Sweet Delight Series: Protect and Serve (#11) Bryan Keller New Release Blitz!

 

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Title:  Sweet Delight

Series: Protect and Serve (#11)

Author: Mikala Ash

Publisher: Changeling Press

Release Date: October 20, 2023

Heat Level: 5 - Erotica

Pairing: Male/Male/Male

Length: 95 pages

Genre: Action Adventure, Paranormal Women's Fiction, Romance, Bisexual, Multisexual & Pansexual, Military, Veterans, and First Responders, Multiple Partners, Second Editions, Shapeshifters, Vampires

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Love is the greatest shape shifter of all.

Love can be humanity's greatest strength -- or our biggest weakness.

The poet William Blake knew this, and for the longest time I felt as though I'd been born into his Endless Night, my life destined for eternal misery. Tragedy stalked me with the persistence of an insatiable tiger: the death of my mother, my mistaken belief I had caused the death of my partner, Detective Mal Blake, the betrayal by Anton, my lover of three years, and his subsequent death at the hands of a demon of the worst sort.

But then, out of nowhere, Mal returned to me, and with him came Tommy, a divinely beautiful shifter. For almost half a year we've been inseparable, a threesome in every meaning of the word.

My name is Ciara Callaghan. I'm a cop, and I thought I'd seen love from both sides, seen both the best and the worst it can do.

I was wrong.

The worst is yet to come.

Publisher's Note: Although this story can be read as a standalone, the characters were first introduced in Endless Night, then appeared in Realm of Night. The books are understood best when read sequentially.

Copyright ©2023 Mikala Ash

I used to love poetry. Now I don't trust poets as far as I can spit.

They tantalize us with seemingly profound thoughts and evocative images, beguiling us, fooling us into believing they know something about the human condition. Now I think they are as ignorant and scared as the rest of us, arranging their pretty words not to reveal the secrets of life, but to quell their own deep disquiet.

I wondered, as I gazed at Tommy's lacerated chest, what would the poets make of that? My eyes lingered on his erect cock with barely controlled lust. He was beautiful, not just physically, but spiritually as well. He was an honorable man, brave, thoughtful and wise in a nerdy way. I was so lucky to have him in my life. That he lay there so close to death broke my heart.

I guess the poets have expended many words on the subject of broken hearts, but to me, at that moment they were just empty platitudes.

Since I was a little girl my favorite poet has been William Blake, mainly because of his references to animals, "Tyger Tyger" and all that. Not a surprising choice for a shifter, and his words had seduced me with their hints of dark and mysterious knowledge. He was deeply spiritual, and the religious underpinnings of his writing escape me, but I sometimes wondered if he was a shifter himself. He seemed to have an affinity with wild creatures, and for most of my life I believed he knew our souls.

For the longest time I'd felt as though I'd been born into his Endless Night; my life destined for eternal misery. Tragedy stalked me with the persistence of an implacable tiger: the violent death of my mother, my mistaken belief I had caused Mal's death, the betrayal by Anton, my lover of three years, and his subsequent death at the hands of a demon of the worst sort. But then, out of nowhere, Mal had returned to me, and with him came Tommy, this divinely beautiful shifter.

I dragged my eyes away from his beautiful but tortured body, and tried to think more positive thoughts.

Never in my life had I known such happiness. That I could attract the love of two exceptional men had not been in my stars; not by a long shot. Sure, we'd been busy killing demons along the width and breadth of the entire country, but we always found time for passion, and we often joked we were "fucking like demons." It kept us sane. I thought my life had turned around, and I'd been blessed with the poet's blessed state of Sweet Delight.

Then, slowly at first, things began to change. Mal became distant, quiet and secretive, so that sometimes it felt like just me and Tommy, though there were three of us in the bed. His participation in our lovemaking lacked enthusiasm. Sure, his cock was hard when I sucked him, and when I climbed on top he went through the motions, but no longer with the passion I'd craved for the three years he'd been gone. It was as if he was somewhere else, thinking thoughts that Tommy and I could not share.

That widening gulf between us hurt like a claw raking through my breast.

Mal had been more and more distant in the fortnight before we'd tracked down Sheldon Hicks. Since the battle in the warehouse, I'd hardly seen Mal. He was out hunting demons, and no, I couldn't go with him. Someone had to stay and watch Tommy.

I gazed at Tommy's torn flesh. He'd been ripped open from neck to crotch. There'd been so much blood. The sound of my own screams, begging Mal to help him, still echoed in my dreams.

After Mal had dispatched the demon, he'd seen us, and with effortless strength, he'd scooped us up into his arms and carried us to our car. He'd driven us to Doctor Fraser, the so-called "shifter healer" who'd originally saved Tommy years ago when Mal, then a humble detective, had found him lying by the side of the road.

Doctor Fraser had patched him up this time as well, and after a week where Tommy's life had hung in the balance, he'd let us bring him home.

That was three weeks ago.

Watching him made me think of how scared I was he would die, how alone I would be if he left me. Each moment was so precious. It mirrored the abject despair I'd experienced when I'd thought Mal was dead.

I thought about all the time we'd been together... a short six months... so many moments joined together. Like knots tied in a piece of string, one thought led to another, and inevitably turned to memories of my mother. She'd been a tortured soul, and we were always on the run from something. I was born in Louisiana, spent my infant days on a tuna boat in the Pacific, happily raised in Australia, and then returned to the United States when I was ten after Mother's brutal murder. Apparently one of her adventures on the wrong side of the law had gone seriously wrong.

Now Mal was distant, and Tommy was so badly injured, I wanted this all to be over. I wanted to be happy again, like I'd been on the golden Australian beaches...

Purchase at Changeling Press

Aussie Mikala Ash used to be a mild-mannered training & development consultant by day, and a wild sci-fi and paranormal adventure writer by night. Now she is a brazen full-time writer and nature photographer who is concentrating on having among other things, “… bags, and bags of fun!” Mikala can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

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Double Cross My Heart by @quirahcasey Reveal! ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ #quirahcasey #DoubleCrossMyHeart #XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣

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Double Cross My Heart
Quirah Casey

Publication date: July 15th 2024
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Reverse Harem, Romance

Double cross my heart… and hope to survive.

I’m known as the architect.

But not even I could fix the damage the piton gang threatens to do to the structure of my barricaded heart.

The piton gang is a faceless enigma. Or at least they were until they kidnapped me. When they make me an offer I can’t refuse, I find myself thrown into their world.

It’s simple, we’ll help each other take my father down. We’ll steal his fortune and then we’ll part ways.

At least that’s what they think. They aren’t aware that I plan on double crossing them. Because after being betrayed one too many times I know it’s me versus the world.

Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.
But as I find myself in the clutches of the three most tempting men I’ve ever met, suddenly my plans are thrown out the window.

Double Cross My Heart is a standalone reverse harem romance with a fierce heroine and a trio made up of temptation and deceit.

Pre-order

Quirah is still a new author, but not new to writing. She has been writing since the first grade, and has been winning awards since kindergarten, when she told her teacher about her trip to Chicago. Her teacher wrote down the story for her and she won the young authors contest at 5 years old! Quirah plans on working hard in the next couple of years to publish as many books as possible from her chöąts world.

In the meantime, catch up and follow Quirah online at the following links below.

Quirah’s Reader Group / Book Cover Group / Facebook Author Page / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram

Fugitive Series: The Steele Pack, Book Two by GiGi DeGraham New Release Blitz!

 

Title:  Fugitive

Series: The Steele Pack, Book Two

Author: GiGi DeGraham

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 10/24/2023

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 92500

Genre: Paranormal, contemporary, paranormal, magic/magic users, romance, gay, shifters, genderqueer/genderfluid, asexual, interracial, action/adventure, dark, suspense, tribal politics/spiritual beliefs, off-grid living/isolation, subsistence/hunting, soulmates, rivals to lovers, second chance, graphic violence/tribal warfare, mysterious wolves, soulmates, cross-dressing

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Ryan is stubborn, he always has been. Patience has never been Thomas’s best trait. It’s been nine lonely years. Ryan thought Thomas was dead. Some secrets can’t be told. There are rules and laws that can’t be broken and often unreasonable Gods enforcing them. It’s going to be an uphill climb to fight for Ryan’s forgiveness. All Thomas wants is to spend the rest of his life with his soulmate (even if he is a fugitive), for them to have the picture-perfect life they always dreamed of together. They’ve finally got their chance to have it all, but…

The Bellum Pack is coming, and that can only mean one thing.

Thomas doesn’t have time to plan a war, win back his soulmate, and worry about his best friend, Penn, and whatever he’s got going on with the worst Pillar of all. How does the sweetest guy fall for their most feared God?

Thomas has to figure out how to keep Ryan safe and protect his entire pack from the encroaching war-hungry Wolves. As if that weren’t enough, having Tristan Steele, a human, as his Alpha might be what pushes Thomas over the edge, not to mention keeping Penn’s heart from getting broken. And somehow, he has to manage it all without burning down their world.

Fugitive

GiGi DeGraham © 2023

All Rights Reserved

His eyes were fixed on the classic red and gleaming chrome Peterbilt emblem in the center of the hood. That oval was all he could see as 80,000 pounds of semitruck and trailer barreled out of control across the median towards them. An unharnessed scream ripped from Thomas as he yanked furiously on the steel handcuffs and chains bolting him to the van floor.

Seconds—he only had seconds.

Time stalled as Death lifted its fist to pound on the front door.

“Oh my God,” the driver yelled and jerked the wheel of the transport van hard to the right. The collective fear was as abrupt as the jolt of the vehicle. Men screamed for their lives.

The unavoidable impact was a bomb exploding, in slow motion, frame-by-frame—a force as powerful as the fist of Muhammad Ali. The collision knocked all the air out of the world around Thomas, out of him. Oxygen ripped from him in a terrifying vacuum, creating a breathless panicking void, where all he heard was the internal lack of gasping in the eighth round. Sucking desperately for denied air, Thomas was Foreman when he finally went down. Glass flew through the interior, suspended, as bodies hurled into the side of the van.

The guard in the front passenger seat was instantly ejected. There and then gone. Blood from the dying driver, who sat at the point of impact, rained, blowing back through the cargo area as the passenger van careened to the right as if propelled by a hurricane. They left the roadway, momentarily airborne, and crashed hard before flipping through the woods, tires over hood. Once, twice, and again in a blur, with the impacts breaking out the remaining windows and slamming the unbelted but chained passengers against the walls, then the ceiling, and finally the floor.

And oh, God—the screaming.

It broke the unbreathing silence—that deafened ringing in his ears as Thomas’s head struck the left side metal window frame. The inmate behind him, unnaturally twisted and flipped over, landed between Thomas and the window. His seatmate, a big guy, tatted with a heavy hand, lay over him on his right side. He had to be at least 250 on the hoof. Hot blood spat rhythmically from an artery onto Thomas’s body. For a moment, the air smelled like old patina-greened plumbing pipes. Or the smell of sweaty palms after clutching pennies to throw at your buddy’s bike wheel. Copper and mechanical mixed.

Somehow, in the chaos of the accident, Thomas had been sandwiched between a back passenger and his seatmate, now dead after bleeding out in only hot, pumping seconds. Even the big guy bled out fast in what seemed like gallons. Neither had their seatbelts on. Thomas opened one eye, and it was a meaty crimson bath inside the Econoline.

Thomas sucked in a second, at last, ragged full breath. It burned and now tasted and smelled like machine smoke and hot metal. If a nightmare could have a scent, this was it. Thomas’s heart pounded; his nose stung as more fumes mixed together. It was hard to breathe—toxic, heavy, and overwhelming. Bits of glass tinkled and clinked around him as they dropped from the now open window frames, releasing from their rubber seals just as the tumble cycle ended.

With tremoring hands, he lifted his chains against their attachment. The floor bolts and hasp jingled and clanked—his manacled hands now freed from their installation. A broken tree branch had pierced the van’s steel floor. Thomas traced the path of the limb where it kabobbed through tatt-man and the back of their shared bench seat. His head pounded with pain, and blood covered his left eye as he tried to blink it away. Gore soaked Thomas, and he wasn’t sure if it was even his own. And something was on fire, searing in his left arm.

“Is anyone okay?” Thomas cried out.

The real panic set in when there was no response. Nothing. No one screamed anymore. For a moment, he heard a gurgle behind him, a wet exhale, and then nothing. Just that heavy dripping and another steady sound. The smoke thickened, and the engine ticked even louder. Like a timed device warning Thomas with its steady tick, tick…before the boom. The message was clear.

Thomas twisted, worked his hands back beneath the behemoth slumped over him, and frantically felt for the seatbelt latch at his right side. He’d been the only one they belted. The first one picked up and the only transport from juvie. A juvenile transport liability rule had just saved his life. Jesus Christ, he had to get out of here right now.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Thomas yelled over his wet, fumbling fingers. His fine motor skills were forgotten until finally, the clasp released its deadly hold on the buckle.

Frantic, he worked to maneuver the belt off and then wiggled and slid his way out from under the impaled passenger. Thomas turned back to him to check for a pulse, but he was dead. Thomas didn’t have time to feel bad for him, but he still did. No one deserved to go out like that. He looked to the guy pretzeled half in and half out of the side window. His leg was gone from the knee down, his skin already ghostly white. His eyes were wide open, mouth frozen in a dying scream. The other three inmates were a fresh Jackson Pollock on white metal.

Thomas swallowed hard, trying to thrust down the emotions that wanted to well, and assessed himself, wiping his eye with his shoulder. He couldn’t see out of one but looked around wildly with the other. Everyone was dead, and Thomas screamed. He scared-shitless screamed. Thomas dumbly shook his seatmate with his cuffed hands, unwilling to be in this nightmare alone.

Something popped towards the front of the van, and there was a crack. A splitting of wood, and the van jerked forward in a hard punch. Thomas looked through the opening, where the windshield should have been, to where the van clung precariously at the edge of a drop-off. He was the front car fool approaching the high pause of a rollercoaster, only hearing the clicking countdown before the shit-your-pants plummet.

“Help!” Thomas tried to yell through the smoke.

Get out now, then run…from one of the voices inside his head. Thomas had heard this voice so many times before and didn’t question it now. He scrambled over the passenger hanging from the window, clinging to his body like a ladder, then slid over him and dropped to the ground. He looked around—frantic for his bag of personal property—his letters.

RUN!

NineStar Press | Books2Read

GiGi DeGraham lives, plays, and learns in New Orleans. She is a proud southerner and enjoys fixing up old houses and writing. Most of her story and character ideas develop while sanding and painting. She loves to roller skate and has a favorite author-named cat called Irving, after Washington Irving. You’ll always find her with an audiobook in her ear and listening to everything narrated by Kirt Graves. 

 GiGi prefers the outdoors when the weather permits, going on rock and fossil hunts or visiting local rock shops. Otherwise, she’s clacking away at her keyboard until the wee hours. GiGi firmly believes downtime should be spent on a porch swing. GiGi is a life-long supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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The Merchant’s Dilemma By Carolyn Hughes Blog Tour! @writingcalliope @cathiedunn @thecoffeepotbookclub

 

Book Title: The Merchant’s Dilemma, a Meonbridge Chronicles Companion Novel

Series: The Meonbridge Chronicles

Author: Carolyn Hughes

Publication Date: 20th September 2023

Publisher: Riverdown Books

Page Length: 232

Genre: Historical Fiction

#Medieval #HistoricalFiction #Meonbridge #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub #CPBC

1362. Winchester. Seven months ago, accused of bringing plague and death from Winchester, Bea Ward was hounded out of Meonbridge by her former friends and neighbours. Finding food and shelter where she could, she struggled to make her way back to Winchester again.

Yet, once she arrived, she wondered why she’d come.

For her former lover – the love of her life – Riccardo Marchaunt, had married a year ago. And she no longer had the strength to go back to her old life on the streets. Frail, destitute and homeless, she was reduced to begging. Then, in January, during a tumultuous and destructive storm, she found herself on Riccardo’s doorstep. She had no plan, beyond hoping he might help her, or at least provide a final resting place for her poor body.

When Bea awakes to find she’s lying in Riccardo’s bed once more, she’s thankful, thrilled, but mystified. But she soon learns that his wife died four months ago, along with their newborn son, and finds too that Riccardo loves her now as much as he ever did, and wants to make her his wife. But can he? And, even if he can, could she ever really be a proper merchant’s wife?

Riccardo could not have been more relieved to find Bea still alive, when he thought he had lost her forever. She had been close to death, but is now recovering her health. He adores her and wants her to be his wife. But how? His father would forbid such an “unfitting” match, on pain of denying him his inheritance. And what would his fellow merchants think of it? And their haughty wives?

Yet, Riccardo is determined that Bea will be his wife. He has to find a solution to his dilemma… With the help of his beloved mother, Emilia, and her close friend, Cecily, he hatches a plan to make it happen.

But even the best laid plans sometimes go awry. And the path of love never did run smooth…

The Merchant’s Dilemma is a companion novel to the main series of Meonbridge Chronicles, and continues the story of Bea and Riccardo after the end of the fourth Chronicle, Children’s Fate. It is a little more romantic and light-hearted than the other Chronicles but, if you’ve enjoyed reading about the lives of the characters of Meonbridge, you will almost certainly enjoy reading The Merchant’s Dilemma too!

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon AU

Amazon CA

EXCERPT 5 FROM THE MERCHANT’S DILEMMA

From Chapter 2

Riccardo had been out all morning, meeting clients. He returned home at the usual time, as the church bells throughout the city were ringing the hour of Sext, knowing Mistress Collyton would have his dinner ready. A chilly wind was scudding through the streets, and even the thickness of his best winter cloak was unable to stop him shivering. He was glad to close the heavy door behind him and feel the warmth of the hall fire seeping down the passage.

He threw off his cloak and hood and hung them on the peg just inside the door. Then he strode down the passage to the hall, where he expected to see the table laid in readiness for his arrival. It was, but it wasn’t the table that drew his immediate attention.

At that moment, Mistress Collyton appeared at his elbow. ‘You got comp’ny for dinner today, sir.’

‘So I see,’ he said and held out his hands to Bea, who was sitting in the cushioned chair next to the hearth. ‘How pleased I am to see you down here at last, my love. You must be feeling stronger?’

‘Strong enough, as long as Mistress Collyton helps me with the stairs.’

‘We took it slow, sir, but she certainly ain’t so weakly as she were.’

Riccardo took one of Bea’s hands in his and kissed it. She had been so very fragile, just a month ago, it was a wonder to see her now. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes brighter and, beneath the new gown he had bought her especially for this day, her body was clearly no longer so thin and frail that he feared her bones might snap.

How relieved he was she had responded so well to the care he – and, much more so, Mistress Collyton – had given her. Pulling gently on the hand he held, he drew her to her feet. ‘Shall we eat?’

‘Yes, but still only a little, I think.’

‘Of course. It undoubtedly takes time for the body to reaccustom itself to eating, when it has had so little for so long. But, as each day passes, I daresay you will take a few more morsels than the day before.’

‘My eyes were fairly feasting earlier on Mistress Collyton’s delicious cooking, but I know I must be cautious still.’

They sat together at the table and the housekeeper scuttled off to fetch the dishes she had prepared. It was simple fare, a stew of pork and boiled greens, then a pudding made from apples picked last autumn in the garden.

Bea sipped several spoonsful of the gravy, nibbled at a morsel or two of meat, and took a mouthful of cabbage. Then she sat back. ‘I do wish I could eat more.’ She laid a hand lightly upon her stomach. ‘But I’m already full.’ She pressed her lips together in a pout. ‘Yet I was hoping to try a little of the pudding. I watched Mistress Collyton make it, with the little apples she still has in the store.’

‘Maybe let what you have eaten settle, then try a tiny portion?’ Riccardo gave her a broad smile, yet he was still anxious about her. It might be months before she was eating normally. He could see too she was exhausted from her morning’s efforts. He wished he had some idea how long it should take for her to recover fully, but he hoped it would be soon.

Carolyn Hughes has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.

Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!

Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in 14th century rural England… Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she’d be able to both learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, was under way.

Six published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Carolyn has a Master’s in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.

You can connect with Carolyn through her

website www.carolynhughesauthor.com and

social media.

Website:

Twitter:

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Book Bub:

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His Assistant’s New York Awakening by @emmygrayson_scarlettclarke Book Blitz! ⁣⁣#emmygrayson #HisAssistantsNewYorkAwakening #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

 

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His Assistant’s New York Awakening
Emmy Grayson

Published by: Harlequin Presents
Publication date: October 24th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Will the CEO be able to resist when she lays her passion on the boardroom table? Find out in this steamy office romance from Emmy Grayson.

 

He’s utterly off-limits…
and the only man she’s ever wanted!

Temporary assistant Evolet Grey has precisely the skills and experience to help Damon Bradford win the biggest contract in his company’s history. But she’s also maddeningly attractive and testing the iron grip the Manhattan CEO always has on his self-control…

Putting her needs first has never come easily to innocent Evolet. But she can barely think straight in her new boss’s presence! She’d be putting everything on the line by revealing the powerful attraction Damon has awoken, but would walking away from it be the biggest risk of all?

From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Harlequin

The music slid over Damon Bradford’s skin like a lover’s caress. He sipped his cocktail, the smooth taste of gin lingering on his tongue. Better to focus on that then the slow, languid heat spreading through his veins as he watched her.

The cellist.

Music had never been an important part of his life. He knew the difference between classical and rock, paid hefty sums for bands and singers to perform at the various functions he hosted throughout the year. But the actual music had always been background noise.

Whereas this…the rich, somber notes of her solo rising and falling with perfect precision, the languid tempo encouraging listeners to slow down, to forget the demands of life for just a moment…

It was unlike anything he’d ever heard before.

Just like the woman behind the cello was unlike anyone he had ever encountered before.

Emmy's interest in romance can be traced back to her love of Nancy Drew books, when she tried to solve the mysteries of her favorite detective while rereading the romantic chapters with Ned Nickerson. Fast-forward a few years when she discovered a worn copy of "A Rose in Winter" by Kathleen Woodiwiss on her mother's bookshelf, and she was hooked. Over 20 years later, Harlequin Presents made her dream come true by offering her a contract for her first book.

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Signed copy of His Assistant’s New York Awakening + $25 Amazon gift card Signed copy of His Assistant’s New York Awakening + $5 Amazon gift card (x2 winners)

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