Short Tales from Hell's Leak

As many of you know, my urban fantasy romance Nephilim was recently acquired by Kensington Publishing. I'm really excited about this new acquisition! To celebrate, I've published a series of short stories that are companion tales to Nephilim and Nathan Ink. Want to know what he was like prior to meeting Faye? Want to see how his special brand of tattoos affected people with the Seven Deadly Sins? Then check out these short tales--a steal for only .99cents at Amazon! Drop a review, and if you are in San Antonio in July, drop by the RWA Conference and get a signed copy of Nephilim!

NEPHILIM

When sin stains your soul, he tattoos your skin…

Tattoo artist Nathan Ink is more than he seems. An angel living in secret on earth, he forces his clients to face their flaws by tattooing images of their sins on their bodies, but this glimpse into the soul often results in his clients' deaths. Although Nathan avoids the other angels, when they ask him to keep an eye on Faye, a nephilim being stalked by another of her kind, he reluctantly agrees.

The angels have kept Faye in the dark about her stalker, but to keep her close to Nathan, they've tasked her with investigating the high mortality rate of Nathan's clients. Despite her distaste for his methods, she finds herself fighting a growing attraction to Nathan, and discovering he's not a rogue after all forces her to question her own mission. When Faye learns her stalker is another nephilim who intends to use her to breed a new race of hellish beings, teaming up with Nathan may be the only way to prevent a genocide.

FEED YOUR SOUL: A SHORT TALE FROM HELL'S LEAK

We are all guilty of sin every now and then, but at Hell's Leak, your sins can be branded onto your soul... 

Bob is lazy and his old habits that once made him a loveable if odd "character" have finally run off all his friends. Stuck in a lifestyle full of selfishness and sloth, he can't really figure out what went wrong in his life. Getting a tattoo seems the perfect thing to help him start up conversations, impress new friends, get a girl or two into his bed. But entering the small tattoo shop on Sixth Street called Hell's Leak proves to be more than egotistical Bob expects. His new goat tattoo is not just visually impressive--it can walk, smoke cigars, and sounds a little like George Carlin. The problem is that it won't shut up and makes suggestions that slowly drive Bob insane. How far will he go to quiet the tattoo that now marks not only his skin, but his soul, too? 

Feed Your Soul is one of several short companion stories to Mary Ann Loesch's book Nephilim featuring Nathan Ink and his infamous tattoo shop, Hell's Leak.


SILENCED ENVY: A SHORT TALE FROM HELL'S LEAK

Envy. It's one of the most common Seven Deadly Sins. For Karen Robison, it's a way of life. Vile thoughts. Trash talking. Gossip. Karen doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. When she sits down in Nathan Ink's chair at Hell's Leak, she discovers that her own lies and envious deeds are about to be sewn up in a neat little package.

Sort of.

Step inside Hell's Leak, my friend. Nathan Ink doesn't just mark up your skin with a tattoo. He brands your soul.

Silenced Envy is a short tale in the Hell's Leak series which features Nathan Ink, a character in the novel Nephilim.

Tackling the World of Self Publishing by Guest Author Jessi Gage

I reviewed Jessi Gage's fabulous book Wishing for a Highlander a few months back. Click here for the review: Wishing for a Highlander Review! This is the perfect Valentine's Day read! And, I have to say that I adore the new cover--though I'm biased! I'm delighted to have her blog for us today, and I hear a sequel is in the works for her Highlander series. Can't wait to read it! Enjoy and Happy Valentines Day!---Mary Ann

Thanks for hosting me on the day of luurve, Mary Ann! I’m celebrating Valentines Day by shouting from the rooftops news of my re-released time-travel romance Wishing for a Highlander.

With the sale of my publisher, Lyrical, to Kensington last month, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to try self-publishing. It’s something I’ve been curious about and have learned a lot about through friends who have done it. It felt like the right time, so when I had the opportunity to get my rights back, I jumped at the chance to launch myself as a hybrid author (author who does traditional and indie publishing).

So what’s new in the second edition of Wishing for a Highlander? Pretty much just the cover (which Mary Ann helped me with *winks*), blurb, and price. I made a few minor edits, but for the most part, the story itself is just as fast-paced and sweet as ever.

Being able to price the book myself, I reduced the price to $3.99. It’s wonderful to have such control over every aspect of my baby, but the benefits come with risks and hard work. So far, I’m pleased with my new indie venture, and I hope it pays off for readers too!

Wishing for a Highlander

In a nutshell, it’s about a single and pregnant museum worker who accidentally wishes herself back in time and is forced to marry a Highland warrior with intimacy issues.

Here’s the blurb:

Be careful what you wish for. It might just come true.

Single-and-pregnant museum worker Melanie voices an idle wish while examining a Scottish artifact, that a Highland warrior would sweep her off her feet and help her forget her cheating ex. The last thing she expects is for her wish to be granted. Magically transported to the middle of a clan skirmish in the sixteenth-century Highlands, she comes face to face with her kilted fantasy man.

Tall, handsome, and heir to his uncle’s lairdship, Darcy Keith should be the most eligible bachelor in Ackergill. Instead, thanks to a prank played on him in his teenage years, he is known for being too large under his kilt to ever make a proper husband. “Big Darcy” runs his deceased father’s windmills and lives alone at his family manor, believing he will never marry.

But a strangely dressed woman he rescues from a clan skirmish makes him long for more. When the woman’s claims of coming to Ackergill by magic reach the laird’s ears, she is accused of witchcraft. Darcy determines to protect her any way he can, even if it means binding her to him forever.

Buy Links

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Goodreads

About Jessi Gage

Jessi lives with her husband and children in the Seattle area. In addition to writing paranormal romance, she’s a wife, a mom, an audiologist, a church-goer, a Ford driver, a PC user, and a coffee snob. Her guiding tenet in her writing is that good triumphs over evil, but not before evil gives good one heck of a run for its money. The last time she imagined a world without romance novels, her husband found her crouched in the corner, rocking.

Jessi Gage links

Website | Blog | Facebook Fan Page | Twitter | Goodreads

Thanks for stopping by to wish me well on my first indie venture, and thank you, Mary Ann, for hosting me!

Happy Valentines Day!

Kensington Publishing Corp. Aquires Lyrical Press!

As a Lyrical Press author, I'm thrilled with the news below! This means Nephilim and any other books I publish with Lyrical will get a wider audience and Kensington Publishing Corp. has a great reputation!--Mary Ann

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP. 
AQUIRES DIGITAL PUBLISHING COMPANY LYRICAL PRESS


NEW YORK, NY - Kensington Publishing Corp., one of the foremost commercial independent publishing houses in the United States, announced today that it has acquired the eBook publishing company Lyrical Press.  Beginning in January 2014, Lyrical Press will operate under its current name as a digital-first imprint at Kensington Publishing.  

Steven Zacharius, President and CEO, Kensington Publishing Corp., says, “This deal delivers on Kensington's mission to publish the books that America wants to read and to be the house that talented authors want to call home.  The ability to have a digital imprint that works efficiently like a small independent press is what first attracted me to Lyrical.  With Renee Rocco’s cutting-edge expertise in running a small independent press and Kensington's team of talented professionals, we look forward to building new and existing authors while expanding the titles published under the Lyrical Press imprint.”

The imprint will be overseen by Adam Zacharius, Kensington’s Director of Special Projects and Alternative Media.  Renee Rocco, who founded Lyrical Press in 2007, will be Managing Director of the imprint.  

"When I first founded Lyrical Press, I strove to emulate Kensington’s standard of quality and the company’s dynamic atmosphere,” states Renee Rocco, Managing Director. “As the publishing business evolved, we sought strategies to expand the reach of Lyrical Press and strengthen its foothold in the industry.  The opportunity to now join forces with Kensington, a company I have deeply admired, and become a member of the Kensington team is both an exciting adventure and the realization of a lifelong dream."

The acquisition includes approximately 250 romance, YA and genre fiction titles in the Lyrical Press backlist. Kensington will immediately begin acquiring new titles for Lyrical Press, as well as expanding its publicity, marketing and editorial departments in order to dedicate the resources necessary to supporting and growing the new imprint.  All eBooks published under the Lyrical Press imprint will be DRM-free and books over 60,000 words will be available as print-on-demand editions.  


ABOUT KENSINGTON PUBLISHING:
Founded in 1974, Kensington Publishing Corp. is located in New York City and is known as “America’s Independent Publisher.”  As the foremost independent commercial publishing house in the United
States providing hardcover, trade paperback, mass market and digital releases, Kensington publishes the books that America wants to read.

The house of New York Times bestselling authors including Fern Michaels,  Lisa Jackson, Joanne Fluke, William W. Johnstone and many others, Kensington publishes over 500 fiction and non-fiction titles each year. Its diverse imprints including Zebra Books, Brava, Citadel Press, Dafina, Pinnacle Books, Aphrodisia, K-Teen, eKensington and Lyrical Press are well-known for providing readers with a range of popular genres such as romance, women’s fiction, African American, young adult and nonfiction, as well as true crime, Western, and mystery titles.

With 2014 marking its 40th anniversary, Kensington remains family owned and operated. It is the only major US publisher to have had three generations serve the company since its founding by the late Walter Zacharius. Currently Steven and Adam Zacharius, the second and third generation of the family, lead a talented staff, many of whom have been with the Company for over 20 years.   
Visit www.kensingtonbooks.com

ABOUT LYRICAL PRESS:
Founded in 2007 by Renee Rocco, Lyrical Press offers readers a rich catalog of titles ranging from tender contemporary romances and edgy erotic paranormals, to suspenseful thrillers and shocking science fiction. Authors can expect a personalized publishing experience from Lyrical Press, where the relationship between the author and publisher is understood to be symbiotic. When the authors succeed, the house succeeds.  Readers will find Lyrical Press books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, iTunes, and most other eBook sites including www.KensingtonBooks.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Vida Engstrand, Kensington Publishing / vengstrand@kensingtonbooks.com / 212.405.1573