Christine Rains's Blog, page 36

Friday Five for December 11, 2015

1. It's been another great writing week. I finished one novella and started on another. Yes, it might seem like I'm writing super fast, but these stories are already finished in my head. They're not that long. If I can get 2000 words in a day, I can finish this last one before the end of next week.
2. All my regular TV shows are on hiatus. Now I can finally finish watching Daredevil on Netflix and all those films I've wanted to see on DVD. Any recommendations of a new movie I should watch?

3. My son built a gingerbread house this week. Every year for the past five years, we've done this, and every year more icing goes into his mouth than on the house!

4. I've been doing some cleaning on my Twitter account lately. If you have an account, how often do you update the profile and unfollow tweeps who are inactive, spamming, or aren't following you?
5. The cats have settled in and learned my schedule. Since sitting on the keyboard or my lap isn't an option while I'm writing, one shelf on my desk has become the cat corner. I had to empty most of the stuff out of there except the secret candy stash box (which is empty) and the sonic screwdriver (even kitties dream of meeting the Doctor). We're all cozy and happy. We'll see what the cats think when we get a Christmas tree! Have a wonderful weekend.

Wicked Wednesday - writing for the holidays

(A Krampus monster from the local Krampus parade)
I don't just mean writing for Christmas holidays. I'm talking about any holiday. Groundhog Day to Easter to Halloween.
That specific time of year rolls around and writers get inspired to write about it. Write when the inspiration hits. Holidays bring up a lot of powerful emotions and memories. There is a ton of inspiration strolling around, too, like the Krampus. Use it to your advantage.
Yet there is one problem with writing a holiday themed story on that holiday: it will be too late to publish it for that time of year once you're done.
The way I've dealt with that problem is to push my muse ahead six months holiday-wise. I've already written a couple of Valentine's Day stories and one Easter piece. I'll start in on some summer stories next month.
This way, I have holiday themed stories set to send out to various venues with plenty of time to rise up in the slush piles and be seen by editors with still a few months to spare before the holiday itself. I send Christmas stories out in June and July. Publishers usually get loads of those ones.
And yes, I do get inspired to write seasonal tales during those particular times of year. It just means I have to sit on them a little longer before submitting. As I said, write when the inspiration hits, but submit with enough time for an editor to get to your story and comfortably fit you in their schedule.
Have you ever written a holiday themed story?

New Releases: A Clueless Woman, Heart in a Box, & Guardians of Telesma

Graduate student Lizzie Petrie feels more comfortable around books than people. Although an expert in the Hitler Youth, she’s a novice in love. Her former lesbian lover is blackmailing her, and not even those closest to Lizzie know the full story of their abusive relationship.When visiting high school English teacher Sarah crosses Lizzie’s path at the campus, their attraction is instant, but not without complications. As they start to spend more time together, suspicions arise from both women in this sexy piece of LGBT fiction.Plenty of good-natured teasing takes place between lovers as well as between PhD students in this lesbian contemporary romance. No relationship path ever runs smoothly, and oftentimes, those who can’t keep their mouth shut hasten necessary confrontation.Lizzie finds herself buried in a mess of lies in this romantic comedy. The harder she tries to keep Sarah and the rest of her friends from finding out the truth about her first girlfriend, the more endearingly clueless she becomes.

Buy Links:Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon Canada * Amazon Australia  
 Add it to read on Goodreads
About the Author: T. B. Markinson is an American writer, living in England. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling the world, watching sports on the telly, visiting pubs, or taking the dog for a walk. Not necessarily in that order.Mailing List:Get the first book in the series, A Woman Lost , for FREE by signing up to TB’s Readers’ Group here.Links: Twitter * Facebook * Blog * Goodreads * Amazon Author Page 
Excerpt:“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” If Meg hadn’t been standing right in front of me, I would have recognized her snide tone, even despite the fact that she’d dyed her once-blonde hair a rich, fiery red. “Getting drunk on a school night. Shame on you, Lizzie. What would Dr. Marcel say?” Meg’s companion helped her slip into a coat. Hopefully, that meant they were leaving and pronto. Approximately 150,000 people lived in Fort Collins, and the one person I didn’t want to bump into ever, let alone with Sarah, was peering down at us. “Hello,” was all I could force out. Meg’s gaze wandered over Sarah’s face and upper body before settling on me. “What happened to only drinking at home?” She crossed her arms. “I’m afraid I’m a bad influence.” Sarah came to my defense. “I see.” An older man tugged on Meg’s arm. She wore a tight dress—not her usual jeans and J. Crew sweater. And she was with a man—very unusual. “Have a good night, Lizzie.” She turned each Z in my name into a weapon. “Oh, I’ll be calling you to discuss that financial situation you brought up last time.” She gave Sarah a final glare and rolled her eyes. Red-hot anger raged through my mind and body as I clamped my lips together to keep everything bottled inside. How dare she treat Sarah so flippantly? I counted to ten before I said, “I’m so sorry.” Sarah’s eyes darted across the room to where Meg and her companion were exiting into the darkness. “Is she a friend?” I snorted. “Former ...” I’d been about to say girlfriend, but instead added, “acquaintance.” “I’d use another word for her.” I let out a rush of air. “Really? What would that be?”
* * * * *
Each heartbeat leads Joss closer a shocking truth that will change everything.
Joss Olstad wins the fight to switch from her private school to a public high to “find her pieces” she lost when the Indian artist father she never knew died. There, Joss struggles with a slutty friend, who flirts with her new love; Indian Culture Club girls who press her on her past, as well as her stoner mother’s lies back at home. Armed only with her handmade heart boxes that hold private messages, Joss’s search for identity leads her to a scary industrial section of Queens, and a shocking family secret that changes everything.
Buy links: Amazon * B&N * Kobo * iTunes * All Romance Ebooks
Catherine Stine is hosting a Blitz Rafflecopter Giveaway with awesome prizes. Check it out on her blog here!
* * * * *

An ancient prophecy. A doorway between realities. A woman destined to save a world—or destroy it. 

When Kate Ryan discovers an ancient artifact at a dig site, her life is changed forever. Swept across the boundaries of dimension, she’s plunged into an alternate world of magic, shape-shifting cats—and a prophecy calling for her death at the hands of the Guardian.

Draven, Guardian of Telesma, took an oath to kill the Outsider whom the legend warns will destroy his world. He hesitates as his attraction to this woman proves stronger than his sense of duty. Now he must protect his sworn enemy against his own people as he struggles to prove the prophecy wrong.

Kate faces an impossible choice. Stay and try to save those who refuse to accept her, or turn her back on them and the man who’s captured her heart? If she makes the wrong decision, will it bring about their destruction?Buy the book on Amazon!
Stalk River Fairchild here.

Friday Five for December 4, 2015

1. I've had a good writing week. I finished a novella just before Thanksgiving and now I've started on another. I hope to have it done before Christmas.
2. Thank you to everyone who gave Lovelorn Spirits a shout-out last week. I didn't call on anyone to do so since it was going to be a crazy week for me and I wouldn't be online, but you guys amaze me. Cookies for everyone!

3. I met my Goodreads reading challenge goal! Yay! 100 books. My Kindle is heavy with several new ones that I've won lately too. I hope to get at least five or six more books read and reviewed before the year is out.

4. This evening we're going to Santa's Workshop at my son's school. We'll have dinner with other children and Santa. Then we'll make crafts and decorate cookies. To double our fun, the Krampus parade is on Saturday evening and the weather promises to be awesome. (Click on the link to see how cool it looks. My son isn't afraid of them at all!)
5. The big news in the Rains household this week is we adopted two cats from the local animal shelter. Thunder and Kelsey bonded while at the shelter, and they didn't want to separate them. Who can resist this adorable two-for-one deal? Thunder is only a year old and has the energy of a kitten. He's so good with my son. Kelsey is a one-eyed beauty and a sweetie. She's not a lap cat, but she loves her belly rubs.

(My son with Thunder on his leg and Kelsey coming to get a flicking tail!)

#IWSG for December 2015

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

The awesome co-hosts for this month are Sandra Hoover, Mark Koopmans, Doreen McGettigan, Megan Morgan, and Melodie Campbell!

Thank you to everyone who responded last month to my post. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like I need to write more faster and write more on top of that.

And while I sometimes do hear that nagging voice, I've had a good year. One novel and six novellas published. Plus a handful of short stories! Darn good year.

I want to hear all your happy stories. Please share something good that has happened to you this year in the comments.

Here's to a magnificent 2016 for all of us!

The Reader (Rifters #3) is here!

With the rift closed for the season and no more monsters to fight, Daelin Long gets bored as librarian in the podunk town of Settler, Oregon. A job interview and her brother’s arrival present a tempting opportunity to escape, until her brother and her best friend, a ghost, disappear.

While Daelin searches for them, more mysteries pile up: dead people coming back to life, portraits of the town founders replaced with strange white trees, and people on the other side of the rift returning. It’s impossible. The portal that allows monsters from other universes to come to Earth is sealed until next summer.

The Rifters, a secret group protecting our world, believe the troubles are nothing more than the tantrums of an offended ghost. Daelin disagrees. If she’s right, the evil hell-bent on destroying Earth has new technology making the rift more deadly.

Before the monster summons the next apocalypse, Daelin must find it and destroy it.

Book 3 in the Rifters series.

Need to catch up? You can read books 1 & 2 in the Rifters series for free by becoming an M. Pax Reader. ENTER MY DIMENSION
Buy links:
Amazon / AmazonUK / AUS / CA / DE / FR / ES / IT / NL / JP / BR / MX / INBookcessories / iBook / Nook / GooglePlay / Kobo / Smashwords / inktera / Scribd
The Reader Tweets & FB

People & ghosts are not what they seem. Is it a monster? The Reader http://goo.gl/6e77ZI #fantasy #scifiA ghost with a bad temper & fake people. This town is strange. The Reader http://goo.gl/6e77ZI#fantasy #scifi

There's something wrong in the woods. Monsters or ghosts? The Reader http://goo.gl/6e77ZI #fantasy #scifi
Author Bio: M. Pax is author of the space adventure series The Backworlds, plus other novels and short stories. Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons to her, and she blames Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. She docents at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers as a star guide and has a cat with a crush on Mr. Spock. Learn more at mpaxauthor.com.

Review for Immortal Desires

Blurb:
Dumped at the altar, Deanna Cameron seeks a fresh start in life. She gets more than she bargained for after accepting a new job, when an Immortal Guardian sends her five hundred years into the past. She can't return home and a magnificent highland warrior accuses her of being a spy.

Ian Mackay knows the beautiful woman who appears in his castle must be a spy. After all, she's a Cameron, a clan he despises. The powerful magic surrounding her obstructs his Druid senses, plus he finds he can't stay away from the temptress. But loving Deanna could come with a price too high to pay. Will she be the downfall of his clan—or its salvation?

My review: 
Feeling stuck in a rut, Deanna Cameron jumps at the opportunity for a new job in a different state. Not just any job, but a dream job traveling and reviewing vacation spots. When she is sent five hundred years into the past, all she wants to do is find a way home. Until she meets the gorgeous Highlander Lord, Ian Mackay. Ian believes her to be a spy, but he can't stop his growing feelings for her. Will Deanna destroy his clan or shatter his heart?

An incredible and steamy debut from Cerise Laudine. There's nothing sexier than a Highlander Lord with the courage of a warrior and a big heart. Deanna and Ian found it difficult to resist one another, but even with the sizzling physical connection, their relationship grew from soul more fertile than their desire alone. I sympathized with Deanna right from the beginning as she's left at the altar and must pick up her life on her own. She's smart and brave, and the perfect complement to Ian.

What I loved the most was the world building. We have an awesome modern day corporation and the Highlands of five hundred years ago. I felt like I was there. Plus there are the Immortals. While we learn more about them as the story unfolds, I'm eager to find out even more about them. I can't wait for the next book from Cerise Laudine.

A highly recommended time travel romance.
(I was lucky enough to win an ARC in a giveaway last month!)

Releases December 5th!
Pre-order here: Amazon
Find out more about Cerise here!

Lovelorn Spirits is here!

The Paramours - ghost hunting with a kiss.

Vivian Ray does not like working with the suave Miles Walker, but he's the best medium in the paranormal business. When they are possessed by a pair of passionate ghosts, Vivian and Miles realize they might have feelings for one another. But it's difficult to separate their own emotions apart from the spirits', and Vivian doesn't want to believe she's in anything more than lust with Miles. There's something much more dangerous after them, though, and if they can't help the ghosts work through their past, the investigators could lose their own lives.

Buy the book here:  Ellora's Cave * Amazon * Kobo
Add it to read on Goodreads!
This is my favorite of the trilogy. While Nina was sweet and Claire flirty, Vivian is the sharp professional. Pairing her with Miles and having them possessed by amorous spirits was a sure way to get things to explode!

9Tales Told in the Dark #7 is free until the 28th!

Terror creeps up everywhere. The Dark goes international in this collection of short tales of horror, featuring zombies, curses, ghosts and vampires.
9Tales Told in the Dark #7 is free from now until November 28th. Don't miss out on this fantastic collection of scary stories.
My short story, "All I Want For Christmas" is included in this great anthology. Find out what happens when a little boy asks Santa to get rid of the monster in this closet.

Everybody Knows Release Day Blitz!

  Everybody KnowsRazes Hell #2by Kyra Lennon
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SynopsisLucy Hayes has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to go on tour with the UK’s fastest rising rock band, Razes Hell. Lucy Hayes has been in love with Razes Hell’s frontman, Jason Brooks, for as long as she can remember. While most women see him only as a rock god, Lucy sees the real Jason. But will that be enough to make him see her as the adult she is, or is she destined to remain the baby sister of his best friend forever? When Lucy bags an invite to join Razes Hell on their Europe and U.S tour, she is under no illusions about where she fits in Jason’s life. She’s the girl next door, too young to ever catch his attention. However, when Lucy is the first to notice Jason’s struggle to keep his cocaine addiction in check while out on the road, the pair grow closer, and Lucy thinks she might be about to make her dreams come true. But how can it ever work out? With an age gap against them, not to mention concerned family and friends stating their opinions, and the media turning something beautiful into something sinister, they are fighting an impossible battle. Everybody Knows there’s something between Lucy and Jason, but will their feelings be enough to keep them afloat, or will their feelings tear apart everything they hold dear?
[image error]Buy LinksAmazon UKAmazon USNookB&NiBooks UKiBooks USKobo
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Author BioKyra is a self-confessed book-a-holic, and has been since she first learned to read. When she's not reading, you'll usually find her hanging out in coffee shops with her trusty laptop and/or her friends, or girling it up at the nearest shopping mall. Kyra grew up on the South Coast of England and refuses to move away from the seaside which provides massive inspiration for her novels. Her debut novel, Game On (New Adult Contemporary Romance), was released in July 2012, and she scored her first Amazon Top 20 listing with her New Adult novella, If I Let You Go in November.

Author's Social LinksFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/kyralennonwritesTwitter - https://twitter.com/KLennonWritesWebsite - http://www.kyralennon.comAmazon Author Page - http://goo.gl/HmqezwGoodreads Author Page - http://goo.gl/vzJ2Ol