Shira Anthony's Blog

The first Blood Series book, "Blood and Rain," is only 99 cents on Amazon and the Dreamspinner Press website for a limited time!

Dreamspinner Press:
https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/boo...

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Rain-Shi...

A special thank you for Blood Series readers is now up on my website! "The Price of Blood," is a previously unpublished scene from the Blood Series that didn't make it into the trilogy, but tells the story of how Charles Duvalier became a vampire. No spoilers for Blood Series books, so no matter where you are reading the trilogy, you'll be safe! Happy reading! https://shiraanthony.com/blood-series...

Today's Daily Deal from Dreamspinner Press features the Blood Series! Buy Blood & Rain (Blood #1), get Blood & Ghost (Blood #2) for free! Perfect timing, since the final series book, Blood & Eternity, releases this Tuesday, 7/31!

Get the deal here!

The final series book releases on Tuesday, 7/31/18.

#vampires and #timetravel - One week from today is release day for Blood and Eternity, the final Blood Series book from Dreamspinner Press! Woot! Buy links here!

I've finally started work on the sequel series to the Mermen of Ea Series! I'm planing 3 books featuring Odhran and Bastian and the dragons. The working title for the series is "Dragons of Anuki"! I'm so excited to be getting back to this universe. I do have one contemporary romance I've promised to Dreamspinner Press first, but the next book I'll be submitting after that will be Dragons #1! You can follow my progress here: Shira's Website

Blood and Eternity , the third book in the Blood series, will be released by Dreamspinner Press on July 31st! Pre-order links should be up at the end of June.

Here's the blurb:

Vampire hunter Adrien Gilbert never dreamed he’d fall for his prey or that his love, Nicolas Lambert, would give him the gift of immortality. But when a hunter bent on destroying the truce between vampires and hunters throws the gauntlet at Adrien’s feet, Adrien must travel through time to save Nicolas, and with him, the entire vampire race.

The time has come to make a choice—one they will live with for eternity.
In this final installment in the Blood Trilogy, Adrien and Nicolas must face their greatest enemy in a deadly last confrontation. But to prevail, they’ll need to master the enemies within.

When Adrien awakens to a future he doesn’t recognize, he faces an impossible decision: live a perfect life with Nicolas in a shattered world, or risk everything to repair a broken past. But before he can challenge vampire hunter Verel Pelletier, he must master the demon who lives in his own mind—and learn to control his ability to travel through time. With Nicolas by his side, he prepares for a final battle against a powerful adversary who likes to play games with the past and future.

But the price of ensuring a future for their loved ones may be an eternity spent alone.

Blood and Eternity

Reblogged from Love Bytes Reviews. Happy summer everyone! I thought I'd share a new project and a new line of books from Dreamspinner Press, since I'm down in the weeds right now with the last round of edits on my own offering in the line, Finder's Keeper . I'm talking about the upcoming Dreamspun Beyond line of contemporary paranormal romances from Dreamspinner Press. These stories, like the Dreamspun Desires line, are romance-forward category romances like the old Harlequins. Sexy and sweet, with a sweet HEA, Dreamspun Beyond titles are between 50-60K and feature paranormal phenomena, creatures, and anywhere your imagination might take you, all set against a contemporary backdrop.

Writing for the Beyond line was a no-brainer for me: I adore romantic stories, and I love paranormals.



For those who may not know, I'm a huge anime (Japanese animation) fan. I blame my son for this, although he moved on to gaming a decade ago and I'm still watching! The inspiration for Finder's Keeper came from two of my favorite animes: InuXBoku Secret Service and Kamisama Kiss , both of which feature a kitsune, a fox spirit, who shifts from human to fox spirit form. The Japanese kitsune are clever, beautiful (these two are gorgeous), and a little mischievous. So when I was trying to decide on a character for the half-human, half-spirit guardian of the gateway between the human and spirit worlds, there was no doubt in my mind that my spirit would be a fox. The kitsune in my story, Kit, is several hundred years old. He's the son of a human woman and a Japanese fox spirit. The gateway between worlds? It's in the basement of a Gothic brownstone in Cleveland, Ohio, my hometown.



Finder's Keeper is the story of Zane Mayer, an engineer who leaves North Carolina to live in the old house his second cousin left to him and his twin sister. The last thing Zane expects is that the handsome redheaded caretaker of the brownstone, Kit, lives in the basement. But Kit isn't exactly what he seems, something Zane finds out when he goes down to the basement, worried that something has happened to Kit. Here's a little excerpt from that scene:

The room was huge—at least ten times bigger than Zane had expected. Bigger than the footprint of the house. Near the doorway, a simple cot stood against a bare wall. Next to it an alarm clock and a book sat on a table. All normal, everyday things.

The rest of the room was something out of a dream.

A set of heavy wooden doors completely filled the space. Simple inlaid handles joined to create a square with a single character in silver paint—like a letter from a strange alphabet—in the center. The space between the bed and the doorway reminded Zane of a Japanese rock garden with matching benches on either side of a walkway. The stones that formed the garden substrate glowed blue and seemed to oscillate, first solid, then flowing like a liquid.

Someone stood between the two benches, his back to Zane, dressed in a hooded robe of deep blue with silver embroidery at the ends of the sleeves that hung well below where his hands would be. The same letter painted on the doors had been sewn in silver thread into the fabric at the back of the garment. The scent of something familiar and sweet danced around Zane’s senses, reminding him of the delicate perfume his mother had worn, with its hints of citrus and ginger. In the face of the impossible beauty of this place—was he still in his basement?—the fragrance felt familiar and warm.

“Kit?”

“I didn’t want you to find out this way.” Kit’s shoulders rose and fell as he drew an audible breath. He turned around. In the dim light of the room, his eyes glowed green and his pupils looked much like a cat’s. His skin was so pale, it seemed nearly translucent. He pressed his lips together and held Zane’s gaze before he reached up and drew off his hood.

Kit’s hair tumbled over his shoulders and down his back in waves, the red silk of it like embers in the hottest of fires. Zane gasped. Atop Kit’s head were two large ears like those of an animal, pointed and furred. Like a wolf, or a dog, or a—

“Fox,” Kit said as if he’d heard Zane’s thoughts.

With that, a wave of something black flew toward him. It wrapped itself around him and squeezed. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe. His head spun and the room shifted sideways. The last thing he remembered was two strong arms catching him as he fell.

Finder's Keeper will be released on September 15, 2017. If you love sweet romance and you love paranormal stories, I think you'll really enjoy the new Dreamspun Beyond line. Have a great summer all y'all! -Shira

It's just about time to kick of the Forgotten Paradise blog tour! Even better? I found the coolest, sexiest grand prize for one lucky winner who comments on tour posts. But more about that a bit later.... For now, let me just say how happy I am to have you meet Jonah James and Adam Preston, the two MCs of my latest book. The book releases on 4/15 and is now available for preorder everywhere.

My second entry in the Dreamspun Desires line of sweet, tropey, gay romances a la old-fashioned category romance books. The trope this time? Amnesia, one of my favorites.

Adam is your all-round good guy. He's talented, too, and he's taken his father's moribund computer parts company and turned it into a successful endeavor. Too successful, perhaps, because now he has mega-company Entech snapping its jaws and trying to buy the company (and Adam) with it, something Adam strongly opposes. Adam's sister is in his corner. His brother, not so much, and he's not sure about his mother. Adam is stressed to the limit. His sister tells him to take a break, and Adam heads to the Dominican Republic for a week of scuba diving and fun in the sun. The last person he expected to meet at the resort was a guy he'd totally fall for: the adorable and witty Jonah James.

Jonah is charming and intelligent. He also has no idea who he really is. He washed up on a Punta Cana beach ten years before and started an entirely new life. Jonah's happy with who he is now, and he doesn't really want to know what happened before. But meeting Adam triggers memories Jonah can't avoid. When he finally realizes the truth, it may be too late to save his fledgling relationship with Adam.

I love the Dreamspun Desires line. It's fun, a little spicy, and meant to leave you with a warm fuzzy HEA. I hope you'll enjoy Adam and Jonah's story and their little piece of paradise!

The blog tour kicks off on April 8th and you have through the end of the month to get your entries for the contest in. For each post, there's a question. For each question you answer in a comment on the blog post you get one entry on the Rafflecopter giveaway. The grand prize (US entrants only)? A December Diamonds Cupid Merman! Isn't he wonderful? I love these fabulous ornaments, and this little bit of schmexy could be headed your way. For non-US residents, I've got a $10 Dreamspinner Press gift certificate up for grabs that you will qualify for if you win.

You'll find the Rafflecopter here and on each blog post. But you have to comment on a blog post to score an entry, so be sure to check out each stop on the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll leave you all with the blurb, buy-links, and an excerpt from Forgotten Paradise. Happy reading and, of course, happiest of HEAs! -Shira

Blurb: It’s dangerous diving for secrets.

When a megacompany threatens to take over his family-owned business, programming prodigy Adam Preston escapes the stress with a much-needed vacation in the Dominican Republic. There he meets attractive, intelligent, insightful Jonah James, a scuba dive instructor, and what starts as a holiday fling soon blossoms into much more.

But Jonah has a secret: ten years ago he woke up on an island beach with no idea how he got there… or even who he is. Their paradise may not be as perfect as it seems. When Jonah’s memories come crashing back like waves on the sand, will it be Adam clinging to the proverbial life raft, or will the two men find a safe harbor to ride out the storm?

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/forgotten-paradise-by-shira-anthony-8323-b

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Paradise-Dreamspun-Desires-Book-ebook/dp/B06XVG612Y

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forgotten-paradise-shira-anthony/1125870263?ean=2940157247669

Excerpt:

WHILE HENRI washed down the patio, Jonah hung the last two wetsuits and sprayed down the rinsing bins. Small rivulets of sand and water streaked the painted concrete.

“I can finish,” Henri told him.

“Thanks.” Jonah walked over to the benches and retrieved his BC and regulator from a hook. “I owe you a drink.”

Henri laughed. “Good thing they’re free or you’d have to take out a loan.”

“Meet you at Giuseppe’s in an hour?” Jonah hung his gear inside the staff room.

“Not tonight. Got a date with Viola.” Henri stopped spraying for a moment and gestured toward the office. “It’s our six-month anniversary.”

“Six months? Impressive. So what’s for dinner?”

“Sushi,” Henri said. “At Yumi.”

“You’re taking her all the way to Punta Cana?” Jonah chuckled and slapped Henri on the back. “Must be love.”

“A man does as he does.” He winked and added, “I borrowed Torey’s car.”

“A man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do,” Jonah corrected. Henri’s English was damn good, so Jonah enjoyed teasing him the few times he made mistakes.

“So how about you?” Henri asked with a crooked grin.

“Me?” Jonah knew where Henri was going, but he wasn’t going to bite on that particular topic.

“You’ve been here a few weeks now. Met anyone interesting?”

Jonah shook his head. “If I had, I wouldn’t be telling you about it,” he teased.

“Fine. To be that way.”

“Be that way. Not ‘to be.’”

Henri laughed and headed over to the counter, where Viola was working on assignments for the next day’s dives. “The guests think I’m sexier when I get things wrong.”

“You wish.”

Jonah pulled the elastic from his hair and ran a hand through his still-damp curls. He waved at Viola. “Have fun tonight!” He slipped on his sandals and headed down the path to the staff dormitories. He’d only made it to the towel-return shack when he noticed a man standing in the middle of the intersection of two paths, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Perfect,” the man muttered.

“Lost?” Jonah forced his gaze up from the dusting of reddish hair on the man’s nicely defined pecs.

He looked at Jonah with warm brown eyes. “That obvious?”

“Happens a lot,” Jonah reassured him. “Where’re you headed?”

“Dive shop. Although by now, it’s probably closed.” American, judging by the accent. East Coast. A hint of New Jersey but polished so it was barely noticeable.

Jonah glanced at his watch. “You have another ten minutes.” He pointed the way he’d just come. “It’s about a hundred feet that way. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” Jonah offered the man a reassuring smile. “Took me a few days to get my bearings.”

“My mother used to tell me I’d lose my way in a shower stall.”

Jonah chuckled. “That bad?”

The man nodded.

“I could think of worse places to get lost with you,” Jonah quipped, immediately regretting it. The man’s lean body was far too interesting, especially given the no-fraternization policy Jonah had signed when he was hired. Not that the hotel had ever fired someone for taking a guest to bed, but Jonah felt more comfortable following the rule. It made things easier. Celibacy was safer. Flirting was downright dangerous.

The man flushed. Even more interesting.

The man quickly regained his composure. “Do I know you?” he asked.

Jonah also got that a lot. “I’m sure I’d have remembered you,” he said truthfully. It wasn’t every day he met a redhead, let alone one this attractive.

“My mistake.” The man offered his hand. “Adam Preston.”

“Good to meet you, Adam.” Jonah shook Adam’s hand. Strong grip. Confident, but not overly so. “I’m Jonah. Jonah James.”

“I’d better go,” Adam said. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“I hope so.” Jonah watched as Adam headed toward the dive shop. No fraternization, he reminded himself with a sigh. Maybe it was time to rethink the celibacy gig.

Hey! Shira Anthony here. Gay romance writer. Total geek. Weaned on original Trek and Harlequin romances. So it makes total sense that I’m writing my first story for Dreamspinner Beyond, Dreamspinner Press’s new line. Think Harlequin meets “Paranormal Activity.” Contemporary paranormal category romance. That’s a mouthful!

It’s also a blast to write.

Dreamspun Beyond mixes sweet category romance and contemporary paranormal for a new take on the genre. My story, working title Finder’s Keeper, is just about ready to submit to Dreamspinner Press, so I thought I’d share a little bit of it with you.

It’s been interesting striking a balance between the romance and the fantasy in less than 60,000 words. Until now, most of my fantasy novels have been considerably longer. Some have even spanned a trilogy. Finder’s Keeper has to pack enough worldbuilding so the reader can comfortably navigate the fantasy universe, but still keep things romance forward. Low angst, lots of romantic tension, and a paranormal plot.

Zane is an engineer who decides to move into the old gothic brownstone in Cleveland, Ohio that once belonged to his uncle. There he meets Kit, the caretaker of the house, who just happens to live in the basement. Kit is charming, sweet, and an amazing cook. He’s also the guardian of a gateway between the human and spirit worlds. Though he doesn’t know it, Zane is descended from a long line of keepers, humans who attend the gateways between the worlds. And he’s in for a very big surprise….

 

The room was huge. At least ten times bigger than Zane expected. Bigger than the footprint of the house. Near the doorway, a simple cot was pushed against a bare wall. Next to it an alarm clock and a book on a table. All normal, everyday things. The rest of the room was something out of a dream.

The far end was completely taken up with a set of heavy wooden doors. Simple inlaid handles joined to create a square with a single character in silver paint—like a letter from a strange alphabet—in the center. The space between the bed and the doorway reminded Zane of a Japanese rock garden with matching benches on either side of a walkway. The stones that formed the garden substrate glowed blue and seemed to oscillate, first solid, then flowing like a liquid.

Someone stood between the two benches, his back to Zane, dressed in hooded robes of deep blue with silver embroidery at the end of sleeves that hung well below where his hands would be. The same letter painted on the doors had been sewn into the fabric at the back of the garment in silver thread. The scent of something familiar and sweet danced around Zane’s senses, reminding him of the delicate perfume his mother had worn with its hints of citrus and ginger. In the face of the impossible beauty of this place—was he still in his basement?—the fragrance felt familiar and warm.

“Kit?”

“I didn’t want you to find out this way.” Kit’s shoulders rose and fell as he drew an audible breath. He turned around. In the dim light of the room, his eyes glowed amber and his pupils looked much like a cat’s. His skin was so pale, it seemed nearly translucent. He pressed his lips together and held Zane’s gaze before he reached up and drew the hood off his head.

Kit’s hair tumbled over his shoulders and down his back in waves, the red silk of it like glowing embers in the hottest of fires. Zane gasped to realize that atop Kit’s head were two large ears, like those of an animal, pointed and furred. Like a wolf, or a dog, or a—

“Fox,” Kit said as if he’d heard Zane’s thoughts.

With this, a wave of something black flew toward him. It wrapped itself around him and began to squeeze. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe. His head spun and the room shifted sideways. The last thing he remembered were two strong arms, catching him as he fell.



In the meantime, my second Dreamspun Desire title, Forgotten Paradise , is set to be released by Dreamspinner Press on April 15th. Yes, Tax Day and dreamy, fun, sweet gay romance. Hopefully that balances out the tax part of the equation. My trope du jour? Amnesia. Totally fun to write. I can’t wait for you to read it!

Cheers! -Shira

******

Bio: Shira Anthony was a professional opera singer in her last incarnation, performing roles in such operas as Tosca, i Pagliacci, and La Traviata, among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle. You can hear Shira singing "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca by clicking here: Shira's Singing

[Reblogged from Love Bytes Reviews]

Recently, Facebook and Twitter have been filled with references to Yuri!!! On Ice. Even if you have no idea what Yuri!!! On Ice is, you've probably seen the artwork (I have it featured on my own FB page, by the way!). The animated figure skating series took the anime world—and the rest of the world—by storm. The series gives me great hope and excitement for the gay romance genre and for the greater LGBT community.

For the uninitiated, Yuri!!! On Ice is the story of Yuri Katsuki, a Japanese professional figure skater who is thinking of retiring after failing miserably in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating finals. He’s insecure in himself and his skating in part, we come to understand, because he’s unsure of his sexuality. Enter Viktor Nikiforov, five-time world champion skater and Yuri’s idol of many years, who arrives in Yuri’s backwater hometown in Japan and offers to coach Yuri to a gold medal in the next Grand Prix.

When my buddy, Lex Valentine, told me to watch Yuri!!! On Ice, I hesitated. Much as I’m an anime addict (Japanese might call me an “Otaku” – the equivalent of a serious geek), I’m not wild about sports anime (I’m not a huge sports fan), let alone anime series with lots of pretty boys (“fan service”) and unsatisfying almost-romances/ bromances between men meant to titillate and without any real depth. Boy, did I call this anime wrong! Sure, the skating is front and center, but the animation is stunning and accurate, as is the portrayal of the world of professional skating. More to the point, the relationship between the two protags is beautiful. AND the sexual aspect of it is almost entirely off-screen.

So why am I so excited about this series? Because it addresses a relationship between two men with such grace and beauty and because it’s a runaway hit around the world with both women and men.

“Yaoi,” or Japanese gay anime, has traditionally been aimed at women. It’s often highly exploitive and relies upon tropes I personally find distasteful, including the ever-popular non-con/falling for your rapist trope, as well as the gay character who seduces the so-called “straight, I’m straight, dammit!” character. Oh, and explicit sex. LOTS of explicit sex. Not that I mind explicit sex—I write it in my romances—but there’s very little relationship to go with it. Porn-with-some-plot. Sure, there are exceptions, but they’re few and far between.

Yuri!!! On Ice is a totally different riff on love between men. Unlike yaoi, the relationship between the two MCs is multi-dimensional. Friends, more-than-friends, coach/skater, even potential rivals on the ice. The relationship grows and changes throughout the series, and most notably, both characters grow and change because of their relationship (my favorite romance trope!).

Probably the most ground-breaking element of the series is that, unlike typical yaoi, the most sexual contact we see between the men is a single kiss. Although, to its credit, Yuri!!! On Ice shows lots of physical affection between Viktor and Yuri in the form of hugs, touches, and dreamy looks. It reminds me of my favorite gay romances. Most importantly, Yuri!!! On Ice has attracted a ton of male watchers, straight and gay. The story, the subject matter, and the characters have universal appeal.

Sure, it’s difficult to say whether the success of Yuri!!! On Ice is due to its groundbreaking treatment of a “real” gay relationship. It’s also difficult to predict whether we’ll see more of this genre of anime romance. What we can say is that it’s not only serving to bring folks to anime who have never heard of anime before, it’s bringing gay romance to anime fans who may have never considered or heard of gay romance before. The Yuri!!! On Ice phenomenon has served to raise awareness of the gay romance genre to men as well as women.

Want to watch Yuri!!! On Ice? Go to my favorite anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, and check it out. You can watch for free with ads, or choose to pay a small monthly fee for premium service with no ads. You can watch it on your internet TV or stream it on your tablet, phone, or computer. Crunchyroll is a legit, legal, service that pays animes’ creators for their work (unlike pirates who illegally copy artists’ and writers’ work!). Watch a few episodes (they’re short, about 25 minutes each) and let me know what you think! Happy watching! -Shira