Purgatory is Now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

This week the third book in the Celestial Plague series, Purgatory, released in ebook, paperback and hardcover. After this, there’s only one book left to go! If you want to continue following Raya, Shannon, Ashleigh and Jenna, then keep reading below…

The world is slowly being swallowed up by monsters and disease.

Ashleigh awakens with no memories of her past and becomes a pawn. The man who created the Sarjs calls himself a god and forces them to do his bidding, including her. She leaves her friends behind to follow him, but a part of her is still in there, fighting to break free from his control once and for all.

As Jenna's injuries worsen, Cindy must find a healer who can save her. However, the cost of her survival is a painful sacrifice that leaves her permanently scarred.

Raya and Shannon go after Ashleigh, only to find that The Rot is spreading. It’s killing everything in its path and making the Sarjs fall ill before they too are consumed by it.

While Shannon and Raya try to stay alive amidst the chaos, Ashleigh and her rogue Sarjs band together to take down the god and reclaim their freedom. But can they take defeat him before The Rot kills them first?

That’s it for this week, I hope you check out the Celestial Plague series and love it as much as I do! See you next week.

Purgatory Pre-Order Live

Hi all,

The third book in the Celestial Plague series, Purgatory, is now available for pre-order! It will be out on Amazon in ebook, paperback and hardcover on the release date.

I can confirm that this book will be out October 10th 2023.

You can pre-order it below:

While you’re waiting for it to come out, why not sign up to my mailing list?

You get:

  • Four FREE enovellas.

  • Cover reveals before anyone else.

  • First chapter reads before anyone else.

  • Monthly news.

  • Character design polls.

  • Merch giveaways.

  • Free and discounted book deals.

  • Exclusive short stories.

You can sign up below:

I hope you are excited for the release of Purgatory! Next week I have some sad news to share but I want to be able to turn it into something good. See you next week.

Purgatory Chapter One Preview

Hi all!

Celestial Plague #3: Purgatory will be going up for pre-order next month so I knew I had to show you the first chapter! If you don’t want spoilers for the Celestial Plague series, then you don’t want to keep reading…

Chapter One

Raya didn’t expect to feel her heart getting ripped out of her chest.

Her friend had just disappeared in a funnel of light, tricked by the God she so desperately wanted to please. The monster growls, and his body ripples. A multicoloured mark appears on his chest, next to his heart. 

Damisa, her panther self, screams in a fury at the back of her mind. 

"You... Give her back!" she screeches, her throat raw from her previous screams. 

The man lumbers his oversized body, dragging it against the floor. "She has chosen me." 

"She would not." 

"Fine, allow me to show you." 

Shannon, her remaining friend, holds her back when Raya attempts to attack him. The man raises his head up to the sky and a new funnel of light bursts from the sky. This time, it takes no one. When the light fades, a Sarj jumps forward, blinking its new-born eyes. Its body is a royal purple, covered in various splashes of colour. The monster turns its mismatched eyes to her and her heart sinks. 

"Lee?" 

The Sarj cocks its head to one side, as if trying to remember.

"Retreat… my children. We have claimed… enough souls today." 

The man raises his head again, and several beams of light envelope him and the Sarjs. 

Raya attempts to run to her before it’s too late, but she's held back once again. "Lee, no!" 

Within seconds, her friend is gone. 

Raya collapses to the floor with her head in her hands. "Lee…" 

"We'll find a way to fix this," Shannon murmurs in her ear. 

Raya can't reply. How could they fix it? Their friend is a Sarj, as far as they know, there's no way to get her back. She didn't even seem to recognise them, if that Sarj was her. 

Damisa growls in disagreement. 

You're right, Raya replies. That was her. 

"We need to get inside," Ezekiel mutters. 

Shannon hauls Raya to her feet and leads her back to the café. Dan's smiling face in the window is more than enough to make her blood boil. 

He throws the door open with a grin. "Raya! I'm glad you're okay." 

Damisa's lips curl as Raya shoulders pass him. The loose skin under her arm wobbles with each movement, but she tries to push the discomfort to the back of her mind. 

I'm not okay. My friend is gone. 

She sinks into the nearest chair, her arms locked around her body. She studies the stretch marks extending up her arms, blinking her tears away. 

We should have shifted. 

As Damisa replies with a growl, a wave of fatigue washes over her. There's no way they could have shifted in their state. They've been doing it too much recently; her body needs rest. The stretch marks and loose skin have gotten worse with each shift, her body isn't bouncing back. 

She's never been self-conscious, but the look of her body bothers her. 

Lee never cared. She thought it was cool that I could shift. 

"Come on, we need ideas!" Shannon says. 

Dan whips his head towards her. "You need to shut the fuck up. Raya is upset."

"Lee was my friend too!" 

"She’s gone now. It’s just us." Dan kneels in front of Raya and tries to take her hand, but she yanks it away. "We're Unbitten. We can still get away from this. Leave these two behind and come with me." 

The thought of going anywhere with him repulsed her. Why would she abandon her friends for him? 

She looks up at Shannon, who has been sitting down quietly. "Shan?" 

Her friend shoots to her feet, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "Yes?" 

"Bite me." 

Her friend recoils. "What?" 

"Raya, you're upset. You don't really—" Dan tries to speak, but she shoulders him out the way. 

"Please.”

Raya knows that she isn’t thinking rationally. Some part of her believes that her being Bitten will make her closer to Ashleigh somehow. Maybe it would even bring her friend back. Deep down, she knows it’s not true, but her mind is fogged by seeing her friend as a Sarj.

She tried to remember. She knew it was me.

"No!" Dan screams. 

Raya slams into the nearest wall, shaking the paintings that are still hung up. She tries to move her body, but she's pinned, not even able to wiggle her toes. Dan has his one arm outstretched towards her, his fingers curled into his palm. 

"Let me go!" she screams. 

Damisa roars in a fury in the back of her mind; images of her sinking her teeth into his skin flash into her head. 

"This isn’t right. She just wants—" Shannon sighs, taking a step forward. 

"She's upset. She doesn't know what she wants." 

"She wants to get away from you, lover boy," Ezekiel chimes in. 

Dan's head snaps towards Ezekiel. "You need to shut up." 

"And you need to learn that no means no," Ezekiel says with a growl. 

"I know what's best for her." 

Ezekiel throws his head back in a throaty laugh. "You? A person she's known for a few weeks versus a friend she's known for years? Get over yourself." 

Dan swipes his hand towards Ezekiel, sending him crashing through the window. Raya slumps to the floor as the glass explodes, sending giant shards in all directions. When she's able to stand up, Ezekiel lies in the middle of the street on a blanket of glass, unmoving. 

"Why would you do that?" Shannon screams. 

Dan raises his hand towards her. "You want to join him?" 

Raya doesn't even think about her next actions. She slams a wooden chair over Dan's back, sending him to the floor like a bag of potatoes. She stands above him, trembling for a few seconds before tossing the chair to the side. 

"Shan, bite me." 

Shannon shivers. "You don't want this." 

"I need to know." 

"Know what?" 

"What made it so great that Lee had to…" Her words catch in her throat, and she's unable to finish. 

"But what about Damisa?" 

The panther lets out a pained cry. They don't know what the virus will do to them. Ezekiel couldn't communicate with his animal self. 

But he's bitten more people than I ever plan to. 

"She'll understand." 

"Rai…" 

"I need to know." 

With a gulp, Shannon gingerly takes Raya's hand and raises it to her mouth. Just when she's sure that the winged girl will back out, she feels teeth pierce her skin. 

As she drops to the floor, her mind is filled with Damisa's screams. The virus pumps through her veins, muffling her panther's voice. 

I'm so sorry. I know this hurts. 

Once the screams become nothing more than panicked whimpers, everything goes black. 

 

***

 

Jenna finds herself in an unknown place. She quickly deduces that she's in some sort of bedroom, the walls coloured a garish pink and covered in white daisies. 

Some kid has poor taste, she thinks to herself. 

The second she attempts to sit up, hot pain blasts through her body. Her leg feels like stone, and the skin is red hot to the touch. The infection comes to the forefront of her mind again, although this time she knows there's no saving her. 

At least Sin hasn't infected me. 

As if her girlfriend was summoned, the door creaks open, and she pops her head around. "You're awake!" she says in relief. 

Jenna swallows the lump in her throat. "I feel awful." 

Cindy slips in, carefully shutting the door behind her. "I know." 

Jenna reaches a hand out, which Cindy takes without hesitation. Her elfish ears are flat against her head, a sign of her anxiety. 

Jenna decides to change the subject before it gets too sentimental. "Where are we?" 

"In the city. I found a house with its door kicked in." 

"So, we could be in someone else's house right now?" 

"I've already looked around. Cupboards are looted and the blankets are taken. No way is someone living here." 

That statement makes Jenna relax slightly. At least they don't have to worry about fighting off more people. Her leg is proof that it didn't go down well last time. 

"Good. What's the plan?" 

"The plan is for you to get better." 

"I'm not getting better, Sin. My leg is going green." 

Both of them look down at her wound. Jenna had been stabbed in the leg by some punk kid who wanted to prove themselves. Although Cindy had managed to find a healer, it was clear that it hadn’t worked all the way through. The skin around her open wound now has a grey tinge, and green pus is leaking from it. There’s a crust of dried liquid running down her leg as well.

Cindy's ears twitch slightly. "We'll find a way." 

"The healer didn't work last time." 

"That's why we're in the city. I'm going to find her and make sure you're better this time." 

Jenna rolls her eyes. "What are you going to do? Threaten her?" 

Cindy squares her shoulders. "If necessary." 

"You couldn't intimidate a peanut." 

This makes the corner of Cindy's lips curve. "I'm going to try. We don't have many options." 

Jenna untwines her fingers from hers. "Don't infect me." 

"But it could-" 

"I'd rather die." 

This makes her girlfriend pause. "It's not as bad as you think, Jen." 

"I don't want it."

"But-" 

"No means no." 

Cindy shuffles. "Fine." 

"Promise?" 

"Promise." 

They sit in silence for a few seconds before Cindy stands up, kissing Jenna on the forehead. 

"Where are you going?" 

"To find the healer." 

"The city is huge." 

"I'm persistent." 

"Watch out for B's group." 

"I will. I don't think they've quite forgotten me from last time." 

"Just... be careful." 

Cindy flashes her a smile. "I will, promise." 

As the door shuts quietly, Jenna shifts into a more comfortable position. The covers lift slightly, and she catches a whiff of blood. 

"Shit," she mutters. 

She throws the covers off to inspect her leg more closely. While it's red and swollen, the only thing oozing from it is pus. The sheets around her bum are stained red with fresh blood, and her thighs are sticky. 

"Ugh. I hate periods in the apocalypse!" 

She tries to sit up slightly, but her leg twinges with pain. The sound of another door slamming lets her know that Cindy has left. She wouldn’t be able to hear her cries now. 

"Shit." 

Jenna holds her breath and swings her legs over the bed in one swift motion, gasping in pain. Her leg throbs with even the tiniest movement, and she wishes her girlfriend hadn't left so quickly. Her head spins when she tries to stand, clutching the grey dresser beside her. The feeling of moving makes bile rise in her throat and before she can think, she's vomiting on the floor. Once she's finished, she sinks back down onto the bed, gasping for breath. 

"Fuck's sake," she mutters to herself, wiping a trail of sticky saliva from her mouth. 

The smell of vomit permeates the room, and the feeling of sitting in her own blood makes her uncomfortable. 

How much longer did she have? 

She thought infections usually took people quickly, but hers seems to have lasted forever. Maybe it's because of the healer, or maybe she's just lucky. 

There's a crash outside that makes her jump and her leg twinge. She listens out for more noise, unsurprised to hear another crash. The curtains to her room are drawn, so she can't see who's out there just by staring out the window. The thought of trying to stand again makes her sick, but she has to know if Cindy is in trouble. 

Taking a few deep breaths, she pulls herself up, ignoring the hot pain in her leg. She drags herself towards the window, her injured leg hanging limply behind her. Carefully, she pulls back a curtain, just enough for one eye to peek through. The street is full of knocked over bins and old rubbish. A few of the houses on the other side have been sprayed with graffiti and have their windows smashed in. 

She then notices a group of people exit one house, clutching several backpacks. Her heart begins to thrum when she sees them talking to each other while pointing at other buildings. Although Cindy said the house was deserted, these people don't know there's nothing left to take. They cross the street, fanning out in pairs to check the houses. With each kick to the door, she flinches, dragging herself back into bed. 

There's no way I can fight them off in this state. 

The door gives in easily, and the pair gain access to the house, though they don't come to her immediately. She can hear them clanging around, pulling the place apart to look for any sort of supplies. If what Cindy said is true, they won't be here very long. 

"Nothing. I think this place is empty," a muffled voice calls out. 

"Let's get out of here. It absolutely stinks." 

She's thankful for the pile of vomit on the floor, which makes them leave faster. The door slams shut behind them, and she relaxes again. 

That was far too close. 

Her heart is still pounding as her eyelids start to droop. She wants to stay awake, but her body is crying out for sleep. For what seems like hours, she fights the urge to drift off, hoping that Cindy will return soon. Eventually, the door creaks open and she's relieved to see her girlfriend. 

"Are you okay? There's—" 

"People broke in looking for supplies. They didn't find me." 

Cindy wrinkles her nose and her gaze lands on the creamy vomit on the floor. "You were sick?" 

"I got up too fast." 

Her girlfriend scoots onto the bed and scolds her. "Why did you get up?" 

"My period started." 

Cindy lifts the covers up. "Oh. Good thing I found some towels." 

"I feel really icky," Jenna mumbles, pulling the covers up to her face. 

Cindy's face falls. "I'll go get the towels. I even managed to find a can of food. I'll start cooking it for you." 

"Make sure you eat too..." Jenna mumbles as sleep finally overcomes her. 

"You need it more…" Is the last thing she hears before drifting off. 

***

That’s it for this week, keep an eye out for when Purgatory goes up for pre-order! See you next week.

Purgatory Cover Design

Hi all!

This week is the cover reveal for Celestial Plague #3: Purgatory. This is the third book in the Celestial Plague series and as with previous covers, it has been designed by Deranged Doctor Design. They will be designing the last cover in the series later on this year and I love working with them. My banners and newsletter will get updated in August 2023, when I’m hoping to have the book available for pre-order. The cover is…

  • The character on the cover of this book is Raya. As with previous books, each of the MCs will get their own cover. The last one will be Jenna.

  • DDD came up with the colour scheme for this one and I love it! It fits nicely with the previous covers and is eye-catching.

  • The typography remains the same as the other books.

  • The background for this cover is the mall, which the characters have used several times in the previous books to hide and escape Sarjs.

  • The panther, Damisa, is represented on the cover as Raya’s power. She’s a panther shifter and I wanted to include her on the cover too. I adore the pose that DDD picked for her.

  • I decided to continue with the hoodie theme that the previous characters wore. Jenna will probably have one too.

  • The sky in this one is my favourite. The colours are beautiful.

Purgatory will be available in October 2023 and will be available for pre-order in August. Celestial Plague #4: Hell, will have it’s cover designed around November.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out this bundle before it expires:

Great Books Giveaway!

Heaven is now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

If you haven’t been keeping an eye on my social media, the second book in the Celestial Plague series has now been published. It’s available in ebook, paperback and hardcover. This is the second series I’ve published and I loved writing it, I hope you love reading it too! Check it out below:

The survivors seek Heaven, but sanctuary comes with a price, one that could cost them everything.

Ashleigh has now been infected in an effort to save her life. Feeling betrayed and distraught over being Bitten causes friction among her and the other survivors which threatens to tear them apart. And when she starts having visions that show her the only way to Heaven is to infect more people, will it be the end of them all?

Danger is around every turn for Raya who discovers a mysterious man wielding multiple strange powers while escaping Warren. Who is this man? Why does he have her sister’s tail?

To escape the control of Warren, Cindy and Jenna decide to do the unthinkable… Head into The Rot. Will they find the secret truths about the infection there, or will they only become victims of The Rot?

That’s it for this week, if you check out the Celestial Plague series I hope you enjoy it! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to take a look at these book bundles before they go!

From Your Worst Nightmares…

Great Books Giveaway!

Heaven Pre-Order Live

Hi all,

The second book in the Celestial Plague series, Heaven, is now available for pre-order! It will be out on Amazon in ebook, paperback and hardcover on the release date.

I can confirm that this book will be out April 11th 2023.

You can pre-order it below:

While you’re waiting for it to come out, why not sign up to my mailing list?

You get:

  • Four FREE enovellas.

  • Cover reveals before anyone else.

  • First chapter reads before anyone else.

  • Monthly news.

  • Character design polls.

  • Merch giveaways.

  • Free and discounted book deals.

  • Exclusive short stories.

You can sign up below:

That’s it for this week, I hope you are excited for the release of Heaven! See you next week,

Heaven Chapter One Preview

Hi all!

The second book in the Celestial Plague series, Heaven, will be going up for pre-order next month! While you’re waiting for that, I thought I’d share the first chapter so you can get a sneak peak of what happens. Without further ado, chapter one is below:

Darkness swirls around Ashleigh as she opens her eyes. Her chest feels like someone is sitting on it, making it hard for her to breathe. 

How did it come to this? 

God was supposed to take everyone who hadn't sinned before releasing the rapture. Why had he left her behind? 

A garbled voice muffles her eardrums. "Lee?" 

It comes back to her at once; her father, the fire, her friends. She opens her eyes fully, trying to adjust to the darkness. 

"Thank God you're awake." That was Raya. 

"We were so worried about you," Shannon murmurs. 

Her vision is still blurry and her entire body screams as she sits up. How could she forget about the sacrifice her father tried to make? 

"I'm alive?" she asks, her voice gravelly. 

"Well, you're not going to believe this," Raya mutters. "But a Sarj pulled you out." 

For a moment, she's confused until she remembers the demons her father tried to control. One bite from one of those demons would mean that you turn into one. Shannon believes that it's the final stage of the SARJ virus, the virus which ignited the apocalypse. Bite four Unbitten and three Bitten to reach... something. Her mind is too fuzzy to remember the finer details. 

"How are you feeling, Lee?" Shannon asks her softly. 

"Everything hurts, and I don't like how dark it is. How long was I asleep?" 

The fuzzy blobs of her friends appear to look at each other, but she can't be sure. 

"Lee, it's the middle of the day. The sun is out," Raya explains. 

"No... everything is so dark. You're both fuzzy." 

"Looks like the smoke damaged her eyesight," A male voice grunts. 

Ashleigh knows it’s Dan, the extra member of their group they picked up on the way to the town. As he had shown numerous times in the past, he only cared about the safety of Raya rather than the whole group. 

"It’s probably temporary," Raya snaps at him. "She's been through a lot." 

"So have you." 

"Enough. I'm not telling you again." 

Even without her sight, Ashleigh can sense the tension in the air. She doesn’t understand why Dan is still here. Raya has made it clear over and over that he wasn't welcome. 

Why did he keep coming back? 

"Where are we?" Ashleigh asks, feeling wooden floorboards on her fingertips.

"The church," Raya explains. "It was close and kept everyone away from the smoke." 

"Where's Lord Warren?" 

"He ran off," Shannon explains simply. 

A part of her feels disappointed that her father would leave like that, but the other half isn't surprised. He was willing to sacrifice her to appease his followers, after all. 

"What's the plan now?" Dan jumps in. 

"We need to go back to town," Raya says. "You can do whatever, as long as it's away from us." 

"Yeah, we need to find Jen," Shannon adds. 

Jenna is Shannon's ex-girlfriend, who disappeared before they were captured by Warren. The only reason they were wandering around was that they were looking for her. Despite not liking her much, Ashleigh did hope that she was safe. 

"But we're back where we started," Dan whines. 

"You don't have to come with us. In fact, just don't," Raya snaps. 

Dan obviously pretends he hasn't heard her. "Maybe we could take one of the trucks? That will cut the journey down." 

"We're going to town, not another country," Raya replies wryly. "We don't need a car." 

"You will if you want to get there quickly," he mumbles. 

"Maybe we should use a car," Shannon says softly. "Weren't you learning how to drive?" 

"I had two lessons," Raya explains with a sigh. "If I drive, we're all going to end up at the bottom of a ditch." 

"I bet we won't!" Dan announces, scrambling to his feet. "I'll find one for us!" 

Little stomps on the church floor let Ashleigh know he is leaving. She can hear the light scratching of Raya's nail against the floorboard, an almost silent way of letting everyone know she's frustrated. 

"We could sneak out while he's not looking," Raya suggests. 

"That would be mean, Rai," Ashleigh counters. 

"And the way he's treated you and Shan isn't mean?" 

"I'm sure he'll make up for his past behaviour." 

"More like his current behaviour," Shannon mutters. 

"Maybe he'll get better in time. We owe him a chance." 

"We owe him nothing,” Raya growls back. 

Ashleigh decides it’s better to be quiet. God would want them to give Dan a chance to atone for his mistakes, and she would give him one, even if no one else would. 

"I found keys!" Dan runs back into the room, metal jingling in his hands. "We can go now!" 

Raya sighs irritably. "If we die because I can't drive, it’s your fault." 

 

***

 

Jenna loses count of the hours she spent in the closet. Although from the noises outside, it’s clear that the Unbitten have either been infected or escaped, she didn't want to chance it. There's been a lot of panicked voices on the other side and the thrum of feet on the carpet. 

I think most of the carnage is over. 

Her breath catches in her throat as she reaches the doorknob, only to hear footsteps on the other side. Several people pause outside the door, their shadows creeping up the walls. 

"Found anyone else?" a male voice thrums. 

"No, I think everyone still in the building is downstairs. B is calling a meeting." 

"Why?" 

"I dunno. I guess we've got some changes to make around here." 

Jenna frowns at the news. She hoped that B had been killed, or at least infected when she set Erice, B's daughter, loose on the Unbitten faction. They had kicked her out, so she got her revenge. A Bot she used to distract guards had killed a few people as well, which was the icing on the cake. 

"Come on. Let's go before we get reprimanded." 

The footsteps echo as the people disappear down the hallway. Jenna sucks in a breath and opens the door a crack. Light spills into the closet as she peeks her head out. Bloody handprints litter the walls, and there are a few stains on the floors. Apart from that, nothing has changed. 

Gingerly, Jenna steps out and silently shuts the door behind her. She can hear the murmurs of people downstairs and inwardly curses at the fact that it's her only exit. Creeping across the floor like a cat, she makes her way to the stairs, the voices getting louder and angrier. 

She can only catch snippets of the shouting. "Bitten... Gone... Need to..." After everything that's happened, they’re probably trying to form a plan. 

I bet now they really regret letting me go! 

The first step creaks under her weight, making her pull her foot back. Luckily as she's a few floors up and drowned out by shouting, she isn't heard as she continues to descend the stairwell. 

There's more blood on the stairs, dripping from the rails onto the carpets below. Jenna wonders why there’s so much blood, seeing as it only takes a single bite to pass the infection on. 

Maybe some people got bitten more than once? 

Once she gets on the second floor, she has to stifle a gasp at the sight before her. A Halo-O Bot is in pieces, smashed syringes surrounding its white body. It’s covered in claw marks and dents of all sorts. There's more blood pooled around the Bot, and Jenna realises it must have killed more people than she initially thought. 

The Bots attack the infected and killed by injecting them with some sort of liquid. But if an Unbitten gets in the way, they won't hesitate to kill them too. 

Still, an injection doesn't cause that much blood... 

Cheer from below brings her back to the stairs, ignoring the broken body of the Bot. Slowly, she heads down the creaky steps, trying not to get too close. 

"...we are one and the same now, we shouldn't fight them any longer!" 

"We shall not fight against them anymore! We are Bitten now, and we will continue to survive." 

Shit. 

She hadn't even thought of the possibility of so many Bitten being left behind. The Bot was supposed to kill them all, not leave several to add more infection to the world. 

"Once the injured have recovered, I will apologise for the initial attacks. We only did what we thought was necessary to protect ourselves. Do not feel ashamed." 

Jenna's mind flicks back to the amount of blood everywhere. They had attacked each other after all. 

Someone shouts a question, but she can't really hear over the multitude of cheers. 

This was supposed to tear them apart, not bring them together! 

"If we see Jenna or her group again, we will kill them. I had initially hoped she would be an asset due to her experience with fighting Bitten, but now I see that she is just a murderer." 

Murderer? More like a protector of Unbitten! 

How dare he compare her to some low-life killer? Would he rather that a whole group of Bitten were just wandering the streets? He shared her view that the Bitten should be wiped out! 

But now he is one of them... 

She feels bile rise in her throat. He wouldn't hesitate to infect her now. No matter what, she couldn't allow herself to get infected. Using all her courage, she peers through the stair rails at the people below. There are at least twenty of them, several of his group are now missing. 

Or dead. 

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't brought your daughter here!" someone jeers at B. 

She can just about see B from this angle, surrounded by the mob of people in the hallway. "My daughter is dead now. Haven't I been punished enough?" 

"No!" someone else cries. "My children are infected because of you!" 

"Enough, they may be infected, but your daughter can now walk! She couldn't do that before the infection!" 

"It healed us!" another person hollers. "We should be thankful that we got infected in the first place and not killed!" 

Several people agree, cheering along with the people standing up for B. Jenna bites back a scream of disapproval. How could they be grateful for being infected? This has ruined their lives! 

While they're all distracted with fighting amongst themselves, Jenna makes a run for the door, letting it slam behind her. She doesn't even bother to look back as the screaming dies down. 

Cold air buffets her face as she hares down the streets, taking as many shortcuts as possible so they won't be able to follow. She wasn't going to let them infect her now. Eventually, her legs scream out for her to stop, and she presses herself against a shop window, her chest and gills heaving with each breath. She recognises the orange pavement of Mood Street, feeling relieved that she's managed to get far away from the new Bitten group. 

Her plan hadn't worked out as well as she'd hoped. The virus was supposed to drive them apart, not closer together. Had it all been for nothing? 

No. The look on B's face was worth it. 

Still, she was upset that she had managed to create more Bitten. She wanted to wipe the virus out, not let it grow. With one last look over her shoulder, she heads towards the path that would get her out of the city.

***

 That’s it for chapter one! Keep an eye on my social media and blog so you know when Celestial Plague #2: Heaven is available for pre-order. That’s it for this week, next week I’ll be talking about a book award that Mute and Years have won. See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

Mid-Christmas Horror Giveaway

New Year, New Monsters 3: From the Darkness

Heaven Cover Design

Hi all,

This week it’s time for the cover reveal for Celestial Plague #2: Heaven! This is the second book of four in the series and has bee designed by my cover designer, Deranged Doctor Design. They will also be designing the other covers for series, which the dates have been booked for. As always, I’ll update my banners and promo images when Heaven goes up for pre-order in early 2023. Without further ado, here is the cover…

As always, I’ll talk a bit about the design here:

  • The MC on this cover is Ashleigh. As explained with Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana, each main character will get their own book. The next one will have Raya on the cover.

  • Again, my colour scheme was scrapped so DDD came up with it and I love it!

  • The typography is the same across all the books and matches the YA genre.

  • Ashleigh is standing in a different part of the city to Shannon, which is why some of the buildings aren’t burning on this one.

  • I did consider adding infected on this one as well but I think just having Ashleigh is enough.

  • Ashleigh’s power is hard to capture on a book cover so I decided not to show it. I think it’s better that she isn’t changing the colour of her clothes or anything.

  • As it fits with her personality in the books, she is all covered up. She usually wears her hood over her head but I’m glad that DDD went without the hood up.

  • My favourite part of the cover is the sun rising in the background. It makes everything look even more eerie.

Heaven will be available in April 2023 and will probably go up for pre-order in late January or early February. The next book in the series, Celestial Plague #3: Purgatory, will have its cover designed around the same time.

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to grab these boxsets while they’re free to download in Kindle Unlimited!

Fantasy & Sci-Fi Box Set Kindle Unlimited Promo

Seashine - Excerpt

Hi all,

This week I’m going to share the beginning of Celestial Plague #0: Seashine. It’s a prequel enovella for the Celestial Plague series and is only available when you sign up to my mailing list. You can also download the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection, Famished and Solar Child. All for free!

She can do nothing but watch as the test subject thrashes on his stretcher, a feral roar exploding from his lungs. His eyes are pink and bloodshot, but she can clearly see the signature blue ring setting around his irises.

Phase one, complete. She mentally checks off. 

The other people in the room watch with a mixture of disgust and awe as the man's skin starts to turn a sickly grey. Her heartbeat quickens at the thought of being close to their goal, but then he slumps backwards with his mouth hanging open. 

No! 

For a few seconds no-one says anything until her boss, the one in charge of this project, clears his throat and steps forward. 

"I thought we had it." He curses, picking at a scab on his neck. 

"We were so close. Next time we'll have it for sure." She reassures him. 

His gaze snaps to her and she can't help but stare at his eyes. Pure black but conveying such intense annoyance. For a second, she's afraid she's said the wrong thing, he has an extreme temper, but then his shoulders relax. 

"You're right, Oceana. The positive thing is that he survived phase one. That has to count for something, right?" 

Oceana dips her head. "Of course, Dr West." 

He sighs. "Let's see what our investors have to say." 

Oceana follows him out of the sterile white room, relieved to be away from the body. She could handle them while they're living and changing, but the second they die she gets squeamish. The second time she fainted while handling them, so Dr West now gets one of the cleaners to do it. She thought she was fired for sure; he was so angry. 

Out in the hallway the 'investors' have gathered. Her eyes drift to the man with two large red tentacles for arms. He’s the one they have to please the most, as his unit is funding most of their project. His power still puts her off every time she sees him though.

"Dr West, we're impressed with what we saw." 

Oceana has to grit her teeth to prevent her mouth from dropping open. How could they be impressed with that? The experiment was a total failure despite the subject lasting past phase one.

"I'm glad to hear that." Dr West replies, not even an ounce of surprise in his voice. 

"And you, Fish Girl, how is the upgrade for the Bots going?" 

Oceana flinches at his tone. It doesn't matter how many times she tells these people her name, they always call her Fish Girl. She resists the urge to stare at the green and blue scales that cover the back of her hands. The scales cover her entire body, giving her the 'look' of a fish despite the rest of her being human. However, she wasn't going to let it get to her. She was teased relentlessly about her power in school and isn't about to relive that again. 

"Eighty percent complete." She answers, looking him right in the eye. 

Uncomfortable, he looks away. "Good. On our next visit I want it at ninety percent." 

Dr West glances over his shoulder at her. "Is that possible, Oceana?" 

"Yes sir." 

Although her main job is robotics and engineering in the Halo-O department, Dr West handpicked her to help with his secret project. She had been honoured at first, then horrified once she understood what it was, now it just leaves her with a numb feeling. Work isn’t as mundane as it used to be, but sometimes she wishes it was.

"Good. We'll be back in two weeks to check your progress." He says, trying not to glance in her direction. 

Dr West nods and the group leaves, walking single file down the slim corridor. Fluorescent red strips have been added to the walls to lead the way, the colour red was chosen as Dr West assumed many people would think danger and not wander too far down. So far, apart from one or two, he had been right.

"Don't let him get to you," Dr West says. "He's one of the biggest assholes I've ever met." 

She smiles politely, unsure of how to respond. "Do you need me to set up for the next round?" 

"No. Go work with the Bots for the rest of your shift. We'll begin again tomorrow." 

She tries not to let her relief show. Instead, she nods and follows the red strips out into another hallway. As she makes her way to the robotics department, marked with florescent green strips, she tries to calm her beating heart. They had been so close this time, the virus was so close to taking. But why hadn't it? She trusted Dr West's theories and knew that they would get there at some point. 

At least the Sergeant was pleased. 

Swiping her key card once she reaches the giant metal door, she ignores the stares of her colleagues as she makes her way to her desk, situated in the middle of the room. Blueprints and various wires are strewn across it, which she pushes to one side to log in to her computer. As she's scouring her emails for the day, she doesn't realise someone is in front of her until a Bot eye is dropped on her desk. It's grey with a single slit in the middle, storing the facial recognition software and direction input. 

"This one broke down again." Her colleague says. 

She doesn't bother looking up at him. "This looks like Warren's work to me."

The crazed cult leader was against anything that went against his view of the world. He believed that everyone’s powers are the work of the devil, and they should never use them. They need to avoid the urge of temptation and ignore their powers until God cleanses them of them. All his teachings ignore the fact that everyone is born like this, a lot of people don’t even want the powers they have. His followers have destroyed many Bots before, targeting the street cleaners. It baffles her that people could destroy something that is innocently trying to clean their area and make sure they're safe.

From the corner of her eye, she can see her colleague shrug. "You know Warren." 

Oceana pushes her glasses further up her nose, this wouldn't be an easy fix, if she could even fix it at all. Most of the wires have been sliced through and the hardware inside is fried. The outer shell has been dented and crumpled like a piece of paper. 

"I think we have to write this one off." She says with a sigh.

"No can do. Management wants this one up and running to look at its chip." 

She plucks a frayed wire from the mess. "They want this fixed?" 

Her colleague's face goes sour. "Dr West himself recommended your services. According to him you're the best one for the job." 

She doesn't need to meet his gaze to feel the hostility rolling off him in waves. Ever since Dr West picked her for his side project her colleagues have been nothing but rude and jealous. At first it had bothered her, but then she realised that they were just waiting for her to fail, and she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. 

"Fine. It will take a few weeks." 

"I'm sure Fish Girl won't disappoint." 

She can only glare at the back of his head when he walks away. Everyone uses her appearance against her, not caring if it hurts. 

Glancing at the mess on the table, she heaves a sigh. "I'll try my best." 

 

***

 

As Oceana is on the latest shift, she's the last one out of her department. She’s managed to get a few of the dents out of the Bot but that’s about it. Its resilient shell proved hard to mould and shape. She nods to a security guard as she passes by, almost getting to reception before getting called back. 

"Excuse me, are you Oceana?" 

She pauses and turns back to the female guard. "Yes." 

"And you're working with Dr West?" 

Oceana's scales prickle at the line of questioning. "Yes." 

The woman visibly relaxes. "There's an alarm going off in Dr West's office. I can't get hold of him and don't have clearance to turn it off. Can you help?" 

"Of course." 

The two women make their way down the corridor, smiling at everyone they pass. Once they get to Dr West's office the guard pauses before opening the door. A high-pitched alarm immediately cuts through, making Oceana's ears thrum. She opens the panel by the door and punches in the code and after a second they're left with only the ringing in their ears. 

"Thank you. It’s been going off for ages." 

"Do you know what triggered it?" 

"No idea. I checked the CCTV; no-one has been in or out for hours." 

Although Oceana knows that she should turn around and go home, a prickle in her gut wants her to go in. "Do you mind if I take a look around? Just in case it was a faulty wire." 

"That would be great, thanks. I don't want it going off again after you've left." 

The guard leaves her to it and Oceana peers into the room. Unlike the other offices this one has carpet, a deep burgundy. The walls are filled with Dr West's awards and achievements, with a few also standing up on his desk. There are two bookshelves at the back of the room, filled with textbooks about machinery and DNA. To her surprise there's also a famous romance novel shoved in the middle, she didn't take him as a fiction reader. 

She slides under his desk to look through the wires, checking if any are damaged or frayed. Once she's happy that it wasn't a fire alarm that was triggered, she sits up and returns to the panel. She punches a new code to do a room check, which whirs for a few seconds before a message pops up on the screen. 

"'Unidentified obstruction'? Where?" 

She runs the diagnostic again, but it comes back with the same message. That's when the sound of scratching from behind the wall makes her skin crawl. She presses her ear against the wall, trying to locate the source of the sound. 

"Oceana?" 

The voice makes her jump. "Dr West! They finally got hold of you?" 

"Yes, I just checked my messages. What are you doing?" 

She taps the message on the panel. "It says there's an obstruction. I hear scratching so it might be a rat." 

To her surprise he relaxes and runs another diagnostic check. "I hope not. The last thing we need is something getting wedged behind a wall." 

"Maybe we could set traps in the vents. If they can get in a wall they can get in there." 

"Good idea. I'll get on that tomorrow. Thank you for your help." 

She smiles politely and walks out, back towards reception to go home. The scratching in the walls had been creepy, but it was just a rat. She hopes that they won’t chew their way through her desk as well.

That’s it for this week! If you sign up to my mailing list, you’ll get four FREE enovellas and a monthly email with updates, short stories and giveaways. See you next week!

PS; don’t forget to check out these fantasy book bundles!

Flights of Fantasy

Dragon Books

Nirvana is now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

The first book in the Celestial Plague series, Nirvana, is now available on Amazon in ebook, paperback and hardcover! This is the first book where I’ve used chapter headers, which I think makes each chapter look really pretty! Check it out below:

The world as we know it is over and all it takes to survive is your humanity.

The SARJ virus is an epidemic that is quickly overtaking an already broken world. Dividing it between the Bitten and Unbitten and forever changing the course of human history. When Shannon becomes infected with the virus her entire life changes forever.

For Shannon to make it to Nirvana she’ll have to spread the virus. But can she live with the consequences of those actions?

The urge to spread the virus is almost overpowering but infecting others comes at high cost; not just to her humanity but the innate powers she was born with. With every bite she loses a little of her power and a little bit of herself as well.

To stem the tide of Bitten rampaging through their cities the Unbitten release robots on them. Cold, calculating killing machines that don’t understand the term mercy are now exterminating people like Shannon.

Will she be able to survive the onslaught, protect her friends, and hold onto her humanity all at the same time?

That’s it for this week, if you read Nirvana, I hope you enjoy it! See you next week.

PS; check out these book bundles!

Flights of Fantasy

Dragon Books