ParaYourNormal - Where Para is our Normal!

Interview with Regan Black, author of The Matchmaker's Mark

2012-03-05T20:01:00.002-08:00

Joining us today is Regan Black, author of The Matchmaker's Mark. If you'd like to win a free copy of this paranormal romance novel, please leave a comment below. Don't forget to include your email address.

On Wednesday, we'll be chatting with Regan, live, on our Blog Talk Radio channel at 3:30 pm Pacific Time. We hope you'll listen into the show. Now, for our interview...

Hey,Regan! It’s so good to meet you. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

There isn't much to me... it's a life of servitudeto three retired greyhounds, two manipulative cats, and three quirky finches.Oh, and there are bon bons. And a personal masseuse and chef. Oh, wait. That'smy fantasy life! In reality there are all those pets, and a fabulous family whosupport me through the process of every novel. I'm a voracious reader (we allare), proven by our extensive collection of both hard copy and ebooks. I'm alsoa reformed runner (meaning I do mostly yoga these days), a coffee addict(because mornings seem to keep happening), and an uber-fan of Walt Disney World(it's the happiest place on earth!)

Howdo you carve out time to write?

Very carefully - or rather deliberately. It's soeasy to get lost in promotion tasks or the wonderful world of social media, soI try to get in one hour on the novel before I even look at a computer with anInternet connection. That seems to keep me on task for the rest of the day,because I'm enthused about what's happening with the story, despite necessarybreaks to deal with either the business side of writing or the needs of thepets.

Whatstarted you down the path of being a novelist?

Now, that's a funny story. As a stay at home mom anda published poet, I was working on a new poetry collection when my husband camehome to work for the second time in two years. My poetry was sunshine and lightone day, and angst and despair the next. It was maddening, to put it mildly. Soout of desperation I began to write a story, fictionalizing the way we met andtrying to recall what the hell I found so attractive about him. The book is THEworst romance novel ever, but I realized I could write a complete, novel lengthstory and I've been addicted to the process ever since. (Oh yeah, we're stillhappily married).

Whichbook are we talking about today and what is it about?

The Matchmaker's Mark is the book for today and itaddresses the concern: When you're more than human, there's more to findingyour soul mate than answering a survey online. The Matchmaker's Mark introducesAmy (and her greyhound Guinness) as she unexpectedly comes into her power asthe Matchmaker - a direct female descendent of a Scottish witch who can persuadeand empower love and attraction in creatures that most people don't believeexist anymore.

Whatinspired this book?

This book was inspired by my need to tell a morelighthearted story. I'd been working on my 2096 novels and short stories and Ilove that crew of characters, but the storylines are much darker. It wasspringtime, I only had a bit of time because of end of school events and I justneeded something fun to focus on for a while. The idea of a magical 'witch' whocould affect love matches or smooth the path for arranged marriages was full ofdelightful potential for both tender and comedic moments. Setting the book in Charleston,SC gave me a chance to share one of my favorite places (full of legends andintrigues) with readers.

Tellus something about your characters that we wouldn’t be able to figure out byreading the book.

While some mythical people/creatures seek theMatchmaker for love or soul mate advice, there are plenty of others who wanther contained or even dead, to prevent what they consider meddling in mattersof the heart or matters of politics. This is particularly critical to thestoryline at the moment because Amy Campbell is the last of the hereditaryline. If enemies succeed in capturing her, it might be the absolute end ofgenerations of matchmaking.

Isthere a book 2 in the works? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Yes, there is a second book on the way! Titled TheMatchmaker's Curse, it features the werewolf who was searching for theMatchmaker in book one and who was 'marked' by her accidentally. He did notcome to Charleston to find his soul mate, but she just might find him. I'mreally excited about this novel, the starring couple, and their overalladventure. It's been a great deal of fun to brainstorm, research, and write.

Wherecan readers purchase your book?

The Matchmaker's Mark is currently available atAmazon, B&N, Smashwords, and wherever ebooks are sold.

Maywe read an excerpt from the book?

Of course! Here’s Chapter One:

Mydearest Amy,

Howare you and Guinness doing? I can't imagine how a skinny little greyhound mightfeel in that wicked Nebraska winter. Should I send him some snow boots? Surelyyou are settled in and pampering each other after six months together.

I'mso sorry I missed you and the family at the holidays, business was unusuallycrazy this year.

Beon the lookout for a package from me, darling, you will absolutely treasure it!Above all take good care of yourself (and Guinness, of course).

Allmy love,

AuntieCamille

Lily Parker was in her element. Almost completely.Surrounded by flowers and serenaded by the bell above her door as customerswalked in and out of her florist shop, she felt as radiant as her own beam ofsunshine. She wrapped up the sale and murmured a blessing over the blooms asanother happy customer left.

January wasn't typically her best sales month, buther regulars kept her company and she always enjoyed the respite after the rushof the holidays. She'd tweaked the display window yesterday and patted herselfon the back, since her register had been ringing steadily since.

Through that window she smiled at the woman on thestreet. The potential customer was currently admiring the sweet baskets ofdaisies flanking a stunning array of white tulips Lily's wholesaler had broughtin just for her. Then Lily spotted the dog.

She pushed open the shop door. "What abeautiful greyhound."

"Thanks. This is Guinness." The woman atthe other end of the leash was pretty in an understated way, but her proudsmile lit up her face as her dog leaned forward, eager to bask in any and allattention.

Lily chuckled. "Isn't he a character?" Shelet him sniff her knuckles and considered herself approved when he ducked hishead under her palm so she could scratch his ears. "Is he a rescue?"

"Yes. From an Iowa track. We've been togetherabout six months."

"That's wonderful. I'm Lily, by the way."

"Amy."

Lily took in the open coat and glove-free hands andpegged Amy for a snowbird, or possibly the cruise lines were doing a newpromotion. "I didn't know they allowed dogs on the cruises." Theother woman blinked, her smile giving way to confusion. "Forgive me.You're not a tourist?" Having lived here so long, she knew the faces ofmost of the locals.

"Yes. Well no. Not officially."

"That's what I get for assuming," Lilysaid, cooing over Guinness until the woman relaxed again. She usually readpeople with uncanny precision, but lately, it was as if she was a half step outof sync. "Would Guinness like a drink of water?"

Amy snorted. "He'd like anything that involvesmore attention."

"Well come on in."

"Your shop is lovely." Amy held Guinnessat the door, her gaze scanning the displays with sincere appreciation.

Lily sensed a kindred spirit, or at least somecommon interests. "There's not a thing in here he can hurt," sheinsisted. "I'll just go get a water bowl."

Connecting with new people was the best part of herjob. She thought of it as her calling. It gave her such a rush to find out whatthey needed, how her flowers might brighten a day or mark a memorable, romanticmoment. Feeling connected professionally kept her mind off her bleak personalprospects of romance.

She returned to the showroom, bowl and water bottlein hand, pleased to see Amy admiring her cooler while Guinness seemed curiousabout a stuffed teddy bear tucked next to a planter.

Lily thought of her cooler as an evolving painting,as well as a testing ground for how long she could keep a flower fresh in variousstages of design. She'd once kept a carnation going for three weeks, but so farshe couldn't keep an orchid fresh beyond its normal life expectancy of a fewdays.

"Here's some refreshment for Guinness,"she said, willing her mind away from her flaws.

The dog sniffed at the water, then lapped it up withthe enthusiasm of a broken lawn sprinkler.

Amy started to apologize for his sloppy manners, butLily cut her off. "Don't worry about it. This place can take it. Water'sjust one of many job hazards."

"You're the owner?"

Lily beamed. "Primary designer and headjanitor, too. It keeps me humble."

"Well you've got a brilliant gift." Shewaved back at the front window, then the cooler.

"Thank you." Lily smiled. "Spring'smy favorite season. Typical for a flower child like me." She laughed atherself. "And just around the corner."

"Around the corner?"

"Oh, February will be brown and bland, but comeMarch things will start budding and popping with color and it won't stop until–" She stopped short. She was as exuberant with the seasons as Guinnesshad been with the water. "Well not until next February, really."

"Sounds heavenly."

"The excessive humidity and nine months ofhawk-sized mosquitoes are the tradeoff," Lily confessed in a stagewhisper.

The bells on the door danced and Lily turned herwelcome smile toward Jim, the cop who walked the King Street beat. "I'vegot your order ready." She moved around Guinness to pull a box of rosesout of the cooler. "I'll be right back," she said to Amy.

"Good looking dog," Jim said, lettingGuinness get his scent and head butt his hand. "Busy day?" he calledback to Lily. He moved closer to the register and whistled when he got a lookat the roses. "Oh, my wife will love these."

Lily felt a little sting on the inside of her wristand rubbed it, annoyed that she'd managed to catch a thorn even through herlong sleeved shirt.

The bells jingled again, announcing the arrival ofthe owner of the cupcake bakery two doors down. "Morning, Lily."

"Hey, Belinda. Your order's all set on the backcounter."

"Thanks, so much. I'll just put these redvelvets in your fridge."

"Oh, today is a good day," Lily said witha grin, earning agreement from Jim. Bartering with other King Street businesseswas just one of many perks of her location. Ringing up the order, allowing forthe community discount, her shopkeeper's eye roamed over Amy and Guinness toanother new arrival.

"Guess it's going to be a busy day after all.Have a great anniversary, Jim." The cop nodded and left, the box tuckedunder his arm. He looked casual, but Lily appreciated the vigilance he appliedto her modest business as well as the rest of the neighborhood.

The newest customer stood tall and lean, and shefelt an odd tremor of familiarity. She did a double take to verify she'd neverseen him before. His jaw was shadowed by a day's growth of beard and his dark,windblown hair was a little too long, curling a bit around the sunglasses he'dpushed to the top of his head. He didn't have the typical, hang dog look of aguy searching for a way to mend a rift with a woman, which made a flower shop astrange place to stop in.

She smiled at him. "Shopping for anyone inparticular?"

He shook his head and gave her a half smile that puther hormones on alert. "Just looking."

When Belinda came back through the shop, carting abox of bud vases and a big bag of rose petals, he moved to open the door forher and followed her out without a word.

Lily stared after him. Weird. She'd call down laterand see if the baker was training someone new. Rubbing absently at her arm, sherejoined Amy and Guinness. "So what can I do for you?"

Amy grimaced. "Tell me the secret to keepingflowers fresh. I can hardly keep a silk plant looking healthy."

Flower secrets, well, all of nature's secrets, should've been as easy as breathing forLily. Since it wasn't that simple, she basked in the praise and tried not toblush. "It comes down to trimming the stems and keeping the arrangementwatered," she offered the easiest advice first. "There are certainlyspecific flower options that will last awhile." Wanting to honor theconnection she felt with Amy, she looked around her shop. "Where are youstaying?"

"With a friend. I'm mixing business andpleasure this winter." She stroked her greyhound's ears. "My friendhas been absolutely amazing to welcome us both."

"Does your friend live here? Downtown,"Lily clarified.

Amy nodded. "She's in a neighborhood near thecollege. Why?"

"Hmmm." Lily considered the options in hercooler. "You should have this." She pulled out a French blue basketfilled with yellow button mums, white daisies and a splash of purple statice.Springtime in a basket, she thought. "It's a perfect breakfast tablecenterpiece."

"Wow! This would just light up Maeve's kitchen.How much?"

"Did you say Maeve?" Lily carried thearrangement toward the register counter. "Do you mean Maeve King?"

Amy nodded, a blend of surprise and'stranger-danger' worry flitting over her face. "How did you know?"

"Oh, it's a pretty close town. Thisarrangement's definitely on the house if you're a friend of Maeve's. Considerit a thank you for introducing me to Guinness." She grinned. "Hereally brightened my day."

Amy turned Guinness's long nose away from the teddybear. "I've heard of Charleston hospitality, but I'd feel better if I paidfor it."

Lily shook her head. "Don't worry. Maeve, orrather her busy social life, keeps me in business. Besides, it's a day oldalready. Don't tell anyone," she said with a wink, "but I dawdled inthe back with my wholesaler." She murmured a little charm over the bloomsto keep them fresh and the women happy as she wrapped layers of protectivepaper over the arrangement.

"She'll love it, if can I get her to openit."

"Is she the sort who refuses to tear into agift? I didn't know that."

Amy grinned, relaxed again. "It was a shockthat first Christmas in college, but we've managed to stay best friends despiteher irregularities."

Lily laughed, liking Amy more with every passingminute. "I met Maeve after a particularly busy weekend. It seemed my deliverydriver had filled her office to bursting and she wanted to meet me." Sheglanced at the door when the bell jingled again. Jim's partner walked in, witha face only a florist could love. "Another tiff?" He stared at thefloor. "Give me a minute to finish up here." She turned back to Amy."So how long are you in town?"

"Through the spring semester. We're teaching aninterim class on Romeo and Juliet, then I'll guest lecture between bouts ofdesigning a new creative writing curriculum."

"That's fantastic. Will you be presenting theplay to the public?"

"Not a chance." Amy's snort causedGuinness's ears to perk, making Lily chuckle at them both. "It's moreabout digging into the subtext of the story than the performance."

"Ah." Lily nudged the wrapped flowersacross the counter. "Please tell Maeve I said hello."

"Will do." Amy sighed and shook her head."I'm going to take a picture of these and send it to my assistant. Itmight give her hope to carry on through the remaining snowy months backhome."

"Be sure to come by anytime you want to chat oranything." Lily murmured adoring nonsense to Guinness and waved goodbye asthe pair left her shop. Empty water bowl in hand, she faced Jim's partner."What happened now?"

He brought her up to speed while she reached for thefirst aid kit under the counter. Pulling back her sleeve, she stifled a gasp.The skin around the birthmark on her left wrist was irritated all right, butnot by a simple thorn. Unwilling to consider the most likely possibilities andramifications, she smeared anti-itch cream on it and pulled her sleeve back inplace, grateful for the distraction of how to get her customer out of thedoghouse this time.

Later, when the closed sign was posted, she'd taketime to think about the magic she'd obviously missed in the process of doingbusiness like a normal person.

Wherecan your readers connect with you on the web?

My website http://www.reganblack.comis full of all kinds of articles, book features, bonus content for newslettersubscriber and more.

Or join the fun at the Facebook fan page:https://www.facebook.com/ReganBlack.fans

And use @ReganBlack to find me on twitter.

PYN Guest Review of Beg for Mercy by Shannon Dermott

2012-03-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

Beg for Mercy

Guest Review by Charlotte Abel

It’s not often I finda paranormal romance with a twist I haven’t seen before. Not only was “Beg forMercy” original and entertaining, it captured my imagination as well as myheart.

The main character,Mercy Moore, knows she’s different. She wants a normal life, a normalrelationship with her boyfriend -- which includes the ability to kiss himwithout killing him.

Her mother could teachMercy how to control the beast inside that craves human life as much asintimacy, but she refuses. Mom tells Mercy she’s not ready for thisknowledge and responsibility and to just be patient. (Yeah, right)

Mercy suspects Mom isjust trying to keep her budding sexuality from going into full bloom. Butthere's much more than just Mercy's purity at risk.

The hottest guy atschool, bad boy and heart-breaker Flynn McCallister, claims he has the abilityto teach Mercy everything she needs to know. The only problem with thatsolution is he insists it requires hands-on lessons. Mercy is attracted toFlynn (who isn’t?) but she’s dating his best friend, Luke -- another hottie butwith the patience of a saint.

If you think thissounds like just another love triangle, think again! Mercy’s best friend, Paul,knows her secret and in spite of the fact that she nearly killed him, loves heranyway. But instead of sitting around pining for her, he dates acheerleader. (Go, Paul!)

The mysterious,somewhat dangerous and exotic Sebastian appears later in the story and I canonly hope we’ll see more of him in the sequel.

With all these hotguys vying for her affection, you’d expect Mercy would be a bit vain. Sheisn’t. We get to see her mature from a slightly depressed -- and who wouldn’tbe if you couldn’t kiss a guy without killing him -- introvert into akick-ass heroine willing to sacrifice her own life to save those she loves.

***WARNING*** Thereare a few realistic scenes with teenage drinking and sexuality, but nothinggraphic. I highly recommend this book for anyone that enjoys a good paranormalthriller age 14 and up.

I can’t wait for thesequel!

~ * ~

This guest review is provided by Charlotte Abel. For more information about this reviewer, please visit:

http://thechannieseries.blogspot.com/p/about.html

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Interview with Laura Bickle, author of Embers; Sparks

2012-02-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

Today we are chatting with Laura Bickle, author of Embers; Sparks: two paranormal / urban fantasy novels. Please be sure to leave a comment to win a copy of her books. Don't forget to leave your email address with your comment in the following format: parayournormalteam(at)gmail(dot)com

Now, for the interview...

Hey, Laura! Welcome. How about you tell us something about yourself that we can’t find on your site.

Hi! Thanks so much for hosting me today. The website doesn't mention that I currently work in a library, which is heaven for a book-lover. I also collect rubber duckies. As a hobby, I belly-dance. I don't dance well, but it's a fun change of routine that gets me out of my turtle-like shell.

You write YA and Adult. How do you make it work?

Central to both is my love of fantasy. I love asking the 'what if' questions: "What if the Oracle of Delphi survived to the modern day?" "What if we could really control dark energy?" "Would fire salamanders blow up microwave ovens?" The field's wide open to ask and answer those kinds of questions, to create a skeleton of a story and give it life.

Sometimes, a story comes out as a YA story, and sometimes it comes out as one for adults. My first YA book, THE HALLOWED ONES, was originally intended to be contemporary fantasy for adults. But it came out as a YA book, purely by accident. The character spoke in the voice of a young Amish woman facing the end of the world. I didn't want to tamper with her perspective.

My other books were squarely in the adult realm. DARK ORACLE and ROGUE ORACLE, by my alter ego, Alayna Williams, are about a criminal profiler who uses Tarot cards to solve crimes. EMBERS and SPARKS, which I wrote as Laura Bickle, are best described as "Ghostbusters in Detroit with dragons and arson."

An arson investigator and a ghost hunter, huh? What was some of the most interesting research you did and what would Google think of your searches? LOL!

It's a very good thing that no one looks at my library records! I've checked out books on arson, crime investigation, spontaneous human combustion...loads of fun!

For the Oracle books, the most interesting research I did was about Chernobyl for ROGUE ORACLE. My criminal profiler, Tara Sheridan, chases a serial killer who has roots in the Chernobyl disaster. That part of the story dug around in some old childhood fears. I was in elementary school at the time of the Chernobyl disaster, and I remember some of the images. I was a bystander's bystander...half a world away. But there was something supernaturally fearsome about that incident that lodged in my head, and I wanted to write about it. The more I researched, the more the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up.

So what are your views of ghosts and how does the “human bug zapper” idea work? (This would be the inner geek and paranormal investigator getting out again. LOL!)

Hee! The "human bug zapper" is Anya, my heroine from EMBERS and SPARKS. In EMBERS, Anya Kalinczyk is the rarest kind of psychic medium, a Lantern. Where other mediums allow spirits to use their hands and voices to communicate, Anya devours ghosts. It’s a talent she had no choice in - she’s always been a Lantern. And it comes in handy in her nocturnal work as a ghost hunter. But she wrestles with the costs.

The first cost is physical. Devouring a spirit leaves a burn, a scar, on her body. The second is psychological - Anya feels apart from ordinary humans, and can’t make a connection with her fellow ghost hunters. And the last one is spiritual. Anya wrestles with the idea of what happens to a ghost after she incinerates it. Does it go forward into an Afterworld? Or has she killed it entirely?

Tell us about your books, Embers!

By day, Anya Kalinczyk is an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department. By night, she's the rarest kind of spiritual medium, a Lantern. With the help of her fire salamander familiar, Sparky, and a ragtag group of ghost hunters, Anya chases down unseen threats to her city.

What’s something about your characters that your readers wouldn’t know after reading the book?

Sparky, Anya's fire salamander familiar, has had a long life and an interesting history. He's been a familiar for Joan of Arc and Van Helsing. He was also implicated in that Hindenburg disaster, but has never confessed.

What can you tell us about book 2?

In SPARKS, Anya’s investigating a rash of spontaneous human combustion cases. With the help of the ghost hunters and a soul collector from the Underworld, she must track down the supernatural source of the fires and keep Sparky’s newly-hatched newts safe from a malicious psychic.

Where can readers purchase your book?

I'm always thrilled when readers check out my books!

ROGUE ORACLE is available now from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

SPARKS is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble

DARK ORACLE is available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

EMBERS is available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

May we read an excerpt from the book and can you provide it here?

More info (and a link to the first chapter) on EMBERS: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Embers/Laura-Bickle/9781439167656/excerpt_with_id/16039

:: From EMBERS by LAURA BICKLE (Pocket Books, 2010) ::

She stepped into the bathroom and clicked on the overhead light. The black-and-white retro tile gleamed. A collection of rubber duckies lined a shelf on one wall, grinning down at her with cartoon smiles. Anya turned the bathtub tap as hot as it would go, dropped a fistful of bath salts into the water. She plucked her favorite duck, a jaunty pirate with a plastic eye patch, from the collection and dropped him in the water. He spun in lazy circles under the faucet.

She peeled off her sticky, pickle-stained clothes and stuffed them in the washing machine in the bathroom closet. The chill rippled over her body as she measured detergent into the basin and set the water temperature to hot. When she'd moved in, Anya had the foresight to install an extra-large water heater. As a fire investigator, her work was always filthy and she didn't deny herself the luxury of as much hot water as she needed.

She paused, catching sight of her reflection in the mirror. Her light chestnut hair swung over her milky-pale shoulder which was studded with a constellation of beauty marks. Her fingers fluttered over her chest. Below the salamander collar that housed Sparky, a black char mark was burned into the flesh over her left breast. The wound didn't hurt. She knew it would eventually fade, like all the other exorcism burns, but it was a lingering reminder of the soul she'd devoured.

She stepped into the bath, wiggling her toes, feeling the warmth begin to radiate up her legs. She sank up to her neck in the water, massaging the hot water through her hair. The pirate duck bumped against her toes. She reached for a loofah and began to scrub hard, as if she could scrub the memory of the dead child away from her skin.

The sepulchral voice captured on the recorder buzzed in the back of her head, and her thoughts nipped at it:

"Sirrush is coming."

Her brow wrinkled. She'd never heard the name spoken aloud, only read it in books. Sirrush was an old term used for firedrakes and salamanders, a name used only in witches' ceremonial magic to draw down the element of fire. But the spirit's message seemed to be aimed at her and she chewed on it, tasting it for any flavor of a threat.

As the water cooled, Anya climbed out of the bath. She smelled no pickles or ash as she pulled the drain plug, just soap and a hint of jasmine from the bath salts. The pirate duck spiraled around the drain.

Anya toweled off, and pulled on her robe, decorated in a pattern of yellow cartoon ducks. Wet footprints on the shag rug in the hall trailed behind her. She paused in the hallway to turn up the thermostat, looking forward to the warmth of her bed. A simple futon piled high with blankets dominated the small bedroom. Anya couldn't bring herself to buy a second-hand bed. All beds were stained too much with the dreams of their prior owners.

Anya climbed under the blankets, sighing. She'd be able to get a couple of hours of sleep before her shift began. As she drowsed, the salamander collar warmed around her neck. Sparky unpeeled himself, slipped down to the floor. He padded across the floor to a large flannel dog bed placed against the wall. Resting in the bed was his favorite toy: a Gloworm. The stuffed toy was a flashlight ingeniously disguised in a cherubic plastic head and a caterpillar body. Since it ran on batteries, there was little electrical damage that Sparky could do to it that would result in a hazardous situation.

Sparky placed his paw on the Gloworm. It lit up. He removed his paw, and the light winked out. He cocked his head, watching it, then patted it again.

On.

Off.

On.

Anya scrunched her eyes shut against the blinking light. As much as he enjoyed biting ghosts and other ghoulies on the spiritual plane, Sparky could only directly affect two things in the physical world: energy and Anya. The toy had brought him many hours of delight. She'd placed it in the dog bed that he never used, hoping that Sparky could eventually be persuaded to sleep on his own in his own bed.

A whine emanated from the side of Anya's bed.

Anya opened one eye. Sparky's head peered over the mountain of covers. Anya groaned. She was too tired to try to Ferberize the salamander tonight.

She climbed out of bed, grabbed the Gloworm, and tossed it into her bed. Sparky climbed in, rooted under the blankets. He made himself comfortable, draped over one of Anya's hips. He cradled the Gloworm between his paws. Anya idly stroked his loose speckled skin and Sparky began to purr, a low vibration in the back of his ribs.

Sometimes, Anya wondered what it would have been like to have had Brian's warmth next to her. She'd seriously contemplated it in the past. But she didn't know how to explain sharing a bed with a familiar elemental spirit. While it was true that humans couldn't see Sparky, his presence could be sensed: fluctuations in temperature, static electricity, a sense of being watched. When Anya had taken lovers before, Sparky had not taken well to them. It was distracting to be in the act of making love to a man with a five-foot salamander sitting at the foot of the bed, head cocked, slapping his tail on the blankets. Sparky manifested at will, unpredictably. But he could always be trusted to always make an appearance whenever Anya was in the presence of spirits...or when the possibility for intimacy with a man presented itself....

But then again, maybe sex was overrated. Sparky's warm tail coiled around her ankles and he snored softly. At least, Sparky had good manners: he didn't fart, scratch himself, or have morning breath. He was rather like sleeping with an electric blanket. . . which was probably the best Anya could hope for at the present.

Curled in the warm embrace of the salamander cuddling his toy, Anya drifted to sleep

Links to the first chapters of all my books are available here: http://www.salamanderstales.com/index_files/novels.htm

Where can your readers connect with you on the web? (provide links)

I love to hear from readers!

My website is www.salamanderstales.com. I keep a blog at http://www.salamanderstales.blogspot.com I'm also on Facebook.And Twitter...@Laura_Bickle

Thanks so much for hosting me today!

Winner Announcement

2012-02-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. We wanted to announce the winner of A Stranger's Kiss by Roxy Burroughs. This week's winner is...

Shelia Seabrook!

Congratulations Shelia! We will notify Roxy that you're the winner. Please email us at parayournormalteam(at)gmail(dot)com so we can give her your email address.

Thanks to everyone who stopped in to read our interview with Roxy. Make sure you check out this week's interview with Shea Berkley and enter her giveaway!

Interview with Shea Berkley

2012-02-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome back everyone. This week we're chatting with Shea Berkly, author of The Marked Son. Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of this great book!

Shea, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?

· Well, I’m a writer. That’s kind of obvious, though, huh?

· I like to brush my teeth. Nothing says hello better than minty fresh breath.

· I like to be active. I’m slightly competitive. Okay… maybe slightly isn’t the correct word. I’m horrifyingly competitive. I like winning. I’m trying to be an adult about losing, so I stopped throwing temper tantrums last week. Seriously. It was time to let go of the behavior and move on in life. Plus my friends started chucking random household items at me. Hello! It’s only dodge ball when a ball is involved.

· I’m an avid reader (all kinds of books).

· Avid movie watcher (all kinds of movies).

· Avid people watcher—in a non-creepy way (umm, at least I hope so).

· I ride horses (used to train them).

· I hate fish (as pets) but I love to eat fish (except salmon… salmon is gross, seriously).

· I can eat pizza every day of the week and not get tired of it.

· I believe chocolate should be part of the food pyramid (it is for me) and I drink far more cola (Coca Cola... not Pepsi... Coca Cola) than is reasonably healthy.

· I usually take two showers a day (now to some that may seem extreme, but when I’m kickboxing, I sweat like a dude.

· I’ve recently decided to train to be a ninja (cross my heart, I’m not messing around... well, most of the time I’m not).

Speed Answer Challenge:

LOL! Speed answer. That’s funny. I don’t do speed. Only in a small, standard European car found in movies like The Italian Job and Bourne Identity, but then I usually get pulled over by cops who are profiling innocent citizens who like to drive small, standard European cars ever-so-slightly over the speed limit. Never had a ticket, though. Boo-ya!

*Speeding is against the law and can lead to serious injury. I am in no way encouraging the dangerous, unlawful activity. I am personally trying to control said dangerous and unlawful activity by means of driving only an automatic. (so not fun, by the way)

(ahem) I will try my best to be as pithy as possible. I’m not kidding. I will try, but that doesn’t mean it will happen.

Favorite Band:

My favorite band changes constantly. It’s a mood thing. Right now, it’s NeedtoBreathe. Tomorrow it may very well be Red or Three Doors Down, or The Band Perry.

Make or Bake:

I’m not gonna lie. At first I didn’t understand what you meant and then it hit me. (the lightbulb over my head may be a little dim, but it still works) You’re talking crafts versus food. If anything is up against food, food usually wins. Bake, baby.

Coffee or Kool-Aid:

This is tricky. I love coffee, but it has to be the kind that has all that unhealthy junk in it that makes it palatable. Kool-aid is kinda my summer go to drink only if I want to chug something cold. So I’d have to say Coca Cola. Not Pepsi. Coca Cola. I know it wasn’t an option, but I’m being truthful here.

Favorite Place you Lived:

(eeek) I’ve lived all over the place and I will surely insult one of my friends if I don’t pick where they live. (waving you close to whisper) I miss San Antonio the most, in the I’m-not-picking-favorites sort of way.

Seriously, that was not a pick! I refuse to pick. Grrr.

Favorite Movie:

(hits head on desk) Why are you torturing me? It’s so hard to pick just one. (I know you can’t hear me, but there’s an impressive whine to my voice that’s Oscar worthy… or at the very least worth an Emmy) Okay, okay, okay. Gladiator. It’s my go to movie when I can’t find a movie I want to watch.

Goat or Lion:

Seriously? Baby goats=adorable. Grown goats=nasty/smelly/nuisances. But then I’m not too keen on being mauled by a lion so the goat definitely comes out the winner in this contest.

Walk or Bike:

Have you sat on a bike seat for more than 30 minutes? I can’t feel my hinny after 15. Pure torture. Walking is far more fun. You can stroll, trot, run, skip, sashay… the variety biped motion gives is all kinds of awesomeness when it’s not attached to pedals and wheels. Trust me on this one.

Tell us a bit about your book, The Marked Son.

Seventeen‐year‐old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he’s never met, he had no idea what.

When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents’ farm, he knows he’s seen her before…in his dreams. He’s felt her fear-- Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.

Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he’s completely insane or he’s about to have the adventure of his life, because where they’re going is full of creatures he’s only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death…

Most people who read The Marked Son say the story is unique and has a lot of surprising twists and turns they never saw coming. It’s filled with magic, action, humor, romance, monsters and mayhem. Honestly, it’s just a fun, adventurous read that most anyone who loves to get lost in a fantastical story will love.

What inspired this story?

My inspiration is that I have a teenage boy living inside me. (giggle, snort) Naw, that’s not it.

My kids inspired me to write The Marked Son. I thought a story they could all read would keep them out of trouble. Sadly, they’re fast readers and quickly got back to their wicked ways.

*Any mention of my children being anything other than the literate, angelic, caring, well-behaved creatures that they are is the sole imagination of this author and not to be believed. They’re only wicked on Wednesdays. I don’t know why. They just are.

Actually, Dylan is a combination of a lot of guys I used to hang out with when I was growing up, so there isn’t one guy who can claim him. I wanted to create a rounded guy, one who was real, not a caricature of a guy. Dylan feels deeply, longs for acceptance, knows how to fight for what he wants and accepts that he might get hurt to reach his goals, but that’s okay because he knows from experience that nothing good ever comes without a sacrifice.

I did want to make him feel isolated without actually being completely alone and that meant giving him a mother who is less than motherly. But he still loves her, so I was tapping into the need we all have for family and acceptance. I also wanted to show that everyone has a purpose, and his is far more complex than what he ever dreamed possible. Honestly, Dylan is a complex guy, which believe it or not, most males are. They just hide behind their grunts and disgusting habits so no one can’t see they have a gooey center.

How did your characters find you?

Huh. (thinks deeply… shrugs) I wish I knew. I start writing and they show up. Weird, but there it is.

How long have you been with your agent?

I’m not sure. No one told me I was supposed to keep track. More than two years. I think. Yeah, definitely more than two years, but less than ten.

What can you tell us about your next book?

My next book in the series is the continuation of Dylan and Kera’s story and the fight to free the Land of Teag. All sorts of craziness ensues and people get into major trouble. Some die. Some live. Some are happy. Some are miserable. I try to hit all the oohs and aahs that make reading an adventure.

My latest book is an Epic Fantasy called Torrein: Age of Fear which is available on Amazon.

What if the only hope of saving a magical world depended on an ordinary boy?

Taelyon is a land divided; its mortals distrust those different than them; its wizards live indifferent to the suffering of others to see the danger on their doorstep. The battle for dominance is never far off, and death is a daily fear provoked by King Hcaon the Younger's inability to lead.

Torrein’s parents are powerful wizards, and Torrein's greatest fear is that he'll be denied the gift of magic. When magic is denied him, he's chased from his own village by those he used to call friends. Alone and wandering in a world he doesn't know, Torrein doesn't understand that his destiny is far greater than any he could have achieved if magic had been granted him. What plagues him is a desire he can't have - to be with his family and live his life in peace.

Peace is not easily found in Taelyon. The destiny Torrein fights lies in a prophecy soaked in blood. To claim his rightful power, he must calm his fears and face those who want him and his people dead. Everyone has been blinded to the real evil in their midst, and it will be a fight till the end of the age to reclaim Taelyon's freedom. Though it's hard for him to accept, it’s up to Torrein to protect those who have been deceived, and to make sure the evil in their midst doesn't destroy them all.

Where can readers purchase your book?

May we read an excerpt from the book and can you provide it here?

The Marked Son by Shea Berkley

Nothing feels better than touching Kera. I hold her close, feeling her heart beat behind her ribs. The heat of her hands on my chest is impossible to ignore as I kiss her, teasing her lips, and ultimately torturing myself until my control is almost gone. I pull away, putting my forehead to hers, and silently count to ten. Counting to a hundred wouldn’t help. Holding her intensifies my feelings of recklessness.

I can’t let go.

I pick her up. You’d think her dress, with its yards of material would be a problem, but it isn’t. Not for her. She wraps her legs around my waist and rakes her hands through my hair. I place my head on her chest and close my eyes. The rapid beat of her heart matches my own. The scent that engulfs her is as heady as the feel of her in my arms.

“You smell like summer and—” I search for the word that describes the scent pulsing under her skin. It teases me with every breath and touch. Naming it is driving me insane. It’s one I haven’t smelled on her before, yet it’s a scent that’s all too familiar to me, like summer and… “—sadness.”

She captures my lips with hers and slowly slides down my body until her feet touch the floor. Our kiss deepens, her embrace turns desperate. Her kiss fills with misery. The room turns hot, too claustrophobic. I can’t think. I try pushing her away, but she clings to me. Her breathing quickens, and she shivers within my arms. I sense real fear in her. Though she protests, I finally manage to step free. One, two, three steps back, separate but still connected. I can’t stop staring at her, wanting her. She’s like…

A drug.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

I’m not really a media junkie, but I make an effort to get online every day at one of the following places: Facebook / SheaBerkley.com / Goodreads / Twitter / Ruby-slippered Sisterhood

Interview with Roxy Burroughs, Author of A Stranger's Kiss

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

This week's interview with Roxy Burroughs. After you read the interview, be sure to check out how you can win the copy of her book, A Stranger's Kiss that she's giving away!

Roxy, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I started out as an actress. You may have even seen me in a couple of roles on TV. I'll include a link to a clip at the end, just so you can enjoy my 80s perm.

From there I started writing plays, mostly interactive murder mysteries for dinner theater. Then I graduated into novel writing.

I still act, on occasion. I still write plays. But, mostly, I sit in my office typing stories. Relaxing for me is a trip to the mountains with my husband, a bubble bath, and a great book.

Speed Answer Challenge:

Favorite Ice Cream: Butter Pecan. It was my dad’s favorite. And since he’s no longer here to enjoy it (God, I loved that guy), I order it now in his honor.

What was the last thing you baked? A lemon meringue pie for my father-in-law. My husband is SO jealous.

Lover or a Fighter: A lover, baby. All the way.

Top Place to Visit on Your Bucket List: New England, in a heartbeat. I’ve been through Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Glorious. And old England. My mother was born in Cornwall, I’m a big fan of the Brontes, and would kill (pun intended) to do the Jack the Ripper tour.

Favorite Author: Oh, man. So many. My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird. Favorite author? A tossup between J. R. Ward and Joy Fielding. Holy two ends of the spectrum, Batman! I’ve read everything those ladies have written.

Nerd or Cheerleader: Total Nerd. At least, I’d thought so when I was in high school. Turned out when I met up with some classmates years after, I discovered I was considered cool because I was in all the plays and musicals. Who knew? I was “Glee” chic before my time.

Drive or Fly: I like being chauffeured. Merging and backing up are not my strong points. If we drive, my husband is behind the wheel so I can daydream. Love to fly! I chill, I doze, I read. Heaven.

Tell us a bit about your book, A Stranger’s Kiss.

It's a romantic suspense with a touch of the paranormal. My hero, Sam Hutchinson, is devastated by the murder of his son. Hoping to gain closure by learning more about the suspected killer, Sam traces the murderer's roots to Bandit Creek, Montana.

There, against a serene mountain backdrop, he finds Amy Tesher. Lies are Amy's camouflage, all fabricated to escape the secrets of her past. And to protect her eleven-year-old daughter, Renee, who is able to communicate with Sam's ghostly son.

Unaware of Sam's real mission, Amy takes him into her boarding house. Just as the serial killer returns, to claim Amy…and her daughter.

What inspired this story?

A Stranger’s Kiss is my stand-alone sequel to A Stanger’s Touch. The two stories run parallel so there's no need to read one to enjoy the other.

Sam is briefly mentioned in A Stranger's Touch. I wanted to pair him with someone equally damaged but dealing with it for the sake of her daughter.

How do you interact with your characters?

I spend a lot of time thinking about my story before I ever start writing. As I reflect on my characters, I get ideas about what they might do in a given situation. Usually, these notions come to me in the middle of the night, so I have a pen and notebook by the bed. I think that's because it's a subconscious process, at least for me. Once I'm distanced from the noise of the day—ringing telephones and countless errands to run—I can listen to the characters whispering their story in my ear.

How long have you been in the publishing industry? What’s your publishing story?

I was spoiled. I published the first book I ever wrote. It's about the ghosts (of course) that inhabit Heritage Park, a Calgary tourist attraction. From there, I wrote an award-winning short story that appeared in an anthology. Every play I've ever penned has been produced and I've now ventured forth with the fantastic group of writers who make up the Bandit Creek Books team.

What can you tell us about your next book?

I have yet another sequel planned for my "Strangers" line. And an urban fantasy coming soon, called Wolfen Time. I also have a short story available called Letting Go, about how a chance encounter helps a woman deal with the loss of her father.

Where can readers purchase your book?

You can find all my titles on my Author Pages at Amazon and Smashwords.

May we read an excerpt from the book and can you provide it here?

You certainly may! The following scene is the first time Amy and Sam meet.

As Amy opened the front door, a chill wrapped around her, as if a blast of arctic wind had swooped in over the mountains. There, right outside her house, stood a man, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against a parked car.

Watching her.

Amy took a breath, willing her heart to pound a steady beat. Finding anyone on her doorstep, would have been a shock. She was a stranger here, hadn't been back to the secluded house in years. She had no friends in these parts, and now, no relatives. But this man was as out of place as any could be. Starting with the vehicle on which he was perched.

If the car was his, it was much too expensive for the neighborhood, and too posh for a mountain trek. Amy wasn't an expert on makes and models but the jaguar on the hood of the black sedan told her all she needed to know. And the flashy ride didn't match the man's attire. A nice enough charcoal suit, but the rumpled fabric shied away from his slim frame, as if he'd slept in a larger man's clothes.

A tangle of brown hair shadowed his eyes, dark stubble inked his jaw. He didn't look familiar, but over the years she'd learned to be cautious. Her mother had cultivated dangerous friends in this town.

Amy locked the door behind her, keys in her fist, the longest one poking out between her index and middle fingers, just how her aunt in Detroit had taught her. Ready for anything.

She marched down the front walk, her runners chomping at the fallen leaves in her path. As she approached, the man straightened and used his fingers to comb the hair from his eyes.

"Something I can do for you, sir?"

Now that she was closer, Amy took a good look at her visitor, opening the mental filing cabinet of her memories and pouring over the images she kept of her mother's Bandit Creek associates.

Jag Man was six feet or so, and on the older side of thirty. Other than his cheekbones, made prominent by the thinness of his face, his most noticeable feature was a pair of hazel eyes, more green than brown. One was highlighted by a fine scar that sliced through his brow. That and the five-o'clock shadow gave him an outdoorsy ruggedness. In spite of the unkempt packaging, he was a good-looking man. One she knew she hadn't met before.

But good looks didn't mean a good soul. Amy kept her keys ready in her fist.

"I need a place to stay." The voice came out in a low baritone – clear, melodic, and with complete confidence. The tone of a man used to getting his way.

Amy wondered who'd pointed him in her direction. No one local. Her grandmother had retired from the bed and breakfast business a few years before she died. Amy may not have visited, but she'd exchanged emails almost daily with her Nan to keep up with life at the old house – her grandmother's socializing, gardening, even what she had for lunch. If only Nan had mentioned she was ailing, Amy would have been on the next plane. But her grandmother was feisty and independent to the end. She died obliged to no one, in her own bed, surrounded by her collection of photographs and antiques, just the way she wanted it.

"Mrs. Turnbull runs a nice Bed and Breakfast further down the road–"

"Isn't this a B&B?" Now he was smiling, pouring on the charm like a salesman. Maybe he was one. At a car lot. That would explain the Jag.

"It used to be." Amy turned to view the wooden sign on the lawn, proclaiming as much, though the lettering had seen better days. Something else to fix. "We're closed for renovations."

The man drew a wallet from his back pocket. "I can pay cash," he told her, opening it. "Three hundred a night."

Amy shook her head, wondering what her grandmother would say about turning down good money. She knew what Nan had charged for a room, even one with a private bath, and it sure as hell wasn't that much.

The man thumbed through the bills. "Four hundred."

Did he expect caviar on his morning bagel? Strike the salesman angle. This guy definitely wasn't one. No haggling.

"Look, I'll give you three grand, up front, for the week. Whether I stay for the duration or not."

A giddy squeak welled up in Amy's throat. That was more money than she'd ever seen at one time. Cash like that could really help fix up the old house, pay off some bills she still owed in Detroit, and buy new books and clothes for Renee. Heck, even a few things for herself. With some left over for a rainy day. But she wasn't about to shelter a man she didn't know.

"Sorry."

He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a gold case. "Here's my business card. Call my office. Check me out."

She'd already checked him out. Though on the lean side, she sensed a nice build. Maybe he'd been ill. Maybe his tailor had gone on vacation. Maybe she needed to focus on her problems and stop imagining what he looked like without that bulky suit.

"Go ahead. Take it."

Amy snapped back to attention, warmth creeping into her cheeks. The man was still offering his card.

She reached for it, her hand so close to his she felt the heat radiating from him, the pent-up energy. Something wasn't right with this guy. She'd lived by her wits long enough to trust her instincts and they were chattering to her now like a flock of magpies in the presence of a hungry hawk.

She took the card, anyway. Not that it meant much. She could print up a bunch of her own, declaring herself to be Michelle Obama, if she chose. And his office? The number could belong to his great aunt Sophie, coached to say whatever he wanted. Still, it was easier to agree. The sooner he was on his way, the sooner she could get back to work. She glanced at her watch. The hardware store, and the call, would have to wait until tomorrow.

"I'll phone in the morning. Have a good evening." She turned toward the house and made her way up the walk, examining the card.

Sam Hutchinson. Barrister.

She read the address. So Jag Man was a Calgary lawyer. At least now she knew how he got the car. But what was the guy doing here this time of year? It wasn't exactly the height of tourist season. Many of the family-run businesses were shut down for the winter.

"Excuse me, Miss."

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes, Mr. Hutchinson?"

The man's smile was designed to thaw the coldest jury during a January ice storm. "I didn't get your name."

Because she hadn't given it. But what would it hurt? It wasn't her real one. "Tesher. Amy Tesher."

"Thanks, Ms. Tesher." The car lights flashed as he made his way around to the driver's side. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

Sam knew he'd outstayed his welcome. When the woman turned back to him, she'd stepped forward, looking like she might refuse another visit. So he'd jumped in the car and sped off.

No wasn't an option.

He parked down another dirt road under a dead tree, hoping police didn't patrol the area. His presence would be difficult to explain, impossible to justify.

He reached over to the passenger seat, snapped opened the locks on his briefcase, and shuffled through the newspaper clippings. The first dated back fifteen years, articles from the old Cincinnati Post, the Atlanta Constitution, the Toronto Star, and Saskatoon's Star Phoenix.

All involved children. All of them dead. Boys, mostly, but with a few girls sprinkled in here and there. Fresh faces looked out at him, sadness behind their eyes, as if they'd known their fate before it happened.

He came to the most recent clippings last, Calgary newspapers documenting the latest victim.

Tommy.

Sam caressed the boy's picture, as if he could tousle the brown locks one more time. Of course, the black and white photo didn't show the color of Tommy's hair. It didn't reveal the freckles on his nose, or the multi-colored braces he wore to straighten a crooked incisor.

It didn't capture Tommy's screams, either. Or show how he'd suffered before his death.

Sam rested his head against the high seatback and closed his eyes, waiting for the queasiness to pass. He tried to remember the last time he'd eaten. And couldn't. Not that it mattered. He had more important things to do.

He pulled the lapels of his suit jacket around his neck and grabbed the scotch he'd purchased that afternoon. He ripped off the cap, keeping the bottle in its brown paper bag. No sense drawing more attention to himself.

The heady scent of scotch filled his car, oaky and rich. He took a swig, gritting his teeth as the amber liquid burned its way down his gullet. Sam hated the taste. But after a few more gulps, he wouldn't notice. The scotch would have done its job.

He shivered. The nights were getting cooler. At least the alcohol would keep him warm. Until he could convince Amy Tesher to open her house to him.

The first step in his plan.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

On Twitter, Facebook, and at my Website. And here's that link to the TV clip. Enjoy.

A big thanks to Roxy for letting us interview her. If you'd like to hear more from her, tune into our Blog Talk Radio Show this Wednesday at 3:30 PST when we interview her live! To set a reminder for the show click here.

And now for the giveaway! Please leave a comment with your email address to enter for a chance to win. It's as easy as that!

Interview with Todd Keisling

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

This week we're giving away 5 books. That's right, FIVE! You can find out how to win at the end of this interview.

Hello, Todd, thanks for stopping by PYN. I see that you like writing in different genres. Which one do you think is your favorite?

I don't think I have a particular favorite. I started out writing horror stories when I was a teen, but I've dabbled in thrillers and pseudo-literary stories since college. These days I try to write stories that span multiple genres so there's always a little something for everyone no matter what their tastes are. I don't want to be known as a writer who can only write one type of story. I want to write them all.

I love this: "Mediocrity is a man-made disease. Affliction is a choice." And it seems to be a theme for you. How does this push you to be better?

I suppose it would be a theme for me, in some respect. When I wrote it, it was meant to underline a central idea in the story that people choose their own way in life, often to their detriment, and it's usually in a passive manner. In A Life Transparent (or ALT), there are repercussions for not living up to one's potential, such as permanent obscurity.

I try to live by it, taking it as the warning it's meant to be. I can choose to live up to my capabilities, or I can choose to take a passive role in my own life. The danger of taking an easier road is the obscurity referenced in the book. I'd rather be remembered for something.

What inspired this story?

I was 23 at the time, just out of college and working at a dead-end job. One day I went to work and no one spoke to me, sparking a simple thought: I could disappear and no one would notice. As I explored that idea, I uncovered some uncomfortable truths about myself. I wasn't happy at the time. I felt as though I'd squandered my potential, sacrificing my dreams for the sake of a steady paycheck. These truths surfaced in the narrative, reflected by the protagonist, Donovan Candle.

My favorite review so far was this: "I wanted a book that was 'out of the box' so to speak and I really got it!! This book is part scary,part sci-fi and part fantasy all rolled into one." How does that make you feel and is that what you were aiming for?

Honestly, when I wrote the book, I just wanted to see where the story would go. I knew it might have some supernatural elements, but I didn't expect it to wear so many different hats. What the story became helped shape my outlook on genres in general, and I think the review reflects this.

That being said, having a book that fits so many different categories does make it difficult to promote--ALT is certainly a niche book--but it also caters to many different readers. If a person likes thrillers, I can say "Yes, you'd like this," and the same applies if a person likes horror or paranormal fiction. Calling it sci-fi or fantasy is a stretch, but I can see where people might get the distinction. I do play around with alternate dimensions and supernatural creatures, after all.

What inspired these characters?

The characters in the story were a mixture of different things, borrowing from my own psyche, characteristics of people I’ve known, and basic archetypes I studied in school.

For example, the story's protagonist, Donovan Candle, is rooted in my own psyche. As I mentioned above, he's a projection of myself, but aged about ten years, about 30 lbs. heavier. He's an honest guy, tries to play by the rules, and deals with a lot of inner turmoil. He is your typical tortured writer trying to make it in a corporate environment. Naturally, a lot of my own insecurities manifest in his character - from his fear of not being able to provide for his family, to his fear of being unhappy. His transparent affliction--a thing called the "flickering"--stems from my fear of anonymity. That I may live and die without leaving some sort of legacy terrifies me. His devotion to his dreams is matched only by the devotion he holds for his wife.

I could spend a lot of time discussing the other characters, especially the villains, but I’d rather let new readers discover them on their own.

What was your favorite part of the research to create this book?

A couple of anecdotes come to mind:

1) In the early stages of the first draft, I polled co-workers about what they considered to be the most boring, mundane things in life. The results were varied, from infomercials to reality television to sales calls and listening to NPR. I had a lot of fun with it, and some of them (the calls and talk radio) made it into the story.

2) During revisions for the second edition, my editor asked if I’d ever fired a gun (I haven’t). She insisted that I do so, but it wasn’t something I could easily arrange, and we were up against a deadline. So I called my best friend who happens to be a card-carrying member of the NRA, and we spent about two hours on the phone discussing trajectory, recoil, how a bullet would react upon collision with solid concrete, and so on. The conversation accounted for about three sentences in the final draft, but it was a lot of fun learning about the intricacies of gunfire. I felt like a part of the Warren Commission.

So you’re writing Book 2. Is there anything you can tell us without giving away the plot? A teaser?

The second book is titled THE LIMINAL MAN. There isn’t much I can give away without spoiling the first book for readers. It takes place about a year after the events of ALT and involves a growing number of disappearances across the city. Length-wise, it’s about twice the length of the first book. I think it’s a much darker, violent, heavier story, and it deals with themes of doubt, fear, and redemption.

I’m currently working with my editor on the third draft, and I expect one more draft before it’s ready for publication. We’re hoping to have it ready for print sometime this Fall.

Where can readers purchase your book?

A LIFE TRANSPARENT is available at all major retailers in hardcover, paperback, and digital formats:

Amazon B&N Smashwords Powell's

May we read an excerpt from the book?

Sure thing:

Donovan raised the gun and peered around the corner of the shack toward the grove of trees. What he saw made a pit open in his stomach and all his insides fall into his feet.

The tiny, white things marched across the grass, a veritable army of them numbering in the thousands. They looked harmless while standing on the shoulders of others; now, as they advanced, he found their mass intimidating. There was more movement in his peripheral vision. A small wave of the little bastards crashed over the fountain, their pudgy bodies sprawling across the walkway. Their backward voices meshed into a constant, buzzing drone as they advanced.

He looked at the 9mm, then back at the swarming, white legion.

One of the things saw him. It screeched and pointed. The others cheered.

“I’m not seeing this.” His declaration fell deaf against their wall of reversed language. He tried to look away, but found he couldn’t take his eyes off them.

The throng of miniature albino soldiers marched onward. When they reached the plaza’s perimeter, Donovan turned and ran, managing only a few strides before he realized he was surrounded. The Lilliputian monsters streamed from all corners, over the grass, the benches, even on the limbs of trees. He was lost in the Monochrome wilderness, and had stumbled into a hive.

Donovan stepped back against the wall of the shack and raised the pistol. I’m going to die here, he thought. They’re going to drag me down and tear me to pieces.

The creatures stopped a few feet away. They chattered in unison, looking up at him from a sea of black, empty eyes.

“It is a shame Mr. Guffin could not follow instructions.”

The creatures fell silent as Aleister Dullington’s voice boomed overhead. Donovan felt the ground vibrate with each pronounced syllable. On the phone, Dullington was soft spoken, disarming. In the Monochrome, his voice thundered with authority, asserting one immutable fact: this was his kingdom, and here he was God.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

My website and blog are here: www.toddkeisling.com

I also frequent a social network or two:

Facebook Twitter Goodreads

A big thanks to Todd for letting us interview him. If you'd like to hear more, we'll be interviewing him live this Wednesday on our Blog Talk Radio show at 3:30 PST. To set a reminder for the show click here. To enter for a chance to win a copy of A Life Transparent please leave a comment along with your email adress.

PYN Review of Berinn Rae's Nightfall

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by Amanda James
PYN Reviewer
4 out of 5 stars

From the beginning Berinn Rae pulls you into the fantastic world of the Guardians of the Seven Souls. This book starts off with the introduction to one tough female bush pilot Kerra whose determination got her listed at the top in Alaska. In the sky is the one true place Kerra feels like she belongs as her gift of seeing auras has made fitting in challenging. Unbeknownst to Kerra this very gift throws her into a supernatural world of Dark Angels and the Guardians of the Seven Seals.

Kerra’s family heritage causes one dark angel named Malgrin turn his sights on her and who will stop at nothing to make Kerra his. Lucky for Kerra that from the shadows a guardian has been watching and it’s his duty to assess whether Kerra is a threat to the Guardians or an unknowing pawn in a war that has been waging for thousands of years.

Kerra’s never ending stubbornness and determination draws Gareth to her creating a dynamic dance between responsibility and a love that could stand the test of time. Berinn does a fantastic job in creating a world of wonder and the super natural. This is a definite read for anyone who enjoys some action and romance rolled into one.

Interview with Jamie Haden, Author of Spirit Seeker

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Jamie, it’s great to meet you! What can you tell us about you that we wouldn’t already know from your other interviews?

Oh my goodness. Let’s see. To tell you the truth, I have a very unhealthy obsession with Chanel No. 5. I used to wear Coco, but a few years back my husband surprised me with a bottle of No. 5. Since, I’ve been in love. I wear it if I’m going to the beach or simply swimming in the pool.

Speed Answer Challenge:

Chocolate or Vanilla: chocolate

Favorite color: purple

Astrological sign: Aquarius

Favorite season: fall

Sports car or All-terrain vehicle: sports

Watch TV or Go for a hike: hike

Favorite animal: eagle

Tell us a bit about your book, Spirit Seeker.

Spirit Seeker is the story of sixteen-year-old Talisa Santiago. Life is strange and difficult for Talisa. She was born in the desert underneath the full moon in January—the wolf moon. However, she left the desert with her mother when she was a young girl. She remembers bits and pieces of her past but it isn’t until she and her mom move to a remote barrier island off the coast of North Carolina that she feels fate has finally called—secretive and mysterious he stands alone on the edge of the bank. Her friends tell her to stay away; she hears rumors that he is dangerous. Still, she can’t resist. Whether Talisa realizes it or not, she knows a thing or two about boys like Jag Chavez. Fate is funny that way.
For the first time in her life, Talisa meets kids just like her—Native Americans who know the way of the spirit. The closer she gets to Jag, the more she realizes he is hiding a dark secret. He may have the markings of the Thunderbird, but he is named for the powerful Jaguar. Together they embark on a journey that will haunt her forever.

What inspired this story? And what’s the driving force behind the rest of the series?

Definitely my daughters.

A couple of us authors were talking on Twitter the other day about how our characters/books take on lives of their own. Like one character in my YA series loves Lady Gaga and I can’t stand her! You mention that you let Talisa have her own Voice. Have you experienced anything like we have? LOL! #FellowWritersMustJoinTogether

Good question. Talisa lives on a remote island without a computer or a cell phone. She hates shopping and isn’t into new trends. She doesn’t wear any makeup, and dreams of going to college and becoming a doctor.

As for me, I couldn’t live without my laptop. I love shopping, especially for shoes. I splurge on expensive make-up and dream of moving to Spain. When I was Talisa’s age I wanted to backpack through Europe with my friends.

I have a harder time writing action than dialogue too! Sometimes, it’s just brutal! How do you get through it?

I’ve recently read quite a bit of noir crime fiction. Action is certainly the hardest to write, in my opinion. I’m a literary fiction girl at heart. What a thrill to read some hardboiled noir that leaves you exhilarated and utterly miserable at the same time. I love it!

What can you tell us about the rest of the series?

The following books are all completely separate. They are stand alones and will each have a different theme.

Where can readers purchase your book?

Spirit Seeker is available at Pill Hill Press and most online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc.

May we read an excerpt from the book?

I was only five when I first saw the dead man. I was awakened at midnight by the sound of beating drums.

Before me were two men with their bodies painted, wearing masks, dancing around the grotesque corpse. Their long, thick hair flapped against their backs as they moved in perfect rhythm. In and out, they went into a trance. Shadows appeared through the smoke. I could see the dead man’s spirit hovering around, waiting for redemption. His side had been torn in half, mauled it seemed by a wild animal of some sort. In the background there was a woman stirring a paste. I smiled when she looked at me. It was my mother.

She went to the dead man and began rubbing his ragged, maggot-ridden side with the magic potion. Her long hair flowed into his wounds. The two male dancers began stomping their feet, waving their hands, and chanting foreign sounds only the spirits could understand. The ceremony took most of the night. By dawn, the drums finally stopped beating. And the dead man woke up. He staggered as he stood, walking out of the tent with a limp. The miracle workers removed their masks. I watched my mother with perfect clarity. She was mesmerizing. Her beauty was extraordinary. Divine. The way she carefully wiped the paint from their sweat filled faces and soaked their bloody, battered feet in buckets of warm water was a ritual my mother knew all too well. The two men she cleansed were my father and grandfather. She handed each of them a peace pipe. That was the last memory I have of my father. After that, I don’t remember ever seeing him again.

Although I do know the moon well, the lullabies sung to me as a child were never from storybooks that promised goodnight wishes to the beautiful planet. Instead, at night, when the stars shone upon me, I would recite a sacred prayer to the hidden sun, the earth father—the almighty jaguar. I would gaze into the night sky and dream of the jaguar’s spots shinning above me. I would wish into them and fantasize childlike dreams. I knew the jaguar had a sacred power in the earth and the animals that lived upon it. I just never knew I was creating my own destiny so long ago.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

Thank you so much for asking

www.jamiehaden.com

I had a wonderful time today! Thanks for taking a minute to chat with me!

And thank YOU Jamie for letting us chat with you! If you'd like to hear more from Jamie, we'll be talking with her live this Wednesday at 3:30 PST on our Blog Talk Radio show. To set a reminder for the interview click here.

PYN Review of Entanglements

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by Jess Macallan
PYN Reviewer
4 out of 5 stars

ENTANGLED is a paranormal YA featuring teen Kizzy Taylor. Her life takes a dramatic and tragic turn the day she unknowingly opens a vortex and loses her little brother. She makes a half-hearted attempt at a normal life to appease her loved ones. But everything changes when Rom Calixo shows up at school. He looks familiar, and gorgeous, and like everyone else, she tries to hold him at a distance. However, he has other ideas—and motives.

Rom tags along with Kizzy’s group to a spelunking adventure to an abandoned hospital. That’s when Kizzy discovers the hard way that she’s a portal key. Her step-sister and friend are sucked into the vortex and Kizzy can barely comprehend what comes out in their place. She has to move through alternate dimensions to save them, while avoiding the creatures that would love to use her as a key.

Ms. Mason blends the paranormal—think vampires, ghouls and more—with some fascinating sci-fi components—vortexes, wild scientific theories and alternate dimensions—into a world I was sucked into. (*cringe* Please forgive the pun.) I’ve never read a storyline quite like this, and I enjoyed how she pulled everything together. Rom was both formal and charming, whereas Kizzy is aloof and understandably vulnerable. The romance between them was fun to read, although I would have liked to have known a little more about Rom beyond his family history.

Ms. Mason introduces an interesting premise and characters I’d like to read more about. I hope to see more of the world(s) she created. 4 stars to ENTANGLED.

PYN Review of Ward Against Death

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by Amanda James
PYN Reviewer
3 out of 5 stars

Ward Against Death:

Edward de’Ath-Ward is a necromancer who unknowingly gets hired to perform a wake on a young female from a noble family. Ward becomes entranced by Celia who begs for his help in pursuing those that caused her death. Ward and Celia embark on an investigation that has so many suspects that each time they turn a corner more sinister plots are revealed.

Melanie Card weaves a tale that has many twists and turns. The players in this puzzle continue to leave you guessing as to who may be the one that took Celia’s life. The bond that Melanie creates between Ward and Celia is one that anyone who has been in a relationship can relate too. The constant push and pull for the balance of power between these two dynamic characters is intriguing to the end as you see the changes of their bond ebb and flow. This book has action, romance and humor rolled into a great plot that keeps you reading all night long.

Interview with Patricia Mason

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hey, Patricia! It’s nice to meet you! Tell us something about yourself.

I write steamy contemporary and paranormal romance under the name Patricia Mason and young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy as P.R. Mason. I was born in the Midwest, and while I had lots of friends and an established career there, I moved to the strange and wonderful city of Savannah, Georgia in 2001. My sister and I had visited Savannah for a long weekend and couldn't resist its siren call. Now I've been here for about ten years and every day is still a treat. I love it here. My home is in the historic downtown and is ruled by a couple of benevolent overlords: my two black cats.

I’m about to embark on a journey of writing romance and YA. What have you learned from this approach? What were some of the challenges?

The biggest challenge, I think, is in branding yourself and your writing. Some readers will cross over between YA and romance but some won't. It's important to let the reader know what they're getting. That's why I've used two different pen names. However, the names are obviously very close to one another so I think a reader could easily find all my books if they would like to. In my writing, the story and characters dictates the heat level or genre. Right now, the stories in my head are urban fantasy/paranormal romance in the YA or New Adult category. I think you have to write what you love, what you're passionate about. If you don't have enthusiasm for what you're writing, the reader won't have enthusiasm when they read the book.

How did you stumble on the quantum mechanics theory of entanglements that inspired this story? #GeeksRULE #GeekIsTheNewBlack

I was watching a television program on the Discovery channel (I think) about string theory. There was a mention of the entanglements phenomenon and quote by Einstein about the theory. Einstein had called it "Spooky action at a distance." That totally intrigued me. I found out scientists had observed that a particle might be tweaked and a second one, miles away, would turn in response even though there was no discernable connection between the two. They theorized that the two particles were linked or entangled in some alternate dimension. Once I started reading about entanglements and multiverses, I found some very cool facts such as the fact that cause and effect don't always occur in that order. Sometimes the effect happens before the cause. There is so much paranormal activity in Savannah that I've often thought about what sort of scientific basis could be behind these hauntings. I really think we may not understand all the science yet, but there are explanations. The theory of entanglements could be one of them. Anyway, I began thinking that if particles could be linked in alternate dimensions then people could be also. What if people or other beings were linked? The plot emerged from there.

You said Savannah, Georgia and my internal paranormal investigator geek got super excited! LOL! What’s the most haunted place you’ve been to and what did it do for you as a writer?

My sister and I used to own an antique shop. The building we leased was built over the first burial ground of Savannah, an extremely haunted area. And our building had a number of spirits. More than once we opened the shop to paranormal investigators who found fascinating results such as an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) of a panting dog and a child saying, "he likes you." Items in the shop would regularly move on their own and we would hear the sound of breaking glass. No glass was broken, only the sound. In fact, my sister and I were called by our alarm company so many times after hours for breaking glass (they thought the front window had been broken) and movement in the shop, that we stopped having them monitor for those occurrences. However, the mediums who investigated our shop said that the spirits liked us, so they didn't break any of our good stuff. The shop owner in the space prior to us was an art glass seller and they had a lot of broken items. My sister's carriage house is also very haunted. Paramount Pictures, in fact, sent a team to investigate and film at her house for a bonus feature they included in the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Poltergeist. These are just a couple of many hauntings I've had experience with. I think what it has done for me as a writer is open my imagination and start me thinking about things I never would have considered before.

You mention that Savannah, Georgia has a high quantity of alleged vortexes. As a paranormal investigator, I’m interested to know what type, what are people saying, what are the claims, because that’s something I haven’t heard about in Savannah. But most of my paranormal research has been here in Denver…where we don’t have a lot of those. *chuckle*

Savannah was voted the most haunted city in America by a parapsychology group. A medium I talked to believes that not only are there a plethora of hauntings here because Savannah is one of the oldest cities in America (founded in 1733) but also because of vortexes. Savannah is laid out in a grid and originally there were twenty-four squares, i.e., little parks that would serve each ward or neighborhood. Twenty-three of them are still greenspace. One of my friends swears he observed a figure pop up out of the ground in the middle of one of these squares from out of a vortex. And since my friend isn't mentally ill, I have to give his personal experience some credence. Part of my book Entanglements was inspired by a vortex reportedly in the basement of a local 'haunted' restaurant. The basement is connected to the riverfront through a tunnel system originally used to shanghai sailors and to transport slaves to and from ships. I'm acquainted with the owner of a local paranormal tour company, which was developing a paranormal investigation tour for the basement. They brought in a medium. Her remark was "no wonder the building is so haunted, someone drew a vortex opening symbol on the floor and never closed it." I investigated the location and the symbol and used a symbol like it in Entanglements.

*stashing the inner geek* LOL! Tell us about your book!

In Entanglements, teen KIZZY TAYLOR is just hoping for an evening of fun when she joins her friends in a spelunking expedition through an under-city tunnel. But fun turns bizarre when Kizzy accidentally opens a vortex and her stepsister is swept through to an evil alternate dimension. The only way to rescue her stepsister is to reopen the vortex and go in after her. But is her new boyfriend, ROM CALIXO, going to help Kizzy or try to stop her? And if she can get past Rom, will she be able to get back home?

What’s something about your characters that your readers wouldn’t know after reading the book?

The villain of Entanglements is His Royal Highness, The Prince Leopold. He is the son of Queen Victoria. In his dimension, which has an alternate history to ours, he was transformed into a vampire when an attempt to cure his hemophilia didn't quite work out. He became monarch of the Empire of the Dark after killing off his entire family, including his mother. Since then he's been busy creating a vampire aristocracy and gathering all sorts of paranormal creatures into his sphere. Only trouble is, humans are becoming scarce in his world so he'd like to get control of Kizzy so she can open up other dimensions for conquering. But what readers wouldn't know is that Leopold is in therapy. He turned the famous Dr. Sigmund Freud into a vampire so that he could enter psychoanalysis to help him deal with his traumatic past.

Where can readers purchase your book, Entanglements?

Amazon Barnes and Noble Smashwords

May we read an excerpt from the book?

Chapter One

June 21st

No one had ever lived after jumping from the Talmadge Bridge. Until now, in my entire fifteen years, I had never been particularly special or unique. So the chances I, Kizzy Taylor, would be the first to survive were probably slimmer than the cheerleading captain at my high school. The nighttime Savannah skyline, with its gold domed city hall, loomed in the distance, serene and beautiful. Leaning over the railing, I peered down to the water far, far below me. The whipping wind slammed my ponytail against my forehead.

In the darkness, the black sheen of the water’s surface had the appearance of asphalt after a rain. It would probably feel like asphalt on impact. At the thought, my knees buckled. Even if I wasn’t particularly afraid of falling, I was suddenly very afraid of heights…Weird.

Straightening my shaking legs with defiance, I dragged my gaze away from the river and deliberately stared at my feet. They weren’t as scary as the height. From the purple polish on my toes to the blister on my right heel, they were the same feet I’d slipped into clear plastic flip-flops this morning. The garishly happy sunflower appliqué of my shoes mocked me.

“Kizzy.” Adam’s tiny four-year-old fingers tugged at the denim of my pants. He held his favorite plastic pterodactyl toy in his other hand.

Glancing back at him, I pried his fingers away. “Get back,” I ordered, giving a little push behind me. Okay. Maybe my life was over but I was going to save my little brother.

“I want to go home and see Mommy.” Adam's blue eyes were wide and glistening with fear.

“I know, baby. We will. But get back now.” I tried to keep my tone firm but loving.

A car’s horn blared. Rising as it approached, the tone of the honking then fell as the car left us behind. The lights of the enormous suspension bridge must be illuminating us as if we were on a theater stage. Why didn’t any of these passing cars stop to help?

Adam’s sobs tore at me as I balanced my belly against the icy metal of the railing and climbed over. With barely enough room for my feet, their tips hung over the concrete edge.

“Shhh.” I glanced back over my right shoulder at Adam to try to meet his eyes but they were scrunched tightly shut. “We’re just playing a game. We’ll go home soon. I promise.”

“This isn’t a game.” The baritone voice, so agonizingly familiar, drowned out my brother’s cries. “You have to do it,” the man shouted prodding me in the back with his revolver.

The muzzle jabbed into my skin through the thin fabric of my t-shirt and pushed me forward. I would totally have a bruise tomorrow...if I survived until tomorrow.

“Jump,” the man screamed.

Gripping the rail behind me, I clung. A jagged piece of metal on the rail bit into my flesh and I winced as liquid pooled in my palm. I couldn’t help jerking that hand away to hold it in front of me. Blood dripped off my palm before disappearing into the darkness and becoming part of the Savannah River water.

“Kizzzzzy!” My brother screeched.

“Shut up.” The man started with a jerk. “Do you want to make me shoot?”

The pitch of Adam’s wailing heightened.

Clutching at my necklace as if it were a religious medal, I turned to try to talk to him.

“Can’t you just leave Adam alone? I’ll do what you want.” My pleading had the same effect on the man as it did on the steel of the suspension cable a few feet away.

“This is because of you,” he said. He. My dad. He didn’t even look like the hero I’d always known. My once handsome father was now ugly with his face set in angry angles and with unrecognizable wild eyes. "This is all because of you."

Tell me something new. I’d always suspected I was to blame for my parents’ divorce. But could the breakdown of a marriage actually send my father into this kind of craziness?

“What about Adam,” I said. “Will you take him home…after this?”

“That’s not important.” He—I refused to think of him as Dad again—waved the gun around as if he weren’t even aware of it anymore.

His monotone statement sent an uncontrolled shiver rushing through me. Suddenly, my heart raced so fast and hard it wouldn’t have surprised me if it burst through to the outside of my chest like that creature in the movie Alien. I was terrified for myself and for Adam.

If I tried to get past him, my father could easily block me and throw me over. Mind racing, I remembered the door in the concrete tower—one of the two supporting the deck of the bridge—we’d passed walking up here from our car. I hoped that door led to a stairway down or possibly an elevator. The tower and its door to freedom tantalized me at only about fifty feet away. I could walk the edge of the bridge like a balance beam and make it there pretty quickly.

But what about the gun? It occurred to me that, for some reason, shooting me wasn’t what he wanted or he would have done it by now.

Carefully turning my feet and preparing to get away as fast as I could, I gripped the rail with my right hand and held out the other toward my brother.

“Come to me,” I said.

With complete trust Adam ran and hopped so I could lift him into a “seat” on my left elbow. His arms wrapped tightly around my neck. The smell of chocolate in his hair bolstered my resolve.

“What?” The man blinked as if coming out of some kind of trance. “What are you doing?”

Not bothering to answer, I inched my way along. A wall of wind I hadn’t counted on thwarted my progress. Worse, a sudden gust threatened to sweep us over the side.

“Stop,” the man ordered.

A popping from behind me was almost immediately accompanied by a burning in my right bicep. The arm I’d been using to anchor us to the rail went numb and I lost my hold. Apparently, he was willing to shoot me after all.

Only a few more feet to the door. We could still make it, but I needed to go back over the rail to get there.

Twisting, I prepared to set Adam down on the safe side. Another popping noise sounded from behind me and a thud reverberated in my body as if I'd been slammed in the side with a twenty-pound barbell. The numbness in my arm expanded into the rest of my body and fog seeped into my brain. I know I dropped backward and lost the precarious balance I’d had with my feet.

Falling seemed to take forever as the water slowly rose to meet me. The dome of city hall continued to gleam in the distance, with its golden reflection extending to the river water. Strange that I hadn’t seen that before.

No, I thought. The glow wasn’t on the water it was above the water. A luminous oval pulsed between the river and me. The oval transformed into a circle tinged not only with gold but also with violet.

This must be some dying hallucination the brain generates, I thought as I passed into the shimmering ring. The teacher hadn’t covered this in Biology I. Maybe death tripping was in next semester’s material. The stuff I wouldn’t be learning.

Hitting the water felt like a giant wet mouth sucking me in before swallowing me down.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

I love to hear from readers. Here are my links:

Goodreads Amazon Twitter Website Blog

Thank you so much to Patricia for letting us interview her! She's giving away 2 copies of her book. For a chance to win one of them, please leave a comment in the following format: parayournormal(at)blogspot(dot)com.

Interview with Melanie Card

2012-01-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, Melanie! Look at you getting yourself out there! Congrats! There were a lot of interviews to go through! You and your book are getting some great reviews and some good spotlight action! But one thing that popped out was actually in your bio. You mentioned two great teachers that helped make you the writer you are today. I did too! I’d like to hear more about them.

Thanks, PYN Team! I’m excited to be here today. There have been a number of great teachers who’ve encouraged me over the years, but these first two I met very early in my life—public school—and although I know I would have found my way to writing and storytelling eventually, they set me on the path early. They made creative writing welcoming and encouraged me to write stories, even if I was supposed to be doing non-creative writing during journal writing period. Or at least, at the time I thought I was supposed to be doing non-creative writing. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the exercise was just to get kids writing. Boy, did I hate journal writing. Compared to the people in my imagination, I had a boring life. These people did awesome things like go on adventures to find magical swords and battled dragons and made friends with fairies. So one day I started writing that in my journal. I don’t know what this teacher really thought about it, but she left some encouraging remarks in the journal, asking questions about where the story might go. The next journal writing period I wrote a little bit more and the next period, even more. The teacher left more comments, asked more questions. Soon I couldn’t wait for journal writing period. I would plan what my characters were going to do and what cliffhanger I was going to leave them on to see what kind of questions I could get my teacher to ask. She did that for a few years (followed my class through a number of grades) and when I moved to the next awesome teacher, he took up where she’d left off. I can honestly attribute learning to be a novelist to these two teachers. Whether they knew it or not they were teaching me about plot complications and cliff hangers and for that I will forever be grateful.

I also notice that you have some lovely bits for writers. What was the most helpful piece of advice that you put up there? I mean, you picked these for a reason. So which was it and why?

I picked the topics because they were things someone had been kind enough to share with me and I wanted to pass them along to other writers. The one I like the most is the two-fold Show vs. Tell entries, probably because in a lot of ways it’s about choice and not just about “the rules”. We hear as beginning writers “show don’t tell”, and while I agree, 95% of the time you should show—it’s more exciting, grabs the reader, and immerses her in the story—there are times when you probably shouldn’t show. I wrote those two musings as a way to make others think about when and where (and to question and examine rules, not just follow them.) Of course, then I wrote about dialogue tags because punctuating dialogue is one of those rules you really can’t break.

How did you choose to write your story “before gun powder, but after the printing press had been invented”? I know, for me, researching that era, I was blown away. What inspired you to take the plunge in this era?

I come to YA and romance from traditional fantasy (Lord of the Rings type books) so the “before gun powder” comes naturally to me and I really love the swashbuckling of the Three Musketeer type stories. I also liked the idea of having more than just monks interested in the written word and education, which lead me to create a world set in a faux-Renaissance type period. There are also interesting details you can put in about clothing and scientific advancement from that time period. Which is a long way to say, I thought the era was cool!

Everyone who’s – or nearly so – read your book waxes poetic about your setting. *grin* Now, in one of your interviews you mentioned how you developed Brawenal City. Can you share with the readers here a bit, show us why it’s so breathtaking?

The inspiration for Brawenal City came from images of the cities on the southern coast of Italy. The towns curl down the sloping hillside to the sea and I wanted to try and capture that sense of winding from the mountain top to the port. As well, I also wanted a city with a sense of age and yet growth, so I added the city rings. Walls were often built around cities or fortifications, but as a city’s population grows and the space within the wall is taken up people are forced to build their houses outside of the wall’s protection. Brawenal has gone through numerous periods of growth and there are many walls and, as a result, physical separation between different “classes” within the city. The noble and royal classes have their houses on the top of the hill, in the older parts of town, farthest from the noise and smell of the docks and warehouses, as well as the tanning and knacker yards. I honestly didn’t anticipate how complicated Brawenal City would become, but in fantasy fiction the world is often treated like a character, and I suppose since my characters had a life of their own, it made sense the city would have one as well.

Okay. In all of your interviews, you talk a lot about Ward and Celia (great plot idea, btw) but you don’t say what inspired these two characters. Can you share that with us?

The characters were really inspired by one character. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Ichabod Crane in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. I loved how quirky and sincere he was and in Burton’s version, Ichabod gets the girl (something I always feel is missing from the original story). Around the same time I was watching the movie I was also playing around with the question about good vs. evil and why we traditionally cast certain types of characters as villains (namely necromancers). Alright, I suppose I know why necromancers are often villains. It’s because their magic is dark. Controlling the dead is scary. So I began wondering in what situation would a necromancer be a hero.

Out of that came Ward. Edward de’Ath the Fourth. Just some guy who’s had to fall back on the family business of necromancy because his chosen profession is out of his reach. He’s a little awkward and nerdy like Ichabod, but also just as sincere.

Once I had Ward I knew the best heroine for him would be someone who challenged him and helped him to grow in confidence. But also someone who needed to learn something from Ward’s gentle nature. Who better than a kick-ass assassin who doesn’t trust anyone?

*wild clapping* This is my favorite question and I can’t wait to read your answer. *mild shrieking* You’re a fellow research geek!!!!! *chuckle* I have to know! When you were researching the medieval surgery techniques, what was the coolest thing you discovered, the thing that just blew your socks off?

The thing that completely blew my socks off was the types of complicated and delicate surgeries 10^th century physician Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi could do. The man supposedly could reattached severed ears, do breast reduction surgery, eye surgeries, remove nasal polyps, among other things. His use of catgut for internal stitches is still being used today.

So you’re writing Book 2. Is there anything you can tell us without giving away the plot? A teaser?

This is a tough one; I don’t want to give too much away. So I’ll just say Ward and Celia get into even more trouble with more undead creatures and evil necromancers and their relationship gets even more complicated.

Where can readers purchase your book, Ward against Death?

May we read an excerpt from the book?

Her eyes narrowed and her hand snaked under the pillow. “It’s not wise to enter a lady’s bedchamber without her consent.”

Ward plastered on his calmest, gentlest expression. The newly wakened dead often assumed they had just roused from sleep. “You’ve been unwell.”

Her icy blue eyes examined him, her gaze jumping from his face, to his wig, to his jacket, and back to his face. “Unwell? Is that what my father told you?”

“In a manner of speaking.” She wasn’t acting the way she was supposed to.

Noblewomen, particularly those around his age, were usually demure or aloof—not suspicious.

“Well, I’m fine, and I’m sorry my father troubled you.” She threw back the covers, sat up, and stepped onto the thick rug. “Now go, be a good doctor, and tell my family I’m healthy and sleeping.” She punctuated her last word by pulling her nightdress over her head, revealing a slim waist, athletic muscles, and pale skin marked with the purple bruises of livor mortis along her back. And no other clothes.

“But—” He flushed and spun around to face the wall. “What are you doing?” No. Wait. What was he doing? He’d seen a dead naked woman before. Just never like this.

She chuckled. “I’m going for a walk.”

“A what? No—You can’t.” She really wasn’t acting the way she was supposed to.

“I beg to differ.”

The situation was spiraling out of hand. Damn it, he had to take control. He was the necromancer, she the newly awakened. She was supposed to listen to him.

He turned to confront her. Thankfully, she was fully dressed—in men’s clothes, but at least she was dressed. “Listen, I—”

She slipped her hand under her pillow and removed a sheathed dagger.

Great Goddess! She kept a dagger under her pillow? Ward inched toward the door to block her escape without appearing obvious, although he had no idea what he’d do if she fought him. Why did he always get stuck with the difficult corpses?

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

Facebook / Twitter @melaniecard / Goodreads / MelanieCard.com

Winner Announcement

2012-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

This week we're giving away a copy of Stone Cold Seduction by Jess Macallan. And the lucky winner is...

Na

Come back tomorrow for another chance to win a paranormal read!

PYN Review of Stone Cold Seduction, by Jess Macallan

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by SJ Byrne
PYN Reviewer

Take a talented author's creative spin on mythical creatures, mix in gorgeous men, fast paced action, and sizzling hot scenes and you've got 'Stone Cold Seduction.' Jess Macallan has shaped a world parallel to our own with some imaginative twists; never before have a Phoenix and a Gargoyle been this incredibly sexy.

Elleodora Fredricks, aka Elle, is a seemingly normal woman, who owns and operates an organic soap store in Seattle, Washington. By day, she fills her time creating new concoctions for her customers but by night she has taken to thieving priceless items with insider guidance from her best friend and childhood pal. After a narrow escape, thanks to her extremely hot employee Jaxon West, Elle learns there's more going on in her life than she understands. Nothing is as it seems; her recently deceased mother, her vicious father, and even her dearest friend are all strangers in her mind.

In order to repair the stolen memories keeping her in the dark about her rightful place in the world, Elle begins a journey of discoveries only to learn nothing will come easy or be normal ever again. Caught between two men who hold different pieces of her heart, and a cruel father who only wants to break and control her, Elle must find her way in this new mystical realm that threatens to swallow her whole.

With 'Stone Cold Seduction,' Jess Macallan shows promise of great things to come. If for some incredible reason a reader is immune to the steaminess of the characters, surely they will be hooked by the humorous laugh-out-loud undertone. This book has it all - it pulled me in and left me wanting more!

Interview with Jess Macallan, Author of Stone Cold Seduction

2012-01-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

Hey, Jess! It’s great to meet you! Before we start talking about your book – which I HAD to buy, BTW, let’s talk about the New Year. You’re doing a *looking again* a Vision Board? *very interested* Tell us more. What are you doing with it and are there pics to share?

Hi! Thanks so much for having me here today. Yes, I’m addicted to creating vision boards. I usually do a couple per year. I’m also addicted to magazines, which sort of fueled the vision board obsession. I cut out pictures and words to represent my goals, dreams and even inspirations. To ring in the New Year, my husband and kids all did one. It’s the perfect visual reminder. I haven’t quite finished mine, but I’ll post pics to my blog as soon as it’s done. My favorite picture is of Johnny Depp dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow. You know, for inspiration. Ahem.

Good luck to your non-resolution-resolutions. *chuckle* There’s not a whole lot about you on the web. Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?

Thanks. I suppose I should mention I set so many goals in a year, resolutions are sort of redundant. *grins* And on that note, I’m a mom of 3, yoga teacher, gardener, speaker, craft junkie, book addict, volunteer…did I mention I’m a type A personality? Seriously though, I have a wide variety of interests and am easily distracted by shiny new ideas. Writing was an ideal fit for the part of my brain that needed an outlet for some of those ideas.

Your book, Stone Cold Seduction, is out. Tell us a bit about your book.

It’s the first book in my Set in Stone trilogy, from Entangled Publishing. The series features Elle Fredricks, who is unexpectedly thrown into a paranormal world she wants nothing to do with. Family secrets come to light, and Elle discovers she’s part shadow elf. To make matters interesting, a sexy gargoyle and hot phoenix both claim to be her mate. In order to make sense of everything, including her growing abilities, she has to find her fate. Her father will do anything to prevent that from happening.

I’m always intrigued when an author picks a creature you haven’t seen in a million books and creates a character around that. YOU chose a gargoyle as the mc’s love interest. *giggle* And by the reviews, that’s a going well. I love the comment by Katie Dalton, “All I saw was ‘he can turn parts of himself to stone at will’ yeah, I’m SOLD!!!!!!!”. That had me laughing. How’d you decide on a gargoyle?

I hadn’t heard that one, but that’s hilarious! I chose a gargoyle because I had nothing new to add to the vampire/werewolf genre. Don’t get me wrong, I love those books, but I wanted to do something different, and gargoyles have always fascinated me. In fact, they get a bad rap. Most people think of them as ugly, creepy creatures, but they were originally used to ward away evil spirits. Well, and also as rain spouts, but that’s far less sexy. So I wanted to bring that protector to life and see what happened.

What inspired this book?

I love mythical creatures, and wanted to do my own twist on elves, phoenix and oracles. I wish I could claim I had a brilliant epiphany, but I simply started with gargoyles and worked my way out from there. My creative process for this book was equal parts random and methodical.

Tell us something about your characters that we wouldn’t be able to figure out by reading the book.

Oh, gosh, that’s a hard one. I’m always surprised by how readers perceive characters, because it can vary wildly. I wanted each of the characters, especially Jax (the gargoyle) and MacLean (the phoenix) to have to work for readers’ affection as they try to win Elle. With that said, Jax is one of the more complex characters. Although he’s the strong, silent type, he has a soft spot for big dogs (think Irish Wolfhounds), and romantic gestures. Readers get to see more of that when he turns up the heat in Stone Cold Revenge.

Is there a book 2 in the works? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Yes, Stone Cold Revenge is the second book, and Stone Cold Destiny rounds out the trilogy. I should know release dates very soon. Stone Cold Revenge introduces a couple of new characters, and Elle comes into her full abilities (with some very surprising twists). She chooses her mate, but it doesn’t go quite as planned. And readers get to see exactly what a gargoyle can do. *winks*

Where can readers purchase your book?

May we read an excerpt from the book?

Absolutely!

Get in, get out. Get in, get out, I chanted in my head.

I could do this. I crept toward the stairs, keeping to the shadows and the outer edges of the room. Footsteps moving at a fast pace were coming toward me. I touched the small mark for the cloaking ward and silently chanted the words, and pressed against the wall. Please let this work. A split second later, two gargoyles rounded the corner. My mouth went dry, and I was afraid they’d hear my heart pounding, it was so loud.

They were full gargoyles. Their stone feet made dull, heavy thuds against the stone floor. Hysteria bubbled, and I wondered what happened if they got a chip in gargoyle form. Did they ever break a toe or finger off? Wings tucked behind them, horns on their heads, they were an awesome sight. Long faces, pointy chins and bright, glowing silver eyes. No clothes and very, very…naked.

I brought my gaze back to their faces as they neared the stairs. I held my breath. Silently, they brushed past me, oblivious to my presence. So close, I could have reached out and grabbed their…er…wings. I waited until I could no longer hear their footsteps, before releasing the ward and my breath in a quiet exhale.

I sucked in a deep, shaky breath. That had been far too close for comfort. I made my way down the stairs, one cautious step at a time.

Candle sconces lined the walls. Tiny flames flickered and cast sinister shadows down the curving stairwell. I felt like I was walking down to the dungeons, which is what I’m sure the lower levels used to be. Fear snaked along my spine. I didn’t want to be here.

Which was more motivation to hurry the hell up.

Because of the candle sconces, I couldn’t hug the walls. I crouched down and took the steps as quickly and quietly as I could. Every five steps, I paused to listen. The gargoyles must be faster than I gave them credit for, because I didn’t hear their footsteps receding.

The growing silence strained my nerves. Where were all the guards and oracles MacLean had spoke about? I’d heard one female and seen the two gargoyles. There were five upper levels and three lower levels. I should hear something.

Keeping one hand on the wall, trying to avoid the hot, dripping wax, I made my way downstairs, into what felt like the pit of hell. Was it getting warmer?

The spiral stairs continued down. I was almost there, when the next ward hit me. If I’d thought the first one was big, this one brought me to my knees. Literally.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear. Raw energy consumed me. It ripped through me with the force of a tsunami. As quickly as it started, it was over. Huddled on the stairs, I gasped for breath. A twinge in my shoulder indicated where the new mark was.

“The ward is down. Did you hear that?” The low, nasty voice came from below. It echoed in the stairwell. Heavy thuds on the stairs had me scrambling to my feet.

Shit. They were coming.

Quiet, calm shadow. Quiet, calm shadow, I repeated mentally, squeezing my eyes shut. I held the image in my head, praying it would hold. If I got out of this alive, I’d donate more. Volunteer my time. Be nice to every person I met. No more take-out food. I’d exercise and get enough sleep. I’d…

The two gargoyles raced up the stairs. Fast and agile, they ran right through me. Right through me.

Shock held me still.

Time was running out. I moved down the stairs, despite the way my legs threatened to give out with each step. Hitting the second level, I ducked into the first room I found. Hoping there was electricity down here, I fumbled for a light switch. Success. I flipped the switch.

With horror, I took in the scene in front of me.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web? (provide links)

Thanks so much for having me at ParaYourNormal today. I hope you all enjoy Stone Cold Seduction and watch for Stone Cold Revenge to hit shelves this spring!

Thanks so much to Jess for letting us interview her! She's also giving away a copy of her book to one lucky winner, so if you'd like to enter for a chance to win then please post a comment with your email in the following format: parayournormal(at)blogspot(dot)com

PYN Review of Black Blood by Melissa Pearl

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by SJ Byrne

PYN Reviewer

Black Blood by Melissa Pearl is the second book in the YA Time Spirit Trilogy and worked its magic around this reader with as much punch as the first book in the series, Golden Blood.

Gemma Hart is a teenage time traveler who hops through history with her parents and older twin siblings in order to make the world a better place by changing natural events. Gemma's boyfriend Harrison is the first person outside her tightly knit family to break through the thick walls of her emotional defenses, much to her parents' displeasure. The young couple begins to explore a deep and connected love, one most people never get a chance to experience, while obeying the strict rules put forth by her parents and their ever present threat of sending Gemma away.

Black Blood is one of those books that reaches right into the readers' heart and gives a firm twist with its intense emotional sequences and struggle for hope against all odds. Melissa Pearl writes in such a fashion that the reader is an unseen presence within the storyline, blending in with the imagery and feeling the pain of heartbreak and joyful elation of the characters.

I read the first book Golden Blood and passed it to my pre-teen daughter who read it in one afternoon; informing me we must buy the next in the series immediately. She read Black Blood before I had a chance to and could not wait for me to catch up, so we could discuss the novel. Together, we eagerly await the third and final book in the Time Spirit Trilogy; she tells me as I write this that she has first dibs.

Fantastic job Melissa Pearl, I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading YA Paranormal books.

PYN Review of Shield of Fire

2011-12-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by SJ Byrne

PYN Reviewer

Shield of Fire opens with immediate action as Brother Powell of Menda Abbey supplies Icarus, son of the Demon Bane King, with an innocent victim in hopes of luring out bigger prey.

Ravyn lives in Menda Abbey and has been there as long as she can remember; it's the only home she can recall and her parents are a complete mystery. Being a little on the weird side, on top of all that, its little wonder the abbey sisters have practically branded her in league with the devil.

On the fateful night of the opening scene, Ravyn finds she must flee the only home she's ever known, only to be rescued from Icarus by a mythical warrior. Under the protection of Rhys Blackwell, she must embrace a world full of magic and secrets or forfeit her life to the demons hunting her like a prized relic.

Pulled into Rhys's world, Ravyn investigates the awesome gifts she has kept hidden her entire life. Ignorant of her parentage and unsure of the full extent of her mystical abilities, Rhys and Ravyn open to each other and begin a wondrous adventure neither had thought possible.

This is a book that leaves the reader wanting more and promises much more is to come. I would definitely recommend Shield of Fire to anyone that enjoys a great paranormal story.

I thought the story line good enough to have been marketable in the mainstream arena, though the intimate scenes might/might not hinder it from doing so.

I am looking forward to the next installment from Boone Brux.

Interview with Boone Brux

2011-12-14T06:38:00.000-08:00

Hey, Boone! Okay, oh my PETE! I looked you up and started researching and decided you are my peeps! LOL! You’re MARRIED to a vampire?! How did this happen?

I met him in Barrow, Alaska. The Arctic is the perfect place to winter if you’re a vampire. We’re talking some long, cold nights. He’s like the opposite of a bear, hibernates in the summer and is at his peak around December 25. Can I get an amen? Is he sparkly? *giggle* No. As a matter-of-fact, it’s difficult to get anything sparkly out of him. He told me I’ve hit my diamond quota and hands me the Cabela’s catalogue when my birthday rolls around. I have stories about when I dated a vampire. We definitely need to chat. That didn’t go so well. How’s it working for you? Good so far, but I’m not afraid to stake him if I have to. I think on some level he senses this.

Twin daughters, you say? I have two daughters that are three years apart and I had my hands wickedly full. How do you carve out time to write?

Girls, they’re so cute, almost like real people sometimes. I depend heavily on the public school system and the internet, or what I lovingly refer to as ‘nanny’. They’re in fourth grade, so when they get on the bus, I hit the computer. My pirate, vampire husband is super supportive and likes to take the girls golfing or flying. At least I think that’s where he takes them. I should really check on that sometime. Anyway, I’m pretty focused when I’m working and have mastered the art of tuning out cat-fights and door slamming.

I started off thinking I knew something about writing, and then I hit the point where I “mastered” it. *nods* Yeah. I realize now that I know pretty much nothing about it. What was the moment you realized you needed to learn more? (For me, that would be daily. “Is ‘cautious’ a real word? It looks made-up.” @_@)

Every day of my life is like a little slap of reality when it comes to writing. Just when I think I’m pretty awesome, somebody or something gives me the backhand of truth. Remember when you were super innocent and announced to the world that you were going to write a book. Gee, I miss that ignorance. *gives a reflective sigh* There have been many days when I’ve wanted to light my manuscript on fire in the middle of my living room. Partly because I’m pissed at the book, but also because I want new wood flooring. Anyway, writing is in my blood and everybody’s journey is different. My journey likes to take a detour from time to time and stops at the Self Pity Lodge. Here you’ll find me curled in a fetal position, watching back-to-back episodes of Castle. (Dang I wish Beckett and Castle would kiss.) It’s either self-indulgence or self-medicating with Nyquil. (I love that stuff.)

Which book are we talking about today and what is it about? Shield of Fire, Book One of the Bringer and the Bane series.

Shield revolves around Ravyn and Rhys. She’s been locked in an abbey all her life and he’s the last full-blooded Bringer, a mythical race of people. (Or is he? *wink wink*) Rhys is what you call a Shield. He rushes around the countryside kicking Demon Bane butt and protecting humans. He ends up saving Ravyn from a particularly nasty demon named Icarus, and realizes Ravyn is much more than a pretty face. These two are the catalyst characters who ignite the events in what is predicted to be a war to end all wars between the Bringers (good guys) and the Bane (bad, naughty demons). (Did that last sentence make any sense? I was trying for epic.)

What inspired this book?

It’s kind of a blur now, but I think it had to do with copious amounts of alcohol while watching Legend of the Seeker. Kidding…kind of. Actually, Shield of Fire started out as a historical romance. The current version being released by Entangled Publishing is nothing like the original version. Can I get a hallelujah for that? It’s been through the editor mill and I’m really happy with the results.

Tell us something about your characters that we wouldn’t be able to figure out by reading the book.

You mean like Ravyn has a gluten allergy or Rhys prefers boxers to briefs? Hmm, let me think. Well, Rhys has had three names. I refer to him as Rhys, formally known as Griffin, formally known as Drake. We still call him Drake around the house.

Is there a book 2 in the works? Can you tell us a bit about it?

Yes, and a book 3, 4, and 5.

Where can readers purchase your book?

Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, BAM (Books-a-Million), and Books On Board.

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

Please connect with me on any of these sites. I love talking to readers!

Website

Interview with Traci Slatton

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hey, Traci! I’m so excited to have this opportunity to get to know you! Tell us a little bit about yourself that’s not on your site.

I love sci-fi movies, sitcoms, horse-back riding, and yoga; Cape Cod and Rome are my two favorite places in the world, with Paris coming up close behind them; Chocolate is one of my reasons for incarnating in the physical body; my husband sculptor Sabin Howard makes the most best shrimp scampi; “For fun and profit” is my usual answer when my kids, those opinionated creatures, ask “Why?”; 3^rd Rock from the Sun is my favorite TV show and “Whom the Gods would Destroy” by Richard Powell is my favorite novel; Giotto, Cimabue, Raphael and Chagall are my favorite artists; I think the first TERMINATOR was a perfect movie; I love my dogs, my kids, my friends, sometimes my husband, sunshine, daisies, yellow roses, trees, time by the ocean, and teasing the people I’m close to.

So you’re from a Navy family. I am soooooo sorry! *helpless shrug* However, I must say that my Marine Corps father wasn’t too thrilled when I joined the Army. His only consolation was that I hadn’t joined the Navy. LOL!! How do you think your ingrained military background affects your writing,?

Your dad was a jarhead? Just joking! I have to defend my dad a little. J Being in a military family gave me an opportunity to experience two things: 1, the idea that service to our country is important, worthy, and honorable—which I think the current generation does not understand; and 2, moving around between cultures. The South is different from the Midwest which is distinct from the Northeast, here in the US. I got to understand at a gut level that there are different and equally valid ways of being in the world. I live now on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which has its own specific culture, and it astonishes me how so many folks here have an unconscious arrogance about their political beliefs and attitudes, as if theirs was the only intelligent way to live.

You were accepted into Yale in your junior year?! I’m feeling my brain cells shriveling already! LOL! I bet your prose just roll of the tongue in an almost musical sort of way. How did the other kids treat you when you were accepted?

I think about 10% of my class at Yale was young, having skipped at least one grade. It wasn’t uncommon. My high school classmates already thought I was weird and a brainiac. Sigh. I was just very passionate about becoming a writer, and thus getting the education I needed for that goal.

How did you get started as a healer? What drew you to this?

I was and am on a spiritual journey. I have never been able to get away from a profound sense of the Imminent. This is not at all related to religion, in my mind. To me, religion is a social/cultural construction that was formulated to ensure secular control by the priestly and aristocratic classes. At best, it’s a structure in which to live a family life and raise children with values about kindness, honesty, generosity, and integrity. At worst, it stifles free thinking, creativity, and the direct experience of the divine. Now, the Divine itself, whatever it is, fascinates me, and constantly taps me on the shoulder. I also have a deep sense of the suffering of others, and a wish to see them released from it.

Let’s talk about your book a bit, shall we? LOL! What is it called and what is it about?

I have two paranormal novels out very recently: FALLEN, which is the first in a romantic trilogy set during the end times, the AFTER Trilogy; and THE BOTTICELLI AFFAIR, which is a playful romp through the art history byways of vampire lore. FALLEN is a dystopian love story, a tale of survivors in a ravaged world who are haunted by strange psychic gifts and devastating mists that have killed billions of people. TBA is about a frisky art forger trying to go straight while she searches for her missing father and a fabled lost painting. She’s pursued by lethal vampires and falls for a half-souled vampire who can’t consummate their passion.

What inspired this book?

FALLEN came to me as a situation: a man and a woman, each with secrets, who fall in love despite themselves, and can’t be together. I had a sense of the intensity of their longing for each other. I felt their despair and their tenderness in the face of cataclysm and death, and I always knew it would take 3 books to tell their story. TBA came to me as Laila’s voice, which I found intriguing. She’s strong, tempted, kind-hearted, quirky, a bit zany, goofy, idiosyncratic, hot-blooded. I could hear her in my head.

Tell us something about your characters that we wouldn’t be able to figure out by reading the book.

Emma the female protagonist of FALLEN will loose everything before she gains everything; Laila in TBA has a dark and vengeful side.

Is there a book 2 in the works? Can you tell us a bit about it?

The second book in the AFTER Trilogy is called COLD LIGHT, and I am working on it now. Emma is back in Canada and her oldest daughter Beth gets kidnapped by a rogue band, so she sets out to rescue Beth. Laila shows up in THE CODEX CAPER looking for a Mayan Codex that heralds the end of the world, while also pursuing vengeance for her father’s murder. Laila meets a dashing hedge fund manager named Chris Davenport who tries to seduce her away from John Bolingbroke.

Where can readers purchase your book?

FALLEN and THE BOTTICELLI AFFAIR are everywhere on the internet! Barnesandnoble.com, Amazon, as ebooks on Amazon, iTunes, smashwords and barnesandnoble.com. Readers can also find the recently released and very gorgeous sculpture book, THE ART OF LIFE, which I wrote with my husband classical figurative sculptor Sabin Howard. THE ART OF LIFE has over 100 color photos, and it surveys figurative sculpture from the earliest times to now, showcases the work of Greek sculptors like Polykleitos and Kritios as well as Renaissance and Baroque masters Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bernini, the great Neo-Classicist Canova and the modernist Rodin, culminating in the work of modern day master Sabin Howard. THE ART OF LIFE touches on the philosophy of art and why beauty is important. There’s a lovely back section that shows Sabin’s figure drawings, from which he taught for 16 years. It’s like looking at Da Vinci’s or Raphael’s drawings!

Where can your readers connect with you on the web?

They can find me at http://www.tracilslatton.com, at www.tracilslatton.blogspot.com, and at www.parvatipress.com They can find out more about my husband Sabin and his work at www.sabinhoward.com

THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY!!

PYN Review of Once a Goddess

2011-12-02T05:57:00.000-08:00

Reviewed by SJ Byrne, PYN Reviewer

'Once a Goddess' is a unique Celtic tale of love, family ties, and duty to ones community. Brigid, is a member of the legendary clan of the Tuatha de Danann, 'Eire's earliest inhabitants, and has been pressed into the service of her people. Sacrificing any possible chance of finding her soul mate or 'anam cara', in order to protect the future of her family from being wiped out by the enemy clan of Fomorians, Brigid marries into an enemy clan.

Living in a foreign camp, that has taken over parts of her beloved land, Brigid somehow finds within her heart the ability to accept and adjust to her new position. While forging a stronger bond with her husband Bres, son of the current Fomorian chieftain, whom she admires but fears she will never love, Brigid discovers her 'anam cara' is a member of the new community she calls home. Together, the inappropriate couple learns what it means to sacrifice all for the benefit of others.

With 'Once a Goddess', Sheila R. Lamb has created a work of historical fiction that enlightens and entertains. Some of the concepts put forth about the fabled Tuatha de Danann are simplistic and reasonable, leaving the reader asking why they never thought of it. An engaging tale, with only a few technical errors that don't distract from the experience, I enjoyed reading this book and exploring the mythical world created by Shiela R. Lamb.

PYN Review of A Traveler's Guide for Lost Souls

2011-11-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

A Traveler’s Guide for Lost Souls

Reviewed by Jenn B. PYN Reviewer

This book took off from the beginning and gathered momentum as it went. As a reviewer, I only wish that I had been able to read the book in larger pieces, because it was a little disorienting to read in bits and pieces where I was able to steal time for reading. The storyline is original and intriguing and it wasn’t long before I found myself attached to “Booda Ray” and the other key characters in the book. The book is written in such a way that I wasn’t able to detect that it was part of a series prior to reaching the end.

As a whole, a solid story and I look forward to Vol. 2 of the series!

Interview with Amy Tupper

2011-11-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

I love it when authors choose creatures we don’t know a lot about. Your introduction of the Fossegrim intrigues me. Where did you find out about this? What can you tell us about it?

When the three main characters of Jules, Andrew, and Nick appeared, I wanted to discover their back stories. Since I enjoy urban fantasy and magic realism, I wanted Jules and Nick based in an existing culture that people might not be familiar with. I spent three years traveling Europe as a teenager with my family and wanted to draw on this experience since I was in a position to voice what that was like. One of the places we visited was relatives in Sweden so I had first-hand experience. I also had many friends in school who were from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. One of them even taught me the three little Swedish words Andrew says!

Once I chose Scandinavia as the anchor for the back story, I couldn't help but trip all over the folktales of trolls, gnomes, elves, and fairies captured in Grimms' Fairy Tales. In their version, the Fossegrim is a troll-like creature who lives in a waterfall and plays a fiddle. If you brought the Fossegrim food, he would teach you to play. But beware the person who tried to cheat him! On the surface, it's a moral story about cheating and theft. but for me, it was just a nice juicy morsel of back story!

What can you tell us about the Fossegrim that we wouldn’t know after reading your book?

The Fossegrim is a type of Troll in a larger community of magical creatures. The one we meet in Tenderfoot is one of a handful in existence. In my take on the Fossegrim, the Trolls taught the Vikings war. I reference this in a short story on my blog titled "Predator."

How does Nick fit into the story? He seems to be a driving force in the blurb.

Nick is a 250 year old Fossegrim. He looks and acts like a human, but that's just a facade that allows him to operate unnoticed as he takes advantage of people's judgments and expectations. He's a creature of secrets with unknown motivations. Rest assured, everything he does is for a reason. His job is to be there for Jules as she comes to terms with what she is. Best of all, he's the character you love to hate.

Jules is well-traveled. Where are some of the places she’s traveled to and what drove her to all those places?

Jules is a typical international kid. Her parents moved from Manhattan to France to follow a job when she was eleven years old. Several years later, her family moved again for a job, this time to Stockholm. Like the kids I grew up with, she's experienced the larger world and gained both historical and personal senses of freedom. Most importantly, she's gone through the agony of being ripped away from everyone and everything she knows twice. Her mother died while they lived in Stockholm, so loss is this huge thing for Jules. When she arrives in Chapel Hill hoping for a fresh start, she's pretty much one big untended wound.

What inspired you to write this story?

My characters took me hostage! Really, for a while there, they were all I thought about. I'd be making lunch for my kids while trying to figure how exactly how Nick was getting under Andrew's skin.

After starting a family and having two daughters, I felt a little lost. I've always written my way through my problems so it just seemed time to write another book and express myself the way I enjoy most.

What can you tell us about Blinded, Book 2 of the Tenderfoot series?

While Tenderfoot is from Jules' point of view, Blinded is from Andrew's. I wanted to stretch and see what it was like to be in Andrew's head. He's such a sweetheart. I wondered, what does he really think about Jules and her little quirks? Does he notice the things going on with her, or is he content just to let sleeping dogs lie?

The other thing I can share is that Andrew and Nick finally duke it out. It's a great scene!

Where can readers purchase your book?

Readers can purchase my book at:

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54036

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tenderfoot-amy-tupper/1101222573

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Tenderfoot-ebook/dp/B0051XZQGY/

and the Amazon websites for other countries as well.

Where can readers connect with you on the web?

http://www.amytupper.net

I post news, six sentence excerpts, and weekly flash fiction on my blog. I also feature other authors with a feature called "Writers And Their Chosen Settings." I am always interested to find out how other authors chose settings for their books and what that contexts means to them.

May we read an excerpt from the book?

Nick began playing his guitar again. This time was different. My perception changed. It tightened into focus. It was like I could hear beyond the music. There were a few pulsing seconds of faint pain in my gut but then it faded away.

I turned my head toward the waving shadows on the grassy ground. Like before, things I should not have been able to see at such a distance became instantly clear. They popped into focus as if I was standing a few feet away instead of hundreds. The noise of the leaves grew louder as the leaves brushed against each other. I raised my head to better hear the whistle of the wind. I picked up the tinkling sounds of piano from Person Hall. The smell of sticky honeysuckle drifted in from some place nearby. I inhaled deeper. There were traces from people who had walked through. Each scent was somehow unique. The smell of exhaust and diesel wafted down from the cars on Franklin Street. How could I have not noticed all of this before?

The music itself was louder now. It sounded like a folk tune I used to know. Nick continued to play and I relaxed, closing my eyes to tune in. Before long, the song came to an end. I opened my eyes. There was an aura surrounding his body, a wave of changing color rolling out from him in all directions. It mingled with the music spinning out of the guitar. A blue aura surrounded him at the center of the wave. I screamed.

In a flash, he was up on his feet and crouched down in front of me. As soon as the music stopped, the stream of colors vanished, the aura gone.

I abruptly shut my mouth and covered it with both hands, frozen.

A big thanks to Amy for this week's interview. If you'd like to hear more, we'll be chatting with her again on Wednesday at 3:30 PST. You can set a reminder here.

Interview with Author, Jim Lindsey

2011-11-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hey, Jim, I see that you’re quite passionate about Rowga. What is that?

I’ve been a Buddhist since 1986 and have practiced, studied and taught sitting meditation in the
Buddhist way, at the same time observing how Westerners react to it as a whole. In those twenty-five years, I’ve seen our society speed up and become even more materialistic and aggressive. The result for a great many people is that they have little time and money, and incessant demands for both, and so are run ragged. They may realize a need for the deep sanity meditation can bring, but they also want to exercise and stay fit and have fun, so sitting on a cushion motionlessly feeling their legs go numb has problems winning them over.

At the same time, people are getting into enormous debt trying to entertain themselves, buying big TVs and boats and four-wheelers and other things they can’t afford. I’m passionate about rowga, or the yoga of rowing, because it’s an all-in-one solution. One, It’s great exercise, not only for your arms but for your whole body as your muscles continually adjust to the constant variation of movements caused by ocean waves. Two, It’s great entertainment – there’s nothing like being out on the big water under the big sky with that fresh-as-creation sea breeze, seals popping up to check you out, dolphins crossing your wake, seabirds swooping for a catch. Three, it’s great meditation – instead of sitting in a room trying to keep from falling asleep, you are guiding and propelling a boat through the waves as you watch your mind. As you let go of thoughts, you come back again and again to the here and now of the stroke of the oars, sharpening your awareness, being vividly alive. And you can get the exercise, entertainment and meditation all at once in the same place in the same way, so four, it’s a great time-saver. And a good rowboat is inexpensive and requires almost no maintenance and no fuel , so five, it’s a great value. And you are one with the ocean, not polluting it, not crashing through it, not lazing along on it letting the wind do the work, so it’s very nitty gritty and six, a great way of connecting the vastness of the ocean with the vastness of natural mind. Those are the six points of rowga, and that is why I’m so passionate about it.

You have a new book out, A Flaw in the Fabric, book 1 of A Traveller’s Guide for Lost Souls. Tell us a little bit about this book.

The Flaw in the Fabric explores possibilities of time and space and love that normally are never considered, because we shun death and ignore the possibilities of what might happen afterwards. The hero of the Flaw, Raymond Kidd, sees things he’s never dreamed of: ghosts reincarnating, living people appearing as skeletons, himself being whirled back to an earlier life so that he is torn between his love for two different wives. In the course of his travels, he is tasked with taking care of the lost souls stranded between lives, and he is pitted against a demon who devours them.

What inspired you to write this?

I’ve lived by the sea, for the last sixteen years, in a 200-year-old house that has ghosts in the basement. It may not be so, but I often fancy I hear them talking in the basement when I lie awake at night. And there is a tale in the village of two brothers who lived and died here back in the mid-eighteen-hundreds. The real trigger was a dream I had. I’d been working as an historical tour guide at the Alexander Keith Brewery in Halifax. We dressed up in nineteenth century costumes to lead the tours, and so ‘went back in time’ every day. One night I dreamed that I was talking to one of the other guides. I told him I wanted to write A Travellers Guide for Lost Souls. He said I had to do it. He said it as if it were an order, and I’ve never forgotten that. Beyond that, being a Buddhist, I have studied closely the process by which we die and by which we move onward to other lives, and how some people are unable to make the move because they are too attached to their former lives. Inspired? When I was writing the book, I woke up every morning champing at the bit to get started. I never worried about what to say. It all came to me as if being delivered Fed-Ex.

I’ve read an excerpt and from your prose, I gather you’ve learned a lot. What wisdoms are you hoping to share through your work?

The main one is that people have an invulnerable sanity they can tap, that is the result of the natural mind they were born with, and which is always available.

What in life drives you to write?

I was driven once. I’m not anymore. It happens to be my metier, so doing it is like living life to the fullest, like playing a guitar with the concentration of a Segovia, like returning to the wonderment of a child.

How did you come up with your time travel theory?

In our time, things are wearing out. The glaciers are melting, the weather is strange and unpredictable, there is a sense of things wearing out. I thought, how would it be if the very way things are wore out, or was sabotaged. The seemingly solid border between past and present, how would it be, I asked myself, if it became porous? Especially in an unpredictable way. So I just let the possibilities arise and followed them where they went.

Can you tell us a little bit about Book 2?

In Book 1, Raymond is presented with his task of rescuing lost souls but is prevented by circumstances from doing much about it. In fact, he finds himself stranded in the in-between realm between death and birth. In Book 2, another flaw in the fabric allows him to proceed with his quest. He reincarnates in the 21^st century and leaves Nova Scotia to follow his estranged wife Cat to California. There, in the land of wine, women and song, he finds lost souls on a scale he never imagined possible, among them his recently deceased parents. Here his task is truly daunting, as the attachment to the good life in the land of eternal summer is stronger than super glue.

Where can readers purchase your book?

Amazon Barnes and Noble Smashwords

Where can readers connect with you on the web?

http://jimtlindsey.com/ Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

A big thanks to Jim for this week's interview. If you'd like a copy of his book, please leave a comment below with your email address. Also be sure to tune into our Blog Talk radio show to learn more about Mr. Lindsey. You can schedule a reminder for it here

A PYN Review of Ruined

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

A PYN Review of Ruined
Michelle, Guest Reviewer

For the last couple of years, I’ve been reading spiritual and self-help books. So in an effort to step outside my comfort zone, I’ve decided to read some fiction. Not just any fiction, but paranormal fiction.

The first book I was introduced to, was Ruined by Kinley Baker. It is set in a town of shadow shifters, whose king is missing and presumed dead. When I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down. It proceeds with a series of twists and turns, that left me asking for more and looking find out how the story progressed.

In reading this book, I found that it spoke to me on different levels, even though it is fictional. One of the main characters is a Senior Healer who heals the king whenever he is sick or hurt. But the town and current king believe that she also served as the previous king’s mistress. On the one hand, she doesn’t like the association, but on the other hand, she knows she wasn’t, so why try to prove them wrong? It speaks to me, because people will always believe what they want about you, no matter what, so as long as you know what’s in your heart, that’s all that matters. I identified with the Senior Healer because in one part of the book, the current king is poisoned and in order to heal him, she must take the poison from him into her own body, which almost kills her. But as caregivers and nurturers, how many times do we do that for our loved ones?

The author, Kinley Baker did a fantastic job of allowing the story to flow and letting the readers know the back story, so you wouldn’t feel lost. I truly enjoyed this novel, and look forward to books from her in the future, she definitely has made a new fan out of me.

2011-10-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's interview is with author, Viki Lyn. She's giving away one ebook copy of The Hunter Within. After you read the interview be sure to enter for a chance to win!

Hey, Viki, it’s really great to meet you. Why don’t you start by telling us a bit about yourself.

I’ve been writing for a few years now and don’t see myself slowing down any time soon. I especially enjoy writing paranormal/fantasy romances because it’s just too darn fun to create new worlds! I write the occasionally contemporary, because that’s my favorite genre to read J. I was pleased to win the Rainbow Award last year for the 2010 Best Paranormal for Last Chance. This is the first book of my vampire series published by Loose Id. Fighting Chance, the second, was released this summer. I love to travel and just returned from a tour of Eastern Europe – Hungary, Austria, Germany and Czech Republic. I spent a week in Prague which was so cool because I set a part of Fighting Chance in Prague. My favorite color is red and so I treated myself to a red (white top) Mini Cooper for a milestone birthday! My best times are spent with family and friends, which come first over my writing career. I truly feel blessed!

How did you get started?

Ah, well, I started with fan fics and found I really enjoyed writing stories, but that was limited. I wanted to create my own characters and settings. I’ve always had a vivid imagination, making up stories in my head, creating whimsical mermaids, princesses, explorers with time machines. That sort of thing. I didn’t pick up a pen to seriously write until a few years ago. It’s been quite a learning curve, and, always challenging. I hope to keep improving and writing better books year after year.

I have been enjoying reading up on all your books! How many do you have out there and how long have you been publishing your work?

My first book was published in 2006 under another pen name. I wrote hetero historical romances for about three years when I decided to change genres after seven books. My first gay romance was published in 2009. I just wrote and published my eighth m/m romance! I love writing in this genre and have plenty more tales to tell. Series, sequels, stand-alones.

What drew you to gay erotica?

I’m an avid Japanese yaoi reader (boy’s love). I’ve collected over 400 books for my library! Crazy I know. I feel comfortable writing gay characters, having lived in the San Francisco area and having close gay friends since my college days. I love the idea of two men in love, and the courage it takes for them to be openly gay in a society that at times is very intolerant of people’s differences.

What can you tell us about Hunter Within and can you give us a little blurb of it?

This is the second book in my White Tiger shape shifter series. It's a continuation of Antoine and Jack's story.

Here's a short blurb: Jack is shocked to learn his wife is engaged to another man. She believes Jack died during the war, and has no idea he was altered into a soldier of super human powers. Now he's a Sentinel agent fighting supernatural beings. He remains dead in her eyes. But now he wonders if he should tell Alice the truth. All he wants is to have his old life back and to be normal again. Alice can save him from his crazy life and his sexual need for men; especially his burning passion for a shape shifter who claims his body and now wants his heart.

Shape shifter Antoine Fortescue travels to New York City to find out why Jack went AWOL. What he discovers disturbs him. Jack has traveled to California to spy on his wife's fiance. Was Jack going to confront Alice with the truth that he is alive? Or the real truth - that he is gay? Antoine will stop at nothing to capture Jack's heart.

What inspired this book?

There was so much left unsaid in the first book – The Tiger Within. It’s a novella and I see it as an introduction to the characters and their situation. Jack didn’t come to grips with his sexuality and his attraction for the tiger shape shifter, Antoine. So book 2 focuses on Jack and his struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality and his deep need to reconnect with his wife. He believes he wants his old life back – his wife (who thinks he died in the war), a home and family. This means leaving the Sentinel and his French tiger. But love does crazy things to Jack’s heart, and it’s not so easy to leave Antoine behind. There’s a lot of angst and conflict in this story!

What can you tell us about Jack and Antoine that we wouldn’t know by reading the book?

Jack is a great cook in the kitchen. He loves to cook, garden, and is quite the homebody. This isn’t brought up in the books. Antoine wears his emotions openly and is a romantic, but he is very forceful and pragmatic when dealing with politics and business. He can be quite hardnosed in his liberal views. We haven’t seen Antoine in action when he’s fulfilling his ‘princely’ role as the alpha of his demesne.

Where can readers purchase your book?

Several places have my books – the publishing houses, of course. Amazon sells the Kindle versions and All Romances Ebooks has all my books for sale. My books are in several digital formats but not in print.

Where can readers connect with you on the web?

I’m all over the place – Facebook, Twitter, blogs…you can find all my information at my website: http://www.vikilyn.com. If readers want to know the latest news about my books they can join my Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VikiLynNewsletter/join. I love to hear from my readers so I encourage them to send me an email.

May we read an excerpt from the book?

I thought you’d never ask. *g* Here’s a short excerpt:

Lowering his gun, Jack kept his gaze on the beautiful creature. A sleek tiger wrapped in snowy white fur and chocolate stripes. Le Tigre stopped a few feet from where Jack knelt, icy blue eyes blinking. Then the body shimmered, and before Jack could stop him, Antoine transformed into his human form.

Naked, on all fours, licking his lips, Antoine grinned. A dazzling smile lit up that aristocratic face, a face belonging in the past.

“Darling, it’s been too long,” Antoine drawled, then sat cross-legged on the ground.

Jack averted his gaze from that too-tempting thatch of dark curls. He stood up and put away his gun, swallowing the lump in this throat.

“What are you doing here?”

Antoine’s mouth puckered into a sultry pout as he rose to his feet and brushed off pine needles from his body. “I’ve missed you.”

Jack rolled his eyes as he slipped off his coat. He walked over and draped it around Antoine’s shoulders. If he stared at that sleek, strong body for much longer, he’d do something rash, something totally foolish.

Returning to his surveillance, he could hear Antoine stir behind him. Then a moist, hot tongue licked the curve of his ear. Shivers raced along his arms and legs. He parted his mouth, yet his breath caught in his throat. A groan formed, but he held it back, afraid if it escaped, he’d be lost to Antoine’s charms.

“Antoine, stop.” Jack twisted and pushed away the roaming hands. He looked Antoine over and noticed how his coat hung like a sack on him. Had the shifter lost weight? He’d always been slim, but his cheekbones were more pronounced, and there was a hint of fatigue in his eyes. “Where did you leave your clothes?”

“Near the highway, safely tucked away in my suitcase. It’s lovely here.” Antoine inhaled deeply and swept back his tousled curls.

The man insisted on keeping his hair in the style of his youth. Unfortunately the eighteenth-century do screamed flaming poof. But the truth was, Jack loved the springing chocolate whorls, how soft they felt when he buried his fingers in their thickness, and the long hair, much as he hated to admit, looked devastatingly sexy on Antoine.

Now if he could just talk him out of his frilly shirts…

Wait -- what did he care? He should end the absurd relationship between them. If he could just concentrate on his task and not be lured by the temptation Antoine presented…naked under the coat…willing…

“You haven’t answered my question.” Jack scowled to cover up the nervous excitement coursing through him. Already an uncomfortable swelling fought against the confines of his pants.

“I’m here to help you,” Antoine said.

Jack narrowed his eyes. “How did you find me?”

“Ricky. He’s a lovely young man. He misses you. He doesn’t like to go to the cinema alone. You really should send him that postcard you promised him.”

Jack turned on his heels, away from Antoine’s prying eyes and dripping sarcasm.

Antoine turned Jack around by the shoulder to face him and slid his hands around Jack’s waist in a viselike grip. It always surprised Jack how such a slim body held such strength. He had seen it -- experienced it -- firsthand. This silly fairy could wrestle him to the ground and completely overtake him if he so desired. And the way Antoine looked at him -- passion leaping from those ice blue eyes.

God have mercy.

His cock stirred as he breathed in Antoine’s scent.

“I’ve longed for you, my khalid.”

Jack stiffened and pushed away from the warm embrace. He missed the companionship of holding a man who he cared for, but the comforting sensation was the problem. He refused to acknowledge Antoine’s belief that he was the shape-shifter’s khalid. They were not soul mates.

***

Hope you enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you so much for having me today. Happy Reading! Viki Lyn

If you'd like to read Viki's books, you can find them through the following links:

For The Bite Of It: http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/forthebiteofit.htm

The Hunter Within: http://www.loose-id.com/The-Hunter-Within.aspx

All other books: http://www.vikilyn.com/books.htm

A big thanks to Viki for letting us interview her. If you'd like to win a copy of her ebook, just leave your name and email in a comment below, and we will announce the winner on Sunday. If you'd like to learn more about Viki, then tune into our Blog Talk Radio show this Wednesday at 3:30 PM PST. Click here to set a reminder for it.

Winner Announcement

2011-10-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

This week we were giving away copies of Sebastian and the Afterlife by William J. Barry. And the winners are...

Anna
Wuflie

Thanks for entering, and stay tunned for tomorrow's interview for another chance to win a paranormal read!

A PYN Review of Sebastian and the Afterlife

2011-10-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

A PYN Review of Sebastian and The Afterlife

SJ Byrne, PYN Reviewer

Like any other afternoon he would pick up his girlfriend, Sebastian crossed the front lawn on the way to his car, except this time he died. Following the silent directions of the Grim Reaper, he's led to a stone archway. Instead of stepping into the brilliant white light filling the arch, he chooses to follow a glowing orb that leads him over the edge of a cliff, into the undeniable revelation that he is dead. The orb takes him to Sapentia, a school for recently deceased teen spirits that have unfinished business in the mortal world.

With guidance from their teachers, the young spirits bond together and learn how to navigate the realm they will call home, for however long it takes to achieve inner peace. Each student is given certain articles to aid them on their personal mission: glasses that allow them to view any moment of their past life, tablets that record their every thought without a writing instrument, and a compass to guide them between the realms.

Positive his unfinished business pertains to receiving one last kiss from the girlfriend he left behind, Sebastian makes his first jaunt to the land of the living, to discover his loved ones haven’t handled his death very well; his sister has stopped playing her beloved piano and hides in her room while his best-friend has quit the soccer team to become the dutiful student. Bent on getting his kiss, Sebastian embarks on a self-destructive journey that could jeopardize his very soul.

Sebastian and the Afterlife is an entertaining look at what 'life' might be like for a young spirit who leaves the living world behind before they're ready. Though the authors writing style wasn’t entirely to my liking, I really enjoyed the ingenuity of his imagination; intrigued, I wanted to read on and see the story through to the end. As a big fan of novels in a series, I anticipate there will be more fun adventures of this kind from William J. Barry.

A Death Trap or Escape Route? The Paris Catacombs, Guest Post by Melissa Jarvis

2011-10-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

An escape route or tomb for the dead? The catacombs beneath Paris have been used as both since the eighteenth century and have inspired writers ever since. Who could forget Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera taking Christine down to his underground lair, housed in the catacombs under the Paris Opera House? Or Victor Hugo’s John Valjean descending into the sewers and using them to hide with Marius after the failed revolution attempt? Napoleon also made use of them, as did French Resistance fighters during World War II. Like those before me, I also incorporated their blend of mystery, death, hope and escape in Past Her Time. But for those of you who have never explored the dark depths, beware, these aren’t your mother’s Roman catacombs.

Originally built to quarry stone, this maze of tunnels and caverns were largely forgotten until the city of Paris started to stink, literally, from the thousands of dead bodies buried on top of each other in Saint Innocents. The city’s solution was a macabre yet practical one, to use the catacombs, which up until then had been sort of an “unofficial” sewer system, to house the dead. From 1786 to 1789, all skeletons were exhumed and transported to three different underground chambers. The site must have been a strange one; parades of black covered, bone laden wagons followed by chanting priests, and thousands upon thousands of bones being deposited into the catacombs, where skulls were separated into piles and other bones were dispersed by workers. And then, on July 14, 1789, the French Revolution began with the overthrow of the Bastille prison, and the systematic execution of the nobility and traitors to the new Republic. But thanks to the widespread use of the guillotine, separating the bones became much easier. (Yes, this is a pun, and a bad one. There’s a reason they say “don’t lose your head!”)

In 1792, victims of the prison riots were also dumped in the catacombs, albeit with much less ceremony than just a few years prior. For a lucky few, familiar with the layout, they became an escape route for those destined for Madame La Guillotine. In Past Her Time, I used the catacombs several times to get my heroine out of a sticky situation. And in one scene, despite the rats and human remains, the catacombs are witness to a tender, bonding moment between my heroine Alex and hero Gabriel.

But it wasn’t until 1810 that the then Inspector of the Quarries decided to turn the mass of bones into something that would outshine any mausoleum. The inscription above the entry says it all, “Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la Mort” ('Stop, this is the empire of Death'). Beyond are halls and caverns featuring walls of carefully arranged bones. Some of these are almost artistic in nature, such as a heart-shaped outline in one wall formed with skulls embedded in surrounding tibias; another a round room whose central pillar is done in a 'keg' bone arrangement.

To this day, not all of the catacombs have been explored. Who knows what lies waiting in their twisting, murky depths? After all, we don’t really know what became of the Phantom. There might be another story there for the writer brave enough to explore them (and get past the rusted gates that aren’t part of the official tour.)

Past Her Time by Melissa Jarvis:

Agent Alex Raines takes no prisoners, in her job or in her personal life. But all of that changes when the time travel organization The Lineage sends her to 1793 Revolutionary France. Used to a "get in, get out," modus operandi, she finds her heart and will tested by local English nobleman Lord Gabriel Huntington, whose reasons for being there are as deceptive as her own. In the midst of revolution and betrayal, can these two learn to take off the disguises and trust each other? Or will the fate of the world and time travel rest on Alex's ability to betray the one man she has come to love?

Chapter Excerpt from Past Her Time:

Alex paused and stopped as they came to a turn in the alley and a faded sign with only the letters C and G still visible. Keeping her gaze to the ground, she spotted their means of escape.

She knelt down and lifted aside a metal grate set in the stone, the sound louder than the beating of her heart.

“You cannot possibly be serious. That would be suicide. We could be lost for years down there.” Gabriel tried to pull her away from the black opening.

“Only if you do not know the way.” She prayed she did, that this time Banderan’s taunts about her sense of direction would not prove true. The tunnels ran deep underground across the city, and there was a reason they inspired stories and legends. Many who went down never came up. “Do you have a better suggestion?”

Gabriel released her, his eyes wary. “I do not. However, ladies first.”

She nodded and lowered herself through the grate then dropped the few feet to the ground to land in a splash of water. Gabriel followed and vigorously brushed his coat off.

“This should lead us out close to…close to the park where we first met.” She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. “Do you have a match by any chance?”

Gabriel handed her several matches from his coat pocket, obviously missed by the guards when he’d been patted down. What he intended using them for she didn’t know and didn’t ask.

“We’ll save these for where the light does not reach.”

Their progress was slow, owing to Alex’s intense dislike of the myriad of rats that Gabriel was forced to chase away by waving his coat. Moonlight filtered through at various spots, reflected in the water their feet constantly splashed through. The air was stale and sweet and left a musky taste at the back of her throat.

The tunnels twisted and turned, following the streets above, and Alex could feel the incline of the ground under her as they descended deeper. She braced her hands against walls that were damp and rough. The only sounds were the scuttles and skitters of various animals, the plink and rush of water and her own labored breathing.

She stumbled as her foot connected with something in the path. Gabriel grabbed her arm to steady her. “I think we need to light one of those matches.”

She struck one against the box he handed her and gasped at the object that had nearly tripped her. She closed her eyes briefly.

Gabriel looked at the white bones, long picked clean, that gleamed in the light of the match. “It’s just an animal.”

Alex nodded mutely.

“Come on.” Gabriel urged her forward.

“I hate it. All the suffering, all the executions. I’ve always wished I could do something about it.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“So have I.”

Alex looked up at him, at the face that wavered in the red light. “But you are.”

“Yes, but it never seems like it’s enough. No matter how hard I try.”

“Believe me, it is. Especially to the people you save. I know what it’s like to be up there, thinking this is it, there’s no hope. And everyone around you believes the same thing. All you hear are the screams of the crowd and the slice of the blade.” She shuddered.

“It apparently did not bother you too much before.”

She knew he was referring to Auguste and understood the confusion he must be feeling.

“I’m sorry.” She reached out to place a hand on his arm, and thought better of it. He wouldn’t want comfort from her right now.

A mild-mannered Public Relations executive by day, and action-packed writer by night, Melissa Jarvis lives in celebrity-friendly Southern California with her husband and son. For over 14 years, she has worked in the public relations industry, doing press releases, bios, newsletters, media campaigns and more for clients ranging from the Playboy Jazz Festival to the Los Angeles Mission to JVS. And she's survived with most of her mind intact! An active member of RWA, she writes both paranormal romance and urban fantasy, as well as spicy paranormal under the name Melissa L. Robert. She is currently working on the sequal to Past Her TIme, featuring agent Banderan's story. You can find her on http://www.melissajarvis.net/. Past Her TIme is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BookStrand, and other bookseller sites.

A PYN Review of Shattered Glass

2011-10-26T00:00:00.001-07:00

A PYN Review of Elaine Bergstrom's Shattered Glass

Jennifer Bacile, PYN Reviewer

This was an extremely long novel that often seemed to drag, but just as it would almost become unbearably slow, it would take off and gallop away. The characters were interesting, but I found it difficult to remember the time setting as I was reading, particularly with some of the police work. Reading the remainder of the series would probably help me better understand the family dynamics at play in the Austra family. I found the concept of vampirism combined with alien origin to be an interesting combination.

3/5

A PYN Review of Spirit Seeker

2011-10-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

A PYN Review of Jamie Haden's Spirit Seeker
SJ Byrne, PYN Reviewer

'Spirit Seeker' is a YA novel that delves into the paranormal side of the Native American culture. Talisa Santiago is a teenager of Native descent who's been denied the knowledge of her birthright by a mother insistent upon relocating every couple of years. When they move to the remote island of Silence, North Carolina Talisa begins to discover the truth of who she is, through the fast friendships she acquires, entering a world full of legends, ritualistic ceremony and shape shifters.

An unusual girl for her age, Talisa prefers converse sneakers and jeans, detests shopping and gossip, but becomes plagued with teenage angst as she enters into her first romantic relationship with Jag, the schools bad-boy. Suffering from the consequences of being deserted by her father, Talisa is repeatedly unable to trust the new boy in her life, thus creating a see-saw of romantic upheaval. Add in a mother who appears to be somewhat solid in her own flighty way, but turns into a heavy wine drinker as her own romance heats up, and you've got the typical dysfunctional family a lot of young readers can relate with.

'Spirit Seeker' pulled me in from the very start, urging me to read on and discover what was, in Talisa's words, "the most horrifying thing I had ever witnessed." Some of the passages were descriptive in a way that transports the reader into another realm; "The two male dancers began stomping their feet, waving their hands, and chanting foreign sounds only the spirits could understand."

Though the book is riddled with technical and grammatical errors the editor should have caught before sending it to publication, I was so enthralled by the storyline that I couldn’t put the book down; I had to know what the end result was going to be. It's a fun read that leaves the reader wanting more, with the promise of a sequel.