Hiya guys! We have Rhys Ford visiting today with the tour for her new release Silk Dragon Salsa, we have a brilliant guest post from Rhys, we also have Part 6 of Finding His Place, A Kai Gracen short story , we have an amazing $20 GC giveaway and my review, so check out the post and enter the giveaway ❤️ ~Pixie~

Silk Dragon Salsa

Rhys Ford

SoCalGov Stalker Kai Gracen always knew Death walked in his shadow. Enough people told him that, including his human mentor, Dempsey. Problem was, the old man never told him what to do when Death eventually caught up.

Where Tanic, his elfin father and the Wild Hunt Master of the Unsidhe Court, brought Kai pain and suffering, Dempsey gave him focus and a will to live… at least until everything unraveled. Now caught in a web of old lies and half-truths, Kai is torn between the human and elfin worlds, unsure of who he is anymore. Left with a hollowness he can’t fill, Kai aches to find solace in the one elfin he trusts—a Sidhe Lord named Ryder—but he has unfinished business with Dempsey’s estranged brother, a man who long ago swore off anything to do with the feral elfin child Dempsey dragged up from the gutter.

Reeling from past betrayals, Kai searches for Dempsey’s brother, hoping to do right by the man who saved him while trying to keep ahead of the death haunting his every step. Kai never thought he’d find love or happiness as a Stalker, but when Death comes knocking at his door, Kai discovers a fierce need to live life to the fullest—even if that means turning his back on the people he calls family.

Rhys Ford!

And welcome back to my world of dragons, intrigue, hot guns, fast cars and a grumpy, slightly anti-social Chimera of a Sidhe and an Unsidhe who really only wants to hunt monsters and go home to his probably carnivorous cat. My name is Rhys Ford and I’ll be your guide today as on July 14th,I’ll take you back to the Kai Gracen series for Book Four — Silk Dragon Salsa.

If you’re following the blog tour from the beginning, you can skip this bit and head to the serialized part of the story but if this is your first time with me, let me ramble a bit about my grouchy special kitten, Kai. I’ve used the past three books to set up his relationships and world and kind of settling him for what should have been a changing environment. He’s never really had a lot of contact with the elfin and never really wanted any. Ryder, the Lord of the Southern Rise Court, blew into Kai’s life like a hurricane with a grudge and Kai’s had to not only learn how to get along with the man but also adjust to the fact the elfin are in his life to stay. Not something Kai ever wanted. He was raised by humans, thinks of himself as human, and was pretty happy about it.

Then his world changed and he was dragged kicking and screaming and probably stabbing into a bit of elfin affairs even as he knew it would probably be the death of him.

And in Silk Dragon Salsa, I really turn his world upside down.

It was a long time coming and Kai, in his true quick-on-his-feet fashion, knows he must change with it. Because the Merged world is going forward — with or without his approval — and this time, he has a chance for a bit of happiness, if he can find it in the chaos storm hunting him down in Silk Dragon Salsa.

Silk Dragon Salsa Giveaway

And what would be a blog tour without a giveaway? Enter to win a $20 USD gift certificate to the online retailer of your choice! Amazon! Dreamspinner! Starbucks! Funko! Where your heart desires so long as I can get the winner a gift certificate there! Enter at every blog on the tour because it’s a gift certificate giveaway for every stop!

Silk Dragon Salsa Information

Kai’s fourth book is being published by Dreamspinner Press and I’ve had the fantastic honour of working with Chris McGrath again for its cover. Chris is a fantastic artist and he totally captured the feel of the book in this cover. I am so very grateful for his contributions in bringing Kai to life.

AND Greg Tremblay will once again bring his talent and gorgeous voice to breathing life and mayhem into Kai’s world as he narrates — nay, acts — Silk Dragon Salsa. I’ll be announcing the audiobook’s release date once I have it so watch my social media for further details.

Silk Dragon Salsa can be purchased at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon and other fine online ebook retailers.

Finding His Place, A Kai Gracen Short Story!

Part  Six

“This is the stupidest fucking thing you’ve ever wanted me to do.” Grousing at Dempsey never usually made a dent in his stubbornness but this particular plan threatened our livelihoods. “They’re going to strip your license for pulling this shit.”

“Not so old that I can’t knock you on your ass for talking to me like that,” he growled back, pulling on his five-days-older-than-God Army jacket. “’Sides, Sutter here is as blind as a bat and vain as all hell. Won’t wear glasses and can barely see past his nose. This is the best place we can do this and since it’s out in the middle of Boon Fuck Nowhere, hardly anyone comes to this Post. They stashed him out here thinking he’d retire out and the son of a bitch hangs in to spite them. Place is always empty but just in case, don’t bite anyone.”

“I haven’t bitten anyone in…” I stopped and thought back to the barn where I’d dressed deer. “Weeks.”

“Yeah well, once is too much.” Dempsey stubbed his cigar out on the side of the truck, smearing ash into the primer-coated quarter panel. “Paperwork’s already done. We’re just going to go in there and take the final steps.”

“Bad idea. Never going to happen,” I continued to complain as we walked towards the salt box of a building set in the middle of a dot of a Big Bear town. “With our luck, place is going to be packed with ex-vets from the war and I’ll be mince before I even get to the counter.”

“Keep your mouth shut and only answer what he asks.” Dempsey opened the door and I was caught with the familiar odor of a working Post, part paper and old school graphite pencils, one part leather and gun oil, with a chaser of lingering black dog from the pelts Stalkers brought in to be measured. “Don’t offer up anything. And whatever you do, don’t start speaking anything other than Singlish.”

“Yeah, because I’m going to break out in old UnSidhe shanties in the middle of being grilled by a blind old man with our lives in his hand.” It was weird to be unarmed but no one entered the Post wearing any weapons. I missed the weight of my Glocks and blades and I caught myself running the tip of my tongue over the ends of my canines, the only weapons I still had on me. “Iesu, I know I’m going to end up fucking biting him.”

The interior of the Post was a long box with a counter at one end. Like most government facilities, its windows were sparse, the floor was a lake of faded industrial linoleum and the plastic chairs looked to be as uncomfortable as a toothache. Behind the counter sat a squat, square of a man whose eyes narrowed to thin lines when we walked in. He was fleshy enough to plump away any wrinkles on his face but his nose was a ruddy bump and the bags under his eyes looked like half-filled bota bags, undulating in gentle waves when he leaned forward. He wore what I considered to be the standard uniform of a Post worker, an outlandishly colourful short sleeve shirt buttoned over a pot belly that disappeared beneath the counter but unlike most Postmasters, he didn’t seem particularly observant of the no alcohol at work rule required of a government worker because the glass tumbler in front of him smelled suspiciously of chocolate stout.

“Boy’s here for his license, Sutter.” Dempsey’s voice boomed through the empty space, giving the Postmaster a start. Rattling off his license number, Dempsey strolled up to the counter with his hand out for the print reader to verify his identity. “Time he got it. Been dragging him around for years.”

The printer beeped and a mechanical voice drawled out Dempsey’s name, license number and Stalker standing. Sutter recovered quickly, tapping at the flat keyboard on the counter in front of him and the monitor pane sitting to the right of him flickered and scrolled, banding bright white and blue light streams over his face when he leaned in closer to peer at the information.

“Are you ready to take this life on, young man?” He looked towards me, taking a while to find my face. His eyes were filmed with a white sheen, milking back their blue hue. “It’s a hard life.”

“One I’ve been living for a while,” I replied back and Dempsey’s sharp elbow found my ribs. “Yes. Sorry, sir.”

A few clicks on the keyboard and Sutter asked, “Name?”

“Ciméara—”

“Can you spell that?” He frowned.

“Just use Kai. K-a-I,” I spelled out.

“Last name?”

“Shit…um… Grayson, I guess.” Dempsey cleared his throat and stepped back, doing something with his unlit cigar I couldn’t see. “I mean, yeah.”

He tapped a few more times then spat out questions like they were hot lead bullets chasing down a prismatic dragon in the sky. “Home address? Birth date? Place of birth? Religious affiliation?”

“Fuck. Um… no permanent address. We grab mail at the Posts. Don’t know birth date or where—” It was harder than I imagined, pinned in place like a squirming butterfly under a sea of red tape.

“Lots of kids these days don’t know. It’s okay.” Sutter’s voice was soft, gentle despite his scowl. “Damned war was rough on everyone. Things went to shit and hell in a handbasket. Unknown’s fine. No god though?”

“Um, Pele.” I ignored Dempsey’s pursed lips. “Don’t give me shit about it, old man.”

“Don’t know why the Catholic Church isn’t good enough for you like it is me,” he revisited an old argument. I gave him a look, tapping one of my ears. “Yeah, sure.”

“Now, I’m supposed to ask what gender you are and ethnic makeup so if they find your body, they can ID it but do your kind even pay attention to that sort of stuff?” Sutter stopped typing and stared in my general direction. “You sound like a boy but I don’t want to assume. Don’t know what your people call yourselves.”

“His people?” Dempsey’s growl dropped down to a subsonic level. “What kind of shit is this?”

“I was in the Wars. Infantry. Smelled his kind up close and personal more times than I care to remember.” He gave a large sniff. “Your son there isn’t human. Not unless he bathed in cinnamon sugar before he walked through that door. I’ll put down male and unknown.”

“Um, you can put down mixed race,” I volunteered, shrugging at Dempsey’s glare. “Well, it’s true.”

“Done.” Sutter finished tapping on the keyboard and then held his hand out, palm up. “Put your hand here. In mine.”

“What?” I stared down at his fleshy digits. “Why?”

“Because I’m supposed to go out and watch you do a firearms check and we all know I can’t see worth shit but I can sure as hell tell when someone’s handled a lot of weapons so either we go outside and I check every single one of your qualifying shots after you fire or you put your hand on mine. Either way, I get paid.” Sutter’s grin revealed a gold tooth. “I’m a happily married man. My wife and I have an understanding. I hold people’s hands at work once in a while and she goes out to see male strippers with her friends every six months or so. So, just do it so I can get home in time for meatloaf night while it’s still hot.”

His hand was cool and it took him about five minutes to run his fingers over mine. I tried not to fidget but it was hard. He murmured a bit and asked me about what weapons I preferred, correctly guessing I liked Glocks and preferred knives.

Pulling back, he returned to his keyboard then a slot on the digital reader began to blink. “Put your hand there so we get a reading for your ID. Read the brochures and bylaws downloaded to your link and welcome to being a Stalker, Apprentice. You’ve got six months before you can qualify for your full status but that shouldn’t be a problem. Anyone gives you a hard time about it, just head back here and I’ll issue it for you. The printer will spit out your license and you can order your badge once you get full license rights. Be safe. Now get out of here so I can go have my dinner.”

The plastic card was light but I carried it like gold as we walked out. I would have to memorize my number but I wasn’t ready for that yet. It was still so unreal, so… unexpected, especially considering all of the crap most humans gave me for being what I was. Chuckling, I nudged Dempsey before we got into the truck.

“Shit, so worried about spelling my first name, I didn’t spell the last,” I snorted. “He spelled it wrong. Well, the way I’d been spelling it but I was going to change it. So it was…right.”

“Nah, he spelled it just fine,” Dempsey retorted. “Best you have your own name or at least, a spelling of it. Doesn’t change what it means. Doesn’t change who you are or what you’ll become but since you’re wearing it, don’t forget to make me proud. You’re your own man, Kai. Better than I’ll ever be. Just don’t forget that because I’ll always be here to kick your ass hard enough until you remember.”

About Rhys!

Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and is a two-time LAMBDA finalist with her Murder and Mayhem novels. She is also a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Harley, a grey tuxedo with a flower on her face, Badger, a disgruntled alley cat who isn’t sure living inside is a step up the social ladder as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.

Rhys can be found at the following locations:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | FB Group 

For more information and to keep track of his upcoming releases, visit Greg Tremblay at: https://gregtremblay.com/

Giveaway!

Win a $20 GC!

(Just leave a comment on this post)

(Ends 22nd July 2020)

Review

Title: Silk Dragon Salsa

Series: Kai Gracen 04

Author: Rhys Ford

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Length: Novel (202pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-64405-870-1

Publisher: DSP Publications (14^th July 2020)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: SoCalGov Stalker Kai Gracen always knew Death walked in his shadow. Enough people told him that, including his human mentor, Dempsey. Problem was, the old man never told him what to do when Death eventually caught up.

Where Tanic, his elfin father and the Wild Hunt Master of the Unsidhe Court, brought Kai pain and suffering, Dempsey gave him focus and a will to live… at least until everything unraveled. Now caught in a web of old lies and half-truths, Kai is torn between the human and elfin worlds, unsure of who he is anymore. Left with a hollowness he can’t fill, Kai aches to find solace in the one elfin he trusts—a Sidhe Lord named Ryder—but he has unfinished business with Dempsey’s estranged brother, a man who long ago swore off anything to do with the feral elfin child Dempsey dragged up from the gutter.

Reeling from past betrayals, Kai searches for Dempsey’s brother, hoping to do right by the man who saved him while trying to keep ahead of the death haunting his every step. Kai never thought he’d find love or happiness as a Stalker, but when Death comes knocking at his door, Kai discovers a fierce need to live life to the fullest—even if that means turning his back on the people he calls family.

Purchase Link: DSP Publications

Review: This book is part of a series and MUST be read in order.

Wow! Before I start… what the hell was that ending!!!! Soooooo many questions floating around in my head now. Need book 5 now!!!

Well guys we’re back with Kai, his stalker friends and Ryder the Elfin who wants all of Kai any way he can get him. This time around although we still get to enjoy the dangerous missions and the pull push of Ryder and Kai’s relationship we also see a side of Kai that we have only glimpsed briefly before.

Kai really gets it in this book, Dempsey lays everything out to Kai, he strips all the lies away and reveals the truth about everything and that leaves Kai reeling. Has everything been a lie? Who can he trust and rely on? Just what is he going to discover about his past? As Kai discovers the reality he can trust and makes peace with what he has discovered, he makes realisations about himself and those around him.

Kai’s journey is fraught with danger as he faces stalkers he has known for years, a bounty on his head, a half-brother who just won’t stop, and trying to get the information about his past that just might answer some of his questions.

We the reader also discover that Rhys Ford is an evil teasing entity who in one breath gives us the exquisite joining of Kai and Ryder and then in the next breath drops the biggest bombshell on ours and Kai & Ryder’s heads… I mean damn, I screamed in pure frustration at the very last line that Rhys Ford wrote in the book, questions started darting around my mind with no answers in sight grrrrrrr.

This book is beautifully written, it draws you in and grips tight as danger, questions and discoveries stalk the pages, the characters drag you in as they lay their souls bare, Kai’s mysterious life chokes you as teasing hints are given… and you will gnash your teeth at the realisation that you have to wait for book 5 for more information.

I recommend this story to those who love urban fantasy at its best, who adore characters who struggle with trust, who love danger and high octane scenes, who love/hate deep mysteries while getting drips and drabs of clues, and who have the patience of a saint while they wait for book 5.

Check out the other blogs on the tour!