Guess what? It’s Release Day for Fate in Suspension, my first new book in 3 years!!!
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Genres: Paranormal romance, urban fantasy, high fantasy, BDSM romance
Series: Horn & Haven
LGBTQIA+ identities: Gay, Pansexual; M/M relationshipQuiet. That’s how he likes life, no drama to clean up…
Tai Xen-Vorsy leads a straightforward life: work, time at the local clubs where shapeshifters like him can play without fear, and the comforts of home with a cat that’s more than half attitude. After breaking up with his last submissive, he’s even taking a break from Dom duties.
Meeting Gates changes everything, and when Tai’s childhood home is destroyed, his simple life goes up in flames.
The Callensdale haven was his refuge as an orphan, a hideaway that saved his life. Now it’s time to return the favour. Bringing in the Fluff Brigade Brotherhood would make all the difference… if he could just get them back together. Tai won’t give up—he’s not that kind of unicorn. But can he reunite the brotherhood and keep his new relationship with Gates kindled at the same time?
The darkness is dragging him into the shadows, one case at a time…
Helping others is all Gates Colfaethe wants to do, being mostly unicorn shifter with a splash of Faerie. But years as an agent on trafficking cases leave him fearing just how far he’ll lose himself in the job before he burns out completely.
A random hookup with Tai might be the very change he needs. A new Dom means new rules and the chance to create safe distance from work—until his worlds collide in a twist Gates should leave well enough alone. What he knows is bad enough, but running headlong into danger could kill him.
Content notes & trigger warnings: Fate in Suspension contains explicit content, including BDSM scenes and activities, all of which is meant for adult readers and takes place within safe, sane, and consensual guidelines.
This story also touches on matters related to mental health, including PTSS/PTSD. There are references to death and murder, references to the death of a character’s parents, mentions of various sorts of trafficking, and references to missing persons, captivity, and torture. There is some physical violence and depictions of the aftermath of a violent attack. There is also the use of blood in a magical way.
The BDSM activities in this story include bondage and discipline with physical implements, spanking, and orgasm denial.
Please note the story uses gender-neutral pronouns for certain characters. These are not mistakes; they are the deliberate pronouns of those characters.
*Are you on Goodreads? Add it to your shelves!
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And here we go! It’s finally out!!
This is one of the projects that’s kept me company these last couple years. It wasn’t planned — really just dropped in my lap quite randomly — but it was perfect to work on during the pandemic. I’m really looking forward to working on the rest of the series, seeing where all of the brotherhood ends up… It’s going to be one heck of a ride.
Though it’s so funny thinking back on all of the influences and things that ended up in this single book, and how those influences are going to spiral out into the rest of the series. Somehow, my love of The Last Unicorn and Star Trek just… fell together. I’ve grown up with both of them in my life, from when I was pretty young. The amazing movie version of The Last Unicorn is the very first fantasy film I remember watching, and I watched it over and over and over and over again. I just loved it SO MUCH. And Star Trek: The Next Generation was my first memorable exposure to science fiction, with a cast I still love to this day.
That’s not to say Fate in Suspension follows either one of these. Rather, there are homages to both, very much in the details of the story. Sometimes it’s in a name, the technology, one of the themes, or whatever else popped up. I’m *still* working out all of the subtle connections that slipped in when I wasn’t looking! 😉
There’s also the addition of the BDSM element, which is something I’ve wanted to explore in a couple of my books for a few years, but those books have been pushed down the line due to other projects. But this one happened! And I’m so excited to say it’s here! Tai and Gates have been really fun to work with, and I hope readers love them and their connection.
There’s a whole lot more to come where this brotherhood is concerned — book #2, Shifting Surety, is already underway! So keep an eye out for that. Once I have scenes/chapters written, I’ll start posting them over on my Patreon, so patrons can read the second book as it’s being written.
For now… Here’s a link to the playlist for Fate in Suspension (... I used sooooo many songs…) and there’s also a book tour scheduled for September that’s currently taking sign-ups!
I’ve also included a little, itty bitty excerpt below. Thanks for stopping by! ♥
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Now for an Excerpt…
Tai didn’t spare a look at his reflection before he washed his face, scrubbing away his eyeliner and the gritty layers of sweat and body glitter. He’d feel better once he got sleep. Everything would—
Shit!
Agony slammed through him, exploding from ear to ear. No warning. No—
He doubled over, out of breath and paralyzed over the sink, gripping just to stay upright.
Scream for him. Scream for help—
Fuck, the mirror. Movement in the glass. Shadows creeping through, threading down the porcelain—
Tai!
That was Molly Rey’s voice.
Molly, haven, so far away—
—But she was shouting as if she was close. So close she was inside him, punching his soul. Touch the mirror, now. Dammit, Tai!
Fires, his head. Was he dying, bleeding out without seeing a drop of it?
His hands—he could move those. And his neck. Just a bit. Raising his head, though, raising up through the hit…
The mirror. She was in the mirror.
Teeth grinding, Tai fought to raise his gaze, head slowly following suit. Molly Rey was caught in a fog—no, smoke. Surrounded by smoke. Flames—flames in the background, eating up the curtains… the darkness… taking away the darkness.
She wasn’t alone: Natire floated by Molly Rey, a ghost of the in-between; a patron spirit of the haven. One of three. One of their protectors.
But the burning. That awful burning…
Molly Rey touched the mirror, her palm and fingers darkened, almost rotten. Tai! Now!
Tai slapped his hand to the mirror.
His fingers sank into the shadows, the glass hot to the touch. The past crashed through him, misery from top to bottom, searing on a deluge of memory. Blood magic—it coursed through their veins, his and Molly Rey’s, the mirror a conduit to connect them. The magic dragged and stumbled, fighting him for every step, tying them together over the vast distance.
Emotions filtered through—panic at the top, on the boil with Molly Rey’s anger, her desperation becoming his. And the stench. Gods, the stench of it all, bleeding through their connection, burning wood and ash as heat devoured the stone walls. Noise too, screams rising up in the not-so-distant distance… bangs… the crash of a beam behind Molly Rey—
Tai gasped, his hand burning where Molly Rey’s hand was black as night. Hurt. She’d been hurt—
“Tai!“
Molly Rey’s shout shook him with its violence. He nearly collapsed, her voice so loud in his head, it shamed amps on full blast even with the sink taps still on, water swirling down the sink.
“Tai, we’re under attack. The fire—” Molly Rey startled. Peered behind her. Terror seeped through Tai—his or hers?