Secret Worlds: Summoned by Rainy Kaye

 I'm very excited to be included with 20 other USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Authors in the Secret Worlds Boxed Set. Many of you are probably already familiar with my included title, SUMMONED, but for those who aren't, here's the full blurb:
  Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker. Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can’t tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn’t the type to tolerate secrets. Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl’s ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him. A dark twist on genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him. SUMMONED is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.

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Summoned has over 125 reviews on Amazon. Normally you can purchase my book alone for $2.99, however, for this summer only you can snag a copy of this title WITH 20 OTHER ADDITIONAL TITLES all a boxed set on Amazon. While you're here, though, why not take a moment to learn more about the complete line up! I've included a super short blurb of every title in the collection. Some are not yet available and being introduced exclusively through the boxed set, but ALL of the titles are professionally edited and not a single one ends on a cliffhanger!

 

The Secret Worlds LIMITED EDITION Collection!

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From USA Today Bestselling Authors

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Taken by the Beast by Conner Kressley and Rebecca Hamilton: Women are going missing. Women who look a lot like Charisse. And the man this beauty is falling for may be the beast responsible.

The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton: Sophia's ancestor's body went missing during the Salem Witch Trials, and the only one able to help solve the mystery is a shapeshifter Sophia is afraid to trust.

Summoned by Rainy Kaye: Dimitri can't reveal the paranormal bond controlling him, and Syd won't tolerate his secrets.

 Purgatory by Susan Stec: A sex-hungry myth with no name, no flesh, and no identity ...unless it wears one of you.

 The Pandora Principle by Noree Cosper: As a descendant of Pandora, Cassi must discover if her lover is one of the evil spirits she hunts before all her friends die.

Heart Song by Samantha LaFantasie: When incredibly handsome Marren frees Relena, there's a catch.

From Amazon Bestselling Authors

Changeling by Debbie Herbert: As a changeling and a witch work together to restore order in Fairy, they discover that love, like magic, casts its own spell of enchantment.

Shiftless by Aimee Easterling: After years of suppressing her inner predator, Terra meets a shifter who forces her to reclaim her wilder side.

The Black Parade by Kyoko M.: Poltergeist Michael is the key to saving Jordan's soul from hell, but can she handle the cost of her salvation?

Haunting Echoes by Caethes Faron: Will Amaia's vampire clan kill her ex-fiance before she learns whether he returned from the grave for love or revenge?

Braving Fate by Linsey Hall: Diana and Cadan fight demonic forces and a deadly passion that has lasted centuries.

Trinity Rising by J.E. Taylor: Damian and Naomi are desperate for victory against the devil, but one wrong step couldtrigger Armageddon.

Moonlight by Katie Salidas: Good girls don't wear fur, fight over men, or run around naked, howling at the moon. But Fallon's not a good girl.

Lash by L.G. Castillo: Lash, a fallen angel, must choose where to place his trust--in a home he fought so hard to regain or in a forbidden love he can't bear to lose.

Between by Lisa Swallow: Alek could kill Rose with a kiss. Finn, with a touch. Pulled into an intense affair with Alek, Rose discovers her connection to Finn threatens them all.

The Devil's Fool by Rachel McClellan: When vampire Boaz gives Eve the one thing she never had--love--she falls into a world of greed and seduction.

Spark Rising by Kate Corcino: A runaway Spark and the agent arresting her ignite a revolution to end their people's enslavement while resisting the electricity between them.

Ruby's Fire by Catherine Stine: On the run from a desert cult, Ruby must choose which handsome stranger to trust with her heart and her darkest secret: Armonk or Blane.

Cursed by Lucy Leroux: Governess Isobel Sterling has been hiding an uncanny ability her whole life--until she has to use it to save herself from a madman.

Hunted by A.J. Colby: With Agent Holbrook's help, Riley races time to stay ahead of a crazed werewolf killer.

Vigilant by Angel Lawson: Ari stumbles into a world of crime and vigilantism while discovering the one man that sets her heart on fire.

Get it on Kindle Unlimited Today!

Amazon

New Release! Stifled by Rainy Kaye

 

Today we're celebrating the release of STIFLED, book two in the SUMMONED series by USA Today Bestselling author, Rainy Kaye. A dark twist on genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him. In STIFLED, Dimitri trails an elusive jinn and finds himself in the middle of a community keeping dark secrets. The SUMMONED series is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. Scroll down to pick up your copy of STIFLED, get SUMMONED for free for a limited time, and enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card.    
Dimitri would like nothing more than to live a low-key life in Naples, Italy. His girlfriend, Syd, has other plans. After three months of researching, she is positive she has found a jinn on a killing spree in San Diego, California. Since Syd gave Dimitri the one thing he thought was out of reach, he feels obligated to use his ill-gained talents for her cause. A few hours back in the US proves that Dimitri and Syd didn't quite make the clean escape they had thought. As they trail the elusive jinn, someone else trails them. What should have been a simple trip to confirm once and for all if the jinn are living among humans, instead reveals a community keeping dark secrets. Unfortunately for Dim, the only way out is in. Get your copy here! Haven't read book one yet? No problem! It's currently FREE on Amazon.  
Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker. Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can’t tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn’t the type to tolerate secrets. Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl’s ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.    
 
Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at RainyoftheDark and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. Someone told her she's a USA Today Bestselling author. She thought there would be cake.      
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Pandora #Paranormal Box Set Author Showcase: Rainy Kaye

About a month ago, I had the honor of participating in the Summoned Blog Tour for Rainy Kaye. Well, the book was so good, I'm going to showcase it again! In case you haven't picked it up yet (Why not?) Summoned is a part of Pandora!

Blurb:

Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker.

Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can’t tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn’t the type to tolerate secrets.

Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl’s ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.

A dark twist on genie folklore, SUMMONED follows a reluctant criminal as he unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him.

My Review: 
First of all. I am glad to see books out featuring Arabic lore. There is a wealth of great material for stories there that is untapped. This story focuses on djinn, or genies as most people know them. However, if you think this is going to be anything like I Dream of Jeannie or Disney's Aladdin, you will be very mistaken.

This book is filled with violence, sex, and a mystery that keeps you reading until the end. At first I was really questioning why Dimitri had no power, but I'm really satisfied with the answer at the end. Dimitri himself was just awesome. He attitude and quips had me laughing aloud throughout the entire book. And at the end I had some real Damn? Really? Moments.I loved how everything snapped together. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Kaye's work.

Excerpt:

I dislike having to murder someone. Kidnapping is worse. At least when I setup a kill, I know what’s coming. No connections, no honesty, no surprises. Everything I say and do are just steps to luring in my victim. Once the victim falls right into the trap, the next move is swift: crushed windpipe, fatal concussion, or a good ol’ fashioned headshot.

Kidnapping, on the other hand, is a little trickier. First, the victim has an opportunity to respond. I don’t like this. Sometimes they cry. Sometimes they manage to alert the authorities. And sometimes they escape, usually by inflicting bodily harm on me.

Dead people don’t retaliate. Kidnapped ones, well, they’re a little more . . . lively.

The second major difference between killing and kidnapping is my conscience. I get in and out with a kill. We have no chance to bond.

Abductees require a little more one-on-one. As much as I try to keep the switch turned off, I can’t help but listen to their pleas and demands. And I usually realize I’m a jerk.

That’s exactly where I find myself one late afternoon in June. I prefer doing this at night, but moreover, I would prefer not doing this at all.

Instead, I have a belligerent nine year old girl sitting in the passenger seat of my Honda Accord, shackles on her wrists and ankles and a small stuffed bunny on her lap. She’s eying me in a way that makes me self-conscious. Like I’m the bad guy.

Probably because I am the bad guy.

About Rainy:
Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at RainyoftheDark and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona.

A Few Words from Rainy about her stories:

I write dark, gritty paranormal/Urban Fantasy novels--for grown ups. This means there will be sex, violence, and bad things happening. No one is sweeping anyone off their feet but, if they're lucky, they just might come to their senses at the end.

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Summoned Blog Tour

Today I'm honored to host Rainy Kaye on her Summoned Blog Tour. We have a lot of treat for you today, so sit back and enjoy! We're going to start with a few word from Rainy herself. Take it away, my dear!

The Making of Summoned: 4 Ways to Keep a Story Interesting

Many story concepts lend themselves to great beginnings and endings, but the middle can become a bit murky. Might have gars or creepy, invasive fish in it, so writers often feel like skirting around the edges, sticking to the shallow end with less slippery things. But sometimes, you just have to take the plunge.

Make it the worst. There are things your character does not want to happen. They will do anything to never have to face this darkest of dark fears, to be put into the terrible situation that they’re too scared to even imagine. In the words of Picard: make it so!

Seriously, twist those thumb screws and make them beg. It’s terrible and mean and makes you doubt your sanity (I was doing that anyway, myself) so just go for it. The characters will hate you—but your audience won’t.

Make it big. Don’t just start a fire; create a bomb. In SUMMONED, I did this literally, but you don’t have to always blow things up (I just happen to love big booms, but refer to the above sanity check). Whatever it is your character needs to do, force them to make it bigger.

Make it flawed. The only thing better than making a fire into an explosion is making the explosion go off as the worst possible time. Perfect escapes aren’t nearly as fun to write (or read) as one that is terribly inconvenient right up to the end.

Make it uncomfortable. This probably says more about me than I should be okay with, but I enjoy making my characters squirm. Have you met Silvia yet? Dimitri despises his current lot in life, but he’s really not looking forward to when that person gets a hold of him. The reason is kind of gross.

Personally, diving in is one of my most favorite parts of writing. If it doesn’t work, you can always revise it or even delete the whole scene. But when it does work—and sometimes, it really does—you won’t fear the deep end again.

Blurb

Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker.

Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can't tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn't the type to tolerate secrets.

Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl's ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.

Summoned is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.

Find out more at http://www.summonedtheseries.com

About Rainy:

Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at RainyoftheDark.com and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. When not plotting world domination, she enjoys getting lost around the globe, studying music so she can sing along with symphonic metal bands, and becoming distracted by Twitter @rainyofthedark. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.

Excerpt:

Intel has provided me next to nothing for this assignment. In a way, I'm relieved. After the disaster at the downtown office, I will never fully trust their hookups again. 

Still, a little more information to go on would be great. All I have is the address, shift schedule, and the description of the books. They have gold colored spines, and they should be sitting in a box together.

The “should be” is unsettling. I “should be” in bed with Syd, but I'm stomping the gas pedal between Phoenix and San Diego.

I've only visited San Diego once, and that was to break into a home and steal some business plans. As it turned out, the owners had been on vacation. No alarm had been engaged. I miss the easy wishes.

When I arrive into San Diego, the clock shows nearly nine at night. According to the schedule, the lab is used during business hours as a research and teaching facility. At night, it's rented out to a college class and some independent groups.

This means that at no time will the facility be completely empty. It also means I'm better off going during the second shift. The day researchers are more likely to notice someone who doesn't belong than the tenants at night. 

The real problem is finding those books. The case file managed to leave out that tidbit. This will be like treasure hunting without a treasure map.

Oh, and then I get to burn down everything when I'm done. Hopefully the people inside will escape unscathed.

I scratch my head as I shuffle through the papers again. The night is about to get interesting. This wish shouldn't take too long—I won't even need to stay overnight—but I'm going to need supplies.

My Review:

First of all. I am glad to see books out featuring Arabic lore. There is a wealth of great material for stories there that is untapped. This story focuses on djinn, or genies as most people know them. However, if you think this is going to be anything like I Dream of Jeannie or Disney's Aladdin, you will be very mistaken.

This book is filled with violence, sex, and a mystery that keeps you reading until the end. At first I was really questioning why Dimitri had no power, but I'm really satisfied with the answer at the end. Dimitri himself was just awesome. He attitude and quips had me laughing aloud throughout the entire book. And at the end I had some real Damn? Really? Moments.I loved how everything snapped together. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Kaye's work.

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A-Z Blog Hop: Iblis

In my April post for D, I mentioned Iblis being the name for the Devil in Islam. And as the Devil has many tales so does Iblis.  His name is Arabian for despair.  He is described as the father of the djinn and an angel.

The Qur’an mentions his name nine times, seven of which are in reference to his fall from Allah’s grace. One states he was one of the djinn and he broke the Lord’s command. Another says he was treated as an angel. When Allah created Adam, he ordered the angels to bow down and worship him. Iblis refused because Adam was made of dust and beneath Iblis, who was made of fire. Allah curse Iblis and booted him from heaven. Hmm, sound familiar anyone? Iblis managed to persuade Allah to delay any other punishment until judgment day. So, he was allowed to roam the earth and lure men to si so he may destroy them.

In an alternate version, Allah sent his angels down to Earth to destroy the djinn for rebelling against the divine laws. The angels won the war, killing many of the djinn. They captured Iblis and took up to heaven to be “educated.” The remaining djinn formed a new nation and Iblis left heaven to become their king.

In another legend, Iblis promised any animal who carried him into paradise three magical words that would bestow immortality. The serpent agreed and carried Iblis in his mouth. Iblis, being djinn, was made of smoke, so this was easy. Iblis spoke to Eve through the serpent’s mouth and convinced her to eat from the tree of knowledge.

I always find connections between religions of different cultures fascinating.  It proves to me over and over how connected we are, despite distance and limited means of travel in the past.  Are there any stories that you have heard from different countries that are connected?

Do you like stories about angels, demons, and the supernatural? Pick up a copy of "A Prescription for Delirium" available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.