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Book Blast: Maiden Claimed by Ravyn Rayne

Title: Maiden Claimed Series: Palace Secrets Book Two Author: Ravyn Rayne Publisher: Blushing Books Genre: Historical Romance, Romantic Erotica

It was supposed to be a simple trip to the market in Paris. Nothing for Lady Hannah is ever simple. One secret after another. The lies are mounting up. Lady Hannah has made a deal with the devil. Worse she’s falling in love with him. There’s no turning back. A steamy medieval romance filled with spankings and erotic pleasures.

Available on Kindle Unlimited for FREE or just $2.99 on Amazon Add to Goodreads

    Excerpt

Waiting outside the bathhouse, a gentleman, with honey-golden hair and eyes as green as the blades of grass on a summer’s day, stops in front of me. He looks me over and smiles. His face is covered in scruff and dirt licks his skin. “I approve.”

There’s an arrogance surrounding this man, and I have the urge to silence him.

“You approve of what?” I ask and cross my arms defensively. My eyes narrow, unpleased.

“I approve of you joining me in the bathhouse. Though I admit you look pretty clean already.

Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” He reaches out to touch a strand of my blonde hair and I swat his fingers away and force his arm down to his side.

“You’ve lost your mind.” My grip on his wrist is forceful, showing him who’s boss.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asks, glancing down at my hand still holding his wrist.

Grab the first book in the series

Title: Palace Secrets Author: Ravyn Rayne Publisher: Blushing Books Genre: Historical Romance, Romantic Erotica

Love comes in many forms and always at a price.

At twenty-three, Princess Isabella must settle down for the sake of her kingdom. Caught up in a secret affair with her lady-in-waiting, Hannah, the princess knows it can only last for so long.

When Prince Alexander arrives to court her, he confides that his father is on his death bed, and he will be crowned king soon. Isabella hastily agrees to the proposal, desiring to be queen, knowing little about her soon to be husband.

Murder, secrets, and lies combine with menage, spanking, and erotic encounters in this steamy medieval romance.

Available on Kindle Unlimited for FREE and on Amazon for just $2.99 Add to Goodreads

Excerpt

“Make a sound and you’ll get another spanking,” Alexander says. His tone is firm but light. Unlike the last time, he doesn’t sound angry or disappointed with me. Is this how our lovemaking will be?

I’m both aroused and craving more of Alexander’s affection. I bury my face into the pillow, trying my best not to make any noise. I moan quietly as his lashings grow harder, burning against my skin, making me wet. I’m glad Alexander’s attention is on me. There’s something about his power and control that fires me up inside. Is he doing this to teach me a lesson for being naughty or to arouse me?

“No, Hannah.” Alexander’s answer is both quick and abrupt. “I’m the only one in charge.

Maybe I should spank you both regularly for sneaking around the castle, behind my back.

Would that make sure it doesn’t happen again?” Alexander lets his hand land hard on my bottom. The sting grows fierce and I whimper in protest. When will his spankings turn to sex?

He offered it to me the last time and I rejected him. It had been the only amount of control that I’d been given. Tonight, I would give him everything, and if he asked me to beg, I would.

Check Out This Other Amazing Book

The Sapphire Sacrifice (Gem Apocalypse Book 3) by Ravyn Rayne

A virus designed to murder Sapphire’s.

No one from Brayleigh saw it coming.

Neither James nor Aria expected four men in a deserted city to attack. Thrown into the back of a van, James is captured by claimers – men that hunt Sapphire’s and bring them into quarantine, where they must settle their debt for treatment. Those that can’t pay off their debt are held in the broker’s quarters until they’re bought by angels, often resulting in slavery, hunting humans, and a host of other horrendous atrocities.

Aria is different. She’s naturally immune, or so she’s told. On a mission to rescue James, she finds herself in danger and quickly learns the power of friendship, commitment, and undying love.

With a taste of age play, spanking, and a master/slave relationship with voyeurism, this dystopian erotic adventure is sure to leave you satisfied.

Amazon | Blushing Books

    Excerpt

"Leave, Aria." His voice stern and filled with warning. He didn't sound like himself.

She wouldn't listen to him. She couldn't. Did he not realize how much he meant to her?

"I have a gun," Aria whispered, staring at James. It was her last shred of hope.

James stopped pacing and walked straight up to the glass, staring at her with dark blue eyes. "Shoot me."

Aria's eyes widened. "No! I won't do it."

    Five Questions with James (a character interview for The Gem Apocalypse series)Of all the places you’ve lived, what is your favorite? That’s a tough question to answer. I loved Brayleigh, before the uprising. I know it wasn’t a perfect society, but I was happy. It will always be my home as I have fond memories of my childhood growing up at the royal palace. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Give me bacon! It’s hard to come by but I absolutely love it. You’ve had you’re share of women at the royal harem. Any aside from Aria that you’ve loved? I’ve loved all the women I’ve invited into my home. Who’s to say you can’t love everyone? Do you prefer dominating or being dominated? I love to spank Aria. So yes, I prefer to dominate my partner. Would you ever let Aria spank you? I wouldn’t bend over and let her spank me, but she can certainly try. I like to remain in charge. An Interview with the AuthorWhat can we expect next from you? About twice a month, you can anticipate a new release! In September, I’ve got Hot-Blooded Lust (Federal Agent Chronicles 3) and Grave Misfortune (Palace Secrets 3) coming out. In October, The Murderess, the first in the Courtesan Slave Trade series will be available. What book are you writing right now? Well, it’s currently untitled. (I have a few working titles but I’m not sure any of them fit it perfectly). It’s a romantic dystopian erotica with a very edgy twist. When do you typically decide the title for a book? After the book is written or perhaps when it’s about 2/3rd’s completed. By then I’m usually writing up the book blurb at the same time and working on the title or series name.     Grab the first book in the series and begin the adventure. The Emerald Virgin (Gem Apocalypse Book 1)

Emerald – a girl with green eyes and a rarity after the horrific genocide that slaughtered millions.

After the war, King Gideon rose in power. A lust-filled and greedy king that believed in the power of slavery.

At eighteen, women were required to come before King Gideon and his four sons, to offer themselves as a courtesan. The princes took only those they found most attractive and alluring. The rest were returned to their homes with a brand on their wrist proving they had been through the process and rejected. Ignoring the ritual was punishable by death.

Aria Stone had been kept hidden from the princes and the ceremony, because she was an Emerald. At twenty-three, the royal guards storm her home, murder her mother, and drag her to court. She must face the four princes.

   

A dystopian erotic adventure. Now available on Kindle Unlimited! Borrow for FREE or purchase on Amazon

    The Amber Voyeur (Gem Apocalypse Book 2)

No longer safe in Brayleigh, Aria and James travel by ship to find refuge and discover what’s left of the world.

Dangerous seas and pirates lurking are only the start of their troubles. Forced off the boat with nothing but the clothes on their back, the crew and passengers make it to a nearby island, only to be abducted by the Knight Tribe, a clan of romantic warriors with a voyeuristic culture and a taste for nightly entertainment.

   

Get swept away in this dystopian erotic adventure, brimming with romance, spankings, and betrayal. Now available on Kindle Unlimited! Borrow for FREE or purchase on Amazon

    About the Author

Ravyn is a sassy, fun-loving, and adventure-seeking young woman.

She loves to travel and can’t wait for her next vacation, Ravyn writes romantic erotica. She began writing romance novels in college, spending her down time either reading a book or writing fiction.

Please don’t make her choose between the two, she loves them equally.wherever it might be.

Currently on schedule to publish two books a month through Blushing Books, Ravyn is incredibly prolific. Her series include: Federal Agent Chronicles, Palace Secrets, and Gem Apocalypse. She is also writing a spin-off series to Gem Apocalypse, titled Courtesan Slave Trade. Her goal is to write two romance novels per month. She has been published professionally since 2013. You can find her young adult books here.

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Book Blast: One With the Shadows by Susan Squires @susansquires

BOOK INFORMATION TITLE – One With the Shadows SERIES – The Companion Series AUTHOR – Susan Squires GENRE – Regency Vampire Paranormal Romance PUBLICATION DATE – September 15, 2015 LENGTH – 322 pages PUBLISHER – Independent COVER ARTIST – Rebecca Poole, Dreams2Media   BOOK SYNOPSIS Bestselling author Susan Squires brings you a shadowy world of seduction and betrayal, vengeance and desire… TEMPTATION BEGINS IN DARKNESS Kate Malone makes her living reading Tarot cards and fleecing society’s elite. With no prospect of independence, her own fate looks bleak. But Kate’s fortunes change when she steals a magnificent emerald—and is confronted by a mysterious stranger. Kate is sure the striking gentleman’s attention is a ruse to retrieve the gem. But his presence awakens her to a passion she never dreamed of… and to powers she never knew she possessed. AND LASTS FOR ETERNITY Gian Urbano is bound by honor to retrieve the mystical stone that can drain a vampire’s power—and drive them to madness. The willful, stunning Kate has no idea of the emerald’s dark magic, or the lengths Gian’s enemies will go to possess it. But soon Gian discovers for Kate a desire more compelling than duty—one that could save them both or lead them to their downfall… “Squires writes a darkly compelling vampire romance.”—Affaire de Coeur Full of colorful characters, romantic locales and vivid details of 1820’s life [One with the Shadows] has a delicious pace and plenty of thrills, and her vampire myths is both mannered—almost Victorian—and intriguingly offbeat. Bound to net a wide audience of paranormal fans, this one may even convert devotees of traditional historical.”—Publisher’s Weekly (A Best Book of the Year) BUY & TBR LINKS AMAZON KINDLE US AMAZON KINDLE CA AMAZON KINDLE UK SMASHWORDS iTUNES GOODREADS EXCERPT 

Everyone else in the room hung on her words, the men wanting something they could use to jibe him, the women hoping for something that said he would be theirs. But she couldn’t make out the story the cards told. She didn’t have any words, only an ache in her head and a feeling of... dislocation, as though she were looking at herself from far away. Yet words came. “You have seen blood, rivers of it, in a desert.” She blinked. The room began to swirl, the colors of the crowd melting together. “Blood you brought forth through extraordinary heroism in a cause you believed was just.” She stood. The table toppled. Surprised, she glanced down to see the cards scattering very slowly to the floor. But the crowd behind them was spinning faster. “It has left you wandering in your soul, impotent. Evil is around you even now, and may still win out.” Her voice did not seem to be her own. “Many trials are ahead. Thievery will be involved. I see a stone, an emerald. Your arrogance can still be tempered into wisdom by your trials.” She had a sensation of falling, and yet she knew she stood, looking up at him. He too stood, staring in fascinated horror. “Love can transform you.” She gazed up into those green eyes and the room receded entirely. The green of his eyes turned into the green of a stone. It was an emerald, as big as half her fist. It glowed in darkness. A woman’s hand with long nails held it with a pair of silver tongs. The glow of the emerald cast refracted green light on the rough stone walls and floor of a cramped room. He was there: the arrogant, beautiful one. He was naked and chained to the wall. His pale skin stood out against the dark stone on which he lay. “You are mine,” the woman said “The jewel will give you to me.” Fear shone in the man’s eyes. The woman came closer, touched the flesh of his chest with the stone. He arched and groaned. The glow brightened until it lit the cell with a blinding green light. The woman’s laughter echoed crazily back from the rock walls. And then nothing. The stone cell vanished. Kate took one breath, and collapsed.

  AUTHOR BIO Susan Squires is a New York Times bestselling author known for breaking the rules of romance writing. Whatever her time period, or subject, some element of the paranormal always creeps in. She has won multiple contests for published novels and reviewer's choice awards. Publisher's Weekly named Body Electric one of the year’s most influential mass market books and One with the Shadows a Best book of the Year. Time for Eternity, the first in the DaVinci time travel series, received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly. Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and two very active Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboarddddddddddddddddddddddd. AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER MAILING LIST GOODREADS This Event Was Organized & Hosted By:

Book Blast: LIP SERVICE by Adele Downs @Adele_Downs

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – LIP SERVICE AUTHOR – Adele Downs GENRE – Contemporary Romance PUBLICATION DATE – April 28, 2015 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – Short Novel 40,550 PUBLISHER – Boroughs Publishing Group

BOOK SYNOPSISSome ghosts won’t take “yes” for an answer.

Jack Harris has loved Legs Anderson since they were kids. Now that he has her in his bed, he has no intention of letting her go. Aunt Ada has other ideas, even from the grave.

GETTING BETWEEN JACK…

Orphaned at a young age, Legs Anderson owes her Aunt Ada everything. The stoic old lady raised her, and Ada’s warnings about men—and the Harris boys in particular—have stuck, even after her death. Of course, that could be because Ada stuck around, too.

…AND HIS LEGS

Patience is not one of Jack Harris’s virtues, and he’s waited too long to start a life with the woman he’s loved since childhood instead of them just knocking boots. Now Ada is interfering from beyond the grave, haunting the old Victorian house she bequeathed to her niece and reinforcing Legs’s fears of commitment. But Jack won’t give up. No matter what trouble may follow, the house will be renovated, Ada will learn to let go, Legs will put her money where her mouth is…and then Jack’ll put his lips everywhere else.

BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON KINDLE US – SMASHWORDS – GOODREADS – All Romance eBooks

EXCERPT

The roar of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Rachel’s block and the rev of a throttle in her driveway announced Jack’s arrival. Legs tried to appear nonchalant when he walked through the poolside gate, but the sight of his sun-streaked hair and tanned, muscular good looks nearly knocked her off her seat. She eased her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to get a better look.

When he stepped into the pool area dressed in black jeans, black biker boots, and a white muscle shirt that framed his pumped-up shoulders and biceps, she caught her breath. Everyone in the group said “hey” and Rachel offered him a cold drink, but his focus had remained on her. He slid his sunglasses on top of his head and nodded in her direction.

Legs remembered his gaze meeting hers before his attention strayed to her gold and black bikini then savored every inch of her skin. An appreciative smirk curled his lips and desire flashed in his beautiful blue eyes. He took a long pull of the soft drink someone handed him and then set the can down on the patio table. He looked her way and said, “Want to go for a ride?” The invitation came out like a dare.

AUTHOR BIO

Adele Downs writes contemporary romance novels, some with a touch of magic, inside the office of her rural Pennsylvania home. She is a former journalist, published in newspapers and magazines inside the USA, UK, and Caribbean.

Adele is an active member of Romance Writers of America and her local RWA chapter where she serves as a past-president. She has written several articles for RWR magazine (Romance Writers Report) and has presented workshops for writers.

When Adele isn’t working on her current project, she can be found riding in her convertible or reading a book on the nearest beach.

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – PINTEREST – TUMBLR – GOODREADS – TSU Join Adele’s Facebook Street Team, The Convertible Crew

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Book Blast: GRIFF MONTGOMERY, QUARTERBACK by JEAN C. JOACHIM @jeanjoachim

08 BOOK INFORMATION TITLE – GRIFF MONTGOMERY, QUARTERBACK SERIES – FIRST & TEN AUTHOR – JEAN C. JOACHIM GENRE – Sports Romance (or football romance) PUBLICATION DATE – 2/11/2015 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 238 pages COVER ARTIST – Dawne Dominique BOOK SYNOPSIS He wants to find a wife. She doesn’t want to marry again –ever. Not exactly a match made in heaven. Ten years ago, Griff Montgomery, star quarterback of the Kings and womanizer, became a stand-in father for his widowed sister’s kids. His happy family life collapsed when she and her new husband moved to California. Griff wants his own family. But where does a “player” go to find his ideal mate? Having sworn off marriage forever, Lauren Farraday barely kept her life together after her divorce. With her career shaky and depression closing in, the last thing she needed was a courtroom battle with a sexy athlete. Forced, by a judge, into an uneasy truce, the pair denied their growing chemistry. Wary of Griff’s reputation with women, and hiding a secret, Lauren keeps him at arm’s length. Determined, Griff marches toward his goal. Can the quarterback handle the truth or will he walk away, like he always has in the past? BUY & TBR LINKS AMAZON KINDLE US – ITUNES – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLES NOOK – GOODREADS EXCERPT

“Even better.” Carla licked her lips. “I’ll bet she has no idea you’re having sexual fantasies about her.”

“I’m not. It was an accident,” he hissed.

“Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that. Wonder what she’d think if she knew?”

“Don’t, Carla. Please don’t. I’m begging you.” Griff reached for her arm, but she shook him off.

Buddy faced the quarterback. “What the hell did you do?”

“You don’t wanna know.”

“Oh no. You didn’t?” His eyebrows rose.

Griff nodded. “Guilty.”

“Whoa, stand back, Tony. There’s gonna be some fireworks in a minute.” Buddy pushed Hastings to the wall.

“You wouldn’t be lying, now, would ya?” Carla asked, directing her stare at Buddy.

“See for yourself.” He gestured to the brunette at the corner table.

“Lauren!” Carla cupped her hands and yelled.

Lauren stood up, turning to face them.

“You Lauren?”

“Please, please, Carla. I’m sorry, so sorry,” Griff whispered. “Don’t do this.”

CHARACTER BIOS GRIFF MONTGOMERY - His journey from the tiny town of Adams, Indiana to national fame as a top quarterback, playing for the Connecticut Kings, had been one of hard work and dedication to the game of football. He became a family man when he moved in with his widowed sister to help her raise her two kids. Totally focused on his career and being a stand-in dad, Griff worked hard. He believed that allowed him to play hard, too, at least when it came to women. A natural athlete, handsome and sexy, he’d been called a man-whore with a girl in every road-trip city. But once his family left for the West Coast, his compartmentalized existence fell apart. Putting his life back together meant committing to a woman, marriage and kids. But could a “player” become a man-whore no more? He wouldn’t put money on a new beginning happening with a woman who had sworn off marriage for good. But there she was, beautiful and hiding something. He couldn’t ignore her, no matter how hard he tried. LAUREN FARRADAY - Reeling from a personal tragedy and a recent divorce, Lauren wanted peace above all else. Tending to her ailing father, and trying to make a living as a freelance decorator didn’t leave time or energy for men. Love had kicked her in the teeth, so she wanted no part of it. Not now. Not ever. Forced, by the court, to let seductive Griff Montgomery into her life, she built a wall around her heart. No way was she going to trust the man with a girl in every port. Despite their chemistry, she tried to keep the quarterback at arm’s length. Fearing heartbreak, she kept her secret hidden. How could she expect him to abandon his relationship deal-breaker for a woman like her? AUTHOR BIO Jean Joachim is a best-selling romance fiction author, with books hitting the Amazon Top 100 list since 2012. The Renovated Heart won Best Novel of the Year from Love Romances Café. Lovers & Liars was a RomCon finalist in 2013. And The Marriage List tied for third place as Best Contemporary Romance from the Gulf Coast RWA. She was chosen Author of the Year in 2012 by the New York City chapter of Romance Writers of America. Married and the mother of two sons, Jean lives in New York City. Early in the morning, you’ll find her at her computer, writing, with a cup of tea, her rescued put, Homer, by her side and a secret stash of black licorice. AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE – BLOG - BOOK BLOG - FACEBOOK – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – PINTEREST – GOODREADS Blitz Organized & Hosted by

Book Blast & Giveaway: Chalvaren Rising by Paula Millhouse @pmillhouse

 

 

 

Chalvaren Rising

A Kingdom of Chalvaren Romance

Paula Millhouse

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing

Book Description:

THE DRAGONSTONE HAS RETURNED

With the love of Kort, Chalvaren’s warrior-prince heir, Mia Ansgar will seize her birthright and become the great dragon-riding wizardess prophesied to free that elven kingdom from her embittered sorceress kin.

TO ASCEND TRIUMPHANT

Twenty-five years ago, Theo Ansgar abandoned the Kingdom of Chalvaren for a hiding place on another world. Some called him traitor. Some, thief. Now his fully grown daughter Mia must return to the land of her birth...and their war.

It was the elf prince Kort Elias who brought her back. Theirs was an instant connection, an inescapable union of body, soul and sorcery, reminding Mia of what she truly is, and what she must become. There is also Magnus, destined to be more potent than any wyrm Chalvaren has ever seen, a three-day-old dragonlet Mia must nurture and then ride. And then there is the Dragonstone, an artifact of power nonpareil. Joined, they can tip the scales of battle against the wraith-possessed forces of darkness, of Mia’s own embittered kin. Redemption will be offered, the protected will become the protector, and an ancient prophecy will come to fruition, but only righteous love can conquer all.

Boroughs Publishing

 

“Dragons do exist…?” Mia Ansgar stared at the horse-sized creature. He slept peacefully just outside her cottage door under a protective spell of magic that she’d just helped conjure. She edged around Kort Elias, the strange but beautiful elf with whom she’d cast the spell, the first of her kind she’d seen who was not her family, to get a better look and satisfy her curiosity. “He’s awfully small. I thought they were bigger.”

“He’s only three days old, Mia,” Kort said, and joined her inspection. “Trust me. They get bigger. This little guy’s egg was stolen, and I’m here to see him returned to be with others of his kind on Chalvaren.”

The dragonlet’s wings were iridescent black like the rest of his hide, but their tips were swirled with purple and teal. His head was rather equine, Mia decided, with rounded bony horns.

She peeked up into Kort’s sapphire blue eyes. His magnificent face, his pointed ears intrigued her, set her heartbeat racing. She pointed at the beast. “What’s his name?”

“This dragon’s name is Magnus.”

Magnus.

“So, there are truly more dragons? My father always said so. But…how did you both get here? To Earth.”

“That’s another story for another day. The main question is how we are all going to get back to Chalvaren.” Kort pointed at the dragonlet. “That containment spell we cast over him won’t last for long. I need your help to get Magnus home.”

Mia stood bolt upright. “I cast the containment spell by melding my aura with yours when we touched, for the good of the dragonlet, but I don’t know how to work that kind of magic. Do you?”

 

 

Book Trailer:

https://youtu.be/q2FCU-gJPog

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Paula Millhouse grew up in Savannah, Georgia where Spanish moss whispers tales in breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, and the Intracoastal Waterway. As a child, Paula soaked in the sunshine and heritage of cobblestones, pirate lore, and stories steeped in savory mysteries of the south.

Paula lives with her husband at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their pack and pride of furry babies. In the southern tradition of storytellers, she loves sharing the lives of her characters with readers, and following her muse on the quest for happily-ever-afters in thrilling romantic fiction.

Website: www.paulamillhouse.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/paulamillhousefans

Twitter: www.twitter.com/pmillhouse

tsu: www.tsu.co/pmillhouse

Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Fandemonium by Rick Schindler @RickSchindler

 

 

Fandemonium

Rick Schindler

Genre: Adult fiction, fantasy, satirical novel

Publisher: Wattle Publishing

ISBN: eBook 9781908959218 | Paperback: 9781908959225

Number of pages: 400

Word Count: 125,000 approx.

Cover Artist: L. Whyte and Cover design: Wattle Publishing

Book Description:

Ray Sirico used to have it all. Once, he was the brilliant and outrageous Clown Prince of Comics, who reinvented the venerable superhero Skylord, and ranted and rollicked everywhere from TV talk shows to Hollywood premieres.

But that was in the ’70s and ’80s. Now it’s 1993, and Sirico is a drunken has-been. His wife has left him, his movie flopped, and his comics’ publisher is doing so poorly that its new corporate parent has come up with a radical marketing stunt: the Death of Skylord.

Still, Sirico has one last chance to recapture the limelight: Fandemonium, the nation’s biggest fantasy convention. But others are coming to the con too: Harmony Storm, the sex-crazed actress who broke up Ray’s marriage; his former collaborator Tad Carlyle, who now has his own company, and a troubled relationship; Fred D’Auria, a fanboy fleeing adolescent traumas, and corporate conspirators who are plotting to sacrifice Sirico’s greatest creation for motives deeper than even his fevered imagination could conceive.

Together, antihero Sirico and his superhero Skylord stand at the crossroads of comics and commerce, where quirky creators, fervent fans, conniving businessmen and preening celebrities converge. Deal-making, drug-dealing, lovemaking and truth-telling all collide at the riotous climax of a fateful weekend that leaves no one unchanged.

Fandemonium uses the colourful world of comics and fantasy as a microcosm and metaphor for media consolidation and the excesses of global mass culture. It is at once a hilarious satire of business and society, a portrait of an artist no longer young, and a sometimes poignant look at a universal challenge: to grow up, face the world, and put away childish things.

Amazon Kindle Amazon Print

Amazon UK Kindle Amazon UK Print

What makes Fandemonium a unique novel?

It’s unique because I was so clueless and naïve about publishing when I wrote it that it never even occurred to me to try and write in a commercial genre or imitate a best-seller. I just tried to write something good.

Why did you choose the colorful world of comics to feature in Fandemonium?

I was a comics fan and collector for many years, and they say to write what you know. But I sincerely think the book could have been about any business; it didn’t have to be comics.

Still, a comics convention is a particularly apt microcosm of American society, because superhero comics are far more American than apple pie. Apple pie was invented in England; superhero comics were invented in New York City.

Who and what inspired you to write Fandemonium?

One inspiration was the so-called death of Superman in 1992. In Fandemonium much of the plot revolves around a similar stunt, the planned death of a popular fictional superhero called Skylord.

The book was also inspired by a real-life incident in New York City in 1995. But I’m not going to describe the incident, because it would give away too much of what happens, and I want you to read the book.

What makes your characters different?

Whatever it is that makes me different. Because the characters, the major ones anyway, are all pieces of me.

Who are your favorite character/s and why?

That’s like asking a parent to name their favorite child. The antihero at the center of the book is a comic book writer named Ray Sirico, and I can tell you that Ray is certainly his own favorite character. Ray thinks he’s my favorite character too, and makes an interesting argument that he is in my blog here.

Ray Sirico is a larger than life character. How long did it take to bring this character to life?

Not very long, actually. He is larger than life, and he just sort of took over. It was creating all the people and places he interacts with that took time.

Why do you feel that Ray is an anti-hero?

Ray is the spirit of anarchy in all of us, the part of you that fantasizes about telling your bosses what you really think of them, that longs to dance naked on a table or jump in a car and run away from your responsibilities. The trouble is, that sort of behavior is poor long-term strategy for living in the real world. It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. And people do get hurt by Ray, which makes him an antihero.

Why is Ray’s story so important?

As a cautionary tale, I suppose. Ray has so much to offer the world, but he keeps getting his own way. Yet I find most readers sympathize with him, at least in part. As I said, maybe there’s a little of Ray in all of us.

What makes Harmony Storm’s character important in this story?

I hadn’t really thought of it this way before, but Harmony is a female equivalent of Ray in certain ways. They’re both talented artists waylaid by their own intemperance. Which makes it logical they would be attracted to each other.

The second literary agent to represent Fandemonium was a woman who disliked Harmony and didn’t think she was any sort of real woman. That troubled me. I worried that I had written a sexist, misogynist story, as opposed to a story about a particularly male-dominated industry and culture that still contends with sexism and misogyny today, let alone in 1993, when Fandemonium is set.

Yet I do think there are women like Harmony in the real world. I like to think an argument can be made that Harmony is a feminist heroine who steers her own destiny, however intemperately she does it. But perhaps that’s self-serving.

Tad Carlyle is a wonderful artist. Why is his character so important?

Tad is a closeted gay man in 1993, when the attitude toward the LGBT community was a lot less progressive than it is today – and it’s still not very progressive today in many places. And he happens to be from one of those places, South Dakota, and to have had a fundamentalist religious upbringing. Like many other characters in the book he’s an outsider.

When we meet Fred D’Auria he is a fanboy fleeing adolescent traumas. Tell us a little about this character?

Fred is shaped by the fact that he’s a victim of bullying. Just today I saw a news story about a bullied 8-year-old girl who loves Star Wars, but stopped carrying her R2-D2 backpack because mean girls in her new school told her Star Wars was only for boys. Fortunately, she got support. But if something like that can happen today, when there is widespread awareness of bullying and the damage it does, imagine how much more difficult it is for a nerdy kid like Fred in 1993. (I touched upon these issues in this blog post.)

Fred is at a crossroads; his life could go in either of two very different directions depending on what happens at Fandemonium. And the odds are against him. He could use some support.

Do you feel that when Fred meets his hero Tad that there is a special message in the book?

Wait, how do you know for sure whether that actually happens? Spoiler alert!

I’ll just say this: I may be unsure about my favorite character in the book, but I know my favorite scene.

What inspired the comic-con storyline?

Don’t tell anyone, but although I had been to some comic-cons, during much of the writing of Fandemonium I was involved with the cable-TV business and was going to a lot of cable trade shows. Much of the landscape of the novel is based on those shows. I think conventions and trade shows are microcosms for society; they are crossroads of diverse subcultures and constituencies.

There are a number of fantasy characters contained within Fandemonium. Who is your favorite? Why?

There are a couple of hundred meta-fictional characters, I think. I decided early on that it would be just too easy to set the book around the real-world superheroes I grew up with. No, I had to make more work for myself by building a parallel world where the best-known superhero is named Skylord instead of Superman or Spider-Man, and the preeminent science-fiction franchise is something called Star Station Sigma rather than Star Wars or Star Trek.

Skylord is the most important character in the Fandemonium fantasy universe – after all, it’s his costume Ray Sirico is wearing on the cover of the book. And Skylord is pretty cool. But I also have a soft spot for all the obscure fantasy characters, the ones that make only fleeting appearances in one or two lines of dialogue, or in small entries in the comic-book price-guide parody that appears in the novel.

I love the fantasy characters so much, in fact, that I gave them all their own back stories and published them in an online supplement to the novel here.

Please tell us more about why 1993 was such a special year in featuring this story?

One book blogger who liked the novel wondered about that too. One reason is that the 1992 “death” of Superman was a major real-life comic-book publishing stunt around that time, as I mentioned above, arguably the moment when comic books broke through the boundaries of nerd subculture to become part of mainstream pop culture. Today comic book adaptations are the most successful motion-picture genre, to say nothing of the revenue they generate from toy tie-ins, video games and the like.

But Fandemonium is also about mass media in transition, not just comics. And 1993 was the year everything changed forever in media because that’s when the graphical World Wide Web was introduced.

I’m a print journalist turned Web producer, so I think about these things. Ray Sirico and I have a conversation about these topics in my blog here.

Why should general fiction readers choose Fandemonium to read?

Comics are a very particular topic, but it’s a paradox of fiction that the more particular it is, the more universal it is. Why do we still relate to the story of a medieval Scottish warlord and his wife, for instance? Because Macbeth explores facets of human character that are as relevant now as when Shakespeare wrote it.

Not that I’m comparing Fandemonium to Macbeth, of course. That would be pretentious and presumptuous. Actually, Fandemonium is more like Henry IV.

Who is your favorite hero in fiction?

Now you’ve got me thinking about Shakespeare. Let’s see, there’s Hamlet, a feckless, hyperverbal procrastinator – yeah, I’ll go with Hamlet. I can relate to that guy.

Who is your favorite author? Why?

Thomas Pynchon blew my mind at a formative time. I wrote about that recently in my blog.

What book inspires you?

David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest also blew my mind. It altered the boundaries of what the novel can do. Wallace is an immense loss.

Which film do you like and why?

Oh gee, too many. I’m the sort of guy who can go crazy about art films like Malick’s The Tree of Life one minute and Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Godzilla: Final Wars the next. Pretty much anything that’s not commercial. Maybe I’m an obnoxious hipster movie snob. I have never seen Forrest Gump. Does that tell you anything?

Which TV show do you like? Why?

Also too big a subject. You’re talking to a guy who wrote a weekly TV column for a decade, and works for a daily TV show’s website right now. Let me say this: As banal as much of it is, I take television seriously. Like comics, it is a powerful and underrated medium. TV is better than the movies these days.

So let’s just talk about recent shows. Mad Men was an important show for me, as for many people. I wrote about it recently here and also here.

The most interesting show I’m watching right now is Mr. Robot, a somewhat surreal drama about a young computer hacker in which it’s difficult to tell just what’s going on, but it’s so contemporary and stylish and thoughtful that you just roll with it.

Oh, and the second season of HBO’s True Detective that recently ended was woefully underrated. People who do not appreciate it simply have not seen enough film noir.

What is your favorite film? Why?

Now you’ve got me thinking about film noir. I have too many favorite films to talk about, but the 1955 film noir Kiss Me Deadly, which is so noir the opening credits run backward, is one of them.

Incidentally, did you know that Antigone Bezzerides, Rachel McAdams’ character in True Detective Season 2, has the same surname as the screenwriter of Kiss Me Deadly? I stumbled across that just the other day. Even Wikipedia doesn’t note it. Antigone Bezzerides is a very good name. It’s the sort of name I would try to come up with for a character.

Which living person do you most admire?

I have the oldest yoga teacher in the world, Guinness World Records-certified. Her name is Tao Porchon-Lynch. She just turned 97. I had class with her just last night. She marched with Gandhi in India, twice. She was in the French Resistance. She had an MGM contract. She was friends with Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward. She wins ballroom dancing contests with male partners in their 20s. She embodies creativity, balance, tolerance and love, everything that is positive in life. She is my friend, and it is a privilege.

Which dead person do you most admire?

Now you’ve got me thinking about Gandhi. I’m good with Gandhi.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I think I just did! But there are some biographical details here, along with a photo my wife took that I like.

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Rick Schindler is an award-winning journalist and a lifelong comics fan and collector. He is an editor, writer and producer for NBC News Digital. Fandemonium is his first novel.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fandemoniumbook

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RickSchindler

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7730757-rick-schindler

Publisher Twitter: @wattlepub

Publisher Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WattlePublishing

Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Blood Sky by Traci L. Slatton @tracilslatton

 

 

Blood Sky

The After Series

Book 4

Traci L. Slatton

Genre: paranormal romance

Publisher: Parvati Press

Date of Publication: August 24, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-942523-02-4

ISBN: 978-1-942523-03-1 eBook

ASIN: B012TXZ4OC

Word Count: 67,000

Cover Artist: Gwyn Snider

Book Description:

In a time of apocalyptic despair, love is put to the test… Deep in the badlands of Outpost City, in the Dark Horse saloon, a poker game is being played. The stakes are life and death—for the world.

What can Emma afford to lose? Will she gamble on herself, or on Arthur?

Will love find a way when the apocalypse closes in? A mystical odyssey, a haunting love…

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/moBlcXPG33o

Available at Amazon

 

 

 

The seeds of all time are planted in every discrete moment. If you pause, breathe, and come to presence, you’ll discover this marvelous truth: that all of time is contained within each single instant, like a giant oak is contained within a fragile brown shell. It’s all laid out for you, all of it, the past and the future, events and people and destiny. All you have to do is come to awareness.

So I should have known that there would be trouble. I, Emma, should have known that love would fail, that it wouldn’t be enough to protect us all from the very person who had plunged us into the apocalypse a few years ago.

It was all there to be seen in the first moment we met, when he saved my daughter Mandy from the obliterating mists and then accepted my trade: myself for his protection of the band of orphans I was shepherding around France. We talked about food, and I pointed out that he was eating well. One notices such things after a global ecological cataclysm that has destroyed most of the planet’s buildings and people—and all of its manufacturing capabilities. One cares about who is eating well when one has been scrounging for scraps for several months. Priorities come into sharp focus.

He spoke of the mists and of rebuilding. I wanted to take Mandy back home to my husband and older daughter Emma in the Safe Zone of Edmonton, Canada. He had his goals and I had mine; his were lofty, mine were personal. I should have known a conflict was inevitable. But could I have predicted that the fate of the world would be tangled up in it?

Could I have foreseen that he would be taken by madness, a madness that had

slept within him since before the day his invention erupted to scour the Earth clean of structures and human beings? Even with all the mindfulness of the world, could I have known in advance that Arthur would be possessed by madness?

We left a mist-ravaged Outpost City and traveled east, mostly along the old Trans-Canada Highway. It was summer and we were en route to Quebec, where a boat waited to take us to Europe. ‘We’ consisted of Arthur and me and our beloved friends from the original camp in Europe: warrior woman Jeannie and Robert her Irishman and their infant twins, sharp-tongued French beauty Laurette and her companion Charles Nwokocha, who had been a famed linguist in the Before, and Serbian Theo and young Marco, the Italian whose madness had been cured by Arthur mere seconds before the mists swarmed around us. Other comrades from Canada had joined us: Donny who had once been a cop and inscrutable Kangee his Sioux wife, and pretty but feral Susie, saved from a band of raiders, and the sly pickpocket Gaff from Outpost City.

We were riding at a good clip, about fifty kilometers a day, and we were south and west of Winnipeg. In the late afternoon, we rode along a flat, straight road into a small community named Starbuck. It seemed deserted. There was no movement, no wild dogs or skinny cats or desperate rats scrounging for food. It felt empty and lifeless despite leafy trees and tall grass, and desolate in the way that ghost towns often did now, in the After. Even when a town wasn’t devoured by the mists, people didn’t want to live outside the Safe Zones where mists never encroached.

“Let’s check houses for food,” Arthur called, from the front of our peloton of horses and riders. He swiveled around in his saddle and nodded to Theo and Donny, who

peeled off together, trotting toward a small brown cape on the right with an abandoned car in the driveway. He turned toward me and Laurette and nodded again, and we picked up our reins to veer off to the left.

“Some of these homes look sweet to me,” Jeannie called. A worn expression scrolled over her lovely dark face with its pronounced cheekbones. “How about we find a place with food stock and we settle in for the evening?” She was as staunch in the saddle as ever, but since giving birth to twins a month ago, she tired easily. She pressed her lips gently to the forehead of the infant strapped onto her chest.

Arthur eyed her without responding.

“Aye, come on, Big Mister, let’s take a breather,” said Robert. “It’s not often me lady asks for one.”

“Every break slows us down, lengthens the time it takes us to get back to Europe and make a stand against the mists once and for all,” Arthur said.

“Arthur, we have two babies with us,” I called.

Arthur stared at me. Abruptly, he nodded. He could still see reason, at this point. He called, “Let’s find a place big enough to accommodate all of us. Then we’ll send out scouts for food.”

So Theo and Donny rejoined the group, and Laurette and I stayed tight to the

flank.

We rode along Arena Boulevard past a school and a recreation center to Birch Street. Tall, fragrant pines planted in neat rows and colorful perennials showed that the inhabitants had once taken loving care of their yards.

“Arthur,” Theo called, “big yellow house ahead, green Ford truck out front. Look

good. Check out?”

Arthur waved his assent.

Theo and Donny trotted out ahead of us to a sprawling yellow place with a spacious yard. I watched them dismount and take out their guns. This was the After, and they couldn’t be too careful. There was no telling who might be hiding in the house, and how sane they might be. Billions of people had died on The Day, that terrible Christmas eve that the mists rolled across the globe and devoured structures, people, animals, objects…anything with the wrong balance of metals in their chemical composition.

Fortunately, many millions of people, perhaps hundreds of millions, hadn’t died. But some percentage of the survivors were mad, and were a threat to the rest of us. The mists had made them mad.

“Emma,” said a quiet voice from my elbow.

I turned, and it was Susie. Her heart-shaped face was solemn. She jerked her blonde head to one side, wanting to speak to me privately. I guided my horse out a few meters away from Laurette. Susie followed so close that my horse danced anxiously beneath me.

“Quit!” I said firmly, dropping my heels in the stirrups. I looked over at Susie, who was practically at my shoulder. “So?”

Susie frowned. “Something’s wrong. Something here in this town.” “You’ve seen something?”

“Not exactly.” “Felt something?” “Not really.”

“Then what?” I pressed, in a low voice. Perhaps Susie had felt something with a sixth sense stimulated by the mists. All too often, the mists left strange psychic gifts in their wake, extrasensory abilities that both tormented and enhanced the recipient. We all feared these gifts because they often preceded madness. I had a gift, a healing gift in my hands, and I kept careful watch over my internal state, lest I descend into a chaos from which few people emerged.

Susie shook her head ferociously. She uttered, “Yah!” Her horse quickened its pace and she rode off toward the yellow house without answering me.

I stared after her in bemusement. Susie who lived to kill raiders was uncomfortable with something in Starbuck, and she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, explain her feeling to me. Perhaps it was ordinary intuition, perhaps it was something more. I looked around carefully, steering my horse in a tight clockwise spin when my neck wouldn’t turn anymore. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Streets were empty, houses were quiet and dark. There was no movement apart from our group.

“What’s wrong?” It was Arthur, who had guided his horse close to mine. He studied my face.

“Susie feels uneasy,” I murmured, still scanning the surroundings.

“She has good sensitivity, she’s open psychically,” he murmured back. “I always think she’ll be a key piece of the equation, when we mount an attack on the mists.” He looked around. “I don’t see anything.”

“Me, neither.” I frowned as I caught his eyes. “That’s what worries me.”

His gray eyes lit up, the way they always did when his genius struck him. Before the mists, Arthur had been a professor of sorts, a polymath inventor involved in military

research and development. “I know what you mean. It’s all a little too quiet.”

“Why are the yards all so tidy? And where are the dogs?” I wondered. “Packs of wild dogs run through every ghost town. We should have seen some.”

He scowled and gathered his reins in one hand, and then pulled out his pistol with the other.

I followed his example.

“What are we fearing?” Robert asked, riding up to us. He didn’t wait for us to answer but drew his weapon, as well, holding it firmly in his hand despite the baby nestled on his chest.

“The quiet,” Arthur answered.

Theo yelled for us to come to the house, breaking the unnatural silence of the sunny afternoon. Arthur motioned the rest of us to go ahead while he took up the rear and scanned the countryside.

The yellow house was spacious enough, a living room with a fireplace, four bedrooms, and a nicely appointed den. We were eleven adults and two babies, and Laurette assigned us all rooms. She delegated bedrooms to couples and gave Donny his own in case Kangee showed up, put Susie in the den, and told Marco, Theo, and Gaff to figure out their accommodations in the living room.

“I like this place, it is very well kept,” Laurette approved. She stood in the kitchen with her arms akimbo.

“Too well kept.” I was going through the pantry. There was little in it, though it was very well organized and spotlessly clean.

“I know what you mean, but why question it, it is so pleasant? You are so

suspicious, Emma,” Laurette said. She peered over my shoulder into the cabinet. “There are dried beans, we can use those.”

“Someone will have to hunt something, there’s not enough.” “We can look into nearby homes, also,” Laurette said. “Susie—”

“I don’t want to go out,” Susie said. She seated herself at the kitchen nook.

I pulled out a box of Earl Grey sachets. “Cup of tea? If I can get some water boiling.”

“There’s no electricity,” Susie said. She laid her head on her arms.

“The water runs,” Laurette said, turning on the faucet for a few seconds. “There’s a fireplace,” I said.

Jeannie came into the kitchen with a twin on each hip. “I’m so thankful to be off a horse! Emma, what have we got? Anything to snack on?” She slid into the nook table opposite Susie, who didn’t pick up her head.

“Not much, yet. I’m still looking,” I said.

Shaggy and awkward, Gaff stood in the doorway. “Arthur is sending us to scout for food in nearby houses.”

“Don’t go anywhere alone,” Susie murmured.

“He said to stay in pairs,” Gaff said. “I’ll be with Marco.” He watched Susie. “You okay?”

“Shut up,” she answered, but her voice sounded listless, without its usual snap for

Gaff.

“Go on, then, Gaff,” Jeannie said. She started unbuttoning her shirt so she could nurse the babies.

Gaff shrugged but he scowled at Susie and then made a face at me before he went outside.

I took his point: something was up with Susie.

Something more than what was usually up with her, that is. Susie was often quiet, depressive. She had been kept by a group of raiders after the mists had ravaged her home town and killed her family. The raiders had used her badly and the residue of their cruelty stayed with her. I had helped her get free after a mist incursion, and she was closer to me than anyone else, but she was still often remote.

“I will start a fire in the fireplace,” Laurette announced. She took a large pot from inside a cabinet and filled it with tap water, then went to the living room.

“It won’t matter,” Susie said. “Even if she gets the fire going and she boils the water. It won’t matter. Nothing matters.”

I leaned back against the sink, scrutinizing the girl. “Susie, you want to talk about

it?”

She turned her head to look in the other direction.

“So, food supplies?” Arthur asked, coming in. He walked over to me and put his hands on my hips. He smiled. “Didn’t we have our first encounter in a kitchen?” He touched my hair, lifted a blond lock to his lips. Then he leaned into me, his tall, muscled form lithe and warm along the length of me. He breathed deeply as if inhaling me and then he kissed me, running one hand along my neck and the other along my bottom. He lifted his mouth from my flesh to murmur, “We’ll have our own bedroom tonight.

Privacy. Finally. It’s starting to feel like a long, long trip to Quebec without any time alone together.” He kissed me again, hungrily, his hands roaming over me.

I felt myself melting, responding, as always. I had this response to Arthur, an instinctive physical surrendering. I couldn’t help myself.

“Yuck,” Susie muttered. Jeannie chortled.

Arthur pulled back. He threw a glance over his shoulder at Susie, and then raised an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head.

He stood back and reached past me to open the pantry door. “It’s tidy.”

“Too tidy,” I agreed. “Not a speck of dust or an insect carcass or anything. From what I’ve seen, the whole house is that way. Like it’s been hermetically sealed since the Before. Which is not possible.”

“There are no cairns commemorating the dead, either,” Arthur said, his voice deep and thoughtful. “We see them everywhere. But not for the last ten miles or so, and not in town.”

“Little food, clean homes and yards, no dogs or cats or dead gerbils, and no cairns,” I summarized.

“Someone’s in town,” he decided. “We don’t see them, but they’re here. They’re taking care of the homes.”

“I wonder why they didn’t greet us, one way or another. I doubt they’re mad.

Maybe OCD, but not crazy, not when they’re doing this much housekeeping.”

“Perhaps they were concerned about our sanity, or our intentions,” Arthur mused. “We’re an armed group riding in tight formation. It’s a reasonable concern.”

“They know you’re not crazy,” Susie said, her voice hollow. “They’ll come.” She

refused to say more even when Arthur and I pressed her.

Marco shot a deer with his bow and arrow, his first since returning to sanity a few weeks ago. Theo and Robert dug a shallow pit in the front yard and made a fire for roasting the deer, as they’d done many times before when we were on the road both here and in France, traveling hard and fast on a mission. Tucked away in the cellar of a house down the street, Gaff found a stash of food, including some canned goods. The big score was Ramen noodles. Laurette used a cast iron skillet in the fireplace to make a feast of the noodles, which had an expiration date sometime in the next millennium.

We wouldn’t have cared if the expiration date was last year, the piquancy of the seasonings made the noodles such a treat. We all appreciated simply having food, but delicious food, food that was well-seasoned, was cause for special celebration.

It was a warm dusk under a vast azure and plum sky. We sat outside around the fire to eat our meal. Gaff and Marco had dragged chairs out for us, and Laurette and I had found and lit citronella torches to discourage mosquitos, so we sat in comfort. Crickets trilled and cicadas whirred and bats streaked overhead and moths fluttered and the air smelled bright and fresh beneath the smoky pine of our kindling. Poplar and birch logs, found stacked behind a neighboring home, streaked the orange flames with dancing blue, red, and green nymphs of light.

“Does anywhere have more stars than here?” asked Robert.

“Aye, France, where we met,” Jeannie said. She exchanged a smile with Robert. “Less light pollution here, I think, because the spaces are so vast,” Arthur

commented. He was chewing a piece of venison backstrap, the succulent meat, tender yet

lean, along the spine of the deer. “Theo, your recipe for this meat gets better all the time.” “Use what I find for cooking,” Theo said modestly, but he looked pleased. He’d

found some spices in the cache of noodles and used them with great efficacy. “Something’s off,” Donny said. He set his plate on the ground beside him and

stood up. His dark, pockmarked face wore a brooding expression. He was a portly man of African descent, grounded, calm, and steady; he’d been a cop in the Before. We all trusted him implicitly. He muttered, “I feel it with my…other sense.”

We all grew quiet and a little tense. The mists had given Donny a special ability to sense other minds. Sometimes he could even influence other minds. We had relied on this mental power in other, prior missions.

“Do you feel a presence?” asked Nwokocha. “Alexei?” Arthur asked, sitting straighter.

Donny shook his head, No. It wasn’t the Russian psychopath who had bedeviled us over the past few years.

“Alexei will come to us, eventually,” Arthur stated. He was counting on it, in fact. “Maybe it’s Kangee returning?” I asked, hoping to see her.

Kangee had been given a mysterious ability to travel great distances. She would begin walking and the air would morph into red streaks and she’d be miles ahead of where she started out. I had experienced this myself once when she carried me on her back. Since she was unfettered by distances, she came and went from our group as she pleased. We kept her horse with us for the occasions she joined us.

“Not Kangee, I can feel my wife from, well, wherever she is when she starts to come back,” Donny rumbled. He stroked his chin, hard, as if he had something on it that

he wanted to rub away. “I can’t tell. I don’t know. What’s wrong with me?”

“We are all curious, Donny, but don’t fret yourself,” Nwokocha said. He pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at Donny.

“I don’t know,” Donny said in frustration. “But I know they’re here. They’re here, I can feel them.”

“They, who?” I asked. But I didn’t wait for an answer. I took my gun from my backpack at my feet and rose.

Arthur and a few others rose, also. Susie buried her face in her hands. A small voice piped up, “They, us.”

A small rustle of movement intensified until it saturated the space around us. Scattered gossamer ribbons of light twisted in the firelight like DNA helixes, and then several small forms slowly became visible, first as columns and then as people.

I yelped, and exclamations flew up from Laurette, Jeannie, Gaff, and Marco. “We’re here to talk to her,” said the small voice. It belonged to a dark-haired,

dark-eyed girl of about nine years old. She was one of dozens of children who suddenly encircled us in the yard. The girl pointed a slim index finger at Susie.

Arthur took in a quick, startled breath. “What do you want with her?”

The girl looked at him and tilted her head, a birdlike pose. “She can do it. You can help her, maybe. She can do it. Susie, come.”

“Do what?” Arthur asked.

The girl turned away from him to gesture to Susie. “I am Irina. Come with me.

You’re the one we’ve been waiting for.”

Susie got up and walked toward Irina. “No, Susie—” I started.

“Susie, stay where you are,” Arthur said, in his command voice.

But Susie kept walking. Her face was blank, expressionless. She took Irina’s hand. The two of them vanished.

Theo, Laurette, and I lunged toward the now vacant spot. Gaff yelled, “Susie!”

“Bring her back this instant!” I yelled. I drew myself up, placed my hands on my hips, and made a ferocious face of command. I had two children of my own, Beth and Mandy—I knew how to scowl effectively.

“Don’t worry,” said a boy by me. He was six or seven, with ragged red hair and missing front teeth. “Don’t worry, Emma.” He patted my arm and then he vanished, too.

All at once, all the children were gone.

Robert squeaked. “Where’d the little birds fly with our girl?”

The rest of us stood aghast, unmoving. The appearance and disappearance before our eyes of so many people—children—was so unexpected that it befuddled us.

I was at high alert and almost jumped out of my skin when Arthur touched my shoulder. “Arthur? We have to get Susie back!”

“Sh,” he said, his head cocked. “Listen.”

So I froze. I strained to hear what Arthur did. It was a steady susurration, a kind of syncopated snicking that receded into the ethers. Then I got it: it was the sound of many bodies breathing as multitudes of little feet pattered over grass and pavement.

Arthur saw the comprehension grow on my face. He nodded. “Yes. They’re

cloaked. They’re not teleporting the way Kangee does.” “Grab one?” I asked, under my breath.

He shook his head, No.

“Why do they want Susie?” I wondered. “Where did they take her?” “They have to bring her back,” Gaff said. He lifted his hat off his head and

scraped his hands back over his thicket of dirty-blond hair. His narrow face was set and stern. “I mean, she’s a heinous bitch and all, but they can’t have her. She’s one of us.”

“I think she knew they were here all along,” Laurette said slowly. I nodded. But now what?

Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

Yes! When I was 6 years old, I went from reading “See Spot Run” to reading novels within a few months. The first “big book” I read was called “Angel Unaware” about a deceased child, now an angel, watching his family from heaven. I was deeply moved by the book. It was like a lightning bolt through my soul, and I knew then that I wanted to do that, I wanted to write novels. Since then, writing novels has been the longing that leads me through my life.

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

Good question, and it has two answers. One is that from the moment I read my first novel, I wanted to be a writer, and from the time I finished my first poem, I knew I was one. On the other hand, I am constantly striving to become a “writer,” constantly pushing myself to deepen and improve the art and craft of my writing. Right now I’m reading a lot of Joseph Campbell as part of my evolution as a writer. So, in one sense, I’ve been a writer as long as I can remember, but also, it’s an evolutionary journey with no tangible end in sight.

How long did it take to get your first book published?

It took a long time and I collected a gazillion rejection letters. I’ve been writing poems and stories since I was about 7. I had a few poems, stories, and essays published in various through the years, then in about 2002, literary journals started publishing my poems and stories. In 2004 I got two book contracts, one for PIERCING TIME & SPACE, through the ARE Press, and one for IMMORTAL from BantamDell. It’s been a long journey.

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

I was a hands-on-healer with a practice for over a decade.

Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

I have been both traditionally and independently published. BLOOD SKY is published by Parvati Press, a small independent press.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

It can take anywhere from 10 months to a few years. IMMORTAL (BantamDell 2008), my first novel, was a tale set in Renaissance Florence, and it covered a few hundred years. Between research, writing, and revision, that book took almost 3 years. BLOOD SKY (Parvati Press 2015) took about a year.

What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I will continue to write books for my romantic paranormal dystopian After Series. In between After Series books, I write standalone books. Some are historical fiction and some are women’s fiction. Having finished BLOOD SKY, I am working on a contemporary women’s fiction novel called THE YEAR OF LOVING, about a woman who gets involved in a love triangle with a younger man and an older man.

What genre would you place your books into?

Loosely, paranormal fiction as the broadest possible genre. Paranormal romance as a secondary category. Even my historical novels IMMORTAL and BROKEN have paranormal elements, though the historical parts are carefully researched.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

I have a deep sense of the immanence and transcendence of spirit in life, so that bubbles up into my writing.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

I like all of my characters, but there is a special pleasure in writing a crazy one. Alexei from the After Series is a total sociopath, so that’s fascinating to write, because he’s marbled through with good and evil. I was very disturbed by writing the Nazi Gestapo chief in BROKEN, so that was hard to do, but a good exercise, I think. I am always interested in deepening my characters, so writing a multitude of different kinds of people lends itself toward three dimensionality.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

I read many of the reviews, but not all of the Goodreads reviews. In the Book Review Blogs, most reviewers try to be fair and to give a fair reading and review. Also, over the years I’ve cultivated bloggers who are intelligent and honest, and I trust what they have to say, even if they don’t love one of my books. Honest, fair feedback is essential to the growth and development of a writer’s craft.

However, there are trolls on Goodreads who are just out to do a hatchet job on an author as publicly as possible. For whatever reason, mixed in with the many wonderful Goodreads reviewers, there are angry, bitter people whose goal is to throw a lot of mud. So I avoid those reviews.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

Good question. There’s usually an organic flow where I start writing and then come up with the title as I’m working through the first draft.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

For creating characters, I use two different methods. One is a character X system. This is a variation on something learned in David Freeman’s Beyond Structure screenwriting class.

A fully dimensional character needs 3-4 character traits to flesh him or her out. Fewer than that, the character feels flat; more than that, and it’s hard to get a handle on who the character is. So I draw out an X on a clean sheet of paper and I label each of the end-points with a character trait. I try to make sure that at least one of the traits isn’t too noble—I think it’s hard to relate to a character who’s too perfect. For example, Arthur’s basic four traits are: Charismatic, Intellectually Brilliant, Athletic, and Jealous. There are nuances, of course. But I always have the character X on hand when I work. It helps me keep the character coherent.

There’s another technique that I also use. I studied astrology for a long time, and I draw out charts for my characters. Sometimes the charts are just partial horoscopes, but they speak to me in rich symbolic form. For example, Arthur has Sagittarius rising and a Leo sun, Venus in Virgo. Emma has Virgo rising—the classic healer—and moon in Leo. Her moon interlocks with Arthur’s sun, and Arthur’s Venus in Virgo shows his appreciation of her.

Luca Bastardo, the protagonist of my historical novel IMMORTAL, had a hell of a tight Pluto-Venus square.

Those astrological signatures communicate to me in rapid shorthand and help me with character development.

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")

There are some ideas that matter to me that I try to present within my books. For one, we have far greater abilities than the concrete, material senses acknowledged by Newtonian science, and I try to share that with readers. Also, BLOOD SKY turns around Emma’s choices. She has to come to understand that she is making a choice at every turn. I think facing our choices is part of maturation.

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

I’ll read any format, but I do prefer print books. I like the sensual experience of curling up with a good book, flipping the pages with my fingers, smelling the paper and print. Yummy!

 

 

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Traci L. Slatton is the international bestselling author of historical, paranormal, and romantic novels, including IMMORTAL (BantamDell) and BROKEN; the award-winning dystopian After Series which includes FALLEN, COLD LIGHT, FAR SHORE, and BLOOD SKY; the bittersweet romantic comedy THE LOVE OF MY (OTHER) LIFE; and the vampire art history romp THE BOTTICELLI AFFAIR. She has also published the lyrical poetry collection DANCING IN THE TABERNACLE and THE ART OF LIFE, a photo-essay about figurative sculpture through the ages. Her book PIERCING TIME & SPACE explores the meeting ground of science and spirituality.

http://www.tracilslatton.com

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@tracilslatton

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https://plus.google.com/102606938491176982148/posts

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1183442.Traci_L_Slatton

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/traci-l.-slatton-podcasts/id806150607

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Book Blast & Giveaway: Sunset Surprise by Natalie-Nicole Bates @BatesNatalie

BOOK INFORMATION TITLE – Sunset Surprise SERIES – Sunset Beach Romance Series #4 AUTHOR – Natalie-Nicole Bates GENRE – Contemporary romance PUBLICATION DATE – 08/25/2015 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 12, 500 words PUBLISHER – Books to go Now Publishing BOOK SYNOPSIS Summer Whitney’s life is spinning out of control. After the death of her fiancé, she closed her successful tattoo shop and travelled the world searching for something or someone to hold on to. A reunion at Sunset Beach brought about a hasty decision to move back home seeking reconnection with her friends and family. But a surprise visit from ex love Kimon Galanos brings shocking news of the past – and the present. Will Summer remain long enough in Sunset Beach to rekindle love and finally find the last happiness that has eluded her all of her life, or will she run away again, this time forever? BUY & TBR LINKS AMAZON KINDLE US AMAZON KINDLE CA AMAZON KINDLE UK SMASHWORDS EXCERPT

Regret.

The acid that festers and blisters your soul and your heart. If you’re lucky enough, scabs will form. If not, you remain ravaged and damaged forever.

Summer Whitney walked along the stretch of Sunset Beach for what seemed hours, while she contemplated her life.

Regret.

Maybe she made life altering decisions too soon after Erick’s death. Deluded herself into thinking Sunset Beach would somehow be the answer to all of her problems, to the grating loneliness she felt day in and day out.

It wasn’t too late to run. Running away was something Summer was very good at. Leave everything and everyone behind again.

This time it would be forever.

AUTHOR BIO Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author. Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia. She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos. AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS Goodreads Tsu Facebook Fan Group Twitter Facebook Blog Street Team Sign Up Amazon Author Central Page GIVEAWAY $10 Amazon gift card a Rafflecopter giveaway This Blitz has been organized & hosted by

Cover Reveal: DARK & DANGEROUS: BOXED SET by various authors

Title: Dark & Dangerous: A Boxed Set of possessive alphas, sexy bad-boys, and savage heroes

Authors: Clarissa Wild, Lili St. Germain, Nashoda Rose, Lily White, Jaden Wilkes, Gemma James, Vanessa Waltz, Skye Warren & Skye Callahan

Release Date: October 13th, 2015

Genre: Dark Romance & Suspense (18+)

Cover Designer: LM Creations

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26118448-dark-dangerous



Synopsis







*** 8 tales of dark desire from your favorite NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY Bestselling Authors! ***

Over 2500 pages of hot & dangerous alpha males - On SALE for a LIMITED TIME!


Delicious dark romance, toe-curling suspense, and sinful pleasure, all packed into one boxed set. We’ve gathered all your favorite Dark Romance and Suspense stories and combined them into one scorching bundle. These possessive alphas, sexy bad-boys, and savage heroes will claim your heart and leave you begging for mercy.




~ Mr. X (Clarissa Wild):

He’s come to kill me. I don’t know his name, but I know he wants me. He is Mr. X; the man who comes to claim my life. Can I save myself before he demands my heart?




~ Gypsy Brothers (Lili St. Germain): 

Six years ago, Juliette Portland was viciously attacked and left for dead by people she trusted. People inside her father’s motorcycle club, greedy for power, who defiled her, shot her father dead and destroyed everything she ever cared about.

Only, she didn't die. She survived ... and now, she's out for revenge.




~ Overwhelmed By You (Nashoda Rose):

I don’t deserve her, but I’m selfish and I’m taking her anyway. This is who I am and it’s too late to change me.




~ Serial Volume 1 (Jaden Wilkes & Lily White):

Jude Hollister kills. Born with everything, wanting for nothing, murder has become his addiction. He kills women who entice him. He immortalizes them while they’re still young and beautiful. How will he manage to save the one woman he loves?




~ Epiphany (Gemma James):

He haunts her in her dreams, but she’s never laid eyes on him. Until now.




~ His Witness (Vanessa Waltz):

He kidnapped me.He was charming, powerful, intoxicating. Accepting his advances might be the last mistake I'd ever make. Now I'm trapped in his basement, completely at his mercy.




~ Love The Way You Lie (Skye Warren):

I'll do anything to stay free, even if it means taking my clothes off for strangers. So I dance, hiding under the shadows and bright lights. Then I see him in the audience, and I know my past isn't the only thing I need to run from...



~ Irrevocable (Skye Callahan):

I remembered! They stripped me of my life but never my will to survive. Descending into their darkness and making it my own became my only escape.














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Authors





Clarissa Wild




Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, best known for the dark Romance novel Mr. X. Her novels include the Fierce Series, the Delirious Series, and Stalker. She is also a writer of erotic romance such as the Blissful Series, The Billionaire's Bet series, and the Enflamed Series. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite meals.



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Lili St. Germain



Lili writes dark, disturbing romance. Her USA Today bestselling Gypsy Brothers series focuses on a morally bankrupt biker gang and the girl who seeks her vengeance upon them. The Cartel series is a prequel trilogy of full-length novels that explores the beginnings of the club, to be released worldwide in print and ebook in 2015 by HarperCollins.



Lili quit corporate life to focus on writing and so far is loving every minute of it. Her other loves in life include her gorgeous husband and beautiful daughter, good coffee, Tarantino movies and spending hours on Pinterest.





She loves to read almost as much as she loves to write.



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Nashoda Rose


Nashoda Rose is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She writes contemporary romance with a splash of darkness, or maybe it's a tidal wave. When she isn't writing, she can be found sitting in a field reading with her dog at her side, while her horses graze nearby. She loves interacting with her readers and chatting about her addiction--books.



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Lily White



Lily White is a dark writer who likes to dabble on the taboo side of eroticism. Most of the time she can be found wandering around aimlessly while her mind is stuck in some twisted power play between two characters in her head. You may recognize her in public by the confused expression, random mumbling, and occasional giggle while thinking up a scene. Lily's favorite things in life are reading, thinking about reading, buying books for reading....and writing. Her other secret pleasure is meeting with her plot editor in public to discuss her books and watching the shocked expressions of the people around her that don't realize she's talking about a book. When Lily is not reading, writing, wandering or freaking out innocent bystanders, she's sleeping.



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Jaden Wilkes



Jaden is the pen name of a girl living on the prettiest farm in BC. She shares her space with her husband, her children, and an Irish Wolfhound named Tiberius. She can now be found lurking in the dark corners of the internet looking for artful porn gifs, dirty poems and places to promo her work.



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Gemma James


Gemma James is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of a blend of genres, from new adult suspense to dark erotic romance. She loves to explore the darker side of human nature in her fiction, and she's morbidly curious about anything dark and edgy, from deviant sex to serial killers. Readers have described her stories as being "not for the faint of heart."





She warns you to heed their words! Her playground isn't full of rainbows and kittens, though she likes both. She lives in Oregon with her husband and their four children--three rambunctious UFC/wrestling-loving boys and one girl who steals everyone's attention.



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Vanessa Waltz


My name is Vanessa and steamy, bad boy romances with headstrong alpha males are my trade. Feel free to drop me a line at waltzbooks@gmail.com. Join my newsletter here for discounts, information on new releases, and more!



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Skye Warren


Skye Warren is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of dark romance. Her books are raw, sexual and perversely tender. For those new to her work, consider the bestseller Wanderlust, Prisoner or the Dark Nights series starting with Trust in Me.



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Skye Callahan


Skye Callahan is the bestselling author of Irrevocable a dark romance that ran away with her emotions and led her on a whole new writing journey. She enjoys exploring the darker sides of life through her fiction, whether through paranormal creatures or the depraved underbelly of human nature. Her other works include the follow up to Irrevocable, Bend Don't Break, The Redline Series, The Fractured Legacy Series, and Bound and Unbroken.





Her love of reading and writing started at a young age and she has been blessed with a family that continues to support her dreams to be a full-time writer. She has lived in Ohio all of her life, where she enjoys taking long walks through cemeteries with her husband (when the insane Ohio weather permits), studying local history, and trying to make peace with the neighbor's cats.



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Cover Reveal: One With the Shadows by Susan Squires @susansquires

BOOK INFORMATION TITLE – One With the Shadows SERIES – The Companion Series AUTHOR – Susan Squires GENRE – Regency Paranormal Romance PUBLICATION DATE – September 15, 2015 LENGTH – 322 pages PUBLISHER – Independent COVER ARTIST – Rebecca Poole, Dreams2Media BOOK SYNOPSIS Bestselling author Susan Squires brings you a shadowy world of seduction and betrayal, vengeance and desire… TEMPTATION BEGINS IN DARKNESS Kate Malone makes her living reading Tarot cards and fleecing society’s elite. With no prospect of independence, her own fate looks bleak. But Kate’s fortunes change when she steals a magnificent emerald—and is confronted by a mysterious stranger. Kate is sure the striking gentleman’s attention is a ruse to retrieve the gem. But his presence awakens her to a passion she never dreamed of… and to powers she never knew she possessed. AND LASTS FOR ETERNITY Gian Urbano is bound by honor to retrieve the mystical stone that can drain a vampire’s power—and drive them to madness. The willful, stunning Kate has no idea of the emerald’s dark magic, or the lengths Gian’s enemies will go to possess it. But soon Gian discovers for Kate a desire more compelling than duty—one that could save them both or lead them to their downfall… “Squires writes a darkly compelling vampire romance.”—Affaire de Coeur Full of colorful characters, romantic locales and vivid details of 1820’s life [One with the Shadows] has a delicious pace and plenty of thrills, and her vampire myths is both mannered—almost Victorian—and intriguingly offbeat. Bound to net a wide audience of paranormal fans, this one may even convert devotees of traditional historical.”—Publisher’s Weekly (A Best Book of the Year) BUY & TBR LINKS AMAZON KINDLE US AMAZON KINDLE CA AMAZON KINDLE UK SMASHWORDS iTUNES GOODREADS AUTHOR BIO Susan Squires is a New York Times bestselling author known for breaking the rules of romance writing. Whatever her time period, or subject, some element of the paranormal always creeps in. She has won multiple contests for published novels and reviewer's choice awards. Publisher's Weekly named Body Electric one of the year’s most influential mass market books and One with the Shadows a Best book of the Year. Time for Eternity, the first in the DaVinci time travel series, received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly. Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and two very active Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboarddddddddddddddddddddddd. AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER MAILING LIST GOODREADS This Cover Reveal Was Organized & Hosted By: Special Thank You To Carly's Book Reviews For The HTML Creation