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River J. Hopkins, bestselling author of SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT: A COLLECTION OF POETRY & SHORT STORIES, and the first book in THE OUTCROSSED SERIES—INTO THE FORGOTTEN FOREST— isn't just a writer; she's also a musician, an artist, a poet, and a cyborg. The stories she writes are usually a mixture of genres, including fantasy, paranormal, horror, adventure, and science fiction. She writes for new adult—that weird stage between being a young adult, and full-on adulting—and adult audiences. River became disabled in 2014 after her third back surgery. Her surgeon implanted a Spinal Cord Stimulator to help regulate the pain from the nerve damage caused by scar tissue from her previous lower lumbar laminectomies. She is semi-ambulatory, and walks with a cane, mostly. When she needs to go somewhere that involves a lot of walking, she'll use a walker or a wheelchair instead. Ever since she can remember, River has been fascinated with mythology, lore, and legends. For the past decade, she has researched and dreamed and worked harder than she ever thought possible to begin piecing together a rich world full of magic, and twists on some stories you thought you knew. INTO THE FORGOTTEN FOREST is just the first book in what promises to be an ever expanding fictional universe.

SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT is a collection of 22 poems and short stories that show the journey of the author's struggles from despair to hope. Each chapter represents a time after midnight—hitting rock bottom—until day breaks. Follow her trek in verse and fiction from the depths of darkness to the joy of living in the light. In THAT HOUSE IS DEATH, Aiden Burroughs finds more than he bargained for in a house that everyone whispers about. The short story THE DUNGEON follows a girl with a fear of the dark who is locked inside the basement of a hospital overnight. She hears ominous noises coming from the morgue. Beth, the protagonist in THAT SINKING FEELING, is plagued by the guilt of not calling the police after hearing screams outside her window one night. When her neighbor Mary Jane turns up dead the next morning, Beth is drawn to the scene of the crime. Unfortunately, someone else is drawn to that spot, as well. I HEART YOU is a quirky, short tale of finding love after death. In THE LONG WALK HOME, Olive Hawthorne is haunted by her dead twin sister, Laurel, who needs her help to catch her murderer. Finally, THE JUMPWATCH follows Charlotte as she is sent to a different time by her loving husband to save the world from certain doom.

Kindle Price: $1.99

Category: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense; Literature & Fiction

Oli Locklear has moved around from city to city her entire life until now, and though she'd always dreamed that magic was real she should've been careful what she wished for. In the small town of Birch Hollow, in Western Massachusetts, the forest seems endless. Magic is everywhere. Creatures of myth and lore roam between the trees at night, people keep going missing, and there are doorways to other realms. Here, Oli will discover that she and her twin brother Xander are on the verge of becoming monsters, themselves, and that an ancient faery queen is out for their blood. The Shadow Queen wants every one of the Outcrossed not under her thumb to die. She knows that only one of them can defeat her. It has long since been foretold. But she wants more than just their deaths; she wants to tear down the walls between the worlds. As Oli and Xander—along with their friends—are thrown into a new reality of vampires, werewolves, faeries, magic, danger, secrets, and prophecy, they are forced to choose a path. But will the one they take lead them to the light, or down into shadow?

Kindle Price: $9.99

Category: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense; Literature & Fiction