When tall,
dark and delicious Adam Farrell crosses Danni’s radar at a trade show in Vegas,
it’s not lust at first sight. He’s been the star of her wicked fantasies for a
while, pleasuring her in acts of domination and submission that leave her
breathless. Aching for his masterful touch, believing she’ll never have it,
Danni indulges in a public sex act Adam alone witnesses. What follows is a
night of wild and unrestrained passion in his powerful arms. It’s only the
beginning.
An
undisclosed business deal has turned Adam from competitor to Danni’s new boss.
His hunger for her is absolute and he’ll make her fantasies seem tame as he
takes her in ways she never imagined—whenever he wants, wherever he desires.
Seduced by
Adam’s plan to mix exquisite control with adoration, Danni’s swept into a
sensual adventure she can’t resist. Until corporate politics intrude and she
learns what Adam’s been hiding to protect her…a secret he’s long feared will
tear them apart.
PRAISE FOR ADORED
FIVE STARS
"I don't share what's mine" - Redrabbit Reviews
"Lovers shouldn't keep secrets" - Pico 1
"A Hot and Sexy Read" - Aunt G
"Great Read!" - Sleep Reader
"Fantasies on the Horizon" - Merry Jelks - Emmanuel
Bridget Budd is here to tell us about Behind the Mirror, contemporary women's fiction.
There's also a great giveaway.
________________________
Behind the Mirror
Bridget Budd
Publication date: July 1st 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Behind the Mirror is a powerful, character-driven novel about emotional healing, generational trauma, and the courage it takes to stop performing and start living your truth.
Sometimes, the hardest person to face is the one behind the mirror…
Julie Sloan was shaped by abandonment early in life—left behind by the people who were supposed to love her first. In the absence of emotional safety, she became what the world rewarded: high-achieving, self-sacrificing, and always performing. Through four marriages, she searched for stability while suppressing her deepest fears—that she was unworthy of lasting love, and too broken to be fully seen.
But when her fourth marriage nearly collapsed, something shifted. It wasn’t betrayal that broke her—it was the quiet realization that she had never truly lived for herself.
What followed was a reckoning: with her past, with the roles she had played to survive, and with the parts of herself she had long silenced.
Now, years later, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist named Laura wants to profile Julie’s nonprofit work—an organization devoted to helping women heal from emotional wounds. But what begins as a success story takes a deeper turn as Julie reveals the story behind the story—the one she’s never shared publicly. The one about how she abandoned herself first.
For readers drawn to novels about inner child work, identity, and spiritual awakening, this deeply personal journey will leave you both broken open and quietly restored.
Julie Sloan had everything she thought she wanted—success, love, stability—but beneath the perfection was an exhaustion she couldn’t name. In this scene from Behind the Mirror, she begins to see the quiet cost of performing her way through life.
I had and have everything I had dreamed of. This gorgeous house, an indoor pool, a home gym, a massage room, and a state-of-the-art kitchen. Plus, I drive a super-fun and sporty Porsche 718 Boxster in Carmine Red … Nothing beats the top down on the glorious sunny days we have here.
But I was perpetually unhappy and had no idea why.
Did you notice that all those things I listed as being everything I dreamed of were external? None of them reflected satisfaction from the inside out. I was living from the outside in. Even as recently as ten years ago, I was stuck in that familiar pattern of thinking that I wasn’t worthy whenever someone did something kind for me.
… I was perpetually chasing the next goal, the next fix, the next thing that might finally make me feel whole. What I couldn’t see then was that the exhaustion I felt wasn’t from doing too much—it was from being someone I wasn’t.
I had mastered the art of performing for love, of polishing every rough edge until there was no “me” left underneath. The burnout wasn’t from my schedule; it was from the story I kept trying to live up to.
It’s strange, really, how easy it is to confuse performing with being alive. But when the performance ends—when the lights go down and the applause fades—what’s left is silence. And in that silence, I finally started to hear something truer than all the noise: myself.
Author Bio:
Bridget Budd is the author of Behind the Mirror, a debut novel that blends literary storytelling with therapeutic insight.
After more than twenty-five years in corporate sales, she stepped away to explore the emotional patterns beneath her success—and the cost of always holding it together.
Her work lives at the intersection of fiction and healing, drawing from her background in trauma-informed coaching, somatics, and holistic health. Bridget writes and speaks about identity, self-worth, and the shift from performing to presence.
Often described as “fiction with emotional teeth,” her stories are crafted for deep feelers, recovering perfectionists, and anyone quietly exhausted from chasing “enough.”
She divides her time between Marco Island, Florida, and Marvin, North Carolina, with her husband and two opinionated dogs.
Sonja Gunter is here to tell us about Narda's Truth, The Witch DNA #2, fantasy romance, romantasy, urban fantasy.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Angel numbers & scents unearth a truth that has been
hidden for years.
Narda’s Truth
The Witch DNA #2
by Sonja Gunter
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Romantasy, Urban Fantasy
Angel numbers & scents unearth a truth
that has been hidden for years.
Reach for the Soap, owner, Narda Hunt, has
been receiving signs in the form of numbers telling her she needs to find her
half-sisters, Opaline and Ebba. An imminent threat is about to force them to
combine their witch powers to survive.
One set of angel numbers brings Narda closer
to Owin Waters, whom fate has determined is her soulmate. Their special
connection sends them to another realm where Narda meets her deceased mother.
She reveals the truth behind the special powers that Narda and her sisters
possess.
With this knowledge, Narda brings to light the
evil that is waiting for her and her sisters on their twenty-fifth birthday.
Could these three words articulate distinct spiritual essences to fuse
together?
Bookstore owner, Opaline Lunn, facilitates a Speed Dating Event, in
hopes of finding her soulmate. She meets attendee Detective Eamon Dayan, who
wasn’t looking for love, but sparks fly at their first kiss.
Together they unearth Opaline’s powers which lead to the discovery that
she has two sisters, and someone called The Ancient One who wants to kill them.
Unraveling a myriad of mysteries, with Opaline’s newfound ability to do
spells, the soulmates must find her sisters by her twenty-fifth birthday to be
able to confront the evil force and save all of them.
I was born and raised in the cold and beautiful Minnesota,
but I escaped to Illinois for seventeen years to raise my two boys, and now I
call Florida home. My husband Andy, who’s always been my hero, has put up with
my late night computer typing and endless stacks of papers with my stories on
them. We have one furry friend as family: Chip, a sixteen year old ragdoll cat.
Life has been full of ups and downs, but I’ve made it
through the hard times. I love to travel and go to Disney World to trade
pins. I’ve been a bowler for many years,
and you can catch me writing my next novel at the lanes.
I encourage you to check out my web site, www.sonjagunter.com for more info and
don’t be surprised if I let my Norwegian heritage come through in my stories.
Emily Carrington is here to tell us about Conventions of Dragons, an LGBTQ polyamorous dark fantasy featuring shapeshifters.
Read on for details...
____________________
LGBTQ, Dark Fantasy, Polyamorous, Shapeshifters
Date Published: October 31, 2025
When duty calls, where will the heart go?
Joel’s twin has been hurt, and Joel decides to stay with him rather than
join his new lovers across the sea. But fate, and a serial killer, have other
plans.
Parisa and Noah are drifting apart and without Joel they might lose everything
they’ve built.
Can this new throuple fight together to win their happiness or will evil
triumph?
EXCERPT
“Hooo-elll…”
It was Parisa’s voice, but he couldn’t touch her physically or
telepathically. All Joel’s senses were blurred.
Joel wasn’t sure if he’d passed out, but everything was foggy. Not
dark, since he had no concept of light beyond the meaning of the word, but
misty. It was like the fog that clung to his face and arms, to his hearing and
sense of smell when he’d visited England thirty years ago. He’d
never forget that sensation of everything being muffled. The sound of his own
voice had been right, but the tapping of his cane tip on the cobblestones in
London had been oddly removed from the rest of him. He’d actually fallen
a couple of times in London, not because he couldn’t feel the ground but
because he had tried too hard to rely on the sound of his cane to tell him the
depth of things like cracks and steps.
Now, although the sense of being wrapped in cotton persisted, he felt even
more cut off from the world because he was really two people. He
couldn’t attend to his own movements or speech while living in
Jules’s head. Especially not when Jules was so distant from the world.
His whole spirit seemed caught up in confusion and fear. So although Joel and
Jules sometimes lived in each other’s heads for brief moments, there had
never been such a fundamental separation from physical reality.
Dimly, he could feel a hand caressing his face. He tried to reach up and catch
those fingers, but his arms felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. He
attempted another connection with Jules, one that would allow him to
communicate more than just his confusion and to feel Jules’s sense of
dislocation. That, too, failed.
Someone spoke then, their voice cutting through the fog. “Joel.”
It was James, the dragon guarding him. “Joel, come back. Follow me if
you’re turned around.”
He clung to those words and finally managed, by trailing after them in the
psychic world, to reestablish himself in the realm of touch, hearing, and
scent.
The person caressing his face paused and Parisa asked, “Can you hear me,
Joel?”
“Yes,” he croaked, his throat dry.
“Drink,” she answered, and he opened his mouth, unsure if he would
feel a glass against his lips or her cupped hand. He registered the water as
cool and drank as palmfuls were brought to his lips. From where he’d
heard Parisa’s voice, he’d expected the water to come from another
angle. Maybe Noah was actually giving him the refreshing liquid.
“James?” he asked between mouthfuls.
“He’s not here,” Parisa said, “although I heard him
too. It was like he somehow tapped into a telepathy that could be carried to
more than one person.”
“Are either of you hurt?” Joel asked.
“No,” Parisa answered after a moment. He wondered what caused the
hesitation. Then she explained. “Noah is shell-shocked, I think.
He’s --”
“I’m fine,” Noah said firmly. “Just… sorry
about…”
Struggling to raise his head, Joel felt hands tighten on his shoulders. He
fought down the instantaneous panic that clawed at his throat. “Unless
there’s a reason for me to be lying on my back,” he said as gently
as he could manage, “I’d rather sit up.”
The hands released him and as he sat up, crossing his legs, he felt
Parisa’s breath on his shoulder blade. He was still naked. He shivered
and instinctively pulled his legs up to shield his stomach and softer bits. He
wasn’t afraid of Parisa or Noah, but he felt vulnerable. “What
happened?”
“There was an explosion,” Noah said, and he did sound a little
shocky because his voice trembled. “Over at the other house, we
think.”
“Definitely not here,” Parisa put in. “Do either of you need
a towel? There aren’t robes in here, and I don’t think we should
leave the bathroom until we get the all-clear.”
So, that was why his bare butt was on tile. “Did you two carry me in
here?”
Again, there was that momentary pause. Then Parisa said, “I helped Noah
and carried you, yes.”
Their location made sense even if nothing else did. As far as Joel knew, the
bathroom might be the only room in the smaller house without windows.
Not like the one that had blown inward, injuring Jules.
He shivered as that realization, sent by his twin, hit him. Jules didn’t
actually know it had been a window, but he’d had glass taken out of his
arm so he’d made an educated guess. Joel said, “Soon as we can, I
need to get to Jules. Something’s seriously wrong with him.”
“Can you feel him?” Parisa asked, her hand warm on his back.
“Not now but…” He shivered again, unable to help himself.
“He was muffled, or that’s what it felt like. Like having your
head wrapped in a blanket.”
Noah began, “Did he --”
Someone interrupted, throwing open the door. “Here they are,” said
James, his voice tight.
“Good,” said a voice that came out slightly tinny. “Help is
on the way but it’s a good hour out. See if you can move them to this
building.”
“Will do.” James crouched, his voice coming from off to
Joel’s right. “Are any of you hurt?”
Joel shook his head. “I’m fine. It didn’t happen
here.” He reached out toward James’s voice, but Parisa caught his
hand.
“Agent Tavery,” she said softly, “you’re
bleeding.”
About the Author
Emily Carrington is a multipublished author of male/male and transgender
women’s speculative fiction. Seeking a world made of equality, she
created SearchLight to live out her dreams. But even SearchLight has its
problems, and Emily is looking forward to working all of these out with a host
of characters from dragons and genies to psychic vampires. And in the
contemporary world she’s named “Sticks & Stones,” Emily
has vowed to create small towns where prejudice is challenged by a passionate
quest for equality. Find her on Facebook at Shapeshifter Central or on her
website.
When tall,
dark and delicious Adam Farrell crosses Danni’s radar at a trade show in Vegas,
it’s not lust at first sight. He’s been the star of her wicked fantasies for a
while, pleasuring her in acts of domination and submission that leave her
breathless. Aching for his masterful touch, believing she’ll never have it,
Danni indulges in a public sex act Adam alone witnesses. What follows is a
night of wild and unrestrained passion in his powerful arms. It’s only the
beginning.
An
undisclosed business deal has turned Adam from competitor to Danni’s new boss.
His hunger for her is absolute and he’ll make her fantasies seem tame as he
takes her in ways she never imagined—whenever he wants, wherever he desires.
Seduced by
Adam’s plan to mix exquisite control with adoration, Danni’s swept into a
sensual adventure she can’t resist. Until corporate politics intrude and she
learns what Adam’s been hiding to protect her…a secret he’s long feared will
tear them apart.
PRAISE FOR ADORED
FIVE STARS
"I don't share what's mine" - Redrabbit Reviews
"Lovers shouldn't keep secrets" - Pico 1
"A Hot and Sexy Read" - Aunt G
"Great Read!" - Sleep Reader
"Fantasies on the Horizon" - Merry Jelks - Emmanuel
A.L. Hawke is here to tell us about Hawthorne University Witch, Prequel Series, dark fantasy, paranormal romance, and romantasy.
There's also a great giveaway.
_____________________
Cursed the moment I fell in love with her.
Walpurgis
The Hawthorne University Witch Prequel Series Book 3
by A.L. Hawke
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romantasy
Burn the Witch.
Allie and I were meant to have a future together—one built on love, not fear.
But here in Hawthorne, shadows lengthen, and whispers drift through the woods
like curses. So when Alondra falls mysteriously ill, I know exactly who’s
behind it.
Desperation drags me into the darkest corners of my magic—places where I no
longer fear the spells I once vowed never to cast. Even joining a coven of the
wicked no longer feels like betrayal. The deeper I descend, the more I uncover
about the witch who haunts me… and the shadow that may not belong to her alone.
Walpurgis Night approaches—the night witches burn. But what happens when it’s
the warlock who strikes the match… willing to burn everything—my heart, my
soul—to save the one I love?
**New Release! On Sale for Only $2.99 until 10/31!**
The Hawthorne University Witch Prequel Series Book 2
Cursed the moment I
fell in love with her.
While home in Raleigh for semester break, I didn’t expect my girlfriend,
Alondra, to ask me for a favor: present my Book of Shadows to the leader of a
satanic cult. She was looking for a new male witch for her coven. Of course,
she knew it wouldn’t be me.
But when a curse took hold of our college campus—and the spirits I thought I’d
left behind came back—I realized I couldn’t keep the book closed much longer.
Now something dark surrounds me. Is it the work of the wizard with the devilish
goatee? Or is it a little girl possessed by something far worse?
I lit a dark shadow, and now I feel only confusion. Whatever this darkness is,
it’s coming for Alondra, our family, and every witch in Hawthorne.
The Hawthorne University Witch Prequel Series Book 1
I fell in love with a
goth, but she’s a witch.
Starting school at Hawthorne University was not going well, until I met my
classmate Alondra. Allie was different. She was goth. But she was also
mysterious, confident and fun. I was into that. My name’s Liam. My friends call
me Lee.
Things got weird after I accompanied her to her haunts. Poltergeists and demons
attacked little girls. I watched Alondra help exorcise these ghosts, but some
of their evil stuck to me.
Well, being attracted to a witch was one thing; dating one was quite another.
It seemed the closer I got to Allie, the more her witchcraft endangered my
friends. And my soul. You decide. I chronicled everything here in her book.
A.L. Hawke is the author of the bestselling Hawthorne
University Witch series. The author lives in Southern California torching the
midnight candle over lovers against a backdrop of machines, nymphs, magic,
spice & mayhem.
