Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 455

12 Days of Steampunk; Steampunk is Steam-tastic! Guest blog and Giveaway with Melanie Karsak

Haven’t sunk your teeth into a steampunk book yet? You’ve heard of the genre but are not sure what it’s all about? Today I give you the 12 Days of Steampunk! In other words, I will give you 12 great steampunk goods, books, films, and gadgets to try as you make your introduction to the steampunk genre!
Day 1: On the first day of steampunk, you should watch TV! Rent a copy of Wild Wild West with Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Absorb all the Weird West steampunk gadgets, lovely corsetry, and a unique scifi/fantasy environment!

Day 2: On the second day of steampunk, my true love stent to me, a steampunk book! Try a Jules Verne novel. The steampunk aesthetic in Verne’s work inspires many of today’s steampunk writers.
Day 3: On the third day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, fun steampunk clothes! Steampunk is not just a literary genre, it is a lifestyle! Steampunk clothing is beautiful and sexy. Depending on your taste, you can COS play lovely steampunk gowns of fun, sexy steampunk clothing such as created by Kato at Steampunk Couture! 

Day 4: On the fourth day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, steampunk art! Since steampunk is such a lovely aesthetic, there are many wonderful artists out there creating steampunk images. Check out artist Sue Beatrice of All Natural Arts and her famous steampunk fairy.

Day 5: On the fifth day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, 5 golden rings! Steampunk jewelery is amazing! So many talented artists are grafting unique, handmade items. Here is an example of a lovely steampunk ring by Cinders Jewelry Design

Day 6: On the 6th day of steampunk, my true love sent to me, a new steampunk movie. Want more steampunk movies? If you want to revel in some gaslamp goodness, try the League of Extraordinary Gentleman
Day 7: On the 7th day of Steampunk, my true love gave to me, 7 airships flying! Steampunk writers love airships. In many steampunk works, including mine, you will find a sky filled with flying balloons. There is a wide range of types of airships depicted in steampunk novels, from helium filled zeppelins to fantasy airships that look like floating sea vessels held aloft from balloons. Airships are often part of the steampunk aesthetic.
Day 8: On the 8th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, 8 maids a artifact hunting! In the years leading up to the Victorian period, fledgling field of archaeology, well somewhere between grave-robbing and archaeology, was underway. The notion of reclaiming the ancient world appears in many steampunk stories. In Chasing the Star Garden, Lily Stargazer and her crew find themselves in a hunt to recover an artifact from the ancient world in a true, Indiana Jones/Dan Brown adventure!
Day 9: On the 9th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, 9 hot steampunk men! Redneck zombie hunters and fabulous elven archers move over for leather clad, aether-riding airship pirates! Steampunk men are usually splendidly attired and very craft with their hands. Got love those tinkers!

Day 10: On the 10th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, 10 steampunk goggles. Steampunk has a thing with goggles. No steampunk outfit is complete until you have a pair of goggles!
Day 11: On the 11th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, a steampunk music CD! Did you know there is such a thing as steampunk music? It ranges from Victorian chamber music to steampunk rock. Steampunk band Abney Park is the most well-known amongst the many wonderful steampunk bands out there. 
Here is a link to their work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL557wdOvoA There is also a steampunk version of Imagine Dragon’s Radioactive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE2GCa-_nyU



Day 12: On the 12th day of steampunk, my true love gave to me, a copy of Chasing the Star Garden! Of course we need to cap off with a little gratuitous self-promotion, but that’s why we are here, right! I hope you enjoyed all the reasons why you might like steampunk! If you are interested in giving your first steampunk novel a try, check out Chasing the Star Garden!  Follow airship racer and opium addict Lily Stargazer as she chases true love and the stars!

 Please note, due to some sex scenes and drug use, this novel is best suited to a +16 crowd.

Chasing the Star Garden
The Airship Racing ChroniclesBook IMelanie Karsak
Genre: Alternative History/Gaslamp-Steampunk
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Date of Publication: December 4th, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615878775ISBN-10: 0615878776
Number of pages: 325Word Count:  70,000
Cover Artist: Damonza
Book Description:
An opium-addicted beauty.
An infamous poet living in self-imposed exile.
An ancient treasure about to fall into the wrong hands.
Melanie Karsak’s “Chasing the Star Garden” takes the reader on an exciting adventure from the gritty opium dens of gaslamp London to the gem-colored waters of the ancient world, introducing us Lily Stargazer, a loveable but reckless airship racer with a famous lover and a shattered past.
Lily Stargazer is having a bad day. She just lost the London leg of the 1823 Airship Grand Prix. To top it off, a harlequin fleeing from constables shoved a kaleidoscope down her pants, told her to fly to Venice, then threw himself from her airship tower.
What’s a girl to do? For Lily, the answer is easy: drink absinthe and smoke opium. 

Lily’s lover, Lord Byron, encourages her to make the trip to Venice. Lily soon finds herself at the heart of an ancient mystery which has her running from her past and chasing true love and the stars along the way.
About the Author:
Melanie Karsak grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania where there was an abysmal lack of entertainment, so she turned to reading and hiking. Apparently, rambling around the woods with a head full of fantasy worlds and characters will inspire you to become an author. Be warned. Melanie wrote her first novel, a gripping piece about a 1920s stage actress, when she was 12. A steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, and caffeine junkie, the author now resides in Florida with her husband and two children. Melanie is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.
Blog: www.melaniekarsak.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/MelanieKarsak
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMelanieKarsak
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/melaniekarsak/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6539577.Melanie_Karsak
Be sure to request an Authorgraph
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Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin

Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe
Rebecca Raisin
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Carina UK (Harlequin)
Date of Publication:  November 12th 2013
ASIN: B00GBZ3YD8
Number of pages: 52Word Count: 17, 750
Cover Artist: Carina UK
Amazon US             Amazon UK   Book Description:
Christmas is the season the Gingerbread Café was made for…but owner Lily couldn’t be feeling less merry if she tried. She’s spent another year dreaming of being whisked away on a sleigh-ride for two, but she’s facing festive season alone – again. And, just to give her another reason to feel anything other than candy-cane perky, a new shop across the road has opened… Not only is it selling baked goods, but the owner, with his seriously charming smile, has every girl in town swooning.

But Lily isn’t about to let her business crumble — the Gingerbread Café is the heart of the community, and she’s going to fight for it! This could be the Christmas that maybe, just maybe, all her dreams – even the someone-to-decorate-the-Christmas-tree-with ones – really do come true!
About the Author:Rebecca Raisin is a true bibliophile.This love of books morphed into the desire to write them. She’s been widely published in various short story anthologies, and in fiction magazines, and is now focusing on writing romance. The only downfall about writing about gorgeous men who have brains as well as brawn, is falling in love with them – just as well they’re fictional. Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships, and most importantly, believe in true love.

https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaRaisinAuthor
http://rebeccaraisin.wordpress.com
www.twitter.com/jaxandwillsmum
http://goo.gl/4GLfYz

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The Outsider Syndrome: Guest Blog and Giveaway with Shane Filer

I was walking in the street yesterday and thinking of how we all are essentially made of the same atoms. All the atoms which make up our world today and the life on it come from the same stars that exploded billions of years ago. So we are all at least on an atomic level, interrelated. We are related to each other human, animal and the planet we live on. So why do I feel so disconnected? Is it because we have built a society where we bump into each other like hurried molecules, without ever having a chemical reaction where we deeply connect and stick to others?
I know almost no one in the city, Wellington where I currently reside. These people may be made of the same material, yet I do not fit with them. I wonder if it’s purely because New Zealanders lack a long history or deep meaningful culture or even for that matter nice architecture, and are big weather and sport small talkers - hence the heavy reliance on drinking alcohol for socializing. MSN Travel readers recently (and not without reason) voted this country “The Most Boring Place on Earth”.
But does that mean I would fit somewhere else? Or is it that once you don't fit, you never will. That there is something different in me, which won't ever really connect with people anywhere? Is it once an outsider, always an outsider?
Briar, the agoraphobic main character in EXIT doesn’t fit.  She doesn’t want to pass through life doing the same things society says she should. She doesn’t want to be a mouse on a wheel. She wants to stop the wheel and escape from the cage. She is the white mouse. Uncertain and unsure of what lies beyond the cage. Is there a world she can survive in, or is the whole world hostile and dangerous and likely to eat up a small white mouse?
EXIT explores these questions, and questions within questions.
There is a certain romance to the idea of the outsider in art, especially literature. J.D. Salinger's marginalized anti-hero, Van Gogh, Dostoyevsky, Jack Kerouac, Morrissey, and James Dean. The outsider has become a celebrated part of culture.
As for me I guess I could move to France and live reclusively like Bridget Bardot - with a dozen cats. Now that sounds quite appealing.


ExitShane Filer
Genre: YA, General Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher: Biblio Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-62249-142-1
Number of pages: 222Word Count: 58,000
Cover Artist: Ekaterina Zagustina
Book Description:
"Did you know I spent the whole of my fifteenth year in my room?"
Briar’s impromptu, mid-afternoon confession stirs up distant memories of the lonely time she spent trapped in her home; suffering agoraphobia — fear of open spaces.   
Now it’s six years later.  
She’s free, but the year's isolation has left serious personality disorders; disorders which will resurface as she relates her own story, and that of those in her orbit; Melodie, a pretty valley girl who Briar desires to be, Justine, her oldest friend, who has her own dark secret, and Dermot, a man who thinks he's the reincarnation of Robin Hood — stealing from the rich to give to the poor. 
Slowly Dermot begins to draw Briar into his ever-so-exciting world, but who is leading whom on their slow descent into crime? Duel periods of Briar’s life intertwine like a rope around her neck as her lost year begins to overtake the present. It leads her to the answer to one very simple question:           “Is it what I always feared — am I losing my mind?”
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wedQg_Y7dHE
Author Interview Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpANm1NRvkU
About the Author:
Shane grew up in provincial New Zealand, a small place where options are small, were people wear PJs to the mall, a small place where dreams of being a writer or artist are not only actively discouraged, they are actively quashed. Nevertheless he fell in love with books, comics and writing at a young age and his early influences include Oscar Wilde, Alan Moore and Dr Seuss.
After many years of trying to get books, documentaries and films accepted in his own country, Shane gave up and settled for working in the fairly creative world of video-making and advertising.
A trip to Europe and the USA rekindled his love of writing, and he wrote the American-based novel ‘Exit,’ submitted it this time to American publishers and immediately, received several offers for the work. He chose one and ‘Exit’ will be released December 2nd 2013 in the USA as his first novel from Biblio Publishing.
It is the story of Briar Averill who spent a year trapped in her room, suffering from agophobia. Six years on, she’s free, yet ripples from the year's isolation still lap at the edges of her life, and that of her friends: Melodie, a pretty valley girl who she wishes she could be… Justine, her oldest friend, who has her own dark secret and Dermot who thinks he's the reincarnation of Robin Hood — stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Ripples echo down through the years, leading her to the answer to one very simple question: Is it what she always feared — is she losing her mind?
Shane has since had comic book scripts accepted in the UK by DC Thompson, publisher of the long-running ‘Commando’ comic, fulfilling yet another dream for his child-self.
He lives with a very old and very vocal Tonkinese cat, and they both dream of eloping together to the USA or Europe.
He likes oranges, orange juice, and orange furniture — in fact even the color orange. Why? Well, because it's the best color, of course. While he believes that being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be, he still enjoys ruining his appetite before dinner, and staying up past his bed time.
www.shanefiler.com
www.facebook.com/shanecfiler
www.twitter.com/shane_filer
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7365723.Shane_Filer


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Make Marketing Part of Your Daily Routine: Guest blog and Giveaway with Lisa Acerbo

Make Marketing Part of Your Daily RoutineLisa AcerboAuthors go through a moment of exaltation after writing their first book and seeing it for sale on Amazon, but what happens the day after it is released?  Most newbies need to help market their book, especially authors who have not yet built a large fan base. While not a comprehensive list, here are some marketing strategies to let others know about your novel. 1)     Tweet away.  Follow people on Twitter with similar interests, respond to other authors, and look at authors’ posts.  Review how authors market their books on Twitter and do the same.  Keep up with Twitter on a daily basis.  The more you tweet, the more you build an audience. 2)     The same goes for Facebook.  Post regularly and have friends, family, and fans like your page.  Be shameless.  You are a proud author.  Promote yourself.  It is also important to create a personal page and a page for the book.  Keep your private life -- private.  Your fans most likely do not want to see the hundred pictures of your cats, holiday parties, or family members.  If you can link Facebook, Twitter, and Google accounts, it will make it easier for you to post.  3)     Go on a virtual tour.  Many companies will host your book on a virtual tour for a reasonable price and help get the word out.  Bloggers are from all around the country and they have fans too.  Use a virtual tour to increase your exposure to new audiences.4)     Set up a Goodreads and Amazon Author account . On Goodreads, find and join the reading communities who are interested in similar genres. Find people on Goodreads willing to read and review your book. The more reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, the more likely someone will take a chance and buy your amazing story.  Don’t forget to provide interesting information about yourself in your bio and share what makes your novel a must read. 5)     Network.  Get out there.  Attend conferences and conventions.  I went to a local arts festival and had my best sales to date at the one-day event.  Take the time to talk to others and tell people about your story.  You’ll make a lot of new friends and fans as well.  Don’t forget other avenues such as LinkedIn.  While most people use LinkedIn to promote business expertise, feel free to gloat about your writing abilities.  The more people who know about your talents, the better.   Whatever happens, don’t give up.  I went to a huge Agricultural Fair and sold one book the entire day.  While there are disappointments, it is important to remember your have a unique talent to share.  Keep writing and promoting and your time and energy will pay off. 





ApocalipstickLisa Acerbo
Genre: Horror, paranormal romance, Urban fiction
Publisher:  Eternal Press
ISBN: 978-1-62929-017-1ISBN: 978-1-62929-018-8ASIN: B00EDYQUSA
Print Length: 206 pagesWord Count: 67,444
Cover Artist: Dawne Dominique
Book Description:
Jenna should be having the time of her life at college. Instead, her only desire is survival. She lives in a world gone insane after a virus kills most of the population. Being alive after the apocalypse is bad, but when the undead return, hungry for humans, times turn darker. For Jenna and a small group of survivors, the goal is to reach the High Point Inn. At the inn, Jenna develops feelings for Caleb, who, while exotic and intoxicating, is not quite human. Will this new utopia last?

About the Author:
Lisa Acerbo is a high school teacher and adjunct faculty at the University of Phoenix. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughters, three cats, and two horses. When not writing, she mountain bikes, hikes, and tries to pursue some type of further education--she's working towards an EdD.
www.Apocalipstickthebook.com
Twitter: @apocalipstick_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Apocalipstick/131636053705754
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18320279-apocalipstick




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Do You Believe in Ghosts? Guest blog with Stephanie Andrassy

Do You Believe in SantaGhosts?

Happy holidays, everyone!  Thanks for joining me here at Fang-tastic Books while I sit down to take a break from the hustle and bustle this time of year brings.  I’m enjoying a large mug of hot coffee and some freshly-baked gingerbread men; still warm from their time in the oven.  I wish I could share - these are really good!
There are only two more sleeps!!!  My munchkins are excitedly counting down the hours until that jolly dude dressed in red magically appears at the base of their tree to sprinkle pretty packages full of surprises and fill their stockings with chocolates and goodies.  How’s the energy in your house?  As crazy as mine with last minute preparations?
It’s interesting what we’ll tell our children and what we won’t.  I’ve vowed to never tell my children that Santa wasn’t real - no matter how old they get.  The magic, mystery, fun, and meaning are all very much real and alive to me, and many parents happily and willingly encourage those same beliefs.  At the same time, most parents probably wouldn’t encourage a belief in ghosts in the same way; especially when children are so prone to nightmares and worries about what’s lurking in their closets or under their beds.  In my household, we didn’t have much of a choice.
My munchkins have always had an awareness of the possibility of ghosts and spirits.  When my twins (son and daughter) were very small - around two years old - we lived in an older house with the ghost of an elderly man.  We’d be playing in the back yard and one of them would point to something up by the house and say, “Man!  Man!”  Of course, I couldn’t see anyone, but they were convinced they were seeing a man and frustrated that I didn’t see him, too.
My son and daughter shared a room at that time and had just recently graduated to “big kid beds”.  I walked into their room one day and found all of my son’s stuffed animals neatly and perfectly lined up along the headboard of his bed - between the headboard and the wall.  I was certain my husband was playing tricks (knowing we had this ghost lurking about), but he swore he hadn’t done it, and there was no way either one of my uncoordinated toddlers could have managed such a perfect display.  (At least a few of them would have been stuffed in there upside down or sideways!)
And then I saw him.  I woke up in the middle of the night and glanced across the room, and there he was - standing in the doorway.  He wasn’t looking directly at me, but you know I was sure as heck examining him in the darkness; wondering if I was actually seeing what I was seeing.  And you’d think I’d start screaming or pounding on my husband to wake him, but I didn’t.  I just wasn’t afraid - there wasn’t anything threatening about him at all.  Dressed in a three-piece suit complete with a gold chain leading to a pocket watch in his vest pocket, and wearing an unbuttoned overcoat, dress hat, and dress shoes, he just stared quietly, and a little sadly, into the room.  He reminded me of a banker from the 1920’s, and he seemed very, very old.  He didn’t move and I went back to sleep.  Yes - my “fear meter” was so low that I decided to go back to sleep while Mr. Ghost/Spirit was standing in my bedroom doorway!
I don’t know who he was and I’ll probably never sort that out in this lifetime.  I did investigate a whole boatload of possibilities to no avail - I couldn’t match his description with anyone related to us or the house.  We moved about a year or so later (I was sad to leave - that house always felt so welcoming), and as the kids didn’t appear to see him anymore, I don’t think our friend followed.  But we have experienced some other “odd” things over the years (and in different houses) - electric toothbrushes that suddenly turn on, the television suddenly changing channels, the jar candle suddenly sliding off the top of the television and onto the floor...  I once heard the sound of a large group of people socializing while I was in the bathroom with the ceiling fan running.  The voices were so clear; I actually went to the windows to see if there was a party happening outside!
I’ve also been on the receiving end of a handful of psychic readings over the years.  I’ll admit that the information has never been 100% meaningful, but when it is a hit (and there have been many of those) - it has been a direct, covered-in-goose-bumps hit.  Let me give you a recent example. 
Not long ago, I was wracking my brains trying to remember a name I’d loved as a teenager that I wanted to use for a character in Rocks Don’t Cry (the second book in the Home Series - Just Live, Juliette! being the first).  A couple of days into this exercise, I had an email exchange with a friend on the other side of the world who happens to have some psychic ability.  She didn’t know I was trying to remember a name, but innocently offered in one of her notes that she had a spirit standing next to her, rubbing her hair (head), and that her name was Anika.  I nearly fell off my chair!  That was the name!
I know there are those who are quite skeptical or firm non-believers.  In the absence of scientific evidence proving the existence of the afterlife, spirits, ghosts, etc., then the idea must be false.  (There’s never a scientist around to document the event when my television channels suddenly change.)  I think it’s quite healthy to have a dose of skepticism to protect oneself from scam artists and cult inductions, but with my first-hand experiences, I can’t help but stop and wonder about the possibilities.  Just Live, Juliette! and the Home Series is a chance to do just that - romance set within a landscape of possibilities - the parallel world of the afterlife.  And with my fascination about the topic, I’m sure you can imagine how much fun I’m having writing this series!  I hope you find the read as enjoyable.
So who will be visiting you over the holidays - the Spirit/Ghost of Christmas Past or just the jolly old elf, St. Nick?  Best wishes for 2014!
~~*~~
(The White Peacock, a short story and the beginning of this journey, is available for free at major ebook retailers.  Just Live, Juliette! is the first book in the Home Series and includes The White Peacock.  The second book, Rocks Don’t Cry, was released in October 2013.  At least four books are planned for this series with the third expected to be released in 2014.)
  Just Live, Juliette!The Home SeriesBook 1Stephanie Andrassy
Genre:Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: May 28, 2013ISBN: 9780991715718
Number of pages: 591
Word Count: 214,500
Amazon      iTunes      BN
Diesel    Kobo    Smashwords  Sony
Book Description:
You never know what the morning after has in store for you, especially after drinks at a bar, a perfect man, and a night of the best sex you have ever experienced. Rather than dancing through a field of daisies, Juliette may be pushing them up instead. She awakes to a world where everything is familiar and nothing is what it appears to be; where the key to endless love is learning to just live.
This is the first book in the Home series; a journey which began with the short story, "The White Peacock", included for your convenience and reading pleasure.



The White Peacock, is available from Smashwords and all major ebook retailers.  It is included at the beginning of Just Live, Juliette!, but if you like to collect cover art, feel free to download it as a separate file from Smashwords or your favorite ebook retailer.

"Juliette was the first to arrive for girl's night out at The White Peacock; a dull bar promising a lack of men on the prowl. She attracted many, yet felt they just weren't worth meeting, and after her last two disastrous dating efforts, a quiet bar suited her just fine. But in life, change is the only certainty. It is inevitable, in fact, and in the blink of an eye, her life would change forever."

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/300527

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About the Author:
Stephanie Andrassy is the coffeeholic author of Noble Lies, a fantasy romance, as well as the paranormal romance Home series.  Beginning with the free short story, The White Peacock, the journey within this supernatural series continues in Just Live, Juliette! (Home Series #1) and Rocks Don’t Cry (Home Series #2), and will be joined by at least two further books.
She holds a B.A. from the University of Guelph and presently resides in southern Ontario, Canada with her family.  An avid reader of romance, fantasy, drama, women's literature, suspense, and non-fiction; she’s been writing for her own personal pleasure since she was a child - a life-long love affair with the written word.
Readers are anticipating further new releases in 2014, including a sequel to Noble Lies and the next book in The Home Series.
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/S_Andrassy
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/StephanieAndrassy
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/Stephanie_Andrassy

Website: www.stephanieandrassy.com


December 16 Guest blogMythical Bookshttp://mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/
December 17 InterviewPembroke Sinclair.  pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com
December 18 SpotlightNicely PhrasedNicelyphrasedbookblog.com
December 19 InterviewThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
December 20 reviewRandom Reviews by Leannehttp://author-leanneherrera.blogspot.com
December 20 Spotlight and reviewPenny For Them...http://pennyforthemuk.com
December 23 Guest blogFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com



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Guest blog and Giveaway with C.T. Green

S.E.R.A.’s Supernaturals…
Fairy Godmothers might be the mainstay of the Supernatural Entity Recovery Agency but they’d have a greater chance of ending up as a greasy spot on the ground without the backup of a paranormal partner.
Each non-Godmother agent has a unique set of talents and characteristics—some more unusual than others. Featured below are a few of the supernaturals who work for S.E.R.A. and help keep Earth safe from the bad guys.

Vampires: Drinking blood is a very private thing for these guys and they only feed from someone they’re emotionally connected with. Sunlight makes them sleepy, but doesn’t cause them to spontaneously combust or sparkle. S.E.R.A. vampires smell like sugar-dipped lemons when they bond.
Phantoms: Always have two life partners—one of each gender—which fulfils an inherent, soul-deep need. Possessing off-the-chart power it’s a good thing these guys are pretty good-natured. Just don’t get between them and purple spandex.
Werewolves: These guys can turn into their wolf form at will, they bond for life and their saliva can be toxic to some other paranormal species. They have a support group ‘Fetch Anonymous’ to help addicted werewolves control their instinct to chase balls and sticks.Angels (Guardian): Everyone at S.E.R.A. knows angels are crazy, short-tempered and powerful. It doesn’t do to piss one off. Their wings can turn razor-sharp or disappear (handy when you don’t want to appear on the 6 o’clock news). ‘Halo’ by Beyonce is a favourite among these bruisers.

There are a number of other species who work for S.E.R.A., keep an eye out for these guys—because they might have their eye on you.






The S.E.R.A. FilesVolume 1C.T. Green
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Date of Publication: September 3, 2013
ISBN: 13:978-1-61935-293-3ASIN: B00EZB6R3Y
Number of pages: 105Word Count: 30, 290
Cover Artist: C.T. Green
http://bit.ly/SERAFiles
Book Description:
The S.E.R.A. Files Vol 1 – A series of 5 short stories
Story #1 - RECOVERING GABRIEL
Angels are trouble. But a Fairy Godmother is The Law.
Callie Burns works for SERA, the Supernatural Entity Recovery Agency, a.k.a. The Scary Fairies. As a Fairy Godmother, it's Callie's job to grant wishes and deport supernatural creatures back to their plane of existence. Now she's got an angel in her sights Gabriel's a gorgeous, sexy distraction to Callie doing her duty. But she has a reputation to maintain and no smoking hot angel is going to mess that up. Gabriel is determined he's not going anywhere and he'll try everything he can to convince Callie he belongs on Earth. But she's equally determined to get the job done before the angel kills everything in sight—even if that means fulfilling Gabriel's deepest fantasy.
Story #2 - HANDLING MERCURY
Vampires may go for the throat. But a Fairy Godmother will aim lower . . .Elizabeth and Mercury both work for SERA, the Supernatural Entity Recovery Agency. Despite the fact Elizabeth's a Fairy Godmother and Mercury's a vampire, they make a deadly duo when it comes to deporting supernatural beings. But Mercury and Elizabeth's perfect partnership changes the night a wish is granted.
Now Elizabeth can’t think of Mercury without remembering how sexy the vampire is under his cool demeanor and designer clothes. And Mercury can't forget the taste of Elizabeth's blood nor the desire to have her in every other way as well. Can their partnership survive and will they find a way to grant their very own wishes?
Story #3 - FINDING NAVARRE
A lone wolf is about to find out old dogs can learn new tricks.
Navarre is a werewolf and the Director of SERA. It’s his job to oversee the agents who deport supernatural beings from Earth. He loves his work and his vaunted reputation for remaining calm under pressure. But all that is about to change. Tor is also a werewolf and SERA’s newest agent. He’s out to catch not only the bad guy, but his elusive boss as well. It’s love at first sight for Tor, but Navarre doesn’t seem willing to take another chance on a relationship. When a mission goes bad and suddenly it’s Tor’s life on the line, Navarre must overcome his fears if he’s going to experience true love before it’s too late.

Story #4 - TASTING ABSINTHE
Two’s company, will three prove too much of a crowd?
Absinthe is a Fairy Godmother with SERA and Bryce is her irresistible partner. Absinthe is all about getting to know Bryce away from the job, but he comes with one big problem. His best friend Grey is a werewolf and Absinthe does not do wolves. Bryce is in love with Absinthe. Problem is, he’s also in love with Grey. It will take something extraordinary to bring Grey and Absinthe together. Tracking a cold-blooded killer may just be the start of a beautiful romance. Will Bryce’s stubborn wolf and prejudiced fairy overcome their differences enough to not only stay alive, but form a bond strong enough to last a lifetime?
Story #5 - CHASING SIN
A good SERA Agent knows there’s only one Sin that matters.
As an agent and ‘evaluator’ for SERA, Jane is sent in to re-educate their only male Fairy Godmother before he does something even the Scary Fairies can’t ignore.
Sin’s sick of being the brunt of jokes and the latest pin-up after a nude picture scandal. He’s also indecently fascinated with his new ‘minder’, Jane. When a wish shows Sin a very different side to Jane, he’s desperate to find out more. On the hunt for a supernatural with a dangerous new toy and evil plans, Jane and Sin find out how well they work as a team. But can he get the prim and proper agent to loosen up enough to love a naughty fairy while she tries her very best to reform Sin?

About the Author:
Before becoming a writer C.T. Green worked in advertising for ten years. She also completed a Bachelor of Arts with majors in communication and literature.
C.T. Green now lives in regional Australia with her husband, children and extensive collection of animals - amongst which are the world's bossiest goldfish.In between writing, i.e. arguing with her characters and occasionally posting to her blog, she reads, drinks vanilla coffee, kid wrangles, enters writing contests and avoids the goldfish.
Website: http://bit.ly/ctgreen-author
Blog: http://bit.ly/ctgreen-author-blog
Facebook: http://bit.ly/facebook-CTGreenAuthor
Twitter: http://bit.ly/twitter-CTGreenAuthor
Google Plus: http://bit.ly/google-plus-Ctgreen-author
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December 17 Guest blog Magic and Mayhemhttp://MagicMayhemBlog.com
December 18 Spotlight and reviewPenny For Them...http://pennyforthemuk.com/search/label/tour
December 18 reviewRandom Reviews by Leannehttp://author-leanneherrera.blogspot.com
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December 19 Spotlight and review Snarky Mom Reads…http://www.snarkymomreads.com
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December 20 InterviewPembroke Sinclair. www.pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com
December 23 Guest blogFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

The Double Life of Incorporate Things by Leanna Renee Hieber

The Double Life of Incorporate Things
by Leanna Renee Hieber
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal (gaslamp fantasy)
ISBN: 9781494324551

"Just when we think our nightmares are over, the Society has invented a new horror. Around every corner a shadow, behind every whisper a demon. If we don't end what the devils began, we will die haunted..."

The Magic Most Foul saga takes a deadly turn as The Master’s Society unveils its next ungodly avenue of paranormal experimentation. First, souls were split from bodies. Then the dead were reanimated. Now, a mind-altering chemical has been unleashed in Manhattan. Demonic trauma and terror escalates for the dashing Lord Denbury and brave, feisty Miss Natalie Stewart. Together with their stalwart friends and unlikely heroes, they take the fight directly to the Denbury estate, where a collective evil has awakened. But are Natalie and Jonathon prepared for all the sacrifices that shall be asked of them? With their very lives and the sanctity of their mortal souls at stake, these lovers are past the point of no return...

Amazon -  http://amzn.to/19mdmN0

Barnes and Noble - http://bit.ly/1cG5C9o


Excerpt

I set the paper down slowly enough to see the thin edges shake as the full, personal impact of the newspaper article hit me.

"Natalie, what is it?" Jonathon asked, staring at me with those eviscerating blue eyes of his. I opened my mouth but no sound came out. Damn my unpredictable, inconstant voice.

For the past many months now, I'd been pummeled by one strange event after another, pulled into the center of a paranormal whirlpool. At least in this case, we had an inkling, some sense of the next onslaught. Still, a foreshadow was hardly a comfort. We couldn't have guessed the scope.

Now it wasn't just myself or Jonathon Whitby, Lord Denbury in danger, with the occasional collateral victim. Now it was a crowd. I knew the Association. I adored them. They weren't hooligans or criminals, they were gentle souls, artistic and individual. Overdramatic, yes, but a threat? Hardly. This maligning was the work of The Master's Society, turning lambs into lions in ungodly experiments, leaving them for fodder in sensational, indelicate journalism. It could only get worse. Exponentially worse.

"It's begun," I finally managed to reply quietly, sliding the paper across the lacquered console table behind the sofa toward Jonathon's reach. "Another phase. They've gone after the Association. And the papers will vilify those poor dears, every last one of them. Jonathon, the demons won't give up..."

About the Author:

Author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre and a focus in the Victorian Era from Miami University. She began her theatrical career with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and began adapting works of 19th Century literature for the stage. Her one-act plays have been published, awarded and produced around the country. Her fiction career began with Dark Nest, which won the 2009 Prism Award for best novella.

Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, landed on Barnes & Noble's bestseller lists, was named a favourite of 2009 by 14 book blogs, won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book), the 2010 Orange County Book Buyer's Best Award (Young Adult category) and is in development as a musical theatre production with Broadway talent on board. The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess, prequel in the Strangely Beautiful series, won the 2012 Prism Award (Best Fantasy). This currently out of print series will be reissued by 2014.

DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, first in the Magic Most Foul saga of Gothic Victorian romantic thrillers (Sourcebooks), hit the Kid's/YA Indie Next List as a recommended title by the American Booksellers Association. The book has been praised by Seventeen and Pixie Magazines, Shelf Awareness, The Chicago Tribune and more, selected as a "highly recommended" title by Scholastic. The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart continues the Magic Most Foul series and has been praised by Booklist, RT Bookreviews and more. She is serializing the finale, The Double Life of Incorporate Things on her blog in true Gothic Victorian fashion.  

Leanna's short fiction has been featured in anthologies such as Willful Impropriety: Tales of Society and Scandal, "Too Fond" featured on Tor.com and Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy (March 2013, Tor). Her new Gaslamp Fantasy series with Tor/Macmillan, THE ETERNA FILES, launches 2014. Her books have been translated into many languages and have been selected for multiple book club editions.

Represented by Nicholas Roman Lewis, Leanna is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.  She is a proud co-founder of the original Lady Jane's Salon Reading Series in New York. Leanna was named the 2010 RWA NYC Chapter Author of the Year.

A member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Leanna works often in film and television on shows like Boardwalk Empire. When not writing or on set, she's telling ghost stories, frequenting Goth clubs, corset shopping, channeling Narcissa Malfoy, wandering graveyards and adventuring in full Victorian regalia. She resides in New York City with her husband and their beloved rescued lab rabbit.

Website - http://www.leannareneehieber.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LRHieber
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Leannarenee
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1651952.Leanna_Renee_Hieber

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The Longest Night: Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey

The Longest NightDrake ChroniclesBook SixAlyxandra Harvey
Genre: YA Paranormal, YA vampire
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date of Publication: Dec 17/2013
Word Count: 20 000
Book Description:
The Winter Solstice—the longest night of the year—is the perfect holiday for a vampire family to gather. But this year, Lucy and Nicholas and Solange and Kieran get unexpected guests. And they haven’t come to deliver presents . . .

Spend your holiday with the Drakes with the E-Novella The Longest Night, by Alyxandra Harvey—coming December 2013!
 About the Author:
Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long as they keep company manners.
She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.
www.alyxandraharvey.com
www.twitter.com/AlyxandraH
https://www.facebook.com/AlyxandraHarvey

Newsletter: http://goo.gl/9e3U6A

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The Rain Trilogy by Karen-Anne Stewart

Saving RainThe Rain Trilogy Book One
Karen-Anne Stewart
Genre: New Adult Romance Suspense
ISBN:  978-1491810866ASIN:  B00FDN3RTU
Number of pages:  240Word Count: approx. 87,000
Amazon   BNBook Description: Raina has tried to forget her past, forget the pain, but when she finds herself staring straight into the fury blazing in her ex-boyfriend's eyes, her dark past comes rushing back. Furious with herself for actually having chosen someone like her father, she uses that anger to her advantage and fights for her life...and for her future that she prays will involve the man she can't seem to get out of her head.Kas is a natural leader, a fierce fighter, the type of man you send in when you need to get the job done. He is a courageous hero who is used to risking his own life to save others, but can he save the one who has captured his heart from her horrific past and the men who are hell-bent on destroying her?As Kas and Raina try to navigate through the twists and turns of a deviously intelligent human trafficking group, they find solace in each other's arms. Can they infiltrate the trafficker's tight ring, saving the innocent lives from imminent danger before it's too late?Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBurAKibhc Healing RainThe Rain TrilogyBook TwoKaren-Anne Stewart
Genre:  New Adult Romance Suspense
ISBN:  978-1481770477ASIN:  B00EESE4V0
Number of pages:  236Word Count:   approx 87,000Amazon  BN
Book Description: 

Shattered when Raina runs after his marriage proposal, Kas is hell-bent to find her and bring her home, where she belongs. He will bend every law necessary to do so, willing to do anything to protect Raina from her demons and the men who haunt her, going as far as placing his career and life on the line to save hers. Raina will give up everything she has worked so hard to achieve, even flee the country to keep Kas from the wrath and powerful reach of her abusive father. 
In the midst of the FBI team closing in on the Ghost, another ghost from Raina's past taunts her, promising that she will be his. Meanwhile, a different trafficking ring is gaining strength in New Jersey. Michael solicits Raina's help, needing her smooth, sultry voice to win the audition for the new singer in the ring leader's swanky night club. Raina knows her life is in jeopardy with the dangers of being undercover, but she is blindsided when she discovers that it's her heart that is threatened with a mortal blow. 
Raina tries to heal from the nightmares of her dark past as the grisly bodies of innocent victims surface when the team gets closer to discovering the identity of the man responsible for the infuriatingly clever and powerful slavery ring. When Raina finally comes face to face with the Ghost, he quickly engulfs her in a twisted game of cat and mouse, delivering a veiled threat as he slips through her fingers. As the ghosts of her past and present ensnare her in their deadly web, Raina realizes the danger has just begun.

Book Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBurAKibhc

After the RainThe Rain TrilogyBook ThreeKaren-Anne Stewart
Genre:  New Adult Romance Suspense
ISBN: 978-1491824719ASIN:   B00G3DMY3Y
Number of pages: 243Word Count:  approx 87,000
Amazon 
Book Description: 
Finally able to put her harrowing past to rest, Raina looks forward to her future with Kas, but the Ghost has other plans. As the FBI team gets closer to taking down the largest human trafficking ring in the modern world, the Ghost begins a wicked game, making Raina the pawn and the target. Never before encountering a worthy adversary, he’s fascinated by Raina and is enjoying the refreshing challenge of her intellect. 
The danger ignites to a blazing new level, and Kas struggles between the need to finally exorcise the Ghost and his need to protect his wife. Tension mounts as an internal battle wages, tormenting Kas as he watches Raina put her all into taking down the man responsible for horrific sex slavery and gruesome deaths. When a new player takes control, Jefferson orders the end of the Ghost’s game with Raina, which results in one final, devastating act, leaving Kas desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to save her…by whatever means necessary. 
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBurAKibhc


About the Author: 
Karen-Anne Stewart has always adored reading and has now fallen in love with writing. Her written works are The Rain Trilogy: Saving Rain, Healing Rain, and After the Rain. Her debut novel, Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy, was a nominee for the Book Junkie’s Choice Awards and is a nominee for the 2013 RONE Awards. 
When Karen-Anne isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, and visiting new places. She fuels her addiction of creating new stories by her only other addiction, caffeine, and listening to a myriad of musical genres. Tucked away near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karen-Anne lives with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and their cat. She plans on writing new adult romance as long as her fingers maintain dexterity. 
The Rain Trilogy is a powerful story of abuse, human trafficking, and beautiful, redeeming love (intended for readers 18+). 

http://www.karen-annestewart.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6920317.Karen_Anne_Stewart
https://twitter.com/SKarenAnne
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Anne-Stewart-Author/113779785477987

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Holiday Gifts I Love to Give with Thirteen Nights Author Sabrina Garie

 Holiday Gifts I Love to Give
Every year around the holidays, I am always scrambling around for gift ideas. I not only like to give people I care about things they’ll appreciate, but I want my presents to speak to them in personal and meaningful ways.  Here’s my list of what I’ve found over the years that work with loved ones as well as with the new gal in the office down the hall you’ve talked to maybe three times that showed up in your secret Santa list. These ideas also work for all ages.
1.      Charitable Gifts.  I’ve started to give gifts that give back. There are two main ways to do this. a.      Support charities directly. My favorite is world wildlife, which has endangered species adoption kits (prices range dramatically).  This works especially well with kids who have favorite animals, families who can adopt together, or animal loving adults.  b.      Select gifts that support charities. You don’t just have to pick charities to be charitable. Many companies are getting into this game in many ways. Think Tom’s shoes, which gives away a pair to a poor child for pair bought or Target’s Feed line or all Paul Newman products.
2.      Books personalized to the recipient, from the giver, or to the relationship. What does that even mean? I like to give books that have meaning or relevance in some way. a.      Meaning to the recipient. For children’s birthdays, for example, I’d look for books in which the main character had the same name as the child receiving the gift. As another idea, I have a friend who loves poetry and used books. I often comb used book stores for just the right volume (and it gives me an excuse to spend time around old books).b.      From the Giver.  I often gift my very favorite books to others because they mean so much to me, I want to share them.c.      To the relationship.   I gave a boyfriend, with whom I shared a love of Italy, speaking Italian and urban places, a copy of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities in Italian. It took me an afternoon of find calls to find a copy in a bookstore five states away, but I did it.  As another example, one year I gave copies of a book about our county’s school system to all my friends with kids in the system, it was one think I knew we had in common.

3.      A sensual Indulgence: Another favorite gift is to give someone a sensual indulgence they probably would not pick up for themselves or dig out the time to do without an incentive. a.      Taste. Thick chocolate dipped strawberries, the perfect cup of tea (e.g. loose tea and a cup with a filter) or a matched wine-cheese coupling, a unique bottle of wine.b.     Touch. A massage or spa day, even a mani-pedi. c.      Scent. An orchid,  scented soap or candles.d.      DIY Indulgences. Find ways to support their indulgences such as a year subscription to Gourmet Magazine, Buon Appetit or Wine Spectator so they can indulge themselves regularly.
4.      Presents which take years to complete.  This is the one gift-giving idea only works for close friends and family members because it assumes the relationship will endure over time.   But I like this strategy because it manages the chaos of holiday gift giving.  I gave my mother a Pandora bracelet and then have been giving her one charm for every event (birthday and/or holiday) until we complete the bracelet. Other examples include given one season of their favorite TV series every year until they have the whole thing or all the movies of their favorite actors/actresses until they have the entire collection.  My sister has been slowly replacing my favorite videos with the dvd versions.
5.      Activity-Centered Gifts:  Getting people to go out and do fun things is also a great holiday gift. I once gave three bottles of the same type of wine (e.g. merlot) and told them it was a wine tasting. I researched the wines to find highly regarded ones in three price categories ($10,00; $15:00; $25:00).  This could be done with a host of things—chocolate, coffee, tea. Personalize it to the tastes of the recipient.  Other gifts in this vein are movie, play or concert tickets along with babysitting coupons.  Just the babysitting coupons are a great gift.  
6.      Do it together.  This year, my daughter and I are getting a chocolate tour and tasting in a local neighborhood across five different stores. It’s from friends and we’ll all go together as a joint family outing.  That’s my kind of holiday gift—friendship, laughter, togetherness and indulgence.  
What are your favorite gifts to give and why?


Thirteen NightsDivine TemptationBook 1
Sabrina Garie
Genre:  Paranormal/Fantasy
Publisher:  Ellora’s Cave
Date of Publication:  December 6, 2013
ISBN:  9781419941764ASIN:
Word Count:  23,000
Cover Artist:  Kelly Martin
Book Description:
Annie’s always been different. An empathic Amazon, she hides her emotional anomaly beneath her legendary fighting skills. To avoid passing on her genetic disorder, she’s always avoided the Thirteen Nights Ritual—the annual breeding rite among the warrior races of the Greek Pantheon. Only months away from 30, she is now duty-bound to participate. When she meets Tai, a half-human warrior who revs her up beyond legal limits and nurtures the gentleness she’s had to keep secret, thirteen nights of pleasure don’t seem nearly enough.

As a half human, Tai has survived by being faster, more lethal, and a whole lot smarter than his brethren. While the male warriors accept him for his achievements, the Amazons have never given him a second look. Until he meets Annie, whose smile is warm and real and whose body shudders with desire—for him. Determined to have her, he hacks into the Thirteen Nights database and rearranges the pairings to make Annie his breeding partner. Together, their strength and tenderness combust into pure love.

But Tai’s actions are forbidden under Amazon law, subject to a death. To stay together and alive, they must take on the Greek Pantheon and win.

Ellora’s Cave      Amazon      BN    Kobo  Goodreads


About the Author:


Sabrina Garie is on a journey to create the most kick-ass heroine romance fiction has ever known and the hero who can take her. A believer that big, audacious goals spice up life, she relies on coffee, red wine and laughter to make those goals (and her characters) come alive.
When not at the computer, she wrangles vegetables and extra helpings of homework into her fashion-loving progeny, kowtows to a fat cat and reads, a lot.
Since it is more fun to travel in packs, come along for the ride.
Catch the train at www.sabrinagarie.com
Facebook: facebook.com/sabrinagarieauthor
Twitter: @sabrinagarie
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Sabrina_Garie
Other Blogs: www.darkertemptations.wordpress.com

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