Guest Post: The Not-so-Gray Area by Rachel Rivers

Some people carry a shiny, stuffed briefcase to work. Some carry a stainless steel thermos filled with piping hot coffee. Some even carry fresh pieces of colorful artwork, testaments to their trade and passion. I carry none of these. I want my hands free to draw, if necessary, the gun I carry on my hip.

Guest Post: The Abduction by Ester Lopez

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were abducted by aliens? You've heard some of the stories, I'm sure.  There were two incidents that came to mind when I first entertained the thought. One was a husband and wife and the other was with a group of men going home one night. Both incidents were made into movies.  Both had similar, unpleasant experiences.
But I took this a little further in my first book, "The Abduction."

Blog Tour: The Things I Should Have Told You by Carmel Harrington

Every family has a story…

But for the Guinness family a happy ending looks out of reach. Olly and Mae's marriage is crumbling, their teenage daughter Evie is on a mission to self-destruct and their beloved Pops is dying of cancer. Their once strong family unit is slowly falling apart.

But Pops has one final gift to offer his beloved family – a ray of hope to cling to. As his life's journey draws to a close, he sends his family on an adventure across Europe in a camper van, guided by his letters, his wisdom and his love.

Because Pops knows that all his family need is time to be together, to find their love for each other and to find their way back home…

Blog Tour: The Honey Trap by Mary Jayne Baker

The trap is set – but which one of them is the bait?

Journalist Angel Blackthorne is looking for her next big scoop. When her sleazy editor asks her to use her charms on super successful – and married – film director Sebastian Wilchester for a juicy exposé, Angel thinks what the hell? There’s a staff job on the horizon, and, let’s be honest, no one can make a cheater cheat if they don’t want to, right?

After the scandal breaks, Angel tries to put the story – and Seb – behind her, but fate seems to have other ideas. A near miss at a premiere after-party and a shared love of vintage film brings the honey closer to the trap.

But what happens when pretence leads to passion, and a ‘kiss and tell’ becomes something real?

Author of the Month: DT Dyllin Guest Post

There’s just something magical about this time of year, and I’m not talking about pumpkin lattes, and pumpkin…well everything. I’m talking about the most special holiday of them all…

Halloween!!!!

Author of the Month Mandy Baggot talks blogs and books

Mandy Baggot is an award-winning romantic fiction author, writing hot heroes and emotional reads. She is represented by Kate Nash of The Kate Nash Literary Agency.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and cats, Kravitz and Springsteen.

Author of the month Jane Linfoot gets crafty

How to make a Bunting Bookmark 

Anyone who loves reading books, especially paperbacks, will love bookmarks too. 

In my book, The Vintage Cinema Club, the heroine, Izzy, spends a lot of time making bunting. Because bunting figures so largely in the story, I decided it would be lovely to make some bunting bookmarks to celebrate the paperback release. They’re so pretty, I thought you might like to make some too. Here’s how you do it... 

Author of the Month Jane Linfoot talks cakes

In The Vintage Cinema Club Dida bakes yummy cakes. Here is her recipe for Lemon Drizzle cake, which is delicious. It’s very easy to make for beginners in the kitchen, and perfect to enjoy for afternoon tea in the garden, on a summer’s afternoon. 

LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Take Over: Elizabeth Kirke

First off, thanks for having me!!! My name is Elizabeth Kirke, I'm the author of the YA Urban Fantasy series, More than Magic and the NA Paranormal Romance series, The Curse Collectors.

I always have a mini-freak-out when people invite me to do a blog post and then just say "write whatever". What do I write? What if it's boring? What if their target audience hates it? Ahhh!!!! Then I remember, I'm a writer. I feel like every writer's dream is for someone to go "Write whatever you want to". Problem is, I'm usually in my characters' heads when I write. So, then I figured, why not let them talk? So, that's what I'm going to do! I'm going to introduce you to Jen and Rachel, and let them tell you all about themselves!

~ Jen Maddox ~ The More than Magic Series ~

I guess you could say I was sort of the dork in college. I still don't like shopping, unless it's to a book store. I never really outgrew my fantasy stage. Even though I knew it wasn't real, I was always sort of hoping that something magical would happen to me. I saw this meme about how my owl never came when I was 11, so Gandalf better show up when I'm 50. Something like that. It's true, that was totally me. Always wishing that there was something more.

Well, for me there was. When I was 21 I discovered that magic does exist. There's an entire secret world, all around us. There are werewolves, vampires, elementals, and even mermaids, living and working and going to school with us. And me? I'm a witch. I have a magic wand and a familiar. It's crazy.

It can be scary too. When I was first learning magic, I was trapped on a cruise ship with several vampires - bad vampires, I should say. Plenty of vampires are good - anyway, they were feeding from people. Illegally. I have friends who work for the Magical Enforcement and Security Agency. They're jobs are to go after magics who break our laws. They're good at what they do, but the vampires were tough. There were times where I felt a bit jealous of the other people on the ship. 300 other people who were just enjoying their cruise, with no idea that their lives could be in danger. I found myself wishing that I could forget too. But, that would have meant giving up magic and, no matter how scary it gets, I'd never give this up.

~ Rachel Shaw ~ The Curse Collectors Series ~

I had my life all figured out. I had a Masters in Historical Preservation and I was working in a small-town museum. It wasn't great hours, or much pay, but it put a little roof over my head and I was spending my days doing what I loved. My two younger sisters were making their way in the world too and we were moving past our parents' deaths.

Then our aunt died. We hardly knew her. We didn't even know she owned an antique shop until we inherited it. Our grand plan was to go clean it up, sort the valuable antiques from the junk, and then sell it. The best laid plans...right?

The more I thought about the shop, the more I started to think about running it myself. I knew enough about antiques. Being able to make my own hours and be my own boss was very appealing.

But...then the dreams started. Weird dreams. They were about Peter, my aunt's - dare I say, really cute - assistant. When I wasn't thinking about him, I was obsessing over a locked trunk in the back room. My sisters started getting the creeps too, hearing things, seeing things.

And then Peter told us the truth. He wasn't an assistant in the antique store. He was my aunt's apprentice to rune-casting. They were curse-breakers and everything in the shop either was, or had been, cursed.

I was cursed too.

Nikki Clark Take Over

Hey y’all. I’m Nicole Clark but I go by Nikki. I’ve been writing my entire life, but I just published my first book in November of 2013. Since then I’ve published 3 others and just finished my fourth with plenty more planned to come.

My first series is about a demon biker club called The Demon Reaper MC. There are four guys that end up falling in love.  I’m actually quite the romantic so all my books will probably revolve around some kind of love theme.  So far in my Runaway series I have four books and am planning on writing three more books with it. I don’t want to give away what the last three are about but I don’t mind giving you a little insight into some of them.

Ronnie Strong Author Takeover

In defence of smut

I really struggle with negative reviews. There is no getting around it; they are depressing. Recently I received this review, titled ZERO STARS, for one of my stories, The Laundromat.

This is smut, trash that shouldn't even be sold in porn shops! I am not a prude, I love the 50 Shades and Crossfire series BUT THIS IS NOT A EROTIC ROMANCE! I wish I could wash this story out of my brain! I would give it zero stars but Amazon requires that I give it a star rating. Shame on Amazon for recommending this!

Well, when you get a review like that, complete with ungrammatical all caps, you know you really have upset someone. My first reaction is to reminding myself that the same story has hundreds of appreciative readers.  Then I begin to wonder if this story will ever have thousands of paying readers. If not, why not? This review shouted at me that my story was trash and would never be a best seller, partly because my story was NOT A EROTIC ROMANCE. Were they right?

From the beginning my story was going to be erotica, not romance, and I saw these as quite different genres. My working definitions for these genres were along the following lines. Romance stories are about love between two main characters, ordinarily a man and a woman, whose love for each other is tested in some way before a live-happily-ever-after ending. Erotica is a story that explores sexuality in ways that are intended to arouse the reader. For some people erotica is a sub-category of Romance, but I personally see them as separate.

I think the hybrid category Erotic Romance can be confusing because people will differ on what should be the main emphasis: sex or love. Is it about sexy love or lovely sex? Can it be either of these as long as it is not smut? Thinking about this — and getting confused — I decided to look for a definition of smut. The first one listed from my search was the following from urbandictionary.com:

Highly developed stories with love lines and other things that appeal to women that also include a lot of sexually explicit scenes.

I read this definition and felt pleased. This exactly describes what I was trying to produce when I began writing The Laundromat. It seems like my ZERO STARS critic might have got it right. My story really is smut. I have a hero author, Philip K. Dick, who wrote a great story called Confessions of a Crap Artist. I begin to wonder if I should have called this author takeover piece Confessions of a Smut Writer.

I now also realise all my stories so far have been about a woman undertaking a journey. During this journey the main character explores what love and associated topics mean for them as they participate in a succession of sexually explicit encounters. I always really hoped my stories would appeal to women, which was one reason why I write from a woman’s point of view. I also thought this made them more interesting to write and read.

I wanted to explore a range of topics in The Laundromat including the potential benefits of submission as a liberating sensual force and how the joys of tantric sex might be experienced and described. Another issue I really wanted to explore was polyamory. I was hoping to celebrate the sexuality of mature woman who are no longer a twenty-something too.

In other words, with The Laundromat, I was aiming to write a highly developed story, a literary story, exploring lots of topics, and full of sex. From the beginning I was writing smut. I think I even said that at the time, half joking, without fully realising how highly appropriate a term it was for my writing.

The critic above was not the only person though who found fault with my story. Here is another negative review:

I'm so sorry to say that I couldn't finish this book. I made it as far as 53% of the way through. Maybe if it was shorter, much shorter, I'd have finished it but I just couldn't. There was way too much sex in it for me, so much so that it was exhausting to read. It read like a cheap porno. Lots of characters having lots of sex with lots of different strangers and to make matters worse, it went as far as different rooms at the Laundromat displaying different sexual scenarios. Too much of an unrealistic storyline to this book for me I'm afraid, but that doesn't mean that others won't like it.

I was grateful that this reviewer at least left the door open to other people possibly liking my story. The obvious conclusion to make is that not everyone likes smut. This review makes me begin to think that it is the frequency of sexual encounters recounted within the story that matters even more so than the level of explicitness. Clearly there is a line somewhere that separates those whose main preference is for sexy love from those who really like to read (and write) about lovely sex.

Ronnie’s girl is another person who didn’t enjoy reading The Laundromat, and she didn’t ever finish it either. She asked me to write a more romantic story, and gave me a brief story outline. She said to me: ‘write something I might like to read about me going out with another man on a date; remembering, holding hands for me is a really lovely intimate act’. She also said something like ‘you don’t need to write a whole lot about us having sex. Please just make it nice and something I would like to read’.

I found writing this story very difficult and about six months later published Kate Gets Marks. Ronnie’s Girl wouldn’t read it for quite a while and not until I insisted. When I asked her what she thought about it she told me it was alright, but it made her feel aroused. I took this as a compliment, even though the way she said it made becoming aroused sound troubling. I had written smut again, but I really do think this story also does qualify as Erotic Romance. I certainly hope so because it might sell better than smut.

I wonder what other people think about smut, erotica and romance as categories. Are they different points along a continuum? I think this is of more than intellectual interest because publishers and readers want to use categories to help them sift through what people might and might not like. I think I am going to use the term smut a bit more proudly though, even though it might have stigma attached to it. Please tell me if you think I am being foolish.

Link to The Laundromat and its reviews:

Amazon.com

Amazon UK

Kate Gets Marks:

Amazon.com

Amazon UK

Dolphin Heat (free, complete smut)

itunes

Kobo

Ronnie Strong Website

http://ronniestrong.com/

Take Over: Lisa D. Smith

Fairy Princess. Nurse. Fashion Designer. Writer.

When I was 9 years old, I remember my dad asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. They were my answers. Unfortunately, fairy princess was a no go from the start. The fact I can't even get a papercut without passing out ruled out being a nurse and my lack of any imagination when it comes to clothes wiped out being a fashion designer. And I very quickly forgot about those dreams.

Being a writer, however, was something that the older I got, the more I wanted it. Growing up I would fill pages and pages with short stories, and notes for full length novels. But then the older I did get, the more I seemed to struggle. In my early twenties, I took a creative writing course, hoping that would give me a boost. After completing it, I gained confidence, and sat down at the computer, tapping away at the keyboard for a few hours. Then I hit a wall, and nothing came to me. I had my characters, but for some reason the story just disappeared. That continued every time I sat down and tried to write anything. A story would come to me, I would sit down, outline everything - characters, plot lines, research - but then I would start to write it out and that wall would come up and I would stare at a blank screen for hours.

Writers Block is a very tabboo subject. Many writers will say it doesnt exist and that all you need is a break, something to boost your confidence, read a book to find inspiration... I tried it all, for years. Nothing worked for me. It was frustrating, confidence shattering, and upsetting to think that the one thing I really wanted to do in life was liekly to never happen. I remember reading a quote one day that said if a writer suffered writers block for more than a few years they should just give up. By that time it had been affecting me for about 7 years.

Last year I stumbled across a site called NaNoWriMo. It piqued my interest, and I wanted to try it out, but the site encourages you to write a novel in a month, and that month was November. I signed up in June and almost forgot about it. In October, a pep talk from a couple of authors encouraged me to go for it, and my head was full of NaNo and ideas. The joys of technology today mean I didn't need to carry around a pen and paper to jot down everything that popped into my head, and I installed a notepad app on my phone that quickly filled up.

NaNoWriMo is a website that is free to sign to and to participate in. It is full of forums to chat to other authors, and encouraging tools to help you write a 50,000 word novel in a month. There are many calenders available that give you a word count target to hit daily to keep you on track, and every day you write, you can update your word count target on the website and see a graph that lets you see how close you are to the end goal. It is a confidence booster, and a bit of a rush to watch the graph rise and see how close you are to hitting that target.

I won't lie and say it was easy, there were days I struggled when I sat down to write, and would draw a blank, or wonder how I would hit the days target, but with the forums full of encouraging fellow writers, and a Facebook page with people going through the same thing, I managed to get through it. The day I hit my target was fantastic, and even better was a few days later when I typed the final words of my first novel. The feeling of accomplishment and self pride is something I couldn't possibly put in to words. Even more so when you get to claim some of the NaNo winners prizes from some great companies, and a few months later, I was holding a proof copy of my very first NaNo novel in my hands.

That book has now been released, and I am currently working on two more novels. I also recently found out that as well as NaNoWriMo in November, there is a Camp NaNo which starts in April! I have already signed myself up and look forward to participating in both this year.

Follower Links

http://www.facebook.com/LisaDSmithAuthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7825097.Lisa_D_Smith

Book Links

Goodreads

Amazon UK

Amazon US

NaNo Links

https://nanowrimo.org/

https://campnanowrimo.org/

Mandy Baggot Take Over

All of us at Booky Ramblings are very pleased to hand over the reigns for the day to the amazing Mandy Baggot!

Thank you for joining us today, Mandy, and we hope our followers enjoy your post!

A day in my writing life – Mandy Baggot

*sound of a Harley Davidson* It’s 6.50am and it’s my iPhone alarm! *curses and turns over*.

As a mum of two school-age girls every day starts off with a mad scramble to get them fed, washed and dressed before school. We leave about 8.20am for the ten minute drive, I drop off and wave goodbye and I’m back at my desk by 8.50am.

The first thing I do is check my schedule for what’s going on that day. Believe me there is always something going on! I am a member of Loveahappyending Lifestyle – an on-line magazine run by a group of us authors. We write interesting posts on all sorts of topics – I am the trends/pop culture guru. We also support each other in our writing lives so I will schedule up some Facebook posts and some tweets for them as well as a few for me and my Harper Impulse buddies. Then when I visit Twitter later I can chat about food and wine instead of books!

After that I’ll answer emails or messages. There are usually at least fifty a day! I tell myself it’s good to be popular!

Finally, after messing about on Twitter and seeing what mad things other people are up to I will get down to writing about 11am. I then have three and a half hours to crack on before picking the girls up again. Three and a half hours sounds like a long time doesn’t it? If you factor in doing some exercise, eating some lunch and dipping back in to social media, it just flies by.

After picking up my girls, I might get a couple of hours of writing in in short bursts of fifteen minutes or so. Sometimes I take a pen and paper (do you remember those?!) and write with the children around if it’s the only way to grind out some words. I will write anywhere!

That’s a normal writing day but most weeks I also have some meetings on. I belong to a Wiltshire women’s networking group called Women on Wednesday and we meet up once a month. I was the guest speaker earlier this year.

As a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association I go up to London for their functions and  I’m also quite an active member of the Wiltshire business community so I try and attend most events I get invited to. I also speak at book groups, festivals and conferences which are mainly in the evenings or at weekends. No two weeks are the same!

I have to say I do love my writer life. I just wish there were a few more hours in the day!

Author Bio

Mandy Baggot is a romantic fiction author. In 2012 she won the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK’s Festival of Romance. Her self-published title, Strings Attached was also short-listed for the Best Author Published Read award.

Also in 2012 she signed with American publishing house, Sapphire Star Publishing, who produced her novels, Taking Charge and romantic suspense, Security.
In June 2013 she signed a two book deal with Harper Collins' digital first romance imprint, Harper Impulse.

She is a regular contributor to writing blogs and on-line magazine, Loveahappyending Lifestyle http://www.loveahappyending.com/.

Mandy loves mashed potato, white wine, country music, World’s Strongest Man, travel and handbags. She has appeared on ITV1’s Who Dares Sings and auditioned for The X-Factor.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and cats, Kravitz and Springsteen.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads 

 Loveahappyending Bookshelf / Sapphire Star Publishing / Harper Impulse

Latest release: Made in Nashville

Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/sMLoS

Amazon US: http://ow.ly/sMLvX

Rue Volley Take Over

Welcome to hell! Well, to hell as it exists in the mind of Rue. January 4th saw the release of the second book in the Hellhound Series. Here, with an introduction to the series, is Amazon International Bestselling Erotica author Rue Volley.

The inspiration for HELLHOUND was simple. It is a culmination of all of my favorite things wrapped up into one. I have a deep love for history so adding in Vikings and Romans was so much fun to do. I am also fascinated with Heaven and Hell, and what true dynamic there is between the two of them, so in this story I explore that as well. I also love vampires and anything paranormal in nature. Taking something like the idea of a HELLHOUND and making it my own was a pleasure to do and the best part about being a writer of fiction. I also LOVE writing EROTICA, mainly because there is no box you have to stay in and I can play as hard as I like to. No pun intended. *Wink*

Megan D. Martin Take Over

Musical Inspiration in Skin Deep

Hey everyone! Before I get started, I just want to thank the awesome Shona for inviting me to take over for the day.

While writing Skin Deep I couldn’t help but be inspired by music. Like most authors, I draw on inspiration from everywhere and music is big place. Here are two songs that I listened to a lot while writing my novel.
Werk Me by Hyper Crush



I LOVE this song. Seriously. There is a whole club scene where Kiera and Cain get really heated that is completely inspired by this song. The way the beat thrums…and just everything about it! I love it!

Only Girl (In the World) by Rhianna



Now, I know this song is/was mega-popular, but there is just something about it that calls to me. For Kiera, she wanted someone to love her, unconditionally, to give her the love that she could give them. Repeatedly throughout her life she had loved people who didn’t love her back, or if they did, it was a sick, twisted love that hurt her. She wants to feel important and loved, and at its core, I believe a lot of people feel the same way.

Blurb:

What would you do to have the body of your dreams?

Kiera hates being overweight and hides behind thick layers of clothing. One night, her friends present an opportunity that seems impossible to believe. With a single spell, she can have the thin physique she's always coveted.

But all magic comes with a price: no sex or she'll revert back to her old body. Kiera accepts the cost. It's not like she has men lined up at her door. Obeying this one tiny rule isn't difficult at all—until the night she meets Cain, a were-tiger and a soldier with the Eternal Forces.

When a slew of unexplained murders forces Kiera and Cain together, they'll have to face the horrors of their pasts. Will Kiera realize she is worth more than her outward appearance? Or will she make the wrong the choice and lose everything—including her life?

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17971431-skin-deep



Author Bio

Megan D. Martin is a multi-published author, mother, student and editor. In her spare time she enjoys decorating her house with strange things that do not match, playing her old school Nintendo Entertainment System, and buying fish for her many fish tanks. To learn more about Megan, check her out on these social networking sites.

Website: www.MeganDMartin.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authormegandmartin
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Megan_D_Martin
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6656963.Megan_D_Martin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/115096823539939478098/posts

Awakening blog tour

Title: Awakening

Author: Samantha Long
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Hosted By: Love Between The Sheets

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18104846-awakening?from_search=true

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-The-Guardians-ebook/dp/B00EBUPSLG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1380673281&sr=1-1&keywords=awakening+samantha+long

Barnes N Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/awakening-samantha-long/1116357956?ean=2940045197496

Synopsis

When Sophie moves to Boston to get away from the people who ridiculed her for her psychic talents, she wants to start fresh. But when a demon attacks her study group at the library, she has no choice but to reveal her abilities to warn the others.

She learns the attacks won't stop until she's dead. To stay alive she joins forces with the other students and a secret society that has battled the demons for centuries.

The last thing she wants to do is be a pawn in the war of good and evil. When her visions start showing events from a past life, she can't ignore the connections it shows. She has no choice but to acknowledge the bonds that tie her to the other students, even if some of them refuse, to have the strength to defeat the demon that hunts them down.

Will she survive long enough to stop the demons from destroying everything and everyone she loves?

Excerpt:
Something wrapped around the collar of Sophie’s jacket and lifted her easily into the air.
Cairo held her and Lilli up, one in each hand, like they were both a sack of feathers. Her unblinking eyes settled on Sophie. “You’re so powerful. How does a human become this way?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie saw Morgan struggle to pick Katie up. When she realized that wouldn’t work, Morgan dragged her gently out of the way.
Sophie balled up her fist and swung.
Cairo dodged it effortlessly. Her musical laugh grated on Sophie’s nerves. “You can’t possibly think it’d be that easy?” Cairo tilted her head to the side and watched the brightness of color surrounding Sophie. No longer in control over her actions, she released Lilli to concentrate fully on the light. “You have such an aura. So much light. I miss that, you know. I may keep you for myself.”
Tristan moved from Augustus to two of Cairo’s entourage.
A sudden waft of heat hit them. Cairo cried out.
Sophie hit the dirt and rolled. The air pushed out of her lungs and she coughed. When she turned on her back and lifted herself on her elbows, she gasped.
Flames covered Cairo. Her glowing skin blistered.
Aidan forced more heat into the fire that engulfed her.

Awakening Playlist
Blow Me Away (feat. Valora)-Breaking Benjamin
Never Say Never- The Fray
Mad- Ne-Yo
Vanilla Twilight- Owl City
Shattered- O.A.R.
Headstrong- Trapt
The Diary of Jane- Breaking Benjamin
So Cold- Breaking Benjamin
Give Me a Sign- Breaking Benjamin
Until the End- Breaking Benjamin
Waiting for the End- Linkin Park
Liberate- Disturbed
Come a Little Closer- Dierks Bentley
Long Trip Alone- Dierks Bentley

Author Bio:

I'm a multitasking mom of four. When not writing/doing laundry/changing diapers, I like to catch up on episodes of Supernatural and Castle. If you can't find me in front of the computer, I'm most likely watching my DVR.​

​I've been writing since the first grade, where I wrote a one page story titled "If I was an Indian". My warrior husband was going to be the best hunter, I was going to live in the best teepee and apparently, I was having an affair with the Chief. Racy, I know.

​Of the things I'm addicted to sweet tea, movies, and books top the list. My favorite authors include Nora Roberts, Lauren Kate, Kresley Cole, and Gena Showalter. Few of many I love.

​Thanks so much for reading!

​Sam :)

www.facebook.com/samanthalongauthor
www.samanthamlong.com

10 things I love about my characters.

1) Even though they are scared they face the Demoness.

2) They stick together even only knowing each other for a little while.

3) They are young but face the heavy weight of saving the world mostly with grace.

4) They take care of Morgan even when she is a total witch to them.

5) The sarcasm in the face of danger.

6) Love how when there is a personal hurt, they come together

7) The guys are so sexy, and the girls are strong.

8) Akeldama is so bad, but longs for the one thing she’s never had.

9) They have their flaws, their secrets, but still manage to do what they need to do.

10) Some of them have so much fun being evil.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An Illustrated Death blog tour

Title: An Illustrated Death
Author: Judi Culberton
Genre: Mystery
Publication Date: October 1, 2013, (ebook only) by Witness Impulse, an imprint of HarperCollins
Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.

Book Synopsis

When bookseller Delhi Laine gets the opportunity to appraise the late Nate Erikson’s personal library, she jumps at the chance. It’s not every day a bookseller gets to peek into the mind of a famous illustrator, not to mention his fascinating collection of rare books. Invited to spend time with the artistic Erikson clan at the family compound in the Hamptons, Delhi is intrigued by their eccentric and eclectic ways.

But when death visits the family once more and another Erikson is found dead, dark family secrets come to light—including the death of Nate Erikson himself. Surrounded by the charmed family not quite as idealic as they once seemed, Delhi is determined to solve the murders once and for all. But digging up truths can get you dirty…and Delhi is about to discover how far some will go to keep them buried.

Add to Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

About the Author
Judi Culbertson graduated from Hampton DuBose High School in Florida, and majored in creative writing at Wheaton College in Illinois. After two years in Philadelphia she moved to Long Island where her son Andy was born. Here she published GAMES CHRISTIANS PLAY (Harper & Row, 1967), followed by THE LITTLE WHITE BOOK ON RACE (Lippincott, 1970) with a friend, Patti Bard.

In 1970 Judi began working for the Suffolk County Department of Social Services, working with families at risk, children in foster care and, finally, in the Court Unit where she wrote petitions to free children for adoption. During this time she was writing articles for Glamour, The New York Times, Newsday, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Working Mother, and others and travel stories for major newspapers.

In 1986, after a trip to Paris, Judi and her husband, Tom Randall, wrote a travel story that developed into PERMANENT PARISIANS,An Illustrated Biographical Guide to the Cemeteries of Paris, published in 1987 by Chelsea Green Press. This was followed by four more: PERMANENT NEW YORKERS; LONDONERS; CALIFORNIANS; and ITALIANS.

After earning an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Vermont College, Judi published THE NURSERY (St. Martin's Press, 1996). By then she had started speaking professionally on a subject that had long fascinated her, people's attachment to stuff. This led to two books: SCALING DOWN, Living Large in a Smaller Space, written with Marj Decker (Rodale 2005) and THE CLUTTER CURE (McGraw-Hill, 2007).

Judi left social work in 1999 to pursue her interest in selling used and rare books on the Internet.
It is this background that helped create the Secondhand Prose Mystery Series. A NOVEL DEATH is the first book, published by Avalon Books in June 2011. AN ILLUSTRATED DEATH will be published on October 1, 2013 by Harper/Collins. When not writing, she and Tom travel extensively and enjoy their twin grandchildren, Andrew and Emily, as well as the three cats they live with: Ignatz, Vladimir, and Pangur.

Connect with the Author: Website | Goodreads

Tour-Wide Giveaway
Ten (10) ecopies of An Illustrated Death. Winner must have access to Bluefire Reader and have an Adobe account to receive free download.

Literary Halloween Parties

Happy Halloween!  Last year I combined my enjoyment of entertaining with my love of books and came up with a Come-as-Your-Favorite-Literary Character Party.  I knew if I’d had a regular Halloween party, some of my friends would have refused to come in costume.  They hate the idea of dressing up. But everyone got inspired by the theme and really outdid themselves.

I considered coming as my favorite character, Holly Golightly, but decided I wanted the chance to dress up in something other than a little black dress and pearls.  So I chose Nitta Sayuri  from Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha.  I ordered a black wig and white makeup online and made an obi for a kimono I owned.  My husband Tom went a more minimalist route with T.S. Eliot’s J. Alfred Prufrock, wearing white flannel trousers rolled and a tie with peaches and mermaids.

When I should have been thinking about writing something to win the Nobel Prize, I was making witch’s hat cookies instead. Very easy--you buy Keebler’s striped shortbread cookies, top them with Hershey kisses, and draw on a hatband and bow with orange frosting.  There was other orange food--shrimp with cocktail sauce, Buffalo wings, and pumpkin cheesecake, but I concentrated on what would taste good.

It was exciting to see how unrelated people complemented each other.  We had Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, Anne of Green Gables and Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert, Captain Queeg, Holden Caufield, Bilbo Baggins, Alice in Wonderland and some fairy tale and Shakespearian characters, as well as a “shipwreck” from Moby Dick.  Part of the fun was trying to guess who people were.  To my shame, I didn’t guess Lisbeth Salander, though I love the Milennium books.

After the party, instead of going back to writing the Great American Novel, I made booklets for people with a picture of each printed against a background of the book they had chosen.  Not as virtuous as writing An American Tragedy, but a lot more fun.

Tour Schedule (to see the tour schedule click the banner below)

Amanda Brooke Take Over

A little while ago both Claire and I had the pleasure of reading Another Way to Fall by Amanda Brooke. We loved it so much we asked Amanda to take part in our Take Over posts and she said Yes! So without further ado I hand over the reigns to the blog and leave you in the capable hands of Amanda Brooke.

ANOTHER KIND OF PUBLISHING, ANOTHER KIND OF BOOK

The era of the e-book has well and truly arrived and along with it the seemingly endless opportunities for writers to have their work published.  It’s hard to imagine now but in 2010 when I started writing Yesterday’s Sun, the idea of self-publishing didn’t enter my thoughts.  I had limited knowledge of the publishing industry but I knew enough to steer clear of those dubious companies who would happily take my money in exchange for vague promises and a few printed copies of my beloved novel to sell or give away to friends and family.  As things turned out for me, I was very, very lucky.  I beat the odds and landed a publishing deal but I can’t help wondering what would have become of my first novel if I had gone down the self-publishing route.

I don’t doubt that with the abundance of advice and guidance online, I would be able to self-publish if Yesterday’s Sun had been left languishing on my computer for the last three years but what would my first novel look like?  Would it have remained that first draft I had sent off to literary agents or would I have paid good money up front to have someone critique my work first?  Would I have paid an editor to go through it with a fine toothed comb?  The answer is probably not.  I might have asked a few select friends to read it through and then soaked up all that positive feedback (what friends have the courage to trample on a fledgling author’s dreams?) but that would be about it.  And I’m guessing there are a lot of writers out there who would do the same, not because they’re confident in their work but because they’re not yet confident enough to invest real money in their talents.

So here’s what did happen to that ‘perfect’ first draft I’m pretty sure I would have self-published.  I submitted my manuscript to a few literary agents and was thrilled when Luigi Bonomi got in touch.  He was interested in representing me but there was a caveat, my book needed more work, actually a lot of work.  I’m the first to admit that I was a little resistant to the idea of pulling apart my novel but it didn’t take long to realise that I would be mad not to take the advice of a well-respected and experienced agent.  If I got this right, I’d be within touching distance of my dream.  So I cancelled Christmas and set about completely rewriting about two thirds of my story.  Thankfully my hard work paid off and Luigi loved the second draft and it was ready to be sent off to publishers.  A publishing deal with HarperCollins followed but the rewriting was far from over.  There was a little more work on the structure and some pretty hefty changes to some of the characters and it was months later before my editor was ready to start on the line by line edits.

What I ended up with was a novel that bears little resemblance to that first manuscript I sent to Luigi but I can honestly say that with each pass through I knew my novel was getting better and better, good enough in fact to be selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club.  If you’ve read Yesterday’s Sun then you might be interested to know that the first draft didn’t include any significant back-story to the moondial, Holly made far more journeys into the future and she had no trouble at all holding her baby or even speaking to Tom.  And as for Billy, he was only a bit player and not the unassuming hero he was destined to become.  With my second novel Another Way to Fall, the process was pretty much the same.  That first draft didn’t make me cry but my goodness the final version did!

So if you are planning on self-publishing then the hardest thing is to believe in your work enough to invest in it.  Find the right people to critique your work and be prepared for constructive feedback and act upon it.  Oh, and be prepared for the editing to be far more than simply spotting the typos.  It can mean a lot of extra work on that novel you thought you’d already finished but no-one knows your work better than you do and that puts you in the perfect position to unravel your story and build it up stronger and better than before.  Be brave.

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Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse and Guest Post

Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse by Nicholas Ryan

Book Synopsis

“This is exactly the kind of intelligent, action-packed zombie thriller that fans of DJ Molles and Max Brooks will love!”
- ZombieBookBlog

Aboard a freighter bound for Baltimore harbor, an Iranian terrorist prepares to unleash an unimaginable horror upon the United States. The ‘Wrath’ is an undead plague – an infection that consumes its victims with a maddening rage and turns them into mindless blood-thirsty killers.
Jack Cutter is just an ordinary guy dealing with a dreadful guilt when the virus tears through his home town. Before it’s too late, Cutter will have to find a way to survive, and find a reason fight:
HIS REDEMPTION.

The Secret to Great Horror

In my opinion the secret to writing great horror scenes is to make the action and situations as realistic as possible and to create characters that are relatable to the reader.

When I wrote ‘Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse, I deliberately created the Jack Cutter character to be an every-day guy with a skill set that most people could relate to. Cutter doesn’t have special skills – he’s just an ordinary guy thrown into an extraordinary situation. I know a lot of other zombie novels have lead characters who can all boast an extensive set of military skills to fall back on, but how many readers could directly relate to a character like that?

The real problem with ‘Ground Zero: A Zombie Apocalypse’ was to create horror scenes that were realistic. I mean, zombies don’t exist - right?

When I started writing the events that take place in the book I had to find ways to make the horror scenes compelling enough that a reader would want to come along for the ride and remain immersed in the events to momentarily suspend their disbelief. It is why I drew on everyday vermin such as rats and scavenger crows to give those zombie scenes an added touch of real life.

Tony Breeden Take Over Post

After reading Johnny Came Home, Tony Breeden is now one of my favourite authors, so when it was my turn to ask an author to join us for our takeover post, Tony was top of my list! I am excited to welcome Tony to Booky Ramblings

Otherworld.

It’s the biggest game in the universe.

On an alien planet.



Hello, my name is Tony Breeden, author of Johnny Came Home      [http://bookyramblings.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/johnny-came-home-a-john-lazarus-adventure-1-review/]. I’m  taking over today.

I want to talk to you about my forthcoming novel, Luckbane, which will be released this month on September    15, 2013. Luckbane is the first book of the Otherworld series, set in a world where the science fiction, epic  fantasy, and steampunk genres collide.



I’m not kidding. This book has it all. Werewolves and vampires. Aliens and robots. Future cities and medieval    ruins. Magic and monsters. Cyborgs and dragons. Steam-powered machines and magical skyships. And that’s  just the tip of the iceberg!

The premise of Otherworld is simple: In a grim, dystopian future, online gaming is the ultimate escape. Brain  implants allow us to be fully immersed in environments as diverse as the Old West, faerie kingdoms, or a quiet  day on a mountain lake. One day, GameComm lays claim to an alien world and terraforms it, so that gamers can  play the universe’s most popular sword-and-sorcery game live and in person. From a satellite moon,  GameComm can control every aspect of the continent below and then film it with embedded cameras.

But, of course, everything is NOT under control.

A lot of world-building went into the Otherworld universe. In fact, many of the locales and props of Otherworld  were developed over a decade ago for an RPG (role-playing game). My then-future wife and I wanted a gaming experience that was more like shared storytelling than the usual dice-mongering fare. Our friends had such a blast with it that we considered developing it further for the market.

Years later, the idea for a book series began to take shape. I wanted an epic fantasy world with a story that captured the essence of RPGs, both from the player and Dungeon Master sides of the equation. I considered a purely virtual gaming experience, but then Piers Anthony’s Kill-O-Byte came to my notice. It was an awesome book and it convinced me that I needed to go in a different direction.

LARPing came to mind, but how do you pull off a live-action role playing game in a world containing dwarves, dragons and, well, magic?

The answer was to set my universe far into the future where we could pull off magical effects with nanite clouds and populate the landscape with a combination of biological robots and genetically modified creatures. While the steampunk elements filtered in later, I knew from the outset that I wanted my epic fantasy races to be familiar enough to resonate with readers without being just another Middle Earth or D&D rip-off. Consequentially, some of my character races are vastly different from what you might expect.

The scale of this particular LARP ruled out the possibility of staging it on an inhabited Earth, so I went with an alien world. Naturally, pesky alien life forms become an issue in this series.

Of course, a world is nothing without a story to tell. In this case, Otherworld’s best and brightest must stop the dread Firelord, last of the Dark Lords, from gaining an artifact which will allow him to conquer the Free Peoples. For master thief Jarrod Seventhborn the stakes are much higher. Someone wants him dead – and not just game-dead. In a world where no one is who they seem to be, Jarrod has no idea who he can trust.



Those of you who’ve read my first novel, Johnny Came Home, know to expect a lot of action, humor and  surprises along the way.



To celebrate the launch of Luckbane and the companion novelette, Dreadknights: For the Love of the Guild, I’m  holding a giveaway from Sept 1^st thru the 14^th. Winners will be announced on September 15^th, the day  Luckbane becomes available for sale. To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter app on our Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/tonybreedenbooks/app_228910107186452

You can find out more about me and my books at http://TonyBreedenBooks.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/tonybreedenbooks.

You can buy Johnny Came Home on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Came-Home-Lazarus-Adventure/dp/1452845506/], Barnes & Noble [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/johnny-came-home-tony-breeden/1113150735] or Smashwords [https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/269731].

Happy hunting,

Tony Breeden