I think it is wonderful what Giselle Renarde is offering in support of  LGBT Youth!  I just finished reading "The Birthday Gift," which I purchased to show my support, and I loved it!

Having a whole love/hate relationship with June Cleaver myself, I loved her character, Meredith’s awakening in this story.

But, wait until you see what the proposed new symbol of international peace and brotherhood is! *laughing*

The sex scenes were sensual and intense, freeing the reader as much as they did the heroine. I would highly recommend this title, and can't wait to read more of Giselle's stories.

Read below to find out how you can help too...

How can erotica support LGBT youth?

With your help, of course! 

For the second year running, between September 15th and December 15th, all proceeds from each and every purchase ofGISELLE RENARDE EROTICA through the eXcessica website will be donated to theLesbian Gay Bi Trans YOUTHLINE!


LGBT YOUTHLINE provides queer-positive, non-judgmental peer support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, 2-spirit, queer and questioning youth. LGBT YOUTHLINE offers free services through its toll-free phone number, by email and instant messenger. To find out more about this organization, visit their website.

Please join me in raising funds to help LGBT YOUTHLINE expand its services and continue providing an open ear and an open mind to queer youth. All you have to do is visiteXcessica.com and purchase a copy of THE BIRTHDAY GIFT, TANGLED ROOTS,KANDINSKY'S SHIRT BUTTON, or CUNNING LITTLE VIXENS by Giselle Renarde before midnight on December 15th 2009. After Paypal takes its thirty-nine cents or so, every penny from the sale will go to support this righteous cause. 

Last year, so many of you offered your support. Let's raise even more money in 2009. Together, we can ensure LGBT youth are supported through times of trial and triumph.

Come Join In The Fun!   

 

25 Paranormal Days of Christmas 

25 Naughty Days of Christmas 

I will be there on Dec 8 for a Guest Blog and to give away copies of my Christmas story, Spirit Yet to Come

 from the Four Seasons: Winter 2009 eXcessica special anthology, ed Selena Kitt 

Authors By Authors will be going on hiatus for awhile!   

However, I will be posting different contests and promotions for other authors from time to time.   I wanted to thank everyone who has been a guest, and let you know that all previous posts will remain!    If you need to contact me, I can always be reached at howell.kiki@gmail.com
Thanks, 
Kiki Howell 

A Great GiveAway I Happened Upon!

http://www.romanceinthebackseat.com/cupcakegiveaway.htm

Review of Awakening the Blood by Tara Nichols


Reviewed By  Jenna Alexander 

I have read a lot of paranormal fiction. Probably not as many as some people but enough. I especially love vampire fiction. Tara Nichols has done what I thought was not possible – created a unique scenario of characters.  
Since this is part of Tara’s excerpt I know I am not giving away too much when I say – the main male character is a statue! A Statue! Well, he is a vampire that has been locked in an immobile state for decades by his wicked mistress.  
Awakening the Blood was a fantastic read. It starts out with a wonderful scene of action and sex in a graveyard. What reader could ask for more!?  
Sometimes when I am reading I feel that authors take their storylines and blob them onto the paper. A reader gets a blob of action, then a big bite of back story, then a big chunk of sex.  They are choppy blobs and pieces of story that could be arranged and rearranged in any order. This is absolutely not the case with Nichols work. She moved from creepy, to steamy, to laugh out loud funny, to page turning action seamlessly. Her elements flowed and mixed well together.  
Meara and D’iamonte are lovable but strong characters. It was great to see their affection grow as the story progressed. Oh – but my favorite characters in the book are the little creepy critters. I love these guys! How clever and fun to throw them in. To me this marks a really good writer. Could these little mini gargoyles, rats, and beasties been left out – sure, but they add another layer. They make the story BETTER. And isn’t that what the reader wants?  
(I actually think Tara should create a little creepy critter plush toy and give it away for a prize to one of her readers or at book signings.  Ha ha) 
The final element I will talk about is the tone or mood of the book. Like I said, Nichols starts off in a graveyard. This definitely sets the mood for the story and it stays consistent throughout. Even when Meara, the main character was defending herself with a wooden spoon against the little critters the intensity remained. So I was laughing but worried at the sametime. This is seriously hard for a writer to accomplish. 
So – big thumbs up for Awakening the Blood. I certainly hope there is a sequel in the works.  


Click To Purchase From Amira Press
Click For Tara Nichols Website
Click For Jenna Alexanders Website

Interview with Jamie Booth & Kit Zheng

For those who may not be familiar with them, Jamie Booth and Kit Zheng are (in their own words), "a pair of rogues who are best known for stealing the shoes off homeless people and occasionally trying to cause mayhem in the boys' clubs of sci fi, fantasy and horror. Results have been mixed thus far, but that's not stopping them."

Wit and modesty aside, both are talented authors in their own rights. Most recently, they teamed up on "The Tale of Tom Katt & Martin Rue," a novella that appears in the cat shapeshifter anthology Here Kitty, Kitty (Torquere Press).


What was it like working together on this?

Jamie Booth: I think we worked together really well. It seemed to happen quite easily. At first we discussed possible methods of working—as we’re basically living on opposite sides of the globe, it seemed like it could be a challenge with time differences and so on if we wanted to, for example, do dialogue by IM as we did discuss at one point. But once we started writing, we just passed it back and forth and the whole thing fell into place very naturally.

Kit Zheng: It was a lot of fun and Jamie always came up with the freshest ideas for things. Originally I was trying to go it solo and I was stumped, so I was just chatting with Jamie about some ideas... and next thing you know, we'd started to build a mythology together. Things just grew out from there.


It sounds like the process was an organic one, which is always great—but maybe even more important when you have to coordinate with someone else. What turned out to be the greatest challenge for you?

JB: I’d say the time difference was probably the biggest challenge, and the fact that we were both so busy with personal business when we took the project on—trying to co-write a novella and move house at the same time isn’t something I’d recommend to anyone!

KZ: Yeah, the time difference and our schedules were definitely the biggest challenge. Originally we wanted to map out everything via IM conversations, but that never happened because life had sort of exploded and all plans sort of fell apart.

JB: It was definitely a lot of fun, though.


That's a great segue to my next question: What were the rewards or advantages of working together?

JB: Working with another writer whom you really gel with is incredibly rewarding as you always have someone to get enthused over your storyline with you, to bounce ideas off and generally keep each other motivated.

KZ: Writing with someone else is like having a built in audience, collaborator, [and] cheerleader as well as, of course, a co-creator, so it's much easier to keep motivated. I also think a cowriter challenges you to get out of your comfort zone, and to break some of the bad habits that we've all got ingrained in us. You're just so easily confined by what you know and a cowriter brings their own experiences and knowledge to the table, changing everything in a good way! Jamie definitely did this and made the story something it never could have been with just myself alone.


How did your individual writing processes change, and what (if anything) stayed the same?

KZ: I never work from an outline, especially not from a detailed one, and we totally had to for this, especially once it became apparent that we weren't going to be able to do any real-time collaborative writing. And for once that was liberating, to have that guide, rather than [being] constricting. The process worked out very differently than I'd pictured, but I think it made the story grow in a way that I'm not sure passing dialogue back and forth might have done.


How interesting! That puts me in mind of a roundtable interview I read years ago with some fairly successful film directors who had started doing straight-to-video projects on the side. One of the questions was why they'd choose to do such a thing, and a couple of them said that the restrictions and requirements of the generic formula actually freed them up to be creative in other ways they might not have thought of otherwise.

In your case, of course, it was the structure of your outline rather than the genre, and the way that outline was called for by this particular collaboration. Has your experience been that every collaboration is different, or are there commonalities?

JB: This is the first time I’ve written in collaboration with Kit, although we’ve read over each other’s work and discussed plots and so on together for years. It’s definitely been a different experience than collaborating with other writers who I’ve worked with. I think for me, the deadlines have been tighter on this one so there was definitely more motivation, out of the desire not to let Kit down.

KZ: I found this quite different than other collaborations as well. My other collaborations have always been for nothing in particular, careless fun; so yes, the deadline changed a lot—added a level of stress which I think would have led to a lot more conflict if we were two different people.

I guess the one thing in common is that when collaborating, we tend to take ownership of certain characters—I mean, I'll still write some of Jamie's character and Jamie will write some of mine, but we were sort of "in charge" of coming up with their initial design/personality/etc... That seems to happen with every collaboration I've been in. I guess it's just easier to split it up like that—maybe keeps the characters more consistent?


That makes sense. I've done character creation that way as well in collaborations, though it my case I think it came from a roleplaying background. On a related note—you've touched on this a little, but I'd love to hear more about how you divided the writing on this.

JB: Initially, we each came up with our own character to write. The original idea behind this was that we could IM each other for more realistic dialogue and then write scenes around that; but in the actual event of writing, we ended up writing alternate chapters, passing the story back and forth, and then just adding or editing each others chapters as we saw fit. There weren’t really any hard and fast rules we adhered to. It worked well doing it that way,.

KZ: Yes, we each took certain chapters. At first we wrote almost independently on those chapters. Again because of the whole scheduling madness, we just wrote this in an entirely counterintuitive manner. Like writing out a rough version, almost a sketch, and passing it off and the other coming in and changing whatever, fleshing it out more and more with each pass. I remember there were bits where I was writing things like, "Character says something to the effect of X here," then write a response, and Jamie would come in and write up the line. And sometimes it'd work with what I'd written as a response and sometimes it wouldn't, and so on the next pass I'd fix that or smooth it out, and Jamie would do the same. In a way I think that turned out more integrated and more controlled [or] coherent than if we'd been [writing in] real-time, passing it back and forth line by line, if that makes any sense. It was very organic, but in a sort of structured way. Like growing vines into a shape over a wire skeleton.


Makes perfect sense—and that's a great image. So, getting into the story itself: "The Tale of Tom Katt & Martin Rue" appears in a shapeshifter collection, Here Kitty, Kitty. Shapeshifter narratives most commonly are associated with the paranormal genre, and those elements certainly are present here—but it's by no means straight genre. To what extent were you deliberately blending fairytale, paranormal, and romance, or was that a natural result of the story you wanted to tell?

JB: The blending was pretty deliberate as there was a certain atmosphere that we initially wanted to create.

KZ: We definitely wanted it to be a blend of those three things. Definitely set out with the fairytale-esque atmosphere in mind. It was sort of... I know that modern interpretations of the were-(insert animal here) are all—bring to mind a certain kind of thing like (oh god) Underworld or whatever, shiny and slick and Hollywood to the max, but that whole thing is so much older. You find shapeshifting animals in so many stories across so many cultures. I like that we tried to bring some of that "old school" back. I mean, the concept of a werecat is a little silly anyway, so how do you bring some legitimacy to that? We tried looking at what's come before, steeped in tradition and folklore.


I love that you wanted to call on older traditions, too. In fact, as I was reading and thinking about the story afterwards, it seemed to me that in this marvelous blend of genres, the most dominant is not the paranormal but the fairytale. From the dark edges of tone and atmosphere to the structural tropes (the journey, the riddles), and perhaps most of all the clever meta-narrative interludes—the tale told within the tale—there's something classically fairytale about this. Insofar as it's possible to identify a starting point, did you begin with the characters or with the plot?

JB: We came up with the mythology behind the characters before we thought up the plot. We were researching and looking into cat mythology in regards to legends and folklore – traditional ideas such as cats sucking the breath from sleeping humans – and it all built up from there. We wanted to try and get a new spin on the idea of cat shape-shifters. Our initial thoughts were ‘werecats’ as opposed to ‘werewolves’ but then we hit upon the fairytale angle and we both got really sucked into the idea. We were basically trying to take existing traditional folklore and re-tell it in our own way, with our own characters –

[After coming up] with the background mythology for our cat boys, we then each created a character. Discussing Martin and Tom as characters and how they’d react (and clash!) with each other played a large part in developing our plot.

KZ: It's fun to look at our old emails... how we sort of got all excited about the world/mythology and then by the boys.


Without giving anything away, I love the solution to the third riddle. Did you always know what it was, or did you—like Tom and Martin—have to work towards it?

JB: When we initially came up with the plot we had a vague idea that this is what we were working towards, but the finer details definitely took time to form and work through.

KZ: I think we were sorting out the riddles, etc. even midway through the story. And some stuff just happened. I remember the bit about the twine: I think I'd sent the initial riddle-game bit to Jamie with some sort of note [that] there needed to be more to that scene but I couldn't think of anything. And Jamie sent it back, and there was that delightful scene where they're playing with the twine. It was like magic. Suddenly the thing worked. I think I'll start sending Jamie my stories whenever I'm stuck.


More of that organic process at work. Well, it looks like our time is nearing an end, so I'll wrap it up with the old standby: What can we look forward to from each of you after this? What are you working on now? Any plans to collaborate again?

JB: I’m currently being kept busy writing a paranormal genre novel, and I’m due to have two micro fictions published in a biannual UK magazine called Flash this October. We’ve got no immediate plans for future collaboration, but I’d certainly be up for writing with Kit again, maybe something more paranormal or horror oriented?

KZ: I've got a mystery/thriller/eroromance novella that's been picked up, but I don't know when it'll be out. Other than that, I'm working on a sci-fi noirish mystery novel, a fantasy novel, and a zombie/family drama short story, all of which ought to be complete in oh, 2099 or so. I'd love to work with Jamie again. I think we should go all out horror this time. ;) That's sort of the genre that brought us together.


Sounds like you've both got a lot to look forward to on your plates. On a personal note, I'm really happy to hear you're thinking about the possibility of working together again (and I bet I'm not alone!). Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today, and best of luck with your stories.


~ interview by Mallory Path

"The Tale of Tom Katt & Martin Rue" appears in Here Kitty, Kitty, available now in print and eBook from Torquere Press.

My Interview with Roxanne Rhoads, Author of Eternal Desire

Okay, I went poking around the internet and have come up with these questions.   First the basics… 


1.     Why vampires?   And, what gave you the idea for http://www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/

 Vampires-they are just so appealing. Forever young, immortal…sexy. What’s not to love? 

Seriously, I dealt with a lot of death at a young age. By the time I was 12 I had probably been to more funerals in my short life than most people attend in their whole life. When I found Interview with a Vampire at a yard sale, I was probably 10 or 11, I was instantly drawn into the world of creatures that never die (almost never). 
I was already a fan of the paranormal-ghosts, witches and the like, but Anne Rice’s vampire seduced me into the world of the night creatures. 
Fang-tastic Books came about from my love of vampires and books combined. I was reading so many books one night I decided I should start reviewing them and promoting them. I was already reviewing a few books here and there for other sites but I wanted to really focus on vampire and other paranormal/urban fantasy books so I tried a few vampire related names and decided on Fang-tastic Books. And now it seems to have grown into a pretty popular site for other fans of the paranormal book genre. 


2.     Watching your new Book Trailer Video for Eternal Desire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuJ6niYhgJg  what made you choose New Orleans as your setting?

 I love New Orleans. The history, the magic, it is so compelling. I think part of my love for New Orleans stemmed, yet again from Anne Rice’s books, but I’ve been there and was so drawn to it. I really want to go back, and not just for Mardi Gras. To explore and really get into the history of the city. 

Now, after poking around the internet about you, my questions are… 

3. I enjoyed your post at The Erotic Woman Blog, http://www.theeroticwoman.com/erotica/add-romance-your-bedroom-feng-shui.  So, where did you get your knowledge of Feng Shui?   What is your favorite book on the subject?   And, what is your favorite cure? 
Feng shui-I studied tons of books and articles, can’t really remember many of the books now. I know I read quite a few by Lillian Too. 
One that I still have is Easy to Use Feng Shui: 168 Ways to Success. 
I love using copper in the kitchen for success and prosperity.  
My very favorite Feng Shui tips are incorporated into the bedroom- red for passion and items in multiples of two to symbolize the couple.
  
4. On Twitter, http://twitter.com/RoxanneRhoads, you posted book videos on YouTube you have as favorites by authors like Kerrelyn Sparks and Jeaniene Frost.   Who is your favorite Vampire Author?   Do you have a favorite vampire book, or are you like me and can’t narrow it down? 
I can’t say that I have just one favorite book or author there are so many. Jeaniene Frost, Laurell K Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Kimberly Frost, Chloe Neill…these are a few that immediately pop into my head though there are so many more. And the books-I just love so many.  
I must admit right now (this could change with the next book I read) two of most favorite series are The Southern Witch books by Kimberly Frost and The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. I think I’ve been frosted. 

5. In your Bio you use the following terms to describe yourself: freelance writer, erotic romance author and poet, story strumpet, tome loving tart, sexual connoisseur, creature of the night.   Pick one, and tell me more about why this is you? 
Tome loving tart- every surface in my house seems to have at least one book on it or every near to it. Books (ie. Tomes) were my first love and will probably be my forever love. And me, well I am a bit of a naughty tart and I loved how the description fit me to a t. ( pun intended tome and tart-ts) 

Now, just for fun…
6. Favorite TV show, and are you a fan of TrueBlood? 
Unfortunately I don’t have HBO so I’ve only had the chance to watch two episodes of TrueBlood which left me undecided and confused. I plan to get TrueBlood on DVD so I can watch the whole thing and really understand what’s going on. 
A few of my favorite shows are Bones, Being Human, House, Castle and CSI (though I miss Grissom). 
A vampire show I truly miss is Blood Ties. 

7. As the Kitchen is sometimes referred to as the heart of the home, describe yours.   For example, walls are yellow, decorations have a celestial theme, what appliances are on the counters? 
I love my kitchen because it took years to finally remodel it and get it just the way I want. It is designed to be a modern version of an Old Italian country kitchen. The walls are deeply textured and painted in earthy green tones with a faux finish to give it depth and even more texture (like old plaster). The cabinets are a natural wood color and I have grapes and grape vines, wine bottles, olive oil bottles, and country baskets as decorating accents. My dining nook has an old fashioned simple dining room table that is heavy duty and will last a lifetime. 

Last One!
8. Can you share a paranormal poem with us? 
Here’s one of my vampire inspired poems of a female vampire stalking her prey-told through the voice of the victim. 
Drained
Sinewy steel and marble grace
stilettos clicked across cobblestone
She moved in and out of the shadows
She stalked me, my soul on her lips
Surreal passion drenched me in sex swirled thoughts
Desire bubbled and boiled, I couldn’t say no
Her grip was a silk covered vice
Pleasure penetrated my weakness
I tried to fight, I screamed at the blood covered moon
The liquid eclipse only mocked me
I flowed like a fountain into a river
Drained I gave into her embrace
Eternal beauty stopped my heart
As I stared into the lifetime of her eyes


You can find Roxanne at:

RoxanneRhoads@aol.com
www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com

Buy Eternal Desire here: 

 http://www.eternalpress.ca/eternaldesire.html

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Review: The Prettiest Girl in the Room by Mallory Path (Queer Dimensions)

Title The Prettiest Girl in the Room, from the anthology Queer Dimensions
Author Mallory Path
Editor James EM Rasmussen
Buy Link (ebook) Smashwords | MBaM | Mobipocket | Amazon.com
(trade paperback) Amazon.com | Barnes&Noble

I really liked this story. I'd love to just leave it at that, because I think it's worth plunging into all-unknowing, but I suppose that won't do for a review. But let me just put that out right from the start. I really liked this story.

There were so many elements I'm already a fan of and that have actually been on my mind a lot lately: a hard-boiled hero with a good heart; a futuristic city's seedy underbelly; pretty faces that are more than they seem; and a sci-fi story with a touch of noir. I won't lie, those things have been on my mind because I've been writing a story with similar themes, but Mallory Path has taken them places that are so uniquely hers.

She plunges us directly into the dirt along with Duster Mann, our hero, into a place known as "The Curls" (a body comes to The Curls for two reasons: to fuck or to die). Duster seems to be on the prowl; he spots what he likes in a trio of girls and immediately approaches one of them in particular. He pays for a favor and then another. Things unravel into a tangle of sex and secrets.

The greatest power of this story is without a doubt in Path's characters and their gradual reveal. As the story proceeds each of them is bared--some only a glimpse, like the flash of Faye's knives as she stands, twirling her skirt--and some stripped down, raw and vulnerable. Lyre in particular struck me direct in the gut. I think Path nails certain moments with Lyre in particular that left me clinging to every word. And Duster, who was so powerfully moved by a long ago encounter that he's carried those feelings to this day.

Path is an expert at drawing out characters I ache for, characters I easily sympathized with, who were more beautiful for being flawed. And she does it in a short time, never wasting words. She always manages to find that sweet spot, showing just enough to intrigue, to make you care. It's a skill to be envied.

Like everything else in her writing, Path uses her sex scenes to full advantage, opening her characters up, using those awkward, exposed moments to further her story and her characterization. It's an easy trap for an author to let her or his story fall apart when sex comes into the picture--it's a compelling topic, a powerful one, and can overwhelm. But Path uses her intimate moments to truly get intimate with her characters, to show us more of who they are--as such moments can do in real life--even while she writes prose that is undoubtedly erotic and sensual.

But she has also sketched out a world that I want more of--The Curls, of course, but other places too. What exactly is Duster Mann's job, with his data-goggles and thumb-scanner, that brings him all over the world? And who exactly is Lolly, with her encrypted mark and shifting presence? And every name seems to be a pseudonym, another mask.

The end of The Prettiest Girl in the Room leaves potential for more, and I'd definitely love to see more of either these characters or this world. Don't get me wrong--the story is a whole, and stands alone--but it also makes me feel the way I imagine Duster once felt, having glimpsed something that made him ache with something like love at first sight.

Review of Location, Location, Location by Emma Hillman

Reviewed by Kiki Howell

So, what girl doesn’t have a secret fantasy, all worked out in her head because she has gone through it working it out numerous times in her mind, about accidentally running into insert name of famous hunk here and having him be angry and suddenly taking you and…?   Well, you get the point, but if you don’t then this story just is not for you! *LAUGHING* Seriously though, this story is a lively and provocative fantasy romance where a woman, Mia Adams, literally does just that—she crashes her car into the man she has always dreamed of, former pro football player, Kevin McIntyre.

Emma’s use of language sets the tone of the story masterfully from the first page and begins building substantial characters you can’t help but love with Mia’s witty, devil-may-care attitude and when it comes to having sex with Kevin, whether fantasy or real; and Kevin’s angry, alpha ways of dealing with her.   The hints at seduction soon turn into steamy unrestrained acts of passion which fit the characters well, while it is the locations of these romps which keep you turning the pages to get to the next fated meeting of the two and possibly taking notes.  I think it is the impetuousness of both characters at times that leave you constantly wondering what will happen next.

When Kevin’s voice and demeanor subtlety change by inviting Mia to his house is when Emma Hillman really amps up her writing talents and has you gobbling up the remainder of the story.   Want to put a smile on your face and add to the repertoire of your fantasies, then read Location, Location, Location and if you would like to catch up with Mia and Kevin a few years down the road then be on the lookout for Yes, No, Maybe releasing October 12 also with eXcessica.  

ROUNDTABLE CHAT WITH HORROR AUTHORS CYNTHIA VESPIA, MELISSA GILSAN, AND BARBARA CUSTER

Cynthia Vespia (www.CynthiaVespia.com); Barbara Custer (www.bloodredshadows.com); Melissa Glisan (www.melissagilsan.com); Horror authors, one and all, taking a break out of torturing and maiming to bring you insight on their latest projects. Just in time for Halloween these stories will tingle your spines, curdle your blood, and simultaneously blow your minds! We join this chat already in progess:

Welcome to The Realms of Love Chat Castle

CynLV7: Shall we shamelessly plug our work? What do you have coming out Mel?
barbaracuster_2009: Let's heear it, Mel
Melissa_G: its a horror story titled Song of the Nighthawk
barbaracuster_2009: Do tel!
CynLV7: I like the title
CynLV7: Those are always the hardest to come up with
Melissa_G: thanks 
Melissa_G: I can't write without a title, I'm weird that way
barbaracuster_2009: It is a great tite
Melissa_G: it's about a young woman named Anita who has these horrible headaches from working all day in her family's news vendor booth hawking papers...
Melissa_G: at night she dreams of being a beautiful deaf peasant girl with no troubles
CynLV7: thats different, dreaming of being deaf
Melissa_G: until that world starts bleeding over in her reality - she starts becoming the deaf girl
barbaracuster_2009: Okay, so her hearing was okay, and she became deaf?  Was she happy?
Melissa_G: In her dreams she was very happy... much happier than she was in modern times
barbaracuster_2009: Where I live, she would be hassled.
CynLV7: whats the genre?
Melissa_G: horror
barbaracuster_2009: Pure horror?
CynLV7: Ah, so this is a horror chat 
Melissa_G: oh, yeah
barbaracuster_2009: There's plenty of horror in my book, but we're calling it dark thriller
Melissa_G: this story is pretty much just horror
CynLV7: ive taken to calling mine supernatural thriller on account of the vampires, werewolves, and demons
Melissa_G: especially what Anita ends up going through in order to return to reality
barbaracuster_2009: Since we have aliens and undergrund cities, there's lots of SF in mine, but the cannibalism - skeletons - torture - that spells horror.
CynLV7: so shes caught in a dreamscape?
barbaracuster_2009: Does she survive?
Melissa_G: she's caught in the body of the girl in the past, she has to free the song that she as a hearing person can hear, at the right time and place, in order to free her ancestor and free her family, its kind of twisted
Melissa_G: every other woman in her family died trying...
CynLV7: this is your first book?
Melissa_G: nope
barbaracuster_2009: What else have you written?
Melissa_G: it was my first horror story, pure horror that is, so I was pretty excited when AMP accepted it
barbaracuster_2009: I know the feeling.  Are you doing a sequel?
Melissa_G: not sure how well that would work, given the content
barbaracuster_2009: Sequels are challenging
barbaracuster_2009: Mine sure is.
CynLV7: anyone ever request a sequel for a book from you that just cant be done
CynLV7: i mean im sure there are ways but sometimes certain books/movie just cant have a sequel
barbaracuster_2009: Not from me. I did short story sequels on request and I believe this one can be done too.
barbaracuster_2009: Mine lends itself to sequel because a group of the good Kryszka escape, and this is part of 2nd novel.
CynLV7: I keep getting requests for sequels for my medieval fantasy The Crescent...its not that it isnt possible it just wouldnt work as well
Melissa_G: but I'd love to do a sequel to my "duet" in Frights & Delights - the one witht he zombies
CynLV7: So im making it a movie instead!
barbaracuster_2009: Are you doing a movie?
Melissa_G: a movie, wow!
CynLV7: Ooh, zombies. My sequel to Demon Hunter has zombies..in fact I just finished that chapter
barbaracuster_2009: I love zombies - I've got some of those in my sequel.
CynLV7: Yup, getting everything in place to do movie version of The Crescent. Just looking for capital to fund it
Melissa_G: Rave On was a lot of fun to write - lesbian zombies.... loved it
barbaracuster_2009: Where can you get the book?
CynLV7: Who's book?
Melissa_G: let me get the link
CynLV7: I love your titles Mel
barbaracuster_2009: Rave on.  I never heard of lesbian zombies. Curious.
barbaracuster_2009: Titles came pretty easy for me for the most part. I think if I can't title a book, there's a problem.
CynLV7: I dunno, I tend to change mine several times until it speaks to me
CynLV7: Same with character names
Melissa_G: http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/paranormal/horror/frights-and-delights/prod_186.html
barbaracuster_2009: I change my character names a lot also.
Melissa_G: its a duet - two stories in one
barbaracuster_2009: Melissa, thanks.
Melissa_G: thank you for asking
barbaracuster_2009: I didn't make it easy for any of my characters. I treated them exactly the way I wouldn't want to be treated.
barbaracuster_2009: My title - Dark Side of the Moon
CynLV7: Thats what I like to say...situations you could find yourself in but hope to God you never do
CynLV7: My release was moved to September 25th for Demon Hunter...its bigger, badder, and bloodier. I'm loving my cover art too!
Melissa_G: AMP has awesome cover art
barbaracuster_2009: Cool.  Is it on the website?
CynLV7: Yeah, under Coming Soon
barbaracuster_2009: I'll check  it out.
barbaracuster_2009: My sequel will be badder and bloodier than the first.
CynLV7: There you go luv: http://aspenmountainpress.com/coming-soon/coming-soon/demon-hunter/prod_264.html
barbaracuster_2009: Thanks.
barbaracuster_2009: Mine is listed in the horror section.
CynLV7: Do you guys have personal websites?
Melissa_G: yes www.melissaglisan.com
barbaracuster_2009: Yes. Mine is www.bloodredshadows.com
CynLV7: Ok, and mine is www.CynthiaVespia.com
barbaracuster_2009: I've also got my NTD books/ magazine
Melissa_G: and my blog is http://dogwild.blogspot.com
barbaracuster_2009: I do interviews on my blog www.barbaracuster.wordpress.com.  Also wrote a few pieces on my book and life.
barbaracuster_2009: I found Wordpress more user-friendly than blogspot.
Melissa_G: really? I was all thumbs at wordpress
barbaracuster_2009: Blogspot was okay, but I kept having password problems.
CynLV7: My blog can be found via my website: http://cynthiavespia.com/News/news.html
barbaracuster_2009: They wouldn't give me a new on, so I gave up the ghost on that one.
barbaracuster_2009: What do y'all write about on your blogs?
CynLV7: whatever the voices tell me to
Melissa_G: contests, new releases
Melissa_G: on live journal I talk about life but that's locked
barbaracuster_2009: I stick to doing author interviews, but the voice gets in there and I write special pieces.
CynLV7: J/K...sort of. I've been using it to promote my interviews, been doing mad PR for Demon Hunter
barbaracuster_2009: I had a blog on Myspace still do but I was told it's not the best way to promote.  I have facebook.
CynLV7: I still maintain both of those as well but i toned down the personal side to it
barbaracuster_2009: I'm promoting in a round about way - by endearing folks to me who read the interviews.
Melissa_G: facebook seems to be just a bunch of weird polls and hard to follow stuff
CynLV7: I also have a myspace page for my character Costa in Demon Hunter: myspace.com/demonhunternovel....that was fun to create
barbaracuster_2009: Facebook I write my humor stuff.
Melissa_G: and my space is so flooded...
Melissa_G: www.myspace.com/melissaglisan
barbaracuster_2009: I started doing a myspace on harry, but things came up.  I'm going to finish it up when I'm on vacation next week.
Melissa_G: www.facebook.com/dogwild
barbaracuster_2009: I do have a following for my humor on facebook.
CynLV7: Ladies its about that time for me...its been alot of fun though
barbaracuster_2009: Me too.  I really enjoyed this.  
Melissa_G: same here,
CynLV7: We'll have to do it again sometime
barbaracuster_2009: We will. 
CynLV7: Right now I get to go take out my frustrations on someone in the weight room...lol, personal trainer by day...writer always!
Melissa_G: yes, we will 
CynLV7: Have a nice night ladies
barbaracuster_2009: You too.
Melissa_G: good night
barbaracuster_2009: Good night.

Be on the lookout for the latest releases: Demon Hunter, Song of the Nighthawk, and Dark Side of the Moon

Authors Promoting Authors 

will be hosting 

a Book Blitz for 

Tuatha and the Seven Sisters Moon 

by D.VonThaer  

September 25th 

Book Description:

Julius Caesar wrote of the Celts: "The Celts were fearless warriors because they wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another..."

    Seven Sisters. The infamous collection of stars align with the full moon on Hallo’een, alighting the sky for a destiny that’s waited centuries. Dru, a gifted, but tormented witch living alone on the coast of Ireland wakes to find Ty, her long-time love, mysteriously disappeared. In Paris, Katerina, an oppressed but talented dancer bravely takes the stage in one final performance before escaping a life of tyranny, looking for a freedom she’d only known in dreams. Aodh, The Dagda, a man made of ancient legends, has slumbered for two millennia. Tonight, when the moon is full and the stars are aligned, he rises from his temporary grave to find the world is not as he remembers. His people, his family, his tribe have vanquished, along with the majority of his considerable power.

    Chance takes him to Dru, and together they set out to find the key to reopening his world, whilst forming a bond of friendship neither has ever previously known. During their search, Dru learns Ty was no mortal man, but a god with a prophecy to fulfill. Ty died before fulfilling that prophecy, setting off a chain of events that would forever alter the future. Devastated, Dru abandons Aodh and the life that should have already been hers, and finds herself in the company of the worst sort. She begins a sordid affair with Kas, a daemon whose insatiable lust for power is only outdone by his lust for Dru.

    Separated from the only friend he knows, Aodh is left to search the world alone for answers. He meets the young and beautiful dancer, Katerina, and is instantly smitten with her grace and purity. He stays near her, pretending to be mortal, gaining her friendship. But on Katerina’s birthday, just as Aodh is ready to concede to a life of mortality, Katerina is ripped from him by Kas. Aodh’s ideas on remaining mortal are no more; he has to unlock the secrets to his world that will open a trove of unimaginable power to save the two women he loves, before time is no longer in his favour, and he loses everything.

Purchase Tuatha and the Seven Sisters Moon on September 25th 2009 and receive a free bookmark that matches the beautiful limited edition cover.

Author website & where to purchase the book: www.dvonthaer.com/

Awake by Varian Krylov in the Four Seasons:Fall 2009 anthology, ed. Selena Kitt
Click Here to Buy Now at eXcessica!


Review by Willsin Rowe



With a style that ricochets effortlessly between clipped chunks of prose and fluid imagery, Ms Krylov has created a tightly-crafted work of dark erotica which, admittedly, won’t appeal to all readers. If you’re a fan of romance, even erotic romance, you may need to skim whole sections, perhaps the entire piece. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of writing that’s tight and hot, that gives its characters scope to be what they are, whatever they are, then you’ll enjoy it.  
The story opens with our heroine in a state of confusion, yet secure in her sense of her own power. Very quickly the situation cascades, alternating sharply between her terse introspection and the sensual delight she unwillingly creates in the shadowy male. This man’s physical presence is only ever sketched by the narrator’s intensely limited view, her focus continually shifting as she becomes more aware of her situation. 
His physicality and the danger it represents is implied beautifully, and his attitude is at times almost parental. He wields such unquestionable power within the confines of the situation, yet he speaks to our heroine lovingly and reasonably, as if he’s lightly scolding a naughty child. 
The final section, taken on its own, is a slick revelation of character. When filtered through all the preceding events, however, it grows in strength and could make the reader pause in thought. 
Just what tales do we all tell ourselves so that we can live with our actions?


Willsin Rowe
www.myspace.com/willsinrowe

http://www.facebook.com/people/Log-Dawkins/585588888 

Varian Krylov

variansfiction.blogspot.com/

The week continues with the eXcessica authors sharing their thoughts on the stories in the Four Seasons: Autumn 2009 anthology, editor Selena Kitt.

BLURB:

The autumn weather might be cooling things off, but you won’t need that sweater – we promise our erotica will warm you up! This time of year involves metamorphosis, from the changing of the fall colors to the places between, where the world wears thin and the strange and unusual happens. Join your favorite eXcessica authors in this sexy, sometimes spooky, seasonal anthology, bringing you the best of all things autumn! (Includes stories by Marshall Ian Key, Vivian Vincent, J.M. Snyder, Amicus, Varian Krylov, Giselle Renarde, Kenn Dahll, Sandra Fowke, Molly Wens, and Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine.)

Click Here To Buy From eXcessica!

Samhain by Kenn Dahll

Reviewer Kiki Howell

It was easy to get sucked into the story Samhain with the dark dominant voice of the narrator, his descriptions of the way his costume fit, of the costumes of the others, and of the satanic artwork which we are led to believe always adorns the home.   Of course, this being an erotic paranormal tale, clever details were added about the part of the narrator’s anatomy being titillated by the movement of his costume and the compromising positions of the others in costume as well.   Never a dull moment, that is for sure!

But, as I continued to read, the tale got increasingly darker, which being a big fan of Halloween, I found myself slinking down in my chair much like I do when the scary music from a horror film comes on.   This was not so much because I felt it was going to be scary, but as the tone deepened and the images became more demonic, I was bracing for what was to come which was heightened by his constant entwining of the paranormal and the erotic elements.

I can of course say no more without giving something away, but I will warn you this… be prepared to be kept on the edge of your seat, always questioning what is happening and never quite prepared for what comes next – this includes the sex scenes!

Kenn Dahll

http://kdahll69.blogspot.com

Kiki Howell

http://www.kikihowell.com

Continuing my week of hosting eXcessica authors, today I have Kenn Dahll sharing his thoughts on J.M. Snyder's story in the Four Seasons: Autumn 2009 anthology, editor Selena Kitt.

BLURB:

The autumn weather might be cooling things off, but you won’t need that sweater – we promise our erotica will warm you up! This time of year involves metamorphosis, from the changing of the fall colors to the places between, where the world wears thin and the strange and unusual happens. Join your favorite eXcessica authors in this sexy, sometimes spooky, seasonal anthology, bringing you the best of all things autumn! (Includes stories by Marshall Ian Key, Vivian Vincent, J.M. Snyder, Amicus, Varian Krylov, Giselle Renarde, Kenn Dahll, Sandra Fowke, Molly Wens, and Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine.)

Click Here To Purchase From eXcessica!

Love in the Library by J.M. Snyder
Reviewer:  Kenn Dahll


Let me start with a disclaimer:  I write hardcore gay male erotica and was informed by the author in advance that this was a romantic, non-erotic story.  The author lied – there may be no explicit sex but the story is still hot! 


I anticipated a contrived effort to create a short story about gay sex without the sex.  What I found was a charming, well written story that teased and titillated even though both characters kept their clothing on.


Johnny, the narrator, describes himself as a bottle-bottom-thick glasses wearing, book-reading, tow-headed loner.  Between the lines you get the feeling that removing the glasses you’ll find a cute kid.  His struggles with the library cart and elevator are realistically portrayed, making his initial encounter with Adam, the tall, dark and handsome protagonist in the story who rescues our hero from the hostile elevator doors, credible.  For me, painting a word picture of the situation and the principles as economically as possible, while maintaining a sense of possibility, is important.


While I’d like to know more about Adam – is he an undergraduate or graduate student? what’s his major? not the contents of his well-packed jeans – the dialogue between the duo is witty and advances the story.  The snappy double entendres are part of the tease, along with the titillating thigh rubs and butt grabs.  The minor conflict in the story, an issue of Johnny’s schedule changing, is creatively resolved and provides the setting for the romantic, yet sexy ending.


While I don’t think the style could carry though many more pages, it’s an enjoyable read.  I suspect it will serve well as a respite from the steamy action in the rest of the Autumn Anthology.

J.M. Snyder

http://jmsnyder.net/

Kenn Dahll

http://kdahll69.blogspot.com