Here Be News

Jeffe Kennedy received the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Fantasy Romance of 2015, for THE TALON OF THE HAWK, at the RT Booklovers Convention last weekend in Las Vegas. Here's a bit of her acceptance speech.

Special Sneak Peek of Harlan!

Vote for Harlan!

The publisher of my Twelve Kingdoms and Uncharted Realms books is hosting their annual Ultimate Hero Showdown. Harlan, the hunky and infinitely patient hero of THE TALON OF THE HAWK, has made it through two rounds so far.

(Mostly thanks to passionate fans who stayed up clicking away until midnight!)

Voting in round three starts at midnight, March 31 and goes until midnight - all U.S. Eastern Daylight Time. You can click as often as you like! (Hence the aforementioned Harlan fans clicking away.)

Harlan also appears in THE PAGES OF THE MIND, out May 31 (finally!). So, to give you a little extra Harlan love, here's an excerpt from PAGES, which is in Dafne's point of view. Here he's helping Ursula teach Dafne self-defense.

*****************************

Ursula rolled her head on her shoulders. “All right, librarian. We’ve no time to teach you Danu’s forms, which would be the foundation of what you need to know as a fighter. Instead we’re going to show you the tricks—all with the intent of you gaining time to escape should you be attacked. For the most part, your aim will not be to kill or permanently disable an attacker. You don’t want to be that close for that long. Instead you will focus on hurting a person enough that they can’t chase you. We’ll lay the groundwork this morning and then Jepp will take over after you leave tomorrow, helping you refine the skills and build on them. Does that make sense?”

“You’ve no time to teach me the entire alphabet so you’re giving me the equivalent of conversational phrases that I can practice and add to as I learn this language.”

Her frown cracked and she laughed. “Exactly. You’ll do just fine. I know you will.”

I knew she meant more than just with knife work and I nodded, hoping to reassure her.

“The first thing you’ll learn is what to do when someone grabs you. Jepp, demonstrate. Let Harlan catch you, and break free.”

Jepp sauntered up to Harlan and gave him a saucy grin of challenge. “Captain Harlan can catch me anytime.” She turned her back, and he launched himself at her, dwarfing her slim form, muscles bulging in his sleeveless shirt as they flexed to restrain her. She seemed to fold in, then burst out, spinning in place and halting with a sharp blade at his throat.

He grinned at her. “Lucky indeed would be the man who could both catch and hold you.”

“Stop flirting, you two,” Ursula said. “Now you try it, Dafne.”

“I can’t do that!”

“You can and you will.” She pressed a short knife into my hand, much like the daggers she and Jepp habitually carried, but made of wood with blunted edges. “Harlan?”

He advanced and I took an automatic step back. “I can’t get away from a man that size!”

“You’re going to a place where they are all that size,” she emphasized. “Better to learn with someone you know and trust.”

“Maybe I should start with Jepp?” I offered weakly, but Ursula shook her head, a determined set to her jaw.

“Jepp is here to see what we teach you. Today you’re working entirely against Harlan and me. You have to experience what it’s like to be up against someone bigger and more skilled.”

I wished for some of the thrill I’d felt yesterday when I accepted this mission. Being called to adventure turned out to involve a great deal of unpleasant challenges.

I nodded in resignation and turned my back. Harlan’s big arms closed around me, trapping my arms against my sides, sending a flutter of panic through me. Trapped in the dark. Unable to move. My throat on fire. Can’t breathe. I whimpered and his arms loosened.

“Tighter than that, Harlan. Don’t go easy on her,” Ursula’s voice whipped out.

“She’s afraid.” His voice rumbled against my back, an oddly comforting sensation that worked some to lessen my rising fear, but only a little. “She doesn’t like being trapped.”

Of course he’d remember, from that story I’d told him, of the fall of my family’s castle. Ursula bent over so her eyes were level with mine, bright steel. “Use it,” she commanded. “Everyone feels fear at some point. That’s healthy self-preservation. It’s also the fuel that will drive you to survive. You’ve called on it all these years. People underestimate you—use that, too. Now, let him think he has you, collapse a little, like you’re fainting. He senses your fear so he’ll believe it. Let your weight sag, so he’s forced to support you, then call on that will to survive. Picture it like a sun burning in your heart. Push up from the ground and rise. Burst up and out. Do it.”

It helped not to fight the panic. Use it. I let myself collapse as she said, feeling Harlan’s arms tighten to keep me upright. That dark space. Trapped. The fear burned like a sun indeed, and I wondered how Ursula knew. It wanted to break free, so I let it. Harlan grunted, his hold breaking.

I’d done it!

“Good,” Ursula said, “but don’t just stand there. Break, stab him with the knife, and run. Hold her again.”

Ursula was a relentless taskmaster. I’d seen her badgering Andi all those years to learn to defend herself and also witnessed Andi’s wary attempts to avoid the lessons. Ami had stubbornly refused and appealed to Uorsin, who had, of course, indulged her. Which was no doubt why she found herself needing lessons from Ash so many years later.

Over and over, Ursula made me break free, showing me which vulnerable spots on Harlan were in easy reach of my short blade. Due to my much smaller stature, that usually meant somewhere in his groin area. Ursula made me put my hand up between Harlan’s massive thighs, to feel for myself the hollows where the arteries ran shallow and where his man jewels hung heavy and vulnerable. Harlan stoically endured it all, but I blushed furiously.

“Get over it,” Ursula ordered. “This isn’t about niceties. This is about saving your life. Now, break away, and if your position is good, shove your blade as hard as you can up into his balls.”

“I don’t want to hurt him.”

Harlan gave me a reassuring smile. “It won’t be the first time—and I’ve been hit there by people much bigger than a nyrri.”

He called me that deliberately, to make me mad, but it worked anyway. Experimentally, I called on that, too. When I broke away, I did as Ursula bade me and brought the wooden knife up hard between his thighs, slicing edge up.

To my shock, Harlan dropped to his knees gasping out a Dasnarian curse. Ursula surveyed me with a delighted grin. “Excellent! Imagine if that had been a sharp blade. He’d be bleeding out. But you still forgot to run. Do it again.”

Harlan gave her a sidelong look. “This time, I’m wearing protection.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him.

“Don’t be.” He held out a hand for me to help him to his feet. A gesture of courtesy, as he surely didn’t need it. He inclined his head. “Be proud of besting me.”

Here Be News

New Releases

Jeffe Kennedy's HEART'S BLOOD is now available as a stand-alone novella!

A Twelve Kingdoms novella

A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank, husband and even her name.

Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal who she really is, Natilde won’t carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future queen—for the sake of both their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix.

With broken vows, anguish and dark secrets between them, Cavan and Nix struggle to find the magic to restore what’s gone terribly wrong… if it ever can be.

(previously released in the anthology Dark Secrets)

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Other News

Now Available as an Audiobook!

LORD OF THUNDER
Sensuous SciFi/Fantasy Romance
by Linda Mooney

Narrated by Stephanie Conard
Length: 7 hrs, 32 min.

Annie Mayall was a young bride, brought to Montana in 1940 by her new husband to start their new life together...as soon as he struck it rich in the promised silver mines. Abandoned for three desperate and lonely years, Annie was forced to survive by herself in the wilds of the mountains. Until one stormy night brought a severely wounded stranger to her tiny one-room cabin. A stranger both mystical and fascinating. A stranger who not only brought her happiness, but a kind of love she never knew existed.


A stranger who was not of this earth.

Warning! Contains mutilation, abandonment, total isolation, harsh and unbearable weather, blood-letting, attempted homicide, attempted angelcide, snoopy but concerned neighbors, close confinement, promises kept, and unusual uses for a feather.

Excerpt and buy links.

Jeffe Kennedy's THE TALON OF THE HAWK won Best Fantasy Romance of 2015 in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards!!! Big congratulations to all the nominees and winners. We'll be reading for a LONG time! 

Veronica Scott has released Healer of the Nile as a standalone novella for $.99 (Was originally released in the Here Be Magic box set.)

The story: 

1550 BCE


When Pharaoh sends injured warrior Tadenhut home to die, his noble family asks Mehyta, the local healer, to ease his path to the Afterlife. Mehyta discovers he’s trapped between Life and Death, caught in the dreamspace. Touched by his fighting spirit and will to live, Mehyta vows to use all the powers Shai, god of fate, gave her. Together Tadenhut and the brave healer battle to overcome his injuries, as well as threats from devious family members. While struggling to rescue her patient, Mehyta comes to realize he matters more to her than any man ever has before. But even if his life can be saved, what do the omens say about a match between a highborn soldier and a simple healer?



Buy Links:

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Here Be News

Jeffe Kennedy's THE TALON OF THE HAWK made the Heroes & Heartbreakers  list of Best Reads of 2015! 

They say:


Kennedy's Twelve Kingdoms series is exquisite, and this is by far the most powerful and most heartbreaking tale. Consummate warrior Ursula is loyal to her father, the king, at the cost of herself. This book is her journey of discovery — to finding her true strength, her true destiny, and her true partner. I highly recommend the entire trilogy, especially so you can get to this story. If you want well-written, female-driven, fantasy romance, then Kennedy is a must-read author!

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Other News:

Here BE Magic member Veronica Scott is a new contributor to the Amazing Stories Magazine blog, talking about science fiction romance. Here's her first post: http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2016/01/veronica-scott-talks-science-fiction-romance/ 

She'll be blogging for them twice a month!

Star Cruise: Marooned is her latest SFR best seller.

Here Be News

New Releases

I'm Not Ehrynn Rose

Sensuous Paranormal, Urban Fantasy Romance

by Linda Mooney

Word Count: 38.2K

$2.99

Not feeling well, Nadia Logermeyer, a twenty-eight-year-old dental assistant living in New York City, lies down to rest, only to wake up in the hospital...in Houston, Texas. In someone else's body. With someone else's name. And with someone else's husband.

She has no idea how or why she's now Ehrynn Rose, or why Ehrynn tried to take her own life. All she knows is that as soon as she's able, she needs to return to NYC to find out what happened to her own body. 

But that's not the worst of it. She's falling in love with Nash Rose, Ehrynn's husband. Unfortunately, the couple are in the midst of a sticky divorce, and her claims of a body switch are only making things more complicated.

She's not Ehrynn Rose, but it's quickly getting to the point where she'd give anything to be her. It isn't until she discovers the real reason why she tried to commit suicide that she realizes the danger isn't over yet.

Warning! Contains a prenuptial agreement, a monkey-shaped birthmark, visits to pawn shops, high-end fashions, long-distance revenge, and an incredible circumstance that threatens a new-found love.

Excerpt and buy links.

Unamused Muse (Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Muse Book 2) by R.L. Naquin

Wynter Greene, newly minted Muse at the Mt. Olympus Employment Agency, is on loan for six weeks to Hades, CEO of Underworld, LLC. Not a bad gig, if she doesn’t mind running errands across the River Styx. She hardly ever has to clean up after the three-headed dogs that guard the front gates. But she could do without so many people eager to fix her up on what literally amount to blind dates from Hell.

All Wynter wants to do is get her six weeks over with so she and Phyllis, her talking plant, can go home and she can go back to work inspiring people. If she can keep from screwing up on this job, she’ll get a clean slate at Mt. Olympus. 

Stripped of her Muse title, Wynter discovers she still can’t stop herself from inspiring people, even when the people she’s encouraging are supposed to be trapped in eternal torment. 

Not the best way to win points with her new boss.

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To Curse the Darkness(Children of Night, Book 6)

 A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing…

When Conrad goes full disclosure on the twins’ heritage, Julie isn’t all that surprised. She’s already figured most of it out. But Armand’s shock over learning the woman he loves was born vampire drives him away for space to think. The chasm between Conrad and Damien yawns wider than ever as Conrad grapples with the pain he’s unintentionally inflicted.

As all hell breaks loose at home, Marc is dangerously out of touch on a trip down the coast to find Elise and bring her home—though she insists he’s a fool to trust her.

Armand, still struggling with his own feelings of guilt, inadequacy and betrayal, returns to find the Fischer-Quintano house in chaos. Julie is determined to go ahead with her plans to save Georgia for Conrad’s sake, though the knowledge she seeks—and the venom-drenched ritual she must endure to get it—could cause her to lose her mind. If not her life.

Product Warning: Handle with care. Contents are under pressure. Contains past violence, present violence, future potential violence, including, but by no means limited to, matricide, fratricide…possibly even patricide. In short, pretty much everything you’d expect to find in a multi-generational vampire love story.

To Curse the Darkness releases on December 22 in both print and ebook at:

Amazon | ARe | Barnes & Noble | BAM! | iBooks | Kobo | Samhain 

Other Member News

Jeffe Kennedy's THE TALON OF THE HAWK made RT Book Reviews Editors' Best Books of 2015! Regina Small said:

The Talon of the Hawk by Jeffe Kennedy — I've been a fan of the Twelve Kingdoms series since the first book, The Mark of the Tala, dropped last June. But Hawk is, by far, the best book in this fantasy romance saga. Watching Ursula stand up for herself and her kingdom, confront hard truths about her father and find love with Harlan is deeply gratifying. I have only two favorite romantic heroes of 2015. Harlan, whose love and support for Ursula is unwavering — even when she literally wants to kill him — is one of them.









Shawna Reppert is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to fund RAVEN'S HEART, the third book of her award-winning Ravensblood series!  You can read the first edited chapter HERE!

Here Be News

New Releases

Here Be Magic Box Set: 8 Magical Tales From The Realm Of Paranormal And Fantasy

Only $.99!!!


Here be eight wonderful stories of magic and the paranormal, brought to you by eight outstanding authors, headed by New York Times and USA Today best seller Rebecca York. You’ll thrill to high adventure, deep emotion, and that all important happy ever after. Travel from the eastern shore of Maryland through magic realms that will stir your imagination and your senses. From sweet and sexy to high drama and heart-warming, the stories will leave you wanting more from these masters of the fantasy genre.

TERROR MANSION by Rebecca York

His psychic dream can save her life–if she’ll only trust him.

 

NIGHTGAZER by Joely Sue Burkhart:

A princess on the run. A grumpy wizard stripped of his power. Can she heal him in time to save her throne?

 

GORGEOUS NIGHTMARE by Angela Campbell:

Can a reluctant psychic stop a deadly killer before the woman he loves is murdered?

 

SAVED BY THE TRICKSTER by Shona Husk:

Zander has one month to prove he deserves to be let back into heaven. Lysanna is a Trickster, a demi-god charged with making people believe in Light and hope. Now, Zander will have to choose between his duty to heaven and Lysanna.

 

TALL, TALL TREES by Linda Mooney:

If fighting the animosity between their two tribes isn't enough, Oron and Pellera must battle monstrous creatures and the deadly growler to save their lives and their love.

 

DEVIL OF BOURBON STREET by Cindy Spencer Pape:

For a widowed cop and a street musician, magic, murder, and New Orleans might add up to love—if they survive.

 

RAVEN’S SONG by Shawna Reppert:

Set between the first and second books of Reppert’s award-winning Ravensblood series, can a reformed dark mage save an opera star from a deadly stalker?

 

HEALER OF THE NILE By Veronica Scott:

Can a village healer persuade the god of Fate to help her save a soldier trapped between Life and Death?

Buy Links:   Amazon      All Romance eBooks   Other outlets coming soon!

Desire to Fall (SFR, ménage)

Kya Hawl is an architect on the Precinct One redevelopment, a prestigious and contentious project in the city-state of Velli. While she is happy with her part-time female lover, Judge Elmi Chadee, she wants more. She wants a family and children, for that she needs two men willing to put their life on the line to breed.

Tref Xant and his partner Dru Macon seem like the right guys; however, Tref has secrets and Dru is about to deploy to Precinct One, one of the roughest precincts in Velli. The redevelopment can’t come soon enough. Tref would like to see the place burned to the ground. But even that wouldn’t be able to erase his memories of growing up there.

With Dru away Tref finds himself falling for Kya. Jealousy sparks between the men. A triad can never form as Dru wants Elmi and she has sworn off unions after her sister ran away to join the Terrin Sect.

As riots erupt and the redevelopment is threatened Dru realizes he has to fight for what he wants--something Tref learned long time ago. A four-way union--while unusual--would work. But will the women agree when they learn of Tref’s past?

Buy links:
Amazon All Romance ebooks Kobo Loose Id Barnes & Noble

Other News

Jeffe Kennedy's THE TALON OF THE HAWK was nominated for Best Fantasy Romance of 2015 in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Awards!

Ursula at the Beach

This week, in the dog days of summer (named because the star Sirius is high in the sky), we're celebrating the beach! For those of us who are landlocked, we write about it instead of going.

In my most recent Twelve Kingdoms book, I had the delicious fun of sending my very intense warrior heroine to the beach for a bit of downtime. If you haven't read THE TALON OF THE HAWK yet, this might be a bit spoilery as it happens pretty far down in the story. But there aren't huge plot reveals you wouldn't expect from the blurb. Fair warning!

*************

            Funny that he called it play—just as Andi had—because the afternoon felt that way. It took a while for me to banish the nagging sensation that I’d forgotten something, so rarely did I go without my sword. In the light gown, going barefoot because boots would not do, I also felt more free and unencumbered than—well, maybe ever.

            We followed the road down the cliff face, discovering ladders here and there that let us cut through some of the endless loops. Harlan spotted them, seeing children clambering up and down and goading me to try it also, whooping in delight when he discovered a rope one that worked like a pulley system, dropping him quickly down an entire level.

            No one bothered us. In fact, they gave us the studious inattention we’d encountered everywhere. A Tala version of privacy in close quarters, I suspected. The kids showed more open curiosity, tagging along behind us and then, once they grew bolder, showing us more of their shortcuts, including a final dripping series of tunnels that opened onto the shimmering sands of the beach.

            It burned my feet some, having absorbed sun all day, and sucked at my leg muscles, forcing me to work harder just to walk. “I might not be doing much running,” I commented, feeling the burn already. “This is more of a workout than climbing that road.”

            “Very good for leg strength, yes.” His powerful legs churned through the loose sand, thigh muscles working easily. “In Dasnaria we have beach running as part of our training program. It weeds out the…less committed.” He grinned and I nearly felt sorry for those soldiers. “However, we need not go through that today.”

            Instead, he showed me how to run where the waves had wet and dampened the sand, at the edge of the gentle surf. It felt odd, with my breasts unbound, but they weren’t large, so they didn’t bother me overmuch. We jogged companionably for some distance, passing more and more of the extensive cliff city. The soft, moist air made for easy running, flowing gently in and out of my lungs, as nourishing as the sunshine on my skin. After a time, however, my feet grew sore.

            Ruefully, I examined the reddening sole of one foot, holding my ankle in my hand as I looked over my shoulder. “Clearly I have worn boots too much—my feet need toughening.”

            Harlan traced the arch, where my skin looked as pale and wrinkled as a fish, making me jump. “Ticklish? At last I’ve found a weakness, a chink in your formidable armor.”

            “Don’t even think about it, or I will cut your throat as you sleep.”

            “Is it any wonder I’ve fallen in love with you?” He took my hand and guided me into the shallow water. “The salt will help.”

            The sun lowered toward the horizon, the sea darkening from that brilliant aquamarine to a deeper violet, as we walked back. Other people walked as we did, some holding hands. Others in family groups, chattering and enjoying the evening. A shouting group of kids cut directly in front of us, running at top speed for the water and shape-shifting in midair into brightly colored fish that plopped into the water, leaping and swimming.

            Harlan shook his head in bemusement. “I wonder when I’ll become accustomed to such sights.”

            “I’m sure I never shall.”

            “If the enemy we chase possess similar abilities, they’ll pose quite a challenge. I’m envisioning trained fighters with your speed and flexibility, plus the ability to shift into a lethal predator.” He huffed out a breath. “I wish I had more men with me.”

            I felt much the same, missing my Hawks and being able to count on them. “It sounds as if Andi and Rayfe plan to accompany us—and they’ll bring loyal fighters of their own.” I hoped.

            “I’m sorry I said anything. You weren’t worrying for a while there.”

            “Tomorrow will bring what it will. This has been a nice afternoon. Relaxing.” Something I’d never seen myself doing. “I’ve liked spending it with you.”

            He stopped and tugged me into an embrace, smiling. “I’ve liked it, too. An unexpected treasure.” He kissed me, softly at first, then deeper when I wound my hands behind his thick neck and opened my mouth to him, to the deep, drugging sensations that swam through me. His hands roamed over me, carefully keeping to my back, my waist, the outside line of my hips, but in the thin fabric of the Tala dress, every caress penetrated to my skin as if I wore nothing at all.

            Though people occasionally passed, talking softly, one man singing, their presence didn’t bother me. It seemed that Harlan and I existed in an amber bubble of sunshine and heat, untouched by the rest of the world.

The Talon of the Hawk

A HEAVY CROWN

Three daughters were born to High King Uorsin, in place of the son he wanted. The youngest, lovely and sweet. The middle, pretty and subtle, with an air of magic. And the eldest, the Heir. A girl grudgingly honed to leadership, not beauty, to bear the sword and honor of the king.

Ursula’s loyalty is as ingrained as her straight warrior’s spine. She protects the peace of the Twelve Kingdoms with sweat and blood, her sisters from threats far and near. And she protects her father to prove her worth. But she never imagined her loyalty would become an open question on palace grounds. That her father would receive her with a foreign witch at one side and a hireling captain at the other-that soldiers would look on her as a woman, not as a warrior. She also never expected to decide the destiny of her sisters, of her people, of the Twelve Kingdoms and the Thirteenth. Not with her father still on the throne and war in the air.

But the choice is before her. And the Heir must lead…

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