Blog Tour: The Dragon's Heart by Eden Ashe

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Click HERE for more tour information and a rafflecopter giveaway.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Eden Ashe and The Dragon's Heart.

Eden has stopped by for an short interview!

What inspired you to become an author?

Reading. The more I read, the more stories started forming in my head.

What are you reading now?

I am currently on a Laura Kaye kick. I’m impatiently waiting for Hard As You Can.

What are you planning to read? 

Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen, Being Amber by Sylvia Ryan, and the entire In Death series by J.D. Robb

Which writers inspire you?
Julie Garwood, especially her historicals. 

What book have you read the most or is your favorite? 

I have to pick? Ack. Ransom by Julie Garwood. I’ve read it more times than any other romance. I love Brodick.

Your character ~where do they come from?

They’re created from scratch. They just popped into my head one day and refused to go away.

More About the Author:
Convinced dragons have gotten a bad rep throughout time, and more than a little addicted to fairy tales and romance novels, Eden Ashe has decided to re-write history. In her version, the dragons are ancient warriors in tarnished armor, who not only deserve the girl in the end, but will fight forever for her.
www.edenashe.com
www.twitter.com/EdenAshe
www.facebook.com/eden.ashe.author
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7262875.Eden_Ashe

The Dragon’s Heart
Dragon Lore Series
Book One
Eden Ashe
Genre: urban fantasy romance
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc
Date of Publication: January 6, 2014 
Number of pages: 198
Word Count: 76000
Cover Artist: Renee Rocco
Amazon  
 
Book Description:
“We’re dragons. We don’t do the mushy friend thing.” - Daniel
 
The dragon-shifter king will do anything to keep his mate alive…even if it means war.
 
After millennia as king of the dragon-shifters, Daniel Ashborne wants a little peace and quiet, especially from the beautiful Hollywood starlet who haunts his memories. His escape tactics end abruptly when he is called to the ER to save the one woman he wants to forget, but who now bears his mark.
 
Shelby Kincade’s life and movie career were nearly destroyed when Daniel vanished a year ago. Now he’s back, claiming they have been accidentally mated. Getting over him once was hard enough, but she must choose either the life of her dreams or the man she can’t live without. With peace finally on the horizon between the dragon-shifters and the Hunters, an assassination attempt on the dragon king and his mate shatters everything. Tensions rebuild as Daniel and his loyal team of shifters try to discover who put out the hit. Enemy and ally lines are crossed, but in the end--after the battle ash has settled--no one could have foreseen who has plotted for their own gain.
 
CONTENT WARNING: Graphic fight scenes, lots of great sex, and hot, hot, hot dragon men. A Lyrical Press Urban Fantasy Romance

Excerpt:

A furious Daniel towered over her.

Realizing she was in an ambulance, she scooted back on the stretcher, pulling the sheet tighter around herself. Something was very, very off. There was no pain or range of motion issue with her shoulder. There was just a blackness where the last hour should have been. Whatever was wrong with her, it ran core deep, and had everything to do with the man treating her as if she’d caused all the wrongs in his world.

She let out a pathetic snort. He had vanished on her, leaving her to face the last year alone. The media wasn’t forgiving at the best of times, and they’d had a field day--field year--with America’s Good Girl falling from grace. A dead body, and the disappearance of the man accused of the crime, was too good of a story for the media not to run around the clock for a month straight.

It didn’t make any sense why he hated her. For as much hell as he’d caused her in the last eleven months, professionally and personally, nothing had prepared her for the blast of emotions that rocked her at seeing him standing close to her again. She had no idea what to do with the realization she’d missed him. As soon as she figured out what the hell was going on, she needed deep psychological help.

“So.” She was careful to keep her left arm tucked against her stomach as she tried in vain to put more distance between them. It still didn’t hurt, but the thought of ripping the rapidly healing wound open made her queasy. She’d never been a big fan of blood. Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip as she tried not to worry about how much space he took up, even while sitting on the bench. He was huge. “You’re alive.” When he leaned forward, bringing them closer together, she tried to keep her face impassive. Her gaze dropped to the huge forearms he braced against tree trunk-sized thighs, before she snapped her attention back to his face. He was a lunatic who looked to be on the verge of major violence. She wasn’t so confused she didn’t understand the combination was a powder keg with a lit fuse. “I wasn’t sure. The police said you were gone before the ambulance ever got to the hospital.”

“Disappointed, princess?”

She almost snorted at him. She’d spent the last year hoping he was still alive, and trying not to let the uncertainty drive her out of her mind. “I didn’t get myself shot on purpose, you know. So whatever you’re mad at me about, it’s not my fault. I didn’t ask them to call you.”

“Right.” He dragged his gaze from the mark over her heart back to her face. Though she was sure she was imagining it, she could have sworn his eyes lingered on her mouth. “Just like the Hunter showing up in your bedroom was just a weird twist of fate?”

“A hunter?” She asked, certain she was missing a huge part of the conversation. “Daniel, my house was in the most exclusive part of Los Angeles. There isn’t anywhere to hunt.”

“Ryuu.”

She remembered that word from their first date. He’d told her it was an ancient dragon curse because his sister didn’t like him using cuss words. Funny. She’d thought it was sweet at the time. Now she was sure it just made him bat-shit crazy.

My thoughts:

I love shifter books so I was excited to have the chance to read this one.  I am thrilled that I did!  Fantastic characters - fast paced action - wonderful world building - thrills and romance - it's all that rolled into one great read.  I was on the edge of my seat, reading faster and faster so I could get more and suddenly I realized that I would be waiting for the next book!  Even with that reality I couldn't put it down and alas - I am now waiting for the next book.

Well worth a read - don't miss out on this fantastic new world of amazing dragon shifters.

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Blog Tour: Matt Archer Series by Kendra C. Highley (Rafflecopter giveaway)

This virtual book tour is presented by Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Kendra C. Highley and her Matt Archer series.

Kendra C. Highley

Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica.

Contact information: 

Website:  www.kendrachighley.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/kchighley

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/KendraHighley

Blog: www.matt-archer.com

Guest Post from Kendra:

Kendra’s Favorite Writing Tools

1. Music: I have a really hard time writing if I don’t have my playlist loaded up. Sometimes my characters refuse to show up until I assign them a few special songs.
2. Laptop: I’ve been typing since 9th grade, and it’s gotten to the point that I type faster than I write longhand. While I can write a story down, it’s much harder for me to keep up with the flow of words trying to claw their way out of my brain. Plus, I tend to edit a bit as I draft, so writing on a laptop gives me an advantage there, too.
3. Road Trips: I do some of my best writing in the car. I have a 30 minute commute to work, and I often work out scenes in my head while going to and from the office. I also like to visit the places I set my stories in, if it’s feasible. I mean, I’d love to go to Australia, but that may not be in the cards. 4. Multi-Round Critique: I’m really big into critique and beta reads. I go through three rounds of beta reads (all with different people!) and a formal editorial review with each manuscript. I want to make sure the work is resonating with lots of different people before publishing it.
5. Chocolate: It’s fuel, pure and simple. Some people need coffee to function—I need chocolate. Particularly dark chocolate. I have an unhealthy addiction to dark chocolate M&Ms. Hey, whatever works, right?
6. Write-cations: Sometimes getting away from it all is exactly what you need, especially when faced with big rewrites or a deadline. I try to go away one or two long weekends a year and write 12-14 hours per day. Last year I scrapped 9000 words and wrote 18,000 new words on Bloodlines during my write-cation. I’ve written on cruise ships, in hotel rooms during business trips and on airplanes. Like #3, traveling somewhere new just seems to wake up my muse. And speaking of muses….
7. Tinkerbell: I have a character named Tink in the Matt Archer series (I won’t spoil who that is for new readers), but in a way, she’s Matt’s muse…and so Tinkerbell has become mine. I have figurines, pins and a poster in my office to pay homage, hoping she’ll cooperate when I sit down to write!

Bloodlines (Book 4)

Synopsis:

When seventeen-year-old Matt Archer set out on his last mission in the Australian Outback, he thought it would be like every other hunt. 

Not even close. 

After only two days on the ground, his best friend is possessed, a long-lost family member has returned and hidden truths have come to the surface. Add in a coven of witches bent on bringing about the end of the world and, well, this trip has started to suck. Badly.  

As his power and strength continue to grow, so does Matt’s concern that he’s becoming more and more like the creatures he’s been charged to hunt: a monster.

Faced with some of his biggest challenges to date, Matt has to decide what he needs to protect most—his family, his team…or himself. 

When I was fourteen, I picked up a knife and started a fight that was named mine long before I was born. When I was fifteen, I was forced into a war against creatures the rest of humankind should never know about—and they won’t if I have anything to do about it. When I was sixteen, I became a slave to my destiny, and the spirits who guided it.

Excerpt:

Now I’m seventeen, and the fault, a man once said, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. or in my case, my blood. Which is why I was chosen. And why I have to fight.

My name is Matt Archer. And I am my father’s son.

* * *

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill all of you and drink your blood!”

My best friend was in rare form this evening. Will had been ranting like that ever since he managed to spit out the bandana we’d gagged him with. No one felt like dealing with him, though, so we didn’t bother shoving the gag back in. Still, I felt responsible for his well-being, even if Will was possessed by a demon and not his usual happy asshat self. I grabbed an MRE—a hamburger patty for the entree—and ducked inside the command tent, one of the few left standing after last night’s monster attack. The interior smelled like sweat, piss and…burned bacon?

“Gross, dude,” I told not-Will. “You smell like a prison latrine.”

Not-Will spit at me. His face was pale in the dim light, but his eyes glowed a brilliant jade green. “You’ll beg for mercy before the end.”

“That’s getting really old. Why don’t you give your voice a rest, okay?” I held up the MRE.

“I’m guessing that even demons have to eat. You hungry?”

Not-Will shut up for a moment, but his muscles still strained against the towing cable keeping him tied to his cot. My best friend, at six-four and two-hundred-forty pounds, was pretty strong on his own. Add in a little dark magic, and he was like a tank with legs. It had taken three guys to tie him up, and the Humvee’s towing cable—one end still attached to the vehicle—had been the only thing hefty enough to keep not-Will chained.

“I would appreciate a meal,” he said in a formal, polite voice.

That wasn’t like the real Will, either.

“Okay. I’ll feed you and bring you some water, if only to keep your mouth full so you can’t scream at us for a while.”

I opened the MRE, discarding anything not-Will could use as a weapon if he got loose. Because his hands were tied behind his back, I had to feed him.

“Seriously, man, if you remember any of this after we exorcise you, you’ll never live it down,” I muttered as not-Will chomped up his food like a rabid dog.

“I’ll kill you soon, so none of that matters,” not-Will said, smiling and showing me bits of carrot in his teeth.

In any other situation, I’d have laughed. This evening, I had too much on mind to find any of this funny.

Badass Aunt Julie poked her head in the tent while I attempted to shovel applesauce into not-Will’s mouth. She wrinkled her nose at the stench. “Poor Will.”

“Hello, gorgeous.” Not-Will leered at my aunt, and his eyes roamed every part of her body. Even wearing desert print battle-dress uniform, Aunt Julie was gorgeous…and no one but my Uncle Mike had license to look at her that way. My fists clenched as he said,

“Think I’ll keep you around a while after I’ve killed all the men. We could have a little fun.”

Aunt Julie gave not-Will a dangerous smile. The demon must not know who he was dealing with. “I’d like to see you try. I could kill you with a nail. Or a spoon.” Her smile faded into a scowl. “Or a tire-iron. I’m not picky.”

“Captain, did you need something?” I asked, not in the mood to break up a tent brawl. When in doubt, interrupt.

“Sorry,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “The major got worried so I came to check on you.”

I shrugged; Major Tannen—also known as my Uncle Mike and Aunt Julie’s husband—had reason to worry. Right now, it seemed like this day would never, ever end.

I’d gotten most of the food into not-Will’s mouth and I was ready to escape. “Will, if you’re in there, kick that demon’s ass, okay? See you later.”

We’d barely cleared the tent before he started screaming threats again. Every muscle in my back tensed up. “Tell the major I’ll be at the other end of camp.” I jabbed a thumb at the command tent. “I don’t think I can handle listening to that anymore.”

Aunt Julie patted my shoulder. “We’ll fix it. Agent Archer thinks his contact with the local Nocturna Maura coven can help displace Will’s demon.”

Agent Archer…maybe if I called him that—instead of Dad—this whole situation would be a little less weird. I doubted it, though.

“I need some air.”

I stalked to the far end of camp and settled down facing west. The sun was beginning to set, and I needed its warmth and protection for as long as it lasted. Night would bring horrors, and I had to be prepared to fight them. I reached into my left jacket pocket and pulled out the St. Christopher medal my girlfriend had given me more than a year ago. I turned it over and over in my hand. I missed Ella like crazy, and the medal gave me hope that I’d live to see another dawn.

Dad came striding out of the HQ tent and headed my direction. He didn’t see Uncle Mike step out behind him, his right arm bound up in a sling. Not-Will had dislocated Uncle Mike’s shoulder in addition to breaking my nose last night. Mike watched Dad’s progress with narrowed eyes. I let out a long breath. As if I didn’t have enough to deal with; now I was caught in a tug of war between the guy who fathered me and the man who raised me. My life could easily be a three-ring circus for all the chaos and drama going on around me.

“Tink, think you could, I don’t know, teleport me somewhere?”

No answer.

“Crap, now I’m missing you and Ella. How’s that for irony?”

Still nothing. Yeah, Tink was well and truly gone. Our knife-spirits had been banished somehow. Not-Will had told us his mistress had sent them away. As angry as I’d been with Tink when we left on this mission, the absence of her presence in my head left an echoing emptiness. And despair, too. How could we complete this operation without the spirits’ help? I had to get her back somehow, if not for me, for Will. I’d seen Tink save someone else from a demon possession—maybe she’d be able to help Will, too.

If only I could find her.

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Release Day Blitz: The Darkness of Light by Tammy Farrell

 Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the Blitz!

The Darkness of Light

The Dia Chronicles
Book One
Tammy Farrell

Genre: Historical Fantasy
ISBN-13: 978-1492766582
ISBN-10: 1492766585
Number of pages: 375
Word Count: 90,000
 Cover Artist: Nathalia Suellen



Book Description:
The world has long forgotten them, but their descendants live on, not wholly mortal or god, but something in between…

At the dawn of the sixth century, in the aftermath of her mother’s brutal execution, Mara Black is forced to flee the only life she has ever known.

Mara can tell she’s different, but isn't sure why. After she encounters two mysterious strangers, she discovers her secret is but a drop in an ocean of many. She is a Dia, a descendant of ancient gods, and her mother sacrificed herself to protect Mara from their past.

Summoned by an uncle she didn't know existed, Mara thinks she’s found the family she’s always wanted, and Corbin, a love she never thought possible. But not everything is as it seems. Her uncle has other motives for protecting her, and her mentor, Malcolm, becomes so jealous, he’ll do anything to get what he wants.

When tragedy strikes, and the true darkness among them comes to light, Mara discovers that sometimes love can give you everything, and obsession can take it all away. With her powers gone, and destiny calling, she has to look deep within to find the courage to save herself. Mara, along with Corbin and her newfound family, must fight to get back what was taken, or die trying. 

About the Author:
Tammy Farrell grew up in Orangeville, Ontario Canada where she discovered her love of writing, and all things related to Edgar Allan Poe. She now lives with her husband and four fur babies in Greenville, South Carolina, where she teaches pre-GED English and attempts to learn French when she isn’t busy writing.
www.TammyFarrell.com    @Tamzwrite


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Blog Tour: The Rainy Day Killer by Michael J. McCann (Tourwide Giveaway)

This virtual book tour is presented by Tribute Books.

Click Here for more information.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Michael McCann and The Rainy Day Killer.

About the Author:

Michael J. McCann was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He earned a B.A. (Hons.) in English from Trent University and an M.A. in English from Queen's University. He has worked as an editor and a project and training consultant and manager with the federal government. He is an author of crime fiction and supernatural thrillers. His Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series includes Blood Passage, Marcie's Murder, The Fregoli Delusion, and The Rainy Day Killer. He is also the author of the supernatural thriller The Ghost Man and is currently working on another supernatural novel.

About the Book:
A man in a business suit offers the protection of his umbrella to an unsuspecting woman, and several days later she turns up dead on a river bank, raped and strangled. The terrifying serial killer known in the press as the Rainy Day Killer is now hunting new victims in the city of Glendale ... whenever it rains.

Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue leads the investigation as the killer begins to communicate directly to him through phone calls and grisly packages containing body parts of his victims. Assisted by FBI profiler Ed Griffin, Donaghue and Detective Karen Stainer pursue an elusive predator who leaves no physical evidence behind.

The timing couldn't be worse, however, as Karen Stainer's attention is divided between the investigation and preparations for her upcoming wedding. Distracted and uncertain about her future, Stainer is furious when she learns that the Rainy Day Killer has followed her to Virginia, where the wedding will take place, and that he intends to make her his next victim!

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Blog Tour: The Accidental Witch by Jessica Penot

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Jessica Penot and The Accidental Witch.

BIO:

Jessica Penot is a writer and therapist who lives in Alabama with her children, husband, corgis, and other strange creatures.  She is the author of Haunted North Alabama, Haunted Chattanooga and Circe. 

ONLINE LINKS:

·         Website  http://www.jessicapenot.net/

·         Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Penot/512746908786746

·         Twitter  https://twitter.com/Jessica_Penot

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/738680.Jessica_Penot

BLURB:

Phaedra Michaels is a small town psychologist who is beginning to lose hope. Two of her patients at the local hospital in Dismal, Alabama have just killed themselves, she’s still reeling from her divorce and what turned out to be a disastrous marriage, and her father has died, leaving her without any notion of who her real mother is.

Just as Phaedra decides to commit herself to a serious drinking problem and an eating disorder, or two, a mysterious spell book arrives in the mail. Feeling desperate, Phaedra uses it to cast spells to save her fading patients. Suddenly, good things start happening.  Phaedra’s patients begin to get better and she even starts dating the sexy doctor from the hospital.

Phaedra is so happy she doesn't notice the small things that start to go wrong in Dismal, or the dark creatures slithering out of the shadows near her house. When Phaedra finally realizes her spells have attracted every card-carrying demon from hell, she has no choice but to accept help from a slightly nerdy, 500 year-old warlock with a penchant for wearing super hero T-shirts and a knack for getting under Phaedra’s skin. Now, if only she could get the hang of this witch thing, she might be able to save her town.    

BUY NOW LINK:

All Romance eBook https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theaccidentalwitch-1337231-140.html
Bookstrand http://www.bookstrand.com/the-accidental-witch
Kindle UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Accidental-Witch-Jessica-Penot-ebook/dp/B00GG83WLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383666722&sr=8-1&keywords=the+accidental+witch
Kindle US http://www.amazon.com/The-Accidental-Witch-Jessica-Penot-ebook/dp/B00GG83WLE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1383666477&sr=8-3&keywords=the+accidental+witch
Lachesis Publishing Inc http://lachesispublishing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TheAccidentalWitchE
OmniLit https://www.omnilit.com/product-theaccidentalwitch-1337231-140.html

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Short Excerpt:

It is amazing how the most world-changing days can seem entirely mundane to begin with. Friday the 13^th seemed no different than any other day to me. I woke up late, as always, and rushed to get dressed and make it to the car with my usual box of animal crackers and diet cola. I pulled my shoes on as I backed out of the driveway and ate while I drove to work.

I was late to work, but just early enough to not be noticed as late. The small hospital where I worked was a blip in a vast nowhere and the small psychiatric floor I worked on was a blip in a blip. I was a blip within a blip within a blip, making me practically nothing. I could’ve died in my sleep and the world would barely belch. I liked to think that I was good at what I did. I liked to think that even though I was a nothing, I made a difference in the patients’ lives. I was one of those deluded people that believed in saving the world one person at a time. I guess I still am. Certainly, I was one of the few people that actually cared about the patients. The management didn’t care that I cared. Management was too busy trying to balance the books and keep the floor profitable to care what the staff did with the patients. I could take all the patients outside and have them moo like cows and management wouldn’t care as long as I billed it as a recreational therapy group and got the proper reimbursement.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this story.  It is well written and nicely paced.  The characters are interesting and the storyline is unusual and intriguing.  I was pleased to find that although the tale is dark, most of the characters sad, that the plot pulled me along and Phaedra's strength kept me going.  It was interesting to watch her figure things out. It is not your average witch story.  

Blog Tour: The Zombie West Trilogy by Angela Scott

Get the Zombie West Omnibus on Amazon. Add the Zombie West Omnibus to your Goodreads to-read shelf!

ZOMBIES! The Wild West! Romance! Mayhem!

Angela Scott's Zombie West Omnibus has all this, and more!

"...this is one of the most unique concepts I've come across." --Brian, Amazon reviewer

"These books had me on the edge of my seat and at one point in book three I had to set the book down and pull myself out of the story so I wouldn't cry." --Emily Pearce, Amazon reviewer

"This series is one that will stay with you for a long time, prompting you to want to read it again and again." --Tracy Haidle, Amazon reviewer

About the Zombie West Omnibus

The Wild West is hard enough to survive with its native territory, wanted outlaws, and harsh terrain, but with a plague turning civilized people into brain-eating monsters, survival becomes nearly impossible. Red has lost everything to the fast-spreading disease: her family, her trust in mankind, and her hope for a better tomorrow. When she meets Trace, a smooth-talking gambling man who’s more city boy than cowboy, she’s forced down a path she’d been avoiding for years. Until his arrival, she’d lived by a certain set of rules—don’t ask names, keep to yourself, don’t let anyone too close—but the jackass of a man won’t let her be, and he has an uncanny knack for appearing at all the wrong times and in all the wrong places. Each, with a secret of their own, will need to learn that only by working together do they have any chance of surviving The Zombie West. That is, if they don’t kill each other first. [Angela Scott’s Zombie West Omnibus includes the three books in the Zombie West series WANTED: DEAR OR UNDEAD, SURVIVOR ROUNDUP, and DEAD PLAINS. Find these books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords.] Genre classification: YA/Western Romance/Action and Adventure/ with added zombies for utter mayhem.

About Angela Scott

Angela Scott hears voices. Tiny fictional people sit on her shoulders and whisper their stories in her ear. Instead of medicating herself, she decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. She’s not crazy. She’s an author. For the most part, she writes contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, she found herself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West–and loving it. Her zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, she wouldn’t suggest it. She lives on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. She graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of her love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. She can’t spell, and grammar is her arch nemesis. But they gave her the degree, and there are no take backs. Find Angela Scott on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Get the book!

Find the Zombie West Trilogy on Amazon. Don't forget to add the Zombie West Omnibus to your Goodreads to-read shelf. Connect with Angela Scott on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.