I’m super excited to have Mae Clair on the blog today celebrating the release of her new novel, Cusp of Night!

Thanks for hosting me on your blog today, Jacquie! I’ve been making the rounds with my newest release, Cusp of Night, a mystery / suspense novel with paranormal elements. Cusp of Night features two timelines—one set at the end of the 19^th Century, with another in present day.

My main character in the past is a Spiritualist who becomes the toast of Philadelphia society. Her séances are well attended and she’s lauded in the newspapers as being genuine. “Sitters” who attend her sessions are treated to ghostly music, rapping sounds, table tilting, “spirit hands,” ectoplasm, and more. These were all typical elements of mediumistic practices at the time. While researching these and more, I found “automatic writings” to be particularly interesting.

A medium performs automatic writing—without conscious thought—when under the control of a spirit or guide. Rather than speaking, the medium would convey messages from a sitter’s departed loved one by writing longhand. This could be a few short sentences or pages upon pages of discourse. During the period of writing, the medium is usually unaware of what is happening, his or her hand flying rapidly across the page as the spirit takes control. Occasionally, the words produced might be in another language, or crammed so minute in scale, a magnifying glass would be needed to read them.

In Cusp of Night, Lucinda Glass, performs automatic writings for one of her regular customers—the same way Arthur Conan Doyle’s wife, Lady Jean, would perform an automatic writing for Harry Houdini (said to be from his mother) twenty-odd years later. And like the magicians and showmen of Houdini’s day, mediums of the nineteenth century were not above a bit of flim-flam. Just how much, comes to light in my novel when Lucinda’s world blends with that of Maya Sinclair.

Here’s the blurb:

Recently settled in Hode’s Hill, Pennsylvania, Maya Sinclair is enthralled by the town’s folklore, especially the legend about a centuries-old monster. A devil-like creature with uncanny abilities responsible for several horrific murders, the Fiend has evolved into the stuff of urban myth. But the past lives again when Maya witnesses an assault during the annual “Fiend Fest.” The victim is developer Leland Hode, patriarch of the town’s most powerful family, and he was attacked by someone dressed like the Fiend.

Compelled to discover who is behind the attack and why, Maya uncovers a shortlist of enemies of the Hode clan. The mystery deepens when she finds the journal of a late nineteenth-century spiritualist who once lived in Maya’s house–a woman whose ghost may still linger.

Known as the Blue Lady of Hode’s Hill due to a genetic condition, Lucinda Glass vanished without a trace and was believed to be one of the Fiend’s tragic victims. The disappearance of a young couple, combined with more sightings of the monster, trigger Maya to join forces with Leland’s son Collin. But the closer she gets to unearthing the truth, the closer she comes to a hidden world of twisted secrets, insanity, and evil that refuses to die . . .

PURCHASE HERE

The Queen of Paranormal Romance, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter, returns with THE DARKEST WARRIOR, a searing Lords of the Underworld tale featuring a beastly prince and the wife he will wage war to keep. Check out the sneak peek below and pre-order your copy of THE DARKEST WARRIOR today!

THE DARKEST WARRIOR Synopsis:

He is ice…

Puck the Undefeated, host of the demon of Indifference, cannot experience emotion without punishment, so he allows himself to feel nothing. Until her. According to ancient prophecy, she is the key to avenging his past, saving his realm and ruling as king. All he must do? Steal her from the man she loves—and marry her.

She is fire…

Gillian Shaw has suffered many tragedies in her too-short life, but nothing could have prepared the fragile human for her transition into immortality. To survive, she must wed a horned monster who both intrigues and frightens her…and become the warrior queen she was born to be.

Together they burn.

As a rising sense of possession and obsession overtake Puck, so does insatiable lust. The more he learns about his clever, resourceful wife, the more he craves her. And the more time Gillian spends with her protective husband, the more she aches for him. But the prophecy also predicts an unhappily-ever-after. Can Puck defeat fate itself to keep the woman who brought his deadened heart back to life? Or will they succumb to destiny, losing each other…and everything they’ve been fighting for?

Preorder THE DARKEST WARRIOR here!

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Add it to your Goodreads Now!

EXCERPT:

The three-day journey took a toll on Puck. No campsites, no food or water. At least he managed to avoid the rifts leading to traps.

Finally, he reached the sand tower. The Oracles lived up top, with a view of…everything. Too weak to climb, Puck used the last of his magic to create a sand staircase.

He needed to acquire more magic, which meant he would have to kill someone, and soon.

Should he slay one of the Oracles? History claimed the trio created Amaranthia as a safe haven for anyone with magical inclinations. Their supply of magic must be limitless, even unending.

At one time, the thought of harming a female would have disgusted him. Now? Possessed by the demon of Indifference? Bring it. A source was a source.

Business first. As he stepped onto the upper level without rails or walls he discovered three females standing together, each draped from breast to thigh in colorful scarfs. A fine, dark mist obscured their faces.

In lieu of a greeting, he said, “You know why I’m here.” They must. “How do I regain what’s mine? Freedom from the demon. The Connacht crown. Unification for the clans. Protection for my realm. Sin’s black heart on a golden platter. Princess Alannah.”

He would take her as his due.

As winds grew more violent, the women asked in unison, “What is our credo, Puck the Undefeated?”

All of Amaranthia learned their credo from the crib. Nothing given, nothing gained. The more personal the gift, the more detailed the answer.

What was more personal than his blackened heart?

Will be unable to render a kill afterward.

Worth it.

Determined, he withdrew a dagger from a sheath at his waist and thrust the blade into his rib cage. Warm blood poured down his chest. Pain devoured his strength with the same tenacity as Indifference, scorching every nerve ending in his body. Eventually his knees gave out. But even as he fell, he continued to hack through muscle and bone. Finally, success.

As an immortal, he would recover…soonish. Here and now, his mind would remain conscious for a minute, maybe two. Plenty of time to get what he needed. Sin had taught him well: the entire course of your life could change between one breath and another.

With a flick of his wrist, the still-beating heart rolled toward the Oracles. Twitters of acceptance rang out, followed by voices, one Oracle speaking after the other.

“You love our home, our people, despite your…limitations. But what has been spoken cannot be undone. What is to happen, will happen.”

“One prophecy can work alongside another, and what was can be made right.”

“To save us all, wed the girl who belongs to William of the Dark…she is the key…”

“Bring your wife to our lands and lead the dark one here after. Only the male who will live or die for the girl has the power to dethrone Sin the Demented.”

When had his brother earned the moniker “the Demented”?

“Only then shall you have all you desire.”

“But do not forget Ananke’s shears, for they are necessary…” Together the Oracles whispered, “There is no other way.” In the ensuing quiet, Puck’s thoughts whirled. William of the Dark. He’d never heard of him, or the girl the male would “live or die for.” The two needed to be brought to Amaranthia, one after the other. Very well.

As a heavy gloom toyed with the edges of his mind, he ordered and set his tasks.

Find William of the Dark. Wed the girl he loves. War with Sin.

One prophecy would not supersede the other. Instead, the two would work in tandem. Meaning, William would not kill Sin, would only dethrone him. The rest would be up to Puck.

Nothing would stop him from completing each task. William. Wed. War. One day, Puck would wear the Connacht crown, save his people and unite the clans.

Finally the gloom stopped toying and started devouring, swallowing him whole. He knew nothing more.

About Gena Showalter:

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series–Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles–and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader’s Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she’s appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black–if you ask her about it, she’ll talk for hours…hours! Her books have been translated in multiple languages.

She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfans

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Top Five Quotes From Books I Love

I’d been poor as shit for my entire life. I’d learned to roll with it most days. Other times, like this morning, it punched me in the teeth.

In Harmony- Emma Scott

I’ve never been hit in the face. My mother didn’t bother disciplining me. Though I saw men hit her and my aunt from time to time, no man has ever hit me, so I didn’t know. I couldn’t have known that the first hit, that baptism into violence, doesn’t just sting the flesh. It startles the soul.

Long Shot- Kennedy Ryan

His children were left behind, like a sock in a drawer that was almost empty, and that was a million times worse than if there was nothing left at all.

Bring Down the Stars- Emma Scott

I’m just a girl, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a doughnut.

Lost and Found Sisters- Jill Shalvis

Ragged police tape swung from the columns. The double-wide front door had been blown open, like the house had died mid-scream. Like it is still screaming.

Every Deep Desire- Sharon Wray