The Lord and the Banshee (Read by Candlelight #13) - Gillian St. Kevern Page 0,59

inhabitant of a notoriously haunted house, Micah Evanovitch is braced for another miserable Christmas. He passes his days playing the piano, brooding on his failure to produce a sonata worthy of the woman he loved, and hiding from the world. When a wilful heiress decides his house is the perfect location for her spooky Christmas soiree, Micah’s very existence is threatened. Will the party provide Micah with the chance to put his past behind him—or further cement his failures?

Pippa Goodfellow has five thousand pounds a year and a simple wish: to scare the socks off her infuriatingly superior cousin Julian and his odious friend Bryant. But when her revenge threatens the professional reputation of her beloved Uncle, Pippa needs Micah’s help to ward off disaster. Can an eternal pessimist and hopeless optimist ever find common ground? Or will Pippa’s Christmas Party end in Christmas tragedy for all?

The Christmas Party is the fourteenth in the Read by Candlelight series of standalone novellas featuring an LGBTQIA+ cast. Pairs nicely with Christmas mince pies and ginger beer. Preorder now to help revive the tradition of ghost stories on Christmas Eve.

To be first to read The Christmas Party, support me on Patreon. You can stay up to date with my news and future releases by signing up to my newsletter.

The Wing Commander’s Curse

An unbreakable curse.

England overrun by monsters.

Two men locked in a losing battle.

England, 1915.

Jonah Valliant longs for active service, but is stuck making coffee for the local officers. A year ago, the world erupted into magical chaos. No one knows why Britain is overrun by fearsome worms, magical creatures whose gaze turns men to stone, or how to stop them. When Jonah loses his temper with Wing Commander Mallory, he has no idea that picking a quarrel with the wizard may lead to Britain's salvation–or its destruction.

Augustus Mallory carries more than the weight of the war effort on his shoulders. He's the last of the Mallory wizards, feared for their power, arrogance and the dark family curse. Losing his heart to Jonah endangers everything Mallory cares about, but Jonah may possess the key to defeating the worms once and for all. Mallory’s only hope: staving off his doom long enough to learn the dreadful truth behind the Quickening.

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Book Rec: Home by M. Caspian

It’s a bit strange to be recommending a book I haven’t read yet, but I’m really excited for Home. The author is one of my writing buddies, so I’ve heard little bits and pieces about it as Em has worked on it.

Just so you know, this is not a happy story. If you end The Lord and the Banshee and really want something nice and sweet and cheerful, skip this rec! If, however, you are one of those people who, when hurt, want to see how much more they can hurt, this may be the book for you! I’m interested in it mostly because Em in an aside said ‘it ends happily for the ghost but for nobody else.’ So—yeah. This is what I am about to be reading!

One week. Just one week, and Ryan will be out of his backwater hometown for good. Sell the farm his grandmother bequeathed him, clear his debts, and start fresh with his high-flying boyfriend. That’s that plan.

What’s not the plan? Brooding bar owner and high-school crush Vic Ward, community hostility, and mysterious reminders of perfect Ethan. Ethan, who had everything Ryan ever wanted. Ethan, who fled Stockyard Point to pursue his dreams. Ethan, whose memory now dogs Ryan’s every step.

The longer Ryan stays in the Point, the more demons of his past surface, and the more Ryan is haunted by the life he could have forged.

Will Ryan stick to his plan? Or will the siren song of his past draw him home?

This is a dark gothic m/m romance of 84,500 words.

Read Home on Amazon.

Acknowledgments

Very special thanks to my Patreon supporters for their continued encouragement: Jennifer, Julia, Kathleen, Khadija, Lexy, Patricia, SpookMouse, Theanna, and Y Lee. It means so much to have you along for the journey and I promise you the next book will not be sad.

Another big thank you to Anne and Sera for reading and keeping me on track, and Emma B for working her editorial magic. A special thank you to Kevin for his expert proofreading assistance for taking on what turned out to be an unexpectedly arduous task. I would be lost without you and this story