Gwen Gardner's Blog, page 18

Dragon's Game

I'm sure you've heard of E.J.'s Moonsong series, right? I read the first one, and just bought the anthology with books 1 - 3. And now the next book in the series will be out next week. I've got some catching up to do. For now, check out the cover!     Available Tuesday, October 22nd!
Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. She has already faced a werewolf, witches, and a troll. But nothing could prepare her for her latest confrontation...
Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4, finds Jenny out of her rural West Texas element, searching for an evil witch in an urban Houston nightclub. After attempting to help a handsome and mysterious stranger out of a jam, she finds herself on the run from a ruthless gang who are even more dangerous than they initially appear. Forced into a twisted game of life and death, Jenny must navigate the complexity of a budding relationship, and somehow survive a night filled with unexpected horror and paranormal mystery.
Dragon's Game is approximately 14,000 words or 45 pages, and is the fourth volume of the Moonsongs Books, an ongoing series of New Adult, speculative / urban fantasy novelettes by author E.J. Wesley.

(These stories contain language and content better suited for readers 17+)

~Moonsongs Series List~

Blood Fugue, Moonsongs Book 1
Amazon - B&N - Smashwords

Witch's Nocturne, Moonsongs Book 2
Amazon - B&N - Smashwords

Dark Prelude, Moonsongs Book 3
Amazon - B&N - Smashwords

Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4
COMING SOON to Amazon - B&N - Smashwords

Moonsongs, Anthology 1 (Collecting books 1, 2, & 3)
Paperback & eBook - Amazon / eBook - B&N

Praise for the Moonsongs series:

"You won't find any romantic, skinny, sparkling werewolves here. What you will find is something scary and atmospheric like King's "Cycle of the Werewolf" that will leave you wanting more." Michael Offutt, author of Slipstream

"-- a tense story with some unique elements. A very good read!" Alex J. Cavanaugh, Amazon Bestselling Author of CassaFire and CassaStar

"--reminds me of t.v. episodes; short, sweet, resolved in under an hour. But I’m talking good, interesting t.v.. The kind that draws you in and leaves you eagerly awaiting next week's episode." Books & Things Blog

"The writing is amazing - even in just a few short pages, you can see that right off the bat. It really engages you in the story and keeps you reading along until the end." Missy's Reads & Reviews Blog

"Blood Fugue has one of those endings that you least expect, giving it that "OMG" reaction." Insane About Books Blog

"His action scenes are thrilling, sometimes cringe-worthy. No doubt I spent the entire read curled over my computer not wanting it to end." robgirlbooks, Amazon Review


*** Add Dragon's Game to your Goodreads shelf!
And for a limited time, you can catch up on the entire Moonsongs series for just .99 cents (regularly $2.99) - Moonsongs Anthology 1 (books 1, 2, & 3) is on sale October 15th - 20th at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

About the Author

Growing up in small-town Oklahoma, there were limits on the amount and types of entertainment at my disposal. Perhaps that’s why I set my imagination free. After collecting degrees in psychology and counseling, life brought me to Missouri, Texas, and Northern California—where I currently read, write, and live. I fill my spare time playing video games, watching movies, planning for the zombie apocalypse, reading graphic novels, and playing with my dogs.

My passion for New Adult literature led me to producing the weekly New Adult Lit Chat on Twitter, and contributing to the NA Alley Blog. I’m also the author of the Moonsongs Books, a series of New Adult, speculative-rural fantasy novelettes.

BLOG – TWITTER – FACEBOOK – GOOGLE+ - LINKEDIN - GOODREADS

Confessions of A Vampire!

Victory Dead Character Confession

Thank you for having me, Gwen. It's not often The Author lets me out to play, so I'm
making the most of the opportunity by telling you how I really feel about being cast as a vampire.
When I appeared as a vampire in Luna Black, I was thrilled to

finally get a placement in a short story. Until then, I'd lived in the recesses
of The Author's Imagination. It was a scary, scary place. Imagine a massive
cauldron full of unused ideas, characters, and plot lines, all swirling and
mingling like a mini-tornado. A frightening place. I still get flashbacks.

I loved playing Victory Dead. However, while I loved my
role, I expected to get another story placement not long after. I had big
dreams - zombie, ghost, demon. Only it didn't happen. Unlike the movie world,
once you're assigned a role in the literary world that's the only one you get. Forever. So I did what
every character of note does, I pestered The Author. I took every opportunity
to remind The Author I needed another story. I mastered the art of subliminal
messages. Someone mentioned vampires? VICTORY DEAD! Someone mentioned how much
he or she loved Luna Black? VICTORY DEAD! Someone mentioned blood? VICTORY
DEAD!
After a few months of solid pestering, I finally got what I
wanted. Victory Dead was back. Not only that, I was the lead character in a
dark science fiction story. Could I have wanted anything more? Well. Yes. I'll
always want more - it's the first rule of being a character.
If you want to know where I ended up in the second story,
and why I've convinced The Author I'm now worthy of my own series of books,
read Taking Time. Here's an excerpt to tempt your taste buds:
The human female McCaffrey sent was not as young, tall, or
lithe as McCaffrey, but I wasn’t interested in her in a way any normal
human would be–she was my meal.
 After meeting her at Kingley’s
cargo hold and showing her the food and water, the redheaded female followed me
into the room I used to store my limited possessions. She glanced at my unused
bed and stepped back, so I took hold of one of her hands and pulled her close.
“Ignore the bed. It’s not what you’re here for.”

She let out a long breath and sighed
with relief.

“What’s your name?” I asked,
hypnotising her with my stare.

“Taya.”

“It will be quick and painless,
Taya. I promise.”

The remaining moral fibres of my
being fought what I was about to do with all their worth. It had been decades
since I’d last fed this way. When my time on Revelation was up, I prayed I
could once again resist the elixir.
I placed a hand behind Taya’s
head and waited for her breathing to slow. When she’d reached an almost
trance-like state, her eyes taking on a glazed sheen, I ran my right hand down
the side of her neck. She moaned as I sank my teeth into her warm flesh, and I
pushed her face into my shoulder to suffocate any pleas for help. Her body
squirmed under my clasp as I sucked the blood from her veins, and I felt the
ecstasy of her life flowing through me. I didn’t want to stop, but I had to.
After I’d taken only enough to
revitalise me, struggling with the desire to take more, I let her wilt beneath
me and gently lowered her onto the bed. I placed my fingers on her left wrist
and checked for a pulse. It was weak but there was one. I hadn’t killed her.
 
Taking Time and Other Science Fiction Stories
Science fiction
stories of time and space... 
The future of humanity must be decided in Next
Phase. Winning the Planetary Lottery is not as lucky as it first seems in
Schrodinger's Gamble. An apocalypse and its aftermath threaten to tear one
couple apart in Daiker's Children. In Life As I Know It a reclusive man finds
both his heart and home invaded during an alien harvest. In Taking Time, a
vampire seeking shelter on a distant planet finds himself facing a very
different kind of demon, after answering a frontier settlement's plea for help.
Stories range from flash fiction to novelette in
length.
Book Links

Amazon / Amazon.co.uk / Facebook / Goodreads
 
The Author

Ellie Garratt is a science fiction and horror writer. She is
a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The
Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online.
Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre and Taking Time and
Other Science Fiction Stories are now available on Kindle.
In early 2014, she will be launching a series of

dark science fiction novellas called The Dead Chronicles.
You can find Ellie at: Amazon / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter / Website

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Beyond the Edge

Today, I'm swapping blogs with my Untethered Realms buddy, M. Pax, the author of the poplar Backworlds series. Mary will be talking about Science Fiction and Fantasy, and I'll be talking a little bit about Cozy Paranormal Mysteries over at the Wistful Nebula. So, take it away, Mary!
 Fantasy and Science Fiction Aren’t So Different     Science Fiction and Fantasy have more in common than not. In fantasy, powers are usually assigned to the magical, the mystical, the paranormal, or supernatural. In science fiction, extraordinary powers usually stem from technology and science.

Both create new worlds for the reader to explore, and many stories use a combination. One that readily comes to mind is Star Wars. There’s a lot of tech, but the force is magical and mystical.
World building is what I love, and since I was a young child I wanted to join Neil Armstrong on the Moon. I can’t afford a spaceship, but I get to explore other worlds in my books. I get to create them and populate them.
The fun part of both genres is that the writer and reader can leave this world or stay on this planet and experience a different reality. We get to explore and discover, which are elements I treasure in a story. My favorite stories emphasize my love of discovery.
However it’s sliced, fantasy and science fiction seek what it means to be human and the what if. What if vampires existed? What if I could go to magic school? What if I could travel beyond the solar system? What if I could merge with a sand worm?
 Beyond the Edge
Some truths are better left unfound.
For two years Craze’s dear friend, Lepsi, has been missing. The murmurings of a haunted spaceship might be a message and may mean his old pal isn’t dead. The possibility spurs Craze and Captain Talos to travel to uncharted worlds, searching. Out there, in an unfamiliar region of the galaxy beyond the Backworlds, they stumble upon a terrible truth.Meanwhile, Rainly remains on Pardeep Station as acting planetlord, dealing with the discovery of her lover’s dark and brutal past. Alone and questioning her judgment, her introspection unlocks more than heartache. Latent protocols in her cybernetics activate, forcing her to face a sinister secret of her own.In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendents to survive in a harsh universe. This is the fourth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.Amazon/ AmazonUK/ Nook / Smashwords/ Kobo / Other Outlets  M. Pax-- Inspiring the words she writes, she spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the Husband Unit and two demanding cats. She writes science fiction and fantasy mostly. You can find out more by visiting her at:
 Website / FB / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest / Wattpad     What makes you love this genre of fiction?  

From The Great Beyond!

I. LOVE. HALLOWEEN.
Halloween is all about playing in the paranormal realm for the full month of October, culminating on the 31st with parties, trick or treating and of course, candy, candy, candy! 

Could there be a more fun holiday?  I think the Halloween appeal is why I like to write paranormal. I can't tell you how many times I was a ghost  or a witch, back in the day when we made our own costumes out of what we found around the house. 

This year, I'm celebrating Halloween with Tara Tyler, Angela Brown and Roland Yeomans! And we'd love for you to join us in the From the Great Beyond Blog Hop!
This is a short but fun blog hop. All you have to do is grab the badge, sign up below, then on October 30th put up a post about a famous  deceased author or celebrity you'd like to contact in our séance. Tell us what moved you to choose this person and what you'd like to discuss or ask them. Then we'll haunt each other's blogs and read the posts.

The spirits will select the winners, who will be announced on October 31st.

The prizes will be frightfully good. We're each giving away our books and a couple of cool autographed posters from Roland, our séance coordinator. You know how good he is at rubbing elbows with writerly spirits!

It promises to be a ghostly good time. Hope you'll join us! 


 

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Is There More To The 13th Floor?

I am so stoked to be hosting Christine Rains on my blog today. I know you've heard of her series. Even the name of the collection gives me shivers. And it's so awesome that it's nearly Halloween, and the perfect season in which to read the series, if you haven't had a chance yet.  So - please welcome Christine!

*Resounding applause raises the roof* WILL THERE BE MORE BOOKS IN THE SERIES?   
One of the questions I hear most often is if there will be more books in the 13th Floor series. My answer is always this: No. Well okay, yes. Maybe? I don't know!
Perhaps if I rephrased the question: are there any more books planned for the series? No. I'm focusing on other projects at the moment. There's a chance I might revisit the 13th Floor one day, but not any time soon. I've played around with the idea of writing 13 books in total, but not within the next year
One of the biggest decisions a writer needs to make is when to back away from a series. It's difficult when you have characters you adore, and the readers ask for more. I can see their stories going on for years. But should I keep writing them for years? Probably not. I planned to have six books in the series, and I like where the final book ended. It wrapped everything up nicely, and it left readers wanting more.
 Endings can be difficult. I've been disappointed a lot by how books ended. Some of my favorite authors like Stephen King have endings that fell flat even when the story itself was phenomenal. It's not easy to write a spectacular ending and know that it's the right ending for your series. It's tricky to find the point where it's not ending too soon with loose ends left hanging and not dragging out so that it bores the reader.
It's a writer's job to keep their readers entertained. That means giving them something new and amazing in each story. This is what I plan to do. It was so much fun writing the 13th Floor series, but it's time for me to bring you something new. Have you ever been disappointed by an ending? How do you know when to end a story?   
Blurb:
Six supernatural tenants
Living in a haunted apartment building
On a floor that doesn't exist.

Six novellas telling their tales.

A retired demon acquires a price on his head.
A werewolf is hunted by her pack.
A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.
A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.
A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.
A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.
And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.
 All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18460150-the-13th-floor-complete-collection Find The Books Here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords


Author Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published. Connect with Christine here: 
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Escalation: The Fight Over Mankind's Destiny

 The premise of Stephen Tremp's new book is soooo intriguing. It has everything! Alternate realities, science fiction, and the do-or-die possibility of a dystopian ending. And based on the cover, I'm willing to bet there's some steamy chemistry going on, too.  Check it out:       Escalation Synopsis: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones” - Albert Einstein In Escalation, the final installment to Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Trilogy, a seemingly innocent discovery in Einstein-Rosen Bridges, or wormholes, becomes a Pandora’s Box—opening doors to other unexpected and unpredictable realities such as parallel universes, time/space travel, and an evil hitchhiker from another dimension. Chase Manhattan has survived attempts on his life from numerous sources in his effort to destroy the technology. But he is far from safe. Now Chase and his comrades must not only break world renowned physicist Professor Nicholas Fischer out of prison a second time, but also smuggle him across hostile borders in Europe and the Middle East to prevent events threatening to spiral i

The Vanished Knight

 And today, the unexpected cover reveal for Misha Gerrick! Yep, her publisher sprang it on her last minute and of course I'm happy to help reveal its loveliness. Check it out:        
The Black Knight, Nordaine’s crown prince, has no legitimate blood heirs, meaning someone must be appointed to succeed him. With two of the candidates’ families willing to kill for the appointment and the third candidate being seen as a threat to all, peace is balanced on a sword’s edge.
But then the Black Knight vanishes.
Darrion and Gawain, two of his possible heirs, set out to find him, but after they rescue an earth-girl from Merithian soldiers, they discover she has possible ties to Nordaine. Not only that, but Callan Blair could be an Elvish princess. And war looms on the horizon…

You can buy it here:  Amazon U.S. Amazon U.K.
 

Moonless, Survivor ParanormYA and A Sneaking Suspicion

First, check out this awesome cover reveal by Crystal Collier!

 Very evocative, eh? Here's the blurb: Alexia’s nightmares become reality: a dead baron, red-eyed wraiths, and forbidden love with a man hunted by these creatures. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with her beloved and risk becoming one of the Soulless. 
MOONLESS is Jane Eyre meets Supernatural. Congratulations, Crystal - I'm so excited for you. The cover is absolutely awesome!  *** 

Blitz Tour, Fourth and Final Day! 

And what a blast it's been. Four to five stops every day. Mingling with our favorite people and our favorite characters. What an awesome trip it's been, traveling through Blogtown. I am so fortunate and blessed for the opportunity to do what I love most in the world. Reading, writing, and knowing so many wonderful people who are on the same path as me. How lucky that we live in modern times and can know each other.  To Angela Brown, my talented critique partner, editor, partner in paranormya, but above all, friend; you have shown me how it's done with grace, dedication and determination. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  To all my blogging and writing friends. You accept me as I am. You make my life richer just from knowing you. Thank you all. And now....are you ready for some fun? Todays posts are Survivor ParanormYA Island, KPIP radio show, Popcorn to Go, Never Mind Keanu Reeves, and Supernatural Trivia.  And today's stops are here: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com http://www.brindaberry.com/blog.html http://www.medeiasharif.com/ http://eseckman.blogspot.com http://minaburrows.blogspot.com/ AND NOW,cue the tension music.... The final episode (#5) of the Partners in ParanormYA mystery miniseries blogcom, The Great Destruction: The Great Destruction: A Sneaking Suspicion  We hope you enjoyed the tour!

A Sneaking Suspicion, Survivor ParanormYA and Other Fun Stuff

Blitz Tour, Fourth and Final Day! 

And what a blast it's been. Four to five stops every day. Mingling with our favorite people and our favorite characters. What an awesome trip it's been, traveling through Blogtown. I am so fortunate and blessed for the opportunity to do what I love most in the world. Reading, writing, and knowing so many wonderful people who are on the same path as me. How lucky that we live in modern times and can know each other.  To Angela Brown, my talented critique partner, editor, partner in paranormya, but above all, friend; you have shown me how it's done with grace, dedication and determination. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  To all my blogging and writing friends. You accept me as I am. You make my life richer just from knowing you. Thank you all. And now....are you ready for some fun? Todays posts are Survivor ParanormYA Island, KPIP radio show, Popcorn to Go, Never Mind Keanu Reeves, and Supernatural Trivia.  And today's stops are here: http://alexjcavanaugh@blogspot.com http://www.brindaberry.com/blog.html http://www.medeiasharif.com/ http://eseckman.blogspot.com http://minaburrows.blogspot.com/ AND NOW,cue the tension music.... The final episode (#5) of the Partners in ParanormYA mystery miniseries blogcom, The Great Destruction: The Great Destruction: A Sneaking Suspicion  We hope you enjoyed the tour! 

Don't Freak on Me Now

Blitz Tour, Day Three!

  More fun stops today! Franny Knows Best, ParanormYA Feud, Fright Night, Welcome to KPIP and another one about, erm, canines and ghosts and stuff.  Today's stops are here: http://christinerains-writer.blogspot.com/ http://the-open-vein-ejwesley.blogspot.com/ http://cmbrown-books.blogspot.com.au/ http://shellysnovicewritings.blogspot.com/ http://www.jessarusso.com/ AND! Episode 4 of the Partners in ParanormYA blogcom miniseries, The Great Destruction: The Great Destruction: Don't Freak On Me Now