Mia Darien's Blog, page 13

Book Spotlight: Ally Thomas & “The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) – The Beginning”

As a compliment to yesterday’s Ten Questions, Ally Thomas is back with an excerpt from her book, The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) — The Beginning! Enjoy!

* * *

Prologue

It’s almost sunset and I have decided to stop at a coffee shop and try to get an internet connection on my laptop.  No, I don’t drink coffee.  I just like the smell of it.  I’m more concerned with getting my thoughts written down before I go hunting tonight.  I think it’s time the world knows.

To start with, I should tell you that I’m a daughter of Satan, and I’m a vampire.  But I’m not your average, run-of-the-mill vampire.  It’s kind of complicated.  Please don’t let any of that alarm you.  I’m on your side.

Currently, Father and I aren’t speaking.  Why?  He’d soon kill me as to look at me.  No, I’m not his favorite child.  I’m the one who likes humans, the rebel, the loner, the deserter.  And I suspect after I start publishing my story on this blog – what I’m about to tell you now – he’s going to be pissed.  And that’s okay.  I’m not going to run anymore.  I’m tired of being afraid of Lucifer, my father who thinks torture is an acceptable form of motivation.  Those days are over.  So sit back, relax, and let me tell you about how I became the first, and to my knowledge, the only vampire from Hell.

 

Chapter 1

The Beginning

As I unlocked my office door, I felt a presence behind me.  I turned around slowly.  A tall figure emerged from the shadows and I flinched.  I cursed myself for the frightened reaction I made.

Gazing down at me with shining gold eyes, my seven-foot hellhound touched my shoulder with his long paw.

Because I couldn’t understand Blick’s low canine mutter, I had grown accustomed to his speaking telepathically to me.  On occasion, it allowed us to communicate without others overhearing us.  His thoughts leaping into my mind were an extension of my own, and I rarely objected to having them flow through my head.

“Did I scare you?”

“No,” I lied.  “I couldn’t sleep, so I wanted to get an early start on those reports.”  I entered the office, waiting for him to duck his head in through the opening.  To a passerby, it looked as though I was talking to myself in front of my animal companion, but I didn’t care.  Blick knew I typically answered him by speaking aloud.

“Thanks again for your help at the processing center last night.  Can you get the reports done today?”

“I think so.”  I deposited my satchel on the desk and rubbed my shoulder.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, I reinjured it the other day.  It’ll be okay.”

Irritated with my response, Blick grabbed my arm and pulled up the sleeve of my black leather jacket, pointing at fresh bruises.

I winced in pain and stared at the floor.

Gently, he gathered me up in his arms and held me.

I wept, recalling the earlier session with my father.  His way of discipline often involved torture.  In the organization, Father enjoyed a “hands-on” approach.  When anyone did something he disapproved of or he felt he could improve their skills, he’d perform the customary routine.  For his daughters, he called it “loving his children.”  As demons, he wanted us to be strong and fearless.  I was very familiar with the process because, unlike my sister, Stephanie, I rarely did anything right, and to make matters worse, I wasn’t a strong demon.

Blick reminded me with his embrace how he wished to protect me.  I knew the beatings were becoming more frequent, but I felt powerless to stop them.

I regained my composure while Blick wiped away my tears and patted me on the head like I was his little pet, instead of his being mine.  Having a seven-foot hellhound fussing over me – literally – was wonderful.  I was lucky to have him on my side.

When Blick had been a young pup, he had followed me home from the river one day.  I kept him hidden from everyone until he started walking upright and grew too big for me to hide.  When Father found out I had him, reluctantly he had agreed that I could keep the “mutt” as long as I kept him out of his way.

“Will you be careful, Rayea?” Blick touched his cold, wet nose to mine.

I nodded, giving him a little return bump.

“Promise me if anything happens, you’ll text me, okay?  I may not be a demon, but I’m pretty scrappy for a hellhound.  I’ll take on your father any day of the week!”  Looking down at me, he growled.  His shiny white canine teeth sparkled.  He retrieved the iPhone from my satchel and shoved it in my jeans pocket.

***

Fan of Mankind

“What are you wearing?”

Startled for the second time today, I whirled around in my ergonomic chair to see Stephanie, standing in the door frame of my office glaring at me.  “What do you mean?” I replied.

“Father will kill you if he sees that,” she said.

“Oh?” I asked, opening several more bogus reports on my computer.  I continued typing at a feverish pace.  The paperwork for the new arrivals had to be all there, even if the new arrivals were not.  With Blick’s help, I had been secretly returning humans, suitable for a second chance, to the upper levels of Earth.

“Does your T-shirt say what I think it says?”

I grinned at the computer screen in response to my sister’s comment.  I read the slogan aloud, “I’m a fan of mankind.”  The shirt did not compliment my black hair or pale skin, nor was it very appropriate for work, but I had chosen it to celebrate my upcoming vacation and the recent rescue mission.

Stephanie was more right than she realized.  I was taking a risk, wearing a pro-human shirt and secretly setting humans free from a horrific eternity.  I looked away from my work, focusing my attention on Stephanie and returned her glare.  “Even in Hell, we need to keep our sense of humor, sis.”  I added a hissing ‘S’ sound to the word to mock her speech patterns.

Even though it was relatively warm in our climate, I had brought my black leather jacket to wear over the new T-shirt if I had to leave my office.  I wore long sleeves as often as I could to hide the scars and bruises.  I hated being reminded of them.  I owned many items that irritated my sister, and this one just made her list.  It didn’t surprise me that she commented on my shirt, just as it didn’t surprise me that she never asked me about my injuries.  Being a passive aggressive sort, I enjoyed offending her.

“I still don’t know why he’s letting you go on vacation.  To the upper levels of Earth of all places?  I deserve time away from here, not you.  I wouldn’t go up there though.  I’d pick somewhere more fun like Mars or Neptune.  I hear Saturn is beautiful this time of year.  Hey, did you get those reports done?  They have to be processed today, you know.”

“Yes, I’m almost finished actually.”  I hit the Enter key on my computer to submit the last fake report.  “There, I’m done,” I said and held up my hands in a victory symbol.

“You’re such an idiot.”  She said as she wandered around my office, grimacing at the movie posters lining the walls.  “You know, maybe I should tell Father where you got your new shirt, shopping on the internet all the time?  These movie posters are ridiculous.”

I kept my cool.  I knew Stephanie was looking for a fight.  But she wasn’t going to push my buttons today.  I was feeling elated with setting another group of humans free and visions of my upcoming vacation.  “If you want anything from there, you know I can get it.  Everything to do with shipping and distribution comes through me.”

“What would I want from Earth?  Come on!”  She stormed around my office, waving her hands, her voice shrilled.  “Yes, I think I’ll bring Father in here while you’re on vacation and show him your laptop, and iPhone, and your posters, and your books, all of this stupid ‘fan of mankind’ crap.  What do you think about that?”  She hit each item with emphasis as she pranced around.  Then she picked up a vase I had recently bought on eBay.  It had the symbol of the sun on it, representing the Egyptian god Ra with a blue background that I imagined was the same color as the oceans on Earth.

“Stephanie,” I warned.

The vase shattered in her hands.

I thought of a four letter word starting with “C.”  It stayed lodged in my brain, radiating like a red neon sign in front of my eyes.  I bit my lip, so I wouldn’t say it as I watched her continue her rant.  I swallowed down the insult.  “You’re reaching supersonic levels with that shrieking, sis.  You promised you wouldn’t say anything to Father.”

Pointing an accusing finger at me, she said, “As long as you keep processing my paperwork, I won’t.  But face it, ‘sis,’” she hissed the word sarcastically.  “You’re a daughter of Lucifer, same as me.  Learning everything you can about humans, buying their trinkets, it won’t change the fact that you aren’t human.  I bet you even pretend to be human on the internet.  What is it you play on again?  MindLook?  Twizzler?  It’s pathetic.  Father’s not going to put you in charge of his next project if you can’t get on board and play the game.  No wonder you have all those cuts and bruises from your training sessions.  He wants you to be strong, like me.”  Annoyed with the dust clinging to her hands from the broken pottery, she slapped at her pants leg.

“It’s Facebook and Twitter, thank you very much.  They’re social networking sites.  And no, I don’t pretend to be the Queen of England on any of them.  You can’t do that.  But you wouldn’t know that, would you?”  Realizing I was yelling as well, I paused to steady my anger and continued the debate more calmly.  “Father’s ‘projects’ as he calls them, his plans for world domination, are his own.  Not mine.  You can be in charge of the next one, when and if, he ever comes up with anything, okay?  Why he has this fixation on making me ‘stronger,’ I have no idea.  I’m not interested in fighting any battles for him!”  I raked three thousand dollars worth of smashed pottery into a trash can.  Suddenly, my hip vibrated.  I retrieved my iPhone from the pocket of my jeans and read the incoming text message, Meet me at the winery R. ~dad.

“Oh no.”

“What, what is it?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Stephanie replied.

“Father wants me to meet him,” I mumbled.

“Oh really?!”

My office filled with Stephanie’s laughter.  I grabbed my black leather jacket.

“I love your range of emotions, sis.  From satanic screaming to laughing hyena.  Very nice.”

“Don’t get pissy with me just because you have another training session.  And don’t call me, ‘sis’ either.  Father says we’re sisters, but I don’t think it’s true.  Think about it, you big baby.  How can we be sisters if we look nothing alike?”

I watched as she stormed off down the hall.  Maybe Stephanie was right.  We didn’t look anything alike.  And we hated each other, pure and simple.  Real sisters showed genuine love for one another, compassion, trust, respect.  Right?  Stephanie didn’t love me.  She loved only Father.  And sisters didn’t argue, did they?  We argued all the time about him, about my purchases, about how well I treated my “mutt” as she too called Blick.  We argued about everything.

I decided to not let it bother me.  We both were getting what we wanted.  Stephanie had grown tired of being in charge of the processing center.  The tedious routine of placing the new arrivals and submitting the paperwork was exhausting for her.  She wanted a challenge and wished Father would give her one.  And I didn’t mind helping her with her job.  I had found a way to save some humans, even if it was only a few lost souls who had thought suicide was a better fate than living on Earth.  Once they arrived in Hell, they realized they had made a grave miscalculation.

One of these days, I knew Father would approach me when he figured out the perfect scheme for corrupting mankind.  That’s why I stayed in my office, giving the impression I was very busy with my job of shipping and distribution, instead of shopping on the internet, chatting with my friends on Facebook, and releasing humans.  Because Father and Stephanie didn’t understand technology, they didn’t realize that shipping and distribution wasn’t a full-time job.  Once I programmed the paths for what went where, the job pretty much took care of itself.

I had learned a lot about mankind while surfing.  I couldn’t help myself.  I was drawn to Earth – the people, the landscape, the mystery of it all.  I felt a connection.  Perhaps I did have human blood in me.  I had never known my mother and Father always ignored my questions when I asked about her.  So far, my attempts to research online for any information on her had failed.

Before I made my way down the hall, I composed myself for my next “training session” with Father.  Stephanie had a great sense of humor, even if she didn’t know it.  I listened to my heartbeat and breathed deeply.  I thought of my breathing exercises Blick had taught me in an effort to stay calm during the torture.  I looked at my blurry reflection in one of the filing cabinets.  We had no mirrors anywhere in Hell.  Silently I thanked Blick for the martial art techniques he had taught me.  I could tell my arms and shoulders were more muscular.  For that matter, my whole body was more defined.  I hadn’t tested my strength yet, but I knew I was getting stronger.  When I sparred with Blick, I imagined I was Sarah Connor in the movie The Terminator, looking toned and ready for action.  I sighed.  Even though Blick was trying to condition my body more, I knew mentally I still struggled.  Standing up to my father wasn’t something I could face yet.

I considered texting Blick.  Maybe he was right.  Would Father beat me unconscious this time?  Would I be worth saving if Blick got to me in time?  Was there a way we could escape and leave this place forever?  I let out another sigh and placed my iPhone on the desk.  It was too late.  I’d just have to explain that to Blick later.

As I made my way through the winding maze of halls towards the exit, I thought about how Father acts during these sessions.  He’s very positive and optimistic. He talks on and on about his schemes for revenge.  He must think the motivational speeches keep me focused.  But the pain is what keeps me focused, as long as I can stay in front of it and not let it overwhelm me.

Father hasn’t thought of anything big in the last few thousand years.  Usually his schemes are obvious things like accelerating global warming or releasing our colony of fire-breathing dragons onto Earth.  Something G would not allow to happen.  I don’t know how, but the House of G always knows what’s going on down here.  That doesn’t deter Father however.  He keeps scheming and plotting his next move.  It’s just sad.

I have told Blick many times that the chip Father carries around on his shoulder is really unhealthy.  “I realize it sucks to be a fallen angel and not welcomed anymore in the House of G, but get over it.  Life goes on.”  He’s the only one with whom I can share my opinions about my family.  I can’t tell my online friends the whole story.  Anyways, we spend most of the time chatting about an actor who plays a vampire in a TV show.  It’s a fun distraction to reality.  I quickly deflect any personal questions if they come up.  My online friends on Earth don’t want to know about my problems.

* * *

About The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) – The Beginning: According to Rayea, the oldest daughter of Satan, the origin of vampires started in Hell, and it started with her. Rayea isn’t daddy’s little girl, even if he is the most powerful fallen angel around. He wants her to take an active role in the family business. But she’s not interested in his schemes for world domination. Instead she wants to spend her time shopping on the Internet, rescuing humans from a horrific eternity, and practicing martial arts with her seven foot hellhound. Then one day everything changes.

You can get your own free copy of this book at Amazon!

Ten Questions with… Ally Thomas

Here’s another Darlings of Decay author, here to talk about herself and other works, such as The Vampire from Hell series. Welcome, Ally!

* * *

Author Bio: Amazon bestselling author Ally Thomas loves writing paranormal books that showcase vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, and any furry monsters who go bump in the night. Her Vampire from Hell series has been on the Top 100 bestsellers list in Fantasy at Amazon since 2011.

Ally lives in the south with her husband and unproductive furry co-workers including two cats and a dog. She is currently working on the next installment of her popular paranormal fantasy series, the Vampire from Hell as well as exploring her passion for vampire romance with a new YA paranormal romance series called The Moon Journals.

Author Site: http://allythomas.wordpress.com

You can find her work at Amazon!

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

Writer. Cat person. Vampire fan.

2. What was the first story you ever wrote? I mean the really bad one we all have that you’re trying to hide in the back of closet now that you’re published?

I actually published my worst story. A revised version of it is called Fanged Love: The Prequel. It’s a free ebook at Amazon.

Many of my fans like it, but it only has 3 stars so I know the majority of readers don’t care for it. It’s the main reason I’ve decided likely to not continue that story into a series. *shrugs shoulders* You win some. You lose some.

3. What inspires you?

People who read my books.

4. What distracts you?

Social networking, real life, and writer’s block.

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

I love stories about the underdog, the person who everyone has dismissed and makes a comeback. My favorite book probably is Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire because after I read that at fifteen I knew I wanted to be a writer someday.

* * *

About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

While I’ve written a few stories under pseudonyms, I’ve been in limbo or a writer’s block with my current series for about a year, so I haven’t been writing on it. The series that is my popular one, despite my neglecting it recently, is a paranormal fantasy called The Vampire from Hell. It’s about a daughter of Satan who rebels against him after he turns her into a vampire. I’m in the process of writing the fourth installment in the series now. It’ll be called “The Vampire from Hell Returns (The Vampire from Hell: Part 4).”

Other titles include:

The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) – The Beginning*

The Vampire from Hell (Part 2) – A Vampire Among Angels*

The Vampire from Hell (Part 3) – A Vampire On Vacation

Love Begins in Hell (The Moon Journals, Part 1)*

*=These are free downloads.

You can find all of them and a few others at my Amazon Author page – https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/b...

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these stories?

Figuring out the original premise and back story for something I want to write.

3. What would your characters say about you? Be honest!

Oh my god! I’ve never thought of that. What a great question! Probably my main heroine, Rayea who is the Vampire from Hell would say, “She’s a very kind and sweet person. She means well, but sometimes she’s a little misguided and lacks focus.”

4. Who would play your favorite character if they made a movie of their story?

Originally I’d say Angelina Jolie because that’s who I based Rayea’s looks on. Now perhaps I’d say or Emily Blunt.

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

I’m in the process of writing “The Vampire from Hell Returns (The Vampire from Hell: Part 4)” as well as revising the current Parts 1-3 and releasing them as an anniversary edition.

* * *

Thanks for joining us today, Ally, and good luck with your stories!

Ten Questions with… Rebecca Snow

Today’s author here to answer Ten Questions is Rebecca Snow, who is one of the many authors from Darlings of Decay that I’m featuring during the weeks following its release at the beginning of July. She is also hosting me on her blog today, which you can find here. Welcome, Rebecca!

* * *

Author Bio: Rebecca Snow is a Virginia writer with a herd of geriatricats.  She’s been published in a number of anthologies and online.  She’s mostly harmless…at least on the outside.

Author Site: http://cemeteryflowerblog.wordpress.com

You can find her work at Amazon!

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

The only word I could think of was invisible, so I asked some friends to help. So the 5 words are…invisible, smirky, off, eccentric, and perceptive. My friends love me.

2. What was the first story you ever wrote? I mean the really bad one we all have that you’re trying to hide in the back of closet now that you’re published?

The first one I remember writing, I was 6. It involved cats, a haunted house, and a rainbow. I still have it somewhere. However, before that, I used to tell stories with pictures, but anyone who looked at them would have to come up with his own words unless I was there to interpret. The most asked question…”Why is everything black?”

3. What inspires you?

Every bit of life. At the moment, the sun hitting the back of a cat’s head and shining through his fur. He could be radioactive. Earlier today, lightning hit close to the house and had me flapping like a 4 year old high on sugar. I had to return something I couldn’t use. Instead of giving me a refund, the company sent me a second shipment. I really don’t need MORE of what I didn’t want in the first place. A wrong number from a blocked caller asking me what I was wearing. Everything’s useful. Even the “bad” stuff.

4. What distracts you?

See #3.

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

My favorite story is a little quiet tale called “The Treasons” by A.A. Garrison. It’s a post-apocalyptic yarn that made me think of a day out with my grandmother had she been around in such a scenario. If you happen to read it, you might think I had an odd upbringing. Well, you’d probably be right. (Here’s a link to the story if you want to link it…. http://www.somethingwicked.co.za/2011/10/the-treasons/ )

* * *

About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

At the moment, they’re all short stories. Here’s a link to them. http://cemeteryflowerblog.wordpress.com/publication-credits/

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these stories?

Writing calms my mind. Otherwise, the little people up there get restless and start to yell at each other until I listen.

3. What would your characters say about you? Be honest!

Shhhh…..they don’t know I’m here. I just watch them and write down what they do.

4. Who would play your favorite character if they made a movie of their story?

That would mean I’d have to choose a favorite character, wouldn’t it? I really don’t have one. I like most of them, but I have a version of Bigfoot I like. As for who would play him? Anyone who would fit in the suit and wasn’t afraid of clowns.

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

I’m taking one of my short stories and fleshing it into a novel. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out, but it’s interesting to look closer at the characters and watch more of their lives than I expected to see. I’m also typing up a journal from 1999 about a trip around the world.

* * *

Thank you for joining us today, Rebecca, and good luck with your stories!

Guest Post from Chloe Trogden

In a break from the usual round of author and character interviews, today I have a guest post from Chloe Trogden, from collegegrant.net. She has a post about evaluating books for your children and teens. While all the books I write here and generally promote are for adults, I myself have a young child and know many of my fellow authors are parents, so I thought this would be a good article to showcase. Thank you for joining us, Chloe!

* * *

Tips for Evaluating Books for Your Children or Teens

Reading is an important way for kids and teens to learn, to explore their world, and to exercise their imagination. Not only can they better understand the world around them, but they can expand their expectations for what’s possible. They can dream up unlimited possibilities, live through new worlds, and “meet” larger-than-life characters.

Books can also teach children things you don’t want them to learn – values that you don’t share or lessons that you think they are too young to learn. There may be inappropriate story lines or information that is offensive to your belief system. It is important to evaluate books before you allow your children or teenagers to read them. Here are a few tips for how you can evaluate books for your children or teens:

Read the Text

The best way to make sure if the book is something you want your kids reading is to read it yourself. This can sometimes be easier said than done since you may not have the time or you may have a kid who’s clamoring to read something NOW because all his or her friends are. Books for toddlers will be much easier to read – you can usually finish them while you’re waiting in the checkout line. Books for older kids will require a little more planning to ensure that you have enough time to get through them before passing them on to your kids.

Read Reviews

If you don’t have time to read the text – which many parents won’t – the next best thing to do is read the reviews. Don’t stick to just what’s published on book review sites or in magazines and newspapers. Read what actual parents are saying on forums and blogs. Go to forums where the book is being discussed and ask detailed questions about the story line, the characters and the age-appropriateness of the book.

Analyze the Values in the Book

The primary reason that many parents don’t want their children reading a specific book is because of the values presented in it. For example, many conservative Christian parents forbade Harry Potter in their homes because they believed it promoted witchcraft, which they thought was antithetical to their faith. When you read the book or look at reviews, make sure you question the theme and what values it endorses. Do they match yours? Do they support ideas that you want your child to be influenced by? It’s important that they do since children are easily influenced by what they read.

Look for the Subtext

Subtext is everything in a book. Story lines that may seem positive and uplifting can reveal discrimination or stereotyping if you think critically about them. For example, there may be a dearth of minority characters in the story, or female characters may be subjugated to supporting or stereotypical roles. Maybe negative words are attached to some characters – like the overweight kid who’s smelly or the poor kid who’s not as smart.

This subtext can reinforce negative stereotypes, which may reflect on aspects of your own family or which may just undermine the message of equality and acceptance that you are trying to teach your children.

Don’t Overlook the Illustrations

For younger children, books will include illustrations, and these aren’t just pretty pictures. Make sure you also review the illustrations to ensure that they provide appropriate depictions. Do the pictures match the tone and the action in the text? Do they represent any stereotypes? Are they age-appropriate? Think just as critically about the illustrations as you would the text.

Books are powerful. What your children read can shape their ideas and their feelings about life. Make sure that they are reading what you would want them to be reading by carefully evaluating what you give them.

How do you evaluate books for your children and teens? Share your tips in the comments!

* * *

Chloe Trogden is a seasoned financial aid writer who covers specific opportunities such as teaching grants. Her leisure activities include camping, swimming and volunteer work.

Character Interview: Dariel Raye & Kaden from “Untameable Heat: Kaden’s Reprieve”

As promised, we have our second visitor on the Untameable Heat tour! Please welcome Dariel Raye, who has been our guest before, but this time she brought Kaden along, who is from Kaden’s Reprieve. Welcome to you both!

* * *

Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?

Kaden: (Lilting, Arabian accent)Dariel named it after me actually, “Kaden’s Reprieve”

Mia: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

Kaden: (straight faced) Let’s just say I’ve been through hell.

Mia: What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.

Kaden: Definitely got some control issues. She didn’t want me to take the damn chain off.

Mia: How do you feel about the story you’re in?

Kaden: She tells how I met Tanya. Nice story, just wish she could have gone into more detail…but, she wasn’t in the bedroom with us. Nice story.

Mia: Do you like being a character in the book?

Kaden: Is that what you think I am?

Mia: Hmm… okay, so, how do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.

Kaden: I learned a very long time ago to live one day at a time. Don’t get my hopes up.

Mia: What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?

Kaden: (shifts and takes a deep breath) Yes, she said something like that to me. She’s got a thing for series I think.

Mia: Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?

Kaden: He’d have to polish his acting skills, but what’s the actor’s name who played Superman in the new one, “Man of Steel?” That would be me. (frowns and looks away) Never tried to fly though. Never been free long enough.

* * *

Author Bio: Dariel is a classically trained pianist and vocalist with a degree in piano and vocal performance and a master’s in counseling psychology from The University of Georgia. She also completed studies and passed comprehensives for a Ph.D. (ABD). She loves animals, nature, all things paranormal, and presently lives with 2 large dogs and a passel of black cats. Dariel is currently writing “Dark Sentinels Book Three” and two Nephilim series: “The Alerians – Dark Progeny” and “Children of Cain.”

Author Site: http://www.pendarielraye.blogspot.com & http://darkparanormalromanceseries.com

Buy Link: Barnes & Noble

Ten Questions with… Kathryn Edgar

Today, I welcome Kathryn Edgar for Ten Questions with Mia, as part of the blog tour to promote Untameable Heat. (We’ll be visited by the other author in this book for a character interview on Thursday!) Welcome, Kathryn!

* * *

Author Bio: I have always loved reading and I was eight years old when I wrote my first award winning short story. Okay the only award it won was praise from my father. It was still an awesome story! It was about a princess and you can’t go wrong writing about a princess. It was my first romance.

In 7th grade I had a writing buddy. She waned to be a romance novelist. Now at this age I was reading things like Christopher Pike. It was challenging at first but I quickly got the hang of it. She would write ten pages or so and then I’d write the next ten pages. She handled the things we shouldn’t have been penning on paper at thirteen. I was innocent. I run across one of those stories I saved from time to time. They always bring a smile to my face. It was my second dance with romance writing.

Married, with one son quickly growing up, here I am still writing romance. I just can’t shake the romance genre as an adult. To be honest I love when romance crosses over into something more literary, deep, mysterious, or even humorous. Many amazing books and movies carry a romance element. Before you judge the genre by the bodice ripping covers, purple prose, fainting females, and burly men read a few. You might discover some new favorites.

Author Site: http://kathryn-edgar.blogspot.com/

You can find Untameable Heat at Amazon, and other retailers coming soon!

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

Snarky, fun, girly, loving, nurturing

2. What was the first story you ever wrote? I mean the really bad one we all have that you’re trying to hide in the back of closet now that you’re published?

I don’t really have one, the first story I wrote was Dancing In Rainbows and I hid it after I realized I chose a very bad publishing contract. Once that contract was over, I fixed it. I did new edits and my cousin gave it a gorgeous cover with her daughter on the front.

The book that will never see print has to be the poetry diary I kept from 8th grade through my late teenage years. It started with the death of a young child in my family so there’s the grief, then the boy obsessions, religious conundrum from growing up as a preacher’s daughter, and teenage angst. All in free style poetry form. It is hidden even from my family.

3. What inspires you?

Everything I read or see makes me think. So the news, tabloids, the Internet, my family, and the past all inspire my creative wheel to say, “what if?”

4. What distracts you?

Probably the Internet. Who wants to be in word when there’s so much always going on with everyone and they are posting it all live for you to watch? It’s better than soap opera’s!

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

I have too many favorite stories. To be honest, I love a lot of stories so I’ll go with the one that I’ve loved since I was a very little girl. I’m a sucker for Cinderella.

* * *

About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

Dancing In Rainbows is contemporary romance. It’s the story of a widow who has to learn to let go. The reader sort of journey’s through her saying goodbye as she opens her heart to a new love.

Finding Trouble is contemporary romantic suspense. It is the one where my personality really comes out on almost every page. The two main characters snark so much back and forth you wonder if they will ever explore this explosive chemistry going on between them. Oh, and find the person who has targeted Rayna with some very unusual homicidal threats.

Feral Desires is my erotic novella. It was my first foray into the paranormal. It has two shape shifting Druids that have immediate sparks. They are sexy from the moment they meet until the last page. These two aren’t shy to share with the readers!

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these stories?

Creating something that comes from my heart.

3. What would your characters say about you? Be honest!

Tasha (Dancing In Rainbows) would say I need to make sure I’m stopping to enjoy the time with my family. After her journey through loss, she would remind me how quickly things can change. Enjoy your loved ones every day.

Rayna (Finding Trouble) would tell me to grow a little more of a spine. I certainly gave her one, but I have a hard time standing up for me sometimes in life. She would say stop being a doormat to everyone and be more open with how I really feel.

Josh (Finding Trouble) would say I make a really terrible matchmaker. I just don’t take no for an answer when I’m staging love.

Selene and Niul (Feral Desires) would tell me to stop and smell the roses because it enhances my magic on paper. Forgetting to play and enjoy the world around me is like forgetting your magic. That magic that makes writing special is, knowing how a rose actually looks, feels, and smells.

4. Who would play your favorite character if they made a movie of their story?

This is a tough one. Isla Fisher would make a great Rayna she just needs to bring her sass to work that day.

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

Untameable Heat: Lilith’s Freedom released July 11th. I’m really excited about this novella. It evolved through the strangest plotting I’ve ever done. I sat down in the living room and explained the collaborative project to my family then said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

My husband started tossing out weird sixth sense ideas. My thirteen year old son, loaded up on puberty hormones, looks over at me and says, “Don’t you write naughty stuff? Make it about a strip club. That would be awesome with lots of boobage.”

I thought about it a minute and realized he was right. Not about the boobage part. The strip club would make a really great setting but it needed to be different. I didn’t want vamps I wanted something different, and succubus’s had been whirling through a few manuscripts I’d been playing with.

I cut him off after he tossed out strip clubs. I definitely wasn’t letting him help plot any further! Grown ups tend not to like terms like boobage in their erotica, after all. With a little bit of teenage hormone help, Lilith’s Freedom was born.

A succubus working in a night (strip) club called The Master’s Lair. An angel undercover as fallen, goes to the night club. He doesn’t want to love a demon. He wants to seek his revenge instead. Somehow the two things become mingled in his mind after he meets Lilith.

I think this is the strongest novella I’ve done, yet. I can’t wait for it to release! I really loved writing this story. My husband was begging me to leave it open for a possible series. He really enjoyed being my first beta reader for this one.

* * *

Thank you for joining us, Kathryn, and good luck with your stories!

Character Interview: CM Doporto & Natalie Vega from “Element, Part 1 and 2″

First off, Happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans out there! It’s raining like crazy here where I am, so not much excitement for us, but plenty of food. I hope that everyone is enjoying the day!

Secondly, I’m happy to welcome CM Doporto to my blog, along with her character Natalie Vega, from Element, Part 1 and 2. CM is the first of several authors that will be coming by the site who are featured in “Darlings of Decay,” as I am. Welcome to you both!

P.S. Our author has a giveaway going on, so check it out!

CM Doporto Giveaway

* * *

Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?

Natalie Vega: You can find me in Element, Part 1 and 2. Basically in the first book, it describes what I go through as my body begins a transformation process into the four elements of the earth. In the second book, I learn how to control my powers and how to use them to help out the earth. Unfortunately, an evil business man learns about my unique abilities and has other plans for me.

Mia: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

Natalie: I’m a college student at The University of Texas at Austin, majoring in biochemistry. I just finished my freshman year and work with an awesome scientist, Dr. Albin Kronberg of Kronberg Laboratories. I have the most amazing boyfriend ever, Ryan Garrett, who loves me to no end. We went to the same high school and it was a coincidence that we both ended up at UT, especially because Ryan is two years older than me.

This story is really about me and what I can do with these amazing powers. Even though I don’t like to be in the spotlight, I’m starting to get used to what I have been called to do. I’m just your average college girl that just happens to have a supernatural ability.

Mia: What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.

Natalie: Christi? I mean CM Doporto, well… it took a while for me to agree to let her write about me. Like I said, I’m not one that likes to be the center of attention but after we met and I told her what happened to me and what I could do, she begged me to write about it. She’s uber cool and kind of a geek like me so I naturally bonded with her. I’m so glad I agreed to let her tell my story. She did a great job of explaining it and bringing all my emotions to life.

Mia: How do you feel about the story you’re in?

Natalie: It’s kind of cool to pick up my Kindle and see a story written about me, Element.

Mia: Do you like being a character in the book?

Natalie: It’s more than me being a character because it’s actually me.

Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.

Natalie: I have no idea what the future has in store for me. So many things are happening right now that I couldn’t even imagine. There is obviously a future for me that is beyond my control.

Mia: What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?

Natalie: If CM wants to write more about my adventures, I wouldn’t object. I guess time will tell.

Mia: Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?

Natalie: That would be so cool! CM has a great Pinterest page where she put together what actors could play the characters of the book. I actually helped pick out who could play me, so I would say Jessica Lowndes of 90210.

* * *

Author Bio: CM Doporto lives in the great state of Texas with her husband and son enjoying life with their extensive family along with their Chihuahua, Mexican Redhead Parrot and several fish. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from The University of Texas at Arlington. She briefly worked in the area of Public Relations and Advertising and then pursued a career in the field of Human Resources. CM considers herself a life-long learner and returned to school and earned her Master of Art’s Degree in Organizational Development from Dallas Baptist University.

She writes Young Adult and New Adult Sci-Fi/Urban Fantasy stories about ordinary women who do extraordinary things, become a heroine, and find love along the way. CM is a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Romance Writers of America and is associated with the Young Adult Special Interest Chapter.

Author Site: http://cmdoporto.com/

Buy Link: Element, Part One at Amazon

Buy Link: Element, Part Two at Amazon

Ten Questions with… Amanda Miller

My guest for today is Amanda Miller, who has written One Breath, Then Another: A Memoir. She is also the inaugural interview using an altered version of my Ten Questions with non-fiction writers in mind. Welcome, Amanda!

* * *

Author Bio: Amanda Miller is a writer, actor, yoga instructor, and massage therapist based in Brooklyn. She has adapted One Breath, Then Another: A Memoir into an interactive solo show featuring yoga poses, meditation, breathing exercises and chanting. Her writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Freerange Nonfiction, UC Riverside’s Cratelit, So Long: Short Memoirs of Loss and Remembrance, Underwired Magazine, Runaway Parade and more. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The New School and a BFA in Acting from NYU.

Author Site: http://www.onebreaththenanother.com/

You can find her book at Amazon, in ebook and print!

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

Passionate. Compassionate. Driven. Hopeful. Open.

2. What drew you to start writing?

Initially it was my first grade teacher who introduced me to journaling. I wrote about who I played with at recess and what we played, then I drew a picture of it. This evolved into fictional stories, pictures included. Eventually I dropped the illustrations realizing it wasn’t my calling and stuck with the writing. As a kid, I especially enjoyed writing myself into my favorite to TV shows. Then in my middle school days I was drawn to poetry, which I found to be an important outlet for my adolescent angst. This led to the realization that if I could accurately articulate an emotional experience with words, it eased some of my tension. I was motivated me to keep writing. I have always liked writing in multiple prose genres as well as for the stage.

3. What inspires you?

The beautiful, sincere efforts made by people, despite all odds. Music that tells a story. Kindness. Novels. Memoirs. Poems. Performance. The overcoming of obstacles. Pivotal moments in my life and the lives of people I know. Human relationships. Views from heights. The ocean. The mountains. Passion. Yoga.

4. What distracts you?

Facebook. Exhaustion. Ambition.

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

A story when everything falls apart for the protagonist and then after trials and tribulations, he/she grows in leaps and bounds becoming a more mentally, emotionally and spiritually evolved human.

* * *

About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

One Breath, Then Another: A Memoir is about my quest for healing to avoid destroying myself like my dad. He was a heavy smoker with food issues who starved himself until he was skeletal. Then I developed a severe case of anorexia that led to hospitalization. A year after I recovered, he died of lung cancer.

Desperate to escape his ghost, I fled San Diego to pursue acting and writing in Manhattan, where I eventually became so obsessed with and disturbed by the concept of language that I suffered a mental breakdown and moved back into my mom’s house. After a year of ineffective psychotherapy, I felt intuitively pulled to study massage therapy and, while massaging a cancer survivor, discovered that easing the pain of others was a powerful way to find reprieve.

I moved back to New York to resume creative pursuits but soon found myself lost again. Frantically searching for inner peace, I left to travel alone through ten cities in India and Nepal. As a tourist amidst extreme poverty, exotic beauty and charged spirituality, internal whirlwinds raged. After weeks of constant motion and changing scenery, I landed in a quiet Indian ashram surrounded by green fields, mountains and endless sky. There, as I trained to become a yoga teacher, I reflected deeply on mortality and the workings of my mind, learning to let go and surrender to the present moment.

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these books?

I found the process of writing the memoir cathartic and empowering. And I was also excited by the prospect of connecting with readers over shared challenges and paths to healing.

3. What do you hope readers gain most from your work?

I hope that One Breath, Then Another will inspire and empower people to realize that their voices matter, nothing is insurmountable and one’s own mind is often the biggest obstacle to one’s happiness. Life is fragile and finite; this memoir is about getting out of our own ways and supporting each other so we can all make the most of the time we have.

4. What have you gotten out of your writing?

I have had the opportunity to spend meaningful time with myself reflecting deeply on what matters most in my life. I have had the satisfaction of creating phrases and lines that really say what I mean. I have had the gratification of connecting to readers in the way that I hoped I would.

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

I have adapted One Breath, Then Another into an interactive solo performance piece featuring yoga poses, movement, meditation, breathing exercises and chanting. It will officially premiere in August 2013 at Theater For The New City’s Dream Up Festival in NYC.

I am also working on a novel about a talented young painter who quits art to become a nurse so she can help people instead of sitting around torturing herself with “her fruitless ambition” and starving artist lifestyle. But she becomes more tortured by not following her creative impulses. In the end, she has to negotiate her complexes about artist narcissism and art and commerce to find a place for art in her life that is authentic, satisfying and healing.

* * *

Thank you for joining us today, Amanda, and good luck with your book!

Character Interview: J. H. Sked & Astrid from the “Blue Moon Detectives” Series

Having read and enjoyed this series, I’m very happy to welcome Astrid to the blog today! Oh, yeah, and she’s bringing her author, J. H. Sked, with her. Enjoy!

* * *

Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?

Astrid: My first appearance was in a short collection of stories; Basement Blues and other stories. I ended up in Die Laughing, and Quarter the Moon is a collection of stories just about my little family of misfits.

Mia: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

Astrid: I’m what Billy calls the Mama Bear of the family. Billy was raised by Ruth and I, and it’s the first time in a couple of thousand years I’ve dealt with family. I’m still getting used to the idea. (I can be pretty over-protective, or so they tell me. You eat one door-to-door salesman, and they never let you live it down.) I’m a centuries-old vampire with a nicotine habit, a partner in a supernatural detective agency, and I do stand-up comedy every now and then.

Mia: What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.

Astrid: She suffers from terminal curiosity. She wants to know some pretty intimate stuff, and she’ll put us through the wringer to get it. She can be a bit of a pain in my immortal ass, to be honest.

Mia: How do you feel about the story you’re in?

Astrid: How do you feel about life? We have good times, and funny times, and scary moments and heartbreak. Every now and then, things come together and you thank the universe for it, or whatever deity floats your boat.

Mia: Do you like being a character in the book?

Astrid: It’s a lot better than licking a cheese-grater.

Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.

Astrid: I want to find out what happened to Ruth (my ghostly house-mate) and her family. I want to put my Odin issues to one side, eventually, but that’s going to take a bit. I’d like to see Billy’s mom get off her meds, and Billy forgive me for trying to keep him away from the magic side of things. I’d like a week without something trying to kill us.

Mia: What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?

Astrid: I’ll be around for a while, as long as the author doesn’t start experimenting with vampire-proof sun-screen. Fur Thing is due for release later on this year, and things get decidedly intense when we investigate a strange death at an up-market hotel. I think you’ll like it.

Mia: Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?

Astrid: As long as they don’t turn me into a simpering idiot with fangs and a negligee, I’m not too worried. Charlize Theron would be my ideal; she can pull off any role and I don’t think she’s been given the chance to kick enough bad-guy butt yet.

* * *

Author’s Bio:  J. H. Sked lives in London, England, with several hundred books and a long-suffering flat mate. When not writing, she reads, paints, works at a day job and occasionally finds time to sleep.

Buy Link: Amazon

Buy Link: Amazon UK

Ten Questions with… Alice Plouchard Stelzer

Today, I’m happy to welcome Alice Plouchard Stelzer to the blog to answer Ten Questions with Mia. She’s the author of the upcoming Female Adventurers: the women who helped colonize Connecticut, due out in September. Given my love of strong female characters, that I was born and raised in Connecticut, and that Adelheid is set in that state, I must say this is a particularly fitting book to be featured here! Welcome, Alice!

* * *

Author Bio: Brief After over 25 years as an editor, columnist, journalist, Alice Plouchard Stelzer has written her first book.

Author Site: http://FemaleAdventurers.weebly.com

You will be able to find her book after September 1 at , Barnes & Noble, Merrimack Media bookstore, Books by the Sea bookstore and several other locations being organized presently.

About the Writer

1. What five words describe you?

Energetic, passionate, curious, supportive, tenacious

2. What was the first story you ever wrote? I mean the really bad one we all have that you’re trying to hide in the back of closet now that you’re published?

It was a children’s story about two Juncos (birds) in a storm.

3. What inspires you?

Nature and history, especially women’s history

4. What distracts you?

Very good weather, which makes me want to be outside. Also, research, I love research. It is like working on puzzles. I get very excited when I find or confirm a piece of information.

5. What’s your favorite story? This can be specific, as in a particular book or even story-driven movie, or general, like “I’m a sucker for a hero looking for redemption story.”

Anything with a strong female protagonist . The women in my book are very courageous. As women, we have the strength to overcome all obstacles but many women do not know that.

* * *

About the Writing

1. Tell us about your currently available titles.

My first book, Female Adventurers: the women who helped colonize Connecticut, will be available Sept. 1, 2013. Will be running a contest for free copies shortly.

2. What’s your favorite part about writing these stories?

The connection I felt to these courageous women.

3. What would your characters say about you? Be honest!

“She would have been a good friend in the seventeenth century.”

4. Who would play your favorite character if they made a movie of their story?

Meryl Streep

5. Do you have any projects currently in the works you want to talk about?

Currently I am conducting a Kickstarter campaign to fund the publishing of my book, Female Adventurers: the women who helped colonize Connecticut. I only have until July 3 to reach my goal so I am constantly networking with all my contacts on social media programs to get the word out that I need support. This is an important new kind of book about women’s history. Campaign can be seen at: http://kck.st/ZIw8el.

* * *

Thanks for joining us today, Alice, and good luck with your book!