Denise Verrico's Blog: Immortyl Revolution, page 3

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Greetings and Happy New Year from Cedric and me!  


I took a rather long hiatus from blogging to enjoy the Holidays with the family.  We laughed a lot and ate too much, but it was a blast!  Yes, I'm writing this from my Christmas present from my husband and son, a brand-spanking-new notebook computer.  (Cedric says he's supplying the spanking part.)  No more banging on my ancient desktop.  (Cedric will miss the banging.)  The danger for me now is fooling around too much on social media instead of writing.  (Cedric favors more writing about fooling around.)


Cedric MacKinnonThe focus of this blog will change somewhat in the coming year.  I won't be hosting blog tours anymore, although I'll occasionally have another author as a guest blogger.  Cedric will still be conducting sexy interviews, but will soon be getting his own blog.  My posts will concentrate on mythology and folklore topics or personal observations and humor.

That being said, when my good friend, A. J. Scudiere, asked me to take part in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, I thought it would be a good time to present the new format and introduce myself (and my naughty Scottish vampire lad Cedric) to some new readers.  

THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you've never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might nothave heard about, but that you might end up loving. This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags five other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag five new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.
The immensely talented A.J. Scudiere tagged me.  Her recent novel Phoenix  AND novel #3 God’s Eye) Just got top honors at the USA Book Review Awards for 2012. (2 out of 6 awards given in Suspense.) You can find out more about A.J. and the Intelligent Suspense novels she writes at www.AJScudiere.com and follow the snarky Smart Chickens blog at www.SmartChickens.com or search ‘Smart Chickens’ on iTunes for the podcast.
A big thanks to A.J. for inviting me to the hop!
  
For those of you visiting for the first time, welcome!  I'm the author of the Immortyl Revolution, a series of four Urban Fantasy novels and one collection of three short tales.  The novels are published by L&L Dreamspell.  My latest release is Servant of the Goddess.



This blog hop includes ten questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress, so here’s a little info about my current project:
1: What is the working title of your book?  
Denise: Prophetess.
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
Denise: I originally had an idea for a mystery story set in a rural town where I once lived, but decided to fictionalize the town and add fantasy elements.
3: What genre does your book fall under? 
Denise: Urban Fantasy/Thriller.
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  
Denise:  Oh maybe Charlize Theron as the prophetess heroine, Marena, and Paul Bettany as Lothian, the half-elf demon hunter. For Gabe, Marena’s much-younger boyfriend, who is possessed by an angelic being, someone pretty and intense, maybe Ezra Miller.  
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 
Denise:  A young woman, haunted by visions of an impending apocalypse, finds the corpse of a teen-aged boy and sets out on a quest to find and slay the demon responsible for his murder.
6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Denise: I’ll be seeking representation once it’s completed.
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
Denise:  This was a Nanorimo project from 2010, so one month.  I put it aside to finish my commitment to my Immortyl Revolution series.  
8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  
Denise: I’d say it’s similar to books by Kim Harrison in that there's a central mystery, magic and a variety of supernatural creatures.
9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Denise:  I looked at images of male angels, sculptures, painting etc..  It struck me that they are kind of bad ass and cool.  Think of Michael, he's a warrior who battles his fallen brethren   I wondered a lot about how a war between angels and demons would be fought.
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 
Denise:  The demon antagonist is inspired by a creature out of Japanese legend.  I wanted a truly horrific monster in this story.  One day, a house centipede dropped from the ceiling and landed on my husband.  Now, I’m a tomboy at heart, the kind of gal who caught toads and snakes as a child, but centipedes just give me the willies.  It’s all those legs.  Well, I did some research to find out if there was a folkloric centipede demon and learned of the Japanese Omukade.  I also researched real centipedes to give my monster some authenticity, but I do give mine qualities that are definitely supernatural.  My Omukade is able to incubate within a human host and act through her until she gathers enough power to manifest, adding to the creep factor


Here are two more authors who will be joining the hop. I hope you’ll visit their blogs next week and learn more about their books. Maybe one of them will become your new favorite author!

1. Cherie Noel http://talesfromthewritingcave.blogspot.com
2. Anne Marie Lutz http://annemariesblog.wordpress.com

Sexy Cedric Reviews Submission Therapy

Greetings, my darlings!  I hope you're having a sexy Saturday. Here is a little something that might make "sleeping in" a bit more enjoyable.



Submission Therapy by Katie Salidas and Willsin Rowe is a naughty vignette for those who enjoy a little B&D with their erotica. 
Natasha is a high-powered, billionaire executive, who is wound just a bit too tight. No amount of therapy has been able to cure her stress or sex-addiction. When her therapist recommends a more radical approach, Natasha reluctantly finds herself at the mercy of the powerfully persuasive Master Sweet. His bedside manner is hardly gentle, but when he gives Natasha a dose of her own medicine, she finds herself eagerly responding to his course of treatment and begging for more. 
The book is just the right length to make for a steamy bedtime tale and Master Sweet delivers the precise amount of wallop (to another sort of tail) that the reader craves.  Read it alone under the covers or with a special someone to initiate a little adult playtime. Either way, you’ll find it was just what the doctor ordered.   








Amazon.co.ukhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Submission-Therapy-Consummate-ebook/dp/B00A020MQK
All Romance Ebookshttps://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-submissiontherapy-987543-144.html
Smashwords.comhttp://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250624
Excessicahttp://www.excessica.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=597

Until next time,
Love and dark kisses,

Cedric MacKinnon

Sexy Cedric Spotlights a Kinky New Release/Excerpt from Submission Therapy

Greetings, my darlings! I hope you survived Halloween without any blood loss.  I did.  If you, like Sexy Cedric, are of an experimental nature, here is something to set your pulses racing!



SUBMISSION THERAPY
Billionaire CEO of Blakely Incorporated, Natasha runs her empire with an eagle eye for every detail. She’s an obsessive, compulsive, micromanaging hard-ass, consumed by the need to control every aspect of her life and her business.
But underneath that seemingly strong façade, Natasha is a swirling mess of anger, anxiety and sexual addiction. Only her therapist, Dr. Benson, knows how close she is to burning out...or exploding. He insists on a radical form of treatment – Submission Therapy – knowing that it’s her only hope.

Skeptical but intrigued, Natasha agrees to attend the first session. What she finds there is an erotically-charged environment that will forgive none of her habitual bad behavior. And a steely-eyed man who seems to read her every desire - even the ones she won’t admit to herself.

Will Natasha learn what it means to submit? Or will she allow her brittle pride to rob her of what she truly needs?

Warnings: This title contains graphic language, sexual situations, bondage, discipline, rudeness, and a twist on the billionaire genre.



Submission TherapyEXCERPT:© November 2012 by Willsin Rowe and Katie Salidas
“If your spirit is the equal of your body...” He ran his fingers across my shoulders and down the gully of my spine. “...then it will be a rare pleasure breaking you in.”Despite my initial apprehension, his words and his touch sent a thrill through me. He moved from behind me and my back suddenly felt cold. I watched his muscular form as he prowled to the chair, and admired his grace as he mounted it.“Bind her. Bring her to me.”Chloe appeared beside me with a length of smooth rope in her hands. My instincts cried out to run, to fight, but I bit down on them. I could see where this was heading and…and I wasn’t sure I hated it.With practiced efficiency, Chloe had my wrists secured in under a minute. She led me over to Master Sweet and handed him the loose end of rope.“Slave, lay across my lap.”I couldn’t help it. I hesitated. This was so new to me. He curled the rope around his wrist and pulled steadily, with a strength I couldn’t resist. With Chloe’s help he had me prone across his lap, my bare ass angled out and vulnerable. My heartbeat sped with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. Even though there was something so degrading about being put over someone’s lap, there was a part of me that found it...invigorating. I wasn’t about to let him know I felt that way, though. I held my tongue and watched blankly as Chloe worked, binding me in place. She took the rope and fed it through the eyelet at the base of the chair, leading it underneath and through a matching eyelet on the other side. She walked around and crouched behind me. From my angle I could only see her hands taking the rope, but I could sense her body heat on the backs of my thighs, feel her breath tickling across my ass…and everywhere else. I wondered if she was there to do more than just tie knots.The rope’s firm grip around my right knee took me out of that reverie. I watched as Chloe fed the rope back through the loop and then around my left knee. I understood the chair’s construction much better now. Looped around it, with Master Sweet’s strong legs as a cushion, I had nowhere to go. Intriguingly, there was still enough slack in the rope that I could spread my knees apart.“Look in the mirror.”I raised my head and stared. I barely recognized myself. In the low light, my black hair almost blended with the room. I could see enough to know it was a mess, though.He slipped his hand onto my ass and rested it there, soft, unmoving. The deceptively light touch sent chills rippling across my body.“You’ve earned a spanking for your disobedience. You will watch as your punishment is delivered, and you will count the strokes.”My breath hitched in my chest. Spanking. I hadn’t had one of those since I was a little girl. So demeaning, and yet the thought of it sent heat rushing between my thighs. There was a part of me that longed for it. In a world where I constantly had to think at least six to twelve months ahead, a consequence that was both immediate and tangible somehow felt like a luxury.He raised his hand, cocked it like a gun. I followed the movement instinctively, admiring the pure power of it, knowing full well that its force was about to come crashing down on me.“No. Look into your own eyes.”I did as instructed. My mouth hung open as I tried to catch my breath, which had begun racing. I clenched my muscles and squeezed my thighs together, waiting for what came next.The blow, when it landed, cracked like a pistol shot. For the slightest instant all I felt was the jolt through my body. My vision blurred with the impact. Then the sting bloomed on my ass and began to tingle. I watched my own mouth stretch, listened as my breath hissed in. I would not cry out.“Count it!” he demanded.


Get your copy today!



Amazon.co.ukhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Submission-Therapy-Consummate-ebook/dp/B00A020MQK
All Romance Ebookshttps://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-submissiontherapy-987543-144.html
Smashwords.comhttp://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250624
Excessicahttp://www.excessica.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=597
Stop by next week for my review!
Love and dark Kisses,
Cedric MacKinnon

Halloween Winners

These are the results I have thus far in the Halloween Giveaways:

B.K Walker 
Giftbasket- Chastity Brewer
Ebook of Choice-Tiffany Christie, Mary Preston, Denise Zacky, Shielena Cook and BN 100

Katrina Michaels PB of Tainted Blood- Pamela Moore

Roy Hudson Ebooks- Shielena Cook, BN 100 and Rene Odgen

Denise Verrico Annals of the Immortyls Ebook-Mary Preston, Patty Hulstrand, Denise Z., PP Rhomy and Soniya Hodgkinson

Katie Salidas' ebook Moonlight:  Crystal Newman and April Kirkland.

Laura Bickle's The Hallowed Ones PB: Shielena Cook

More to come as I get results from the authors!  

The authors will contact you directly to award your prizes.  If you have not provided an email with your post, please contact me at deniseverrico(at)yahoo(dot)com.  

Dracula in a Comedy Vein by Charles E. Butler/Final Day of Halloween Giveaways

Okay guys and ghouls!  The big day is finally here.  I want to thank all those who have stopped by to support the authors and enter the giveaways!  If you haven't entered, you have to 11 p.m. EST. Links are at the end of the post!  
Dracula - In a Comedy Vein!
By Charles E. Butler
First, I would like to thank Denise for asking me to write something for her blog. As my fanaticism is very limited, I find it harder to actually think what more to write about the canny Count? I thought that I would concentrate here on the movies that lean towards humour as opposed to the regular blood-letting. Nosferatu (1921) is a movie that is very, very dark. There are only a few shots of the monster, Graf Orlok, that survived the match that destroyed the original negatives way back in 1929. Played today, they take up around all of fifteen minutes. Although the film is my favourite vampire movie, it is creaky today and does send itself up for unintentional laughter. I would love an aspiring film maker to blend those snippets of film to happy music in the way Walt Disney did in the forties and fifties on his celebrated wildlife shorts. Max Schreck, bopping with his coffin under his arm, dancing to the strains of ‘grab your partners’,  is a surreal image that I just have to see…one day!

Now, more serious work.

Dracula was first parodied internationally in the  ground-breaking movie, Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein (1948), directed by Charles Barton for Universal. Fans queued around the block in England to see the new dynamic duo, advertised as A&C meet the Ghosts! The film itself had been assembled as straight horror with the title, The Brain of Frankenstein, but the studio’s new discovery had to be unleashed. As Lugosi pats Costello on the head - ‘What we need today, is young blood…and brains!’, his comic turn literally brought the house down. It is perhaps the last time that Lugosi was taken seriously in a movie. He would continue in comedy both intentional and unintentional, in such fare as Old Mother Riley meets The Vampire (1952) and Spooks Run Wild! Not forgetting of course, the very dire contributions of Edward D Wood Jr.

Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein had touched an impressive nerve and Lugosi gives his best performance as Dracula in Clown white make up and satin cape. The perfect straight-man foil for the bungling boys from burlesque. The comedy set a standard that would be repeated often in films like Fright Night (1985) and The Monster Squad (1987), in which Duncan Regehr’s very serious Count is laid out with garlic pizza! At the end of this scale is the bullseye from Stan Dragoti. Love At First bite (1979), is a wacky metaphor on urban life in Los Angeles, as the Count is ejected from his ancestral home by jack-booted authoritarians who want to turn the Castle into a training facility for the Country’s gymnastic prospects. When Dracula romances a hopeless nymphomaniac, he easily drags us into his broken world better than any of the serious ‘lost love’ movies that would follow, whilst still keeping his power and his dignity. Christopher Lee stressed that, ‘You may laugh at things in the film, but you never laugh at Dracula!’ All the above movies adhere to this quote.

“Oy, vey! Have you got the wrong Vampire!?” Alfie Bass shirks the crucifix with this quote in the biggest cult vampire movie, The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). Directed by Roman Polanski, this schizoid addition to the myth hangs on a knife thread as many set pieces leave us wondering whether to be horrified, or to laugh out loud! He makes many nods to Stoker and previous vampire classics, and I got the impression that, although the film was heartfelt, he wasn’t totally at ease with the material and had his name taken from the credits when producer, Martin Ransohoff, re cut and re-edited his opus. It was Polanski’s version - titled, Dance of the Vampires - that gave the picture the adulation that it holds amongst fans today. A more notable movie of this period is the excellent Harvey Kurtzman brainchild, Mad Monster Party (1967), that has Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Creature From the black lagoon, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Invisble Man and Baron Boris Von Frankenstein on its roster of famous fright figures. Topping it all off with a guest spot by It, a sculpted Claymation mannekin of King Kong!

Christopher Lee himself, although he hated making many of his Dracula movies, has never laughed at his most famous creation. In 1959, he did a comedy titled Tempi Duri Per I VampireUncle Was A Vampire/Hard Times For A Vampire. In this Italian production, Lee was Baron Rodrigo who returns from the grave to bite his aristocratic cousin, Renato Rascel. Rascel begins imitating Bela Lugosi with fangs and indulging in some serious slapstick comedy. Lee’s next comedy vampire movie is the fabled Dracula, pere et fils/Dracula, Father and Son (1977), in which, despite the title, he is actually called Le Prince Des Tenebrae, a peri-wigged throwback of French Aristocracy.  Directed by La Cage Aux Folles Edouard Molinaro, it is the deplorably dubbed USA cut that announces Count Dracula as the real villain. The French release is a very amusing whimsical fantasy with Les Prince letting nagging brides walk into the sunlight without warning them first.

Throughout the 70s - who can forget David Niven as Dracula in the terrible Vampira/Old Dracula? Or Ferdy Mayne losing his trousers in The Vampire Happening?- and 80s, many movies touched on the vampire as straight comedy material such as Saturday the 14th , with husband and wife team Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss living in a house over-run by ghosts and vampires. Teen Vamp and Once bitten were very dire teen nerd comedies of the worst order. It is also hard to believe that Nicolas Cage was playing it straight in the oddball, Vampire’s Kiss. When Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula held a thousand unintentional laughs, it is no wonder that Mel Brooks found it a hard movie to send up. Winning the day as Van Helsing in the acting stakes, Brooks peppered his screenplay with some great one-liners, “Yes, we have Nosferatu! We have Nosferatu today!” Leslie Nielsen’s fatherly approach to everyone’s favourite Count wins simply because Nielsen is always amusing and watchable. The film itself finds very few things to laugh at.

As my typing commences, the cinema is opening its doors for the eagerly awaited Hotel Transylvania starring irritable slapstick comedian Adam Sandler as the voice of Count Dracula. As the film is lovingly animated in the The Incredibles mold, I can see a sure fire winner at the box office!

Charles E. Butler resides in the UK and is the author of The Romance of Dracula.  You can follow Charles and chat about the Count at this Facebook page: Count Dracula



Okay, kiddos!  Here are the links to all the Halloween Goodies!  It's easy as pumpkin pie to enter.  You just need to leave comments at the various posts or enter the Rafflecopters (for my Bitten By Books Giveaway and B.K. Walker's Halloween Basket. (These are run separately and have different rules so please check).  Leave a comment here for Charles and you'll be entered to win one of the five copies of Annals of the Immortyls I'm giving away!

Good Luck!


Halloween Giveaway Links
Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html
Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html
Paperback book from Lee Taylor: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html
Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html
Ebook from Katie Salidas:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html
Ebook from Roy Hudson:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html
Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html
B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Halloween Giveaways Galore!/Review of Tainted Blood by Katrina Michaels

Welcome!  We are just two days away from Halloween and all the giveaway drawings! If you haven't yet entered, at the end of this post will be links.  All you need do is comment on the posts, or enter the Rafflecopters.

Tonight, I'll be live at Edin Road Radio Halloween Spooktacular, talking about Annals of the Immortyls and Servant of the Goddess and doing a short reading.

Tomorrow, I have the author of The Romance of Dracula, Charles E. Butler, who will blog on the Comic Side of the Count.

A very big thanks to all those who came over to Bitten By Books yesterday, and welcome to those who just joined me from that event!  You can still enter and read the interview with Cedric.
a Rafflecopter giveaway





Tainted Blood by Katrina Michaels Review
Tainted blood is the third in the Preternatural Investigation Agency series by Katrina Michaels.  The story finds Tom Duncan and his agents, preparing to celebrate Lilith’s Day, a day of celebration among vampires.  Holiday plans are upset by a slew of grisly, mysterious deaths, and the PIA is drawn into the investigation.  Finding a clear motive for what appears to be murder by poisoning is difficult, and a possible connection between vampire blood products and these deaths ignites conflict between humans and vampires. Meanwhile, a dangerous psychopath is on the loose and the stakes are rising.
Tainted Blood is a quick and enjoyable read for those who enjoy paranormal mysteries.  The old gang is back and there are lots of thrills, chills and surprises.  If you’re looking for a fun read for Halloween, with mystery, a colorful cast of supernatural characters and a healthy dose of mayhem, you should check out Tainted Blood.
The first two books in the series are Midnight Reflections and Dead Awakening.

You can enter to win a paperback copy of Tainted blood, by following the link below.  Don't forget to enter all nine giveaways!



Halloween Giveaway Links
Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html
Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html
Paperback book from Lee Taylor: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html
Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html
Ebook from Katie Salidas:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html
Ebook from Roy Hudson:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html
Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html
B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html

I'm Chatting Live Today at Bitten By Books! $20 Amazon Card Giveaway!

Here is the link for Bitten By Books.  



a Rafflecopter giveaway

There is a Rafflecopter there to enter the drawing!While you're here at the blog, enter the great Halloween Giveaways below:
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Halloween Giveaway Links
Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html
Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html
Paperback book from Lee Taylor: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html
Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html
Ebook from Katie Salidas:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html
Ebook from Roy Hudson:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html
Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html
B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html


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Anne Marie Lutz on Magic in Fantasy/Nine Halloween Book Giveaways!

Yesterday, I posted a review of Anne Marie Lutz's new fantasy novel, Color Mage.  Today, Anne Marie writes about different forms of magic in fantasy.
Don't forget to check out the giveaways!  At the end of the post are the links all Halloween prizes.  Please leave a comment for Anne Marie to be entered to win one of five ebook copies of my short stories, Annals of the Immortyls. 

All giveaways end on 10/31/12 at 11 p.m. EST and will be chosen by random drawing, except for B.K. Walker's Gift Basket, which is a Rafflecopter giveaway (details at that post).





Denise, thanks for inviting me to do this post! October is the perfect time to blog about magic.
October is the best month of the year. The weather is incredible, but things are changing. I'm always reminded of time passing, and it almost seems as if doors are open that are not usually there. So it's a good time to think of other worlds, other realities, and magic.
Fantasy fiction is almost defined by magic. There are fantasies without magic, but they are rare. I thought I'd try to categorize some of the kinds of fantasy magic for this post.
Individual ability. We are all very familiar with this. From Harry Potter to the Black Magician books by Trudi Canavan to even my own novel – fantasy abounds with the idea of a person who finds he or she can do things most of humanity cannot. Sometimes the talent comes fully developed; sometimes it needs to be honed through further study. Either way, the novel frequently explores the coming of age of the new magician, or conflict in the society these people are part of.
Magical objects. The healing elixir of the Narnia books. The Arthurian sword in the stone. The One Ring of Lord of the Rings. More recently, Harry Potter's invisibility cloak or the mirrors in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. By acquiring such a magical object, the protagonist – or her enemy – can gain great power. Sometimes the object is so powerful that using it carries great risks.
Magical creatures. In this type of magic, otherworldly creatures exist. They may be able to use magical spells or not, but they are themselves not of our reality. This includes everything from vampires and  werewolves from modern urban fantasy, to the elves of Tolkien, the monsters of ancient legends and the dragons of Robin Hobb.
Place magic. The magic is a characteristic of a specific place – even another world that people from our reality can step into, and they have to deal with the laws or realities of the magical place. Narnia is such a place. So is Fionavar, from the novels by Guy Gavriel Kay. The concept exists even in legends of elves living under enchanted hills, where time passes differently than it does in the outside world. There is enchantment as well as danger in such places.
Gods. Magic exists, but is unique to the gods. The origin of this is in our own ancient myths. Every culture has them. In modern fantasy, some novels – such as Jennifer Fallon's Demon Child trilogy – have gods that really exist and influence their worlds.
Thanks, Anne Marie, for sharing your insight with us today! Here is a little information on Anne Marie and Color Mage.


 Anne Marie LutzBio: Anne Marie Lutz has always loved reading and writing, especially in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree and an MBA, both from the Ohio State University. She has worked as an office manager, an operations analyst and more recently at home raising her children. Anne Marie was raised in the Youngstown area, and now lives in Central Ohio. She belongs to the North Columbus Fantasy/Sci Fi Writers' Group. Color Mage is her first novel.
Book Blurb: Color Mage- by Anne Marie Lutz

Lord Callo, bastard son of the King's sister, leaves his holdings in the midst of the contempt of his friends. He joins Healer Kirian as she flees for her life from the anger of a Collared Lord. Together they journey to Ha'las -- an enemy island ruled by the feared and despised psychic mages known as ku'an.

There, Callo learns of his true heritage -- and finds that great power is his birthright. All he has to do is sacrifice everything he has ever stood for.

Can he keep Kirian safe in a land where women are kept hidden and restricted? Can he even protect her from his own dangerous magery? And why are the Kings of two nations seeking him to further their own political ends?



Publisher: Loconeal Publishing, LLC (September 11, 2012)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0985081783ISBN-13: 978-0985081782 






Halloween Giveaway Links
Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html
Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html
Paperback book from Lee Taylor: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html
Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html
Ebook from Katie Salidas:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html
Ebook from Roy Hudson:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html
Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html
B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html

Review of Color Mage by Anne Marie Lutz and Nine Halloween Giveaways!

Welcome!  We are less than a week away from the big day, when all the giveaways winners will be drawn.  If you haven't entered yet, there are links at the end of this post to all of them.

Today, I'm excited to introduce a brand new author to you!  Anne Marie Lutz's and her new novel, Color Mage, just came out last month.  We've had horror, urban fantasy, thrillers and paranormal romance so far, so I figured it's time to get a little fantasy magic into the mix.  Tomorrow, Anne Marie will be my guest blogger.





ReviewColor Mage creates a fascinating world, where lords of magic are "collared" and enslaved to their king.  The story centers on a young man of noble blood, but illegitimate birth, named Callo, and a young woman, just out of the healers' college, named Kirian.  They are swept up in intrigues and forced to flee their country for even more dangerous environs.  With the aid of Kirian and his faithful servant, Chiss, Callo struggles with the magic that is part of his heritage, but has not yet learned to control.  This potential power causes Callo to be both feared and a sought-after commodity.

Ms. Lutz's prose is beautifully written, easy to read and her characters live and breathe.  The multi-layered world provides a rich background for the characters to act upon and the magic is interesting and unusual.  The different cultures in the book are well thought out, adding to the complexity of the world and the story.  

I enjoyed the way that the main players interacted, the conflicts they faced and the growth of Callo and  Kirian's relationship throughout the novel.  Lutz's work displays a mature understanding of human nature that is satisfying to the reader hungry for strong inner conflicts and a story that is more than just a good adventure--which the author also ably supplies.

Adult and teen fantasy readers will enjoy this book.  I'm looking forward to the second in the series.


Publisher: Loconeal Publishing, LLC (September 11, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0985081783 ISBN-13: 978-0985081782 



Halloween Giveaway Links


Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html
Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html
Paperback book from Lee Taylor: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html
Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html
Ebook from Katie Salidas:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html
Ebook from Roy Hudson:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html
Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html
B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html

Laura Bickle on Fear of the Unseen/Halloween Giveaways

Today, I'm thrilled to have fellow Ohioan, Laura Bickle, back at Immortyl Revolution.  I met Laura a few years back at a convention, and she is not only a great writer, but a lovely person.  Laura has been on before to talk about her books, Embers and Sparks.  Today, she'll be talking about fear of things we cannot see and telling us a little about her new book, The Hallowed Ones.




Giveaways!
At the end of the post, don't forget to leave a comment or question for Laura to be entered to win a paperback copy of The Hallowed Ones!  Then click on the links for the other giveaways.  Right now, there are eight different prizes you can win, paperback books, ebooks and even a Halloween Gift Basket!  All drawings are active until 10/31/12 11p.m. EST.





Fear of the Unseen
By Laura Bickle


We often fear what we cannot see.
Fear of contamination is one such fear.  In the times of the plagues, when disease swept invisibly over water and through villages and cities, people were afraid of the invisible. It’s a timeless fear, wondering what lies in darkness, unstoppable, and waiting to harm us. The world of THE HALLOWED ONES is a world steeped in fear of the unknown.
Katie is an Amish girl living in a Plain community. There are no lights in houses, no cars with sweeping headlights. No electricity. Her night, in the rural countryside, is soft and total. She can see the stars and the broad river of the Milky Way above her.
Katie has never feared the darkness. She and the night are old friends. In winter, she completes her farm chores long after the sun has set. She has never feared anything the shadows hold – not the deer, the bats, nor the rabbits. Not even coyotes.  She knows everyone in her community by name, and has nothing to fear from any of them.
She has never feared the unseen – not until now.
Katie’s safe world starts to crumble with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields near her house, followed by rumors of violence and the disappearance of large numbers of people in the world outside her community. Something is out there, something that kills under the cover of night. Unsure why they haven’t been attacked, the Amish Elders make a rule: No one goes outside their gates, and no one is allowed in.
They fear contamination, the violence. Rightly so. It’s an amplification of an ancient fear, that what is outside will forever alter their way of life.
When Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can’t leave him to die. She refuses to submit to the Elders’ decree, secretly bringing the stranger in to her community. But what else is she bringing in with him?
Katie will come to understand the threat of darkness, both from within her community and Outside. All things can become touched by darkness, even the familiar, and be forever changed.
THE HALLOWED ONESBy Laura BicklePublisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt GraphiaRelease Date: September 25, 2012ISBN-13: 978-0547859262

If your home was the last safe place on earth, would you let a stranger in?

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

"This is a book to make you fear the shadows--a horrifying and gruesome tale of faith, and things that blink red eyes in the night. I began reading in the daylight, and read on into the late hours, leaning close, biting my lip. I could not look away; I was obsessed. Katie is an unbreakable soul."
--Lauren DeStefano, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of the Chemical Garden Trilogy

“What an eerily believable, unique story! I can’t stop thinking about it—or shivering.”
—Melissa Marr, New York Times best-selling author of the Wicked Lovely series

“Readers will find it hard to put down this suspenseful, scary, compulsively readable adventure…”
-Kirkus Reviews

- THE HALLOWED ONES is available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Powell’s, and Books A Million.

- A free excerpt of THE HALLOWED ONES is available here: http://laurabickle.com/the-hallowed-ones/?action=excerpt

- For more info about Laura and her books, please visit her website at www.laurabickle.com. She’s also on Facebookand Twitter, usually exclaiming over cute cat pictures and nerdy things.







Halloween GiveawaysMust enter by 10/31/12 11 p.m. EST
Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html
Paperback book from Lee Taylor: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html
Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html
Ebook from Katie Salidas:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html
Ebook from Roy Hudson:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html
Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html
B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html