Margo Bond Collins's Blog, page 85
November 6, 2014
Bound by Blood by Margo Bond Collins ~ Available for Pre-Order
Hi, everyone! My new Night Shift series novella, Bound by Blood, is now available for pre-order and will be delivered Monday, November 10!
Bound by Blood is set in the Night Shift world, and complements Sanguinary, but it is also a stand-alone work.
Sometimes the monsters in the dark are real…
As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother’s cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.
Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city’s children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.
But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected….
___________________________________
Excerpt
Sitting straight up in bed, I gasped and threw myself back against the headboard, the thud dying away along with the remaining shreds of my dream.
But the word still ricocheted through my mind.
Aswang.
Until yesterday, I hadn’t thought of the term in years—not since I’d left Houston for med school in Maine, determined to get as far away from home as I could.
But this resurgence of the same, odd illness that had swept my city years before was apparently also dredging up the old stories from deep in my subconscious: the aswang, a vampiric woman who lived a quiet life by day and fed on children in the night, flying back home on bat-wings just before dawn.
My unconscious mind had clearly also expanded on the idea, casting me in the role of aswang and adding schizoid conversations with a chorus of internal voices.
Great. I’m insane in my dreams.
And I’m a monster.
Shuddering, I wiped my hand across my gritty, raw eyelids.
_____________________________________________
Order via Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novella-ebook/dp/B00PB3AIGC/
_____________________________________________
About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
_____________________________________________
Connect with Margo
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
_____________________________________________
Plotting and Planning–a #Writing Manual, Just in Time for #NaNoWriMo! (@suzdemello #MFRWAuthor #iamwriting)
Hey there, aspiring authors! Ever wondered how an author plots and writes a book?
Wonder no more! Suzie deMello is here to tell you the secrets, or at least a few of them.
Plotting and Planning is Suzie’s second writing treatise, following the best-selling Write This, Not That!
Another engaging, witty writing primer from Suz deMello, whose Write This, Not That! was an Amazon bestseller. Plotting, point of view, character creation, conflict and much more are examined in this brief but pithy writing manual. A must for the serious writer who wants the basics without boredom.
Here’s an excerpt to pique your interest:
How does an author write a book?
Unfortunately for aspiring authors, this is not an easy question to answer. It’s tantamount to asking, Where do authors get their ideas? which, believe me, is our least favorite question. I often tell people I get them at Sears—they’re sold by the dozen in the basement between the barbecues and the bikes.
In reality, I get my ideas from almost anywhere. Maybe a magazine article about a place or event. Perhaps someone I meet or something a person says may trigger a train of thought that will eventually lead to a book. Maybe travel to someplace new ignites the creative spark that will inspire me.
Here’s a better question: What are the building blocks of plot and story?
If you like what you read, here’s where you can buy the ebook:
http://tinyurl.com/deMelloPlotting
About Suz deMello
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s held the positions of managing editor and senior editor, working for several including Totally Bound and Ai Press. She also takes private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.
Check out Suzie’s site: http://www.suzdemello.com
And her blog: http://www.TheVelvetLair.com
November 5, 2014
Waiting On Wednesday: Adrianne James’s Box Set ~ Mackenzie Duncan Series
Title: The Mackenzie Duncan Box Set
Author: Adrianne James
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance
Includes: The Tempering, The Enlightening, The Uprising
Mackenzie Duncan’s whole life is ripped from her by the teeth of a strange wolf with yellow-green eyes. Learning quickly that she now lived by the moon cycles was hard enough, but finding her heart torn between two hot Werewolves amidst the blood and violence her new life brought was almost too much to handle. When her new pack’s secrets came to light, Mackenzie’s conscious wouldn’t let her stay quiet. Follow along the amazing journey as Mackenzie fights for what her heart wants and what her kind needs.
____________________________________________________________
The Mythology department at prestigious Harvard University is tiny—and Mackenzie Duncan has just been selected as one of the lucky few. Her love for myths and legends is strong, but she never thought any of it could be real.
After being attacked by a large wolf while walking home alone, Mackenzie realizes something is not right. She heals quickly, is suddenly super strong, and is experiencing mood swings that can’t possibly be normal. The myths she’s studying aren’t myths at all. Werewolves are real and she’s one of them. Fear of what she is, and who she might hurt sends Mackenzie running from the life she’s worked hard to build–and straight into the arms of a handsome Were named Geoff and into the home of his pack. Living with her new pack takes the edge off her confusion and self-loathing, but the arrival of new pack members changes the dynamic, and tests Geoff and Mackenzie’s growing relationship.
The hardest part of being a werewolf is having no control and no memory of her time as a blood thirsty beast. When a moon cycle passes and she actually remembers bits and pieces of the night, she starts to ask questions, and the more questions she asks, the more she realizes she doesn’t like the answers. Can she set aside her own sense of morals to belong to a pack that is like a family or will she leave everything behind yet again in search of a life she can be proud of?
The Enlightening, book #2
Mackenzie Duncan found out that pack life wasn’t for her. Now she is running for the second time in the six months since she was bitten and turned into a Werewolf. But this time, she isn’t alone. This time, she has Geoff and Liam with her, two very hot Werewolves vying for her heart.
But her companions aren’t her focus. The only thing she can focus on is getting far from her old pack and their murderous ways. Only, she doesn’t just want to run. She wants to warn every pack she can that their lives are in danger too. No one should be turned against their will like she was and no other pack should have to surrender to the ideas of a centuries old, power hungry woman.
Not only does Mackenzie have to deal with her crazy ex-pack leader sending people out to kill her, she has to keep both men at arm’s length (and that proves to be much more difficult than she thought), but she finds out more about her own life and heritage than she ever thought imaginable.
And suddenly, everything makes sense…
Ever since Mackenzie Duncan watched her skin knit together after being ripped apart by a blood thirsty Werewolf, her life has been anything but normal. After being part of a pack with more secrets than the FBI, Mackenzie left and tried not to look back. Her old pack leader Margaret, a Royal wolf hungry to regain the throne and rule over all the world’s Werewolves, made that impossible. Figuring out who to trust was full of heart break, but moving forward left her with a clear path ahead.
After Mackenzie found out that she, too, is part of the Royal blood line and that she had inadvertently endangered every pack she came into contact with, she feels that it is her duty to help stop Margaret at all costs before any more blood is shed or another life is lost.
Despite traveling the world with Liam, the man she loves, her life is in danger at every turn in her hunt for other Werewolves willing to stand against Margaret. Who better to fight then the blood line that shunned the role of power centuries ago?
Bloody battles surround her at every turn and when Mackenzie thinks all is lost, she has to find a way to embrace her past and accept her future.
____________________________________________________________
About Adrianne James
Growing up, Adrianne couldn’t get her hands on enough books to satisfy her need for the make believe. If she finished a novel and didn’t have a new one ready and waiting for her, she began to create her own tales of magic and wonder. Now, as an adult, books s till make up majority of her free time, and now her tales get written down to be shared with the world.
During the day, Adrianne uses her camera to capture life’s stories for clients of all ages and at night, after her two children are tucked in bed; she devotes herself to her written work. Adrianne is living the life she always wanted, surrounded by art and beauty, the written word and a loving family.
Paranormal Romance is Adrianne’s most loved genre, but you will find she dabbles in contemporary stories as well. But one thing is for sure, Adrianne writes strong heroines and strong loves.
____________________________________________________________
Giveaway
**Additional entry options will be added on November 11th, November 22nd, and December 1st**
November 4, 2014
Guest Post by Vincent Panettiere, Author of A Woman to Blame
About The Author
Vincent Panettiere is a former literary agent, representing writers and directors in televIsion and film. At the same time he was certified by the Major League Players Association (MLBPA) to represent major league baseball players. Previously he was an executive with Twentieth Century Fox and CBS.
A WOMAN TO BLAME is his first novel.
Previously he wrote and published The Internet Financing Illusion which investigated the dark side of the Internet and the scams committed upon unsuspecting businessmen.
About the Book
A thoroughbred race horse collapses and dies after finishing last in a race he was favored to win. Hours later the stallion’s trainer, a young woman with a promising career, is found dead on a suburban Chicago beach.
A woman to blame? The police draw a facile solution – murder/suicide.
Mike Hegan, a veteran police detective being forced to retire on medical disability, refuses to believe the official version. His search for the truth
leads him to a promontory on a Caribbean island where scores are settled and lives lost.
Links
Guest Post by Vincent Panettiere
I wrote my first short story when I was in high school. Of course I didn’t know how to write a short story and had never taken any courses in writing. But I had written for my high school newspaper…So. I sent it to a “woman’s magazine”; the kind that used to be sold at supermarket check-out counters. Either Family Circle or Woman’s Day or both. Another first -it was rejected.
On one rejection slip was a hand written note that began “…though you are young…” don’t remember the rest but it was encouraging overall and I did keep it in my wallet – the way other high school boys used to keep a condom (As if!) – until it got moldy.
Unbowed, I showed the story to my high school English teacher who – because divorce was mentioned in the story – thought I had written a “cry for help.”
When my father learned I had written the story he bought my first typewriter which I still have – eons later – and which worked perfectly until I had it cleaned.
I wrote for my college newspaper and literary magazine – short stories, book reviews etc.
After graduating from college I wrote for a wire service and daily newspaper in Boston. It was somewhere around that time I decided I needed to get serious about a career and ended up in public relations. I was still writing but it was boiler plate stuff.
Years later I started writing screen plays and submitting them to studios in California. They came back too. A woman at one studio suggested I move to Los Angeles and give it a shot. I did and within a few years sold four film projects. None were produced. Quelle surprise!
Through a friend I was hired by a literary agency – then started my own. I figured I could combine my promotion skills with my ability to write. Ten years later I closed the agency wrote my first book The Internet Financing Illusion – a tour of the Internet underworld. From there it was another leap to my first novel A Woman To Blame.
Originally it was written as a film script – n.b. this advice – do not throw out anything you’ve written. The book is superior to the script and more fun to write.
I’ve recently finished a second novel.
What is the meaning of my long and winding road? Can’t tell as I am not at the end.
I often wonder if I had not “gotten serious” about starting a career perhaps I’d have written more books by now. We’ll never know.
I do know that it is very important not to give up; not to give in to the opinions of others – even if they out-stature you – i.e. professors, parents, friends, literary agents are in that category.
Be true to yourself (a blatant cliche) and trust yourself (another one). If you do that you’ll never have any regrets.
_______________________________
The Winner Takes All Giveaway ~ Hosted by Rainy Kaye, Author of Summoned
November 3, 2014
Book Blitz & Giveaway: Fairy, Texas by Margo Bond Collins
Fairy, Texas (Fairy, Texas #1)
by Margo Bond Collins
Release Date: 02/06/14
Summary from Goodreads:
Laney Harris thinks there might be monsters in Fairy, Texas.
She’s right.
When her mother remarried and moved them to a town where a date meant hanging out at the Sonic, Laney figured that “boring” would have a whole new meaning. A new stepsister who despised her and a high school where she was the only topic of gossip were bad enough. But when she met the school counselor (and his terminal bad breath), she grew suspicious. Especially since he had wings that only she could see. And then there were Josh and Mason, two gorgeous glimmering-eyed classmates whose interest in her might not be for the reasons she hoped. Not to mention that dead guy she nearly tripped over in gym class.
Boring takes on an entirely new dimension in Fairy, Texas.
If she’s going to survive in this small town, she’ll have to learn to wing it.
Buy Links:Amazon│Barnes& Noble│Books-a-Million│Book Depository
About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Waking Up Dead, Fairy, Texas, and Legally Undead. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. She teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal fiction of any genre, and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them.
Connect with Margo
Amazon│Email│Website│Blog│Twitter│Google+│Goodreads│Facebook│Pinterest
GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Book Blitz Organized by:
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
November 2, 2014
The Songs of UNSTRUNG ~ a Guest Post by Kendra C. Highley
The Songs of UNSTRUNG
To make my characters come to life, I have to have a playlist that both matches the main players’ personalities and the overall theme of the book. For my first YA SciFi, I wanted a futuristic sound, but also a tongue-in-cheek feel. Lexa’s situation is pretty extreme, but there’s a jadedness mixed in with her spunk and vulnerability. Plus, there’s some romance going on as well. So, how do you match all that up with music? Here’s the playlist:
1. The soundtrack to Tron: Legacy. That might sound cheesy, but DAFT PUNK(!) wrote and performed the entire score. As a lover of good (and sometimes, bad) electronica, this sound was perfect for UNSTRUNG.
2. The Resistance album by Muse. This album (along with Black Holes and Revelations) will likely play a major part in Lexa’s story. “Madness” from their latest album made the cut as well.
3. “Miss Murder” by AFI
4. “Come with Me Now” by Kongos
5. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” covered by Lorde
6. “Mr. Hurricane” and “Ashtray” by Beast
7. “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways
8. “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones
9. “Sweet Surrender” by Sarah McLachlan
10. “Time Is What You Need” by Benassi Bros.
______________________
Book One: Unstrung Series
Lexa Pate, seventeen-year-old thief extraordinaire, has burned a bridge or two in her life. You don’t make a career out of stealing other people’s property without making enemies.
When a risky job goes from bad to worse, Lexa and her adopted family find themselves on Precipice Corporation’s hit list because they’ve accidentally stolen the wrong thing–plans for a new model of genetically-engineered super humans. Now every bounty hunter, cop on the take, and snitch in the city is after them.
Lexa’s world crumbles around her as she fights to keep her family safe even as someone strolls out of her forgotten past. Quinn claims to know who Lexa really is, but can she trust a stranger she met while robbing his boss?
More importantly, does she really want to know what Quinn has to tell her?
Based on the fairy tale Pinocchio, UNSTRUNG takes you into a near future world where the lines between fake and real are blurred, all that’s pristine isn’t always innocent, and being a criminal isn’t always wrong.
BUY LINKS
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Unstrung-Kendra-C-Highley-ebook/dp/B00NG77CVY/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unstrung-kendra-c-highley/1120348281?ean=2940046161878
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474936?ref=kindallas
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unstrung/id918244621?mt=11
______________________
About the Author
Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important cats. This, according to the cats, is her most crucial job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica. If she’s not writing, she’s reading. If she’s not writing or reading, she’s likely a little cranky.
Website: http://www.kendrachighley.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kchighley
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KendraHighley
______________________
Blog Tour Giveaway
______________________
Spotlight On: Dream Vacation, by J.J. DiBenedetto
Excerpt
I watch her eyes in the rear-view mirror. They’re darting all around; I assume she’s trying to decide whether to keep on lying, or to just tell us what she was really doing today. Her internal debate goes on for a while, and, finally, Mom fills the silence. “It was a boy.” Now Grace starts to speak, but Mom goes on. “We’re not stupid, Grace. Of course it was a boy. You didn’t come all the way out here just to ride on the Cyclone, any more than your mother took a job as a lifeguard in high school just because she liked the smell of chlorine.”
I want to protest that, but I hold my tongue. First of all because she’s right. But mostly because I think I see what she’s doing: letting Grace know that we are really upset – but that it’s something we’ll all get past.
“I – I didn’t think you’d – I didn’t think you’d want me to – I was afraid.” Grace stammers, in a small voice.
I don’t think this is an act. “Afraid of what?”
“It was a boy. I knew him from – from before.” I’m about to ask “before what?” when Mom lets out a little gasp, and it hits me. Before she came to us. We’ve never said anything about her seeing – or not seeing – anybody from her family, her old life. And until this moment, neither has she.
Bio:
J.J. (James) DiBenedetto’s fans would swear he’s got a sixth sense when it comes to seeing into the minds of others and often wonder if his stories could possibly be fiction. He enjoys suspending disbelief with suspenseful paranormal tales that are a perfect blend of reality meets fantasy.
His popular Dream Series continues to delight readers with each and every exciting installment.
Born in Yonkers, New York, he currently resides in Arlington Virginia with his beautiful wife and a cat he is sure has taken full advantage of its nine lives. When it comes to the cat, he often wonders, but then again it might just be his imagination.
About the Dream Series
What if you could see everyone else’s dreams? That’s the question Sara has to wrestle with in the Dream Series. We first meet her as a shy, bookish college student who doesn’t think there’s anything extraordinary about herself. And then the dreams start…
Over the course of the series, Sara learns to live with these supernatural dreams and all the trouble they plunge her into. At the same time, she grows from a student to a practicing doctor; and from a single girl to a wife and mother. But every time she thinks she’s got everything figured out, life – and her extraordinary dreams – teach her that she’s always got more to learn…
Social Media Links:
My Website
Audiobook Samples
Goodreads
Smashwords
Pintrest
Amazon Author Page
Purchase Links:
Blurb for Dream Vacation (book 8 in the Dream Series)
Thanks to her unique ability to step into other people’s dreams, Dr. Sara Alderson has solved murders, unraveled conspiracies and saved lives. But when a crisis hits close to home, even her supernatural gift might not be enough to avert disaster.
On a family vacation to Paris, Sara’s fifteen-year-old daughter Grace disappears without a trace. The only way to find her is through Sara’s dreams. But her gift has taken an unwanted vacation, and without it, Sara has no idea how to rescue Grace. In a foreign city, with no clues, and her dreaming talent failing her for the first time, Sara must figure out another way to find Grace before it’s too late.
Dream Vacation is the eighth book of the Dream Series
November 1, 2014
Dangerous Hero(ine) Challenge Update!
Hi, everyone! I have an update on my participation in the Dangerous Hero(ine) Challenge!
As a reminder, here’s what the challenge entails:
I am participating in the Dangerous Hero(ine) Challenge, hosted by Paranormal Cravings.
THE RULES:
1. Dangerous Hero Challenge runs from August 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.
2. Sign up at Paranormal Cravings to start your challenge.
3. The challenge is to read 10 books (of the paranormal romance or Urban Fantasy genre) that have a Dangerous Hero as a main, or supporting character.
4. Books can be in any format and should be at least 150 pages. You may also post about your rereads.
5. Post about the Dangerous Hero Challenge on your blog or website stating that you are participating or create a new shelf on your Goodreads profile.
6. Include that link to that post or shelf on Paranormal Cravings.
7. Please be courteous and include a link back to the Paranormal Cravings blog post.
___________________________
I’ll be posting about these as I complete them. I’ll also include links to my Goodreads shelf.
My Recent Dangerous Hero(ine) Reads
I’m updating my list with the following books:
Burn for Me: A Hidden Legacy Novel
The Conglomerate’s most dangerous convicts have made the prison ship Perdition their home. And they will defend it…
Perdition is under siege. Mercenaries have boarded the station with orders to take control of the facility—and execute the prisoners. Their commander is offering full pardons to the first five inmates willing to help the mercs complete their mission.
Dresdemona “Dred” Devos hasn’t survived hard time just to surrender to the Conglomerate’s armored thugs. Leading a ragtag army of inmates, Dred and her champion, Jael, wage a bloody guerilla war of chaos and carnage against impossible odds. But no matter how dire the outlook, the Dread Queen never backs down…
Mini-Review:
Aguirre can do “things go to hell in a handbasket” better than any other author I read. Just as Dred and Jael start to catch their breath from the events in Perdition, everything falls apart again. WOW!
_________________________
Midway: A Harvesting Series Novella 1.5 (The Harvesting Series)
Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don’t kill him first, that is.
Mini-Review:
I love Daemon–but then, who wouldn’t love the hot alien next door? I’m a little late on the Obsidian train, but it meant that I got to read all of the books in one big Daemon binge.
_________________________
So that brings me up to five–halfway through the challenge! I’m going to read the second Darker Days book by Jus Accardo next (I love ARCs!!!). Keep an eye out for more!
_________________________
Reminder: Enter the Blazing Indie Collective Giveaway!
Welcome to the Blazing Indie Collective Giveaway!
Get to know the authors of the Blazing Indie Collective
and enter to win piles of prizes, including gift cards and ebooks!
