M.A.’s Giveaway winner is Sherry Rivera! Sherry, M.A. will be in touch with you. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog! We appreciate all the readers who take the time to check out the Author Spotlights!
I’m happy to welcome M.A. Guglielmo back to the Author Spotlight with the second book in her Riftworld paranormal romance series.
M.A. Guglielmo is a neurosurgeon, mother of two awesome daughters, and a life-long fan of speculative fiction. Her Italian grandmother may or may not have been able to cast the evil eye on difficult neighbors, and Maria loves telling a good story, especially if magical curses and witty villains are involved.
After having the wits scared out of her by ghost tales told to her over a campfire in the Moroccan Sahara, she’s come up with a plan to travel to all the potential settings for her novels. Since those include the mountain-ringed home of the Jinn and a future dystopia complete with monster portals, some items on her bucket list might be harder to achieve than others.
Maria was born and raised in Rhode Island and lives there with her two daughters and assorted pets, and is always dreaming of the stories that can come out of her next travel destination.
Thanks, Nan. So glad to be here today.
On A Rift’s Edge is the second full-length book in my Riftworld paranormal romance series. It’s set in a future Tucson, Arizona twenty-five years after the Monster Apocalypse. Interdimensional rifts have opened up around the world, leading into fragments of an alternate universe, with different natural laws and species as smart as us, but a lot scarier.
Most alien species stay in or near the portals, which often attract human tourists. Some people still want to fight the monsters from the rifts, but others—end up falling in love with them.
On A Rift’s Edge tells the story of Kat Nakamura, a sunshine-sweet veterinary student and wrangler at the ranch, and Lyall, a grumpy hellhound assassin and bodyguard.
Giveaway: M.A. is giving away a signed copy of your choice of book 1 or book 2 of the Riftworld series. Just tell her in the comments below if you are intrigued by bad boys.
On a Rift’s Edge
Welcome back to Moon Star Ranch, home to monsters and mustangs—and a special bad-boy guest.
Kat Nakamura, a wrangler at Moon Star Ranch, a dude ranch near a monster portal, is done with bad boys. He’s had his heart crushed too many times, most recently by someone who isn’t even human.
Forget soulmates. Kat wants a safe, respectable boyfriend.
Lyall hates humans. He hates Earth, too. A member of a Riftworld clan called hellhounds by—who else—humans, he spent years as an indentured servant for a rat monster mafia. He no sooner freed himself than he met Kat. Lyall knew immediately that the alien intelligence known as the Matchmaker had chosen the veterinary student as his life partner.
A hellhound and a human as soulmates? Forget about it. Lyall’s not respectable, safe, or even friendly.
But when the mafia boss targets Kat, Lyall has to risk everything, including his own freedom, to keep Kat safe. To save Lyall, Kat needs to stop falling for bad boys—and start acting like one.
On A Rift’s Edge is a MM paranormal romance with a cinnamon-roll veterinary assistant and the ‘touch him and die’ hellhound assassin who’ll do anything to protect him.
Excerpt
In this excerpt, Kat, who has been pining over Lyall for months, is dragged to an art show to meet a rich man his sisters want to set him up with:
Kat had nothing against cocktail parties, art galleries, or rich supporters of the arts.
He didn’t mind staring at paintings or statues he couldn’t afford to buy. The few cocktail parties he had been invited to had been dull but not unpleasant. And he supposed the wealthy could do worse things with their money than supporting art.
All three of those things at once was a lot, though. This particular cocktail party in an art gallery filled with rich people wasn’t his scene at all. But his sisters had been relentless. They insisted he meet the venture capitalist, and maybe it was better than sitting at home and mooning over Lyall.
“Come on,” said Naomi, steering him by the elbow past a collection of artwork based on Riftworld flora and fauna. Some depicted frightening species, like one photorealistic painting of a phantom.
Kat would never tell the artist this, but the piece didn’t even come close to showing how terrifying the murderous invertebrates were close up. It might make the painter feel bad. Besides, Kat had told his family he had been safely in the main building during the phantom assault on the ranch. They didn’t know he had helped Lyall and the others hold off a swarm of killer jellies and come close to being eaten.
A less alarming but more biologically correct piece consisted of broken shroom lamps and an assortment of urban detritus attached to a large shell that brought to mind crabs using the empty remains of mollusks to create homes for themselves. The sculpture had been placed in a transparent acrylic trash can for viewing.
He took a closer look. It was a model of a Riftworld species he was familiar with, a crustacean-like creature that lived in the abandoned military base near the monstertown.
“We’re only asking you to meet him.” Jenny was opposite Naomi on Kat’s left. She had drinks in each hand, so she had provided verbal encouragement as her older sister physically dragged Kat over to meet Paul Cicero, the venture capitalist.
His sisters were dressed in diametrically opposing outfits, as usual. Naomi had on a sheath dress/blazer combo in navy and cream that epitomized the concept of office-to-party wear.
Jenny had on a red dress with a high hemline and platform combat boots in black patent leather. “Don’t be nervous because he’s so rich. He sponsored this whole exhibit and made a big donation to the art center to fund classes for underprivileged children.”
“That’s nice.” Kat said the words automatically, staring at the see-though trash can filled with Riftworld junk and wondering if it was a metaphor of his unrequited infatuation with Lyall.
He was startled when someone said, “Do you like that piece? It’s a bit pricey, but the tax write-off will cover it.”
Kat turned around. Standing in front of him was a man in a suit even Remi would have envied, with blond hair and striking dark brown eyes. He was in his early thirties, perhaps, good-looking in a plastic sort of way. He gave Kat a wide smile. “Kat Nakamura, I take it? I’m Paul Cicero. A pleasure to meet you.”
Kat took a few seconds too long to accept the handshake the man offered. “Oh, hi. Sorry, I was admiring the trash scorpion.”
Naomi gave a laugh that didn’t at all sound amused. “That’s one of the most expensive pieces in the gallery, Kat. It’s called “Permission of Despair” by Anonymous 3.5.”
Riftworld Books
Book .5 Witch City Rift is a free prequel short story to Rifted Hearts.
Book 1, Rifted Hearts is available free on Kindle Unlimited.
Book 1.5, Bad Dog Night is a free bonus chapter from Book 1.
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4 Comments
SHERRY RIVERA
Yes, they are intriguing.
Maria A Guglielmo
Thanks Nan!
bn100
yes
Janine
Intrigued by bad boys? I love bad boys, in real life and in books.