian Angel series) which launched exactly one week ago.

To celebrate I am offering a giveaway (please see yesterday’s post) for a free Kindle version of the book. All you have to do in order to qualify to be included in the drawing is to follow me on:

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/KCFreemanAuthor/

Twitter https://twitter.com/KCFreeman5

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kvcfreeman5/

And

Sign up for my newsletter at http://www.eepurl.com/gDp4Jr

Now you don’t have to do all the above to enter, but it does improve your odds of winning. The winner will be announced Cyber-Monday (12/2/2019). PM me on FB or leave a comment here with the simple phrase “Done”. An alternate winner will be chosen the following day for a $10 Amazon gift card!

Now to deliver on that teaser I promised in the title of this article.

***

Just as a small ray of early morning sun peeked between the slate-gray clouds, the shadowy outline of Gaelic Haven came into view. There were no lights on in the main house or the Carriage House. Breathing a sigh of relief, she tiptoed from the car to the Carriage House and opened the foyer door without so much as a creak.

“Didn’t realize you were such a partier, Greylyn. If I had known you wanted to party all night, I could’ve joined you.”

She froze in place. Despite the sarcasm, there was an underlying tension behind his words, more clipped than usual. Greylyn didn’t know what to make of it and was too tired to care. Ignoring him, she reached for the door to her room.

The shadow at the top of the stairs pounced like a preying tiger to stand between her and the door. The little light that was available in the foyer from a small tabletop lantern reflected the gold in his eyes. No matter how she tried, there was no looking away.

How could she be this exhausted and still be so affected by his closeness?

Without warning, his hand came up to her face. She flinched. Instead of striking as she expected, his hand caressed the place just below her eye where she had been sliced earlier. His fingers softly moved over the now dried and crusted blood. Her skin warmed as if she’d stepped too close to a bonfire.

His eyes strayed back to her own. The pupils enlarged, registering alarm and something else she couldn’t place. In a strained, gruff voice, he whisper-ed through clenched teeth, “Who or what did this to you?”

It was difficult to think, much less speak, with Kael this close to her. His hand, still cupping her face, paralyzed her. She repeated to herself, “This is the enemy. This is the enemy,” in an effort to free herself from his hypnotic gaze. It didn’t work.
The best she could manage was to say, “What’s the big deal? Worried that someone else might kill me before you had your chance?”

***

Hope you enjoyed the teaser and will check out Rekindled Prophecy for yourself. Don’t forget your chance to win a free Kindle version of the book!

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

The Road to “Rekindled Prophecy” AND a Giveaway!

Rekindled Prophecy FB cover

My debut novel, Rekindled Prophecy (Book 1 of the Greylyn the Guardian Angel series), released last week (11/19/2019)! To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement.

The story bounced around in my head for years while I dealt with life (went to college, worked my @$$ off for years to make it in the corporate world, got married, had kids, raised and still raising kids, moved, etc, etc, etc…). Took about a year to write the first draft as I only had a couple hours here, few minutes there, weeks where I had no time to write, and sometimes just general procrastination and making up excuses. Writer’s block may have occurred from time to time, but mostly I got in my own way. A couple dozen draft revisions later and it was ready to leave my hands and get some honest feedback.

Writing is scary. For me, it’s like pouring out your soul onto paper. That part is fine, but then giving it over to someone else to read? That’s terrifying. But I finally did it! I joined a wonderful group online through Scribophile where authors critique each other’s work in exchange for critiques of their own work. I found an amazing community of authors/reviewers within Scribophile who I love and adore for their honesty, their knowledge, their friendship, and their support. If not for them I would never have gathered up the courage to take the next step…querying.

Querying agents and publishers is a mind and soul numbing experience. Well, eventually numbing. At first, terrifying and heartbreaking as rejection emails come in and no responses from others. Some asked for full manuscripts and then I’d wait weeks, months. There were even a couple agents I waited for over a year to hear back from. Heart-wrenching process. Thankfully, I had my author friends from Scrib to bolster my mood and confidence so I kept going.

***Seriously, if you are an author, get on Scribophile! http://www.scribophile.com***

Now, where as I? Oh yes, the process! While querying I remained busy. I drafted Books 2 and 3 of the series. I edited and proofread for other authors (and some high school seniors looking for help crafting their college application essays). During this time I was asked to join with other amazing romance authors for two short story anthologies. While my series is more of a PG-13 rating (some cussing, violence, and some romance but nothing explicit), there stories were definitely more for mature audiences. If you’d like (and your over 18 years of age), please check out the anthologies. One even introduces one of the characters from the Greylyn series, but we won’t truly meet her until Book 2.

 

Finally, I had just about decided to punch the Amazon publish button myself or archive the files for the series and walk away from it for awhile when I received the most blessed news. A publisher was interested and asked for the full manuscript. Next thing  I know they called me (yes, an actual phone call, not email) and they wanted to publish my book! Thank you Zimbell House Publishing for believing in me and my story. (side note: The day after I signed with Zimbell, a literary agent I had queried several months back emailed me and was interested in signing me! After a desert of interest, all of a sudden…people wanted my story!)

Moral of the story — authors, keep on writing, keep on querying, keep on keeping on, and keep on believing!

That brings us to last Tuesday, 11/19/2019 when Rekindled Prophecy released in hard cover and ebook! To say it was one of the best days of my life, would be an understatement (I think I’m repeating myself now). It was also one of the scariest days of my life. For now, the story is no longer just mine. It belongs to the fantasy and paranormal reading world now! It belongs to you! It is my gift to you, as I believe every author who writes even one line gifts the world with their talent.

Speaking of gifts, you are probably wondering about that giveaway mentioned in the title of this article.

I will giveaway a free Kindle version of Rekindled Prophecy (or if you already have the book, you can choose one of the anthologies referenced above).

What do you have to do to enter for your chance to win?

Cyber-Monday I will select a winner and announce it here and on my social media pages.

But that’s not all!

If you’re not chosen for the grand prize, your name will go back into the hat for a consolation prize…a $10 Amazon gift card! The winner of the gift card will be announced the following day.

So please help me celebrate the release of my debut novel, Rekindled Prophecy by entering the Giveaway contest.

If you have already purchased the book and read it, please do an author a huge favor and leave an honest review on Amazon, GoodReads, and any other book retail sites.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

REKINDLED PROPHECY RELEASE DAY!

After years of pushing aside the voices in my head demanding to tell their stories, years of self-doubt, some writer’s block, some all-out procrastination, more self-doubt to finally standing tall, straightening my spine, hold my head high, and forcing my twitching finger to hit the “Send” button to email publishers and literary agents…well, the day has finally arrived.  “Rekindled Prophecy (Book 1 of the Greylyn the Guardian Angel series)” is NOW officially published!

Rekindled Prophecy Hardcover 3d

***

Guardian angel, Greylyn saves innocent humans from their own inner demons or the more nefarious real ones. She’s overdue for some rest and relaxation, but upon finding her archenemy already entrenched at an authentic Irish bed and breakfast, she knows her vacation is over before it ever starts.

Enemies for over four centuries, Greylyn has fought the dark guardian, Kael; and fought her desire for him. This time, however, she must work with the dashing dark guardian to protect innocent lives. It’s a deadly gamble. One she has no choice but to take.

But the situation is far more treacherous than she realizes as a notorious fallen archangel holds the lives of a mother and her unborn child over Greylyn’s head to force her to consummate a dormant, but deadly prophecy. One so deadly that Heaven didn’t even write it down.

The Rekindled Prophecy: Greylyn the Guardian Angel is an urban fantasy/paranormal novel with strong undertones of romance and sex appeal between two enemies – one working for Heaven, the other working for Hell.

***

“Rekindled Prophecy” is available at most book retailers and outlets. For convenience, I’ve provided the Amazon and Barnes & Noble links.

https://www.amazon.com/Rekindled-Prophecy-Greylyn-Guardian-Angel/dp/1643900919/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=rekindled+prophecy&qid=1572382925&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Rekindled-Prophecy-Greylyn-Guardian-Angel-ebook/dp/B07ZHMNMGZ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=rekindled+prophecy&qid=1572382942&sr=8-2

I hope you enjoy Greylyn’s story and will want to continue on with the series, with Book 2, “Revelations”.
Going to go celebrate with some coffee now, before heading over to an Author Takeover event on Facebook with Author Friends with Benefits at Noon (EST) is you’d like to join me to discuss the book.
XOXO

RELEASE DATE in T-6

It’s been a long road, and the journey has been fraught with ups and downs, highs and lows, bouts of bliss and troublesome turmoil but my dream is just steps (okay, days) away from fruition.

REKINDLED PROPHECY, the first book in the Gryelyn the Guardian Angel series, is set to be released TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019!

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Here’s a few links to pre-order if you’re so inclined:

https://www.amazon.com/Rekindled-Prophecy-Greylyn-Guardian-Angel/dp/1643900919/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=rekindled+prophecy&qid=1572382925&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Rekindled-Prophecy-Greylyn-Guardian-Angel-ebook/dp/B07ZHMNMGZ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=rekindled+prophecy&qid=1572382942&sr=8-2

So what is REKINDLED PROPHECY about, you may ask.
***

Guardian angel, Greylyn saves innocent humans from their own inner demons or the more nefarious real ones. She’s overdue for some rest and relaxation, but upon finding her archenemy already entrenched at an authentic Irish bed and breakfast, she knows her vacation is over before it ever starts.

Enemies for over four centuries, Greylyn has fought the dark guardian, Kael; and fought her desire for him. This time, however, she must work with the dashing dark guardian to protect innocent lives. It’s a deadly gamble. One she has no choice but to take.

But the situation is far more treacherous than she realizes as a notorious fallen archangel holds the lives of a mother and her unborn child over Greylyn’s head to force her to consummate a dormant, but deadly prophecy. One so deadly that Heaven didn’t even write it down.

The Rekindled Prophecy: Greylyn the Guardian Angel is an urban fantasy/paranormal novel with strong undertones of romance and sex appeal between two enemies – one working for Heaven, the other working for Hell.

***
Why classify as urban fantasy AND paranormal? Well, I tossed around those too genre descriptions in my head that finally had to admit defeat on choosing one because the story is BOTH!
The Wikipedia definition of URBAN FANTASY is: Urban fantasy is a fantastic genre, though many consider it to be a subgenre of fantasy, in which the narrative has magical rules or elements operating in an urban setting. Works of urban fantasy may be set in the real world and introduce aspects of fantasy, or in a fantasy world with operating rules recognizably similar to ours.
The story takes place in modern times (mostly) in the real world. In the first book, Greylyn hops between the rural Shenandoah Valley to the dilapidated run-down neighborhoods of the Washington, DC. She’s a guardian angel with more power than even she realizes after 450 years of roaming the Earth saving humans from their own inner demons and the more nefarious real ones. In later books, she’s travel all around the world, sometimes in a fallen archangel tornado of sorts, sometimes in a commercial plane from Tibet, and sometimes in her pride and joy — 1968 British racing green Camaro.
Wikipedia’s definition of the PARANORMAL genre could use some elaboration, but in short it is: Paranormal fiction is a genre of fiction whose storylines revolve around the paranormal.
Another defintion for paranormal genre is: Paranormal (Fantasy): Books with a paranormal setting or characters with paranormal abilities such as clairvoyance or telekinesis. Technically a sub-genre of fantasy, but you’ll often see it called ‘Paranormal fiction’ or ‘Supernatural fiction’.
This story has guardian angels, dark guardians (more on that later), shifters, ghosts, oracles, angels, demons, exorcisms, ESP, psychics, demonic monsters you’ve never even heard of (but I’ve researched), so we can tick mark paranormal as well.
Now I researched multiple sources, multiple definitions until my the red in my bloodshot eyes blurred away my vision (improved by Lasik) so I compromised – or not. Actually, maybe it’s a case of wanting the best of BOTH worlds.
Greylyn the Guardian Angel has ALL of it!
She’s a guardian angel.
She battles supernatural bad guys all the time, including dark guardians (Hell’s version of the guardian angel).
There’s an ancient prophecy. One so dangerous that Heaven wouldn’t even allow it to be written!
Neither Heaven nor Hell wants to see the prophecy comes to fruition so now Greylyn has to contend with resistance on all sides. Only one notorious fallen archangel (and not Lucifer) wants this prophecy to happen, and he will stop at nothing to make Greylyn fulfill it.
Now you may ask why isn’t REKINDLED PROPHECY classified as paranormal romance since there’s a hot, sexy dark guardian too and the back cover blurb does mention “strong undertones of romance and sex appeal between two enemies – one working for Heaven, the other working for Hell.”
I love Paranormal Romance and read it constantly, when I’m not writing – of course. But the romance part wasn’t the focus of my story. At least it wasn’t the intent of my focus on the story. Don’t worry – there’s plenty of romance, but it’s a slow burn over multiple books in the series. (I say “multiple” here because as of now, we are at 3 books, but my evil author brain kicked into gear while I was editing Book 3, so…. ). The focus of the series is the prophecy and what Greylyn must endure and rediscover about herself, her history (which she conveniently doesn’t recall before waking up in a grave in the outskirts of Ireland over 450 years ago), about Heaven and Hell, and about the power of the spirit….yes, even the power of love.
It took me years to write this story. Okay, maybe not years. But definitely years to polish it to where I was comfortable enough letting go to release it into the world. As most authors, confidence in one’s own product is a small stream. Depending on the writer’s high, there may be a drought and the water barely trickles. Also, I suffer from what I’m sure many other authors suffer from…there is always a rewrite burgeoning under the surface so I could edit this story until my fingers fall off and then I’d finally invest in that voice-dictation technology everyone keeps telling me to invest in.
The moral of this story…my story, not the book…is to not give up and sometimes just go with it. Hit the SEND button on your email to countless literary agents and publishers or hit the PUBLISH icon on Amazon or another book publishing site. To quote Nike, JUST DO IT! Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
In reality, I could probably still edit, revise, rework Greylyn’s story until I die. But then you, the reader would never get a chance to read it. Maybe you love it (hopefully you LOVE it). Maybe you don’t. Maybe guardian angels just aren’t your thing. Maybe you prefer shifters (oh, by the way there is a spunky shifter in this story, but she won’t be truly seen until Book 2…but, I do have a short story in the After Dark: 9 Modern Takes on Classic Fairy Tales anthology which details her own story in much greater detail. Be warned though – that story is targeted for an Adult audience).
REKINDLED PROPHECY and the rest of the series is for New Adult and could by also be considered Young Adult – a little cussing, some fight violence, and one kiss.
But guardian angels are definitely my thing and I want to share them with you, with the world!