Happy Thursday and Valentine's Day!

Greetings, lovely readers! I have a couple of surprises for you today. First, though, I'm on a review tour with CCB Book Promotions, which includes a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card.
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now for the goodies...

Since I love all of you who read my books and follow my blog, I have a free short story for you to download. It's a silly story I wrote a few years ago - apparently when Valentine's Day was on a Tuesday - that features an undercover witch, a young man running away from his troubles, and a talking catfish. I put it in my public Dropbox folder, so to download, click on the menu at the top right, the box with the three dots, and select "Download." Here are the links:

Kindle/.mobi

Everything Else /.epub

If you'd like a .pdf, please use the contact form at the right and let me know. Sorry, I'm still figuring all this tech stuff out. And of course I'm open to feedback, especially if any of you would like to see the story continue. Don't worry, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, but there is more to tell.

The second surprise for you is a dual cover reveal! The first is for a prequel novella to the Aether Psychics series, and it will be released toward the middle of March. If you'd like a preview copy in exchange for an honest review, please let me know - I should have advance copies by the end of next week.

Danger. Love. Lies.

After tragedy hits and danger moves in, Pauline Donahue flees London, searching for sanctuary and a way to start over. A job at a small university provides the escape she needs. Keeping recalcitrant professor Edward Bailey on task after a shattered heart renders him broken and destroyed becomes her daily routine. But when the same vicious man from her past sets his malicious sights on Pauline, her safe haven comes crashing down.

Duke of Waltham, Christopher Bailey, never counted on the gentle commoner, Miss Donahue, to save his brother--and himself--from broken pasts and a lifetime of mistakes. But she does just that. As their love blossoms, danger closes in, threatening Pauline and Christopher's lives. Together, they are forced to face their biggest fears, revealing secrets that could ruin them both.

The second cover reveal is for the third book in the Aether Psychics series, Aether Spirit. As you saw in Light Fantastique, aether isn't exactly the innocuous substance our characters thought. Now the series picks up with Dr. Chadwick Radcliffe, who is reunited with his beloved Claire, but of course it's complicated.

Forgetting her is impossible. Remembering him could kill her.

Aether Psychics, Book 3

When Chadwick Radcliffe arrives at Fort Daniels to assume the position of medical chief, the prejudice against his mixed heritage is no surprise. But he never expected to encounter the one woman who’s beyond his reach—medically and emotionally.

A steamcart accident stole three years of Claire McPhee’s memories, and now as she helps soldiers cope with combat-related neuroses, she secretly hopes to find the key to filling that gaping hole.

There’s something vaguely familiar about Dr. Radcliffe, but every time she comes close to determining why, he pushes her away—and her hypnosis-induced memory blocks explode with pain.

Chadwick knows the Eros Element can heal, but its unintended side effects are too dangerous to risk using it to bring Claire’s memories out of the shadows. But with the key to the Union’s victory buried in Claire’s mind, Chadwick and Claire are forced to push past the boundaries others have placed on them—even if rediscovering their love risks their lives.

Warning: Vast amounts of Victorian mental health geekery and copious amounts of tea were poured into the writing of his book. No matter how pretty the aether is, the author cautions readers not to try using it to manipulate others’ emotions. The side effects could be atrocious.

It's in final edits now, so I'll let you know when it's available for preorder and when I have review copies. The release date is May 31.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine's Day weekend!

Light Fantastique Releases December 15!

Light Fantastique will be available for purchase on December 15. Reviews so far have been great with a four-star review from Romantic Times, which starts with, "This deftly woven adventure is cast with well-developed characters that round out an entertaining mystery." Then Riley over at Smart Girls Love Sci Fi Romance wrote a very perceptive review for her Tea Time Reading column. 

Blurb, excerpt, and buy links are below.

At the Théâtre Bohème, danger decides who takes the final curtain call.

Aether Psychics, Book 2

Hailed as the most talented actress of her generation, Marie St. Jean has something more to her ability than mere talent. She loses a bit of her soul to each role. When the ghostly spirit of the theatre promises her an easy fix, she’s tempted by the chance to finally live a normal life.

Unfortunately, the man she’s drawn to is the last one to settle for normal. But with the Prussians surrounding Paris, there’s no escaping that temptation, either.

Violinist Johann Bledsoe thought he’d left his disgrace in England, but a murder outside the Théâtre Bohème makes him wonder if he’s been exposed. Another reason not to stick around once the siege ends, even if Marie fascinates him.

More murders, steam-powered ravens, and past and present secrets bring them closer to discovering just what lurks within the theatre, and who threatens from without. The only way to save themselves is to reveal their darkest shames—and use the Eros Element in a way that has already driven one man to the brink of madness.

Warning:  Processed in a facility where wine is used as currency and dessert is a reward. If you dislike French cooking and attitudes, move along. Things are cooking in this book, and it ain’t Julia Child.

Purchase Links

Samhain (on sale at time of post for $3.85 all ebook formats, $11.89 paperback)

Amazon

B&N

Google Books

iTunes

Kobo

I'm doing a review tour with CBB book promotions for both Eros Element and Light Fantastique. It also includes a giveaway for a $25 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Click here for the schedule. Stops so far:

Steampunk Sunday at Talk Supe, which includes an interview with Marie. (12/13)

Review of Eros Element at Girl of 1000 Wonders. (12/14)

Reviews of both books at A_TiffyFit's Reading Corner. (12/15)

Review of Eros Element at Candace's Book Blog. (12/16)

Review of Light Fantastique at Girl of 1000 Wonders. (12/17)

Review of Eros Element at Deborah Jay's Author Blog (12/17)

Review of both books at the Shelf Life blog. (12/18)

Character Interview of Johann at Anna Durand's blog (12/22)

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy! 

From Chapter Eight:

Sometimes the wanderlust in Johann subsided just enough for him to feel a twinge of homesickness. The snow outside made him think of how his family home would look now at the beginning of the holiday season. Perhaps a light dusting would give the peaks and sharp-angled roofs a glittering edge, or a heavier fall would make the old hall look like a dowager trimmed in white fur—dignified and elegant, but also potentially deadly.

His mouth twisted into an almost-grin at the association. One never escaped a conversation with his grandmother, the dowager Marchioness, without some sort of scar. Typically for him it included a hint or direct statement of what a disappointment he was to the family, a dreamer rather than a doer like his older brother.

A fluttering movement caught the corner of his eye, and he looked up to see Marie standing in the back of the theatre, something clutched in her hand. Whatever it was disappeared into her cloak pocket, and her expression distracted him from curiosity about what she’d caught, if anything. Longing warred with confusion on her face.

“Mademoiselle?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

“That music,” she said and put a hand to her middle between her heart and her stomach. “It made me homesick for something, but it doesn’t make sense. This is my home, such as it is, but now I miss…something. What were you playing?”

Johann had spoken with hundreds and played before thousands, but he’d never told his secret. His gut said he could trust her even if he wasn’t trustworthy himself. What would it be like if he was, if he could bear open his heart to someone else? He’d never wanted to, and the idea struck him as strange, but accustomed to going with his impulses, he stepped into that space between fear and trust.

“It’s my own composition. I call it Winter.”

She moved closer, and the amused lift of her cheeks became apparent when she stepped into the light cast by the lamps in the orchestra pit. “Original title.”

He put his violin on its stand. “You mock me, Mademoiselle?”

Her smile vanished, and now her cheeks reddened. “Oh, no! It was lovely, but it needs a name that’s less bleak and more poetic, maybe Blossoms Under Snow?”

He liked seeing her blush and wondered if she was one of those women whose flush covered her entire torso if it was deep enough. He sent a desist thought to his groin, but it bounced the notion back with the urge to keep her talking and blushing. “I can’t use a word like Blossoms in a composition title. I’m far too manly for that—it would make me appear weak.”

“Then how about icy shards? That shouldn’t challenge your masculinity.” The temperature in her tone matched that of the hypothetical ice.

What had he said? It figured he would get himself in trouble before long. What did she want?

The answer came to him, then—to be respected for who she was. And he saw her as a very strong woman. But he didn’t know what to say to get himself out of this mess. He only knew one thing—he didn’t want her to leave angry.

“Forgive me,” he said and took her hand. That was always a safe bet, much safer than the ones that had ended him up in this mess, the ones he’d taken to escape his father’s influence.

“For…?” She wouldn’t look at him, and she snatched her hand away.

“For being an ass. I’m too good at it. I didn’t mean to imply that womanliness was the opposite of strength. In truth, you and Iris are two of the strongest people I know.”

“Iris? You are on such intimate terms with her?”

“Miss McTavish, then. Yes, we’ve been working together to help Edward, and no, nothing improper has occurred between us. We’re…friends.”

“You’re not accustomed to being friends with women.” Her statement was almost a question.

“Not typically. I’ve not treated them well in the past, I fear.”

What was she doing to him to make him want to confess and clear his conscience to make room for… For what? He certainly had no desire to be tied down to anyone. As soon as he got this little problem with the Clockwork Guild worked out, he planned to continue the adventure they’d started, perhaps even to the Ottoman Empire and beyond, and he wasn’t afraid to go on alone.

She drew back, but she didn’t leave. “Why the sudden burst of honesty?”

“It was the music. It is a piece about my home, and I play it when I miss it.”