This is fresh off the press, new release this very day! I have had the distinct pleasure of beta reading this author’s work and I am eager to read her newest story. Yes, I have tendency to prattle on and on, but I’m going to – barely – restrain myself and let the work speak for itself.
Title: Open All Hours (Carnival Magic 2)
Author: Eden Royce
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Theme: Interracial/MultiCultural, Shapeshifters (Other), Magic, Big Beautiful Women
Series: Carnival Magic (#2)
Length: Novella
Page Count: 72
Blurb: Leesa Cobb has been cursed to shift form into a black cat. Can Vol, the owner of a nearby diner and a grizzly bear shifter himself, help her reverse the spell?
If not, can he convince Leesa that he wants her — no matter what her species?
Excerpt:
“Aw, darlin’, how’d you get in here?”
The small black cat let Vol reach down and slide his huge hand under her fuzzy belly. Once he made contact, it seemed to startle her into movement.
“No, you don’t.” He caught her mid-leap and brought her to his massive chest. “I’m not going to hurt you, little one.”
The cat trembled in his grip and looked down, then back up, giving a forlorn cry. He rubbed under its furry neck and was rewarded with a short rumbling purr. No collar, and while its body was light, it was sleek and muscular. So, it wasn’t a stray. He’d keep an eye out for whoever the little beauty belonged to. There was no way he was going to leave it to the October night. The temperature was plummeting and people had a suspicion of black cats. He knew as well as anyone that people tend to destroy what they didn’t understand. As he looked into the kitten’s frightened eyes and gently loosened her tiny claws from his T-shirt, he knew he wouldn’t let that happen to her.
Her? He hadn’t checked the little cat to find out her gender, but something just felt right to refer to her as a female. What was he going to do about keeping her until he could find her a home? He lived over the diner and health inspectors tended to drop in at any moment. Vol felt a tremor in the cat’s hollow belly and gave a chuckle. “Well, at least I can find you something to eat. The special’s tuna.”
Inside the restaurant was warm and well lit, the décor a fifties theme, complete with turquoise vinyl bar stools and a functioning jukebox. Earth Angel played from the speakers, the classic song covered quite well by a modern band. The wait staff was also modern in their choice to mix tattoos and piercings with biker and rockabilly clothing. A server came by with a full face of pinup girl makeup and a bald, tattooed skull. The low hum of chatter mixed with the sizzle from the flat-top grill, and the scent of seared meat made the kitten wail again.
“Two Tone!” Vol yelled from the back doorway.
A black man turned from the grill at the sound of his name. A large irregularly shaped mark covered one side of his cheek and descended to part of his neck in pale, white skin. “Yo, Vol. You been out there sleeping or something?” Tone looked around the wall that separated the kitchen from the back door.
“No, man. Something else entirely.” He pulled the struggling kitten closer to his chest. “We got any more tuna?”
The cat hissed, pushing away from the Vol’s chest with its front paws.
“Yeah, we got some.” He gestured toward the animal. “But I don’t think he’s cool with fish.”
“She,” Vol corrected, unsure of why he did so.
Buy links: Open All Hours – Buy Now!
*Will be updated when other buy links come out – right now it’s exclusive to Changeling Press!