Cate Masters's Blog, page 59

Annie Marshall joins the Halloween fun!

Cate: Please welcome Annie Marshall to my special Halloween celebration. Annie, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Annie: A grand hello to everyone from South Carolina!  As Cate said, my name is Annie Marshall.  I’m a Scottish Paranormal Romance Annie, Photographer, and the Managing Cover Artist for DCL Publications.  I’m also a proud Army wife and mom to two wonderful teenagers. (Coughing, taking a sip of my tea, and clearing my throat.)  I almost couldn’t get that last part out. Ha!  I’m teasing, of course.  I’m truly blessed with two wonderful kids!   I’m owned by two devastatingly handsome Pembroke Welsh Corgis named Hamish and Aonghus and a beautiful, affectionate, and demanding black cat named Miss Aella Boo.  Plus there are a couple of my long and not so long dead relatives hanging around keeping an eye on me. Life is never boring in my house.
Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?Annie:  This really is my favorite time of year!  The rich colors, the cool crisp weather, and the leaf piles that are oh so fun to jump into!  I love the spooky feeling in the night air that gets those creative juices flowing about ghosts and goblins!  It’s usually this time of year that I’m able to write my ghost stories. 
Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?Annie:  It was a blustery day, Halloween 1996 that changed my life forever.  It was a day I’ll never forget as long as I live!  I tried my hardest to keep from screaming out loud even though I really wanted to.  Amidst vampires, a Klingon warrior, and Raggedy Anne, my son was born.  No, I wasn’t at a costume party.  This is how the nurses were dressed in the Labor and Delivery room at St. John’s Mercy Hospital!
Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?Annie: Several times!  Ghosts seem to like to make themselves known to me.  They don’t talk to me in like normal conversations but I feel them and once in a while, I’ll catch a glimpse of them out of the corner of my eye.  Out of respect for this particular town, I won’t name it, but about 16 years ago, we were searching for a place to live in a rural part of Southeast Missouri.  The realtor took us to this small town that the moment we past the welcome sign, I grew sick to my stomach.  We pulled up to this house that looked to be only five years old but something wasn’t right.  He unlocked the door and invited us in to take a look around.  I walked around the living room then into the kitchen and was still feeling nauseated.  Then I walked down the hallway towards the bedrooms and I began to feel really hot and my ears sizzled like I was going to pass out.  I excused myself and went to the car.  After a few moments, my husband and the realtor asked what I thought of the house.  I told both of them that there was no way I’d live in this town.  My husband understood immediately but the realtor just looked at me like I was crazy.
Cate: I don't blame you! What frightens you the most?Annie:  Oddly enough, it’s not the paranormal that scares me but things like snakes, spiders, and creepy crawlies that really creep me out!    Yes, I know I’m bigger than them and they can’t hurt me, however… (Shivers) Nope, don’t like them.  Not at all.
Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?Annie:  Yes I have!  Both!  I’ve been on ghost tours and hunts in St. Augustine, Florida and Alton, Illinois.  And of course in my own houses.  Yes, my own houses.  Apparently, my dead relatives find it funny to keep me company from time to time.  I don’t complain about them however.  They’ve chased away and kept the bad spirits from bothering me.
Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?Annie:  I love making Apple Butter in October!  When I was a little girl, we used to make a large cast iron cauldron full of Apple Butter over an open fire!  We would start before dawn and finish late at night.  Grandpa would build the fire and kept it going during the day.  Grandma would peel, core, and cut up the apples.  Mom would add all the ingredients together in the pot.  And then we’d all take turns during the day constantly stirring so the batch wouldn’t burn.  We had so many fun and wonderful memories around that pot.
Apple Butter Approximately 3 lb. apples3 cups sugar2 tsp. ground cinnamon1 tsp. ground fresh nutmeg1 tsp. ground ginger1/2 tsp. ground allspice1/2 tsp. ground cloves3/4 cup water or fresh apple ciderA dash of salt
Fill Crock-pot 3/4 full with peeled, cored and sliced apples. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on low setting overnight.  In the morning, stir with a whisk then replace the lid and wait for another hour then stir again.  Repeat until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency.  If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened. Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching.  You can either freeze or can the butter to keep for longer storage.
Cate: Yum, sounds delicious. Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.Annie:  My latest release, “Her Island Destiny” is the third installment in my Warriors of Destiny series.You can purchase and download a copy of “Her Island Destiny” from Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, and Fictionwise.
Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt? Annie:Blurb:In the days of Wallace and Bruce, two worlds and centuries collide on the breathtaking Isles of Orkney and Skye.
Cian MacKyleakin, known as the dreaded Wolf of Moal has dedicated his life to fighting for Scotland, but when his lineage is challenged, adding fuel to the rumors that are circulating through the English court, Edward Longshanks declares that the only way he can retain his lands is to marry the only daughter of the MacKinnons. But when she’s found dead, things get complicated very quickly.
Isla MacKinnon, call sign Valkyrie, is a CH-47 Helicopter pilot for the United States Army. Isla's helicopter is attacked and crashes in the Afghan mountains. As the only survivor, she is ordered by her doctor and her command to take R&R to recover. Instead, she finds herself fighting for her life when a simple picnic on the beach turns perilous.
Can these two fallen warriors find the passion they need within each other’s embrace when they are from two different worlds and centuries?
Excerpt:Cian had stayed behind after Isla excused herself explaining she was tired and wanted a bath. Truth be told, she’d had enough of the festivities for the evening.It hadn’t taken long for Cian to grow bored of the revelry as well. After she’d left the great hall, all other conversations were a blur. He could only think about Isla. He’d even downed a couple tankards of ale to make him drowsy so he could sleep.As he lay in his bed, all he could think about was how wonderful it would be to gaze on her naked body again, how incredible it would feel to have her underneath him. He rose from his bed to pace the floor. It was driving him insane this hold she had on him. “Christ’s teeth!” he exclaimed out loud as he pulled on his trews and walked across the dark corridor to her room.Cian leaned his forehead against the outside of the closed door with both hands on either side of the wooden door frame, listening to Abi and Isla talk about various things from that night from food to music.He knew he shouldn’t be there. The last thing in the world the lass needed was to have him chasing after her like a lad who’d found his first love, but he couldn’t stay away from her.He was half listening as Isla was giving Abi advice where Támhas was concerned when the sloshing of water caught his interest.Damn it, he thought she’d have finished with her bath by now. Even though it was just Abi in with her, he felt the pang of jealousy hit his heart as he wanted to be the one assisting with her bath.Slowly he turned the door handle and quietly opened the door to a dimly lit room. Near the fireplace he saw Isla with her eyes closed as she slowly sank deeper into the tub.Abi poured a pitcher of warm water over Isla’s tilted head and the light from the fire illuminated the streams down her shoulders and back. He knew he should leave the room but he couldn’t pull himself away. The sound of her voice with the sight of her bare flesh forced him to admit that he had more than a fondness for this woman. He wanted her more than any lass. He wanted to protect her…provide for her…lay with her.“Abi, Lady Isla won’t be needin’ yer help for the rest of the evenin’,” Cian said as he took the pitcher from the girl and motioned for her to leave.
Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?Annie:  I wanted to show a softer side to our female warriors.  Show that they are not only fiercely dedicated to their country, but that they are also fiercely passionate women.  And I’ve always loved time-travel and Scotland so combining the three seemed fitting. 
Cate: Love it. :) Anything else you’d like to share?Annie:  This is a photo that I took in St. Augustine at one of their cemeteries.  Apparently, the spirits didn’t like the fact that I caught them dancing because this photo fried my lens.  It was truly a one in a million shot that cost me a new camera lens.

Cate: Wow, what an incredible photo! Love it. Readers, Annie has a giveaway!Annie:  Anyone who wants an autographed postcard, all they need to do is email me their address and I’ll send them one!  contact@annie-marshall.com
Cate: Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, Annie! And sharing in the Halloween fun.Wow, Annie's stories are amazing. Hard to follow that! So I'll leave you with something lighter, a clip from one of my favorite movies to watch this time of year (though it's not a Halloween movie), Young Frankenstein.Blucher! *neigh!* :)
 

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Halloween fun with Jane Lebak

Cate: Please welcome Jane Lebak to my special Halloween celebration. Jane, please tell us a little bit about yourself.Jane: I'm Jane Lebak. I've been writing stories since I was three years old, although I've gotten a bit better at it since then. I also don't write in magenta crayon any longer. I've published three novels and a lot of shorter fiction, and I'm also one of the bloggers for QueryTracker.net, a resource for beginning writers and writers who want to find a literary agent.
Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?Jane:  I love dressing up as Death's Incompetent Assistant and looking at all the costumes the kids come up with. My husband takes the kids trick-or-treating while I sit outside giving away the candy. Last year, we gave away thirteen pounds of candy!
Cate: Ha, that sounds like fun! Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?Jane: About six years ago, it was unseasonably warm, so I sat out on the front steps trying (and failing) to crochet a granny square. It was about one inch by one inch big. I told anyone who stopped by that maybe I should have started making my costume earlier.
Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?Jane: Heck yes! I blog most of them. My favorite would be the time I asked my guardian angel where would be his favorite place on Earth, and that night I had a dream showing me a specific location. It took six months for me to track down the place, but it's a real honest-to-goodness place on Earth. (I could be cagey, but the answer is Cadaques, in Spain. As for why, well, that's over at my weblog here: http://wp.me/p8I00-48.)
Cate: Oo, looking forward to reading that. What frightens you the most?Jane: The possibility of being deceived by something evil.
Cate: Yikes. Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?Jane: No. Any ghosts I've seen have come to me. I saw my daughter once about 14 months after she died, and after her baby brother was born, one day I was intensely aware of her presence.
Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?Jane: I'm such a disaster as a cook, I'd have to say no. Pretty much anything I make is scary.
Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.Jane:  The Wrong Enemy is  available at Amazon for Kindle as well as the publisher's website in all ebook formats. It may still be on new-release discount at the publisher's site, so check there first: http://tinyurl.com/jlebakt
The Wrong Enemy is the story of a guardian angel who killed the child he vowed to protect, an action that should have landed the angel in Hell and instead gets him…a second chance? And it’s not a second chance guarding a popcorn stand at the circus, either. Tabris is assigned as co-guardian over a ten year old girl with an angel who absolutely doesn’t want Tabris anywhere near that child for fear he'll do it again. The only one who does seem to want Tabris around is a demon who’s making a full-court press for him to leave the God who set him up to fail, and Tabris isn’t sure the demon’s wrong.
Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt? Jane: Sure!  Here are the opening paragraphs of the novel.
          Raguel waited at the back of the Judgment Hall to hear the verdict passed on the boy's soul: Heaven. He nodded as he registered the word, but without rejoicing as he should have. Based on the expressions of the other witnesses, neither was anyone else. Half the angels in the room watched the boy as he leaped in delight and hugged the angel at his side, but the larger number studied the angel who stood at the back of the hall, Tabris.            Tabris had not reacted to the echoing verdict. Staring only at the chains binding his wrists and securing him to the floor, he stood like a horse at a hitching post. Only once did Raguel see him look up, struggling for a glimpse the boy before the other angels crowded into his line of sight, but then they'd taken the boy away, and Tabris said not a word.            Two Archangel guards flanked Tabris, one wearing a thousand-mile stare and the other struggling against grief. Everything about their posture read dutyto Raguel, broadcast without words in their alert stance, the readiness of their weapons, and their raised chins. Between them, Tabris seemed smaller, slumped, his two-toned wings drooping until they touched the floor. With a shudder, Raguel realized at least one of the guards had probably been his friend.            They had no idea how to act. And rightly so. Angels didn't usually take one of their own into custody.
Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?Jane: This story wouldn't let me go. I got the idea during January of my junior year in college, just that idea of a guardian angel who killed his charge and then got reassigned rather than tossed into Hell. I kept feeling the sense of isolation, the desperation, the regret – and I wanted a happy ending for him.
But I told myself no, I won't write this because I had classes and I needed to concentrate. But the story kept coming into my head and growing, and finally I caved and started writing it…during finals week!  But the book got published and I aced all my finals, so it can't have been that bad a thing.
Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?Jane:  October 2nd is the feast day of Guardian Angels in the Catholic Church, so it's the perfect time to talk about them – and say hello to yours.
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog, and I hope you enjoyed the interview as much as I did!
Cate: Thanks for sharing in the celebration, Jane!
Jane's interview made me curious about some of the Halloween superstitions dealing with souls or evil. I found these: To ward off evil on Halloween you should walk around your home three times clockwise and three times counterclockwise To see a spider on Halloween means it is a relative returning from the dead to check on you Knives were hidden on Halloween night so that returning spirits would not come to any harm If you place a turnip on your gatepost on Halloween then no evil spirits can harm you or your home Originally children would ask for food (soulcakes) and money when they went from door to door-for every cake a prayer was said for the dead If a bat flies around your house on Halloween it is a death omenPeople used to lock up their cats on Halloween as an elf could travel on your cats back into your home and create havoc In ancient times a person always rang a bell (not a doorbell) which would ward off evil spirits for the entire year If you see an owl diving then he/she is coming to take your soul away

Karen Michelle Nutt kicks off the Halloween fun!

Cate: Woo hoo! Karen Michelle Nutt's the first victim - er, guest - at my special Halloween celebration. Karen, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Karen: Time Travels have been a passion of mine.  I have always been intrigued with the possibility of being able to reach back in time and change the past. Common sense says influencing the past is impossible, but I can't help but wonder: What if I can? Fallen Angels, vampires and shape shifters embrace my darker side where their worlds intertwine with ours.
Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all my stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.
I share my life with a wonderful man, three lovely children and house full of pets. In my spare time, I review for Paranormal Reviews, a great place to find paranormal books and other genres. My new passion is the wonders of Photoshop. My header for my website and blog were my first projects. I've since created book covers for Victory Tales Press and Western Trail Blazers.
Cate: What do you love most about Halloween? Karen: Anything paranormal! I’m a big fan. (I bet you couldn’t guess that from my books. Lol) I love the costumes and the chance to be someone else for the night—a vampire, a werewolf, a big scary monster. The list goes on. You can let your imagination soar. I also love the decorations. Pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts, and witches adorn my home during the month of October. And don’t get me started on the Halloween stories and movies. Nothing too gory—I like eerie, where the fine hairs on the nape of my neck stand at attention and gooseflesh rise on my arms.
Cate: A woman after my own heart. :) Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past? Karen: I remember as at teen winning, Best Halloween Costume. I went as a vampire- Black flowing gown my mother helped me sew. My hair was long so that was easy enough to part in the middle. I used makeup to make my flesh look pale and added just a drop of blood at the corner of my mouth. (Yes, it was fake blood. And no, I’m not really a vampire.)  But I did have some awesome falsies. (Vampire teeth that is.)
Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain? Karen: At my parent’s house there’s a resident ghost. A little girl has appeared off and on throughout the years. She’s not shy; she’s made her presence known to friends who visit, too.
Cate: Very cool! What frightens you the most? Karen: I don’t like spiders. Heck, bugs in general freak me out. I don’t like any stories with demon possessions either. I like to be in control and the thought of some evil being taking over just petrifies me.
Cate: *shudders* Me, too. Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own? Karen: Every chance I get. (Lol) When we take a holiday, it includes a ghost tour of the city we are visiting. Love it! My girlfriends and I also will take in tours, Even if it is not a ghost tour, we like to research the place and find out if there’s been paranormal activity.
Cate: Sounds like fun! Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share? Karen: For Halloween my kids used to love dirt cups. It’s easy, fun and something the kids can do, too. Ingredients: 2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (4 serving) Jello chocolate flavor instant pudding
1 pkg. (16 oz.) chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (we used Oreo tops)
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed
Decorations: (Be creative and add something different.) Gummy worms, gummy eyeballs, gummy anything…

Directions: Pour milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with whisk until well blended. (About 1 to 2 minutes.) Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in whipped topping and half of crushed cookies. Place 1 tablespoon crushed cookies into cups. Fill cups 3/4 full with pudding mixture. Top with remaining crushed cookies. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Then Decorate!
Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online. Karen: My latest release is Twilight’s Eternal Embrace (vampires) This story is an Upper YA book, which means it is appropriate for 15 yrs to 21years and older. The story itself has an old world medieval feel to it. The story is about Bram and Adryanna and their forbidden love for each other. Isn’t forbidden a great word? It makes the impish part of our psyche want to know more? (Yep, I know, it’s wicked.)
It can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble  and other online bookstores—Kindle, NOOK, iPad, print… all formats. J
Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt? (suitable for general audiences, please) Karen: Adryanna, a Lathe Sith, mourns the death of her recently mated sister, but she finds solace in the most unlikely place—in the arms of Bram, an Oiche Sith. She should fear him, loathe his existence, but instead she longs for their twilight embraces. Bram admires Adryanna’s strength and wishes only to protect her, even if it’s from him.
If Bram cannot find a way for Adryanna to survive the blooding ritual the romance is doomed. They seek help from Sheerin, Bram’s cousin, who believes he’s found a way for the Lathe Sith to survive, but others in the Oiche Sith clan do not wish for them to succeed.
Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme? Author: I wanted to give vampires a back-story, a place where the first vampire clans originated, instead of the traditional rise from a grave and wreck havoc scenario. I wanted to humanize the vampires. Give them families, friends and love ones. That being said, it doesn’t mean they are cuddly and sweet. They are vampires.
Cate: Anything else you’d like to share? Karen: I have a question for the readers. Who is your favorite vampire? Tell me what power or special talent this vampire has that intrigues you? Could be he/she walks in the daylight. He/She can eat food. He/She can shapeshift. Anything...
Cate: Oo, tough question! But leave a comment because Karen has a wicked good giveaway! :) Karen: Answer the questions above and fill out the Rafflecopter. It’s easy. :) Contest ends at Midnight tonight!!
Giveaway:  E-book copy of my vampire short Love’s Eternal Embrace and an e-book copy of 2012 Fall/Paranormal Collection (My novella, Shattered Illusions is featured in the collection). Don’t forget to leave your email so I may contact you if you should win.
Thank you everyone for stopping by and saying hello. Cate, you have a wonderful site and I’m thrilled you let me haunt your wicked blog today. Have a Hauntingly Spooky Halloween, Everyone! Karen
I’d like to share one of my Six Sentence Sunday post for Twilight’s Eternal Embrace In this scene: Bram fears for Adryanna's safety once he finds out his clan has been hiding their mistakes in the dungeon. The bloodlings that have died from blood loss, but have risen again are no longer human, but they are not entirely a vampire either. The blood lust rules their existence. Bram wants to scare Adryanna away from him and drags her down to the dungeon to see what her future will be if she stays with him. Death or Fiend...neither is promising.
Now the six: “By all rights, you should leave this place and never return, but my sweet Adryanna, you prove not to be a coward. Do you not understand? I am not good for you,” he pleaded for her to open her eyes and witness the truth. “I will destroy you. I will destroy the tender compassion you hold in your heart, the light in your eyes will die, and all that makes me love you will cease to exist.”
“No, it will never happen.”
About the author: Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California with her husband, three fascinating children, and a houseful of demanding pets. Jack, her Chihuahua/Yorkshire terrier is her writing buddy and sits long hours with her at the computer. Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love. Visit the author at her website: http://www.kmnbooks.com Stop by her blog for Monday interviews, chats and contests at: http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Michelle-Nutt/e/B002BLLBPE/
Cate: Have a spooktacular Halloween, Karen! Everyone should visit Karen's blog - she's throwing a fun event all month too! I'll be there Oct. 13. :)
For the first Halloween post, I thought it would be appropriate to have a little bit about the origins of Halloween. According to History.com, it began more than two thousand years ago as a Celtic festival in remembrance of deceased loved ones. Many of you already know it as Samhain. On October 31, the barrier between this world and the next falls away, allowing spirits to pass through freely. To welcome the spirits, people placed extra dinner settings at the table, left treats for them and lit candles to help them find their way back to the spirit world. Children went from door to door asking for soul cakes for the dead, and for every morsel received, they'd say a prayer.
In the Middle Ages, people feared black cats because of the superstition that witches could transform themselves into cats at will. They lit bonfires to ward off evil spirits and ensure no one's soul would be stolen that night. As extra protection, people dressed in costumes and masks so the evil soul snatchers wouldn't recognize them.

Let the Halloween rumpus begin!

Is October going to be full-on full-moon madness? Oh yes it is. But madness of the fun sort.

All month long, there'll be goodies and ghoulies and ghosties and giveaways. Every single weekday, a new author will magically appear, mwahahaha.

Here's the incredible lineup:10/1 – Karen Michelle Nutt  10/2 – Jane Lebak  10/3 – Annie Marshall  10/4 – Nicole Zoltack 10/5 – Jessica Subject  10/8 – Arlene Webb10/9 – Victoria Ley10/10 – Lorrie Struiff 10/11 – Kelly Whitley  10/12 – Julie Hayes10/15 – Diane Barr10/16 – Kristin Battestella10/17 – Stan Hampton10/18 – Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson10/19 – Tierney O’Malley10/21 – Margay Leah Justice10/22 – Jim Linux10/24 – Shirley Martin10/25 – Sonya Clark 10/26 – Carlene Rae Dater10/29 – Taryn Kincaid
10/30 – Jenna Storm10/31 – Fierce Dolan
I'm also part of these two blog hops:
Oct. 26-29 – Howloween Blog Hop 
Oct. 24 – 31 – Spooktacular Giveaway Hop
Have you met my special Halloween greeter? She's lovely - until you make her cross. So maybe you should plan on visiting my blog. Every day. I can't be responsible for any unexplained occurrences otherwise!


On weekends, watch for special treats from me!When you see the badge shown above, I'll be posting coupons for Smashwords so you can download these books for free!

Oct. 6 - Soul for Sale (Halloween)Oct. 13 - The Magic of Lavender (Halloween party in opening)Oct. 20 - The 12 Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses (zombies, zombie hunters)Oct. 27 - In the Midnight Hour (Halloween/ghosts)

Banned Books Week!

I am always astounded anew when Banned Books Week rolls around again. Censorship is always outrageous, but in this day and age, I expect people to be more educated, more open minded and accepting of others' views. Knowledge is power. The best way to conquer your fears about a subject is to learn more about it. READ about it.

So I'm proud to be part of the Banned Books Week celebration kicking off Friday (I am a little early) and running through Oct. 6. Thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for organizing this hop. Crazy as my schedule has been, I couldn't not be part of this. Be sure to visit all the blogs on the list - there are tons of great giveaways!

My giveaway
A $10 gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble

How to enter
Easy - just leave a comment below. Tell me what banned book interests you. Be sure to include your email address!

I hope that sign strikes you as ridiculous. It does me. In fact, it makes me wonder about anyone who might want to impose such restrictions on others. What are they afraid of?Yet incredibly, the American Library Association still receives requests every year to remove books from libraries. In 2010-2011 (the most recent list), some of the books include: Anne Frank, the Diary of A Young GirlWater for ElephantsThe Hunger GamesExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close (now a movie)Brave New WorldSnow Falling on CedarsThe KoranAnd too many more, sadly. What can we do? Promote tolerance. Promote education. Promote the right to read. Help spread the word. Join the Banned Books Week Facebook group here.

Visit more Banned Books Week participants!
If the linky code doesn't show below (and it usually doesn't), then visit I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, where you can find links to all the participants (the hop officially starts Friday, so check then).

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Death reveals her inner bitch

It's the last day of the blog tour! Finally, Death speaks out. Find out what she thinks at Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess.

Not to be outdone, Azrael and Damien are going head to head at Zombiegirl Shambling. Another fun character interview you won't want to miss.

Both will also be posting reviews for Death Is A Bitch! I'm so grateful.

One commenter will receive an ebook of Death Is A Bitch!

Bewitching Book Tours did a fantastic job arranging this tour. I highly recommend them!

And I'm so grateful to all who visited the blog stops. You guys are wonderful! I so appreciate your support.

Guest post at Decadent's 1NS blog today
Because I'm sure you're not all sick - to Death - of me by now, lol.  My post at Decadent's 1NS blog is about story ideas, and where they originate. Come share your thoughts![image error]

Death on a Sunday

Death never takes a day of rest. This Sunday's a busy one for her.


At Grave Tells, my guest post addresses writing against stereotypes. Quite a few of the characters in Death aren't what you might expect!
On the Broomstick is graciously providing a promo for Death Is A Bitch.
So are the wonderful folks at I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
I'd love for you to visit one, or all, of these stops! Comments are doubly appreciated. :)

Another thank you to Bewitching Book Tours for this great tour! You can view the full schedule here.
Two more stops on the blog tour, and Death can go back to her usual hectic duties.
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Busy weekend for Death! And a blogfest

Today, she has three stops on the blog tour. Good thing her stilettos are eternally durable! The poor girl's going to need a foot rub, though. Any volunteers? It's always advisable to stay on her good side. :) Or, you can visit her here to cheer her on:

Cabin Goddess interviewed me and is posting a review of Death Is A Bitch.

Bitten by Love Reviews likewise interviewed me and is posting a review too!


And at Bookish Things and More you'll find a promo for Death Is A Bitch.
I'd be so grateful to see you at one, or all, of these stops!
And I'm so thankful to Bewitching Book Tours for this fantastic tour. You can view the full schedule here.
Only two more days after today, but five more blog stops! Whew!

All Genres Blogfest at TBR this weekend!
Pop over and share your book blurb! It's just another way to get word out about your book, and maybe some new readers will find you. To Be Read is at http://tbrtheblog.blogspot.com
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More Death coming your way!

As part of the blog tour, Blooding Book Reviews is posting a review of Death Is A Bitch today. Hope to see you there!
It's the only tour stop today, but tomorrow there'll be three! Bewitching Book Tours did an amazing job setting up the blog tour. You can view the full schedule here.

Death - a sympathetic character?

Of course she is. Just look at that gorgeous face. :)


Learn how I crafted Death at my guest post at Fangs, Wands & Fairydust I'd love to hear your take on Death as a character.
And if you have a moment to stop by Place of Reads Book Blog for a promo, I'd be so grateful for a comment there as well!
The blog tour continues tomorrow! Thanks so much for your support!
And thanks to Bewitching Book Tours, which arranged this whirlwind tour. You can view the full schedule here.