Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 553

Interview with Janet Mullany Author of Blood Persuasion

Please welcome Janet Mullany to Fang-tastic Books today- she's here to talk about her Jane AUsten Vampire Novel- Blood Persuasion.
So Janet let's get started- Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?
Thanks so much for having me visit today!
I'm originally from England and can quite safely say that reading has ruined my life—making me late for things, distracted, and otherwise easily bored. I now live in Maryland and started writing about ten years ago, just to see if I could do it, having written a lot for various jobs.
My first book, DEDICATION, the only trad Regency with two bondage scenes, was published in 2005 and will be reissued, rewritten, by LooseId next year. JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION came about because the editor of my first Regency chicklit, THE RULES OF GENTILITY (HarperCollins 2005) asked me if I'd write something about Austen and vampires and JANE AND THE DAMNED (HarperCollins 2010), the first in a two-book contract, was the result.
Please tell us about your latest release.
JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION is set in Chawton, the village where Jane spent the last eight years of her life. She's finally in a place, emotionally and physically, where she can bring out the manuscripts she's been working on erratically for the last thirteen years or so and write seriously. But she finds a group of the Damned, the fashionable and seductive vampires of Georgian England, out of favor with the Prince of Wales (later the Prince Regent) has leased a house in the village. They include both the vampire who created (turned) her and Luke, her former lover. There's trouble in both the world of the Damned and within Jane's family, as her best friend and beloved niece discover the charms and dangers of associating with the Damned. Jane tries to protect them but association with the Damned means a return of her vampire characteristics, the one thing she desperately wants to avoid.
Was one of your characters more challenging to write than another?
Oh my gosh, yes. Trying to write about Jane Austen and taking liberties with her life was incredibly daunting. There is so much scholarship and research done on her life and I'm not an Austen scholar; I'm writing fiction. And I can't help but feel that the more I discover about Austen the more elusive she becomes. You have to remember that the image of "dear Aunt Jane" was pretty much created decades after her death by her family, but it remains with us to this day. So to the cries of "But Miss Austen would never have done that!" I can only respond, no, she wouldn't have—but my fictional, passionate, fierce vampire Jane Austen does.
Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?
Lovely hot Luke, Jane's vampire lover. Yum. And he's snarky, too.

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?
I love this passage, about Jane as a vampire. (By the way, Chawton Great House is in fine shape; very far from being a deserted ruin, it's now a library for women's literature of the early modern period: http://www.chawton.org)
Jane walked on, enjoying the pulsing life of the world around her, the energy of plants and of tiny creeping things. This is what she had now, this perception and capacity for amazement. She would like to write about …
She stopped. She would like to write about this? But what was she thinking? She was one of the Damned. She could not write anymore.
She bent to pluck a rosebud, running it through her fingers, and laughed as it pricked her. Her blood welled crimson and powerful. She breathed on the tiny wound to close it and the rose unfolded its petals, miraculous, displaying its fragile golden heart with a gust of sweet scent, a taste of the summer to come. Of many summers to come, too many to count. Jane would live to see this rosebush withered to dust and the Great House a deserted ruin.
Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?
I wanted to create vampires that fit in with (some) historical facts and with Jane Austen's life. So I created an alternate England where the vampires, the Damned, are the darlings of the ton, intensely fashionable and sophisticated. They can reveal their true nature if they wish and some people just know a vamp when they see one! They don't feed, they dine. Vampires are created, not turned. Extended fangs are known as being en sanglant, a pseudo-French term I invented. I rejected a lot of traditional vampire lore except where it forwarded my plot—a lack of reflection in a mirror, for instance. JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION includes an afterword about the history of the Damned and a glossary of terms.
With the book being part of a series, are there any character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?
I hope they can be read as stand alones! I'm aware that the first couple of the chapters of JABP are rather dense in texture, as they introduce a whole slew of Jane's family and recapitulate what happened in JATD.
Do you write in different genres?
Yes. I've written Regency historicals, what I call Regency chicklit (first person alternating between hero and heroine and in present tense), historical erotica and contemporary erotica. You can find out more at my website, janetmullany.com
Do you find it difficult to write in multiple genres?
No, I think I write the same sort of stuff all the time. I always find it very funny when readers say my Regency chicklits "don't have sex." They absolutely do! I think they're some of the sexiest things I've written, but they're not explicit and there's this tendency to confuse explicitness with the erotic. It's certainly one of the techniques of erotic writing but not the only one. Is JABP sexy? I think so. But you're seeing it mostly through the eyes of Jane Austen, a gentlewoman in early 19c England.
Other than writing, what are some of your interests, hobbies or passions in life?
I'm a history geek. I volunteer as a docent at Riversdale House Museum, a wonderful Federal-era house in suburban Maryland, and occasionally I get dressed up in my Regency outfit for it. I also love classical music and my part time dayjob is with a baroque music ensemble (as an administrator, not a musician!) and I'm passionate about getting people interested in this art form. I have an out of control garden I work on before mosquitoes, humidity, and vines drive me back inside.
Where is your favorite place to read? Do you have a cozy corner or special reading spot?
I read on my kindle on my commute on the Washington Metro. I love having a dayjob for that reason! And I have to read before I can go to sleep.
What can readers expect next from you?
I'm a contributor to another book coming out this month, a collection of short stories edited by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com, JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT. That book, mine, and Carrie Bebris's latest will have a fabulous launch party in Fort Worth, TX, on Friday, October 14. You can find out more about the book and the launch party at www.janeaustenmademedoit.com. It's in Fort Worth because we're all attending the JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) Conference taking place there, but the book launch party is open to everyone!
Where can readers find you on the web?
www.janetmullany.com where there's a contest, an excerpt from JABP and lots of info about my books.
Twitter @Janet_Mullany
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Janet-Mullany-Author/144530775580812

BLURB
It's 1810 and Jane Austen settles down to some serious writing in the peaceful village of Chawton. But it's not so peaceful when the Damned introduce themselves as her new neighbors. Jane has to deal with the threat of a vampire civil war, her best friend borrowing her precious silk stockings for assignations with the Damned, and a former lover determined to hold a grudge for eternity.

Interview with Z Author of the Gossip Ghouls Series

Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?

Mean Girls, vampires, reality TV, designer heels, and Paris Hilton needed to meet in the worst way.

What is it about the paranormal, in particular vampires that fascinates you so much?

Vampires have style; I don't.

What inspired you to write this book?

Chocolate and lots of it.

Please tell us about your latest release.

In Gossip Ghouls: Undead Hollywood, the sequel to the free Gossip Ghouls: Zombies and Lipstick, Z goes to Hollywood, only to find out the "shocking" truth. Undead stiffs control the movie industry--gasp!-- resurrecting and appearing in countless movies under assumed names. Z must conquer Undead Hollywood to become Tinseltown's first A-list zombie it girl.
P.S. She looks good in heels. Really.

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?
Given the name of my zombie heroine, I apparently just choose cool letters of the alphabet and let it go at that.

Was one of your characters more challenging to write than another?
Not really. Some were more fun than others, though. Vampie, from the first book, was fun. It was interesting looking at the world from the perspective of someone devoid of any and all morals.

Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?
See the above question.

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?

Zombie and vampire brats flying at each other doesn't really require extensive outlining. The outfits they wore, however, did require some research.

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?
The scene of death by high heels. It's the only way to go!
Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?
In our world, bitchiness is usually confined to words and deeds. In this world, fangs, claws, and magic make it a good deal more interesting.

With the book being part of a series, are there any character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?
The books could stand alone, but references to previous books appear in the new ones.

Do any of your characters have similar characteristics of yourself in them and what are they?

I hope not!

What was the last amazing book you read?

It's so amazing I can't even remember the title.

Where is your favorite place to read? Do you have a cozy corner or special reading spot?

In bed. It's the most exciting thing that happens there.

What can readers expect next from you?
A few more pounds o f cellulite. After that, a final Gossip Ghouls book.

Where can readers find you on the web?
At the moment, only at e-retailers and Smashwords. The first book's free on Amazon—plug, plug!

Would you like to leave readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?
Why not start at the beginning? Here goes...

Never make out with a chick's boyfriend at her own funeral.
I mean, it should be a law somewhere up there with not stealing another girl's lipstick or swiping her bra.
It's just wrong. And anyone with the least degree of common sense, living or dead, should just know it—without the corpse having to spell it out for them.
But apparently these girls never got the text message because there I was, lying in my designer coffin, complete with gold trim, cell phone in hand, seeing every word they texted while they were supposed to be crying for me. Everyone knew that dying was the one way for any girl to become popular, no matter how much of a pariah she was, but these chicks were cold, colder than I was, and I was the freakin' corpse.
Join Z and the Gossip Ghouls on Tour
Oct 3 Guest BlogMad Moose Mamahttp://www.madmoosemama.blogspot.com
October 5 InterviewFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
Oct 7 Halloween postwww.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
Oct 13 Guest BlogBookin' it Reviews http://www.bookinitreviews.com/
Oct 14 Guest Bloghttp://authoraubrie.blogspot.com
Oct 15 ReviewCarabosse's Libraryhttp://carabosseslibrary.blogspot.com/
Oct 17 Spooking the Spine Halloween Guest Postwww.bendingthespine.blogspot.com
Oct 19 Halloween Guest PieceThe Ramblings of Amy – http://amylunderman.blogspot.com/
Oct 21 Promo and Reviewhttp://secretsofabooklover.blogspot.com
Oct 22 Halloween theme spotBack of the Book Reviewswww.backofthebookreviews.com
Oct 23 review and guest blogGood Family Reads http://familyreads.blogspot.com
Oct 24 Halloween post Reading Between the Wineshttp://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/
10/25 Guest Post and Reviewon Mama Knows Books http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com
Oct 26 Halloween PostLisa's World of Bookshttp://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/
October 30 Interviewhttp://www.darkangelwritingtools.com
Oct 31 Halloween theme postRomancing the Darksidehttp://romancingthedarkside.blogspot.com


Zombies and Lipstick
By Z
Gossip Ghouls Book One

Blurb:

Zombie punk Z wakes up in her designer coffin to learn that Vampie, the undead Paris Hilton wannabe, killed her. At first, Z believes this attack stems from Vampie's jealousy over Z's boyfriend.
Soon, Z learns Vampie's master plan: stealing Z's boyfriend while eliminating werewolves and zombies altogether. Z decides to pose as Gossip Ghoul to get revenge on the billionaire vampress.
Impersonating Vampie's party girl cousin, Z enters the world of the super wealthy, of birka bags and designer fangs, of Parisian shopping sprees and lavish parties.
Will Z be exposed before she texts Vampie's scandalous secrets to the undead world? Or will Z vanquish Vampie to once again make the high school of the living and the undead a safe and fashionable place for all?

Download for Free:
Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/76119
Kindle on Amazon http://amzn.to/mOPU0e  

Undead Hollywood
By Z
Gossip Ghouls Book Two

Blurb:

In this sequel to The Gossip Ghouls: Zombies and Lipstick, Z finds herself heading for the Hollywood A-list. There's just one problem—to get there, she has to join The Club, a studio system run by the vampires who rule Undead Hollywood. During a wild party, Z learns that the entire film industry is truly run by the undead, some of whom plan to stage a war against the living to reclaim their old Hollywood status. Z must fight against parodies of Hollywood stars of the past in TV's Undead Idol to save her new husband's life and to reclaim her status as the zombie it girl.

Get Book 2 on your Kindle for Only .99 http://amzn.to/or8Lyh
 

Halloween Express Winner

Cristina is the winner of $75 to spend at HalloweenExpress.com

Donations I've Received for the 2011 Flint Vampire Ball

Check out all the awesome author donations I've received for the 2011 Flint Vampire Ball
I still have several boxes to sort through, I'll be posting all the photos soon then I'll post all the photos of everything separated into the goodie bags that will become the door prizes for the ball

If it Was Easy They'd Call the Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon: Living with and Loving the TV-Addicted, Sex-Obsessed, Not-So-Handy Man You Married

If it Was Easy They'd Call the Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon: Living with and Loving the TV-Addicted, Sex-Obsessed, Not-So-Handy Man You Married (Berkley Books) is coming out this Tuesday, October 4th!



















Check out the book trailer

Don't forget to google Zestra after you watch it... or better yet, check out the link on Jenna's homepage,

http://www.jennamccarthy.com/

Still On the Halloween Costume Hunt

I'm convinced the perfect costumes for Halloween are not out there for me. I need at least 2- I have 3 events to go to and I don't want to wear the same thing to each party. But I don't have one yet.
I am still searching. I want the husband and I to coordinate so I'm checking out sexy couple costumes at Pure Costumes.
I kinda like the gunfighter and cantina gal below.
I could totally vamp them up.

Gunfighter Adult Costume
$41.95


Cantina Gal Adult Costume
$31.95
















This Gangster Couple is sexy too Gangster Couple
Gangster Adult Costume
$27.95


Boop Boop A Doo Adult Costume
$34.95
But not really what I'm looking for
So I decided to check out the group costumes section
I found some sexy witch costumes
Witch Group CostumesMore Witch Group Costumes
Groovy Magic Adult Costume
$21.95


Incantasia, The Glamour Adult Witch
$27.95


Scarlet Witch Adult Costume
$27.95


Elegant Witch Adult Costume
$21.95

Still not what I'm looking for though even if they are super cute

Now on Tour Spectre of Intention

Excerpt:
If I could just try a door, get into a cabin. Were they all locked?


If I stopped long enough to try one, they'd be on me. Ahead I heard a bright, feminine laugh. I looked, a crack of light. Apologize later. I shoved my way into the room. I reached back to slam the door.

My head shattered.

Shards of pain exploded like so much glass, leaving behind a tender, exposed emptiness. My shrill gasp echoed through it.

Silence.

The footsteps from the hall followed me in. Someone grabbed my arm from behind as I stumbled forward into the over-bright room. A voice in front of me raised in disgust.

"Mak, what the fuck?! Who the hell is this chick? Are you trying to blow everything?"

I raised my head. The man perched on the arm of the sitting room couch continued to rage at the man gripping me, not giving me a second look. But I saw him, saw the changes wrought both by time and man. Hair once a tousled fuchsia, now hung straight, black to his jaw. A once slender frame filled in with muscle under that crisp white shirt. The face fuller, more sensual; the eyes still cocky as hell.

Then I felt it, the warmth of his mind touching mine. Him, sliding in, taking over my very being without meeting defense, without facing a moment's resistance.

And he must have felt it, too, because at that instant, Stephan Chen turned to look at me for the first time in five long, terrifying years. A smile of triumph spread across his face.

"Hello, Ashley."


October 3 Guest BlogMad Moose Mamahttp://www.madmoosemama.blogspot.com
Oct 4 Guest BlogSarah Mäkelähttp://blog.sarahmakela.com
October 6 Guest BlogMy Need to Readhttp://www.myneedtoread.com
October 9 InterviewLaurie Jenkins http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com
October 10 Review and Interviewhttp://tstillwagon.wordpress.com
October 11 Guest BlogAubrie Dionne's Bloghttp://authoraubrie.blogspot.com
October 13 Guest BlogObsession with Bookswww.obsessionwithbooks.blogspot.com
Oct 19 Review and InterviewBibrary Book Lusthttp://bibrary.blogspot.com
Oct 20 Interview and ReviewBack Of The Book Reviewswww.backofthebookreviews.com
October 21 Review and InterviewBeverly @ The Wormholehttp://wormyhole.blogspot.com
Oct 21 Interviewwww.embracetheshadows.wordpress.com
Oct 24 Dark Angel Interviewhttp://www.darkangelwritingtools.com/
Oct 25 Guest Blog and Reviewhttp://mnmrheinlander.com
Oct 27guest post and reviewhttp://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/


Spectre of Intention
By Tonya Macalino

"Secrets, Kaitlin. Secrets."

Kaitlin Osgood has a stowaway.

Underneath the glossy shell of the Senior VP for Countermeasures International lurks the tattered remains of the girl she once was: street rat and thief, Ashley Porter. Every day, every decision is brittle with the fear of discovery.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean on the cruise ship acting as the platform for the latest space elevator, she should finally be safe…

…safe from the sexy, enigmatic eyes of Director of Port Security Camden Glaswell who seems to see through Kaitlin's ruse.

…safe from the relentless, burning pursuit of master thief, Stephan Chen, the chief architect of Kaitlin's former life of crime—the onetime lover who haunts her still.

But Kaitlin has another secret: her talent for security comes not from the latest technology, but from her ability to sense people's emotions, to see the ghosts of their intentions.

It's a talent she must learn to wield as a weapon before the mistakes of her past cost Kaitlin her life…

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Spectre-Intention-Tonya-Macalino/dp/0983630305/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312914650&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spectre-of-intention-tonya-macalino/1100481815?ean=9780983630302&itm=1&usri=macalino



Tonya Macalino lives in Hillsboro, Oregon with her husband and two children. She is an avid collector of folklore and folk history, far too many to fit comfortably within the pages of any given book. When not working on her latest novel, she runs a handcrafted lotion, cosmetics, and bath company.
To read more of the little gems she unearthed during her research, please visit her blog at www.tonyamacalino.com
For news and events, drop by her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TonyaMacalino.com.

Tour Party Mind Over Monsters

A Machete is a Girl's Best FriendPraise!

"Chills and laughter share equal time in Harlow's fresh and funny debut…most engaging detectives to face the walking dead since Scully and Mulder…sure to amass an army of fans who are gnashing their teeth in anticipation of the next installment."
-The Library Journal

"…readers can look forward to plenty of high-energy chases after odd supernatural baddies in future installments." -Publisher's Weekly

"If Donald Westlake had gotten around to paranormal mystery it would have sounded like this. Harlow's debut is funny, creepy, and refreshingly brash."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Monstrously fun! Monstrously suspenseful! Monstrously good! Harlow's debut had me laughing and gasping from start to finish." -Victoria Laurie

"Wonderful! A gritty, dramatic police-procedural with a compelling heroine and facianting group of sidekicks." –Karen Chance

"Mind Over Monsters is funny, scary, and creepy—and ridiculous amounts of fun!"
-Kat Richardson

Okay, that's enough of that.

Hi! Thanks for attending my Tour Party! You really have no idea how much I appreciate you checking me out today. This is my first time, so be gentle with me. First off I have to thank Roxanne at Bewitching Book Tours for setting this all up. If you ever write a book she is the person to help you promote it. She's got me running ragged. Also thanks to all those hosts who agreed to either review, interview, or allow me to guest blog on their sites. It warms my heart to know that there is such a large community who supports writers and their books. It is dwindling, but readers are not.

So, about my book. Here is the back cover copy. I couldn't have done it better.

CLASSIFIED:
F.R.E.A.K.S. vs. Zombies
Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher—she can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing skill she hasn't yet mastered or embraced. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad, the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals. This top-secret branch of the FBI combats ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters threatening humanity. With her teammates—among them a handsome former-detective werewolf and an annoying Don Juan vampire who's dead-set on seducing her—Beatrice investigates her first case. Disgustingly dismembered bodies have turned up, bearing bite marks of the undead. Someone—or something—is raising a horde of hideous, bloodthirsty zombies. And the master of the flesh-devouring corpses is guarding a secret that's even more horrifying . . .
Featuring a team of monster hunters with unique paranormal abilities, the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series combines humor, suspense, and supernatural crime-fighting.
I'll be talking about my inspirations, writing the book, publishing, all that good stuff in my interviews and guest blogs.

Now, about me. I spent my restless childhood fighting with my three brothers and scaring the heck out of myself with horror movies and books. I grew up to earn a degree from the University of Virginia which I put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently I call Northern Virginia home but that restless itch is ever present. In my free time I continue to scare the beejepers out of myself watching scary movies and opening my credit card bills. Read my blog "Tales From the Darkside" and get the full tour schedule at www.jenniferharlowbooks.com. You can also friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter at jenharlowbooks.

So, I am at your mercy. I'm always happy to answer any questions or comments you have.
Now…let's party!

October 1 Fang-tastic Books Tour Partywww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
October 3 Interviewhttp://www.darkangelwritingtools.com
October 4 Interview and Review Sizzling Hot Bookswww.sizzlinghotbooks.net
Oct 5 Guest BlogKeeping Up With The Rheinlander'shttp://mnmrheinlander.com
October 5 Guest Blog Bite Clubwww.VampChixReadBooks.blogspot.com
October 6 Guest BlogMama Knows Books- http://mamaknowsbook.blogspot.com
October 6 Interviewhttp://www.rabidreads.com
Oct 7 Guest BlogBook Lover's Hideawayhttp://booklovershideaway.blogspot.com
October 11 InterviewAuthors By Authors, http://authorsbyauthors.blogspot.com
October 12 Guest Blogwww.booksandbarks.com
October 13 Guest Blog and Review The Book Nymphohttp://thebooknympho.blogspot.com/
Oct 13 31 Days of Halloween Eventhttp://www.read-all-over.net
October 14 Guest Posthttp://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/
October 15 Guest BlogMy Need to Readhttp://www.myneedtoread.com
October 17Guest Blog and Review *Urban Fantasy Investigationshttp://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/
October 18 Guest Blog and Review *Romancing the Book http://www.romancing-the-book.com
October 19 Guest Posthttp://1000plusbookstoread.blogspot.com
October 19 Guest Blog and Reviewhttp://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/
October 20 review Braintasia Bookshttp://www.braintasiabooks.com/
October 21 InterviewLaurie's Thoughts & Reviews http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com
October 22nd Guest Post, Review & GiveawayRomancing the Darkside http://romancingthedarkside.blogspot.com
October 22 Book Feature http://laurakayeauthor.blogspot.com/
October 23 Review and Excerpt The Wormholehttp://wormyhole.blogspot.com
Oct 24 Live Radio Interview7pm ESTBLogTalk Radio BK Walker
October 25 ReviewEveryone Loves a SiNner zenes-escape.blogspot.com
Oct 25 Guest BlogSarah Mäkelähttp://blog.sarahmakela.com
Oct 26 Guest Post Martha's Bookshelfhttp://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/
Oct 27 Book SpotlightBack of the Book Reviewsbackofthebookreviews.com
October 29 Guest Blog and Reviewhttp://fredasvoice.blogspot.com
October 30 Guest Posthttp://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com
Monday Oct 31 Live Radio 11pm ESTOther Worlds of Romance

Mind Over Monsters
A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation
By Jennifer Harlow

ISBN-10: 0-7387-2667-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-2667-0
US $14.95 • CAN $16.95
Trade Paperback Original • 53/16 x 8 • 288 pp.
October 2011

Paranormal heroes take on zombies in this funny and thrilling debut.

Very few people know the truth about Beatrice Alexander. She's no ordinary schoolteacher with a fondness for classic movies. Beatrice can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing and dangerous skill that she's never learned to master — or embrace. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins F.R.E.A.K.S. The Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals is a top-secret offshoot of the FBI that "neutralizes" ghouls, trolls, and other monsters threatening humanity.

Beatrice has no desire to become Buffy the vampire slayer. But F.R.E.A.K.S. offers training to control her power. Also, she doesn't feel like such a freak next to the other supernatural members, including a cute former detective who's a werewolf and an unbearable vampire determined to seduce Beatrice. Despite a natural instinct to flee from hideous, bloodthirsty zombies, Beatrice must prove herself on her first mission to find a cunning necromancer.

Praise for Mind Over Monsters:

"A wonderful debut! Jennifer Harlow has written a gritty, dramatic police-procedural with a compelling heroine and a fascinating group of sidekicks. Looking forward to the sequel!" —KAREN CHANCE, NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF CASSANDRA PALMER SERIES

"Mind Over Monsters is funny, scary, and creepy—and ridiculous amounts of fun!" —KAT RICHARDSON, AUTHOR OFTHE GREYWALKER NOVELS

"Monstrously fun! Monstrously suspenseful! Monstrously good! Jennifer Harlow's debut novel had me laughing and gasping from start to finish!"" —VICTORIA LAURIE, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE GHOST HUNTER MYSTERY SERIES AND THE PSYCHIC EYE MYSTERY SERIES
About Jennifer Harlow:
Jennifer Harlow earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She has been a bookseller, radio DJ, lab assistant, and government investigator. She lives in Northern Virginia and is hard at work on her next book.

Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virginia home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.

Jennifer is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, and Sisters in Crime.

Visit Jennifer at www.jenniferharlowbooks.com

5 copies of Mind Over Monsters are being given away tour wide
Open to US Shipping
Link to form
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Fang-tastic Halloween Giveaway

1 Lucky Reader will get this
Fang-tastic Halloween Prize Pack
Which Includes:
4 Books- pictured above
Vampire Fang Wallet
Bunch of Author Swag (stickers, bookmarks, etc)
Twilight Bookmarks ( 1 Edward and 1 Jacob)
Edward body stickers
Bewitching Book Tours Sticky Notepad and Pen
Open to US Shipping Only
1 winner will be chosen and announced Wed Oct 12

Guest Blog and Giveaway with Armand Rosamilia

Story Behind The Story: Crow Mill Bridge
by Armand Rosamilia


Welcome to the latest stop of my Skulls World Blog Tour 2011… today I'll be discussing one of the stories from my recent eBook release, the horror short story collection Skulls.

Skulls is six tales from author Armand Rosamilia, including "Memorial Site", "Vacation's End", "1920 Gallery Card #4", "Stairs To The Ocean", "Beastie", "Crow Mill Bridge" plus a preview of the urban horror novella Death Metal.

"Crow Mill Bridge" is actually a pretty old tale and one of the first I ever wrote that I didn't immediately delete, throw out or ignore forever. You see, in my teens I was going to be the Next Big Thing, the kid who challenged King and Koontz for world horror dominance. It didn't quite work that way.

Like all new writers, especially the young ones, I hadn't put in enough time actually writing and reading. I thought the typical 'I can do that!' and I was off, writing cheap knock-off tales that were probably thisclose to plagiarism.

But what it did for me was to get the writing in, to cut my teeth on plots and characters and dead-ends in stories, until I could actually write and go from Point A to Point B to Point C logically. As a kid I remember getting a vague idea for a plot… 'What if Satan came to a shoe store during closing?'… 'What if people, recently dead, were trapped in an elevator on the way to Hell?'… 'What if your boss wanted you to kill another employee?'… you get the idea. Maybe some of those What Ifs? Could be killer short stories, but twenty-five years ago they ended up being lame, unfinished shorts that made no real sense or were riddled with clichés.

Enter Black Moon Magazine. Never heard of it? Well, it was a fancy fanzine that I created and edited way back in the early 1990's. We featured Heavy Metal music and horror stories and reviews. At that point I hadn't written a short story in a couple of years and I had a word processor collecting dust on my dining room table.

Our first issue came out in June 1995, but as we crawled toward the release date we realized that we were missing a few pages of material. My partner, Lou, asked me if I had anything that could be printed. Of course, I said. Of course.

I had nothing that I even remotely liked. I can still remember freaking out as I sat in my lonely dining room, all the lights out, staring at that blank screen. After an hour or six of this I remember going through the mess pile on the table. I used to have this excellent filing system for stories and ideas, where I'd print things out, write things on napkins and scrap paper, and then add it to the overflowing piles on the table. It was a big table, and paper was always spilling onto the floor.

I don't remember what the original idea was that I saw, but I do know it included a character named Scroll. Crow Mill was/is a street name in New Jersey, up around Perth Amboy and Sayreville somewhere in an industrial area. For some reason it stuck and I ended up using those two different things to come up with the basis for the tale.

I think I actually just started writing and the story flowed. We printed it in the first issue of Black Moon Magazine. By the time the second issue was rolling off the presses (you actually had to print things back then) we had so many stories being sent in by authors that I never needed to print another of my stories. In Black Moon, at least.

When I put together the Skulls collection I wanted to get a good cross-reference of my work, old and new, the specific 'high points' of my fledgling career. Of course, I couldn't find a hard copy of "Crow Mill Bridge" since the original was saved onto an antiquated piece of machinery that I no longer owned.

I pulled out my only copy of Black Moon Magazine #1 (July/August 1995) and copied it word for word, struggling mightily to do any rewrite of the story as I did. 25+ years is a long time and there have been many, many words (and sales!) in between then and now, enough that I wanted to rip the story apart and do a complete revision.

I decided against it, to (hopefully) show my progression as a writer.

Let me know what you think!

Skulls on Amazon Kindle

~ Armand Rosamilia

Give away Time!
Armand is giving away an eBook copy of his "Highway To Hell" extreme zombie novella...

Highway To Hell blurb:
The end of the world is upon us... the zombie plague has taken over... and your former friends and loved ones don't want to just kill and eat you... they want to violate you...

includes the bonus short story "Rear Guard"

warning: extreme violence, extreme sexual situations, extreme zombies
To enter leave a comment on this post- tell us what do you love most about zombie novels?
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