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Ruinsong
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play -- EXCERPT: Cadence I allow Lacerde to dress me without turning to examine myself in the mirror. I don’t want to see how I look, how they’ve fashioned me. In my mind, I already see stains of blood on the muslin fabric of my skirt, dotting the white leather of my gloves. Lacerde adjusts my skirt and smooths my hair. Then, with a grunt, she bends down and buffs my new shoes to a gleam. She opens the door for me so I don’t get my gloves dirty and leads me down the dark corridor. My dressing room is the only one in use. All the others are boarded up, so that no one will use them to hide. I imagine what the Opera Hall must have been like years ago, when so many singers performed here together for more willing audiences. The corridors would have been filled with the sounds of laughter, rustling taffeta costumes, and a chorus of warm-up scales. Above, the audience would be straining to get inside the house, clinking glasses together at the theatre bar, speculating on the wonders to come. If I strain my ear, I can still hear the echo of their merriment in the walls, obscured by the more recent cacophony of despair and pain. The smell of thousands of spellsongs, layered atop one another for centuries, lingers in the musty air. It’s been eight years since this place functioned as a real theatre, but the Opera Hall remembers. We climb the stairs up onto the stage. Elene and Lord Durand, her newly elevated pet footman, stand together on the edge, shouting instructions down to the conductor in the orchestra pit. Elene glances up and nods to Lacerde, who positions me at center stage without releasing me. It’s as if they think I will run, even though there is no where to go. No one has dimmed the gas lamps that line the theatre’s aisles yet, so I have a full view. The theatre is much grander than our replica at the academy. The ceiling bears a centuries-old mural of Adela gifting the first mage with magic. The singer kneels beside the sacred pool, and the goddess rises from the water, her mouth open with song and her arms spread wide. Musical notes surround them, each flecked with real gold leaf. Portraits of the three other goddesses border the mural. Odetta, the goddess of spring and renewal, wearing a silver mask that covers her eyes and cheeks, and holding a sparrow’s skeleton in her cupped hands. Karina, goddess of justice and winter, thin and draped in a linen sheath, with her arms wide. Marena, the autumn goddess of war, chin lifted proudly, staring down with her hypnotic purple eyes, bejeweled with human teeth. Beneath, row upon row of tightly packed red velvet seats stretch back to the imposing black doors at the rear of the theatre. They’re made from mageglass, a material designed by the elementals: sand spun, dyed and hardened so that not even diamond bullets could shatter it. Hundreds of people will fill the house tonight. Dame Ava, the queen’s former principal, told me that sometimes there are so many that folk have to stand along the walls. My knees start to shake at the sight. My mouth goes dry. All these seats. All these people. My unshed tears blur the rows of red seats together, like a smear of blood. 
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Evil Queen
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McKenna Grey
Cambron Press
Contemporary Romance / Holidays (Sweet and Clean) “McKensie’s Christmas Gift When McKensie Scott returns to Wycliffe, Wyoming, she’s uncertain of her future . . . and the man she left behind two summers before. With the help of an unexpected ally, McKensie will discover that sometimes leaving the people you love is the only way to find your path home. “A Snowy Falls Christmas†After five years of searching for answers at her family’s home in Scotland, Maura Coburn returns to Snowy Falls, Colorado, the place she’s always called home. When Wyatt Dobbes sweeps into town to take over his family’s horse farm, Maura realizes five years might not have been long enough. When unexpected circumstances bring them together, Wyatt and Maura will soon discover the powerful magic of Christmas, love, and second chances. “Christmas in Moose Creek†Saige Travers said goodbye to Owen McGregor sixteen years ago. A spontaneous choice brings Saige home to Moose Creek, Montana, and she doesn’t expect her past to catch up with her present. When Owen walks back into her life, she struggles to remember why she left. Together they discover second chances are real and hope is a cherished gift. Can six willing hearts find a second chance at love? Join us this holiday season and fall in love like it was the first time. Book Page: https://www.mckennagrey.com/book/christmas-in-the-rockies Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/-gFbTzdPhns Available in e-book and paperback. 
“This was one of the greatest books ever. Not only did it show the true meaning of Christmas but it also showed that true love is possible!†—Mary’s Opinion “McKenna Grey, you never cease to amaze me. Your books are filled with such wonderful characters, families, and love. I know I have read this story before, but I enjoyed it just as much this time as I had the first time. Waiting patiently for your next new book.†—M.L. Sullivan “I loved all three of the stories in this book. On a cold, rainy day, I enjoyed the lights of the Christmas tree, and forgetting the dismal view outside, I was carried away to three places in the Rockies for a beautiful Christmas setting, where i met strong characters and three charming stories of love renewed.†– Verna Cole Mitchell, poet and author of Somewhere Beyond the Blue “I loved every one of these stories. They are sweet, clean and heartwarming. I give it five stars. I highly recommend it for any reader’s Christmas reading.†—Goodreads Review
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From “McKensie’s Christmas Gift†in Christmas in the Rockies The fog cleared from McKensie’s brain. “And knowing my aunt, she insisted you have the wedding here.†“Yeah. I thought about moving the location, but Shirley insisted we still have it at the hotel, and Olivia—†“Wouldn’t have wanted you to change a thing. I get it. Yes, you’ll have it here.†McKensie prided herself on handling tense situations, a handy talent when managing a kitchen. She avoided looking at Cameron throughout her conversation with Julie and realized he hadn’t moved, patient as ever. “When is the wedding?†“The week before Christmas.†McKensie raised a brow and studied her friend. “That’s fast.†Julie shrugged. “When it’s right, it’s right. That reminds me, I have one more thing to ask Shirley about the food. Meet you in the foyer in ten, big brother.†She stopped at the door and pointed to McKensie. “I will call you tomorrow. We have so much to catch up on.†Julie exited the office with as much excitement as she entered. McKensie replayed some of her last words over in her mind. When it’s right, it’s right. From “A Snowy Falls Christmas†in Christmas in the Rockies Her breath faded into the crisp morning air. The stoneware mug cupped in her hands warmed her skin while the lavender tea blend stole away the frigid cold from within. She stood on the expansive deck overlooking the glistening waters of Winter Lake and contemplated her quiet return home. The Snowy Falls Lodge stood tall and grand behind her, a landmark on the lake and in the quaint mountain village. Her grandmother would have said, “For better or worse, it is now yours, Maura.†Maura spent the first twenty-five years of her life in the spacious rooms and luxurious halls of the lodge that blended the design of a Scottish castle and Victorian cattle ranch. The idea might have resulted in a haphazard structure had it not been for a truly talented, though little-known, Scottish architect named Charles Mackenzie. Five years ago, Maura did what no one ever expected—she left home—and not because she didn’t love the lodge or the village. Her father called her a dreamer. Her mother used the word “wanderer,†and her grandmother often said she was a seeker. Maura appreciated her grandmother’s description best. What exactly Maura sought when she left Snowy Falls remained a mystery to everyone. From “Christmas in Moose Creek†in Christmas in the Rockies The 4x4 careened to a stop and the driver waited in disbelief at the deplorable timing of Mother Nature. Moose Creek, Montana, had its share of wildlife—bear, deer, elk, mountain lions—but in her thirty-three years, Saige Travers had never seen a moose on this mountain. Until today. No one waited for her in her swank two-bedroom condo in Seattle except the goldfish her brother gave to her as a joke for her birthday. She’d needed a break from the city and the cataclysmic string of end-of-the-road relationships she’d been in the past five years. More like dates, if she was going to be honest with herself. Saige Travers didn’t have time for relationships. 
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I’m a mom and wife first and many things after. I’m a best friend and a regular friend. A daughter, sister, auntie, and a teacher. I am a book lover, a shopper, a pajama-wearer, movie-watcher, worrier, over-thinker, and a wanna-be-good-Samaritan. I’m a Gemini, a nervous talker, and an emotional writer. I am represented by 
