Vivian Arend's Blog, page 76

Wolfie Friends Day 11-WILD & STEAMY

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at My Disorganized Ramblings. I've got a couple of favorite songs to share.

Meljean Brook is one very cool lady. She looks great in a wondergirl outfit, she has this addictive laugh, but outside appearances aside, she's one of the most creative and interesting people I've met in the past year. She takes writing to a new level and I love her work.

She's got a couple different series, like the popular GUARDIANS, but the current craze is the Iron Seas world, that began in the IRON DUKE and will continue in Book Two, HEART OF STEEL. Plus, she's got some lovely novellas set in the same world to give us tidbits of goodness in the wait between releases.

I asked Meljean what she liked about writing these books and this is what she shared:

Invention is at the heart of steampunk, and I absolutely love how that doesn't just apply to the gadgets and technology, but the world itself. After I've established the basic rules and history, there's simply nothing that limits me — I can have any type of hero or heroine, I can take them anywhere in the world, I can pit them against any sort of obstacle. It's so incredibly fun — I wouldn't trade it for anything.

WILD & STEAMY

Containing Meljean's: THE BLUSHING BOUNDER

A Tale of the Iron Seas – While the search for a killer puts Constable Newberry's life in danger, he faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay? (13K words)

Digital Versions

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords |All Romance ebooks

~~*~~

This is an ebook only giveaway of these three novellas from amazing paranormal and steampunk writers. For a chance to win WILD & STEAMY, answer this question: Where is the steamiest place you've ever been?

Wolfie Friends Day 10-SAVAGE TRANSFORMATION

Once you've met Lexxie and entered, the Wolfie World Tour continues today at The Book Pushers

Lexxie Couper rocks the writing world with red-hot contemps and intriguing paranormals. She's been writing for a long time and explores outer space, the Australian outback, and Hell itself in her books. Then she has a cuppa and does it all over again.

I love her to pieces- as a friend as an author. Here's a little bit from her to you.

Lex:

Paranormal. Say the word. Paranormal. It's like you took something boring and made it interesting.

Who doesn't walk down the street and wonder if the hot looking guy with the broad shoulders and five o'clock shadow doesn't shift into a wolf late at night and run wild? Who doesn't notice the sexy-as-sin bloke with the pale skin and tormented eyes doing his grocery shopping late at night and wonder if he's a vampire trying to live a normal life? Who doesn't watch the roguish hunk playing his guitar to a swooning girl on the park grass and think…is he a demon stealing her soul through song?

Okay, maybe not everyone wonders or thinks those things, but I do. Can't help myself. I guess that's why I write paranormal: I can't not. *grin*

Paranormal. Say it with me. Para-normal… Taking something boring and making it interesting. Or, as I like to say, take one common, everyday dog-walker, add one lone werewolf and shake…

SAVAGE TRANSFORMATION: Book 2, Savage Australia

She thought she had a life—until being hunted shows her she's never really lived.

Jacqueline Huddart has spent her entire adult life on the run. Not from the law, or even a jealous lover. From herself—and what she is. That strategy works for her until a funeral demands she return to home ground, and her best friend disappears. Finding Delainie means Jackie must confront the truth…and accept the help of a mysterious, sexy-as-sin Texan.

Marshall Rourke isn't the only one flying under the radar. He's on an off-the-grid quest to track down a rogue ex-partner who hunts paranormal beings for the joy of the kill. Convincing the unexpectedly feisty Jackie to trust him isn't easy, but there's no better way to lure the hunter into the open than to dangle as unique a target as Jackie—the last Tasmanian Tiger shifter in existence.

Trouble is, Marshall hadn't counted on Jackie's brutal right cross. Or the fact that her simmering sexuality calls to his inner wolf on every imaginable level. And that the killer is about to use their desire to add them both to his trophy case…

Digital/print Versions

Amazon, Samhain Publishing

Winner will get their choice of formats- print or ebook for Savage Transformation. Leave a comment answering the question: What's the farthest place you've traveled to?

Wolfie Friends Day 9-DEVIL'S KISS

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at The Book Pushers with answers to the ultimate question: What IS a wolfie?

Zoe Archer is one of those people you can't help but love and admire. She writes cool stories–books that are slightly different from the way everyone else does it, and they are SO GOOD. She's also smart–somehow she planned it so our names would be alphabetically really close, so we get to sit next to each other at book signings, which is an incredible thrill for me. If you haven't checked out her books yet, you can start with the Blades of the Rose (all four books are available) but she's here to introduce her new Hellraisers series that begins this December.

Zoe:

I love writing historical paranormal romance because it allows me to take all the rich and lush elements of the past and combine it with fun, sexy magic. With my new HELLRAISERS series, I get to play even more. In my BLADES OF THE ROSE series, I was able to take tales of high adventure in far-away places and add a zesty dash of hot romance. Now, with the Hellraisers, I get to write some seriously bad boys. Let's face it, the Blades might be gruff warriors, exuberant scoundrels, iron-willed and scientific geniuses, but they're all, at heart, good guys.

Not the Hellraisers. These 18th century rakes really earn their name—they stop at nothing in the pursuit of pleasure. And when these bad boys inadvertently free the Devil from his prison, they're more than happy to reap the benefits, including gaining the power to grant their every desire. It's been so much fun exploring my dark side as I write the Hellraiser series! Magic and bad boys in thigh-high boots. Now that's a winning combination.

[image error] DEVIL'S KISS: Book one, Hellraisers

A HANDSOME DEVIL

1762. James Sherbourne, Earl of Whitney, is a gambling man. Not for the money. But for the thrill, the danger—and the company: Whit has become one of the infamous Hellraisers, losing himself in the chase for adventure and pleasure with his four closest friends.

Which is how Whit finds himself in a gypsy encampment, betting against a lovely Romani girl. Zora Grey's smoky voice and sharp tongue entrance Whit nearly as much as her clever hands—watching them handle cards inspires thoughts of another kind…

Zora can't explain her attraction to the careless blue-eyed Whit. She also can't stop him and his Hellraisers from a fiendish curse: the power to grant their own hearts' desires, to chase their pleasures from the merely debauched to the truly diabolical. And if Zora can't save Whit, she still has to escape him…

Welcome to the ultimate bad boys.  A group of 18th Century rakes who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of pleasure—even if it costs them their souls.  Dark, sexy and beguiling, the Hellraisers will seduce you.  Sinning never tasted so sweet.

Coming DECEMBER 2011

Pre-order available:

Chapters | Indiebound | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Book Depository

~~*~~

Leave a comment here for a chance to win your choice of any of Zoe's back list (all available books listed here.) You can pick- your choice of ebook or print. Zoe writes historical paranormal–what other mix up of genres do you think would work well, or that you would like to see?

Wolfie Friends Day 8-A COP AND A FEEL

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at Larissa's Bookish Life. There's a hot excerpt up there today!

Ready for another of my name twins? The awesomesauce Vivi Andrews is in the house, with her lovely paranormal Karmic Consultants series.

Here are her quick Twitter-proof answers from the hero/heroine of A Cop and A Feel (Did I mention she also puts puns in her titles? My WORD, there is SOOoooo much to love about this woman!)

1. What was your heroine's favourite subject at school?

Ronna: Theatre. Nothing quite like the pageantry of the stage. I'd take any chance to play at being inside someone else's skin.

2. How would your hero deal with packing for an extended trip?

Matt: Toothbrush. Gun. Good to go.

3. Where would h/h go for a first anniversary getaway?

Matt: It's gotta be Italy, to show my Tomato the true meaning of pizza.

Ronna: And to see Carnivale in Venice!

A COP AND A FEEL : Book 5, Karnic Consultants

He's going to be the love of her life…if they survive the night.

With a single touch, Ronna Mitchell can catch stolen glimpses of the future and separate truth from lies. But life as a human polygraph machine can be lonely. Craving human contact, she moonlights as a palm reader whenever a carnival comes to town.

Officer Matt Holloway is intent on trailing a hit man when he ducks into a palm reader's booth to avoid being spotted by his quarry. The beguiling Jamaican fortune teller is definitely intriguing, but she'll have to wait. He's close on the assassin's tail.

When Ronna takes his hand, a startling vision of the future flashes in her mind's eye. Matt isn't a typical client, he's The One. Before she has the chance to introduce herself as the mother of his unborn children, he's gone, leaving her with a terrifying vision of her soul mate covered in blood. And dead certain she's the only one who can save her happily ever after.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain

Leave a comment here for a chance to win a your choice of the Karmic Consultants in ebook format (any of 1-5 look here for the list of them). Answer the question: Have you ever visited a fortune teller?

Wolfie Friends Day 7-MY SHIFTER SHOWMANCE

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at Larissa's Bookish Life. All the way to Brazil, people!

And here at the blog, say hello to R.G. Alexander who writes a wide variety of genres (a gal after my own heart!) including the delightful Shifting Reality series about, yup– a reality show with shifters and etc. Love it! Wish I'd thought of it!

I love what she's got to share with us:

My favorite thing about writing a paranormal series…how can I possibly pick one thing? I've always been a sucker for what ifs, for magic. I've always believed in faeries and the creatures that go bump in the night. I love building worlds and mythologies, and I cannot help but write series, because I'm always dying to find out more. I need to know what happens to everyone (I'm nosy that way).

But most of all, I love the characters. I've said this before, that I think paranormal heroes in particular are the most challenging, and fulfilling, to write. A vampire who has lived forever and seen it all believing in love? A bored cat shifter outing the Other community on a video blog because he is sick of hiding what he is? A demon putting another being's feelings above his own desires? Everything is intensified. Their flaws. Their gifts. And, if the heroine is lucky, their love. I suppose an easier thing for me to answer would be, what don't I love about writing a paranormal series? Nada. Zip. Nothing. *grin*

MY SHIFTER SHOWMANCE: Book 1, Shifting Reality

A Shifter, A Vampire and A Demon walk into a bar…

Thomas Lyons is your average cat shifter. Cool, seductive…and bored out of his mind. With the new popularity of all things paranormal, he doesn't see why he should hide anymore. When his half-demon technophile roommate hooks him up with a computer, Thomas starts a blog announcing to the world who and what he is. Oddly enough, the more he shares, the less he's believed. In fact, people begin thinking it's a new online series with fantastic effects.

Margo Sheffield doesn't dance on tables anymore, not since her reckless naïveté cost her so much. These days, her only guilty pleasures are dark chocolate, shoes—and a certain website with a man whose purring voice sends shivers down her spine. When the show, Shifting Reality, offers a week in a haunted Scottish castle with the stars, it seems a far-off dream. But when that dream becomes reality, her boss's insistence that she mix business with pleasure—or else—is more like a nightmare.

Thomas's focus on the show is blown by the luscious, camera-shy handful. And Margo can barely think about contracts when she's surrounded by newlywed ghost hunters, a matchmaking demon and a man whose addictive touch makes her head spin. A showmance is the last thing she needs, but with a sexy cat like Thomas on the prowl…she just can't resist.

Digital Versions

Amazon,  Samhain Publishing

Like a chance to win your choice of any one of R.G. 's backlist in ebook? (listed here) Answer the question: Which reality show should they NEVER have started?

Wolfie Friends Day 6-CIPHER

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at Ex Libris. Be sure to stop by!

Friends at Home Party welcomes the dynamic duo who make up Moira Rogers. These ladies, Donna and Bree, have been a special part of my life for the past couple years now. They understand the tough times, poke me when I need it, and celebrate with me, like I get to celebrate with them!

Today is special because not only can I introduce them (Moira) to you,but it's release day for book four in their fabulous Southern Arcana series. I'm giving away some of the earlier books, but Cipher is available officially for the first time today!

Moira(Bree) shares why she loves writing paranormal:

My favorite thing about writing paranormal romance is the chance to explore the ways we're all the same.  You can take themes of persecution and prejudice out of our world and frame them in a supernatural way that forces us to consider unexpected perspectives, but the romance ties it back to one of the most basic human emotions–love.  There's nothing more rewarding for me than taking characters on a path through the darkest bits of what it means to not be human, then to bring them back to the best bit of humanity: our ability to care for someone else more than we care about ourselves.

CIPHER: Book Four, Southern Arcana

Fourteen months ago, Kat Gabriel's life changed forever when she used her empathy as a weapon. Now she can't escape the weight of those deaths–or the loss of the easy friendship she and Andrew once shared. Obsessed with her mother's violent past, Kat is determined to learn the truth of her inner-darkness by understanding her legacy.

Since the attack that turned him into a wolf, Andrew Callaghan has done everything possible to make himself stronger. More capable of protecting Kat–both from the supernatural world that forced her to kill, and from their own volatile connection. Pushing her away hurt them both, but he's finally made himself into the protector she needs.

As Kat's quest leads her into the darkest underbelly of the psychic world, Andrew is determined to be at her side. But every step forward reopens old emotional wounds and shakes their control. For a dangerous alpha and a deadly psychic, distraction could be fatal–especially when the greatest threat they pose is to each other.

Digital Versions

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Samhain Publishing

Leave a comment here for a chance to win a copy of Book 1 in the Southern Arcana series, Crossroads, in print or books 1-3 in ebook format. Answer the question: what series do you wish there were more books in?

Wolfie Friends Day 5-THE BEAST WITHIN

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at Ex Libris

Bianca D'Arc is a part of The Beast Within anthology with her story Smoke On the Water. (You've got the song running through your brain now, don't you? )

Bianca choose to share from her hero/heroine's perspective a few answers in Twitter-limited 140 characters!

1. What was your heroine's favourite subject at school?

I just got my Masters in Chem Eng. I thought I'd get a job in the private sector but then I got bit and now… well, life is interesting.

2. How would your hero deal with packing for an extended trip?

BDU's, boots, my utility belt and my favorite firearms. What else do I need on a trip? Maybe some camo face paint – my version of sunblock.

3. Where would h/h go for a first anniversary getaway?

We fell in love at a little lakeside cabin in Middle Tennessee & we'd go back in a minute. This time we could do without the zombies though.

SMOKE ON THE WATER: Part of The Beast Within

In the misty fog of a lakefront village, zombies are roaming wild – and zombie hunter John Petit must stop the carnage. John is also fighting a different kind of battle: a forbidden passion for his new partner, Donna. With her help, killing zombies is a walk in the park, but keeping his desire in check is making him sweat…

Available: Amazon

Leave a comment today for a chance to win your choice of formats of The Beast Within, kindle or print. Answer the question: What's the scariest movie you've ever watched?

Wolfie Friends Day 4-GLIMMER

The Wolfie World Tour continues today at Pearl's World of Romance. Stop by after you've met Vivi, more chances to win!

Friends at Home Party : time for Vivi Anna, who is not me, but I would like to be her–she's creative, innovative, and professional in how she approaches her writing careeer. Did I mention, she's a dynamite writer? She writes romance, is working on TV scripts, and now has an Urban Fantasy (and other books) that she's self published!

Vivi's going to share: Why I Chose to Self-Publish GLIMMER

I have a near mid-list writing career under my Vivi Anna name. I've published with Kensington, Avon, and Harlequin, and still write for Harlequin, so why did I choose to self-publish GLIMMER, and other books like my first YA, STATIC, under my Tawny Stokes name. Because I could. Authors have more choices now with their career than they've ever had. It's exciting now to be an author. There are so many different paths you can choose to take to get the final end goal of being published.

Beauty of all of this, is that you can do it all, you don't just have to trad pub, or epub, or selfpub, you can do a little of all of it, depending on your needs. If you are a fast writer and have lots of ideas/work, trying to get an agent/trad deal, at same time can epub, or self-pub, one doesn't stop you from doing the other. Self-pubbing, epubbing is not frowned upon any more, so have a good sales record in either can help you now.

If you have like 6 books under the bed that didn't get agents or trad deals, dust them off, send them off to beta readers, and really examine if they are good enough to be published, if you feel they are, then send them to an epublisher, or self-pub them. Start making a career for yourself, quit waiting for the industry to give you a career, because you could be waiting forever.

[image error] GLIMMER

Although Nina Decker's father is one hundred percent human, her mother is not. She belongs to an ancient and rare race of people called the fae. But these fae are not those written about in fairytales, with pretty gossamer wings and fairy dust, no they are sinister, malevolent and unkind, dwelling in another realm called Nightfall. More prone to destroy than to create.

Abandoned at the age of ten, to be raised by her father, Nina has never forgiven her mother for that or for ruining her father. A man of only sixty, he appears to be closer to eighty with a frail body and mind. He's been fae-struck and is slowly fading away to nothing. This is one of the reasons why Nina has never gotten too close to any one man. She doesn't want to seal his fate like her father's has been.

But she can't deny her fiery connection to Severin Saint Morgan, a sexy as hell werewolf and the alpha of the Vancouver wolf pack. He's an Australian immigrant working at the university as an associate professor, and the publicized face of the werewolf species. He makes her blood boil with desire and makes her tremble with fear. But its only when her mother reappears with startling revelations about an upcoming war between the fae and the werewolves that Nina realizes that she may be a pawn for both sides.

[image error]

Want a chance to win your choice of one of Vivi's backlist in ebook? (See them all here.) Answer the question: How dark do you like your Fantasy?

Wolfie Friends Day 3-READY TO RUN

After you've met today's friend, make sure you stop by the Wolfie World Tour continuing today at Pearl's World of Romance

Joining us today is Kinsey Holley, whose Werewolves in Love stories are so much more than just werewolves.

Kinsey shares:

My favorite thing about writing a paranormal series is the worldbuilding. It's like sewing clothes or building furniture (my Hub's a woodworker). You have to cut the pieces out correctly and they have to fit together and if you decide to add something later, it has to fit what you've already constructed. You can't go back and decide you wanted long sleeves instead of short. I also like that I can address issues that have bugged me in other paranormals. Like, how could werewolves have kept their existence secret for thousands of years if they were borderline psychos who tear people limb from limb just for looking at them funny. They couldn't! Ergo, werewolves are people, too.

READY TO RUN: A Werewolves in Love story

Sometimes a girl's gotta save herself.

Sara Hedges had planned to escape the backwater, bigoted town of Luxor, Texas on the wings of a college degree—not on the back of a Harley, riding for her life.

Just a couple months shy of loading up her Miata, however, betrayal bares its ugly fangs. Her scumbag uncle has sold her to a pack of werewolves willing to pay any price for her special bloodline and it looks like there's no way out. She never expected the new-in-town, sex-on-a-stick loner to come riding to her rescue. Or to discover he's a werewolf, too. A good one…with one too many secrets.

Bryan Keeton waited two months deep undercover for the chance to get his hands on one of the gangster Eurowolves wreaking havoc across the South. After calling in the FBI to blow the lid off Luxor, he'd planned to leave town before he did something he might regret—like get involved with the suspect's niece.

But Sara makes him stupid. And now they're on the run from the Feds, who aren't interested in her innocence, and from the wolves who want her for their own personal squeaky toy…

Digital Versions

Amazon, Samhain Publishing

Want a chance to win READY TO RUN in ebook format? Answer the question: what's the fanciest car you've ever ridden in?

Wolfie Friends Day 2-SERPENT'S KISS

The Wolfie World Tour continues, so be sure to follow the link for an excerpt from BLACK GOLD and a chance to win the gift certificate. Today, we're at Feeling Fictional

I'm excited to have Thea Harrison join the Friends at Home Party. Thea's exciting Elder Races series is making waves for good reason! I loved Dragon Bound and Storm's Heart, and now have Serpent's Kiss to look forward to coming October 4.

Thea:

The opportunity to write my Elder Races series has been extremely exciting. I've discovered some interesting challenges while taking this journey. Writing a paranormal romance series, at least for me, has been unlike anything I have ever done before. I have the overarching world building in an alternate Earth and storyline to develop, indications of character developments and challenges from the other books in the series, the relationship between the main characters, and the challenges they face that are unique to their story. And all of this happens within a 90,000 – 100,000 word count, which is a standard paperback length novel!

I love exploring relationships in a sci-fi/fantasy setting and work hard to make each story unique to that particular couple. Sometimes that feels risky—STORM'S HEART (book two) is quite different from DRAGON BOUND (book one). The third book SERPENT'S KISS is different again,a dark, twisting tale that shifts the reality of that world on its axis, and is, ultimately, the story of a renaissance of a very old, jaded soul. The series (so far I have written through book four) has been an amazing experience, and I hope readers find the journey as rewarding as I have.

SERPENT'S KISS: Book 3, Elder Gods

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, a Queen on the brink of sanity has no one to rely on except the Wyr warrior whose conviction is every bit as strong as his passion…
In order to save his friend's life, Wyr sentinel Rune Ainissesthai made a bargain with Vampyre Queen Carling—without knowing what she would ask from him in return. But when Rune attempts to make good on his debt, he finds a woman on the edge.
Recently, Carling's Power has become erratic, forcing her followers to flee in fear. Despite the danger, Rune is drawn to the ailing Queen and decides to help her find a cure for the serpent's kiss—the vampyric disease that's killing her.
With their desire for each other escalating just as quickly as Carling's instability spirals out of control, the sentinel and the Queen will have to rely on each other if they have any hope of surviving the serpent's kiss…

Leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of formats of Book 1 or 2 (Dragon Bound or Storm's Heart) (ebook or print). Answer the question: Think back to your childhood (or other reading) and tell me what was your favorite series.