Gay Paranormal Romance

Date Published: October 9, 2026

Believing in love and in luck is something Gavin swore he’d never do
again — until he meets Ford.

 

After being left at the altar by his former fiancé, he’s a firm
disbeliever in good fortune and love. Though there’s an immediate
attraction between himself and Ford, they’re just too different to make
a relationship work. The sex is explosive and despite himself Gavin even grows
to like Ford’s quirky sense of humor and skewed view of life.
Isn’t that good enough?

Not for Ford. A happy-go-lucky diviner of fortunes and omens, he’s
sure from what he’s seen that Gavin is the love of his life and the man
he’ll marry. He makes it his mission to overcome Gavin’s doubts
and fears and teach him how to love again. Never giving up in his enthusiastic
pursuit of the once-burned twice-shy secretary, he brings Gavin back to life
and helps restore him to the man he used to be.

Ford makes Gavin want to believe in love again. But when Ford begins to
lose his faith, it’s up to Gavin to save the magic they have between
them and blaze the trail toward their happily ever after.

EXCERPT

 

“Something wonderful is going to happen today.”

“Were you talking to me?” A fun-sized blonde deliverywoman, no one
Ford had met before, juggled her armload of Flowers Fast! boxes to pop out her
iPod earbuds.

Ford grinned up at her from where he’d crouched to study the sidewalk
perpendicular to the museum service elevator he, and presumably she, was
waiting on. “Sorry, no. I wasn’t talking to you. Not that I
wouldn’t. Everyone I’ve ever known swears you can’t shut me
up for love or money. They’re usually right.”

The deliverywoman looked like she couldn’t decide between aww, cute and
running. “You’re a little crazy, aren’t you?”

“So I’m often told.” He’d bet this woman was one heck
of a character herself. She’d made some, er, interesting fashion choices
involving calf-length striped tights and patchouli hair wax. “I’m
Ford.” He offered her a hand from below. “Come down here and check
this out.”

“This isn’t some kind of cheesy pick-up line, is it? I’d be
flattered, but… okay, wow. From the look on your face, I can answer
that one myself. So not a pick-up line. If you were any less into women,
you’d be a gastropod.”

Ford laughed. “That’s a new one on me.”

“If the shoe fits. I’m Kayla.”

“Ford.”

“Like the truck?” The deliverywoman crouched beside him. Good.
Ford liked her, and her coming along for the ride was an excellent sign.
Something wonderful and something unexpected were set to happen today.
“You deliver for Rush Plus, right?”

“Packages where you want them to go as fast as you want ‘em to get
there. Or as fast as I can pedal.” Ford patted his heavy messenger bag.

“Pleased to meet you. I could use a pick-me-up. Delivering flowers is
surprisingly thankless work. What’s this good thing that’s going
to happen today?”

“I don’t know yet.” Ford waved up from their spot on the
sidewalk at the weird door to the external service elevator and the five
floors of refurbished mill-cum-museum it had to sledge its way down at the
speed of thick molasses. “It’s complicated. If you’re up for
it, there’s time for me to explain.”

“God, tell me about it.” Kayla scowled at the stubborn doors.

Ford had started to feel the burn of his crouch, the solid weight of his body
not really best designed for sitting this way, but he could take it a little
longer, and he had a good example right in front of him. A penny, less than a
foot away on the sidewalk. “Do you believe in magic?”

“Wait, what? Do you mean stage magic? Illusions and that kind of
thing?”

“Not exactly.” Ford nudged the penny with the tip of his finger
and waggled his eyebrows at her. He liked playing over the top. Made people
less nervous of the giant with his crazy talk.

“Ohh, I get it. See a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll
have good luck?”

“Exactly.” Ford levered the penny off the sidewalk.

“Ugh!”

“Hey, don’t knock it just because it needs a little TLC.”
Ford balanced the penny in his palm, where it looked lost and tiny in the
breadth and width of his hand. Or, depending on your point of view, safe.
Protected. “It’s heads up, even. Extra good luck.”

“Yeah, but where’s the proof?”

“You don’t need proof if you believe. And I do. Because it’s
true. This penny means it’s my lucky day.” Ford shifted and
winced. His knees had had enough of bearing all his weight. Time to stand.
“I need to stand up. Don’t freak out, okay?”

“Why would that tweak me?”

“You’ll see.” Ford stood slowly to give her time to adjust
to his size. At six feet nine with a proportionate build that could only be
described as solid, he liked to make sure people knew in advance he
wasn’t a threat.

Kayla’s eyes widened. She took a step back, then forward, her chin up.
“Holy cow. Sorry, just… wow, man. You’re huge.”

“And you’re itty-bitty. I won’t hurt you.”

“A gentle giant, huh?” Kayla studied him with her head tilted to
one side. “Okay. I believe you.”

“You’d be surprised how many don’t. Thank you. May I?”
Ford took her hand to kiss the back of it.

“Touché, Mister.” Kayla fiddled with a strand of her spiky
hair. “So you really, really believe in luck? What about omens and good
signs and that kind of thing?”

“Yes, yes, yes, and all of the above, yes. And you don’t,
right?”

When Kayla shook her head, a ladder of silver rings running along the outer
shells of her ears jingled. All positive signs that pointed toward good
fortune. Better and better. “Don’t shun me or anything. I’ve
just never seen any proof that all those old wives’ tales are more than
just stories.”

Ford grinned broadly at her. He loved it when someone was willing to be
convinced. “If it’s proof you want, I can do proof. Prepare to be
amazed.”

 

About the Author

A storyteller and a sewist, Will Okati has lived through a few Interesting
Times but come out the other side ready to roll. Looking for them? Look for a
keyboard or a vintage Singer. They’ll be there. They’re most often accompanied
by their beloved pair of orange-flavored felines: Hobbit (toothless, sweet)
and Onion (spicy, known to bounce off the literal ceiling in pursuit of a
ladybug).

Will likes to say still waters run deeper than anyone knows, and life — like
storytelling — is always a work in progress.

 

Will on Facebook

Will on Instagram

Will on Goodreads

 

Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

Pre-Order Today

A Story for a Fractured Nation, Healing America’s Divide Through
the Redemptive Power of Shared Purpose

Nonfiction

Date Published: Coming OCT 6, 2026

Publisher: Elite Online Publishing

The day after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, a New York
Times reporter called trial attorney Edward Blackmon, Jr. with one question:

About the Author

 

During four decades in the Mississippi House of Representatives, Edward helped
lead legislative and judicial redistricting efforts that dramatically
increased Black representation in the state legislature and judiciary. He
broke at-large elections, drew maps that more than doubled Black
representation, and created Mississippi’s first majority-Black judicial
subdistricts. He won landmark verdicts—$177 million—and fifty
criminal trials without a loss. Twice named one of the Nation’s Top Ten
Litigators by The National Law Journal, he has received numerous honors for
his legal and public service, including the J. William Fulbright Distinguished
Public Service Award and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators State
Nation Builder Award.

Edward and Barbara married in 1986 and raised four children, two of whom now
serve in the Mississippi Legislature.

In 1992, she became the first Black woman elected to represent Madison, Yazoo,
and Holmes counties in the Mississippi State Senate—a majority-white
district. She broke barriers as the first woman named Vice Chair of the Senate
Finance Committee, the first woman and first Black senator to chair an
Appropriations subcommittee, and the first woman from the Senate appointed to
the Legislative Budget Committee. In 2003, she made history as the first Black
Mississippian to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

An attorney, mentor, philanthropist, and lifelong advocate for education,
Barbara has received numerous honors for her public service. Together, she and
Edward have contributed more than $1.7 million to Tougaloo College and Jackson
State University and supported scholarships for dozens of students.

Blackmon & Blackmon, PLLC

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

X

LinkedIn

Amazon

Date Published: October 9, 2026

London, 1816. Someone is killing vampires and their Hosts, leaving brutalized
bodies on display in the heart of London. Makoto Morinaga, minore and lead
hunter for the Baron of Colbourne, must find and stop the madman. Yet the
mission is in peril almost from the moment it starts. In despair over loving
his master’s Host, he breaks his oath and finds himself bound through
Compulsion to the last person he would choose as his Host — the flamboyant
young man who has spent years pining over their master. Makoto can ill afford
this appalling distraction while he hunts for a monstrous killer.

Will Carter is an experienced Host who has offered up body and blood to
vampires since reaching his majority. He spent years learning the duties of
the Colbourne Host, only to have his dreams crumble when his master finds a
man more perfect than Will. In his frustration, he taunts Colbourne’s
lead hunter into committing a forbidden act. His punishment? Being bound to
the last person he would ever wish to hold his contract — Makoto Morinaga, a
man whose body he knows well, but whose heart is a dark mystery and whose
stoicism grates on Will’s every nerve.

An unexpected emotional connection heats their hearts even as their Host bond
heats their bodies. Just as they begin to find common ground, the madman
strikes again. Finding the madman’s lair might end the violence, but the
price might destroy them both.

WARNING: Adult content, including references to physical violence and torture
which may be triggers for some readers.

Blood. Thickening blood, smoking and bubbling to a slow boil. The fire above
it flickered in the shadows of the darkened alley. Postnato watched as the
demon and its unholy servant writhed on the cobbles in purifying flame. Glee
and eager satisfaction suffused him as he and his brother awaited the lethal
culmination of their night’s work for the Inquisitio Sanguinis.

The demon’s mouth had pulled back from those inhuman fangs in a
satisfying rictus of pain. The foul beast still struggled to free itself,
despite sharpened stakes piercing shoulder and thigh, pinning it against the
bloodied earth. The agonized contortions of the monster’s corrupt human
slave had ceased, becoming the involuntary spasms of approaching death.

“Revertere ad inferos, Daemon,” Postnato whispered, condemning the
beast to hell with a sneer. “Ad dominum tuum infernalis!”

Yes, back to Hell with you, back to your infernal master, he thought savagely.

The creature’s demonic struggles strengthened at the words, the frantic
actions accompanied by a harsh croak of anguish. The renewal of its futile
struggles only served to drive the stakes deeper into its flesh, and to fan
the flames consuming it.

Postnato resumed his silence as Antenato raised a cautioning finger to his
lips. He subsided with difficulty, impatient for the inhuman beast to
surrender its last breath.

After another quarter hour, during which the human half of their quarry had
become nothing but a flickering corpse-light, the demon gave a final shudder,
slackening in approaching death at last.

With a grunt of satisfaction, Postnato bent for one of the buckets at his
feet, waiting to douse the remaining flames after his brother had completed
one more task, tearing a final, hoarse screech of pain along with the fangs
from the dying beast. Antenato held his prize aloft, eyes aglow as their
quarry expired. At this sign, Postnato heaved the contents of both pails over
the corpses, smothering the fires with rotting offal gleaned from the
butcher’s slop midden. The smoldering ruins sent up an instant reek, and
he smiled in unison with his brother. This had not been their sacred mission,
but chance had given them a demon and now there was one less to walk the
earth.

Now to find the leader of these abominations.

* * *

Autumn grew up loving history, mythology, and all things Japanese, not
necessarily in that order. This eclectic love affair has bled over into her
writing, and her stories are always well spiced with the taste of Japan,
strange mythological beasties, or the lords and ladies of the ton. Sometimes
all three, leading to dark desires and forbidden loves.

And after all, dangerous passions should lead to uninhibited love.

Author’s Website

Author on Facebook

Follow Autumn on BookBub

Historical Romance

Date Published: July 4, 2026

Who is he? Why did he desert his country?

His latest capture: a fine yacht. And its owner. . . Lady Victoria Grenville.

Who is she? Can an heiress to a fortune conform to harem life?

Amidst sea battles, kidnappings, and political menace from the Dey of Algiers,
Sinan and Tory start as captor and captive. But their fierce battle of wills
will transform them both.

Most importantly, if Tory can’t submit to him will he sell her at
auction? Or can she escape before he does?

Kismet has other plans.

In 1799, Lady Victoria “Tory” Grenville, a willful English heiress, is
captured at sea by Sinan Reis, a blond Barbary pirate captain secretly working
for a cause he can’t reveal. Aboard his xebec and within the walls of an
Algiers harem, captor and captive wage a battle of wills that becomes a battle
for the heart, set against real political intrigue between the new United
States, the Dey of Algiers, and the warring Federalists and
Democratic-Republicans of post-Revolutionary Philadelphia. Sweeping sea
battles, kidnappings, and court machinations build to a richly satisfying
historical romance grounded in meticulously researched 18th-century detail.

* New, expanded edition with a newly written epilogue extending the story into
the events of 1814, bridging to the author’s upcoming Regency-era trilogy.

* Bonus material: author’s historical notes, a detailed bibliography/source
list documenting the book’s research, and a preview/teaser of Shannon’s
forthcoming “Fire, Wind and Earth” trilogy (Ashes, Burning Bright; Whirlwind,
Burning Bright; Tiger, Burning Bright).

* Author Colleen Shannon was nominated by Romantic Times as Best New
Historical Romance Author and has won/been nominated for multiple industry
awards (including a Kiss Award) across an 18-novel career with over a million
copies in print.

* Limited deluxe hardback printing released to mark the U.S. 250th anniversary
with patriotic design features available on Colleen Shannon’s author website.

About the Author

She sold it herself to Berkley in less than a year, and at the age of 26 began
a new career and never looked back. The strength of her first book led to her
nomination by Romantic Times as Best New Historical Author. She went on to win
and/or be nominated for many other awards, including a Kiss Award for all
three heroes of her Fairy Tale trilogy written for Dorchester Books. One of
her six completed scripts is a modern, very different version to her Georgian
England set beauty and the beast novel The Gentle Beast. It has not been shown
as it needs heavy revisions but she moves easily between scripts and novels,
including original screenplays like Full Circle, currently revised after two
Blacklist evaluations. In the last two years, she has become one of Film
Freeways’ top winning screenwriters internationally, per Film Freeway
management.

Her 18 single title releases have appeared on many bestseller lists; she has
well over a million books in print. Colleen’s recent works include
thrillers and screenplays that combine her favorite novel story elements:
romance, suspense, history and action. Most recently, she published three
Kensington Lyrical Press romantic suspense. The first in the series, Foster
Justice, was released in December 2014 and ranked #1 on Amazon’s Western
Romance list. Colleen converted the story to a novel from the original script
version she wrote at UCLA’s Advanced Professional Screenwriting program.

Colleen Shannon graduated cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin
with a B.A. in Archaeology and more recently earned her Master’s in Real
Estate Development from the University of Southern California. She currently
lives in Austin, Texas.

Contact Links

Website

Wikipedia

Authors Guild

Facebook

Goodreads

BookBuzz

Amazon

A Truly Believed Love Story

Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Date Published: April 30, 2026

In a time when mythology as propaganda shapes the systems of society and
government, two unlikely souls come together to question the reality of it
all—what’s going wrong in the world, whether anything’s
right, and their own perceptions of honesty, dishonesty, and who they are.

Chillee and Gordie meet in Big Town, where their connection flourishes despite
the recognition that they could each be fatal to the identities they’ve
created for themselves. Chillee is a realistic idealist, a problem solver who
puts her faith in the truth. Gordie, too, is an idealist, but he thrives on
uncertainty, posing as a criminal to bring justice to white-collar crimes.
They vow to hold one another accountable, to push each other through the steps
to being a better person—the best person they’re capable of being.

In Chillee’s neighboring hometown, a county commissioner’s
election will determine the fate of the rural community—and unknowingly
put relationships to the test. When her best friend Willi asks Chillee to help
her run against her ex-husband, she returns to Colton Center with
Gordie…who has his own motives in mind.

As the couple continues to work with and against each other, Chillee and
Gordie begin to see the deepening cracks in the perceived rights and wrongs of
their world. No matter the outcome of the election, life as they knew it may
not be the life they continue to lead.

Truthful Lies and Bent Realities is a thought-provoking ride into learning to
understand the self and challenge the mind to keep asking the existential
questions: Who are we? Who do we think we are? Who do we want to be? And do
those identities intersect in the right places?

About the Author

Stephen Foehr, author of 14 fiction and nonfiction books, began his
career as a police reporter in Chicago. His nonfiction books examines the
relationship between music and culture, autobiography of the blues Taj Mahal,
and travel. His fiction deals with submission and how to resist.

Contact Links

Website

BookBuzz

 

Purchase Link

Amazon