This past weekend I participated in Fantasy Fest Rijswijk in the Netherlands with my publisher Butterdragons Publishing.
It was a learning experience for sure, but so much fun. The costumes was elaborate and full of imagination. The booths was colorful and tempting. I can’t wait to try it again, I just have to account for me sleeping at least two days after lol.
Get swept away by more than 1,000 pages of romantic urban fantasy, sci-fi romance, and paranormal romance from bestselling authors – all to help Ukrainian refugees affected by the recent tragedy.
Featuring more than 40 authors, including New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, the Adamant Spirits charity anthology includes more than 42 novellas, novelettes, short stories, and exclusive sneak-peek chapters. Stories range in heat level from mild to scorching. Most importantly, all proceeds (100%) will be donated to the International Rescue Committee (or a similar charity should IRC become unavailable), which in turn will be directed to supporting humanitarian efforts on behalf of the Ukrainian people.
Authors featured include: Eva Chase, Honey Phillips, Anna Carven, Tana Stone, Michele Mills, G.K. DeRosa, Ella Blake, Hattie Jacks, T.K. Eldridge, Grace Goodwin, Debbie Cassidy, Kel Carpenter & Aurelia Jane, Leslie Chase, Jade Waltz, May Sage & Alexi Blake, Sara Fields, Veronica Scott, Ashley McLeo, Jessica Wayne, Tameri Etherton, and many more!
Adamant Spirits is only available for a limited time, so don’t miss your chance to own this incredible anthology and support a very important cause.
The anthology organizers and participating authors are not affiliated or endorsed by the charity.
Maggie Alabaster, G. Bailey, Elle Beaumont, Katherine Bennet, Alexi Blake, Ella Blake, Claudia Blood, Jessica M. Butler, Demelza Carlton, Kel Carpenter, Alora Carter, Anna Carven, Debbie Cassidy, Eva Chase, Leslie Chase, Sarah M. Cradit, G.K. DeRosa, T.K. Eldridge, Tameri Etherton, Sara Fields, Grace Goodwin, Jen L. Grey, Miranda Honfleur, Hattie Jacks, Aurelia Jane, Alana Khan, Lea Kirk, Lisa Kumar, K.N. Lee, Jen Lynning, Ashley McLeo, Michele Mills, Chloe Parker, Vee R. Paxton, Honey Phillips, Candace Robinson, Rebecca Rode, May Sage, Veronica Scott, Tana Stone, Julia Vee, Maria Vermisoglou, Jade Waltz, Jenni Ward, Jessica Wayne, Calla Zae
Are you ready for seconds?
Eat Your Heart Out is back for 2022 with 19 brand new standalone stories from bestselling romance authors. Pull up your chair and dig into a variety of drool-worthy stories! Whether you want to dip into something steamy, or nibble on something sweet, you’ll find your perfect match amongst the pages. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer your treats paranormal, contemporary or with a side of aliens, we have a dish for everyone.
All proceeds from the Eat Your Heart Out 2 will be donated to The Hunger Project.
This romance anthology contains stories by:
Arizona Tape
Calista Jayne
Danika Bloom
Demelza Carlton
Erin Bedford
Gwyn McNamee & Christy Anderson
Jade Waltz
Jessalyn Jameson
K. R. Max
Lacey Carter Andersen
Laura Greenwood
Lexie Miers
Linzi Basset
Margo Bond Collins
Mia Harlan
Rachel Everly
Skye MacKinnon
TB Mann
Zoey Indiana
My true name is Rayner Ye, and I’ve been writing portal space fantasy and space opera for six years and publishing for four. I have been spending more on advertising than what I’ve been making, and even then, my space opera sales are dire. I think self-published space opera has to be written to market to succeed. That means spaceships, military procedures, characters from planet Earth going into space, etc.
My universe doesn’t even include planet Earth. It comprises seven solar systems. Its like magic realism, though what’s real for the citizens of the Plan8 Alliance is not real for Earthlings–because it’s futuristic with different races and religions, etc. But there are amethyst pyramids. They are time portals. Only a select few know. The rivers which well under the portals allow people to shapeshift, teleport, and body-snatch at the speed of thought. Again, only those who know the technique know this. That’s where the portal fantasy and shapeshifting come from.
Space Opera is obviously the wrong niche for this. If I had a good traditional publisher, I might get away with it. As an indie author, I don’t think so. I wrote YuFu’s Run and Cyborg Assassin to market. It’s kind of hard to sell, especially being a woman. Let’s face it. There’s a lot of sexism in science and sci-fi. I changed my face via a gender-changing app to pretend I was a man on my author profile, but it felt wrong.
Then I heard about reverse harem and how Science Fantasy authors can get away with writing a mishmash of sci-fi and fantasy sub-genres, as long as the FMC gets her harem of faithful lovers by the end of the series and there’s a happy-ever-after-ending. I thought it was worth a go, and I was curious about writing sex and romance. I decided to bring my universe over to my pen name, River Star, and then I wrote Princess Celesti.
It’s a Space Fantasy and Time Travel Reverse Harem Romance. There’s galactic empire, shifting (not in the usual paranormal sense,) futuristic sci-fi, and lots more sub-genres. Book 1 and 2 flopped when I published them, last year. I was working on advertising my space opera, at the same time, and following a silly low bid strategy, which was wasting two valuable hours a day. I have two kids so wasn’t getting much writing and dictating done compared to before.
I unpublished the two books, added more povs from villains, and decided to quick release the series in March and April 2022. That’s what I’m doing now. The entire series is on pre-order. Fingers crossed. We’ll see.
I don’t know where the whole idea of a lonely princess came from, but I liked the thought of having kinds and queens in my space fantasy for a change.
When I was four, my grandmother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said an orphan. She asked me what an orphan did, and I said, “An orphan writes books.” That was the family joke. After my first degree, I travelled to New Zealand alone and wrote a book in a notepad. It was a fairy story for kids. I never got it published. However, the tree-people appear in a couple of my sci-fi series written under Rayner Ye. They’re genetically modified by an alien scientist to de-radiate a planet which was destroyed by a nuclear war.
For the last couple of months, my strategy has been to edit Princess Celesti 1-4 at the computer while the kids are at school, and then dictate Cyborg Assassin 2 by Rayner Ye while I walk to pick them up and walk back from their school drop off. It’s surprising how many words I can get in after even a ten-minute walk, let alone a half-hour walk. Once I’ve uploaded all of Princess Celesti 1, 2, 3, and 4 manuscripts and formatted the paperbacks, I’m going to edit Cyborg Assassin 2 while dictating Cyborg Assassin 3, written under my non-romance name, Rayner Ye. I still have a YuFu’s Run 5 manuscript to edit and release.
You know what, though? If I make any money of this reverse harem series, I’m going to write another and another and another. I might even stop writing under my real name. We’ll see. These are just dreams for now. My hope for the future is contribute financially towards my family through my writing and self publishing. My biggest dream would be to retire my husband. I’m so grateful to him for supporting me financially and emotionally through this arduous journey, like I did to him when we lived in China and South Korea. My advice for new writers is to write! There’s lots of other advice, but everyone is different, and every path is different.
What do shifters, monsters, and aliens have in common?
They’re the alpha men we crave.
Prepare to tame villains and bring kings to their knees. Travel to distant worlds and uncover dark secrets in these 20 stories by your favorite paranormal and sci-fi romance authors.
You can’t resist falling for these heroes, whether you like them dark and brooding, sweet and sensual, monstrous or beautiful. No matter what you’re craving, these hot alpha men are eager to please. Dive into never-before published stories of wolves fighting for their mates, warriors protecting their women, and so much more.
These authors don’t hold back on the steam, so if you’re ready to take the heat, claim your copy of Wolves and Warriors today!
Don’t wait. This anthology is available for a limited time only.
Wolves and Warriors is a charity anthology benefitting the Shy Wolf Sanctuary, a safe haven for injured, abandoned or neglected un-releasable wild and captive-bred exotic animals.
This limited anthology contains exclusive stories by:
Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Kathryn Moon
Rory Miles
Loxley Savage
Aleera Anaya Ceres
Loni Ree
Sara Ivy Hill
RuNyX
C.M. Nascosta
Lana Kole
Lyx Robinson
Chloe Gunter
Flora Quincy
Lydia Reeves & Xu-Ji Westin
Lydia Guleva
Leann Castellanos
Jinx Layne
Crystal Ash (writing as Sophie Ash)
Clarissa Bright
Chloe Parker
Tell us a bit about yourself…
“A little bit about me …. That always is a tough one, because it’s hard to pin myself down to one essence. I’m an author, a finance clerk, a wife, a catmom, a SCAdian, a sewist, a costumer, an embroiderer, a hobbyist rapier fighter, a painter, a graphic designer, a friend, a nerd, a geek, a gamer, an introvert, and so much more. I’m shy, funny, sarcastic, smart, loving, scared, confident, ditzy, scatterbrained, forgetful–sometimes ALL AT ONCE. It’s a real trip living inside my head, but I don’t think I’d want to be anyone else. I’m constantly changing and evolving, and that is such a cool thing about the human experience.
Have you always wanted to become an author?
Not always. I’ve always loved stories, though, and have always had a rich fantasy world existing within me. I started writing with poetry and short stories in high school, and in the “olden days” of MySpace I would use that poetry as a way to work out some tough emotions I was going through. Now, though, I mostly write steamy paranormal reverse harem romance, with some M/F romance and poly sci-fi romance thrown in. I don’t know what Freud would say about that! Haha
What was your inspiration for your current book/series?
I am really digging the monster romance vibe that’s prevalent these days. I LOVE the concept of “monstrous” beings that end up getting the girl. It’s a modern-day “ugly duckling” story, but instead of changing into a swan, the monsters get accepted just as they are. It’s beautiful.
What are you working on now? Do you have any quirks while working?
As I mentioned above, I’m currently working on a monster romance. I have this fictional town I’ve created called Nowhere, North Carolina. (Funny story: There’s another author who has a series set in a fake town of the same name, same state—but we wrote them independently of each other, and I wouldn’t even have known if not for the fact that she won one of my ebooks in a Facebook giveaway, and I just happened to look up one of her books and see the similarity.) In Nowhere, there are hundreds of ley lines running through the town, which attract some strange beings and cause some major weirdness. This most recent story follows a girl who bumps into three “monsters” at a bank, where they get mistaken for robbers. Calamity ensues, and she gets kidnapped by them. She learns that there’s more than meets the eye to these guys, however, and comes to love each of them despite their monstrous appearances.
What are your hopes for the future?
Ideally, I’d love to be able to quit the day job someday in favor of writing full-time. It’s a tough biz, though, and not every indie author is able to make that leap. I’m super happy for those who have broken through and found their calling, and some day I hope that I can join their ranks.
Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?
It’s going to be tough. If you’re not a marketing genius, you’re going to have a tough time of it … but don’t give up! If I’d given up when my first book didn’t hit the big time (or the second, or the third…), I never would have made the progress that I’ve made or met the friends I’ve come to love talking with. Not every book has to be a best-seller straight off the press, and not every book will. Very few books will, but that’s not the point. The point is to do what you love, write what you love, and find your tribe.
Do you have anything to say to your followers?
Y’all have no idea just how much I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Every like or share, every preorder, every page read, every single bit of support is met with undying gratitude. I couldn’t continue doing what I love without all of you.
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘺 2022
Long have I waited for an adventure. From the moment I started working as a nurse, I saved for my dream vacation. When that dream becomes a reality as my cruise ship leaves the coast of Alaska, the overwhelming happiness I feel disappears in a flash of rainbow colors.
I’m in a place like nowhere I’ve ever been, where everything is alien. I find myself back on a coast, only with sand, not the rocky shoreline or snow-tipped mountains I am used to. Wandering alone, I feel eyes on me, then I see him from a distance.
Before I know it, he steals me away before I can run, vowing I am his. There is nowhere to hide and no way to escape the water kingdom where he holds me captive. I become more and more confused and conflicted as time goes on. My brain is telling me to find a way out, but my heart is telling me to stay.
Is this a nightmare or the fantasy I’ve dreamed of?
𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬:
Nancey Cummings, Book 1-Splintered Shadow
Ava Ross, Book 2-Ravaged World
Jade Waltz, Book 3-Scattered Petals
Samantha Rose, Book 4-Fractured Waves
Poppy Rhys, Book 5-Crushed Dominion
Harpie Alexa, Book 6-Broken Song
Liz Paffel, Book 7-Destroyed Desire
Erin Raegan, Book 8-Jagged Honor
Cover by Sam Griffin
Tell us a bit about yourself…
Hello again Helle! Gosh it’s been forever since my first interview! I’m Rowan Thailia – Ro. First, I’m an author, I published my first novel on February 14, 2019.
I discovered very early on that I loved writing. Poetry was my first love and form of expression. I’ve written poems since I was sixteen and have quite the collection by now! Some of them you can find in my poetry novella, Deep in the Ro.
I’ve always been an avid reader and writer of short stories. My favorite author of all time is Anne Rice. In fact my pen name stems from one of her characters, Rowan, from The Witching Hour.
It wasn’t until 2018 that I decided to push through and write a full-length novel. I started Binding Rayne (which went through several title changes at first) but struggled with the direction. In the middle of the first draft, I happened upon the reverse-harem book community on facebook. The complicated romances rooted in my author heart and before long my book took on a new direction. The Keepers of the Talisman trilogy was born!
Thank you for all of the support and love that you’ve shown toward my book babies so far, Helle, I hope to keep surprising you with bigger and better projects!
What has happened work wise since our last interview?
Since our first interview, I have written and published many more reverse-harem romance novels, most of them paranormal in genre. Never to be one to sit idle, I opened a second pen name – R. Thalia . With this name, I began the journey of writing my first (non-romance) paranormal thriller, Song of Bones which I hope to publish in March.
Covid hit, and I backslid into depression for a while, but I came out fighting. I began a rewrite of my second series, The Soldiers of Blood and Ruin. At first, I thought to work through a quick edit, but realized I wanted to do more with the series – expand it – so I began the long road to reimagining the series. I just finished book one, Renegades Exiled (formerly Rox’s Renegades) and I can’t be happier! I’ve given Rox a deeper backstory and developed the plot and characters more than the first go around, even if you’ve read the first novel – I highly suggest you pick up the twe one. Renegades Exiled drops January 15!
What was your inspiration for your current book/series?
Which one? Ha! I’m working on several projects right now. The biggest one is Soldiers of Blood and Ruin, so I’ll talk about that one. I’ve always been a fan of vampire novels – cue my Anne Rice obsession. Before writing this series, I read a dystopian novel and it got my mind spinning – what if I combined the two? This was right after finishing my first book, Binding Rayne in 2018. Anyway, I sat down and plotted/wrote the first ten chapters of this series in a weekend. The rest is history! Rox and her team were born. I mixed my love of vampires, dystopian, and zombies all together in one sexy package.
What are you working on now?
After finishing Renegades Exiled, I am working on four projects:
Renegades Mission: Book Two of Soldiers of Blood and Ruin
Juniper’s Trial: The final book of The Academy of Elite – Cowritten with Jarica James
Song of Bones – A thriller standalone under my non-romance pen, R. Thalia
Death Knell – a PNR RH Romance Co-written with Darcy Ray
Do you have any quirks while working?
Hmm. This is a good question. I think my biggest quirk is my need to see photos of everything I’ve imagined. I spend a lot of time searching pinterest and other sites finding the right images to go with what is in my head. Other than that – I’m needy. My poor alpha group can attest. Thankfully I’ve got people all around the world, so someone is always available in our chat- haha!
What are your hopes for the future?
I hope to get back on a regular schedule with my writing. In a perfect world, I’ll be publishing a book for each pen name at least bi-monthly. I’d also love to go back and get my Master’s in teaching – but that’s a long way away right now.
What have you learned about publishing since our first interview?
Gosh, I’ve learned so much. When you first interviewed me I had people helping me with the process – a small publishing house. Since then I’ve separated from the publisher and set out on my own. Both Deafening Silence and Last Chance Diner were self-published. The reason for rewriting my two first series is that I’ve gotten the rights back from the publisher and I will be putting them on my own account. The entire process is so intricate and it helps to know people. The most important advice I can give to new indie authors is – make friends with several editors and cover designers. Besides that, gather a small squad of beta/a;pha readers that will stick with you. Most of mine have been with me the entire three years and I couldn’t be more grateful. Shout out to my Shiver Squad!!
Do you have anything to say to your followers?
To my followers – Thank you so much for hanging in with me for the last three years. I came into the writing community rapid-releasing six books in a year. Since then, I’ve slowed down – but you haven’t turned away from me and I appreciate you! I love every comment, message, and recommendation I see out there. Stick with me, I promise I have more in store!! Hugs, love and dicks – Ro ❤
The Crown Princess of Zyria was born to wear the crown….but what if she wants more?
My life was organised since birth until the carefully constructed plans exploded like a supernova. The lick of flames began when I decided to sacrifice myself for my planet and my people.
Abducted into the stars I dreamed of, I have no choice but to embrace the part of me I have always hidden—the fighter, the warrior, and the imperfect, crass woman who doesn’t resemble the impeccable princess I am expected to be. Instead of using my silver tongue to fight my battles, I now hold true weapons, and for the first time since the crown was placed on my head, I feel whole.
Evil is flooding the galaxy, and for some reason, destiny has chosen me to stop it. The only problem is, I don’t know how. Luckily, I meet some men along the way who are willing to follow me on this mission. If the king could see me now, draped in leather and wielding pistols and knives rather than wearing ballgowns and reading old scrolls, he would collapse onto his golden throne.
Now, I fight my way across the cosmos to try and stop the destruction of everything we know.
I was ready to give up my life, my future, and my body, but I never expected to lose my heart along the way.
Stars, don’t let me fail now.
*Please Note: This book contains explicit content and darker elements, including mature language and violence. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. Crown of Stars is a Reverse Harem read complete with a HEA.*
Helle Gade 