It’s launch day for The Tainted and the Tamed

After many months, The Tainted and the Tamed is here at last! Part of the Bound by Blood multi-author, spicy vampire romance series AND the Vampires of Kaiden series, it follows a maid and a vampire lord turned chairman, who’s struggling with his monstrous nature.

It also has…

  • An environmental theme
  • Class difference romance
  • Slow-burn to spicy hot romance (for mature readers only)
  • Friendship
  • Morally grey characters
  • A tormented MMC
  • Chronic (respiratory) illness representation

Now in Kindle Unlimited!

The Tainted and the Tamed, by C.K. Beggan

The synopsis:

His dangerous beauty cannot be tamed.

Murasaki is living on borrowed time. Turning to the mountain air to aid a difficult lung condition, she travels from a modern city of smoke-belching factories to a castle straight out of the past. Hired as a castle maid, she is convinced all possibility of romance is behind her. Yet the handsome servant she meets on her first day has her intrigued.

In an attempt to curb his monstrous nature, vampire Haruki has spent years denying himself. As one of the powerful, secretive vampires ruling Kaiden as a chairman, there are few alive who have ever seen his face. But when he almost literally stumbles upon a new maid from the city, he has little choice but to pretend he’s a fellow servant. Thanks to Murasaki, Haruki suddenly finds himself interested in the outside world again—even if he must lie to be a part of it.

As ruler and maid begin a delicate dance around one another, both must ask themselves whether that which is tainted can still be saved. Or are these slow-burn lovers doomed from the start?

I hope you’ll give The Tainted and the Tamed a try! A big thank you to everyone who has supported this book, preordered and ARC read.

Cheers!

CKB

The Sacrifice and the Spare (Bound by Blood) is here!

At long last, the first of the Bound by Blood spicy vampire romance novellas is here! For those of you who don’t know, Bound by Blood is the multi-author novella series I co-organized with Ophelia Wells Langley. We started planning this since January and I can’t believe it’s finally here!

Each of the 8 novellas are standalones by 8 unique authors. Many of our stories are also diverse, with LGBTQ+ rep, chronic illness representation and diverse characters.

The Sacrifice and the Spare is the first BBB novella to be released (today!). A new novella will launch every Friday from September 1st until October 20th. You will be able to read all of them in Kindle Unlimited, too!

About The Sacrifice and the Spare

An other world paranormal romantasy

  • Royal arranged marriage
  • Murder mystery
  • Vampire-human prince pairing
  • Political intrigue

Synopsis:

When a human prince takes a vampire bride, can love bloom where death is sown?

As the spare, Prince Kallan is duty-bound to wed the woman chosen for him–even if it means marrying a vampire. After Bria is selected from the neighboring vampire clan, Kallan can’t deny the heat that sparks between them, but his cautious optimism goes up in smoke when the heir to the throne is found dead and Bria is the top suspect.

Bria can’t remember her life before she became a vampire, but she knows she was made for one purpose: to wed the second prince of Dolbryn–a human prince. In a kingdom of strangers, Bria anticipates being a lamb to slaughter, but the last thing she expects is to be framed for killing the heir. Now, she must trust that the fledgling bond between her and Kallan is enough to see her rightfully freed.

Start reading The Sacrifice and the Spare here.

About the Author

Elle Backenstoe lives in Eastern Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and two dogs. She grew up with her nose buried in a book and sometimes emerges long enough to write some words of her own. She writes fantasy and romance, often together. Elle runs on pop punk music and Coke, and will always choose sweet over salty. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her at her home-away-from-home, the dance studio.

You can find Elle on:
Twitter
Instagram
Tiktok

An autumn of anthologies

As promised, here’s a look into what I’ve been up to…and it’s all about a multi-author series and anthologies!

First is the vampire romance series I co-organized with fellow fantasy author Ophelia Wells Langley, Bound by Blood. (You can visit the series website here to learn more specifics, but the first novella publishes September 1st.) The entire series of novellas is for spicy fantasy romance fans, and has a variety of books (contemporary, period pieces, second-chance romances and LOTS of LGBTQ+ rep), all linked by the common theme of spicy (open door) vampire romance.

Naturally, more than a couple of the stories involve some kind of forbidden romance!

My novella, The Tainted and the Tamed, is set in a brand new world. The country involved is called Kaiden and is heavily drawn from Japanese culture and history, almost like an alternate history of Japan if vampires were power players. I have a minor in Japan Studies, have been studying Japanese for many years (too many to still be this bad!) and was able to base story settings on places I visited while living in Japan when I was younger and more mobile. It was a really interesting (and nostalgic) setting to write.

The Tainted and the Tamed launches September 8th. You can preorder here for 99c if you so choose!

I created a concept of representative rule by secretive vampire chairmen, which opens the door to a whole series…which will be called Vampires of Kaiden. This will happen depending on reader interest…which is not to say that I might just go, “You know what? I feel like writing more vampires!” and write the darn thing anyway.

The second story I was working on this summer is a short story called “Bright Arrow.” This story is related to Horace and takes place within a couple years of those events (Sydney makes a cameo!). I’ll be submitting that to the Indie Fantasy Addicts anthology, which was newly opened to the general pool of writers this year. If it’s not chosen, I’ll probably add some additional scenes and publish it…but I hope I’m chosen! Wish me luck!

Anthology number three is called Shift of the Seasons, organized by MJ Marstens. (You can preorder it here!) Proceeds go to a breast cancer foundation, which is a cause near and dear to my heart. The story I’m writing for it is a “must choose/I won’t share you” MFM romance…that’s two males interested in the same female character, and vice versa. The story is linked to my Season of the Fae series and takes place in the Connor Court well before it was cursed and lost to history, and has a puca female lead.

That’s all the news I have for now! Thanks so much for reading!

Cheers!

CKB

Revel at the Court of Claws, by C.K. Beggan (A Season of the Fae Prequel Novella)

Revel at the Court of Claws is here!

Hi all!

I’m setting an intention to start blogging again more regularly, even if it’s just once a month. But of course I had to do an announcement for today because…

Revel at the Court of Claws is now available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited! Paperbacks are coming later this week, but for right now you can grab the ebook here!

This spicy fae fairy tale retelling (of Sleeping Beauty and Sun, Moon and Talia) is a prequel linked to Lord of the Hollow Court. It started its life as a novelette I gave away as a newsletter subscriber perk.

Now it’s a novella…and VERY steamy.

Besides having new scenes and revisions, Revel has a new cover and synopsis, too! (A big thanks to author Alora Black for the rewrite!)

Revel at the Court of Claws, by C.K. Beggan (A Season of the Fae Prequel Novella)

The synopsis:

The Hollow Kingdom meets The Cruel Prince with a dash of The Host in this spicy, witchy Sleeping Beauty and Sun, Moon and Talia retelling.

Her charmed life just became a cursed one—and then the fae arrived.

Susannah Wright gets what she wants, and what she wants more than anything is to become a powerful witch. So when her initiation into the coven is derailed, she will do anything in her power to reclaim fate’s favor and rid herself of this unwelcome curse. 

Despite meticulous planning, her spell goes awry when she pricks her finger on a piece of flax and the High Fae scent Susannah’s blood on the wind.

Whisked into the Court of Claws by the wicked, cunning, and unbearably beautiful Fae, will she survive their bloodthirsty revel? Or will the intense attraction between her and a High Fae Prince Charming be her undoing?
Fast-paced and sizzling hot, Revel at the Court of Claws is a prequel novella to Lord of the Hollow Court. It is intended for a mature audience.

Start reading now

I hope you’ll support the new version of Revel, or tell a friend who loves ACOTAR and spicy fantasy romances!

Cheers,

CKB

PS: If you’re wondering what’s next on my schedule…I’m putting the finishing touches on an anthology submission, then writing another story for a charity anthology called Shift of the Seasons. More on that later!

Spicy book giveaway!

For readers of spicy and steamy fantasy romance:

March Madness Fantasy Romance Ebook Giveaway

You can win 12 spicy romantasy ebooks!

Ophelia Wells Langley (The Borderlands Princess) is hosting a KingSumo giveaway from today, March 11 through March 18, 2023. Enter for a chance to win!

Remember, these are all spicy and steamy titles, so you must be 18+.

This giveaway is also open internationally!

Note Lord of the Hollow Court is in the above graphic!

Good luck ; )

Cheers!

CKB

Books on Sale: 99c books with FMCs!

There’s a sale on fantasy books you need to know about…

Scratch that…there are three sales!

Sale #1: 99c FMC-led books

Finding Her Story brings you fantasy, romantic fantasy, fantasy romance and YA fantasy reads led by FMCs (female main characters) for 99c!

A friend sent me the link to this promo and I had to join with Girl of Shadow and Glass. If you’ve already started the series, you’ll know that there are two female narrators at the heart of the story, Kith and Finchoa.

This is especially timely because *cough cough* book 3 *cough*. But you didn’t hear that from me 😉


Sale #2: Girl of Glass and Fury (Tara’s Necklace Book 2)

Because of the above coughing fit, I am also putting on a little sale of my own.

I’ve decided to make book 2, Girl of Glass and Fury, just 99c for the first time in a long time!

Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale through March 11

Sale #3: The Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale!

You can also find all my book marked down at the Smashwords Sale. (One of these books might even be free 50% off, spicy romantasy readers! Said book being Lord of the Hollow Court – click here for the direct link. Otherwise…)

That’s all for now! Cheers!

CKB

Snow-Swept is here!

It’s Valentine’s Day, so you know what that means…

Snow-Swept moodboard: Hope flies in on a gargoyle's wings. Sweet Fantasy Romance. (Images of winter, night, and winter clothing.)

It’s release day for Snow-Swept!

This no-spice fantasy romance novelette is now available on Kindle Unlimited.

Featuring hearts in need of healing, grief, and a sweet romance that blooms alongside a gargoyle’s protective instincts, I can’t guarantee this little story won’t make you cry!

Snow-Swept: A Gargoyle Romance Novelette, by C.K. Beggan (pale wings, snowflakes and intricate lacy designs over a background the color of night)

Visit the book page for Snow-Swept for more info!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cheers,

CKB

New on Vella: The Lamp Post Society

Welcome to The Lamp Post Society, where you’ll trade your true name for a roof over your head and solid wages. Oh, and you’ll also fight monsters.

The Lamp Post Society Kindle Vella Cover (showing a woman in a red and black Victorian dress with a background of stars and a murky cobbled street)
Click the cover to start reading!

My new quirky Victorian gaslamp fantasy, The Lamp Post Society, is now available on Kindle Vella! The Lamp Post Society is perfect for fans of W.R. Gingell and Suzannah Rowntree. This story publishes Wednesdays.

(Reminder: Kindle Vella is a serial storytelling platform on Amazon.com–meaning, sadly, it is still only available for US Amazon users.)

The Synopsis:

While London enjoys the progress of the Victorian Era, an endless series of disappearances plague the foggy streets of Elloc. The Lamp Post Society is on the case. Unfortunately, so is its newest and most oblivious recruit, Newfie Blake—and nothing can prepare him for the things that go bump in the night.

The Lamp Post Society is quirky, exciting gaslamp fantasy for fans of W.R. Gingell’s The City Between series and Suzannah Rowntree’s Miss Dark’s Apparitions series.

Cheers!

CKB

ARC readers wanted for Snow-Swept!

If you like sweet paranormal romance or no spice fantasy romance and can review on Amazon, stop and read this now!

My gargoyle romance novelette, Snow-Swept, is looking for ARC readers. You can get your copy on Booksprout. There are already less than 25 copies left with no plans to add more, so grab yours as quick as you can!

(Can’t review on Amazon? Preorder Snow-Swept for 99c or catch it in KU on February 14, 2023.)

Snow-Swept: A Gargoyle Romance Novelette, by C.K. Beggan (pale wings, snowflakes and intricate lacy designs over a background the color of night)

Cheers!

CKB