Forbidden
Playground
Legends
of the Goldens, Book
1
by S.B.K.
Burns
Genre: sci-fi paranormal romance
Publisher: Soul Mate
ASIN: B00H8ESSRI
Number of pages: 380
Word Count: 95,000
Series
Description:
The Legends of The Goldens Series
is a collection of quirky urban-fantasy romances, about vampire good
guys—psychic orbweavers who create, or weave together, real universes. They can
shapeshift, telepath, teleport, heal—and make love, not war, with their fangs.
Instinctively they rescue both humans and vampires, even when neither is too
keen on being saved.
Book
Description:
Part human. Part alien. Being
superhuman doesn’t make them immune to love. Or to heartbreak.
Akeelah never asks to be
different. She sure doesn't ask to be a hybrid. She doesn't want to be a
psychic orbweaver like her people—able to create new worlds with only a
thought.
She. Just. Wants. To. Be. A.
Girl. More precisely, Saffron’s girl.
Saffron's her best friend, a
hybrid like her—and hot. Being superhuman doesn’t make him immune to love. Or
heartbreak. His one focus—Akeelah.
Coming into their powers and
against the wishes of their android guardians, together Akeelah and Saffron
practice their psychic skills.
Because of the dangers of
orbweaving, the guardians they trust take Akeelah away, zap her memory.
Saffron can't live without
Akeelah. All he wants is her memory restored, so she knows she's in love with
him.
But trust is rare in a world full
of deception, androids, and aliens—even when two people love each other.
Excerpt
Book One:
Tanzania, in the
near future, on a near Earth
Out of the
watchful eyes of her android guardians, Akeelah’s spirit floated weightless in
the dark.
Come to me. Come
into my world, a galaxy of stars spoke to her as they winked in and out from
the black celestial sphere of her mind. Each of their pleas, more
promise-filled than the last.
There it was.
The portal. The proper entrance to her jungle wilderness approached. It changed
from pinpoint to circle. Taking the form of a long undulating tube, the portal
into the jungle universe enveloped her, sucking her into a mist-filled
clearing.
Through the fog,
green fan palms and ferns smothered her in fragrances rich with life
percolating from the loam beneath. Tempted by a clearing bordered by
moss-covered rock, she inhaled the aromatic air. Everywhere, space filled
itself with the busyness of life. Birdsong rang out with diversity richer and
more complex than found in Uhuratown, her home on the trembling slopes of
Kilimanjaro.
And here he
was—Saffron—just where he said he’d be, all smiles and confidently striding
toward her.
He thinks he’s
the one who got us here. Noting his false confidence, she shook her head,
averting her eyes to palm fronds waving gently against the powder-blue sky.
This orb, this
universe, she'd created, would be special, if it held, if woven tightly enough.
As real as my belief in it. As safe as I want it to be.
Nearly
breathless, she looked up at Saffron and inspected his perfection. When had her
image of him changed from a so-so childhood friend to this overwhelming
distraction?
Saffron.
Magnificent Saffron. Muscular in his creamy skin, like hers with just a tinge
of metallic gold. His crystal-blue eyes, his dazzling smile framed in long
white-blond ringlets, flowing over those powerfully built shoulders.
Akeelah moved
her hand over the bib of her overalls and down past her stomach, hoping to put
out fires aroused by thoughts of her attractive friend.
Her orbing had
worked. They'd arrived safely, unscathed. The universe had changed. Didn’t it
always? Yet, she still had the same immature body and, unfortunately, the same
cravings.
Her heart beat
faster as she attempted and failed to catch her breath. Undoubtedly he’s all
there too.
He put his hand
out to her, palm up. So inviting.
Saffron smiled
big at her, the smile that melted many a native girl’s heart. Yet he seemed
clueless about his allure, or he’d have noticed her looking at him with the
same longing.
He grabbed her
hand and pulled her through the forest. Cold and wet foliage slapped against
her face. Here she was again, thoughtlessly dragged behind him as if some
forgotten appendage.
His large hand
grasped hers and projected self-assurance. False assurance.
He meant well,
but Akeelah could not resonate with the discomfort. She wanted to behave
maturely, with the grownup and sophisticated fortitude shown by the village
girls who gathered around as he scintillated bigger than life. At such times,
she felt trivial standing there beside him—her hair, a dirty blonde, her eyes,
a polluted turquoise, and her skin, pale and freckled, all wrapped up in the
baggy overalls of a tomboy. They were both twenty. Slow to mature, but she
looked years younger.
She wanted to
suck up her distress and carry on, pretending none of it mattered. But,
eventually, whether she complained or not, she would fail. Once disenchanted,
she’d be unable to find the will to forcibly resonate with him, and this world
would collapse without her continued support.
Slick from the
jungle wetness, Saffron’s hand lost its grip. He bounded ahead, leaving her
collapsed to her knees in a shallow swamp.
Just like him.
It would be minutes before he’d realize she was no longer in tow.
She sat there
waiting for some creature to shove its ugly head through the silent fronds.
Soaked to her waist, she scooted back against the trunk of a palm.
A punk-looking
kid, a kinky-haired redhead, appeared in front of her, a teenager with
piercings all over his freckled face.
“Oh, sorry,
love,” he said, with a sexy, maybe-Scottish accent. “I must ’ave lost ma way.”
Then the punk kid disappeared—right through her.
She gasped as
Saffron exploded from the fronds and grabbed for her hand, water dripping down
his handsome face to a soaked shirt plastered against his muscled torso.
“Come, Akeelah.
I made an ocean, reefs and all. I want you to see it.”
She tried to
tell him about the redheaded interloper, the punk kid, but all Saffron did was
shake his head in confusion. Smiling again, he continued his obsession with
showing her his creations. She sighed, ready for another round of wet foliage
and squishy swamp.
As the rain
dripped down her face, darker clouds gathered above. Probably reflecting her
mood from Saffron ignoring her feelings.
He pulled her
through the jungle toward his ocean at an uninhibited pace, her attention
helplessly drawn in front of her to jeans stretched tightly over his straining
bottom.
It no longer
mattered how magnificent, how handsome he looked, because he didn’t know how
she felt trapped in her young body, a body that wanted the same thing as those
more stylish girls—him—a body that might never have him.
This orb, this
tropical forest, she’d helped Saffron conjure, wasn’t real, or put more
succinctly, Akeelah could no longer force herself to believe in it. As her
conviction ebbed, nimbus clouds gathered, and the world began to disintegrate.
A clap of thunder robbed her of the sweet-smelling air, pulled her out of his
grasp and through the jungle’s birth canal, delivering her back to Tanzania
onto the scraggly-forested slopes of Mount Kili. Home.
As silence descended, she found herself
sprawled on the fallen leaves under a baobab tree.
Tension gripped
her insides. No Saffron.
****************
Dancing
Dragons
.jpg)
Legends
of the Goldens, Book
2
by S.B.K.
Burns
Genre: sci-fi paranormal romance
Publisher: Soul Mate
Number of pages: 240
Word Count: 60,000
Book Description:
Eco warrior, Maggie Maclaurin,
can somehow see through Andrew’s conjured fraternity disguise: he’s a psychic
cousin to the vampires, and with those flying dragon tattoos undulating
suggestively across his naked chest, positively an endangered species,
definitely in need of saving.
But when real vampires make a
pact with the corrupt government to bring a little more nasty onto campus,
Maggie’s chaotic human vibes keep Andrew from protecting her, make him sick,
each time he comes in for a nibble from the neck of this attractive, yet
headstrong young woman.
Can Andrew forget about his
self-centeredness long enough to gain Maggie’s trust, so he can save her from
the vampire’s fangs, and, if he does, who will save her from his own?
Purchase at: Susan
Burns Author Soul Mate Publishing
Excerpt
Book 2:
My blood. Andrew
couldn’t stop his nose from bleeding. He couldn’t think the blood away.
The good
news—the pressure in his head lessened the farther he was from the commons and
Maggie, that strawberry-blond Valkyrie. The bad news—they were caught in a dark
alley between two buildings with three very tall Pseudo-vamp fraternity
brothers blocking their way.
Andrew had the
strangest sensation the silhouetted figures were predators, velociraptors on
alert, eyeing their prey—them—before the attack.
Hey, wait.
They’re not pseudo anything. They’re the real things. Real vamps. Vampires.
Messing with me?
Even in his present condition. A big, big mistake.
As he closed in
on the vamps, their real-live fangs deployed. Their pupils expanded until their
eyeballs went black, glistening with anticipation. Although Andrew’s own fangs
descended from time to time, these were much larger, not meant for mating, but
for accessing human jugulars big-time.
Still feeling
weak, he turned to Nathan. “Get out of here.”
How could his
roommate, who claimed to believe in and worship vampires, be clueless of the
consequences? He thought he could handle the vamps. Nathan wouldn’t rate as a
memorable snack.
His roommate
hesitated, looking toward Andrew then back along his escape route, deciding
whether Andrew could survive if he cut and ran.
Andrew placed his hand behind his back so
Nathan could see the conjured gun he pretended to hold. Nathan took off.
Good boy. Andrew
had a lot of explaining to do back at the dorms. How he’d smuggled the gun onto
campus.
The first
vampire spoke. “We didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you guys could help us.”
“You know, free
blood,” another said. “You look quite tasty with that lovely nosebleed of
yours.”
“Please,” Andrew
said, “just turn around and forget I’m here. Ignore the blood. I’m not what you
think.”
At that, all
three vamps laughed heartily, maybe believing themselves at the top of the food
chain.
Andrew never had
run-ins with real vampires. They were supposed to be a myth. And what was
happening to him? He shouldn’t be afraid, yet it was all he could do to inhibit
shaking from his lips to his toes.
He ramped up his
courage. How difficult could this be? He’d opened portals to other universes,
convinced others of anything he wished, and, just as quickly, made them forget.
The vampires
approached, each with his own kind of overconfident swagger, energy fields
projected from their demon-black eyes. They were attempting to mesmerize him!
He felt nothing.
How lame. They
really had no eye talent whatsoever. Seriously, they need lessons.
As they reached
out to seize him, he closed his eyes. Were his portals still wacky from his
run-in with Maggie? Did he have enough time to find a portal to the Goldens’
homeworld, before the vamps got to him?
In the dark of
his mind, the end of an oscillating tube rushed toward him. He let it suck all
of them into another universe.
****************
About
the Author :
Before dedicating herself to full-time
writing, Susan earned two advanced engineering degrees and worked in the fields
of biology, oceanography, biomedical, and aerospace engineering. That
knowledge, and the experience of working with a smorgasbord of mostly men,
continues to populate her science fictions, urban fantasies, steampunks, and
other paranormal romances.
@snrubnasus
Tour Wide
Giveaway:
$25 gift
certificate to Amazon
If less than
ten 10 people leave a comment throughout the tour, SBK will
pick one of them at random to receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate
$50
gift certificate to Amazon
if more than
10 leave a comment,
SBK will
pick one of them at random to receive a $50 Amazon gift certificate
Free Series
(first two novels plus comic) for exceptional posts.
For those
who SBK decides have given exceptional or well thought out comments she'll send
them the entire series (Legends of the Goldens Series: Forbidden Playground and
Dancing Dragons) along with the Forbidden Playground comic--all ebooks
Giveaway open through the end of March
****************
Tour Schedule:
March 24 Guest blog
The Library Mistress
March 24 review
Mousehead & Tales
March 25 Spotlight
Booklover Sue
March 26 Spotlight
Lisa’s World of Books
March 26 review
Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
March 27 Interview
Butterfly-o-Meter Books
March 28 Guest Post
Mythical Books
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