Wolf Pack Run - Huge book sale!

Greetings, all!

I'm excited to announce that I'm part of the Howling Good Romance Authors Group sale, which they term the Wolf Pack Run. There are 26 paranormal romance and urban fantasy books, each of which is on sale for 99 cents, including The Mountain's Shadow. There are also a couple of box sets in there, too.

Even better - there's a giveaway for $100 and $50 gift cards.

Intrigued yet?

Check out this page for the giveaway link and a list of the books. I will probably end up grabbing some of them for myself, too! :-)

Thanks, and happy reading!

Cecilia

Paranormal Love Wednesdays blog hop

Greetings, all! I've decided to jump in on the Paranormal Love Wednesdays blog hop since I'm trying to figure out what character to write about next in the Lycanthropy Files series. I've got a survey going and thought I'd share excerpts from two of the females in the running, Kyra Ellison and Reine la Fey (Reine ended up being a write-in, so I thought I'd mention her here).

First up, Kyra. She was sort of a villain in The Mountain's Shadow, but I felt she would have an interesting story of her own. Here's her short excerpt, told from the POV of the main character Joanie:


He scurried back into the office, and I turned to see a woman in a long white dress gliding through the cars. My first thought was that it was the angry ghost of one of the vehicles’ former owners, but then Lonna narrowed her eyes.

“Isn’t that the chick who was with Leo in the restaurant on Tuesday? What’s her name, Kyra? The third—”

“Yep, that’s Kyra Ellison.” I interrupted her before she could blurt out the word.

She came closer, and I saw she wore a white sundress. So much for the ghost. But she did look pissed.

“You!” Her shout was almost a shriek. “You’re the one.”

“One what?” I couldn’t tell if she was looking at me or Lonna.

“Man-stealer!” She reached into the pocket of her dress, and Lonna grabbed my arm.

“Run!”

Then there's Reine, the mischievous fairy in Blood's Shadow. Her excerpt is told from the point of view of Gabriel, who looks really hot on this cover, don't you think?


“So you’re older than you look,”

“As are you. And we both have our secrets. You just don’t know as many of yours. Now leave me. I will seal the blood so that it won’t hurt poor Maximilian again, and I’ll do the same upstairs.”

“Could you wait until our detective finishes what he needs to do?”

“No, it is necessary now. Sealing the blood will allow it to rest, which will allow the spirits attached to it to be at peace if nothing else stands in their way. Plus, I need to remove the contamination from Max’s wards around the building and land—his using blood magic, even in small amounts, damaged the spells and allowed the intruders to get in. Nothing I do will interfere with the detective’s work.”

“I trust you,” I said, realizing I did.

“Oh, do you?” She flashed me a wicked grin, and before I realized her intention, she pulled my head to hers and kissed me on the lips. She tasted of honeysuckle and sweet wine, and the passion she ignited flowed through me in golden waves. The static came back, and I pulled her to me to quell the tingling that became a burning need.

I barely heard Selene’s “Gabriel, oh!” before Reine pushed me away with a mischievous laugh.

“That’ll teach you,” she said. “Remember, my kind is never to be trusted. Nor are most others.” With a chuckle that lingered in the air, she disappeared, and I turned to face Selene.


So who deserves their own novella set in Salem at Halloween? Vote here! To vote for Reine, put her name in the "You forgot..." space and click Vote. For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, vote, then come back and tell me who you voted for in the comments, and be sure to include your email address with your comment text so I know how to get in touch with you.

Don't forget to stop by the other posts on the blog hop! Click here for the main post with links.

Calling all Lycanthropy Files fans!

Greetings, all, and happy new year!

I hope your holidays were enjoyable, peaceful, or whatever you needed them to be. To my friends who have had a tough time, hugs! Regular life is starting up soon.

My holiday season was busy with lots of eating, cooking, drinking, more eating, more cooking, some writing, and a little bit of reading. You can check out my reviews on my Goodreads author page (and maybe think about following me?). :-) I'll post about the holiday kitchen playtime on the wine blog sometime soon. Tonight's dinner is going to be cassoulet, yes, the Julia Child version. That was a multi-day project.

The exciting news - I was given the opportunity to participate in a Halloween-themed paranormal romance box set, which will be out in the fall. It's been a while since the last Lycanthropy Files book, and some of my fans have been requesting a new one, so I thought it would be fun to have a novella set in Salem (the box set requirements) with one of the secondary Lycanthropy Files characters. I know, it's hard to remember who everyone was, so I set up a handy dandy survey. Don't worry, write-ins are allowed if someone is missing who you'd like to see.

Click here to vote!

Thanks, and happy reading and writing!

Characters on the Couch: Jacci DeVera's Calla

Today I'm happy to introduce Jacci DeVera and her character Calla McAmis, a mountain lion shifter. The interview reminded me of when I lived in Arkansas for a year, and the wildlife service swore that there were no mountain lions in the state but said there was a $30,000 fine if you killed one. Because government logic, y'all.

Queen of the Hollow

Calla is a young shifter, the only female within miles High Lonesome, her small southern West Virginia hometown. Her mother had managed to keep her safe from the bounty of male mountain lions in the past, but now Calla finds herself alone and without a protector...and the moon is full. 

Haben hasn’t been able to get close to Calla since their first meeting, right around Valentine’s Day. When he shows up at her house a year later, he finds the wounded spit-fire determined for him to keep his distance - despite his instinct to keep her safe. 

Calla must choose to either place her trust and safety to an outsider, or fight off every male mountain lion between here and Charleston with just her wits and a shotgun. The stakes are high and the numbers are against them. Even if they prevail, will Calla be able to keep her heart safe from her protector til sunrise?

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court order is a valid answer.

Lycanthropy isn’t commonly accepted in Southern West Virginia, so if someone got wind that Calla McAmis believed in mountain lions in Appalachia, much less that people changed into them, she probably would be ordered to go.

Otherwise, Calla has lived a very sheltered life and is now 19, so she might willingly go to a psychologist in order to be able to cope with the modern day world she has just found herself forced into. An excerpt from the story reads:  “I just…want to live like everyone else does. Not like this. Not hidden away. Not scared. Not knowing what to do on a – on a Saturday—or a Tuesday night—or wonder why Taco Bell is so great—or what Instagram is—and have a cell phone. All I know is that I will have to fight when the moon is full. Nobody else does that. I don’t want to, either.”

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

I would say it is an internal conflict, a problem coping with the world, without Calla’s mother. Her mother died unexpectedly, and Calla had never been out of her mother’s sight until that moment. So now she has to learn to do everything else, outside of being a shifter, all of a sudden with no one to guide or teach her. Calla’s external conflicts are mostly in the form of other shifter-cats that want to encroach on her territory.

3. It's always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Calla would wait rather awkwardly at the door for you to tell her to sit and where to sit at.

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be? What will he or she say first?

She’d come across as backwards with a stranger, even one she initiated visiting. She would only answer questions you asked to her. To a question like “Why are you here?” or “What is bothering you?” she might respond with: “I want to be like normal girls.”

CD: Oh, that would be a challenge!

5. Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next?

Calla does not walk into a bar. (The county is probably a dry county anyway.) If she did by some mistake, she would immediately turn around and leave and go home. Home is the only “safe” place to her.

6. When you're building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

We “sit down and visit.” There’s a few interview type questions I ask, but I’m always delighted with a question/answer session like this, as it never fails to shed additional light and depth on the characters. A lot of times I’ll take an opportunity to shove the character into an unrelated scenario, and see how she reacts. That teaches me a lot. Plus sometimes it’s enough of a characterization ‘insight moment that it works its way into the story.

About the author:

Born and raised in the foothills of the Appalachia herself, Jacci has an intimate knowledge with the ways of life, the people, the inherent magic, and the languages of the South. She writes fantasy, paranormal, and western romance.

Jacci enjoys writing as much as she enjoys napping, cats, cookies, myths, and wolves. The only "rule" she has when she writes is that the story must have a happy ending.

Thrilled with the direction writing, and particularly romance, has taken in recent years with genre lines blurring, her love of fantasy, paranormal, and historicals can intermingle without concern for intolerance.

The journey is as important as the destination itself. Stories are found everywhere.

Buy links:

Amazon

All Romance Ebooks

Book Trailer

Thanks for stopping by and reading! If you would like help with an unpublished character you're stuck with or would like to feature one of your published characters on my blog, please feel free to email me through the contact form or at cecilia (at) ceciliadominic (dot) com

Character on the Couch: Luke from Red Jameson's With These Wings

Some characters walk right into my head and take over. This is the first time one walked into a couch session and did. So, without further ado, meet Luke. I think you'll like him.

Hi, Cecilia! I’m Luke Anderson. Actually, that’s Dr. Luke Anderson. I’m a trauma surgeon who’s been in the army for the last four years, since my residency ended. And less than a week after I became a civilian again, my parents died from a drunk driver. So now that I’ve spilled my guts, I guess that means I’m officially on your couch.

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court order is a valid answer.

Okay, so in medical school our psychiatry training was—what?—less than a year of knowledge crammed in with many other classes. Which means I knew the symptoms I was experiencing before I was honorably discharged from the military were PTSD. But it’s completely different when the doctor becomes the patient, isn’t it? My mom, shortly before her death, recommended a therapy support group especially for soldiers with PTSD. And it’s there I’ve made many friends, including the psychologist who runs it.

However, all that said, it’s still tough as sh—sorry. It’s tough to talk about having any problems, any issues. That’s why I thank god every day for my girlfriend, Sam, and that she came into my life when she did. She’s so patient and good with me, good for me. Yeah, she just might beat out any psychologist.

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

God, it is weird dissecting myself like this. So I’ll try to be more objective, call myself patient X. Here’s my diagnosis: Patient X experienced PTSD for roughly eight months before his discharge. After his parents were killed in an accident, there were a few days of insomnia, lack of appetite, aggression, anger issues.

But then I met Sam. Sorry, it’s just too weird to call myself patient X. So here I am being me. And I might still have nightmares for…who knows how long. But the daily broken record of guilt and shame are getting quieter and quieter.

3. It's always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Oh, I love shrinks. This question made me laugh. I don’t know why, but I’m sure you could analyze why. Anyway, I would probably sit anywhere.

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be? What will he or she say first?

Well, the first time I went to group, I didn’t talk about my problems. Figured, since I was the new guy, I’d better say something, though. So I talked about trying to find a job fresh from being discharged. I’m guessing that means I’m not open to revealing myself.

But I was different with Sam. Yeah, I keep talking about her, but I can’t help it. She—I felt like I could reveal myself. It took a while, and I was still grieving, but I did open to her. It’s still hard to open up in group, though. But I’ve since had a few talks with Mack, the psychologist I was talking about who runs the support group.

5. Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next?

A beer and I’d ask Sam to join me. After talking with Mack, I felt like he cracked my skull open. There were things inside my mind I didn’t even know existed. So, yeah, I’d ask for Sam to join me, to sit next to her, and laugh. Man, she can make me laugh. And sometimes, that’s all you need in life, you know?

6. When you're building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

I’ll let Red answer this one, but it’s been fun being interviewed. I think. I feel a bit like after a talk with Mack, which reminds me I have to call him. Anyway, thanks! -Luke

You're very welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

Red: So, what did you think of Luke? Yep, he popped into my head shortly after his girlfriend, Samuella, popped in there first. While sitting in my mind for a few months, usually when I’m finishing another of my books, my characters tell me things about themselves. I listen. That’s all I do. I just try to listen to what kind of person they are. To become the best listener of your characters, I think it best to listen to real people. I mean really listen. Get to know why people say certain things, why they think the way they do, get to know as many people as possible. And care about them. It not only makes you a great writer but a better person too.

Before I write, I make sure my couples are compatible. So I do a basic questionnaire for them based on the Attachment Theory. Writing romance, I think, takes a lot of responsibility to not just write about a couple falling in love, but also make sure the couple will be good for each other and will stay in love for a long time. That’s why I find the Attachment Theory so helpful.

Thank you so much for interviewing Luke and me! This was a blast and such fun questions! :)

Thank you both for visiting! I like Luke a lot and am looking forward to reading the book.

As a military historian by day, sometimes Red does feel a bit clandestine when she writes romance at night. No one knows that while she researches heroes of the past and present, she uses everything for her characters in her books. Her secret's been safe . . . until now. 

She lives in Montana with her family and far too many animals but never enough books.


She loves her readers, so please feel free to contact her at http://www.redljameson.com 


Blurb:  Book 1 of The With These Wing Series, a paranormal romance

For more than a thousand years Samuella Dís has been a fairy godmother. The fairy title is ironic, since she’s a dís—an ancient society of all-female, winged, immortal avengers who paint their toenails with reckless abandon and have difficulties with real swearwords. However, something’s wrong with Sam’s latest assignment. Her newest orphan is a six-foot-three soldier, who’s indubitably handsome, and a flausching man. Not a boy at all, but a flinging flanging man!

Luke Anderson is home barely a week when he loses his parents in a drunk driving accident. Already plagued by nightmares from his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, he’s not sure how much more he can take. And maybe he’s gone a bit crazy because he can’t keep his eyes off one spunky strawberry blonde at his parents’ funeral—inappropriate, right? But she offers so much comfort in those huge amber eyes of hers, and, hey, it’s not like the world would end if he hit on the woman.

Since the dís are a dwindling species, The Norns, Sam’s bosses, are trying to matchmake Sam and Luke. Only, the last time they played cupids England almost collapsed. Plus, there’s the issue of human men going insane once they’ve had sex with a dís. And Sam could die from a broken heart. Oh, and there’s the little matter of when a dís gets upset she can cause apocalyptic events. But it might be worth it for love. Then again, the Norns have been stalking Oprah lately, and there’s no guessing if they’re merely insane or certifiably brilliant.

Where you can find With These Wings:

Amazon

iBooks

Barnes & Noble

And other retail book sellers

Excerpt:

“I never sleep,” she said.

“Never?”

Now she smiled. “Of course I sleep. I mean, I don’t when I’m—I don’t need—I mean, I slept with you.”

“I noticed.”

She reached a hand out, almost touching his cheek, but stopped. “Are you okay?”

He had to refrain from wincing. Again, he was reminded she was here for him because she wanted to comfort him. She didn’t want to get in his pants and see what the hell had inappropriately sprung to life.

She probably thought him too old. He was too old for her. But as soon as he’d told himself as much, the thought flickered away like a spring butterfly, especially as he looked down at her wide lucid brown eyes.

He nodded. “Are you okay?”

“I—” she looked genuinely perplexed. “I never sleep.”

“You sure about that?” he teased.

She grinned again. “I sound like a broken record, don’t I?”

“Do kids your age still use that expression? Do you even know what a broken record is?”

She laughed. “Hey, I’ve listened to many a Forty-Five in my day.”

He popped his brows up. “I’m impressed. You even know the lingo. But don’t tell me you listen to records because the sound quality is better.”

“It is better.”

He rolled onto his back, flinging his free hand over his eyes. “God, you’re not one of those, are you?”

She scooted closer to him. Now, she propped herself up on an elbow and looked down at him, but his arm was still under her. “Who are those?”

“Those people who talk on and on about the difference between digital sound versus…I don’t know…versus anything else.”

She shook her head. “There’s a huge difference in the sound quality. Can’t you hear it? Or are you too old?”

He chuckled at her mocking, removing his hand from his face. “Okay. I have to know. How old are you, missy?”

“Missy?”

“Yeah, missy.”

Her smile turned mischievous. “I can’t tell you how old I am.”

“Why not?” He suddenly swallowed. “Jesus, you are over eighteen, aren’t you? Oh god.”

She started to laugh as he placed his hand over his face again. “I’m older than eighteen, yes.”

“Thank god.”

“I’m quite a bit older than eighteen.”

“I doubt it.”

She bit her bottom lip, still not telling him, and in the process giving him a heart attack from worrying she was much too young. Or maybe his heart was spasming because he loved this fun banter they had.

Deciding to confess his age, he said, “I’m thirty-three. Am I…ten years older than you?”

“No.”

“Twelve years older than you?”

“I’m not twenty-one.”

“Are you older than twenty-one?”

“Of course I am.” She rolled her eyes.

“Twenty-two?”

She sighed. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone.”

“Or you’ll have to kill me? Are you a spy? Is your age a national security issue?”

She giggled, shaking her head. “Ready, Mr. Smarty Pants?”

He took in a dramatic breath. “I’m bracing myself. Hit me with it.”

Her smile fell away as she said, “I’m one thousand, seven hundred twenty-six years old.”

“Wow, that’s—that’s very detailed.”

Character on the Couch: Aidee Ladnier's Miranda

Today I'm so excited to have an unpublished character for my couch. I love featuring the published ones, but I admit that these are even more fun for me. Meet Aidee Ladnier's Miranda:

Ellen Page, who is Aidee's visual model for Miranda (stolen from her Pinterest page)

Character One name: Miranda

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Species (if applicable): Human

Cultural or historical context: Modern day teenager, American South

Brief description and relevant history:

Miranda is a high school student that identifies as lesbian which you would think is her big secret, but no, it's that she can see "smudges" or echoes left when people die. She can't interact with them, just watch them as they do the same things over and over that they may have done in life. Miranda's mother died young, when she was four or five, from cancer but she's never seen her mother's ghost echo. Miranda's father remarried and she has a good relationship with her stepmother although they have little in common on the surface. She is an average student and has friends at school although her best friend committed suicide the year before (not really, she was murdered which is the crux of the exterior story when Miranda sees her echo struggling with an invisible attacker). She's also very interested in the new girl, Charly.

Where you're stuck, or why your character needs a psychologist:

This character has a lot of death surrounding her and I'm uncertain how this will affect her or even allow her to function. I want this story to allow her to bring her friend's killer to justice as well as be a tiny first romance between my two characters but I'm afraid she has too much on her plate.

Follow-up questions:
What does Miranda believe about what happens after people die? Is there a heaven? Hell? One way to think about it is, what was she taught about death as a child? Does she belong to some sort of spiritual or religious tradition?

Miranda was raised in a Methodist household and believes that when people die they go to Heaven if they’re good and Hell if they’re bad. I don’t think she’s thought about it much, just that this is what happens. She was told that her mother went to Heaven and to her that just means she’s no longer around.

Does she believe that the smudges are really the peoples’ spirits or just echoes before she meets Charly and they find out the truth? How old was she when she started seeing them? (Note: we'll meet Charly next week)

I don’t think she thinks the smudges are people’s spirits. She’s only seen them do the same thing over and over like a recording. So to her, they are almost disconnected from the people they represent, more like a snippet of a 3D film only she can see. I think she started seeing them at a fairly young age and that her mother may have also seen them and counseled her not to speak of them. Perhaps her mother would have explained more when she got older, but since she died when Miranda was young, that opportunity passed. Miranda’s father’s family has lived nearby (perhaps a few hundred miles away), but he met Miranda’s mother while he was at college and she came from somewhere else. Miranda has never met anyone from her mother’s side of the family possibly because her mother had a falling out with them or even ran away.

How was Miranda’s mother’s death handled? Like, was there a big funeral with lots of supportive family, or were she and her father essentially left to themselves with some show-sympathy and a few casseroles? 

One of Miranda's most vivid memories of her mother's death was her father dropping her off at school the day after the funeral and going to work. It was as if nothing had happened or it was an event that happened in the past. He was unwilling to talk about it, her grandparents (father's side) seemed relieved, and everyone politely stepped around the subject at her elementary school. She never even talked about it until her father's new wife asked her about it. And then it all came flooding out, tears, rage, feelings of abandonment and her stepmother helped her, validated her, and offered her comfort. It's one of the reasons that their relationship is so good in the present. While Miranda cannot go to her father or her father's family due to their coldness and stand-offishness, her stepmom, has always been there and her stepmom's family has always welcomed Miranda but they live very far away.

It might be helpful to think about larger motivation. What does Miranda want from life that seeing the smudges keeps her from accomplishing or thinking that she’ll accomplish?

The smudges have sort of forced Miranda into the role of silent witness. They give her a sense that no matter what you do in life, you're remembered by something insignificant like walking your dog or taking out the trash. She's stalled a little (not wanting to think about applying for college, not wanting to apply herself in school - making passing grades but nothing above). She fights to remain staunchly average despite the fact that she's not. Due to her father's career as a physician and his family money, as well as her intelligence, she has a lot of opportunities that she's passing up on.

What does Miranda fear the most?  

Being rejected by her father and stepmother. As a result she has never explicitly come out, and in return her family has never asked about her sexuality. She also doesn't date so that the delicate fiction that she's a perfectly average daughter is maintained. And she'll certainly never mention the smudges.

You mention a best friend. Were they a clique of two, or are there others? Does Miranda have friends or do other kids avoid her because she’s weird?  

She was friends with several other high schoolers but Anne was her best friend. When Anne died, Miranda pulled away from her other friends, turning down activities, parties and invitations. At first they gave her some slack, but now everyone thinks she should be moving on. But Miranda really just wants to be left alone.

Do Miranda and Charly live in a place like Charleston or New Orleans where there’s more of an acknowledgment of odd spiritual stuff, or are they in a setting where anything outside the strict Christian norm is regarded with suspicion? Setting could also strongly impact how accepted their sexuality is.

I think they're not too far from a large city like Charleston or New Orleans, but their town is small to middling. Some odd spiritual stuff is accepted - for example, everyone knows the story of the Ghost in the Field who cries for her children on rainy nights. That said, they aren't so small that they're expected in church every Sunday but small enough that everyone knows what church you go to. There are a couple of prominent out gay couples, so their sexuality though atypical would not result in their house being burned down.

Cecilia says:

Wow, Miranda does have a lot on her plate, but she also has a lot of advantages and resources that balance out her challenges. Instead of being too complex, it all sounds like layers to the same internal conflict.

Miranda doesn’t want to be noticed because notice brings rejection. That’s what she learned from how her father and his family tiptoed around her mother’s death and denied its importance, even to the point of being relieved. What did the poor woman do to bring that kind of negative attention? Or was she an extraordinary person who married into a traditional family who couldn’t handle her, and she couldn’t help it?

Miranda senses that her mother was rejected by her father and his family, possibly for this talent Miranda inherited from her. But what about the good things Miranda learned from her mother? Is she throwing out everything because of how her mother’s death was handled? It’s great she has a good relationship with her stepmother, but she needs to resolve her feelings and fears about her mother in order to move forward, and that will mean looking at the whole person, perhaps acknowledging parts of her mother she hasn’t allowed herself to think about. It also might mean rejecting some of the messages she’s gotten from her father and his family, which will push her emotionally out of this stuck place. I’d do a complete character profile for Miranda’s mother and figure out what characteristics Miranda inherited from her that are not allowed in her father’s family. For example, Miranda is a painter. Is it possible she wants to be an artist but doesn’t think her family would approve of that career choice, so she keeps her grades average so as not to be pushed into an “acceptable” path?

Doing whatever she’ll end up doing with the smudges and taking up romantically with Charly will definitely bring Miranda notice as well as give her a sense of connection to another person who truly understands her on all levels. You’re giving her a great choice for her to make – the safety of ordinariness and the security of fitting into her father’s family or following her heart with the possibility of being something really special with someone really special with all the risk it entails. Her core conflict emotion is fear, and what will push her to overcome it is your character and story arc.

Thanks for reading! We'll meet Charly next week. Meanwhile, please feel free to check out some of Aidee's published books. If you have a character you'd like help with, please send me a message through the contact form (upper right on page) or email me at cecilia (at) ceciliadominic (dot) com

About Aidee Ladnier:

Aidee Ladnier began writing fiction at twelve years old but took a hiatus to be a magician’s assistant, ride in hot air balloons, produce independent movies, collect interesting shoes, and amass a secret file with the CIA. A lover of genre fiction, it has been a lifelong dream of Aidee's to write both romance and erotica with a little science-fiction, fantasy, mystery, or the paranormal thrown in to add a zing.

You can find her on her blog at http://www.aideeladnier.com or on her favorite social media sites.

Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Pinterest

Long Shadows on sale August 1-7!

"People say I'm beautiful, but they don't see the monster inside..."

That's how the second book of the Lycanthropy Files series starts. The feedback I got from readers is that they love the heroine Lonna for her snarky, clever tone. The hero Max is a hot doctor with a Caribbean accent and some unusual talents. Haven't read the first one? That's okay - I wrote them as a series but also to be read as standalones as well. If you'd like to start at the beginning, you can read about the first Lycanthropy Files book The Mountain's Shadow here.

The Long Shadows ebook is available for 99 cents from August 1-7 from:

Samhain Publishing (all formats)
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Anywhere else ebooks are sold.

Being unique isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

By day, Lonna Marconi’s busy career keeps her mind off the fact she was turned werewolf against her will. By night, a dose of wolfsbane lets her inner wolf out to play while her physical body stays safe at home.

When an overheard phone call at work warns her a trap is about to be sprung, she turns from hunter to hunted in the blink of an eye.

She finds refuge with the Ozarks pack she never claimed as her own. Upon discovering a family secret that explains why she’s unique among her own kind, Lonna finds heat in the arms of Max, who’s the one thing she cannot trust—a wizard.

Another kidnapping attempt sends her navigating the treacherous metaphysical borders of a centuries-old war, pursued by rogue sorcerers, a band of ghostly wolves, and repressed memories that prevent her from reclaiming her heritage. All the while, trusting her back to a wizard who demands the price of her heart…who may not have the luxury of giving his in return.

Excerpt:

I hadn’t physically changed since the first time six months before. Then, in a trance, I had opened the front door to my apartment, taken off my clothes, and changed into a wolf with the world watching. Okay, not quite the world. It was pretty late, and my apartment complex was quiet. Since then, I had spirit-walked with the aid of the aconite, which caused me to create an astral projection of my wolf self rather than physically change. Somehow I could still eat what I hunted, and I hoped that wouldn’t translate into bad blood work. Who knew how much wild critters would raise one’s cholesterol? A stupid concern, I know, considering everything else. It’s funny what the mind latches on to. 

Now I sat in the living room at Joanie’s and Leo’s house with them, all of us wrapped in sheets, as we waited for the moon to rise and for its light to sing in our blood. We could change without it, but it was easier in its light, which compelled us when it was full. I suppressed the urge to giggle at the sight, like we were at the most boring toga party ever. Joanie caught my eye, and her lips twitched like she thought the same. 

The moon rose, its light spilling through the bank of windows. 

“It’s time,” Joanie murmured. 

My inner wolf stretched and yawned, unfurling to her full spiritual presence. 

“We can change? she asked. Really change?” 

“Yes, just be gentle with me.” Again I stuffed the urge to laugh. I hadn’t said those words in a really long time. 

I gasped when my human spirit shrank. The sensation was that of hurtling down a long hallway, then 

landing in a warm pool and expanding within it to fill a new shape. The inner wolf and I became one. 

I heard tendons snapping and bones cracking in new arrangements and suspected I would be sore the next day.

A light nip to my shoulder brought me back to myself, and I shifted my weight so I stood evenly on all four paws. Leo, a black wolf, sat and looked at me, his tongue lolling in amusement. Joanie, a petite brown wolf who could probably pass for one of the Arkansas red wolves, had nipped me.

“You were quivering like you were ready to explode with the sensations of it all,” she said telepathically. 

“It’s different from when we spirit-walk,” I responded. “I feel heavier but more powerful.” 

“Do you remember anything of the first time? When Iain and I chased after you?” 

“Only that I wanted to get away and be free. And Gabriel…” 

A low growl from Leo halted that line of conversation. Not that I blamed him. Gabriel had tried to claim Joanie first. 

“Moonlight’s wasting, girls,” he said but waited for Joanie to lead us out of the house through a—oh, the shame!—doggie door in the mud room. 

“It was the easiest solution,” Joanie told me once we were through. I heard the wry smile in her voice. 

Once we were fully in the moonlight, the dry brown grass under my paws, I didn’t care that we’d been relegated to the status of mere canis domesticus or whatever the hell regular dogs were. I chased after her, nipping at her flank, and she mock-growled at me. We tumbled and tussled before I drew back.

“When do we hunt?” It came out as a vocal whine. 

“When Matthew arrives.” Leo looked around, his ears perked. “He should have been here by now.” 

“Maybe he got delayed by something? Too much traffic on the road, perhaps, or the cubs wanting to come with him?” The image of the playful pups didn’t dispel the concern in Joanie’s mental voice, and I remembered Matthew saying they never hunted alone anymore. 

Leo paced back and forth on the lawn. “He said he’d be on time.” 

A gunshot rang out, and all of us sat up, ears swiveling back and forth. 

“What the hell was that?” I asked. “Okay, I know what it was, but what was it?” Human logical processes weren’t exactly working well, but they knew what I meant. 

“Danger!” Joanie yelled in her mental voice, and we scrambled for the house, but another gunshot and a puff of wet dirt and grass in front of Leo, who had the lead, sent us toward the woods.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to grab the ebook for 99 cents from August 1-7, here are the links again:

Samhain Publishing (all formats)
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Anywhere else ebooks are sold.

Also, don't forget that Eros Element, the first in my steampunk Aether Psychics series is now available for preorder. You can learn more about it here.

If you'd like to stay informed about sales and new releases as well as get the first peek at cover reveals and excerpts, please sign up for my e-newsletter. I send them out one to two times per month and include sleep tips and information about wines I've enjoyed lately. You can sign up here.

Character on the Couch: Dante from Wandering Soul

Today I'm excited to welcome Cassandra Chandler and her hero Dante to the blog. I can't wait to read her book, which is a new riff on the Phantom of the Opera story. We share a publisher, editor, and cover artist, so it's like we're author sisters!

Isn't this gorgeous?

A leap across time is easy...if you throw your heart first.

A woman with a secret…

Elsa Sinclair’s ability to bring stunning realism to her historical novels is a secret she must never reveal. She does her research first-hand—by traveling back in time.

When she stumbles across the man behind the legendary Phantom of the Opera, she is moved by his strength, his kindness…and the moments when his solitary existence seems unbearable. She can’t simply sit by and leave him to his fiery fate.

A man out of time…

Dante Lucerne is shocked to find himself pulled from certain death and carried to another time and continent. The new world is full of wonders, not the least of which is the woman who saved him. 

A darkness threatens…

As Elsa helps Dante adjust to his new world, she makes a terrifying discovery—she is falling in love. And it is Dante who must find a way to help her let go of secrets that run deeper than her power. Into the very heart of what they could lose if he fails…

Product Warnings

Contains a fiery heroine, a brilliant hero, and a love passionate enough to span a century.

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court order is a valid answer.

I think Dante would be willing to visit a psychologist, but the irony there is that he needs it the least of all the characters in this series (except maybe Winston). Most likely, Dante would end up going to support Elsa if she ever dared to work on her issues with someone, and she would only go if her friends badgered her into it.

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

Elsa has trust issues that have clouded every relationship she’s managed to build (which isn’t many). Her friends just think she’s a control freak because she’s never opened up to them even a tiny bit about her past. They don’t realize she exists in a state of constant fear and tries to control every situation in an attempt to feel safe. Dante is the first person she lets past her guard, and even that is out of necessity. She has limited options—either bring him back to modern times or let him die in a fire. But if she brings him back with her, he’ll know about her ability to time travel. Taking the chance on rescuing Dante at the beginning of Wandering Soul, knowing that he’ll then share her secret, is the start of her journey toward learning how to trust.

3. It's always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Elsa would hover by the door so she could make a quick exit if needed. Dante would remain standing, politely waiting for you to invite him to sit, and even then he’d wait for Elsa to be comfortable enough to sit down first. His posture is so good, any time I picture him I feel compelled to sit up straighter.

CD: I am sitting up straighter just reading that. Perhaps I need to write more characters with good posture to cue me.

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be? What will he or she say first?

Getting Elsa to talk would be extremely challenging. She’s adept at deflection, and would feel threatened by what she would perceive as someone trying to pry into her life. Dante might talk more than usual to help her not feel pressured to open up. He would have tons of questions about the field of psychology and be a delightful conversationalist. If Elsa ever thought that the conversation was making Dante uncomfortable, though, she would jump in. Her internal fearfulness and hesitation vanish when she thinks her loved ones need her help.

5. Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next?

It would be hard to get Elsa into a bar. She and Dante would only go if they were meeting Garrett, Jazz, and Rachel for something special, like listening to live music (probably jazz). Elsa would get water and Dante would order a beer, at Garrett’s urging. They would all sit around a big table and Garrett and Jazz would work on educating Dante about their favorite type of music while Elsa quietly looked on. Jazz would try to prod Elsa to join into the conversation and Elsa would pretend to be annoyed by it, but actually be extremely happy to have Dante bonding with her surrogate family.

6. When you're building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

I talk to my characters in my head all the time—standing in line at the grocery store, trying to fall asleep. If I’m struggling with a scene, one of my favorite exercises is to put myself into that moment like I’m directing the story as a movie. I let my imagination run wild in a stream-of-consciousness visualization. I’ll imagine myself yelling, “Cut!” and the characters stop what they’re doing to talk things through. They’re still the same people that they are in the story, but aware that they’re fictional characters. We go over plot and character points, and I learn quite a bit about them and the story that way. It’s also a really fun exercise.

CD: Oh, that does sound fun! I may have to try it with my next book, which is in the conceptual stage at the moment.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and congratulations with your new release!

Cassandra Chandler has studied folklore and mythology for her entire life and been accused of taking fairy tales a bit too seriously. In her youth, when not reading or watching science-fiction movies, she could be found running through the wilds of Ohio and Florida. Raised in a household where tarot readings and viewing auras were considered mundane, she spends her time writing and trying to appear normal. At least the writing is working out.

Her romances range from sweet to scorching, set in extraordinary worlds and driven by characters searching for a deep and lasting love. Her sincere hope is to make her readers look twice at that knobby old tree and perhaps decide to keep salt packets within easy reach, just in case...

She has always seen the starry sky as a destination rather than a matte painting. Her primary residence is on earth, where she lives with her amazing family and a wide variety of stuffed animals, many of whom have multiple PhDs. You can follow her thoughts on writing, life and mostly writing at www.cassandra-chandler.com or see her real-time ramblings on Twitter (@casschandler). She loves to hear from readers through email at cassandrachandler15@gmail.com!

Buy Links:

Samhain
Amazon 

Just a reminder - my first urban fantasy book, The Mountain's Shadow is currently on sale for 99 cents from all ebook retailers through tomorrow, July 24. Click here for more information and an excerpt.

You can also buy it directly from:

Samhain Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes/Apple
Kobo

If you're interested in reading more about my books, wine, sleep, or psychology, please consider signing up for my newsletter. I'll only send one to two per month. Thank you!

The Mountain's Shadow - on sale for 99 cents through July 24!

In anticipation of Eros Element coming out in August, my urban fantasy series will be on sale, one book at a time, one week at a time this summer. Yes, Eros Element is steampunk, but there are a lot of readers - like me! - who like both.

Here are the buy links for the first, The Mountain's Shadow, which is on sale for 99 cents now through July 24:

Samhain Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes/Apple
Kobo

Some mistakes can literally come back to bite you.
The Lycanthropy Files, Book 1

First it was ADD. Then pediatric bipolar. Now the hot behavioral disorder in children is CLS, or Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome. Public health researcher Joanie Fisher was closing in on the cause in hopes of finding a treatment until a lab fire and an affair with her boss left her without a job.

When her grandfather leaves her his multimillion-dollar estate in the Ozarks, though, she figures her luck is turning around. Except her inheritance comes with complications: town children who disappear during full moons, an irresistible butler, and a pack of werewolves who can’t seem to decide whether to frighten her or flirt with her.

Joanie’s research is the key to unraveling the mysteries of Wolfsbane Manor.  However, resuming her work means facing painful truths about her childhood, which could result in the loss of love, friendship, and the only true family she has left.

Warning: Some sexy scenes, although nothing explicit, and adult language. Also alcohol consumption and food descriptions that may wreck your diet.

Here's an excerpt, the first time Joanie sees the wolves and recognizes that CLS might be more than a psychiatric disorder:

At three o’clock I was wide awake. Sure, I felt like someone had hit me over the head with a wine bottle, but something had awakened me, and for once it wasn’t the usual nightmare. Although at that time of night, it seemed like bad dreams couldn’t be too far away. No, it had to be something else, something external. I listened and discerned voices coming from outside. For a moment, I dismissed it as the usual hubbub outside my apartment, but then I jerked fully awake. I was at my grandfather’s manor in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas. The only people in the house were me, Lonna and the butler.

I put on my robe and slippers and tiptoed down the hall and stairs. My feet remembered the location of the creaky boards and avoided them. Instead of going through the front door, I crept through the kitchen and out the side door to the small kitchen garden.

The almost full moon illuminated the lawn and surrounding trees with weird shadows. I paused and crouched behind a hedge and tried to still the beating of my heart so my ears could pick up the voices again.

“Let Ronan make the kill,” one of them, a female argued. The voice sounded familiar. I peeked through the shrubs and saw a pack of wolves too large to be Arkansas red wolves or coyotes. Two of them, the largest and smallest, were black, and they were accompanied by a silver wolf and a golden one. They circled a deer, the animal’s eyes wide with fear at having been driven out into the open and surrounded by predators.

“He’s messy.”

“He’s young,” another replied.

Talking wolves? Am I dreaming? I shut my eyes and opened them after a few seconds. Nope, still there.

“I don’t know, guys. We shouldn’t be here.”

“The old man always let us hunt here. Why should now be different?”

“His granddaughter—”

“Is a flat-chested, elf-faced ivory-tower academic who won’t even know we’ve been here.” It was the female’s voice again. “If you’re careful, Ronan.”

The golden wolf lunged at the deer but misjudged its angle, and two of the others leapt aside as the animal crashed through their circle, hooves flying.

“We’ve got to figure out how real wolves do this,” panted the silver one as they took chase.

Real wolves? I shook my head. It was too incredible. What were these things? And what did my grandfather have to do with them?

I waited five or ten minutes to make sure they wouldn’t come back and staggered to my feet, my head still reeling from what I’d just witnessed. Especially the last comment by the gray wolf. If they weren’t real wolves, what were they?

“Amazing night, isn’t it?”

The voice shocked me, and I wheeled around. For a moment, it sounded like my grandfather, and I was transported back in time to my childhood as he and I stood on the balcony and found constellations. I was never good at it, my brain already bent to the reality of math and science rather than fanciful creatures in the stars.

A flicker of flame and then the smoldering ash of the end of a cigarette brought me back to the present. I coughed.

“Thought I’d light up while you thought about your answer.”

Leonard Bowman stood there, leaves stuck to his sweater and jeans. The light of his cigarette and the moon flickered in his dark eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.”

“It’s my grandfather’s house.”

No answer, just a long stream of smoke.

“It’s my house,” I finally said. The words felt awkward on my tongue, and I became aware I was standing in my nightshirt and boxers in a flimsy robe on a cool night. I shivered.

“So your lawyer says.”

I tried my best imitation of a Gabriel shrug. Leonard smiled and dropped the cigarette, which extinguished with a hiss in the dew-damp grass.

“So do you always lurk in the bushes of your own house?”

My cheeks burned with the flush that crept up my neck. “Not always. Sometimes I lurk in the trees.”

“I’d be careful if I were you, then.” A smile flickered across his lips, but his eyes remained serious. “You never know what might be in the woods around here.”


Thank you so much for reading the excerpt! If you would like to know when the next two books in the series will be on sale or to find out more about my other books, sleep (I'm a behavioral sleep medicine specialist), and wine, please sign up for my email newsletter.

To purchase The Mountain's Shadow, please visit one of the following or anywhere ebooks are sold:

Samhain Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes/Apple
Kobo

Character on the Couch: Cecilia Tan's Timothy Frost

I am so very excited to welcome author Cecilia Tan and her character Timothy Frost to the couch today. Timothy is a character in her Tales from the Magic University series, which is definitely on my TBR list. She reveals what makes Timothy tick and talks about the series below.

Spellbinding: Tales from the Magic University 

by Cecilia Tan

With contributions from Deb Atwood, Lauren P. Burka, Julie Cox, Rian Darcy, Sarah Ellis, Elisabeth Hurst, D.K. Jernigan, BriAnne Searles, and Frances K. Selkirk

Goodreads Page

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court order is a valid answer.

I imagine Master Brandish probably *did* send Timothy Frost to a psychologist after the events of Magic University: The Tower and the Tears, and probably she had to threaten him with expulsion or academic probation to force him to go. I imagine the conversation went something like this:

Brandish: If you won't tell me what happened between you and Kyle, you have to talk to *someone* about it.
Frost: Do I? If it's against the law to keep secrets you'd best lock me away now and throw away the key.
Brandish: (pained) You know that isn't what I mean. In fact, that's the point. Talk to someone impartial, who'll keep your secrets as a professional.
Frost: A professional what?
Brandish: Psychologist. Here. I've got just the one right here in my contacts.
CD: Note to self - Get in Brandish's Rolodex.
Frost: (sneering) You can't make me.
Brandish: As your house master, I most certainly can.  

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

Frost's hangups are definitely central to the book series and the unfolding quest for true love. Our hero, Kyle, has fallen in love with him, a consequence of some very powerful sex magic that the two of them worked together in book two. Frost refuses to speak to him, though, because he fears intimacy. Frost has many secrets, about both his past and his prophesied future, and although he's actually powerfully attracted to Kyle, too, he thinks the only way to keep himself safe is to keep Kyle out of his life. In SPELLBINDING, there are a few short stories about Frost that tell the reader Frost's secrets, but he's still trying to keep them from Kyle! Among them: Frost was born female but was magically transformed male at age 10, and before that was sexually abused by his uncle.

3. It's always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Frost would slink in like a feral cat, cautious and silent, eyes scanning everywhere, and then once he's sussed out the room, stride haughtily to chair, sit, and stare down his nose at you. He'd barely move a muscle once he was sitting down, though, holding himself very rigid, very controlled.

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be? What will he or she say first?

I would say he is not very open, and yet some of his wounds are so glaringly obvious that even when he tries to hide what he's feeling, he won't completely succeed. I find it not unlikely that as the therapists asked questions he might lie outrageously and make up stories, though, spinning fabrications that probably tell the therapist plenty about him, but still avoiding the things he holds close to the vest. If the therapist asked him why he was there or what he was there to talk about, here's the answer you'd get:

"Did Brandish tell you anything about me? Only that if I don't do this I'll never graduate? Fine. This all goes back to what happened between me and Michael sophomore year. Michael has a streak of sirenic blood, which give him incredible telepathic powers while he's having sex. Best sex of your life, really. It becomes an addiction. But he was addicted to me, too, to feeding off my sexual energy. Sirens can be ravenous, though, and he went into a feeding frenzy of a sort, leaving me in a coma and effectively ending our relationship in the worst possible way. I've already been through magical addiction rehab. Perhaps you'd care to pick up the pieces from the psychology angle? Not that there are any pieces left of my shattered heart big enough to pick up without tweezers."

CD: Note to self - Stay out of Brandish's Rolodex. Don't have competency in magic injury recovery.

5. Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next?

Hm, if this was right after The Tower and the Tears, Frost's still only 20 and therefore not old enough to drink alcohol. So he goes into The Russell House Tavern, gets an isolated corner table in the dimly lit downstairs dining room, orders a cup of hot tea, and then cries into the crook of his arm for fifteen straight minutes. He never remembers to take the tea bag out of the hot water.

6. When you're building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

When characters come to me, they pop fully formed out of my head and the way I dig into their psyches to find out more details is by writing the novel they are part of. A complex character like Frost also inspired several short stories and I'm so blessed my publisher went along with my idea of having a short story collection be part of the Magic University series. Sometimes I later take the Myers-Briggs as my character, or I do associative storytelling using Tarot cards. Frost is an INFJ in the Myers Briggs system: strongly altruistic but also highly sensitive to criticism and deeply private. He has a secret crusade and he will let no one dissuade him from it.

CD: I do that, too! And INFJ is my personality type. I can relate.

Thank you so much for being here! This new addition to your series sounds absolutely fascinating and with something for everyone.

When lovers meet, it's magic--literally--when your characters are studying at the Magic University and erotic magic is the most powerful of all. In these 17 short stories featuring characters from Cecilia Tan's Magic University LGBT new adult romance series, erotic energy heals wounds, lifts curses, bonds some people together, and tears some people apart. Tan and a merry crew of nine writers explore the intriguing secondary characters, unanswered mysteries, and background stories of Veritas.

Spellbinding includes 7 stories by Cecilia Tan--including two never before published!--and 10 by authors and fans she invited to come "play in her sandbox." The stories range from fanciful "what ifs" to explorations of the backgrounds of characters we don't fully learn in the course of the main novels. Through these tales we see Frost's rescue as a child, the tumultuous relationship of Dean Bell and Master Brandish, what Kyle did on his summer vacation, and much more. Representing a range of sexualities, the stories include lesbian, gay, bi, and heterosexual pairings.

The Riverdale Avenue Books edition of Spellbinding will be the first in paperback and contains two never-before-published stories by Cecilia Tan. Any lover of magical erotic fiction will find much to enjoy, and any fan of Magic University will find these stories revealing.

Excerpt:

Michael and I met in Enchantment class. We were lab partners; is that a cliche? How do most people meet their first boyfriend?

I suppose most people have already met their first boyfriend by the time they are in college. But remember, I was raised by wolves. At first, anyway. I'd actually spent my teen years living with two nice old ladies who were happy to foster a magical foundling, just a few blocks from the campus of Veritas. From no protection at all to overprotected, in other words. Neither one is conducive to dating.

Michael and I were both wide-eyed and quiet as church mice that first semester, though perhaps part of that was no one wanted to upset Professor Cross. She was a brute when it came to practice and homework and grading on a curve. Fail her class and you could forget being an enchanter.

"Put your hand in mine," Michael said in a quiet, quiet voice. We were sitting facing each other, working on an exercise from the syllabus. Around us everyone was paired off and doing the same thing, while Cross stalked up and down, looking for mistakes or lack of focus. He held up a hand, his palm open.

I hesitated for a moment. Physical contact wasn't something I'd had much of in years. It wasn't something I'd ever remembered wanting, and since moving to Cambridge, it had never been forced on me.

This wasn't forced, though. It was an exercise for a class. Michael's eyes were large and round and expectant.

I put my hand in his.

It was all downhill from there. 

 Cecilia Tan is the recipient of the 2014 Pioneer Award and the Career Achievement Award in Erotica/Erotic Romance given by RT Magazine. She is not only the author of the Magic University series, but also Slow Surrender, The Prince's Boy, Daron's Guitar Chronicles, The Hot Streak, Mind Games, and many other books and stories. Susie Bright called her "simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature." Tan was inducted into the Hall of Fame for GLBT writers at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in 2010. She and her partner corwin (and their three cats) live in Cambridge.

If you're a published author who would like to send a character over to my couch for a profile or an unpublished one who's struggling with a character and who would like help from a psychological perspective, please fill out the contact form to the right.

Secret Worlds blog tour stop

Today I'm excited to be a stop on the Secret Worlds blog tour. Two of my author colleagues from the Georgia Romance Writers, Debbie Herbert and Linsey Hall are included in this set. My review of Debbie's book is below, as is a Character on the Couch interview of her hero Keelan. I'm super excited about this set, and I'm also happy to bring you the opportunity to find out more about it and enter to win a Kindle!

Review of Debbie Herbert's Changeling:

Whenever I get one of Debbie's books, I always make the mistake of saying I'll just take a little peek and then getting sucked in for much longer than I intended. Changeling was no different. Herbert does a great job of tackling the new adult genre with her two characters Skye and Keelan, both of whom are struggling to find their place in the world and are seeking to assume their true identity, whatever that may be. 

Skye is a witch who isn't very good at it. Keelan is a changeling who is trapped working for the fairies, which seems like it would make a good reality show if it wasn't so awful for him. Although I figured out one major twist pretty quickly, I did find the story to be well-paced and extremely entertaining, and I loved the characters. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but let's just say that all those dreams I have about flying? I'd be extra nervous about them now if I wasn't as old as I am. Plus, my feelings about absinthe indicate I have no fairy blood in me whatsoever, so I'm probably safe.

Overall, this is a really fun book, and I enthusiastically give it five stars.

And now, meet Keelan, who is a Changeling and my character on the couch this week:

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? 

It would take a court order for sure! Kheelan knows himself and is very clear on his life's goal: escape from the Fae realm at all costs. He's also clear on what prevents him from achieving this goal: the Fae want to keep him enslaved to assist them in their petty wars with one another and to do menial errands for them. If you asked Kheelan about seeing a psychologist his response would be: "You want to analyze someone? Try talking to one of the sociopath fairies I have to deal with everyday."

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself? 

It's a combination of both. Kheelan meets the heroine Skye and quickly realizes he can use her to gain his coveted escape. The only problem? He's falling in love with the quirky witch. 

3. It's always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Kheelan would walk around the room and take a peek out the window to assess if any nosy fairies were about. 

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be?

He wouldn't be open a bit unless he thought you could help him in his quest for freedom. If he told you the truth, you would think he was crazy anyway!

5. Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next? 

He wouldn't have more than one Irish whiskey. Irish whiskey because most of his guardian fairies are of Celtic descent and this is their drink of choice when they shape-shift to human form. Kheelan would only drink one because he needs to keep his wits about him or the Fae could trick or punish him for a trangression.

6. When you're building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

I probably do less than most writers. I figure out what their life goal is, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what's the conflict that keeps them from preventing their goal? How will they have to grow or change to reach their goal. And since I write romance, I'll choose a mate that is the exact opposite, one that will challenge him and force him to change and grow.

Thank you so much for bringing Keelan by, Debbie!

21 Books + 21 Bestselling Authors in 1 Boxed Set for $1

+ Giveaway Announcement!

From Twenty-One USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Authors

Secret Worlds - A Steamy Paranormal Romance Boxed Set

COMPLETE, FULL-LENGTH BOOKS! NO CLIFFHANGERS!

Professionally Edited and Formatted for Quality Assurance.

Limited Edition. Sale Ends Soon!

 

Secret Worlds

Secret Worlds, a best-selling boxed set of spicy paranormal reads, is brought to you by twenty-one USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Authors!† With twenty-one stories and over a million enchanting words of fiction, this paranormal romance boxed set will keep you spellbound.† Dive through Secret Worlds and into the arms of heroes who will steal your heart and leave you hot.

 

PRE-ORDER NOW for $0.99

KINDLE | NOOK | KOBO | iBOOKS

 

VIDEO TRAILER

Ready to Turn Up the Heat?

Whether you love paranormal romance that warms you up or sets you on fire, this boxed set will have something to entice your preternatural sensibilities. Supernaturally thrilling and engaging, this boxed set has it all: ghosts, vampires, mind-readers, shapeshifters, demons, faeries, werewolves, and more. For a limited, you can enjoy books from today's USA Today and Amazon Bestselling, including titles that are slated for the big screen! When purchased separately, these books cost over $50! But they are yours today for less than $1. Every selection in this rare, limited edition paranormal romance boxed set are full-length novels and novellas!

Save over $50! This set is only available at this price for a limited time, so order your copy before it's gone!

Giveaway Announcement!

We have 70 Prizes up for grabs at our Facebook Party, including multiple gift cards ranging from $5-$100 or a Kindle Fire! And the prizes just keep coming! Be sure to Join the Party for your chance to win and learn more about the additional prizes we have coming down the pipeline!

Join the scavenger hunt in our Facebook Party for a chance to win free ebooks!

Find the link to the entry form for today's scavenger hunt secrets in our Facebook Party and enter the following author secrets. Each day two people will be selected to win a free ebook! Follow our blog tour in the party and enter each day's secrets for more chances to win. At the end of the blog tour, three grand prize winners will receive a collection of 6 ebooks!

Today's author secrets:

— Susan Stec’s Author Secret —

I made G-strings and fancy outfits for strippers at a bar called the Booby Trap in Winter Park, Florida. Going inside, stepping into the bowels of the dressing rooms was exhilarating and I secretly wished I had the guts to claim a pole, join the girls, tease and titillate. I loved the seedy environment, and smoky atmosphere, laced with seduction and desire.

– Catherine Stine's Author Secret –

One thing I don’t tell a lot of people is that I’m a bit of a music groupie. It’s embarrassing somehow. I mean, I’m no stalker... I just truly admire musicians, and feel, as a writer, a keen artistic kinship with them. Okay, the confession: I’ve gone backstage and partied with Buddy Guy (the great blues man), John McLaughlin (fusion rock), John Mellencamp, The Hooters, Jamar Rogers (on the Voice), and most recently, the entire troupe from American Idol 2014. Don’t believe me? I have photos!

Pre-Order Our Limited Edition Boxed Set for $0.99

KINDLE | NOOK | KOBO | iBOOKS

Scroll down to win your choice of Kindle Fire or $100!

a Rafflecopter giveaway