Rita Dinis's Blog

A Refreshing Vampire Series.

A vampire stuck in a monotonous after-life gets his wake-up call when a human... spots him doing something totally unwise. And reckless.
Consequences. It's all about the damn consequences.
Tabula Rasa

I had this plot in my head for way too long.
When I first considered writting it, I pondered... a lot. Should I write it? Should I not?
It didn't take me much to realize I had to do something to put sexy, tormented David on the paper, wild and cruel Nevio as his partner 'in crime' so to speak, a mix that took shape fast. Then Maria pops out of nowhere, that typical unawareness of someone who has no idea of what on Earth is going on, but feels something is somehow... off.
Hilarious s*$%!
I wanted to create a paranormal tale with horror bits and graphic violence inherent to a species that has no other option, with the coincidence fate sometimes surprises us with.
I didn't know if I actually made it... but I tried to do my best. Having a human colliding with a vampire ocult world may seem worn out and maybe, it's getting too explored. I tried to avoid the clichés at all cost and even tried to make it as 'real' as it could get.
Ultimately, I decided to give it a two-way perspective. It's boring to have only one side of the plot, when the two main characters are so strong. And trust me, this volume is quite soft. It is the introductory tone, after all.
There is much more to be shown and told, and in each line, each paragraph... this world becomes more and more realistic.

Enjoy your readings*
Rita Dinis

The less interesting of Eva&Gideon's endeavors: my opinion on 'Entwined with you', #B3# of Crossfire Series

Entwined with You by Sylvia Day

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Okay, it was not like the book ‘disappointed me’ per se. It lacked that tension the first two books had, that vital element that makes you ache for the next chapter and find out what the heck is going on after all. So ‘Entwined with you’ felt like an immense out-take of the plot that is supposed to be revealed. The whole book is a sum of scenes, basically futile stuff going on, conflicts and such, which wasn’t obviously necessary to the plot.
By the end of this book I concluded that… nothing special had happened. The plot didn’t advanced much, Gideon and Eva didn’t evolve much more and the social drama surrounding them became boring. Everybody is rich, has lots of money… and issues. Pathological issues, to a point.
Obsessive love has something to it, but I think it shouldn’t rise to levels where you say ‘okay, that’s just unreal’. I read this book intermittently, in and out of reading it for weeks, occasionally returning just for the sake of finishing it.
I really hope Sylvia Day makes the 4th book worthwhile - or she will risk a great saga becoming dull and tiring.
And we so don't want that.

So, let's hope book 4 surprises :) everybody*





View all my reviews

ENGEL Giveaways*

Engel, the first installment in the Engel series, is prepared to meet all of you readers.
I've prepared an EXCLUSIVE Author's Edition that will be available in two forms:
1st. a copy of the physical book - the giveaway will start here on Goodreads on Halloween night (HOW ADEQUATE!) and will be on for a month!
2nd. Everyday I'll be giving ebook copies to the ones that comment/like/share the post on my FB author's page! It's easy and by the end of the day a virtual sample of 'Engel' will be yours.

The link's here: my link text
All you have to do is click.
With that, Engel will land in our PC/IPAD/Kindle, etc.
Give it a try first - Part 1 is available here on Goodreads : my link text

A horde of lost angels, wicked desires and the most disturbing needs await you.
Silently.
Sneaking up on you.

Please: dare :)

New novella coming up!

The Exclusive Author’s Edition of ‘Engel’ will be soon making an appearance.
Final edits and Cover Art are quite done to prepare the final version of ‘Engel’, soon available for some lucky readers!
Giveaways will be promoted and you’ll be able to read the first book of a series that will hopefully grow - there are two books for now - into something I don’t quite know yet - how it will evolve, how things are going to develop.
I have the plot figured to some point, but after that… I don’t know. For now, it’s quite enough to create a second book - Cove - but after that… who knows? The sky is the limit!
The official version by Horrified Press will be available in 2014 so prepare yourself, sharpen your teeth to sink them in the flesh of… well, enough spoilers.
Engel is a novella that will feature creatures of Heaven, Hell and Earth - and will sure grab your attention and will make you devour each and single page of drama, suspense and wicked romance all the way. Worry not, there will be space for pure, untainted feelings… but the cost will be high.
Angels come and go, others creatures pass by and… humans simply linger. Others suffer and some others… are born with a purpose.
Find out how and why.
Part 1 of ‘Engel’ is available to read as an excerpt - so I invite you in.
Reviews, comments are most welcome and I would love to hear from you, reader!

Here's a little excerpt from Part 2 to spice up your interest :)

‘I got up from the chair, blocking the Iphone screen in a swift, upper click.
Automatically I put my left hand on the back pocket of my jeans, checking the rounded euro coins format I was still getting used to.
I turned, preparing to make a small run but I didn’t make it. My legs wanted to walk forward, but I didn’t even perform a complete footstep.
A man stood exactly in front of me, on the class room’s stage.
How he stood there, next to me, without making a sound - was a mystery.
Overwhelmed with his presence, I took my time taking him in. My thinking froze and, as I realized he wasn’t in fact any of my students, I wondered who that man might be.
He stared at me, accessing me with curiosity and surprise. Maybe even astonishment. What, did he know me from somewhere? For moments I wondered if he could eventually know something about me and my previous life I didn’t know anything of.
Brown eyed with matching hair color, his complexion denounced him as local. Slightly combed, a couple of hair stripes falling and decorating his forehead, white shirt discreetly adherent to his form and formal, black suit pants.
I blinked, amazed at his size and appearance: a foot, maybe a foot and a half taller than me, shirt sleeves up ‘till his elbows, with a penetrating, disturbing gaze. I had a feeling he knew everything about me - possibly more that I actually did, and that made me recoil a little.
I blinked several times, as if I was stuck in a daydream, trying desperately to wake up. I kind of hoped the man would disappear, but… he remained there, right in front of me and blocking me in between him and my chair. I gulped dry, my mind blank, still devoid of thinking. That was a lot of time for a blank.
“Yes?” I whispered, hoping to get an answer. Something. Anything. To listen to his voice and state if it sounded as sexy as the man looked.
Whatever. Just move, so I can state if you’re real or not.’

Angels, Demons and all in-between in a not-so-regular story

As you all know, ‘Engel’ will be my debut novella out there. Against all odds (I always though the vampires would be the ones putting me out there), the most unlikely plot came to life and ended up being a novella.
What started as a short-story kept on as another short-story and finally! I sensed the potential Sarah had and sent her overseas on her way to Germany.
And it got to a point where a sequel is the most obvious consequence.
With that, all my vampires were put aside – even if I am trying very hard to end ‘Tabula Rasa’, the first in a series of several volumes, called ‘The Old World Vampire Series’.

I am currently looking for avid readers, interested in reviewing my work.
Engel, Part 1 is available online here: my link text

Soon, it’ll be available on Goodreads ‘book excerpt’ as well.

So… what are you waiting for?
Fallen Angels await you.
With secrets that will render you… speechless.

Of Bodies and Tales from the Mortician: October's Giveaway!

The next giveaway I’ll be promoting will feature odd, strange people called ‘The Morticians’. In March 2013, Scarlett River Press launched a new concept of anthology. It was new and different in every way - Rigorous Mortis: A Mortician’s tale.
It was an innovative idea, it was fresh and I smelled bait - so I tried to submit a short-story ‘The Monarch Butterfly’, in which the concept of Mortician varies from the ordinary.
First, he works in a morgue. Second, he’s a vampire.
And third - his sanity is long gone.
So what is there to expect from ‘The Monarch Butterfly?’
I’ll let you be the judge of that.
October will be the month in which the Mortician will share his tales…


Here’s an excerpt of ‘The Monarch Butterfly’:
That night I had been caught by surprise.
Honey-colored eyes met mine as the woman now sat, her perfect form calling me to her. A dead doll, a gift that had been handed to me first hand. Lust blinded me, and I fell into her arms quite easily. And how amazingly she smelled. How icy she felt, how exquisite her touch felt… and how lovely her lips were when she smiled.
In a trance, I let her guide me. She didn’t speak, she never uttered a word while her hands touched my scalp and my neck as if in search for something. And I wondered by then, if her muteness meant something beyond words. As a coroner, I was used to silence – it was a necessary tool, it was a certainty that no harm was ever done.
But when it all seemed so deliciously intense, I felt pain.

An Anthology of Vampire Heartbreaks and Crushes.

This month (September) I’m officially promoting a giveaway vampire-related.
A copy of the Anthology ‘Bite from the Heart’ was released late 2012, early 2013 and it features a whole amount of great short-stories, in which the premise concerns the matters of the heart of our beloved elegant, fanged creatures.
BFTH called my attention mainly because I love vampires in almost any way. I do write a lot about them and I am working on a saga ‘Old World Vampire Series’ that is currently being written and soon-to-be-published around 2014. But all the details concerning THAT saga will have its own blog pub. So, be aware.
‘Don’t close your eyes’ is an intense short-story about emotional breakdowns and misty borders. Maria, one of my characters, is in love with someone but… Arthur, the ancient barbaric vamp, is somehow testing her limits. Her faithfulness. Her patience.
Among other things.
So the story is basically a short-cut in the middle of a whole, huge story that will be told completely – in time.
Hence, I invite you to read it and fall in love with the characters.
There will be much more to come but, for now, these small teasing stories will have to do.
I invite you to enter the giveaway and try your luck – it’s only one copy (for now) but I’ll make all the efforts to keep on with the giveaways and making the whole series grow and be part of your daily living.

Here’s an excerpt for you to spice up your interest:
‘With an aching sigh, I closed the door behind me with a silent click.
Resting against the smooth, expensive wood, I could feel the protuberances those carvings made, hard against my back. As well as the reminiscences of him.
Arthur.
I could sense him, making his way to his room, his tough boots and that fine black cottoned elegance caressing his skin, teasing wickedly my senses and making me wonder... how soft his bare skin would feel beneath it.
Uh…’

Engel [Teaser 1]

There you have it, a little excerpt of my latest work - Engel, Book 1 (of a Series I intend to name the same).
Maybe this small piece will sharpen your curiority...

'The night had arrived and RosenRot, the standoffish nightclub in downtown Freiburg - a place that wasn’t famous for its sympathy. The same thing happened with the goers.
All of them consisted in strange, dark people. Ones pretended they were dark and punk. Others clearly didn’t, because darkness was inherent to them.
Nightly, a special gathering of five creatures invaded that specific place, which seemed to be of their liking. They all shared a permanent aura - fading and slight, but it was there, not visible to human eyes. They were only seen from the skies, if the skies wanted to see them.
Most of the time, the skies despised them - for there was no place for worrying about angels and renegades, heavenly creatures that had fallen.
Earth was their penitence. Live among humans was one of their many sentences.
Five fallen angels sat in a rounded table, waiting for their leader, Rike. Former archangel. Powerful. Tough. Demanding but forgiving, nonetheless.
Rammstein echoed in the nighclub, screaming that God knew they didn’t want to be angels. The music, so strangely fitting the moment, made Kat wonder. Little did those humans knew their lyrics were in fact very correct: there were angels, there were guiding stars, there was… a God - not that lenient as most of humans believed.
Kat’s red hair shone under the artificial lights twinkling intermittently. Her blue bright eyes matched her similar’s eyes. All of them were blue eyed. Except for Rike.
Who, in that exact moment, went through RosenRot’s door. His shine was undeniably superior, a typical brand of someone of a different league.
“Greetings.” He said, nodding. Silently, he sat on the only chair available.
“Rike.”
All of them complimented Rike, whispering his name - a clear sign of respect. Rike was not only an archangel in between angels. He was also socially active in the human civilization.
And while Rammstein claimed angels were creatures that lived out of the sunshine, infinitely far from Earth and that had to grasp onto stars for not to fall from the heavens, Rike eyed us with a knowing look, resting his badge and gun on the table. No one proffered a word. We all waited for him to start talking.
“What seems to be the problem?”
His tone, soft but firm, gave no space to hesitation. Kat was the one breaking the silence.
“We found a star.” She said, eyeing Rike with determination.'

More will be available soon*

When short PLUS short EQUALS novella.

I’ve been very inspired lately.
First, I’m constantly editing the 1st book of my vampire saga – I had to divide it somehow to make it work. When I first wrote the book in Portuguese, it included only one POV – Maria’s – the human. Then, one day (3 years ago), I decided to write a separated book with a different POV: David’s – the vampire. Well. I didn’t work that well. So I decided to articulate both POV’s and make it more dynamic. I think it’s going along fine.
Second, the angel thing has been consuming. Like, literally. What started as an isolated, random angelic episode with blood and possessiveness [i.e., Insane Affection] became something more – a ‘to be continued’ followed, and more creatures of heavens descended to play their part in a mini-sequel. ‘Whispers in the Dark’ had been born. I thought it would be the end of the fallen angel’s issue.
It wasn’t.
Inspiration struck once again.
‘Whispers in the Dark’ had an open end. So all I had to do was follow my guts. It went on.
I gave my main character – Sarah Davis –, a purpose I never thought she would have - a central role in the story. Other characters appeared – fallen angels and archangels – all of them with a peculiar way of living and coping with condemnation.
And I’ve been on it since then.
It won’t be long enough to become a novel – but it’ll become an interesting novella, I hope. I think it has some potential. When I decided to explore this subject (angels and etcetera), in late September, I never thought the plot would evolve like this. No, for me the celestial theme was spent and I hadn’t imagination to go on. Apparently I surprised myself.

I’m naming it ‘Engel’.
Not in a thousand years I imagined Rammstein would be my muse.

Fallen Angels and Wicked Damnations...

I’ve never tried to write about angels - until a ‘call for submissions’ appeared. It was supposed to involve Blood and Roses, create a story around it and that was it.
Vampires was the first thing coming to mind. But of course.
However, in that specific day, I wasn’t in the mood for bloody biting and rose petals.
‘Insane Affection’ was born that day instead - a tale about angels.
In my story, Seth is an angel banished from heavens. He falls into Earth, condemned to a human life… but damned with a wicked need.
And that is when Sarah comes in - a human woman who is supposed to bear with the fallen angel’s condemnation.
She is his sinful salvation. And as an obsessive relationship becomes to take shape, the fallen angel realizes he is changing into something undescribable… and only Sarah can change that outcome.
Will Sarah be in terms with Seth’s demands?
It’s up to you to find out :)

I never thought it would become so funny - exploring Angels & Demons’ territory is everything but easy. The subject is explored to exhaustion, most like vampires.
There are vamps for every taste - cute, cruel, diurnal, nocturnal, carnivorous, herbivorous… and the same goes for angels. There are the fallen ones, the half-fallen, the 3/4 fallen, the ones in heaven, the ones in hell, the ones in purgatory, the ones on Earth and I could go on, right?
Relax, I won’t :)
Instead, I’ll leave you an excerpt of my little angelic tale, featuring on Scarlett River Press Anthology Blood&Roses, that will be out very very soon.

(…)

The trees danced upon twilight, intense orange mixing with dark green; leaves furious, trunks squirming, the forest screaming incomprehensible, unspoken words. I looked up several times, trying to focus. My compass was behaving strangely – the needles pointing north seemed to shiver with inexplicable vigor, leading me towards areas I hadn’t ever explored, and most certainly not at night.
I liked to hike and explore the Nature. I usually did it with company – but, sadly, that was not the case. Today I had awoken with a brand new goal, a desire that had been imprinted in my mind, images plaguing my sleep… images of the forest, speaking to me. An unexplained desired to leave home and go – go to that place, and search, search, search frantically for… a void filled with nothing. For there was nothing to find – on the contrary, I had the feeling I was the one being searched for.
Before I could think of turning back, a male form surprised me. He had come out of nowhere, just as if he had flew into the spot, right next to a centenary tree, his upper body naked despite the cold and eyes that burned into mine.
Scary, dark eyed, blond mid-back hair… no forked tongue, thankfully. He spoke as eloquently as a Shakespearian gentleman.
“Greetings.” My God, that voice. It felt like I could dive into it and breathe it for sustenance. “Tell me your name.”
How could I not?
“Sarah…”
“Sarah…”, the man quoted, as if considering my name. “I need your help.”
“But I-”
“-Will not say no.”
I shook my head. Not only I wasn’t going to say no to him, my mind and body felt compelled to acquiesce every request that man could possibly make.
“Stay with me.”
And I stayed with him. That night, and the following.
And I haven’t had been able to walk away from him since then.

(…)