Karen Michelle Nutt's Blog, page 72

V is for Vampire

V is for Vampire

Stories about vampires can be found in almost every culture. Here are a few such legends:

Dearg-du

There are a few legends regarding the Dearg-due, the vampire-like creature in Ireland. Some of the Irish lore can be traced back before Christianity.

Dearg-du is rarely seen but when it does, it appears as a beautiful temptress. Very dangerous and not to be trusted according to Irish lore since it’s determined to suck the blood from it’s victim. 

In one such story, the creature is described as a beautiful pale woman who strolls the graveyards at night. She uses her beauty like a weapon, luring men to her. Her kiss keeps them under her spell, while she drains them of their blood. Ireland's most famous Dearg-du is supposedly buried beneath Strongbow’s tree in the village of Waterford.

Baobhan Sith

The White Women of the Scottish highlands. These women are ghostlike vampires who assume the shape of beautiful women and invite men to dance with them, and drink their blood.

Chiang-shi

This vampire is a white haired green-faced vampire with powers of flight and transfiguration that draws their strength from the Moon. Some appear more puppet-like, striding along in a Zombie-like trance.

 Nachzehrer

This is a German shape-shifting vampire with psychic powers. It feasts on the bodies of the dead and the blood and energy of the living.

Upyr

This Russian vampire is considered to be extremely vicious. It will first attack children and then kill the parents.  Upyr rises during the day and sleeps at night. In doing so, it has a fairly human appearance.

In Love’s Eternal Embrace, a Dearg-du terrorizes a local village. A knight, home from his travels, vows to rid the forest of the fiend, only the Dearg-due is not what he expected.

Twilight’s Eternal Embrace is my own legend of the Oiche Sith and the Lathe Sith clans, the beginning when the vampire clans lived among the humans.

I tweaked the legend of the chiang-shi, and the Autumn Moon festival to create my tale Autumn Moon.

In Soul Taker, Garran is from the Grim Sith sept, a vampire clan created by a rogue Baobhan Sith.

What are some of your favorite vampire legends, books, and movies?

Here's the list to the other A to Z Challenge participants. Have fun hopping!!

U is for Urban Fantasy

U is for Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural qualities, while other urban fantasy stories have taken place in historical or futuristic settings, as well as a fictional setting.

The difference between an urban fantasy tale and a paranormal romance novel is the romantic relationships. In paranormal tales, the outside forces affect the relationship. In urban fantasy tales, the story focuses on the issues other than the romance. Most likely if you removed the romance from the story, you would still have a viable tale.

A Fun fact

The term urban fantasy to describe fiction books, or television and movies, wasn’t used until the 1980s.

List of Urban Fantasy TV shows

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Supernatural

Lost Girl

Beauty and the Beast

Moonlight

Grimm

Urban Fantasy Books and Authors

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne

Vampire Huntress series by L.A. Banks

Patricia Briggs’ books

Modern Faerie Tales series by Holy Black

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

My Urban Fantasy Tales

Soul Taker is an urban fantasy set in contemporary Boston.

No soul is safe…

A vampire from the Grim Sith sept is sucking the souls out of young women from the Boston area, but this sinister crime is far worse than a vampire seeking substance. He’s selling the souls to the highest bidder and it seems business is booming.

A vampire, a werewolf, and a Necromancer are a most unlikely team, but Garran, Harrison, and Isabella plan on putting a kink in the dubbed Soul Taker’s plans. It’s personal now. One of their friends has fallen victim to the Soul Taker’s charms, but to stop him from hurting anyone else, their efforts may involve raising the dead.

E-book Available at:  Amazon Kindle   Barnes and Noble

Lucca: Warriors for the Light takes place in contemporary Southern California.

Lucca Marlowe is half human, half angel, one of the Nephilim. Banished for crimes against one of his fellow brethren, the elders bind his glamour and wings, casting him to the human's realm. He'll either learn to respect his human side of existence or live out eternity trying.

Lucca does not live a mundane life. Angels and demons demand he do their bidding. His estrange father resurfaces after centuries of being absent and he's brought a friend from Hell.

To make his life more complicated, he fears he found his soul mate in a human female. Only Juliet Romeo has a secret that will bring the wrath of Heaven down upon their heads.It's a race against time to find out who will end up with his soul.  E-Book Amazon Kindle Nook

T is for Time Travel

This is the 20th day of the A to Z Challenge.

T is for Time Travel

H.G. Wells lived in a time where thoughts of traveling to the moon were nothing but a fantasy, but he held fast to the belief that we would one day accomplish the feat. He also envisioned that we would accomplish a way to travel through time. Could he have been onto something?

In truth, we are all time travelers now. Time is the rate of change and we are constantly changing. We measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, and years. However, time doesn’t flow at the same rate. In our world time is relative. We live in the three spatial dimensions of length, width, and depth, while time is the fourth dimension. Time cannot exist without space. So space obviously cannot exist without time. Right? The two exist as one in the ‘space-time continuum’. Does anyone remember ‘Back to the Future’? Everything that happens to you, every life event, every moment, involves both time and space.

Einstein’s theory of relativity has proven time travel to the future is possible, but how about the past? Did you know when you glance at the night sky and see the Milky Way we’re looking at a width of 100,000 light-years wide? The distant stars’ light takes thousands upon thousands of years to reach Earth. So when we gaze upon this light, we are actually looking back in time.

If it were possible, would you want to time travel to the future or to the past?

List of My Time Travel Tales:

Creighton Manor (1870 Natchez) 
A Twist of Fate (1814 N.Carolina/New Orleans)
At the Stroke of Midnight (1970 Hollywood)
Lost in the Mist of Time (16th Century Ireland)
Heart of a Warrior (Travel the Isle of Skye in the fantasy short story)

Storm Riders (1800s Western Steam Punk Adventure) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judge Your Book By Its Cover

Katrina Gillian and I opened, Judge Your Book By Its Cover. Choose your next book cover with us. We have reasonable prices, and we'll work with you to make the perfect cover for your next best seller!

 

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too!

 

 

S is for Steampunk

S is for Steampunk

Steampunk is a new sub-genre where science fiction, fantasy, alternate history or speculative fiction come into play.

Works of steampunk have been set in the Victorian era with futuristic innovations as the Victorians had envisioned. Prime example is H.G. Well’s, Jules Verne’s, and Mary Shelley tales. One of my favorite authors, Tim Powers combined time travel and fantasy for his steampunk tale, The Anubis Gate.

However, steampunk isn’t just for the Victorian era. The Wild Wild West T.V. series was a prime example of steampunk set in the wild west. The series told the story of two Secret Service agents. One was a gunslinger that was played by Robert Conrad and Ross Martin played the brilliant gadgeteer. Their mission was to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States from danger. The agents traveled in their own train, which of course had a stable car set up as a laboratory. The show had everything, cowboys, spies and villains. The stories combined science fiction and an alternate history. It was a James Bond tale set in the wild west. There were always clever gadgets, beautiful women and of course a delusional villain. In the 90s they retold the story in a movie with starring Will Smith.

My steampunk western, Storm Rider takes place in the mining town in Bodie, California. The Storm Riders ride the storms for time travel. Their mission is to keep the time line flowing. There are three destines, three paths for each decision a person makes, but if one of the roads becomes tangled, a Storm Rider must step in and repair the rift before the dimensions collide. I’ve combined the western, fantasy (time travel), and historical elements for my tale. Imagine the wild west if the future stopped by for a visit.

Have you read any Steampunk themed books? Movies? Please share.

 

Storm Riders (steam punk/western/time travel)

Three destinies, three paths for each decision a person makes, but if one of the roads becomes tangled, a Storm Rider must step in and repair the rift before the dimensions collide.

 

Samantha Skelley and Denny Randeli are sent to 1879 Bodie, California, one of the wildest towns of the west. It should have been an easy snatch and rescue, but Ace McTavish is determined to put himself in harms way. Samantha and Denny are forced to help him with his plans before they take the next storm ride home.

E-book Available at:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble NOOK

 

***Free Photos from Desktop Nexus

Snippet Sunday: Magic of the Loch (Chapter One #1) #SPeekSunday #8sunday #snippetsunday

Hello Sunday Readers!

I hope all is well with you and yours. What have you been up to? Love to know.

This month I'm participating in the A to Z Challenge. Come by each day for a new post. Next up is S is for Steampunk. The post goes live Monday Morning. Hop to the other participants' blogs. Meet new people and have lots of fun!

CREIGHTON MANOR is free at Amazon. This Earth Day special offer ends tonight.

There's a Goodreads Giveaway for SOUL TAKER going on right now, too. See the sidebar to enter for a chance to win a print copy of this Urban Fantasy!

Now for Snippet Sunday. This is another snippet from Magic of the Loch. We completed the snippets for "The Legend of the Loch" last week. Today's snippet is from Chapter One and takes place in present day. This is the first time Michaela meets Alan.

The Wild Rose Press

Kindle

NOOK

Blurb:

Michaela Grant travels to Scotland for a holiday, knowing this vacation is her last. A medical condition threatens her life and any chance of a future—until she meets Alan MacLachlin, a man forced to exist between two worlds.

Alan is the legendary Loch Ness Monster. Once every fifty years he returns to human form in search of his soul mate, the one woman who can break his curse. He believes he has found forever with Michaela, but to claim it he must figure out how to save her life.

Michaela and Alan vow to take what time has to offer, but another threat looms. A sinister shape shifter with a vendetta against Alan is making Loch Ness his personal hunting ground. Now he’s threatening Michaela. Alan must discover who the shifter is and stop him before it’s too late.

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Set up for the snippet: Present day, Chapter One. The streets of Drumnadrochit were buzzing with the news of recent sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. Everyone wants to capture his or her own photo of the legendary creature.  The woman, Michaela is renting her cottage from, gave her the directions to where she could rent a boat for a day. Michaela is on the pier, heading toward the boat tied off at the end when a German shepherd, that is chasing a cat, comes barreling down the pier...

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Now for the Snippet:

Michaela tried to sidestep, but the dog’s large body bumped against her, causing her to lose her

balance. She let out a yelp. Her arms reached out in desperation to grab some invisible rope and stop her fall into the icy waters below. Strong hands came out of nowhere, yanking her back and steadying her. “Easy now, I got ye, lassie.” His voice was whiskey worn, deep and flavored with a Scottish brogue, indicating a local resident. Her fingers gripped strong muscled forearms as her gaze sought out her would-be-rescuer. Her jaw dropped and she stared for a full two seconds, admiring the tall, dark and handsome Scotsman.

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Like always, I would love to know what you thought of the snippet.

If you’re a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us and share a snippet of your work in progress, a new release, or an oldie but goodie.

Participating Authors are listed at these sites: Hashtags: #SPeekSunday #8sunday #snippetsunday

http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.com/

Weekend Writing Warriors for Eight Sentence Sunday

Snippet Sunday Facebook Group

Creighton Manor is #1 in the top 100 Time Travel Books!

Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free

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Karen Michelle Nutt
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R is for Romeo and Juliet vs. Cinderella

R is for Romeo and Juliet vs. Cinderella

Do you prefer reading romance stories or love stories? Did you realize there was a difference? I didn’t until I had my editor explain it to me.

Romances

A romance focuses on the immediate attraction, and there is one important element that makes a romance a romance, and that is the happy ending. Sure there can be other things happening in the story, but it isn’t the main focus of the tale. The goal is for the couple to be together, and live happily-ever-after.

Examples of Romance Stories

Cinderella

Johanna Lindsey’s books

Nora Roberts’s books

Love Story

A love story focuses on the growing love between the hero and heroine. Their relationship grows over time, and they may or may not end up together. The romance is not the main focus of the story.

Examples of Love Stories

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The Note Book by Nicholas Sparks

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Outlander by Diana Gabledon

Black Dagger Brotherhood Series

I like both romances and love stories. It all depends on my mood. Which do you prefer?

My tale Twilight's Eternal Embrace is a Love Story.

If Bram cannot find a way for Adryanna to survive the blooding ritual, the romance is doomed. They seek help from Sheerin, Bram’s cousin, who believes he’s found a way for the Lathe Sith to survive, but others in the Oiche Sith clan do not wish for them to succeed.

 Amazon

Barnes and Noble

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My time travels, Creighton Manor and Twist of Fate are love stories.

Zachary finds himself falling for Gillian's oddly charming ways despite the fact the woman claims to be from the future.

He doesn’t trust his wife, but he finds his heart softening to the woman his wife has become. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he's married to another woman and he’s fallen in love with her.

Books available at: Amazon

Earth Day Celebration! @KMNbooks @amazon #FreeRead @amazonkindle @DigitalBkToday @AmazonKindle

Tweets are truly appreciated! Share the news!

Earth Day Celebration! www.amazon.com/Creighton-Manor-ebook/... @KMNbooks @amazon #FreeRead @amazonkindle @DigitalBkToday @AmazonKindle

Celebrate Earth Day and treat yourself to a Free copy Creighton Manor 

(FREE April 20th to April 22nd. ) 

 

Available at:

Ebook: Amazon Kindle

Blurb: The last thing Gillian Metcalf remembers before she passes out is being aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, where she witnesses a dog disappearing as if it were a phantom. So how did she end up in 1870 and in a man's room aboard  the Ida Belle, traveling down the Mississippi?

Zachary Creighton, a gambler with one goal: to win back Creighton Manor. Marriage is not part of the plan, but since he is found with Gillian in his room, reputations are at stake, his included.To keep peace with his reluctant bride, he makes a bargain with her. He needs a tutor for his nephew Tyler, and she needs a roof over her head until they can annul their sham of a marriage. However, Zachary finds himself falling for Gillian's oddly charming ways despite the fact the woman claims to be from the future.

The gamble is trust, but will the stakes prove too high for Zachery to risk it all and win Gillian's heart?

Q is for Queen Mary Maritime Museum

This is the 16th day of the A to Z Challenge.

Q is for Queen Mary Maritime Museum

Do you have a favorite place you never grow tired of exploring? The Queen Mary is such a place for me, and I thought I would share the history of this magnificent ship!

The Queen Mary was bigger, faster and mightier than the Titanic.  She was constructed at the John Brown shipyard in Clyde, Scotland and made her maiden voyage on May 27, 1936. 

At one time, the Ocean liner hosted elaborate parties where royalty, world leaders and top entertainment figures enjoyed fine wine and seven course meals. 

From 1940-1946, she was transformed into a carrier ship aiding forces during World War II.  She is said to have carried over 760 thousand military personnel.  She was painted a drab-gray to keep her hidden in the misty waters, giving her the nickname “The Gray Ghost.”

The psychic Mable Fortescue-Harrison predicted that the Queen Mary would know its greatest fame when she no longer sailed.  It seems her prediction came true.  The ship is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is permanently docked in Long Beach, California. It contains the Hotel Queen Mary with 365 restored original First Class staterooms.  It has a maritime museum and has had numerous exhibits with the artifacts from the Titanic, the legendary Marilyn Monroe's personal possessions, and “Treasures of the Last Czar.” 

It hosts the Scottish Highland Games every February, Art Deco Festivals, The annual Halloween Terrorfest, and the Annual Long Beach Holiday Tree-Lighting Ceremony.

They've also hosted a “Ghostfest” a paranormal weekend. Where they held a spiritual investigation in hopes of finding poltergeists, and psychic phenomena. They focused on special after hours and late night tours. 

With so much to see and do, the Queen Mary attracts thousands of visitors every year whether it is to enjoy the exhibits or to experience first hand if she is truly haunted. 

The Queen Mary is a fascinating old ship with a rich history.  As any old structure with dim lighting, it can feel creepy and make noises that will make you jump.  So whether you are a skeptic or a firm believer in the paranormal, you’ll enjoy the different tours that are offered aboard the Queen Mary.

Here are a few of my stories that feature the Queen Mary.

The Spirit of Love (Ghost Story)

A tragic accident leaves Brynna and Travis devastated. Instead of turning to each other for comfort, they drift apart. However, they must complete one more assignment—set on an old ship, The Queen Mary, during Yule, one of the most haunted times in the Celtic calendar. It is believed souls of the dead prevail and anam cara—soul friends can visit.

Will Travis and Brynna confront the spirit of love, allowing them a chance to heal and find their way back to each other? Available at: Amazon

Creighton Manor (Time Travel)

The last thing Gillian Metcalf remembers before she passes out is being aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, where she witnesses a dog disappearing as if it were a phantom. So how did she end up in 1870 and in a man's room aboard  the Ida Belle, traveling down the Mississippi?

Zachary Creighton, a gambler with one goal: to win back Creighton Manor. Marriage is not part of the plan, but since he is found with Gillian in his room, reputations are at stake, his included.To keep peace with his reluctant bride, he makes a bargain with her. He needs a tutor for his nephew Tyler, and she needs a roof over her head until they can annul their sham of a marriage. However, Zachary finds himself falling for Gillian's oddly charming ways despite the fact the woman claims to be from the future.

The gamble is trust, but will the stakes prove too high for Zachery to risk it all and win Gillian's heart? Available at: Amazon

Here's the list to the other A to Z Challenge participants. Have fun hopping!!

***Photos were taken by myself or my husband.