Friday Five for September 27, 2013

1. It's been a busy week. I'm all set for The 13th Floor Complete Collection blog tour. The book is already available on Amazon and Smashwords. It looks fantastic! Cherie Reich did an excellent job editing and formatting for me. We're making great progress with the print version. It'll definitely be ready for October 13th.

2. Click on over to Heather Musk's blog and read what she thought of the final novella in the 13th Floor series, THE GHOST. She'll be interviewing me on October 11th for my blog tour. Don't miss out!

3. I had a terrific time with Yolanda Renee on Monday. As promised, I used Random.org to pick a winner of an ecopy of MEMORIES OF MURDER. The winner is Catherine Stine! Congratulations, Catherine. I've already informed Yolanda that you were picked. Enjoy the book! Guess what? Yolanda is hosting me during my tour next month too. Join us on the 19th.

4. It's school picture day at my son's preschool. Last year I was the photographer's helper, and the boy refused to smile. This year, I won't be there, so hopefully he'll show them his cute dimples. It's been a long week with four days spent babysitting, a school board meeting, and an optometrist's appointment. Glasses have gotten so expensive!

5. Join me Monday for some creepiness. Julie Flanders' cover reveal for THE GHOSTS OF AQUINNAH and an announcement to give you the chills. In a good way!

Have a fantastic weekend!

More Than Just A Kiss Blogfest

“A kiss, when all is said, what is it? 'Tis a secret told to the mouth instead of to the ear.” ~ Edmond Rostand

I'm so excited that today is the first day of the MORE THAN JUST A KISS blogfest! I'm co-hosting the event with the wonderful and talented Cecilia Robert.

 

Sweet, sizzling, fiery, awkward, mind-blowing. We want to read your kissing scenes.

The rules are simple:

1. Sign up on the linky list and post the badge on your blog.

2. On one of the days of the week of September 9th, post a kissing scene on your blog. It can be either fiction or non-fiction.

3. Please do not exceed 250 words.

4. This is a blogfest, so visit the other participants and have fun!

But wait! This is more than a blogfest.

We're offering prizes!

The scenes will be judged by these amazing romance authors: Cecilia Robert, Laurelin Paige, Kyra Lennon, and Christine Rains. (Hey, that's me!) We will choose three posts to win these awesome prizes.

Prize 1 - A critique of a kissing/intimate scene from your WIP (not exceeding ten pages). Critiques will be done by Cecilia Robert, Kyra Lennon, and Christine Rains.

Prize 2 - A critique of a kissing/intimate scene from your WIP (not exceeding five pages). This critique will be done by Laurelin Paige and Christine.

Prize 3 - A critique of a kissing/intimate scene from your WIP (not exceeding one page). This critique will be done by Cecilia and Christine.

BONUS PRIZES:
Cecilia, Kyra, Laurelin, and I will each choose one of our favorites to give out some fantastic ebooks.
Cecilia – TRULY MADLY DEEPLY YOU and REAPER'S NOVICE.
Kyra - IF I LET YOU GO
Laurelin - FIXED ON YOU
Christine – All six volumes of the 13th Floor series.

Sign up here!

I'll be sharing kisses from my books each day this week. Maybe they'll offer you some inspiration. You've all week to join in! You don't have to be a writer, and you can opt not to win a critique. Yet we'll still include you in the running to win the bonus prizes. Just give us some kisses!

A kiss from THE GHOST (Vol. 6 of the 13th Floor series)

Chiharo froze when she realized his hands had covered hers. He wasn't prying her off him as he should've with a panicking girl. Instead, he drew her closer until their bodies were almost touching. Jeremy was skinny and closer to her short height than Tim. A much better fit for her.

He raised his hands, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. She expected him to say something. His mouth was always running. Maybe something cheesy, a compliment, or even a curse word she hadn't heard yet.

Nothing. His fingers slid into her hair, and she shivered. The second before a kiss. It was just as intense as the act itself. The tension between them chased the chill away. Warmth spread through her as color lit up his face.

Was he this beautiful before?

His lips parted just slightly before he kissed her. They were softer than she expected and hotter still. She melted against him and flattened her palms against his chest. Her eyes fluttered closed as she made a little wanton sound that she'd never heard come from herself before.

Jeremy was neither too gentle nor sweet. His tongue tangled with hers as if seeking the source of her moan.

Whoever said a person's first kiss was always the best was never kissed a second time.

Friday Five for July 26, 2013

1. Thank you so much again to all my awesome hosts and everyone who joined me for THE GHOST blog tour last week. It was so much fun, and the book has gotten a great reception. The winners for the tour's giveaway are at the bottom of this post.

2. Cecilia Robert and I announced the MORE THAN JUST A KISS blogfest! We're joined by two other lovely romance writers, Kyra Lennon and Laurelin Paige. We want to read your kissing scenes. Sweet, fiery, sizzling, awkward, and mind-blowing. We want to read them all. Not only will we be sharing some scenes, but we're offering prizes. We'll judge the posts and pick three winners to receive a critique. Plus, there are bonus prizes! Romance ebooks galore!

3. I was so excited to win a contest on FB from MG fantasy author Jessica Day George. She asked people to suggest names for her MC's new baby griffin in her next book, and she picked mine. Woot! I suggested Lorcan which means little and fierce. If that isn't awesome enough, she's sending me a surprise in the mail. If you're a Harry Potter fan, you'll love Jessica's books.

4. It's been a week of ups and downs with the boy. He had fun blueberry picking on the weekend, but now doesn't want anything to do with the berries. He did great the last few days of swim lessons last week, but he doesn't want to jump off little drops on land. As some of you heard on FB, we now have to start patch therapy with his turned eye. He has to wear a patch over his good eye for two hours every day. That's actually going quite well so far. He's been very cooperative, thankfully. Oh the multiple personalities of toddlers!

5. I've been working on the cover for the 13th Floor collection. Am I getting anywhere? Maybe. I don't know. I'm seeing how well my Photoshop skills can improve. I've already learned some new tricks. I'm designing some little graphics for the interior that I do like, though.

And now the winners of THE GHOST giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!

Emails have already been sent.

Final day of The Ghost blog tour

It's the final day of the tour!
Thank you so very much to all my marvelous hosts and to all of my awesome readers.

Today I'm giving back to you.
You can enter to win the entire 13th Floor series.
There won't be one winner.
Nor will there be two.
There will be three lucky winners!

Join me at Colette Chmiel's review blog and enter the grand giveaway.
Find out the 13 worst places to haunt and let me know where you'd hate to be stuck as a ghost.

Don't forget to pop over to Clare Dugmore's blog where we'll be talking about ghosts. I love our chats, and we're interested to know what you believe.

Today's tidbit: This past year I've wrapped myself in the 13th Floor series. I was happy to be done, but now, I'm finding that my muse is creating prequels and sequels. I don't think either of us really want to let go, but we need to move on to a new project.

Don't forget to answer the poll question I posted last week on my blog about whose origin story you'd like me to write about for the 13th Floor collection. I'll have the results for you tomorrow!

I'm also going to reveal the surprise Cecilia Robert and I have lined up tomorrow. It will be a fabulous Friday!

Day five of The Ghost blog tour and Taking Time excerpt and giveaway

Thank you for joining me on day five of my tour.
 Don't forget to answer the poll I posted last week on my blog.
Whose origin short story would you like to see in the 13th Floor collection?

It's a big day today with three fabulous hosts.

Join me at Cherie Reich's blog for Chiharo and Jeremy's first kiss.

Heather M. Gardner has written her own post about the 13th Floor novellas. Find out what a reader thinks about the series.

My ultimate dream is to have Joss Whedon make my series into a TV show. I've shared a few casting ideas with you at M.J. Fifield's.

Today's tidbit: I dedicated the book to Cherie's mom. When I was discussing the concept of the series with Cherie, I had the six tenants already planned out. Cherie mentioned my idea to her mom, and her mom said the series needed a ghost. She was absolutely right. THE GHOST wouldn't have been written without her suggestion

 

 

Book blurb:

Science fiction stories of time and space...

The future of humanity must be decided in Next Phase. Winning the Planetary Lottery is not as lucky as it first seems in Schrodinger's Gamble. An apocalypse and its aftermath threaten to tear one couple apart in Daiker's Children. In Life As I Know It a reclusive man finds both his heart and home invaded during an alien harvest. In Taking Time a demon seeking shelter on a distant planet finds himself facing a very different kind of demon, after answering a frontier settlement's plea for help.

Stories range from flash fiction to novelette in length.

Excerpt from Daiker’s Children

I picked up the heavy bundle of survival rations left for me in the exit corridor, took one last look at the door to The Facility through which one kind of future was offered, and then walked out into the yellow-tinged atmosphere of Southern England. The aliens’ offer of a safe living environment and human facsimiles stopped being an option the moment I learnt Jen had not made it to their facility. I had to find her even if it cost my life. She was my world, and a world without her was not one I wanted to live in.

During the days of alien-enforced quarantine–I have no idea how long it lasted because there were no clocks to tell the time or date–I forgot just how acrid Earth’s atmosphere had become. The toxic air outside the facility scratched my lungs like cats clawing sharp talons down my windpipe. My breathing slowed and became more laboured. I could hear myself starting to wheeze. As my eyes burned and watered and my vision deteriorated, I dropped my heavy backpack on the ground and pulled out the gasmask they gave me. A few fumbling seconds later, the clear plastic mask covered my nose and mouth, and cool, clean air refreshed me. Within seconds, my breathing returned to normal though the mask could not remove my memory of devastation’s stink–the sweet scent of burned bodies and a burnt-out civilisation.

I found it hard to believe there was ever a world, a safe world, as I gazed in horror at the toxic wasteland before me. A sea of atomic destruction blinked back. Nothing remained standing or intact except for the ruins of Exeter in the distance. I’d allowed myself to bask in a happy kind of naivety, ignorant of the destructive power our governments and military harboured. Now I faced the consequences. I vowed never to be so naive or stupid again. To find her meant questioning everything. 

BUY TAKING TIME NOW AT AMAZON AND AMAZON UK

Author bio: A life-long addiction to reading science fiction and horror meant writing was the logical outlet for Ellie Garratt’s passions. She is a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online. Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre was published in March 2013 and contains nine previously published stories. Taking Time and Other Science Fiction Stories is her second short story collection. 

Great stalking places:

Website | Amazon | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Ellie's having a fantastic giveaway! Win one of two $25.00 (£15) Amazon gift cards and a character named after you in an upcoming novella. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day four of The Ghost blog tour and Homecoming cover reveal

It's day four of the tour, and I have three fantastic writers hosting me today.

I'm sending one of my ghosts, Jeremy Emerson, to Carolyn Brown's blog to chat with you.
I told him to watch his mouth and behave himself. That guy rarely listens to me, though!

It's the final post in my villains series. Find out what horrifying thing goes bump in the night in THE GHOST over at Nick Wilford's blog.

Join me for another great excerpt at Graeme Ing's blog.
It includes my comments on my own writing.

Today's tidbit: I don't like to have any of my key characters unnamed in my books, but the monster in THE GHOST has no name. You can't see or hear it, but if you feel it, I fear for your soul. I didn't plan on having the monster evolve this way, but it's creepy and works very well with a story that features ghosts.

Now on to Cecilia Robert's beautifully stunning cover reveal!

Blurb:

Five years ago, twenty-three-year-old panther shifter Sera Czedar left her home and her newly mated groom in a humiliating position after a mating ceremony gone wrong. She built a new life for herself in Varselles, the City of Outcasts where shifters exiled from their clans in the Seven Kingdoms can go for sanctuary.

Five years ago, panther shifter Levian Grayson was abandoned on the bonding bed by his bride, Sera. After years of tracking her, he arrives in Varselles, intent on staking his claim on her once and for all, even if it means hauling  his slippery woman over his shoulder just to make sure that happens. 

Sera has always known her homecoming would eventually catch up with her one day. The one thing she can’t bear to do is hurt Levian, which will happen as soon as he finds out the reason she left him. Is she ready to take that path? Most of all, will Levian still want her when the truth comes out?

Book Title: Homecoming (A Cloaked Devices short story)

Expected release date: October 2013

Genre:  Steampunk paranormal romance

Age group: +17 appropriate due to language and mature content

Cover done by: Ravven

Mark it to read on Goodreads.

Visit Cecilia at her blog and tell her how awesome her new cover is!

Come back here on Friday. Cecilia and I have some big news for you!

Day three of The Ghost blog tour, Cloaked in Fur cover reveal, and W4WS Event for July 2013

Is it day three of the tour already?

There's lots of fun to be had, but don't forget to buy your copy of THE GHOST.

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

Also, don't forget to answer the 13th Floor series poll about whose origin story you'd like to see in the collection!

I have two amazing hosts who have been generous enough to lend me their blogs today.

It's the final book of the series. How do I get this one right?

Pick up a few tips on Nutschell's blog.

You love the tenants of the 13th Floor,

but there could have been a different cast of characters.

Find out who didn't make the cut on Heather Holden's blog.

Today's tidbit: I've been really nervous about THE GHOST being the last book of the series. My CPs and beta reader loved it, but I'm anxiously waiting to hear what readers think. Did I give them an ending that emotionally touched them? Was it satisfying?

Now onto T.F. Walsh's awesome cover reveal!

Blurb:
As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.

A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.

Paranormal suspense with strong romance.

Publisher: Crimson Romance

To be released August 5, 2013.

Pre-order it on Amazon.

About the Author
T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark fairytales, she's always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.

Author Links

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest * Goodreads

Welcome to the July 2013 W4WS event! I'm honored to co-host this event with three talented writers, Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Stephen Tremp.  The mission of this group is simple: we have a spotlighted author(s) that we strive to help bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people, increase the sales of their book(s), drive new traffic to their blogs and increase followers, and create verbal and viral buzz.
 
We've made this simple and fast. It's as easy as a tweet or a RT, and sharing a status on Facebook. Go to the writer's blog and copy a tweet or RT from the posts with the tag #W4WS. The W4WS Facebook page will have all the updates and links for you.
 
To join the W4WS event, click here for the linky list. It will only take a minute of your time, and you'll have talented writers take a step closer to their dreams. 

Catherine Stine writes fiction for kids, teens, and new adults. Her newest book RUBY'S FIRE has a fabulous cover and a great hook. You can find Catherine on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Brinda Berry is the author of YA books, THE WAITING BOOTH and WHISPER OF MEMORY. Be prepared for a wild ride when you pick up one of her books! You can find Brinda on her site, Facebook, and Twitter.

Day two of The Ghost blog tour

Another fantastic day of THE GHOST tour.
It is the final book in the series. If you haven't read any of them yet, you can get the first book, THE MARQUIS free on Amazon and Smashwords.

I have two more wonderful hosts lined up for today.

I'll be continuing my series on character romance with Kyra Lennon.
Do you think a sweet ghost can make it work with a vengeful one?

Read an awesome excerpt from THE GHOST
on Aubrie Dionne's blog.

Today's tidbit: I never expected Chiharo and the romance in this book to become so sweet. I wanted her to be more calculating, and the romance to be hotter. Yet who am I to tell my characters how to live their lives, or rather, their deaths?!

Day One of The Ghost blog tour

It's here! It's here!
The final book of the 13th Floor series.
I can't believe it. It's been a wild ride. I loved writing this series, and I really hope every one of you gets a chance to read it.

Get your copy of THE GHOST now!
Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

There are two awesome stops on this the first day of my tour.

Join me at TF Walsh's blog for the final post in my supernatural creatures series. Can you guess what I'll be talking about this time?

Then come on over to M. Pepper Langlinais' blog. M shares with us her own ghostly experiences. Have you ever seen a ghost?

Today's tidbit: Chiharo's voice didn't come to me right away. I knew exactly how I wanted to start her story, and she sounded stiff and formal. Wooden. Yet when her voice did come, it was sweet and smart, and it surprised me with how powerful it became in my head. 

Don't forget to answer the poll about whose origin story you'd like to read in the 13th Floor series collection.

Friday Five for July 12, 2013

1. ONE day until THE GHOST blog tour begins. I'm so excited! The final book in the 13th Floor series is already available on all the purchase sites. ( Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords ) There will be a huge giveaway on the final day. You can enter for a chance to win the entire series.

2. Don't forget to have your say on what short story should be included in the 13th Floor collection. So far, it looks like the majority of people want to see someone new moving in. Oh the possibilities! I have lots of ideas, but none specific yet. The pantser in me loves it!

3. I received three amazing reviews this week from Night Owl Reviews for THE DRAGONSLAYER, THE HARBINGER, and THE ORACLE AND THE VAMPIRE. All of them received 4.5 stars. They're top picks! THE MARQUIS was also one of their top picks. The reviewer compared me to Sherrilyn Kenyon and Christine Feehan. Whoa. I'm still blushing. I sent them THE GHOST for review. Hopefully they'll love it just as much.

4. I survived the first week of parent and tot swim lessons. It's amazing to see how much a child can improve in just four days. My son has gained a lot of confidence, and getting splashed in the face isn't the end of the world for him any more. My top goal for the lessons is to get him to dunk his head. We're a few steps closer.

5. I have a question for all the parents out there. Have you ever taken your children to a sensory sensitive showing at the cinema? I knew they existed, but I recently learned our town has an AMC theater that participates in it. There's a showing this Saturday morning. I don't know if my son would sit through a whole movie, but just the experience might be fun. He definitely does not like loud noises, and the theaters have gotten too loud for me over the years too. I'm happy to just watch movies at home. (Did you see Sharknado last night?!) The TVs these days are big enough! Yet I have very good memories of going to the theater as a kid. I'd like him to have them too.

Have a great weekend! I'll be back tomorrow to start THE GHOST tour. Woot!

Wicked Wednesday - you decide who's going to be in the 13th Floor collection new short story

Only three more days until the official release of the final book in the 13th Floor series, THE GHOST. I'm excited and anxious, and I'm already thinking about putting together a collection. I haven't found a cover I want for it yet. I might not have it ready to reveal after THE GHOST blog tour. It has to be perfect, though. I'm not going to settle for anything less than what blows me away.

Along with all the novellas, I'm going to include a short story in the collection. Originally, I was going to write about how Kiral came to live on the 13th floor. Yet the story isn't sticking with me as something spectacular. I want to captivate my readers rather than give them a few interesting facts.

Should I do another tenant's? Marc's or Stefanie's? Readers already know how Meira, Harriet, and Chiharo came to be on the 13th floor. I could also do a tenant that lived there in the past. Or even one that's just moving in. Lots of possibilities.

I'm going to let my readers decide. Who do you want to read about? This short story will appear in the 13th Floor collection. (I'm tentatively setting the release date for September 13th.)

Please let me know your choice by answering this poll or leaving a comment below. I'll be running this poll through to the 19th when I'll be announcing the results. (I tried out a new poll widget. Hopefully it works!)

Whose story would you like to see in the 13th Floor collection?
	Marc's
	Stefanie's
	Xan's
	Kiral's
	A tenant from the past
	A new tenant just moving in
pollcode.com free polls

UR Post and Teaser Tuesday with Dark Storm

Join me for a sneak peek of THE GHOST at Untethered Realms blog.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

DARK STORM is the latest novel in Christine Feehan's Dark series. So far, there aren't any surprises. There's a basic formula to these books, but they're still enjoyable if you like a good solid paranormal romance.

Here's your teaser:
How was he going to fight Mitro when he could barely take a step without falling? The dragon hadn't had a body in centuries and Dax's body was far too small for him to comprehend how to move it around. (page 47)

Friday Five for July 5, 2013

1. We had a fun Fourth of July yesterday. The parade was in the morning, and then we visited with friends. A nice dinner and fireworks in the evening. My husband has today off too, so we might go to the zoo if the weather holds. And then maybe the lake on the weekend.

2. All my revisions for THE GHOST are done. Yay! It's with my CP/editor now, and she'll proof it. Then hopefully on Monday or Tuesday, I can get it up on the purchase sites. My blog tour guest posts are done and sent. I'm on top of thing this week.

3. Next week, I'll take a moment to breathe and ready myself for THE GHOST blog tour. I'm also starting Parent & Tot swim lessons with the boy. Those will be every weekday morning for two weeks. Then my local critique group meets on the 20th. So I'll have to do the critiques the week before. June went by so quickly, and I suspect July is going to fly by too.

4. I read the final book in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series. It's a wonderful series, but I was disappointed by this last book. Not just because I didn't get the ending I wanted either. I posted a big review with a spoiler warning on Goodreads if you're curious as to what I thought of one of the most famous paranormal romance series in the world.

5. Eight days until the official release of THE GHOST. Thank you to everyone that commented on my IWSG post on Wednesday. I'm still nervous, but not as much as I was before. You guys are awesome!

Have a great weekend!

Insecure Writer's Support Group for July 2013

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month I'm releasing the final book in my 13th Floor series, THE GHOST. I loved writing this series. It was so much fun. I've gotten a great reaction from readers. You guys make it all worthwhile.

I want this last book to be a magnificent ending to the series, and I'm afraid that it won't be. The protagonist of this book Chiharo Black is sweet. She's not fearless like my dragonslayer or fierce like my werewolf. Chiharo is cute, bright, and says "oh my god" way too much. Her story is good, but is it big enough to end the series? Will it leave an impact like the previous books?

I know we're our own worst critics. I also know that I'll never know until I release the book. The official release day is in ten days. I'm trying not to hyperventilate. My series will be complete. I'm elated and terrified at the same time.

Friday Five for June 28, 2013

1. A frustrating week for managing to get time to revise. Oh, did I mention I finished THE GHOST? Yay! Well, the first and second drafts are done. I've been worried about it, but one of my CPs has declared it's her favorite in the series. But yes, revisions. Our power has gone out twice now with all the summer storms passing through. I lost all of Wednesday. And there are more storms in the forecast for the next seven days. Yikes!

2. Even with that frustration, I had a wonderful surprise yesterday morning. THE MARQUIS received a 4.5 star review from Night Owl Reviews. It's now one of their Top Picks! If you haven't picked it up already, it's free for all e-readers.

3. I was inspired to write a new story by my visit to the dentist Wednesday. I had a crown fitted. The last of my silver fillings is gone. I thought about how the dentist and the hygienists must hear all sorts of weird teeth stories. But what if it was a dentist office for supernatural beings? Yup, a supernatural dentist. Could be really fun!

4. I've been enjoying a lot of outdoor time this week. Between storms, my son and I have been out in the pool, at the park, and in the woods. We put on tons of sunscreen, but thankfully he tans better than me. He's getting a few freckles, but not as many as have erupted on my arms. I don't brown, I stay red. Red and freckled like I'm some weird lobster mommy!

5. Next week I'm still sticking with my regular blogging schedule even with Canada Day and Independence Day. Join me for a great post by a special guest on Monday and July's IWSG on Wednesday. Have a fantastic weekend! Relax and kick back.

Friday Five for June 21, 2013

1. Check out YA fantasy author Graeme Ing's blog later this evening for an interview with me. He's featuring each of the Untethered Realms authors over the next few months. Don't miss out on all the news and teasers about our upcoming books.

2. Some of you know that I'm a vivid dreamer. I remember at least one dream every night. Much of my inspiration comes from them. This week, I had one of my dreams analyzed on Sculpted Dreams. I'm case #4. There's a monster, an immortal, and a great discovery. Stop on by and let me know what you think it means!

3. I'm so close to finishing THE GHOST. All my best lines have been coming near the end. I'm so happy with the way it's going. I only have one major worry: is it good enough to end the series? I'll talk more about this in July IWSG post. The end of the series. I'm a little stunned about that!

4. It's been a long week. Lots going on outside the house. My little guy has a huge poison ivy rash. Poor boy. It just keeps spreading. He scratches at it in his sleep. Do you have any secrets how to help with a poison ivy rash? We've got Cortizone to take away the itch, but I don't know how well that's working.

5. My local writer's group meets tomorrow. They really liked my story last month, and I submitted it to Daily Science Fiction. I was short-listed, but this week, I got the standard rejection email. I bought some ice cream, drowned my sorrows in creamy delight, and submitted the story to another press. We've just got to keep trying.

Have a great weekend!

The Final Book in the 13th Floor Series Cover Reveal and Best & Worst Movie Remakes Blogfest

Title: The Ghost (The 13th Floor series, #6)

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: July 13th, 2013

Blurb:
Chiharo Black lives with six supernatural tenants in a haunted building's mysterious thirteenth floor. Of course, no one knows she's there except the cats. Being a ghost can be a bit frustrating and lonely, but it isn't as bad as her mother made it out to be.

Until another ghost intrudes on her territory. Jeremy Emerson wants revenge on the vampire that killed him and won't stop until he has it. To top it off, a nightmarish shade sneaks in and leeches the energy from the building's residents before setting its sights on Chiharo and the thirteenth floor. She can't decide which one is more frightening: the one wanting to eat her soul or the one who might win her heart.

Chiharo must convince Jeremy to stand with her against the hellish parasite. If they cannot work together, the greedy fiend will not only drain their energy but everything that supports the thirteenth floor's existence.

Add THE GHOST to read on Goodreads.

Thank you to all my wonderful hosts during my tour this week and to all of you who have followed along. One more book to go. I can't believe it! Don't forget about the BIG giveaway at M Pepper Langlinais' blog. You could be the first to own the entire 13th Floor series.

If you would like to be a part of THE GHOST blog tour in July, please send me an email. I will also be releasing the entire series in The 13th Floor collection in September, and I'll be doing another tour then as well. 

Today is another spectacular blogfest about movies. I also love that it's quick and easy! A tremendous thank you to the fantastic hosts, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Livia Peterson, Al Diaz, and Stephen Tremp.

BEST MOVIE REMAKE: Casino Royale. Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond. Yes, even more so than Sean Connery. He's suave, dark, and dynamic. The Craig 2006 film is a remake of the 1967 film of the same name.

WORST MOVIE REMAKE: Godzilla. How could they do that to the classic 1954 film?! *gasps* And looking up the link, I see they're doing another remake to be released next year. NOOOOOO!