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Are you having fun? Day 4! Week one NANO back stretch! #nanowrimo2017 #mfrwauthor #amwriting #lovemyjob
Osiyo~
I love today’s Silver James NaNo badge! If it looks like coffee, I’m on board. Seriously!
Why not go let her know what you think by clicking any of the badges from any of my NaNo posts.
Writing is work. Hard work at times. No one who ever tried to write, seriously write, anything will tell you it’s easy. At least, I won’t. But at any job, whether you write full time or work at a job place, you should be able to have some fun, be able to enjoy the job. If you can’t, why do it? While working at my retail day job over the last two years, I did not particularly like my blah job where I had to wear solidblackonblack (my least favorite color) every day (except on OU game days I was allowed to rock the crimson 😉 ), but I still had fun when I could.
This last year was spent using one arm because I injured my right shoulder and had to wear a sling at work until surgery. But even though I was in pain more often than not, and hated the painful bi-weekly PT I had to do, I still tried to have fun with my co-workers, whom I loved.
Writing, for me, is like that. I have to enjoy what I’m writing at any stage, yes, even through a gajillion repeat edits. 🙂 Don’t we all just love those like an ingrown toenail? LOL
After all, if we don’t love what we’re doing, again, why bother?
What about you? Do you write because you love it? Or, maybe you’re more like me. Even though I enjoy writing, sometimes ask myself what the point is when there is so much tough competition out there. All those others are so, so much better than I am, right?
No. Not even a tiny bit right.
But writing is a challenge, and I write because I can’t NOT write. It’s in my veins, it’s who I am.
I’m. A. Writer.
I love that about me.
So keep writing. If you love it, don’t let anything discourage you. And if you’re NaNoing, buddy me! If you aren’t, that’s okay. Thanks for reading and commenting. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be buddies next November!
For now—
Day 4- this blog post (and only because I’d written most of it last night, too).
0 NaNo words
Hubby had me helping him today, so I planned to write until bedtime (or 1 am, which ever came first). Again, why I avoid planning very often. My pc suddenly went to a blue screen shortly after writing this post last night, so the ‘0’ stands for this day. Thankfully, the blue warning screen seems to be resolved after a restart. I’d forgotten time fell back last night, now I’m wondering if that had anything to do with the blue screen? At any rate, I didn’t get to post this so it’s a day late, which means I need to spend time this evening writing today’s day 5 post. That’s fine. I’m also trying to get UnCover Monthly put together and scheduled to go live at Midnight+01, but it’s still early. Plenty of time! 🙂
Yesterday I ended up doing a restore on my pc to try to get rid of spammy game sites that kept ghosting open with every link I clicked on, anywhere. At times there would be upwards to ten individual windows open! Grrr So far, so good. Keeping fingers crossed. 🙂
In the meantime, I can always use more NaNo buddies, so hit me up! For those doing NaNo, how is your week shaping up? Better than mine I’d guess. 😛
Dodadaghovi~
PS. For anyone who is new (or maybe forgot), or merely curious, osiyo means “hello” and dodadaghovi loosely translates to “until we meet again” in Cherokee, of which I’m one fourth and proud. 🙂
NANOWRIMO Day 3! Don’t give up! #nanowrimo2017 #mfrwauthor #amwriting #noedits
Osiyo
I’m sharing the third NaNo badge, courtesy of author Silver James. Click on any of her badges to visit her website.
When working on any WIP, we, authors—and yes, as-yet-unpublished writers ARE authors!—are encouraged NOT to edit along the way. The goal is to get the words out of our pretty heads and onto paper, or monitor. Editing slows the creative progress, ‘they’ say. I guess some writers may have a hard time actually completing that manuscript (MS) when we start each day editing what we’ve written the day before. And editing again, and again, before we start adding new words to the end count.
As 79% pantser, 21% plotter (I just pulled those numbers out of my writer’s hat so they are probably not accurate lol), I am not one of these writers as a rule. My daily goal is to get words down, out of my cluttered brain without worrying about what went on the day before. And that is a total lie. I can waste a day editing one sentence! I just try hard not to. I think there may be a club for people like me. LOL So don’t feel bad if you’re a member too.
BUT— But, as an editor…holy hot tamale do I have a devil of a time NOT editing every little thing I’d wrote ten minutes ago, never mind what I wrote a whole day ago!
Come on, now. I can’t even watch a good movie anymore without editing scenes I have absolutely NO control over! What makes ‘them’ think I won’t edit MY OWN work…that I DO have control over??? (And now I want hot tamales, the candy…and I’m fresh out. 
)
Anyway, with NaNo it is actually harder for me to edit along the way. I (we—all NaNoers) have to write 1667 new words per day, while at the same time moving closer to that all important 50,000 word count by November 30th. That’s not December 10, or December 1. And if I spend all my time fleshing and fluffing pre-written words, I’ll never get to The End by the last day of the NaNo month, November 30.
Which, of course, is the whole point of NaNo. 🙂
So, I haven’t edited anything…yet. Unfortunately, it’s just the end of day 3… So many words ahead… Oy.
Day 3- NaNo blog post catch-up, 0 words (at the publishing of this post)
Luckily, I’m a night owl and there’s plenty of night ahead still!
On to a new day, in which I will post all progress I make, as well as any words I manage to get down tonight. Again, I would love to be NaNo buddies so find me here, and thanks so much for following my NaNo progress.
Dodadaghovi~
Day 2 NaNo! Buddy with Calisa Rhose! #nanowrimo2017 #mfrwauthor #amwriting
Osiyo~
A quickie thanks to amazing author Silver James for creating these AWESOME NaNo daily inspiration badges and letting me steal them a day at a time! I added the frame on mine. Feel free to save-to-borrow your own copy, as she said to share them! Click on any of these badges all month to get to her website and check out her books.
It was a busy day today. I had a full day with minimal interruptions planned to write, write, write. Well, this is a perfect example of why I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Planning ahead rarely works out for me. J
First thing, I checked a few emails. I do this each morning before starting a day of writing. Get that out of the way so I don’t get tempted to check it all day. Then I got side tracked.
My 12 year old granddaughter (gdd) whom lives with us hurt her knee in a bicycle crash last summer. Just when we thought it was nothing, it began hurting a lot, every day. So I took her to our Dr. who treated it with a cream to cure bursitis. He said he hoped it would help, because if not bursitis, then she likely broke her patella (knee cap) in half. Yikes! That would require surgery to put in pins to heal it. Not what I hoped to hear. Especially when, after two weeks, the cream had not helped at all.
I called to let the Dr. know and he came back with a referral to an orthopedic Dr. We saw that Dr. last week and he took x-rays and reviewed them with us. Thankfully, she did not break her patella. In fact, he said there was a calcium spur on the side of her knee but he had no way of knowing what caused it, or when. But nothing is broken. YAY!
Well, not quite. Since it’s not broken, now we don’t know what is causing her the extreme and constant pain. Next he ordered an MRI for Nov. 1. It didn’t get in the way of my writing, though having gdd calling to be picked up three hours before school was out because she couldn’t take the pain did sort of slow things. Actually, it slowed writing quite a bit, because that’s how I am when it comes to The Girl. Family always must be first for me. So I picked her up and later we went to get the MRI. We have an appointment Monday afternoon to get those results. I’ll keep you posted.
But in all the kid stuff I still got 631 words down. Not bad.
Today, day 2, not so good. The Girl woke up crying and in pain, so she stayed home from school and rested her leg all day with heat on it. I had research to do on the NaNo project, so I didn’t get any actual words written, though I did work on it. That’s ok. I’ll make up what word count I’m short along the way. J
Day 2- research, zero words
And on to another day.
If you think you want to NaNo, I urge you to give it a shot. It’s addictive!
If you already NaNo, look me up and we can be buddies! You can find me here. I think. I hope. If this link isn’t right, just type in Calisa Rhose. LOL
Until tomorrow…
Dodadaghovi~
NANOWRIMO is here! Are you in? #nanowrimo2017 #mfrwauthor #amwriting
Osiyo~
It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about the holidays, though they are also crowding in much too quickly (I’m trying to ignore that right now 😀 ). I’m talking about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo (NaNo).
A special thanks to friend and amazing author Silver James for creating these AWESOME NaNo daily inspiration badges and letting me steal them a day at a time! I added the frame on mine. Feel free to save-to-borrow your own copy, as she said to share them! Click on any of these badges all month to get to her website and check out her books.
Since I only decided last night to blog my way through NaNo, I’ll be posting days 1-3 today to get caught up. Each day I will share a little something and along with my daily word count progress.
Day 1- 631
A slow beginning to be sure, but it will pick up. 🙂
What is my NaNo project this year? Well, some of you read my short Halloween blog hop ghost story two years ago right here on my blog. It was a prequel to a two-book series in which you were introduced to Mason Baker, an equipment tech for PRU (Paranormal Research Unit, and Elise Crane, e-zine reporter-turned-paranormal investigator when she was unwillingly made a believer in all things that say “BOO!”
Now, it’s Juliet’s turn. She is twin of Romeo Tucker, both of whom you got a sneak peek of in the 2015 Snarkology Blog Hop I participated in. Read The Non-Believer if you dare. But hurry! I will be reworking this short before publishing it, so on November 10th, next Friday, it will be taken down from my blog. I’m hoping to also have at least two (maybe three) more short stories to go along with the novels as production continues.
I am dragging my muse kicking and squealing back to work. To kick-start my writing again, I’m giving Jules, as she prefers to be called, her story. Hopefully, she’ll have a lot to say about it. 🙂
Coming soon—or at least by next Halloween if all goes well—is book one of this series.
Celestial Visions, Chances Are: Juliet
If getting dumped at a funeral was unspeakably depressing, being forced to go inside haunted Marschalk Manor, with the man who kicked Jules Tucker’s heart across the cemetery, was equivalent to a death knoll. And there was something not quite right with her ex-boyfriend’s sudden determination to contact his cousin’s ghost. The request seems off kilter, but she couldn’t put her finger on why…
Everyone in Marschville knew the rumored secrets of the manor—that the veil between earth and the other realm opened wide and freed the spirits of those who died, to cause all sorts of mayhem within the mansion walls, during the week leading up to a blue moon. Luckily, blue moons weren’t a regular occasion, but Jules was absolutely sure the mayhem would affect her if she had to enter that…place…during that time.
Thankfully, any spirits not safely back on the other side, far away from Jules, will wither and die at the end of the blue moon. Problem solved.
Of course, it’s all rumor… Or is it?
Jules suddenly finds herself running from her ex, and running to him at the same time. How is it possible her boyfriend is stuck on another plane, while his evil cousin lives happily in Raze’s physical body, free to torment her?
The one thing Jules is more afraid of than never finding true love is…ghosts.
Can she take the chance and embrace her “gift” to save Raze? And what will happen when twin brother Rome discovers she can go into the other plane at will?
She has to make a literal life and death choice. To get up close and personal with her fear, or risk losing Raze forever. She will have to become the thing she spent her life running from in order to free Raze’s soul from his demented cousin’s trickery before the next blue moon—in that one cursed week.
***
Since this is a work in progress (WIP) anything can change between now and publication. This blurb will almost certainly change :D, but it should give you an idea of what to expect in Jules’ story.
I’ve done NaNo several times since 2006 and it’s always fun, if not productive for me. For the first time I’m using the Scrivener program for NaNo, instead of basic MSWord. If you’re NaNoing, and haven’t tried the program, you can get Scrivener at a 20% discount during NaNo, or get one of their other offers for it, also at a discount. Believe me, even at full cost, it’s well worth every penny! If you aren’t sure you want to buy Scrivener yet, there’s a special NaNo trial version available as well.
So, are you NaNoing? Do you want to?
It’s only Day 3 and not too late to join the fun! Just check it out and you might be ready to NaNo next November.
Happy NaNoing!
Dodadaghovi~
Calisa Rhose presents~Uncover Monthly #Oct2017 #mfrwauthor #coverlove
Osiyo~
Welcome one and all!
I welcome guest authors with their beautiful covers to the new and improved UnCover Monthly!
Go HERE to get the application, read carefully, then hurry and submit your covers! Remember, the early bird gets the earliest slots. 😀
For now, enjoy more awesome cover art by the incredible authors, publishers and artists who make them possible for you to gaze upon each month.
It would be great if you leave a comment letting everyone know what you think about them and maybe even check out a few author links to meet those behind the books. Or just say hi. Don’t forget to tell your friends to stop by so they can appreciate some greatness, or get in on the fun, too!
This feature is only to highlight the authors and artists (though if you see one you want to buy I’m sure the authors won’t mind 😆 ). Enjoy this months’ covers to ogle and explore. If there is one provided, you can follow the artist links by clicking on the name, if there’s an artist link provided, to learn more about the amazing creators of these beautiful covers.
There’s a heat level rating for covers, one through four scale, for your benefit. You should never see a *5* rating on the Ranch since I don’t feature anything erotic in nature. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about covers being revealed here, please don’t hesitate to let me know. You can leave it either in a comment or by my contact page https://calisarhose.com/say-hey/. 
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Title: A Cornish Connection
Author: Constance Hussey
Weblink: www.constancehussey.com
Genre: Historical
Length: Novel, 314 p
Heat Level: 3 passionate kissing, light sex
Publisher: Constance Hussey
Cover artist: Sheri McGathy
Release date: July 21, 2017
A country maiden—a worldly man—an undeniable love
A determined man on a singular path, Harry Bryce is not pleased when the Crown awards him a title, nor is he gratified to learn of an unexpected inheritance in Cornwall. Even less welcome is the mandatory sabbatical from his position at the War Office, just when England needs every man in the fight against Napoleon’s subversive agents. Chafing at the unwanted holiday, Harry uses the time to inspect his new property, only to be entangled in the affairs of a young Cornish woman whose family and home are threatened with destruction. Compelled by his compassionate nature to assist her, he is caught in a complex situation that thoroughly disrupts his carefully ordered life.
In contending with repeated attempts on her brother’s life, an uncle unashamedly stripping the estate of income, and a greedy earl who is desperate to mine copper on her land, Kerra Trevaine needs all the strength and fortitude she possesses. But the arrival of the mysterious Mr. Bryce is perhaps the greatest danger she faces. For while he stands firmly against Kerra’s enemies, the dangerously attractive gentleman threatens to win Kerra’s heart—and that may be the most challenging test of all.
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Title: Alpha Lover,
Bk4, Alpha Council Chronicle Series
Author: Brenda Sparks
Weblink: www.brenda-sparks.com
Genre: Paranormal
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 4.5
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Cover artist: Rae Monet
Release date: December 14, 2016
Starved for blood, vampire, Nicholai Peterhof is greatly relieved when two tourists decide to grace his restaurant, but one sip from the pretty brunette and his world is forever turned upside down. Juliette Staint-John is everything he could have asked for in a heartmate; pretty, smart, built with curves in all the right places…and totally unavailable.
Juliette doesn’t want anything to do with the handsome, young-looking Nicholai. As if their differences aren’t enough, the acute grief over the loss of loved ones keeps her heart guarded. He may be her fantasy, but that’s all he can ever be.
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Title: Beneath the Skin
Author: Zara West
Weblink: www.zarawestsuspense.com
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 4- hot- sex
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Cover artist: Angela Anderson
Release date: June 2016
Ex-Olympic wrestler and reclusive billionaire artist Aristides Stavros has one mission—to rescue his sister, a popular tattoo artist from the old enemy who has kidnapped her. But at every turn, he is confronted by anthropologist Melissa Dermot. Is she just an innocent girl in over her head, or is she working for the international crime boss holding his sister?
Only one thing is certain–when Ari holds the beautiful Asian-American in his arms, questions of guilt and innocence fade against an undeniable fiery attraction. But can their wild passionate love survive the tangled web of long-buried secrets, intentional deceit, and murderous revenge that lie just beneath the surface?
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Title: Cézanne’s Ghost
Author: Rolynn Anderson
Weblink: www.rolynnanderson.com
Genre: Romantic suspense
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 3- steamy
Publisher: Rolynn Anderson
Cover artist: Kris Lynn
Release date: 2017
Three young American women vanish in Aix-en-Provence, France.
The FBI suspects their American tour guide.
Leon Beaudet, formerly a U.S. Olympic wrestler, is proud of his five-star guide business, but when tourists disappear on his watch, the FBI dredges up a violent episode in Leon’s past and tap him for the crime. Worse, his new tour group includes Aline Kerig, who is as beautiful and carefree as the three missing women. Leon is fascinated and puzzled by Aline even while he fears for her safety. She refuses to go back to the States, forcing the FBI and local police to involve her in the hunt.
With the French tourist industry about to collapse and Leon as a prime suspect, how does he protect Aline and find his lost tourists?
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Title: Lapses of Memory
Author: M. S. Spencer
Weblink: www.msspencertalespinner.com
Genre: Romantic suspense
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 3
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Cover artist: RJ Morris
Release date: March 15, 2017
Sydney Bellek’s love for Elian Davies is reignited each time they meet, but in the long years following each encounter she forgets him. For his part, Elian knows from the age of seven that they are meant for each other, but when she finally understands it’s too late. Will he regain his memory and remember her or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?
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Title: Marked by Honor,
Book 2 , Knights of Honor
Author: Alexa Aston
Weblink: www.alexaaston.wordpress.com/
Genre: Medieval Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 3
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Cover artist: Dar Albert
Release date: February 10, 2017
1363 A.D. – Lady Beatrice Bordel loses her mother and grandfather on the same day, leaving her penniless. With no protector and no prospects for marriage, her future is dismal. Hoping her grandfather’s oldest friend will take her in, Beatrice journeys north and is set upon by a band of highwaymen. All seems lost—until Sir Raynor Le Roux arrives.
Raynor nurses a broken heart as he returns to his home. He comes upon a scene of horror in the woods and rescues a beautiful woman who stirs strong emotions within him. When he learns that Lady Beatrice travels to her betrothed and is alone in the world, the code of chivalry that guides Raynor’s life compels him to escort her so that she may marry her intended.
But Beatrice has told Raynor a white lie, trying to protect herself, even as she is drawn to the handsome knight. As their growing attraction turns to love, her dishonesty stands in the way. Will Beatrice admit to her deception and tell Raynor the truth—or will this chivalrous knight turn away from the women he desires?
Join Raynor and Beatrice as they travel toward their inevitable destination of love.
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Title: Savannah:
Silver Dollar Saloon series #1
Author: Paty Jager
Weblink: www.patyjager.net/
Genre: Historical Western Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 2
Publisher: Windtree Press
Cover artist: Christy Keerins
Release date: September 21, 2017
Escaping a past full of deceit and larceny, Savannah Gentry goes in search of her only kin, a half-brother she discovered after her father’s death. She hopes Shady Gulch in the Dakota Territory can give her a future. However, she stumbles into the arms of Reverend Larkin Webster, finds herself working in the Silver Dollar Saloon, and soon fears she’s gone from the frying pan into the fire.
After dodging death and incarceration, the Topeka Kid decides to turn his life around and takes on a new identity. Reverend Larkin Webster. It works, until he finds a temptation he can’t resist and steals the heart of Savannah Gentry. When her past collides with his, he wonders if this theft could end up with him losing everything, including his life.
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Title: The Skeleton Canyon Treasure
Author: Kris Bock
Weblink: http://www.krisbock.com/
Genre: Romantic Adventure
Length: Novel
Heat Level: 1-Sweet
Publisher: Pig River Press
Cover artist: Alan Erickson
Release date: July, 2016
When Camille Dagneau finds a strange man searching the college machine shop she runs, she’s ready for battle. Ryan MacAllister acts equally suspicious of her, but he claims he’s merely looking for his missing uncle, who disappeared while hunting for a lost treasure. He believes Camie is the key to finding the treasure, and his uncle. But beautiful, brilliant, and prickly Camie isn’t about to trust this oversized geologist, or the attraction she feels.
Following the clues in the missing man’s journal will take Camie, Ryan, and Camie’s remarkable cat Tiger on a trail through New Mexico and Arizona. They’ll visit the Tombstone graveyard at night, uncover clues in museums, and ultimately wind up in Skeleton Canyon, where legend says nineteenth-century cowboy bandits hid their treasure. To rescue Ryan’s uncle, they’ll face steep cliffs, twisty tunnels, and worse dangers in human form, but trusting each other may be the biggest challenge. And they’re running out of time…
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Linda Nightingale’s WINNER update on vampyre origins #winner #mfrwauthor #deadvsmutation #gcgiveaway
Osiyo~
Popping in to announce JEANNA as Linda’s winner of the $10 Amazon GC! Congrats Jeanna!!!!!!! Whoot!!!!!!!! Thanks to everyone who visited and played! 😀
Welcome to the cover reveal with a wonderful friend and Wild Rose Press author, Linda Nightingale! Sit back and learn a new theory of how vampires came to be. 🙂
Many years ago…Sinners’ Opera, then called The Vampyre Effect, was the first book I wrote. I loved the hero and followed him everywhere—to parties, concerts, but not the bathroom—and the manuscript grew to over 100,000 words. Needless to say, it had to be trimmed considerably before I could submit it. Sinners’ Opera and its sequel Sinners’ Obsession are both available in eBook and Print from the publisher, Double Dragon Publishing. I began a prequel featuring Morgan’s (the hero) early life and becoming a vampire, but haven’t finished it yet.
Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody is a collection of short works cataloging his stroll through the years. Soon to be released by The Wild Rose Press, it should be a good pick for anyone who likes to read about vampires. Try a different variety! My vampires are viral mutations rather than re-animated corpses.
(Calisa says: And in case you’re curious- Linda told me that Vampire (with an I) is an individual. Vampyre (Y) is the race. Nice to know. 🙂 )
I don’t have a release date yet from The Wild Rose Press, but I wanted to share the cover and the blurb. Ladies and Gents, I hope you’ll enjoy meeting Morgan D’Arcy, English nobleman, concert pianist…and vampire.
Blurb:
The greatest enemy of a vampire is boredom. Four centuries of existence have taught Lord Morgan Gabriel D’Arcy to fear nothing and no one – humans and their weapons have little chance against his vampire speed and strength. Still, the Vampyre code requires secrecy, and he has learned to hide his nature from the world.
Being the last of his aristocratic British line, he hasn’t given in to his fate or given up the hope to pass his title to an heir. The lure of a return to mortality, of a life in the sun puts Morgan again and again at the mercy of calculating human women. Even grooming a bride of his own from infancy proves to be fraught with heartbreak. And second chances are not always what they seem.
Excerpt:
Good evening,
This book is a journey through the pages of my days. Please allow me to introduce myself.
I am Morgan Gabriel D’Arcy, the Earl of St. Averil, a concert pianist and…a vampire.
Born in 1634, in Devonshire, a county in South West England, I was a young man during the English Civil war and fought with Charles II at the ill-fated Battle of Worcester. By the time he was restored to the throne in 1660, I was a creature of the night.
If I dissect myself into the separate parts listed above, I shall begin with the Earldom. In 1645 when my father perished fighting with the Royalist army at the Battle of Naseby, the title passed to me. My ancestral home, Royal Oak, commands a view of the sea from a hill overlooking a hamlet on the coast of Devon. Most of my time, however, is spent at my London residence in Eaton Place Mews, Belgravia.
As to the classical pianist, I learned my art on the harpsichord from an Austrian genius named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Later, I studied with Liszt, Ravel and Debussy. In this twenty-first century, I am a celebrated performer in concerts worldwide. Nevertheless, I have played Mr. Piano Man in a smoky piano bar in Charleston, South Carolina to an audience too drunk or too sad to listen, but that’s another story…
I was a fighter pilot in World War II, flying night missions over Nazi Germany. Today, I fly a Lear jet to and from Royal Oak and London, sometimes ferrying members of my brethren to the Europe for continental fare.
The vampire was born in 1659 on a winter night in Paris. Rather than pay time its due, sacrificing youth and beauty, I gave my mortal life to Dominique du Montcleare. To this day, the name Dominique reminds me of the word dominant. My transformation was my reward for winning a cruel wager that ultimately ended eternity for Dominique.
The Vampyre are not walking dead. In a ritual blood exchange, a fragile virus is introduced into the host. The blood borne pathogen is a mutagen. The transformation from mortal to immortal is a mutation of human DNA by the Vampyre virus.
I have embraced my vampire nature, reveling in the hedonism and amorality. I love women to a fault, sometimes to my detriment, sometimes to theirs, as you will see in the following pages.
I sincerely hope you enjoy my reminiscences.
Ever your servant,
Morgan
***
Bio:
A born-and-bred wanderer, born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Houston. She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years.
Linda writes all across genres and has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award and the SARA. She is the mother of two wonderful sons, a retired legal assistant, member of the Houston Symphony League and enjoys events with her car club. She loves to dress up and host formal dinner parties.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LNightingale
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaNightingaleAuthor
Web Site: http://www.lindanightingale.com – Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.
Blog: https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ – Lots of interesting guests & prizes
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4839311.Linda_Nightingale
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/
Current Thunderclap Campaign- http://thndr.me/lQLjpy
Thank you for sharing your new cover and book, Linda! Such an interesting take on the vampire world. 🙂 For my readers, Linda is generously offering a prize to one lucky commenter. Comment below with your preference of vampire beginnings (viral mutation or living dead) to be entered for a $10 Gift Card for Amazon !
As always, thank you for stopping by and/or subscribing to my blog if you choose to do so!
Post shares appreciated, too. 🙂
Dodadagohvi~
THE WINNER IS……. The Nay-Sayer #pnshortstory #SnarkologyHalloweenbloghop2015 #mfrwauthor
Osiyo~
AND THE WINNER IS……… SANDY BRUNY! CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Send me a message and I’ll get your prize to you Wednesday. 🙂
I super appreciate everyone who joined in the Blog Hop fun this year!
Welcome to this years’ spook-a-licious Snarkology Halloween blog hop running from October 26-31 with lots of prizes to be won from participating authors! Just click to follow this Linky to find all the participating blogs and fun. Be sure to join our Grand Prize Drawing for a chance to win one of FOUR grand prizes! Read to the bottom for my special giveaway right here on the Ranch. 😀
The Non-Believer
Dust covered everything and her nose itched with the musty scent of age. Silence, eerie, but for the creaking shift of the wood and foundation. Winter-bare branches of the oak trees scratched against grimy windows from somewhere outside, echoing through the abandoned mansion. Elise Crane’s underactive imagination went into sudden overdrive and envisioned a witch’s needle sharp claws screeching against the cold glass. Coming for her. The intruder.
This was a stupid idea. She knew haunted houses were a figment of imagination derived from situations just like this. Spooky house. According to stories she’d heard during interviews with townsfolk before she got to the house, no one entered Bramm House uninvited. Apparently, no one lived to share their story if they did. Not even other Bramms. Look what happened to the latest Bramm to perish. So young, so dead, while walking around in this very house two years ago.
Elise craned her neck, swiveled and double-stepped to regain lost balance the awkward spin caused, then aimed her light to gawk at the upper level. It was open from the ground floor view with nothing but spindly rails as protection to anyone on the other side. What had the news story said? He’d fallen, Brandon Bramm had…from up there…
One rumor suggested he might have been pushed to his death. Had he? By whom? Everyone thought the house was haunted by the many Bramms who’d died there. Others believed those restless spirits resented the living and forced all away who dared enter.
“Well, I don’t even believe in you—ghosts. I’m not afraid.” Creeped out a little, maybe. Okay, a lot. She added an audible “hrumph” as punctuation to the bravely murmured declaration. “The only reason I’m here is because my twittle-brained boss is hell bent on a “real” ghost story to publish for Halloween.” Air quotes emphasized her non-belief of apparitions, paranormal, supernatural, or any other name slapped on them. She guessed that was why Rick had chosen her for this assignment. Insurance of a story with a no nonsense approach to add credibility. And possibly for Elise’s degree in psychological disorders, also deemed by her boss as devious mind digging. He probably expected her to do a session on one of the ghosts reportedly living here. Her lungs resisted the hard dusty breath, she coughed and sighed. She desperately needed a new job.
A cold breeze crept over her left arm—only—as if in challenge, and she flicked the tiny flashlight around. Nothing. Of course. Just the stale, chill air of the mausoleum-like building that she’d disturbed.
A sharp crack sounded from behind her. In the next instant she felt her blood cease to flow, or maybe her brain was just stalling in her fear. Whirling around the opposite direction, the light wobbling in her shaky hand, she fought for breath. It was more difficult to explain the tall door swinging open stiffly across the foyer. An invitation to enter? Or some…one—thing—coming out?
A dark leg stepped through the opening, and a masculine hand wrapped on the jamb. Elise backed a step and screamed…before all went dark.
image courtesy of Pixabay.com
*
Mason Deen scrubbed his hand through already unruly hair and stared at the young woman he’d laid on the dusty-sheet covered sofa. Who was she? More importantly, what was the tiny blonde doing inside Bramm House? She was brave going in alone, if rumors were true, and she was alone. A quick search of the area had assured him of that, no footprints beside hers and his on the dusty floor.
Rome wouldn’t be happy when he learned the location had been contaminated. Damn it.
A soft moan carried in the still room, lit only by the halogen lamps he’d set up in the library, which would be base during PRU’s investigation during the next forty-eight hours. According to Paul Bramm, current and sole owner, it was the only room that had very little, if any, activity.
Go figure. Even ghosts didn’t want to hang out in a dreary book room. Mason returned to the couch to check on the new complication lying in the sepia shadows behind the lights. What was he supposed to do about her?
Mason was still unsure why Paul had allowed the team go into his family home at last. He’d said he wanted to sell the old place to the city to turn into a museum and be done with it. But just when they’d almost given up gaining entry, he’d said yes. Rome had been trying for a year to get inside, with no luck. Until now, on the verge of its eminent sale to a city who’d already said there would be no “ghost hunts” once it sold. Their fear being that it would make a mockery of their town’s history, instead of embracing the paranormal explosion most towns would jump at.
Pulling the covered wing-back chair near the sofa, Mason sat, elbows propped on knees and studied the woman. He chuckled softly. She’d fainted. He must have really scared her to pass out like that. Served her right for illegally trespassing. Ah well, he supposed he should try to wake her and get her out of location ASAP, then see what damage she might have done before Rome and the team arrived in, he flicked a glance at his watch, an hour. Damn it all, he hadn’t even gotten things set up yet and time was running low.
He touched her shoulder. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wakey-wakey.” Nothing but a shrug from her. “Come on, now, it’s time to get up and out of here.”
A small hand flung to her head and she groaned. He knew she hadn’t hit hard since he’d leaped the distance between them and caught her just as she slumped to the wood floor. The hand dragged restlessly over her face as her eyes opened and met his. Coal black. Her eyes looked black as a demon’s in the dim room, relieved only by the whites as her gaze grew huge. Then she was sitting up. Not really sitting, he corrected, but on all fours scooching along the couch seat like a crayfish.
“Wh-what are you?”
What was—? “What do you think I am? I’m Mason Deen, equipment technician for PRU. Who are you?” He bit his cheek until he tasted blood, his belly ached with barely contained laughter.
“What are you doing here? I was told nobody is allowed here.” Her accusatory tone raised his hackles.
“Exactly, so how did you get in?” Tit for tat.
“I…well, I—”
Ah. He stood to go open the door and glanced around the exterior wall with a flashlight and nodded in understanding before taking his seat once more. “You found the broken window and snuck in. Now I know the how, why don’t you tell me the who?”
*
Elise nibbled her lip until it hurt. He had already revealed himself, turnabout was only fair. “Elise Crane, journalist for Unnatural E’zine. I’m here for a story. What is RUP?” She crawled forward, still at a safe distance, and faced Mason.
“P.R.U, Paranormal Research Unit. We have permission to be here. Do you?”
His tone said he knew she didn’t, so no sense lying when she was no good at it anyway. “Not so much, um… No.”
“Right.” He’d heard of journalists who did whatever it took to get their story. Sorry, sister, not this time. “You have to go before Rome gets here or he’ll toss you out on that cute ass.”
He considered her butt cute? Well, well. She could use that little crumb. “I’m not leaving. I can’t or…I’ll lose my job.” Not that she wanted it, but she did need it, no matter how crummy Rick treated her.
“You can’t stay. This is an investigation site for the next two days. But, after we’re done you can come back and—”
Two days? “I have to be home in two days with a story for the ’zine, or I’m out of a job.” Then his previous words struck her. “Wait…you’re part of a paranormal group. Maybe we can help each other. Look, you investigate, what, ghosts? I need a “real” ghost story for our Halloween issue to make my boss happy. What if you do your thing, I’ll stay out of your way and get my story?”
Her train of thought shifted fast enough to cause whiplash, but Mason seemed to go on high alert just as quickly. “I don’t think so. Rome doesn’t allow any interference on his sites, and you are definitely a distraction.” One Mason clearly didn’t want either.
“‘Unnatural’ has a mega-reach with thousands of readers. I’ll spotlight your team in my story, you get widespread publicity and I get to keep my job at the end of the day.”
He dragged air into his lungs and puffed out his already-impressive chest and began to shake his head slowly.
“It’s a win-win. You can’t say no.” Or she hoped he couldn’t.
With a final shake, he stood and turned as if to leave but, instead, tugged a cell phone from a noticeably tight back pocket and punched buttons. He walked across the room to speak softly for several minutes, then his taut shoulders visibly gave, as if he’d lost a battle. Mason disconnected the call and returned stare at her.
“Rome’ll speak to you when he gets here. No promises, other than he’ll tell Paul you’re with us if he asks so you don’t get in trouble for trespassing. That does not mean you get to stay. Only that he’ll talk to you.” Mason swung away and began unpacking electronics as she watched from a distance, itching to ask questions.
*
Two hours into the investigation, in which very little had happened, her obvious curiosity finally won out. Elise peered over Mason’s shoulder as he studied the monitors in front of him and Kevin, the secondary tech and team historian.
“So…do you really believe in ghosts? Spirits? Apparitions, whatever you call them?”
Her body heat warmed his shoulder and her sweet scent surrounded him. He stiffened his resolve, then shot a glance at her and shrugged. “If you’ve seen the things I have, you learn to have an open mind about a lot of things.”
“What, you’ve seen ghosts? Really?”
“Really.” Not necessarily since he’d joined PRU, but definitely when he was younger. Yes, he’d seen things. Those combined experiences were the reason he was here now. “Hear that, Kev?” Mason leaned close and stared into the screen then lifted a walkie-talkie to his face. “Rome, I’m hearing sounds near you.”
“What sounds?”
The voice crackled back and Elise sat beside Mason to listen and take notes in a small pad she seemed to carry everywhere. She studied the images on the screen and no doubt heard what sounded like someone approaching the area where his boss stood.
“Someone else is there. Maybe they heard the noise,” Elise whispered, pressing closer against his arm.
“Footsteps. Is Jule there? Maybe she heard it.”
The image in the monitor walked to the doorway. “I’m alone.”
“I just heard what sounded like someone walking close to your room.” He glanced at Elise and Kevin, both nodded. “Elise and Kev heard it too.”
“Ohmygurdohmygurd— Oh. My. Gurdle!”
When Elise whispered the phrase in an odd voice Mason jerked his gaze to her. She pointed above the monitors at the closed door directly in front of them. “Wha-what is that? Is that some kind of trick?”
Mason followed the direction she was pointing. Just that quick the air he breathed became paste. The room grew narrow and out of proportion, and very cold. A light mist grew before their eyes, quickly gaining opacity and form.
His feet wouldn’t obey the command to get out, or to go anywhere. Something he couldn’t begin to name creeped up his spine and he had a sudden mental image of a hundred tiny teeth about to snack on his back bone. Too many damn alien movies as a kid. His eyes ached and he struggled to breathe, as if the air in the room had thickened to sludge. He couldn’t speak.
But he had to.
He huffed air in and keyed the walkie, then spoke slow and low for all to hear. “Lady and gents, we have one…in here…with us.”
At that precise moment all electronics lost power.
Elise screamed.
Total darkness and silence ensued…
Chances Are– You’re never alone…
What are the chances of finding love on another plane? Go on a spirit walk with Romeo and Juliet.
It’s not your mother’s ghost story.
And remember to hop in for more fun at www.thesnarkology.com/snarkology-halloween-hop-oct-26-31st/ and enter: http://goo.gl/forms/e1BlpY69bj for a chance to win:
(1) $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or
(1) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or
(1) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or
(1) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
Winners to be drawn Nov. 1.
Now for the EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR MY VISITORS:
Did you enjoy this sneak peek into the prequel for my Chances Are duet (in progress)? Let me know in comments! I’m gifting a $5 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter, to be chosen and contacted** November 1. Since I’ll be traveling the 3-4th I’ll announce/award the winner on the 5th. All you have to do to enter is, sometime during the hop (Oct. 26-31), tell me what you think happens next to sassy nay-sayer, Elise Crane. Do you think she will become a believer, or will her logical mind win?
And for fun; do you think Elise and Mason would make a good couple, or should each get their own story (btw- Mason is a sexy Irishman!)?
Be sure to leave your email in a comment so I can contact the winner, or check back** to see if you’ve won.
Also available from:
Risk Factors-
Love, like life, is not without risk.
Veterinarian Vivian Dane has purchased her uncle’s practice in the tiny town of Wales, Missouri, where most residents still doubt her ability to treat their pets. But Viv is used to being considered less-worthy than her predecessors. After all, her parents are world-renowned wildlife vets, and most everyone is unimpressed she’s chosen to not follow directly in their footsteps.
Now Connor, a patient’s owner, is hot for Viv, but clearly doesn’t think she’s dating material because he has a daughter…whom he believes no woman is good enough for. Being a perfect dad is EMT paramedic Connor’s life focus. He can’t seem to stay away from sexy Doctor Viv, but attraction is as far as he’ll ever let it go. His mother abandoned him, leaving him to be raised in the foster system, and then his wife abandoned both him and their daughter. He absolutely will not risk bringing another woman into his little girl’s life and having her feel the hurt of being left…again.
Forfeiting is easier than attempting and failing. So why does Viv feel compelled to prove she’s a sure bet for Connor and his daughter? Can Connor trust Viv–and himself–enough to play the possibilities?
Happy Halloween! Thank you for stopping by to read my contribution in the Snarkology Halloween Blog Hop 2015! Many thanks to Melissa Snark for putting this Hop together. Remember to leave your email and a comment for a chance to win this week!
Dodadagohvi~
** Winner will have 48 hrs to claim your prize- CHECK BACK HERE if you don’t leave an email for me to contact you, or RESPOND BACK to my prize alert email when I contact you. After 48 hrs I’ll draw a new winner with RANDOM.org.
In lieu of Friday Fanfare ~ Marwell Hall #MSKaye #mfrwauthor
Osiyo~
Aside from today being my brother’s birthday (Happy Birthday Little Bro!), I present a special Friday post. Please, welcome my guest, M.S. Kaye! This paranormal author is on a Haunted Blog Tour for her:
Born from Death series
Ghost stories—what better inspiration for character names can there be? Follow this tour to find the background for the character names of the Born from Death series.
Marwell Hall
Former “friend” of Archer Lane, Marwell is now the leader of Archer’s gang. With inspiration from Soll, a sadistic spirit, Marwell gave the gang the name Phasmatis Nex (ghost of death). After killing an innocent in book 1, Marwell manages to survive. Will he live to the end of book 2?
The inspiration of the name:
“Marwell Hall was built in the early 14th century (around 1320) by Walter Woodlock, a relative of the Bishop of Winchester. Over the centuries many alterations have been made, but the original medieval hall remains as the core of the building.
“In the mid 1500s ownership passed to the Seymour family. Henry VIII is said to have been a frequent visitor. Local legend likes us to believe that he and his third wife, Jane Seymour, were married here.
“When we investigate Marwell Hall Ghosts, there are many stories of ghostly happenings in and around the Hall. Probably the most famous is the story of the ‘Mistletoe Bride’. On her wedding day, while playing hide and seek with her groom and guests, the bride hid in an oak chest in a remote corner of the hall. She was unable to get out of the self-locking chest. The groom and guests searched high and low, but her cries were not heard and her remains were found many years later. It is the wedding guests who can be heard frantically rushing around the corridors searching for the missing bride.” ~www.frightnights.co.uk
Book 2 of the Born from Death series
The only emotion Ilona can muster is anger for the death of her mother. Barely engaged in life, she focuses all of her energy on finding and punishing her mother’s killer.
Since Ilona can see ghosts, Archer has to find unique ways to hide while watching over her. When Ilona is in danger of being mauled by a dog, he desperately tries something that shouldn’t be possible. And yet he succeeds. This is just the beginning of his discovery of who—what—he truly is.
Lettie continues to interact with Ilona, her one friend, even when a Messenger warns her. Eventually, Lettie remembers the ancient connection Archer and Ilona share, as well as her part in the punishment Archer bore as a result of that connection.
Awaken from Death
Sneak Peek at Awaken from Death:
The blond boy didn’t walk up to a urinal or into one of the stalls, or even up to the mirror. He stood in the middle of the room.
Invisible, Lettie watched curiously.
Something moved backward away from him. Out of him.
She recognized Archer’s shiny black hair and strong frame even before she could see his face.
She gasped. But ghosts can’t inhabit people.
The blond boy shook his head and looked around. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry,” Archer murmured so the boy wouldn’t hear.
Lettie stared at both of them.
The blond boy turned, leaned his hands on the counter, and looked at himself in the mirror…not the way people usually looked at themselves. It was more like he was trying to see something more than was in the reflection.
Archer watched him, as if waiting for him to see something.
Then Lettie understood. Archer hadn’t merely inhabited the boy—he’d possessed him. But there were only a couple ways that’d be possible—if he were half ghost, or if he…
A memory struck Lettie like a horse galloping across a battlefield. An ancient memory. Lettie had been around since the beginning of time on Earth, but most of those thousands of years she let slink around the crevices of her mind. It was mostly just walking the bridge with the newly deceased. There were a few memories, though, that burned into her every time she let herself pull them forward. And burned was precisely the right word.
She knew—or rather, remembered—why Archer would never leave Ilona.
***
Amazon ~ Barnes&Noble ~ Publisher (all formats) ~ Smashwords ~ Goodreads
Strong as Death
Book 1 in the Born from Death Series
Ilona runs from her sheltering mother in order to find the truth, why she’s seeing people who are invisible to everyone else. A mysterious boy named Archer guides her through Brooklyn and introduces her to Hendrick, the man who claims to be her father—though he died in 1890. Ilona must discover not only what she must do to rid the city of Soll, a sadistic and powerful spirit, but also what it means to be half ghost. She proves what her mother told her—love is stronger than death.
Publisher (all formats) ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Smashwords
Author Bio:
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Google+ ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ TSU ~ Pinterest ~ LinkedIn
What a thrilling series this sounds like, M.S! Thanks for being my special guest today. I wish you tons of sales and much luck with this series. I hope you–my visitors–will have a blast checking out some of these other authors’ links where M.S. is hopping to and from. 🙂 Thank you for your friendly support!
10/1/15 – Anna Durand – haunted blog tour Hendrick
10/5/15 – Colleen Laughlin – haunted blog tour Estes
10/6/15 – JM Maurer – haunted blog tour Mary
10/8/15 – Judy Reynolds – haunted blog tour
10/9/15 – Calisa Selfridge – haunted blog tour Marwell Hall
10/14/15 – Rachael Kosinski – haunted blog tour Balete
10/16/15 – Jessica Cale – haunted blog tour Casper
10/19/15 – James DiBenedetto – haunted blog tour Turner Ingersoll
10/22/15 – Kimbra Kasch – haunted blog tour Kate Morgan
10/24/15 – Angela Scavone – haunted blog tour Dorothy Walpole
10/27/15 – Helena Fairfax – haunted blog tour Archer Lane
10/29/16 – Alisha Robinson – haunted blog tour Mr. Clifton
10/30/15 Tina Gayle – haunted blog tour non-ghost
10/31/15 – Rosanna Leo – haunted blog tour Ilona Raynham
Dodadagohvi~
AND THE WINNER IS!!! ~ Calisa Rhose and Tuesday RoundUp welcomes ~ Starr Gardinier #mfrwauthor #winner
Osiyo~
Congratulations Mae Clair!!!!!! WOOT!!!!!! You’ll be contacted shortly by Starr ti deliver your copy of The Other Side- Melinda’s Story!
We thank everyone who visited and commented! 😀
##########################
Welcome one and all! Grab a beverage of choice and something sweet and sinful. No-no, not the men. What’s the matter with you? You know the hands-on rules… The guest gets first pick! 😉 Take a comfy seat for another, or a first, spin in the Round Pen.
I’m thrilled to welcome my wonderfully talented guest today, Starr Gardinier, who is sharing their book, The Other Side: Melinda’s Story with us!
Please show Starr some real Ranch love!
Before I get to the nosy 5-3-4 part of this interview, tell us a bit about you.
A paralegal by day, she’s an author by night. Apart from being an award winning author for her short story “Cut,” Starr Gardinier has appeared in a blaze and made her mark on the literary world with her Ivanovich series and now her Other Side series.
Having studied and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Literature/Creative Writing, she has found her unique style and is known for her works’ distinctive voice, making every character stand out.
She’s the founder and owner of Editing by Starr. She’s also the former executive editor for Suspense Magazine. She has been interviewed in the newspaper and on the radio with relation to her fiction work. She has been a co-host on Suspense Radio.
Starr is a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and of Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles Chapter and nationally. She has won three Best Speaker awards as well as Best Evaluator at the Voice Ambassadors chapter of Toastmasters. She has always been active in events. As co-chair and main coordinator for the West Coast Author Premiere, she arranged weekend-long events to help authors from all over network, learn and share their work with the public. Starr has also been instrumental in compiling authors and planning a local author event at Barnes and Noble in Ventura, California along with the store’s event manager.
Please see more on her editing service at www.editing.queenwriter.com, read more about her at www.QueenWriter.com, and/or visit her blog at www.qw-blog.blogspot.com.
Okay, I’ll begin with five questions, then follow with three more, and end with four final ones.
My writing area at the moment is a corner of the couch in my living room. What does your writing space look like? Wow. Most of the time, pretty much the same place. On the chaise part of our sofa with my dog next to me (or on top of my keyboard). I actually do have an office, but rarely use it.
I have an office, too, but it’s not set up yet. Don’t you love-hate remodeling? 😆 For a lot of writers it’s a life-altering event coming up with titles and character names. Others it comes as naturally as breathing. Which is it for you? Titles for me aren’t a problem. Names however, are. In my newest release, the protagonist is Melinda James and her supporting character is Trent Miller. I look at the names now and think, ‘My gosh, I could have done better than that!’
I like those names and I’m sure readers will too. What advice would you offer aspiring and new writers? Never, ever give up. If writing is your passion, then keep doing it. Don’t let anyone tell you to give up.
Popular advice and I agree with you. The constant shift of the industry makes me often scratch my head and ask ‘what next?’ So, what do you think it takes to be a successful author at the moment? At the moment? I’d say it’s the same for any moment. And that is, write what you feel. The industry has a tendency to rock one way or the other as to what genres readers are after. But it all circles back around. Let’s say, romance is in. By the time you start your novel and it gets published, readers have changed their minds and now it’s fantasy. Again, I say, write what you feel.
Great advice. Who would you like to meet in the publishing industry- dead or alive- and why? Tough question. There are many. Edgar Allen Poe because I’d love to know what drove him, what in his life called out to him to be a poet. Another is Stephen King; I’d like to know what honest impact his major accident had on his writing career.
Interesting choice and I actually saw an interview years ago where he answered that question. Sorry, I don’t remember who interviewed him or his answer. ;). Okay, it’s time for 3 in 1! I’ll ask the questions and you answer them in one word. 😆
Favorite animal? Dog
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter? Fall
Favorite food? Pizza
Well done! 🙂 I’m a dog person too. Okay, Flash four. Ready? What are you working on now? The third in the Other Side series: Ben’s Story. The first, Melinda’s Story is out on September 18, 2015 and the second, Trent’s Story is done and with the copy editor.
Congrats on the second contract! What are you sharing today? The Other Side: Melinda’s Story
Melinda’s family is dead, killed for information that is hidden deep within her mind. Her father tries to warn her from the ‘Other Side’ that she is in danger from the killers who want what only she can give them. Committed to Skyview Haven, she must determine if the ‘Other Side’ truly exists or if it is a trick of her heart and mind. With time running out Melinda must determine who she can trust. Is it the ghosts of her family, a boy who may not be who he appears to be, or the doctor who is determined to cure her? Can she figure out the truth before it is too late?
Excerpt:
I walked to my window and just as I’d done so many times in the past, looked down, hoping to spot Beth. And suddenly, she was there. She was waving up at me to come down. I could see her forming the words, Come on. I smiled like I haven’t smiled in a long time. I knew it. I knew she was alive. I put my index finger up to tell her I’d be there in a minute. I quickly stuck my feet into some shoes and grabbed a jacket. I tiptoed all the way downstairs and through the kitchen to the back door. I looked out the window first to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Nope. She was there! Right there at the foot of our path. I smiled again, quietly opened the door, and slipped out. I hugged her hard and she pulled away.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“What do you mean? I’ve missed you. Where the hell have you been? They said you were dead. I didn’t believe them,” it all came out in a rush, in one long sentence, hardly a breath in between words.
“I’m right here. Remember? We promised to be in each other’s lives for always.”
“I know, but…”
“Ssshhh,” she cautioned. “We have to be quiet. Come on,” she tugged at my arm.
We walked a short way down the path. Before we got to her backyard, she suddenly stopped and I ran smack into the back end of her.
“What the hell?”
“Shit! I can’t…”
She looked at me with a frown on her face then smiled. “Let’s go to our place!”
“Okay, but you do know it’s the middle of the night. We’ll get into trouble if they know we’re out here.”
“Everyone’s sleeping. They won’t know.”
She grabbed my arm and tugged at me when I hesitated.
“Beth…”
“What?”
I smiled and said, “Nothing. Let’s go!”
I was happy and nothing was going to spoil it for me. I knew Beth wasn’t dead. I knew it!
‘Our place’ was a fort that we constructed in the woods. Well, not a real fort. We found some wood and leaned them all around a tree, sort of forming a teepee. Then I brought some old curtains my mom didn’t use anymore and we draped it over top of the wood. The inside was small, but it was ours. We sat huddled under old blankets she brought from her house a while ago. It was dark in our fort, but we had a flashlight if we needed it.
We chatted for a while. I told her all about how everyone thinks she’s dead, that she’d drowned. After I told her they had a funeral for her and everything, she giggled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s funny. I’m not dead, I’m right here.”
She laughed again as she pinched my arm.
“Ow! Damn it!”
“If I was dead, I couldn’t do that, could I?”
I laughed with her, but it felt wrong. Something was not right. Then it hit me. If Beth was alive, that meant my dad was dead.
“Beth, you’re alive.”
“Yes, silly, I know that.”
“But then what about my dad?”
“What about him?”
“Beth, I think he’s dead.”
“What?”
Tears started trickling down my face again.
“What are you talking about? You’re dad’s fine. I saw him earlier today.”
“Where?”
I knew the answer. Deep inside, I knew the answer and I can’t tell you how I knew.
“I saw him on the bridge. At least I think it was him. It was raining pretty hard. But I know it was your car. Hey! Where are you going?”
As she talked, I got up and left the fort. It started raining, but I didn’t care. Beth was here, which meant Dad was dead. The little pleasure I got seeing Beth again didn’t last long. I couldn’t win. I felt like I had to choose between Beth and my dad. It wasn’t fair.
“Melinda, what’s wrong?” she pleaded. “Aren’t you happy we’re together?”
“Yes, but my dad…” I said, standing there in the rain.
“He’s fine. Can we go back under now? I’m getting freakin’ soaked.”
“I have to go.”
I turned abruptly and began running back home. The rain made everything slick and I fell a few times, getting branches stuck in my hair and plastered with mud. In my backyard, I stopped and looked at our house. Every light seemed to be on. I saw Kyle pass by the kitchen window. I stood rooted to the spot. Do I go back to Beth? Somehow knowing if I did, it meant my dad would be dead. Or do I go in the house and accept the fact Beth was gone?
***
Chilling excerpt, Starr! I love the cover, too. Where can we find your book?
Amazon ~ KOBO ~ B&N ~ All Romance Ebooks ~ Book Strand ~ Wild Rose Press
Where will you be next? I have several blogs who are hosting me. Here is the information:
9-14-2015 – Alicia Dean’s blog
9-17-2015 – QueenWriter blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
9-18-2015 – L.A. Kelley’s blog
9-19-2015 – Peggy Jaeger’s blog
9-21-2015 – Marie Tuhart’s blog
9-22-2015 – Abigail Owen’s blog
9-23-2015 – Debra Doggett’s blog
9-24-2015 – Sandra Dailey’s blog
9-25-2015 – Judy Reynold’s blog
9-28-2015 – Isla Grey’s blog
9-29-2015 – Calisa Rhose’s blog That’s today! Thanks for visiting!!!
10-6-2015 – Mary Morgan’s blog
Feel free to go back and check out any you missed. Plus, on October 3, 2015, along with several other authors, I am hosting and participating in a FB Launch Party. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1204016436282600/. I hope to see you all there! Authors are offering FREEBIES!
That’s a great lineup, Starr. I’ll be sure to try to stop by the FB Party!
I hope to see you all there! Today I’ll gift one copy of the digital version of The Other Side: Melinda’s Story to the 1st person who can answer this question [hint: you can find the answer on my website at www.QueenWriter.com] What is the name of the other series I’ve written in the past and what genre is it?
I know!! I went to find out, but I’ll let others guess. It’s just a click away, so go get your answer.
Thank you so much for playing along Starr! Wishing you much luck with your book and writing. I hope you’ll come visit again one day.
It was great being here, Calisa, and I would love to return. Thank you for the fun day on your Ranch!
Visitors- Don’t forget!!! Leave your email address in a comment so we can contact the winner of Starr’s ebook. 🙂
Dodadagohvi~
Tuesday Round Up and Calisa Rhose presents ~ J.C. McKenzie #mfrwauthor #carpedemon
Book Specs:
Title: Carpe Demon
Series Name: Carus Series, Book Three
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Editor: Lara Parker
Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor of DCA Graphics
Theme(s): Shapeshifters, Vampires, Witches, Demons
SubGenre(s): Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Rating: Spicy (PG13)
Blurb:
As an ambassador with the Supernatural Regulatory Division, Andy McNeilly is responsible for acting as the Liaison for the Vancouver Vampire horde. The problem? She detests the Vampire Master, and the SRD can’t discover the beast she keeps locked inside.
After a menacing Demon throws an important Vampire event into chaos, Andy finds herself sniffing out crime scenes to identify and locate the mystery fiend from the nether realm. What she learns chills her bones.
Threatened by the Master Vampire to deal with the Demon, Andy’s complicated personal life doesn’t make things easier. She’s willing to risk her life and pride to keep loved ones safe. But how can she make a choice that will break one heart…and complete another?
Excerpt:
The Demon’s grin widened. Standing a foot away from him with no room to maneuver and nothing to separate us, the serrated details of his shiny enamel glared at me.
My fingertips tingled as I started to shift.
Not fast enough.
The Demon lunged. His long nimble fingers closed around my neck as I shot my hands out, inside his arms, and dug my claws into his face. My elbows pushed against the insides of his arms. His hold should’ve weakened, but this Demon possessed uncanny strength. His frame stretched, growing to almost eight feet in height and giving his body an emaciated appearance. He pulled me close, his nose touching mine. I wrenched to the side, but my toes dangled above the floor.
“Bola sends his regards,” he said, his breath hitting my face.
My gums stung as fangs protruded and I hissed at him, ready to make the full change and get my fight on. I yanked on the mountain lion and spurred her into action.
“By all means, little nugget, shift into one of your animals.” He gnashed his sharp teeth together. “I love to rend the flesh of livestock, to mutilate the bodies of creatures, and to smash the bones of beasts.”
***
Buy Links:
All Romance Ebooks: www.allromanceebooks.com/product-carpedemon-1781134-140.html
Amazon: www.amzn.com/B00W2WFFZE
BookStrand: www.bookstrand.com/carpe-demon
Chapters: www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/carpe-demon/9781509201471-item.html
iTunes: www.itunes.apple.com/ca/book/carpe-demon/id985742465
Kobo: www.store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/carpe-demon-1
Wild Rose Press: www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6221
About the Author:
Born and raised on the Haida Gwaii, off the West Coast of Canada, J.C. McKenzie grew up in a pristine wilderness that inspired her to dream. She writes Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.
Contact Information:
Website: www.jcmckenzie.ca
Blog: www.jcmckenzie.blogspot.ca
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/j.c.mckenzie.author
Twitter Page: www.twitter.com/JC_McKenzie
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/JCMcKenzie
The Wild Rose Press: www.wildrosepublishing.com
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/jcmckenzie
Newsletter: www.eepurl.com/GX2Yj
J.C. is doing a Rafflecopter, so get in on the fun here:
I write contemporary and paranormal romance, with sensuality as the key ingredient and spice for kick.
Pen of The Dreamer 