I’m so happy to have Lisa here, a great author and friend, with her new series! And the cover… beautiful.

The Fae Lord’s Mistress (The New Earth Chronicles Book 1) by Lisa Kumar released on September 10 in the Fantasy, Gothic tales romance genre.

Ever since the day a fae raid stole away my parents, poverty and scavenging have been my life. I live in the human slums of Chimra, though it was once known as the great city of Chicago. The fae rule over New Earth and humanity with a neglectful and ruthless fist. But everything changes when Gabreon, the fae lord who led that raid six years ago, finds me in the forbidden dumping grounds and claims me as his own. His actions lead to anger, confusion, and heartache—on my side and his. 

Lina. The human Gabreon couldn’t forget. When he sees her in the dumping grounds, he no longer can ignore the pull between them. Though claiming her goes against everything he was brought up to believe, he takes her as his companion. During the day, she holds herself away from him, but at night, she sparks to life in his arms. As a human revolution ferments, his growing relationship with Lina becomes even more perilous. Earning her forgiveness will be hard, but keeping them both alive in the meantime might prove impossible. 

I pocketed the fae statue and patted my pouch, loving the weighty feeling that the item created against my hand. Now I could go home. Gran and Grandpa would be so—

The baying of a hound tore through the quietness like a blade. My heart froze solid before exploding into a pounding rhythm. Oh, God, no.

I knew that otherworldly sound, and that was no human hound but a Sidhe one. Shit, shit, shit!

The impulse to flee nearly overpowered me, but a smidgeon of sense won out at the end. I clenched my arms to my sides and pressed my feet against the littered ground as hard as I could so I didn’t give in to the dangerous urge. Yes, I had to move, but I had to do so wisely. It wouldn’t do to go in the direction of the hound—or hounds. The realization there could be more than one caused another dose of fear to leech into my bones. There could very well be a multitude of the beasts around. And if there were hounds, their handlers had to be about as well.

Worse, I had no idea where they could be in relation to me. Why were they even here? Surely, the threat of a few human poachers was nothing to the Sidhe. Though running into a patrol had always been a possibility, the likelihood had seemed a remote one—until now. The fae punished human thieves quite severely when the mood hit—and it hit often—but guarding the trash yard had never been a top priority for them.

As I listened carefully, only the beating of my heart sounded in my ears. Beads of sweat wove trails down my back, and the cool air suddenly stifled me. I couldn’t remain here, yet going elsewhere didn’t seem any wiser. Indecision gnawed at my insides. Every choice felt wrong and potentially deadly. But if I stayed in one place, they’d catch my scent all that much faster. Maybe if I moved around, that would confuse them? Something, though, told me that they probably could differentiate between a fresh trail and an older one. Damn, what should I do?

I couldn’t search for Rachel or the others that were here, either. To do so might cause more harm than good. In a situation like this, we all understood that it was a race for our own survival.

Taking in a shuddering breath, I scrubbed a hand over my face. What a horrific mess. What could I—

The pounding of feet—no, paws—sliced into my consciousness. Growling and baying followed. This time, pure instinct propelled me from my hiding place. Though I kept as low as possible, my steps rang out like a blaring alarm. I didn’t know which way to look. The sounds came at me from every direction, disorienting and confusing my panicked mind. The once familiar dumping grounds turned into a foreign landscape of blurred color. My feet carried me blindly through mazes of garbage until I found myself hemmed in by a towering mountain of broken furniture.

I spun around, my heart threatening to implode as I looked for an escape route. The baying and growling had become deafening, which could only mean one thing. Suddenly, my frantic gaze alighted on a narrow corridor between the heaps. I raced toward the exit and turned sideways to squeeze through it.

“Halt, human!” a clear, accented voice rang out.

As I skidded to a stop before the corridor, something leaped onto my back and sent me crashing to the ground. Air whooshed out of my lungs, and pain ricocheted through my ribs. A growl came from above me, and two huge paws pushed into my back. Hot, wet air blasted next my ear before the snapping of teeth caused me to flinch.

Terror exploded through my veins like a searing shot of alcohol. Oh, God. Let me faint before I’m mauled. I closed my eyes, awaiting the slash of claws and teeth.

About the Author:

Lisa Kumar is a wife, mother, and romance writer who grew up in small-town Indiana. She now resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and two sons. When not spinning tales of romance and fantasy, she can often be found with her nose buried in a book. Her scholastic background is in psychology, which enabled her to get low-paying jobs in the human services sector. Needless to say, she’s now writing full-time.

The “Darkness” in The Fae Lord’s Mistress: A Dark Fantasy Romance (Book 1 in the New Earth Chronicles)

By Lisa Kumar

I’ve always been fascinated by dark romances, especially by dark fantasy romances. Although I love light storie—even fluffy stories—sometimes I want a read that can wring me out and hang me to dry. After reading countless ones over the years, I finally decided to attempt one myself.

Oh, what a journey it’s been! The reader response from Tapas, where I first serialized the story in their Premium program, went a little something like this: “I love it! You made me cry from all the emotion!” to “I hate this story and how it makes me feel. It’s like a trainwreck I can’t look away from.”

Well, job done! I wanted the reader to experience a range of emotions, and, boy, did they ever seem to.

I knew I wanted the tale to be about a future world where the fae (I also call them the Sidhe) rule over humanity with a harsh fist. Of course, this gave me the perfect setup for a human heroine and a not-so-hero fae “hero.” Yep, in other words, he’s sort of dark. I say “sort of” because I’ve seen “heroes” that were so dark, it was nearly impossible to redeem them in any concrete way and have them reluctantly earn the title of hero. My fae hero, Gabreon, starts out as more of an anti-hero who definitely needs to earn some hard-won redemption. Even then, he’s not without his own brand of honor nor is he helplessly evil.

Lina, the heroine, is one such person. Since she’s human, though, and he does have some baggage, he fights against his attraction to her and denies any deeper feelings. Given he’s from a fae race, nothing is ever straightforward, and his denial only makes matters worse for both Lina and him. All right, I’ll come out and say it. His refusal to see the truth turns him into an obsessive A-hole, thanks to his personality and a little (nah, not really little) fae soul magic that backfires on him quite spectacularly.

Though I know my story won’t please everyone (definitely not the more sensitive reader who avoids triggers), I hope I handle these—and other—heavy themes with the justice they deserve.

Have I lost you yet? No? Great! If you think this is a read you’d like, please check it out! Gabreon and Lina’s journey is just beginning. I would love for you to come along, too.

Discover other titles by Lisa Kumar at Lisa’s website and Goodreads.

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New release: The Fae Lord’s Mistress (The New Earth Chronicles Book 1) by Lisa Kumar and Meet the Author #amreading #bookworm #fiction #mustread #goodreads #greatread #whattoread #bookblogger #romance #fantasy

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