Need a little - Dark Leopard Magic?

An Interview with Author, Sapphire Phelan


Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with the multi-talented, Sapphire Phelan.  She has written and published erotic and sweet paranormal/fantasy/science fiction romance along with a couple of erotic horror stories. Her erotic urban fantasy, Being Familiar With a Witch is a Prism 2010 Awards winner and a Epic Awards 2010 finalist.


Some of you may even know her as the talented, Pamela K. Kinney.  Under this alter-ego, Pamela has published horror, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, and nonfiction paranormal books published by Schiffer Publishing.  Her stories Haunted Richmond, Virginia and Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales have received amazing reviews and are a perfect addition to any paranormal collection. She also has a new ghost book, Haunted Historic Triangle and Nearby Haunted Places coming Spring 2011, and she just had a collection of short horror stories, Spectre Nightmares and Visitations, come out.


Under either pen name she admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house, husband, and even the cats sometimes suffer for it!


Today she is sharing her latest release, Dark Leopard Magic.  Review Words That Sparkle says,  "If you like your stories hot and frequent with an emotional sucker-punch at the end, I couldn’t recommend a better shifter story than Dark Leopard Magic by Sapphire Phelan."    http://reviews.words-that-sparkle.com/?p=1

Congratulations on your novel! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about  your book.

Dark Leopard Magic (published by Phaze Books) is my second erotic male/male paranormal romance that I wrote. The first one was a short story, “The Dark Man” in the anthology by Under the Moon, Forbidden Love: Sacred Bands.

Dark Leopard Magic is the second novella in the Beast Magic trilogy. It is also interracial and concerns wereleopards, with a touch of mystery. One of the two heroes was first introduced as a secondary character in Beast Magic. Montsho never thought that his mate from the Dreaming would be a wereleopard (how my shifters find their soul mates) but never another male.

Blurb:


Dev Tollen is a man with a dark past and an even darker soul. More than that, he's a gay wereleopard. He has never had the Dreaming and never met his true mate. But one night the Dreaming does come and reveals his lover, an African man named Montsho, also an alpha black wereleopard. Montsho will fight their love and their destiny. Dev will do all he can to win his beloved's heart and keep him by his side always.
Then the ghost of a human begs Dev to solve his wereleopard lover's murder. Both men will find that their new-found love tested and their lives in danger. Their idyllic time in paradise is about to be torn asunder when they discover who the murderer is.

Kiki Howell's been Torn Assunder!

Welcome today to our Guest Author, Kiki Howell!  And a big congrats on the release of her first full-length novel, Torn Assunder.


Kiki Howell has always loved to listen to a well-woven tale with real characters, inspired plots, and delightful resolutions. She could spend hours lost in a book, and soon knew that creating lives, loves, and losses with just words had to be the greatest thing that she could do. She pursued her study of literature and writing, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. She then followed in a Master’s program in Creative Writing.


When asked where she finds her inspiration Kiki responded: 

I love Regency romances, and challenged myself to write one. Adding paranormal elements just seemed appropriate, as Regency England always seemed like a magical time to live in to me – that is if you were a member of the upper ten thousand. All the genres for Torn Asunder just started to tumble together after that – paranormal, historical, suspense, erotic romance. I hope readers will enjoy the whirlwind of them I have created.

As you all know, some authors like to get the feel of a soundtrack going on to set the mood of their story.  For Kiki she sometimes listens to music.  'If I do, it is usually Hemi Sync, where music is blended with frequencies that guide your brain into focused states of consciousness. My favorite is “Baroque Garden for Concentration.”

Intense, right?

Ok, so on with the good stuff....  Here is a sneak into Kiki's upcoming release --

Torn Asunder

Kiki Howell spins a wonderful tale of passion, magic, betrayal, and a love that conquers all. Enjoy."  ~NY Times Bestselling Author, Hannah Howell


Blurb: Aubrey Griffen is a witch whose true reasons for coming to London soon fall to the wayside when she catches the eye of Edmund Bryant, the Marquess of Dalysbury.  He seduces her into a whirlwind romance until the lies and threats of his mother force her to flee to Triaill Brimuir, a secret island of her ancestors off the coast of Ireland. Edmund goes after her only to be hit by Aubrey’s confusion and anger when she magically transforms him into an elemental beast of her own creation.  




However, it is when Edmund’s lust mysteriously turns him back into a man that the couple are forced to deal with a family secret and untold of powers.  Now, Edmund must learn to shift himself into the beast in order to save her in a battle of black verses white magic.




Fraught with scenes of explicit intimacy, romantic spells and mystical shapeshifting, Torn Asunder is a unique blending of the age of manners with sexual magic.




Genres: Historical (Regency), Paranormal (Witches & Shifters), Erotic Romance
Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language, Violence




Novel Coming January 2011 in eBook and Trade Paperback online at all major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks, etc.

The Devil Inside ~

What Do You Believe...

With the recent release of ‘Season of the Witch’ and the upcoming release of ‘The Rite’ it’s a pretty good presumption to say that Hollywood has gone to hell – again.  It happens every so often; from the movie releases of Constantine, Frailty, The Serpent and the Rainbow to Stigmata, the Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Last Exorcism.  Hell, I still recall the first time I saw the Exorcist; I was seven – bad babysitter!  It has obviously left its mark. 

So where do writers get these ideas on demons and angels?  Where do we draw the lines in the fight for the salvation of mankind?  For some of us it was bred into us in the weekly grind of church on Sundays; forced religion with frilly dresses and Sunday brunch.  Most of us probably didn’t recognize the mandated education.  And those that did – well, some grew up and strayed from faith and others remained believers in God’s Grace.  But, there are those who are a bit of both – the believer that still wonders.  Questions remain. 

Is that a good thing?  Maybe.  At least fiction will never be the same.

Did you know that in Western religion and occult lore, demons are classified into various elaborate systems, and hierarchies of hell?  They have ascribed them to various characters, forms, attributes and duties.  The most complex hierarchy was devised by Johann Weyer – a Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist.  Weyer stated that in the hierarchy of demons it is estimated that there were 7,405,926 demons serving under seventy-two princes?

The statement lists were 7,405,926 demons.  Makes one wonder where they went?  Did God’s warriors cast them into the darkness?  And if so, doesn’t it beg to state the obvious that they are already in the ultimate pit of darkness?  Can a demon be forgiven?  Repent its sins?

Did you know that Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament?  According to the Books of Job and Luke, angels are ordinary people who carry messages (Job 1:14; Luke 7:24; 9:52).  That the word angel actually comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger.” The matching Hebrew word mal'ak has the same meaning.  But, are all angels good?  And wasn’t there a war?  Didn’t Lucifer fall from grace?  Isn’t that how he became the head demon?

The Gods Must Be Crazy! an Interview with Ashley Blade

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with the very talented author, Ashley Blade.  For those of you who may not have yet had the opportunity to meet Ashley she is not only an outstanding author but she is a soccer mom, a car saleswomen extraordinnaire, as well as a book junkie in her own rights. 

Ok, first let me say, congratulations, Ashley on your novel! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about  your latest release.

Thank you, I can’t tell you how excited I am about being here today. My newest release is called Murder 4 Hire: The gods must be crazy. A while back my publisher wanted us to submit for an anthology. It could be fantasy or paranormal, but it had to be something besides mainstream. I decided I would take Ike out of her natural elements. In this book, Ike is hired to find Ares son Alek. He was kidnapped by Persephone and Ike only has until Christmas to find him. Of course it’s not as easy as it sounds. Besides having to find Alek, Ike comes face to face with Hades, a hydra, a hell hound and a couple of other mythical creatures. You’ll have to read the story to see how Ike fairs though. LOL! (Turns out Ike 2 became a stand alone.)

Oooh, I love Greek god stories!  How fun.

So, Where do you find your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from everything. I can’t read anything or watch anything without saying hmm I wonder if you threw this in, or that in, what would happen. Like with my new story for Ike. I threw the mythical aspect at her and hung on for the ride.

Do you have an excerpt from your book that you’d like to share?

I sure do. For your entertainment M4H: The gods must be crazy.

Book Versions

E-Book ($3.99) Available Formats: PDF; HTML; Mobi Pocket

www.eirelander-publishing.com

Amazon

Bookstrand

Smashwords

Even gods need a hired gun every now and then.

The holidays just got a little crazier for Ike the assassin. Still in turmoil over her boyfriend’s missing kids, the ante is upped when Ares – god of war- requests Ike’s special skills. Find his kidnapped son or the whole world goes to Hades. Literally!

Genre	Action
Length	Novel
Heat Level	Carnal

Excerpt:

They pulled up to the gate and waited. The skeptical part of Ike’s brain had been working overtime since she talked to Shiloh. Or was it Ares? Fuck, she didn’t know, but Ike had to admit she was curious. How would you prove you’re a god? Ugh, what the hell. This was crazy…like bat shit crazy! The only people who claimed they were gods were the clinically insane.

Glancing down at her watch, Ike tapped her foot nervously. He was almost twenty minutes late and she was ready to leave. “Fuck this,” she hissed as she placed her hand on the ignition.

“What was that?”  Hannah squeaked as the car began to shake.

Ike peered out the window, but didn’t see what was making Hannah jumpy.

“Your over-fucking-active imagination.”  The car shook again and this time Ike gasped.

The car continued to shake violently. With each shudder of the car Ike wondered if Alabama had earthquakes. Each sway of the vehicle had Hannah screaming. Ike wished she could just backhand her. Thomas, on the other hand, seemed calm and collected as he rode it out. Ike wasn’t sure whether she wanted to slap Thomas out of it too or if he had the right idea.

Gripping the steering wheel, Ike cursed everything that was holy and promised if they made it out of this situation she would kick Shiloh’s ass.

Peep Show - A Glimpse Inside Getting It Published

An Interview

With Mojocastle Press, COO – Stefanie Kelsey

As one of the current co-owners of the paranormal author/reader group Just Another Paranormal Monday I recently embarked upon the endeavor of putting together two (2) Anthologies; one for Halloween and the other a Christmas Anthology for Charity.  During the course of these releases I learned several important things, the first of which was:  lunacy loves company and second, you can only flash the ‘I’m-new–forgive-me-my-idiocy-card’ so often.

So how do you make it all come together when you’ve no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into?  Answer:  Faith, hard work, great friends, amazing authors and a publisher/Chief-Executive Editor that is as knowledgeable as she is forgiving.  That, and like the authors who have thrown their hat into this paranormal anthology ring with you – she never says die – unless she’s the one who pens the order herself.

As one of the main co-conspirators of these Anthologies I’ve learned to organize, delegate, create new ways of mass promotion; become a hand-holder, ego-soother, event planner, copy-editor, art reviewer, and on and on and so on.  Yes, all that, just for myself! 

With all of the other writers involved it was an educational event putting all of these stories together as they reached their final production.  And, I must say that my respect for publishers and editors has grown immensely.  This led me to this interview and the questions I’ve had along the way.  Primarily – How do you do it?  How do you get from point A) Our story idea, to point B) the final product?  And how do you not go insane? So, I turned to my source of publishing information, my guru, if you will.  She’s my hand-holder, my ego-soother, my COO, and Executive Editor at Mojocastle Press and best of all, along the way she’s become my friend. 

So, Stef, what in the world made you decide to go from author – since you also write under the pen name Rian Monaire – to editor and then publisher?

Actually, I was an editor first. My first job was working for Wings Epress, then Zumaya. I actually only started writing because some of my authors dared me. I’m an Aries, so you can guess my reaction. I was promoted from editor to partner at eXtasy Books, and found I really enjoyed all facets of the publication process. So I struck out on my own with Mojocastle Press, and with my partner, Carrie, the cycle of insanity came full circle. I have been loosed on the world!

Authors are such solitary creatures - Have you worked with any that have been massive divas about getting their written word out the way they want it out?

I’ve had a few. Okay, a lot. Since getting sued on a massive scale isn’t one of my New Year’s Resolutions, I won’t use names...but you all know who you are. I have been called every name in the book, and some that were added to the book later. I will never understand why some people react violently to constructive criticism.