Roxanne Rhoads's Blog, page 565

Dark Magick Guest Blog and Giveaway

The World Of The Gatekeepers

When we started writing this book, we knew what our world was going to look like. We planned out the different places where the gateways are as well as how it works. It's a rich and complex world of Fae, Witches, Demons, and much more all stuck together to make something new and different from other books we read.

The Gateways

In Dark Magick, there are seven gateways that open up to let in beings of all kinds. Some are able to help us in some way or another, while others are made of your worst nightmare. There is one on each continent, creating seven. It's impossible to know what ones are for good beings and what ones are for the scarier kinds, but they must all be closed to maintain some kind of balance.

Each gate has a witch assigned to them to open or close the gateway. They are hunted and captured in order for the evil to control the gateways and what ones close or stay open. They are also hunting witches who are working to stop them in their plans.

The Bad Guys

The bad guys are made up of a few different levels within this world. We have the ones we are confronted with regularly, being Acacia and Kalerian. We also have government officials who's only goal is to gain power. They helped to move the world into the chaos it is now and benefit from it.

These government officials create prisoner camps to collect humans and break their spirits. They also use these camps to find Witches in hiding.

We also have the Kings of Hell, which is loosely taken from the Japanese cultures. In our world, The Kings of Hell are trying to break the final barrier to the lowest realms of hell to take over the earth realm. They also materialize as black smoke to those they are using for their goals.

The Good Guys

The good guys consist of many levels of Witch to human. They are fighting to stay alive in a world that is totally against them. In Dark Magick, you get to see some of these pocket groups as they try to find each other and mount a war of sorts against those that want to kill them.

Along with the human and Witch survivors, we have a light touch of Fae. They want to stay out of the fight for the most part, but are inclined to help when one of their own is aligned with the bad guys of the world.

Dark Magick is full of action, romance, and fun. We think readers will love the mix and the characters as much as the world we created to put them in.

Book Description:

The world has changed, we have changed. The world we once knew has fallen away and left us in a wasteland of Magick. Powerful witches and underworld gods control our lives. The past comes back in ways we are not prepared for. The Gatekeepers are our only hope. The question is if we can get to them first.

http://thegatekeeperseries.info

http://wickednightspublishing.info/?p=158

review of Dark Magickhttp://satinsbookishcorner.blogspot.com/2011/06/review_29.html
July 1 Tour Launch at Bewitching Book Tours
July 2nd Guest Blog and Giveaway All Things Books http://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com
July 3 Guest Post and GiveawayMysteriousbooks http://mysteriousrose.blogspot.com/
July 3 Guest Blog and Giveawaywww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
July 5 Giveaway http://1000plusbookstoread.blogspot.com
July 6 Guest Blog and Reviewhttp://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/
July 7 and 8 The Plot Character Posthttp://theplotline.wordpress.com
Friday July 8th Guest Post, Review & GiveawayRomancing the Darksidehttp://romancingthedarkside.blogpost.com
July 8 Interview and Reviewhttp://urbanfantasybookclub.com
July 12 Guest Blog and ReviewGetting Naughty Between the Stacks
July 13 sexy teaser excerpt www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
July 14 Guest Blog The Write at Home Momwww.thewriteathomemom.blogspot.com
July 15 interview http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com/
July 16 Guest Bloghttp://authorisabelroman.blogspot.com/

July 18 guest blog and reviewAwesomeSauce Book Clubawesomesaucebookclub.blogspot.com
July 20 review and guest spothttp://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/
July 21 interiew and reviewhttp://booklog.eternalised.net
July 30 ReviewBook Lover's Hideawayhttp://booklovershideaway.blogspot.com/?zx=7ea834064b77e6e6





Would you like to win an ecopy of Dark Magick?
Leave a comment on this spot
Include your email

Beautifully Broken Tour Kick Off, Interview and Giveaway

Sherry Soule's Beautifully Broken Bewitching Book Tour has officially begun.
Today we have an interview with Sherry and a Beautifully Broken Giveaway.
Be sure to visit all the stops for chances to win Sherry's books and learn all about the paranormal YA book Beautifully Broken
July 2 Fang-tastic Books

July 4 Guest Blog Book Flame
www.bookflame.blogspot.com

July 5 Interview at Kristen's My Bookish Fairy Tale
http:///www.kristenhaskins.blogspot.com

July 7 guest blog and giveaway, review Urban Fantasy Investigations
http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

July 7 Review and Guest Blog Livin' Life Through Books.
http://dream-wish-live.blogspot.com/.

July 8 Interview and GIveaway The Wormhole
http://wormyhole.blogspot.com/

July 11 Interview and Review
http://www.ismellsheep.blogspot.com

July 13 Guest Post and Review Reader Girls
www.readergirls.com

July 14 Interview and Review
http://mysteriousrose.blogspot.com/

July 14 Guest Blog at The Book Worms,
http://thebookworms.org

July 15 Guest Post, review, giveaway Curling Up By The Fire
http://www.curlingupbythefire.blogspot.com

July 17 Bite Club mini promo interview, guest blog and giveaway
www.vampchixreadbooks.blogspot.com

July 18 Guest Blog and Giveaway
www.tyrasbookaddiction.blogspot.com

July 18 Review
http://booklurve.com

July 19 Interview at Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com

July 20th guest post/giveaway at All Things Books.
http://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com

July 21 Guest Post and review
http://www.bookreviewsandotherstuff.blogspot.com

July 22 Review Freda's Voice
http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com

July 22 Interview and Review
http://paranormalopinion.blogspot.com

July 24 Interview with review
Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me
http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com/

July 25 Interview and Review
http://booklog.eternalised.net

July 27 Guest Post and Review
http://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/

July 27 Interview
http://tstillwagon.wordpress.com

July 28 Guest Blog
http://thatbookishgirl.blogspot.com/

July 29 Review by Sinn Everyone Loves A SiNner
www.zenes-escape.blogspot.com

July 30 Character Interview at Mission to Read
http://www.missiontoread.com


Onto the interview:

What is it about the paranormal, in particular witches, ghosts, and haunted houses featured in your book, that fascinates you so much?

I've always had a morbid fascination with haunted houses and ghosts. I love all things supernatural, and I knew the market was flooded with vampires, fairies, and werewolves, so I decided to make my heroine a sassy witch. Because witches need love too!

The story ARC took a different twist once I decided to add magick to my plot. And it was super fun. The story came alive and I found my "voice." In the Spellbound Series, the narrative is loosely based on the actual Wiccan Religion; however I have taken certain liberties with the portrayal of real witchcraft purely for entertainment purposes.

And as a result of adding a magickal theme, I wanted my main characters to live in a spooky town, which gave birth to the idea of the setting: Whispering Pines, California near Muir Woods. A foggy, cursed town full of secrets was the perfect place to set my story. I also have a blog devoted to its haunted history. http://ravenhurstmansion.blogspot.com/

Please tell us about your latest release Beautifully Broken:

Quirky, Shiloh Ravenwolf is a sixteen-year-old heritage witch. She lives in the gloomy town of Whispering Pines, where teenagers have mystically disappeared for over ten years. When construction on Ravenhurst Manor unleashes a sinister evil, the body count rises. And Shiloh's would-be boyfriend is next on the supernatural hit list. So, she decides it's her duty and Destiny (Yes, with a capital "D") to find out what is causing the unexplained phenomena.

Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?

The heroine, Shiloh Ravenwolf is my (younger) alter ego. Like Shiloh, my own father is Native American and my mother is French. So, Shiloh inherited my DNA. She is quirky and snarky and brave. All the things I wish I had been at sixteen. J

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?

First meeting between the two main characters. (see excerpt below) I think we all can relate to that feeling of instant attraction. That weak-in-the-knees sensation.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? How do you deal with it?

Oh yeah. Whenever I get writers block or can't think of a clever way to explain

Giveaway Time!
Thirteenth Daughter. Heritage Witch. Demon Slayer.
They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn't even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch's curse.
Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That's where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms. Yet she is determined to discover the connection between them.
Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?
It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she's never been normal, and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken.
With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.
Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.

 Would you like to win a pdf of Beautifully Broken?
Then leave a comment on this post with your email
For extra entries follow Sherry's blog, Facebook page, and Twitter
Receive 2 extra entries for following Fang-tastic Books through GFC or Facebook
1 extra entry for each follow - include the extra entry mentions in your comment
A winner will be announced next Wednesday

Now on Tour Sirenz by Natalie Zaman and Charlotte Bennardo (with a Giveaway)

July 1 Tour Kick Off Fang-tastic Books, review, guest blog, giveawaywww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
July 3 Guest Bloghttp://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com

July 5 Guest Postwww.tyrasbookaddiction.blogspot.com

July 7 guest posthttp://dreaminginbooks.blogspot.com

July 7 Interviewhttp://www.thebookfaery.com/

July 8 Interview at Sherry Soule's Bloghttp://sherrysoule.blogspot.com/
July 8 guest postwww.thewriteathomemom.blogspot.com


July 11 Interview and Giveaway at Bea's Book Nook http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/

July 12 Rabid Reads - interview with an excerpthttp://rabid-reads.blogspot.com/


July 13 Interview at Books by Their Cover www.booksbytheircover.blogspot.com
July 14 Interview at YA Addict http://yaaddict.blogspot.com/

July 15 interview, review giveaway?http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com/

July 16 Guest PostRachel @ The Rest Is Still Unwrittenhttp://rachybee-the-rest-is-still-unwritten.blogspot.com
=
July 16 The Nerd Girls Guest BlogBooks to the Skyhttp://www.bookstothesky.com/


July 20 ParaYourNormal Blog Talk Radio Show Wednesday at 3:30 pm PST http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parayournormal http://parayournormal.blogspot.com/

July 21 Guest Posthttp://thefictionenthusiast.blogspot.com

July 22 Guest Bloghttp://lovefantasyscifinovels.blogspot.com/

July 25 Guest Posthttp://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com

July 27 Eve's Fan Garden Guest Bloghttp://evesfangarden.com/blog/
07/29/2011 - Live Chat Night Owl Young Adult / Teen 5pm PST / 8 EST http://www.nightowlparanormal.com/nor/Pages/Chat.aspx

Want to win this bag of swag goodies from Nat and Char?
It contains bookmarks, buttons, a copy of the book and more
If you want it you got to leave a comment on this post with your email
Get an extra entry each for following Nat and Char's blog, twitter and facebook (6 total extra entries)
Be sure to count all your entries and include them in your comment
Open to US Shipping Only Please

http://nataliezaman.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/Natalie_Zaman

http://www.facebook.com/natalie.zaman

http://charlotteebennardo.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/charbennardo

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1665283912

Sirenz Review

Sirenz

EAN: 9780738723198

Trade Paperback

Young Adult/Fiction

Price: $9.95
Available: June 2011

Bickering frenemies Meg and Shar are doing some serious damage at a midnight sample sale when they find themselves arguing over a pair of shoes—with fatal consequences. One innocent bystander later, the girls are suddenly at the mercy of Hades—the god of the underworld—himself. To make them atone for what they've done, Hades forces the teens to become special-assignment Sirens, luring to the Underworld any individual whose unholy contract is up.

But just because they have an otherworldly part-time job now doesn't mean Meg and Shar can ignore life's drudgeries (work) or pleasures (fashion!). Finding that delicate balance between their old and new responsibilities turns out to be harder than they expected, especially when an entire pantheon of Greek deities decides to get involved. Then there's the matter of the fine print in their contracts . . .

My 12 year old daughter's review of Sirenz:

Sirenz was a magnificent read. It was interesting, funny and very very good. I didn't want to put it down. I read it every free moment I got.
One thing I liked most about it was the Greek mythology. I love reading books that feature Greek mythology (like the Percy Jackson series). Another thing I loved about this book was the fashion (Percy Jackson doesn't have that :-)
The combination of Greek mythology and fashion was different and I liked it. It was a nice change from the other books I've been reading.
Sirenz was filled with humor and tragedy which made it a great book to read.
I can't think of anything I didn't like except maybe that it ended too fast. Is this going to be a series? If so I am so reading the next book as soon as it comes out.

Adrian Phoenix Black Heart Loa Giveaway

Black Heart Loa, #2 in the Hoodoo series by Adrian Phoenix
Here's the back cover copy:
"An eye for an eye is never enough."
Kallie Rivière, a Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a bent for trouble, learned the meaning of those ominous words when hoodoo bogeyman Doctor Heron targeted her family for revenge. Now, while searching for her still-missing bayou pirate cousin, Kallie finds out the hard way that someone is undoing powerful gris gris, which means that working magic has become as unpredictable as rolling a handful of dice.
The wards woven to protect the Gulf coast are unraveling, leaving New Orleans and the surrounding bayous vulnerable just as the deadliest storm in a century is born.
As the hurricane powers toward the heart of all she loves, Kallie desperately searches for the cause of the disturbing randomness only to learn a deeply unsettling truth: the culprit may be herself.
To protect her family and friends, including the sexy nomad Layne Valin, Kallie steps into the jaws of danger . . . and finds a loup garou designed to steal her heart—literally.
Read the first two chapters: http://adrianphoenix.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2010/10/Black-Heart-Loa-Sample1.pdf
Read the first chapter of Black Dust Mambo, book 1 in the series http://www.adrianphoenix.com/files/Black_Dust_Mambochapter1.pdf


To celebrate the release of Black Heart Loa Adrian has generously offered up 3 prizes for giveaways today (that means 3 winners will be chosen)!
Up for grabs is:
1 signed set of Black Dust Mambo and Black Heart Loa
and
2 winner's will get a signed copy of any of her titles (winner's choice).
Open to international shipping



To enter leave a comment on this post telling us which Adrian Phoenix book you would most like to win
Receive an extra entry for being a Fang-tastic GFC Follower
Receive another extra entry for liking Fang-tastic Books on Facebook
Receive +2 entries for liking Adrian Phoenix on Facebook
Receive + 2 entries for Following Adrian on Twitter
Be sure to include your email address in the comment
3 winners will be announced next Wednesday

David Brown Writes Vampires Too- Guest Blog and Fezariu's EpiphanyGiveaway

Though the world of Elenchera is host to humans, elves, dwarves, dragons and anthropomorphic races such as valkayans and tolderes, there is room in the history for vampires too.

My earliest foray into Elenchera's vampire race came with a short story, The Sparkling Dew on the Lakeside, which told of vampire ships from Deutermia that sailed north to the many lands of East Elenchera to raid towns for victims. One such vampire, Lorenzo, stepped onto foreign soil and was immediately struck by images of a young and beautiful woman – Celestia – weeping by the side of a stunning lake in the midst of an autumnal forest. Rather than joining the vampire raids, Lorenzo was drawn to a distant town where some shocking revelations were waiting.

The Sparkling Dew on the Lakeside remains my favourite of the short stories I have written and I intend to take the story and extend it into a novel. The history of events that will feature have already been written but for now it's a book that I will sadly have to put on hold.

Fezariu's Epiphany was the novel that cried out to me the loudest when deciding what to write and I have already chosen my second work – A World Apart.

I suppose my hesitation in writing The Sparkling Dew on the Lakeside comes from the theme of vampires being very popular at the moment. Stephanie Meyer has championed a vampire revival with the Twilight series while the likes of True Blood and the brilliant Let The Right One In have also opened up new possibilities for our bloodthirsty friends. I think the danger at the moment is that many great vampire works may get lost or overlooked given the popular trend for these types of books right now.

In the not too distant future I will be glad to share The Sparkling Dew on the Lakeside and my promise is of a tragic love triangle, sympathetic vampires, a fierce war between good and evil, and a young couple torn apart through ill fortune. Vampires are alive and well in the literary world and I'm very much looking forward to sharing a tale of my own about these remarkable creatures.


Visit David on tour:
Interview at Yahoo's Associated Content

June 27 Interview http://SellingBooks.com/

June 29 Guest Blog Bibrary Bookslut
http://bibrary.blogspot.com


June 29 Guest Blog Fang-tastic Books
www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

July 6 Guest Post
http://tstillwagon.wordpress.com

Thursday July 7 Interview
http://authorsbyauthors.blogspot.com/

Friday July 8 Guest Blog
http://jacqpaige.blogspot.com/

July 11 Guest Blog
http://www.nickijmarkus.com


July 12 Interview
http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspot.com


July 11 and 12 The Plot Character Post
http://theplotline.wordpress.com


July 19th Guest Blog Castles and Guns
www.castlesandguns.com

July 20 Guest Blog
http://authorisabelroman.blogspot.com/


July 21 Guest Blog
www.pocketafterdark.com blog


July 22 Guest Blog The Write at Home Mom
www.thewriteathomemom.blogspot.com



Book Blurb:
"The White Oak, Clarendon's oldest brothel, lured and destroyed men by the thousands. Fezariu was different. He had never been drawn by the White Oak's vices but the brothel had still ruined him when he was just a boy.

Salvation came in the form of the Merelax Mercenaries – Elenchera's most prestigious hired hands. They gave Fezariu the chance to escape from his past. Immersed in the world of dangerous assignments in the colonies Fezariu longed to forget everything about his childhood but only in facing the past would he ever be free of it."

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgcNNLMBvY

Podcasts http://elenchera.podomatic.com/entry/2011-06-11T10_19_08-07_00




Author bio:

"David Brown was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and first conceived the idea of the Elencheran Chronicles at college in 1999. He spent ten years compiling the history of Elenchera, resulting in 47,000+ years of events, 500+ maps, 2000+ pages, several short stories and many much-needed acquaintances with Jack Daniels.

David also has a blog, The World According to Dave (http://www.elenchera.com/blog), which features reviews, stories and dramatic tales of the horrors of owning cats.

David now lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with his wife, Donna, and their six cats.
Fezariu's Epiphany is his first novel."

David's Twitter profile: http://www.twitter.com/elenchera
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4878327.David_M_Brown
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgcNNLMBvY





Would you like to win an e-copy of Fezariu's Epiphany?
Leave a comment on this Post with your email address
One winner will be chosen next Wednesday

Winner Wednesday

The Embraced by Blood Prize Pack winner is angie lilly
The Hunger winner is Jen B.

Guest Blog and Giveaway with P.L. Blair

When the Characters Take Over

Before I get started, I want to thank you, Roxanne, for this week's tour and the opportunity to put a spotlight on Shadow Path and my Portals fantasy/detective series. It's been a great experience.

Next, I want to thank Kat Morales and Tevis Mac Leod, my human and elf characters, respectively, for guiding me through the writing of Shadow Path – and subsequent books – because they have been in control from the beginning.
It started with that vision of Kat, standing on a sidewalk in Corpus Christi, Texas, watching her partner (Tevis) examine the body of an ogre:

Tevis, kneeling beside the body, seemed unfazed. With his short-cropped blond hair, wearing a pale gray summer-casual suit (white shirt, no tie), he could have passed for one of the young attorneys who worked in the law offices that lined the surrounding streets. Except, of course, for the pointed ears that marked him as an Elf – Aalfar, as he called himself and his people – and the white, department-issued rubber gloves similar to those Kat wore.
"Almost done?" he asked in his strange accent that was slightly Scottish and slightly … something else.
"Almost," Kat said. Sense of duty overcame revulsion, and she raised the digicam and took two more shots, slightly different views, of the corpse. The Ogre lay face-down on the street just at the edge of the alley, its head twisted to one side. The one eye she could see was open. She slowly surveyed the kill site: North Carancahua Street, midway between Antelope and Leopard, just a few blocks from the Nueces County Courthouse Complex. The killer had nerve.

From that point, the plot seemed to take off. All I had to do was keep up with Kat and Tevis as they followed an investigation that involved diamonds … and pixies … swords inscribed with murderous runes … black magic – death magic – all of it leading back into Tevis' past, a former lover who now wanted Tevis dead …
Shadow Path seemed to write itself.
I loved watching it come together.
And I've loved this opportunity to share it.
Book Description:
The Ogre is dead, what's left of the murder weapon - a rune-inscribed sword - still in his liquefying remains.

That's just the beginning for Kat Morales, a Human detective with the Corpus Christi, Texas, police department and her Elf partner, Tevis. The two soon find themselves awash in Pixies, Magic of the Blackest kind, and a trail theat leads into Tevis' past, to a former lover, now a necromancer, who wants to extinguish her old flame - permanently.

This first book in P.L. Blair's "Portals" fantasy adventure series begins at a time in Earth's not-too-distant future when magical portals are opened between the world we now know and the "otherside," a parallel world filled with magic and all manner of magical creatures and beings. The "Portals" series will launch you on a wonderous journey of imagining what it would be like if magic and creatures of myth and legend were to suddenly step into our world for real.

Would you like to win a print copy of Shadow Path?
The please leave a comment on this post
Include your email
Winner TBA Next Wednesday

Excerpt of Shadow Path

Today is the finale of the Shadow Path Bewitching Book Tour.

So I figured I'd give you a bit more info about the book- here's an excerpt and the book trailer.
Enjoy.
Chapter One
of P.L. Blair's

"Shadow Path"

Ogres looked – and smelled – bad enough in life. Death magnified those uncharming qualities, especially the smell, something like a cross between rotting fish and open sewer. Kat found herself swallowing again and again against the urge of her stomach to empty itself.
If she'd seen this coming, she would've skipped breakfast.
Tevis, kneeling beside the body, seemed unfazed. With his short-cropped blond hair, wearing a pale gray summer-casual suit (white shirt, no tie), he could have passed for one of the young attorneys who worked in the law offices that lined the surrounding streets. Except, of course, for the pointed ears that marked him as an Elf, and the white, department-issued rubber gloves similar to those Kat wore.
"Almost done?" he asked in his strange accent that was slightly Scottish and slightly … something else.
"Almost," Kat said. Sense of duty overcame revulsion, and she raised the digicam and took two more shots, slightly different views, of the corpse. The Ogre lay face-down on the street just at the edge of the alley, its head twisted to one side. The one eye she could see was open. She slowly surveyed the kill site: North Carancahua Street, midway between Antelope and Leopard, just a few blocks from the Nueces County Courthouse Complex. The killer had nerve.
Tevis looked up at her, his eyes, blue as high-mountain lakes, dazzling in their intensity.
She nodded in response to the question he didn't put into words. The coroner had been here when she and Tevis had arrived. He'd officially pronounced the Ogre dead, said he'd wait for the autopsy before any further rulings, packed up and left. For now, the body was Kat's jurisdiction — and her partner's. "Roll him over. Let's see what the front looks like."
Tevis made the task look effortless — which amazed Kat, considering the Ogre even in its present condition had to weigh 300 pounds or more, and the Elf's 5-foot-8-inch frame (only two inches taller than Kat) couldn't have weighed more than 150 soaking wet. Kat would have helped him, except he had made it clear on previous occasions that he neither wanted nor needed help.
The dead Ogre flopped onto its back, a small pool of dark, nearly black, stuff — what passed for Ogre blood — marking the place where the creature had been.
"Not much blood," Tevis remarked as Kat shot views of the Ogre's front.
"Most of it's in the dumpster," Kat said. "He must've pretty well bled out by the time he was found." She brushed a limp strand of auburn hair off her forehead. Not even 8 o'clock, and the temperature was already pushing 90, and God only knew what the humidity was. It had to be in the eighties at least. Today was going to be a scorcher, even for July in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Tevis sat back from the corpse. It amazed Kat that he could be so unaware of the heat or humidity. True, the jacket he wore was summer-weight, but still. Kat had left her jacket in the car, stripped down to a sleeveless green tee over her tan slacks, and she still felt wilted. The Elf directed his gaze toward the crowds being held in check by the yellow police line, nodded at two figures who stood a little apart from both the crowd and the uniformed officers. "Is that the one who discovered the body? The one the lieutenant is speaking with?"
Kat inclined her head. "His name's Ed Lewiston. He's a dumpster diver."
"Not a street person," Tevis said. "He is dressed too well."
"He calls himself a 'pre-cycler.' Says it's his job to save the good stuff people throw away." Kat took another, more thoughtful look at Lewiston in his gray slacks and pale blue shirt, a middle-aged male trying to look ten years younger. Maybe he'd be a bit more careful of going into other people's trash after today.
The Elf returned his attention to the body, probing with long, slender fingers. After a moment, "I have found, I believe, the cause of death." He parted a few strands of the bristly hair that covered the Ogre's chest, sat back again to give Kat a clearer view.
She snapped off two photos of what she saw before she lowered the digicam and let herself think about it. "A stab wound. But — Ogres can't be stabbed! Their stone hides …"
"You are thinking of trolls," Tevis said. "Ogre skin is true flesh, not stone." He probed the wound while he spoke. "Although," his voice dropped to a murmur, barely audible, "it still requires a formidable weapon to penetrate."
Kat stuffed the digicam into her shirt pocket and went down on one knee on the other side of the body. "What do you See?" She pulled off the gloves she'd been wearing, spent a couple of minutes wriggling her fingers, enjoying the feel of not having anything on her skin before pulling a second pair of rubber lab gloves from a pants pocket. Even dusted inside with baby powder, the gloves too quickly left her hands hot and sticky-wet with sweat in this weather. Finally, she pulled the fresh pair on. Somewhere a siren wailed, and a gull passing overhead called out as if in answer.
"A fragment of the weapon remains in the wound," Tevis said at last, though Kat had a feeling he was thinking out loud, talking to himself rather than her. "The blade was not powerful enough to resist breakage. We will learn more once we get the body to the lab."
"The killer," Kat pressed. "The wound is in front. The Ogre had to have seen his killer."
Tevis inclined his head. "And it was someone known to him. More — It was someone he feared. That much I can See. But I cannot See a face. It is clouded by a Magic more powerful than I can penetrate."
Kat arched an eyebrow. "A Practitioner?"
Another slight nod. "Or else a True Wizard. I feel Magic of the blackest kind. It has left a residue."
"Cold?" Kat asked. Humans lacked the Elven sensitivity to the feel of Magic, but Tevis had explained it to her. Beneficial Magic felt warm. Black Magic felt cold.
"So cold," Tevis affirmed, "that it burns." He turned his attention from the wound to the the denim cutoffs the corpse wore. "Ogres do not usually wear Human garments." He sounded vaguely surprised. Then he shrugged and set to work exploring the pockets of the jeans.
Kat retrieved the digicam and took photos of the objects that emerged. There wasn't much — three brightly colored paper clips, two oversized marbles, an empty plastic bag.
"Ogres are like those little animals that collect odd materials for their nests," Tevis said.
"Packrats," Kat filled in as he visibly struggled for the word.
"Yes. They — Ogres I mean — are big and strong, and they are attracted to shiny objects. But they are not overly bright."
"So," having snapped the last picture, Kat lowered the camera, "was our friend here an innocent victim? Someone in the wrong place at the wrong time?"
Tevis flashed one of his rare smiles in his partner's direction. "Ogres are seldom innocent, even when they appear to be doing nothing. Nor are they chance targets for thieves. They like shiny objects, but cash has no importance to them."
"So," Kat said, "unless our Ogre somehow acquired a pocketful of, say, gold nuggets …"
"Which someone would have to know about, which rules out a chance mugging."
"Sounds like you two are cookin' up theories already." Lieutenant Ed Harley, soft drawl and amiable manner masking a core of purest steel, joined his junior officers. He focused gray eyes on Kat. "What've we got, Morales?"
"Ogre male, age …" She shrugged. Who knew with Ogres? "Stabbed in the chest, just below the rib cage."
"The angle of the wound suggests the killer was Kathryn's height or smaller," Tevis interjected. His hands continued to deftly explore the corpse while he spoke. "No other apparent wounds. But this one would have been sufficient. It penetrated the heart."
"Tevis says part of the weapon is still in the body," Kat resumed. "From the condition of the body, rough guess I'd say he's been dead at least twelve hours. That would put the murder around 7, 8 last night at the latest."
"Early enough that someone might still have been around, maybe have seen somethin'," Harley speculated aloud.
Kat inclined her head. "Maybe Tevis and I should visit a couple of offices later today, see if anybody was working late. As for the body," she shrugged, "we'll know more after an autopsy. Hopefully whatever's left of the weapon will tell us something."
"Kathryn." Tevis's voice interrupted again, his tone telling his partner he'd found something more significant than marbles or paper clips. She turned, looked down at him.
In one hand, he held a pouch — not a bag but a small, burgundy-colored pouch of velour — or maybe suede.
The other hand stretched toward her, palm-up. In the palm, four small stones nestled, glittering like ice and fire in the light that shafted down from the nearly cloudless Corpus Christi sky.
"The Ogre was carrying them on a belt under his cutoffs," the Elf said.
Harley whistled. "Diamonds?"
"We cannot be certain without a proper analysis." Tevis held out stones and pouch together while Kat photographed them. "But I believe so, yes."
"In that case," Kat slipped the digicam into her pocket once more, "I think we can definitely rule out robbery as a motive."

The Beauty of the Novella with Stephanie Draven

The Beauty of the Novella

by Stephanie Draven

Traditionally, novellas have been the red-headed step-child of the fiction world. Too short to justify print or to offer the sustained in-depth immersion of a novel, they've been a hard sell. But recently, the market for short fiction has been exploding. Why the sudden demand for short fiction even in genres that require intricate world-building like paranormal romance and urban fantasy?

It seems to me that readers, writers, editors and publishers have finally come to appreciate the beauty of the novella. What exactly does the novella offer?

New Horizons

Deciding to buy and read a novel is a commitment of money and time--both of which are in short supply these days. The novella offers readers the opportunity to sample new authors and genres without having to invest a lot. You can usually read a novella in twenty minutes riding the train home. It can be very refreshing to finish an entire story in one sitting instead of plodding along, night after night. (This probably also accounts for the popularity of HQN's category novels.)

Experimentation

Authors are creative people. Usually, we have far more ideas than we'll ever be able to turn into books in one lifetime. Sometimes, especially when it comes to paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and other forms of speculative fiction, we come up with zany theories that we're not sure can support an entire novel. To that end, the novella can give us a proof of concept. Without committing up to a year of our lives to fleshing out an idea that might be a little too off-kilter for the market, we can still weave a short work around a notion that's nagging at us. This is especially important when it comes to author brand--novellas will seldom signal a break with our usual work, in a way that a full-length novel will. (See Gwen Hayes' historical romance short, Second Son of a Duke, as an example. She's normally a YA writer.)

Freshness

Most authors will tell you that in finishing a novel, somewhere around the 2/3rds mark, they have a crisis of faith. We decide the idea sucks. The whole story is a disaster. This is the book that is going to kill our career. (OK, maybe that's just me.) However, novellas don't involve the exhaustion that accompanies a full length novel. The writer is fresh, the ideas are fresh, the writer is still confident. A novella is a sprint rather than a marathon and sometimes the boundless energy and enthusiasm, that spark of genius that is at the core of a writer's talent, can really shine through.

Collaboration

One advantage of novellas is that their short length allows editors to pull together similarly themed work to create an overall mood and impression in anthologies. Collaborative works can be stronger and more imaginative, so this is especially effective when three or four authors contribute novellas to a continuity, all set in the same world.

Still not convinced? Pick up a copy of my latest steamy paranormal romance novel, Siren Song, and tell me what you think about novellas!

Description of Siren Song:

When the sexy lead singer of an Annapolis indie band is accused of luring midshipmen to their deaths, she learns she's not the only one with a killer voice…

No one can resist Chloe Karras when she sings—except for the sexy naval officer who is seemingly immune to her sensual allure. Maybe that's why Captain Alex Shore is just the man she wants to take home after her performance—until he tells her what she thought were imagined powers are real…and dangerous.

Alexandros knows firsthand how seductive sirens are, as well as their potential to destroy. Yet the former sea soldier feels a powerful attraction to the beautiful rock singer that goes beyond her spell. Can he banish Chloe from the town he's vowed to protect—or will he be drawn into the siren's bed?

Read an excerpt here or download a free pdf of Chapter 1 here.

Stephanie Draven is currently a denizen of Baltimore, that city of ravens and purple night skies. She lives there with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.
Stephanie has always been a storyteller. In elementary school, she channeled Scheherazade, weaving a series of stories to charm children into sitting with her each day at the lunch table. When she was a little older, Stephanie scared all the girls at her sleepovers with ghost stories.

She should have known she was born to hold an audience in her thrall, but Stephanie resisted her writerly urges and graduated from college with a B.A. in Government. Then she went to Law School, where she learned how to convincingly tell the tallest tales of all!

A longtime lover of ancient lore, Stephanie enjoys re-imagining myths for the modern age. She doesn't believe that true love is ever simple or without struggle so her work tends to explore the sacred within the profane, the light under the loss and the virtue hidden in vice. She counts it amongst her greatest pleasures when, from her books, her readers learn something new about the world or about themselves.

Stephanie also writes historical fiction as Stephanie Dray and has a series of forthcoming novels from Berkley Books featuring Cleopatra's daughter.

Visit Stephanie at www.stephaniedraven.com