KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!

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NEUTRAL GROUND
Possessed by Passion Collection
BY SIAN B. CLAVEN ETAL

Crazy Ink Publishing, LLC is pleased to present a USA Today bestseller list-aiming dark romance and paranormal romance collection boxset for release on March 16, 2021. Featuring stories from USA Today and International Bestselling authors, this set includes more than twenty romantic novels and novellas aimed to ignite your passions and make you fall in love with the characters. Pre order your copy today!

Collection Blurb

Passions pulsate.
Destinies collide.
Humans, angels, and demons alike are possessed with a common bind—desire.

Experience exquisite and sultry seraphs, demonic witches, a hellfire phoenix, a vengeful gargoyle, ordinary humans with dark sides, vampires, werewolves, ghostly spirits, and other creatures of the night, who will whet your desire for romance and seduction. Travel with them into their worlds as they lust for love, romance, and pleasure.

Will they find what they are searching for? Will you?
Find out in this twenty-plus, limited time paranormal and dark romance collection by USA Today, international bestselling, and award-winning authors.

Experience the passion.

Readers of Anne Rice, Debbie Paterson, Linda Howard, Dean Koontz, Kristen Ashley, and Paul Tremblay will love this dark collection! One click now to become POSSESSED…

Featuring the works of USA Today and International Bestselling Authors:

Bella Emy – USA Today Bestseller – For Better or For Cursed
Alyssa Drake – USA Today Bestseller – For Better or For Cursed
Cora Kenborn – USA Today Bestseller – Cast Stones
Catherine Wiltcher – Amazon All Star – Cast Stones
Erin Lee – USA Today Bestseller – Blank Slate
Olivia Marie –USA Today Bestseller– Blood Bound
Lorah Jaiyn – USA Today Bestseller – The Immortal Stone
Murphy Wallace – International Bestseller – Death in the Flames
N Isabelle Blanco – International Bestseller – Malice
Rena Marin – International Bestseller – The Arisen
Rita Delude – International Bestseller – Driven by Desire
M W Brown – International Bestseller – Under the Moonlight
Diana Register – International Bestseller – Electric Man
Stephanie Ayers – International Bestseller – Blood White
Yolanda Allard – International Bestseller – Gargoyles: Stone Curse
Sian B. Claven – International Bestseller – Neutral Ground
LJC Fynn – International Bestseller – Blank Slate
John Watson – International Bestseller – The Hollow-Eyed Girl
Tiffany Carby – International Bestseller – Meet Cut(e)
Michelle Edwards – International Bestseller – Demonic Destiny
Tracy A. Ball – International Bestseller – Blood Like Rain
Eve Corso – International Bestseller – Spellbound
Marie Ahls – International Bestseller – Villainous
Rheanon Nicole – International Bestseller – His Soul to Keep
Cloud S Riser – International Bestseller – Queen of Stone

Editor’s Note: Look for **Spring Madness** spotlights through March and April for authors included in this collection, a deeper look at the individual authors and their books, including Excerpts, Author Interviews, and Character Interviews!

NEUTRAL GROUND
Possessed by Passion Collection
BY SIAN B. CLAVEN

Blurb

Everything Hangs in the Balance

Award-Winning Author Sian B. Claven

The balance between good and evil in the world is maintained, not by Angels and Demons, but by Balancers. Supernatural beings that can travel quickly, who strike deals with Demons to cause catastrophes to keep the balance flowing smoothly or the world would be swayed in the favour of good.

That’s what Miles is supposed to be doing, instead, he is trying to find out why another Balancer is missing after visiting a specific Neutral Ground, a place where Demons can visit to unwind without being attacked. The Switzerland of the Supernatural Realm if you will, only this ground is run by a beautiful Supernatural named Lizzie and Balancers aren’t supposed to feel anything, especially not for a fallen angel.

NEUTRAL GROUND
Possessed by Passion Collection
BY SIAN B. CLAVEN

Character Interview

1. What is your name? Do you have a nickname?

My name is Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Lizzie. Except Miles, at first, he called me Lizzie but he seems to get a thrill out of calling me Elizabeth. I get a thrill out of it too.

2. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together?

I’m not really big on having friends. As a Fallen Angel, we’re meant to keep to ourselves and be loners. We’re tasked with running the Neutral Grounds so the others have a place to go to meet and greet and be merry without bloodshed. It’s a load of rubbish if you ask me. I guess I have some friends, a couple of angels are nice to me. If I were to pick anyone in particular I guess I’d say Raphael has always been particularly kind to me and doesn’t hold it against me that my parents are who they are.

3. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them?

I’m not allowed to talk about my family unless you have top clearance, but I’ll give you some hints since I don’t care about the powers up there, if you know what I mean. We get along okay when I see them. My Uncle’s are mostly nice to me. I used to see my Dad a lot when I was younger but since I was sent to Earth I’ve only seen him twice. That’s what you get for being the daughter of… Well… someone powerful. I never knew my Mom, she died giving birth to me, but her side of the family looked after me when I was with my Dad when I was small and they had interesting things to say about her. Like she probably would have killed me if she had survived, so there’s that.

4. Do you have a birthmark? Scars? Where are they? How did you get them?

I have a few battle scars on my legs, back and arms from my training days. I was pushed harder than the angels were because I was fallen and expected to rough it out more, dealing with the various supernatural’s I’d be dealing with. That, and a lot of the others would corner me when our instructors weren’t looking and give me ‘extra’ training, even if they knew who my Father was or what he would do to them. One of the angels I trained with used a knife to carve an initial of his first name on my back and you can still see it, it reminds me why I don’t like bullies.

5. When you’re angry, what do you do? Where do you go? How do you deal with your anger?

We’re trained not to get angry but I’ve lost that lesson a few times. I blank out a lot. I guess I’ve never really lost it in real terms but I’ve lost my temper and then I blank out and I fight everything in my sights. If there’s no one to fight then I feel sorry for the possessions around me. I also curse a lot because it irritates my Uncles. No blaspheming and all that.

6. A penguin walks up to you, right now, wearing a sombrero. What does he say to you and why is he here?

He’s looking for a drink, he’s a supernatural who started with a witch and now needs to find another witch to turn him back into whatever he was before. I’m not helping him though because that’s one funny sight.

7. What’s the one thing you’re afraid of losing?

My cat. He’s my world! I’d be totally lost without him.

8. What makes you laugh out loud?

Whenever there’s a fight (Outside of my bar) and the cocky one who started it gets his ass handed by him, preferably by some small nobody who seemed like easy pickings. That’ll make me die laughing and it’s my favourite. Also little umbrellas in cocktail drinks make me giggle which doesn’t help because I own and run a bar so I’m giggling a lot.

9. What’s your favorite food?

I love Mexican food and Italian food. Oh and Greek. Wait, no… I just like food. Give me all the food. I’ll eat myself into a food induced coma and wake up to eat some more. I love food.

10. What’s the one thing you want out of life that you don’t think you can have? Why can’t you have it?

Well obviously a relationship although it’s technically allowed – it’s only allowed with my own kind – which I never see because we’re busy or with Angels or Demons cause they’re what I’m made of… But Angels and Demons see us as half breeds and won’t stoop to dating us… so yeah. Forever alone. Great fun for Lizzie. Might as well be a Balancer like Miles.

NEUTRAL GROUND
Possessed by Passion Collection
BY SIAN B. CLAVEN

Excerpt

Chapter One

Miles appeared outside Forever More nightclub, simply appeared. One of the perks of being a Balancer was having the power to appear and disappear as his strength allowed him to. Humans didn’t pay nearly enough attention to notice when Balancers suddenly appeared out of thin air, and they didn’t pay close attention to places like Forever More. Magical wards placed around nightclubs, pubs, strip clubs, and other ‘sin bins’ like Forever More made sure that humans steered clear of the magical gathering places—these Neutral Grounds where all supernatural beings could gather, regardless of alignment, to relax.

Neutral Grounds were blessed from so high up that the magical wards prevented the use of supernatural powers once you crossed into them. Sure, fistfights could break out here and there, but there was a strict no-weapons policy, magic saw to that as well, so the guardians of the Neutral Grounds, the Fallen Angels charged with their upkeep, were the only ones armed and generally, they were scary enough not to mess with.

These hallowed places were perfect for Balancers to find contacts to execute their work for them. Balancers were the untouchables of the Supernatural Realm. They aligned to no side, not good and not evil, and their sole task was to ensure that the balance between the two always swung relatively in the middle. Too much evil in the world? They would strike deals with Angel and Fae and other such alignments to do more good deeds to bring the balance back. Too much good? There were Demons and Vampire and other such creatures for that work, and so the pendulum continued to swing back and forth for them. Miles Kraft was no exception to this. He had but one goal this evening and that was to make contact with a Demon and strike a deal before he would meet with his student to get the latest news in the Balancer world.

Each Balancer fostered a student at some point in their lives, and it seemed Miles’ turn had come. It took thousands of years to become a Balancer, and being a student was a horrid thing. You spent your days running errands, gathering information, and performing menial tasks in the ‘name’ of learning. You were just a butler to a Balancer until you mastered your powers enough to be a Balancer yourself. Miles didn’t care much for his student days, and he didn’t care much for Jason, his student. He was okay as far as students went.

Miles entered Forever More, and he could feel the magic press around him. If he had any weapons, they would disappear only to reappear when he exited the club. He wouldn’t be able to use any magic abilities in the club; here, he was vulnerable. Here, he was as a mortal. You would wonder then why ward off humans? Well, the magic didn’t take into account making the supernatural beings look mortal. Miles chuckled at the thought of humans getting into the club by accident and bumping into an Angel and then a Werewolf. He walked down the long darkened corridor and into the club itself. There were pool tables to his right, a bar to the left, with a set of stairs leading up to a dance floor to the left of that. Miles walked up the stairs to the dance floor. There was another set of stairs that led to the next floor where there were tables to sit at and another bar. Miles went there and waited at the bar to order a drink. There was a set of stairs leading to yet another bar, but that was the VIP section; Miles didn’t care much to go there only to try to get his friend in later. It was such a bore.

While he waited, he looked into the mirror behind the bar. At six foot seven, Miles was tall enough to look down at most people, but he was slender, so at a glance, he didn’t seem intimidating. However, Miles derived power from his steely blue eyes, his pointed nose, sensual lips, and British accent. His words would put you in your place long before you raised your fist to him, not that anyone had ever tried. As mentioned, Balancers were off-limits, but Miles was confident in his knowledge that if anyone should try, he had a look alone that would be enough to stop them if his words didn’t make them dissolve into tears first. Sometimes he wished he wasn’t a Balancer and could pick a fight with someone, if just to experience that again.

“What can I get you then?” the cute little blonde bartender in the short skirt and shorter top said, leaning on the bar.

“Your most expensive whiskey,” Miles said, “neat and keep them coming. When my friend joins, he’ll have whatever beer you have on tap.”

“Sure thing, sugar,” she said before walking away, her breasts bouncing in her too-short shirt. Miles looked around, already bored with waiting. He glanced at his watch; he was on time, but clearly, his contact was held up wherever he was.

The bartender placed the whiskey on the bar with a loud thud and Miles took it and went to sit at a table, ignoring the bartender completely. Balancers didn’t have time for romantic little flings; it just wasn’t built into them. Their primary focus was, and always would be, the balance between good and evil. They were immortal beings—saints when they were human, Balancers after they died, and programmed to keep the world an equal and fair place. Miles had initially been stationed in Britain for the longest time and was due to go back there, but he had been brought to America because they were struggling after Obama got elected; they needed to bring the balance back out of favor for good. Now, if there was ever anyone destined to be a Balancer, that man was one of them.

“Sorry I’m late,” the Demon said as he brought up a chair to sit beside Miles.

“No problem, they’ll bring you a beer shortly,” he said.

The Demon nodded and waited until the beer was placed in front of him before saying, “So what is it you need to be done?”