S.J. Day Book Giveaway….

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED


We had the pleasure of meeting Sylvia Day/S.J. Day/Livia Dare at RT in Orlando this year. No not three different people, just one amazing writer, with three different pseudonyms.

I have a hard time keeping it straight, I have no idea how she does it. But let me tell you, as I helped set up her books at the Allure Party, she didn’t have one bit of trouble talking about or signing all those books, under all those names. What a lady, I’m just sayin’.

Her new book written under S.J. Day is Eve of Darkness, which just released on April 28th. To show our support for such an amazing person and writer we want to give you get a chance to win book 1 in this compelling new Marked series.

Click on the names above to find more from Sylvia, and to read an Exerpt of this book, or the others within the series, click on the book title. ENJOY!!!!!





EVE OF DARKNESS

Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel... All in a day's work.
For Evangeline Hollis, a long-ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.
Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted to kill demons, Eve knows her learning curve must be short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She's also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history...
But she'll worry about all that later. Right now she's more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she'd never quite believed she had.


Leave a comment all week for your chance to win.

Hugs
Xoxo
LKap

Angie's in the House and We've Got A Surprise

We’ve got Angie Fox in the house today. Oh Yeah!!! I’m really excited to have her with us. And there’s a surprise. Don’t you love surprises? I do. :) I’m giving away her book, but Angie is giving away one of her extremely sought after T-shirts. I love this shirt. Angie had it on at RT and trust me the demons knew she’d kick their butts.

Here's the front:



And here's the back:



So, instead of choosing the winner today, I’m going to extend it through Sunday. That’s right. Sunday a winner will be randomly chosen to win a copy of the book (OMG, you’re going to love it), and a T-shirt. Yay!!!

Now for the interview.

Needless to say I was having serious demon slayer withdrawals waiting for The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers (again, you can read the excerpt by clicking the link).

Okay, if you’re ready, here goes:

Me: How did you get started writing?

Angie: I got started writing because I love reading. I think if you read a lot of books, somewhere along the line you get this feeling like, “I could do that.” I acted on it and voila – eight years and three unpublished manuscripts later – my first book sold.

Me: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Angie: Just call me a plantser. I like to know where the story is going, but not too much because when I’m having fun, that’s when the story itself takes on a lot more energy.

With The Accidental Demon Slayer, I started with a kernel of an idea that amused me. What if a straight laced preschool teacher suddenly learns she’s a demon slayer? And what if she has to learn about her powers on the run from a fifth level demon? Ohhh and wouldn’t it be fun if she’s running with her long-lost Grandma’s gang of geriatric biker witches?

With The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, I started with an offhand joke I made at the end of The Accidental Demon Slayer. Lizzie is just about to kiss her man when she’s interrupted and told she and the gang have to head to Las Vegas to save her long lost uncle from marrying a succubus. When I went to write the next book, I thought – why not?

I find if I start with an interesting conflict and let the story evolve based on the characters, things will start to roll in the right direction. And I know the story was working when I can’t wait to get back to the keyboard every day.


Me: You’re an amazing writer, but I do have a couple of burning must know questions. Do you have pets? And do they talk to you?

Angie: Pirate the dog is based on my experiences with a poodle named Beau. He’s gone now, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to get another dog yet, but Beau had this way of talking without saying a word. I knew what he was thinking. And he was quite a smart aleck.


Me: Okay, I know in the first book Lizzie is a pre-school teacher who has no idea she’s a demon slayer until her grandmother rides up on a Harley. Did you have to do a lot of research for the biker witches?

Angie: Loads, actually. First off, the biker witches ride Harleys, and I’d never been on a motorcycle before. Second, I had to figure out how to get Pirate the dog onto a bike.

I went online and learned about the Biker Dogs Motorcycle Club, made up exclusively of Harley riders and their dogs. I ended up meeting some of them, along with a few other bikers along the way. These bikers were so great to me. They hoisted me onto the back of their Harleys (with dogs in tow). They took me to biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink). And they laughed at me when I tried to put my helmet on backwards (I still say I was distracted by the Pomeranian wearing a tiny pair of motorcycle glasses). After a few outings with my new biker friends, I was able to make my geriatric biker witch characters a lot more realistic. And I took home some great pictures, too.


Me: What’s your favorite part of the job?

Angie: Meeting the authors who have been on my keeper shelves for years. I’ve always been an avid reader and it’s just such a kick to sit on panels with authors I admire. I do tend to turn into a fan girl – Laurell K Hamilton probably thinks I’m a bit off – but I’m just thrilled to meet her and others like her.


Me: With the release of your second book have you found it easier or harder when you sit in front of the computer? What has changed for you now that you are under actual deadlines from an editor?

Angie: It was harder to write The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers because I had to get over the idea that people were actually going to read it. When I wrote The Accidental Demon Slayer, I wanted to have it published, but I didn’t know if anyone would buy it. Then suddenly, less than a year later, that book was a New York Times bestseller.

It was a complete shift for me to think that not only would some people read that next book, a lot of people might. I had to force myself to get over it by telling myself that I could toss any draft at the end of the day. No guilt. Just toss. Knowing that, I was able to relax, have fun and tell the story.


Me: Are you planning on more books for this series? Please say yes (picture Vicki begging here).

Angie: Yes, there will be five books total in this series. Right now, I’m writing book 3, which is tentatively titled A Tale of Two Demon Slayers. In it, Lizzie and the gang travel to Greece where they learn more about Dimitri’s past and a threat that could destroy them all. I’m having a ball with it because it’s so much fun to explore Dimitri’s home, his family - and who knew he had such a juicy past? I’m also working on a voodoo novella for an anthology with Katie MacAlister.

Me: 5 Books. I am so happy. Can you tell us a little about your latest release?

Angie: In this latest book, Lizzie is determined, once and for all, to master her powers. In fact, she’s going to write the book on demon slaying. So she begins a journal, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, where she records what she’s learning, starting with newfound discoveries about demons, gargoyles and a particularly mischievous live spell named Beanie who likes to fill Lizzie’s boots with pumpkin spice latte.

Things get dicey when the demons get their hooks in Dimitri. He’s much darker and sexier in this book. And we introduce a new character, Max, who is half demon and 100% yummy.


Me: If you weren’t an author and could be anything you wanted to be, what would it be and why?

Angie: I’d love to own a bookstore. I have this fantasy of being paid to read all day. Real bookstore owners assure me that they actually have to do inventory, clean the store, etc., but in my fantasy I have shirtless men handling all of that.

Me: Any advice for those of us who are aspiring writers and parting words for our readers?

Angie: I think you need to give yourself the permission and the freedom to make the story as big as you can. I had a lot of trouble with this one initially, because I didn’t know what it meant. I had to push my writing to a level I had never gone to before. My characters had to take bigger chances, have more to risk and lose. It’s easy to say, but a hard thing for a writer to do. It’s a vulnerable, risky place to be. I knew my story was big enough to sell when instead of ending my writing sessions thinking, “I hope that’s good enough to impress an editor.” I ended them thinking, “No. I didn’t not just write that. I did not just make my character defend herself with a toilet brush and a can of Purple Prairie Clover air freshener.”

Me: It has been fabulous having you here, but then you know I’m a huge fan. Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting with us.

Okay everyone, it’s your turn. Any questions for Angie? Leave your comments and/or questions to be included in the drawing for this week’s theme.


WW's and PD's,
Vicki

Karen Rose - She's In The House

I’m so excited to have Karen Rose in the house today. Not only is she an amazing writer, who weaves a world you’ll still have you with long after reading the end, but she’s one of the coolest people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for the past several years.

Karen it’s great to have you here. We’ve all been chomping at the bit waiting for Kill For Me and it’s out, Yay!!

Needless to say, I’m already a huge fan, although you know your books scare the willies out of me. Okay if you’re ready, here goes.

Me: How did you get started writing and have you always written romantic suspense?

Karen: I started writing when a movie-like scene began to roll through my mind, fifteen years ago now. It was new and unique – and really bugging me! It would wake me up and distract me at work. Finally, while on vacation, I thought if I just wrote the scene down, maybe it would go away. Three hours later I was still writing, that one scene having led to another, and another and I was hooked. I travelled a great deal for my job then, and I’d write in hotels and airports all over the US and the world. It was a hobby, one I enjoyed in secret. Only my husband knew I wrote for fun. Eventually, that one scene became my first, very long book!

It wasn’t suspense then – my first two stories were contemporary romances. It wasn’t until I began my third book – I still was writing in secret – that elements of suspense crept into my plot. Eventually, after five complete revisions, that book became DON’T TELL, my first release.

Me: Your now not only in the US , but in London as well, major congrats! Can you tell us about receiving ‘The Call’ and also the call for going international?

Karen: I got “The Call” for my first sale in December, 2001. I was leaving work, on my way to take two customers out to dinner. I’d never met these customers and didn’t really want to do the dinner, but duty called. So did my agent J. I was very calm at hearing the news that Warner Books had offered me a two-book contract. “Yes,” I said, “I think we should take that offer.” Then I hung up, called my husband, screaming. Then I called my best friend, screaming. Then I had to go to dinner with two customers I’d never met, all the while squirming in my chair, wishing I were home so I could call everyone I’d ever known with the news, LOL. I ended up calling everyone I’d ever known the next day.

Me: Are you a plotter or a panster?

Karen: A pantser? No, I’m a plotter, although I don’t do spreadsheets of each scene, color-coded by POV anymore. But I have to know who did it before I begin.

Me: You’re not only a fabulous writer, but you’re also a wife and mom. How do manage to do it all?

Karen: I have a great husband who is my best support and loudest cheerleader. He also cooks, cleans (kind of) and does the laundry. I’d be lost without him. My kids are older now, and more self-sufficient. They can operate the microwave, which means they can cook as well as I can.


Me: Okay, we all know there’s plenty of people who die in your books, but how do you do your research and where do you keep the bodies?

Karen: I keep the bodies in a spreadsheet (I really do). Research depends on the book. Sometimes, like with COUNT TO TEN or DIE FOR ME, it’s in-depth and varied. Other times, it may be a single question to a trusted source.

Me: What’s your favorite part of the job?

Karen: When the story starts to come together and rushes out like a river. Also when something happens, or two threads connect, that I don’t expect. And then I think, “Well, that certainly explains a lot!”

Me: Can you tell us a little about your newest release and what’s coming up next?

Karen: My newest release is KILL FOR ME – the finale to the Vartanian family trilogy and the story of ADA Susannah Vartanian and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Luke Papadopoulos. KILL FOR ME picks up where SCREAM FOR ME left off – with five dead bodies in a concrete bunker on the river. Susannah and Luke find that five teenagers have been murdered. Another five have been taken, for sale in the sex trade. One lone teenager has survived and escaped. Only she has seen her captors – and they are determined she will not live to tell the tale.

My next book, I CAN SEE YOU, will be released in August, 09. It’s the story of Eve Wilson, who was introduced in DON’T TELL and also appeared in NOTHING TO FEAR. More on this as the summer draws closer!

Me: Any advice for aspiring writers and parting words for our readers?

Karen: Write because you must, because the characters in your head will not be silenced. Don’t lose the love of writing because you’re working so hard to get published. I wrote the book I finally sold five times. Don’t ever give up.


Karen, thanks so much for stopping by, I’ve loved having you here.

Karen: Thanks for having me!

Okay, everyone it’s your turn now. Leave your comments to be included in the drawing on Friday for Karen’s newest release, Kill For Me.

WW's and PD's,
Vicki

Karen Rose - Kill For Me, It's Here and You can Win It

Karen Rose has done it again. Yep, her world is amazing and although it doesn't, there might should be a keep the light on sign with her books.

She keeps you turning pages, staying up late, and perhaps sleeping with one eye open.

Here's the inside jacket blurb:

Six teenage girls have been kidnapped. Five have been murdered. One survived. Only she can reveal the secrets of a disturbing ring of people who kidnap and sell teenage girls on the black market. But those responsible for the crimes will do whatever it takes to maintain her silence.


Susannah Vartanian and Luke Papadopoulos have both sworn to stop the murderers for their own personal reasons. The investigation will lead them to the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where anyone can mask their identity. They soon discover a chain of deception so intricate they don't know who to trust. Finding comfort in each other's arms, they begin to unravel the intricately knotted threads, but the killers are ruthless and determined, and won't hesitate to take extreme measures to insure their anonymity and keep their business intact. When Susannah discovers an unexpected link to the girl she is trying to save, her life is soon in danger and Luke will do everything he can to save the woman he loves.

To read an excerpt, click here.

Karen may stop by this week, so if you have any questions leave them with your comments. I'm hoping to have an interview with her on Wednesday.

As always your comments can be anytime during the week, leave one each day to be entered more often.

Writing Wishes and Plotting Dreams,
Vicki

Um...Hello, I Live In The Sunshine State...

Okay, so I guess I really shouldn't complain since my northern counter parts are having temps way below 0, but I live in Florida. It's not supposed to be this cold.

We don't have true winter clothes. Instead, we have a few light sweaters and a couple of jackets. I do have one really great winter coat to use if I travel to where it's cold.

If you've ever lived in Florida, then you know during our 'winter' you do not pack away the summer clothes or the strappy sandals. This week we're freezing (yes, in the 40's is freezing to us), but next week we may be wearing shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops.

And the quick drop in the temperature is not making me want to sit in my office and write. Oh no. I want to light the fire pit outside and make Smores. Heehee. Or curl up under a blanket and read. Which is not such a bad idea since my TBR pile has become a towering wall, threatening to tumble if the slightest breeze catches it.

For those of you who live in what I'm sure is feeling like the Arctic (or perhaps do live in the Arctic), I don't know how you do it. I know the whole blood is thicker thing, but with the temps you're having right now...it could freeze. Hmmm...there could be a thriller story there. Yes, always thinking about stories in any condition. :)

We interrupt this post for an important bulletin:

Next week I'm giving away a copy of Kathy Carmichael's Hot Flash. The book hasn't released yet and you'll have the chance to win it right here.

I'll have the pic and backcover blurb up next week and rumor has it Kathy may be stopping by as well. :)

Now back to the weather.

How about you? Do you live where it's freezing? How do you handle the getting ready and out the door thing if you do?

WW's and PD's,
Vicki