Edie Ramer's Blog, page 23
February 21, 2011
Release party excerpt & giveaway: LOST LEPRECHAUN LOOT by M.A. Golla
LOST LEPRECHAUN LOOT is a great little story featuring a smart 11-year-old heroine who has regular run-ins with leprechauns, pixies and a dragon. Kyte's fun, and the events are, too, but not too scary for kids. I love fantasy, and dragons, and I loved this tale. -MJ Pappano (Amazon review)
Blurb: Three leprechauns need eleven-year-old Kyte Webber to find their pots-o-gold, but this adventure isn't as straight forward as it seems as the leprechauns want their gold and the reward they promised Kyte, too. They will try every trick in the book to deceive Kyte, but she has a few tricks up her sleeve and plans to beat them at their game.
Excerpt:
As soon as the doorbell rang, I knew it would provide the diversion I needed.
Why? Because no one—human or Mythical—ever rang the doorbell. Well, let's just say all the Mythicals who lived around here knew to go to the kitchen door at the back of the house. Shoot, everything happened in the kitchen, it was the hub of our family with the spokes radiating outward in nice boring pattern. The doorbell meant something fun was about to disturb my boring little world. Mentally, I rubbed my hands in glee.
Then again, it might be someone was seriously lost out here in our little section of the boondocks and in search for directions.
No matter what it was, it gave me a chance to get away from my stupid book report. Kublai Khan wasn't all he was cracked up to be. I pushed away from the table. "I'll get it, Mom."
"Okay," she called from her desk in the hallway. "It's probably something to do with Celestia anyway."
Being the heir-apparent of Celestia—a parallel world to earth inhabited by Mythicals—had its drawbacks along with the perks.
I snuck a peek through the peephole, but no one was there. The doorbell rang again. Guess I was wrong. Someone was there—just a lot shorter than the five foot high peep hole.
I unlatched the chain, twisted the deadbolt and unlocked the door knob—why we lock the front door I have no idea, since we always leave the kitchen door unlocked—and opened the door.
Three little men stood there. All of them looked a little green around the gills, as if they were about to be ill, but other than that the only thing in common was the color of their eyes—bright grass green.
I should have gotten hit with a clue stick right then and there, but I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. Other than their eyes, the little men looked completely different from each other. One wore a cowboy hat, another a John Deere baseball cap, and the third had hair that looked like he slept in a pile of straw—very yellow, dry and it stuck out in weird chunks. I towered over them, which meant they were no more than three to three and a half feet tall. "Hi, what can I do for you?" I asked.
Cowboy removed his hat, holding it over the silver belt buckle that was almost bigger than he was wide. "Are you Kyte Webber?"
I placed an index finger on my nose. "Bingo! Right on the first guess."
"Well, miss, as members of the LGO, we would like you to help us find our pots o' gold."
"LGO?"
"Leprechaun Guild of Oklahoma."
Buy the book: Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes&Noble, Smashwords
Look for more of Kyte's adventures in TO GNOME ME IS TO LOVE ME, Book 1 of THE GOBLIN'S APPRENTICE, available March 1.
One commenter will win an e-copy of LOST LEPRECHAUN LOOT. Comment on all 26 DRAGON BLUES Release Party excerpts for a chance to win more free books! Winners will be announced on Monday, Feb. 28. If you'd like to look at the schedule of events, click here
Release party excerpt & Giveaway: SHADES OF GRAY by Joleene Naylor
From SHADES OF GRAY by Joleene Naylor, Book 1 in the Amaranthine series:
Where vampires live in the shadows and don't sparkle.
Hunted by a coven of vampires, Katelina has only one person she can trust: Jorick. But what happens when her knight in shining armor turns out to be one of the monsters? Katelina will have to examine not only her feelings for those close to her but her perceptions of good and evil if she wants to survive.
(Jorick and Katelina are attacked by a pair of vampires while staying in a motel room. Jorick defeats the vampires just as his friend shows up to give them a ride…)
The men returned to the car and Jorick slid into the front passenger seat. As the door banged shut, he glanced over his shoulder to offer Katelina a tight but reassuring smile.
She wanted to ask him what was going on but figured it was pointless. Besides, she wasn't sure she really wanted to know at the moment. She did, however, want away from the horrible place; away from the pink motel and the ugly carpet and hideous orange drapes and bloody footprints.
The driver climbed in and asked Jorick quietly, "Are we ready?"
Jorick nodded and dropped back into the seat. He closed his eyes wearily as the car shuddered into gear and they pulled out of the parking lot.
"I take it they found you?" The driver glanced sideways for a moment and Katelina could see his perfect profile. His strange eyes and golden brown hair made him look like a lion. It wasn't just his appearance, though. There was something very feline about him, the feeling of controlled power lurking beneath a peaceful exterior, like a cat coiled and ready to spring on its prey.
"Yes." Jorick opened his dark eyes. The street lights flashed past them and splashed dark, twisted shadows across his weary face. "They found us."
With this pronouncement the car fell silent except for the sound of the motor and the wheels on the pavement. They soon left the small town of Dunwick behind them. As it shrunk in the darkness, Katelina began to relax. Though, she longed for a cigarette to sooth her nerves. She knew that it wouldn't really make things better. How many times had Sarah lectured her about that, after all? But somehow things would seem saner if she had one. She wanted a cigarette and her own bed and her telephone. She wanted to curl up under the covers and call Sarah and tell her about this horrible nightmare she'd had, and then she wanted to call her mother and make arrangements for Grave Day like usual. She just wanted reality.
But, her reality wasn't pretty. She'd just been attacked by two vampires and the two packs of cigarettes she'd bought had been abandoned in the motel room with the food; her last twenty dollars gone for nothing, after all. Somehow this was a deeply disheartening thought.
She leaned her face against the cool glass and stared out into the night flying past them, the trees illuminated and ghostly in the harsh brightness of the headlights. The rhythm of the tires on the pavement droned in her ears. She closed her eyes and tried to relax to the vibrations of the car. She hadn't been awake for very long, but she was already as exhausted as Jorick looked. Her muscles were taut, and her left shoulder was aching again.
The driver's voice interrupted her thoughts, his tones low enough that he probably thought she couldn't hear him.
"So this is the… erm… her?"
"Yes, this is Katelina," Jorick answered.
"What are you planning to do with her?"
The question hung in the air and Katelina felt herself wanting to know what he'd say, her ears tensing for the sound of his answer. Finally, after what felt like uncountable minutes, Jorick cleared his throat. "I don't know," his voice was sad. "I admit I didn't expect things to happen this way."
"I told you it was a bad idea, Jorick." His tone was flat, as though they'd discussed it too many times already.
"I know, I know." Jorick said quietly. He seemed resigned to this fact. "I just hated to leave her hanging, never knowing what really happened to him. Besides, who's to say that Claudius wouldn't have gone after her sooner or later? She is a reasonable suspect, you know. Would it be better for it to come as a complete shock?"
"And I suppose you broke it to her gently?" The driver snorted. "I understand your reasoning, Jorick, your true reasoning, but I still stand by my original opinion."
"I'm sure you do, Oren. I'm sure it wouldn't have haunted your dreams, but we're different."
"We didn't used to be, not before…." Oren trailed off.
"Yes, I know. I'll bet you don't even dream anymore, do you?"
There was silence and then very quietly he said, "No, Jorick. I don't."
Buy the book: Amazon (paperback) Amazon US (kindle) Barnes&Noble Smashwords
Find out more about Joleene and her books at her website.
One commenter of Jolene's excerpt will win an e-copy of SHADES OF GRAY. Comment on all 26 DRAGON BLUES Release Party excerpts for a chance to win more free books! Winners will be announced on Monday, Feb. 28. If you'd like to look at the schedule of events, click here.
Release party excerpt & 5 giveaways: DRAGON BLUES by Edie Ramer
Saxophone player Noah Long shifted from dragon to human 2500 years ago, but the dragon blood still coursing through his veins has kept him healthy and virile. Now his secret is out, and the man who discovered it will do anything to make Noah's blood his own. Noah's only ally is martial arts expert Lila Fox, who heats up the fire in his belly…and his heart.
Twice a killer…
Lila Fox's first kill was at age sixteen after her stepfather put her mother in a wheelchair. Fourteen years later, she kills another abuser to save a woman's life. When the man who wants Noah's blood kills her sister, she can't let the death go unanswered. She teams up with the strangely compelling Noah, and discovers he's not all man and has a few tricks of his own.
Normally he moved at a deliberate, almost stately pace, a leftover from his original claw-footed body, but now he ran down the steps. The buzzer droned again. He reached the first floor and turned to the shop. It was already dark out, but the streetlights were on, as were the bars and the cars. His place was never completely dark.
He'd adjusted well. No one would suspect he'd been born in a cave.
Through the glass door, he saw a blond woman, getting an impression of competence and self-confidence. He unbolted all three locks and swung the door open. The woman on the other side took him in with one long look from her brown eyes.
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She took his words away. She looked as if she'd stepped out of the pages of a comic book. Tall and strong, with her head held high. Standing on the balls of her feet, ready to attack or feint to the side, whichever was called for. A warrior woman. A goddess. The one they named the huntress.
"Where's Izzy?" she asked.
"You're her sister?" His tongue moved slower than normal. He'd heard humans talking about having their lower gums anesthetized as part of a dental process, their tongues numbed, too. That's how his tongue felt. Frozen and too big for his mouth. "You don't look alike."
"We're half sisters. She takes after our mother. I take after my father. Are you inviting me in?" Her eyebrows rose. Clearly not impressed.
Before he could force words from his mouth or his feet to step back to allow her into his shop, she turned her body toward the street, a prelude to leaving. "Is she gone already?"
He hadn't been afraid of much for the last two thousand years, but he felt a pang of anxiety. Without thought, he grabbed her arm.
Her breath hissed. She glanced down at his hand, his long fingers curved over her blue jacket sleeve. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her right hand lift up, held sideways, like a slicing knife.
"Let me go or I'll hurt you."
As he released her, something strange happened. It crept into his stomach and slithered up his throat, then burst out of his mouth in an eruption of laughter. Loud and boisterous and happy laughter made him lightheaded with glee and sapped the strength from his legs. As he leaned against the doorjamb to hold himself up, he realized laughter weakened a man.
He continued laughing and didn't care. Not a twinge. This new feeling was euphoric. Blissful.
Lila Fox watched him with no emotion on her face as he acted the fool. Men and women dressed for night clubbing slowed on the sidewalk to stare at him. In their faces, he saw them wonder what the joke was. He couldn't tell them he was delighted by her bravery and her self-assurance. Couldn't tell them her certainty that she could hurt him filled him with joy.
His stomach hurt. He was using muscles he hadn't realized he possessed. The knowledge sobered him and his laughter stuttered to an end. But the bliss lingered inside him, like a note that hummed in the air after the music stopped.
Stepping back, he gestured her into the shop. She leaned down and grabbed a carry-on, a duffle bag strapped to its top. Her oversized purse swinging at her right hip, she brushed past him, her shoulders unbowed, and took a sweeping glance around.
It seemed to him that she saw everything, though he knew it was impossible. A normal human couldn't see that fast and in the half light.
A meow sounded at her feet.
He peered down at Mystic, who rubbed the side of her face on the jean-clad legs of Izzy's warrior sister. Mystic reminded him of the beast he once was. A smaller version, without wings and scales, but she had the claws and the attitude.
"A black cat. My favorite." Lila Fox shoved the giant-sized purse behind her hip and scooted down to rub her fingertips along Mystic's jaw. Mystic purred, a sound Noah had been trying to duplicate with his soprano sax since he took her in five years ago, and so far not getting it. Almost. Just out of reach for him, like laughter.
He'd been amused before. He'd smiled. He'd even chuckled a few times. But until today he'd never laughed all the way up from his belly and vibrating down to the soles of his feet.
As he watched Lila and Mystic, the two seemed to meld together, woman and cat. One entity. Then she straightened and Mystic swayed away, her tail high. Lila looked into his eyes, her mouth set in determination.
"Where is she?"
"Lila!" The shout came from behind him. "What are you doing here?"
He turned. Izzy stood just inside the shop, the hall door open, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and dragging on the floor.
Her gaze flickered from Lila to him. "You brought her! How did you—" She gasped and pointed a finger at him, her hand shaking. "My cell phone! You found her number and you called her. You can't do that. That's illegal."
Lila dropped her purse on the floor and swept past him toward her sister. "Aren't you going to say hi?"
Noah stepped to the side, giving him a three-quarter view of the sister's face and one-quarter of Izzy's.
"Why the hell should I?" Izzy crossed her arms over her chest, a truculent look on her face, more suited to a six-year-old than a woman in her early twenties. "You only came to say 'I told you so.'"
Lila gave her a crooked smile, one side up and one down, her brown eyes sad. "Still the drama queen. Sweetie, you should've been an actress."
"Damn you, damn you, damn you." Izzy uncrossed her arms and her index finger jabbed the air with every "damn."
Lila's mouth twisted, her eyes sadder and darker. "Don't worry about it, I'm already damned."
Buy the book: Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes&Noble, Smashwords
Edie will be giving away an e-copy of either DRAGON BLUES, DEAD PEOPLE or CATTITUDE to 5 commenters. Comment on all 26 DRAGON BLUES Release Party excerpts for a chance to win more free books! Winners will be announced on Monday, Feb. 28. If you'd like to look at the schedule of events , click here.
February 20, 2011
Schedule of events for DRAGON BLUES Release Party with lots of giveaways!
I'm delighted that 25 fabulous writers are helping me celebrate the release of DRAGON BLUES. This includes writers who are USA Today bestsellers, Amazon Kindle bestsellers, RITA finalists, GH finalists, and writers published by major NY houses and Harlequin. I'm posting an excerpt and blurb from their books, and they'll each give away a e-book (in one case an audio book) to a lucky commenter. There are 2 exceptions: Lori Brighton is giving away 3 e-copies, and I'm giving away 5.
On Monday there will be 6 posts, to include mine for DRAGON BLUES. On Tuesday through Friday, there will be 5 posts. I'll choose the winners next Monday, Feb. 28th, so you can comment during the weekend on the posts you might have missed.
Here's the schedule:
Monday: Edie Ramer, P.J. Alderman, Amy Atwell, Lori Brighton, M.A. Golla, Joleene Naylor
Tuesday: Lori Devoti, L.C. Evans, Sylvia Rochester, Karin Tabke, Jody Wallace
Wednesday: Melanie Atkins, Marcia Colette, Susanna Fraser, E.V. Mitchell (aka Julianne MacLean), Cindy Procter-King (who is giving away an audio book!)
Thursday: Shari Anton, Karen Cantwell, Liz Kreger, Linda S. Prather, Dana Taylor
Friday: Karen Wojcik Berner, Misty Evans, Lynda Hilburn, Leigh Morgan, Amber Scott
A huge thank you to all the writers who are participating. And another big thank you to all the readers! Enjoy the excerpts!
Coming tomorrow — my SUPER BIG Release Party!
My week-long SUPER BIG release party for DRAGON BLUES starts tomorrow! I'll have 25 fabulous writers (including a USA Today bestselling writer) with excerpts and giveaways from their e-books — either self-published or with an e-publisher. I'll post the list and dates tomorrow for a good time on-line.
Come back tomorrow for the party!
February 18, 2011
Dragon Blues is live! 99 cent sale for Dead People!
This last week has been hectic. I did one more read-through of DRAGON BLUES, then uploaded it. It's now on Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes&Noble, and Smashwords, priced at $2.99.
DEAD PEOPLE has been selling well and before I lowered the price was in the low teens on Kindle store's bestselling rank, and in the top 50 for Ghosts and Gothic books. I decided to lower the price to 99 cents as an experiment. In one day, it's gone to the 5000 bestselling rank in the Kindle store. I'll keep it at the price for a month, maybe two.
I'm filled with such emotion right now. A bit of panic, a whole lot of hope, and even more excitement. It's probably a good thing that I have so much to do to get ready for my release party. This weekend, I'll post the release party information. As a teaser, I'll have 25 writers in 5 days giving away books! I'll be giving away books, too. Tomorrow I'm going to my chapter meeting. We always go to lunch afterward, and I don't want to miss that. Between that, getting ready for the release party and blogs I need to write, I'm going to continue to be hectic for a while.
What about you? On a scale from 1-5, with 5 being wild-eyed and hyperventilating, how hectic are you? (I'm 4 1/2.)
February 7, 2011
Release Party, Dragon Blues cover, and Deadly Couples
I'm planning my release party for DRAGON BLUES, which will be available at the usual online places soon. I'm having a BIG DEAL, so stay tuned for more details.
I haven't posted my cover on my website yet, so here it is. Isn't it beautiful?
I'm at Cynthia Eden's today talking about Deadly Couples in film and books. Stop over and tell me who your favorite mismatched couples are.
Today, I have two things to be extra happy about. First a 5 star review for CATTITUDE. And since I live in Wisconsin, I'm THRILLED about the Packers winning. You can imagine there are a lot of people in this state walking around with giant smiles today. I'm not a big football fan, but I watched about half the game last night. The ending was a nail biter! Up until that last minute, it could've gone either way.
How about you? Did you watch the game? I've got to say, that for the most part, the commercials were way over-hyped. The two I liked were for Budweiser and Coca Cola.
February 5, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday
This is my first Six Sentence Sunday post. If you can take time off from watching the Super Bowl (GO, PACKERS!), you can find more Sunday participants here, including Trish McCallan, a very good writer who first told me about Six Sentence Sunday.
My sentences are from Dead People, the first book in my Haunted Hearts series. The two characters in this scene are Luke, the disillusioned former rocker, and Cassie, the ghost hunter he hired to get rid of the ghost haunting his house.
His smile mocked her, as if he saw through her impersonal demeanor to the real person underneath, the one who bit back sarcastic comments so often she was amazed her tongue didn't have permanent teeth marks.
"I'm thirty-four."
"I'm thirty-nine." He frowned as soon as he said it, and she felt her own forehead crease. Their exchange of ages was dangerously close to something she never did, something he didn't seem an expert at either.
Flirting.
Buy links : Amazon AmazonUK Barnes & Noble Diesel Smashwords
This is my first Six Sentence Sunday post. If you can tak...
This is my first Six Sentence Sunday post. If you can take time off from watching the Super Bowl (GO, PACKERS!), you can find more Sunday participants here. These sentences are from Dead People, the first book in my Haunted Hearts series, which is available in ebook form. The two characters in this scene are Luke, the disillusioned former rocker, and Cassie, the ghost hunter he hired to get rid of the ghost haunting his house.
His smile mocked her, as if he saw through her impersonal demeanor to the real person underneath, the one who bit back sarcastic comments so often she was amazed her tongue didn't have permanent teeth marks.
"I'm thirty-four."
"I'm thirty-nine." He frowned as soon as he said it, and she felt her own forehead crease. Their exchange of ages was dangerously close to something she never did, something he didn't seem an expert at either.
Flirting.
Buy links : Amazon AmazonUK Barnes & Noble Diesel Smashwords
February 3, 2011
Dead People, Mailbox Murders and more!
I'm at Bitten By Paranormal Romances today, talking about DEAD PEOPLE. Yesterday I shared on Facebook that my mailbox was a victim of the storm, and that led to a fun discussion about mailbox murders. I also managed to make changes on Dragon Blues per my CP's comments. I'm going to rewrite one sex scene that's too similar to the other, and the book will be…almost done.
Lori Brighton discovered http://www.nextup.com/, a text to speech software that she used for her latest ms. She used the $30 option, which is the cheapest. She said the voice she used is robotic, but it catches those irritating copy edits that your eyes and your beta readers' eyes skip over. She thought it was worth it, and I'm going to give it a try. There are more expensive options available, but for the first time I'll go with the $30, too.
Did you get slammed by the snow, too?
