Meradeth Houston's Blog, page 10

Blog Tour: A Romantic Getaway with LA Dragoni, author of GUARDIAN'S TOUCH

A Romantic Getaway with LA Dragoni
When my husband and I got married (twenty-five years ago, thank you very much!) my then boss gave us a luxurious weekend trip to Monterey, California.
The hotel was right on the beach so we heard the shushing of the waves twenty-four hours a day. There was a small patio for us to sit on to enjoy the spectacular ocean view. The room was large with a separate sitting area and fireplace. But what I loved the most was the in-room Jacuzzi. It was more than a tub – it was a two person Jacuzzi smack dab in the middle of the room. I remember when I first walked in I was a bit taken aback by it being right out in the open. I’m a shy person and not prone to exhibitionism. But you know what? It turned out to be my favorite thing about the room.
I based the room Tamara and Dex stay in during their own romantic getaway in Guardian’s Touch on that visit, though Tamara and Dex are in the mountains, not seaside.
For our official honeymoon, my husband and I went down to San Diego and visited Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. But we’ve always considered that we had two honeymoons because that gifted trip was so wonderful.
Have you had the pleasure of a honeymoon? Tell us where in the comments. Or if you’re yet to have one, tell us your ideal trip. After all, around here money’s no object. Then be sure to claim all the entries you qualify for in the rafflecopter for your chance to win the swag pack.
GUARDIAN’S TOUCH by LA Dragoni
Life has returned to normal for Tamara and Dex after helping a horde of ghosts cross over. Their brush with the afterlife affirmed one thing: happily ever after is real.
When odd pranks around the farm escalate to destruction, Tamara fears mischievous teenagers are vandalizing the neighborhood. Then Dex starts to act out of character. Meanness slips into his usually playful disposition. One day he even ridicules a co-worker publicly. Tamara watches helplessly as he seems to lose the ability to control his own actions. When Dex’s abnormal anger turns violent—toward Tamara—their happily ever after is threatened. Desperate to help Dex and herself, she sends out a silent prayer for help.
She didn’t expect Cal to come to her aid.
Available August 1st on Amazon in print and for Kindle, pre-order your copy today.
Book 1 is 99¢ for a limited time
http://amzn.to/1G7ZpC4a Rafflecopter giveawayABOUT THE AUTHOR
LA Dragoni isn’t too particular about who falls in love or where they fall in love. Whether it’s paranormal, mythical, or time travel, LA simply considers it her job to divine their story and share it with you. She lives in Central Oregon with her husband and children, but haunts ghost towns and cemeteries throughout the west, in search of the next adventure to sift through her storytelling brain. Learn more about LA and her work at ladragoni.com
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Picture Post: #AuthorLife

I'm late this week with posting, but thought I'd share some pics from my recent trip home to visit my family. Just a few little snaps from NorCal :)
My sister, as we loaded up on Halo Top ice cream :)
This photo doesn't quite do justice to how dirty these puppies got. They jumped IN the irrigation canal and then rolled in the mud. They had a blast, though I was just glad not to be the one having to clean them up!
One of the crops at home (we live in the middle of nowhere ag land), is sunflowers. This is from one of the huge expanses nearby. I love them! Even though before they are harvested they look terrible :)
Dip my toes in the pool at my grandma's. The pool was at 90F! That's a bathtub.
Out my mom's front door. I grew up in a 1904 farmhouse that's had all kinds of random changes and additions so that it looks very different, but the garden is amazing, and my mom spends a lot of time and energy making it look great.
Gah! I couldn't get enough!
I got to babysit these little pups (almost 7months old, and brothers, believe it or not). They were the best little guys and so much energy and love.

After Reading: DARK LOVER by J.R. Ward (and giveaway winners!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much to all who entered the giveaway last week! The winners should be on the widget above and I've sent them all emails. It was great to hear from you all and hopefully I'll be able to do something like this again :)

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams. (Goodreads)
Okay, so I've been hunting for more books in this genre (paranormal romance) because lately some of my books have been drifting in this direction, but holy-gratuitous-sex Batman, I'm not sure about what to think. I mean, there were some interesting characters in this one, and some decent world building, but from the opening scene that involved a near-rape (which I will always find disturbing though turned into a pivotal part of the plot later), to the two main characters basically not even speaking before jumping each other, I did have my issues. Look, I understand chemistry's power, but to completely throw reason out the window? Like total and complete defenestration of any willpower? Come on! Also, this novel read a little too much like magically solving all of Beth's issues and fulfilling all her wishes. Never had a family? Poof, you did have a supernatural dad who watched over you forever and now are queen to a group of men who act like your family. Never had money? Poof, your dad was wealthy beyond all measure. Sigh, that's just dull to me. Make the MC work for it! (Not that I would, personally, ever turn down someone suddenly handing me millions of dollars...hell, even a dollar....) Anyhow, it was a decent read, but not enough to pull me into the next one, but good enough for hot summer nights :)

#Giveaway: THE CHEMIST by Stephanie Meyer #amreading

A few weeks ago I wrote a review for The Chemist, which I found to be a super fun and gripping read. You can check out my review here. Basically, if you enjoy a fast-paced spy novel, with all kinds of twists and turns, along with a delightfully kick-butt female lead, this one's for you :) Seriously, people, this one was great!

Anyhow, so the paperback version releases tomorrow (Tuesday, July 11th), and I received an email from the publicist for the book, asking if I wanted to offer a couple of copies to my reader. Uhhh, duh! I know I have some regular readers who'll love this book.

I'm making this one easy: just leave a comment below about a book you've enjoyed recently (yay for summer reading!) and be sure to note that you entered in the rafflecopter! There are a few other ways to enter, too, if you want. That's it! *Please note the books can only be shipped to US and Canadian addresses!*

In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. (Goodreads)

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#InkRipples: Heroes and Villains!

#InkRipples  is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and Kai Strand. We post on the first Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on this page, and link back to their three blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.

I am actually posting on the first Monday of the month for my InkRipples post! Woot! That almost never happens :) Anyhow, this month's topic is a good one, though I'm not totally sure where to start. Heroes. Villains. The two main components to a good story. Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is the Netflix show, and Marvel comic, Daredevil. I've been watching this lately while at the gym and rather enjoy it. Why? Because the villains are nicely nuanced, and the heroes aren't very clean cut. It makes for a great, layered, story that drags my mind away from the sweating I'm doing.

Anyhow, Wilson Fisk, the main antagonist from season one and two (sorry, that is a *bit* of a spoiler), thinks that he's out to be the hero. Daredevil sees his methods for what they are: perverse and harmful, and has to stop him. But that doesn't mean that Fisk doesn't see what he's doing as the right thing, the only thing, that has to be done to "save his city." There's a lot more that goes into it, but I do enjoy watching the interplay of two men, ostensibly doing the same thing, but being diametrically opposed to one another.

Okay, so if we're going to go this comic book route, the other end of the spectrum is Superman (well, most of the time). I've often heard the refrain that the Man of Steel is too goody-two-shoes about how he thinks about things. It's very black and white when it comes to who's the good guy and who is not. And at times that can be a little dull. The same goes for Supergirl, and sometimes the Flash--other shows that I find myself sweating to on the treadmill :) (Hmm, might be a trend there in my watching habits, huh?) The "bad guy" is almost always obviously a criminal, and almost always admits to being out to do something nefarious, whether that be rob someone/something or just create mayhem. It can kind of get a little old...

So, what's all this to say? That if I'm working on creating a villain, an antagonist worthy of going up against my hero, I want them to also have their world fleshed out just as much. Their goals and motives should be sound, and not just to create panic/terrorism/some other mayhem that's more a plot device than a story.

What about you--what's you're favorite villain/hero pair? 

#FlashFiction The Flood #amwriting

As the summer progresses it's getting harder and harder for me to come up with blog post ideas :) I swear, my life revolves around long, long days in the lab and long hikes on the weekends. Which, really, is pretty awesome, but doesn't leave me a whole lot of fodder for my blog. Still, I've been writing, and that's been awesome. Today, I thought I'd share a little of the story I'm contributing to the Untethered Realm's anthology, due out this fall. Isn't that cover fabulous?

The Flood

“Do you think my ability is just to repel men?” I asked Kristen. She was sitting at my counter, glass of wine in hand, the other perusing through a wedding magazine and making the occasional grimace at the photos.

Abilities. The kind where someone’s lucky in one particular little thing: they never hit a red light, they always remember where they left their keys, their toast never falls butter side down. Generally, special abilities are insignificant and a little dull. It would totally be my luck to have the ability to repel every possible eligible bachelor.

Of course, that would be better than the really lousy abilities. I once read about a kid that blew up milk every time he got close to it. And milk’s in everything.

Some poor souls are just screwed.

“You do not repel men, Kelly. Not even a little. And why is it that all of these women have to look like emaciated waifs with horrible hair? This is a damn classy magazine, isn’t it?” She swept her long, blonde ringlets back from her face and took another sip from her wineglass while flipping to the front of Modern Bride, as if to make sure it hadn’t turned into Redneck Bride on its own.

“Sure, it’s a classy magazine. The whole boho-chic thing is in right now. But, yeah, that dress would look better on a beat up Barbie doll.” I pointed my string cheese at the offending article in question. Wedding dresses shouldn’t have patches. Or swatches. Period.

“Well, it’s ugly,” Kristen insisted. “I’m going to have to find something else to use for inspiration.” When she sighed like this it was the most annoying thing on the planet. Her giant engagement ring (“Ten damn karats!”) caught the lights in my kitchen.

There were days when I kind of wished she’d cut herself on that ring. I mean, I was happy for her, but also all kinds of green with envy. Davy was a total hottie, and head over heels in love with Kristen. The two of them kind of made me ill. But, besties are besties, and Saturday morning wedding planning was going to be a tradition for the foreseeable future.

Logically, I wasn’t going to have to do this forever. I mean, it couldn’t be that long until they got hitched, right?

God, I hoped not.

Kristen, already a bit tipsy from the wine, went to gather more magazines from her bag while I turned to my sink. The plates from last night’s meal were still there, and I sighed and decided to rinse them before dropping them into the dishwasher.

Which was when the nozzle on my sink broke off.

I stared at it for a long moment, the weird angle of the wand of metal in my hand not translating in my brain for a long moment.

That seemed to be the cue for my sink to start gushing water.

“Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t.” I tried to re-attach the handle but managed to make the spillage worse. It nearly filled my sink, and I could envision it flooding my kitchen.

Keeping up a steady stream of curses, I dropped to my knees and yanked open the cupboards I’d hand painted robin’s egg blue. Under the sink I’d stashed about a year’s worth of grocery bags and just about everything else I didn’t use in my kitchen. Chucking things out onto the floor, I managed to reach the cut-off valve for the sink.

It took all my strength to twist it. The water stopped. I took a deep breath. And then the water started to seep around the nozzle under the sink.

“You’ve got to be sh*tting me.” I wanted to close the cupboard door and pretend this hadn’t happened. Instead, I snatched a stack of hand towels and after sweeping out the last of the crap under there, jammed them around the base of the sink.

“What are you doing?” Kristen asked, her arms laden with magazines and her too-tall platform sandals giving her an odd appearance from my position halfway under my sink.

“I broke my kitchen,” I groaned.

Kristen dumped the magazines, which slid across my white countertops and slinked to the ground. She came to scoot in next to me for all the world like she’d figure out how to fix it herself.

“That looks bad.”

Because Kristen and I had been friends since third grade when I’d made her eat her own booger, so I let that slide. “Any idea on who I can call to fix it?” I asked with a groan.


***Okay, I may share a bit more later on down the line but hopefully that's a bit of fun to get you thinking of what more may come in the anthology!

After Reading: THE TAKEN by Vicki Petterson

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he's an angel, but that doesn't make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he's been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul—Katherine "Kit" Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder—and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie.

Joining forces, Kit and Grif's search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn't Grif's biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife . . . (Goodreads)

Okay, so here's the thing: I picked this one up thinking I would *love* it. I mean, it has all the elements of what I generally enjoy: supernatural beings, wings, a mystery, a great female lead. But, while the writing was good, I just could not get into it. The main reason? Griffin Shaw, the main male character. I know some women like the '40's style gruff man who's strong but silent and often grumpy, but that is NOT me. I do not want some man who thinks he needs to watch out for me, take care of me, nor think that I am some kind of "lesser" because of my XX chromosomes. Nope. Not for me. And I've been there--I've been with that guy. And when Griffin started acting that way--understandably, as that's era he's actually from--it rubbed me the wrong way. I could not understand why Kit would put up with it. There was just no chemistry there. I kept reading, as the story and suspense was well done, but damn if I didn't want to take Kit and be like "He's a JERK! Can't you see that?" So, yeah, basically, I just had a really hard time with the romance in this book, which was understandably a huge part of the book. The antagonist and his horrific actions were deeply disturbing and kept me reading (to be sure he got his just rewards), but I don't think I'll be picking up any of the rest of this series any time soon.

Have you read any of the Celestial Blues books? How about read a book where the chemistry bothered you?

#InkRipples: Writing Book Blurbs

#InkRipples  is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and Kai Strand. We post on the first Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on this page, and link back to their three blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.

This month's Ink Ripples topic is BLURBS. I feel like there needs to be a little moment of silence after saying that. Why? Because blurbs are HARD. Like, whomever writes those suckers professionally has a job I would forever find impossible. I've written several of my own book blurbs for smaller houses, and that's always an incredible intimidating job: I want to attract as much attention as possible, while not spoiling the whole plot and not being trite or dull. When selecting a book to read, it's always the blurb that hooks me, and I want to do the same for my books (obviously).

So, how to do that? Well, there are a lot of amazing articles out there that describe how to write a blurb. They're all a little different, because different genres are definitely not going to want the same kind of blurb, and different people like different things in their blurbs. For me, I try to do something like this:

Catchy opening line--something that has to do with the story and draws in the reader.Set up the stakes and characters--who is doing what, and why is it important?Create a situation that the reader has to read on to learn more about--the stakes and why are they so imperative?
It doesn't have to be long, but those three short bits have to grab someone's attention and yank them into the story enough that they will want to sit down right there in the bookstore and dig in.

My little blurb from An Absence of Light will be my example for today:

Leah’s always seen the shadow creatures. She thought she was immune to their evil—until now. 

She’s walked into a massacre, stolen a BMW, and is running from the law for a crime she didn’t commit. Nineteen-year-old Leah’s life just went from mildly abnormal to totally crazy at lightning speed. But no one will believe that the shadow creatures are framing her for the murder, because she’s the only one that can see them. At least that’s what she thought. 

When Leah stumbles across a group who share her ability, she discovers they have something she doesn’t: a way to fight back. When the group offers to teach her how to kill the shadow creatures, Leah jumps at the chance. But something is brewing with the creatures. They’re tracking down the hunters like there’s no tomorrow. Leah suspects that maybe there won’t be, and it’s up to her to make sure tomorrow comes. Because she’ll do anything to stop the shadows, including risking her life—and the life of the one she loves—to keep the world from being lost to darkness forever.

What about you--what about blurbs do you like to see?

After Reading: HEARTLESS by Gail Carriger

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet? (Goodreads)

Okay, I totally adore this series. It's so funny, and the world building is awesome, and the characters just warm my heart. BUT, can I just say that the cover on this one is atrocious? I can't put my finger on exactly what's wrong with it, but it makes me cringe just to look at it. Silly, yes, but true. Anyhow, the book itself was such a nice lighthearted romp (well, with ghosts and such, and attempted murder galore), that it was the perfect novel to snag when I finally had some time to sit down and enjoy a novel. Lots of fun and all kinds of adventures. Alexia's pregnancy was amusingly handled (though how she managed some of her feats at the end will have to be chalked up to a fantasy novel), but generally it was just a solidly good time and a much needed laugh or two. Carriger definitely knows how to pull off funny and amusing, but not over the top, and I must bow to that talent (I so wish I were able to be funny!). Another enjoyable addition to the series!

#MisCon: author life and geekery

This past weekend (and actually today, Monday, too), has been the Missoula Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, commonly known as MisCon. This is my third or forth year attending, and second (I think??) as a panelist. It's always a blast and this past year has been no exception. There's no shortage of great costumes (people are SO creative), wonderful other authors to chat with, and tons of writing workshops with super fun topics, and really a much needed boost on my part in terms of getting my writing mojo in gear for the summer.

This year, I got my schedule for the panels and did a little head scratching. Building a Better Monster? Writing the Future? Becoming Human? These were a few of the panels I've been on that left me going, "huh, very fun, but not what I was expecting." Then, while doing a signing, I ran into a former student who's now one of the organizers. She laughed and admitted that she'd been the one to put me on the panels, knowing about my anthropology and science background. (Gotta love being a professor in a small town--it takes no time at all before you have strange connections to everyone!)

Definitely had a blast talking about Building a Better Monster--especially as we ended up talking about how so many "monsters" are alone on their planets, or don't seem to exist within a normal ecosystems, and how to fix that. Totally made my nerdy heart happy. Plus, there were great other panelists and definitely lots of fun to be had with the audience.

I often find myself wishing this convention were a couple of times a year, though that would probably just exhaust me. Though, maybe that's just a sign that I need to attend more of them? :)

Have you been to a comic book or sci-fi/fantasy convention before? What did you think?