Greeting Love Bytes! Thank you for having me as a guest. There are so many things swirling around I’m unsure of what to focus on. First, my latest and first since 2017, novel is out now. The Bond is book 1 of a series called Elemental and was released October 1st. One reviewer called it “…a world of both dream and nightmare that needs to be experienced and savored…” and I think that is a great description for the setting of the book.
The world of the Elemental series is a contemporary love letter to New England. It was during my final read of the book, when I realized how much of my New England soul had leeched onto the page and how I loved that it had! Despite being a devoted Californian for over twenty years, a big piece of my heart and soul is that of an East Coaster. Especially during autumn, which is when this part of the series takes place. In my mind, there is no place quite like New England during autumn. It’s smells, sights, eats, all around delightful coziness is something that calls to me usually during the last week of August (which is blazingly hot in L.A.) I swear I hear the leaves calling me home.
Home is a big part of what The Bond is about. Despite the magic, the mayhem, and all out terror these characters face, the core of the story is about family, friendship and home. Is that a tad too Hallmark? I have to be fair and say during my last read of The Bond, I was shocked at how unrelenting and brutal the story was, these guys never catch a break. I was nervous how it was going to turn out, and I wrote it! This book started years ago, possibly even before 2017, so I’ve lived with these characters a long time. The main character is Declan Makavoy. He’s a devoted father, farmer, and the heart of the story. His devotion to duty, his family and friends is what makes him who he is, and when his world is thrown into chaos, you see the cracks in the foundation. Who are we if everything we believe in, and have devoted ourselves to is stripped from us?
Ivan Soresceau is Declan’s childhood best friend. He’s exotic, doesn’t play by the rules and has an infamous reputation for which he has little concern or care. Decidedly selfish, and at times arrogant, Ivan finds himself in the most dangerous position of being susceptible to the darker side of life and the unfortunate recipient of a terrible legacy, which will force him to face cruel realities with deadly consequences.
Chester Silberglocke, is a friend to Ivan and Declan. A healer by nature, Chester is facing his own mortality. Wise and kind, he is a patient man of quiet strength. His ability to see beyond the others is both a blessing and curse.
These three friends are about to have the bonds of their friendship tested in unspeakable ways, their physical and mental capacities pushed beyond human limits and in the end, their deepest desires exposed.
I loved writing this story. I hope you enjoy reading it, and following these characters down the path, but take heed, the path is dangerous.
In a small New England town, three men, each facing unthinkable horrors, must rely on their friendship to destroy an evil beyond imagination.
Book Title: The Bond (Elemental Book 1)
Author: Xavier Axelson
Publisher: JMS Books
Release Date: October 1, 2022
Genres: Contemporary M/M Horror/Dark Fantasy/Bisexual/Paranormal
Tropes: Vampire/stranger comes to town/strange things start to happen/good versus evil/transformations/magic/suspense/creepy beings/witches/goblins
Themes: Loyalty, forgiveness, obligation, acceptance commitment
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 155 459 words/392 pages
It is Book 1 in the series and ends with a HFN. There are unresolved plot points but it’s not necessarily a cliffhanger.
Buy Links
JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb
Four men are about to discover things are definitely not what they seem…including themselves. Declan Makavoy, small town farmer and single father, finds out it’s not just his thumb that’s green. Ivan Soresceau, a local reporter, who always plays with fire in life and love, is about to discover what it means to be burned. Chester Silberglocke, the ailing but sage chiropractor, finds his death only the beginning of an atmospheric afterlife. Vinny Pirelli, the local swimming champ may make waves inside and outside the pool but has no idea he is the last piece in a dangerous and life-changing puzzle. Seduction and unearthly occurrences are only the beginning in what proves to be a race against time as Declan, Ivan, Chester, and Vinny are pitted against a dark force beyond imagination, in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.
The wind carried the unpleasant smell of decay. In the heat of summer, the odor is nectar sweet, but in autumn, decay is unexpected. In the summer, it could be tomatoes left too long on the vine, fresh roadkill or sewage wafting up from the dank sidewalk grates. Autumn chilled the stench, offered it bite and acid. The hair on my neck stood on end. I dug my hands deeper into my pockets.
Coming out of the tree-lined path leading to the fields reminded me of emerging from a dream. Overwrought and graphic, like an illustration in a bad comic, the scene unfolded block-by-block, piece-by-piece. The fields were barren, except where remains of gourds and pumpkins jutted from the earth like fevered skulls, things emerging to the cold dreary light. The distant pine trees lined the border of my property like sentries sent from a general to contain the scene. Beyond the trees, the forest appeared a black mass; empty and full at the same time. Perhaps Adam’s body—or Adam himself—waited, hidden in the woods.
They hadn’t found a body.
Hadn’t found…
A new but not unfamiliar wave of pain welled within my chest so I thought I’d burst. Adam was dead. Dead…How could he be…?
Chester turned toward me, his eyes wide. He pointed.
Antonia sat, facing him. She’d been playing house or school with her gourd-squash students. Her singsong contrasted with the fouled air, unnerving me.
Behind her, centered in the field, something either unaware or unconcerned with our presence was consuming the remaining pumpkins.
Some thing.
“Declan,” Chester breathed, “stay still.”
The stench coming from the field hit like a ton of putrid bricks.
“Get her.” I heaved, trying to breathe through the stink. “I have to get her.”
Chester restrained me with more strength than I thought he possessed. “She must stay still.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
Just then a huge crow dove and we watched as the creature reached with a massive clawed paw, grabbed the bird and crushed it. It then stuffed the bird into its mouth and made horrific bone-sucking sounds of pleasure.
Antonia smiled and called, “Daddy, have you seen the goblin?”
Xavier Axelson is a writer and columnist living in Los Angeles. Axelson’s work has been featured in various erotic and horror anthologies including Best Gay Erotica 2016 Volume 2, Best Gay Erotica 2015.
Longer written works include “The Incident”, “Dutch’s Boy”, “The Birches”, “Earthly Concerns”, “Velvet,” and “Lily”.
Author Links
Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win
one of 5 ebooks from the author’s backlist.
Thank you Dani! Xo XA