Friday, February 26, 2016

Book Spotlight: Wolf's Blade by Clare Dargin



Wolf's Blade
The Paladins 1

Clare Dargin

 Contemporary, Paranormal, Shifters, Wolves
Heat Level 4,Words 32,000
Content Notes Intense, Extreme Violence, Non-Sexual Physical Assault
Publication Date 12/28/2015, Liquid Silver Books



 Samantha Dixon rescues a wounded wolf shifter in the woods near her home … and unwittingly gets drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a murderer.


Callum Blake is on the trail of an evil man who would be king of all wolf kind, no matter the cost … it’s up to Callum to stop him.


How can Callum fulfill his duty to protect his pack and save the woman who is destined to be his mate?


Buy Links:   Amazon    Liquid Silver Books











Author Bio
Clare Dargin is a multi-published romance author. She has written for several publishers in different genres, including erotic romance, military romance, contemporary, paranormal, and sci-fi. She lives in the mid-west, and when not surfing the web, she is hard at work writing her next romance novel. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Amazon.




Social Media Links
Clare's Blog 2 The Haven -  www.claresblog2thehaven.blogspot.com/
The Embraced:  Scribal Love -  www.theembraced.blogspot.com/


**********


FREE READ Opportunity
Sign up for Clare Dargin’s Newsletter,  
receive a free erotic romance e-read from her back list.

Hi everybody, I have a new newsletter that I've created that WILL have cool and relevant content for romance book readers including news and previews about my upcoming books, posts and articles you won't see on my blog and free romance reads from me.  subscribe to my newsletter now and receive a free e-romance read from me today
 http://eepurl.com/bPDF6D <3

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Interview with Pauline Gruber, author of The Girl and the Gargoyle



Interview with Pauline Gruber

1.    Tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been writing? What genre do you write?  I’ve been writing “seriously” for five years, although I’ve been dabbling most of my life. I write paranormal romance, fantasy adventure, contemporary romance, and science fiction for young adults. <LOL> Maybe it would it be easier to list what I don’t write. Dystopian, steampunk, and horror.

2.    What inspired you to write this series? The inspiration for The Girl and the Raven came while I was falling asleep one night and then it proceeded to rob me of sleep for a week. A sixteen-year-old girl from Lexington, Tennessee moves to Chicago and is nearly run over by a wealthy investor barrelling down the street. Turns out a demon is coming for the man’s son and this girl is the only one who can save him. It’s an over simplified version of the story, but there it is. I loved writing that book!

3.    Where/When do you do the most of your writing? I write on the train while commuting to my day job. It’s fabulous because I can either plug in my earbuds and listen to one of my music mixes or keep my ears open and eavesdrop on interesting conversations. It’s great fuel for future characters and stories. I also write at my dining room table at home during evenings and on weekends.

4.    What do you think has been your biggest accomplishment?  Writing and publishing my first two books. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done and the most rewarding.

5.    Do you have a favorite author? Just one? Seriously? I’ll be nice and keep it to seven. Ann Patchett, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Neil Gaiman, JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, and Judy Blume

6.    Is there anything that you find particularly challenging in your writing? Writing magical scenes. I have a dozen reference books on magic and witchcraft. And I consult with a woman who’s pretty knowledgeable about this stuff.

7.    Do you have any advice for other authors? The first is to put your butt in the chair and actually write. It’s been said hundreds of times before, but it bears repeating.  Second piece of advice: persevere. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to give up. Whether you suffer from writer’s block, anxiety, lack of time, lack of ideas, a ton of responsibility, the blues, lack of sleep, whatever it is, DON’T GIVE UP! Believe in yourself and your stories. I promise you, the satisfaction you will feel upon completing your book is unlike anything else. And, like one of my middle school readers recently pointed out to me “You’ve got big time bragging rights!”

8.    How can readers reach you?  Via email at pauline@paulinegruber.com; my website: www.paulinegruber.com and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/paulinegruberauthor


The Girl and the Gargoyle (The Girl and the Raven #2)
Release Date: 06/23/15

Summary from Goodreads:
Being half-witch/half-demon and dating Marcus, a gargoyle and demon enemy, is complicated enough for Lucy. She can almost tolerate Jude, her demon father, forcing her to undergo combat training.

But when Marcus’s long-lost family returns to Chicago, her world begins to crumble. Marcus's mother wants him to leave to join the gargoyle clan; his father wants him to help kill Jude. There’s one major problem with this: if Jude dies, Lucy dies.

Marcus will do whatever it takes to save Lucy and her father. Meanwhile Lucy has her own plan and with the aid of a surprise newcomer, seeks help from the most unlikely—and dangerous—source. 




Book One:
(cover linked to Goodreads)
About the Author
Pauline Gruber is a self-professed music junkie, cat wrangler, and travel nut. She went to Paris in the 90’s where she discovered a love of three things: croissants, old cathedrals, and gargoyles. Deciding that the paranormal world could use a new kind of hero, Pauline translated her fascination with the protective gargoyle into a suspenseful love story. She is the author of the young adult series, The Girl and the Raven, The Girl and the Gargoyle and the forthcoming novel, The Girl and the Demon. By day, Pauline is a legal assistant for a Chicago law firm where she steals identities and incorporates them into her books. If you tell anyone, she’ll deny, deny, deny.  Pauline lives outside of Chicago with her precocious black cats.



Author Links:
 photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png

Monday, February 8, 2016

Interview with Michael Weekly, Author of Mystical: The Deadly Truth


Interview with Michael Weekly, Author of Mystical: The Deadly Truth

What inspired the premise for your story? I enjoy fairies, witches, elves, mermaids, any other magical creature. However, in most cases, one magical creature is looked down upon sometimes. This is the witch. They’re made to be these long nosed, ugly pimpled women who boil up deadly potions in their cauldrons. You get the point, they’re not as beautiful and pretty as the other creatures. So, I flipped it. I have a witch who is born and trained to kill mermaids, fairies, elves and any other creature. I thought it would be cool to flip the switch and have a witch be the hero of the story instead.

Why is the setting to your story so important? I wanted my story to be in the city, because it’s different and cool to me. To have mystical creatures disguised as humans going to college or at parties is pretty rad.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be? Initially I wanted to work in Public Relations and to be a Publicist under entertainment, print and media. If writing happens to become anything bigger I’ll be more than happy to come up with more stories to tell!

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”? Joining Wattpad, a reading/writing, site made it very clear that I could do this writing thing pretty well. I had little fans waiting for my stories to update because they were so interested in finishing it. When you have people who invest that amount of time in your work, your books it means something. I officially labeled myself as an author after two years on Wattpad.

How long did it take to get your first book published? I did not plan on publishing Mystical at all. I had a clear plan to just keep it on Wattpad. An agent reached out to me on the site and asked me to send her my manuscript and then I decided to start pitching to agents. Of course you’re going to get rejected, but it made me change my mind and so it took me about 5 months after I was completely done with my sequel in the series. I landed a traditional publishing deal.

What were your aspirations as an author and have any of them come true? Well, one of them was getting published and that came true! Another was working with a professional editor and that’s come true as well. I’m a pretty happy camper!

What have you learned about the publishing industry since you’ve signed that first contract? That an author has no say in what they want done with the book. The editing is pretty much your only say, the cover and everything else marketing wise that’s completely up to your publisher!

Now that you have a feel for the publishing world, would you do anything different if you had to do it all over again? I would do a bit more research with who I’d like to do business with. I would be much more detailed with what I want for my book and maybe think once or twice about being agented or just being traditionally published.

What genres do you normally write in? I absolutely love Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Dystopian. It’s when I feel most limitless.

Is there a genre you haven’t written in that one day you’d like to tackle? Romance

What was the craziest thing you’ve ever done when it came to a storyline in your book? Cut a complete chapter out and rewrite it! It was scary, it was brutal, and it will never happen again!



Mystical (Mystical, #1)
Release Date: 12/08/15
Limitless Publishing
240 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
When Eliza Rose found out she was a witch, she thought she’d be casting spells…

However, it turns out Eliza is on her way to becoming a mystical assassin. But first she has to start college with her best friend Dawn Roberts and her feline familiar Jared. If you think college is stressful, try finding your best friend being seduced—nearly to death—by a venomous fairy. Something is horribly wrong, and Eliza must find out what it is.

Knowing who’s who in the Mystical world can be a burden—or save her life…

Murderous mermaids, seductive fairies, and manipulative elves are terrifying enough, but pure witches can become corrupt…and they’re the most dangerous creatures of all. Eliza struggles to discover the source of this chaos, but is repeatedly attacked—and saved by a shadowy figure. On a very personal note, Eliza must learn whether corruption is beginning to claim her mother.

Her strongest ally might be handsome, enigmatic Donovan—but he is hiding a shocking secret…

Donovan wants nothing to do with his old gang—not after the things they’d made him do. But when he meets Eliza, he’s both frustrated by her amateur skills and impressed by her emerging strength, and he feels compelled to help her grow into the assassin she’s meant to be.

Every answer has a price, and there are beings born to corrupt the pure.

Eliza fights to master her skills before it’s too late, while Donovan must determine whether Eliza can be saved…or if she must die to keep her out of the hands of those who would use her powers to reign over all of Mystical.


Buy Links:
Amazon


Excerpt

I don’t know what caused me to not be afraid of falling to my death, but my reflexes were just dying to be used and enabled me to react swiftly. I see David’s fangs above me as he darts for my chest. I roll over as the sharp teeth pierce the stairway I was just at seconds before.

I cover my head with my purse to block his next attack. Venom seeps through my bag’s fabric. I side kick the monster’s body and proceed to climb down the staircase as fast as I can, but I trip over my heels and stumble down the steps.

I feel wetness around the knuckles of my fingers. The feeling burns and sizzles my skin. I glance at my hands and see David’s slender tongue around them. He tightens his grip and flings me off the handles I’m holding on to. I grunt as I land on my back with my head slamming into the metal underneath me.

He slams his thick tail through the air, aiming for my body. His tail begins to coil around my body, constricting me. I close my eyes and roll to my side. I am too slow and begin to choke from the intense pain he is causing me.

My dagger is on the ground next to me. I glance at my weapon and at David. Stacy is out of sight. She must have run away. I reach out for my weapon, managing to get it before he snaps my thin body. His venomous slobber falls down on the ground. His eyes are filled with corruption, evil, confusion, and anger. He watches my every move. Then he releases me and swings his tail, breaking another piece off the stairs.

I feel like we’re going to fall and he’s breaking the staircase on purpose. He might survive this, but I know I won’t, so I need to stop his plan. I twirl my dagger between my fingers. My bushy hair flows behind me as I run.

 I dive for him, aiming for his throat.

His sharp tail wraps around my sides and holds me in the air. He makes a sound as if he is laughing. I grunt in pain as he holds me. My eyes are burning. I smell David’s vinegar flesh tearing apart. His grip loosens as I stab the back of his head.

The mystic falls down against me as the staircase rips apart.



About the Author
Michael believes he is a mad scientist experimenting with his own imagination. He enjoys world building and having alluring conversations with his stubborn characters.
He is your author of The Mystical Trilogy, Casso and TESTED. Specializing in many genres such as Fantasy, Urban Fiction, Dystopian, Young and New Adult. Most of his inspirations come from fairy-tales, music, and his curious what ifs.
You can find him anywhere to snuggling in a comfy seat with hot cocoa Netflix binging, or taking a soothing walk along the forest lines. Possibly diving in a tank with sharks, but that would be too insane.
He is a shopaholic east coaster living in Virginia with his fury companion Coco.
Where the two live happily ever after.

Author Links:
 photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png