by Dame Devon and Dame Jackie
A couple of us Dames have great news today!
Devon says:
MAGIC IN THE SHADOWS, the third book in the Allie Beckstrom series is officially in stores!
Jackie says:
THE ROAD TO HELL, the second book in the Hell on Earth series, has been reissued as a mass-market paperback!
Devon says:
That kind of news calls for a celebration. To kick it off, I am giving away one set of the magic series, signed. That’s Magic to the Bone, Magic in the Blood, and Magic in the Shadow. Just leave a comment below and I’ll announce a winner on Sunday.
Jackie says:
I love celebrations. So like Devon, I’ll give away a complete set of the Hell novels, signed. That’s Hell’s Belles, The Road to Hell, and Hotter Than Hell. (I should probably throw in a basket and call this “Hell in a Handbasket.”) Leave a comment below, and I’ll announce a winner on Sunday.
Devon says:
And to keep the party rolling, here is an exclusive snippet from MAGIC IN THE SHADOWS:
“I don’t suppose I could talk you into staying in the car?” Zayvion asked.
“No.”
He didn’t look surprised by my answer. “Did your father teach you any of the Closing spells?”
“No.”
“Attacks?”
“What? No.”
“Allie . . .” He rubbed the back of his neck and tipped his head down.
“Listen,” I said. “I don’t have to be the one who kills these things, but I do want to see how they are killed. I’m here to watch and learn so the next time one of my Hounds gets attacked, I’ll know what to do. I’ll stay out of your way. Think of me as a job shadow.”
He stopped rubbing his neck. “I’d like to think of you as a lot more than that. Alive and safe, for one thing.”
“How about stubborn and smart enough to look after myself?”
“Mmm, that too. But I’m still going to go with alive and safe.”
He leaned toward me. I met him halfway. We kissed and delicious warmth spread through me, filling me. The taste of him—a little smoky and sweet, along with the scent of pine that would forever remind me of him, of his touch, poured through me, and made me want him more.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. “Please. Please take the keys and drive home,” he said softly.
I leaned away, just enough that I could see his eyes. Just enough that I wouldn’t fall into needing to do what he said. Not because of Influence or anything magical between us. But because I hated to hear the worry in his voice.
“Just tell me what to do if one gets too close to me. I promise I am not going to get close to one of them.”
He licked his bottom lip, and I wondered if he could still taste me, taste our kiss.
“Shield will work against them,” he said. He was all teacher now, all Zen. Calm. Reassuring. Matter-of-fact. Like he hunted nightmares every day.
Which, come to think of it, he probably did.
“Camouflage works too. If things get hot, back off and back out. Most of the defensive spells—Hold, Sleep—won’t do a thing. The Hungers absorb anything thrown at them. So your best defense is to not attack. Try to blend in, try not to smell like magic or give off the sign that you use magic.”
I rolled my eyes, and he nodded. “I know. But try. Blocks will work on you, not on the Hungers.”
He searched my face, his gaze dropping to my lips, then back up to my eyes. “Allie—”
“—tell me later,” I said with a little too much cheerfulness. “When all this is over and you and I are sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of wine.”
And before we could say anything else, before I lost my nerve, I got out of the car.
Jackie says:
And here’s a snippet from THE ROAD TO HELL.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Sorry. I’ve already got plans for today.”
Her eyes widened for a moment; perhaps when you’re almost on par with God in terms of sheer power, you’re not used to meeting resistance. Then those bleeding eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Come with me.” Above her face, her hair tangled and untangled, the snakes writhing and reflecting their mistress’s displeasure. “Now.”
Hmmm. Still not dead. She must need me pretty badly. “No.”
In the longest pause of my mortal life, I waited with my breath held. Beads of perspiration tickled my upper lip, making it itch. I fought the urge to wipe the sweat away. When one played chicken with a malefic entity, one did not acknowledge any physical discomfort short of decapitation.
After a small eternity, she spoke through clenched fangs. “Return with me to Hell, you who were Jezebel, and I will take you to your friend.” She spat the last word. As a rule, denizens of the Underworld weren’t too keen on the concept of friendship. It was bad for their image.
I echoed, “My friend?”
“I will take you to Megaera.”
The thought of Meg and I reconciling made my heart dance a jig. Then I saw Alecto’s fangs flash in a victorious grin, and I realized she hadn’t been offering a way for Meg and me to kiss and make up. “Where is she?”
“If you choose to come with me to Hell, you will find out.”
I swallowed thickly, then whispered, “Is she okay?”
“No, tempter girl. She is far from okay. She is in grave torment.” Alecto’s eyes gleamed as she spoke, reflected her hunger for violence. “If you come with me to Hell, I will take you to her. Perhaps your presence would offer her some small comfort. She suffers because of you.”
A pitiful sound escaped my mouth. Bless me, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t go back to the Abyss…but I couldn’t leave Meg to suffer.
Alecto’s eyes flared like supernovas, and I shielded my face. Through the sound of her laughter, I heard her voice boom in my mind:
Never let it be said that I forced you to make this choice. I give you a human’s day to decide. Until tomorrow, Fury friend.
The air shrieked as if ripping itself apart…and then I heard nothing other than my own ragged breathing. When I lowered my arm and opened my eyes, Alecto was gone. In her place, scorched onto the living room floor was the outline of a heart, with a sword piercing it. The symbol of the Erinyes.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I shivered, staring at the smoking heart. This was the real reason why demons didn’t have friends: once you cared about people, they could be used as collateral.
**
And now, to quote a certain king, let the wild rumpus start!
Related posts:
Tags: Contest, Devon Monk, excerpts, Jackie Kessler
Jackie, I loved the “hell in a handbasket” comment. Very appropriate since today is National Cliche Day. : )
Whoohoo for new releases. There are so many great books out today! Congratulations ladies!
Congrats on your release day and thanks for the great giveaway opp!
Must go pick up Dame Devon’s new book! I am horribly addicted to the series.
Hell in a handbasket. That’s hilarious. Colleen, is it really National Cliche Day? Congrats ladies!
Congrats on the new releases. Can’t wait to read them!
Oh god. Amazing generosity.
Congrats ladies.
Congrats on your both! I love the Hell books and can’t wait to check out the Magic series.
Okay so – my congrats doesn’t make any sense. I know I just woke up but sheesh! It’s just going to drive me crazy until I fix it!
Congrats on both your releases!
Better.
I’ll definitely be adding these to the TBR List that Ate the Northeast Coast.
I seem to have fallen behind on my book release list. There are so many books coming out that I’m falling behind on my purchases and my reading. Guess I better catch back up. Hope you ladies have a great release week!!!
Congratulations to both of you ladies today! Count me in. I’m always up for a good contest.
Hi Jackie and Devon,
I have read both series and they were great. I hope they never end.
Yes! your book is out oh yea! thanks for the wonderful opp. Im a single mother so naptime and bedtime is my reading time. cant wait to read the newest book. thanks!
Yay! Congrats. I have both series on my wishlist, hoping to read them soon.
WOOT! Congratulations!
Yes I would love to win a Hell in a Handbasket! thank you sooo much for a great opp. to win your books.
Eee! I’m so excited to read the new Allie book! Congrats to both of you
They both look very interesting!
Congratulations to both of you!
Hip, Hip, Hooray! Wishing you both places on many bestseller lists! I would love to win books – signed even! – and I would cherish them.
Congrats Ladies, and thanks for another great contest!! **throwing confetti**
Dottie
Congrats ladies on your new releases!
Thanks for the great contest!
Unfortunately, the small “big box” branch by my office didn’t get their new releases today – so I am bereft. But, winning one (or both) of these contests would go a long way towards fixing me up!
Thanks for the opportunity!
Congrats to both of you! Have a great rest of your day!
Both excerpts have me wanting to stop the day job and just go shop and then spend the evening reading. I’d love to be entered.
Well, I would be happy to read both series as long as you two will continue to write…. hopefully neither of you feel the urge to do that!
Yay Double Dames! You all RAWK!!
WOOHOO! Congratulations, ladies! And well done, too.
Congrats to you both. And such generosity.
Oh full sets.
I just finished Hell’s Belles last night and have the road to hell with me at work now.
Both books sound fantastic! Can’t wait to read them.
Congrats! I would sooo love to read either or both series!
This is an AWESOME way for DD readers to catch up with the works of the other contributing authors they haven’t read yet! (I can tell I just got home from my analytical job–can you?)
This is great! Count me in for either or both
Congrats on the releases, ladies!
“Hell in a handbasket” – hehehehehe. That’s awesome! Congrats, ladies!
great snippets! Congrats on the releases!
Congrats! Thank you for the give away too:) One can NEVER have too many books!
These are exciting!! Congrats ladies! My to read pile just increased significantly!!
Wooooooah nice teasers!
Great news! And would love a chance to win.
Congrats, ladies! Break out the bubbly!
Luv a good series!! How fun to get all the books in a series at once. Please enter me. Thanks, Sue
My copy of Magic in the Shadows is on the hold shelf at my local bricks and mortar. Woo! And Jackie, I’ve *got* to catch up on your series!
LOVE the snippets ladies! Count me in the running!
Great prizes, both awesome series. Congrats on your new releases!
Wow, what a contest. Great snippets. Congrats, and good luck.
congrats ladies and dang Jackie you need to come with a spew label hell in a handbasket. I took a drink right before that and then had to clean diet dr pepper off my screen.
Congratulations on your release day! Those excerpts really got me excited about the books!
I love release days. CONGRATS!!!!
New books on the To-Read list! Awesome!!
Well that was fun! Thanks you two and congratulations on the releases. Love the snippets. I’m a fan, lol.
Gayle
HI
Thanks for the excellent snippets & congratulations on the book releases!
Love & Best Wishes,
RKCharron
xoxo
These are two series I have yet to pick! Count me in, please!
Both series I need to start!
Oh, nice contest!
I love both series!
You ladies sure love a party! Count me in! Love the series! I want some signed copies in my altar damn it. Tee-hee
Woot! Congrats, Ladies. I also cracked up at the ‘hell in a handbasket’ comment.
~ Layla
Congrats on your new releases
I haven’t read either series and would love to start…
Congrats to Jackie & Devon!!! Thanks for the great the contests!!! Sign me up!!!
Hooray for wild rumpuses! Rumpusi? Do they behave like hippos?
In any case, congrats to the both of you. I’ve really enjoyed stopping by this grog regularly since it opened and becoming more educated about UF as well as writing in general.
Congrats on the release of both your books! Can’t wait to read both!!! Contests are always fun! Sign me up! I would love to win:o) I have my fingers crossed.
Thanks!
Steph M.
Oh yes, count me in! Congratulations to your book birthdays!
Congrats!!! Love the books and I have to say I’m very exited. Thanks for the contest.
jmspettoli
Would love to be in the running for the Hell books, please. Or maybe just HOTTER THAN HELL, and the other two can be donated to someone else
Oh my gosh! I’m so excited for the releses! Congrats!
YAY for the contest too!
Woot! Congrats to you both!!!
Love myself a signed copy. I swear I give mine away to another reader to spread the love!
Yay for new releases! Congrats
‘Living in Sin is the new thing!’
And reading too many darn good books must be bad for me!
And so I’m so excited to read the books!!!
And gosh! Winning a signed copy would make my year! I tell you now that would be so awesome!!
Congrats to both of you!
Emily
Congrats on the releases!
Congrats on the great releases
Oo snippets, love those
Congratulations ladies, I would love to be included for either sets of books.
I would like to say that I came to this site after having read Dame Rachel’s books (and loved them, of course!) and plan to read my way through all the Dames. I am currently on Dame Jenna’s Guardians series, have read and loved the Morgan Kingsley series. So I will get to these books eventually, however winning the whole set would be great!
Ok that was a big waffle, I’ll shut up now!
Thanks xxxx
So excited!! I love new books
Well,since I wont be able to go to a booksigning, (Do you have any idea how much plane tickets cost?)I’ll just settle with the books instead
Congrats ladies on your new releases!! Thank you for the great contest. I have both of these series on my TBR list.
Double Dame, Double Fun!
Congrats on the new releases =)
Congratulations on new release day!
Both series are on my to read list so I’d love to win copies of either.
I’m so excited that Magic in the Shadows is finally out. now I just need to find out, if my local amazon can order it pronto.
I loved the first 2 books so much. its like the best of urban fantasy and cyberpunk all in one pretty package.
Wonderful day when all the “bests” come out together! Thanks.
Wow! Congrats on the releases!! Sooooo would love to win signed copies of the series in both series! I’m ALL in! ;D
Thanks for the contests! Both of you are on my TBR lists.
Please count me in!
*Jen*
Woohoo! Congratulations on the new releases. They sound great.
Devon,
Finished reading Shadows last night. Totally rocks. I LOVE it!
A new series to love. Yummy!
Congrats on the new releases. Would love to be entered in the drawing. Thank you!
Great contest, Love the excerpt. Congrats on the new releases.I can hear my TBR pile groaning already.
Congratulations ladies!
You both are new Authors for me. I’m so excited to read your works!
And Huge Congrats for both of You \^_^/
Poor Zen Zay- he will always be the sexist air freshener I can think of.Mint and pine, and neatly folded clothing aside, YAY!!! New books!
Congrats to both of you! Would love to win either set of series! Count me in!
CONGRATULATIONS on the book releases to both of you!
I’d love to be entered. Thank you both for the contest and the excerpts
Oh boy, I left my comment on the live journal page.
Anyway, being able to read snippets from books by two very entertaining authors is a treat. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, those series sound interesting! I know my sister would love to win a signed set of either. I’m in!
Congrats on the new releases!! I can’t wait to read the newest additions to each series. Of course, winning books would make my day!
Wow girls hell of a party your having over here. I definitely want to join in, I’d love a copy of both of these seres. They both sound great so count me in… please
Congratulations on the new releases, these books sounds great. Please enter me in the contest, thanks for the giveaway!
Congratulations to you both. Would love to read them.
I’ve already started to read the third one–with my fingerless gloves on! lol.
and I love “The Road to Hell” I have it in trade paperback.
Congrats to you both!
Congrats on both of the releases!
Congratulations on the books releases! They sound really good. I’ve read some of the other books in those series, so these are definately on my to buy pile. Even if i don’t win.