Eat the Peach: and Other Wicked Tales

by Lucy Blue

TRY A TASTE... OF SOMETHING SWEET

Sex magic rules. But no two practitioners conjure in quite the same way. In these six standalone stories from acclaimed gothic romance novelist Lucy Blue (Misguided Angel, My Demon’s Kiss), six very different witchy women make a soul connection and discover their own kind of power.

A contemporary filmmaker learns a better way to grow a peach.
A Celtic sorceress finds her soulmate in a Roman general.
A modern magnolia on the skids stumbles over a vampire in the family crypt.
A Regency bride channels her inner Frankenstein to bring her beloved back to life.
An immortal muse steals the life force from a lost DEA agent to inspire another man’s art.
A priestess of ancient Britain surrenders to true love with her Winter King.

134 pages, Paperback

Published April 8, 2019

About the author

I’ve been a writer since I was seven years old when I conceived my very first short fiction piece, a suspenseful tale of terror and triumph about a puppy stuck at the top of a very tall sliding board because he’s afraid to slide down. As I recall this plotline came to me as I was sitting at the top of a very tall sliding board with a long line of other second graders behind me yelling, “Are you gonna slide or what?” As an artist, I’ve always responded well to pressure.

​Since the puppy (who made it, by the way, for anyone who’s worried), I’ve written and released ten and a half full-length novels and many, many short stories, published with two big publishers (Berkeley-Penguin and Pocket Books-Simon & Schuster), a couple of small indie publishers, and all by my itty bitty self. With my sister, Alexandra Christian, I write, edit, and publish for Little Red Hen Romance, a micro-press for the kind of romances we want to read.

​I’m a graduate of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Winthrop University, so if we went to school together, by all means drop me a note at lucybluecastle@gmail.com and say hi. I’m married to game designer and artist Justin Glanville.

Reviews

[Erin Penn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat a Peach is a quick-to-read collection of six romantic short stories by Lucy Blue, ranging from contemporary romance to horror to fantasy. Most are very, very good, edging toward the hot end of the romance-erotica spectrum for a scene within the short story.

1. Eat the Peach - Rich southern sweetness with just a hint of the magic romance gives to the world.
2. The Dragon - Historic fantasy set in Roman times. More brutal than Eat the Peach, but so are the times.
3. Black Cat Bone - Gothic horror. Wait, what is that doing in there. Ms. Blue! Yet, beautiful in its own right and a good pause between the lovings. As Southern as Eat the Peach.
4. The Bride - Another Gothic horror, this one proper English historic and completely a romance at the same time.

Not a horror fan myself, I found the two middle stories the weakest of the collection.

5. Voodoo Heart - Back to modern time in the south with Voodoo Heart, but mythos fantasy and police. I think this is my favorite couple of the book.
6. Midsummer - While Voodoo Heart is my favorite couple, Midsummer is my favorite story. Rich and deep, it has all the character building and interaction of Eat the Peach with all the magic and history of The Dragon. Complete unreserved five star for Midsummer.

(Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited)

For those who enjoy my editing comments:
All the stories were well edited within their individual tellings, but the romantic scenes could use tweaking so they didn't overlap in action. Eat the Peach and The Dragon had an overlap and Voodoo Heart and Midwinter also performed similar acts. When assembling a collection, more variation is needed. This is not a normal editing assignment, but something to think about when publishing collections and anthologies.

The collector (the publisher, editor, or the writer) did a good job of providing a bunch of different types of love stories, characters, and types of stories. Just the sex scenes need tweaking. Would work find if they are not all read the same day.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

True confession: the author of this collection of stories is a friend of mine so even if I hated them, I’d probably leave her a good review. Thankfully, I do not have to lie. They are entertaining and well written. Romance is not usually my cup of tea but it’s good to read something different now and then. If you like your romance novels on the explicit side and with a touch of horror and fantasy, you should check this collection out.