Spotlight & Excerpt: Forgotten Scars + Giveaway

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Welcome to the book tour for Forgotten Scars by Natalie J. Reddy. Today I have an excerpt for you to read and a really amazing giveaway to enter at the end! forgotten scars - final ebook cover (1)

Forgotten Scars (Scars of Days Forgotten #1)

Publication Date: March 2021

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance

Humanity is not alone. Supernatural beings are hiding among us. The Psi have remained secluded from humans for far too long, and there’s a faction that is conspiring to break the veil and use their powers to take their rightful place among humans – as our rulers and conquerors. Wren is a college student who didn’t think her life could get much worse. That is until she’s kidnapped by the Psi and questioned about her closest friend. But the Psi offer her something no one else can – the truth about who she is. But can she trust the Psi? Can she trust her feelings towards her irritatingly charming captor? Or is she just a pawn in a very dangerous game?

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Excerpt

Once the door closed, I flung the blanket off. The room looked like it could be someone’s study or office. I hurried to the windows and yanked open the drapes and the room flooded with sunlight. Daylight! I’d been out for hours!

There were no bars on the windows, but a quick glance outside revealed that I was on the second floor of wherever this was. Climbing or jumping down could be an option. A second story jump wouldn’t kill me, but it would likely hurt like hell. 

I groped around the window frame for a lock or way to open it. I found nothing. Hurrying over to the next set of drapes, I yanked them open and found a set of French doors. Behind the glass, I could see a little balcony, and I reached for the door handle.

“Damn it!” The knob moved, but when I shoved against it, it didn’t budge. I shook my head. “People don’t go to the trouble of kidnapping someone, only to leave them in an unlocked room, you idiot,” I muttered to myself. Nothing was ever that easy.

Something heavy—that’s what I needed. If I couldn’t just walk out, I would break out!

I turned, and for the first time, I noticed the fire cracking in the fireplace along the far wall behind the couch I’d woken upon. On a second glance, the room looked more like an old library than someone’s personal office. The walls had deep mahogany wood paneling and were lined with books from floor to ceiling. There was a large matching desk stationed on the far side of the room. The room was almost the size of my entire apartment and was full of plenty of things that looked nice and heavy.

I pushed my mussed hair out of my eyes and walked over to an end table by the couch and picked up a large, very ugly candelabra. I studied it for a moment taking in the fat bronze cherub with its vacant and creepy looking eyes and grimaced. “Who would buy something this ugly?” I muttered as I moved back to the window. I would need to move quickly once the glass broke. 

I moved swiftly across the room to the French doors, lifted the candelabra and swung—

“There’s a deadbolt at the top,” a voice spoke, stopping me mid-swing.

I shrieked, and whirled around to see a guy had entered the room. He held a tray in his arms, his lips quirked up in an amused half-smile.

“Um—what?” My heart hammered in my chest at the sudden appearance of someone in the room. How had I not heard him?

“Up at the top of the door.” The guy jerked his chin in the direction of the French doors. “There’s a deadbolt you can unlock if you need to get some air that badly. No reason to break perfectly good windows.” He crossed the room and set the tray down on the coffee table. “Not that you’d break them anyway. They’re made of unbreakable glass,” he added as he poured himself a cup of what smelled like coffee.

I watched as he added heaping spoonfuls of sugar and a dash of cream before heading to the couch, where he sat down like everything was totally normal and took a sip of his coffee. But normal people didn’t kidnap people or need unbreakable windows.

“You can put that down.” He motioned to the candelabra still held tightly in my grasp. “You won’t be needing it.”

“You going to let me leave if I do?” I dared to ask.

The amused smile that hadn’t left his mouth since he had first spoken grew. “I can’t let you leave, but I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.” He lifted the cup to his lips and took another sip of his coffee.

I tightened my grip on the candelabra, the hard bronze managing to give me a small measure of comfort as I said, “I’d feel more comfortable holding onto this then.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded.

“Why bother telling me about the lock on the door if you aren’t going to let me go?” I asked.

“Letting you go outside and letting you leave isn’t the same thing.” He set his cup down and strode towards me.

Every muscle in my body tensed as he stopped a foot away. He wasn’t much older than me, and only a few inches taller, but his confidence made it feel like he was towering over my five foot seven inches. The smile had left his mouth as he studied me. His eyes were a light golden brown that could only be described as honey-colored, and they almost glowed against his light brown skin. His hair was a dark wavy mass that reached his collar.

Good looking didn’t even begin to describe this guy. He was the type of subject I’d normally love to sketch or paint, but given my current position, I wasn’t really in the mood. Although my situation didn’t stop me from noticing his strong nose and narrow jaw, or the way his lashes were long enough for a mascara commercial. I couldn’t help it. I saw potential art in most everything, especially beautiful things. And damn it, he was beautiful.

His mouth quirked to the side as if something amused him, but he didn’t say what. He just continued to look at me.

I straightened to my full height, refusing to shrink away. “Why am I here? Or are you not important enough to tell me either?”

He took a step closer, closing the gap between us and leaned in, his face a measly couple inches from mine. “I’m the reason you’re here.” He didn’t move away, and I glared at him.

“You’re in my personal space.”

“Am I?” He smirked as he flicked the end of my nose.

“Don’t touch me!” I smacked his hand away.

His teeth gleamed as he flashed a cocky grin, “Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” The grin didn’t leave his face, but he took a step back and moved behind the desk. “Come sit down, Wren, and we’ll talk.” He sat in the deep brown leather chair.

The use of my name caught my attention. “How do you know my name?”

He nodded to the chair in front of the desk.

“I’m not sitting until you tell me how you know my name.” I stormed toward the desk and slammed the stupid ugly candelabra down in front of him with as much force as I could muster.

The jerk didn’t even flinch.

“I’m the one who arranged for you to be brought here,” he said. “It helps to find out the name of the people you’re kidnapping.”

He had me there.

“Now, sit down, please.” His words were calm but firm as he nodded once more towards the chair and crossed his arms, waiting.

I complied. For now.

He was silent as he shuffled through some files on the desk. A wiser person might have stayed silent and waited for their captors to speak, but I’d never been accused of ever being especially wise.

“Who are you?” I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. “And why am I here?”

He glanced up and folded his hands on top of a manila file. He didn’t speak, he just studied me, his gaze dark and intrusive.

I shifted, clenching my fists so tightly, my nails bit into my palms.

“My name is Darshan, and you’re here because I need something and I’m hoping you can help me.”

“What makes you think I can help you?”

I searched my mind to come up with something, anything that these people might think I could do for them. I had little to offer anyone. I knew that. I wasn’t stupid. But, obviously, he didn’t know that, or maybe I’d been mistaken for someone else?

Darshan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “I know you can help me, Wren.”

“I swear I have nothing of any value to you.”

“It’s not about what you have, but who you know.”

“What are you talking about?” I shook my head. Who could I know that these people would want?

Darshan flipped open the file and pulled out a photo. He slid it towards me. His face was hard without a hint of humor. “We want to know where this woman is.”

I looked at the photo to see… me. So not a case of mistaken identity, but very creepy. It took me a moment to take in the rest of the picture and notice the person next to me. My eyes widened.

“Her name is Maeve.” His voice pulled me from my thoughts. “But I believe you know her as Wendy, and others know her as a murderer.”

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About the Author

1409-2019-083811046472874711683 Natalie J. Reddy is a Canadian Author who spends her days trying to escape reality by making up stories about the characters in her head. Natalie realized at an early age that she had a passion for storytelling and that passion followed her into adulthood. There is nothing she loves more than to be pulled into a fictional world whether it’s in her own writing or the writing of others. Natalie is the author of the Scar of Days Forgotten series, a New Adult Urban Fantasy series with characters who have supernatural abilities and dark and sometimes unknown pasts to overcome. When she’s not writing, Natalie can be found having all sorts of real-life adventures with her husband and daughter or curled up with a good book and a cup of tea. To keep up to date on upcoming books, subscribe to Natalie’s newsletter at nataliejreddy.com

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Giveaway: Natalie is giving away signed editions of all 4 books in her Scars of Days Forgotten series and artwork inspired by the books! *North America Only Rafflecopter


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Book Blitz & Excerpt: The Abandoned + Giveaway

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jake Cavanah will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

The Abandoned
by Jake Cavanah
Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Once an uninhabited island off the California coast, the government used Morple to quarantine minorities during the sonoravirus pandemic from 2030 to 2045. At its conclusion, Morple became the country’s fifty-first state. This is where sisters Robin Karros’ and Ariana Jackson’s tragic journey began. As two of the first children officials checked into and raised in a state-run program responsible for inflicting severe abuse on Morple’s youth, they shared hardships that strengthened their bond. After a social revolution put an end to the program and freed them, Robin and Ariana went their separate ways. Now that it is 2089 and each has achieved prosperity, their paths intersect after spending the latter portion of their lives apart. Even though it goes against protocol, Ariana reestablishes a relationship with her older sister and integrates with her family. In doing so, she risks her marriage and husband’s business interests, but it causes her to realize she must make up for her life’s biggest mistake. It soon becomes apparent the fate of Robin, Ariana, and others has been more intertwined than they ever could have imagined.


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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I chose this because it reveals Robin has experienced hardship in her life without giving too much detail, and because it ends with her saying “persistence prevails,” one of Robin’s best attributes and a theme.

Robin wiped her hands on her apron before reaching out to hold Jimmy. As she situated him in her arms, his eyes widened as far as they could and gazed up at the beautiful mystery woman. When they locked eyes, Robin became nostalgic. Memories of Jonathan around this age were some of her fondest. Robin had just been released from the state’s custody and was on her way towards winning her fortune that served as her escape from a bleak future Morple designated to certain members of society. Bobby Karros had just entered her life and embraced her and all the baggage she warned him about, the first sign of his admirable character she fell so hard for.

“He is such a good baby, but I feel like his daddy’s absence is already affecting him,” Taylor said.

Despite their current differences in class, Robin and Taylor seemed very alike.

“Well Taylor, you’re doing a great job,” Robin said, unsure if she should pry on what happened to Jimmy’s father, “The fact you’re here shows you are seeking the necessary help for the benefit of not only him, but for you, as well. Be proud of yourself.”

“His daddy was so excited when he was born, just ecstatic. Then when Jimmy was about six months he was just gone. I haven’t seen him since, and that was six months ago. Life wasn’t always kind to us, but I thought Jimmy and our relationship outweighed the bad. I guess I was wrong.”

Taylor’s tears fled down her face, drying up on her mask. It was clear she needed someone to talk to, and Robin made herself available to her. She didn’t expect to come across someone who on the surface appeared to live in a different reality than Robin, but really, their paths seemed to be quite similar.

“Jonathan, my son who Jimmy reminds me of, was four when his stepfather went missing. Sixteen years ago. One day I came home, and he was just gone. Nowhere to be found. Jonathan and my youngest son Moe were both crying in their rooms, petrified, but the authorities and I couldn’t get any information out of them. Moe was just a baby, and Jonathan’s brain development is behind for his age, so they couldn’t help us out, but it was obvious something horrific happened. It’s hard for him to process things, but by looking in his eyes I could tell he saw what happened. Whatever occurred that day was clearly a traumatic experience for them.

“But unfortunately, we’ll never know what happened. All I could do was to keep being the best possible mother I could be. That’s what my boys needed, so that’s what I did.”

Robin gathered from Taylor’s facial expression she was not expecting them to have much in common. Ever since getting her life together, Robin was regularly met with skepticism and surprise by those she shared her life experiences with. She didn’t boast or even acknowledge it, but she knew her impressive physique and natural beauty were the reasons others assumed her life had always been a breeze. One of Robin’s primary goals was to serve as a symbol of hope for women like Taylor, which is one of the reasons Robin dedicated so much of her time to helping the likes of Taylor out. If a little girl who suffered unimaginable amounts of trauma could grow up to be what Robin was, then anyone could.

Including Taylor.

“Doesn’t it anger you why he left?” Taylor asked.

“It angers me he isn’t here, yes, but I’m not sure if he left. Coming home to find my boys crying the way they were tells me something worse happened, but I will probably never know for certain. All I can do is focus on the now and keep pushing forward. If there’s one thing Morple has taught me, it’s persistence prevails.”


About the Author:

Jake Cavanah is passionate about writing imaginative stories that include messages he wants readers to apply to their own lives, utilize to better understand others, or both. If after reading his work people find themselves more capable of seeing particular situations they encounter from another perspective, he accomplished his goal.

When Jake is not writing he is reading, golfing, playing tennis, cooking, or enjoying the company of his dogs Murphy and Sophie with his girlfriend Scout. Aside from becoming a full-time author, one of Jake’s main aspirations is to move to Oregon and start a family.

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Book Blitz & Excerpt: Shadow Winged, by Jilleen Dolbeare

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I’m pleased to share Shadow Winged, the first book in The Shadow Winged Chronicles with all of you today! Now available on Amazon!

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Shadow Winged 
Publication Date: September 17th, 2021
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Shifters

Werewolves are bad, but ice age predators are worse, especially werepredators...

Being a bush pilot is the third most dangerous job in the world. Piper Tikaani takes that in stride. As an Inupiaq shapeshifter, flying is second nature, whether under her own power, or tackling the skies in her Super Cub.

Strong winds, rugged terrain, and rough clients, were all the excitement she had room for until a mysterious death and hidden treasure led Piper to a new and dark reality. One where the people she trusts hide things from her, and ancient beasts stalk the land.

Now with the help of her friends and her new lover, she must discover the truth. The truth about the treasure, the truth about her clan, and the truth about herself. Unfortunately for her, this may mean exposing her secrets to the very creatures that are hunting her. You see, the dark gods of her people are back and they are hunting the shadow winged—like Piper.

If you like unique Urban Fantasy based on Native American mythology along the lines of Patricia Briggs, CE Murphy, and Faith Hunter, you’ll love this new series!

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Chapter One

The rugged cliffs of the Alaska Range darkened as the clouds pressed from above.  I decreased my air speed and descended another hundred feet, hugging the right side of the steep mountain and giving myself room in case I had to turn around in the narrow pass and go back to Anchorage. We were close enough to the side of the mountain to observe a band of grizzlies under my right wing.  Most of the animals cringed when we buzzed past, but a huge boar looked up, challenging us.  My client barked out a quick laugh.  

I’d already sunk four hundred feet on my way through the pass, and we flew along at an altitude of eight hundred. The lowering ceiling kept forcing us down as I raced an incoming front. I cleared the pass and zoomed out over open ground, trees, and tundra. 

Suddenly, a black cloud materialized in front of me.  I slowed further, trying to dip below. As I grew closer, I realized it was a cloud of dark birds.  My heart sped up.  I dipped my right wing to avoid them, but they moved almost as if they were trying to hit me.  

I increased the dip further, and accidentally stalled the wing–losing lift.  We dropped fast. My passenger gasped loudly.  I grimaced; teeth clenched with concentration.  After some quick maneuvering, I recovered from the stall, sweat running down my back. 

A flash of black feathers and a loud whump was all I saw as the ravens bounced off the

plane. “Shit!” I yelled as I dove further to avoid the rest.  We were down to three hundred feet.  The clouds were still pressing on us, and I was worried about the damage the birds may have done to the cloth covered Super Cub.

“We’re going to have to land.” I straightened out and started to look for somewhere to put down.  “I need to assess the damage.”

He grunted affirmatively.   Rough maneuvering like that can leave your passengers a bit green, so I hoped he was doing well and wouldn’t spray my cockpit with vomit. 

Luckily, we were over a river and even though it seemed to be running higher than usual, there had to be a gravel or sand bar somewhere big enough to land a good bush plane on.  The Cub bounced and swayed in the strong wind, and the sky continued to threaten as I located a potential landing spot on a gravel bar.   

A quick glance back showed my passenger’s white knuckles clinging to the back of my seat. I buzzed the gravel bar, twice, mentally checking the length, and circled back to land. I came in at an angle, fighting the crosswind and straightened at the last second to avoid the possibility of the wind flipping us. I could smell the sharp, quick scent of fear. Mine and the stranger’s. It filled the plane as the sudden deceleration pushed us into the seat belts.

The Super Cub is the workhorse of the bush.  It’s small, likes to fly, carries a good load, and can take-off and land in a very short distance. This was a very short distance.  I dragged my oversized Bushwheels through the water slowing the plane and bounced gently down the makeshift runway.  I turned and maneuvered it for a quick take-off before I powered down.

“You doing okay back there?” I only got another affirmative grunt. 

“You might as well stretch your legs; I know it gets a bit cramped back there.” I pulled off my headset and opened the door.

“That was some pretty good flying,” his voice was husky and deep and rumbled from his chest.  

“It shouldn’t have had to have been,” I shrugged. “It’s like they came out of nowhere,” I scowled up at the darkened sky.  “It’s weird.  Ravens are too smart to hit a plane,” I spoke quietly, mostly to myself. 

I didn’t let on about it freaking me out.  Ravens are a personal animal for me. Hitting them made me feel slightly nauseous and unbalanced. I helped him remove the bags and gear that were pinning him down and he stepped out.

 A quick chill raised the hair on my neck and peppered me with gooseflesh. I looked around to see if anyone besides my passenger was around.  No one.  I brushed off the feeling. How dumb, by worrying about the ravens I’d spooked myself!  

I frowned slightly at my passenger, trying to remember his name.  He had a bemused smile on his face.  He pushed his hat back a little and took off his sunglasses.  His bright blue eyes immediately drew me in.  Wow.  He hadn’t looked more than average at first glance, but those eyes were something.  I looked away quickly.  

He took a deep breath of the cool, clean air, and looked around.  “I can see how this country can get under your skin,” he said.  “Can I help you with anything?” he added after turning back to me.

“Thanks, uh, Vanice?” I stumbled through the name. I thought that was it. I hoped I got it right.  I thought for a moment longer, no, that’s right, Vanice Fletcher, but he had some kind of nickname. He flinched; I should have paid closer attention to dad when we were loading up.

“Call, me Fletch or Fletcher,” he said.  “Vanice was my grandfather.”

“Okay, sorry, I’m Piper, by the way, like my airplane. It’s a Piper Super Cub. Only I’m Piper Tikaani. I was a little distracted before. I don’t remember if I told you my name.”  I was babbling. I shut my mouth, held out my hand and we shook. “I’m good, with the plane, I mean.  Why don’t you have a look around while I check it over?  Just keep an eye out for bears.”

“Sure.”

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About the Author:

Jilleen Dolbeare author photo

Jilleen Dolbeare is the author of the Shadow Winged Chronicles, an urban fantasy series about a shape-shifting bush pilot in Alaska.

She started her love of reading at the age of two. She was an experiment by a father who was starting his career as a teacher. She gained her love of science fiction and fantasy in middle school by reading The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, The Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl, and The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey among others.

She discovered her deep love of urban fantasy after reading Steven Spruill’s Rulers of Darkness, and her love of writing while finishing her English composite (English and Literature) degree at Brigham Young University.

Jilleen lives with her husband and two cats in Barrow, Alaska where she also discovered her love and admiration of the Inupiaq people and their folklore.

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