Christine Rains's Blog, page 99

Wicked Wednesday - new releases for 2013

A lot of great paranormal romances coming out this year. 2013 feels like a lucky year! Here's my list of the books I'm really looking forward to reading this year.
Haunted Moon by Yasmine Galenorn. (An Otherworld Novel, #13) Released on January 29th. Another great D'Artigo sisters' adventure narrated by my favorite of the siblings, Camille.
House Rules by Chloe Neill. (Chicagoland Vampires #7) Release date: February 5th. More Merit and Ethan. Oh yes!
The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead. (Bloodlines #3) Release date: February 12th. This series is a spin-off of Mead's best selling Vampire Academy series. I love the first two books and I can't wait to see what happens with Sydney next.
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs. (Mercedes Thompson series, #7). Release date: March. Another atypical heroine that I admire.
Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep. (The Elemental Assassin series, #8) Release date: March 26th. Gin Blanco is one of my favorite heroines. Who doesn't love an assassin that makes good barbecue?
Born of Fury by Sherrilyn Kenyon. (A League Novel, #6) Release date: April 1st. Finally a story about Hauk. I've been waiting a while for this one! These are unusual paranormal romances because they're also gritty sci-fi.
Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead. (Age of X series, #1) Release date: June 4th. A wonderful new series about a futuristic world and strange supernatural happenings. I'm really looking forward to this new series.
Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews. (Kate Daniels #9) Release date: July. The world in this series captivates me. The world after a magical apocalypse. It's so completely unusual and magnificent.
Grave Visions by Kalayna Price. (Alex Craft #4) Release date: August 6th. An excellent series with one of the sexiest versions of Death.
Up From The Grave by Jeaniene Frost. (Night Huntress #7) Release date: some time this year! I just started this series this month and I love it. Bones is one of my favorite all time vampires now.
I'm sure there are a lot more I'm missing. What paranormal romance releases are you looking forward to this year?

Teaser Tuesday with Hourglass

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!This book is one I thought I read, but I actually didn't. Luckily I picked it up again, because I'm really enjoying it. Hourglass is Myra McEntire's first novel. A YA paranormal romance that is original and sweet.

Your teaser:
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "I almost cried at dinner the other night. Was that not vulnerable enough for you?" (page 121)

Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest

This wonderful blogfest gives everyone a chance to re-introduce themselves to our growing community. All you have to do is take a minute and tell everyone something interesting about yourself. This is a blogfest, so please visit the other participants and get to know them. Don't forget to give a big thank you to our marvelous hosts Stephen Tremp, Mark Koopmans, Elise Fallson, and C.M. Brown.
Hello! Please allow me to re-introduce myself. I'll make it short and sweet. My name is Christine Rains and I'm a geek mom. My son shares his bed with Ernie, Brobee, and Cthulhu. We play Candyland like a role-playing game and frequently turn our couch into a pirate ship. I love to write and read. Hopefully I can help nurture those loves in my son as well.

I'm shy and not terribly exciting, but I love getting to know new and old friends alike. Tell me something about yourself, please.

Winners of The Alpha blog tour giveaway and updates

My little guy is singing a song in honor of the winners of The Alpha blog tour giveaway. Thank you so much to everyone who entered. Next month, I'll be having another giveaway with The Dragonslayer blog tour. Check the 13th Floor series page for all the stops. It's a big one this time around!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners! I've already emailed you.
I'm working hard on the next book in the 13th Floor series. My son has stopped having naps, so I've lost a good chunk of my writing time. It's frustrating, but it was inevitable. If I'm around even less on the blogs, I hope you'll forgive me. I need to write. I had hoped he'd still take naps for another year. At least I have two mornings a week while he's in school, and starting the next school year, he'll be doing three mornings a week.
I received my first rejection for the year. It was from Tor. I was aiming high! Also, another anthology I had a story in has been cancelled. The publisher has closed down. I didn't get an email or any sort of notice. I found out on a friend's blog. Now I need to start submitting stories elsewhere because I have nothing out there at the moment.
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I'll see you on Monday for the Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest.

CassaFire review

Blurb:
From the Amazon best-selling author - CassaStar was just the beginning… The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather. The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

My review:
War hero and star pilot Byron is keeping his word to his former mentor. It's boring on the exploration ship, but at least he's content. Alien ruins are found on the planet of Tgren, and Byron's people are working to decode them. They form an alliance with the Tgren people, but it's shaky at best, especially with the fact some of the Tgrens are developing mental powers. The Cassans are helping them learn about their new abilities, but one young woman's powers may even rival Byron's. He's assigned to teach Athee, but all he wants is to be left alone. Yet she may be exactly what Byron needs.

A well-written and solid science-fiction tale. It has all the great elements of the first book, CassaStar. New worlds, comradery, and a sense of wonder. Byron is still a compelling character. Though older and wiser, he still has a sense of mischief and a love for flying. Athee tests his resolve. She's a strong and admirable woman, and reminds me of Byron a lot when he was young. I was unsure if there would be a romantic relationship at the beginning, but it moved at a slow natural pace. I also thoroughly enjoyed Byron's friendship with a young scientist and how their relationship evolved.

CassaFire isn't as much about the battles as the previous book. It's about people. And the immense dread hanging over their heads when something happens at the ruins!

You can find Alex J. Cavanaugh online here: Blog * Twitter * Goodreads

Purchase links for CassaFire: Amazon * B&N 

Wicked Wednesday - a few things I picked up

It's been a while since I've done a Wicked Wednesday post. I hope to get back into the regular swing of things. So much has been happening, and I've been very busy with my 13th Floor series. I'm learning a lot about the genre and what's hot. This week I'm going to share a few things with you.
Werewolves are still a hot topic. You read on a lot of sites that the popularity of werewolves and vampires is diminishing. Perhaps agents and publishers are tiring of them, but readers still want more. The Alpha has already sold four times as many copies as The Marquis. People hear werewolf and their ears perk up. A new twist to the alpha trope? Now they're even more interested. I'm curious to see what happens when I get to the vampire's story in my series.
Paranormal romance fans like sarcasm and humor. The posts from my tours that received the most feedback were the funny ones. I think humor attracts people in general, and fans of this genre like a certain edge to their humor. I will never be Joss Whedon, but I'll do my best with this.
Covers matter. With The Marquis, people were seeing more urban fantasy. It wasn't sexy enough. The Alpha got more attention with Stefanie on the cover. Intense and gorgeous. The Dragonslayer has gotten the most attention. Shirtless Xan has caused a lot of people to drool. With paranormal romance, the hotness factor does count.
What have you learned through promoting your books?

Teaser Tuesday with Beautiful Disaster

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!This is a book I've heard a lot about last year. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire is probably one of the YA favorites of 2012. And for the life of me, I can't see why. I'm sorry. The protagonist is weak and her love interest frightening. I'm making myself read the whole thing, but I'm finding this another YA book that is portrays a relationship that is a horrible model for young people.
Your teaser:
"Tell him that I'll keep my promise. By this time tomorrow, he won't miss me." (page 178)

Polar Night cover reveal

Book Blurb: When Detective Danny Fitzpatrick leaves his hometown of Chicago and moves to Fairbanks, Alaska he wants nothing more than to escape the violence and heartbreak that left his life in pieces. Numbed by alcohol and the frozen temperatures of an Alaskan winter, Danny is content with a dead-end job investigating Fairbanks' cold cases. That all changes when a pretty blond woman goes missing on the winter solstice, and Danny stumbles upon some surprising connections between her disappearance and that of another Fairbanks woman three years earlier. Forced out of his lethargy, Danny sets out to both find the missing woman and solve his own cold case.

The investigation points Danny towards Aleksei Nechayev, the handsome and charming proprietor of an old asylum turned haunted tourist attraction in the Arctic town of Coldfoot. As he tries to find a link between Nechayev and his case, Danny's instinct tells him that Nechayev is much more than what he seems.

Danny has no idea that Nechayev is hiding a secret that is much more horrifying than anything he could ever have imagined. As his obsession with finding the missing women grows, Danny finds his own life in danger. And when the truth is finally revealed, the world as he knows it will never be the same.

Bio: Julie Flanders is a librarian and a freelance writer who has written for both online and print publications. She is an avid animal lover and shares her home in Cincinnati, Ohio with her dog and cat. Polar Night, a suspense thriller with a supernatural twist, is her first novel. It will be published by Ink Smith Publishing on February 7, 2013. Find Julie online at her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

*Don't forget to enter The Alpha blog tour giveaway still going on over at Cherie Reich's blog. You can win the first two ebooks in the 13th Floor series and an ARC of The Dragonslayer.

1303 - The Dragonslayer cover reveal

Title: 1303 - The Dragonslayer
The 13th Floor series, #3
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: February 13th, 2013

Blurb:On the rooftop of neighboring building, dragonslayer Xanthus Ehrensvard fires at his target, Governor Whittaker. How he missed the shot, he doesn't know, but fleeing the scene, he picks up an unwanted passenger. Gorgeous reporter Lois King saw Xan's face, and she believes it's the story to make her career. Except he can't let her walk away knowing what he looks like. Xan has to show her the Governor is a bigger threat to the world than he is.

Xan knows dragons never went extinct. They evolved with human society, taking on mortal forms, and slithered their way into positions of great influence and power, just like the Governor. But it's no easy chore proving to someone that dragons still exist, and even more so, they're disguised as famous people. Xan must convince Lois or find another way to silence her. An option, as he gets to know her, he likes less and less.

After all, dragonslayers are no longer celebrated heroes but outlaws. Just as the dragons wish it. But this outlaw must make a plan to slay the dragon or risk its retribution.

Mark The Drag o nslayer "to read" on Goodreads.

I do realize it's not exactly like the previous two covers. The model isn't staring forward, but I saw this picture and I was mesmerized. That is Xan. That's my dragonslayer! The fact he's shirtless is just a bonus. Heh.

Now who wants to be a part of my tour next month?!

I also have a bonus guest post over at Livia Peterson's blog. I'm talking about writing a series. What do you have to think about when planning to write a series?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway on Cherie Reich's blog for your chance to win the first ebooks in the 13th Floor series and an ARC of The Dragonslayer.

Final Day of The Alpha blog tour

I can't believe this is the last day already.
What fun this tour has been!
Thank you so much to the generous hosts and to everyone who visited.
Today I'm giving back with a huge giveaway!

But you'll have to go to Cherie Reich's blog for the details. Find out why geeks make better boyfriends than Alpha males!

I'm also chatting with Clare Dugmore.
We'll be answering some geeky questions and debating who's the sexiest geek. Come over and add your two cents!

Today's tidbit: I dedicated The Alpha to my husband. Yes, geeks are sexy.
Come back tomorrow when I reveal the spectacular cover for 1303 - The Dragonslayer.