Welcome to the fantastical side of romance with magic and myth, ,
What happened? It looks like the only book you have available is your romantasy Taking Medusa? I thought you wrote more books than that...
Yes, you are right. 12 completed books to be exact (including 2 books that aren't "for purchase" but free with my newsletter.) My Abett is a free book you got for joining this newsletter, and Her Alien Exchange is one free for those who join my sci-fi romance newsletter.
My Abett is going to be archived as well. But don't worry I'm working on a new newsletter exclusive to replace it.
I completed my first trilogy the Divine Series in 2019, it took me around 12 years to complete those three books. The first book I ever completed took me 8 years to finally finish. Then wrapped up the other two in the story in the next 4 years after.
It received good reviews because readers saw potential in me, and enjoyed my writing style, and my creative imagination. I created a story that was unique and engaging, but like all first attempts, it was missing something. And that something was better execution.
Was my story bad? No, it got plenty of fans who loved the way it transported them, but was it great? For some yes, but it wasn't a good representation of my current writing skills.
So, the Divine series a YA darkish vampire fantasy was archived. You can still listen to the book on Audible, but that's the only place it's available. It's narrated by Tara Marie Kirk and I enjoyed her performance of my characters.
Then my next completed project was the Kingdom of Acatalec. I really like the story, and honestly, there are only minor changes I would make to this one, but it completely flopped in terms of engagement with readers. I think it just wasn't the right marketing strategy for the book. The book cover needs to change, I need to add a chapter or two to help people better connect with the romance aspect of the story more, and I think it's solid for a relaunch of this Sci-fi/Fantasy/Romance Mash up. It's basically my three loves merged together and had a glorious baby.
Kingdom of Acatalec was traditionally published, received a gold badge recommendation from Bookview Review, 5-stars from the Audiobook Blog, Top 10 book of 2022 on Amy's Bookshelf Reviews, 3rd place winner of 2022 Firebird Book Awards, and a 4.7 star average on Amazon, but despite people enjoying the book, I was giving the book away and not earning back its launch costs. I think the story deserves a second chance at launching, and I plan on doing that after I finish up the current projects. But, the book is gone from Amazon, and only available for a credit through Audible or my Author Store for the Audiobook narrated by me for 6.95 Kingdom of Acatalec Audiobook - Payhip
I requested that the book be taken down by my publisher, and they honored my request. I hold the rights to the audiobook, which is why it's still up for a time. It is the first step towards relaunching this series.
So, yes. The only book available of mine under S.M. McCoy, is Taking Medusa at the moment. I have 5 books out on my Sky Robert pen name for alien romances, so if you like those... that's still very much available. My alien romances have been doing well for themselves and have helped pay for the next alien romance in the universe. The alien romance platform is self-sufficient at this point, in terms of having a fan base that supports the universe, and I'm pretty excited to know that my spreadsheet indicates that it's very much possible for those books to finally pay me a stipend next year for my efforts!
A stipend, or you could call it an owner's draw in the accounting world that basically means that my Sky Robert books will not only pay for themselves and their maintenance costs that I can actually call being an author a job and it will finally pay for my coffee addiction next year.
In total, I have written 12 BOOKS! and 6 are currently available on Amazon, 2 are newsletter exclusives. That doesn't even include the half finished, in progress, or abandoned projects over the years.
According to my spreadsheet, I have 49 projects that I've started since 2007! Yes, I have a spreadsheet... I'm THAT person.
Anyways, I suppose you've read enough about me, and my authordom, for a day. I'll see you next week to chat more. but don't forget to check out some new Indie Temptations below, perhaps if you haven't yet, check out Taking Medusa and help it reach its first 50 reviews on Amazon! We are currently at 44! 6 MORE READERS to reach that goal!
Convincing you to read Taking Medusa and be one of my next 6 readers:
Mermaids! Medusa is kidnapped to Atlantis for killing the last daughter of King Triton with her poisonous blood. To be fair.. she was trying to kill her first, and she has no idea how she survived it. She has no memory of being Medusa at all!
This is modern day and she believes that she's a normal mortal after her sister (a gorgon) stole her stone body from the watery depths and reunited her head after stealing it from Athena's shield, conveniently left in a museum instead of guarded by gods.
Enter DION! An Atlantis sentinel, who has some strange connection to her, and TRITON, who is apparently a glutton for falling for nymphs and collecting brides that don't survive long past their marriage vows.
There are mysteries, and romance, and adventure as Medusa (Aless) is lured back into the chaos and schemes of the gods. She's destined to protect them all, but fate has a funny way of trying to repeat itself. Can she keep her head this time around or will she sacrifice herself all over again?
This is a slow-burn romance fantasy adventure, so there is no clapping the cloisters, tickling the tentacles, or fishing for fins in book one, but this is a fated mates romance that will keep you turning the pages, and twisting your expectations of myth and legend. <3 Read Taking Medusa in KU!
https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa
Already read Taking Medusa? Did you know Breaking Fate is available for preorder.... I'll just leave this here... (sparkles) https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate
Also, I know many of you are craving some dragon, so here are some indie temptations! (YES, I am working on a dragon romance and I'll be giving it away for freesies to my VIP newsletter loves when it's finished... I even have the book cover already!! No, I'm not sharing it just yet, not until I finish the first draft.)
Check out The Light of Aurelian in KU!
Check out Shattered Realms in KU!
Check out this spicy romantasy Lost Crows and Fallen Stars in KU
Check out indie Romantasy reads with BookFunnel:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/fantasyandmythology/2kgsyqowle
https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa
Like Alien Romances? Check out Her Alien Warrior on Kindle Unlimited!
Her Alien Warrior is newly launched! If you're not familiar with my pen name, Sky Robert just released Her Alien Warrior and it is now available! Have you met your next alien book boyfriend?
https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate
Sneak Peek at Breaking Fate:
(Warning Spoilers, please read Taking Medusa first! Available on Kindle Unlimited here: https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa )
Gatekeeper
The River Styx was too wide to see the other side that you'd think it was an ocean, disappearing into a mist-filled fog. It was too long that the vanishing point seemed never-ending, and even if it did end, I was certain it wasn't something many knew existed. The only direction I got was that following the river would lead me to Cerberus.
A tingle lifted through my arms, prickling my skin with an awareness that I wasn't alone. The water sparkled like it swallowed the very stars. Transfixed, I found myself taking a step closer before I heard an echoing hiss that thundered in my chest, reverberating to my bones.
Tearing my gaze from the river, I dropped down to hide because I didn't trust anything Hades said about being invisible. Did he mean I was invisible to anyone in the Underworld? Or perhaps, only hidden until I brought attention to myself? I followed the noise to what appeared to be a cave on a mountain that I hadn't noticed was there seconds before. It was like I blinked and what was a desert turned into a mountain, and up ahead a mirage of a cave came into view. Being in the Underworld was disorientating to say the least.
The loud hiss came again, and I clutched at my chest to ease the ache growing there. From the cave I watched as a three-headed giant snake emerged, with the body of a black lion, backing out with its snake tail staring at me. The end of it hissed, but it was unmistakable that it saw me, its beady golden eyes unmoving from where I crouched. A strand of my blonde hair fell in my face. No, not hair… a snake. Fuck, were they talking to each other? So much for being hidden. Out of all the beings to run into that weren't affected by the invisibility of the crown attached to my arm, it had to be a giant, hydra-snake monster backing out of a cave.
Its black suede hindlegs were moving backwards, towards me. A flash of light seared across the sand. My arm went up to block the intense white blast that heated the hairs on my knuckles, even making the snakes in my hair tug back on my scalp in withdrawal. When my vision cleared, I saw spots and through the haze the large beast was writhing on the ground, fangs bared through each large black snake's head.
"I did give you a choice, Rucyr. Just tell me where she's hiding. I have no intention of killing my brother's mate. He may not listen to me, but I only want to give them both a proper union and a place at my side," a silky voice commanded through the angry hissing of the subdued three-headed snake.
"I wasn't born yesterday, Zeus. I've been guarding the Underworld since the first dead escaped Tartarus, and my parents gifted me to Hades. Everything you say can be the truth for a different situation and manipulated for your benefit. You're purposefully vague. Which brother? Poseidon or Hades? Who were the both in this scenario? Are you referring to your brother's union with whoever you deem fit, or who we know we're talking about? A place at your side in chains? Or a place of honor? Need I go on?" The snake called Rucyr hissed out lazily afterward. The king of gods? That was Zeus? A man stood to the side of the massive snake, barely as tall as one of the large snake heads lying on the ground. One snap of that mouth and it could eat Zeus whole. His hair was brown with soft curls, not white like most of myth's depictions, and his beard was well groomed. He was wearing a fashionable V-neck sweater over a buttoned collared shirt, with the top button undone, like he came straight from a men's magazine.
"You wound me," Zeus feigned heartbreak. "I may be a selfish bastard, but I do care about my brothers. Both of them," he added absently while plucking non-existent lint from his cuff.
"I don't doubt that, but that doesn't magically produce a vote of confidence for you," the snake quipped back while resting a head on top of the one lying on the ground before him. Two heads now stared at Zeus, but my eyes were still on the tail with its golden eyes on me. Did it know I was here, or was I just being paranoid… we were still in the Underworld and the power of the invisibility was supposed to be absolute here. Zeus certainly hadn't noticed me.
"Must we go through this every time? You know I can't enter without my brother's permission, and Hermes is off doing some errand for Athena—"
Rucyr cut him off, "You're here because you don't want Hera to find out what you're doing. Why would I trust anything you say since you stole my niece?"
Zeus scoffed at the implication. "Believe what you will. I've been trying to get a divorce for ages, and I have no intentions of having my future wife be queen, but yes, you're right, Hera doesn't see it that way. She thinks any future mate of mine would try to take her place like she did with my last wife, and the one before that." He stopped and put a hand to his chin in thought. "I haven't really thought about that in a while, but can you blame me for wanting to have a relationship that isn't sabotaged by that vindictive bitch?"
The snake had a strange rumble from his chest that, if I wasn't mistaken, was a laugh. Was he mocking the king of the gods?
"You can work out your marriage issues with a counselor. Even if that's the truth, it doesn't make me want to help you, and I won't be giving you any accidental invitation into the Underworld. Stealing a mate based on the old laws only works if you have permission from their parents," he explained, but why would he need to if Zeus already knew? Was the snake doing that for me, knowing that I was listening? "As you already know, her mother would never agree to it, and you may never return from trying to find her father."
Zeus laughed, a deep and throaty sound that echoed through the cave. "A guardian's permission and bringing her to my home is all that is required."
"A guardian…" his voice trailed off as a few of his snake's heads recoiled with a new realization.
"Anyone who has claim to her may bless my intentions," Zeus explained.
"That's what you wanted with my niece, you sick bastard," Rucyr hissed out, cursing under his breath. "Hera will find out."
"So, what if she does? Hera is bound to sanctify any legitimate union under the old laws."
"But you're married…" he said what I was thinking.
"By what right? The moment she tried to take my throne by force, she had by all accounts returned her marriage to whence it came. She hasn't been my wife since that day. Queen of Olympus, sure… My wife, I do not reclaim her, and she knows this. It was my love for her that she is still alive. I owe her nothing else, and I've waited long enough to be matched once more, and with your permission, I will have just that."
"Mine?"
Zeus clucked his tongue like he was schooling a disobedient child.
"You didn't just come here to steal her…" Rucyr surmised, he shook his head as his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I came for you, Cerberus."
I gasped. My eyes widening at what was happening. Zeus took a step forward and caressed the jaw one of the large snakes. Why wasn't he biting his hand off? If Rucyr was Cerberus, then he was my brother. I was expecting a three-headed dog… not a snake, but nothing was as I imagined it would be.
"Don't call me that," he hissed, "You have no right to use that name after what you did."
"Right… you stopped being called that after your involvement with my son, Perseus. No matter," the king of gods replied flippantly. "You know as well as I do, that you went with Perseus that day for the same reason you'll come with me today. I have something you care about. You may not give your permission now, but I am nothing if not patient. Impulsive perhaps, but we can't all be as unfeeling as Hades."
"He has the seven princes to feel for him, and my absence will be noticed sooner than you think," the three-headed snake spat back.
Zeus shook his head and smirked. "I'm counting on it. You were always his favorite, and you aren't the only guardian that can give permission to claim what is mine. Hades will come for you. Can't leave the gates of the Underworld vulnerable, can we?"
He's using Cerberus, or Rucyr, to lure Hades into a trap, one that I would be sacrificed to for his favorite hell's gate guardian. Did being indebted to Hades give him permission to be considered my guardian? Did Cerberus have any authority as my half-brother to give me away to a god? Did that mean my sister Theo had the same kind of authority if they caught her?
I cowered within the protection of the helm of invisibility melded to my arm. What could I do against a King of Gods? Zeus? The very god who overthrew titans and ruled over powerful entities for so long he's considered a myth. The only thing I could think to do was either follow them, and hope this invisibility held, or crawl back to Hades as a messenger of bad news. Neither was appealing, but my brother was a dark god, and Hades tricked me into being a protector of beings that were more capable of saving themselves than I was of keeping them safe.
What good was I now, watching as Zeus' fingers glowed and sizzled with lightning before releasing that energy on the giant snake heads attached to a black lion's body. I winced at the screech of pain deafening my ears before the creature shrank in size, appearing human.
"No need to make this a scene, Rucyr. All you need to do is give your permission to marry your charge and the location of Medusa, Queen of the Sea, or come with me and I can have a conversation with my brother."
Rucyr struggled to speak, heaving as he replied, "You could just wait for Hermes and arrange a chat. The only fucker making a scene here is you."
"I'd say my side of the conversation is winning either way, don't you think? Everyone in Olympus knows the weakness of the great Keeper of the Underworld Gates. You were caught by my mortal son Alcides and heralded around the realms for being one of his heroic labors. Cerberus willingly leaves his duties for a contract, and I have a particular contract you'll be interested in."
"You forget I was given permission to leave if Hercules convinced me, and 'captured' was an overstatement. When the time of our deal was up, I returned.
You can't take me from here, Zeus."
He tutted with a twinkle in his eyes. "Can't I?"
"Not unless... Have you got mad?"
I didn't understand what was happening, but Rucyr appeared panicked when his head snapped over to where I was and back to Zeus. He made it seem like he was looking for someone to witness and prevent whatever plans were unraveling. He shook his head in denial before hissing, "This won't change his mind, or mine."
"We'll see," Zeus says with a shrug. "You, Cerberus, are granted the status of Olympian and are hereby reclaimed by the sky to serve as the gatekeeper of Olympus."
"Fuck," Rucyr swore as his body began to brighten like the sun, and his black skin turned golden. "This won't last," it was a promise, not a statement.
"I think you'll grow to appreciate your new role," he said while turning his back on him, an unsaid command lingered in the air for Rucyr to follow. "You know the laws. Hades stole something from me, and I have my right to claim it, or seek a replacement."
"He has every right to claim Medusa for the Underworld," he gritted with venom.
"Not Medusa," Zeus replied without turning back, "Poseidon. He'll get the message eventually. Return Poseidon to Atlantis, allow me to banish him to Cronos, or trade you for Medusa, either one works for now."
With a huff, Rucyr rolled his shoulders back and said, "I've been needing a vacation anyways. You better hope none of the souls escape to the mortal realm or you'll be looking at a debt you'll have trouble repaying."
"I pity the souls that leave without a deal with my brother, that is a fate worse than death."
A shiver rolled down the back of my legs at the implications of Zeus' words. Without Cerberus as the gatekeeper of the Underworld, what would happen to the souls that do escape? Would they haunt the living? Or would they fade into nothing without something tethering themselves to this realm?
Was I a soul now? I didn't feel dead, but I distinctly remembered being pulled from my own stone corpse by Hade's hand. Did I even have a body to leave here with? If I was a spirit, then what good would taking me from the Underworld do?
"I'll go with you!" I called out to them, not wanting to find out what chaos would come from taking Cerberus.
A hiss vibrated across the distance at Rucyr's annoyance.
"Changed your mind, Rucyr?" Zeus asked, stopping in his tracks, like he hadn't heard me at all. Perhaps he didn't?
"Have you?" he snarked back.
Not even Zeus could see or hear me? And the fear I felt moments before melted, solidifying what I was going to do. I was following them and helping Cerberus escape. With more confidence that I was safe, I jogged over to see them both climb onto a cloud, inside the cave. In front of them was a waterfall, and they floated right into it, disappearing. Not wanting them to get away from me, I rushed into the water. Torrents crashed down on me and when I came out the other side, soaked, gasping for air, I was right where I started...
I went into the waterfall and when I came out, it wasn't on the other side to where they disappeared, it was where I ran into the cave in the first place. Staring at the entrance of the cave as an unwelcomed view. I'd lost them. My knees fell to the crumbled ground in shock.
Why had I thought I could follow a god? On a fucking cloud, no less?
What did I think was going to happen, that my wings would come out and I'd suddenly know how to fly with them? I had little to no control over when I transformed.
I sat there staring at the cave entrance, because my only other option was finding my way back to Hades to let him know Cerberus was captured. Nothing good ever came from being the messenger of bad news to a god. I think the only person who ever got away with that was Hermes. What was so special about him?
Please support Breaking Fate and the Taking Medusa Universe by pre-ordering the book on Amazon here: https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate
Chat soon!
xoxo
Stevie
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