Saturday 24 September 2011

Halloween Blog Hop



With Halloween just around the corner, I've teamed up with eight other authors for an international blog hop. Join us in the Halloween fun while these talented thriller, horror, paranormal, and YA fantasy authors tease us, thrill us, and share their darkest fears.

This spooktacular event starts October 1st and runs until Halloween. There are well over 50 books to giveaway (mostly ebooks but some paperbacks as well) so there are lots of chances to win! 


If you like books that scare, books that bite, books you have to read with the lights on, we've got your Halloween scare covered!


Here is a list of the participating authors (and their links):

Nicholas Olivo
J.L. Murphey
J.D. Stroube
Lisa McCourt Hollar
Weston Kincade
Douglas Durow
Jim Bronyaur 
Nina Perez
Angel Haze 

Scroll down to enter!

Prizes:

Bloodletter by Angel Haze (Thriller)

Thou shalt not kill.

A contradictory message written in blood at the scene of a young woman's murder. Within days, another body surfaces with a similar calling card and, to Detective Ramon Faust and Criminalist Kelly Garret, it's clear a deadly game is underfoot.

As the rash of horrific crimes continue, a phone call unearths a shocking revelation: Nakeita isn't the first city the elusive killer has left his mark. The Bloodletter, as dubbed by the media, has played his deadly game before.

Delving deep into the most terrifying case of Kelly's career, threatening phone calls and flashbacks of a forgotten near-death experience challenge her sanity and the lives of everyone she loves.




Legacies of Talimura: War of the Witch by Angel Haze (YA Fantasy)



Debonair, a witch from the Unspoken-of Lands, has meddled in the forbidden practice of magic and created an army of nightmarish proportions. When sixteen-year-old Astanyx and his two best friends return from a hunting trip to find their small town of Polca reduced to smoke and ash, they find themselves thrust into a battle for which they haven’t been trained.

With the help of his comrades, including an esteemed warrior, one of the last great wizards and a princess they’ve sworn to protect, Astanyx must fight to unite the kingdoms of the humans, dwarves and elves. He must ask forbidden questions that no one wants to answer, questions about Talimura’s dark history. As Debonair’s brutal warriors lay siege to the kingdoms, Astanyx is driven to pursue a fateful quest for a blade powerful enough to defeat the malevolent witch before she destroys the three kingdoms and unleashes an unspeakable ancient evil.




 Imperium by Nicholas Olivo (Urban Fantasy)

Vincent Corinthos leads a triple life. As a secret agent, he handles paranormal threats; as a god, he protects his followers from evil forces; as a stock clerk, he keeps the back room of an antique store tidy.

When one of his fellow agents goes missing, Vincent begins with the usual suspects. His investigation reveals that Boston’s latest supernatural threat is also waging war on his followers, and has diabolic intentions for the city’s paranormal citizens.

Now, with the aid of a new partner and a gremlin, Vincent must locate the missing agent, defend his followers and learn the identity of his adversaries before they can revive a malevolent force that’s been dormant since World War II.




 Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption by J. L. Murphey (Horror)

Dr. Donna Cairn is a genetics researcher for the Center of Disease Control. When the CDC issued the Zombie Apocalypse Alert, she discounted it as a way of advertising hurricane preparedness. When a conspiracy buff working with her in the silo speaks to her about the debunked Hapgood theory of Earth Crust Displacement, she again discounts it as just that some wacko, paranoid rambling. But when radiation levels after the Japanese earthquakes starting rising, all bets were off.

Simple dog bite patients are dying from a mysterious fever. Bodies start coming up missing from the morgues across the globe. When the death count reaches over one quarter of the world’s population dying due to this new plague, the CDC sends their best virologist, Kit Seger, to help Donna in her quest of finding the virus in her converted missile silo laboratory in Nebraska.

The dead have risen and hunger for human flesh. She never believed in zombies before, but now she believes in them. Can she and Kit find the cure before mankind becomes extinct? How do you cure people who are already dead? And better yet, how do you kill the dead?

Can it be that Donna’s unborn niece and nephew are the answer? With the earthquakes rumbling, zombies at the gate, and time running out will they find what they are looking for? Man can only hope.


Caged in Darkness by J.D. Stroube (Urban Fantasy)


A witch raised in a cage of darkness...

Savannah Cross was born into a life of isolation and abuse. As a child, she witnessed her parents perform acts of malevolent evil, and now feels permanently tainted by their dark deeds.

When a coven discovers a tear stricken child, wounded on their elders lawn, they offer her a sanctuary she has never known. Savannah spends the next several years shattered, continuously looking over her shoulder, waiting for the darkness to claim her.

On her 16th birthday, Savannah’s life takes a drastic turn.She is consumed by overwhelming power that forever alters her emotionally and physically.

She must choose between two loves; the one who taught her to smile or the darkly seductive stranger who tempts her towards another path. Savannah must decide between the coven that was her haven and another one vying for her initiation. Just as Savannah begins to grasp what fate has in store for her, an evil looms over her loved ones; coming to claim an unbreakable debt.

How will she choose and survive the greatest evil she has ever witnessed... long enough to have a choice to make?

 Halloween Frights by Lisa McCourt Hollar (Short-Story Collection)


Halloween Frights is collection of Halloween stories and other paranormal tales. It starts with my poem, Joe's Night Out and includes such stories as Happy Halloween, Taxidermy Nightmare and Dolly. The collection concludes with Vampire's Hollow, a new story that proceeds events in The Legend Of Greystone, which is to be released in 2012.













Invisible Dawn by Weston Kincade (Science Fiction)


To keep a promise and save his long-lost goddaughter, computer programmer Jedd Altran sacrificed everything, including his wife and newborn son. Now, they must pass through worlds far different than their own to escape the clutches of government killers.

In a world where rare individuals have evolved, the government kidnaps specific children to study and utilize their abilities. Madelin has been imprisoned in such a facility for thirteen years and suffers from medically induced amnesia. Facing a hopeless future, haunted dreams, and an invisible past, each morning is an Invisible Dawn and life holds no meaning, until she meets Jedd. Her newly discovered godfather becomes her beacon in tumultuous seas as they strive to find answers and allies.

On the run from PASTOR Agency’s first trained shifter, an egotistical man with power hungry desires, Madelin and her godfather find their lives intertwined with a broke Cajun gambler, an ex-mercenary in search of redemption, and a rebellious Vampire.

Can they survive nature's mysteries and humanity’s greed? Will they find salvation? Only a Darwinian victory will do, but even that may prove futile.



A Life of Death by Weston Kincade (YA Fantasy)



Certain aspects of life's journey go unquestioned by most people like the love of family and supporting friends, but many adolescents are lost in a tumultuous sea of storms, their journey through life a collection of daily hardships and twists of a metaphorical knife in the gut. With no clue whether a buoy or life raft will drift his way, Alex unknowingly seeks escape, meaning, family, a destiny, or even a shove in the right direction. Then, sixteen days of reliving people's traumatic murders and one research project teach him the meaning of love, fate, confidence, and purpose.

A paranormal coming-of-age mystery about one boy's pain and hardship endured in a small Virginia town. Losing a father and growing up with an abusive, drunk replacement is hard enough, but when you hardly knew the first because of his constant military deployment, it alters your perspective. As a seventeen-year-old high school senior, Alex Drummond learns the value of family and the meaning of dedication the hard way, but reliving people's horrendous murders does have its upside. Join him as he struggles to find his destiny, understand love, and discover what really happened to his father and the skeletons hiding within his small home town.


 The Ninth District by Douglas Dorow (Thriller)



The Federal Reserve has never been robbed.

FBI Special Agent Jack Miller, pulled into a high-profile case to mentor a new agent, finds himself in a clash with the toughest opponent of his career. The chase culminates in the bowels of the city, in the storm sewers and tunnels beneath The Ninth District Federal Reserve of Minneapolis.










 In the Corner by Jim Bronyaur (Thriller)



Three stories in Jim Bronyaur's debut book that explore the mind and supernatural.

When the Stars Fade - A geeky computer technician finds himself on the receiving end of a brutal beating when the stars, one by one, begin to disappear as something moves in from the woods. Is the dark movement here to save him? Or end his suffering?

The Second That Burns - Meet Trevor, an unlikely survivor of a horrific car accident that found him on the wrong end of a police chase. Now he carries the guilt and scars of living, desperate for death. His only chance at surviving is Dr. Philips. The question is – can Dr. Philips save Trevor before it’s too late?

The Wrong Side of the Tracks - Taking a road trip before his band, Butler, goes into the studio, Evan and his girlfriend, Barbara, hit the road. But the road they’re on is changing, literally. They soon find themselves in a small town where nothing feels or looks right… because everything keeps changing. Now they only have one thing in mind – getting out...



 Rebirth: The Twin Prophecies by Nina Perez (YA Fantasy)



High school sophomores Violet Ross and Jack Morrow don’t know each other, but they have similar secrets: she can feel the emotions of others and when he touches people, he can see their future. A tragic accident thrusts them into a world where they learn an even bigger secret: all the mythical beings they believed to be fictional are real.

Guided by prophecies predicting the end of the world, the mysterious Dr. Tesla - who leads an alliance of supernatural beings - helps Jack and Violet come to terms with this secret world, control the growing powers within them, and face an unspeakable evil determined to possess their very souls.





**Note: All books are available as ebooks. Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption, A Life of Death, and Invisible Dawn are also available in paperback to US Residents. Legacies of Talimura: War of the Witch is available in paperback for CAN residents.





This is the official page, the one and only place to enter our giveaway.

 

 

To enter, just leave a comment and give your first three choices. Add extra points (maximum of 5) if you:

+1 point: Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect
+1 point: Follow me on Twitter @AngelHaze7
+1 point: Follow the blogs of two of the participating authors (state which ones)
+1 point: Tweet about this giveaway and link back
+1 point: Blog about this giveaway and link back

For every 25 people that enter, I will add another ebook of Bloodletter or Legacies of Talimura: War of the Witch to the prize list.

Make a comment for each entry. Ends October 31st, 2011. Good luck!


Happy Halloween!






Thursday 15 September 2011

Interview with an Author: Rhiannon Paille

It is with great pleasure to introduce Rhiannon Paille and to share her passion and excitement in debuting the first book in her YA fantasy series, FLAME OF SURRENDER. To share her passion, inspiration, and get a special sneak peek of the book, read on!


About the Author:

Rhi was never a normal girl. She tried, but she couldn’t get rid of the visions, the voices in her head, and the hallucinations. When she was on the edge of crazy someone pulled her back and explained it all. She wasn’t insane. She was psychic, really psychic, too psychic. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site: www.rhiannonpaille.com  

 

Coming November 1, 2011
The boy who follows death meets the girl who could destroy the world. 
Krishani thinks he’s doomed until he meets Kaliel, the one girl on the island of Avristar who isn’t afraid of him. She’s unlike the other girls, she swims with merfolk, talks to trees and blooms flowers with her touch. What he doesn’t know is that she’s a flame, one of nine individually hand crafted weapons, hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless girl.

Nobody has fallen in love with a flame until now. She becomes Krishani’s refuge from the dreams of death and the weather abilities he can’t control. Striking down thousand year old trees with lightning isn’t something he tries to do, it just happens. When the Ferryman dies, Krishani knows that he’s the next and that a lifetime of following death is his destiny.

And Kaliel can’t come with him. The Valtanyana are hunting the flames, the safest place for her is Avristar. Krishani can’t bear to leave her, and one innocent mistake grants the Valtanyana access to their mystical island. They’re coming for Kaliel, and they won’t stop until every last living creature on Avristar is dead. She has to choose, hide, face them, or awaken the flame and potentially destroy herself.


Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

Flame of Surrender is the first book in The Ferryman and The Flame Series. It’s a tragic love story about a boy who is destined to follow death, meeting a girl who could cause the apocalypse.
There’s a lot more to the story than just the characters although they are your ultimate misfits. They don’t fit in even on Avristar, this beautiful hidden island off the coast of Scotland. They’re both pretty deadly, but they’re in love, and that love is their downfall.
I can’t say more without spoiling it, but I did write something on goodreads for those people who care about knowing what they’re getting into before reading the book. 

Where do you get your ideas for your books?

The Ferryman and The Flame has always felt like a story that everyone should already know but for some reason they don’t. It’s awkward because I don’t want to be all pompous and be like, “this book should be as well known as Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings or Romeo and Juliet” but I’ve always had that feeling that this was like one of the lost myths. A lot of people don’t remember stories like “The Coming of Lugh” or “Tristan and Isolde” or “Iduna’s Apples” A lot of people don’t even remember Rhiannon from the Welsh Mabinogian, they know her from a Fleetwood Mac song. (Disappointing really since the Rhiannon in the Mab is rather enchanting.) There’s a lot of rich stories that existed a long time ago that for some reason or another were lost, changed, erased, or simply forgotten. The Ferryman and The Flame for me, is one of those stories. 

What was your favourite chapter to write and why?
 
I think more in scenes than chapters and in the third book, there is a scene between Kaliel and Pux that I think is probably the best scene I’ve ever written. I can’t tell you what happens because it’s one of those spoiler scenes, but it’s just amazing. 

Why do you feel you had to tell this story?

This story is important to me. I read a lot of books and I wonder why they were written. Some books like Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, The Hunger Games, Shiver, I understand the reasons why those books were written. It was more about the relationships, the character development, and the world issues than it was about just writing a book. For me, The Ferryman and The Flame is a series that’s about loss, tragedy, sadness, darkness, change, and love. It’s not an inconsequential story, this is a story that’s pressed on my chest for years, it’s lived in my dreams and it’s lingered in the mind. I had to write it because I think people need to know what happened between Kaliel and Krishani. 


Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

What what you want to read. I know it’s been said before but it’s true. If you can’t find it on the shelves and it’s something you think would be awesome and interesting to you, then sit down and write it. 


Who designed the cover?

The lovely and ever amazing Rachel at Parajunkee. I was squeezing when I saw it!


If you could have a paranormal power or be a creature, what would it be?

I’m already like Sookie Stackhouse so while I wouldn’t want that girl’s life I’m quite happy with my own paranormal / metaphysical lifestyle. It amuses me when I’m in the throes of some metaphysical situation because of work and I’m like, “Damn this would make great fiction.”

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Cassandra Clare and Maggie Stiefvater. Those two ladies taught me more about writing than any course, online blog post or book on writing ever did. All I had to do was read their books and love them for what they were.  

What book are you reading now?

I’m reading The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, I recently picked up on this series and I need to get into it. So far it’s interesting, but nothing seems to hold my attention at the moment. I blame the whole getting the book deal and can’t stop pinching myself thing. ;)



Thank you for joining us! Can't wait until the release of Flame of Surrender!


To Connect with Rhiannon:

Follow her on: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Blog, Website







Look for Flame of Surrender November 1st, 2011! 




For a special sneak peek, check out her Goodreads page.















Sunday 4 September 2011

Harry Potter Pole Dance!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not afraid to admit that I love to pole dance. I thought about hiding that piece of information from my readers, knowing it could turn people off. I have nothing to hide. I'm not a stripper. I do this purely for the enjoyment AND the amazing workout.

The girls in my class are university students, nurses, nurse practitioners, managers, and 911 dispatchers, their ages ranging from 20 to 48. Along with my sister and one of my co-workers, I convinced an older friend to take classes with me. Considering the stigma surrounding pole dancing, she wanted no part of it.  I convinced one of her friends to go with us, easing my friend's discomfort enough to allow her to to try the first level. Four levels later, she's hooked! And I mean really hooked--she just bought her own pole!

Pole dancing is a full body workout. The first half hour of class is dedicated to strength and flexibility, while the last half hour is pole work. We learn about one or two spins per class as well as various strength holds. And let me tell you!! Doing pull ups on the pole and holding certain moves is not easy!

This week we learned the Snake which is flipping upside down and then putting one hand on the floor, then the other, using only your legs to hold onto the pole. Then you walk your hands out and scoop your chest to the floor, pushing off the pole with one leg. My Divebomber push ups from P90x helped prepare me for this, but I'm still feeling it in my chest and shoulders!!

I found this amazing video on Twitter that I just had to share!


Harry Potter Pole Dance!

Truthfully, I wasn't sure what to expect. My first thoughts were that it was a stripper on stage in a Harry Potter costume. It's not.

It's an awesome video, showing some amazing moves, and even a touch of magic. (Seriously, I don't know how they did it!)

If you've ever tried pole dancing, you know how much strength is required for these moves. I am still a few levels away from this, but I'm working on it. And if you're thinking of taking some classes, go for it! It's the funnest, kickass workout you'll ever do!

Check out the video:



If you liked that one, check out Felix Cane's performance. Felix holds numerous world titles and also performs in Zumanity (the sensual side of Cirque de Soleil).