Paranormal Romance
The lovely handpainted fan that Linda is giving away.
Please welcome today‘s guest author Linda Mercury to the blog. Linda’s here to talk about her newest release – a paranormal romance – Dracula’s Desire. Be sure to leave a comment for Linda in the comments section following this post. Linda will be awarding a handpainted fan to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Leave your comment here, then be sure to check out the other stops on Linda’s tour and leave comments at those stops too.
Cover Blurb Dracula’s Desire
By Linda Mercury
Revealing herself as the Dracula of legend, much less a woman, should have been Valerie Tate’s greatest challenge. But with her longing for blood quenched by the one man she couldn’t resist, Valerie now finds herself in an impossible circumstance…
Out Of The Shadows…
It’s a fact that vampires do not get pregnant. But Valerie is definitely pregnant. Worse, six months ago her lover, Lance Soleil, abandoned her. Determined to find answers, Valerie goes on a quest—one that leads her to Lance’s childhood friend, John Janté, a man with whom she shares a strong bond—and an intense lust. But when John is kidnapped, Valerie’s attempt to rescue him uncovers more than she bargained for…
Into The Fire…
Scouring parallel realms and pocket dimensions, Valerie soon finds that Lance has regained Paradise as Angel of the Lost…John is hostage in a bizarre world that resembles Victorian London…and most shocking of all, Valerie’s greatest love may be within her reach once more. For the soul of Dracula’s dead wife, Ilona, is trapped within John’s captor, a mad woman robbed of her humanity and manipulated by a conspiracy of Fallen Angels. Now, torn between past and present loves, Valerie must contend with emotions that threaten to break her. And in a desperate show-down, the reunited triad of a vampire, an angel, and a human, must face their deepest fears—with the future of an unborn angel-to-be in the balance…
An Excerpt From Dracula’s Desire
His lack of originality told Valerie that this was not one of the Fallen who had chosen to ride the Wheel to redemption. He had remained loyal to Lucifer. In short, Lucifer’s cannon fodder. His slow ramble toward her dilapidated room did not reveal any danger. He might be insipid, but he also might be good for a laugh.
The dusty gravel cracked and rolled under his feet. His suit rubbed against itself, the expensive fabric shushing in a pleasing fashion. He was making sure she knew he was there. If he’d been coming to kill her, he would have materialized in her room and destroyed her as she lay resting.
As the Fallen neared her door, his innately chaotic nature tugged at her already-sensitive nipples. Paranormal beings had been created to keep the Fallen company. Perhaps this one came to provide solace for her heartbroken state, one lost creature to another. She wouldn’t love him, but at least they would understand each other.
Besides, she had heard the best way to get over someone was to get under someone else. She doubted it, though. Since the 1400s, Valerie had bared herself to only two lovers: her wife, Ilona, and then Lance. Each of them had destroyed her, freezing her emotions with devastating regret and fear.
Sadly, she set aside any thoughts of a distracting seduction.
About Linda Mercury
Linda Mercury left behind her varied careers as a librarian, art model, and professional clown to pursue writing. She’s interested in writing, romance, the Middle East, reading, organizing, cooking, hand-made silk Turkish rugs, and the Nike of Samothrace.
Website and blog:
http://lindamercury.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LindaMercury1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/linda.mercury.7
Please welcome today’s guest author Shelly Holt to the blog. I’ve kicked things off with a ton of questions but there are a lot of follow up questions still to be asked. Please step into the void and ask away. Someone who comments will win a lace Christmas ornament from me. Everyone who comments on this post today will be entered for a $20 Starbucks gift card to be given away during Shelly’s tour. Be sure to comment here, then check out her other stops on the tour and comment there for the greatest chance to win.
Q – Please tell us a bit about yourself – when did you first know you wanted to write?
Shelly Holt – Very recently, I moved to a small town in rural Nevada to help take care of my dad and there is very little employment here. I tried my hand at children’s books first. I wrote four charming short stories, and I was rejected by over 40 agents and publishers. I knew my work was excellent, yet I couldn’t get anywhere with it. I re-thought my plan and realized my writing skills weren’t the issue, what genre I was writing in was. I did a ton of research and found out the only genre I really had a chance to succeed in today’s market with, was romance.
Q – What was your journey to publication like?
Shelly Holt – I decided I wanted full control over my work, so I didn’t attempt to publish through traditional channels. I knew from the beginning I was going to self-publish Tasting Fire. It also allowed me full control over my cover art. I feel the cover is what sells the book and I knew that nobody understood my story like I did.
Q – Do you have a spouse?
Shelly Holt – No, I am not married, but I am in a committed relationship.
Q – Do you have kids?
Shelly Holt – No, I do not.
Q – Do you have pets?
Shelly Holt – I have two cats, Bilbo and Frodo. Like their namesakes, they are short, with furry feet and have pointed ears.
Q – Where in the world do you live?
Shelly Holt – I live in rural Nevada.
Q – Where did you grow up?
Shelly Holt – I grew up in Huntington Beach, California.
Q – What real life events and experiences fuel your writing?
Shelly Holt – My family took a trip to Sedona in 2006 and many parts of that trip inspired events in the book. Black Barts is a real restaurant in Flagstaff. I contacted them and asked permission to use the locale in the story and they were nice enough to let me include them in the plot. I also live only about an hour away from Red Rock Canyon which features prominently in the story. I vaguely discuss a Senator from Nevada that Rae herself voted for. I don’t really expect many people to figure out who I am referring to as I never named him, my fellow Nevadans will probably get a chuckle out of that part.
Q – Please tell us a bit about Tasting Fire.
Shelly Holt – Gladly, Tasting Fire is the story of the Pari people and how the existence of shape-shifters in the world changed how humanity looks at itself and its environment. It’s also a love story between Kai Tenzin, the leader of the Pari, a man whose ancestor’s DNA was merged with that of an Asian Snow Leopard, and Dr. Rae Hales the beautiful American scientist he hires to try to hide the tell-tale DNA from modern science.
My book is unusual in that I do not use magic to explain the presence of shape-shifters in the world. Thousands of years ago a thermophilic (heat loving) bacteria infected primitive nomads on every continent on earth. Once infected, the bacteria allowed a secondary DNA code to be added to the individual and is passed down through their offspring. This condition gave rise to the many legends and myths of shape-shifters that have pervaded every culture on earth. As my heroine Dr. Rae Hales surmises “if one is real, couldn’t that mean they’re all real?”
Q – Please tell us a bit about the idea behind Tasting Fire. What inspired the Story?
Shelly Holt- Well, after I decided I was going to write a romance about shape-shifters, I focused on which animal I wanted to use. I collect a lot of library discards and remembered a book I had about snow leopards. I found it and read it. I decided as snow leopards had never (to my knowledge) been done or at least overdone as shape-shifters, I wanted to use them as the primary focus in the book.
Q – What part of the story did you get first?
Shelly Holt – I did a tremendous amount of research about Himalayan folklore and when I discovered the legends about seductive female mountain spirits called the Pari, I knew I had found my shape-shifters. I didn’t make the Pari up, I just filled them in a bit. Well, I filled them in a lot actually.
Q – What was it about this story versus others that compelled you to write it?
Shelly Holt – I love myth and folklore, but let’s face it, in paranormal romance some cultures have been done to death and others not represented at all. I also was personally bored with bland romantic heroes. I wanted to write about a different type of romantic hero. I was quite concerned how having an Asian romantic hero would effect my sales, to be honest I still am, but I stand behind my decision to create a male lead that represents a historically under represented ethnicity in contemporary romance. I feel the decision I made on the ethnicity of the Pari, only enhanced the quality of the writing. I am certainly not the only author who has created Asian romantic heroes though. I have read several of Jade Lee’s Tigress series and loved them, but there really are only a very small number of us.
Q – Was there one particular scene that was your favorite in Tasting Fire? Please tell us about that scene. What happens in the scene? Why is it an important scene in the book?
Shelly Holt – Nawang Wangdu’s dream sequence was my absolute favorite scene. He dreams he is on the other side (and maybe he is) and all of his loved ones who have predeceased him are there. It’s about what you take away from your life and what you should leave behind. I can’t give away too much (spoilers you know) but the scene packs such an emotional wallop that I cried from the first draft, all the way to final galley read through for the formatter each and every time I read the chapter. I must have done something right!
Q – The cover depicts the heavily tattooed back of someone. Does a tattoo or a tattooing figure prominently in the story? If so, how?
Shelly Holt – There are no tattoos in Tasting Fire. The cover art is really referring to the suffering of the female Pari and their families. There are serious medical, cultural and social-economic repercussions that have shaped the cultures of those affected with the condition.
Q – Tasting Fire is about a time in which it becomes public knowledge that shape shifters exist. How do you think real people, your friends, family, clergy would deal with the reality of that situation? How would you deal with it if it were real?
Shelly Holt – That’s probably the most insightful question I’ve been asked in regards to the book. Some of my friends or rather I should say acquaintances would probably criticize me and use their personal belief systems to end our relationship, but most of my family and friends would undoubtedly stand behind me and support my rights as a shape-shifter. I am not sure how I would personally deal with it. My first instinct would be for self protection and I would probably try to hide it. However, if many other people were coming out of the forest as in the book, I might feel there is safety in numbers and come out.
Q – Most writers know a lot of things about their characters that never make it into the book. What can you tell us about your characters that didn’t make it into the book?
Shelly Holt – Nawang Wangdu has a huge back story that may end up someday in a prequel. He really was my favorite character. He was in his forties when Kai was born and lived apart from the Pari for many years before and after Kai’s birth. He is highly intelligent and a natural businessman. His son takes after him quite a bit. He also was quite popular with the human ladies too, before and after Kai was born. He isn’t perfect by any means, but he loves his wife and his son deeply. He was so traumatized at losing his wife and nearly his son that he turned his back on the Pari lifestyle and vowed to live the rest of his life as a human man.
Q – What internal conflicts or character weaknesses did your characters have to overcome in order to reach their happily ever after ending?
Shelly Holt – Rae certainly had trust/daddy issues throughout the entire story. Kai has some real control issues and daddy issues as well. Nawang had to learn to let go.
Q – What can you tell us about your book that isn’t in the blurb?
Shelly Holt – The love scenes are really hot!
Q – What aspect of writing do you find the most difficult?
Shelly Holt – Proofreading! Yes, I read this book at least 500 times. I see snow leopards in my sleep.
Q – What kind of writing do you find the most fun?
Shelly Holt – When I get to decide what mythology and cultures I’m going to explore and develop my characters from them. I really learn so much during the process.
Q – Where on the spectrum from sweet to erotic does your book fit?
Shelly Holt – The love scenes themselves are definitely erotic, yet I wouldn’t really call the book erotica. The plot focuses on the revelation of shape-shifters, not on sex. All of the sex is heterosexual and only between couples. While there is mild profanity and minimal vulgarities in the book, it is quite limited and only because it really was necessary for the plot. The actual love scenes while fully depicted do not use vulgarities to describe the action, but rather descriptive terms. Why? Personal preference of the author. I don’t like reading those terms, so I don’t use them in my writing.
Q – On Pinterest are you A.) Hoarder in disguise. B.) Minimalist. C.) You’re not on Pinterest.
Shelly Holt – I’m not on Pinterest.
Q – On Twitter are you A.) The life of the party engaging with my friends and followers. B) Mostly a promoter – I use Twitter primarily to promote my books. C.) Mostly a lurker. I follow a lot of people looking for useful information – some of which finds its way into my books.
Shelly Holt – B.) Definitely.
Q – What’s your favorite social network? Why is it your favorite?
Shelly Holt – Facebook. I just love the fact that I can interact with not only my friends and family members, but I have liked the Facebook page of many writers that I grew up reading and can interact with them.
Q – Did you read 50 Shades of Grey? Love it? Hate? Somewhere in between?
Shelly Holt – I read the first two books. I refused to spend another $10.00 to find out what happened when it easily could have been told in the second book. While I am grateful for what E.L. James has done in making romantic fiction acceptable in mainstream markets, I didn’t feel the writing itself was of a quality that deserved the level of acclaim that was bestowed on the author.
Q – What was the last book you read that you really loved – enough that you would recommend it to someone else?
Shelly Holt – The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. It’s quite possibly the most perfect children’s book ever written.
Q – If you could go backwards or forwards in time and have dinner with anyone in history who would it be and why?
Shelly Holt – The founding fathers and ask them what they really think of what has happened to their more perfect union.
Q – Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Shelly Holt – I’m an introvert with delusions of grandeur.
Q – Describe your ideal romantic getaway?
Shelly Holt – A snowy weekend in Tahoe.
Q – If you were to be stranded on a desert island with one of your characters which character and why?
Shelly Holt – Kai of course. Hello! he looks like Russell Wong!
Q – Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers about yourself, your books your characters?
Shelly Holt – Me, no I’m not that interesting, but I wish I could have gone more deeply into the back stories of some of my secondary characters. Manohar Shah in particular, he is such a strong personality who deserved way more page space then he got. Vadim’s Aunt Olga, I love her! What a ballsy old b—- ahh lady. Despite her actions (no spoilers) she was certainly no villain. Olga Leonidov deserved much more from her author than she got. I also hated making villains out of certain nationalities, but somebody had to be the bad guys! I’ll make it up in another book, I promise.
I also hope that (without being too preachy) my readers come away not only entertained, but inspired to find out more about what they can do to help with conservation efforts on the exotically beautiful and extremely endangered Asian Snow Leopard.
Q – When it comes to reading do you favor books that are heavy on humor or heavy on angst or is there a happy medium somewhere in the middle that you gravitate to?
Shelly Holt – As a reader and a writer I definitely gravitate to the middle. Without some angst there is no story, yet I have stopped reading books because there was just too much of it. That is the author’s job, to find what works for the type of book they’re writing. I’m pretty happy with Tasting Fire’s ratio of angst and joy. I like to think that if Gene Roddenberry had ever written an erotic paranormal romance that maybe this would have been the type of book he would have written. Hopeful about the future of humanity with a little adventure, sex and humor in the mix. What can I say, I’m old school Trekkie.
Tasting Fire
by Shelly Holt
Shape-shifters have always walked the earth. Shrouded in myth and folklore, hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting. Advances in modern science are now about to reveal them to the world. Kai Tenzin is the self appointed leader of the Pari people. He and his kind evolved from the most reclusive predators on earth. They live and hunt in the most fearsome and rugged terrain known to man, the Himalayas. Kai leaves his small village where the mountains touch the heavens, determined to do anything to protect his people. When he is forced to enlist the aid of the beautiful American scientist Dr. Rae Hales, the last thing he expects to find is a woman who will ensnare his heart and endanger them all. Their action-packed adventure will take them around the world to discover the truth behind the legends and reveal the future of humanity.
An Excerpt
The short ride to Kizhi island was exhilarating on the open hydrofoil. Kai helped Rae off the boat as it docked at the seven mile long island. The tour group followed their guide off the dock and onto the island. They listened intently as the guide in stilted English advised them that the site had become a world heritage site in nineteen-ninety. There were more than eighty pieces of wooden architecture that made up the outdoor museum’s collection. The guide then gestured for the large group to follow him. The tour group was led up to a magnificent structure. The center piece of the collection that was known as The Church of Transfiguration.
Rae felt as if she had stepped right into a storybook. The guide started his official recitation on the history of the structure “the Church of Transfiguration has twenty two onion domes. It was built during the reign of Peter the Great. No nails were used in the construction and it was created by using interconnecting wood pieces only.” Kai stood back taking picture after picture of the breathtaking silver domes. The guide then indicated for them to enter and put his finger over his mouth to indicate silence.
As Kai and Rae walked in they could hear why the guide silenced them. A trio of singers were performing a deeply moving mass. Behind them a gold leaf Russian icon painting glinted in the light that was streaming in through the dusty windows. The effect transported the tour group back in time. They were now in a time before digital cameras, before cell phones, to a time when the Tzars ruled Imperial Russia with an iron fist.
About Shelly Holt
My name is Shelly Holt and I live in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving Mojave desert. I write my stories looking out of a window that shows sweeping desert views. Outside is a barren and severe landscape, yet inside my head lives a world filled with exotic shape-shifters come to life, pulled from the pages of myth and legend, ready to entice and seduce any reader brave enough to take them on.
It’s funny, I never wanted to be a writer! In 7th grade English, we were given an assignment. We were told to write an original poem and turn it in the next day. I was determined to turn in not a good poem, but a great poem. I spent the whole night working on it instead of watching my favorite show, The Waltons. (Hey! it was 1980.) I turned it in the next day. Apparently, I succeeded a little too well and was accused of copying it from a book. (1980 remember, no internet yet). The teacher stated and I quote “this is too good for a seventh grader, where did you copy it from?” Well, I didn’t write for 30 years after that. In my 40′s, after a life changing move to rural Nevada as a caregiver to my father, I realized I needed a way to earn a little money on the side. I did some research on the internet and read all about a certain little book, about a certain little college student and a handsome billionaire with some ahem! (issues.) I decided after reading that book, I could do that, and Tasting Fire was born. I’ll admit it’s been strange revisiting a talent buried deep inside for so long, forgotten, but apparently not lost. It’s been an important journey and one I am quite thankful for and excited to see where it takes me.
Shelly Holt
P.S. Mr. Jordan, I really did write that poem!
Links
Please welcome today’s guest author Carly Fall. Carly is here interviewing Hudson, her hero from the SIX SAVIOR SERIES. Leave questions and comments in the comments section for your chance to win one of two signed PDF’s of REBORN. Also, THE LIGHT WITHIN ME is free at Amazon and Smashwords NOW, so go download it.
For my visit today, I was going to write a stimulating blog post, but then Hudson from REBORN told me he would be happy to sit down with me for an interview.
Hudson stands about six foot five, and is a mountain of a man with a lot of rolling hills for muscles. His black hair hangs down to the middle of his back, and he usually wears it in a ponytail. His eyes are dark, almost a black color except when the sun goes down, and then they turn a beautiful sunshine yellow.
He also loves the fine things in life. I bet this guy spends more on his wardrobe than most of us make in a year, and today he is impeccably dressed, as usual. His black jeans hang from his hips perfectly – not too snug, not too loose. He’s wearing a white, silk shirt that also fits as though it was made for him. It probably was. His Gucci shoes are polished to a high shine.
Oh, and he cooks.
And he can dance.
I figured having you meet him would be far more…stimulating than anything I could write.
Carly: Hudson, the first thing we should do is thank Laurie for having us here today at BVS.
Hudson: We should. Thank you, Laurie.
Laurie: You’re quite welcome Carly and Hudson. I hope you have a good time here today.
Carly: Why don’t you tell everyone a little about yourself, Hudson.
Hudson: You already know everything about me.
Carly: True, but we’re doing this for others, remember?
Hudson: Right. Sorry. Well, I’m a Warrior from the planet SR44 who was sent here to kill the evil that we accidentally unleashed on you humans. I’ve been here about two hundred and twelve years. But really, who’s counting?
Carly: You don’t look a day over thirty.
Hudson: I know. Our kind lives to about two thousand years old. As long as I maintain my SR44 form, my human body will continue to look this way until my natural form dies.
Carly: And you certainly don’t look like any alien I’ve ever seen.
Hudson: Thankfully, no. I can’t imagine looking like E.T. or that creature from the movie Alien. We were given these human bodies so that we could integrate with humans without too much trouble. My SR44 form was yellow, and that is why my eyes light up at night. It’s my SR44 form, my true form, shining through.
Carly: So why have you been here so long?
Hudson: Because the evil – we call them Colonists – also took on human bodies, and then began to mate with humans. Their DNA is passed down through the generations. Have you noticed how there have been some real psychopaths popping up? You can thank the Colonist for them. I’d bet you most, if not all of them have Colonist DNA floating through their veins.
Carly: That’s pretty scary, Hudson. Who do you know for sure was a Colonist or related to one?
Hudson: To name a few: Jack the Ripper. Jeffrey Dahmer. Saddam Hussein.
Carly: Wow.
Hudson: Yep. And for that, I’m really sorry. We’re doing the best we can to clean up the garbage, but it’s become an almost impossible task.
Carly: What else can you tell us about you?
Hudson: I’m an assassin. And I like to cook. I’m pretty good in the kitchen, if I do say so myself.
Carly: Yes, I remember the Beef Wellington you cooked when I was interviewing you for the book. It was delicious. How many Warriors came with you?
Hudson: There are a total of six of us. Our people gave us the title of the Six Saviors. You’ve already written about our leader Noah, as well as Rayner.
Carly: Rayner was interesting because he sees people who are caught in that space between being alive and dead.
Hudson: Yeah. Imagine walking around seeing that. How the male handles it, I don’t know.
Carly: You’ve had some of your own issues to deal with, Hudson.
Hudson: Yes, I did. My problem was being an SR44 male. We tend to fall in love quickly and hard. I did that with a human woman, and she didn’t return the feelings. Then she died. An SR44 male without the woman he loves is not a pretty thing. The pain is almost unmanageable.
Carly: How’s Beverly?
Hudson: Excellent.
Carly: Good. Let’s move on to the fun stuff. The lightning round. Ready?
Hudson nods.
Chocolate or Vanilla?
Vanilla
Day or Night?
Night
Boxers or Briefs?
I actually prefer commando, but if I need to wear something, boxers.
Carly: Okay. Well. Let’s just say thank you to Laurie again, and let everyone know that both you and I will be checking in over the next few days to answer any questions.
Hudson: Sounds good.
Giveaway:
THE LIGHT WITHIN ME is available on Amazon and Smashwords for free.
For the giveaway at BVS, I would like to offer up two signed PDFs of REBORN.
Blurb From Reborn:
Warrior Hudson from the Six Saviors seems to have it all – good looks, fine clothing, expensive jewelry and women just waiting for their turn to sleep with him. But, what he safely keeps hidden from the world is the terrible pain he’s suffered for many years. As he fights his internal demons, he joins his fellow Warriors in waging war on the evil from their planet that has been let loose on Earth.
Beverly Devlone was a highly respected doctor, until tragedy hit her and a drug addiction destroyed her career and reputation. As a lonely woman fresh out of rehab, she’s now uncertain of her place in the world, what her purpose is, and where she belongs.
When an explosive event brings Hudson and Beverly together, the instant attraction between them cannot be ignored. As the two grow closer and share secrets, they help each other heal from the shackles of their pasts.
But true happiness eludes them when they are forced to go their separate ways, until Beverly returns with an admission that will rock the very fabric of Hudson’s world.
About Carly Fall:
Carly Fall lives in Arizona with her incredibly supportive husband, their son and their dog.
She is the author of the Six Savior Series beginning with The Light Within Me (Book 1), Finding My Faith (Book 2), and REBORN (Book 3).
She loves her family, writing, wine and her pool, and depending on the day, not necessarily in that order.
Links:
www.carlyfall.com
Twitter: CarlyFall1
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carly-Fall/135934843166283?ref=hl
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/CarlyFall
Please join me in offering a warm welcome to today’s guest author Jennifer Rainey. Jennifer writes paranormal romance. Today she’s here to talk about her latest novel The Beldam’s Eye and to share some of her real life ghost hunting experiences with us. Jennifer is giving away a ton of great prizes during her blog tour. First, she’s giving away two $20 Amazon GCs and five copies of Thoroughly Modern Monsters, her short story collection to randomly drawn commenters during the tour. In addition she’s giving away a grand prize to one randomly drawn commenter – that will be a $25 Amazon Gift card, a copy of These Hellish Happenings (her first novel) and a copy of Thoroughly Modern Monsters. Leave a comment to enter…then check out the rest of her stops so that you can leave a comment at her other stops as well.
In the world of The Beldam’s Eye, the existence of ghosts is acknowledged scientific fact, but of course, most people in our world are a little more skeptical. While watching horror movies may be fun, many can’t say they actually believe Casper may be lurking around the corner.
I occasionally attend paranormal investigations. I’ve loved of the idea of the dead walking among us since I was very young and when I turned about sixteen and all of those paranormal reality shows really started taking off, I was right there with every one of them. (Ahem, I still have a crush on Grant Wilson of Ghost Hunters fame!) A lot of people know this about me, and I’m naturally often asked if I believe in ghosts.
That’s a tricky question.
I do believe in ghosts, but I’m not sure I believe they’re the spirits of dead people consciously wandering around and attempting to communicate with the living. Then again, I can’t say with the utmost certainty that they’re not. I’m a skeptic, yes, but I am completely open to the idea of ghosts. I’m just looking for answers. I think there’s something there. I just don’t know what.
My most recent ghost hunt took place in Gettysburg at The Jennie Wade House. Jennie was the only civilian recorded to have died in the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Before entering the house, our group of ghost hunters stood outside the door, listening to a local investigator give us the run-down on the house.
Suddenly, the cellar doors rattled violently, the padlock leaping into the air! It gave us all quite a start, but the investigator assured us the group in the basement was to blame. She told us, irritated, that she’d have to have a talk with her fellow investigators about the incident.
Upon entering the basement later in the evening and confronting those down there at the time, we were shocked that at the start of the investigation no one had been on the side of the basement with the cellar doors and that no one down there earlier had even heard the cellar doors! Baffled, we tried to determine who possibly could’ve made the doors rattle.
As we discussed this, my sister was holding K-II meter, a device which measures fluctuations in magnetic fields. The device had been entirely dead the whole evening until this discussion. Suddenly, it was flashing orange and red! It was as though whoever had be checking the lock on the cellar doors had returned to say “Yes! I was the one checking the doors!”
This is only one of many bizarre things that happened that night. Am I saying a ghost definitely rattled the cellar doors? No. But it’s still an experience that can’t be explained away (and one I learned later other investigators have experienced at that house).
When writing The Beldam’s Eye, however, I created a spirit world that was, in my mind, ideal. Spirits not only openly communicate with humans, they have relationships with them. They love them, they hate them, they coexist. One of my favorite aspects of this series is the romance between Erasmus Bramble, a paranormal investigator, and Aletheia Jones, the 1920s era spirit who haunts the building in which he works. There’s something terribly romantic about a love not only reaching between time periods like that, but between life and death.
Cover Blurb From The Beldam’s Eye
When Erasmus Bramble finds the recently-deceased Angus Heyer rummaging through his kitchen cabinets, he knows he has a unique case on his hands.
As paranormal investigators in rural Ohio, Ras and his business partner Antony Yeats tackle ghostly problems on a daily basis, from poltergeist exterminations to troubled spirits just looking for a shoulder to cry on. Angus isn’t looking for ghost therapy. He needs Ras and Yeats to help him retrieve a pocket watch stolen from him after death, a pocket watch that is said to be cursed: The Beldam’s Eye.
The skeptical Ras and Yeats agree to take Angus’s case, but they soon find themselves in over their heads, facing murder, theft and perilous dark magic. Is it all just backwoods superstition or is the curse of The Beldam’s Eye grisly reality?
An Excerpt From The Beldam’s Eye
A pillow with the words God Bless This Mess stitched across the middle immediately flew at his head. He ducked and charged into the wind tunnel that was supposed to be a guest bedroom. The windows were shut, but curtains billowed into the middle of the room and cutesy Americana-flavored decorations rolled across the floor like tumbleweed.
“Where is she?” Ras yelled over the roar of the wind.
“Over there in the corner!” Betty Ann answered.
Yeats immediately snapped a picture of the corner. The spirit box spat out a photograph, and he waited for the image to develop, throwing one arm up to protect himself from a flying quilt.
“Mrs. Walsh, you might want to wait downstairs,” Ras said. “We don’t want you to get hurt.”
Betty Ann was halfway back down the hall when Yeats yelled, “Ras, we’ve got a rogue here.” A portrait of Jesus Christ, the kind where the eyes were always on you, tumbled to the ground.
Ras dodged a potted plant and examined the image. Something that used to be a young woman in a red dress stood in the corner, her long back hair flying in all directions as though she’d been struck by lightning. The wind spirit’s skin was mostly chalky, save for just around her eyes where the flesh was bloated and black. Her fingers were smeared with dried blood.
She had no pupils, just black marbles where eyes should be, and yet Ras could still tell she was staring straight at the spirit box.
He could also tell she was pretty pissed off.
About Jennifer Rainey:
Jennifer Rainey was raised by wolves who later sold her to gypsies. She then joined the circus at the age of ten. There, she was the flower girl in the famed Bearded Bride of Beverly Hills show until the act was discontinued (it was discovered that the bearded lady was actually a man). From there, she wandered around the country selling novelty trucker hats with vaguely amusing sayings printed on front. Somehow, she made enough money to go to The Ohio State University for a major in English.
Website:
http://www.jenniferrainey.com
Blog:
http://independentparanormal.blogspot.com
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http://www.twitter.com/JenniferKRainey
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I am a Canadian. Okay, so you get a vision of a peacekeeper, right? Mountains and wheat fields. Correct! Oil rigs and Inuit communities. Rivers and cold winters. Give yourself A+. To describe myself, I would have to say I’m as diverse as my beautiful country and its people.
I grew up on a cattle farm in Genesee, Alberta. It was there I developed a love for outdoors, and my horse, Dusty. In 1965 I graduated from Warburg High School and went on to nursing school. Later, I discovered my passion in emergency medicine and become a paramedic in 1983. I worked for the City of Edmonton’s emergency medical services until 2008.
My husband gets a tad testy at times as I have several projects in varying stages of completion all the time. These range anywhere from digging up my flower beds, training my sheltie, knitting another afghan, writing another novel, photography, genealogy, the list goes on. I’m never bored – and I don’t think my husband is. Oh, did I say that I also like to play poker, pretty good at it too. With all that activity, I also love quiet time, sit in silence in a forest, meditate, and slide into a shamanic dimension.
I have experienced the paranormal since I was a child. Therefore, I don’t think of these events as odd. They’re gifts and I treasure and hold them as sacred. I met my spirit guide when I was about seven. Later, when I was drowning in a lake and laying on the sandy bottom, accepting death. My guide whispered, “If you stand you can breathe.” I did as he beckoned and survived, obviously (LOL). Many times my guides have spoken to me, including my father a few years after he died. Now that was unexpected!
I believe everyone is visited by his/her guide though we are often too busy to notice the stranger offering a moment of comfort or assistance. We are all capable of experiencing the paranormal, if you so choose. Sit in silence once each day, even if only for five minutes. Empty the chatter in your mind. Enjoy the bliss.
I enjoy talking to all people from all cultures and religions. There is a magical tapestry to the human race, exciting and vibrant. Everyone is special with talents, sometimes yet to be discovered. I like to bring out the best in everyone I meet. Though we have challenges in accepting peoples differences, I hope we will learn to celebrate how much we are the same, and that all people have a place on this jewel of a planet.
Feather
Cover Blurb From The Guardian’s Wildchild
Caught in a reckless attempt to stop Dark forces, Sidney Davenport, a young, rule breaking, spirited member of the secret paranormal community of Guardians, finds herself imprisoned on a naval ship and slated for execution. Her struggle with the unfamiliar emotions of fear and anger becomes even more complicated when she can no longer fight her attraction to the very man who has orders to perform her execution.
Captain Sam Waterhouse, a meticulous naval captain who’s suspected of treason, teeters on a precipice between Darkness and Light. When he receives an unusual prisoner, a paranormal journey begins to unravel his disciplined life. All the while, humanity is unknowingly at great risk when two Dark forces team up to acquire control of an elusive power. Sidney and Sam attempt to quiet their powerful feelings for each other, only to discover they can save each other, and in doing so, they might even save the world.
Through stunning imagery, an intricate and adventurous plot, and a strong cast of characters, Feather Stone gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the future—a future that is chilling, yet full of hope.
