Emily Guido's Blog, page 29

November 16, 2012

“Hameal and Neal” a couple for the ages… snippet from new edition of “SEDITIOUS” 4th novel in “The Light-Bearer Series” by Emily Guido

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Charmeine crossed her hands over her body as to shield her from the harshness of Tabbruis’ words and turned away from him and Dmitri.
Feeling like she had been kicked in the stomach, her baby was turning flip-flops. She was starting to feel faint from the emotions of hate and ire stirring inside of her heart. She had never heard him turn on her in such a spiteful way. She thought, ‘He’s never yelled at me in a hateful manner before! Now that Bath-Bitch is here, I’m nothing?’
It seemed she didn’t matter at all to him. Charmeine hung her head and went to the corner of the hallway outside of the hospital.
Seeing the pain Charmeine was in, Hameal gave a fierce look to Tabbruis and Dmitri.
He yelled at them, “Tabbruis! Dmitri! My God, she is with child! How can you two be so cruel? Especially you… Tabbruis!”
Hameal was so angry, he started to spark red pointing to them both.
As she put her head on the wall for support, Charmeine said, “It is okay Hameal, I’m fine.” She looked at Tabbruis with a glower and said with spite, “I can take care of myself,” and turned her heavy head the other way.
Regaining control, Hameal put his hand on her shoulder and while giving a drop-dead stare to Dmitri and Tabbruis. He bent down to look in her eyes and said calmly, “Charmeine, come and sit with me. You need to rest little sis.” His lips curled in a little smile.
Charmeine looked up at his wonderful sweet eyes of blue and black wavy hair cut like a model for G.Q. She leaned into his tall frame. She rested on his broad shoulders while he hugged and patted her back.
She said with a half-smile, “I can see the reason why Neal is so in love with you Hameal, you are a compassionate and gorgeous man. You both are very lucky men to be so in love and happy.”
Hameal pulled away smiling wide with bright white teeth and square jaw line chuckling and said, “I know, when we met millennia ago, it was an instant attraction. Our affection seems to grow day after day. Now that I am a Light-Bearer, our love seems to be more magical and beautiful.”
He smiled in revelry of his lover and gorgeous African husband, Neal.
Trying to get her mind off of Tabbruis, Charmeine asked, “You are going to have to tell me how you met. I bet that’s one Hell of a story.”
Hameal guided her to the chairs in the hallway and they sat. He held her hand and said, “It was by the grace of God I met my love. You know that I am a builder?”
“Yes, and a very good one too,” she said with a smile and nod.

English: Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt. Español: Gran Esfinge de Giza, Egipto. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He smiled and said, “I know you love history little sis. We sure have it, Neal and I. Anyway, it all started while I was one of the architects for the Great Sphinx…”
“Wow! I can’t believe it!” she blurted out, and her eyes opened wide with astonishment.
He smiled and said, “Of course you being a history buff, you know the Sphinx is located in Giza. The huge stone structure guards the front of Pharaoh Khafra’s pyramid. It is a large human-headed lion which was carved from a mound of natural rock.”
She said, “Well, I know a little but… Geez Louise… I am so amazed you actually ‘lived’ that history.”
He squeezed her hand, smiled and said, “In about 2500 B.C., Pharoah Khafra was building the second pyramid at Giza. I was working on the construction of the Sphinx. One day, we were placing a big stone. I was inspecting the area because as you know, the stones were fashioned so well, you cannot slip a piece of paper through them. However, the scaffolding toppled while a stone was being placed. I was caught under the stone…” he lowered his head.
Charmeine gasped.
Continuing, he said with a tear in his eye, “At that time, I was a Blood-Hunter with great strength, but I could not endure two tons of stone for long. I was unable to scream for help. I whispered, ‘God, if my purpose is fulfilled, I will surrender to your will.’
Just then, the stone moved and Neal, or ‘Nemamiah’ as I knew him then ,stood above me. When he reached for me, he exclaimed, ‘Your purpose has not been fulfilled!’

I took his hand, and we could not part from each other after that first touch. He is a part of me, and I am a part of him… My Neal is my love and my life.”
She looked at him and put her hand on his big, muscular shoulder and said, “True love always shines through. You both are soul mates never to part.”
Hameal welled in more tears and said, “When I was tortured and killed by the Elder Council, Nemamiah, said he died with me and changed his name to Neal. However, my love Neal is still ‘Nemamiah’ to me.”
As he wiped a tear, Charmeine could see Hameal and Neal had a connection which no one could sever.
Hameal was strapping and gorgeous Egyptian.
Neal (or his Nemamiah) was a huge African warrior, proud and ferocious with a heart of a lamb.
She thought, ‘No couple could ever be more dear to me.’
Holding back the tears of love, Hameal cried, “Neal still is gentle but as fierce as a tiger to protect his family. Forever Neal will be the purpose I live for, the air I breathe and love of my life.”
Charmeine smiled wide and said, “Hameal I consider you and Neal an endearing couple, and I know God made you for each other. But you really should talk about expanding your family,” and she rubbed her belly.
Hameal started to laugh… but then it hit him what she said…. Shocked, he hugged her tightly.
He whispered in confidence, “I have always wanted a child, but I do not know if Neal is of the same mind.”
“Just think about it… and talk to him… I’m sure he’s thought about it also. You both would make great Dads,” she said with a smile and wink.
At that moment, Shane and Neal came in from the other part of the castle to report to Dmitri and Tabbruis about the invading Blood-Hunters.
As Neal was walking into the hallway, he saw Hameal and winked at him. Hameal winked back, mouthing the words to Neal, “I love you.”
Charmeine could tell they were so in love and happy.
Shane reported to Tabbruis and Dmitri, “Well, Neal and I have the three men secured in the brig.”
Neal said, “I set up the Elder Temple Guards in the North Wing of the castle and saw to it they are guarded and monitored as well.”

Tabbruis breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you, Neal and Shane. I appreciate your help. Please provide the maximum precautions, there is a reason why this happened, and we need to get to the bottom of it.”
Charmeine stood and started walking to Tabbruis.
Hameal then tried to stop her.
She looked at Tabbruis in astonishment. As she turned to Dmitri, his head turned away from her eyes and hung low.
She didn’t know what to think!

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LOVE… we all should have a love as strong!
Personally, I just love this couple, Neal and Hameal, in “The Light-Bearer Series.”
We may forget to be accepting of others.
“The Light-Bearer Series” is about loving unconditionally with no judgment.
I hope you enjoy this song…
I LOVE IT EVER SINCE I HEARD IT in 1983!
(YouTube hopefully will cooperate)

http://youtu.be/d89h5jLF0k0

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Published on November 16, 2012 04:22

November 15, 2012

“The Fall” emotional snippet from “ACCENDO” the Third Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series”

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Charmeine saw Pascal bending towards her with desire in his eyes. She felt sick to her stomach. He was an inch away from her face when Tabbruis struck him with his sword. It made Pascal jump into the air. Pascal was reaching down to take Charmeine’s hand.
Neal punched Pascal deflecting him from Charmeine.
Thomas with one good arm swung his sword stabbing Pascal through the back into his heart.
After that, she saw Shane come and with one quick effortless slice, almost decapitate Pascal while Dmitri ran a sword through his head.
Charmeine got up off the ground and yelled, “For each soul, there will be God’s justice!”
Charmeine put her hand to her forehead. She felt the jagged skin and bone with pointy edges. ‘I have been shot!’ she thought. Then she saw the meteors. She steeled her will, stood and yelled, “The Elder Council must die!”
The battle against the Elder Council was short, it seemed that Pascal was the strongest of the council and when he fell, the council was too weak against the squad.
When the last Elder had been run through by Tabbruis, she smiled at him shouted, “My husband! My Champion! My King!”
Dmitri radioed and said, “All the Elder Council has been destroyed! God be praised!”
A Temple Guard came and hit Tabbruis hard flipping him over.
Another Temple Guard tried to run Charmeine through, but she deflected his move and threw him across the field into a rock.
Charmeine was terrified, fighting was still going on with the Temple Guards and she yelled, “God, the Temple Guards! God, please help me protect my family!”
Then as a final desperate act to save her family from harm, she gathered all her strength and put her hands up to Heaven. On Charmeine’s command, she sent lightning bolts down on each Temple Guard instantly sending electric current through their bodies. They fell on the ground instantly.
Charmeine saw the lights of the meteor showers and exclaimed, “The lights are so beautiful!”
Tabbruis ran to Charmeine with everyone behind him. She sat on the ground not being able to stand anymore. She said, “You have to believe and kissed him on the back of his hands where she put the sign of the cross. I told you my husband, you must always believe in the light. The lights are beautiful.”
Tabbruis was licking her wound trying to close it and could not control the tears running down his face. He said, “They are not as beautiful as my wife.” Tabbruis saw Charmeine was fading. Frantically he pleaded, “Charmeine? Charmeine… please stay with me?”
With a big smile Charmeine said, “Tabbruis, I love you. Our family is saved. Our family is strong. They are safe now.” She slumped in his arms.

This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

Tabbruis ripped open his arm to make her drink. He yelled, “Son… Thomas… Help me now, save her!”
Shane and Thomas did C.P.R. They worked tirelessly to revive her, but they could not make her respond.
When they realized Charmeine was dead, her body was going cold, and they stopped.
Shane was shaking and Thomas hugged and consoled him.
Tabbruis could not breathe, his face went ashen and his heart failed to beat. He fell on his knees, put his head down on Charmeine’s chest and sobbed rocking her lifeless body back and forth.
Dmitri crying himself said, “Tabbruis… Brother, she is gone.”
Neal cried in pain, “Our Queen!”
Tabbruis was screaming, “No! My love! My wife! Please God, I believe now! Please God! I cannot live without her!”
All of them, even Shane, came to Tabbruis and tried to make him let go of Charmeine’s dead body.
Tabbruis growled loudly and screamed, “No! We just found each other. I cannot live without her. If you take her out of my hands, it will only be when I have no life left to hold her.”
He roared vociferously up at the sky, and the echo filled everyone’s ears reverberating. While he was looking up, Tabbruis saw lights falling toward them and said, “Oh my God!”
Everyone looked up.
Meteors were raining down to the ground but not impacting it. A light started to approach them. Then another light and another light… All of sudden, they began to make out a figure. As it came closer, the light began to subside.

Dmitri recognized Hera. Right behind her were his children, Percival and Athena. He dropped his sword and ran to them. He embraced his family crying for joy, “Hera, my wife! Children, I have missed you!”
Laura became noticeable to Thomas. He ran to her without saying a word and began to kiss her with all of his might.
A tiny little thing was running through them waving. Shane yelled, “Sandra? Oh God! Sandra!” He brought her up into his strong arms, twirled her around and kissed her.
Then out of the back, a very tall man came running through. Neal dropped his sword, threw open his arms and ran to hug him. Neal yelled in happiness, “Hameal my love, you have come back to me!” Neal kissed Hameal gently and they embraced crying with happiness.
Tabbruis was in agony holding Charmeine. He muttered, “God please do not take her away from me? She has sacrificed so much for You, Your Son and us all. Please let Charmeine live?”
He wiped his tears away so he could see her lovely face. Stroking her golden hair, he cried, “I cannot live without you Charmeine. I am not that strong.”
Then in a vision, Tabbruis saw light…

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Loving means we have to sacrifice…
Sometimes good or bad.
However, sometimes the sacrifice is letting them go.
I hope you have a wonderful day and cherish your loved ones!
Love this song and thought it was appropriate… enjoy!
( I hope youtube cooperates!)

http://youtu.be/Lnc1bxSTmxs

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Published on November 15, 2012 04:44

November 14, 2012

The NEXT BIG THING Blog Hop by Emily Guido

The “NEXT BIG THING” Blog Hop
by Emily Guido
Authors through the ages have speculated why they write. I never thought about it very much until I became one. However, you can ask me anything about books in general, and I can tell ya because I love them. However, when you ask about my books… my pulse races because I love my characters and how they are conveyed. Some may say it’s conceit, but if you don’t love what you write, then why write? So I confess to you, my friends… I LOVE MY BOOKS!!! So, this is what “The Next Big Thing” Blog Hop is all about.

Happy Birthday card (Photo credit: windsordi)

It is to promote our books for struggling and indie Authors to get the word out there.
It’s been exactly ONE YEAR since I started writing “The Light-Bearer Series.” I sat down at my laptop with a a burning idea. In this year, I have written the equal to 5 novels, went indie and published them myself, worked like a dog doing self-promotion like a part-time job. Then I signed on with PDMI Freelance Publishing in August. Now my first book “Charmeine” will soon be out in print in less than a month! WHAT A YEAR!!
So, an Author I cherish asked me to participate in “The Next Big Thing” Blog Hop, and Geez Louise, how could I say no?
Ella Medler - is a wonderful Author who asked me to be part of this idea. This whole thing originated on the She Writes site, as far as we could work out, and is designed to raise awareness of our work, or work in progress. We do that by answering ten questions about it. We graciously thank the person who nominated us, and tag five other authors whose work could well be that NEXT BIG THING.
That bit was easy. Now for the hard part….

THE QUESTIONS ABOUT MY WORK!

Q1: What is the working title of your book?
Right now, I am working on “Conundrum” The Sixth Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series.”
I am also re-editing “Charmeine,” “Mactus,” “Accendo,” Seditious,” and “Ransom.”

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Frank Dicksee (1853–1928) Romeo and Juliet
http://www.alchimea.it/images/Jose Oscar Garcia-romeo_and_juliet.jpg
This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Q2: Where did the idea for the book come from?
Okay, my official answer is that I wanted to write a story about a love that had to battle Heaven all the way to Hell to stay together. Two people, Tabbruis (pronounced Tab-bree-us) and Charmeine, who are assigned by God to battle Evil on Earth. However, the real answer is that I have been fascinated with vampiric lore since my early years while watching “Dark Shadows” with my teen sister who had Leukemia. My ideas were solidified when I sneaked to read Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”.
Q3: What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal Romance, YA, Historical, Action and Adventure.

Q4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh my…. I would love, love, love David Gandy to play Tabbruis Hunter.
He is the perfect male to play a perfect male. However, as gorgeous as he is… er… I hate to say this, but he is a little too mature to be Tabbruis now.
Nevertheless, he could play Dmitri, Tabbruis’ best friend and Brother. If he did play Dmitri Maximus, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be taking my eyes off Dmitri then… hubba, hubba!

Tabbruis should be someone strong, but young like Gaspard Ulliel from the movie, “The Art of Love” who is wonderfully deep and gorgeous actor.
Charmeine (aka Charleen Davis) has to be a person who is Angelic and beautiful, but also with depth, Arielle Kebbel from the movie “The Univited” seems to fit the bill.

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Q5: What is the one sentence synopsis for your book?
Can an Angelic Light-Bearer and Hellish Blood-Hunter who are total opposites, save the world with their love and acceptance?
Q6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I am with PDMI Publishing.
Q7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
That’s easy, one week. I wrote basically the first three books in a week. I typed and did not sleep for over 48 hours. I didn’t eat. I just drank my world-famous strong coffee. It was like I was possessed! The words just kept spilling out of my fingers on the laptop. I was compelled to write the stories. I always wrote easily as a child and in college, and I loved Literature… British and American. I was never a writer per se. I was always a good at conveying my stories, reports or reviews on paper, but I never wrote anything of the length like “Charmeine.”
“Charmeine” was originally was 140,000 words plus! However, PDMI Publishing suggested maybe splitting the novel up into three parts, “Charmeine,” “Mactus,” and “Accendo” because it was too long of a book for my genre. The Publisher was very right! My first novel was just way too long.
Writing “The Light-Bearer Series” was out of left field for me. “The Light-Bearer Series” was just an obsession when I first started because I had to get the idea out of my head and on my laptop. However, the most challenging process for me still remains getting serious reviews of my novels. It is hard because each novel is reliant on the novels before it, so if you have never read “Charmeine,” you won’t appreciate what is happening in “Mactus.” Being an author of a series is very hard to get reviews of all the books.
Q8: What other books would you compare this story to, within your genre?
My genre of Paranormal Romance with vampires tends to not be YA. I cannot compare my series with any other because “The Light-Bearer Series” is so diverse and complicated. It engulfs so many genres. I don’t know what I could compare it to because I have never seen my kind of books before. It’s got all dark and light characters in it with very human attributes. So human, that you get carried away and see the possibilities of this castle in Romania has this family and the people are there battling Evil.

Q9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Oh I definitely I believe it was a who, Connie, (my sis in Heaven). She loved the show “Dark Shadows” probably because she knew she was dying of a disease which was centered around her blood. That idea of ‘life through blood’ stuck with me.
Also, what inspired me was these two supernatural characters…. Heavenly Angel and Demonic, Hellish Vampire. Opposites who loved each other so much that they will fight everything to be together.
When I began writing with “Charmeine” I purposely wrote a ton of back-story in the beginning of it because I wanted to show how in the world these two really opposites could ever attract. In the backstory it showed how they survived on their own. However, Tabbruis and Charmeine both know something is missing. Something was not right in their life. They yearned for their mate in their subconsciousness but could not even imagine anyone who could be for them. Two very broken people. Two halves which are made into whole with their love and acceptance.

Q10: What else about your book might piqué the readers’ interest?
The fact that the characters are so human in their in-humanness. I don’t know how to explain it but they are loving, humble, caring, accepting but beautiful, strong, self-sacrificing, and supernatural abilities. The characters have gone through Earth’s history and it is so interesting listening to their eye-witness encounters. I was amazed by the way this family has grown on us! Their undying love for one another gives us.
I am attaching the Trailers of the books below because… first, they rock; second, they really cover all five books in a recap; and third, they are just plain fun to watch!

Now that I’ve said just enough, I’d like to pass the torch to five deserving authors, and let them tell you all about their work.
Their posts will bear the same title and will be live on or around 14 November.
Here they are:
David Lee Summers - who is doing the Next Thing Blog Hop also at the same time as me at this website http://dlsummers.wordpress.com
http://julidrevezzo.com/ Juli D. Revezzo
Carly Ann Wallace
Eric Pasley

Related articles

“Guardian” from the “ACCENDO” the Third Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series” (emilyguido.com)
“Casualty of War” snippet from “ACCENDO” the Third Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series” by Emily Guido (emilyguido.com)
“What are your novels about Emily? What is “The Light-Bearer Series”? (emilyguido.com)
“She is Charmeine, hear her ROAR!” snippet of “MACTUS” the Second Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series” FREE on Amazon Oct 6 & 7! (emilyguido.com)

Filed under: Paranormal Romance, Uncategorized Tagged: Accendo, Acceptance, Angel, Angels, Arielle Kebbel, attraction, Charmeine, Dark Shadows, David Gandy, Dmitri, Earth, Emily Guido, Fear, Gaspard Ulliel, God, Heaven, Hell, Hera, light bearer, Love, Mactus, Paranormal Romance, Ransom, Seditious, Tabbruis, The Light-Bearer Series, Vampire, Vampires, Woman-Power

Trailer of “Charmeine” “Mactus” and “Accendo”

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Published on November 14, 2012 04:46

November 13, 2012

“Casualty of War” snippet from “ACCENDO” the Third Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series” by Emily Guido

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Acropolis in night

Charmeine was very nauseous and worried as she crouched in her attack position at the southern corner at the Acropolis Temple in Athens.
Tabbruis was with her. He drew his sword and the tip glowed. The virus was ready to administer. He checked his ear piece, telling the rest who were scattered about he was all clear.
Dmitri asked for all clear from Charmeine in her ear piece. She nervously said, “All clear.”
There were no clouds; the moon had lit the landscape just as the men said it would.
Tabbruis said, “I do love you Charmeine. May I…” Without a word more, he grabbed her and kissed with urgency and need.
They parted both breathing heavily with eyes full of fear.
Tabbruis said breathlessly, “I want you to know my love, as God as my witness, I will fight to the death to protect you.”

Swords for the Blood-Hunters

“I will protect you also Tabbruis, as God as my witness,” she said in a pant.
“Oh God Charmeine, I do love you,” he said with desperation.
With her face black with worry, Charmeine said, “I know, I love you too.”
Then Dmitri came on their earpiece saying the Elder Council had arrived.
Sandra said, “Informing the squad, we count 20 Guards.”
Charmeine’s heart went into her throat, and asked Tabbruis, “Isn’t that double what we thought?”
Tabbruis nodded yes, not looking at Charmeine. He was too terrified now that she would be hurt.
Thomas radioed, “All of the Elder Council is attending.”
Neal said, “The Temple Guards are bringing in a Blood-Hunter to the ‘Altar of Judgment’. It appears that he supposed to be executed tonight. The Guards have him in a death grip.”
“Neal, we should free the blood-hunter first so he can fight with us,” Tabbruis radioed.
“Good idea. Neal, we will free him as soon as we attack,” Dmitri radioed.
“Roger that,” Neal said.
Dmitri asked, “Does anyone see any more un-friendlies?”
Everyone radioed no.
“Everyone knows what to do. Be ready to attack on my command,” Dmitri radioed.
Charmeine started feeling the electricity in her hands and wind started blowing around them.
Dmitri commanded, “Attack!”

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Malay Wikipedia for the 51st week, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Charmeine shot up like a lightning bolt and shot across to the Acropolis throwing lightning as she went. She saw Tabbruis in super speed on the ground cutting his sword into an Elder Council Temple Guard. Two more rushed him. He kept swinging. Charmeine shot a bolt of lightning at one Temple Guard cutting him down.
She saw Sandra and Shane come around the northern corner. Sandra was setting Guards on fire throwing fire. Shane was cutting the Guards with his sword.
Neal had already freed the imprisoned Blood-Hunter, and they were fighting together.
Dmitri and Thomas were almost at the Elder Council. Their sword-fighting skills were cutting down the Guards with accuracy.
Charmeine looked over the Elder Council and thought it was weird they didn’t fight! They remained in their seats looking at the battle taking place. Pascal had his eyebrows up as if he were enjoying Sunday Night Football on television.

Sandra and Shane were trying to hold their own but the Temple Guards were too many. The Guards kept coming from nowhere.
As Charmeine would throw her lightning, she was cutting the Temple Guards down long enough for Tabbruis to cut them with his sword.
The squad was fighting, but they were not causing enough damage.
Charmeine quickly thought about bringing down hail and lightning, but she couldn’t without hurting the squad.
Suddenly, Charmeine and Tabbruis could see Shane and Sandra struggling.
Charmeine yelled, “Tabbruis our son needs us!”
With super speed Tabbruis and Charmeine were there fighting with Shane and Sandra.
Sandra’s fire started to weaken.
Charmeine and Shane were throwing their lightning to protect her.
Sandra was now fighting hand to hand combat and giving blow after blow to the Temple Guards.
Charmeine was trying to shock them off of Sandra.

Sandra Gomez – Shane’s Fiancée – That’s Sergeant Gomez Special Ops to you!

Shane seeing Sandra’s power failing ran beside her and screamed, “Take my sword! We can hold them back!”
“Affirmative!” Sandra took the sword. Incredibly, she was smiling wide, and her eyes were open with determination. She presented the sword like a sword master and began slicing through the Temple Guards, punching and kicking at the same time.
When the Temple Guards came to attack Shane, he bit and shocked them throwing them back. His mouth was covered in blood.
Charmeine, Tabbruis and Shane were fighting their way to cover Sandra… but they were too late!
In all but a second, a cold wind came through… Sandra’s headless body fell to the floor!
Shane screamed in terror, “NO! OH MY GOD! NO SANDRA!” and his whole body lit up with glowing white heat.
Charmeine and Tabbruis were looking around for the murderer while they were covering for Shane.
A sinister laugh came across in another cold wind.
They all looked around and saw Sandra’ head dangling by her hair in Pascal’s bloody hand.
In a heart-wrenching wail,and a loud growl, Shane cried out, “Sandra! NO!” Shane fell down on his knees in the most excruciating pain and grief the squad had ever seen.

Tabbruis stood beside Shane fighting off as many Temple Guards as he could.
With vengeance in Charmeine’s heart and soul, she shot off after Pascal. He had already dropped Sandra’s head and vanished.
Dmitri went to collect Sandra’s bloody torso and head while fighting at the same time.
Charmeine flew after Pascal. His speed was nothing for her flight.
Pascal hid up against a large stone which was one of the many gathered around the Acropolis.
She flew to the ground and said in a vicious tone, “Pascal you will die! Maybe not now, but mark my words… YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!”

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Sometimes we have to fight!
It is the struggle which engages us.
May your struggles be few!
I love this song and it is an Anthem of my past.
If youtube will cooperate, you can see it!

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http://youtu.be/jVf4_WglzWA

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Published on November 13, 2012 04:41

November 12, 2012

“Accendo! Light the Love” from “The Light-Bearer Series” and join me at new… http://authoremilyguido.com/

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Accendo! Light the Love

Charmeine and Tabbruis were in the Grand Hall while the others were training for the battle outside on the field next to the castle.
Her head was pounding. She was thinking of what Hera said to her earlier that night during practice:
My time is almost gone. Hear and heed what I say, now. Once the Elder Council is destroyed, those like me will come back to you and live on the Earth. We are waiting for Our Queen of Light to release us. Please my Queen of Light… Bring us back? My children, Laura, Hameal and I will come back to our loves but no one else can do it but you.
Charmeine got up to talk to Tabbruis and she became unsteady.
Tabbruis saw her wobble and picked her up. He noticed that she felt like jelly in his hands. He could tell she was exhausted and whisked her to their Master Suite.
One minute later, Tabbruis put her on the edge of the bed.
She said, “You have to stop using that superhuman speed of yours, it makes a girl dizzy.”
Tabbruis started taking off her clothes, and she stopped his hand.
Charmeine smiled and said, “Tabbruis I know you are going to think I’m crazy. Would you… Would you just massage my back? I need to relax. Would you mind terribly?”
[image error]

Massage in Frankfurt, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Not at all,” he said with a smile. He finished undressing his wife and then put a towel on her. She stretched out on the bed face down. Her hands dangled over the side, and he put a pillow under her chin. He opened up the terrace doors to let the sea breeze in which he knew she liked.
When Charmeine felt the sea breeze hit her in the face, she was thankful. All of a sudden, she smelled roses.
He began rubbing her back with the rose lotion she loved.
She sighed and said, “That smells and feels like Heaven, Tabbruis.”
He asked, “Your Heaven?”
She answered with a smile, “Oh yes, my Heaven.”
He said, “Well, we must be neighbors because this is part of my Heaven too.” He knew she was very tired and whispered in her ear, “When you are rested my love, everything will come into focus. For right now, just feel peaceful.” Tabbruis kept on massaging her shoulders and neck. He could feel the tension in her muscles. However, he could not help himself from putting his hands on her. Charmeine’s skin and body were perfect. He slowly rubbed her neck, head and shoulders until he knew she was completely relaxed.
He said, “Focus on being calm and breathe deep. I am here. I will be here always for you Charmeine. Sleep now.”
She closed her eyes.
He could see she needed rest, picked her up and laid her in the bed covering her with a light sheet. Then he got ready for bed and turned all the lights off. Moonlight was all around the room.
Sleepily, She said, “Tabbruis, I want to sleep in your arms feeling your skin against me.”
He smiled wide, “I would like nothing better,” and with a flash, he was back under the covers and patted his bare chest beckoning her to come to him.

Tabbruis and Charmeine
he… is memorized!

Yawning, she said, “How can you always be this damn sexy?”
He made a small laugh and replied “You have no idea how sexy you are.”
She slid next to Tabbruis and wrapped herself around him with her head resting on his chest. His heartbeat calmed her. She said, “Good thing we are married. We are two peas in a pod who love each other.”
He smiled rubbing her arm and said, “Two peas who need each other.”
Charmeine said slowly as she was drifting off to sleep, “Two peas in a pod who would die for each other…”
Tabbruis’ heart fell.
Charmeine was saying in her sleep what had been on her mind all along. She was sure sacrificing herself was the only way to save her family.
Tabbruis held her tight, and prayed silently, “God, please let me help and protect her.” He saw her sweet smile on her lips and it comforted him. He leaned down and kissed her. Then Tabbruis began to sleep contented while holding Charmeine tightly in his arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contentment…
sure is a feeling we don’t always get.
So when we have it, marinate yourself with the feeling.
It will keep your soul in tact when times are tough!
Here is a song that I just love!
http://youtu.be/Xikm2YS_7xM

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PLEASE JOIN ME AT MY
NEW WORDPRESS WEBSITE
http://authoremilyguido.com/
I will start posting from that new WORDPRESS site in a few weeks
Please make a trip over there and sign up!!!
I would love all my WordPress Friends and Family joining me!

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Published on November 12, 2012 03:55

November 8, 2012

FANGS and HEARTS week featuring Author Felicity Heaton and “LOVE IMMORTAL”

Welcome to FANGS and HEARTS week!
I had the pleasure of reviewing “Love Immortal” by acclaimed author Felicity Heaton for my blog.
She is one of my very favorite authors! I am privileged and honored to feature her today.
Indie publishing is really taking off and Felicity Heaton is an example of gold to be mined in these independent ventures.
She is a rocket that just keeps on climbing!

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My Review of
“Love Immortal”
By Felicity Heaton

Synopsis:
Rescued from werewolves by the most breathtaking man she’s ever seen, Lauren is dragged into the fight of her life and a dark world she never knew existed. There, she discovers that she’s the latest reincarnation of a goddess and must drink the blood of her immortal protector, Julian, in order to reawaken and continue her three thousand year old mission to defeat Lycaon, the original werewolf.
With the help of Julian and an organisation of people with supernatural abilities, Lauren fights for her life, their future and the fate of mankind against Lycaon and his deadly army, but can she succeed when Lycaon has killed all of her predecessors?
Can she crack the armour around Julian’s heart and seize her happily forever after with him? And can Julian bring himself to trust Lauren with the fragments of his heart after everything he’s been through.
MY THOUGHTS
“Love Immortal” is a wonderful story which had me on the edge of my seat from the first page!
There was a lot of action and steamy romance to make you warm up to the characters Lauren and Julian instantly.
Lauren is a woman of steel will and determination. She is set on defeating the one enemy which has taken all her loved ones away.

Vampire (Photo credit: virginsuicide photography)

Julian is a man who has the task of protecting Lauren. He is so damaged by the past and he does not allow sentiment inside his heart… until he meets Lauren.
The descriptions and the twists and turns Ms. Heaton uses made my heart thump! There are also poignant scenes in which you will need a hankie to wipe the tears away. I was enthralled with every word of this novel.
With all Romance novels I have read, I was not disappointed. It is a novel of great reward because it lived up to my hunger for Paranormal, Lusty Romance and Action-packed Adventure!
For this and much more, I give “Love Immortal” at whopping FIVE STARS!
This was the first book I have read by Felicity Heaton, and ever since, I have been hooked. I now read her novels with a voracious appetite. Buy the novel, you will not be sorry, I guarantee it!

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This video reminds me of Lauren and Jillian
and how each were healed in their love!
http://youtu.be/aWyeVfuolT4

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Interview with Felicity Heaton
Hello Ms. Heaton and welcome!
Please tell us a little about how you became an Author?
First, I just want to slip in a quick thanks for having me here at the event and for interviewing me! I actually started out by writing fanfiction in 2003. I wrote that until, in 2005, an author friend of mine gave me a nudge in the direction of writing something original, with my own worlds and my own characters. I was nervous at first, but once I started writing, I was hooked. I only wanted to write original fiction then, and I think my career aspirations changed dramatically. I was e-published with a now defunct publishing house. I began writing in my spare time, clocking up around 20+ hours per week writing stories. At first, I was writing a collection of genres, including historical and contemporary romance. I migrated more and more towards paranormal romance though, as I am deeply in love with that genre and everything paranormal. Now, I just write paranormal romances with the occasional science fiction romance thrown in.

When you wrote “Love Immortal” was it a long time brewing for you? When you first chose to independently publish, what compelled you?

English: Romance icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I actually wrote “Love Immortal” with the intention of grabbing myself an agent and a publishing deal. This was back in early 2009, and indie publishing and ebooks weren’t really going anywhere at the time. I had been an indie author since 2006, because myself and my friend felt that we could do just as good on our own as we could with an e-publisher. In 2008/2009, it looked as though I was never going to make a living from writing, and I had always aspired to see my books in print with a major publisher. Of course, in the time I was away from the internet and indie publishing working on Love Immortal and my proposals, everything took off! It was very delayed for us authors in the UK. Amazon didn’t open its doors to us until over a year after it was working with US authors. I think the rise of ebooks really changed my life and because I had been writing for so many years, I had an excellent back catalogue that I could put onto places like Amazon, Apple, Sony, Kobo and Barnes & Noble. I didn’t grab an agent with Love Immortal, so I decided I would e-publish it myself and stick with my indie author roots for a little longer. I still aspire to achieve my dream of a publishing contract with one of the big NYC publishing houses though, and this year I was lucky enough to get an NY agent and we’re working towards doing just that!

English: Lycaon turned into wolf by Zeus, Brooks Nathan, Metamorphosen, 1849 Français : Lycaon changé en loup par Zeus, Brooks Nathan, Metamorphosen, 1849 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vampires and Werewolves are an unusual combination; however, they are both creatures of the night. I’d expected some cliché material but was pleasantly surprised by unusual twists and turns. You have mystery and action adventure, romance and history all in a paranormal setting. Where did you get the inspiration for this book?
I’m never really sure where my inspiration for my books comes from. I’m often inspired by multiple things, and they can be really random or something small. Normally, it’s a song I hear, a conversation, a movie I watch, something I read, or just something that comes to me. The roots of “Love Immortal” are really quite random. I had been working for a company called Arcadia at the time and I knew the real Arcadia had been a part of ancient Greece, so I was looking it up and reading about it. I came across the story of Lycaon, a king cursed by Zeus because he tricked him into eating human flesh. Zeus cursed him to become a wolf and that if he abstained from human meat for 10 years, he would become human again. I wondered what would have happened if Lycaon had decided to embrace his new wolfish nature and run with it. “Love Immortal” was born then. I liked the idea of twisting the origins of vampires and werewolves, and bringing in Greek gods and mythology.
Who are your writing influences? Who do you like to read? What are you currently reading?
I’m not reading anything right now because I’m working on a book of my own, but I’ll be going away for a break soon and I’ll be catching up on my reading there. I really love to read Lara Adrian, Gena Showalter, Larissa Ione, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and other paranormal romance authors. I don’t get much time to read though because I’m normally writing or editing one of my books, and find it best not to read then so I don’t pollute my voice or lose focus on my own story. When I do read, I’ll devour books like there’s no tomorrow.

I know you are very busy now but where do you see yourself in five years? Do you still hope to be writing full time?
I would love to still be writing full time in five years. I’ve been a full time author since March 2011, and it’s been fantastic! I can’t believe it’s been a year and a half already. I really hope that it will continue like this but I’m never one to count my chickens. I’m very cautious about things. I have plenty of books to write still, so hopefully the market will still be there for them, and I’ll also have my books in print with a major publisher.

Your next book is coming out soon. Any juicy tidbits you can share with us?

My next book is Bewitch. It’s the fifth book in my very popular Vampire Erotic Theater romance series. I’m not sure when it will be out. It will likely be January 2013 before I get the book completed and ready for release. I’ve just released “Her Demonic Angel”, which is the fifth book in my Her Angel series and I’m focused on marketing that book right now. It’s doing really well and now I’m under pressure to get the next book out!
Bewitch is Payne’s story. I can’t say too much about Payne other than he’s a very reclusive and distant vampire, with a very dark past. In his story, he’s helping out Andreu, the hero of Enslave, the fourth book in the series, with a problem he has. He has to head into the fae underworld, a place that he hates with all of his dark heart, and there he runs into a very sassy witch intent on bringing him to his knees.
I’ve been sharing sneak peeks at my blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/category/romance-books/bewitch/
I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time out to be a guest on FANGS and HEARTS week on my blog!
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About Felicity Heaton:
Felicity Heaton writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!
If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, Felicity Heaton’s best selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try Felicity Heaton’s new Vampire Erotic Theatre series.
In 2011, five of her six paranormal romance books received Top Pick awards from Night Owl Reviews, Forbidden Blood was nominated as Best PNR Vampire Romance 2011 at The Romance Reviews, and many of her releases received five star reviews from numerous websites.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk
Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton
Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

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GIVEAWAY
Felicity is giving an ebook internationally to the blogger who answers
Why do you like Vampires?
Please leave your email address!

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I would like to give a BIG thank you to
Felicity Heaton
for her
understanding and patience
while I was recovering from
Hurricane Sandy!

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Published on November 08, 2012 22:29

FANGS and HEARTS week featuring Joleene Naylor Author of “Vampire Morsels”

Welcome
Author Joleene Naylor to
FANGS and HEARTS
I have the delight of featuring “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” by Vampire Author Joleene Naylor!
She is an artist, blogger, author and friend!
I am tickled pink to feature her and her wonderful book today.

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My review of
“Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection”
by Joleene Naylor

This novel is a collection of seventeen stories about vampires in the world of Amaranthine. “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” relates to her other books, “Shades of Gray,” “Legacy of Ghosts,” “Ties of Blood,” and “Ashes of Deceit.”
Each short story is about a character from her other books. Sometimes showing insight into how these vampires were formed and inner most thoughts.
The book was well-planned and very easy to read.
This is an Adult read.
Ms. Naylor gives you the exact book the character is from and what year and country each story is taking place in.
My Thoughts
Each character’s story was sometimes emotional and shocking. The villains were hard to pick out but that is because some of the stories were about such flawed characters. Something I loved and was shocked about.
I cannot go into depth about each character’s story in “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” but I will have to say you will be wetting your lips to read the other books. These snippets have made me hunger to read the other books because they were so captivating.
One particular story about Claudius, I wanted to read before his story and after his story in the worst way.
I was drawn in, in the first few pages of “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection”. Ms. Naylor delivers action-packed, fast-paced tales of vampirism. Some of the stories crisscross each other which I thought was so great.
I usually don’t like short story collections per se, but I have to recommend this collection highly.
For this and so much more, I have to give “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” by Joleene Naylor an enthusiastic five-star review.
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Interview with Joleene Naylor
WELCOME Joleene!
Please share about “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” and the series which it is spurned from.
Thanks so much for having me, and for your kind review!
The Amaranthine universe is a place where vampires aren’t shiny. They don’t go to high school and pine; they fight wars, kill both humans and one another, growl, snarl and burn to ash in the sunlight. The main series is told through the eyes of Katelina, a human woman in her mid-twenties (though it never says, I imagine her to be about 25) who gets dragged into this vampire world and falls in love with Jorick, the quintessential black haired, dark eyed vampire. But, unlike the usual sigh and die and always say the right things kind of guy, Jorick is a little more… realistic. The Amaranthine books follow his and Katelina’s adventures and each one takes both her and the reader deeper into the realm of night and blood.

Who are your favorite authors and why?
I have a lot of favorite authors, so I’ll just name the first ones that pop in my head. There are the staples; Poe and VC Andrews because both could make anything seem macabre. VC Andrews had an especial knack for contrast; the sweet cherub children, the colorful paper flowers in the attic, the darkness that was really going on. Tolkien makes the list, of course, with his fantastic universe – so many layers and characters and history! Stephannie Beman who writes amazingly hot mythological romances, Barbara Tarn who has a super expansive fantasy universe, and right now I’m reading DM Yate’s first book Always, which is excellent. Okay, I’ll stop there, but I could go on for pages.

The wonderful vignettes of “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” are so different what was the thought process behind it?

Winterfell Amaranthine (Photo credit: Ramona.Forcella)

When I started to prep my notes to write the third book, I noticed several characters that had made short appearances, but really deserved more. Character exploration is my favorite part of writing, and I really wanted a chance to see what some of these vampires had been through. Each story reads a little different because each character has a different voice. Jesslynn’s story is far more formal in the writing style and the word choices than, say, Troy’s, which has a LOT of obscenities in it.

If someone else wrote a blurb about what “Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection” what would it say?
Ha! I wish they would, I bet it would be better than mine! Blurb writing is not my strong point.

For me, my ‘support crew’ is paramount; did you have a lot of help and guidance while you wrote this collection?
The morsels beta crew is sort of hodge podge because I wrote the stories so slowly. Different people looked over different stories, but after I put it all together I had three beta readers go over it. All of the help was so, so important, as they caught things I had missed – sometimes big things!

Why are you drawn to be a great Author of Paranormal? Why Vampires especially?
My mom is a lover of the macabre and morbid (She plans her funeral for fun), so I was raised with vampires and murder television shows and all of that as normal. It wasn’t really a conscious choice to write vampires, as in I sat down and thought it through and studied market trends. I wrote the first book in 2005 for NaNoWriMo and I just took the basis of a vampire character I’d created for another project, renamed him Jorick and dropped him in. Of course, he ended up to be a different personality.
I love this question because you never know what you will come up with… what is a random fact about yourself that would surprise your fans and our readers?
Though I’m a blood thirsty author, in real life I don’t even like to kill bugs – in fact I even save the flies that land in the dog’s water dish and put them on a towel to dry out. Since there’s been way more flies than usual this year, we have kind of a small herd. Hubby wants to get fly strips, but I’ve bought a “bug vacuum” so I can catch them and let them go outside, though it’s harder to catch them than you’d think! Maybe because I’m not very coordinated.

If you could live during any period in time, when would it be and who would you be?

Victorian Mansion – Idlewild (Photo credit: blmiers2)

I’m too in love with modern conveniences to love anywhere else, but I’d like to make some day trips. Victorian England would be fun, Feudal Japan, a quick trip on the Titanic (though we’d have to ship out before that last bit) and maybe a stop at Pompeii before Vesuvius erupts… the sad thing is I am too egotistical to be anyone but myself.

Do you have a day job?
I also make book covers and do formatting for other authors, though I’ve stopped taking new clients recently unless they are referrals because of the time constraints.

Any advice or news which you like to share with our readers/authors?
All free frontiers are finite; they’re only frontiers until they get settled and populated, and then people start to make rules and laws. They start to pick and choose who can do what, and who can be what and, before long, the frontier is “civilized” and no different from the traditional towns the frontiersmen moved to get away from. Self-publishing is a frontier and, like the Wild West, it won’t last forever. I really think we’re going to see more restrictions imposed on who can publish and what they can publish – more gatekeepers and vetters – all added under the guise of quality control. Readers and fellow authors will cheer for it, just like those frontiersmen did, and one day they’ll look around and realize all the gatekeeping they instituted to stop the “not good enough people” are now stopping them, too. So, if you want to join the not-so-new revolution, I suggest you do it soon.

Excuse the pun, but any “morsels” you can share with us about future books coming out?
[image error]

Imperium (song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Right now I’m writing book 5 in the series, Heart of the Raven, and I *hope* to have it out this winter. It continues the story from Ashes of Deceit. I don’t want to give too much away, but Jorick and Katelina have to go to Munich, Germany to talk to the council who is in charge of all the vampires. Of course, things don’t work out the way they plan.
Patrick: A Prequel is back from most of the betas but I don’t think I’ll be able to get to it until January. And, as for more short stories, once I get book 5 squared away, I plan to run a poll and see what the readers would be the most interested in. I think reader participation is so much fun!
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This song and video was made
to go with

“Vampire Morsels: Short Story Collection”
http://youtu.be/FjTB6EG3xGo

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Stalker Links for Joleene Naylor
COVER ART FAQ:

http://CoverArt.JoleeneNaylor.com - CHECK FOR UPDATED INFO!
For more info on how YOU can get YOUR book featured on my blog, please see: http://joleenenaylor.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/author-excerpts/
First time author? Check out The Self Published Authors’ Lounge for tips and advice!

Books by JOLEENE NAYLOR:

To read sample chapters and more, visit her website!

http://www.JoleeneNaylor.com

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GIVEAWAY TIME!
Joleene has decided to give one ebook of “Vampire Morsels” to a lucky winner.
What would YOUR vampire look like?
Please respond with email address.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to sincerely thank Joleene Naylor
for taking the time out to be a guest
on FANGS and HEARTS week.
She has been patiently waiting for me
to recover from Hurricane Sandy!

Related articles

“FANGS and HEARTS” week featuring David Lee Summers “The Dragon’s Quest” (emilyguido.com)
Next Big Thing Blog Hop (joleenenaylor.wordpress.com)

Filed under: FREE, GIVEAWAY, Paranormal Romance, Snippet, Uncategorized Tagged: Ashe, Author, Book, Claudius, Fangs and Hearts Week, Joleene Naylor, Jorick, Short story, Thought, Vampire, Vampire Morsels

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Published on November 08, 2012 03:20

November 7, 2012

“FANGS and HEARTS” week featuring David Lee Summers “The Dragon’s Quest”

My review of
“The Dragon’s Quest: Dragon’s Fall Series”
by David Lee Summers

This novel is set at the time of Roman domination in Briton, Arthurian Legend and the spread of Christianity.
Aonghas (aka Desmond) is a warrior who is in love with Guinevere who is the daughter of the King. They share a good and pure innocent love. However, being a skillful warrior, Desmond is assigned to go into battle with a young Arthur. Coincidentally, Arthur is “secretly married” to his half-sister Morgana.
During one of the battles, Desmond is dealt a death blow from an arrow.
Wolf, a vampire who can turn into a wolf, comes out of his cave at night to feed on the villagers but not to kill. Wolf comes to the village after the battle to feed.
He sees Desmond close to death and starts to feed. Desmond has nothing but his own teeth to deflect Wolf. Once this is done, Desmond is turned.
Wolf, a vampire with a heart, and Desmond start a long relationship of teacher and pupil.
During this time Wolf and Desmond hear of the cup of Jesus and how it can heal along with a scroll Jesus penned. They believe if they drink from the cup and read the scroll, they will be healed of their affliction.
However, in the meantime, everyone Desmond has known has aged and gotten along in life. His love, Guinevere is in a loveless marriage to Arthur but infatuated with L’Ancelot but not in love.
Wolf and Desmond go on quest to find the cup and scroll which might give them their humanity back. Will they be able to complete their quest? Will their search lead them to more uncertainties?
MY THOUGHTS
From the first pages of the novel, I was struck by the historical references which were true and amazed how Desmond’s story was wove through the fabric of time and space.
“The Dragon’s Quest: Dragon’s Fall Series” was wonderful and masterly written and the voice was perfect.
Desmond’s story was relate-able as I could imagine this story being told right along with the stories of the “Knights of the Round Table” in Camelot. Even though it is a legend, I still have a hard time separating it from reality since the historical facts were written in so well. Also little details were so real even down to the flea bites Desmond gets from sleeping under animal skins to avoid the sun.
Mr. Summers has a knack of making all the scenes of “The Dragon’s Quest: Dragon’s Fall Series” seem seamless and flowed with action and adventure.
I was seeing so much through Desmond’s eyes that I was cheering and tearing up at the same time.
I would have to say this novel is an Adult read.
However, I loved each and every word of the novel and have my appetite ready to read more of Mr. Summers novels in the series.
I can give this wonderful novel, “The Dragon’s Quest: Dragon’s Fall Series” by David Lee Summer no less than a five star review. Brilliant novel!

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This is the song that I relate “The Dragon’s Quest to… IT ROCKS!!!

http://youtu.be/tvsGg2tDVWI

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Synopsis of The Dragon’s Quest:

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, surely is PD because of the age of the engraving – The Middle Ages (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Dragon’s Quest is set in Britain at the fall of the Roman age and forms part of the Scarlet Order Vampires origin story. The novella links the Scarlet Order to the Arthurian legends to create a vivid new twist with a paranormal edge.
Aonghas Deas-Mhumhan — called Desmond — is a dragon lord in the service of King Ambrosius. He longs for the king’s daughter, the beautiful Guinevere. However, her heart belongs to the king’s young ally, L’ancelot.
When Desmond and his friend Arthur are sent to battle Saxon invaders, Desmond is mortally wounded. He is saved by Wolf, a vampire who seeks the Holy Grail in hopes that it might bring salvation to their kind. Desmond knows he and Wolf cannot find the Grail alone. He returns to court where he finds that Guinevere is pledged to Arthur but still longs for L’ancelot. Now king, Arthur is anxious to remove L’ancelot from court for a time, so he agrees to Desmond’s request for aid in the search for the Grail cup.
Though Desmond, L’ancelot and Wolf find the Grail, they discover that an ancient being of great power defends it. Wolf is killed and Desmond realizes that they have not found the salvation they sought. His quest for salvation – and for love – will continue elsewhere.

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Interview with David Lee Summers
I had the delight of reviewing “Dragon’s Fall: The Dragon’s Quest” by much-admired author David Lee Summers! He is one of my very favorite authors and blogger! I am fortunate and thrilled to feature him today.
Hello and welcome David!

Hello, Emily! I’m delighted to be here!
Tell us a little about the “Dragon’s Fall” series.
Dragon’s Fall was originally intended to be a series of five novellas that told the origin story of the Scarlet Order Vampires. Once all five novellas were released, they were going to be collected together into the novel Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order with some extra material that was not in the individual novellas. Two of the novellas, Bondage and The Dragon’s Quest, were released. After that, my publisher went through a couple of ownership changes, which delayed the release of the later novellas. Rather than draw the publishing schedule out further, the current owners decided to forge ahead and publish the entire collection.

When you wrote the “Dragon’s Fall” series what was the inspiration?
Dragon’s Fall was inspired by my love of history and folklore, especially those places in history that are steeped in shadow, such as King Arthur’s reign in Britain, the dark ages, and Vlad Dracula’s reign in Transylvania. Not only that, but there are many stories of dark magic and night creatures that come from those times and places. No doubt, those stories were inspired by the very real dangers that existed in the night and on the road. Nevertheless, it struck me that vampires would thrive during those times. They could easily use their strength, ability to manipulate minds and ease of navigating the shadows to build an existence.

Did you have a lot of support from friends and family while you were writing?
Absolutely. My wife and kids have always been very supportive of my writing and do a great job of giving me as much time as possible to write. The Scarlet Order vampires were first inspired by friends. One was a co-worker at Kitt Peak National Observatory who first encouraged me to read Anne Rice and Bram Stoker. From her, I got the idea of telling the story of a vampire who made his living as an astronomer. Later, I moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Las Cruces literally means “the crosses.” A writer friend made an off-hand comment wondering what a vampire would make of a town where there were crosses everywhere, not just on the churches and in the graveyard, but on police cars, city hall, and more. The two ideas came together in a story called “Vampire in the City of Crosses” which became a central chapter in my first vampire novel Vampires of the Scarlet Order. Once the novel came out, many friends supported me in the best way possible by asking for more Scarlet Order stories! Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order is my response to that request!

You are very accomplished in your career, so how did you become an Author of Paranormal? How do you divide your time?
In addition to writing, I have been a telescope operator and engineer, working at several astronomical observatories around the southwest. Long before that, I had a real fascination with the paranormal. Do ghosts exist? Are there people on other worlds? There are limitations to how far those ideas can be explored in my “official” capacity as an astronomer, so it seems only natural that I’d turn to writing as my place to explore these ideas.
As it turns out, I actually spent eight years as a full time writer and editor. Five years ago, I was asked to return to Kitt Peak National Observatory. My schedule there is basically one week on shift and one week off. I don’t get to write much on-shift, but I have quite a bit of time to write during my days off. Still, it’s a challenge to get all the ideas I have into the computer in my weeks off!

The Damsel of the Sanct Grael, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: medieval romance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Arthurian Legend and Vampires are an unusual combination. What was inspiration for this book?
I first really delved into Arthurian lore when I was in graduate school. While browsing a used book store, I found a collection of many of the original Arthurian texts. I dived right into it and discovered that Arthurian lore is much more complex and shrouded in history than I originally thought. From that time on, I knew I wanted to write some kind of a story that involved King Arthur.
The combination of Arthurian lore and vampires came like a lightning flash. When writing Vampires of the Scarlet Order, I realized that the leader of the vampire mercenaries was a very old vampire. He was from Britain. It occurred to me right then that Desmond, Lord Draco had been a rival of King Arthur who had disappeared from history somehow. When I set out to write Dragon’s Fall, I knew I wanted to tell the story of Arthur and Desmond.
Although you might not think about vampires going with Arthurian lore, there is more than a little dark magic in those stories. The old tales are rife with witches, sorcerers, and enchanted animals. It actually wasn’t too hard to throw vampires into the mix as well!
Who are your favorite authors and why?
Three of my favorite vampire authors are Suzy McKee Charnas, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Anne Rice. All three are groundbreaking authors who told stories from the vampire’s point of view. I love how each of them tell stories with a strong sense of history and how each developed their own, unique vampire mythology.
I also adore some of the great local New Mexico authors such as Tony Hillerman, John Nichols, and Rudolfo Anaya. All have taught me to look at the world and see the magic all around me. I hope I’ve brought a little of that into my vampire stories.

If you could live during any period in time, when would it be and who would you be?
I’m the kind of person who likes to strike out and explore new places and see new things. I don’t take well to people telling me to stay in one place or make the safe decision. If I lived during the 17th or 18th centuries, I would probably have been on a ship bound for the new world. Early in the 19th century, I would have been on the western frontier. That said, I would have most enjoyed living in the late 19th century in a place like Tombstone or Santa Fe, writing dime novels for people back east to enjoy. Maybe I would have been tinkering with telescopes as well, such as the one at Percival Lowell’s observatory outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. As it turns out, my novel Vampires of the Scarlet Order takes a look at what it would have been like to have been a vampire in the old west. The vampire Marcella DuBois even meets Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid!

Any advice or news which you like to share with our readers/authors?
My advice for authors is to read everything you can get your hands on. Don’t limit yourself to your genre of choice. Like I mentioned above, I’ve learned a lot from local authors as well as my favorite vampire authors. The more you read, the more tools you can place into your author toolbox.
As for news, look for my apocalyptic vampire story “A Garden Resurrected” in the anthology Apocalypse 13 coming soon from Padwolf Publishing. Also my futuristic cyberpunk Scarlet Order vampire story “Dark Matter” is scheduled for this autumn’s issue of Hungur Magazine published by Sam’s Dot Publishing. As always, you can get all the news about my releases by following my blog http://dlsummers.wordpress.com or liking my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ScarletOrder

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“How at the Castle of Corbin a maiden bare in the Sangreal and foretold the achievements of Galahad” by Arthur Rackham (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Finally, don’t miss out on an opportunity to win either a
$10 Amazon gift card
or a free copy of Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order.
Visit
http://authorjessicafrost.blogspot.ca...
for details
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Your next book is coming out soon… Any titillating morsels you can share with us?
Here’s an exclusive excerpt from Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order just for your readers. In this scene, the slave Alexandra from Hellenistic Greece has entered her master’s bedchamber where she will make a frightening discovery:
The final room appeared to be a well appointed bedchamber. Like the sitting room, it was reassuringly ordinary. There was a chair and a cabinet where the master undoubtedly kept his clothes. I moved my lamp around to the bed and my breath caught when I saw that there was something on it, covered by a blanket.
A part of me said that I should leave the room without exploring further. I had satisfied my curiosity enough. However, another part of me was curious about what lay under the blanket. Theron is a bachelor, I told myself. He probably sleeps on the couch in the other room, or he sleeps in his sitting room. Those are probably just tunics, himations and chitons piled on his bed and covered over with a blanket.
That answer would have been reassuringly normal and I suppose I wanted to convince myself that it was true. I crept up to the bed and pulled back the blanket. I immediately dropped the blanket and stepped back several feet, bumping into the cabinet with a loud crash.
I had never seen him clearly, but it was apparent that it was Theron under the blanket. He was pale and appeared to be dead. I feared he would jump up and yell at me for waking him. However, in spite of the loud crash when I collided with the cabinet, he did not stir.
Gingerly, I stepped back up to him and held my hand over his nose and mouth. I could feel no breath. Theron was dead.

English: ‘The Quest of the Holy Grail’ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My mind immediately began to race and I wondered how long he had been lying there. I wondered if Democritus knew that the master had passed away. His body looked remarkably fresh, so I guessed that he must have died in the morning and I was the first to discover him. I reached down, took up the blanket and covered him again. As I did so, I wondered about the fact that I had found him covered in the first place. Perhaps Democritus already had found him, but if that was the case, why was he keeping the master’s death a secret?
As I turned toward the door to leave, I heard a shuffling from the other room. Someone was in the chambers with me. However, that person had not called out. They were looking around quietly as I was. My first thought was that it might be Kallius, but I quickly dismissed that notion. Kallius was so honest and trustworthy, I would have expected him to call out from the door. He would not have entered his master’s chambers without an explicit invitation. He either would have closed the door or left it just as he found it. Whoever had entered, was being quiet, looking for the person who had left the outer door open.
Quietly as I could, I stepped over to the entrance of the bedchamber and waited. A moment later, the curtain was pulled back and a man stepped inside. I reached out and hooked the other’s leg with my own, sending him tumbling to the ground. I lowered my lamp to the other’s face and discovered that it was Democritus.
“Why am I not surprised to find you here?” he asked. “Your curiosity will be the end of you. We must leave at once.”
“On the contrary,” came a faintly lisping voice from the other end of the room.
I held my light up and sitting on the bed was a man that not five minutes before I would have sworn was dead. He smiled, revealing fangs, much like the visage of the gorgon relief on the house’s wall. He stood up and stepped over to us. I felt frozen by the power of his gaze and could not will myself to stand or back away. For the first time, I really had a chance to look at my master and I found he was not grotesque like the gorgon relief, but beautiful like a masculine Medusa. His features were chiseled like those of an alabaster statue and even if I could, I did not want to look away. He reached down and retrieved the lamp from my fingers, then snuffed it out, plunging us into utter darkness.
* * *
Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order was released as an ebook on October 20. Order it from your favorite ebook retailer. Find a list at: http://www.davidleesummers.com/books....
I want to sincerely thank David Lee Summers for taking the time out to be a guest
on my Hurricane Sandy DELAYED FANGS and HEARTS week!
MY SINCERE THANKS FOR DAVID’S PATIENCE!

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Filed under: FREE, GIVEAWAY, Paranormal Romance, Snippet, Uncategorized Tagged: Arthur, David Lee Summer, David Lee Summers, Desmond, DL Summers, Fangs and Hearts Week, Guinevere, Holy Grail, Jesus, King Arthur, Published Author, Square Enix, Vampire, Vampires

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Published on November 07, 2012 04:24

November 5, 2012

Storm of the Century – Sandy and me by Emily Guido

I am writing about a personal experience.
The hurricane Sandy was my first time I felt like I was in real danger.
I have been through tons of tornadoes in Southern Indiana, Tornado Alley but…
NOTHING LIKE THIS!
Don’t get me wrong, each are devastating, but like I said, Storm of Century, Sandy was unrelenting!
I haven’t blogged since the storm.
I have to BEG PARDON to the wonderful Authors, Felicity Heaton, Joleene Naylor and David Lee Summers for waiting on me to post the second half to “FANGS and HEARTS” week.
I will do so, but this I felt was more of a personal story I wanted to share.
However, I wanted to show my friends and readers what this storm has done to my area.

During Sandy

Night fall during Sandy

After Sandy

Now Sandy’s presents:
no electricity
no water
no food
long lines
and homelessness

For us, it wasn’t so bad. We have electricity and in line for 3 hours getting gas in our car. So, we are okay. We still have a home.
However, Food, Gas, and Power are now our biggest concern here in New Jersey. A lot of people lost their homes and livelihood.
So I am starting a new week… maybe I will start blogging soon but for right now, the aftermath of Sandy is all I am thinking about.
Take care, be well and cherish everyday…. I do
Emily

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Atmospheric Sciences, Earth Sciences, Emily Guido, Meteorology, New Jersey, Sandy, Southern Indiana, Storm of Century, Tornado Alley, Weather Phenomena

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Published on November 05, 2012 04:24

October 27, 2012

FANGS and HEARTS week Review of Bram Stoker’s “DRACULA” and GIVEAWAY

1899 Doubleday and McClure, First American edition, Dracula, by Bram Stoker.Use of the book cover in the article complies with Wikipedia non-free content policy and fair use under United States copyright law.

MY THOUGHTS OF
“DRACULA”
by BRAM STOKER
I think you all know the story of how my sister, Connie, and I used to watch Dark Shadows and other soaps together while her body was slowly dying and deteriorating with Leukemia. I would listen to her talk about the gorgeous men on the black and white RCA Television, and we would titter and laugh. She used to joke, “Maybe Barnabas Collins can give me a transfusion?” as our neighbor, who was a nurse, would hang the blood bag up on her hospital bed.

English: Bram Stoker (1847-1912), novelist born in Ireland, author of “Dracula” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Back then, they would keep you in the hospital; however, Connie begged to be home with us. So in Connie and I’s bedroom was a mini-hospital with hospital bed, small refrigerator for her meds and blood, her princess pink phone, and of course her TV hung on the wall by my brothers. My bed was in a corner and we used to talk away the hours together.
After she passed, became my obsession with Vampires and all the wonderful lore! My local library was divided into Children’s Literature on one side and Adult Literature on another. I would ‘sneak’ into the adult section and take down, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and read snippets at a time without getting caught, I might add! A feat many don’t think too great but you didn’t know the Librarians back home… grrr! However, my mother would have tanned my hind if she ever knew I read adult books like “Dracula” at my age.

All grown up and ready for a challenge I wrote “The Light-Bearer Series.” Of course there was a Blood-Hunter. Furthermore, he is a GORGEOUS Blood-Hunter!
I want to tell you the reason why I love “Dracula” so much!
“Dracula” was published in 1897. Stoker researches his novel in great detail and especially loved the lore of “Vlad the Impaler” who was a vampiric character on the fifteenth century Wallacian warrior prince, Vlad Dracule.
“Dracula” is written in a diary format. This is an ingenious tool to set up a half way believable story.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to set in order Count Dracula’s estate in England. This part of the story I thought to be rather unconventional because why would someone travel hundreds of miles to set an estate in order in another country. However, we would have never known of Dracula’s castle, the lack of mirrors in it and the Count not being seen during the day. Three mysterious women make contact with Harker who cannot resist their spell.
Jonathan writes, “I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super-sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited–waited with beating heart.”
This in itself is suspenseful, horrible, and carnal.
Dracula comes to his come to England and soon Lucy Van Helsing is his victim. However, when he meets Mina Murray, who halfway in the story marries Harker, his cold stone heart turns. She also is drawn to him. Mina accepts him and even though she knows Dracula is death, she wants him! A love that is desperate, provocative and timeless. We learn that Dracula’s intentions are to propagate his race with Mina, his love.
My thoughts are Good vs. Evil is supposed to be the idea here. However, I believe that Stoker thought in the Victorian age, who was really evil? Was it the land owners and shopkeepers who forced their workers into slavery for mere survival?

This file is ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain.

Also, I believe that Stoker was also giving women a fair hand. After all, the three vixens dominated Harker. Mina, Dracula’s love was willful and headstrong. I loved how he featured strength in women with intelligence!
However, Mina wills herself to drag herself into the good. She actually helps ambush Dracula in the end. Something that is abhorrent to her but she is NOT a damsel-in-distress. She is strong, independent and personally tough!
Okay, now you know in detail why I was drawn to Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the concepts and pretext why I wrote “The Light-Bearer Series.”
Always and forever will Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” be a horror treat and classic story with a five star rating!

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“Night of the Hunter”
I love this song! Epitome of what I believe “Dracula” would feel like if he were walking around today!
http://youtu.be/dDoZowtoRJo

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Movie poster for the 1979 film Dracula qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. See Wikipedia:Non-free content for more information.

“DRACULA”
The Movie
No movie, in my estimation has ever been able to compare to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
However, for sheer sensuality and corporeal entertainment, my favorite movie is the 1979 version, “Dracula.”
It was directed by John Badham. The cinematography was sublime.
Laurence Olivier gives a classic performance as Professor Van Helsing also.
In addition, the music was luscious as only John Williams could compose.

Courtesy IMBD http://www.imdb.com/media/rm310801817...

It starred then a gloriously handsome Frank Langella… OH MY!!!!
Langella at that time, was drop dead gorgeous!
Langella’s eyes were hypnotic on the screen. His gait and stature were perfect and his voice was powerful and enticing. In addition, his hands were so wonderful, I don’t know why but I just wanted him to possess me with his hands.
The whole movie, “Dracula,” was a sensual delight!
I had to throw this in my post because I love, love, love this movie! Like I said, not like the book but oh my…. it is worth watching!

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GIVEAWAY TIME!
I will gift the paperback of
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” through Amazon to two lucky people (US/UK)
who answer this question:
“Why do you think people love the horror tale “Dracula”?
Please leave your email address

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