Today I am so pleased to welcome Kiernan Kelly (aka Dakota Chase) to Joyfully Jay. Kiernan  has come as part of the Coastal Magic Convention Blog Tour to talk to us about two upcoming releases, Every Witch Way by Dakota Chase, and the With a Side of Kink Series by Kiernan Kelly. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Hi everyone! *waves*

I’m so excited to be here at Joyfully Jay’s! For those of you who don’t know me, I write adult gay romance as Kiernan Kelly, and GLBTQ YA as Dakota Chase.

I have two new releases coming up (postponed, unfortunately, until mid-October, just in time for GRL, though), one for each pen name, and I’m super excited to chat about them here for the very first time!

The first is a brand new lesbian YA titled “Every Witch Way.” In this book, we meet Diva, a typical high school aged girl in all respects except for one – she’s a witch, born to a family of extremely powerful witches. But as Diva learns, being powerful does not equate to being popular. She goes to Salem for a weekend with her best friend, BA, to research her senior year project, and meets a mysterious girl with ties to the original Salem witches. When a curse is fulfilled, Hell comes to Salem, and it’s up to Diva and her friends to save the world by using the very thing she detests about herself – her magic.

The second new release I have scheduled is a selection of super kinky stories called “With a Side of Kink Series,” that run the gamut from hot wax play to sounding, from spanking to ball gags, and more. The stories were previously published about a bajillion years ago, and have been out of print for eons. They’ll release individually through Kindle Unlimited, and I’ll also have a compilation volume that includes a new, never before published kink story in it.

While I couldn’t pull up roots and travel up to Salem to get in the witchy mood, I did the next best thing and travelled 30 minutes to the other place on the eastern seaboard where witches gather in great numbers – Universal Studios Florida, home of Hogsmeade and Diagon Ally from the Harry Potter series of books an film.

I don’t know if you’ve been there, but if you can travel to Florida I highly recommend  visiting the parks. The newest addition is the Hagrid Adventure, which is, in my humble opinion, the best damn rollercoaster EVER. It was amazeballs!

Anyway, I want to thank Jay and her crew for having me, and I’d love to offer a book up for grabs. Comment here, and I’ll pick a winner at random to receive their choice of my backlist.


Excerpt

From Every Witch Way by Dakota Chase:

Prologue

My name is Diva. Before you  say a word, I’m not being cute or trying to be a smartass, either. It’s really my name. Short for Divinia — like that’s not just as bad, right?  Oh, and if being saddled with a name sure to get my ass kicked from kindergarten forward wasn’t bad enough, I’m also a witch, born and bred.

Let’s be clear about a few things right from the beginning. When I say “witch,” I don’t mean the pointy hat and striped stocking wearing, green complexioned, broomstick riding, Midnight Margarita drinking sort of witch, or the tiara-and-pink sparkly ball gown wearing, bubble riding, wand waving kind, either. Those are stereotypes, fictional characters, and quite frankly, most real witches find them pretty racist.

Witches are just like everyone else. We look the same, act the same, watch the same television shows, and listen to the same music, eat at the same restaurants. We go to school, graduate, and get jobs. Our powers are the only things setting us apart from everyone else on the planet, and for most of us, having magic is no different from having a talent like singing or dancing. Just because you can carry a tune doesn’t mean music execs are beating down your door waving recording contracts. It only means the dog probably doesn’t howl when you sing in the shower. Same thing goes for magic. Just because you have, say, the power of telekinesis for example, doesn’t mean you’re Carrie on the way to blow up the prom. It probably just means you don’t need anyone to pass you the salt and pepper shakers at the dinner table.

Witchery isn’t some sort of evolutionary leap or mutation, either, so get that out of your head right now. We’re not the freaking X-Men. In fact, we’re nothing new at all. We’ve been around at least as long as you have. There were Neanderthal witches and Homo Erectus witches. Hell, there were probably Australopithecus witches, back when we still had tails and were swinging down from the trees. Yes, I actually used the word Australopithecus in a sentence — try having that word thrown at you in the fifth-grade spelling bee and see if it doesn’t damage you for life.  I may never end wars or world hunger, or cure terrible diseases, but if anyone ever needs the spelling of Australopithecus in order to save the day, I’ve got it covered. Knowing which, I suppose, only added to the frequency of ass-kicking in my younger days.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that witches are just human beings…with a little bit extra pizzazz sprinkled into our DNA.

Yup, that’s right — DNA. Magic is hereditary, like eye and hair color, or a predisposition to diabetes.  Maybe that’s a better fitting analogy, since I’ve always believed magic is more like a disease than it is a superficial and harmless feature like eye color. At least, it is in my opinion. As far as I’m concerned, magic can screw with your life big time, man.


Blurb

All Diva wants is to be an ordinary teenage girl. Unfortunately, she’s a descendant of Merlin and a witch with enormous powers. Her birthright makes it tough to find friends, so she jumps at the chance to visit Salem and study the witch trials. There, she meets a mysterious girl who might be a ghost and uncovers a magical plot to unleash hell on earth.

The things Diva likes least about herself might be the only things that can save the world.


Giveaway

Kiernan has brought a reader’s choice of backlist book to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Thursday, August 22nd at 11:59 pm ET.


  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.