Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 502
November 5, 2012
The Cast of Matchbox Girls
I thought it might be fun to cast Matchbox Girls today. I don't ever expect it to be a movie, but it's useful to have celebrity models for characters, don't you think? And it's certainly fun to try casting them. For the actors chosen below, there's sometimes costume changes in terms of colored contacts or hair dye. And sometimes they're a few years too old. Ah, well. Rather than do something scary with Photoshop, I'm just noting the changes here. So, enjoy the scenery!
The Kids:
The twins are identical, but I think the two pictures I chose of different actresses convey the personality of the two girls, Lissa and Kari, very well:
Joey King (Kari) 
Bella Thorne (Lissa)The Protagonist:
I had to pick out models for Marley when my publisher commissioned a picture of her as a preorder bonus. So there's a canonical picture of her. Maybe that influenced my new actress choice, or maybe I wasn't thinking clearly before. In any case, I can see Ellen Page portraying Marley, with all her frustration and anxiety and determination perfectly.
Ellen Page (Marley)The Best Friends:
A bit of futurecasting here. Branwyn is a natural redhead, but dyes her hair green. It was a challenge to pick these two out; I spent more time on them than anybody else. Again, I ended up going for attitude over perfect physical resemblance.
Mila Kunis (Penny) 
Bryce Dallas Howard (Branwyn)The Mysterous Allies:
I love Joseph Gordon Levitt, although still pictures never seem to capture what I love about him. The Corbin in my head could be played by JGL but only resembles him in the basics: built lean, with dark hair and a bit of a nerdy air. Just a bit, though. The bookworm who still goes out on adventures. AT is about five years younger than Zoe Kravitz in this picture and has shorter, much curlier hair. Still, the first time I saw Zoe Kravitz, I knew she was otherwise perfect.
Joseph Gordon Levitt (Corbin) 
Zoe Kravitz (AT)The Dangerous Supernaturals:
Which one would you trust?
Ian Somerhalder (Severin) 
Chris Hemsworth (Ettoriel)I hope you've enjoyed this look at the faces of Matchbox Girls!
Matchbox GirlsChrysoula TzavelasPaperback: 324 pages
Publisher: Candlemark & Gleam
ISBN-10: 1936460203ISBN-13: 978-1936460205
Book Description:
Marley Claviger is just trying to get her life together. Stumbling into an ancient conflict between celestial forces is going to make that a whole lot harder... When Marley wakes up to a phone call from a pair of terrified children, she doesn't expect to be pulled into a secret war.
She rescues them from an empty house and promises to find their missing uncle. She even manages to feed them dinner. But she barely feels competent to manage her own life, let alone care for small children with strange, ominous powers... And when a mysterious angelic figure shows up and tries to claim the girls, it all falls apart...
Plagued by visions of disaster, Marley has no idea what she's gotten herself into, but she knows one thing: magical or not, the kids need her.
Candlemark and Gleam Amazon Paperback Amazon Kindle
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/bAhT-MTK9cE
"Lovely worldbuilding and an unusual heroine surrounded by strong relationships and good intrigue kept me reading Matchbox Girls until well past my bedtime. Tzavelas has created a winning story universe and I'm impatient for the next book!"
- CE Murphy, author of Urban Shaman and The Queen's Bastard
About the Author:Chrysoula Tzavelas went to twelve schools in twelve years while growing up as an Air Force brat, and she never met a library she didn't like. She now lives near Seattle with some random adults, miscellaneous animals, and a handy small child. She likes combed wool, bread dough, and gardens. She's also a certified technology addict; it says so on her (trademark-redacted) music player.
https://twitter.com/chrysouladreams
http://www.dreamfarmer.net/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5049815.Chrysoula_Tzavelas
November 2, 2012
Now on Tour Moriah Densley
The Valkyrie’s GuardianMoriah Densley
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Crimson Romance / F+W Media
ISBN: 1440551375ISBN13: 9781440551376
Number of pages: 300Word Count: 91K
Book Description:
“Augmented strength, lightning weapon, chronic PMS – you’re a valkyrie, Cass.”
You might call them superheroes. “Extra-sentients” are one in 4.5 million with the extraordinary ability to unlock the full potential of the mind.
Cassiopeia Noyon is descended from the most powerful known extra-sentient, but she’s a dud – no impressive talents except a healing ability which lands her in trouble. She’s all wrong for Jack MacGunn, her dazzling immortal berserker bodyguard.
Cassiopeia Noyon has a medical degree at age twenty-one, which makes her a total loser … for an extra-sentient with merely superhuman strength and healing powers but not much else. Cassie may not even be immortal, which is a downer since the man she’s adored since age six, is.
Jack MacGunn is King of the Bad Pick-Up Line. A true blue kilt-wearing, pipe-playing Scot descended from a long line of berserker warriors; if he’s awake, he’s either hungry or itching for a fight. Lately Jack feels lost. His career as a Navy SEAL detachment agent is on a slow train to nowhere. He suspects it has something to do with his out-of-control superhuman rages.
The one task Jack has never failed at is guarding Cassie from their enemies, but now he fears he can’t protect her from himself. Even if they could go a single day without fighting, Jack knows he’ll never be good enough for her. The boss’ granddaughter is off-limits anyway.
A chance encounter with a villain long assumed dead sends Jack and Cassie on a race to save the children secreted away at Network One, the academy for genius extra-sentients. Jack discovers a new side of Cassie when in the heat of combat she invokes unheard-of powers. Has Jack finally met his match?
Read Chapter 1 free: http://moriahdensley.com/chapter-1-the-valkries-guardian/
Author Bio:
2012 RWA Golden Heart finalist Moriah Densley sees nothing odd at all about keeping both a violin case and a range bag stuffed with pistols in the back seat of her car. They hold up the stack of books in the middle, of course. She enjoys writing about Victorians, assassins, and geeks. Her muses are summoned by the smell of chocolate, usually at odd hours of the night. By day her alter ego is your friendly neighborhood music teacher. Moriah lives in Las Vegas with her husband
Website + blog: http://moriahdensley.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MoriahDensley
Twitter: http://twitter.com/moriahdensley
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/moriahdensley/
Goodreads book page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15853313-the-valkyrie-s-guardian
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829287.Moriah_Densley
November 1, 2012
Interview with Pembroke Sinclair
October 26 InterviewLaurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviewshttp://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com
October 27 Promo Lisa's World of Bookswww.lisasworldofbooks.net
October 30 Guest blogZombie Survival Crew site www.zombiesurvivalcrew.com
November 1 InterviewFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
November 5 Guest blogMama Knows Books http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com
November 6 Guest blogThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
November 7 ReviewMom With A Kindlehttps://momwithakindle.blogspot.com
November 8 InterviewRoxanne’s Realmwww.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
November 9 Interview and reviewLittle Book Starhttp://LittleBookStar.wordpress.com
Life After the UndeadPembroke Sinclair
Genre: YA HorrorPublisher: eTreasures Publishing
ISBN: ISBN-10: 1937809013ISBN-13: 978-1937809010
Number of pages: 356
Cover Artist: Jerrod Brown
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/hrgv7W9A_7w
Amazon Etreasures Barnes and Noble
Book Description:
The world has come to an end. It doesn’t go out with a bang, or even a whimper. It goes out in an orgy of blood and the dead rising from their graves to feast on living flesh. As democracy crumples and the world melts into anarchy, five families in the U.S. rise to protect the survivors.
The undead hate a humid environment, so they are migrating westward to escape its deteriorating effects. The survivors are constructing a wall in North Platte to keep the zombie threat to the west, while tyranny rules among the humans to the east.
Capable but naïve Krista is 15 when the first attacks occur, and she loses her family and barely escapes with her life. She makes her way to the wall and begins a new life. But, as the undead threat grows and dictators brainwash those she cares about, Krista must fight not only to survive but also to defend everything she holds dear—her country, her freedom, and ultimately those she loves.
About the AuthorPembroke Sinclair has had several short stories published. Her story, “Sohei,” was named one of the Best Stories of 2008 by The Cynic Online Magazine. She has novellas and a short story collection available from Musa Publishing and eTreasures Publishing. Her two novels, Coming from Nowhere (adult, sci fi) and Life After the Undead (YA, horror), are available from eTreasures Publishing, as well as Death to the Undead (YA, sequel to Life After the Undead), which is forthcoming. Life After the Undead was a Top Ten Finisher in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll in the YA category and the cover art category.
As Jessica Robinson, from March 2008 to January 2011, she wrote scientific articles for Western Farmer-Stockman. Her nonfiction book, Life Lessons from Slasher Films, is available from Scarecrow Publishing (an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield).
Jessica/Pembroke received her Master’s in English, and she is a freelance content editor for Musa Publishing, as well as a former content and line editor for eTreasures Publishing.
http://pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pembroke.sinclair
Now on Tour Over the Cliff’s Edge by B. Jane Lawson
Below is a short excerpt from Ralph Stone’s point of view, following the close of the second novel. Ralph is one of the Morganna Cork Series beloved characters:
Morganna’s been gone for three weeks now. My brother’s been totally batshit about it. That unique kind of batshit that only comes from being dead wrong. What did he expect? That she would run straight for him, arms spread, and thank him for what he did? If he thought that, he knows even less about women than I thought he did. And trust me, the bar was only a millimeter off the floor.
That’s the thing about most dudes, they are shockingly, nearly criminally, stupid when it comes to their personal lives. He hasn’t been the same since she pulled in our driveway a couple of months ago. He came back into the house and slammed the door so hard the living room clock fell from its perch over the fireplace and shattered into a thousand pieces. He picked up every shard of glass with his bare hands. I stood by and waited it out. There’s no talking to him when he’s like that. I’m glad for it. When mom and dad died he closed the spigot to his emotions, gone alongside the grief was his dark humor and my fun older brother. Morganna comes to town and he’s got emotions spilling like hot steam from a crockpot. No stopping it. I rather enjoyed watching him make a mess of things.
I suppose I could have kicked him in the nuts and let him know the reason he was being a freak show. But where was the fun in that? Besides, not my style. I don’t give out unsolicited advice, just as a general rule. Even when they do ask, they aren’t ready to hear their own truth. Then, they redirect their anger right at me and then what do I have to show for it?
He was going to rip my throat out when I told him that I knew where she was. That I’ve known for a good week now. If he stopped and thought for just one second he’d figure it out. Where else was I disappearing to for the entire day? To be fair, I didn’t find her on my own. That Ilana Smith is a real piece of work. She broke into Morganna’s credit card account and looked up the charges. I didn’t ask how she figured out the password. I leaned against the brick wall across from where Morganna was drinking a chai latte and smirked. Ilana was definitely something, underneath all that heinous bitch, she was highly entertaining and smart. Too smart. I chuckled thinking about her reaction to my hug. I’d cupped her by both of the ears and laid one right on her lips. That had shut her up.
A tall, fair-haired man joined Morganna at the table and I perked up. He dipped down and laid a kiss on her cheek. Callupo wouldn’t like that at all. Goldilocks took out a laptop and began clacking away at the keys. They didn’t talk, Morganna read the same book she’d been reading for three days now and he plugged away tirelessly away at his task. After a quarter hour, I checked my watch. I needed to report for duty soon. Reluctantly, I left her with this man and headed back to the Cliffside.
Ralph Stone is a fan favorite and currently we’re casting the “dream actor” to play him in a movie on his pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/bjanelawson/ralph-stone-candidates/.
November 1 Tour IntroFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
November 2 InterviewRoxanne’s Realmwww.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
November 5 Guest blogLisa’s World of Bookswww.lisasworldofbooks.blogspot.com
November 7 PromoFaerotic Prosehttp://faeroticprose.blogspot.com/
November 9 Guest blogMelissa Stevens http://melissastevens.us
November 11 PromoPublishing the Paranormal http://jbridgerwriting.blogspot.com
November 13 InterviewMichelle @ Mom With A Kindlehttps://momwithakindle.blogspot.com
November 15 Guest blogCarly Fall - Where Fantasy Meets Romancewww.carlyfall.com
November 15 Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
November 16 PromoNomi’s Paranormal Palacehttp://nomisparanormalpalace.blogspot.com.au
November 18 InterviewBooks & Other Spells. www.nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com
November 19 Guest blogFangs, Wands & Fairydust http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/
November 20 PromoSMARTMOUTHTEXANwww.smartmouthtexan.wordpress.com
November 27 Interview and review
http://www.crazyfourbooks.blogspot.com
November 30 Guest BlogThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
Over the Cliff’s EdgeBook 2 of the Morganna Cork SeriesB. Jane LawsonGenre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 978-1479295210ASIN: B0099AWZLO
Number of pages: 186Word Count: 42,326
Amazon Print Smashwords Amazon Digital
Book Description:
Morganna Cork has survived her first month in Puesta Del Sol. A month in which she discovers she’s part of the Magick community filled with shifters, psychics, werewolves and individuals with myriad other powers.
Her estranged aunt, Aiofe, has returned to take control of the Magick Council, the Cliffside Inn, and the sacred stones that her cousin Maeve and she hold in their possession.
With the help of a mysterious magical historian, Morganna learns that she is at the center of this Magick battle and that Aiofe will stop at nothing to get her hands on an ancient family heirloom and Morganna.
The romantic tension between Morganna Stone and werewolf pack leader, Callupo Stone, reaches its breaking point as the Cliffside Inn is under siege and they navigate their way through the betrayals and dangers of this war.
About the Author:B. Jane Lawson lives in Los Angeles where she is a business woman by day, writer by night and cyclist on the weekends. Her obsessions include Starbucks soy chai lattes, fashion, and music.
She has had a life long love affair with novels of all kinds. B. Jane's favorite genres include paranormal romance, historical fiction and true crime. Her favorite authors include Amy Tan, Karen Marie Moning, Pat Conroy, Jane Austen and J.K. Rowling. She loves to travel and her dream vacation is a safari in Africa.
Web: www.bjanelawson.posterous.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bjanelawson
Twitter: @bjanelawson
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/bjanelawson
Release Day Blitz The Valkyrie’s Guardian by Moriah Densley
The Valkyrie’s GuardianMoriah Densley
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Crimson Romance / F+W Media
ISBN: 1440551375ISBN13: 9781440551376
Number of pages: 300Word Count: 91K
Book Description:
“Augmented strength, lightning weapon, chronic PMS – you’re a valkyrie, Cass.”
You might call them superheroes. “Extra-sentients” are one in 4.5 million with the extraordinary ability to unlock the full potential of the mind.
Cassiopeia Noyon is descended from the most powerful known extra-sentient, but she’s a dud – no impressive talents except a healing ability which lands her in trouble. She’s all wrong for Jack MacGunn, her dazzling immortal berserker bodyguard.
Cassiopeia Noyon has a medical degree at age twenty-one, which makes her a total loser … for an extra-sentient with merely superhuman strength and healing powers but not much else. Cassie may not even be immortal, which is a downer since the man she’s adored since age six, is.
Jack MacGunn is King of the Bad Pick-Up Line. A true blue kilt-wearing, pipe-playing Scot descended from a long line of berserker warriors; if he’s awake, he’s either hungry or itching for a fight. Lately Jack feels lost. His career as a Navy SEAL detachment agent is on a slow train to nowhere. He suspects it has something to do with his out-of-control superhuman rages.
The one task Jack has never failed at is guarding Cassie from their enemies, but now he fears he can’t protect her from himself. Even if they could go a single day without fighting, Jack knows he’ll never be good enough for her. The boss’ granddaughter is off-limits anyway.
A chance encounter with a villain long assumed dead sends Jack and Cassie on a race to save the children secreted away at Network One, the academy for genius extra-sentients. Jack discovers a new side of Cassie when in the heat of combat she invokes unheard-of powers. Has Jack finally met his match?
Read Chapter 1 free: http://moriahdensley.com/chapter-1-the-valkries-guardian/
Excerpt
Without much effort she summoned static in the air. It gathered in her hands as she wrestled to equalize the tension between ground and sky. The shift in atmospheric energy sucked down a dull pressure she could feel in her skull and chest. The charge crackling in her fingers burned ice hot.
Cassie walked calmly to the men locked in struggle and set a hand on each of their shoulders, transferring a mild dose of purple electricity into their bodies. They jerked back and screamed. She exploited their surprise and shoved them both apart, hurling them several feet.
She heaved slow breaths to calm her anger, resisting the temptation to fry their idiotic brains. They rolled slowly and strained to sit up, mist steaming out of their collars.
“Jack. Ben. That’s enough. Look around, you morons. Is this what you want your family to see?” They glanced around and saw the somber faces watching from inside the great house, all the small ones who had just been taught a bad lesson.
“Bloody hell. What is she?” Ben muttered, wiping his split lip.
“The voice of reason.” She stood between them. “You two have to work together while we’re here. This is your clan, and you are the leaders. Now start acting like it.”
She waited while they sucked in deep breaths, trying to calm themselves from the rage.
“Do you think your family should see you shake hands, or did you mean to start a war today?”
Ben breathed an oath in Gaelic under his breath, and Jack made something pop in Ben’s hand as he squeezed. She closed her eyes in forbearance.
* * *At that moment, three pagers went off. Jack, Chief, and Pops all retrieved their phones and checked the display with identical motions.
Jack said, “CO called in the whole team. It’s probably nothing, but we have to go.”
“Run like the wind,” Cassie replied flatly, as though she had no curiosity at all about his urgent summons to headquarters. “Nice meeting you, Chief, and ah, Papa Smurf. I’ll find my own way to the barracks.”
Damned if she didn’t show them her back and strut away like a tabby cat. Of course he stared, mesmerized by the dual motion of her hips and swaying hair. A draft of her honey-anise scent lingered. Catnip. “Eighteen-hundred hours, baby,” he called, a last ditch effort to claim her with the officers observing.
She spun 180 degrees and walked backward. “Sorry, I have to polish my pistol.” Chief and Pops sucked in a breath at her suggestive tone—with that purring sound in her voice, anything sounded like innuendo.
Jack couldn’t help it. He winked. “Sure thing, darlin.’ After you polish mine.”
* * *
Cassie could always count on Jack for two things: he would come from near or far at the sound of food cooking in the morning, and he went ga-ga over women in workout clothes. Forget lingerie–Jack wanted yoga pants and a racerback top. This morning Cassie brought out the heavy artillery with both his vices: smoothies and spandex.
Revenge, torture–either would do.
Ice clunked around in the blender as she added peach slices, raw almonds, yogurt, and lemon rind. Perfect timing—Jack jogged down the stairs and nearly tripped over Cat, dropped his duffel, and made a beeline straight for the kitchen. He rocked back on his heels, apparently expecting Anne the housekeeper, not Cassie. She made a point of opening the fridge as he entered, as though she hadn’t seen him.
When she turned around, his eyes widened and he visibly swallowed hard.
Unapologetically his eyes roamed from her long swinging pony tail down over her shoulders exposed above a skin-tight cropped tank. His eyes lingered on her navel, watching it contract as she breathed, before scanning up and down her legs once, twice, and again. He wore the expression of a tiger watching a platter of meat through the bars of his cage.
“All the subtlety of an anvil, Jack.”
“I might say the same to you, sweetheart.”
* * *
“Bait?” Cassie coughed, then half-shrieked, “Bait? You think it’s funny? Jack—you promised!”
Jack tried to tuck her behind his shoulder and interrupt, but Cassie leaned around him and jabbed an accusing finger at Memphis.
“No more bait, no more turkey shoots! You tell him no, Memphis, or answer to me. Find another way, whatever. He comes home in a body bag, and I come after you.”
She glared, the silence stretched, and she wanted Jack’s buddy to know she meant it, every word. Bad enough that they went willingly into danger, no reason they should play high-stakes games with their lives. No operation was worth that.
Memphis raised his eyebrows and Jack seemed stunned.
Cassie exhaled in a gust and muttered, “I think I just grew a few gray hairs.”
Memphis surprised her with his softened, sympathetic expression. “It takes a strong woman to love a soldier. You’ll get used to it, honey.” He nodded his head, “We always come home.
Don’t worry.”
Jack sputtered then argued, “Oh, we’re not—It’s not–”
“You’re gone, bro. I give it two months, max, and we’ll all be in our dress whites.”
Cassie looked between them, confused, then hacked into Memphis’ thoughts to discern he meant their formal Navy uniforms, for the occasion of her and Jack’s supposed wedding.
Wow.
Memphis winked at their twin shell-shocked expressions.
Author Bio:
2012 RWA Golden Heart finalist Moriah Densley sees nothing odd at all about keeping both a violin case and a range bag stuffed with pistols in the back seat of her car. They hold up the stack of books in the middle, of course. She enjoys writing about Victorians, assassins, and geeks. Her muses are summoned by the smell of chocolate, usually at odd hours of the night. By day her alter ego is your friendly neighborhood music teacher. Moriah lives in Las Vegas with her husband
Website + blog: http://moriahdensley.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MoriahDensley
Twitter: http://twitter.com/moriahdensley
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/moriahdensley/
Goodreads book page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15853313-the-valkyrie-s-guardian
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829287.Moriah_Densley
Now on Tour Bounty Hunter by Kate Lynd
What Is Bounty Hunter Really All About?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH7KZD...
Cowboys & Aliens was a film with a hero in the Clint Eastwood mold. The Man Without A Name kind of feel. And the movie excelled at what it was attempting to do which was mash up to different genres and it inspired my first sci-fi erotic romance in No Ordinary Love and eventually a full novel in Bounty Hunter, my first print book. And it all started from the trailer above.
But what is Bounty Hunter really all about? I wrote a short about Bounty Hunter and Lea said I wasn’t ready to self-publish. Did I resent the comment? Of course I did? I was arrogant enough to believe I didn’t need to develop any further. The irony was, by allowing the story to cook longer I rewrote a longer piece and snagged a print contract in the process. So I actually have Lea to thank for having me heed a better path and Frank for the contract giving me ebook, print, and audio versions of my book.
Bounty Hunter tells the tale of Logan Mitchell a haf-breed human-alien who tracks criminals of both ilk down without much care for what happens to them once they leave his care. But when half-breed Alabama Newsome’s case comes across his desk he is forced to challenge himself on long held beliefs and must decide, turn her over, or face certain death himself and save her life.
As I went along writing it I realized it was becoming a statement on how society treated the ‘other’ and how people who did not look like the majority as second class citizens. At how cultures treat other cultures and how they treat one another. Where do the offspring of these cultures fit and are they treated fairly.
When it comes to Logan his parents loved one another but his mother has always led him to believe his father, a charismatic resistance leader, was dead. The Lonegals exploit that lie and try to lead him down a path where he would become angry and throw Alabama to the wolves but upon meeting her he realizes she is much more complex than the lie and decides to use his skills as a hunter to find out the truth.
Seemingly with all of society on both sides of the family tree working against them I wasn’t sure until I wrote the last page if they were going to end up together. But as the story wound down I realized my own beliefs were at play here. I had given them allies along the way. Even though they were not perfect allies they were allies nonetheless. So if I wanted an optimistic outcome I could give them one.
When two sides have such distaste for one another and one is so clearly in the wrong it is hard to believe that anyone on the other side will make a positive decision. I made my decision in the story and it was emotionally satisfying. I hope you will take the opportunity to check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
November 1 Tour IntroFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
November 3 PromoRoxanne’s Realmwww.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
November 6 Guest blogThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
November 8 Guest blogFlutey Wordshttp://authoraubrie.blogspot.com
November 12 InterviewKayDee bloghttp://www.kaydeeroyal.blogspot.com
November 15 promoDay Dreaming Book Reviews –http://daydrmzzz.blogspot.com
November 15 Bewitching Magazine Featurehttp://issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours
November 17 PromoSapphyria's Steamy Book Reviews: http://saphssteamybooks.blogspot.com/
November 22 Guest blogRegina may ross's Blog http://reginamayross.com/
November 24 Interview Books & Other Spells. nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com
November 27 Guest blogWords of Wisdom from The Scarf Princesshttp://wowfromthescarfprincess.blogspot.com
November 28 guest blog and reviewFor The Love Of Film And Novelshttp://www.fortheloveoffilmandnovels.com/
November 28 promo and review Queen of the Night Reviews http://queenofthenightreviews.blogspot.com/
November 30 Guest blogLisa’s World of Bookswww.lisasworldofbooks.net
Bounty HunterKate LyndGenre: Sci-fi erotic romance
Publisher: Hydra Publications
Number of pages: 142Word Count: 41,559Cover Artist: Frank Hall
Amazon
Book Description:
Dare to fall in love. Dare to change the world.
Logan Mitchell doesn’t like to mess around when it comes to business. He is a rarity, a half-breed human/alien who has survived the purge. The product of an illicit affair between a charismatic human rebel and a sympathetic female alien from the planet Lonegal he is an outsider. He is a bounty hunter, and he is the best at what he does.
Enslaved from the age of fifteen, Alabama Newsome is a half-breed who’s managed to escape once and exact her revenge on the killer of her human mother and Lonegal father. Labeled a terrorist she was recaptured, tortured, and made to suffer for her actions. With the help of Logan’s imprisoned father she escapes once again and General Runyon wants her back. She’s pregnant with his child and he’s sure she’ll abort it.
When her case file comes across Logan’s desk he’s forced to deal with the truth mixed in with the lies. And he must decide, bring her in, or risk everything just to save her life.
Author Bio:Kate Lynd is an award winning blogger and 2nd place finisher in the 2011 Preditors & Editors Reader’s Choice Award for Best Romance Short Story for No Ordinary Love. She also writes as Amy McCorkle. Her books include 2012 Moondance International Film Festival Semi-Finalist Another Way to Die, and Set Fire to the Rain. GLADIATOR is her most recent release with Bounty Hunter, her first print book due out in October.
Her official website is http://AmyLMcCorkleKentuckyAuthor.webs.com, reviews, guest posts, and her random thoughts are posted at her blog, http://Creative-Chatter.blogspot.com, and she is peppered all over Facebook and Twitter under Amy Leigh McCorkle and @Kate_Lynd.
http://amylmccorklekentuckyauthor.webs.com
http://thegladiatorchronicles.webs.com
http://Creative-Chatter.blogspot.com
https://www.amazon.com/author/amymccorkle
http://Twitter.com/Kate_Lynd
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001053271003
October 31, 2012
The Witch's Dream Releases Under the Auspices of the Halloween Spirit
a love letter to Paranormal ROMANCE
In keeping with the season, I'm including an excerpt from the book at the end of this post that described a witchcraft event. (Not to be confused with Wicca. All Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans, just as all Christians are not Catholic.)
Litha Brandywine is a witch who is employed by The Order of the Black Swan and, when it comes to events of a paranormal nature, she's the best tracker alive. In the scene cited here, she is performing a rite to locate a missing person.
Though the book has been out for less than a week, several people have commented about the details of the working described. Let me take the opportunity to say that this is a work of fiction. The magick described in the book is based on actual practice, but, according to the very wise policy originally established by the Egyptian Mystery Schools, I would never accurately recreate the details of a spell or method that could hold a potential of harm in the wrong hands; either to the would-be practitioner or others. Enough things are depicted to convey the feeling, but enough details are always scrambled, disguised, and withheld to prevent misuse as a result of the description.
READING THE SERIES IN ORDER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. MyFamiliar Stranger, BOOK ONE . This series is a true serial in the sense that every book begins where the last ended. BOOK TWO, The Witch's Dream is a PURE romance and might be seen as the second act in a three act play.
DESCRIPTION: From New York to Ireland to Edinburgh to Siena to the Texas Hill Country to Napa Valley, a secret society, a witch, a demon, a psychic, a berserker, an ex-vampire, modern day knights, heroes, werewolves, elves and fae come together where emotions intersect. The story maps a trail from rages to epiphanies, but, in the end, proves that true love can find you in the strangest places, when you're least expecting it, even when you're far, far from home.
He was left behind when Elora Laiken made her choice. Now he’s had it with love, but a transplanted witch who happens to be the world’s best tracker hopes she can change his mind.
The Witch’s Dream begins with B Team on temporary assignment to Black Swan headquarters in Edinburgh where they are supposed to fill in for stretched-thin resources and assist with a werewolf issue. They’ve been given permission to stop in Ireland for a few days and help celebrate a handfasting at the palace in Derry.
When they reach Edinburgh, the afterglow of an elftale wedding quickly turns all business. A missing person report turns into a demon abduction. A simple werewolf sanction becomes a diplomatic issue requiring the one thing Elora is no longer willing to give - finesse.
INCLUDES: The first chapter of the third book, The Summoner's Tale.
Erotic content: 18+ A few steamy scenes. No menage. No BDSM.
EXCERPT.
It was Litha's great honor to have the dragon temporarily in her keeping as he had been recognized as a potent object of power and in service to magick for millennia. The proud Teuton dragon currently served as The Order's own version of Prometheus, silently holding the world on its shoulders while also protecting its treasure: a precious crystal ball held lovingly in its curved claws. The multifaceted crystal ball picked up every color in the room and reflected it back onto walls and ceiling as rainbow prisms. The effect was a space that was magical as well as magickal. Litha’s dragon, and she thought of him that way as she was his temporary caretaker, was charged with several tasks and he performed each admirably.
The globe, rendered in shades of green and brown, was perhaps a foot and a half in diameter and hinged very much like one of those liquor cabinet parlor tricks. It would separate at the equator and become two parts of a sphere, one half stationary, one half lid. When opened, it revealed one of Litha's two most prized treasures, a concave, black glass, scrying plate the same diameter as the globe's equator. The dragon stand had been built so that, when standing barefoot, the scrying plate was at exactly the same height as Litha's navel.
She reached out and lovingly ran her hand over the dragon's head as if he was a living pet. Sometime during the past two thousand years, his eyes had been replaced with black glass. The candle flames and rainbow prism danced together in his eyes making them seem so intelligent and lifelike that it was easy to imagine him as a familiar.
Litha pulled her red robe closer as she paid homage to the Spirits of the Four Winds whom she would be summoning to assist with Locating Magicks. Real witches are risk takers, comes with the territory. Even so, few witches would dare wear red when practicing the magickal arts because the color red possesses powerful attraction properties. That means red can be a shortcut in summoning, but also attracts the bad as well the good. Litha came from a rich history of witch ancestors who tended to act according to a philosophy of "great gambles bring great rewards" and, at some point, it had become part of the family's genetic legacy. It was partly natural to her and partly logical since Litha knew she was powerful, or practiced, enough to hold a sufficient protection barrier while admitting friendlier Powers of Assistance and accepting their help.
The witch took up a large purple candle and began circling the globe in the center of the room in a clockwise direction. She carefully counted nine revolutions as she sang an old medieval melody with lyrics written and substituted by the witch, herself. Her singing voice was quite pleasant although the quality of performance would have no bearing on outcome. The melody was not more magickal because it was medieval. It was simply a useful hook on which to hang the quatrains she had quickly, but specifically composed for chanting which would be crucial to outcome. She wrote the four-line rhymes in her head while she was bathing and now repeated them in magickal form while she raised energy by stirring the atmosphere into the equivalent of a small whirlwind.
After completing nine circles and chants, Litha used the flame of the purple candle to light a large white candle with three wicks. She then sprinkled a mixture of Dragon's Blood resin, Solomon's Seal, white sage, and crystalline salt directly onto the candle's flames. When the herbs caught fire, she invited into the circle those who could be of service whether spirits, guides, or elementals with the caveat that they were welcome so long as they wished her well and would not prove to be a lot of trouble later on.
When she was satisfied that conditions were optimum, she opened the globe. She always felt a rush of satisfaction upon viewing the gleaming surface with alphabetical, numerical, alchemical, and Theban script symbols etched on its surface in circular patterns. Taking hold of the pendant necklace that she always wore, she pulled downward to remove the outer cover which was a crystal with planed edges forming a heptagon. No one would guess that the crystal was a cover disguising a pendulum of black opal, perfectly weighted for scrying, encased in a Celtic knot filigree of white gold matching the necklace chain.
The pointed stone was the rarest black opal, alive with deep red flecks called "fire" by jewelers. Litha's pendulum had been hand crafted for her by the monks of Cairdeas Deo and given to her on her sixteenth birthday. Or, rather, the day that had been arbitrarily established as the day they would celebrate her birth.
That birthday was a milestone because it was the day she had been given the freedom to legally drive by herself. In the process of celebrating by doing exactly that she came across a scene that would forever be etched in her heart: a pink Italianate villa sitting high above the Sonoma Coast with vineyards terracing toward the sea, neighboring hills covered with flowering yellow mustard so that it looked like something from a fantasy. She had pulled the car over, taken a mental snapshot, and knew that someday she would drive through the gate and it would be hers.
She ran her finger over the pointed end just to reestablish the connection - which was never really broken.
When she held the pendulum over the glass, it immediately dropped into place and stilled, awaiting instructions from its mistress. She began to trace Katrina's name, one letter at a time, while picturing Katrina - replaying the snapshot moments of their brief time together - and "hearing" the sound of her voice. Then she began to add details about Katrina's current situation and state of mind that were gained from Aelsong's visions.
By the time she reached the "i", the pendulum was moving on its own to complete the specification ritual. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see candle flames dance and flicker as if a draft had blown through the room. For Litha spontaneous movement of air was a more or less commonplace occurrence, at least when she was scrying. If others preferred to think of the phenomenon as invisible, or discarnate entities, it made no difference to her.
She closed the globe and moved so that she was facing Scotia, then held the pendulum above it simply saying, "Where?"
The pendulum did not move. Which was a first. Frowning, Litha repeated her command a little more firmly, "Where?"
No response.
She lowered the pendulum, took it in her hand, and rolled it around in her palm a few times while deliberately focusing on an image of Katrina.
Again, she held the pendulum above the globe. "Where?"
No response.
Remembering that Aelsong said Katrina was no longer in the same reality, she decided to alter the question. She held the pendulum above the globe and asked, "Near where?"
Almost instantly it began to pull toward the east like it was magnetized. Allowing enough slack so that it could go where it wanted, Litha allowed the point to slide over the map of Europe. Across France. Past Genoa. It came to rest just south of Florence. Siena.
"Got it."
Hope you enjoy this book and have a wonderful ...
Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, Hallowstide, Hallowmas, the Great Sabbat, the Feast of the Dead, or Witches' New Year. For Witches who practice one of the branches of magick based in Celtic heritage, it is called Samhain. Pronounced like sau'-wan. Visit 7th-House.com to see my non-fiction work.
My Best, Victoria Danann
WEBSITE: http://www.VictoriaDanann.comBLOG: http://VictoriaDanann.meFACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/vdanann TWITTER: @vdanann
In keeping with the season, I'm including an excerpt from the book at the end of this post that described a witchcraft event. (Not to be confused with Wicca. All Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans, just as all Christians are not Catholic.)
Litha Brandywine is a witch who is employed by The Order of the Black Swan and, when it comes to events of a paranormal nature, she's the best tracker alive. In the scene cited here, she is performing a rite to locate a missing person.
Though the book has been out for less than a week, several people have commented about the details of the working described. Let me take the opportunity to say that this is a work of fiction. The magick described in the book is based on actual practice, but, according to the very wise policy originally established by the Egyptian Mystery Schools, I would never accurately recreate the details of a spell or method that could hold a potential of harm in the wrong hands; either to the would-be practitioner or others. Enough things are depicted to convey the feeling, but enough details are always scrambled, disguised, and withheld to prevent misuse as a result of the description.
READING THE SERIES IN ORDER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. MyFamiliar Stranger, BOOK ONE . This series is a true serial in the sense that every book begins where the last ended. BOOK TWO, The Witch's Dream is a PURE romance and might be seen as the second act in a three act play.
DESCRIPTION: From New York to Ireland to Edinburgh to Siena to the Texas Hill Country to Napa Valley, a secret society, a witch, a demon, a psychic, a berserker, an ex-vampire, modern day knights, heroes, werewolves, elves and fae come together where emotions intersect. The story maps a trail from rages to epiphanies, but, in the end, proves that true love can find you in the strangest places, when you're least expecting it, even when you're far, far from home.
He was left behind when Elora Laiken made her choice. Now he’s had it with love, but a transplanted witch who happens to be the world’s best tracker hopes she can change his mind.
The Witch’s Dream begins with B Team on temporary assignment to Black Swan headquarters in Edinburgh where they are supposed to fill in for stretched-thin resources and assist with a werewolf issue. They’ve been given permission to stop in Ireland for a few days and help celebrate a handfasting at the palace in Derry.
When they reach Edinburgh, the afterglow of an elftale wedding quickly turns all business. A missing person report turns into a demon abduction. A simple werewolf sanction becomes a diplomatic issue requiring the one thing Elora is no longer willing to give - finesse.
INCLUDES: The first chapter of the third book, The Summoner's Tale.
Erotic content: 18+ A few steamy scenes. No menage. No BDSM.
EXCERPT.
It was Litha's great honor to have the dragon temporarily in her keeping as he had been recognized as a potent object of power and in service to magick for millennia. The proud Teuton dragon currently served as The Order's own version of Prometheus, silently holding the world on its shoulders while also protecting its treasure: a precious crystal ball held lovingly in its curved claws. The multifaceted crystal ball picked up every color in the room and reflected it back onto walls and ceiling as rainbow prisms. The effect was a space that was magical as well as magickal. Litha’s dragon, and she thought of him that way as she was his temporary caretaker, was charged with several tasks and he performed each admirably.
The globe, rendered in shades of green and brown, was perhaps a foot and a half in diameter and hinged very much like one of those liquor cabinet parlor tricks. It would separate at the equator and become two parts of a sphere, one half stationary, one half lid. When opened, it revealed one of Litha's two most prized treasures, a concave, black glass, scrying plate the same diameter as the globe's equator. The dragon stand had been built so that, when standing barefoot, the scrying plate was at exactly the same height as Litha's navel.
She reached out and lovingly ran her hand over the dragon's head as if he was a living pet. Sometime during the past two thousand years, his eyes had been replaced with black glass. The candle flames and rainbow prism danced together in his eyes making them seem so intelligent and lifelike that it was easy to imagine him as a familiar.
Litha pulled her red robe closer as she paid homage to the Spirits of the Four Winds whom she would be summoning to assist with Locating Magicks. Real witches are risk takers, comes with the territory. Even so, few witches would dare wear red when practicing the magickal arts because the color red possesses powerful attraction properties. That means red can be a shortcut in summoning, but also attracts the bad as well the good. Litha came from a rich history of witch ancestors who tended to act according to a philosophy of "great gambles bring great rewards" and, at some point, it had become part of the family's genetic legacy. It was partly natural to her and partly logical since Litha knew she was powerful, or practiced, enough to hold a sufficient protection barrier while admitting friendlier Powers of Assistance and accepting their help.
The witch took up a large purple candle and began circling the globe in the center of the room in a clockwise direction. She carefully counted nine revolutions as she sang an old medieval melody with lyrics written and substituted by the witch, herself. Her singing voice was quite pleasant although the quality of performance would have no bearing on outcome. The melody was not more magickal because it was medieval. It was simply a useful hook on which to hang the quatrains she had quickly, but specifically composed for chanting which would be crucial to outcome. She wrote the four-line rhymes in her head while she was bathing and now repeated them in magickal form while she raised energy by stirring the atmosphere into the equivalent of a small whirlwind.
After completing nine circles and chants, Litha used the flame of the purple candle to light a large white candle with three wicks. She then sprinkled a mixture of Dragon's Blood resin, Solomon's Seal, white sage, and crystalline salt directly onto the candle's flames. When the herbs caught fire, she invited into the circle those who could be of service whether spirits, guides, or elementals with the caveat that they were welcome so long as they wished her well and would not prove to be a lot of trouble later on.
When she was satisfied that conditions were optimum, she opened the globe. She always felt a rush of satisfaction upon viewing the gleaming surface with alphabetical, numerical, alchemical, and Theban script symbols etched on its surface in circular patterns. Taking hold of the pendant necklace that she always wore, she pulled downward to remove the outer cover which was a crystal with planed edges forming a heptagon. No one would guess that the crystal was a cover disguising a pendulum of black opal, perfectly weighted for scrying, encased in a Celtic knot filigree of white gold matching the necklace chain.
The pointed stone was the rarest black opal, alive with deep red flecks called "fire" by jewelers. Litha's pendulum had been hand crafted for her by the monks of Cairdeas Deo and given to her on her sixteenth birthday. Or, rather, the day that had been arbitrarily established as the day they would celebrate her birth.
That birthday was a milestone because it was the day she had been given the freedom to legally drive by herself. In the process of celebrating by doing exactly that she came across a scene that would forever be etched in her heart: a pink Italianate villa sitting high above the Sonoma Coast with vineyards terracing toward the sea, neighboring hills covered with flowering yellow mustard so that it looked like something from a fantasy. She had pulled the car over, taken a mental snapshot, and knew that someday she would drive through the gate and it would be hers.
She ran her finger over the pointed end just to reestablish the connection - which was never really broken.
When she held the pendulum over the glass, it immediately dropped into place and stilled, awaiting instructions from its mistress. She began to trace Katrina's name, one letter at a time, while picturing Katrina - replaying the snapshot moments of their brief time together - and "hearing" the sound of her voice. Then she began to add details about Katrina's current situation and state of mind that were gained from Aelsong's visions.
By the time she reached the "i", the pendulum was moving on its own to complete the specification ritual. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see candle flames dance and flicker as if a draft had blown through the room. For Litha spontaneous movement of air was a more or less commonplace occurrence, at least when she was scrying. If others preferred to think of the phenomenon as invisible, or discarnate entities, it made no difference to her.
She closed the globe and moved so that she was facing Scotia, then held the pendulum above it simply saying, "Where?"
The pendulum did not move. Which was a first. Frowning, Litha repeated her command a little more firmly, "Where?"
No response.
She lowered the pendulum, took it in her hand, and rolled it around in her palm a few times while deliberately focusing on an image of Katrina.
Again, she held the pendulum above the globe. "Where?"
No response.
Remembering that Aelsong said Katrina was no longer in the same reality, she decided to alter the question. She held the pendulum above the globe and asked, "Near where?"
Almost instantly it began to pull toward the east like it was magnetized. Allowing enough slack so that it could go where it wanted, Litha allowed the point to slide over the map of Europe. Across France. Past Genoa. It came to rest just south of Florence. Siena.
"Got it."
Hope you enjoy this book and have a wonderful ...
Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, Hallowstide, Hallowmas, the Great Sabbat, the Feast of the Dead, or Witches' New Year. For Witches who practice one of the branches of magick based in Celtic heritage, it is called Samhain. Pronounced like sau'-wan. Visit 7th-House.com to see my non-fiction work.
My Best, Victoria Danann
WEBSITE: http://www.VictoriaDanann.comBLOG: http://VictoriaDanann.meFACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/vdanann TWITTER: @vdanann
October 30, 2012
Interview and Giveaway with Jessica Degarmo
Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?
My name is Jessica L. Degarmo, and I’ve been writing since early 2010. I’ve always been fascinated with vampires and after my publisher suggested I give writing a vampire book a shot, I found out that I really liked it! It was very fun to let go of all of my self-imposed limitations and create a character that was edgy, dark and violent.
What is it about the paranormal, in particular vampires, that fascinates you so much?I think it’s honestly the concept of eternal life that draws me to vampires. Let’s face it, vampires have it made, well, except for the whole drinking blood and killing people thing. But to live forever would be cool.
Please tell us about your latest release.
Blood Lust is about Nexess, a vampire who serves as assassin and sex slave to Italian gang leader Antonio Bianchi. She owes him her very existence and does his bidding and fulfills his every whim. But when she meets the vampire who plays for the other team, so to speak, she is confronted with some nasty truths about herself and how she was created. She’ll be forced to choose between lust and loyalty.
Do you have a special formula for creating characters' names? Do you try to match a name with a certain meaning to attributes of the character or do you search for names popular in certain time periods or regions?
Sometimes the name chooses the character, I think. I try to use names that embody characteristics of my characters. In Blood Lust, Nexess’s name is symbolic. A nexus is a connection between two things, and Nexess’s powers connect Antonio to his every desire. She and Antonio are also connected by blood. There are a few other connections in the book, but I don’t want to give them away!
Was one of your characters more challenging to write than another?
It was probably Antonio who was the most difficult to write, simply because I don’t speak Italian, but he does. I had some help from some great friends, however, who perfected my slang!
Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?
Nexess, of course! She is such a kick-butt (or ass if your blog is ok with that) heroine! I loved writing her attitude and her swagger. None of my other characters in any of my other books is that tough, and honestly, neither am I, so it was fun and challenging to give her that nasty edge.
Do you have a formula for developing characters? Like do you create a character sketch or list of attributes before you start writing or do you just let the character develop as you write?
I usually come up with an idea for the plot before I really go too far with the characters, which can occasionally be problematic. But if I find I’m fuzzy with how he or she would react in a scene, I start jotting down character attributes which serves to refocus me and keep the characters true to themselves.
What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?
Hmmm…I love the ending, but obviously I can’t say anything about it. Let’s just say that justice is dealt swiftly.
Did you find anything really interesting while researching this or another book?
Vampires are very fascinating, and really, almost anything goes. In every culture, they’re portrayed a bit differently. Some have no reflection. Some can walk in daylight. Some are more animal than human and vice-versa. So it was actually really nice to be able to make my vampires unique and create how I thought they’d act.
What is the most interesting thing you have physically done for book related research purposes?
Well, when I was writing The Storm Within, my first Johns Creek Second Chances novel, I got to go to our local fire department and interview some firemen. Then they dressed me up in their gear and let me sit in the fire truck and play with the lights and sirens. It was so much fun!
Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?
Well, my book takes place in Chicago, which isn’t obviously anything paranormal. My book would be considered urban vamp lit, I guess, so I use real places and infuse them with extraordinary beings.
Do any of your characters have similar characteristics of yourself in them and what are they?
I’d like to think that Nexess and I share a certain take-charge attitude, and we both persevere and make the best of bad situations. But she’s much tougher and thirstier than I am.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? How do you deal with it?
Unfortunately, yes. But if I just let go and forget about writing for a bit, I am usually able to recover. Inspiration strikes me at the weirdest times!
Do you write in different genres?
Yes. Blood Lust is my first urban lit book. I normally write either contemporary romance or romantic comedy. I also have a book that I’d consider a straight literary fiction work called Six Weeks that has sparked some controversy.
Do you find it difficult to write in multiple genres?
Well, sort of. I was able to write Six Weeks and Blood Lust very quickly, actually. I think the ideas were there and strong enough that it flowed naturally. But I am in the process of writing a psychological thriller, and it’s admittedly difficult. I guess the answer is that it depends on the genre. I seem to be able to switch to a more literary book more easily than other genres.
When did you consider yourself a writer?
Hmmmm. I’m not sure I still do! I’ve written seven books, but I still wonder if it’s a bit of a fluke. I haven’t stopped writing since I started in January 2010, so maybe I am a writer. But it’s weird. It feels like it happened to someone else, and looking back at my books today, I’m not sure I could have done it a second time. I think things lined up just right and allowed me to finish my books. Let’s hope my luck continues to hold out until I get out some sequels. What are your guilty pleasures in life?
I love Pit Bulls and Parolees, Hell’s Kitchen, Master Chef, and Bones. TV is definitely a guilty pleasure for me. I also love to sing, and I’m the lead singer in a classic rock band. Music is so much a part of my life. I feel good when I perform.
Other than writing, what are some of your interests, hobbies or passions in life?
I love to take bicycle rides with my family, or walks in the woods. I love to read, of course, and I absolutely adore singing. I also collect gemstones. I’m such a girl! I love sparkly things.
What was the last amazing book you read?
The Last Juror by John Grisham. I’ve read it over and over so many times! But it’s such a special book. I’d recommend it to anyone.
Where is your favorite place to read? Do you have a cozy corner or special reading spot?
I love to read in my little living room library in our cozy recliner. Heaven!
What can readers expect next from you?
Oh, boy! Lots! I have Wanderlust, the next book in my Lust Trilogy scheduled for 2013 as well as the sequel to my second book, Hooking Up. I’m also working on another Johns Creek Book. Then there’s that psychological thriller I’m working on, too. Yeah, I’ll be busy for a while.
Where can readers find you on the web?
www.jessicadegarmo.com is my official website. I’m also on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/booksbyjessi.... And I’m @degarmo2911 on Twitter.
Would you like to leave readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?
Two of Antonio’s thugs guard the door to the warehouse. They are riff-raff, street scum, lowly members of Antonio’s family, the latest recruits of Nuove Leve. Dozens of men have come through these doors in the past four years and they’re all the same. They petition Antonio to join our family, and either wash out or move up through the ranks. Russo and Manny are the newest additions to our family, and they’re worse than normal. These two remind me of caricatures, of stereotypical meathead wannabe gangsters, and I eye them with disdain. They smell of low-rent tenements and bargain basement clothing, cheap cigarettes and cheaper beer. I smirk at them as I approach.
“Hey, Nexess, whoring yourself out again?” Russo sneers at me, thinking to press my buttons, for what, I don’t know. He has no idea of the danger in pissing me off. Not yet. He’ll soon learn.
“Fuck you,” I growl at him, giving him a small glimpse into the animal inside of me, the one that thirsts for his blood.
“Nice comeback, slut. You just learn that word?” Manny says, grinning bravely. His eyes glint in the weak wash of street lights. He, too, is all brawn and no brain, and my patience with both of them is being sorely tested. The only thing that keeps me from spilling their blood on the warehouse floor is my loyalty to Antonio, that and the fact I’d just fed.
“Stupid asshole, maybe one day you’ll learn who you can and can’t fuck with,” I threaten, a purr in my voice men often mistake for sex. It couldn’t be further from that. The purr is a ruse, a sound meant to disarm and distract, a sound I make right before I pounce. And when I pounce, the purr is the last sound they hear before succumbing to my bite. But not today. Today I’m in a hurry and besides, I just ate.
“Yeah? Like who? You? What could you possibly do to us?” Manny asks with a laugh. He looks down his nose at me, sneering a bit as his gaze rests on my chest. I can nearly hear his thoughts, and I know his kind and their appetites all too well. The only value a woman has to them is while she’s on her back.
He’s showing off now, flexing his bicep and gesturing to it proudly. Then he looks at me and says something that confirms to me just how much of a stupid fuck he is. “Yeah? Beat that, little girl.”
It’s time to teach the gangster a lesson.
I take one step and flex my arm, and he’s unconscious and on the ground before he can draw his next breath.
“Jesus!” Russo squeals as he takes a step backwards and trips over a loose brick. I laugh as he falls on his ass. He boosts himself up on his hands and knees and backpedals for his life. He’s moving fast but not going anywhere and I laugh again, one sinister sound that sends his heart into frantic gallops. The sound of the rapid thuds inside his chest makes me smile.“You were saying?” I ask as I rest one leather boot-clad foot on his chest.
“Nothing. G-g-go right on up. He-he-he’s expecting you. Jesus!”
“I fucking thought so. See you, Russo,” I say, stepping past him.
Manny comes to with a groan and tries to rise, but one quick shove sends him roughly against the brick wall of the warehouse. He curses madly as he bounces off and falls to the ground.
“Shit, that hurt! You bitch!”
I ignore that remark, which saves Manny’s life, and step up the stairs toward my master.
Blood LustThe Lust Trilogy Book OneBy Jessica DeGarmo
Genre: Paranormal RomancePublisher: Taylor Street Books
Book Description:
Owned by Nuove Leve, an Italian street gang in the heart of Chicago, Nexess is both a tool and a toy to leader Antonio Bianchi. She lives to serve and protect him, and to exact revenge on Feral .45, the Mexican Leve rivals who have condemned Nexess to an eternity of thirst.
But when she meets Jace, the vampire for the opposing gang, battle lines begin to blur and soon she’ll have to choose between loyalty and love as she tries to fulfill her own blood lust.
About the Author:Jessica Degarmo grew up in Upstate New York and now lives with her husband, children and dog in rural Pennsylvania. When she is not writing, she is an insurance agent, the lead singer in a classic rock band, and an avid collector of gemstones.
Her publishing credits include:
How to Meet a Guy at the Supermarket (Taylor Street Publishing, November 2010)
Hooking Up (Taylor Street Publishing, May 2011)
Decisions (Silver Publishing, July 2011)
The Storm Within, A Johns Creek Second Chances Novel #1(Taylor Street Publishing, September 2011)
Six Weeks (Taylor Street Publishing, October 2011)
Historically Yours, A Johns Creek Second Chances Novel #2(Taylor Street Publishing, August 2012)
She is currently working on several other projects. Visit Jessica's website for more information at www.jessicadegarmo.com
http://www.jessicadegarmo.com/p/blood-lust.html
http://www.facebook.com/booksbyjessicadegarmo
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Courtney Renee Guest blog
OUTLINES AND FAR OFF PLACESBy Courtney Rene
First and foremost, I am not an outline person. Never have been and most likely never will be. For me, part of the fun of being a writer is seeing where the story will go. If I sit down and plan it all out, piece-by-piece and event-by-event, it takes all the mystery out of it. Why write the story if I already know how it’s going to end?
When I came up with the idea for the Shadow Dancer series, I had no idea when I started that I would have to come up with a whole new world. Although Shadow Dancer didn’t really need the thought out landscape and details of Acadia, the next book Shadow Warrior did. You can’t go to another world if you haven’t created it yet. I was at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed. So I did what any writer would do…I went to google. I did research on fantasy worlds and I did research on the elements (since I had created four semi-elemental realms this was a must). I also went to the library and did more research. I printed out photos and descriptions and made notes and photocopies and when I was done, I had so much crap that I didn’t know what to do with it all. Frankly, in trying to get an idea for my fantasy realm, Acadia, I had quite overwhelmed myself. That pile sat and sat and haunted me for about a month. I didn’t touch it or look at it or even move it.
Then one day I was laying out in the sunshine thinking and watching a hoard of butterflies eat the peaches off my trees (I didn’t know they did that) when I suddenly realized I was making Acadia way to hard. I closed my eyes and let my mind simply create the landscape of Acadia. What did I know about Acadia? For one, it was hot there and it never rained. From there, Acadia slowly but surely began to form. But how was I to keep it all straight and clear in my head while writing the book?
First thing I did was chuck all the prior research I had done, all of it, except for the elemental stuff. The next thing I did was purchase a “project” board. It’s like poster board only about ¼ inch thick. Then I started making notes on note cards and notebook paper about the world I was creating. I drew by hand a rough outline of Acadia (it was a sad little drawing). I made notes of the new people and their powers and their personalities. Then I tacked and tapes and stapled them all up on my board.
When that was done, I sat down and started to write the world of Acadia into my novel. Anytime I was confused about something, all I had to do was flip through the pages on my board. Anytime a new person or new element of the story presented, I added it to the board. By the time I was finished writing the Shadow Dancer Series, I had three full boards going at one time.
Creating and keeping track of a new fantasy world was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. But the boards? They work for me. Someone told me once that those boards are actually my way of outlining. Ummm, no way! As I said, I am not an outliner.
Shadow’s EndBook 3 in the Shadow Dancer SeriesCourtney ReneGenre: YA ParanormalPublisher: Rogue Phoenix PressISBN: 978-1-936403-97-4
Cover Artist: Genene Valleau
Book Description:
The adventure and the struggle continue for Sunny, as the fight for control of Acadia is near. Battle lines have been drawn, not just by King Gideon, but also by the rebels that were once Sunny’s allies.
Due to unexpected trips to the ice realm and the fire realm, new allies are found to help build the Army of the Sun. There are new worlds explored. New friends and new enemies made.
Ready or not, Sunny must prepare for what is coming as well as decide where she belongs within it all. But…what about prom? What about Leif? What about home? How can she, just a seventeen year old girl, rule a whole world? She’s not even sure if she can get through finals.
About the Author:Courtney Rene lives in Ohio with her husband and two children. She is a graduate and member of the Institute of Children’s Literature. Her writings include magazine articles, short fiction stories, several anthologies, as well as her novels, A Howl in the Night and the Shadow Dancer series, published through Rogue Phoenix Press. For a complete listing, visit www.ctnyrene.blogspot.com
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http://www.amazon.com/Courtney-Rene/e/B004X6SS2Y/
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October 29, 2012
Author Charlie Daye interviews Oralia Raydon from The Gypsy’s Dance.
CD: Hello Oralia, thanks for sitting down to chat with me today.
OR: My pleasure Charlie. Thanks for taking the time to share my and Niko’s story.
CD: So tell me. When this incredible journey of yours began did you have any idea where you’d end up?
OR: Honestly, no. I was so certain that I was going to be stuck with that jerk Tobias for the rest of my life that no other outcome ever came to mind.
CD: *Grimaces* Yes, Tobias was a jerk and I’m happy you got another option.
OR: *Smiles* Thank you.
CD: *Grins* Why don’t we talk about your other option. Tell me how you felt when you first saw Niko.
OR: *Eyes become dreamy* I thought he was the most beautifully exotic man I had ever seen. His hair was the color of freshly fallen snow and his eyes sparkled like gold coins.
CD: *Sighs* he does sound dreamy.
OR: *Grins* I like to think so.
CD: Not to change the subject on you but what can you tell me about Markus? He seems quite dreamy too.
OR: *Laughs* I could introduce you to him if you like.
CD: *Blushes* Heavens no – well maybe if I was single I’d say yes.
OR: *laughs*
Male Voice: But is he good to you?
CD: *Nearly succumbs to a heart attack and spins around to see Niko standing behind her* Holy crap Niko! Don’t you know never to sneak up on a woman like that? You could lose an eye or something.
NR: *Arches his brow* Lose my eye?
CD: *Straightens her blouse* You never know I could be kung fu master.
NR: *Laughs* I’ll remember that next time. So, is he good to you?
CD: *frowns* Who?
NR: Your man because if he’s not we could arrest him and turn you over to Markus for safe keeping *grins*
CD: *Blushes profusely* Why don’t we get back to the interview questions.
OR: *giggles* Good idea or should we get Markus first?
CD: *groans* I can see now that I never should have opened my mouth to you two. (They both laugh) But seriously, are you guys really happy together? Was it love at first sight and all that jazz? (They look at each other)
OR: It was for me.
NR: Me too. And I couldn’t be happier except for when she uses her pouty face.
OR: *laughs* You love the pouty face and you know it.
CD: Well I‘m glad everything worked out so well for you two. Anything you’d like to share about your families?
NR: I hear you’re writing Keagan’s story next.
CD: *Nods*Yep, Can’t wait. I love Keagan’s sarcastic personality.
OR: Are you planning on writing stories for everyone in the family?
CD: Perhaps. If there is a really good story to tell.
NR: So you’ll be spending a lot of time with Keagan right?
CD: I suppose so. How else would I get to know him well enough to write his story?
OR: So, in essence you would have to spend a LOT of time with Markus if you wrote his story. *grins*
CD: *Sighs* I can see that this interview has come to an end. But before I leave is there anything you would like to tell the readers about your book?
NR: Buy it!
OR: It’s an amazing story about two people beating the odds to be together and you should really go buy it!
CD: Thanks for stopping by guys! (Charlie stands up to leave and steps back into a solid wall of muscle. She closes her eyes and shakes her head as Niko and Oralia chuckle) Please tell me you did not call your brother here.
MR: Hello Charlie
CD: *turns slowly* Uh… *giggles*… HI Markus.
MR: *runs his hand down her cheek* I can’t wait to spend some quality time with you… for my book of course.
CD: *gulp* Uh… yeah… uh… me to… well I gotta run. It was really nice seeing you. (Charlie turns to run and is stopped by Markus)
MR: Allow me to take you home.
CD: Oh boy (they disappear)
OR: (turns to Niko) She’s gonna kill us.
NR: *laughs* Nah, Markus will be a total gentleman but not before teasing her a little first. (Niko wraps his arms around Oralia) Shall we go?
OR: *Nods* Yes. (they disappear)
*Not to the readers* Markus did eventually return Charlie home after he took her to Niko and Oralia’s house so she could give them hell.
October 22 PromoSapphyria's Book Reviews: http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/
October 24 Guest blog and reviewQueen of the Night Reviews http://queenofthenightreviews.blogspot.com/
October 25 PromoCarly Fall - Where Fantasy Meets Romancewww.CarlyFall.com
October 27 InterviewRoxanne’s Realmwww.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
October 29 Guest blogA Bibliophiles Thoughts on Bookshttp://bibliophilesthoughtsonbooks.blogspot.com/
October 30 Guest blogFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
November 2 Guest blogLouisa Bacio Love Knows No Bounds – http://louisabacio.blogspot.com
November 3 Guest blogSMARTMOUTHTEXAN www.smartmouthtexan.wordpress.com
November 4 Guest blogNomi’s Paranormal Palacehttp://nomisparanormalpalace.blogspot.com.au
November 4 ReviewBooks & Other Spells. nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com
November 5 reviewThe Romance Writer's Readswww.theromancewritersreads.com
November 6 InterviewA Writer's Mind- www.skypuringtonwrites.blogspot.com
November 7 Promowww.stormgoddessbookreviews.blogspot.com
November 8 InterviewThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
November 10 Guest blog and reviewFor The Love Of Film And Novelshttp://www.fortheloveoffilmandnovels.com/
November 12 Guest blogAll Things Paranormalhttp://jacqpaige.blogspot.com/
November 13 PromoMy Life Through a Bookhttp://fictionaditction.wordpress.com/
November 14 InterviewBlooding Book Reviewshttp://frankieblooding.wordpress.com/
November 15 Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
The Gypsy’s DanceThe Hunter’s Series book 1Charlie Daye
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 978-1478278634ASIN: B008NZ1KYY
Number of pages: 334 approxWord Count: 81,888
Amazon Barnes and Noble
Book Description:
Oralia Simone just turned eighteen and discovered that she has been promised to someone by her parents for marriage. Not wanting to shame her family she agrees to participate in the matching celebration where she will dance for her betrothed.
Niko Raydon is a Hunter. He and his kind are what police the magical community and make sure that no one uses dark magic to harm another. Niko finds himself drawn to a small Gypsy village on the night of their annual matching celebration because of the use of dark magic.
Tobias McGrath is next in line to lead his clan of Gypsy's. He's been promised Oraila Simone - the most beautiful woman in the clan and intends to make her his no matter the cost.
When Oralia meets Niko the connection between them is instant and despite her impending marriage to Tobias she wants to be with Niko and he with her. But will their love be enough to set her free or will Tobias's use of evil magic tear them apart for good?
About the Author:
Charlie Daye began writing at the tender age of thirteen. With an obsession for romance, happy endings and the supernatural she delves into your greatest fantasies and worst nightmares. She will have you laughing, crying, falling in love and getting angry. She will always give you a HEA but getting there is the journey worth taking.
Charlie Daye was born in Lynwood, California. Her greatest passions are music and writing. Her first short story was written at the age of thirteen. At the time her entire class was asked to write a short story for Halloween as part of a homework assignment. Most of the kids in the class wrote one to two page stories... Charlie wrote eight. The short story titled The Haunted House went on to win her district wide awards and was published locally. From there she began writing poetry as means of expression. Since then Charlie has written five full length novels, three of which are currently available for sale, and one novella. She has several other books in the works and looks forward to sharing her various worlds with you.
www.Romancenovelcenter.com/charliedaye
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Charlie-Daye-Author/344922355541838
www.goodreads.com/author/show/5778139.Charlie_Daye
www.charliedaye.blogspot.com
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