his debut novel from S.D. Huston is a partial fairytale retelling of Snow White & Rose Red mashed up with Irish mythologies!
Triplet sisters, one dead, one kidnapped. A vengeful leprechaun and a scheming goddess. Can Lily save her last sister?
When sixteen-year-old sisters Lily and Rose take it upon themselves to aid a tiny man with a long beard in distress, he curses them into a world of trouble. Lily contends with the grief that lies behind her while trapped in a suffocating silent world of her own design, and she must now face the threat of what might lie ahead.
Whether she believes it or not, leprechauns are real, and in Lugh she has made an unfortunate enemy. Now the race is on to save Rose from the deranged whims of an unscrupulous faery and find out what, or who, is behind this mysterious turn of events. To find the answers, Lily must face the darkness that plagues her: both inside and out. On the grand stage of this world and the Otherworld, an adventure bursts forth so chaotic perhaps even Lily can’t silence it.
Weaving lore, light, and the lush beauty of the Irish language into the wintery landscape of a mystical Ireland around its 3rd century, Blood of the Lily brings to life a world where even the most fantastical places and creatures can be corrupted by the realities of life. This first book in the Clash of Goddesses series transports you into the enchanting and masterfully crafted Otherworld of Éire as one may only see in dreams. Start your journey today!
“I want my sister.” Lily held up the harp, ready to play, but Fintan put a hand on her arm.
“You can’t banish me this time, Lugh,” he said. “You must come back home. Your sister is worried about you. Ébliu will not stop pestering me.”
“You stupid oaf! Why get married?” Lugh tugged his gray beard. “My sister won’t leave you alone? Fine. We’ll fix that.” With a wiggle of his beard, he sent Fintan crashing past the entrance to tumble further back into the cave.
The sound of a grumbled roar sent chills through Lily. What monster hid back there?
“No pestering from Ébliu anymore.” Lugh laughed and yelled his words at the back of the cave. “Just watch out for the dragon!”
Suddenly, the bear roared forward, thinking to take advantage of the little man’s distraction. Lugh swung around and fluttered his fingers, his beard turning golden in a bright light. Cúig stopped in mid-leap. His paws ran in the air but made no progress.
“And you, my friend, wouldn’t be in your predicament if you hadn’t looked for my gold. For that,” Lugh wagged a finger back and forth, “you can go look at all the gold you want but no touching or the dragon will get you.”
Cúig flew back into the cave’s darkness, disappearing the same way Fintan had been dismissed.
Lily shook, her teeth ground so tightly together that she lost feeling in her jaw. She strummed the first chord of the sleeping song.
The leprechaun held up a hand. “Come Daur da Bláo, apple-sweet murmurer, come, Coir Cethair Chuir, four-angled frame of harmony, come summer, come winter, out of the mouths of harps and bags and pipes!”
The harp flew from her hands to his, ripped right out of her grasp. Only a second passed before she pulled out her spear, ready to hurtle the iron tip through him, but then she was blinded by a bright light. She blinked several times to clear away the spots in her eyes.
When she could see again, she was back home.
Right outside the wooden palisade of Ráth Bláthanna. Now, how would she save her sister with the Samhain portals closed?
S.D. Huston grew up in several places across the United States, but now lives in Florida’s panhandle with her husband, her youngest son who is autistic, four cats, and one special Siberian Husky. Her oldest son is off serving the country in the U.S. Army.
She’s always had a love for the written word, asking for her first typewriter when she was nine years old (yes, a typewriter!). However, her multiple career paths meandered through seven years in the military, then working in administration, before completing her masters in Writing. She spent the next seven years teaching college English and Literature while also running her own business as a Writing Coach, helping students and writers all over the world.
Today she concentrates solely on her writing career and her family: human, furry, and faery!
Title: Thorn of Secrets Author: B. Truly Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
n love with the same face that haunts me….
The falling leaves of autumn are like the deceit in my family lineage. Closing the door on the infinite cold—winter blossoms into the spring of new beginnings. In the next season of my life, I’m mending the pieces back together. Opening myself up, I even begin to date, which is a big step for me.
After graduating from high school, a shocking development causes me to be on alert. When nothing comes of it, I move forward, wanting desperately to put the past behind me.
About to start college, I bump into someone from my complicated past, and my heart is torn. The dilemma I struggle with: Do I let other people’s opinion define who I am? I must decide if I’ll push through the ridicule and pave my own path. Could the face that’s scorned me be the key to my resolve? I’ll never know if I take the easy way out.
I’ve unlocked my darkest secret only to have it return to torment me. As the thorns of his obsession encompass me, I discover I’m part of a twisted ploy. If I don’t figure a way out of this predicament, then the life I’ve known may cease to exist.
Don’t miss the riveting sequel to Madison’s story that will have you dangling on the edge of your seat.
B. Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old. She is grateful to have accomplished this dream. B. Truly has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She’s addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of suspense and sci-fi. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, sci-fi, dystopian, and paranormal genres.
B. Truly likes to explore conflicted plots of romance with thrilling twists. She also loves creating impossible situations for her characters to grow from and try to overcome.
B. Truly has three wonderful children, and a husband who defines the person that she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Houston, Texas.
Title: Blue Author: L.E. DeLano Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
When Blue Mancini’s mother picked her name, it ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.
A year ago, Blue’s brother, Jack, was involved in a car accident that killed the father of her classmate, Maya Rodriguez. Luckily for Jack, he got out of a manslaughter charge and into a plea bargain thanks to the top-notch lawyer hired by Blue’s wealthy parents.
The fallout is now affecting Blue as Maya returns to school determined to carve out a pound of flesh from the only member of the Mancini family she can reach. On top of that, Blue has a demanding mother, a father who’s never around, a drama-addicted best friend, and a secretive new guy who’s determined to make Blue his own personal cheer-up project. It’s a perfect storm of misery.
When Maya’s social media taunts and in-person digs finally push Blue to retaliate, they find themselves in afterschool detention and forced into a project meant to foster cooperation and civility. As the layers of their tangled drama unravel, Blue learns more about Maya’s life—and her own sense of privilege—when secrets are revealed that cast a new perspective on everything in Blue’s world.
This is her fourth and another thing and it’s about three more than I have the patience to hear.
“I don’t think you realize how lucky you are, especially since this is a second offense,” she says, sloshing her energizing smoothie out of her glass as she gestures.
“It wasn’t as bad as everybody’s making it sound,” I grumble.
“You threw her to the ground!”
“She shoved me first!”
Mom sucks in a deep breath, shoves her manicured hand through her hair, shoots my Dad a look and goes on.
“They’re willing to let you both off with a week of full suspension, followed by eight weeks of after-school detention since you and Maya are both honor students.”
“And since you and Dad make significant donations to the school,” I point out.
Mom pulls in another breath and closes her eyes as if she needs a minute to keep from screaming at me. Like she ever would. My mother is not a screamer. She’s a salesperson. Right now she’s trying to figure out how to turn this entire situation into a lesson for me that will yield a net result of me living my best, most radiant life because that’s a win for her.
Dad, who has been sitting quietly all this time, letting her have the spotlight, clears his throat and finally speaks.
“Being a donor is a definite advantage in this situation,” he agrees. “But you’re not going to buy your way out of this. You’re serving detention with the Rodriguez girl—and the school counselor.”
“But I’ve got two AP classes!” I protest. “And a job.”
“You’re going to have to back off work. Realign your priorities,” Mom says.
“We told you before to stay away from that girl,” Dad reminds me. “Why don’t you just avoid her? I should think you wouldn’t want to stir anything up, anyway.”
“She’s been harassing me from the day she came back.” I tell him miserably.
Dad’s eyes narrow. “Make me a detailed list of everything—all the social media, all the comments in the hallway—anything else she’s done to deliberately harass you.”
“Why?”
“I assume the school has a bullying policy. If I get Hazleton and Farr involved, we may be able to get her removed.”
I swallow hard. Hazelton and Farr is the law firm we have on retainer. “Like, get Maya expelled?”
“It doesn’t have to be that ugly,” Mom says, tapping a finger on the table as she muses. “I’m sure the school and her mother will come to some sort of understanding that doesn’t reflect too badly on her record.”
I shake my head and something in my stomach turns over. “Then everyone will just talk about how my rich parents and their lawyer ran Maya out of school. Just like they talk about how my rich parents and their lawyer got my brother out of a manslaughter charge.”
Dad’s mouth tightens into a thin line. “When you hear that sort of talk, you need to bring it to the teacher’s attention.”
“Absolutely.” Mom nods her head. “We’re not paying them good money to let gossip drag our family name through the dirt.” She turns to Dad, puts a hand on his arm. “Maybe you should talk to Jerry.”
“Davis?” Dad rubs his chin. “I supposed he could speak to the principal.”
“Who’s Jerry Davis?” I ask.
Mom waves a hand. “He’s on the school board. He golfs with your father.”
“Ugh. No.” My voice comes out a little too loud. “Just let me deal with this, please.”
“But you’re not dealing with it,” my mother points out.
“Stay out of it.” The words come out through gritted teeth. “You’ll only make things worse. Harder.”
Mom raises her brows and turns her head to share a look with my father. He shrugs in return and she narrows her eyes at him, clearly hoping for a stronger response.
“Look,” I let out a sigh. “You said we have to learn to deal with each other. So let us do that. In our own way.”
“Very well,” she finally agrees. “But any more shenanigans, and we’re getting involved. I guarantee you won’t like it.” I push to my feet. “I don’t do shenanigans. Nobody under the age of forty does shenanigans.”
L.E. DeLano comes equipped with a “useless” Theatre degree that has opened doors for her in numerous ways. Though mostly raised in New Mexico, she now lives in Pennsylvania with two adventurous kids and two ridiculous cats. When she’s not writing (which is almost never), she’s binge-watching Netflix and planning road trips.
Her debut novel, TRAVELER was selected as a Keystone To Reading Secondary Book Award finalist for school year 2018-19 by the Keystone State Reading Association (KSRA) and also voted one of The 20 Most Beautiful Books in the World for 2017 by MTV UK.
