Blog Tour: THE UNSEELIE HEIR'S CLAIM by Elisa Rae

 

A human servant who sees too much.

A lord cursed in a pitch-black maze.

A throne in crisis with a missing heir.

Welcome to the Courts in Conflict. 

The Unseelie Heir’s Claim

Courts in Conflict Book 3

by Elisa Rae

Genre: Light Fantasy Romance, Romantasy

The Unseelie throne is in crisis, and the whole Wild Wood is in an uproar as the hunt is on for the missing heir. Kent is aware of the news, and even the humans just beyond the borders of fae land have heard rumors. He didn’t think it had anything to do with him. But then he comes home to a Dullahan in his mother’s kitchen claiming Kent is the lost heir.

Rue doesn’t belong. Left on the doorstep of the foundling home as a baby, she only knows she has some fae blood. Now an adult, she hides her differences from the humans beneath a quiet demeanor. But that doesn’t stop her from seeing magical things, like a glowing crown on the head of her new friend.

The Unseelie Heir’s Claim is a light, fantasy romance novella about a relationship between an Unseelie and a fae of mixed blood. It features a reluctant lost heir, fated mates, and a romance between a noble and a servant, all played out against a backdrop of the peril, politics, and uncertainty of the Unseelie Court in crisis.

 

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Rue

 

 Leaning forward, Kent rested his folded forearms on the tabletop. “My turn. Why were you so upset at the sight of a human child in my arms?”

Greyson nodded as though he had expected the question. “There has been an increased trade in human child abduction among the Unseelie, and I feared you allied with the smugglers supplying children to the slavers.”

“I thought the fae had banned human slavery.” 

“They have.” Greyson’s mouth tightened as his brows lowered in a great frown. “But outlawing a behavior and preventing illegal practices are two different things.”

“Why does it matter to you?” I asked because it clearly did. His anger as he had realized Mela’s species struck me as fierce and genuine. “You are fae. Every fae I have encountered couldn’t care less about humans.”

“Not every fae,” Kent inserted.

I sighed. “I didn’t mean you.”

“Words matter,” he protested.

“They do. And binding words even more.” Leveling an annoyed glance at him, I pressed my lips together.

“Those words, I meant them.”

“No more bindings. I told you,” I shot back.

Kent attempted to appear at least a bit repentant. “I didn’t want him to get the wrong impression.”

“And what impression would that be?” I asked. “That we are bound more tightly than we are?” The implications of a binding made me uncomfortable after being on my own for so long. 

Before Mela, no one cared about what happened to me; no one depended on me, and I had learned to accept that. 

Then Mela arrived at the foundling home. Her needing me had been a drastic change in my life. She’d needed care and love, and I knew Mistress Prout wouldn’t offer that. So, I stepped in and provided what Mela needed. 

To my complete surprise, Mela loved me in return. I had grown comfortable with that arrangement, and then Kent—I shook away the thought. We were bound now, and although I wasn’t sure I liked it, I needed to accept it and move forward.

The Fae King’s Labyrinth

Courts in Conflict Book 2

Someone stole Azulin’s true name. Cursed to ride with the Wild Hunt during each full moon, he is helpless against the Unseelie king’s will. Over the years, the curse’s grip has strengthened, making Azulin’s magic difficult to control. Fighting the curse has exhausted his spirit to the point that he despairs of breaking its hold on him. Then one full moon, the curse places him in a labyrinth, not a hunt. Perhaps this is his chance, or maybe just a new form of torture.

Calypso is a shapeshifter who can’t change form. Living as an unpaid caregiver and laborer in her sister’s household, her presence is barely tolerated in their insular community. When a strange fae threatens her pregnant sister, Calypso sacrifices herself. Perhaps an honorable death would give her life purpose. Instead, she ended up fighting for her life in a pitch-black labyrinth.

The Fae King’s Labyrinth is a light, fantasy romance novella about a relationship between a Seelie fae and a mortal woman. It features fae, found family, fated mates, and a romance between a noble and a commoner, played out in a perilous maze and an equally dangerous fae court.

 

 

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The Unseelie's Wallflower

Courts in Conflict Book 1

Greyson hides many things from the Unseelie Court when they invade his estate each autumn for the Wild Hunt. During his required appearance as host, he is surprised to find a human among the glittering fae. She can see him even when he is using his stealth magic, which means only one thing—they are soul mates. Can he protect her amidst the swirl of fae politics and a plot against her life?

Lyra has grown up among the fae. She has been trained to be the perfect servant. Then her master brings her to the Unseelie Court event of the year and demands she demonstrate her skills to nobles. With the promise of freedom as a motivator, she willingly agrees. Then she realizes her master’s true plan thanks to the intimidating fae lord hosting the event. Though why he would be invested in her fate is a mystery.

The Unseelie’s Wallflower is a light, fantasy romance novella about a relationship between an Unseelie and a human woman. It features faes, fated mates, and a romance between a noble and a servant, all played out against a backdrop of the peril, politics, and maneuverings of the Unseelie Court.

  

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A reader of fairytales and folklore, Elisa Rae loves a happy ending. Noblebright characters, dastardly villains, and chemistry between characters delight her. When she isn’t writing, she loves to watch superhero movies and literary dramas.

Elisa Rae is the pen name of Rachel Rossano.

 

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Blog Tour: THE GYRE by Stacy Carlson

 

An atmospheric journey into the far northern wilds, THE GYRE spins one man’s search for meaning into an astonishing saga where adventure, folklore, and the Arctic converge.

The Gyre

by Stacy Carlson

Genre: Literary Fiction, Dark Arctic Survival, Slavic Magical Realism

***Winner of the Electric Book Award***

An atmospheric journey into the far northern wilds, THE GYRE spins one man’s search for meaning into an astonishing saga where adventure, folklore, and the Arctic converge.

Arkady Afanasyev is a nineteenth-century Russian monk who aims to be the northernmost holy man in the world when he hitches a ride to Spitsbergen, a remote island considered by most to be a no man’s land. As he struggles across the tundra, he’s haunted by regret, a long-lost family, and a chorus of Orthodox saints and Slavic pagan tricksters including hearth spirits, sea demons, and the Twelve Sisters of Scurvy. Amid their uncanny influence and the great, turning, harsh natural world, Arkady is brutally and deeply transformed.

 

Content Warning: language (mild), loss of faith, alcohol consumption (mild), cannibalism (mild), violence, gore, starvation, animal death, animal attacks, death, amputation, complications in childbirth, kidnapping (mild).

 

What readers are saying about the book:

“Stacy Carlson has written an enthralling story of flawed, fragile humanity and the uncanny redemptive power of nature at its most brutal. The Gyre is a journey through a stark, glittering wilderness, an unforgettable landscape both terrible and holy in equal measure.”
—Lynn Coady, Giller Prize-winning author of Hellgoing

 

“Mythic journeys, fairy tales of ice and snow, sailors’ vodka-addled and lusty dreams, a monk’s poetic yearnings—The Gyre has it all! As we follow Arkady Afanasyev on his journey into the farthest reaches of the Arctic in search of his teacher and himself, we encounter story upon story strung together, like pearls, showing us how we are connected to the water, the ice, the ground, the light, and each other. The Gyre pulls you in and in and into its profoundly beautiful spiral of a story.”
—Kathryn Nuernberger, author of Held: Essays in Belonging

 

“This is an absolutely astonishing saga, packed at every turn with innumerable tangential sagas of survival, magic, incomprehensible courage and persistence, and—always—the great, turning, harsh natural world. It zooms the reader to a long ago and far away universe of struggle, quest, agony, and enchantment. Fearlessly imagined and capably written, Stacy Carlson has created a particular, complex, and searingly unforgettable mythology.”
—Joan Frank, author of Juniper Street: A Novel

 

“A gripping novel—both a rip-roaring yarn and a deep inquiry into what makes us human. Like a Caspar David Friedrich painting, Carlson’s The Gyre places the human against the immense backdrop of an unforgiving landscape—here, the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard—with dazzling results.”
—Colin Dickey, author of Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places and Afterlives of the Saints

 

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From Chapter 17

 

In the morning, Arkady tucks his flint, steel, and tinderbox into the pocket of his coat, which now he wears continuously, fully buttoned, day and night. He packs up the rest of his camp and ponders the mossy indentation that represents his earthly form.

Truly, it is better to fast than to starve. What else can we humans do but exert our puny will and, by the contours of our effort, see the framework upon which the universe is draped? What else can we do? My earthly husk is hungry, though my spirit still feeds.

The clouds have retreated to the sky’s upper reaches, and an elongated sunrise stretches a pale arm across the horizon. This triggers a strange glow over the tundra plain: a variegated chorus of green and stone.

Arkady moves on. He crosses a subtle point of land that ebbs into a narrow beach. Here, the stones reveal the outflow of a stream, whose course has eroded a rift in the mountain. Far above, Arkady hears but cannot see a waterfall. He drinks from the stream.

Foxes follow ice bears. That is their way. Foxes can hunt on their own, of course, but here on Spitsbergen mostly they follow bears out onto the ice. Arkady cannot say that foxes have faith, though his grandfather might have said so. But foxes operate on the promise of left-behind blood and entrails. Foxes follow ice bears. But this one follows Arkady.

As he drinks he watches the fox pick a delicate way across the wet ground.

“The animals live by rules unknown to us. Mysterious rules, little one. Rules we could learn from. If you are going to be wise about things, which I know you shall, you will keep your mind open to the very different rules of the four- and two-legged creatures of the earth. Do you hear?” His grandfather’s voice is so close.

Arkady walks for some time, then turns on his heel and kneels with one arm outstretched. He extends one quarter of one dried fish (a full eighth of his last remaining food) southward and waits. The fox edges up, sniffs the savory tidbit, bares his fangs, and plucks the torn fish from where Arkady has set it on the stones. The animal growls and retreats with the morsel.

From behind a driftwood log, the girl-saint Vasilissa frowns, confused by the human’s kindness. Each night when the fox comes to her to sleep with its tail curled luxuriously at her neck, she feels its ribs poking a little closer to the surface of its body. All night she hugs the animal tightly and watches flat, gray clouds drift overhead. With the animal close to her, she is part of this immense place; she creeps, hides, and persists just like the delicate purple saxifrage blossoms she saw when she first arrived on the island. With the animal near her, she is stronger. By loving it, she is somehow more able to consider helping the human, although for now, she does not.

The tundra plain extends its wide palm along the coast, and Arkady trudges in a daze of hunger through the afternoon. His prayers only skim the surface of things, and he can’t shake the feeling that his grandfather is walking just behind his right shoulder. Instead of a comfort, though, the presence unhinges Arkady’s composure so that, for two hours, he can’t keep from looking over his shoulder every few minutes.

Once, when he turns, the fox is following closely behind him, and, using some of his small store of willpower, Arkady tears off a second chunk of dried fish. This time the fox takes it directly from his hand. Walking on, Arkady sucks his fingers for the salty residue. Then, he unwraps his prayer rope from around his wrist and slips it into his pocket.

The third time he offers the fox a piece of fish, Arkady trembles with hunger. Vasilissa watches from the slope just above them. The fox will not go completely hungry today, and she is glad. She decides she will flag down the next patron saint. The human deserves a kindness in return for this one. Below her, by the curve of a stream, the fox plucks the last of the fish from Arkady’s outstretched left hand, and, quick as he can, Arkady grabs the animal by the throat with his other, gloved hand and holds on. He’s decided he can bear the animal’s claws but probably not its teeth.

Arkady will never forget the way the fox fought for its life. It drew both its hind legs close to its body and thrust them at Arkady again and again, faster than he thought possible, with its claws outstretched. It used these powerful tools to shred the wool in one section of Arkady’s coat and to gash the skin of his right hand and wrist, and once even his face, as he fought to secure those legs. The fox writhed and used its front claws as shield and sword both, but a man’s arms are longer than a fox’s reach, and when a creature is gripped by the throat, it is difficult to persevere. After he secures the hind legs, Arkady shuffles on his knees to the bank of the stream and plunges the fox into the icy water. Unfortunately for the fox, the water is just deep enough, and Arkady’s hunger just strong enough, for the man to succeed.

Vasilissa watches Arkady struggling with the fox and gradually understands she is watching a battle to the death. Her sight periscopes back and upward until she is a cloud observing a tiny diorama far below. But when the human finally raises the fox’s limp and dripping form, the whole scene collapses in on itself, and she goes blind with rage. Then, inevitably, the pain unto death blooms into something else: She is no longer a little girl. She is a figment, a force, and a bright, small terror adrift in time. This knowledge fills her mind and heart, and her rage fades as suddenly as it arose, and she is back in a stark northern land, kneeling on a cushion of intricate moss filaments, clenching her fists.

Vasilissa rises and turns from the human world, because she can. She glides over the ground. She continues up the scree slope, away from Arkady and his pathetic travails.  Vasilissa will be folded into the mysteries of Spitsbergen, comforted by the crags, and nourished by endless plains of ice and stone. In some future form, she will emerge from this sanctuary, but for now, she disappears.

STACY CARLSON is a novelist, naturalist, and educator. Publishers Weekly called her debut novel, Among the Wonderful, “Intelligent, engrossing, and utterly unique.” Stacy’s essays and fiction have appeared in Tin House, Post Road, Inkwell, and elsewhere, and she has received fellowships and residencies from the Mesa Refuge, The Arctic Circle, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and Signal Fire. Her background includes work as a historical ecologist, fish cannery worker, hot springs caretaker, and hiking guide in Big Sur. She grew up between mountains and sea in the Pacific Northwest and has lived in New England, New York, Northern California, and the Upper Midwest.

 

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Spotlight: TRIPSTERY by John Ringstad

Tripstery: Three mysteries in one anthology.

Disappeared: A high school soccer star vanishes and is missing for nearly three decades until a whispered clue from a mysterious woman at Ash Wednesday Mass: “I know what happened to your friend.”

Fountains of Bellagio: The president of one of America’s oldest and largest labor unions is found murdered in the lake at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, the night before the start of their national convention.

Equanimity: Doug DeVore, billionaire founder of ConferenceRoom, the world's most popular videoconference platform, is shot dead in the middle of a live call with seven college friends planning their 25th reunion.

Unforgettable characters.

Deception, schemes, entanglements and betrayal.

Twists and turns that will keep you turning pages.

Dig in and try to solve these crimes.

 

Buy on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Tripstery-Three-mysteries-One-anthology-ebook/dp/B0HMJLNP29/

Blog Tour: DRIVE DOWN THE PURCHASE PRICE OF YOUR NEW CAR by Dale Dallman

 

DRIVE DOWN THE PURCHASE PRICE OF YOUR NEW CAR

by Dale Dallman

 

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GENRE: NonFiction

 

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BLURB:

 

 

Buying a car. Just those three words can conjure up a whole swirl of emotions.

 

For some, it’s the thrill of a sleek new model—the scent of fresh upholstery and the promise of open roads. For others, it’s a daunting odyssey filled with jargon, pressure, and the fear of an expensive mistake.

 

Wherever you fall, you’re reading this because buying a car is a significant life event.

 

We’ve all stood on the lot, squinting at price tags, decoding financing offers, and feeling the push to “act now.” It’s easy to feel outmatched—to wish for an expert at your side. Consider this book that expert: your trusted co-pilot on a journey that’s both exciting and rewarding.

 

This isn’t just a checklist—it’s a philosophy. You’ll learn to approach car buying with clarity and confidence, understand financing, master the test drive, and negotiate with purpose, ensuring that you walk away feeling like a winner.

 

Whether you’re a first-time buyer, upgrading, or simply overwhelmed by options, this book is for you.

 

So, buckle up. Get ready to embark on a journey that will not only lead you to the perfect vehicle but will also leave you feeling empowered, informed, and ready to hit the road with a smile.

 

Happy driving!

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Now, as you choose a vehicle, you will be brought into the dealership, ushered into a cubicle, and do the cooldown. (A way to use the emotions from the showroom to sell.)

 

The full retail price allows the dealer a big markup. You can challenge it! The length of the contract (how many months), you can challenge it. The rate of interest, you can challenge it.

 

If you look closely at the sticker in the window, you will find that, in most instances, it lists several dealer-added “EXTRAS.” They vary in terms of name. Some call it “added items” that are automatically included with the vehicle, like mud flaps, color protector, seat protector, and other extras. Remember, all these items are hugely marked up. They try to get you to believe these can’t be taken off!

 

I love this one!! (ADP)!

 

It ranges from a couple of thousand dollars to several thousand dollars! ADP equals “Additional Dealer Profit.” Yep! They have the audacity to want the normal markup, the extras for the add-ons and a pie-in-the-sky “ADDITIONAL DEALER PROFIT!!”

 

Now, look closely: I visited a local dealer before I added this new forward. It wasn’t called (ADP), they have a soft name for it!! Just remember to look at ALL the items the dealer adds to the factory-issued Original Retail window sticker. ALL those things are ADDITIONAL DEALER PROFIT!!! Like I point out in the book. Challenging or flat-out refusing to deal with these items knocks the dealer off their game plan. It causes confusion, which, if you stick to your guns, SAVES YOU MONEY!

 

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GUEST POST

 

My inspiration for writing Drive Down the Purchase Price of Your New Car came from years spent on the other side of the desk. I worked as a car salesman and manager, and I saw how a deal came together from the dealership’s point of view. I wanted buyers to have some of that same knowledge before they walked through the door.

For most people, buying a car is a major financial decision. Yet they may only do it once every several years. The person sitting across from them handles car deals every day. That difference in experience can put the buyer at a disadvantage before the conversation even begins.

Over the years, I watched customers concentrate on a monthly payment without fully understanding the purchase price, the financing, or what they were receiving for their trade-in. I also saw how the way figures were presented could make it difficult to know whether they were getting a good deal.

That is what I wanted to explain in this book. I wanted to take what I had learned in the business and put it into language an ordinary buyer could understand and use.

I believe a dealership deserves to make a fair profit. I also believe customers deserve to understand what they are paying for and to make their decisions without feeling confused or pressured.

My goal was to help readers ask better questions, recognize sales tactics, and feel comfortable taking their time—or walking away when a deal does not suit them.

A car should be something you enjoy owning, rather than a purchase you regret once you get home and study the paperwork.

If my book helps someone save money, avoid an expensive mistake, or simply sit down at the negotiating table with more confidence, then it has accomplished what inspired me to write it.

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Dale Dallman worked in the CAR business for decades. He started at Frontier Chevrolet in Billings, Montana. He worked the hardest part of the dealership, the USED CAR LOT! Frontier Chevrolet had 37 salespeople after it was bought out and renamed Denny Menholt Chevrolet. Dallman was #1 in sales from the beginning. Dallman invented the tool that made him famous, “THE BIRD DOG BUCK.” It was a copy of a $100 bill, with his picture on it. It had a section for the previous buyer to print their name, and for the potential new buyer to print their name.  The idea was to send ten copies to every person who bought a car from him. It asked the buyer to give one to every person they thought might be interested in buying a car. The instructions printed on the fake bill were “Give this to a potential buyer. If they present it to the dealership and ask for Dallman, you will receive a $25 “Bird Dog” check! The potential buyer will get a $500 discount on their purchase.” It got to the point that he didn’t even need to stand at the door and wait for new walk-ins. He had a secretary who handled his appointments!

 

Dallman then went out to the West Coast. Here, he worked on new and used cars for a Chevrolet dealer in the car village in Olympia, Washington.  He and his best friend (both from Billings) worked there. The idea for a book started there, but Dallman needed a broader cross-section of the car business, so he moved to Gilchrist Buick in Tacoma, Washington, to reach a different class of buyers. He did so well that Buick Motor Division had him do training videos that they used internally in National training.

 

Dallman decided to go to Germany on a contract with TOYOTA WORLD. The job was working the locations on the military bases where the military could buy cars and use them in-country, order one to be picked up at a dealer back in the states when they rotated home.

 

Dallman now does consultant work for buyers. He has instructed sales classes and trained both BUYERS and the salesmen, trying to get your money!  Dallman has advised many dealers and salespeople.  But he loves helping buyers outsmart the Dealers more! 

 

https://www.dallmanproductions.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Grizzlytrack

https://www.instagram.com/dallmanproductions/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49906767.Dale_E_Dallman

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/dale-e-dallman

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dale-E.-Dallman/author/B0D57RY38J

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

 Dale Dallman will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.