CHRISTINE RAINS

Image source from Unsplash That image is frighteningly accurate. I sometimes lay there with a notebook on my face and let myself think. Maybe the scent of ink and paper helps? My carpet doesn't look nearly as plush though. I'm finishing off a romance book for my pen name (Alora James) that I wanted done two months ago. I dragged my feet because the story was already done in my head and I was ready for something new. This is why I'm a pantser. I need the novelty and the surpri

Blurb: Ketterdam : a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone... A convict with a thirst for revenge A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager A runaway with a privileged past A spy known as the Wraith A Heartrender using her magic to survive

Blurb: Marcus Holt thought his worst memories were behind him. A veteran of the Vietnam War, the tough old soldier is haunted by nightmares of brutal conflict. But he’s about to discover that his battle for survival has only just begun. Professor Abel Worthe is brilliant, wealthy, and utterly immoral. He is an expert in a very particular field: the study of fear and death. Using his vast resources, Worthe has purchased a collection of haunted houses and paranormal sites, hid

Blurb: Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s m

Image credit: Alexas Fotos on Pixabay It's spring and time to fill yourself up with treats! Since I can't give chocolate to everyone, I want to fill your imagination with stories. Here are three amazing freebies for you this Easter weekend. Enjoy! CURSE OF THE HUNTED is a clean paranormal romance in a magical world shared with other authors. KNOT ON MY WATCH is a sweet and spicy reverse harem contemporary Omegaverse romance. The SASQUATCH SUSIES is a contemporary suspense

Blurb: No one knows exactly how the Goblin War began, but folks will tell you that goblins are stinking, slinking, filthy, sheep-stealing, henhouse-raiding, obnoxious, rude, and violent. Goblins would actually agree with all this, and might throw in “cowardly” and “lazy” too for good measure. But goblins don't go around killing people for fun, no matter what the propaganda posters say. And when a confrontation with an evil wizard lands a troop of nine goblins deep behind ene

Too bad we don't have any snow to take a picture in! Three sisters. Seven totems. One chance to save the world. It's taken a lot of work, but SISTERS OF THE PALE CLAW is finally available in paperback. I got my author's proof the other day, and I was so excited. It's a thick tome at 717 pages. Not one I could hold up with one hand and read. It's a two-hand job! It includes all nine novellas of the Totem series and bonus author's notes at the end of each novella. This is the

Photo credit: Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay It's second winter here and time to snuggle under a blanket with a good book. I've been good and keeping up with my reading challenge so far this year. Cozy stories have become my favorite way to escape. What have you been reading? I have a few more books to add to your e-reader! May luck and good books forever be in your life. When offered a choice between tedious research or fighting a dragon, the players always choose the dragon. Eve

Blurb: At a crossroads between a cringe-worthy past (Todd the Toad) and an uncertain future (she's not exactly homeless, but it's close), Lucy Swift travels to Oxford to visit her grandmother. With Gran's undying love to count on and Cardinal Woolsey's, Gran's knitting shop, to keep her busy, Lucy can catch her breath and figure out what she's going to do. Except it turns out that Gran is the undying. Or at least, the undead. But there's a death certificate. And a will, leav

Blurb: Kinsey has the perfect job as the team lead in a remote research outpost. She loves the solitude, and the way the desert keeps her far away from the temptations teeming out in the civilian world. When her crew discovers a mysterious specimen buried deep in the sand, Kinsey breaks quarantine and brings it into the hab. But the longer it's inside, the more her carefully controlled life begins to unravel. Temptation has found her after all, and it can't be ignored any lo

Blurb: Bethany Hawthorne has never felt like she truly belongs anywhere. So when a regular café customer recognizes what she is—a witch—and tells her there’s a place where she won’t have to hide her magic, Bethany does something she’s never done before. She leaves. Briardell is everything she hoped for: a secluded village filled with warmth, magic, and people who understand what it means to be different. There’s just one small problem. No one has a spare room to rent. No one,

Blurb: Born under a scarlet moon, Avianna Morningstar should have been revered and feared, as the prophecy proclaimed. But Avia is taken to a remote realm where she would be safe from the anarchy festering in the Kingdoms, meanwhile her potential as a sorceress is all but extinguished. A sinfully attractive tracker is tasked with bringing Avia back to a homeland she has never known in hopes of awakening the power that has lain dormant within her. The Kingdoms of Verdae and I

While the setting, the myths, and the plot are vital to a good story, it's the characters that are most important to me. If there isn't good characterization, then the tale will hang limply even on other stronger elements. Well-written, relatable characters help draw the reader into the story and create emotional bonds. The point of view (POV) characters must fully engage the reader or they won't fully lose themselves the world you've created. The TOTEM series features the Do

Image Credit: Alina Matveycheva on Pexels.com One of my favorite thing about writing and reading is going to places I've never been. TOTEM takes place all across Alaska. It's a gigantic state and most of it is wilderness. It has the highest number of missing persons, but most aren't investigated due to the extreme environment and lack of resources. (California has the highest number of open missing persons cases.) There's a lot of mystery about the US's last wild frontier. An

Three sisters. Seven totems. One chance to save the world. ​ Saskia, Kinley, and Ametta Dorn are polar bear shifters descended from an ancient bloodline where spirits, humans, and gods once shared the same breath. Together, the sisters run a home renovation business which specializes in the unique needs of supernatural folks. Their work keeps their community safe, hidden, and rooted in a land that remembers them. When Ametta becomes the target for a ruthless shifter hunter, h

Image credit: tran duy anh from Pexels.com I've changed the covers for the TOTEM books far more than any other books I've written. It's one of those things that I have so many ideas in my head, because so much is happening in the series. While it has driven me bonkers at times, I have learned a lot about Photoshop and what goes into making a cover that will hook a reader's attention. I've always liked urban fantasy and paranormal romance covers with people on them. The dynami

Image credit: Dan Parlante on Pexels.com Ten years ago, I published the first novella in my urban fantasy series, TOTEM. It's still the longest series I've written. I love the unique Inuit myths and lore that I wrapped my characters in, and I often long to return to that world. Yet too many new ideas occupy my muse. To celebrate my ten year book anniversary, I have compiled all nine novellas together into one massive collection. I'm releasing it not only in ebook format, but

Blurb: It’s not too late to tap into self-compassion and leave your troubles behind. Imagine a life where you don't dwell on problems, conflict, and hardship. Can you reimagine a new reality of self-compassion, replacing your harsh inner critic? The result? Inner calm becomes your default state. What if the secret to joy and contentment isn't hidden at all but waiting to be unlocked through a simple, transformative framework? The Three-Elements-of-Ease will show you how to C

Blurb: The galaxy just got ridiculous. Space Squad 51 is on the job. Nikili Echols works the docks, living a quiet, predictable life until the freighter Red Dorry is late. When the ship opens, the crew is gone. Orbital Rescue Services Squad 51 arrives, assuring Nikili everything will be all right. But when they go in, screams and roars erupt from inside, and a smear of blood is left at the hatch. Nikili knows the team and crew need help before more ORS teams can arrive. Ste

Demons vs. Vampires OF BLOOD AND SORROW is FREE January 15th - 19th! In the game of Alphas vs. Omegas, someone is changing the rules so no one wins. KNOT DEAD YET is FREE January 15th - 19th!