The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES RJ Blain's New Book: Outfoxed.
RJ is the author of Requiem for the Rift King and Witch & Wolf series plus the A Magical Romantic Comedy collection.
Outfoxed
The Fox Witch Book 1
Author: RJ Blain
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Death is a way of life outside of the safety of Inner Tulsa, and Jade means to keep flipping Mother Nature off until old age claims her. With one eye always on the sky, the last thing she needs is a pack of bounty hunters out for her living head. With no idea of why anyone would want her, her wits might keep her free, assuming she can resist the charming lures of Sandro, one of the men out to claim her as his own.
Left with the choice of being the evening snack of a tornado or taking shelter with the bounty hunter, she does what she does best: she lives on the edge.
Striking a bargain with the handsome bounty hunter buys her another day of life, but it also dumps her into the heart of a sinister plot, one meant to enslave the residents of the storm-tossed city—and the others brave and foolish enough to call the Alley home.
Excerpt from Outfoxed
Friday, May 1, 2043.
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Alley.
I’d been in the Alley long enough to understand only one thing mattered when faced with yet another twister: survival. The swarm of them headed for Tulsa roared, warning all of their impending arrival. The incessant crash of thunder accompanied the lightning, which struck with such frequency the dark clouds glowed white. I decided to stop counting after five funnels; one, five, ten—it didn’t matter how many of them snaked down from the sky. If one of them got a hold of me, I’d just be another corpse strewn over the Alley. A day didn’t go by when I didn’t cross a new skeleton in the outskirts.
Death was a way of life outside of the safety of Inner Tulsa.
Another twister joined the party, bringing a cascade of hail with it.
Great. Just great. What was one more? Hadn’t Mother Nature figured out she didn’t need to fling everything she had at Tulsa? A single tornado would’ve done the job just fine.
A few minutes too late to do me any good, the lightning-lit clouds turned a putrid shade of green, a promise that Mother Nature wasn’t screwing around this time. Green meant go, and if I’d had any sense in my head at all, I wouldn’t have left shelter at sunrise; I would’ve stayed in hiding until right before work. Everything would’ve been different if I’d just slept in rather than explore the ruins of Tulsa’s outskirts for salvage.
If I hadn’t been looking for salvage, I wouldn’t have been spotted by the tall, dark, and handsome hot on my heels and determined to ruin my day if he caught up with me.
The swarm would cause me enough problems, but if the bounty hunter caught me, I’d be in worse shape.
Some choices in life were tough, and I hated myself for even contemplating taking my chances with the bounty hunter. Losing my freedom for profit could be reversed.
Nothing could reverse death.
I flattened my ears, and I lashed my tail back and forth, the rain whipping off it. While I was part fox, I’d adopted more feline tendencies than canine ones. And according to the tail and ears I couldn’t banish with any amount of magic, I was definitely a cat trapped in a partly canine body.
I could shift into a full fox, a secret I held close to my chest. The instant anyone learned the truth, I’d go from a common annoyance to a desirable. Nobody cared about powerless hybrids.
Everybody wanted full shapeshifters in their bloodlines, and I had enough trouble without every wealthy single man on the planet wanting to claim me as his wife.
Since six twisters wasn’t enough, the churning clouds spawned two more, and with unerring accuracy, they surged towards the city in a wall of churning wind, rain, and hail.
Tornado season had come, and it looked like it was going to open with a bang.
I skidded around a corner of a destroyed home, a victim of a twister a few months back, before the sky had opted to give us a break for a change. Shacks had sprouted like persistent little weeds, but I expected none of them would survive the storm. I worried for their inhabitants, but if they had half a brain, they’d take shelter in a cellar.
If they didn’t, they’d add to the bodies littering the dying suburban streets.
Author Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Website: RJ Blain
Author's Blog: RJ Blain Blog
Twitter: @rj_blain
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Author Description: RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.
Author's Book List
A Chip on Her Shoulder - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
After a deal with loan sharks sours, Darlene’s brother is permanently transformed into a chipmunk. Not one to accept impossibility as a good excuse for failure, she’s determined to rescue her brother and secure revenge against those who’d poisoned him with grade-a transformatives.
If she wants to perform a miracle, she’ll need to join forces with a divine, but the man upstairs and his angels refuse to help.
None of the other so-called benevolent divines are willing to help her, either.
Running out of time and options, Darlene prepares to storm the gates of hell for her brother.
She never expected to fall in love with the Devil.
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Booked for Murder - Vigilante Magical Librarians Book 1
Life as a bodyguard and driver for the rich, famous, and powerful is dangerous on a good day, and after sustaining a crippling injury while on duty, Janette’s left with few options. Having signed a ‘for life’ contract but unable to work, she uses her skills to disappear.
Her new life as a librarian suits her. Nobody cares she limps and sometimes requires a cane to walk. She’s wanted for her knowledge, not her lethal magic. She’s surrounded by books, a woman’s best friend.
But when her former employer’s best friend is murdered on the steps of her library, old loyalties and secrets might destroy her—or set her free.
Teaming up with her co-workers to find the killer might keep her from being booked for murder, but unless she’s careful, she’ll find out exactly how far her ex-boss will go to reclaim what is rightfully his.
Her. For life.
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Dawn of Dae - Dae Portals Book 1
The morning Alexa Daegberht’s macaroni and cheese develops sentience, the world changes. She thought escaping poverty and moving up in the world would be the challenge of her life, but the new arrivals, who call themselves the dae, waste no time proving her wrong.
Some claim it’s the rapture of the Christian faith. Some claim the world has been reborn. With millions vanished into thin air, one thing is certain: humanity is in for a fight for survival. There’s only one thing Alexa is certain of.
The dae are here to stay.
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Grave Humor - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Most days, Anwen regrets working at a funeral home. With the residents no longer inclined to stay in their coffins where they belong, she’s got her hands full making sure everyone follows the rules:
In the funeral home, there is no screaming, no murdering, no mutilation, no possessions, no kidnappings, no resurrections, and no cursing of any type. Be quiet and stay polite.
The day Old Man McGregor decides to take a walk and disturbs her peace, Anwen learns there’s a lot more to the basement in the funeral home than a vampire and a handsome gentleman on ice.
If she’s not careful, she’ll learn first-hand why ‘eternally yours’ is the most potent of threats.
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Audible
The House Lost at Sea - The Tales of Catalina de la Corona
Princess of the Seven Seas, has lived an unnaturally long life and longs for the day she can find eternal peace. Hiding in plain sight as an investment banker, she waits for the end of eternity and the death she has rightfully earned.
When a rich client's fascination with her captain and her lover threatens to exhume the watery grave of Catalina's past, she must take up arms against friends and enemies alike to protect her captain's legacy. Should the Calico's sunken ruins be discovered, Catalina’s one true treasure, the House Lost at Sea will be plundered, exposing the secret of Catalina's immortality, and guaranteeing she'll lose the only thing she has left: her freedom.
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Blood Bound - A Lowrance Vampires Novel
After waking in a shallow grave and clawing her way to freedom, Penelope Francis hunts for the rogue who stole her life and transformed her into a vampire. Despite being corrupted into a feared preternatural, she clings to her humanity and refuses to prey on innocents, instead slaking her thirst on other miscreant vampires.
In exchange for a chance at revenge, she joins forces with the charismatic master of the Lowrance brood, a choice that may spell the salvation—or destruction—of humanity as she knows it.
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Audible
Steel Heart - A Jesse Alexander Novel
With the Hope Diamond locked around her throat, Jesse Alexander finds herself in the unfortunate position of being a walking national treasure. With the Starfall stone poised to pulse and flood the world with more of its magic, she must figure out how to remove it before she becomes its pawn yet again.
Unfortunately, the stone has a mind—and plans—of its own. Add in a determined tiger, a wolf out for revenge, and an ultimatum to find her clan's missing Starfall stone, and it will take all of Jesse's wit and cunning to survive with her life—and her heart—intact.
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Double Trouble - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Layla, a recovering drug addict, reformed kleptomaniac, and general troublemaker, believes she has a one-way ticket straight to hell to go with her general rap sheet. Instead of jail time, she’s ordered to perform ninety days of community service.
Her job is simple: she must keep two unicorns out of trouble.
It doesn’t take her long to learn the truth: she’s been assigned to a dose of double trouble, and wherever the unicorns go, chaos and mayhem follow in their wake.
One wants to take over the world.
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Burn, Baby, Burn - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Bailey and Quinn are back!
Bailey Ember Gardener Quinn should’ve read the manual on caring for an incubus before marrying hers. The marriage license hadn’t mentioned anything about their sexy, insatiable ways. If she doesn’t get a single night of undisturbed rest soon, she’ll snap—or go on a napalm bender.
Either would work.
Recruiting Tiffany “Perkette” Perkins to be her partner-in-crime isn’t the best idea, but nothing says fun quite like a road trip, and Perkette the Misdemeanor Collecting Queen could teach the devil a thing or two about having a good time.
Add in a string of rabies cases, more puppies than she can count (or readily adopt,) a job promotion, and her very own incubus in disguise on the hunt for her, and Bailey’s in for one hell of a ride.
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Hypnos - Seeking the Zodiacs Book 1
Following the devastation of World War III, nuclear radiation has spawned magic, ranging from nuisance koppa oni plaguing the Golden Gate to masters of the elements. It falls to the FBI's supernatural quads and their supervisors to protect those who can't protect themselves.
But when a mysterious force storms through a busy shopping center and fells everyone in its wake, Olivia Abrams and her team of special ops must find who is behind the attack and why before the entirety of San Francisco succumbs to its powers.
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Cheetahs Never Win - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Witnessing a double homicide dumps Aaron Clinton into the middle of a gruesome murder investigation. To stop the budding serial killer from striking again, Aaron’s forced to join forces with a reformed cop and a colony of cranky cats.
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Blending In - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Thanks to a jealous divine, whenever Chase Butler comes anywhere near Miriah, she turns into a chameleon. While her hopes of having a happily ever with Mr. Right are dashed, she’s determined to have the next best thing: a perfect Christmas.
Finding a puppy for her son, dodging the unwanted attention of her divine fling of an ex, and keeping on top of a holiday charity drive for local pet shelters sure is complicated when prone to transforming into a twelve-inch lizard with a severe allergy to snowbanks.
Since blending in has gotten her nowhere fast, she’s going to have to pull out all the stops to get what she wants, even if it lands her on Santa’s naughty list.
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No Kitten Around - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
The last thing Reed Matthews needs in his life is a kitten, but when an orphaned tabby suckers him into becoming her caretaker, he’s in for the ride of his life. Add in an angel determined to meddle in his affairs, a devil with an agenda, and a bucketful of bad omens, and he’ll count himself fortunate if he survives the clash between heaven, hell, and his ex.
In this anything goes romp, there’s no kitten around: if Reed wants to survive and regain control of his life, his only hope lies in the hands of an elf and his ex, a woman he’s sworn to never see again.
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Wolf Hunt
What should have been a preliminary scouting job for a future art heist turns into Declan McGrady’s worst nightmare when he discovers the gallery’s owner has exotic—and live—tastes. Breaking a group of werewolf women out of a hostage situation is above his pay grade, but he’s left with no choice.
Worse, what he doesn’t know might kill him—and dump him back into the world of black ops at the cost of his freedom or his life.
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Whatever for Hire - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Fetching a cat out of a tree should’ve been a quick, easy fifty bucks in Kanika’s pocket. Instead, following one stray thought, the devil pays her a visit and leaves her with a debt to repay.
Owing the devil a favor is bad enough, but her life is turned upside down when it’s time to pay the piper. First, she doesn’t want the world’s sexiest firefighting, kitten-rescuing Scot as an unwilling companion. Since that wasn’t bad enough, she doesn’t know who wants him dead or why, but there’s no way in hell she’s going to let someone mar his perfection.
Add in the fact the devil wants an heir, and there’s only one thing she knows for certain: she’s in for one hell of a job.
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Serial Killer Princess - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
Why would anyone put a mermaid and a gorgon in the same room together? While Tulip enjoys being alive, her lineage brings her nothing but trouble.
Snakes eat fish, and the mer love tearing apart their serpentine nemeses with their hands and teeth. As for the gorgons… she’d rather not think about them at all.
The last thing Tulip wants is to rule the mer kingdom. First, she can barely swim. Second, she’s packing more than her fair share of her father’s genes. Third, what is a landlocked princess supposed to do with an aquatic kingdom?
If she gets her way, nothing. Add in her dirty little serial killing secret, and she’s an international disaster waiting to happen.
There’s just one small problem: her father’s bodyguard tempts her in ways no one should, and if she isn’t careful, he’ll uncover her secrets, domesticate her, and infect her with a severe case of normality.
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Silver Bullet - Witch & Wolf Book 4
Nothing was worse than waking up as a squirrel. Not knowing where she is, why she's a squirrel, and why she should be in Georgia comes a close second.
Vicky does know several important things. First, she's not supposed to be a squirrel. Second, two-legger males are intriguing creatures. Third, she likes one particular two-legger male more than the others, and she means to keep him.
Finding her true self is only the beginning. Vicky must hunt those who have taken her friends and ruined her hopes for the future so she can reclaim what is rightfully hers.
Finished with being a victim, Vicky will do everything in her power to put an end to Basin once and for all, even if it means she must make the ultimate sacrifice and bite a silver bullet for the sake of her family, her friends, and the rest of the supernatural world.
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Hoofin' It - A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
All Shane wanted was to get away from the wreckage of his career for a while. He picked New York City to provide him with a distraction from his early, unwanted retirement from the police force.
New York City delivered, distracting him with three corpses and a miniature llama with a spitting problem and an attitude. If he wants to return to a normal life, he’ll have to face off against a sex trafficking ring targeting the woman of his dreams, ancient vampires, murderous criminals, his parents, and an FBI agent with a hidden agenda.
Some days, it isn’t easy being an ex-cop.
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Water Viper - A Jesse Alexander Novel
During Starfall, magic flooded the Earth and destroyed most technology while humans developed strange new powers. As the scion of a male-dominated clan, Jesse should have risen to become a hero.
One disastrous choice ruins her hopes for the future.
To forget about her life as an assassin, she heads to the dying coasts of Florida. Unfortunately, a chance encounter with a Starfall stone and the Siberian tiger shifter after it thrusts her into the limelight. Escaping Nate’s sights is only the beginning of her woes.
When two dangerous Starfall stones are stolen, it’s up to Jesse to recover them. Should she fail, she’ll only be the first to succumb to the rogue stones’ powers.
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Playing with Fire - A Magical Romantic Comedy
Warning: This novel contains excessive humor, action, excitement, adventure, magic, romance, and bodies. Proceed with caution.
What do you get when you mix gorgons, an incubus, and the Calamity Queen? Trouble, and lots of it.
Working as the only human barista at a coffee shop catering to the magical is a tough gig on a good day. Bailey Gardener has few options. She can either keep spiking drinks with pixie dust to keep the locals happy, or spend the rest of her life cleaning up the world’s nastiest magical substances.
Unfortunately for her, Faery Fortunes is located in the heart of Manhattan Island, not far from where Police Chief Samuel Quinn works. If she’d been smart, she never would have agreed to help the man find his wife.
Bailey found her, all right—in the absolutely worst way possible.
One divorce and several years later, Bailey is once again entangled in Chief Quinn’s personal affairs, and he has good reason to hate her. Without her, he wouldn’t be Manhattan’s Most Wanted Bachelor, something he loathes. Without her, he’d still be married.
If only she’d said no when he asked her help, she might have had a chance with him. While her magic worked well, it came with a price: misfortune. Hers.
When Quinn’s former brother-in-law comes to her for help, he leaves her with a cell phone and seventy-five thousand reasons to put her magic to the test. However, when she discovers Quinn’s ex-wife is angling for revenge, Bailey’s tossed in the deep end along with her sexiest enemy.
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Karma - Balancing the Scales Book 1
Karma Johnson has spent her entire adult life working to become a member of FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. She's earned her transfer to CARD, but when she's caught up in the kidnapping of an infant from a festival, she learns what it's like to be the victim. Pretending she's a teen keeps her alive while trying to get herself and the baby to safety.
But the kidnapping only scratches at the surface of a far more nefarious scheme, one that will test Karma's skills, her patience, her sanity, and her beliefs.
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Pack Justice - Nature of the Beast Book 1
Sean’s guardian angel is a feline, but his spirit cheetah prefers rival attorney, Andrea Morgan, over him. Trapped in a failing, dangerous marriage and stalked by an accomplice of one of the most dangerous criminals he’s ever prosecuted, Sean’s troubles are just beginning.
A vacation should have offered him a chance to save his relationship with his wife, Idette. Instead, Sean learns he isn’t the only one with a secret, and his discovery of his wife’s true nature should have killed him.
To ensure Sean’s survival, his cheetah strikes a bargain with a wolf. Faced with life-long enslavement to his wife, becoming an instrument of pack justice seems like the far better alternative.
Unfortunately, pack justice is as brutal as it is swift, and should Sean fail to put an end to Idette’s machinations, everything he values will be targeted and destroyed, including his chance to be with the one woman who might be able to help him salvage the ruins of his life.
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Beneath a Blood Moon
Sara’s life turns upside down when someone leaves her a funerary urn, black roses, and death threats on her doorstep. Fearing her work as a stripper and showgirl has put her in the sights of a demented stalker, she turns to her best friend and fellow dancer for help.
Instead of a safe haven, all Sara finds is betrayal. Hunted by creatures she once believed were stories meant to frighten children, she is given a choice: become one of them, or die.
Forced to share her skin with a voracious carnivore and driven by instincts and desires too strong to resist, Sara must adapt to the changes in her life or be destroyed by them. Finding a mate is her wolf’s top priority.
If she doesn’t want to become another prostitute in a city full of them, Sara must learn to control the beast within. With a hungry wolf to feed and an empty bank account, selling herself to the highest bidder may be the only way she has to prevent becoming a monster driven to eat anything—or anyone—unfortunate enough to cross her path.
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For a Complete List of RJ's Books, visit Amazon Author Profile.
Post Created by: James Moushon
Mystery Author, Industry blogger and Author Advocate
James is the author of the following blogs:
HBS Author’s Spotlight
Indie Author's Corner
HBS Virtual Bookshelf
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