Avast! Today be talk like a pirate day!

Yo ho! I give you good day!Talk like a pirate day, Mimi Sebastian

For today is international talk like a pirate day. To find out more, run out the sweeps and visit the official site for talk like a pirate day!

If you haven’t at all noticed, I do love pirates. The more I read about them, the more fascinated I become so much so I’m planning, sweating, editing furiously to finish my pirate book to self publish by the end of this year, which I discuss on a previous blog post here.

To add to my excitement, next year premieres Black Flag, a tv show about the pirates on New Providence in the Bahamas which was a pirate enclave during the Golden Age of piracy. Sounds like it will be more of a realistic portrayal. Fingers crossed anyhow.

So go about ‘n have a bit ‘o grog, and good luck to ‘ee and a fair wind. To end on the words of our brother, Black Sam Bellamy:

“They villify us, the scoundrels do, when there is only this difference, they rob the poor under the cover of law, forsooth, and we plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage.”

We Love Our Demon Heroes: Discussion with Jocelyn Dex

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ve been looking forward to this post. You can also find it here, on Jocelyn Dex’s blog: Demons Do It Better, which is an appropriate name given our “panel” discussion today on demons. Jocelyn features demons in her book Araya’s Addiction and they play a big role in my Necromancer Books. To get us in the mood, here is the cover of Araya’s Addiction featuring a hunky demon 🙂Araya's Addiction, Demon Paranormal

So let’s get to the discussion and please join us by leaving a comment!

More and more books feature demons, all taking a slightly different approach, which is fun like where they come from, their powers and types. Can you speak a little to the demons in your stories?

Jocelyn: I created several different types of demons for my Sempire Seductions series, but the Sempires can teleport, are very strong, and without, um, semen, they will weaken and eventually die. (Hey, I write erotic romance. It works.) Most of them also carry over some sort of power from their fathers.

Mimi: I loved the semen factor in your book! I don’t know what that says about me, but it’s a unique approach. My demons come from another realm and have interfered, influenced the human realm going back to ancient Sumeria, if not further. They’re not demons from “Hell”, and have a very defined social structure. That’s about all I can say 🙂

Let’s talk demons vs other supernatural males, like vampires, werewolves, fae, etc.

Mimi: There’s something to me that’s very primal about demons. I love vampires, but vampires almost seem too polished, and they were also once human. Maybe it’s their age as well, making them somewhat jaded. Demons feel more dirty and sweaty to me, LOL. And when you unleash the demon, you let loose that primal force, like a hurricane, that you can’t control. It’s scary and frickin’ sexy at the same time.

Jocelyn: Ha. Dirty and sweaty. I agree with that. I like the grittiness of demons and I feel like there are no rules with them. I also dig vampires, but there are so many preconceived notions when it comes to them. Demons can be whatever you want without too many preconceived ideas of what they should be.

I’m not a big fan of shifters (werewolves, big cats, etc.), but every once in awhile I come across a story with shifters that catches my interest and turns out okay. I read a gargoyle romance a few months ago and really enjoyed that. It was something different and I’m definitely interested in reading more.

Are your demons good or bad or somewhere in between?

Mimi: I like my demons to play in the moral gray areas. While they are not evil, they may at times take actions that stretch those boundaries. My demons come from another dimension and their take on what’s right or wrong is shaped by an entirely different social structure.

Jocelyn: Some of my demons are good, some are bad, but that’s really a matter of perspective. Like Mimi said, the demons’ take on what’s right or wrong is shaped by the world they’re from so it may not jive with humans’ take on right and wrong.

Do they come from another world? How do they coexist in the human world?

Jocelyn: Most of the demons in my stories come from the demon realm and most want to live in the more pleasant human realm or in the veil between realms. Some want to make trouble but most want to live peacefully, undetected by humans.  

Mimi: I jumped the gun and talked about this in the first question. How do they coexist? That is an interesting question. Like Jocelyn said, some do blend in pretending to be human, and some want to cause trouble J

What about some favorite demon heroes from other books or shows?

Mimi: Greyson from Stacia Kane’s Megan Chase series. I also like Ryan from Diana Rowland’s Demon Summoner series, but I’m ready for her to unleash him already. I’m getting a little fatigued with reading about Kara sleeping with every other demon besides Ryan. Talking television, I really liked Cole from Charmed, but hate what they did to him. I wished they would have kept him around, but the actor went on to greener pastures.

Jocelyn: Oooh! Oooh! Me too! Cole from Charmed. Oh man, I loved his character and I was also pissed about what they did to him. I totally blamed Phoebe for his ultimate demise. Bitch. Haha. Anyway, in books, I love Larissa Ione’s Wraith. He’s a sexy badass demon with a smartass attitude. Love him.

Oh and I can’t forget Crowley from Supernatural.  He’s a bad demon but every once in a while does something surprisingly helpful and he has a certain charm. Maybe it’s the accent. 🙂

What are your plans for future demon characters?

Jocelyn: Oh, so many plans! Even though book 2 and 3 of my Sempire Seductions series are still in edits and not yet released, I’ve already started a new series featuring more demons. Different demons, and I love the characters, but I can’t say more than that just yet.

Mimi: Awesome! Can’t wait.

Any final thoughts on why you like demon heroes/heroines?

Mimi: I like that they’re not your typical heroes and are sometimes driven by primal forces beyond their control which makes exploring their vulnerabilities that much more interesting.

Jocelyn: They are the ultimate bad boys and bad girls. What’s not to like?

Thanks for joining the discussion! Here’s info on Jocelyn:

Jocelyn Dex, Araya's AddictionJocelyn was born in Iowa and currently resides in hot-as-hell Texas. She shares her home with her very own 6’4″ alpha male and varying numbers of spoiled cats and dogs. Teaching one of her dogs to file his own nails is one of her all-time favorite accomplishments.

Jocelyn loves to paint, loves to read, and loves to write sizzling erotic romance about yummy demons that would make your momma blush (or not–depends on the momma).

In Memoriam to Publisher and Writer Linda Kichline

I opened my e-mail today and read the sad news. Linda Kichline, the heart and soul of ImaJinn Books, my publisher, passed away after having a stroke. While I hadn’t known Linda for that long, the time I did interact with her was incredibly meaningful to my growth as an author. I queried with ImaJinn last year, and Necromancer’s Seduction released this past July. I decided to submit to ImaJinn because of their focus on Urban Fantasy/Paranormal, and they were publishing one of my favorite vampire Urban Fantasy series by D.B. Reynolds.

Ultimately, whatever drove me to hit send, I felt I’d made the right decision. Linda was always supportive and great to work with and her editing of my manuscript definitely elevated my writing. Both Linda and my editor really liked my story and writing style. I’ve heard, often, at a bigger publishers, the person who edits your manuscript is not always vested in your story or may not even like your writing. For a new author, still building my confidence, it was a great boost to have someone like Linda in my corner.

Linda wrote and had published a witch/warlock series under the name Carin Rafferty, and as Allyson Ryan for Silhouette Books. She also wrote for Harlequin. She started ImaJinn to publish the type of paranormal books not being picked up by many of the larger publishers at the time. If you can imagine. I’m not sure exactly when Linda started ImaJinn, but I think it was 1999, before this explosion of small presses, showing her as a pioneer in the industry and in paranormal romance. If you look at her Goodreads profile, an editor from Penguin commented that Linda had a great grasp of paranormal romance long before it really took off.

I write this blog with great sadness, but Linda left behind a wonderful legacy and I feel so fortunate that she saw something in my writing worth nurturing and investing in. In fact, it makes me very proud. I wish I would have had more time to work with Linda, but am grateful for the time I did share with her. Thank you Linda and rest in peace.

Fiery Bride, New Release from Cynthia Woolf

Since we’ve been on the topic of new releases ;), I’m pleased to feature Cynthia Woolf and her new release, Fiery Bride!

Cynthia WoolfCynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden. She spent her early years running wild around the mountain side with her friends.

She was and is an avid reader. Her mother was a librarian and brought new books home each week. This is where young Cynthia first got the storytelling bug. She wrote her first story at the age of ten. A romance about a little boy she liked at the time.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and her critique partners for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity

Thanks for joining me today. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies/interests? When did you start writing?

Well let’s see, I’m older than I think I am, except when I get up in the morning and my back hurts, then I think I’m older than I am. 🙂

I like to garden, read and fish.  We haven’t been able to go fishing for several years now, but we are determined to go this year.  My garden is growing but the heat this year is taking its toll.  I don’t like to go out and weed it or water it in the heat and sometimes I forget on our watering day so the flowers are the worse for wear right now.

I wrote my first story at least the one I can remember when I was ten.  It was a romance, of course, about a little boy named David Williams, that I liked at the time.  I’m amazed I still remember his name.

It is amazing some of the things that stick in our minds. Speaking of…How did you get the story idea for your current title? I find the concept for your matchmaker series intriguing.

I wrote the first two books in this series and always knew that I’d be doing Maggie’s story.  She called to me from the very first page of book one.

Are you an outgoing person? Are you a morning or night person?

I have severe insomnia, so I guess I’m a morning and a night person.  As to being outgoing, I don’t think I am.  But I married a very outgoing man, so we’re good in any social situation.

What are your favorite movies?

I love action movies.  Some of my favorites are RED, Terminator, Total Recall.  And I love the Harry Potter movies.  I can always be counted on to watch one of those anytime.

What does your significant other and family think of your writing career?

My husband and family are very supportive of my career.  They are so proud of me.

Does your significant other read your stuff?  Yes, he reads and proofs every book.

Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?

I just started using a different name for my scifi romance, CA Woolf.  I want to separate my western and scifi personas and scifi seems to sell better for those authors who use initials.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what?

I love listening to the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack when I’m writing historicals.

I listen to that sometimes too! It’s great for historicals.

Blurb for FIERY BRIDE:

Fiery Bride, Cynthia WoolfAfter a disastrous marriage, Matchmaker Maggie vowed never to marry again.  She will never give another man the power of life and death over her body and soul. Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep her lonely heart from fantasizing about her newest client, Caleb Black. She made the mistake of starting a flirtatious correspondence with the clever devil, believing they would never meet. But when his new bride abandons her mid-way to Colorado to elope with another man, Maggie is forced to face the devastatingly handsome Caleb and explain.  Now she’ll have to stay long enough to make things right and find him a new wife.  But Maggie better hang on to her vow with both hands, because Caleb has other plans for the fiery matchmaker…and a very seductive kiss.

Cynthia has lots of other titles to check out!

TITLES AVAILABLE

CENTAURI DAWN

CENTAURI TWILIGHT

CENTAURI MIDNIGHT

TAME A WILD HEART

TAME A WILD WIND

TAME A WILD BRIDE

THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – JENALA

THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – RIZA

THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – HONORA

CAPITAL BRIDE

HEIRESS BRIDE

WEBSITE – www.cynthiawoolf.com

FACEBOOK – www.facebook.com/CynthiaWoolf

Twitter – @CynthiaWoolf

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5148049.Cynthia_Woolf

 

 

Release Day!

Somebody pinch me :). Today is truly surreal. If someone would have told me a couple of years ago when I futzed around with writing what is now The Necromancer’s Seduction, I would have probably snorted while secretly smiling inside. This has been an amazing journey with its share of insanity and chaos. Thankfully, I’ve had some amazing people to share it with, people I’ve met through our local RWA chapter, writers I’ve met online, who have encouraged and supported me. It’s a long list, many of whom you’ll find on my blog 🙂 Love you all! Okay, so lots going on 🙂

My wonderful publisher ImaJinn is offering the Necromancer Seduction ebook for $.99 for a week only to celebrate the release! Please check it out on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.

I’m having a Facebook party today, organized by the wonderful Roxanne Rhoads at Bewitching Books tours. We have games and giveaways. Please stop by: Necromancer Release Facebook Party.

I’m also participating in a blog tour lasting through August. Please visit my Necromancer Books page for the various stops. Included is a tour wide giveaway which includes signed copy of book, $15 Amazon gift card, and a nifty painted skull. Click on Rafflecopter to take you there.

In addition, up until today, I entered folks who joined my release notification e-mail list in a drawing to win a free eBook of Necromancer’s Seduction and congrats to Mary Preston. I’ll send it your way shortly 🙂

Thanks all!

Bewitching Book Tours Sizzling Summer Giveaway

Check out this amazing giveaway sponsored by over 35 Bewitching Authors.

Rafflecopter Giveaway One: Kindle and swag packs

Bewitching Tours, Summer Giveaway

1 Kindle HD -30 authors joined together to offer a spectacular grand prize A Kindle Fire HD 8.9” screen , Wifi ,16GB $269 value Open to US shipping, if outside US you can receive an equal value Amazon Gift Card

1 huge package of book swag from Bewitching Book Tours filled with fun goodies from Bewitching Book Tours, owner Roxanne Rhoads and numerous Bewitching authors including a Starbucks giftcard from Gina Conkle

4 packages of book swag from Bewitching Book Tours- filled with fun goodies from Bewitching authors Continue reading

Exploring Myths and Legends with K.J. Montgomery’s Katie Walsh Series

My guest today is K.J. Montgomery who has released the book Trove, the first book of a series featuring investigative mythologist Katie Walsh. Now a little about K.J.:

K.J. Montgomery has always looked beyond the obvious and firmly believes there are no such things as coincidences. Since her early years, she has yearned for knowledge no matter how obscure and carefully tucked it away knowing that someday she’d find a use for it.

She loves writing as much as she loves reading and often has three or four books, both for writing and reading, in process at any moment. Her stories are smartly written and reflect her love for the paranormal, the excitement of sexual tension, and the lure of a complex mystery.

KJ resides in coastal New England and loves spending time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where the night skies are painted with brilliant starlight and the heavens seem to be within reach.

KJ is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the New England chapter of the Romance Writers of America, and the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal sub-chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

Thanks for stopping by today! Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies/interests? When did you start writing?

I’ve discovered rather late that I am right-brained person. I like the creative, unknown side of things. I find the challenge of the unknown more exhilarating than frightening. I like to read (obviously) as well as write. I also sew and crochet and I’m a novice quilter. My favorite thing to do is study the night sky. While star gazing I feel a strong connection to the ancestors. While I’ve had stories in my head for years, I seriously put “fingers to the keyboard” only a couple of years ago. I live for the day when I can have a USB port connected to my brain and download my stories (LOL!) Continue reading

Talking Hath No Fury with Author Hal Rappaport

Today’s guest shares his knowledge of magick and some cool experiences writing for SyFy Channel and Haunted Attractions Magazine. We welcome Hal Rappaport!Hal Rappaport, Hath No Fury

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live, etc.? When did you start writing?

I currently live in New Jersey, in a small town just north of Princeton. I grew up in Philadelphia. I guess I’ve been writing stories since I was about 11 or 12. I loved the idea of being able to transport someone to another place, or to create my own.

That is one of the really great things about writing. Speaking of creating a world of your own, you have an interesting premise for your book, Hath No Fury, regarding the lesson of three. How did that premise come about?

The Lesson of Three comes from the Wiccan Rede (pronounced “reed”). It’s part of an understanding that any witch or magick practitioner should understand. Any energy you put out in the universe (magickal or otherwise) will come back to you times three. Similar to Karma, with its balance, the Wiccan and Pagan beliefs are just multiplied by three. It still comes out to be a balance, so it doesn’t strictly conflict with Karma, just that it shows it’s results with “broader strokes.” Continue reading

Cover Reveal Feature, Waking the Phoenix

I’m also excited today to feature the wonderful Lindsay Avalon and the cover for her new book, Waking the Phoenix. Take it away, Lindsay!

Lindsay Avalon, Mythrian Realm Series

Welcome to the official cover reveal of Waking the Phoenix, book 2 in the Mythrian Realm series! Waking the Phoenix is the highly anticipated follow up to Breaking the Nexus, which released on 12/12/12. While there is no official release date set, Waking the Phoenix will be out early this summer!

In the meantime, I will be releasing Warrior Unleashed, a novella featuring Sha’s half brother, a panther Chimerae (shifter) named Achaius. Be sure to look for that this April!

Without further ado, I present the gorgeous cover designed by Blue Harvest Creative!

Waking the Phoenix

Blurb:

As the Nexus continues to break down, evil threatens the Mythrian and Human Realms. Millennia ago, only the sacrifice of the Great Phoenix was enough to imprison Ferren, a blood mage with the power to destroy the Human Realm. When the Nexus falls, his prison will shatter and he will be free to walk the earth once more, leaving a path of destruction in his wake.

Chaos engulfs the Mythrian and Human Realms as Ferren fights to escape his prison. Connor and Sha must race against time to find the last of the phoenixes before all is lost. There’s just one problem: the phoenixes have lain dormant for thousands of years. Can they stay alive long enough to save their world?

The key to saving the Realms lies in waking the phoenix.

Don’t miss the first book, Breaking the Nexus, available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in paperback!Breaking The Nexus

Breaking the Nexus will be on SALE for $2.99 March 8-11 only!