"So what's C.L. Carhart going to yammer about today?" (asks the friendly fantasy romance reader hanging out on her newsletter) "Has she even figured it out yet, or is she still scrambling to get Gift of Darkness ready to publish?"

Valid questions, of course. 🤔

The good news: The eBook for Gift of Darkness is all set, and it's waiting for YOU to dive into Doro & Amira's magical love story next Wednesday!

Even better news: I've got a Q&A down below in case you haven't quite decided whether you're ready to join a Teuton witch and her aspiring (but non-magical) mate in a romantic journey stuffed with twists & turns.

The best news: You can start reading Doro & Amira's story TODAY if you snatch the eBook from C.L. Carhart's web shop. 🎊 Learn all the deets 1 week early, get an exclusive discount, AND get your ticket to a bonus novella!

Yep, this indie author's been busy. 😉 Let's dive into the Q&A!

🖤 Gift of Darkness Q&A 🖤

Q: Judging by the cover art & the main characters' names, Gift of Darkness seems to be an FF/lesbian romance. Am I correct in this assumption, or am I completely off the mark?

A: You are 100% correct! And that means Doro grapples with her society's restrictive expectations as she seeks out a Teuton priest willing to transform her beloved Amira into a witch.

Q: 'Restrictive expectations?' Do you mean homophobia? 🤮

A: While many Teutons accept & support non-hetero couples, some hold to the frustrating mantra of, "EVERY witch must reproduce or else our magical bloodlines will die out!" So unfortunately, Doro faces that sort of pushback from time to time. Thankfully, her parents are fully supportive!

Q: Is that the primary conflict in this book? Because I'm not sure I want to read something so outdated and gross, even if it's portrayed in a negative light.

A: Doro & Amira face far more complicated conflicts than the occasional instance of narrow mindedness. For one thing, both of them are adopted, and as the plot progresses, Doro discovers some harrowing secrets about her heritage. Secrets a nasty group of Teutons want to exploit. 👀 There's also some small town drama and a chilling interlude with an undead priest.

Q: A chilling interlude with an undead priest??? Tell me more!

A: I can't say too much about that due to spoilers. But I'll admit that if you read Gift of Darkness, you'll get a first glimpse at one of my favorite cursed Teuton priests—a twisted villain-turned-antihero with a morally gray outlook. (If you've read my debut series, His Name Was Augustin, then I'm sure you realize my favorite Cursed One is Augustin. 😉)

Q: Okay, so we've got a Teuton witch of darkness and her non-magical beloved seeking to break the mold and be together no matter the cost. I'm guessing this book has a happily-ever-after? If so, I might be willing to plow through the tough sections to celebrate with Doro & Amira.

A: Yes, Gift of Darkness does indeed have a HEA. Both Doro & Amira accomplish quite a few personal goals by the time their story comes to a close, and they'd love to have you along for the ride!

Q: What sort of triggers can I find in this book? Your previous novel, Gift of Stone, dealt with some pretty dark topics. And apparently there's an undead priest in this one, so . . . is there a bunch of disturbing material in Doro & Amira's love story?

A: I do think Gift of Darkness isn't quite as heavy as Gift of Stone. But it's not lighthearted like Gift of Fire, either, so prepare yourself for a wild ride if you decide to join Doro & Amira on their journey. There are a few instances of sexual content (of course!), plus profanity, death, violence, and mature themes.

Q: Honestly, that seems like the standard for your books. 😝 I think I'm curious enough to give this a shot. What sort of fantasy & romance tropes can I immerse myself into when I read Gift of Darkness?

A: Yay, the trope question! Gift of Darkness is a small town paranormal romance with an adopted sibling relationship, forbidden romance, dark secrets, lesbian main characters (and a side character with an intriguing relationship), and a batch of outside forces determined to keep Doro & Amira apart. Will they defeat them all? Start reading Gift of Darkness today to find out!

🖤 Gift of Darkness Snippet 🖤

Today we're joining Amira at her waitressing job at the only restaurant/bar in town. It's a Friday night and the place is hopping with locals and tourists—because you just can't escape those tourists in the summertime when you live in the Austrian Alps. 🏔 But a pair of those "tourists" might have something else on their minds. Something much more sinister . . . .

On the last Friday in June, my evening shift at Kramhof progressed as usual, with tourists and locals thronging the restaurant and bar. Shortly before the kitchen closed at eight p.m., Jasmin sidled up to me after we deposited trays of dirty dishes into the main dishwasher. “My Onkel Gerhard’s here with some elder I’ve never seen before. Talks with a German accent. Just now when I went to collect their dishes, I heard them muttering about your sister. In Teutonica.”

Halfway out of the kitchen doorway, I froze and spun to face my coworker, noticing a trace of watery blue enhancing her hazel irises. “Your uncle? You mean Herr Hippler? The priest who won’t do the blood-transfer for Doro and me?”

Jasmin wiped her hands nervously on her apron and chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah. He’s with some old dude who claims metal. They said something about your sister daring to cut a dark deal to give you Teuton blood.”

Beckoning Jasmin to follow me, I eased away from the kitchen and ducked behind the bar, running my gaze over the tables spread across the restaurant. “Is it those two?” I asked, gesturing at two males occupying the small table I shared with Doro whenever she visited.

“Yep.” Jasmin clutched my right arm and slid closer to me. “I’ll take care of all the tables near them. You stick to the bar as much as possible.”

As she spoke, the younger of the two—Herr Hippler himself—glanced at the TV nearest to where we stood. And his gaze locked with mine for an instant before drifting back to his companion. I breathed a curse and nodded at my coworker. “Be careful out there. If they say anything that sounds like a threat, let me know so I can get our boss involved.”

“You got it.”

I needed to take a break, so after Jasmin and I parted ways, I checked on my customers at the opposite side of the restaurant, topping off drinks and closing out tabs. Then I told Rolf I would be back in fifteen and let myself into the employees’ lounge where we kept our belongings. I retrieved a pear from my locker and made myself comfortable on the worn couch below the window with a view of the nearby mountainside. Though dread had knotted in my stomach, I forced myself to eat quickly, knowing Maja would finish her shift soon. I did not need to deal with her peevishness on top of some priest fomenting a plot against my fiancée.

Why would Herr Hippler show up here with some buddy from Germany? Why should they care if Doro cuts a deal with a Black Priest to perform our blood-transfer? Is the German guy one of the priests Doro knows from the forum? They really must not want me to become a witch. Is it because I don’t have pale skin and light eyes, or is it because I’m a lesbian?

I rolled my eyes at myself while I chewed on my final bite of pear. Can’t be that. Teutons aren’t Nazis. And everyone knows I want to have children, even if I have to screw a man to do it. I’m not looking at it right. There must be something else they want.

In my ignorance, I did not realize they were here for me.

When I exited the stall of the employees’ restroom not long after, someone took hold of me as I turned for the sink. I gasped as a gloved hand clapped over my mouth, another twisting both of my wrists behind my back and shoving me against the wall beside the sink. Shock rendered my limbs useless. As I choked for breath, a reedy chuckle crept into my ears.

“So you’re the exotic prize Dorothea wishes to claim. She has exquisite taste, despite the perversion of her affections.” The man pressed my torso more firmly to the wall, squishing my breasts, and I squeaked, trying to wrench myself away from his punishing grip. But my captor was much stronger than me, and a whiff of putrid coals permeated the restroom. He used his element to reinforce his strength.

Just as my brain identified the brute as Herr Hippler, he uttered a phrase that sent terror raging through my veins. “Tap her neck and let’s be done with this before one of the Teutons senses us in here.”

Herr Hippler forcibly tilted my head back against his chest, and then a harsh needle jabbed into the right side of my neck. I tried to scream, but he tightened his grip on my mouth, rendering me mute. Panicked, I shifted my eyes as far to the right as possible, watching an elderly man with a pointed chin and a solemn mien drain my blood. I could not catch sight of the syringe he held, but it seemed to expand inside my neck, beating into me with a throbbing pain.

My captor trapped my arms between our bodies, his legs immobilizing mine against the wall. Did they plan on bleeding me to death? Did they hope Doro would agree to marry a man without me in the picture? I moaned against Herr Hippler’s gloved hand as my strength gradually waned, and then the elderly man spoke in a tone reminiscent of a consoling physician.

“Relax, dear child. It’s almost over.”

Blackness blurred my awareness as the pain in my neck abruptly intensified, then eased. My captor lowered me to the floor, his gloved fingers stroking the vessel his partner had tapped, a strange warmth seeping into my blood. “Rest, my dear,” Herr Hippler crooned. “We aren’t finished with you yet.”

The two Teutons vanished while I hovered at the brink of consciousness on the restroom floor, my back propped against the wall beside the sink. My heartbeat stuttered, and my thoughts wandered in a haze of confusion. I do not know how much time passed before Maja barged in and let out a shriek.

“Amira, what’s wrong with you? Did you overdose?”

I blinked rapidly and tried to say something, to push aside the fog clouding my brain so I could ask for help. But my coworker sped away before I remembered how to speak. Groaning, I leaned my head against the wall and flexed my fingers and wrists, wincing at the resultant ache. Maja would doubtless run to her father—my boss—and tell him I had overdosed in the restroom. How could I fix this before everyone in Kramhof considered me an addict?

“Get up,” I told myself, my voice breaking over the words. Taking a deep breath, I set my palms onto the floor and tried to push myself to my feet. All four of my limbs quivered, my heart pattering erratically as it sought blood I no longer had. Just how much had that elderly brute taken? More than the standard amount for a blood donation? Where had he put it?

The restroom door shrieked open to reveal Rolf, energy sparking in his eyes as he scooped me into his arms. “I’ve got you Amira. I’ve got you.”

“Someone bled me!” I cried out, hoping to squash any rumors of drugs.

“Someone bled you?” I sensed Rolf’s energy tingling around us, seeking to invigorate my depleted body. “There’s a slight bruise forming on your neck. What the hell?”

“It was that old man . . . the one with Jasmin’s uncle,” I croaked as he carried me to the couch beneath the window in the employees’ lounge. Maja stood by the door to the public portion of the restaurant, her eyes as round as the full moon.

***

What to know what happens next? Find out right now by grabbing your copy of Gift of Darkness from my book shop!

Enter the code DARKWITCH at checkout for 15% off.

✨ Get It NOW! ✨

Or reserve your copy of Doro & Amira's love story at your favorite retailer:

https://books2read.com/ebgiftofdarkness

🔥 Fiery Romance & Fantasy Book Fair 🔥

Ready for some sizzling goodness to spice up your spring (or autumn if you're in the southern hemisphere)? Lucky for you, my fellow authors and I have compiled a great collection of limited time FREE stories for your enjoyment! Upon scrolling the book fair myself, I've picked out a couple tales I haven't seen before. Plus, there's a fae stud with a rather long nose. 🤨

✨ Now I'm Curious! ✨

Other Books You Might Like

Got two books—one of which is a box set—for you to check out today. Make sure to browse Valerie Twombly's direct store, because all us indie authors would LOVE to claim more sales from our own shops (no retailer cut!). And don't forget to snag Trisha Lynn's mystical tale if you don't already have it.

She’s fated to break his curse. He’s destined to kill her.

CURSED

While traveling to the human realm to feed, king Andrei brings the wrath of a powerful witch down on his head. Now cursed, the vampire cannot cross beyond the mist that hides his world from the mortals. To make matters worse, his people are trapped and starving in his kingdom on the other side. After years of searching, he’s finally discovered a way to break from his living hell. With the clock ticking, he weaves a trap to lure the fated female, who can save them all.

FATED

Sonia’s small-town life is finally looking up. With a new job at a local shop called Bedazzled Jewels, she finally feels excitement in the air. When a new trinket at the store evokes strange visions, it isn’t the thrill she is hoping for. Convinced her nightly encounters with a handsome stranger are just dreams, she soon learns not only is he real but in danger.

✨ All Retailers ✨

Touched by ancient magic she can't control, Adeila is confronted by the truth of her past, and the uncertainty of her future.

In the human realm, eighteen-year-old Adeila Burton is just trying to finish high school, blend in, and hide unexplainable powers that have been developing over the years. When she loses control of her magic on her friend, Adeila knows she needs help. She just never thought it would come from him. Adeila doesn't even like the new guy, but when he offers to help—mysteriously explaining some of her powers—she has no choice but to accept.

Loki Staghorn's job is to infiltrate the life of his king's long-lost daughter, but he bites off more than he can chew dealing with teenagers. This retrieval might go south before he even gets the princess to the Fae realm.

The Faerie realm and new bonds with an ancient unicorn beckon Adeila to accept her future, but can she so easily forget her past? It might be harder to give up eighteen years than she thought.

✨ Only 99¢ ✨

Remember, if you don't want to wait any longer to immerse yourself in Doro & Amira's fantastical love story, you can get your eBook copy EARLY from my online book shop! (It would really make my day, I guarantee it. 😊)

Remember, grabbing an eBook from my book shop is super awesome because it means you'll get any future updates to the file—including potential bonus scenes—for free! Plus, there might be a super secret link in the back of the eBook to a super secret bonus novella involving Amira's magical pregnancy. 🤩

Are you in? Get your copy of Gift of Darkness today, and get 15% off by entering the code DARKWITCH at checkout.

https://clcarhart.com/products/gift-of-darkness-ebook

That's all for me, because I've got some novellas to write. And a bunch of other business-related & personal-related quarterly goals to conquer. 💪

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

PS - YOOOOO to my ARC team of Elemental Bloodliners! Gift of Darkness is in your inbox waiting for you to read & review. I'm counting on YOU to give Doro & Amira's story a nice review boost on release week, so don't let me—or our witchy heroines—down! 💖

Get Gift of Darkness now & enter code DARKWITCH at checkout for 15% off:

https://clcarhart.com/products/gift-of-darkness-ebook

C.L. Carhart's book shop: https://clcarhart.com/

Get Gift of Air for free: https://bf.clcarhart.com/6w57qgfhc9

This week's book fair: https://bf.clcarhart.com/beltane2023/h5qg14hvwg