Literary Fiction
Date Published: June 2019
Publisher: Crimson Cloak Publishing
Scott Free chronicles the life of a near thirty New York City filmmaker, ironically stuck working the concession stand at an upscale movie theater,, trying to negotiate his dead end relationships, too. He hops a “Greyhound $99 Special” en route to Hollywood, but in failing to reach the stars he lands on his knees, down and out in the San Francisco cleaning toilets and realizing that his life West resembles his life East as there’s really no escaping oneself.
About the Author
Nkosi Ife Bandele writes for periodicals, stage, TV, and film. His three novels, The Ape is Dead! (2016), The Beast (2017), and Scott Free (2019), are all published by Crimson Cloak Publishing. His outrageous short fiction, including Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck, Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck Part 2: Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit, and Itty Bitty Titty Committee, appear in Akashic Books’ Terrrible Twosdays series.
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![]() Angelbound and Beholder Special Edition Box Set
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play -- EXCERPT: Portia Honeymoon Tempest stands before me in our hidden corner of the lake. Water runs in rivulets down his bare chest. Every cell in my body calls me closer to my Rhana. My mate. I step nearer. With each movement, my bare feet sink into the loose pebbles of the lakebed. I pause. Only inches separate us now. The warmth from Tempest’s body radiates into my own. My core heats. One thought overtakes me. This is it. The moment. Lifting my arm, I reach for Tempest. Water droplets glide down my skin. I rest my cool hand against the heat of Tempest’s cheek. The rough stubble of his skin prickles my palm. With the slightest of movements, Tempest leans into my touch. His gaze mixes quiet reverence with intense desire. Going up on tiptoe, I bring my mouth closer to Tempest’s. He leans forward, closing the distance. A breath of air is all that separates our lips. Yet Tempest isn’t pressing to touch. This is my choice. My word. I gently brush my mouth against his. Tempest’s lips are soft and firm; bolts of desire move through me. I caress the seam of his mouth with my tongue. The movement is like taking a sledge hammer to a porcelain wall. The barrier between us ruptures. Waves of desire break loose. Tempest cups my face in his hands. Our kiss turns fierce. The emperor glides his hands down my neck, shoulders and back. Next he presses at the base of my spine, bringing our bodies together. The firm lines of his stomach … the hefty strength of his arms … the long ropes of muscle in his thighs … everywhere our bodies touch, there’s a spark of recognition and desire. What happens next isn’t a conscious thought. On instinct, I wrap my legs around Tempest’s waist while looping my arms around his neck. The need to share my body with him turns stronger. Between rough kisses, Tempest whispers an incantation. The language is unfamiliar, but the rough and gritty sound tell me he’s speaking in a dragon tongue. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m aware that the air now holds the unmistakable zing of magic. Tempest is casting a spell. ![]()
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![]() Conjuring Wrath
-- EXCERPT: “Wait,” she mumbled. “How does this work?” “Scared?” My lips tipped upward. “Do you really just disappear? Is that what we’re going to do?” She pushed a palm against me. “Jesus, why are you so big?” She barely came up to my pecs, and now she was patting her hand along the hard ridges of my abs not having a clue that she was petting wrath. Delicate fingers traced over my shirt. Her small curious touch seeped through the fabric, tingling and heating every inch of skin she outlined. There I went again, being oddly overwhelmed by her. I pushed her hand away, distancing myself from the sensations she stirred. She was so small next to me. How could something so tiny affect me? “Is that an eight pack?” Her nails dug into my abdomen as she started counting, not bothered that I had already pushed her fingers away once. Fucking Hades! She was the little engine that never shut up. ![]()
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Romantic Suspense / Contemporary Romance
Date Published: September 17, 2019
She’s in love with her sister’s killer...
Lauren has loved Luke since first grade. They planned to marry—until he murdered her sister. The moment he was sentenced to prison, Lauren fled with her secret baby and made a new life. Now she’ll do anything to keep their daughter safe. But her hard won peace shatters when Luke is exonerated, and it sets her on a path of mixed emotions to discover the truth. Letting a killer into their tightly knit family is out of the question. Or is it?
She almost destroys her life by threatening his…
Prison stole his future with Lauren and twelve years of Luke’s life, so the last thing he needs from her is a knife in the back or a gun in his face. Lauren believes he killed her sister, and he has no plans to pick up where they left off. Luke can’t afford to trust her, but he wants nothing more than to convince her he’s worth fighting for.
Their daughter is in danger…
Luke is heartbroken when he learns they had a child together. Now his daughter is in danger. Lauren trusted the wrong person for far too long, but he hopes she’ll now trust him. Luke will risk everything to keep them safe. And Lauren will risk everything if she lets him into her heart.
About the Author
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Angela Smith is a Texas native who, years ago, was dubbed most likely to write a novel during her senior year in high school. She always had her nose stuck in a book, even hiding them behind her textbooks during school study time. Her dream began at a young age when her sister started reciting 'Brer Rabbit' after their mom read it to them so often. She told her mom she'd write a story one day and never gave up on that dream even though her mom was never able to see it come to fruition. By day, she works as a certified paralegal and office manager at her local District Attorney's office and spends her free time with her husband, their pets, and their many hobbies. Although life in general keeps her very busy, her passion for writing and getting the stories out of her head tends to make her restless if she isn't following what some people call her destiny.
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![]() Fate of Imperium Boxed Set: Books 1-3
-- Only 99¢ for a limited time! -- EXCERPT: From The Vampire King’s Mate Eden gulped as the huge male was suddenly in front of her, one hand on each thigh, holding them apart, as he knelt between the V of her legs. He had moved so fast, he must have ported. Her heart pounded, and she used her magic to force the oxygen in her bloodstream to slow its speed. “Do not do that,” Viktor snarled and tightened his grip on her thighs. “Do what?” she whispered, adrenaline flooding her system. Her skin felt tight as her hormones surged. “Whatever you are doing to your heart. It’s contracting, and you are denying it its natural response. You could harm yourself. I will not allow it to continue.” “You think I am hurting myself?” “Of course, you are. And I. Do. Not. Like. It,” he gritted through his teeth. Despite his domineering attitude, his command was endearing. In his own way, he was trying to protect her. Her palm buzzed, then pushed itself to the side of his face. Viktor held still, feeling the cool leather of her glove touch his cheek. He could feel the cicatrice’s pull as it beckoned to his own. He wanted to feel her skin slide along his, to join their hands as he emptied himself inside her. Eden released the hold on the oxygen in her veins, allowing her heart to thump wildly while her blood flowed through it. Her breathing accelerated. Viktor’s eyes moved to the artery on her neck and his fangs elongated as his cock became fully erect. He would need to feed soon. First, he would sample her flesh. He mimicked her touch and ran his thumb along her bottom lip. “Tell me, mala vestica, has anyone tasted these before?” “No,” she panted, reveling in the feel of his skin upon her face. “Good. I’d hate to have to kill anyone who had dared.” He barely got the words out before his lips were on hers. She groaned when she felt his tongue enter and explore her mouth. Eden tentatively pressed her tongue to his, and a purring sound came from his throat. She’d been wrong about his laugh. This was the most wonderful sound to ever reach her ears. Her undergarments flooded with her juices and she inched forward, pressing as hard as she could into his stomach. Viktor’s hands moved to her backside, lifting her slightly off the chair and rubbing her up and down his abdominal muscles. The scent of her sweet honey filled the air and he couldn’t wait to lap it up. Eden twisted and pulled at his hair as she wrapped her legs around his waist in a feeble attempt to get better purchase, to feel more pressure between her legs. She could sob from the want. Viktor broke the kiss, needing to see the yearning in her eyes, wanting her to feel as uncontrolled as he felt. Eden’s lips were swollen from his sensual assault. Her hooded eyes implored him for more. She squeezed her legs tight around him and his fingers dug into her flesh. When she whined and stretched to kiss him again, his heart thudded heavily. Her fingers nimbly unbuttoned his jacket and slid it down his arms. He let it drop absently to the floor, in a hurry to get her body back in his hands. Viktor slowed the kiss and his lips drifted across her cheek to her ear. “Do you have any idea what I’m going to do you?” ![]()
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![]() A Little Sin
-- EXCERPT: Garland watched the attractive, dark-haired man with mixed feelings. They were bonded by death and blood—just like he and the men who became his brothers in the Great War. Death had a way of pulling you into its embrace and making you family. He also felt connected to Sheriff Avery O’Rourke because they both wore masks. They were members of a velvet gang who lived on the fringes of a ruthless, heterosexual tyranny. They were shadow men. And yet he couldn’t shake a feeling—some instinct—that Avery belonged, at least in some small degree, to many of the things he loathed. Garland had not come ‘home’ to Timberland with joy in his heart. He had fallen back to it like Icarus, his wings in tatters, his heart broken. He had returned to the red dirt and haunted forests to bury his sorrow. In front of others, he tried to keep his smile in place, but he fell apart when alone. Five years had passed since the war, and over six months had passed since he had discovered Philippe dead. He hadn’t fully recovered from either trauma; he wasn’t sure he ever would. Ruggedly handsome Avery, with his smoky blue eyes the color of aged denim and that trim beard shading his firm jaw, could be an interesting diversion…or he could be something else entirely. For now, Garland tamped his desire down and focused on the dead man on the table. He huffed smoke. “I’ll do a thorough examination and take notes. I’ve never performed a dissection—er—autopsy—on a man before, but men are animals.” At that, Avery bristled. “Men are God’s children. We aren’t beasts.” Katydid hopped up on the table and sniffed the doctor’s groin. Garland stuck his cigarette in his mouth and gathered the errant calico in his arms. “Off,” he murmured through his cigarette and released her a foot off the ground. She poured out of his hands and weaved around his legs. “Men are either miracles or they’re monsters,” he told Avery. “Either way, their bodies aren’t that much different from a hog’s. Which is good for you, because I can help you with this murder case.” ![]()
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![]() Dark Water: A Collective World Novel
-- EXCERPT: Halfway through the lecture, which I normally enjoyed, the door opened. His scent hit me first since I had my forehead resting in my palm, propped up on the desk. I jerked, knocking my notebook off of my desk with a clatter. Half the room turned to look at me, the other half looked at the hunk of sex appeal that had walked in the room and knocked me over with his scent. “Holy shit.” A whisper from my right drew my attention, but I couldn’t manage to look away. I knew the speaker from school. “Andee, you ain’t kiddin’.” We hadn’t been close, but anyone could bond when someone that bad-boy hot walked into the room. That asshole heard me, and as he inhaled, his head swiveled from greeting my Paw to looking for me. He’d scented me. The Tall Glass of Fuck Me stared at me as I fought the urge to jump up and claim him in front of the entire class. And my Paw. Lucifer’s leg hair, the last fucking thing I needed was a third mate. And a vampire, to top it off. Just like Meda. What kind of fated mate, romance novel, made-for-tv bullshit were my ancestors thinking? The only open seats in the room were up front, directly in front of Paw, and right be-fucking-side me. “Don’t you sit there,” I warned him under my breath. All heads swiveled to me. Everyone but the witches, anyway. The vamps and lycans all heard my warning with their excellent hearing. The stranger, my mate, smiled. He knew exactly what was going on. I leaned slightly out into the aisle so I could see him from head to toe. Mainly, I wanted to see if he had a boner to rival the lady-boner I had. His fucking black fucking jeans were so tight on his Adonis-belt style body that the entire room could see the outline of his dick as it pushed against the material. Everyone except Paw, who walked around the desk and stood slightly behind the blonde. The hollows of his cheeks deepened as Paw introduced him. “This is Kevin, everyone. Kevin, this is pretty much the whole school. I teach history to everyone at once, like it or not.” “Pleasure,” he said in a British accent. Every woman in the room, and a couple of the men, sucked in a breath at the sound of his sultry voice, myself included. Those bitches could breathe as hard as they wanted, this hot motherfucker was mine. As hard as I wanted him, equally, I didn’t. He sauntered forward, the buckles on the leather of his coat jingling softly as he moved his cocky self to the seat beside me. “Don’t.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “Don’t what?” Paw asked. As an empath, this was my idea of torture. The room was a big ball of anticipation, curious what was happening between me and the new sultry, sexy, slender… son of a bitch I couldn’t take it. Jumping up, I finally looked away from Kevin and straight into the eyes of Randell. His fury and confusion pelted my emotions. Nope. Nuh-uh. I noped it right out of the room, using every ounce of speed I possessed. ![]()
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![]() Sea of Darkness
-- EXCERPT: “There,” he said, pointing at Kelia’s face. “You have a range of emotion littering your face.” He chuckled. “You’re easier to read than a book.” Kelia bristled. She absolutely detested knowing she was here because she needed the assistance of a Sea Shadow. And not just any, but the most infamous vampire pirate of them all. “I found out some information,” she murmured. “And I feel you would be able to assist me in what to do with it.” He tilted his head to the side, his eyes shining. “Do share, darling.” It was hard to concentrate when he smiled that way. Kelia had known he was dangerously beautiful, but when he was directly in front of her, cocking a smile like it was a weapon and shooting it in her direction, she was completely powerless. “Well, don’t be shy with the goods,” he prodded. “What did you find that you need my help with?” She shot him a glare, and he laughed. “You are so good to goad, darling,” Drew said. “Something you need to work on. You don’t want your enemies to pick up on your weakness. They might use it to manipulate you.” Kelia arched her eyebrow. “And how do I know who my enemies are?” Drew’s smirk deepened. “That, my dear, is a very good question.” ![]()
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![]() B & E Ever After
Goodreads / Amazon / Bookbub / Scribd / Kobo -- EXCERPT: From the front of the apartment, the distinct sound of a door unlocking echoed down the hall. Wide brown eyes gaped at me, letting me know she heard it too. “Shit!” I surged to my feet beside her, squeezing her hand tight. “She’s home.” “Wait. What do you mean shit?” Eyes going wide, she gasped. “Oh my God, you’re not supposed to be here, either. Are you? I thought you looked way too sneaky, backing into the apartment the way you did.” Expression going murderous, she smacked me hard on the side of my shoulder. “You fucking hypocrite! Treating me like a burglar when you broke in too.” “Shut up,” I hissed as the sound of the front door swung open. Slipping my wallet from my jacket, I flipped it around with one hand in order to flash my keycard, waving it in front of her face as I whispered, “At least I have a key and I know who lives here.” She opened her mouth, looking pissed, but I set a finger over her mouth to quiet her. We could argue later. Right now, I had to come up with a plan to save us both from the wrath of Lana, who I could hear tossing her car keys on a side table in the front room. “Just so you know,” I murmured as quietly as possible, pocketing my wallet as I stepped closer. “I’m doing this for your own damn good.” Her eyes flared with worry. “Wait. Doing what?” In answer, I wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, hauled her up against me, and slanted my mouth across hers. ![]()
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![]() Taming Demons for Beginners
-- Want to join the blog tour? -- EXCERPT: I snapped the Demonica guide shut and replaced it under the table, then scooped up my remaining cookies and walked across the hardwood floor. I stopped two long steps from the summoning circle, the dome-shape interior filled with inky, impenetrable shadows. I held up a cookie. “This,” I announced, “is a double-chocolate brownie cookie. It’s delicious, and I’ll give it to you if you answer a question for me.” Silence from within the darkness. “I answered your question,” I added accusingly. Quiet lay upon the room—then a soft, husky laugh. “A question, hh’ainun?” the demon crooned. “What would you ask?” Doubts trickled through me. This was a bad idea, but I plowed on. “Do demons lie?” “Ch,” it replied, a sound of cold amusement. “Zh’ūltis question. Ask another.” I frowned. “What does zhuh-ool … what does that word mean?” “Stupid. Stupid question.” My frown deepened into a scowl. I rephrased. “If it’s true that demons don’t lie, why is that?” A long pause, but it wasn’t the same silence as before. My skin prickled, instinct warning that a predator’s attention was locked on me. “Tell me truths and lies, hh’ainun.” “What?” I asked blankly. The demon said nothing, waiting. Brow furrowed, I searched for harmless things to say. “I moved here six days ago. I miss my college classes. My favorite class was biology. I enjoy baking for my family.” “Moved here,” the demon repeated in its swirling accent. “True. Miss your … college,” it enunciated carefully, as though unfamiliar with the word, “true. Biology … lie.” My eyes widened. “Your family.” It rolled the last word as though tasting it. “Lie.” “No,” I said. “That one is true.” “Lie,” the demon repeated with certainty. “You’re wrong. I love baking for my family.” “Zh’ūltis.” “Did you just call me stupid?” I clenched my jaw, then relaxed. “You didn’t answer my question.” “I did.” “No, you didn’t.” Glaring, I took a deep breath. “Fine. Whatever. If that’s your idea of answering a question, I won’t bother asking any more.” I stepped closer to the circle, knelt, and carefully set the paper towel of cookies on the floor. Keeping my body as far away as possible, I nudged a corner of the paper across the silver inlay, then snatched my hand back. This was the closest I’d ever come to the circle. A soft scuff against the hardwood emanated from the darkness. The paper towel twitched, then slid into the black dome. Icy blades of fear cut through me. Suddenly, the demon was no longer a voice—it was a physical being. Something alive and solid and real that could pull the cookies into its prison cell. My gaze rose from the floor where the treats had disappeared to the curved black wall. A spark of red in the darkness. Flames burst to life and shot upward in a hungry blaze. I flung myself back. As I landed on my butt, the brief flare lit a shape within the black—the dark outline of shoulders, the edge of a jaw, the plane of a cheekbone. Burning crimson eyes caught the light and glowed. The fire died as quickly as it had appeared, and the dome was once again filled with impenetrable darkness, the demon hidden within. Gray fluff fluttered out of the circle—ash. Flakes of ash. The demon had burned the paper towel. I scooted across the floor, then pushed onto trembling legs. Without a word or a backward glance, I ran through the door and pushed it shut behind me, swearing never to return. An hour later, as I lay in bed, trying to sleep, all I could see was the demon’s dim outline—and those eyes that had glowed like hot coals, like magma erupting from a volcano’s heart. ![]()
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