#FREE gift – SPRITE NIGHT – a Caledonian Sprite short story #UrbanFantasy #ScottishHighlands

As a late Christmas (or early New Year) present, please help yourself to a FREE copy of my Caledonian Sprite short story, SPRITE NIGHT.

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If you have yet to meet sassy Cassie, the Scottish water sprite with a passion for the environment (not to mention the odd hunky Highlander), now is your chance.

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This 8000 word story is a stand alone read, though it follows on from events in the full length novel DESPRITE MEASURES, described by one reviewer as ‘a unique eco-urban fantasy’.

So if you love the Scottish Highlands (yes, Marcia, men in kilts!), the environment, strong characters and a bit of magic, then bag a copy while it’s FREE this week.

Here’s a little taster…

The inn was typical of its type; old, creaky and in need of renovation, but warm with hospitality and a reputation for excellent food and choice of single malts. One of the more frustrating aspects of my human body is that consuming food or alcohol is a futile exercise; I can eat, but solid food needs disposing of—let’s not go there—and alcohol, whilst I can take pleasure in the taste, has no effect on my metabolism.

Companionship though—that I can, and do, enjoy.

I pushed open the swing doors to the lounge and glanced around. Most of the crowd were locals I’d come to know over the past few weeks, but a rather delectable-looking stranger sat in the snug beside the chimney. My body perked up with interest.

Right now, my DNA stores were high, and gathering more would be an indulgence, but this guy had the makings of a pleasing dalliance, with or without extra benefits. His shaggy brown hair melded into a luxuriant beard, above which shone a pair of the brightest blue eyes I’d seen in a long while. He was dressed in a heavy woollen sweater with a thick, quilted jacket and thermal beanie discarded beside him on the bench.

Never one to stand on ceremony, I sauntered across the room and put a hand on the chair facing him. A pleasant waft of pine aftershave tickled my nose, evoking images of wide open spaces and forest, meeting my approval. He nodded in response to my raised eyebrow, and I pulled the chair out, dragging it across the bare wooden floorboards with a squeal.

He winced. “Dear God, lass, d’ye like to torture your men even before ye’ve been introduced?”

Blurb

When Scottish water sprite, Cassie, joins an anti-fracking protest, she doesn’t expect to find herself at odds with a druid. But with time running out for the local environment she can’t afford to be distracted by the handsome hunk of a Highlander.

Intent on sabotage, Cassie is unprepared to be caught in the cross-fire of a magical battle. Can she avert catastrophe? Or will she become the very agency of an ecological disaster?

Download from Amazon,  or leave me a message below if you’d like a different format and I’ll send it to you directly.

#FREE short story – SPRITE NIGHT – #UrbanFantasy by Deborah Jay

FREE

Hey folks, my short story SPRITE NIGHT is free from today until the 25th, so please go ahead and grab yourself a copy from Amazon. It’s a companion story to my Caledonian Sprite novel, DESPRITE MEASURES, but is also a complete stand alone story.

Discover a unique eco-urban fantasy with a touch of romance.

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When Scottish water sprite, Cassie, volunteers for an anti-fracking protest, the last thing she expects is to find herself at odds with a druid. But with time running out for the local environment, she can’t afford to be distracted by the handsome hunk of a Highlander.

Intent on a minor act of sabotage, Cassie is totally unprepared to be caught in the cross-fire of a magical battle. Can she avert catastrophe? Or will she become the very agency of an ecological disaster?

What people are saying about SPRITE NIGHT

***4.8 stars***

“This story flowed smoothly and gave the reader an enjoyable glimpse into the world of Cassie Lake. The author intertwined real life elements into her magical world of druids, magicians and sprites. It was a clever twist to include internet links to various real life sites to bring a touch of realism to this fantasy. I would recommend this story to anyone looking for an easy, quick story that will make you smile.”

“There was a lot to love crammed into this short story. First, there’s the interesting world-building, centered around a water sprite who can dematerialize into her individual molecules at will. Next, the Scottish setting and culture was very vivid and intriguing, like an armchair vacation. Add in the hydrofracking issue that is currently so important on a world-wide level and you have an intellectually intriguing and enjoyable read.”

“Another wonderful Deborah Jay story, proving that she writes short fiction as fabulously as she writes novels! I love her dialogue best – believable, funny, and her heroine Cassie is always sassy. The balance between plot, action and information (who knew all that about water sprites?) is perfect – the writing is truly fast-paced at time, yet still includes such strong imagery to make you wince, or laugh, or both simultaneously.
Perfect follow-up to Ms Jay’s Sprite novel, but works as a strong stand-alone, too.”

” This story gives you an excellent chance to dip your toe into the Cassie waters. Sorry, couldn’t resist that.”

Download your copy from Amazon HERE

Fabulous Friday Guest Blogger – Deborah Jay

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First, I’d like to thank Marcia for all the work she’s done, creating this blog and inviting us all to participate – and what a great group of authors this is turning out to be!

Seeing as Marcia has given us free rein on topic, I thought I would write about the greatest writing asset I have outside of my own imagination and learned skills: the fabulous writers group I belong to.

And I mean an honest-to-God, in-the-flesh writers group – less common these days perhaps than virtual ones, but a great way for writers to meet face to face and discuss issues in the here-and-now.

As writers, we tend to tap away on our keyboards in our ivory towers (or an over-crowded home office, in my case), and get most of our feedback after we’ve written our ‘masterpiece’. Working with a ‘live’ group is more than some writers can cope with (we’ve had the odd person join, come to one meeting, and never be seen again, and I promise you, we’re not that scary!), but if you can,

  1. Find a group near enough to you to join
  2. Find the right group, with others who really want to improve and with at least some experienced members

I feel they can be a magnificent resource. I joined my group (he-hem) thirty years ago. Back then, there was no such thing as indie publishing (not quite true – it was called ‘vanity publishing’, and all you succeeded in doing was spending money), so we were all seeking traditional publishing deals. Several members of the group already had professional sales of short stories (SF and fantasy has always had a market for shorts), and at that time I was the only one working on a full length novel. Continue reading

Short Story release & an upcoming #0.99c #sale – #UrbanFantasy #Ecology

Short Story release and a 0.99c sale

Hi folks, I’m pleased to announce the release of my short story SPRITE NIGHT – a Caledonian Sprite short story.

This series has been described as ‘Eco-urban fantasy’, which fits it well.

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Blurb

Discover a unique eco-urban fantasy with a touch of romance.

When Scottish water sprite, Cassie, volunteers for an anti-fracking protest, the last thing she expects is to find herself at odds with a druid. But with time running out for the local environment, she can’t afford to be distracted by the handsome hunk of a Highlander.

Intent on a minor act of sabotage, Cassie is totally unprepared to be caught in the cross-fire of a magical battle. Can she avert catastrophe? Or will she become the very agency of an ecological disaster?

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Now, you can buy this on Amazon here for 0.99c, OR you can get it FREE if you either:

  1. sign up to my mailing list here, or
  2. offer to leave me an honest review on Amazon

If you are interested in reviewing please leave me your email address and required format in the comments below, or contact me directly via my blog (form below my bio here).

0.99c SALE

And in celebration of my latest release, I am holding a one week sale (10 – 14 August) for the first book in the series DESPRITE MEASURES.

Blurb

DespriteMeasures

On the surface she’s a cute and feisty blonde; a slender pocket rocket fitness coach. But Cassiopeia Lake has a secret; she’s really a force of nature – an elemental.

Water sprite, Cassie, has lived undisturbed in her native Scottish loch for eons. Now, one encounter too many with modern plumbing has driven her to live in human guise along with her selkie boyfriend, Euan. It’s all going fine – until a nerdy magician captures Cassie to be an unwilling component in his crazy dangerous experiment.

Escape is only Cassie’s first challenge.

She’s smitten by her fellow prisoner, the scorching hot fire elemental, Gloria. But how do you love someone you can never touch?

And what do you do when your boyfriend starts to hero-worship your persecutor? Not to mention that tricky situation of being the prize in a power contest between two rival covens of witches.

So when Gloria’s temper erupts and she sets out to murder the magician, can Cassie keep her loved ones safe from the cross-fire, or will she be sucked into the maelstrom of deadly desires and sink without trace?

You can find DESPRITE MEASURES here on Amazon (remember the sale is next week), an both can be read for free by Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime members.

Each story is a stand alone.

Please share, especially next week when the sale is underway.

And what are you waiting for – contact me NOW for your FREE short story

 

#Excerpt week finale – SPRITE NIGHT by Deborah Jay #UrbanFantasy #ecology #fracking

Sprite Night Complete

Here is my last contribution to excerpt week – and a fun and informative week it has been 😀

This little offering is from a short story that has not yet been released – maybe next month if I can find the time, once I have the anthology (excerpt here) all sorted.

Back to Urban Fantasy today, and a bit more of Cassie, the Caledonian Sprite, who has a tendency to get tangled up in ecological issues, seeing as they have potentially devastating implications for her element.

This story takes place just after DESPRITE MEASURES, (excerpts here and here), and finds our sassy sprite involved in a fracking protest near Stirling, Scotland.

NOTE: there are live links scattered throughout the Caledonian Sprite stories, taking readers who choose to follow them to informative pages and photographs of all things quintessentially Scottish. My stab at a (slightly) interactive experience.

Excerpt from SPRITE NIGHT

The inn was typical of its type; old, creaky and in need of renovation, but warm with hospitality and a reputation for excellent food and choice of single malts. It’s one of the more frustrating aspects of my human body that consuming food or alcohol is a futile exercise; I can eat, but solid food needs disposing of—let’s not go there—and alcohol, whilst I can take pleasure in the taste, has no affect on me.

Companionship though—that I can, and do, enjoy.

I pushed open the swing doors to the lounge and glanced around. Most of the crowd were locals I’d come to know over the past few weeks, but a rather delectable-looking stranger sat in the snug beside the chimney. My body perked up with interest.

Right now, my DNA stores were high, and harvesting more would be an indulgence, but this guy had the makings of a pleasing dalliance, with or without extra benefits. His shaggy brown hair melded into a luxuriant beard, above which shone a pair of the brightest blue eyes I’d seen in a long while. He was dressed in a heavy woollen sweater, with a thick, quilted jacket and thermal beanie discarded beside him on the bench. Continue reading