Hi there Insiders, 

We're on a writing retreat with Linsey Hall and loving it! While Linsey's working on her next book, we're busy wrapping up the final edits for Broken Skies and plotting our next series. We just got here last night, but the first thing we wanted to do was send you a few updates.

1) We can finally show off the cover to Broken Skies, the sequel to Cursed Angel. Scroll down to check it out!

2) Werewolves are on the loose! Rising Moon, book four of Linsey Hall's Wolf Queen book is coming out tomorrow (Wednesday)! This series has been topping the charts. If you're into werewolves, and haven't tried it, you can find book 1, Darkest Moon, here.

3) MORE reveals: the Cursed Angel paperback just came out today, and we can show off the back cover at last! It features the ruins of a Greek temple, a reference to Neve and Damian's adventures in Apollonia Parva.

Scroll to the bottom of the email for more information about the archaeology and history that inspired this setting!

On top of all this, keep your eyes peeled for our next newsletter, which will have a bunch of information on the vampires of Sozopol and the archaeology that inspired them. We were going to include it here but ran out of room!

Until then, if you want to keep up to date with the latest news and chat with other readers, you should join our Facebook group, here: 

https://www.facebook.com/group...

Thanks so much for reading! 

-Veronica Douglas

I must risk everything. 

I’ve become what I feared most, and a demon is hunting me for my power.

He’s opened a portal to the underworld, and I’m the last piece in his puzzle. If he captures me, he’ll use my magic to desolate the world.

The only person who can help me is Damian Malek, a cursed angel. He’s sexy, powerful, and ruthless, and we can’t seem to stay apart. The only problem is—our attraction is fatal.

When the veil to the underworld breaks, we’ve got one shot to save our world. We’ll have to confront my past, find the secret of my magic, and broker a deal with the angels—a deal that could cost Damian everything.

Will it be enough, or will we both end up broken?

Rising Moon, is the fourth book of Linsey Hall's Shadow Guild: Wolf Queen series. You can pre-order it on Amazon.

If you haven't started the series yet, you should totally check out Book 1, Darkest Moon, for exciting murder, mystery, and werewolves in Guild City!!

(Bonus: Damian makes a spicy appearance in the book!)

By the way, if you haven't read book two yet, you can order it on Amazon, or read for free on kindle unlimited here: Dark Storm

We set the final adventure of Cursed Angel in Bulgaria and the Black Sea because we have been thinking about doing fieldwork in the region and have been reading up on the archaeology. The Black Sea is famous for the incredibly well-preserved 'ghost ships' discovered in its deep anoxic waters. However, for Cursed Angel, we wanted to set the final battle in some partially submerged ruins. 

We based our fictitious island of Apollonia Parva (little Apollonia) on the historic town of Sozopol and the nearby island of St. Thomas. 

Sozopol began as an ancient Greek trading colony in the 7^th century BC. It was known as Apollonia Magna (great Apollonia) or Apollonia Pontica (Apollonia on the Black Sea), both of which reference the ancient temple of Apollo that was constructed there. This is why our back cover (and chapter headings) features a Greek temple!

Amazingly, archaeologists have actually discovered the remains of the temple and dated it to the 6th-5th century BC. They also uncovered the ruins of a shrine to the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Other important discoveries include a copper mine and copper foundry dated to the same period.

In addition to the archaeological remains of the Greek colony at Sozopol, there are numerous small islands with ancient ruins along the coast. One is St. Thomas Island, which is located nine miles south of the modern city. The island is dotted with ruins ranging from the Roman to the Medieval periods. The island is also known as Snake Island due to the water snakes that live in the waters around it. This inspired some of the mutants that Neve and Damian encountered in the sea!

That's it for this installment, but we'll have more about the history of Sozopol (and its vampires) in our next newsletter! Until then, happy reading!

Best,

Veronica Douglas