Showing posts with label Fantasy Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy Romance. Show all posts

Saturday, August 1, 2026

"Ebba's Enchantment," by: Sonja Gunter — New Release Tour & Giveaway!

 Hello readers. Today I am featuring Sonja Gunter's Witch DNA Trilogy Series. She just released the third book in the series, "Ebba's Enchantment." Dive into the details for all three books with sneak peeks, book details and more. Read all about this fantasy romance series and purchase your copies today. Happy reading :).

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Chef Ebba Mignon, is also a witch, or so says her half-sisters and has 45 days to find her soulmate and acquire her powers.

Ebba's Enchantment
The Witch DNA Trilogy Book 3
by: Sonja Gunter
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Romantasy, Urban Fantasy



Ebba took the chance to glance at him. He had sunglasses on, which hid his eyes. Would they be blue? To go with his brown hair? Realizing he was waiting for a
reply, she sighed. “My booth is the one with all the people lined up in front of it. Over there to the right.” She pointed in the direction they were walking.

“Wow. What are you serving?”

“The same thing I’ve done for the last two years.Subs.”

The man stopped suddenly. “Subs? That’s it?”

“Yes. I have only two things on my menu. One is a chopped Italian sub. I bake bread in the shape of a fish and add chopped-up prosciutto, pepperoni, and salami, along with lettuce, onion, tomato, and provolone cheese. I have my own special Italian vinaigrette dressing that I add to it too. The second item is my bestseller, a dill pickle sub.”

They continued walking toward her booth.

“A dill pickle sub? Never heard of that or had one before. What is it?”

“Glad you asked. I use sliced dill pickles that I order from a local Amish woman. The key is to use a small layer of mayonnaise on the pickles. This seals in any leftover juices from the pickle. Then I layer on turkey and prosciutto with cheddar cheese, a tomato, and a lettuce leaf.”

“Ebba! Hurry up. We need those plates.”

She waved to Narda, who was signaling to her. “Oh my. We better hurry. The line has gotten very long.” With hurried steps, she directed the man carrying the bin to the back of the booth.

“It’s about time. Did you see all the people waiting?”

Ebba looked at Narda. “Be glad we have plates. I almost dropped the bin. This man saved it—and me—from falling.”

“Where do you want this?”

She and Narda looked at the man in unison.

“Oh, sorry. Just set it down there.” Narda pointed to an empty spot on the table. Once he set it down, she opened it and took out a stack of plates. “Thanks for saving my sis. I’ll take these up front and let Opaline know you’ve returned.”

Ignoring Narda’s sarcastic reply, she turned to the man.

“Thanks again—”

“Neal, I’ve been looking for you. I see you’ve met Ms. Mignon. I was setting up the equipment before she left.”

What the heck? This man, who helped her, was the one and only Mr. James? She’d literally run into him. He’d sent her pulse raging, and she’d had sexual thoughts about
him. His first name was Neal. Could he be the one? Her soulmate?
No, she didn’t have time for this. It was just a coincidence his name started with the letter N. “You’re . . . My goodness, you must think I’m the worst person ever.”

“I don’t. I didn’t know you were the person I’d come here to meet. Let’s forget about why I’m here. How can Seth and I help you with the crowd of people waiting for food? What can we do?”

“Do? You want to work?” She hesitated, her mind still reeling.

“Yes, it looks like two more sets of hands would be helpful.”

“If . . . you’re sure. I could use your help. First, you both have to wash your hands and put on the plastic gloves. The dill pickle subs are almost gone. And I need to make another batch of ingredients for the chopped subs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the two men said.

Ebba smiled and watched them do the safety protocol procedures for serving food, as she did the same. Taking out the three meats, cheese, and tomatoes from the coolers, she placed them onto the cutting board. Her nerves at Mr. James’s arrival and his offering to help had her doubting herself. The pendant throbbed against her skin.

“Ready to help. What can we do?”

His deep, rich voice was sexier in person than on the phone.

Stop! It was time to concentrate. She had customers to serve. “Okay. Once I have the chopped salad ready, I need you to fill the fish-shaped bread with three scoops. You
can start by opening and laying out the bread on the flat pan. While you’re doing that, it will allow me time to whip up some of the dill subs after I finish with the chopped Italian mixture.”

Within a few minutes, she had chopped the ingredients and added the vinaigrette. She slid the bowl over to the two men.

“Ebba, we need more subs,” Opaline said.

Looking up, she saw her sister standing in front of her.

When had she come over? “Mr. James and his cameraman are just finishing with the next tray of them.”

“Mr. James?”

She gave Opaline a look that said, ‘Don’t ask questions.’ “Yes. I ran into him, and he was kind enough to help. I’m working on the dill subs, and then I’ll do up another batch of the chopped Italian subs again.”

“Narda said he was a looker. I’ve been working on a spell to help you find—”

“Dear sister, this is not the time or place. Please take the tray of subs up to the front.”

“Of course. Sorry, but we will talk about it tonight.”

And just like that, her sister took the tray of finished subs and left. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Neal and the cameraman engaged in a conversation. Opaline was right. The three of them were going to have a lot to talk about later. Even now, just hearing his soft voice was rendering her pulse to pound erratically.

Again, the thought crossed her mind that Neal might be the one that fate had chosen for her. Suddenly, she realized he was staring at her. He smiled, and she nearly crumbled to the ground. With as much control as Ebba could gather within herself, she returned his smile. Was he interested in her?


BLURB:

Spices. Succulent Cuisine. Potioneer.

The clock is ticking.

Ebba Mignon, a naturally gifted chef and owner of The Mignon’s Place, never envisioned partaking in the witchery craft or having half-sisters, Opaline, and Narda. But here she was with only 45 days to find her soulmate/future husband and her witch talents to reveal themselves to her.

How was she expected to accomplish this burden in order to defeat Alyaaluladonati, the ancient one, from killing the three of them?

Neal James, writer for the Best Places to Eat in MN, schedules an interview with Ebba Mignon, in the small town of Onamia. He isn’t prepared for the deep affection he experiences for her or to admire her culinary art skills when they meet.

Believing in the supernatural takes Neal and Ebba on a journey that neither thought possible, transforming their passion into the right ingredients to last a lifetime.

*** NEW RELEASE ***

Purchase your Copy Today!

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


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Narda's Truth
The Witch DNA Book 2


“I’m usually not this forward on a first date—or any date, as a matter of fact—but I would like it very much if you kissed me.”

Owin gathered her closely against his body. “As a gentleman, your wish is my command.”

His sweet and teasing reply didn’t allow her time to respond as his lips touched hers. Then his mouth covered hers, and she opened her lips. Their tongues touched, and shivers of uncontrolled desire racked her body.

She wanted the moment to never end. It did, however, when the sound of a car horn tore them apart. They eyed each other and laughed. It was as if they were teenagers being caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing.

“Wow. That was some kiss. Did you hear horns too?”

Narda laughed harder. “I think it was more of a beep. I see we have arrived at my new store location. Shall we go in?”

“I’m game if you are. The front window is great for lookers.”

She dug into her purse to withdraw a set of keys and opened the front door. Once inside, she flicked on the lights. Owin followed her inside. Light flooded the open area.


BLURB:

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.

Purchase your Copy Today!

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!

Check out the Book Trailer:

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Opaline's Discovery
The Witch DNA Trilogy Book 1


Now she was waiting for her fourth and final date.
 
 Eamon.
 
 Goodness, anticipation is everything.
 
 She couldn’t believe he wanted to go out with her on a real date. Most guys found her too intellectual. It wasn’t her fault she owned a bookstore and loved to read.  History, fiction, romance, fantasy, sci-fi—it didn’t matter.  Everything was interesting to her. No genre was off
limits.
 
 The buzzer sounded, and she waited for Eamon. He arrived and took his seat. He didn’t say anything. She didn’t either. They sat for a moment, looking at each other, his blue eyes to her green eyes.
 
 Abruptly, the air surrounding her turned hot, but it wasn’t the kind of hot that made you sweat. It was the kind of sexual intensity that could consume a person, only to let go once it had been satisfied. Opaline fought the urge to fan herself.
 
 Like a foggy night, the room around the two of them became hazy. Eamon reached across the table and touched her cheek. Her body had a will of its own, and she leaned into his hand, closed her eyes, and waited for him to kiss her.
 
 “Opaline? Opaline, are you all right?”
 
 “Wha-what?”
 
 The room was clear again when she opened her eyes.
 Eamon hadn’t kissed her. She had imagined the kiss. He hadn’t reached out to her. But he was now. He didn’t touch her cheek. like she had envisioned. Instead, he was touching her hand. Until he wasn’t.
 
 Goodness sakes alive.
 
 “Sorry. I guess the excitement of the night has gotten to me,” she said, recovering. “Did you ask me something?”
 
 “No problem. I asked what you like to eat. If we’re going to go out on a date, I’ll have to find a restaurant because I don’t cook.”
 
 “I haven’t technically agreed to go out with you.” She laughed nervously.
 
 “I’m not going to let you say no.”
 
 “Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Opaline reached across the table and took his hand. “I guess I don’t have a choice, then. Yes, I would like to go out with you.”
 
 “Great. Does tomorrow night work for you?”
 
 “You do work fast,” she said, lowering her voice, which came out in a low silvery tone.
 
 “Only when I need to.”
 
 She knew he was implying other things, and she smiled again, wishing he had kissed her.
 
 The buzzer ended their date, and Opaline stood. Most of the other attendees had finished their dates too. “I hate to rush things, but I need to wrap things up for the event.”
 
 “If you would like, I can help you with the cleanup,” Eamon said.
 
 “That’s so thoughtful, and here I was thinking you only liked to give the orders.”
 
 She saw by the way his head tilted to the side that her reply had caught him off guard. He looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and he was having a hard time coming up with a comeback. He mustn’t be used to word games like her customers at the bookstore were.  They usually gave it right back to her. Eamon, on the other hand, was still at a loss for words.
 
 “Yes, I’d love your help. I have to stick around until everyone leaves. I’ll make an announcement to let them know what time we have to be out of here. Then I can—no, we—can start.”
 
 “Sounds good. I’ll round up my sister to pitch in too,” he said.
 
 Opaline heard him chuckle and wondered if he had offered his sister’s help without her knowledge.


BLURB:

Love. Magic. Danger.

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.

Purchase your Copy Today!

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!

Check out the Book Trailer:


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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.

Go Vikings! You betcha!

Learn more about Sonja...


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Enter to Win:

$20 Amazon or PayPal Gift Card

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Next Stop on the Tour:
August 3rd












































Saturday, May 16, 2026

"A Hundred Black Sunrises," by: Tamela Miles — Book Tour & Giveaway!

 Hi there readers. It's time for another bookish Saturday. And I got a book tour feature for you for author Tamela Miles and her book "A Hundred Black Sunrises." Dive into the details for this Dark Paranormal Romance that has a Friday the 13th theme to it. Hope you enjoy and purchase your copy today. Happy reading everyone. :)

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Keeping secrets keeps you alive. 
Sienna would know.
A Hundred Black Sunrises
A Friday the 13th Story
by: Tamela Miles
Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


A loud cracking sounded across the room and a huge, sil- ver gilded mirror fractured in half, splitting apart their reflec- tions. Elijah grabbed her hand and spoke softly. "Let me get you away from here, Poppy." 

As they moved toward the dining room entrance, one of the kit- chen servants appeared. Her brown eyes widened and then narrowed at the scene laid out before her. She hastily wiped her hands on her white apron and latched onto Poppy's other hand. 

"Run far, far away from this cursed place. Take nothing with you. His evil was contained while he was alive, but his death means..." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. 

"What...what did he mean by "a hundred black sunrises?" Poppy asked in a tremulous voice.

 The servant smiled sadly. "Nothing good, you can believe that." She gestured towards the hallway leading to the front door as a dozen other servants from the kitchen suddenly crowded around them. "Now, go! Take her and go!"

Elijah needed no further encouragement and pulled a dazed Poppy down the hallway, already filled with black smoke. As he opened the heavy door, she looked back one last time to say goodbye to every- thing she had ever known, and her gaze lit on Christianpaul's smiling portrait of himself as a much younger man. She shivered as Elijah led her out the front door and she clutched his arm fearfully. Poppy knew every brushstroke of that painting and never in her life had the bastard worn a smile in it. 


What readers are saying:

"A Hundred Black Sunrises is a haunting and emotionally charged horror short that blends reincarnation, cursed love, and inevitable tragedy. The story follows Sienna and Finn, two souls drawn together across lifetimes, only to face the same dark fate again and again. What begins as an intriguing connection quickly spirals into something far more sinister, as the truth behind their bond unravels. Though short, the narrative delivers a powerful mix of supernatural." horror and tragic romance. 
– Alicia Dean, Goodreads Reviewer


BLURB:

A hundred different ways to break your heart, a hundred different ways to take your last breath. Sienna and Finn are exploring their strange attraction to each other until strange becomes something sinister. The clock is ticking as they fight to unravel the mystery of what draws them together on fateful Friday, the 13th.

Purchase your Copy Today!


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Tamela Miles is a California State University San Bernardino graduate student with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development and a former flight attendant. She grew up in Altadena, California in that tumultuous time known as the 1980s. She now resides with her family in the Inland Empire, CA. She’s a horror/paranormal romance writer mainly because it feels so good having her characters do bad things and, later, pondering what makes them so bad and why they can never seem to change their wicked ways.

She enjoys emails from people who like her work. In fact, she loves emails. She can be contacted at tamelamiles@yahoo.com or her Facebook page, Tamela Miles Books. She also welcomes reader reviews and enjoys the feedback from people who love to read as much as she does.

Learn more about Tamela...



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Enter to Win:

$10 Amazon or PayPal Gift Card

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Next Stop on the Tour:




























Saturday, May 9, 2026

"The Carnelian Throne," by: Janet Morris — Series Tour & Giveaway!

 Hey there readers. It's time for our bookish Saturday here on Watch Us Sparkle. I have been working on getting back to posting more regularly but things have been complicated. But enough of that, let's talk about this series tour for Janet Morris. She just released the fourth book in her Silistra Quartet back in March. You can check it out below along with the additional books in the series. If you haven't started it yet you should looks like a good dystopian series to binge over the weekend. Any who, I got to get back to writing and I hope you all enjoy this post and the sneak peek. Happy reading everyone :).

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Estri was a daughter of light;
Chayin, a son of darkness; 
Sereth, the son of all flesh. 
Are they the three foretold who will make the truth of prophecy?

The Carnelian Throne
The Silistra Quartet Book 4
by: Janet Morris
Genre: Dystopian Epic SciFi Fantasy Romance

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


“Gate!” he bellowed over the storm, his dripping lips at my ear. The deluge had made us sparing of words. Under leathers soaked to thrice their weight, I shivered in spasms. Arms clutched to my sides, I stared into the rain. The driven sheets slashed me for my audacity. Lightning flared, illuminating the riverbank white. A moment later, the bright noise cracked through my head. The hillock trembled.

Over the gate danced the lightning. Its crackling fingers quested down thick-crossed slabs of iron, seared flesh. Emblazoned as they tumbled were those six-legged amphibians, their streamered tails lashing, scaled, fangful heads thrown back in dismay. I saw their afterimage: beryl and cinnabar, aglow upon the storm. Then their charred remains splashed into oblivion, spun away on the fast current.

“Down!” One man shouted, the other shoved me, and as I staggered to kneel in the sedges, the god that washed this land shook it, grumbling. I crouched on my hands and knees on the bucking sod, between them. Little protection could they offer up against shaking earth and searing sky, not even for themselves, without divorcing themselves from the reality they had come here to explore. And that they would not do.


WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

***** "Engrossing characters in a marvelous adventure." 
-- C. Brown, Locus Magazine

***** "The amazing and exotic adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in tomorrow's universe." 
-- Frederik Pohl

***** "The best single example of prostitution used in fantasy is in Janet Morris' Silistra series: High Couch of Silistra (originally entitled Returning Creation), The Golden Sword, Wind from the Abyss, and The Carnelian Throne." 
-- Anne K. Kaler, "The Picara: From Hera to Fantasy Heroine."

"[...] today I thought I'd look at one of the most successful fantasy debuts of all time, a series that became a huge international hit with its first release, launching the career of one of the most prolific fantasy writers of the late 20th Century: Janet Morris' The Silistra Quartet.

"The Silistra Quartet began with Janet's first novel, High Couch of Silistra [...] from Bantam Books in 1977 [, ] the far-future tale of the colony planet of Silistra, still recovering from an ancient war that left the planet scarred and much of the population infertile. With a dangerously low birth-rate, it's not long before the human colonists of Silistra develop a new social order, with a hierarchy based on fertility and sexual prowess.
-- John O'Neill in Black Gate Adventures in Fantasy Literature


BLURB:

Estri was a god, and the daughter of light.
Chayin was a god, and the son of darkness.
Sereth was hase-enor, the son of all flesh.
Lovers and friends, could they be the prophesied three
who would wield the Sword of Severance, Se’Keroth,
and bring light out of dark?

“One from the east, born of ease and destined,
“One from north of south, divine, exempt of question;
the third from out the west,
Astride a tide of death,” quoted Chayin. He was not
smiling. It is a long epic. All has been foreseen. We
all know that tale’s end.”
— Estri Hadrath diet Estrazi, in “Wind from the Abyss.”

Purchase your Copy Today!


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Wind From the Abyss
The Silistra Quartet Book 3

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


Praise for Janet Morris' Silistra Quartet: 

"The amazing and erotic adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in tomorrow's universe." 
-- Fred Pohl 

"Engrossing characters in a marvelous adventure." 
-- Charles N. Brown, Locus Magazine. 

"The best single example of prostitution used in fantasy is Janet Morris' Silistra series." 
-- Anne K. Kahler, The Picara: From Hera to Fantasy Heroine.

“Morris, so good at giving us characters we can identify with, characters we can love and hate, strikes at the very heart of the human condition and the duality of humanity — both good and evil. Her prose is lean and spot-on, every word carefully chosen to enhance the milieu of her imaginary world and advance the plot, giving us access to the thoughts, emotions and machinations of the people whose stories she is presenting to us. Once again, she gives us a “thinking man’s” science fiction/fantasy that explores the nature of power and sexuality, and how they can be used, misused and abused. This is a brilliant, mature and very adult novel that will not only leave you thinking about your own place in the universe, but questioning the very nature of existence.” 
– Goodreads reviewer


This Perseid Press Author's Cut Edition is revised and expanded by the author and presented in a format designed to enhance your reading experience with larger, easy-to-read print, more generous margins, and covers designed for these premium editions. 

Wind from the Abyss starts with this . . . 

"Since, at the beginning of this tale, I did not recollect myself nor retain even the slightest glimmer of such understanding as would have led me to an awareness of the significance of the various occurrences that transpired at the Lake of Horns, I am adding this preface, though it was no part of my initial conception, that the meaningfulness of the events described by "Khys' Estri" (as I have come to think of the shadow-self I was while the dharen held my skills and memory in abeyance) not be withheld from you as they were from me. I knew myself not: I was Estri because the girl Carth supposedly found wandering in the forest stripped of comprehension and identity chose that name. There, perhaps, lies the greatest irony of all, that I named myself anew after Estri Hadrath diet Estrazi, who in reality I had once been. And perhaps it is not irony at all, but an expression of Khys' humor, an implicit dissertation by him who structured my experiences, my very thoughts, for nearly two years, until his audacity drove him to bring together once more Sereth crill Tyris, past-Slayer, then the outlawed Ebvrasea, then arrar to the dharen himself; Chayin rendi Inekte, cahndor of Nemar, co-cahndor of the Taken Lands, chosen son of Tar-Kesa, and at that time Khys' puppet-vassal; and myself, former Well-Keepress, tiask of Nemar, and lastly becoming the chaldless outlaw who had come to judgment and endured ongoing retribution at the dharen's hands. To test his hesting, his power over owkahen, the time-coming-to-be, did Khys put us together, all three, in his Day-Keeper's city -- and from that moment onward, the Weathers of Life became fixed: siphoned into a singular future; sealed tight as a dead god in his mausoleum, whose every move brought him closer to the sum total, obliteration. So did the dharen Khys bespeak it, himself. . ."


BLURB:

Dystopia. Fantasy. Science fiction. Allegory. Political. 

Wind from the Abyss is the third volume in Janet Morris' classic Silistra Quartet, continuing one woman's quest for self-realization in a distant tomorrow. 

Aristocrat. Outcast. Picara. Slave. Ruler .... She is descended from the masters of the universe. To hold her he challenges the gods themselves. 

Purchase your Copy Today!


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The Golden Sword
The Silistra Quartet Book 2

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


What readers are saying:

“Pure excellence…. A heroic quest of the highest calibre.” 
- Goodreads

“This is a book which makes one’s blood sing and one’s mind ponder. I loved the first in the series and enjoyed this as much, perhaps more. The ending leaves the reader desperate to know what happens to Estri next – courtesan, slave, warrior, lover, rebel. What is next for our heroine?” 
– Goodreads

“Call it what you like: science fiction, space opera, sword and planet or erotic fantasy . . . The Golden Sword is all these things, and so much more. A highly intelligent and sensual novel filled with ideas and revelations, this is a gripping story that explores human sexuality and the role it plays in politics. Although the memorable characters are bisexual, toss away all your preconceived notions, for there is a humanity, a strength of will and determination, a realism and depth of emotion to these characters that will have you thinking twice about all you know and all you think you know. This is a book for mature and discerning readers who like some meat on the bones of the books they read. Janet Morris led the way for all the science fiction authors, both male and female, who came after. “ 
– Joe Bonadonna, Goodreads


BLURB:

Dystopia. Biology shapes reality. The further adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in the galaxies of tomorrow. 

She had the power to create planets. The sixty carved bones of the Yris-tera foretold her ancient fate. Her heritage of power took her beyond time and space and stole from her the one man she loved. 

Enslaved on the planet Silistra, tomorrow's most beautiful courtesan unleashes the powers of the gods.

Purchase your Copy Today!


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High Couch of Silistra
The Silistra Quartet Book 1

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

"Engrossing characters in a marvelous adventure." 
- Charles N. Brown, Locus Magazine

"The amazing and erotic adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in tomorrow's universe" 
- Frederik Pohl

"The best single example of prostitution used in fantasy is Janet Morris' Silistra series... Estri's character is most like that of Ishtar who describes herself as "'a prostitute compassionate am I'" because she "symbolizes the creative submission to the demands of instinct, to the chaos of nature ...the free woman, as opposed to the domesticated woman". Linking Estri with these lunar and water symbols is not difficult because of the moon's eternal virginity (the strength of integrity) links with her changeability (the prostitute's switching of lovers). [...] 

Morris strengthens the moon imagery by having Estri as a well-keepress because wells, fountains, and the moon as the orb which controls water have long been associated with fertility, [...] In a sense, she is like the moon because she is apparently eternal, never waxing or waning except in her pursuit of the quest; she is the prototypical wanderer like the moon and Ishtar. She is the eternal night symbol of the moon in opposition to the Day-Keepers [...]

 At her majority (her three hundredth birthday), she is given a silver-cubed hologram letter from her mother, containing a videotape of her conception by the savage bronzed barbarian god from another world. [...] If Estri's mother then acts as a bawd, willing her lineage as Well-Keepress to her daughter, then Estri's great-grandmother Astria as foundress of the Well becomes a further mother-bawd figure when she offers her prophetic advice in her letter: "Guard Astria for you may lose it, and more. Beware of one who is not as he seems. Stray not in the port city of Baniev ...look well about you, for your father's daughter's brother seeks you". Having no brother that she knows of does not stay Estri from undertaking the heroic quest of finding her father."
 - Anne K. Kaler, The Picara: From Hera to Fantasy Heroine


BLURB:

Biology shapes reality...

One woman's mythic search for self-realization in a distant tomorrow...

Her sensuality was at the core of her world, her quest beyond the civilized stars.

Aristocrat. Outcast. Picara. Slave. Ruler.

Purchase your Copy Today!


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Best selling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. She contributed short fiction to the shared universe fantasy series Thieves World, in which she created the Sacred Band of Stepsons, a mythical unit of ancient fighters modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. She created, orchestrated, and edited the Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell, writing stories for the series as well as co-writing the related novel, The Little Helliad, with Chris Morris. She wrote the bestselling Silistra Quartet in the 1970s, including High Couch of Silistra, The Golden Sword, Wind from the Abyss, and The Carnelian Throne. This quartet had more than four million copies in Bantam print alone, and was translated into German, French, Italian, Russian and other languages. In the 1980s, Baen Books released a second edition of this landmark series. The third edition is the Author's Cut edition, newly revised by the author for Perseid Press. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.

Janet said: 'People often ask what book to read first. I recommend "I, the Sun" if you like ancient history; "The Sacred Band," a novel, if you like heroic fantasy; "Lawyers in Hell" if you like historical fantasy set in hell; "Outpassage" if you like hard science fiction; "High Couch of Silistra" if you like far-future dystopian or philosophical novels. I am most enthusiastic about the definitive Perseid Press Author's Cut editions, which I revised and expanded.'

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