Tara Maya's Tales

  There's nothing wrong with a good Dystopia, but I love positive, optimistic Science Fiction. The great thing about being an author is that if you don't see the genre you want to read more of, you can write it yourself.  I said to myself, "I want to see some SF that has a bright future. Not a utopia, but not, 'we're all going to live in a grungy, grey, overpopulated world, eating bugs, ruled by a 'Corporation' that acts more like the CCP where the only hope is to run away or overthrow the government.'" In the interests of full disclosure, I started a Dystopian series one year during NaNoWriMo, which was a science fiction retelling of Persephone and Hades. I found that story on my hard drive -- 50,000 words of a novel -- and thought, "Hey, this is good, why didn't I write the rest?" So I might still publish a Dysopia!  But, ahem, back to the non-dystopia idea... Rachel Huffmire has a post on " Hopepunk " which isn't too ...

Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in. Then a star begins to fall. Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped trusting in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate. Then a star begins to fall. Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from. Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending these two seekers on a treacherous journey into the unknown. Download Unknown , Book 1 of The Elements Trilogy ,   from Amazon , Barnes and Noble , Kobo...

Danger lurks in the dead of night... Seventeen year old Nikki and her twin brother, Nathan, move to the small town of Shore Lake to start over after their mother is brutally attacked. When a missing teenager washes up on shore during their first night at the cabin and there are whispers of vampires in Shore Lake, Nikki begins to realize that there are things roaming in the darkness that are far more sinister than what they left behind in the city. Blur  is recommended for mature readers. You can download it at  Amazon ,  Barnes and Noble ,  iTunes ,  Sony  and  Kobo . Excerpt A strange noise jolted me awake, and I looked towards the window, only to find myself alone. Must have been dreaming… Sighing with relief, I checked the time and noticed I’d been in the tub for a half hour. The water was too chilly to enjoy anymore so I decided to get out. I toweled myself dry, put my robe on, and unplugged the bathtub. I then padded into the b...

A dangerous secret. A deadly skill. Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers, Nya's skill is flawed: she can't push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden. If discovered, she could be used as a human weapon. But one day Nya pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purposes. She refuses—until Tali and other League Healers start disappearing mysteriously. Now Nya must decide: How far will she go to get Tali back alive? You can find The Shifter  on Amazon , Barnes and Noble or IndieBound . Excerpt Danello lived in one of the better boardinghouses on Market-Dock Canal, in a...

To break up my writing time, I design book covers for fellow authors. Here's my latest cover design and a bit about Edward L. Cote's Violet Skies , the first book in his new series of the same name.  Each book is a novella, short and easy to read. This is a fresh twist on classic fantasy, but it keeps its essential nature intact. Taya Mindaerel and her mother, the Oracle of the Prairie Winds, must flee their home or face certain death at the hands of a dark hunter and his man-eating horse. Their journey takes them to Aurum, the City of Gold, where they seek the aid of the Great Magus Olbinaar. On the way they meet three allies- Alex, a vagabond, Brand, a master swordsman, and Ogger a wild creature. They will need all the help they can get to surmount all the obstacles in their path. In the city however, they learn that their journey has just begun. Download Violet Skies  on Amazon and Smashwords , or purchase the paperback . Prologue Olbinaar stood in the Gr...

Hell hath no fury like a selkie separated from his true love. The gate to the sea creature realm is finally open. Yara wants to bask in the glow of her budding relationship with Treygan and explore Medusa’s world, but as the new leader of Rathe her powers are needed to save a sea creature she’s never met. Rownan assumes the worst is behind him when he returns home to be reunited with his wife, Vienna, only to discover she’s gone. She traveled to the evil realm of Harte to find another gateway to Earth and was never heard from again. Rownan claimed he would go through hell to be with her, and now he must prove it. Rownan, Yara, and Treygan will put their lives and souls at risk by traveling to the most dangerous realm of all. Love is supposed to conquer all, but no one has ever conquered Harte. Purchase Dangerous Depths in ebook or paperback on  Amazon  and  Barnes & Noble . Find more from Karen on her website , Facebook , Twitter , Goodreads , and Pinter...

There are worse things than death, worse people too. The "talk" was bad enough, but how many teens get told that they're a goddess? When her mom tells her, Persephone is sure her mother has lost her mind. It isn't until Boreas, the god of winter, tries to abduct her that she realizes her mother was telling the truth. Hades rescues her, and in order to safely bring Persephone to the Underworld he marks her as his bride. But Boreas will stop at nothing to get Persephone. Despite her growing feelings for Hades, Persephone wants to return to the living realm. Persephone must find a way to defeat Boreas and reclaim her life. Download Persephone on Amazon , Barnes and Noble , Kobo , iTunes , Smashwords and Musa . Excerpt The branch crashed in front of me, scraping my legs. I ran for the parking lot as fast as I could. The frost closed in, surrounding me. I’d never been claustrophobic, but as the frost cut off my escape path with a solid white wall, I panicke...

"It all comes down to one simple fact - the Children of the GEM are perfect. We are the ugly and imperfect. We are the Blemished." In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child. Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude's School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela's adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to... The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion. A beautiful world comes at a price... Download The Blemished  on Amazon ,...

How do you live with the gut clenching truth that the one you love will die if you meet them? Twenty year old sorcerer Scott Tabors is learning how. After seeing seventeen year old Olivia Whitehead outside of a coffee shop, his heart will never be the same. He longs for her, he wants her, and he knows she will be his. They are heart mates. …but due to a curse on his family, he can’t meet her. Not yet. So for now, he visits her in her dreams. Her dreams where he can tell her everything but his name. Olivia Whitehead is a typical junior in high school. She and her best friend are having the time of their lives, but she can’t help but notice the changes happening to her. Especially the changes in her heart after she begins dreaming about a mysterious dark haired young man. But what will happen when the school heartthrob decides he wants Olivia? Will she realize the dream man is real or will she move on?  The White Aura is the first book in The White Aura series. Download it...

College freshman Owen Sage has just started to understand the darkness trying to overtake Everville and the earthly realm. With the help of The Keeper and the Fron army, Owen has managed to buy some time, but new problems have already emerged, new secrets need to be revealed, and the race against time to stop Them from conquering both dimensions has only just begun. The Keeper, Owen Sage, and his friends at Easton Falls University must now battle threats from within. To do it, they must reunite with familiar creatures and join forces with new ones as they navigate their journey to the truth that awaits them in Everville. The City of Worms  is the second book in the Everville  series. You can download it on Amazon , where it will be FREE November 14-18! Excerpt As he turned the first few pages of discolored notes, doodles, and other markings that he had scribbled on the margins, ‘Ubaloo’ was written at the top of the second page. Next to the word were s...

Few people even know that the Scion School exists. Tucked away on a private Caribbean island, the school is host to thirty-six exceptionally gifted students, all orphans. They train and study every day to prepare themselves for an immense responsibility, to lead humankind back from the brink of extinction. At least, that’s what they’ve been told. Among the thirty-six is Jacey, 17, one of four Scions in the Eagle class. She is the favorite of the 93-year-old headmaster, Dr. Carlhagen. But when Jacey overhears a conversation between a strange visitor and one of the school’s first graduates, she learns a stunning fact about her future. One that Dr. Carlhagen has kept from all the Scions. Following the cryptic clues given to her by the school’s AI professor, Jacey races to untangle the truth of who the Scions are, and what the headmaster really means when he says they are bound for a great destiny. Daughter of Nothing , first in The Scion Chronicles, is available in ebook and p...

When a mad witch with a magically crafted and frightfully powerful Obsidian Dagger threatens to obliterate humanity and overtake the magic clans of the Celtic Isles, destiny forces 17-year-old American, Brendan O’Neal, and his younger sister, Lizzie, to intervene. Joining the desperate princess of the Leprechauns, Dorian, and her two loyal companions, Rory and Biddy, they embark on a dangerous and wondrous adventure across Ireland and Scotland to thwart the witch and save mankind. Brendan will soon learn that the lines between reality, mythology, and divinity are more blurred than he ever imagined. Little does Brendan know that stopping the witch is only the beginning… Download this Amazon #1 Contemporary Fantasy Best-Seller on Amazon , Barnes and Noble , Kobo  and Alibris . Excerpt Brendan’s mind ran through all of the worst possible outcomes as they walked along the path in the Black Forest. The Black River and the bridge was behind them now and dark shadows and ominous, ...

She wanted her life to change ... he wanted his to stay the same. Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Swimming and spending time with Tatiana, her best friend, are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college, and Ash hopes to finally ditch her longtime crush for Finley, Tatiana's twin brother. But when Tatiana and her family fail to return home after a family emergency, Ashlyn chooses to do something drastic to find them. Finley Helton and his family are good at blending in as they run their sailing charter business in Lake Tahoe. But together, they guard an ancient secret. When a not so routine meeting forces Finley, Tatiana and their mother to return to Natatoria and Fin's father on a dangerous mission, Fin can't stay caged up for long. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, and a simple lifesaving kiss could change their lives forever. Download Everblue on Amaz...