Book Tour Stop: Please meet Mae Clair and her new book, Weathering Rock

Media Page For the Book Tour

Colonel Caleb DeCardian was fighting America’s Civil War on the side of the Union when a freak shower of ball lightning transported him to the present, along with rival and former friend, Seth Reilly. Adapting to the 21st century is hard enough for the colonel, but he also has to find Seth, who cursed him to life as a werewolf. The last thing on Caleb’s mind is romance. Then fetching Arianna Hart nearly runs him down with her car. He can’t deny his attraction to the outspoken schoolteacher, but knows he should forget her.

Arianna finds Caleb bewildering, yet intriguing: courtly manners, smoldering sensuality and eyes that glow silver at night? When she sees Civil War photographs featuring a Union officer who looks exactly like Caleb, she begins to understand the man she is falling in love with harbors multiple secrets--some of which threaten the possibility of their happiness.

Finding a decent guy who'll commit is hard enough. How can she expect Caleb to forsake his own century to be with her?

Here's an excerpt of Weathering Rock

“Stop it!” Arianna shook off Wyn’s grip, pivoting to face him. “Are you crazy?”

Before he could answer, something slammed against the door. Caleb screamed. The sound knifed through her like the violent jolt of an electrical wire.

“Caleb!” She launched herself at the door, panicked and terrified by the thought of the man she loved in horrific pain.

“Don’t!” Wyn stiff-armed her aside and grabbed the knob, forcibly holding it in place. “Get a chair. Something, anything! We’ve got to keep him locked inside.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Arianna, get a fricking chair. Now!”

There was another crash, and then a bang as something heaved against the door, making it shudder from top to bottom. Arianna heard a snarl that turned her blood to ice. The door rattled in its frame, weakening as something battered against it. Something inhuman locked in the room with Caleb.

A cold fist clamped over her stomach.

“Wyn, what’s going on?”

“Chair!” he spat. “Get me a damn chair.”

The raw urgency of his voice plowed through her confusion. She darted into the dining room, snagged a chair, and dragged it into the hallway. The thing in the parlor was still hammering away, heaving itself against the door in an attempt to burst through. Wyn’s face was white with strain as he struggled to hold the door shut with both hands. He rammed the top of the chair beneath the knob, wedging it securely into place. A blood-thirsty howl exploded from the other side, kicking Arianna’s heartbeat into overdrive.

“My God, Wyn, what’s going on?” She lurched for the door.

“Don’t. You don’t know what you’re doing.” Wyn caught her around the waist and swung her up against the wall.

She tried to squirm free. “I know Caleb’s trapped in there. We have to help him! There’s something in the room. Can’t you hear it?”

He held her wrists, pinning her arms to the wall. “Listen to me!” His eyes were wild, his face inches from hers. With a single frenetic skip of her heart, she realized he was as terrified as she was.

“There’s nothing in the room. Only Caleb. Do you hear me, Arianna? It’s Caleb.”

“No!” She shook her head, unwilling to believe what he told her, but another ear-splitting snarl fanned her fear higher. Nothing made sense. Not the stark fear in Wyn’s eyes, the sweat-slickened grip of his palms crushing her wrists or the chillingly inhuman sounds coming from the parlor. The man she loved could never sound so guttural or barbarous.

“I don’t care!” She ripped free of his hold. “I don’t care if he’s by himself or in there with something else. You have to help him!”

She lunged for the door, but Wyn grappled her around the waist, holding fast. They were still struggling when the sound of shattering glass rang through the narrow center hall of Weathering Rock.

You can purchase Weathering Rock:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Lyrical Press
Kobo Books 

 Mae Clair knew from the time she entered grade school that she wanted to be a writer. She credits her parents with instilling in her an insatiable love of reading through weekly trips to the library when she was a child. Her father, an artist who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create characters and make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars.

Inspired by folktales, legends and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, she loves to blend the fantastical with the ordinary. Her heroes are known to be flawed and complex, her heroines capable, independent and sexy.

Throughout the years she has been actively involved in various writing and critique groups and is a past President of the Central Pennsylvania Writers’ Organization. She lives in Pennsylvania and is married to her high school sweetheart (a.k.a. the Love of Her Life). In her downtime she enjoys reading, digital scrapbooking and unwinding with her husband by the pool when the fickle PA weather permits. A self-admitted idealist, Mae is passionate about writing, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats.


                                                                       You can find Mae: 

 Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Book Trailer

The Next Big Thing

Thank you M.S. Spencer for inviting me to The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. She has given me a chance to talk and talk and talk about my current WIP (Work In Progress) by answering ten questions. So, here we go!

1) What is the working title of your current/next book? My current WIP is named Boneknapper.

2) Where did you get the idea for that book? A couple of years ago, I was rummaging through some stuff I'd boxed up and came across a couple of books on Voodoo. I purchased them six years ago while I was taking a Medical Anthropology course and had to write an essay on weird medical occurances. I put them up on my book shelf and thought someday I'll write a book involving a Voodoo curse. Then last year, while finishing edits on The Swan Cove Murders, I woke up one morning with the story idea in my head. Now, I don't know if I had dreampt about it or not, but the idea was real vivid...kind of like a movie reel. I scribbled a couple of notes and continued with The Swan Cove Murders. As soon as it was published, I came back to Boneknapper and began fleshing it out.

3) What's the genre of the book? It's a paranormal romantic suspense :)

4) If you could pick actors to play the lead characters in your story, who would you pick? This was easy (even though my doctor has blond hair, lol) Julian McMahon from Nip Tuck and Holly Marie Combs from Charmed. And wouldn't you know, I had no clue he had been on Charmed and these two were a 'couple' on there!

5) How would you describe your book in one sentence (10 words or less)? Okay I'm not good at this but here goes nothing: Once cursed, a doctor realizes what he's been missing-love.

6) How will your book be published, submitted through the traditional route to a traditional publisher or will you be handling it yourself through Indie publishing methods? Through the traditional route. However, I do have other projects I will be going Indie with.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of this book? Total time would be 2 1/2 months.

8) What other books within your genre are similar to yours? I went happy hunting, but didn't really find anything. The closest I found was a couple of romances with Urban Fantasy, one dealing with a treasure curse and another that involved witchcraft. But nothing on Voodoo.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? The two books on Voodoo I unburied from my closet.

10) What about your book will pique the reader's interest?  Voodoo curses, mystery, and of course the romance...my heroine is out to save the doctor's life. She's the protector instead of vice versa.

Deadly Trilogy Boxed Set Tour by Alexa Grace

I'm so excited to be one of Alexa Grace's stops along her Deadly Trilogy Boxed Set Tour.

 

Here are the blurbs for trilogy books:

From bestselling new author Alexa Grace, The Deadly Trilogy, three books with non-stop suspense and a healthy dose of toe-curling passion will have you holding your breath from the first page to the last.

Deadly Offerings - Book One - Anne Mason thinks she’ll be safe living in the Midwest living on a wind farm left to her by her ex's mother. She may be dead wrong. Someone is dumping bodies in her corn field and telling Anne they are gifts—for her! And how can she be falling in love with the hot attorney who represented her ex-husband in their divorce proceedings?

Deadly Deception - Book Two- Enter the disturbing world of illegal adoptions, baby trafficking and murder with new detective Lane Hansen and private investigator Frankie Douglas. Going undercover as husband and wife, Lane and Frankie struggle to keep their relationship strictly professional as their sizzling passion threatens to burn out of control. Can they keep passion in control long enough to take down two murderers?

Deadly Relations - Book Three - Detective Jennifer Brennan, still haunted by her abduction five years before, devotes her life to serve and protect others. Love is the last thing on her mind, but will it find her after three young women go missing and are found murdered on her watch and she vows to find the killer — or die trying.

Alexa Grace's Deadly Trilogy Boxed Set - With more than 600 five-star reviews, it's time for you to discover the three Deadly Trilogy books: Deadly Offerings, Deadly Deception and Deadly Relations.

 

Buy Links:

 Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo Books

Excerpt from Deadly Deception:

“Lane, I know you’re ready to do undercover work, but with this case I need two cops who can pose as a married couple. Unfortunately, we’ve got three women on the team. One is built like a linebacker and the other two are pregnant."

“Sir, for this case, why don’t we go outside the department? I know a Private Investigator who can handle herself on a job like this."

Newly appointed Sheriff Tim Brennan’s brows drew together in a suspicious expression. “What’s the PI’s name?”

“Frankie Douglas. I worked with her last year on the Charles Beatty serial killer case. She’s a former sharpshooter for the Army.”

“Is this the same Frankie Douglas you shot?”
Lane’s face flushed with the guilt he still felt about the shooting.
“Yes, sir. It was an accident. We were heading down the stairs of Beatty’s cellar to apprehend him when one of the steps gave way and when I fell my gun went off and hit Frankie.”

“Has Frankie Douglas done police work before?”

“I heard she’s a former detective.”

“I think I’ve heard about her. Isn’t she a pretty tall blonde woman?”

“Oh, she’s smokin’ hot. Think Victoria Secret hot.”

“Is that right? Do you have a personal thing going with Ms. Douglas?”

“No sir. Strictly professional.” Of course, if he’d had a chance, he’d have made in personal in 2.5 seconds.

Brennan glared at Lane then picked up his phone and dialed a number. “Hello, Frankie, this is Uncle Tim. I may have a job for you. Would you please drop by my office?”

Here's where you can find Alexa:

 Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 

Alexa Grace's journey started in March 2011 when the Sr. Director of Training & Development position she'd held for thirteen years was eliminated. A door closed but another one opened. She finally had the time to pursue her dream of writing books -- her dream since childhood. Her focus is now on writing riveting romantic suspense novels.

Alexa earned two degrees from Indiana State University and currently lives in Florida. She's a member of Romance Writers of America (national) as well as the Florida Chapter.
Alexa Grace is listed in the top ten of Amazon's Top 100 Most Popular Authors in the categories Romantic Suspense and Police Procedural. She was recently named one of the top 100 Indie authors by Kindle Review. A chapter is devoted to her in the book Interviews with Indie Authors by C. Ridgway and T. Ridgway. Her books Deadly Offerings, Deadly Deception, and Deadly Relations have consistently been listed in the top ten of Amazon's Top 100 Bestselling Romantic Suspense and Police Procedural Books. All three books are available in Alexa Grace's Deadly Trilogy boxed set.

Her writing support team includes five Miniature Schnauzers, three of which are rescues. As a writer, she is fueled by Starbucks lattes, chocolate and emails from readers.

Deadly Holiday, published in November 2012, is her holiday-themed romantic suspense novella, featuring all her Deadly Trilogy characters.

Profile of Evil, the first book of the Profile Trilogy will be available in spring 2013.

Meet Amy Burgess and her book, Inside Out

 Media Page - An Amazon gift card of $15 will be awarded to one lucky commenter from
our Media Page at the end of the 8 week book tour.

Please welcome Paranormal Romance Writer Amy Lee Burgess and her new book Inside Out, a Paranormal Mystery/Romance 

Why I Write About Wolf Shifters

When I was eight years old my Brownie troop went to a children’s museum to see a film about wolves.  I sat in the dark, entranced, as we followed in the paw prints of a pack of wolves for a season in their lives.

When the lights came up, there were gasps across the auditorium, starting from the back.  Gasps of fear and wonder.  I craned my neck and saw a beautiful white wolf calmly walking down the center aisle. She was leashed, which made me a little sad, but the wolf seemed perfectly at ease and happy.

The next aisle over a gorgeous grey wolf was also heading for the front of the auditorium.  What was this?  Were these wolves from the film?  I had a million questions but they all went away when I realized with joy that we were all to line up so we could, one by one, pet a wolf.  I could touch one!

When it was my turn and I looked in the white wolf’s eyes, we had a perfect exchange.  She was so beautiful and so different from my dog, Tansy.  As if she were conferring a favor to allow me to pet her versus Tansy who begged for attention.  I loved my dog, don’t get me wrong, but this wolf was something different.  A wildness glowed from within in her that made me wonder if she ever longed to run through the snow in the woods or drink from a cold mountain stream and sleep in stone cave.  Yet she seemed very pleased to be surrounded by little children in a small auditorium in Connecticut.  The dichotomy puzzled me.

Fast forward a few years and picture me at my keyboard on November 1^st.   During the month of November many writers band together and enter NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month.  The goal is to write 50,000 words by November 30^th and have the start of a novel.

My dilemma has never been word count. I can happily pound out 1,000 words in an hour if I let myself go.  My problem, up until that particular November 1^st, was reining myself in and finishing a novel that wasn’t Stephen King or Anne Rice –like in length. 

I’d decided my next step was to write a novel and submit it for publication and the guidelines I’d been reading for various small publishing houses put the upper limit of word count around 100,000.  The novel I had been writing before November 1^st, wasn’t even halfway through and already stood at close to 200,000 words. 

So my goal was to finish a novel in under 100,000 words during NaNoWriMo and then to submit it for publication. 

When I sat before my keyboard, I saw that white wolf from so long ago.  Shifters, I decided.  I would write about wolf shifters. 

The night before I’d lain tossing and turning trying to envision a plot or a character – something to start with.  All I’d gotten was a blond woman named Stanzie.  I didn’t know who she was.  What kind of a name is Stanzie? I asked myself as I stared at the keyboard at 5 a.m. on November 1^st.   Maybe it’s a nickname?  Constanza perhaps?  No.  That sounds like she’s Italian and she’s blond.  Plus I know I want her to live in New England.  Now I also know she’s a wolf shifter.  How about Constance?  That’s a nice New England name. 

Many of my novels start off with a dream sequence and the beginning of Stanzie’s journey is no different.  The strangest thing about Stanzie’s dream is that it was her wolf’s dream, not hers.

And her wolf’s voice and grasp of the world was very childlike.  Where did that come from?  I didn’t know, but I ran with it.

Four novels later, Inside Out, is a tale about Stanzie’s wolf.  Each novel in The Wolf Within series is about her wolf. Because her wolf is different than the others.  Stanzie wants her wolf to grow up, but the journey is long and bitterly hard.   Stanzie is a woman in her thirties who acts her age, but when she shifts, her wolf is a complex child.  At first she reveled in that, but then it became frustrating.  How she handles her dilemma is a running theme.

If you were a wolf, what would you discover about yourself?  That phrase is in the back of my head for every Stanzie novel I write.

Oh, Stanzie’s wolf is not white by the way.  Very light grey, almost white, but not quite.  But there is a white wolf in the series. One of my favorite supporting characters in fact.  If my white wolf of long ago could have shifted into a woman, I wonder if she would have resembled this character at all?  Maybe.

If you want to go on Stanzie’s journey, start at the beginning with Beneath the Skin and hopefully you’ll follow along until you come to Inside Out, her latest adventure. 

I also hope you’ll want to come along and see what happens in her fifth book, About Face, which is due out from Lyrical Press in spring 2013.

Here’s a handy link to the series where you can read excerpts and find buy links if you like what you read:  http://lyricalpress.com/category/series/wolf-within

Please also drop by my blog:  The Wolf Within

I’d love to hear from you either @amyleeburgess on Twitter or via email at amyleeburgess99@gmail.com

 There's no place like home...or is there?

When Stanzie is asked to investigate her birth pack- Mayflower--she isn't prepared for what she finds.

No one respects the Alphas and the newest adult member of the pack is being encouraged to leave. Why? To make matters worse, the men are dangerously intent on mating and shifting with her.

How far will the pack she thought she knew go to get what they want? Without her bond-mate, Liam, Stanzie must face this alone and, barely ahead of threat of violence, must solve the mysteries, and fast.

WARNING: Vulgar language, sexual situations, group sex, violence
A Lyrical Press Paranormal Romance

Here is an excerpt of Inside Out:

 

Alan looked at me and panic flooded his silver blue eyes. “Stanzie.” My name was a horrified plea.

I could see the ghost of a wolf’s muzzle beneath his mouth. He held out a hand and recoiled when he saw the dark fur on his palm.

“Take off your clothes, Alan,” I urged, but he stood there, transfixed. I hastily unbuttoned his plaid shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. “Help me,” I cried as I tugged at his sleeve.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” he whispered. His body gave a bone crunching shudder and he stared at Faith and Scott’s wolves, terror etched across his face. The wolves waited together, shoulder to shoulder. It was a damn good thing I hadn’t shifted myself. Poor Alan was clueless.

I fumbled with the button on his fly and then the zipper. His throat rippled and he threw back his head and howled. The noise nearly scared the shit out of me, but I somehow managed to get his zipper down and then I pushed him onto his ass so I could pull his jeans off. He was no help at all, caught in the throes of the first emergence of his wolf. His body morphed in and out of focus. It was like trying to undress someone by strobe light and I had to shut my eyes so I wouldn’t lose my concentration. Alan whimpered and whined. Shifting was painful sometimes--especially when we fought it and he was. He didn’t know how to relax into the chaos and let it flow. He still struggled for control, for a way to reason out the process, and that was impossible. Shifting did not make sense. It just happened.

“Let go. Alan, just go with it,” I coached in a quiet voice as I sat as near as I could to him. He writhed on the pine needles and screamed as his bones shifted beneath his skin. “It hurts less if you just let go.”

“Stanzie!” My name turned into an anguished howl and just when I had begun to get scared, it happened. Alan blinked out of this plane and when he blinked back in, he was shifted.

His wolf was gorgeous. Dusky black with ice-blue eyes. A touch of gray at the tips of each paw. Big too. Bigger than Scott’s gray wolf. He rolled to his feet and sprawled onto his face when he tried to walk. Two legs to four was a bitch for some people. It had never fazed me, but Grey told me it had taken him half an hour to figure out how the hell to walk the first time he’d shifted. I grinned to remember the story and reached out to pat Alan’s wolf on the head. He whined at me.

“Get up and walk. Four legs are fun,” I told him. I was on my hands and knees now, so we could look eye to eye. If he got up, that is. Faith’s wolf pranced over and nudged him with her dainty muzzle. He whined again and she gave a coughing bark. In wolf speak she told him to get off his ass.

Scott’s wolf approached me and stared at me so hard I knew he tried to tell me something, but I couldn’t figure out what. Then it hit me. Duh. I was still in human form.

I stood up so I could strip off my jeans and t-shirt. Scott’s wolf waited impatiently. Alan’s wolf had gained his wobbly feet but seemed stuck in one position. When Faith’s wolf nudged his back end with her nose, he promptly fell over again and I snickered. Alan’s wolf gave me a reproachful look and I patted his head in apology. Scott’s wolf moved behind me and bumped the back of my knees so hard I fell over. Alan’s wolf wheezed with lupine laughter. “At least I can walk on all fours,” I muttered. Naked, I crawled away a few feet to give myself space for shifting. Only nothing happened.

And of course the links to where you can buy this exciting paranormal:

 Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Lyrical Press

Amy Lee Burgess wrote her first ghost story at age ten. Born in New England, she has also lived in New Orleans and Houston, survived fires, floods, hurricanes, divorce and the premature cancellation of several of her favorite television shows. Turning her back on such shocking betrayals, she is now writing about ghosts, vampires, and other paranormal things and is much happier for it. 

You can find Amy:

Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Christmas Wishes Blog Hop

 Book & Trailer Showcase, Coffee Beans and Love Scenes, and Full Moon Bites are hosting the GREAT Christmas Wishes Blog Hop going on from today through December 13th. And there's some prizes along the way :) Who wouldn't love that? I'm excited to meet some new bloggers I haven't discovered before, and get in on the giveaways. Just click on the button above and get hopping! Or scroll below and go from there.

Be sure to visit everyone's blogs along the way as there are individual prizes to be had. And then, there's the Grand prize, of course.

 What's the Grand Prize? A Kindle Paperwhite, A Nook Glow, and a $90 choice giftcard for either Amazon or B&N. And both tablets will come with a book bundle. Now is your chance! Be sure to enter below!

The next three blogs to follow are:
Tmonique Stephens
Boone Brux
Carly Fall

 And, be sure to comment below! I'll give away a copy of The Swan Cove Murders to a random commenter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/308aa4235/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

IWSG

In case this is your first time hearing about us, our wonderful group, founded by our awesome 'Ninja' great Alex J. Cavanaugh, meets once a month to encourage and inspire one another through our writing journeys. It's real simple to join us. Go here to sign up and visit a few of the blogs listed. Leave some encouragement as your words could make a difference in someone's life. And feel free to post one of your own.

My insecurities this month is time constraints. I'm trying to finish edits on Boneknapper, so I can submit it. I'm trying to work on a new WIP. And blog. And promote. And tweet. And so forth...

It's slightly overwhelming, but I think I'm just beginning to figure things out and find a somewhat schedule.

But then, I nearly forgot...oh okay. I did forget to post this one!!

Usually though, something throws a monkey wrench into my plans (almost as if someone's trying to tell me no planning aloud) and I'm back at square one.

I'm sure some of my problems with time comes from the holidays. More extra stuff. You know, decorating, find the perfect tree (this year one that my grandbaby can't try to eat or yank down, lol), shopping (I've only managed two presents so far), gift wrapping...my heart's all a flutter.

I think if I can just make it through Christmas, I might have a shot at actually planning something more concrete to work by.Crossing my fingers....

Meet Carrie Crain and The Adventures of Austin Girl and The Legend of Diablo

 

Media Page for the book tour

It pleases me to have guest author, CARRIE CRAIN, author of wacky tween novel, THE ADVENTURES OF AUSTIN GIRL AND THE LEGEND OF DIABLO. She is going to give you a little background on the characters.

 

Austin Girl, a dispirited teenager, discovers a magic Samurai sword, leading her on a journey to Planet Disco to save her kidnapped Grandpa from the nefarious Diablo, and return to Earth before she becomes a permanent guest.

Character Bios

1.      Austin Girl – Thirteen-year-old going on fourteen who lives in Checkered Past, Texas (a fictitious one-horse town) with no Sonic. She is curious, stubborn, and precocious. Austin Girl is enamored with the history and legend behind antiques. Also, she has vertigo and despises disco and the ‘70s. She uses the words: golly gosh, goodness, freakizoid, or yucky.

2.      Diablo – A self-centered dork. He’s believed to be around six-thousand-years-old but looks to be eighteen. He has a quick temper and worships his Chevy Pie Wagon.

3.      Grandpa Lucky – Lucky has an eye for the rare and hard to find. He could sniff out valuable antiques just by employing his sixth sense.

4.      Skinny – Is a descendant of the Samurai elite family called Pang Chow. He works part-time in the summer and weekends at the Slice and Dice sushi restaurant. He’s a hipster who wears scarves and TOMS.

5.      Madame Ursa – aka Tabby. She’s Diablo’s klutzy First Lieutenant and hates being alone. She wears pink hair and purple thigh-high boots. Also, she’s allergic to cats.

6.      Harold – He’s from Planet Halo. He wears a Northface vest and carries a backpack. Harold is smitten with Austin Girl.

7.      Jewel – She has sandstorm hair and wears a bright yellow rain slicker and lots and lots of bracelets. She’s a little bit Texas and little bit Cajun who drags the syllables of her words. Jewel and Austin Girl are close friends who are in the same grade at Checkered Past High School. She complains often chews bubble gum to overcome her nervousness.

8.      Alley the Cat – An insanely fat cat. She’s fluffy and white and protects Austin Girl from bullies. I originally named her Allergy (get it?) but my husband thought “Allergy” was too goofy and made me change it.

9.      Star the Starfish – She is the size of a Volkswagen Bug. She wears braces and has five violet eyes with thick purple lashes. She’s from Planet Halo and is Harold’s warm-hearted side-kick.

10. The Geisha – She owns the Slice and Dice and is Asian. Extremely helpful and wise.

11. Mrs. Mary Lou Wisdom – Old fossil who owns a western boot store in Checkered Past. She crushes on Grandpa Lucky and is a nosey busy body.

12. Disco Cat Pink – Pink is actually blonde. Originally from Panama, she had once worked on a banana boat during the Korean War…that was until her fatal accident with a banana and a hungry monkey. Pink got her name because she lost both pinkies with the psycho banana boat monkey. Diablo crushes on Pink. Pink loathes Diablo and cannot be trusted.

13. Disco Cat Napoleon – She is a Caribbean Lilliputian who swallows her R’s and eliminates certain vowels when she speaks. She tried too hard to please everyone.

14. Disco Cat Siamese – She speaks in a fake British accent. Siamese isn’t really British. She is Vietnamese, but spent time living in London as a manicurist until her unfortunate demise with a hot wax body machine. A space cadet, she offers zero answers as to why nothing works.

15. Sheriff Shulte – He’s a local law enforcement officer who has known Austin Girl and Grandpa Lucky for many years. He is a local Texas boy in his thirties with southern hospitality.

16. The Hovels – Terrorizing piranha-like creatures who smell and steal.

17. Sharkman – A know-it-all shark who is part man. He wears a bow tie and doesn’t respect Diablo.

18. Bullies in Honda – Jealous boys from Austin Girl’s rival high school, Saint X. They are bored preppies who pick on Austin Girl because it gives them pleasure.

19. THE OSA – Outer Space Authority (Introducing in Book 2)

20. Austin Girl’s Mom (Introducing in Book 2)

21. Bob (Introducing in Book 2)

*The Disco Cats are half female/half cats who had lived on Earth as humans, but now reside on Planet Disco. Confusing? Sure. Bad luck? Sure. This is a wacky story. So, pay attention.

Make sure you stick around and comment. Follow @CarrieCrain and @LegendofDiablo for double the chances. We’ll be giving away a copy of THE ADVENTURES OF AUSTIN GIRL AND THE LEGEND OF DIABLO either in paperback or e-book (winner’s choice)

 Awesome Carrie! Here is an excerpt of The Adventures of Austin Girl And The Legend of Diablo.

The sound of a backfire rattled store windows on the downtown street as Lucky Stevens parked his piece of hippy junk on the East side of Lucky’s Antiques located at 13 Concho Avenue. He drove a flower power Volkswagen bus. The bus was one of those rare 23 windowed jobs with curtains—a residence on wheels.

Straightening his suspenders, he stepped out into the dusty landscape, newspaper in hand. He moseyed past a 1960 black Chevy Pie Wagon parked up ahead, admiring the car. The hot rod was decked out custom style with red and orange flames painted horizontally across the sides and hood. He tipped his beaver Stetson hat to the female driver and grinned handsomely. The pink-haired woman was preoccupied with talking to a Magic 8 Ball and didn’t notice the fifty-year-old cowboy.

Scratching his chin, he leisurely strolled up to a period oak and stained glass door. He reached in his Wrangler jeans front pocket and extracted a set of keys. He put the key in the lock and opened the door to a familiar sight. His antique store was housed in a red brick building in Checkered Past, Texas. He could sniff out valuable antiques just by employing his sixth sense.

Lucky adjusted his string tie that matched his belt that matched his ostrich quill boots. He was in love with ‘vintage everything’ including his clothes and gentleman accouterments. Ambling through the door, he removed his Panama Jack sunglasses. His gait was deliberate, like a sore racehorse. Bells jingled like rowels on a spur letting out the sounds of commerce. Lucky may have been a little deaf, but he wasn’t so deaf that he couldn’t hear money jingle in the pockets of those who entered into his world.

Lucky flipped on the lights and made a silly face at the store’s security camera. Lucky laid his morning Austin American-Statesman newspaper down on the cracked countertop beside the turn of the century cash register, and looked at the time on his 40 year-old Rolex he’d won in a bidding war at an estate sale of one of Lyndon Johnson’s cousins so many years ago. It was still early for shoppers, just a little half past seven a.m. on Friday. A set of white pine plank stairs off to the side began to creak. They led to the attic. Lucky housed antiques there that were part of his private collection, including one secret item in particular that oddly wasn't for sale.

He ditched his attention to the paper and walked over to the bottom of the stairs, looking up into the darkness. “Skinny, you up there?” Lucky hollered sharply. His young stock boy didn’t answer. Shrugging, he turned around to walk off. A thump on his noggin sent Lucky crashing to the hardwood floor. His Stetson flew off of his gray haired head and skidded across the floor like ice on marble. Staggering to his feet, he rubbed the back of his head. “What the—?”  

You can buy The Adventures of Austin Girl And The Legend of Diablo:

Amazon Kindle
Amazon Print
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords

Meet Carrie Crain!

Carrie Crain is an author of quirky comedies, adventurous romance and erotic horror including her Nov 2012 tween novel debut, THE ADVENTURES OF AUSTIN GIRL AND THE LEGEND OF DIABLO, and her 2013 erotic horror release, THE CONTRACT. Carrie received her bachelor of arts in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma and studied graduate-level screenwriting and creative writing in fiction at UCLA. When she is not writing, she is either painting, picking up dog poo, playing golf or writing lame jokes while drinking red wine.

You can find Carrie at: 
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Review: Adventures of Austin Girl and The Legend of Diablo

The Adventures of Austin Girl And The Legend of Diablo is a fun, wacky, way-out-there story about Austin Girl, whose grandfather is kidnapped by Diablo and brought to the world of Planet Disco. Diablo wants the Samari sword Lucky has in his antique shop so he can rule the universe. And Austin Girl must save Lucky, and in turn the entire universe from Diablo.

This is targeted for the pre-teen (tween) age group and I think middle school girls would probably like it. The premise is great and the characters colorful. However, the story was bogged down too much description and telling instead of showing. I was yanked out of the story a number of times because of it.

I would give it 3 stars.

Six Sentence Sunday; The Romance Reviews; My Virtual Book Signing

 It's Six Sentence Sunday! Here's how it works: Pick six sentences from you current WIP or published story and post them on your blog on Sunday. But, you have to sign up at Six Sentence Sunday first. Be sure to do this by the end of the day on Saturday and have your post active by Sunday 9a.m. And be sure to visit others on the list.

Before posting mine, some news first. Tomorrow over at The Romance Reviews, my Q&A will be up as a part of the game. Be sure to stop over if you are participating in it for a chance to win a copy of Secrets of Jenkins Bridge. And you also get some many points with the correct answers good toward the matching game and other great prizes.

Also, I'm holding my first virtual book signing over at my Facebook page. Come over, join in and I will sign a copy of The Swan Cove Murders and/or Secrets of Jenkins Bridge book cover(s) for you. I'm going to have a couple of giveaways also.

Now, on to Six Sentence Sunday. Last week, things heated up between Mitchell and Katherine. Well, before anything truly gets going, Mitchell breaks the hot kiss off.

"I'm sorry." He turned and stormed out the back door and down the steps.
Katherine wanted to chase him, to make him understand. She touched her swelled lips. Would he come back? Could he ever forgive her?

Stayed tuned.......

Six Sentence Sunday

 

 It's Six Sentence Sunday! Here's how it works: Pick six sentences from you current WIP or published story and post them on your blog on Sunday. But, you have to sign up at Six Sentence Sunday first. Be sure to do this by the end of the day on Saturday and have your post active by Sunday 9a.m. And be sure to visit others on the list.

Last week, Mitchell had apologized for saying Katherine had passed off their daughter as Aidan's. Will she accept his apology? Let's find out:

"I can’t believe you would actually think that I-"

            He cut her words off, crushing her mouth against his. She struggled to get away at first, but all the anger between them turned into raw emotion. She drew his head closer, melding her mouth completely to his. Pushing her up against the wall, he pinned her hands to her sides. After a quick breath, he reclaimed her mouth, tongue and teeth teasing her plump lips. 

Stay tuned to find out what happens next.

I Miss You Blogfest

Hosted by Andrew Leon, Matthew MacNish, and Alex J. Cavanaugh

Do you have blogging buddies who haven't post often or haven't post at all in a while and you miss them terribly? How about special bloggers you would miss if they had to slow down or stop for a bit? That's what this blogfest is all about.

List one to three bloggers who have for one reason or another fallen off the blogging radar, and list another one to three bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging. Then go leave a comment on their blog site. Sign up here.

Pretty simple.

The bloggers I miss:

Sarah Pearson-Empty White Pages She would post these awesome musical impressions and stories to go along with them.

Alyssa Fox-Alyssa Fox (Erotica) Besides the eye candy, she posts some pretty hot excerpts from her books. And she's one of my best critique partners.

Cheryl Yeko-Cheryl Yeko It's only been a couple of weeks, but I so enjoy her Six Sentence Sunday posts

And now the bloggers I would miss:

Alex J Cavanaugh ( of course) Because he's the one and only Captain Ninja. And I don't believe anyone could take his place in this blogging world.

Spunk On A Stick L. Diane Wolfe: On Fridays, she posts Friday Inspirational Photos, and I just love these. Not to mention all the great advice and news on a variety of subjects.

Pen Of The Dreamer  Calisa Rhose: Besides being one of the best critique partners, she has such a wonderful sense of humor and brings that to her blogging.

TRR's Year End Splash Party-LOTS of Prizes

Starting today and running through December 15th, The Romance Reviews is having a Year End Splash Party. There are well over 300 authors and publishers participating, including myself. What does this mean for you?


There are lots of chances to win some great prizes every day for the next 30 days! And the grand prize is a $100 gift card. Who couldn't use one of those this time of year? Play the matching game and get a certain number of points to be entered to win the grand prize. For every question you answer correctly, you get so many points towards an entry for the grand prize PLUS be entered into that author's/publisher's prize (see the bottom of each question box.) Join the chats and there are more prizes to be had. There are lots of talented authors to meet.

If you haven't joined TRR, now is the time. Joining is completely free.

I have two question days, November 25th and December 13th. On these days when you answer my question on TRR, you'll be entered to win a copy of Secrets of Jenkins Bridge. And I will have my own chat day, December 2nd. So, be sure to mark your calendar and join me for some Sunday virtual brunch and chatting.


And don't forget to stop by here tomorrow for the I Miss You blogfest.

Six Sentence Sunday

It's Six Sentence Sunday! Here's how it works: Pick six sentences from you current WIP or published story and post them on your blog on Sunday. But, you have to sign up at Six Sentence Sunday first. Be sure to do this by the end of the day on Saturday and have your post active by Sunday 9a.m. And be sure to visit others on the list.

 

Continuing from last week, Katherine couldn't believe Mitchell accused her of 'passing' Aly off as Aidan's child. Mitchell knows he fumbled, flying off at the mouth before thinking. But, she had, too.

"I haven't had a drop of alcohol in fifteen freakin' years...Fifteen!"  Running a hand across his head, he stopped and turned toward her. Her body shook, her fists balled up at her sides. He walked over and attempted to take her into his arms, but she wouldn't budge. "Look, I'm sorry."

Do you think she'll accept his apology? Stay tuned next week....

IWSG

I'm a bit late posting my Insecure Writers Support Group post.

In case this is your first time hearing about us, our wonderful group, founded by our awesome 'Ninja' great Alex J. Cavanaugh, meets once a month to encourage and inspire one another through our writing journeys. It's real simple to join us. Go here to sign up and visit a few of the blogs listed. Leave some encouragement as your words could make a difference in someone's life. And feel free to post one of your own.

My insecurity this month is self publishing. I'm considering doing this and am kind of freaked out. There is such a large amount of information out there to go about self publishing. I could self publish through Amazon or Smashwords, and I'm sure there are more picks. You have to know how to properly format, and have excellent critique partners. I would want beta readers too. I've read it sucks up a lot more time.

And then, there's purchasing my own book cover. And completely doing the promoting and marketing on my own. However, I can set my own price and I can change it when I want to do a promo pricing weekend.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against my current publisher. I love them. Like I posted a while back, I'm writing erotica and would like that to be separate from my paranormal romance and romantic suspense. I could send off queries to the vast number of erotic publishers, which I may still do.

But, there just seems to be more freedom in self publishing. I know there are pitfalls, but that goes without saying.

If you are self published, do you have any advice for a novice?

Six Sentence Sunday

It's Six Sentence Sunday! Here's how it works: Pick six sentences from you current WIP or published story and post them on your blog on Sunday. But, you have to sign up at Six Sentence Sunday first. Be sure to do this by the end of the day on Saturday and have your post active by Sunday 9a.m. And be sure to visit others on the list.

Last week, Mitchell had just discovered he was a father. He was angry at not finding this out before leaving town fifteen years ago. To see last week's six, click here. This is Katherine's response to his question about pawning Aly off as Aidan's.


“You asshole. I wasn’t even going to have her after finding you. I didn’t want any cheating drunk raising our child.  Aidan changed my mind. He thought maybe it was your one chance to truly straighten up.”

“Not like you gave me the chance.”

Come back next week to see if they can patch things up.