Dawn of Fate (Fortunes of Fate Collection, 1) - Excerpts

Here comes the third release of 2021! This time, I've combined the first six Fortunes of Fate stories into a collection called Dawn of Fate.

Since I've posted excerpts from all six titles in the past, I've included links to those below, instead of offering a new excerpt.

The ebook for Dawn of Fate is only $2.99 (if you bought all six titles separately, it would cost $4.95) and can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, and Smashwords. Or you can check out Books2Read for the full list of retailer options.

Dawn of Fate is also available in paperback on Amazon for $9.95.

Don't forget to leave a review on your preferred retailer or Goodreads once you've finished reading. It's insanely appreciated.

Happy reading!

Dawn of Fate Excerpts

Dreams in Shadow

Love Fades

Reversed

Void of Intuition

Beguiling Moon

Edge of Sorrow

For every card, there’s a story.

The Fool, Two of Cups, The Magus, The High Priestess, The Moon, and Three of Swords – this collection contains their stories.

Jump into the world of Fate, along with the three world-hopping cat sisters. The first six cards in the Fortunes of Fate series have been drawn. What stories do they tell?

Dreams In Shadow

Tilly decides on a whim that it’s time for an adventure. Unfortunately, her carefree romp in the world of Fate is cut short by the willful Tillnea.

Love Fades

Caradici’s body flickers in and out of existence, threatening to pull her away from the life she's made. She fears Fate beckons to her, that she must return home to save herself, leaving her love behind.

Reversed

Darney's Tarot cards were scorched by a wretched child who set fire to his card table. Their sobs and screams torment his conscience, but he can't heal them because he has no magic.

Void of Intuition

Cece’s tried to ignore her prophetic dreams all her life – they’ve caused nothing but heartache, starting with the death of her grandmother. But now, she’s dreamt of a lost child.

Beguiling Moon

In a moment of weakness, Erolisi succumbs to her power, feeding her need by drawing life force from her best friend, Aelwyn, and shattering their relationship in the process.

Edge of Sorrow

Jasp’s memory of Yetta spurs him to act. Making no promises, he follows Amber to the weeping women in the woods. But it’s not as simple as freeing them. It never is.

NaNo Report 2019

If you were watching the word meter at all, you'll see I only wrote about 4.9k words for NaNoWriMo. November seriously never seems to go as planned!

I actually spent a good week of the month doing one final editing pass through Thorns Entwine the Blade (Trinity Torn, 2). And then... release week... I got sick. Which meant all of my release plans were slow to roll out and pretty delayed. That darn NaNo Crud, it never fails to fell me.

After being sick through the Thorns release, I was looking forward to a nice quiet weekend with Hubbie, kids at grandma's. Unfortunately, the kid-free weekend started with us hitting a deer on the way to dinner. =/ Dealing with that, of course, tumbled into the next week. We likely won't even get our car back until mid to late December.

Needless to say, stress and sickness and what not found me up against a mental wall and I also felt completely scattered. I decided I needed a break from writing - drafting and revising - until 2020. So, progress on Downward Spiral and NaNoWriMo 2019 came to an end for me about mid-month.

I still have plenty of writing tasks that I need to clear off my to do list, so I haven't been completely idle. You'd think the bulk of the work would be drafting and revising, but sometimes it doesn't feel like it! I'm looking forward to planning 2020, though. That should help with my scattered feeling. Though with my current thoughts Spiral and its sequels may be put off for a few more months just so I can complete a couple other projects instead of worrying about them not getting completed.

One of the things I worked on last week was formatting the paperback for Thorns Entwine the Blade! My cover artist also got me the paperback wrap rather quickly (so awesome - AMDesign Studios), and the proof arrived swiftly as well, so... it's now available to purchase on Amazon!

It feels great to have Thorns done now, and quite frankly, I think it's a better book than the first in the series, Mind Behind the Mind. But my opinion doesn't really count, does it? I hope anyone who reads it enjoys it!

Anyway, pushing on with December, not getting too upset about the NaNo flop, and next post will be looking back at my progress for 2019. Happy reading, all!

Born of Blood and Spells - Release and Excerpt

Today, Born of Blood and Spells: 13 Dark Fantasy Stories & Poems releases!

I decided it would be best to combine some of my stand alone titles, while adding in some poems and flash fiction to the mix. This collection includes the previously individually published short stories Dancing in the Wind, Bound, and Sunset Street. It also includes the two titles from Blood & Booze, as well as the two titles from Tales of Chyraine. If you're still looking to get any of those individually, they'll be up for a couple more days, but all aside from Dancing in the Wind will soon no longer be available outside of Born of Blood and Spells.

Born of Blood and Spells is currently $2.99 for the eBook, and you can get it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Apple Books, Google Play, and Smashwords. If you want to see a more comprehensive retailer list as well as the description, pop over to Books2Read. A paperback version will be available some time in April.

Since I've posted excerpts of the already mentioned titles before, I thought it would be nice to give a brief snippet of the beginning of one of the flash fiction pieces. Only a little, though, since it's a super short story!

Enjoy Born of Blood and Spells, and the excerpt from Daina's Dance below.

❦

Pound. Throb.

They keep the beat with their movements.

Twist. Bend.

Every night the music makes their muscles twitch.

And I can’t join them.

Black walls, black floors, black ceiling, stiff and wooden, contrasting the fluid forms. A gold anklet here, a scarlet scarf there, splashing color constantly moves against the monotone box. Pale skins flow in the black, beckoning for me to join them. But I can’t blend in – my ears pointed and theirs rounded – so I stand against a wall and watch the swirling bodies.

❦

Drops of crimson and muttered incantations... the stories in this collection are Born of Blood and Spells.

Short stories, flash fiction, and poems – thirteen tales of dark fantasy all written by Alexa Grave.

Ebook and Paperback Giveaways for Mind Behind the Mind

This past Friday, on October 13, it was the one year anniversary of my publication date for Mind Behind the Mind (Trinity Torn, 1).

I really can't believe it's been a year, and that I'm now elbow deep in revisions of the sequel! I was so happy to have finally released it into the world. And well, I felt the need to celebrate the anniversary, so... it's giveaway time!

I am currently running two giveaways, one for ebooks and one for paperbacks. Three copies of each format are available. Both giveaways run through October 30, 2017. Details on both are below.

First, the ebook giveaway is through Amazon. You do have to follow my Amazon Author page to enter the giveaway, but that's not too hard, is it?

Here's the link for the ebook giveaway: Amazon Ebook Giveaway - 3 copies available!

Second, the paperback giveaway is through Goodreads. You don't need to do anything to enter, but I'd love it if you'd add the novel to your To Read shelf! Link is below, with some of the information as well.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Mind Behind the Mind

by Alexa Grave

Giveaway ends October 30, 2017.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

The ebook giveaway is restricted to those who reside in the United States, and the paperback giveaway is for residents of the United States and Canada.

Please spread the word about both giveaways to whoever you think might be interested. Good luck, and happy reading!

Mind Behind the Mind, Trinity Torn Book I - Excerpt

Release day for Mind Behind the Mind is tomorrow! Am I nervous? Of course I am. But I'll survive.

I thought today would be a good time to post an excerpt. Promise, I won't prattle on this time. If you like the excerpt, though, please considering purchasing a copy from Amazon. It will be available in paperback in November and other ebook retailers in January!

And now part of the beginning of Tessa's and Bastian's story...

❦

Bastian stepped from the shadows and removed his cloak, draping it over her shoulders. The moonlight touched his face, his expression stoic and firm – so unlike the playful grin earlier.

Tessa inhaled his scent, sweat and spice. He must have used clove oil in his wash water. She felt his longing rise with the close proximity of their bodies, and her own hunger heightened, a warmth tickling her insides.

“What brings a witch hunter to a small town in Shandipur Province?” She lifted her hand and traced her finger along his shirt. His muscles tensed under her touch.

He watched the path of her finger. “Just traveling; no particular job. Funny thing, that’s usually how I find them.”

A twinge, an inharmonic chord, passed through Tessa. Something in his statement felt like a lie. “You must have incredible luck.” She lifted his chin to gaze in his green eyes. “You thought you might find a witch in Sierka?”

He opened his mouth and inhaled sharply.

Bastian attempted to encircle her waist and pull her closer, but Tessa stepped back. She shouldn’t have done that, shouldn’t have gotten so close. So she turned to the starry sky, hoping she could regain her will. The wave rolling off Bastian jumped, still a surge of desire, but confused hiccups marred the consistency.

“Did you think you’d find a witch here? You didn’t answer me.”

Bastian’s emotions drew in. “They can be anywhere.”

Tessa recalled a story her mother had told her as a child – a good distraction. “Well, I think you’re right. There’s one here.”

He moved next to her, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. “What?” All his desire vanished, replaced by eagerness and alarm. And something else underneath, darker and more feral.

“There, the constellation.” Tessa pointed. “The story of the witch in the sky. She follows you, even in a town like Sierka.”

Bastian removed his hand from his sword, the beast inside him quieting. “Yes, I know, but that one’s already dead. The sun is her head, rolling through the sky by day, soaked in blood.”

“So gruesome. My mother told me she’d find her head one day and have her revenge.” Tessa laughed. “Fairy tales.” A tale Tessa wished would come true. If it weren’t for that first witch hunter, she wouldn’t be anguishing over the one standing next to her.

He loosened his hold on seriousness, laughing with her. “She’d never do it. The witch hunter who got her, she’s on the other side of the sky.”

❦

A witch who believes one of her own kind could never kill...

In a world where people believe the crimson sun is a dead witch’s head and the witch hunter who killed her stalks the night sky, a witch who ventures outside of Haven risks losing her life. Tessa is one such witch. Like many of her kind, she hopes to help the people of Leera, not harm them, and she’s on her first mission to heal an ailing man named Jeremiah. But when she crosses paths with a witch hunter, instead of avoiding him like she knows she should, she succumbs to her desires and ends up in his bed.

The local Enforcers believe a witch is behind Jeremiah’s sickness, so they call Bastian to town. He’s a young witch hunter who normally has a knack for sniffing out witches. But when he runs into the striking Tessa, she scrambles his senses. He’s inexplicably drawn to her and abandons his usually cautious nature.

As Tessa and Bastian uncover clues about Jeremiah’s illness, Tessa has to face the possibility that another witch may have had a hand in the incident. And if Bastian learns she’s a witch, he may point his finger at her. Then her head will surely roll.