fiction, Writers

Pride Month reading list – Aotearoa authors – 2023 part 2

Descent by JD Evans

Descent is a non-binary fantasy novel written entirely without the use of gendered pronouns, set in a magical world of towering mountains, frigid forests and shadowy chasms.

Tragedy has befallen the best and brightest at the Callan Imperial College of Striking. A young mage, a prodigy who once had a bright future ahead of them, flees terrified into the night. In an unyielding, foreign world, they are tested and tried time and time again as they battle with heartache and the loss of innocence, making new friends and new enemies on their steady descent into the shadows.


Welcome to the In Between by Kate Haley

Welcome to a world of magic… and chaos.

Too much chaos, if you ask me. I’m Chris, and I’m stuck in the Inbetween. It’s kinda my fault, I did jump, but I didn’t expect this. I don’t know what I was expecting… but now I’m the cat curiosity is trying to kill – or, at least, I can be.

Turns out I’m a Bone Magician. The last Bone Magician. And there’s a prophecy, because of course there is, and the deadline is my 16th birthday, because of course it is! I did not pack enough brownies for this mission. But there are good things too. Did I mention AJ? Have you met AJ? You need to meet AJ. He’s going to teach me magic, and we’re going to save the world.

But we’ve only got a week to do it.

Wanna help?


Jesse’s Smile by Angelique Jurd

Neurodiverse Jesse loves pop culture and the animals he cares for in the store. Drew is a high school teacher who has written a book on American poetry and loves Shakespeare and has a history of making bad relationship choices.
How can their relationship survive when everyone around them constantly reminds them of the differences separating them?
When one of Drew’s bad choices from the past shows up, it sets in motion a confusing and heartbreaking chain of events that tests their relationship. How can Drew and Jesse prove to their friends and family that what brings them together is stronger than what sets them apart? Can they demonstrate that sometimes, when it comes to love, the most important thing in the world is a smile?

Jesse’s Smile is a standalone MM romance featuring a slight age gap, hurt/comfort, opposites who attract, and a very sweet young man finding love in a world that doesn’t consider him worthy of it.


Runway Riot by MJ Green

Modelling wasn’t the glamorous job portrayed in the media. It wasn’t all glitzy parties, fashion shows, and photoshoots. There was also the long hours being fitted for garments, of being told how to walk and when to smile. But for Addison, none of that mattered so long as she got paid. Several years of living on the streets after living in a world of excess had given her a new look on life, and she no longer took anything for granted.

But there was a darker side to the modelling world that wasn’t talked about.

There were people who viewed models as nothing more than mannequins with a heartbeat.

Men who refused to take ‘No’ for an answer… and those who thought Addison’s sexuality was something that could be changed with the right partner. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

Then there were the stalkers. Addison had had her fair share of them since taking up the modelling contract with House of Bolton. But none of them had required Addison to be saddled with a bodyguard – Clio Di’lorio.

Until this one.

And the man behind the threats might be closer than Addison or Clio realise.

Runway Riot is a 59k fluffy dark, sapphic, mafia romance novel set in Melbourne, Australia. It involves a feisty bisexual bodyguard falling for her client, and a model with a dangerous stalker problem. Each book in the House of Bolton series can be read standalone.


Shades of Sepia by Anne Barwell

To be soulmates they first have to survive.

A serial killer stalks the streets of Boggslake, Ohio. The victims are always found in pairs, one human and one vampire.

Simon Hawthorne has been a vampire for nearly a hundred years, and he has never seen anything like it. Neither have the other supernaturals he works with to keep the streets safe for both their kind and the humans.

One meeting with Simon finds Ben Leyton falling for a man he knows is keeping secrets, but he can’t ignore the growing attraction between them. A recent arrival in Boggslake, Ben finds it very different from his native New Zealand, but something about Simon makes Ben feel as though he’s found a new home.

After a close friend falls victim to the killer, Simon is torn between revealing his true nature to Ben, and walking away to avoid the reaction he fears. But with the body count rising and the murders becoming more frequent, either, or both of them, could be the killer’s next target.

Author’s note: This story was originally released in 2014 by another publisher. This edition has been revised and re-edited with the end result being a better, stronger story.


The Other Side of the Mirror by Jamie Sands

The case: a grandmother who vanished from a locked room.
The best lead: a psychic who’s as mysterious as she is cute.

Detective Jack Duarte is the one called upon when weird cases hit Auckland. A fierce loner with a reputation for solving the unsolvable, she is the perfect choice for the latest odd mystery: the locked-room disappearance of a beloved grandmother, who has vanished without trace and, seemingly, without suspects or a motive. This time around, though, Jack has also been assigned a partner.

The fresh young detective Piper, who has transferred in with a difficult history, is determined to prove themself. Smart, perky, and inexperienced. They are exactly the kind of partner Jack manages to scare away. As they dig deeper into the mystery, though, Jack has to put her own reluctance in the back seat and help Piper navigate a whole different world — because the beloved grandmother has her own mysterious past, one that has already cost lives… and souls. With the help of the enigmatic and beautiful psychic Emmaline, Jack and Piper must confront the strange world on the other side of the mirror. Some mysteries can only be solved with magic!


Rival Princes by Jaxon Knight – now available wide on multiple book platforms

There are three golden rules for new recruits at Fairyland Theme Park:

1. No breaking character, even if you’re dying of heat exhaustion
2. Always give guests the most magical time
3. No falling in love.
Nate’s only been at work one day, and he’s already broken all three.

Fast-tracked into a Prince role, Nate’s at odds with Dash, the handsome not-so-charming prince who is supposed to be training him. Nate doesn’t know how he ended up on Dash’s bad side, but the broody prince sure is hot when he gets mad.

Dash has worked long and hard to play Prince Justice at Fairyland. Now, instead of focusing on his own performance, he is forced to train newbie Nate to be the perfect prince. Nate’s annoying ease with the guests coupled with his charm and good looks could dethrone Dash from his number one spot … so why does he secretly want to kiss him?

Fairyland heats up as sparks fly between the two rival princes. Will they get their fairytale romance before they’re kicked out of Fairyland for good? Find out in this standalone MM contemporary romance by Jaxon Knight, set in an amusement park where fairytales can come true.

Rival Princes is a sweet Rivals to Lovers romance with queer characters, set in a fairy tale themed amusement park. Guaranteed HEA. Some cursing, no cheating.

fiction, writing

Campfire Tales worth writing about

I have a story in a new charity anthology!

Campfire Tales Worth Writing About is the newest edition in the Worth Writing About series which features short fiction and other bits and pieces around a theme.
Each sale’s profits go to a charity and this month’s charity is The Abortion Access Fund

My story, Which Tree, is a little weird modern bardic tale inspired by the tabletop roleplaying game Sleepaway.

I wrote it quickly, inspired by an incident in the game of Sleepaway I played the year before last. It has some gender diverse characters and something living in a tree. I wrote it longhand first up and typed it up within a few hours, which was a pretty fun and breezy way to write. I’ve been enjoying writing short fiction to prompts and I’m hopeful I’ll be able to share more little publications like this with you soon!

If you want to capture the feeling of sitting around a campfire and telling stories, this is the collection for you. Buy now

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Reading log journal

I updated my reading log journal, and ordered myself some copies. They arrived recently and I’m really stoked with how cute they look and how nice the quality is. These are print-on-demand from Amazon which means you can order them from Amazon yourself!

But let’s take a look inside…

There’s a 60 book reading challenge that you can use or not as you choose – it includes different formats of books as well as options that may put you out of your comfort reading zone. There are checkboxes so you can keep track of the ones you’ve done.

Then lots of review pages, with space for various details including dates started and read and why you chose this particular book.

The review pages are broken up with colouring pages every here and there so you can reward yourself for reading and updating the journal and have a little fun. Here’s one example:

Then the back half of the book is dot gridded pages so you can continue to review books, make lists of books to read, draw or do whatever you like, really.

If you’re in New Zealand you can also order direct from my Payhip store.

Get it on US Amazon or on Australian Amazon

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Guest writer series: an interview with Elise Smith

Welcome to Elise Smith

Tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Elise Smith, I have over 25 years of experience as a writer, 5 years as a blogger and 3 years as a writing coach. I have written and published two autobiographies in my book series “The New Zealand Dream,” by Sheila my pen name. I wrote these books to inspire and give hope to others. I published my third book in July 2021, called “Johnathan,” I co-authored this book about my father who grew up in Manchester England during the war. My passion is creative writing, I write in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and content. I have published many articles, short stories, and guest posted on various sites. My short story “Stargazing” won a short story award in our local “Writing Sparks” competition.

Writing is a very powerful healing tool, sharing your story can give help others and help yourself on your healing journey. I am a writing coach who can help people write their own stories and with any writing project they are creating. I have mentored students working for Wellington polytechnic. I conduct interviews on my website to help promote my fellow writers and bloggers and host guest writers.

Where in the world do you live, and what do you like most about it?

I live in a little coastal city called Gisborne, in New Zealand.

What I like most about living in NZ is it has the ocean and all its bounty on my doorstep, a hop skip, and a jump and you are in nature surrounded by native bush with breathtaking hikes to experience and camp spots to discover.

Self-care is very important for writers, tell us how you look after yourself?

I too believe self-care is extremely important for writers and everyone.

I write about this topic often, below is what I do to take care of myself;
Spending time in nature🦋🌳🌸
Listen to positive music🎼
Watch positive movies/videos
Time for you/to treat yourself 💅🛀
Spend time with positive people👩‍❤️‍👨,
Set boundaries, say no
Spirituality and prayer/meditation🧎‍♀️🧘‍♀️📖
Feed your body and mind healthy🍇🥦🚶‍♂️🧠📖
Rid your life of toxic people, it is better to be alone than around negativity.
Remember you are responsible for your own happiness, nobody else should be expected to make you happy.
Sit just sit quietly
Pick/buy a bunch of flowers
Take a nap
Do something crafty, colouring
Go to the library and read

Reading:

What genres do you like to read in?

I like to read true stories and memoirs.

What’s a book that you have on your shelf which you’re particularly fond of?

“White thorn” By Bryce Courtnay

Writing:

Creative writing as a teenager, did you do it? Can you remember any stories?

Yes, I did do this, I remember writing about myself and a friend Samanther going on an adventure. She fell into a cave, I tried to save her but a vampire killed her. I got a certificate for this story.

What do you do/where do you go for inspiration?

I do things to trigger memories or feelings such as getting in nature, a smell, listening to music, looking at photos, or art.

Do you prefer quiet, ambient sound or music while you write?

I prefer quiet when I write.

Favourites:

Hogwarts, Narnia, Neverland, or Westeros?

Narnia

What’s your favourite song to sing at Karaoke?

Guns and Roses, Sweet child of mine

Favourite song to sing in the shower when no one else is home?

Bon Jovi, You give love a bad name

Favourite bird?

Bald Eagle

You can find Elise online:

My NZ Dream
Instagram
Facebook
Join us in the group “A journey of transformation.”
Goodreads
LinkedIn

Writers, writing

YA novel Onesies and Ouijaboards out now!

Onesies and Ouijaboards

I’ve returned to the world of Young Adult novels!

Onesies and Ouijaboards is a spin off from my Mt Eden Witches series – involving Basil the library witch from Overdues and Occultism and Monsters and Manuscripts. It’s a standalone novel, and you don’t have to have read the other two before this one, but you’ll get a better idea of the world if you do.

So, why did I write another Young Adult novel after all this time?

Honestly, it was because teenagers asked for it. Not like, by spamming my socials or anything, but over the last 16 months or so I’ve been to a few book fairs (not as many as were planned, due to Covid and restrictions), but I’ve learned a bit. I’ve had a lot of varied teens look at the covers to my Witchy Fiction books and been really interested, but then a few of them have asked if there’s romance in them, and been disappointed when the answer was yes. This happened a handful of times, which isn’t a huge survey at all, but it showed that there was a gap in the market.

So I went ahead and wrote Onesies with the plan of including no romance at all. It’s also my first book with a non-binary solo main character. Arrow came to me at the end of Overdues and Occultism – a grumpy, emo teen who came into the library with their family.

The book was delightful to write. Arrow was firm in my mind as a person who loved fantasy and wanted something more, and the events of Monsters and Manuscripts opened up the perfect opportunity for their story.

This book is going to be available over a lot of ebook platforms, although just for the moment it’s only on Amazon, but watch out for it in the next few days.

Gorgeous cover by Jacqueline Sweet

Be careful what you wish for…

Arrow is fifteen, non-binary, and bored.

It’s one thing to read about magic, or watch ghost hunting shows. But Arrow yearns for something more. When they try out a prosperity spell from a magical library book, things start to go very very right.

Until they don’t.

Arrow’s good luck seems to be affecting a lot of the people around them. From A students suddenly failing quizzes to freak accidents, their good luck seems to be double-sided to say the least. Arrow’s best friend Ren knows not to mess with the unknown, but Arrow’s spell might just affect him all the same.

Arrow’s got to learn about how to wield their magic fast when the power they’ve drawn down proves to be beautiful, but dangerous as well.
***

Onesies and Ouijaboards is a young adult novella spinoff of the popular Mt Eden Witches series. There is no romance, but there are tarot cards, best friends, ghosts and bubble tea

Buy it now!