Through December 24, Torquere Press is giving away ebook copies of one or two titles through their website all day every day. I’ll be posting them here so that you can make sure to grab them.
Today’s giveaways are Voss Foster’s Zirkua Fantastic and Ari McKay’s Herc’s Mercs: The Bigger They Come.
Zirkua Fantastic has been running steadily since 1753, amazing its patrons with acts of otherworldly skill and prowess. But that talent comes at a steep price: each artist must give a year of his or her life to the circus. None of them know why, only that the circus’ owners will go to whatever lengths are necessary to ensure it. Toby, the hoop dancer at Zirkua Fantastic and son of one of the owners, is content with his life: he enjoys performing and Zirkua’s wandering life, and even has a boyfriend among the circus’ hawkers. But when a new artist arrives, bringing with him a strange flask and a number of odd occurrences, Toby falls face-first into the truth behind the circus: Its contracts bind King Jester, the immortal embodiment of chaos.
Zirkua’s performances and contracts have held King Jester prisoner for centuries, but now something’s amiss. King Jester’s sister, Dragon, has escaped her own bonds and is working to free her brother, and his power is growing. If he is loosed on the world, it will mean the worst war in human history and the end of civilization… unless Zirkua Fantastic can find a way to stop him.
Herc’s Mercs: The Bigger They Come
Cade “Hercules” Thornton is an ex-Marine and soldier of fortune; now he’s the owner of Hercules Security, which provides the best bodyguards in the business. After his leg was crushed and reconstructed, Cade doesn’t do field work anymore – until a challenge is issued to him by wealthy Kate Morgan, who wants her “bookish” grandson protected from a stalker. She insists on having the very best bodyguard available, and that is Cade himself.
But there is nothing laid back or bookish about Dr. Jude Morgan. Having lived under the thumb of his grandmother his entire life, Jude is insistent that he doesn’t need a babysitter. Sparks fly when Cade tries to insinuate himself into Jude’s life, and Cade knocks Jude on his ass – literally.
Yet the danger to Jude is real, and Cade is the only thing standing between him and an increasingly more terrifying stalker. Cade’s protective feelings for his client become something more, while Jude begins to realize that his brawny, neo-Viking protector is a man unlike anyone he’s ever known. Yet as Cade and Jude grow closer, so does the danger.
Cade will stop at nothing to protect Jude, but Jude’s stalker is determined to get his man – even if he has to kill Cade Thornton to do it.