Welcome Back to the World of The Grid.
Where heroic bad-asses looking for a second chance fight a war among us in the shadows.
Marcus De Monte was born in Hell, both literally and figuratively. Birthed by a demon, sired by a human and considered a failure from the moment he took his first breath. Nothing more than fuel for the Hell fires. Allowed to live by Lucifer himself, he became determined to reach the top of the food chain by becoming an elite assassin in the Dark Lord’s army.
After reaching that bloody, hard-won goal he chose a path not ordered by Hell—one leading to love. But that love became doomed the moment it bloomed. Fueled by rage of its loss, his payment was the shameful duty of bodyguard to the Keeper of Madness – Reno Sundown and his family. But denied destiny has fatal consequences. The one chance Marcus had of being reunited with the one he loved vaporized.
But destiny has a way of masking itself until its time, and Marcus is no exception. Will the newest Keeper find his heartbeat, even when it beats quietly from the past?
Or has Hell played the ultimate trick on Marcus… and the past to burn love to ash once more?
And the dark power of Murder has a new host, and it has its own scores to settle.
MURDER: Book 4 of The Shadow-Keepers Series by Jas T Ward
EXCERPT #2
Copyright @Jas T Ward
The concubine’s name was Onyxia, and like many of the other demon slaves he owned, she was most beautiful, and therefore, her role in his stable was for the sole purpose of pleasing the dark lord. She had the darkest of skin with the most amazing topaz colored eyes—those very orbs that refused to cry when he purchased her, intriguing Lucifer. She was strong and sensual as well as strikingly alluring in appearance. The child that kicked on the cot next to her was born with the same dark skin as his maternal bloodline, not to mention the umbilical cord that still pulsed with life from its mother. And Lucifer could easily detect the source of the child’s paternal line, as well.
“Is it?” His lip curled in disgust as he regarded the still screaming infant. “It’s human? How did this happen?” Not that him siring children was unheard of, but he took measures so such a thing did not happen. The one time he allowed himself to get lost in passion, he fathered a son—a lesson well learned. The child of a goddess of high standing, and it pleased him to claim it—even if that meant the child’s own mother could not. That child was given the name Epsilon and has been a thorn in Lucifer’s existence every single day since he was brought here to be raised. The child had constant colic, fussed often, and even though Lucifer had assigned the best wet nurse his realm had to offer, the child was not pleasant. Lucifer simply avoided his son. Sure, he could have easily slain the child and fed it to the hellhounds—but the child’s mother knew he was the devil, so a vow had been wrenched from him—he could not kill the boy. Smart woman… Lucifer entertained the thought of killing the wailing baby daily.
Book Links:
Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43074226-murder?ac=1&from_search=true
Amazon — https://amzn.to/2SbvLWM
Barnes & Noble — https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-jas-t-ward/1129838081?ean=2940156301065
“Why the Ward Way? Because I believe in writing books that take a reader on a thrill-ride. Action, danger, drama, sure. But also laughter, tears of joy and moments that make you want to stop just to scream. My books are twisted, complex and full of heroes and heroines full of flaws and heart, but a reader cannot deny–total badasses. Welcome to my worlds, take a seat, get to know me and the characters and I assure you… You’ll be glad you did.” ~Jas T Ward
Jas T. Ward has always used writing as a necessary escape. With a past marred by a difficult childhood and domestic violence as well as being homeless as an adult, Ms. Ward lost her creative voice when she lost her soul mate to suicide. Finding that creative voice once again in writing in social media via blogs and creative writing groups, Ms. Ward gathered other writers & founded Dark Hunter Nights, which has over 2,000 members & is one of the largest and longest-running fan fiction groups on Facebook.
Through her work with Nights, Ms. Ward developed characters that were diverse, different and unique. Fans of the group encouraged her to use her literary talents and give her characters life in books, and The Shadow-Keepers Series was born. Ms. Ward quickly became known for writing books filled with action, drama, laughter, darkness and unimaginable plot twists, and her books have won awards from various blogs and other outlets. A bestselling author on both Amazon & ARe Romance, Ms. Ward has been described as the Robin Williams of authors: so damn funny and talented, but with a darkness that calls to you, causing you to want to know more.
Ms. Ward’s books have also been reviewed by Ind’Tale Magazine, and have been nominated for the magazine’s prestigious RONE awards for the last three years, each time a finalist. LUST, Book 2 of The Shadow-Keepers Series, was the recipient of the following awards from Rant & Rave Book Blogs Preditors & Editors Reader Poll: Best Dark Fantasy 2015, Best F/F Romance 2015, & Top 10 Reads of 2015.
While her fans enjoyed the dark, twisty romance of The Shadow-Keepers Series, they believed in Ms. Ward’s potential to write other genres, and challenged her to write a contemporary, traditional romance. She completely failed, but the result was Love’s Bitter Harvest; and just like that, a style was born – Romance: The Ward Way. True to the style that her fans adore so much, Ms. Ward’s romances are funny, unpredictable works with twisted turns to keep the readers guessing; after all, the path to love isn’t easy.
While her first passion is writing and reading, Ms. Ward also enjoys networking with other authors and helping those who are just starting their careers in the crazy world of indie book publishing. She is an ever-positive presence on social media, offering encouragement and advice to her fellow authors. She is a founding member and administrator of the Girls Gone Writing/GGW Reader Group on Facebook, which has over 5,000 members and is a drama-free place for everyone – readers, authors, bloggers & fans alike – to talk books.
In 2018, Ms. Ward combined her experience as an executive project manager with her bestselling award-wining writing skills and founded Ink-N-Flow Management Group. Ink-N-Flow was founded with the mindset that talent, efficiency, creativity and resources could not only coexist, but thrive. Ink-N-Flow is a one-stop shop for small businesses, giving those businesses the ability to give wings to their dreams.
Born and raised in Texas and spending time living in Kentucky, Ms. Ward spends her days and nights writing as therapy to deal with life and all that it brings—from the past and present. And hopefully finds joy, laughter and fun to mix in with the dark. Something her readers have come to love in her works. She is the proud parent of three very independent grown children and grandmother to three delightful grandchildren.
She has three fur babies that sit and ponder why their human is talking to herself late into the night as she writes out colorful and diverse if not twisted characters and tales.
When asked why she writes, Ms. Ward answers simply: “Reading saved me. It was my salvation and my haven. I now strive to pay that gift back by writing books that can give the same to others. And to keep myself sane.”
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Website: http://authorjastward.com
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Blog: http://authorjastward.blogspot.com/
Dark-Hunter Nights & Keepers Fan Group: http://bit.ly/DHNIGHTS
Girls Gone Writing Reader Group: http://bit.ly/GirlsGoneWriting
Instagram: http://bit.ly/JASTWARDINSTA
