Title: Ice Floe Author: Melissa Birling Series: Ice Floe Series #1 Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance
SECRECY IS SAFETY. SISTERHOOD IS EVERYTHING.
Seventeen-year-old Glacia didn’t plan to track a kidnapper, stick a middle finger to the government, and fall into a forbidden summer fling. This is simply what happens when you’re the resident odd girl out, in a shoal of all-female mermaids whose values are a little cracked. Or a lot cracked, if you consider government-endorsed murder and the seizure of male infants to be an issue.
When society rules, family, and romance collide, Glacia fights back the best way she knows how: by taking the matter into her own combat-trained hands and kicking some tail. The problem is, no amount of training can prepare Glacia for the crime circle she discovers, secrets she unveils, and human guy she can’t get out of her head. Glacia finds herself at a crossroads where she must decide whose rules to follow. Who she can trust. And ultimately…who lives and who dies.
Melissa Birling strives to experience life from a “both and” rather than “either or” perspective. She enjoys living in metropolitan cities and on a small farm. She appreciates burn-your-tongue Mexican cuisine and delicious London pub food. Lately, Melissa spends her time engaging with cyber security professionals and mermaids. Not actual mermaids, although if you know any, she’d love to meet them.
The revelation that one can be both a successful corporate consultant and a fantasy author who writes about mermaids, encouraged Melissa to finish her debut novel, Ice Floe. The emotional high of typing “The End” at the completion of her first draft, triggered a writing spree that hasn’t stopped since. On any given Saturday or Sunday, you will find Melissa writing. She won’t respond to any attempts at human engagement, because she’s “at a good part,” but you’ll find her typing away, nevertheless.
Melissa lives with a ceaselessly supportive husband and their dog who enjoys hunting neighborhood skunks.
Exes working together in a wedding business? What could go wrong?
EVIE Having inappropriate dreams about my ex-husband is problematic. The fact that he’s applied to be the business partner in my wedding business – and is an infuriatingly savvy businessman – is even more so.
Our marriage ended because we were both more married to our jobs than each other, but now I can barely look at Lincoln without imagining him naked. How the hell am I supposed to work with him?
LINCOLN My ex-wife, Evie – aka Evil (thank you, random autocorrect) – runs the most successful bridal shop in the whole of the Finger Lakes region and she needs a business partner. Happy coincidence because I need a steady income. ASAP.
I also need to stop noticing Evie’s curves. And her smile. And everything about her that makes me want a second chance.
“I think you’re blowing it out of proportion,” Gage says as he dips another fry in ketchup. “You were married to the woman. Naturally you’re going to be affected by her.”
“I was married to her. Was being the key word. We’ve been divorced for four years and I haven’t exactly lived the life of a monk.” I shake my head at my brother across the wide wooden table. “This felt different.”
“Look, it’s not like you jumped her from across the desk or anything, so I don’t know what you’re worried about.” Gage’s been saying some version of this since I brought up my unexpected reaction to Evie earlier. Our waitress at Donnelly’s had already brought us a beer and I thought hiding behind a pint would make it easier for me to pretend it was no big deal. Turns out I’m terrible at pretending, and Gage can see through me like I’m a plastic shower curtain in a girl’s dorm. “Besides, you’re the one who keeps saying this is business, it’s not personal. Just make sure to keep it professional.”
“You’re right.” It’s easier said than done, because between Evie’s sex dream and my inconvenient hard-on, it feels very personal. “I need to keep my eye on the prize.”
“Get involved with her again at your peril,” says Gage, taking another French fry. “We’ve called her Evil for a reason.”
“I called her Evil because of a random autocorrect.” A random autocorrect turned into bad joke my and brothers ran with it.
“Hey, if the shoe fits…” Gage shrugs.
“I was bitter and angry she didn’t fight for us, but neither did I.” I take a swallow of my beer then drop my voice as I say, “It was self-preservation on both of our parts.”
“The old, ‘it’s not me, it’s you’ scenario?” Gage puts his elbow on the wooden table. His hair is too long and flopping over his eyes, but he just blows it out of the way and says, “Look, man, if you don’t think you can do this, we’ll come up with something else. Evil’s not the only way we’re going to be able to pay Dad’s medical bills.”
“Isn’t she? What else do you suggest? I guess we could take turns selling plasma, but I don’t know what the requirements are for selling bodily fluids. I’ll have to check.”
“I can talk to my boss at work and see if I can pick up some extra shifts. Maybe it’s time to give up the farmer’s market for a little while? Cake a Diem can wait.” Gage shrugs like saying those words doesn’t make him die a little inside. His job as a produce manager at Wegman’s, the local supermarket, is great, but it’s as far from his dream job as you can get. The only reason he’s kept the job as long as he has is for the store discount so he can buy baking supplies. I convinced him to create a name for his business, complete with a banner and business cards, and judging by the amount of time he spent picking the perfect font for his banner, he’s way more into it than his day job.
“You just started Cake a Diem. You can’t throw in the towel on it before you’ve gotten the name out there.” I shake my head. “I’m the one who’s unemployed. If anyone’s going to take one for the team, it’s going to be me.”
“So, what? You’re going to get back on a plane and live out of a suitcase again?” Gage finishes the last fry with a flourish. “Maybe finding another consulting gig is viable as a short-term solution, but what about when Dad’s able to get out a little bit? The first thing he’s going to want to do is go fishing and someone’s going to have to go with him. Let’s face it, it really needs to be you.”
Gage and I both laugh. Our father is an avid fisherman and, try as he might to get his sons to enjoy his hobby, we all hate it. I just happen to hate it less than Eli and Gage do. “Bennett’s Bridal it is then,” I say. “I’ll make it work.”
Brenda writes contemporary romance to make you giggle and swoon. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking, running and
Brenda is a USA Today bestselling author living in the English countryside. Originally from New York, she’s lived in the UK long enough to gain dual citizenship, but still doesn’t understand Celsius. However, she has learned the appropriate use of the word “pants”. And how to order a proper bacon bap/barm/buttie. Because, well, bacon.
Brenda writes contemporary romance to make you giggle and swoon. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking, running and reading. In theory, she also enjoys cooking, but it’s more that she enjoys eating and, try as she might, she can’t live on Doritos alone.
In the Kingdom of Kaloma, women are forced to marry by the age of 26. It’s the law.
In the remote village of Sevens, at the northernmost point of the kingdom, there lives an impoverished family with four daughters and a son. Without the means to make love matches, the daughters are trapped by their circumstances.
When one daughter discovers a golden key deep in the Whitling Woods, it may have the power to change everything…
Auri Fareview, practical and realistic, does what she can to serve her family. When she finds a golden key that could be the answer she needs to save her sisters from the unjust Kaloma Marriage Laws, she discovers the treasure might be more than she bargained for. Enchanted, it doesn’t just come with a price attached, it’s also home to an imprisoned god, who wreaks havoc on her body, her heart, and her soul. And those aren’t practical matters. He has the power to break her.
Nixus Uraiahs has lost track of how long he’s been imprisoned by the spell on the key. There have been six key-keepers, all of whom have failed to break the spell to free him, and Nix knows he’s the reason why they haven’t. So, he will hold this 7th key-keeper accountable to the bargain of the spell: three wishes and a price for each. There’s no hope in her freeing him, however. Nix knows she’ll be like all the key-keepers who came before her. Except Auri approaches her wishes differently than any of the others, and Nix begins to see her as more than just a key-keeper. She intrigues him, proving her strength, surprising him, and enchanting him. Though he’s entrapped by the enchantment placed on the key, Nix realizes his heart is at risk of being captured by the seventh key-keeper. That is a risk he can’t afford to take knowing his villainy is just a single wish away.
He knew he shouldn’t but asked anyway, “Would you tell me about them?” He followed her, a few steps behind.
“What would you like to know?”
Everything, he thought, but didn’t give it the substance of his voice. “Your parents?”
“Scarlett and Tomas Fareview.”
“They must be amazing.”
“Why would you say that.”
Flustered, Nix turned to smell a flower. “Well…” He stretched the sound, trying to find a reason that didn’t start with because you’re amazing, which would sound like a lie, and ended up saying, “You are unique.”
She grinned. “Unique. I like it. Yes. They are amazing. They met, fell in love, and settled in Sevens. That’s the village where we live.”
“You smile when you talk about them.”
“Well, they are… my life,” she said and continued walking. “I have three older sisters. Jessamine is the oldest, then Tarley and Brinna.” She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. It was a different kind of smile, unguarded. He could see it was because she was talking about her family. “Then me. And I have one brother, Mattias. He’s the youngest.”
“And how old is Mattias as the youngest?”
“Eighteen.”
He considered the state of her skirt and boots when he’d met her. “And you all live together in Sevens?”
She nodded.
“How old is your oldest sister?”
“Jessamine? Twenty-seven.”
“And no one has left?” Nix thought this strange.
She shook her head and continued walking. “It isn’t because we are opposed to the idea, but with respect to marriage, none of us want anything less than what our parents have. Our parents adore one another. The other factor is that living in Sevens—and my parents’ refusal to leave it—has made it difficult to meet anyone and to make a living to find the means to leave.” She stopped under an archway where peach roses grew over to the other side, reaching out to touch one.
Nixus noticed a red ribbon tied around her wrist. It would have seemed an insignificant trifle, except it was wrapped with a swirl of golden magic. “What is this?” He reached out and touched the ribbon with a finger. The magic kissed his skin with a warm caress. Positive magic as opposed to the alternative, which heightened Nix’s curiosity.
Auri looked surprised by his touch, her eyes jumping from where he’d touched her to his face. That blush he liked worked its own magic against her skin, and she grabbed ahold of her wrist. “This? A gift from my mother. Just a ribbon. She gave each of us one.” She paused, then added, “We don’t have a lot of extra, not with seven of us. It’s just a ribbon–”
“It appears to be more than that–”
She tilted her head, and her brows bunched. “What do you mean?”
Nix could tell she didn’t know it was spelled, and just by looking at it, he couldn’t tell what it was for. As far as he knew, Auri’s mother had taken it to a local witch who’d cast a protection spell for each of her children. He didn’t remark on the magic and instead said, “It’s obviously very important to you. That makes it a very special ribbon.” She smiled, looking away, and twisted the ribbon around her wrist. “Yes. You’re right.” She started back down the path.
Maci Aurora has been writing stories since she was a child. When she was eleven, she fell in love with reading Sunfire Historical Romances about girls who made a difference in their lives and still fell in love. In high school, a friend introduced her to Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught, and from there, her writing journey was cemented in telling stories about love. Having already published many novels (all of which are threaded with romance as upper YA and New Adult titles) under the pen name, CL Walters, Maci Aurora wanted to write stories that offered the same attention to story and characters but with additional steam.
Maci writes in Hawaiʻi where she lives with her husband, their children, and their fur-babies.
