C.D. Clark is here to tell us about Codex of the Cosmari, Volume 1: From the Depths of the Stars, queer adult sci-fi.
There's also a great giveaway.
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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. C.D.Clark will be awarding a digital copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Jordan Blue works to survive on the oppressive, corporate colony world, Shoar. A random, near-fatal encounter puts her in the company of Kuvett, a space faring creature of the stars. While Jordan tries to figure out the inscrutable Cosmari, Kuvett sneaks about the dilapidated Outskirts to find out just what happened to the planet, what secrets the impenetrable Meritopolis hides, and why it is there.
Read an Excerpt
Kuvett let go and hovered back to let Jordan continue.
“Yet, the reason why I have such a hard time accepting it is because—” the tears returned as she looked out to the doorway—“there was a time when I didn’t live here alone.”
“I assumed as much. Their presence still lingers here and on you.”
Jordan nodded. “We were together for about six years until one day, she just up and vanished. I don’t know where she went to, I don’t know if she is even still alive, but the fact she never told me where she even left hurts. It hurts a lot.”
“And you fear it may happen once more.” Kuvett leaned against the wall.
“Yes,” Jordan looked to the floor while she sobbed, ashamed. “That, and I don’t know how much time I have left before my lungs give out. Why would anyone want someone whose body’s falling apart? I don’t know for certain, but that’s what it felt like when Violet left.”
Kuvett was silent a moment before she reached up and wiped away the moisture on Jordan’s face. When she opened her eyes, Kuvett pressed her forehead against Jordan’s. “There is much I wish to tell you and how I disagree with how you see yourself. But for now, we are not safe here. If there is anything I can do to assist you, tell me and I will.”
Jordan sniffed again, nodding as she disengaged from Kuvett’s touch. There was still much to do.
About the Author: From his youngest days, C.D. Clark has always loved stories and the worlds they could take him to. His writing career began with original, fan-based fiction which led to his passion for writing. Over the past twenty-five years, C.D. Clark has developed his craft, all the while celebrating his successes and reveling in any spectacular failures, using them as learning experiences. Ever eager to learn, he continues leaping towards the future while creating fantastic new worlds and passing along poignant messages through his books.
Thomas LeBrun is here to tell us about his science fiction novel Aurora Rift, A Man Out of Time.
Read on for details...
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Science Fiction
Date Published: July 18, 2026
Dr. Kyle Richards thought he was chasing wonder.
An Evolutionary Anthropologist, respected lecturer, martial artist, husband,
and father, Kyle journeys to Northern Norway in search of the breathtaking
Aurora Borealis and the ancient petroglyphs of Alta. But beneath the dancing
northern lights, something impossible happens. A violent geomagnetic
phenomenon tears Kyle from the modern world and hurls him across the corridors
of time.
What begins as scientific fascination quickly becomes a desperate fight for
survival.
Thrown into the Stone Age among primitive hunters, Kyle unknowingly leaves
behind clues that will survive for thousands of years. He battles Viking
warriors, walks beside Silk Road caravans, witnesses the rise of empires, and
survives civilizations most people only read about in history books. Along the
way, he encounters moments that forever alter him—including an
unforgettable friendship with a young boy who will one day become Genghis Khan
and a journey east with Marco Polo toward the legendary court of Kublai Khan.
But every jump through time comes at a cost.
As Kyle struggles to survive brutal landscapes, ancient warfare, and the
terrifying instability of the auroral corridor itself, the man he once was
slowly begins to disappear beneath scars, grief, and centuries of memory.
Meanwhile, back in present-day Pennsylvania, his wife Samantha refuses to give
up hope. Alongside archaeologists and scientists searching for answers, she
uncovers ancient carvings, unexplained historical anomalies, and evidence
suggesting Kyle may still be alive somewhere… in another time.
AURORA RIFT: A Man Out of Time is an epic blend of historical adventure,
science, survival, and emotional human drama. Spanning thousands of years of
civilization from Stone Age Norway to the Persian Empire of Xerxes, from
Viking seas to the vast Mongol world the novel asks a haunting question:
If time itself opened before you… Would you ever truly find your way
home again?
About the Author
Thomas LeBrun began his martial arts training in the early 1970s, inspired by
Bruce Lee and Joe Frazier. He formally studied Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Okinawan
Kenpo, later expanding into Yoshitsune Ju-Jitsu under Sensei Michael
DePasquale Sr. and Jr., as well as Aikido, Arnis, pressure-point applications,
and boxing. His dedication earned him rank in multiple disciplines.
LeBrun’s path led him to the Close Protection field, where his martial
arts knowledge evolved into specialized training in defensive arts,
non-traditional weapons, and personal security. He has protected high-profile
clients such as Bill Gates, Elton John, and Whitney Houston, working in more
than 45 countries. In 2009, he created LeBrun’s American Combatives, a
modern system bridging traditional martial arts with real-world application,
later authenticated by Grand Master Ron Van Clief and Shidoshi Glen Perry.
A recognized authority in defensive arts, LeBrun earned his 10th dan in
Hogoshin-Do in 2022 and has been honored with multiple awards, including
Security Expert of the Year (2021) and induction into the Ultimate Warrior
Class (2022). He is also a multi-award-winning, #1 international best-selling
author of Hiding in Plain Sight and the Cameron Stone series, and was named
Best Action & Thriller Author in Alabama, United States of 2025.
Inspired by a mad vision of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, a centuries-old time war is being fought to determine the destiny of the human race. As the conflict rages between the early 18th century and the battlefields of World War I, Czarina Sorceress Catherine Romanova joins forces with her younger self, Princess Von Anhalt, magician Zolo Bold, and World Maker Niccolo Paganini, to face a gamut of powerful and implacable foes. The most dangerous and ruthlessly brilliant of them all, the immortal E. G. Godfellow–once known to ancient Greece as the “Scourge of the Gods”–intends to stop Catherine and her allies from rewriting the history of the 20th century.
Their bold plan, to prevent the 80 million deaths of WW II and inaugurate a new utopian vision for humankind in the 21st century, interferes with Godfellow’s plan to maintain the status quo and thereby usher in his own utopian vision of “One Earth—One Master.” Only one vision will dominate, and either way, the cost will be terrible.
AS SHE KNELT AT THE CATHEDRAL ALTAR in the year 1762 for her royal coronation as Czarina of All the Russias, Catherine Romanova felt like starting a new war. She’d already endured two hours of a five-hour ceremony while wearing twenty pounds of silk and nine pounds of Imperial Crown; and to increase the burden even further, the droning excess of pomp and boredom had drained her of patience, not to mention goodness.
Wishing to distract herself from the seemingly endless prattle of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch as he recited Old Testament scripture, as well as the oven of suffocating heat created by a hoop dress big enough to hide twenty dwarves, Catherine lifted the curtain on theater. She replayed to herself Earth’s most important war to date—the ultimate conflict to define the fate of human nature itself. Her old violin-playing mentor, Niccolo Paganini, had dubbed it “The Utopia War.”
While the aged Patriarch stumbled over a droll reading of Malachi, her musing inevitably took her back to the time just before the war, to another world at age fifteen when she lived in the Castle Bärenthoren and had been known to all of Europe as the famous and unruly Princess Fredericke von Anhalt (aka “Freddie”)—the name born by her proudly until her terribly boring coronation now underway.
Dear God, help me survive this day. My destiny is Catherine, but my soul is Fredericke.
Even though her every breath and eye blink was being carefully watched and measured by the gaseous Moscow nobles who filled the pews of Assumption Cathedral, her first memory began with a sound. A barely audible titter, like distant footsteps on decayed leaves. She’d considered the scraping sound of a mouse to be the origin, or some other invading creature, for every now and then a cat bird or a dove flew into the study and fell to the floor, finally tiring itself out with fearful flutters.
So truly, it could have been any number of things.
Nonetheless, Freddie vowed to ignore the disturbance and return to her prior task: recreating the Greek mathematics of Eratosthenes to determine Earth’s circumference while imagining herself the gallant Sir Francis Drake sailing the Azores in search of Spanish gold.
Putting quill to paper, she sketched the hull of Drake’s ship, The Golden Hind, before jotting down a few notes on the logic of Eratosthenes, and just as she measured the miles between the two cities in his equation, Syene and Alexandria, the strange tittering repeated. But louder this time. Enough to make her hand slip, the point of quill jaggedly defacing her work.
What in Beelzebub’s name? she asked herself.
The disturbance had become too curious to allow any further progress on the circumference of Earth, and though Freddie hated breaking personal vows, she rose from her writing desk, determined to learn the truth.
Author Bio:
Warwick Gleeson has lived in both LA, NYC, and D.C. He has worked many different jobs, everything from brick mason to Federal bureaucrat to small business owner. His agent is currently shopping a futuristic thriller to New York, and a screenplay or two are making the Hollywood rounds. His short fiction and poetry has appeared in many journals such as North American Review, Conjunctions, and Quarterly West. He has two grown children in their forties and is married to a most wonderful woman who is an author of historical murder mysteries and a former writer for National Lampoon magazine.
Macaulay Christian is here to tell us about Children of Eternity, Being the First Part of the Apocalis, science fiction.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Children of Eternity: Being the First Part of the Apocalis
Macaulay Christian
Publication date: March 10th 2026
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction
Thirty years ago, an impossible transmission pierced the cosmos. Hidden within it were instructions for a device no one fully understood—an extragalactic Telegraph built to answer the call.
On a distant world in neutral space, humanity and its former enemies resolved to build the device, a rare moment of unity and a calculated gamble that shared purpose might overcome politics.
The answer is not what anyone expected.
The colony is devastated. Reality fractures. Technology fails. People vanish without a trace—among them soldiers, citizens, and voices no civilization can afford to lose. Aboard the warship Banterra, Captain Heron Agathon is dispatched into the unknown to search for survivors and the truth behind the signal.
Beyond the galaxy’s edge, something older than civilization is observing humanity’s first steps into the uncharted—measuring what it will become when fear, power, and principle collide. The answers lie in the dark between stars. And the truth behind the signal is older—and nearer—than anyone suspects. There is no going back.
A shimmering light fell all around Holindrian, hoisting him high into the sky, his feet dangling beneath. First, he could see just the top of the palace as he rose through the dense black smoke. A little higher and he could see the city itself. Fires burning, consuming whole wards at a time. The sounds were muffled, but he knew there would be the clanging of swords, the whizzing of arrows, and the miserable, painful screams of wretched, dying souls. Higher, Holindrian continued to rise. Boats had sunken in the harbor. The fighting on the rocky hills surrounding the town seemed to have calmed. A haboob traveled in a northeasterly direction, a transitory wall of brown, choking death.
The light continued to shine. All the colors of the rainbow streamed down, carrying him up, up into the clouds. He was higher than the mountains! There seemed to be no limits to his ascent. The definitions, the contours, the distinctive features of the land blurred together. Muted, people vanished into minute dark specks, fields became strokes of green, the clouds white wisps overlaying the canvas. He could see the whole of the blue world from up here….
Holindrian stood alone in a hallway with concave walls of a featureless white. He could not be certain what the material was. It was surely not any metal familiar to him. Everything seemed pristine. Not a blemish or scuff mark to be found. Feeling his eyes wince, he thought the white of the walls too bright, beyond adept description by man. No marble stone or cloud or snowflake compared. They seemed to be pulsating. Flashes of an even more intense white coursed through their…veins? As though the walls were alive, as though this vessel were alive.
The ceiling was black. Not just black but the absence of all light, the deepest shade of black imaginable. It contrasted brilliantly with the sterile surfaces of the walls. The black was not uniform in its composition, but rather composed of discernible shades of navy and violet and…were those stars? Stars sparkled and glimmered, specks of diamonds in a cave of darkness. It was remarkable how similar the ceiling was to the night sky.
When he looked down, and saw that the floor mirrored the ceiling, Holindrian first thought his heart might permanently lodge itself in his throat. The feeling of panic dissipated quickly, as he reassured himself something solid and firm was indeed beneath his feet.
“His reaction was much like your own.”
Holindrian looked up. He recognized that voice. “Uilliam?”
Uilliam’s long hair fell more than halfway down his back, wavy and rigid as though carved from marble, an ethereal white bearing just the traces of its past golden color. His face narrow and accented by sharp features framed by dark eyebrows. The eyes though, those magnificent eyes, were like windows into the past as well as portals to the future. They were an electric blue, the pupil an orb of mystical energy. Holindrian could see it all, the whole of the history of Uilliam’s race encapsulated within those eyes.
The Before…the Aeternam’s eyes could not or would not reveal the secrets pertaining to the Before, though there were shadows, vague, indefinite figures standing on the edge of history…something or someone had knowledge of the Before, and they were out there, somewhere. Uilliam had met them.
What could be seen was the ending that gave rise to humanity’s beginning. Space and time emerged from oblivion, a singular fixed point of eternity. There was no sound; it had not yet been invented. There was light of untold intensity, rings of magenta and sapphire clouds that swirled, intermingling, mixing. Then came flashes, all different shades of reds, oranges, yellows, and blues, rippling throughout the nebulous clouds like the pattering of rain on a pond. A wave of warm, tender, and loving heat washed over him. Holindrian could feel the fiery heat as birthing contractions on a boundless scale shuttled the first generation of galaxies into existence, infusing them with life, spiraling engines of genesis. Ah! There was the sound. It had finally caught up. It came as a rushing roar, a wind sweeping through streets and between buildings just as it would through ageless trees and over sky-kissing mountains.
Author Bio:
Macaulay is a graduate of the University of Arizona where he received his bachelor's degree in political science with an emphasis in American government and international relations as well as a minor in classical (Greco-Roman) history. He is also an alumnus of the fraternity Phi Delta Theta, where he served in a variety of leadership positions, including two terms as president. Macaulay received a master's of legal studies from Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law before beginning a career in the commercial construction industry. He has worked on a variety of projects, from airports to data centers. Macaulay lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and their two dogs. In March 2025, Macaulay released the science fiction novel "Holindrian & The Human Revolution". He is currently pursuing a doctorate in public administration where he is researching the impacts of public education and policy shifts on the industry and investigating recommendations to rectify the on-going skilled labor shortage across the country.
Ashlynn Monroe is here to tell us about Willing Captive, an LGBTQ+ SciFi romance with BDSM.
Read on for details...
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An LGBTQ+ BDSM Sci-Fi Romance
Date Published: June 19, 2026
Publisher: Changeling Press
"Humans are a legend. They don't exist."
When Lord Xev and his lover, Ra, leave their home in search of a woman to bond
with them, they know exactly where to go. Risen Outpost is the most lawless
place in the galaxy, and Pale Moon Auction House offers the finest sex slaves
on the market. What the Zaronians don't expect is to find one of the legendary
humans for sale to the highest bidder.
Kirin Ellison doesn't know what's happened to her. The shock of discovering
aliens exist is bad enough, but realizing they plan to sell her as a sex slave
is far worse. Kirin watches the other women preening and displaying their
attributes, begging to belong to someone, with growing alarm. She wants her
freedom. At least she thinks she does --- until one touch from Xev and Ra
enslaves her in a far more binding way than a simple exchange of a currency
could ever manage. She longs to feel everything the strange beings have to
offer, but unless Xev is willing to make a sacrifice of his own, she dare not
let him capture her heart.
Music reverberated through Kirin Ellison's Mazda as she drove down the lonely
two lane country road. Humming along to the radio, she glanced up at the sky.
The black velvet above was dotted with stars. In the city, she never really
had the chance to see the night sky -- the view here was breathtaking.
No one was expecting her back in Chicago until tomorrow. She didn't need to
rush. Her camera lay on the passenger seat beside her. Pulling over onto the
gravel shoulder, she parked next to a fenced pasture.
The warning bell dinged as she carefully pulled out her beloved equipment.
Wedding and graduation photography paid the bills, but she couldn't escape her
true calling -- she felt drawn to beautiful panoramic landscapes.
Kirin looked up at the silky night sky and began to visualize the shots she
would take. The rural beauty was exactly what she wanted. These prints would
sell fast in the city.
Chuckling to herself, she shook off the feeling that she was being watched.
"I've been in the city way too long," she muttered as she made sure the tripod
was stable.
A sudden flash to her left made her straighten and turn. She gasped as three
bluish-green lights hovered in the air.
"Oh my God!" Kirin's hands shook as she began frantically snapping pictures.
Kirin focused intensely on the lights. She wished her camera had video
capability. She expected the hovering lights to fly away, but they didn't.
These prints were definitely going to be a moneymaker.
The lights suddenly catapulted forward and to her horror, they now hovered
directly over her car. Her courage held her for only three more shots before
her shaking hands managed to free the camera from the tripod. Snatching up her
equipment, she rushed back to the car, but froze when a bright light
illuminated the area around her. Her eyes widened as the car levitated off the
ground. The pulsating yellow light was actually pulling the Mazda skyward.
Kirin bit her lip and stumbled backwards. She had no interest in finding out
where her car was going. Her foot slipped on the dew-damp grass and she
tumbled backward into the darkness. Pain radiated through her head and her
teeth clicked as her jaws snapped together. She blinked up and the darkness
vanished. She lay bathed in bright yellow light. Something trickled down her
neck and she realized she was bleeding, but that was the least of her worries
right now.
Blinking rapidly, Kirin tried to clear her vision, but the lights went in and
out of focus. She felt her body lifting. "No," she moaned.
Unconsciousness claimed her.
When Kirin next opened her eyes, she blinked up at a bright light. She tried
to swallow but something was down her throat. Soft plastic cradled her nose
and mouth. She looked down her nose at the strange mask. The effort gave her
an intense headache and she tried to groan, but the tube down her throat
didn't allow the sound to come out. She lay in a warm cocoon, perfectly
cradled in softness. To her horror, she realized she was naked. She tried to
move, but she couldn't. The paralysis was surreal. Her vision was blurry and
she blinked rapidly, but it didn't seem to help. She felt as if she were
floating.
Vaguely, she wondered if she'd been drugged.
A dark shadow blocked the light to the left and she tried to focus on what --
or who -- it was. Her eyes widened and she tried to scream. Being immobile
added a sharp bite to her terror. The creature was tall and blue. It had
tentacles jutting out of its rather large head, and it didn't look happy.
Coming closer, it made some sort of gibberish noise and ran its hand down her
arm, then her hip and leg. She shuddered. Something moved in a blur to her
left and she felt a quick stab of pain before her eyes fluttered closed and
darkness dragged her back into oblivion.
* * *
"This trip has been long overdue, my friend.. The burden of politics wearies
me," Lord Xev muttered. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
The male between his legs took his cock into his mouth and bobbed his head
passionately up and down on Xev's shaft. Xev watched Ra's devotion through his
long lashes. Long, soft blond hair brushed Xev's thighs. Eyes half closed, he
stretched his arms across the back of the divan.
The crowd bustling about the tavern and the buzz of voices only made Ra's
fellatio more erotic. His companion made a loud popping noise as he pulled his
mouth away from Xev's erection. Ra's big blue eyes gazed up at him adoringly.
Xev could tell he wanted to say something.
"You may speak," he graciously offered.
"You are right, my lord. I have felt the burden of hiding my affection for
you. I lust for you, my lord. Every time I am in the room with you, my cock
aches for your touch."
Xev smiled down at his lover. He cared deeply for Ra. Their friendship, and
Ra's servitude, had grown into a comfortable pattern, but something was
missing. They both agreed on that point. "I understand, my friend. The Order
would never accept our bond. Here we are free, but you know I can never leave
the Order, even to delight in the debauchery of the fringes. This is just a
short trip. We will return."
The glimmer of hope died in Ra's beautiful eyes and he quickly lowered his
head and kissed Xev's balls. When Ra glanced up, tears shimmered in his eyes.
"I know your place, my lord, even as I know mine, but one can dream."
About the Author
Ashlynn Monroe is a busy working mom. She loves her kids and family. Her
greatest joy is creating stories to entertain others, and she hopes they bring
a little more romance into the world. She's been writing since her teens for
her own enjoyment but decided in her thirties to share her imagination with
readers. Ashlynn enjoys biking, camping, reading, video games, and filling her
home and life with love. If she's not working or chasing children, you can
find her daydreaming up her next tale of romance.
V.G. Harrison is here to tell us about The Engine in the Sky, scifi.
There's also a great giveaway.
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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. V.G. Harrison will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
When Professor Meridia Vail’s space station is hurled across time and dimensions, she and the rest of the Bridgeway crew wake on an alternate Earth that's only five years into the future but looks like it's a century behind her technology. Their goal is to reclaim their crippled station, return to their dimension, and hope that a mysterious interdimensional illness doesn't kill her and her people first.
Stuck on a backwards version of her own planet, Meridia must deal with governments who want her technology and intelligence agencies who want control. Nobody trusts anyone, and the longer they delay, the closer the Bridgeway gets to a catastrophic reentry.
However, the greatest shock comes when Meridia meets her doppelganger, a brilliant mechanic with a loving family that leaves her heart aching for the life she could have had.
As time is running out for her crew and New Earth, Meridia faces an impossible mission: return to the station, save her crew, and prevent a global disaster. Duty first. Family second. When Meridia is thrust into a situation where the two become synonymous, she must decide how much she's willing to risk for a world she's sworn to save and a life she can never have.
Read an Excerpt
I followed her down the semi-busy hall until we arrived at a first grader’s room. Meridia peeked her head inside, smiled at the teacher, and motioned for a little girl to come into the hall. She beamed when she saw her mother and ran into her arms. When she saw me, she stopped, her dazzling light-brown eyes enlarged.
My heart swelled to the point that my gaze blurred with unshed tears. She was beautiful. She had olive skin and frizzy hair that barely stayed in place with two green barrettes to hold back the curly onslaught. Her smile was perfect, even with the one missing tooth in the front. I didn’t believe in instant love, but this little girl made me feel nothing less than that. Meridia—the other me—had a child. I mean, I knew she had a kid, but nothing prepared me for actually meeting her.
"Who’s that, Mommy?" she asked.
Meridia knelt. "Remember when I told you I had a twin sister who came from space and that’s why the reporters were at our house? Well, this is her. This is Astronaut Meridia. Meridia, this is my daughter Felicity."
The little girl let go of her mother before rushing to wrap her arms around my waist.
"I have two mommies now," she declared. "Best day ever!"
Oh. My. God. It took everything inside me not to cry happy tears. Her little arms spewing with love for someone she had just met was incredible. Who would ever deny this beautiful little girl?
About the Author: Amazon best-selling author, V.G. Harrison enjoys creating smart heroines who are more comfortable dealing with things like Fine-structure constant and quantum entanglement than the fallout from their conflict. She loves to write stories that leave her audience so engaged they can't sleep at night, thinking about the possibilities.
V.G. holds a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering and a Masters in Information Technology. When she's not writing, she's an IT manager for a healthcare information systems company.
Her ever-growing list of hobbies include astronomy, attending comic cons, keeping an eye on the cryptocurrency and stock markets, hydroponics gardening, hiking, and connecting with her daughter, Collie, on a cool level.
They tried to erase this book. That’s why you should read it.
Stamped BANNED — DECREE 2039, wrapped in warnings that say DO NOT
READ. DO NOT BELIEVE, Dan Tesson: A Thriller refuses to stay buried.
Written two decades ago and now resurfacing, this dystopian
psychological thriller feels less like fiction—and more like a message
that arrived early.
In a world shaped by control, perception, and quiet manipulation, Dan
Tesson is forced to confront something far more dangerous than power: truth.
As reality fractures and the rules governing society begin to reveal their
cracks, he’s pulled into a system designed not just to influence
behavior—but to redefine belief itself.
What happens when authority decides what is real?
What happens when questioning becomes a crime?
What happens when truth is labeled dangerous?
Blending dystopian fiction, science fiction, supernatural elements, and
psychological tension, this novel explores uncomfortable territory—where
control isn’t always visible, and freedom may be an illusion people
willingly accept.
This is not a safe story.
It is not designed to reassure.
It asks questions many would rather avoid.
And that may be exactly why it was banned in their time.
If you’re drawn to provocative, thought-driven thrillers that challenge
perception and push beyond the expected, Dan Tesson will not let you look
away.
You were told not to read it.
Read to believe.
About the Author
Sean O'Leary is a local Utah author whose work moves between dystopian
thrillers, science fiction and fantasy, children's stories, photo essays,
literary collaborations, and reader-focused projects built around libraries,
curiosity, and story.
D.L. Gardner is here to tell us about Land of Two Moons, a YA epic scifi fantasy adventure.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Political unrest, war over valuable mines, forbidden love,
and a homesick dragon bound in chains threaten the land of two moons.
Land of Two Moons
by D.L. Gardner
Genre: YA Epic SciFi Fantasy Adventure
"The gritty
reality of trench warfare and the smoky chaos of riots is striking in D. L.
Gardner's Land of Two Moons...a rich and ambitious fantasy novel that
successfully builds a world trembling on the brink of magical and political
upheaval. This is a delicate, intricate novel that rewards patient
reading." - Independent Book Review
Arthur and Hallie are twin siblings, son and daughter of the
Duke of Lodesmoor. Humble teenagers who befriend the village people and
sympathize with their grievances. Their father, Lord Balmier, whose duchy is
approaching financial collapse, uses his subjects as pawns in a battle over a
string of valuable mines.
Lord Balmier sees his son's sympathy toward the serfs as an
alliance against him and soon acts to squelch Arthur's sedition.
Hallie clings to a forbidden love, and both siblings must
resist their father's harsh rule.
All the while they are unaware that their mother keeps a
mystical dragon named Killian, bound in chains by a spell, whose fate will
affect them all.
As the twin moons approach a rare and magical eclipse,
alliances shift, secrets unravel, and Arthur and Hallie must choose between
loyalty, freedom, and sacrifice to save their people and themselves.
“With strong
pacing and a cast of memorable characters – including a homesick dragon, this
is the perfect book for fans of the ‘fantasy’ genre. Highly recommended!” - The
Wishing Shelf
Land of Two Moons will be a limited edition leather
hardcover signed and numbered, a special edition case laminate hardcover, an
eBook, and a paperback with printed edges. A rigid slip case is available for
the hardcovers.
Pattin didn’t know what they were fighting for. All he
knew was that when their commander yelled the order he was to let loose his
arrows toward another trench opposite theirs somewhere in the Red Sands desert.
Rumor was they were fighting over mines, dukes, power, and money. Nothing he’d
ever be privy to. It didn’t matter. He was here because he’d been conscripted.
He'd been in this trench for nine days straight. Hot,
drenched in sweat, sick to his stomach, and with little to eat or drink. Tired
of swatting flies and stepping over the bodies of his comrades, he was ready to
leave. No one wanted to be here, especially not the lads from Bidsworth, and
especially not on the front lines.
He spat the dust out of his mouth and bit another piece
of jerky.
“When is she going to come for us?” he asked his
friend.
“Tonight, they said. Maybe,” Ivan whispered.
“What do you mean, maybe? She promised.”
“She can only take five at a time.”
“Bloody Marks, she’s been here every night for a week.
What’s she going to do, get everyone but us? The more people who leave, the
less chance of survival for those who stay. I’m too young to die in this rat
hole.”
Ivan shrugged—a hint that he wasn’t happy about the
situation either.
“We could try and make a run for it on our own,” Pattin
whispered, his lips barely moving, glancing around the desolate countryside.
Over the sand, the heat waves danced, crafting a mirage
of water, a deceptive illusion that only a fool would pursue. Bait for the
enemy. Pattin licked his lips, wishing for a drink of cool water from the
springs in Bidsworth, his homeland, a wealthy duchy whose stone structures
mirrored the color of the red earth. Here in the wasteland, iron ore poisoned
the vegetation, and there was nothing but dust as far as the horizon. The
soldiers hated this place, and rumors of desertion were burning the ears of the
agents at base. The officers were watching the troops like hawks.
“Fool. We’d have bolts in our backs, dead. Is that what
you want? If I’m going to desert, I’m doing it with Kezia.” Ivan wiped the
sweat from his brow; his face caked with red earth. Even his eyelashes were
laden with dirt.
“What makes her so special that she can get us out with
no one noticing?”
Ivan snickered and glared at him. “She’s the duke’s
daughter, remember? Plus, she’s smart, crafty, and wicked.”
“Duke sabotages his own army through his daughter!”
Pattin mumbled.
“Stop complaining or she’ll never come and get you.”
Pattin wiped his brow, his mouth fixed in a frown. She
might not come for him at all. It’s everyone else’s luck to be saved by a
duchess.
"Heads up!" The dreaded warning arrived just
as a flurry of bolts blotted out the sun.
Pattin covered his head with his shield. Ivan lifted
his own targe to cover his body while the plummeting projectiles thundered on
it.
“Move!” came the command.
Like a terrified beetle, Pattin crouched on the ground
and joined the others, locking his shield with Ivan’s as the company crawled
through the trench, hands and knees bleeding, while avoiding the corpses of
friends who didn’t survive. Away from the onslaught they moved, abandoning
their supplies. Someone would be sent back for them when the sun settled on the
horizon and the two moons rose.
Soon everyone here would have to leave the trenches and
charge at the enemy. That was a standard maneuver, and it was just a matter of
time. Hand to hand combat would kill him, Pattin was certain. With practiced
ease, he could loose an arrow, always striking the mark. But his end would come
by the cold steel of a sword. He hoped it would be tomorrow. He wasn’t ready to
die today.
Maybe Kezia would draw his name and come for him
tonight. Maybe he would live through this bloody war, after all.
D.L. Gardner is an
award-winning author, artist, filmmaker, and screenwriter with over 28
published works to her credit. Writing and painting are her passions and
fantasy her forte. When she's not pounding keys on the computer, she's canning
salsa, picking apples, listening to the voices of critters in the woods, or
watching flowers grow. She loves visiting far-off lands through books by both
reading and writing.
Her genres include all fantasy,
historical, and mystery.
Get to know D.L. through her websites and blogs or send her a message her on Kickstarter.
Currently a FINALIST (2025 March) in
the Cannes World Wide Film Festival for her screen adaption of her book An
Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody.
Other awards include Wishing
Shelf book Award 2023 for audio, B.R.A.G. Award 2022 for the Cho Nisi series,
Book Excellence Award 2019 and 2015 for Ian's Realm and Cassandra's Castle.
Best Screenplay adaptation from her book Dylan at the Paris Screenplay Awards,
Mile Hill International Screenplay Awards, L.A. Edge Awards, European
Cinematography Awards, and Moondance Film Festival. Best Screenplay Award for
adaptation from her book An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody at Veers Film
Festival, Best Screenplay Award for adaptation of Ian's Realm at the Twin Falls
Sandwiches Film Festival and many more.
