Spiral Publishing's February Reads
Spiral Publishing's February Reads
This special bundle is back at the regular price now, but be sure to grab the current bundle of Spiral Publishing's Monthly Reads at a special discount!
Spiral Publishing authors Kari Kilgore and Jason A. Adams have put together an exclusive bundle of six fiction tales set in February, and available this February at a special price!
As a special Leap Year treat, two of these stories have never been published standalone before (Good Luck in Disguise and Temporal Fallout), and two of them have never been published anywhere before (The Chocolate Wars and Heart-Shaped Pizza).
Check out the bundle below, and be sure to grab your February Reads before it disappears at the end of the month.
And be sure to check back next month for Spiral Publishing's March Reads!
Good Luck in Disguise by Kari Kilgore
The Best Day for Bad Luck
Chloe’s hard work creates a fabulous Valentine’s Day Ball. But a silly injury keeps her at home.
Liam refuses to let her suffer alone and lonely. Hoping his company helps instead of making things worse.
Sometimes missing the big party works out for the best, for everyone.
Will shyness keep them at a distance? Or will the magic of love bring them together?
An excerpt from Good Luck in Disguise:
Valentine’s Day Joy, and Panic
“I’m sorry about that too,” Liam said. “Listen, how about if I bring you dinner? It’s no problem, since my brother owns a restaurant and all.”
Chloe had a brief, intense moment of equal parts joy and panic.
He hadn’t exactly said he’d have dinner with her, only that he’d bring dinner.
But still…
Dinner? With Liam?
Yes!
While she was wearing her baggiest black sweatpants rolled up past her bum knee and a scruffy old Nine Inch Nails t-shirt, and getting downstairs to change would be a literal and risky pain? Not to mention her curly blonde hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head?
No!
“You don’t have to go to all that trouble, Liam. This place is small enough that even I can make it to the kitchen and back without too much drama.”
He laughed, and even over the phone, the deep, sexy sound curled her toes.
“If it weren’t for you getting this whole dance thing going, Craig wouldn’t have had the extra business this week. He’s had people who drove in from all over the place. And this big catering gig tonight. He’s already set the food aside and everything.”
The Chocolate Wars by Jason A. Adams
The Very Best of Everything Comes From the Heart.
The Chocolate Wars: A battle for the hearts and sweet tooths of the good citizens of Green Cove.
Lance Buchanan knows he'll take the ribbon, his secret weapon baked right in.
Rosalie Quillen knows she'll raise the royal ribbon, her secret weapon brewed right in.
To win, they both need a pinch of chocolate, a dash of spice, a teaspoon of competition, and a healthy splash of heat.
An excerpt from The Chocolate Wars:
“Please try it and let me know what you think. What you really think.” Rosalie’s runaway mouth had decided to cut her a break, and she sounded almost human, at least to her own ears.
Lance raised the mug to his lips. Took a sip. Then a drink. Then a gulp.
She imagined she’d had that same blissfully unaware of anything else in the world look when she’d tried his pecan tart.
Pride and a little something else lit in her belly for putting that expression on his face.
A Blizzard in Pink by Kari Kilgore
A Valentine to Remember
Mike loves Valentine's Singles Night behind the bar. Too shy to make his own night special.
Garrett makes his spectacular desserts for the party. Hoping for a little magic of his own.
Then a most unusual blizzard brings them together.
Will Mike and Garrett take their chance to get together for the best Valentine of all?
Also available in Kari's short story collection Escape into Romance.
An excerpt from A Blizzard in Pink:
A Blizzard of Anticipation
Handsome Garrett walked by the front door of the bakery, stopping for a quick second to wave. Even with the gloom of an increasingly cloudy sky, his bright green eyes stood out under the bakery's lights.
Mike waved back, hoping he didn't look overly dorky or like a demented stalker. Garrett would be over soon to deliver his sinfully good treats and prepare a special dessert he refused to reveal.
Plenty of time for Mike to embarrass himself.
Sure, he could put on a confident, even flirtatious persona with the best of them when he was behind the bar.
But when it came to talking to someone he actually liked and wanted to get to know better? Especially someone he'd been secretly crushing on for over a year now?
He'd be lucky to manage enough sensible English to be polite.
Heart-Shaped Pizza by Jason A. Adams
Some Roads Lead Back to the Beginning
Drew Michaels, on a journey of self-rediscovery, returns to his boyhood home.
Hard miles lie between then and now, but Drew survives as best he can.
An old friend offers hope, and more.
Will an orchestrated surprise heal two hearts?
An excerpt from Heart-Shaped Pizza:
Tony looked at the photo. Looked at Drew. Back at the photo.
A young redheaded blue-eyed boy. An auburn-haired girl. Plus a much skinnier Tony with a full head of jet-black hair. All grinning fit to split, each with fingers on the same five-dollar bill.
“Little Drew Michaels?” He looked between the rode-hard-put-up-wet man shoving pizza down his throat, back to the happy kid with his fingers touching a certain young lady’s. “Yeah, I see it now. Like you might be that kid’s dad. You and me, I guess we both got some miles on us, hey?”
“Hard miles, bubba,” Drew mumbled around a wad of cheese and dough. “Some mighty hard ones at that.”
Terminalia by Kari Kilgore
An Opportunity? Or a Trap?
The perfect house in the city of dreams. A lovely old bungalow on a quiet oak-lined street.
When you live a double life, you never take anything for granted. Kelly Webb finally feels safe.
Until nighttime, when all but Kelly’s name changes.
An enchanting tale of the crossroads between science and magic.
An excerpt from Terminalia:
“I need… I don’t understand what’s happening here,” Kelly said, getting to his feet. Debbie didn’t move.
“What you’re feeling is perfectly normal. I won’t tell you not to be frightened. I certainly was in the beginning. Before you go, let me ask you one last question.” Kelly stopped at the door, but he didn’t turn. “Is there something you’ve tried to keep hidden? Something you’ve been afraid of another person knowing about since the day you figured it out for yourself?”
Kelly gripped the doorknob, gritting his teeth, cold sweat covering his body.
This could be a chance.
This could be a trap.
He didn’t know enough to figure that out, but he needed to get out of here.
“Yes,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes closed.
Temporal Fallout by Jason A. Adams
Las Vegas: Timeless City
Sylvester Dotson, homeless lawyer and lover of rooftop sleeping.
Until he wakes up somewhen else.
Sylvester finds himself the target of the authorities.
But what authorities?
Which consequences lie in Sylvester’s future?
Also available in Jason's collection Through the Squirrel Tree: Tales from the Jasonic Story Well
An excerpt from Temporal Fallout:
More and more oddball people rushed past him, heading toward the northwest corner of the roof. Some wore sparkly, rhinestone-studded cateye sunglasses. Some carried boxy square things that looked like old-time Kodaks on straps around their necks.
A flash of diamond-bright light appeared in the distance and flushed the sun away. Everyone oohed and pointed.
Sylvester hunkered, pulling his knees up to his chin.
The light dimmed a little, and a minute later the whole building shook like a big one had just hit the San Andreas.
Above the heads of the crowd, he saw a glowing ball of hell rising on top of a narrow column of smoke.
Was that a goddamn mushroom cloud??