Bee Murray’s Book Club | Newsletter

🌿Emerald Fern Press🌿

Upcoming Release | Freebies | Flash Fiction 

Wild At Heart: Flash Fiction [Freebie]

A new story just for my readers! 

Welcome to March, y’all! What are you currently reading?

I just finished Collide by Kitty Cox and OH MY WORD -- if you want complex, contemporary reverse harem with all kinds of depth, check this new series out. I have a book hangover and about a quarter of the way through I no longer cared that I have a deadline, binge-read mode was activated! And it was worth it! :)

Other news: I had the distinct pleasure of participating in the Wild At Heart PNR Flash Fiction challenge for February. Each month, a group of participating authors get together and come up with a theme, choose inspiration photos, and publish a free piece of flash fiction for their readers! The only catch? It has to be under 1,000 words.

This was a challenge but it was so fun. My story, Midnight Roses, is below and you can find links to all the other participating authors stories pinned here: https://www.facebook.com/BeeMurrayBooks

Other news I have to report: Matestone Guardians 2 is officially up for preorder. Remember when I created a reverse harem story with hints of that ridiculous, summer beach-read romcom stuff we love so much and then announced it was full of sealion shifters? Well... here we go again! A dolphin, a bear, a leprechaun, and a koala walk into a bar.... ;)

We’re headed back to Misty Cove and I CANNOT WAIT for you to get ahold of All That Glitters. Check out the cover reveal and blurb below or head on over to Amazon: mybook.to/Matestone2

Make sure you check out the freebies and book recommendations to find more faaaabulous indie authors + a picture of my book cat Murray. I also have a book swag contest running in my Facebook group. Come say hi in Bee Murray’s Book Club and enter to win The Mystery Mailer!

Thank you, as always, for your support!

xo, 

Bee

SILVER DAGGER BOOK TOURS

GIVEAWAY THROUGH MARCH 16!

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https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/bad-blood-a-vampr-nightmare-book-tour-and-giveaway 

COMING SOON! All That Glitters  [Matestone Guardians 2]

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ALL THAT GLITTERS

Last time it was a harem of sea lion shifters....this time we've got a leprechaun, a dolphin shifter, and a grumpy bear all converging on Misty Cove to meet a certain koala-witch magical misfit! Welcome to Matestone Guardians book 2!!

BLURB:

Chasing the trail of a rogue leprechaun with sticky fingers is all in a day’s work, but no one told me there would be so much... glitter.

Disgraced bounty hunter and magical misfit Kalena Montague just needs a little luck. When the Fae announce a hefty bounty for a leprechaun stripper with a penchant for stealing priceless artifacts, she can’t resist getting her hands dirty! The rules are simple but the stakes are high: don’t get caught, and bring back either the gold, the man, or both.

One small problem. No one warned her that taking gold from a leprechaun has long lasting consequences. Can she escape with her reputation intact, or will the hunter become the hunted…

And where did all this glitter come from?

Return to Misty Cove and the world of Matestone Guardians with All That Glitters. Featuring a purple-haired heroine who could really use a holiday (or $10,000 in the bank, no questions asked), a sexy leprechaun in booty shorts, a grumpy bear shifter with a dark past and a chip on his shoulder, and an adorable dolphin shifter who really just needs to catch a break, y’know?

Lovers of quirky romantic comedies, #WhyChoose romance, fated mates, questionable choices, and bottomless pina coladas will love the second installment in the Matestone Guardians world. And if you haven’t been introduced… it’s about time.

Preorder link here: mybook.to/Matestone2

Read book one on Kindle Unlimited: mybook.to/SurfsUp 

FLASH FICTION: Midnight Roses

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(c) Bee Murray; All Rights Reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or published without express written consent of the author.

It started the morning after my 25th birthday. 

My dreams, the vibrant, golden balloons of hope that I’d held on to so desperately, I’d lost my grip on almost all of them. 

Loneliness permeated my soul, and every day I woke up feeling more and more hopeless. They tell you to live for the good days and focus on the positives. 

And I did. I tried. I really, really tried to smile at strangers and smell the proverbial roses. 

But I failed. Every time I was pushed to live in the light, I fell deeper into the darkness. 

When I opened my door that morning, I was blinded by sunshine. Sluggish and lost in my own thoughts, I almost stepped on it. But the bright white petals caught my eye.

A single white rose lay across my doorstep. 

There was no note. No card. No ribbon. 

Just a rose. 

I glanced around furtively. I’m not the girl who gets mysterious roses, and this isn’t the neighborhood where neighbors are kind. 

I stepped over it at first but I only made it three steps before I turned around. 

White roses meant hope. New beginnings. 

If anyone could use a new beginning, it was me. 

An empty pickle jar and some tap water.

I placed it in the lone kitchen window for sunlight and left the house feeling a little lighter.

Day after day, I woke up and changed the water in my little rose’s jar. I spoke to it like a friend and mourned its passing when it finally drooped in defeat. 

When the time came, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. 

I kept it.

I plucked each dried petal from the husk of a stem and stored them carefully in a ragged little cardboard box. 

The next morning, a second rose lay on my doorstep and a small glimmer of joy bloomed in the cracks in my heart. Carefully, I retrieved my fresh rose and set it in the place of honor on my windowsill. My friend had returned. 

Weeks passed and then months and yet, the roses kept arriving. 

Always white. 

Always single. 

Always when the previous rose had withered and died. 

Perhaps I should have been scared about being watched or stalked. But a part of me was curious, who wouldn’t be?

Ultimately, roses from the darkness didn’t scare me. With each new rose, I felt a little stronger, a little more ready to face the world again.

My midnight roses were a constant, twisted form of hope. They gave me the courage to apply for the bakery job, not as a server, but as a baker. You could say, my midnight roses gave me my dreams back. 

Until one night, when everything changed. 

Dawn had not yet broken but the grey-pink streaks had already creased the sky. The shadows were especially dark that morning, and I smiled into them, greeting the darkness as an old friend before turning to lock my door. 

When I turned around again, a rose was waiting for me, lying just out of reach. Instead of white, this rose was a brilliant gold. Sparkles of glitter decorated the petals, giving it an otherworldly shimmer. 

“Thank you,” I whispered as I reached down to pick it up. 

After work, I didn’t go straight home. For the first time, I wished I had something to give back to my mysterious benefactor. I walked to the garden center and perused the many offerings, but nothing was quite right. It was only by chance that I looked in the cuttings bucket. There, buried underneath greenery and stems, was a rose that had been dip-dyed blue. It was imperfect. The stem was broken off in a jagged edge and the petals were wilting. But it reminded me of midnight. 

Carefully, I liberated my perfectly imperfect rose from the bucket and walked to the cashier. “You can just have that one, hun,” she dismissed me with a wave. 

At home, my midnight rose sat next to my golden one, nestled together in the pickle jar. I sat down to write a note. Words flowed, and I poured my heart out, filling my little card and spilling out onto the back.  

The clock struck midnight, and I took a deep breath. 

Carefully, I wrapped the stem of my midnight blue rose in paper and set it on my doorstep, tucking the note behind it. 

With a cup of tea, I watched out of the peephole and waited. 

The stars twinkled, and moonlight danced along the cracked sidewalks.

One shadow moved too deliberately to be a trick of the light. 

It hovered over my paltry offering and a figure materialized in a blur. 

Without thinking, I flung the door open. The figure looked up, startled, before darting away.

“Stop! Wait?” I called out, desperately.

They hesitated before turning back towards me. 

I ran forward eagerly. 

“You should not seek me out, little rose,” a deep voice rumbled. 

“You saved me.” 

“I do not save,” he snapped, “You are mistaken.” 

I spied my note on the ground and shoved it into his hands. 

Slowly, he unfurled the crumpled paper and read it. Moments passed.

“I wish I could give you more,” I whispered, “It’s only a note and a wilted flower.” 

His head jerked up and he hesitated before drawing me into a rough embrace. His cloak swirled around us and it felt as though I was being wrapped up in the night itself. 

“You have given me a reason to walk in the sunshine again, little rose,” he whispered. 

Cold lips brushed against my cheek before he pressed something into my hand. 

An inky dark shadow covered us, and then he was gone. Breathing hard, I slowly opened my clenched fist and looked down. 

There, nestled in the palm of my hand, was a rough coin. Emblazoned on one side was the scythe of Death and the other, a single rose. 

MIDNIGHT ROSES ©  2021 Bee Murray. All rights reserved.

MIDNIGHT ROSES was first published as part of the WILD AT HEART PNR FLASH FICTION writing circle. The theme for February was BLIND DATE/SECRET CRUSH

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BOOK CAT’s  READING RECOMMENDATIONS

Find a new book to read. Or five.

Freebies | Kindle Unlimited Finds | 99c Steals | Book Fairs

Murray the BookCat wants more reading and couch snuggles. Please and thank you. 

F-R-E-E-B-I-E-S!

• FREE COLLECTION Witch Ways: 8 Full-length novels + 1 novella on special sale for F-R-E-E right now! Grab this PNR collection today! Get it here
• New Adult/Urban Fantasy ~ A short story prequel for the upcoming Ruling Magic series.. Get it here
• 12 Epic Fantasy Short Stories ~ Lose yourself in this epic fantasy world which unravels with each story. You’ll never want to leave! Get it here
• Free on Kindle Unlimited: Happily Furever After ~ This Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy anthology benefits the Hobo Haven Pet Rescue. Pick up a copy and dive into amazing UF and PNR stories, while helping vulnerable dogs find good homes! Get it here
• Review Copy: Paranormal Romance & Modern Fantasy ~ A paranormal romance and modern fantasy about secrets, mysticism, empowerment, and the complexities of love. Get it here

VAMPIRES, SHIFTERS, WITCHES - OH, MY! PNR TO FILL YOUR KINDLE! 

• And A Meadowlark Sang ~ High-action Urban Fantasy with slow burn romance. Book 1 in the Goddess Durga series.  Get it here 
• After Midnight ~ Improbably love. Impossible life. Immeasurable danger.  Get it here
• The Cannibal Cure: A Paranormal Thriller ~ A black badge group must hunt a monster feeding on humans in this chilling suspense novel.  Get it here
• Rapture at Midnight ~ A paranormal romance, vampire werewolf hybrid series! Get it here
• Fractured Flame ~ I’m not an assassin witch, I swear… Fractured Flame is the first book in Firebird Uncaged, an urban fantasy series containing action, snarky humor, mythological creatures, rogue witches, Aztec gods, swearing, and slow-burn romance. Get it here
• Shiftly Speaking ~ The last thing paranormal romance writer Lacy expected when she went out for a jog was to be bitten by a horse-sized wolf… Fast-paced paranormal romantic comedy! Get it here
• Dangerous Affections ~ Affections can often be dangerous - and in this case deadly! A paranormal romance vampire thriller! Get it here
• Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery ~ A SciFi Alien Romance! There are a million ways to end up in the Alien Bride Lottery but it only takes one.. Get it here
• Beating Hearts: A LGBTQIA+ Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Anthology ~ When all the world is screaming, the sound of your heart beating is the only thing I hear… Get it here
• Into The Dark ~ A superstitious reverse harem romance anthology! Get it here

BOOK FAIRS & SPECIAL DEALS:

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/fXpGiAF 

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/gBv7MKg 

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/5eMJYgW 

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/YGOJ3Vc 

www.books2read.com/VamPR 

Love it or hate it, I wanna hear about it! Please leave a review on my work on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, or tag me on Instagram! I love to hear from my readers and I always want to know what you thought of my story! :)

Contact us at:

Emerald Fern Press

3300 NW 185th Ave #1047, Portland, OR, 97229

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