Books that make you feel something.
Elexis Bell writes gritty and emotional novels. Born and raised in the midwestern United States, she dreams of a cabin in the woods rather than a house surrounded by cornfields.
She loves writing well-developed characters facing real problems in vibrant, magical worlds. Armed with a degree in psychology and a rollercoaster past, she sprinkles gut-wrenching emotions over high fantasy romance, science fiction, and the occasional thriller.
Tortured by memories implanted by his captors, Krona knows only one thing. He must find Tenna, his partner, his Queen. She can’t be dead. But when Ricardo, one of his human guards, tells him she’s alive on another space station, the truth might be just as painful as their lies.
With her memories missing and her planet supposedly destroyed, Tenna struggles to acclimate to life among humans. Olivia, a spaceship pilot and hacker, does her best to help. When a guard shows up with an alien Tenna knows she’s seen before, it’s obvious things aren’t what they seem.
When they learn that family ties bind enemy and ally, Krona and Tenna can only hope the honor they see in their human friends is strong enough to overcome blood. Can they work together to save themselves, their minds, and their tribe? Or will they lose everything?
With their tribe decimated by human cruelty and stranded in the stars, Tenna and Krona labor beneath grief and rage. But so far from home, they can’t afford the violence their people could wreak upon what’s left of humanity, can’t risk losing their only allies.
Struggling to cope with what their families did and what they could have done to prevent those travesties, Olivia and Ricardo must finally face the scars of their childhoods. Misplaced guilt and substance abuse mean they have to survive themselves in order to help the Regonians their families abducted.
But deep in the stars, the Drennar, advanced aliens who’ve been abducting humans for years, are changing, and it could spell doom or salvation for the remnants of humanity and Regonians alike. Can they learn to work together to face this new development? Or will their inner demons tear them apart?
When Lessiyara saves Ronan from a crumbling cliff, she reluctantly welcomes him into her camp. But having struggled to hide her secrets even among the emotionless Vaikahlen people, she fares no chance of hiding from a Soorahk man who understands the expressions on her face.
Having trekked up the mountain to kill Lessiyara’s leader, Ronan eyes her warily. But his family and friends must be avenged, and the future of his tribe is at stake if he can’t rejoin his Sword Siblings and take the Vaikahlen leader down.
When he learns the truth of her parentage and the bruises on her back, he realizes they may have a common goal. But just as a connection sparks between them, the coming battle threatens to tear them apart. Can they save the innocent lives in the valley from a man bent on ‘purification?’ Or will they pay for revenge with their blood?
The joy of found family weighs against the need for justice in this story of survival and self-expression, plumbing the depths of the human (or… not quite human) heart as enemies turn to lovers.
A dark connection. A deadly responsibility.
Sparks fly when Elairie, a mixed-blood elf living on the edge of society and serving as a night guard, meets her latest prisoner. Strange auras surround them, and a magical gravity draws her to him, despite what her associates might say about his race. But the connection they share comes with a dark side.
When Beluroan learns that he and his guard are Blessed Ones, hand-crafted by the Gods to stop a madman from recreating the Blood Magic of old, his veins run cold. Threatened with a return to the magical slavery such magic commands, fear grips him, and memories of his childhood Master fill his mind.
But together, their potential power frightens even the Gods. Can they overcome the prejudices marring their land and master their new magic in time to stop the man trying to enslave their country? Or will they succumb to their own power?
Ariella needs this weekend away to reconnect with old friends, hunt ghosts, and have fun. But her possessive boyfriend, Kurt, tags along, unwilling to let her out of his sight, especially with other men around. Rather than ditch him, she tells him it’s his last chance to make this work.
Hoping to celebrate his culinary school graduation and forget about his dad’s disapproval, Ian needs the getaway too. But it means spending time with Ariella, the woman he’s loved for years, the woman he accidentally scared off. And of course, the man she replaced him with.
But Kurt brings baggage they never expected. When the chemistry between Ariella and Ian reignites, his fragile ego snaps, and he lashes out. Can they survive the monster in their midst? Or will the haunted farmhouse fill with fresh blood?
A coup in a neighboring kingdom brings threats of invasion and fire to Priestess Rising Veliana’s home in the forest. Under the guidance of her goddess, The Allmother, she forms an alliance with the deposed prince, Tyrvahn, and his ex, Garle, the leader of a rebellion that’s been brewing for years.
But Garle has many secrets, one of which could unravel Veliana and Tyrvahn’s budding romance and the future of these uneasy alliances. Veliana’s best friend, Kivala, tries to soften Garle with the ways of their fallen homeland, but what she learns chills her to her core.
At war with a vicious man twisted by the god of greed, they can’t afford to fight amongst themselves. Can they overcome their differences to save their home and their goddess from the new king? Or will the forests burn over blood-soaked earth?
Fans of magic and grit, high stakes and godly secrets will love this dark high fantasy novel with straight and LGBT romance.
Ness, a demi-demon with a conscience, just wanted a peaceful afternoon in the Forest of Immortals. But Elias, a reckless mortal, went and spoiled it. Not that he wanted to be chased by psychotic vampires.
After saving his life, Ness agrees to help him find his estranged father and his Pack. But that means facing Nolan, the werewolf ex that holds her heart.
Now, Ness must decide. Use Elias to forget Nolan at the cost of his soul or crawl back to her ex and hope he still wants her even though she broke his heart.
But when the vampires come calling, broken hearts might be the least of their worries.
Fans of gritty fiction, compelling romance, and imaginative takes on magic and the afterlife will love this dark paranormal high fantasy romance.
Fading into unconsciousness, Christian watches psychotic thugs drag his sister-in-law and nephew away to suffer in the city they just escaped. Left for dead near his brother’s corpse, he has but one hope for survival, rely on the pretty stranger who stumbled across him. Not exactly smart after the apocalypse.
Encumbered by the lingering effects of her own violent past, Chloe struggles against her need for independence. Trusting a stranger found lying in the snow is risky, to say the least. Yet, she patches him up.
As they strive to rebuild their hearts, the harsh world they’ve been thrust into promises to tear them apart. Because Christian’s rescue attempt can’t wait. Every second in Chloe’s idyllic hometown means another second of pain for Christian’s family, leaving Chloe with a choice. Risk her life to help Christian save his family? Or condemn them all to a slow death?
Having lived beneath the rule of a vicious dictator all her life, Kiluna is no stranger to hardship. And yet, she holds hope. Her grandmother’s tales of peaceful times, together with whisperings of a magical gem, buoyed her spirits even in the most dire times. Everyone has a breaking point, though, and Kiluna is no different.
After the brutal murder of her grandmother, she can stand it no longer. She sets off, determined to free her people, even if it means venturing through mysterious forests inhabited by outlaws, soon finding that one in particular may be a danger to her heart. But she must go, for only one thing is powerful enough to save her people… The Gem of Meruna.
A new dragon has risen. Impossible, but true.
When the marks of the Soul Bearer burn themselves into Aurisye’s flesh, none can deny what she is. Illegitimate daughter of the hero who died nearly thirty years ago after killing the last dragon. The only person who can truly kill the dragon that terrorizes them, now. But Soul Bearers have always been human, and Aurisye is…not. Part Orc, oppression is her oldest friend.
Yet, her companion is chosen wisely. Now, Rafnor, a tolerant soldier sent by the Human monarchs, must teach her all things combat. But time is limited, and her sarcastic defenses try even his patience.
Amidst political strife with the Elves and all-out war with the Orcs, they must come together to prevent the merciless destruction of all three realms…Even as the Elven royals plot to tear them apart to secure an Elven heir to the Soul Bearer blood.
Brutalized, traumatized, and cast out, Annabelle has nothing for comfort save the darkness festering in her own soul. Nourishing the terrible seed of hatred planted by her attacker, she sets out to cauterize the wound. In the old American west, she ventures from one dirty, dusty town to another, doling out her own brand of justice, armed with nothing but a weaponized parasol. Unfettered by notions of black and white morality, the piper is coming. It’s time to pay up.
Coming soon:
The Regonia Chronicles
Dark sci-fi epic with romance
Two alien species, complete with a unique language. New worlds to house them, plus… the end of Earth and humanity’s new beginning in space.
And…the characters go through some serious shit.
The First Abduction, Prequel One: Available for free to Newsletter subscribers
The Last Settlers, Prequel Two: Written
Awakening, Book One: Coming February 20, 2024
Faltering, Book Two: Coming June 11, 2024
Ascending, Book Three: Coming late 2024
Reckoning, Book Four: Coming early 2025
Standalone in Regonia universe (The Gem of Meruna): Published
Current WIPs:
Blood is Thicker
Literary Zombie Series
Broken people searching for family, safety, and acceptance while the world devolves into chaos. And lets not forget the zombies (aka The Evers).
The Monsters that Haunt Us, Book One
The Baggage We Bury, Book Two
The Wolves We Slaughter, Book Three
The Roads We Bleed Upon, Book Four
The Bodies We Burn, Book Five
All five books are fully written and in editing.
A Song of Sorrow & Sirens
Literary Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Alina, wolf shifter struggling with the sudden reemergence of her past, seeks a siren to wipe the memories away. But someone is making waves in the siren community, killing other sirens to steal their enchanted indentured servants.
And he has plans for Alina.
Standalone novel set in the universe of A Heart of Salt & Silver
First draft: Done. Edits commencing soon.
Short stories:
Vivification
Victorian romance short story, Straight and LGBT
Born of Heathen Gods
Victorian mystery/thriller short story
Available for free if you sign up to my newsletter.
Olly Olly Oxen Free
Horror/Flash Fiction
How long can she hide from him?
Other Ideas:
Shared Sight
Paranormal Thriller
Several unnamed high fantasy romance ideas, some straight, some LGBT
All this, plus tons of unnamed ideas that are still brewing. As you can see, there are a lot of irons in many fires. Genres and themes are flying all over the place. The common thread?
Emotion.
I want my work to make people feel something. As such… I don’t guarantee happy endings. Sometimes, a sad ending is true to the characters and the story itself, and if that’s what the book calls for, that’s what I write.
Prepare yourselves.
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