Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Morrigan by Laura DeLuca

Author Laura DeLuca has stopped by for with a guest post for the Morrigan Blog Tour.

"My Real Life Werewolf"

People always ask writers where they get their ideas from. For me, most of my ideas initiate from dreams. I am one of those New Age gals who keeps a little dream journal by my bed so I can jot down all my dreams as soon as I wake up. I do this not just for writing purposes but because I am a believer in the symbolism behind our dreams.I believe they are often our subconscious or even the spirit world trying to communicate with us. It was years ago that my muse came to me with the initial seed that would later grow into Morrigan. One night about ten years ago, I had a dream about a man coming through a magic portal and taking me to a fairytale world. The dream was brief and there wasn't much detail, but it stuck with me for years. I wanted to make it into a book, but it wasn't until I met my husband many years later that the rest of the pieces fell into place.

Meeting my husband ties into dreams as well. When we met, I was messing around on an internet dating site. I know it sounds pathetic, but for a single mom in a small town, there was no other way to meet new people who weren't drunken losers. Well, some of them still turned out to be drunken losers, or married losers, or reverends of the jedi order--but that's another story. It wasn't something I took seriously. I wasn't looking to find true love or get married. I was just looking to have fun on my nights without kids. I never planned on getting married again. I had walked away from a bad marriage that could have destroyed me emotional and financial, and picked up the pieces and rebuilt a good life for me and my two children. I had a great job, bought a house, and was the epitome of a strong, independent women. Not that falling in love would make you weak. I just wasn't interested. Then one day I get an email on Yahoo personals from this guy named Timmie. He had no picture. Normally this was a huge red flag. It usually meant one of two things--they were hideously deformed or married. As someone with a love of the Phantom of the Opera, it was more the married part that concerned me. I had been on the other end of a cheating husband and didn't take kindly to being placed in the role of the other women. My normal instinct to those emails was to ignore them. Yet, this time, my instincts told me the opposite and I knew why. This is where dreams come back into play. The reason I kept reading that email from the imageless man was because his name was Timmie and Timmie was my dream man. Quite literally.

In my novel, Morrigan often muses about the dark knight who had haunted her dreams for as long as she can remember. For me, Timmie had been in my dreams since I was a child. He was even my imaginary friend when I was little. I still had the dreams occasionally, but I had long since given up on any visions of love that might come from them. Then I got this email and I knew I had to reply. The funny thing is, I told this mysterious Tim from the start that I was only replying to him because of my dreams. That would have scared most normal guys away. Of course, my dream man isn't normal. What fun would that be?

In was only a week later that I met Timmie for the first time. He was sitting on a bench in our designated public meeting place, and I knew for sure it was him even before formal introductions were made. My feelings from that first glance were exactly the same as Morrigan's the first time she saw Filtiarn.

Instantly, all her worries and fears vanished. It was as if an angel had miraculously appeared in her moment of turmoil, albeit a scruffy and somewhat rugged looking angel. He was amazing—a walking piece of medieval art. She swore beams of light illuminated him in a strange, unearthly glow. She wasn’t even sure if he was real or just another vision. There were two things she knew with absolute certainty from the first second she saw him. She was recklessly in love with him, and it completely terrified her.

The fact that Morrigan dreamed of Filtiarn is not the only similarity between Morrigan's love interest and mine. From out first date, Timmie enchanted me with his tales of his cross county travels. He was once a dread-locked hippie who traveled with the Rainbow Gathering, slept under bridges, and even lived in a cave for three months. Now, the average girl would who heard these stories on a first date would probably wish she had a cave to hide in. Not me. Timmie was refreshing and unique. This was the first date I had since my divorce that didn't leave me rolling my eyes. A rainbow even appeared in the sky as we walked along the boardwalk, a sign of new beginnings (you might recognize this scene if you've read Phantom).

That look on his face is classic Filtiarn

Of course, I can't fail to mention the physical traits that Filtiarn inherited from Timmie. Just a few weeks into our relationship, he had earned the nickname of Chewy because he is literally covered in hair. He is the reason for the term "five o'clock shadow". I could probably braid the hair of his arms and legs. Even his fingers and toes have hair! As I was working on my character development, this character that Timmie inspired could only be one type of creature. Thus Filtiarn "King of the Wolves" was created--a werewolf. He has Timmie's hairiness, his musical abilities (though I switched it from a saxophone to a panflute), and of course, his witty sarcasm.

“Humph.” Tiarn grunted and curled his lip. “You call that filthy! You obviously do not know the meaning of the word. That place we just came from—what do you call it? Baltimore? Cement covering the Goddess’ green earth. Wires blocking the view of Father Skye. Pollution making it difficult to breathe, and litter everywhere you look. That was filth. The dust on those blankets is just good old-fashioned dirt. Honest to goodness, deliciously clean dirt! You should revel in it, Princess! The bed where you shall lay your head this night is the cleanest and purest you have rested on in many moons.”

So often I have seen people turn up their nose at the idea of "instalove", saying its unrealistic. I can tell you first hand, there's nothing unrealistic about it. But this love at first sight phenomenon isn't as instant as it seems. My relationship with my husband didn't start in this life. I have had several past life regressions that included him, some of which he was also recalled. So in my mind, "instalove" is really a love between two old souls who have found each other for first time in a new life. This is a love that has spanned through countless lifetimes and that even death could not destroy. Timmie is my soul mate, my inspiration, and the reason Morrigan became my most popular book to date. I love my real life werewolf, in this life and the next!

Title: Morrigan
Author: Laura DeLuca
Publisher: Pagan Writers Press
Pages: 320

Shuffled from place to place in the foster system, Morrigan doesn't know the meaning of home. Plus, she is different. She has power over fire, the ability to move objects with her mind, and glimpse into the future. Just when she believes her life can’t get any stranger, she discovers her true identity.

Filtiarn, a knight with a dark past and a surprising secret, has been tasked with guiding the heir of Tír na NÓg through countless perils to be returned to her family. Once Morrigan has been reunited with her mother and grandmother, their triad can save the forgotten land of magic from being devoured by an ancient evil.

                                  About Laura DeLuca

Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the sole author of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years. Visit her on her websites at http://authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com or http://newagemama.blogspot.com.

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Exclusive Cover Reveal: While He Was Away by Karen Schreck

Exclusive Special Cover Reveal
While He Was Away
By Karen Schreck
Wal-Mart, Amazon & Barnes & Noble

One year--he'll be gone for one year and then we'll be together again and everything will be back to the way it should be.

The day David left, I felt like my heart was breaking. Sure, any long-distance relationship is tough, but David was going to war--to fight, to protect, to put his life in danger. We can get through this, though. We'll talk, we'll email, we won't let anything come between us.

I can be an army girlfriend for one year. But will my sweet, soulful, funny David be the same person when he comes home? Will I? And what if he doesn't come home at all?

How Inspiration Can Come From Anywhere:
Even a Trip to the Grocery Store and a Handful of Long-Lost Photographs
By Karen Schreck

I sometimes wonder what my mother would say if she knew that her story—one of the saddest, sweetest love stories I’ve ever heard—was retold in a new way in my young adult novel, While He Was Away.

Now Sourcebooks Fire is sharing the story yet again, in a second, exclusive edition, released nation-wide at Walmart. The fact that Sourcebooks believed enough in While He Was Away to bring it to life the first time felt like a much-needed confirmation of years of hard work. The fact that they are standing behind my book again in this way . . . well, it feels like a miracle. I’m truly grateful.

I wonder what my mother would say to this incredible news? I like to think she would be grateful too. I like to think she would be happy. She wanted her story heard after all. So much so that it was one of the last things she told me, just before she died.

One rainy night when I was fourteen, right before cancer left her too ill to talk, let alone drive a car, my mother said, “Come with me. We’re going shopping.” We drove to the little local market and wandered up and down the aisles, as she threw in a can of tuna, some dishwashing soap, and other little things we didn’t need. We paid for these little things. She looked anxious and tired, still she hadn’t said a thing; we hadn’t spoken a word.

It was only when we were parked in our driveway again that my mother said, “I was married once before when I was very young. He died a hero in WWII.”

And that was that. Soon after, she died.

I thought about my mother’s mysterious love story for many years. I talked to relatives, found long-lost photographs. The story took seed in me. It flowered into a novel about a young women whose boyfriend leaves for the Iraq War. In her loneliness, she seeks out a grandmother she’s never met, whose first husband died in WWII. She seeks out a character inspired by mother.

A late night drive, a few words spoken in the dark. Even things as simple as this can inspire a novel.

Karen Schreck is the author of the young adult novel WHILE HE WAS AWAY (Sourcebooks Fire, May 2012), as well as the novel DREAM JOURNAL, which was a 2006 Young Adult BookSense Pick, and the award-winning children's book, LUCY'S FAMILY TREE. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize and an Illinois State Arts Council Grant, Karen received her doctorate in English and Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She writes and teaches for a living, and she loves visiting schools and other gatherings of readers and writers to talk about her books the writing process.

For more information or to contact Karen, please visit her blog: karenshcreck.com/blog.

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My Review for While He Was Away

Promotional Post for Allegiance by K.A. Tucker featuring Guest Post

Allegiance by K.A. Tucker

Published: September 25, 2012

Publisher: Self Published

Age Demographic: YA Paranormal Romance

Pages: 320

Evangeline finally got what she longed for – the cursed pendant off her neck and Caden in her arms - only it has come at a steep price. An unknown poison now courses through her body, slowly morphing her into something no one but the Fates can foresee. She has her suspicions though...and, if she is right, it will spell certain ruin for her and Caden. She won’t last long enough to realize that though, if Viggo and Mortimer uncover the treasonous secrets she keeps from them– that Veronique is now free of her entombment and in the torturous clutches of the Witches and the Sentinel or that she is protecting a Sentinel within their very midst.

Always the naive human caught in the midst of the vampires’ web of deceit, Evangeline is now weaving her own dangerous web in order to keep her friend alive, rescue Veronique, and stop a seemingly inevitable war from starting. But can her honourable nature handle the depths of duplicity for which she must go to be in league with the Vampires?

Dark and gripping, full of angst-riddled scenes, Allegiance will have readers anxiously turning pages to find out if Evangeline can survive this spiralling disaster.

To Purchase Allegiance:      Amazon

ALLEGIANCE
The MYTHOS BEHIND THE CAUSAL ENCHANTMENT SERIES

Thank you to A Soul Unsung for hosting me for the Allegiance Tour. You asked me to describe the mythos behind this series. That is a very good question! When I began writing ANATHEMA, I knew I wanted magic and vampires. That was about the extent of the "world" (I wish I had a deep response but I don't. I kind of sound like a seven year old...).

From there, the universe of all universes was born. I'll try to explain the basics in the most simplest of terms because it's hard to describe 275K worth of a world into one small post J I also don't want to reveal too much about the plot.

At the very top are "The Fates" (I'll note that there are hints of a higher power but nothing has been revealed yet...). The Fates are the beings who govern over the worlds. They are all powerful but they are also bored, which makes for some not-so-nice decisions. The reader finally gets to meet the Fates in ALLEGIANCE. I think those scenes are some of my favorite in this series.

The paranormal creatures - your common vampire and werewolf - as well as the unique abominations like the Tribe and Wraith, are all created at the hands of the Fates in response to Causal Enchantment spells cast by powerful sorceresses like Sofie. These responses are typically nothing like the sorceress has requested, the Fates taking the need and twisting into something accurate but so perverse in nature that no one comes out happy. Except for the Fates, because it's one big game for them. A game where each one vies to win with their "pawns". Okay, really... that's all I'm going to tell you.

The other key to this world is that anything goes. There is no such thing as gravity, time, and finality of death when it's in the hands of the Fates. They can move people from one world to the next, they can erase memories, transplant bodies. They can even bring people back from the dead. J

If you want to know more about this world, grab the series and start reading.

Thanks for hosting me today!

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Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

Mirror of Shadows Blog Tour featuring Character Profile for Ella McKaye by T. Lynne Tolles

Mirror of Shadows by T. Lynne Tolles

Published: September 1, 2012

Publisher: Independent Publishing

Age Demographic: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Pages: 200

Ella McKaye returns home for her grandmother's funeral to find she's inherited a ton of money and a run down mansion she never knew existed, called Grey Manor. Her greedy mother is appalled when the will stipulates specifically that Ella can't give her any of the inheritance. She quickly throws Ella out of her home forcing her to take up immediate residence in the spooky old mansion.

Within minutes of entering her new home she has a strange interaction with a creepy old mirror in the main hallway and the ghostly inhabitants of the past get more and more agitated the longer Ella's there. Nearly fatal back to back accidents make Ella start to wonder if she's angered some ghost or if there is something more sinister at work.

Will Ella unravel the deadly mystery before she becomes a ghost herself? Or will fate take another one of the Grey ancestors to the grave.

To Purchase Mirror of Shadows:      Amazon

Character Profile Featuring Ella McKaye  by T. Lynne Tolles

Mirrors have a long history. They've been around since the third century B.C. and were originally made of some kind of shiny metal. Later in the first century, the Romans invented the glass mirror, but In Medieval times, glass mirrors all but disappeared when religion claimed the devil was looking and watching us from the other side. It wasn't until the 13th century that the glass mirror made a comeback.


There are many superstitions about mirrors, the most popular being that if you break a mirror you will have bad luck for seven years. Some believe that the reflected image of a person shows their true nature. Others believe a soul can be trapped within a mirror and should be covered after a member of the family dies or while sleeping. From that extends the urban legend of Bloody Mary which varies, but more or less states that Bloody Mary can be summoned through a mirror if her name is repeated in a bathroom mirror in the dark and the soulless vampire's reflection can't be seen in one.


Given there are so many superstitions of the supernatural sort surrounding the mirror, I couldn't help but write a story that revolved around one. Mirror of Shadow is just such a story. It involves a mirror and a young woman, Ella Mackaye, who is tied to the past through it.


Ella MacKaye
Age: 22
Height: 5'5"
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Long Dark Blonde
Status: Single
Occupation: None - Just graduated college.
Residence: Dead Oaks Hollow - Grey Manor
Parents: Patricia Doyle and Ken MacKaye (Deceased)
Paternal Grandparents: Rose Grey (Deceased) and Henry MacKaye (Deceased)
Stand-in Parents: Marlin and Meme Howard
Pet: Boo (Black Kitten found in Grey Manor)
Love Interests: Matt Grier and Jeremy Hickey


Ella McKaye returns home for her grandmother's funeral to find she's inherited a ton of money and a run down mansion she never knew existed, called Grey Manor. Her greedy mother is appalled when the will stipulates specifically that Ella can't give her any of the inheritance. She quickly throws Ella out of her home forcing her to take up immediate residence in the spooky old mansion.


Within minutes of entering her new home she has a strange interaction with a creepy old mirror in the main hallway and the ghostly inhabitants of the past get more and more agitated the longer Ella's there. Nearly fatal back to back accidents make Ella start to wonder if she's angered some ghost or if there is something more sinister at work.


Will Ella unravel the deadly mystery before she becomes a ghost herself? Or will fate take another one of the Grey ancestors to the grave.

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I never intended on being an author. It had never my life’s dream to write or be published, but after reading a stack of books in June and July of 2009, I got an idea. ‘Hmmm. I wonder if I could write a book about vampires? There’d have to be vampires, werewolves, and maybe some witches just to make it interesting.’

And just to talk myself into it, I thought it might be a good way for my teenage daughter to see that if you set your mind to something, even a goofy old mom could accomplish something. Three weeks later ‘Blood of a Werewolf’ was complete.

Blood of a Werewolf became the first of five books in the Blood series which was completed in June 2011. I've also written an unrelated book called Somber Island. I presently getting ready to release Mirror of Shadows in 2012 and have two other books in process.

Affinity Blog Tour featuring Guest Post by Mary E. Merrell

Affinity by Mary E. Merrell

Published: October 21, 2012

Publisher: Morningglory Publishing

Age Demographic: YA Urban Fantasy

Pages: 233

The crows followed Talon around everywhere. When he graduated from high school, Talon moved to Sacramento to work with his uncle, and the birds followed. He recognized the same straggly-tailed old crow that had followed him around since junior high. Iris Yorita lived in his old neighborhood in Modesto. Snakes were drawn to her as the big, black birds were drawn to him. She called their ability an AFFINITY. Claimed it was a gift from God, and they should use it to help people. Talon thought she was out of her mind. How could a bunch of mangy crows or slimy snakes help anyone?

When a thief targeted the people in his uncle's neighborhood, all fingers pointed at the new kid, Talon. He decided it was time to put this strange ability to the test. Find out who was robbing their neighbors and clear his name. As Talon learned to communicate with his crows, the thievery heated up. Something more sinister than mere robbery was going on, and it would take Talon, Iris, and their new found friends, to discover what really was going on in this up-scale neighborhood.

To Purchase Affinity: Amazon

How I came up with the novel, Affinity-Bird in a Gilded Cage

I see crows everywhere. Like Talon Corvus in my Young Adult Novel, Affinity-Bird in a Gilded Cage, the crows seem to be following me. Wherever I go, there they are. Even right now, as I’m topping off my coffee, I hear the raucous and recognizable cawing of a crow. The bird is sitting on the very top of an Italian Cypress in our neighbor’s yard, the pointed branch bowing under the bird’s weight as it squawks to the world.

When I was planning this novel, I wanted to write something very different from my Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series, something with a little meaning and with a bit of a message. Sounds kind of corny, I know, but this was important to me. The Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series is in first person and involves, vampires, real estate agents and ghosts, oh my! My guilty pleasure.

I came up with the idea for a story about Talon, a young man who realizes he can communicate with the crows that follow him around. This Young Adult Urban Fantasy is written in third person and in the point of view of a seventeen year old boy. Writing in the point of view of a young man was a challenge but a lot of fun as Talon and his friends use their talents with the animals to discover who is robbing their neighbors. I enjoyed discovering each character’s unique personality through their Affinity animal. I hope you will like them as well.

I also wanted to make aware a problem that seems to get little attention from the media. It’s a local and worldwide, and growing. I can’t say too much or it will spoil the mystery. So, if you’re curious, Affinity-Bird in a Gilded Cage comes out on Amazon kindle on October 21st and in print through Amazon shortly after. 

All my books have humor, and Affinity is no different. I enjoyed writing about these characters as they unravel the mystery in their neighborhood, and I hope you enjoy reading about them as well. You can find all my available novels on my website, maryemerrell.com. Find me on Facebook and Twitter - @MaryMerrell7. 

Thank you so much.

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Mary E. Merrell lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, two dogs and four cats. She has two grown sons, Everette Merrell and Richard Mickelson who is married to a great girl, Brooke. Mary has worked at various jobs, selling furniture, a meat company and a manufacturing company. It wasn’t until she started selling real estate that her Real Estate Paranormal Mystery Series came to life in that old, vacant home. She enjoys reading all types of genres and writes Paranormal Mysteries and YA Urban Fantasies. When she’s not writing, she’s working on her decorative planter business LivingCreations with her husband, gardening and playing soccer. Please visit her website to see what she’s working on next. www.maryemerrell.com, or contact her through Facebook and Twitter.

Blog Tour Promotional Post & Giveaway featuring Forbidden Fire by Kimberly Kinrade

Forbidden Fire by Kimberly Kinrade
Published: July 15, 2012
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Age Demographic: Mature YA & Adult
Pages: 266

She escaped, but she’ll never be free.

“Time held no meaning as my mind darted in and out of memories. Past and present collided to create a full-sensory collage out of my life: playing hide-n-seek with my best friends Luke—who always cheated by walking through walls when he was about to be caught—and Lucy; Mr. Caldrin critiquing my sketches and offering ideas to make them more realistic; targets changing faces, blending into the same person, their thoughts rippling through my mind like waves. Through it all, a demon stalked me from the shadows of my memories, never quite showing its face, but crouching, waiting.

And then I dreamed....”

Sam and Drake may have escaped, but they aren’t free—not with a powerful Seeker after them. As Sam struggles with the ethics of her new powers and embraces a blossoming physical relationship with Drake, Lucy and Luke face challenges of their own.

With forces coalescing inside and outside the Rent-A-Kid dorms, it’s only a matter of time before the fire they started forces each of them to make choices they can’t undo. But will it be enough to save them?

To Purchase Forbidden Fire: Amazon

I am totally thrilled to be sharing with you today, a totally awesome and intriguing paranormal thriller, Forbidden Fire written by the wonderfully talented Kimberly Kinrade. It's definitely a novel that will get your blood pumping, your heart racing, and make you think. I am so super excited and elated to get to be part of this tour and share this wonderfully written and entertaining mature paranormal thriller and inspiring guest post with you.

Why is YA fantasy such a popular genre?

First, let’s look at the YA part. Young Adult novels are popular, in part, because the themes of YA are themes we all resonate with throughout our lives. They are stories that blend archetypal symbolism with coming of age themes that we can all relate to, regardless of age.
In our society, we rarely acknowledge the rites of passage that are present throughout our lives, but as teens we get a small taste of this in sweet 16 parties, graduations, first loves and more. When we–as teens or adults–slip into the world of these characters, we get that camaraderie of shared experience that lives inside us forever.

Teens build a connection to these worlds and characters, finding their current struggles and triumphs brought to life on the page. Adults are brought back to those first moments where everything was new and the world was ready to open up before us.

But more than just taking us to our past, these stories re-cast our current life challenges in a new light. We are allowed, within those thrilling pages, to celebrate ourselves and our choices, to mourn our bitter defeats, to feel the world in all it’s highs and lows beyond the mundanity of paying bills and doing dishes. It’s the best blend of wish-fulfillment and validation.

YA novels are typically not muddled down in themselves, but rather the writing is crisp and exciting, more about the story than trying to impress the massive with heady, weighty prose. (Not that all adult novels do this!)

Adding Magic Makes Everything Better

If YA does all this, YA Fantasy does all this even better! Talk about wish-fulfillment! We all daydream at some point in our lives about being magical, psychic or some kind of paranormal being. There is an allure to the world beyond rationality and science that is impossible to deny.

As a YA fantasy author and avid reader of this genre, I can tell you that we are a group who never stopped believing in magic, fairytales and monsters. We write the worlds we secretly (or not so secretly) know exist somewhere.

Fantasy, as a genre, gives us a chance to escape the moral ambiguity of shades of grey and live in a more black and white reality of good and evil. The bad guys and good guys are clear, and we get to fight and even kill the bad! In modern society, there are few outlets beyond sports and war that allow us to ‘fight’ in this way. Fewer still that give women and girls full power to flex their fury.

As a teen I loved fantasy because it was painted with broad brushstrokes that gave us grand opportunities to engage in an epic way. I could escape into my novels and kick some evil butt with killer super powers or magical abilities. I was no longer under the restraining forces of adults when I read these novels. I was powerful, mighty and alive.

As an adult, the process is slightly different, but not by much. I still escape into these worlds where anything truly is possible and the normal rules no longer apply. There is something so stimulating about the regular societal restraints crashing down to reveal a world of magic, a dystopian future where society has collapsed, or our regular world where there’s more in it than we ever imagined.

I hope this trend never fades, because I will always write in this genre. It started when I first read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a child and will last my whole life!

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25 Amazon GC plus signed copy of all three books (Forbidden Mind, Forbidden Fire, Forbidden Life), bookmarks and surprise swag. Also, 2 signed copies of Forbidden Mind with swag.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Kimberly Kinrade was born with ink in her veins and magic in her heart. She writes fantasy and paranormal stories for children, YA and adults and still believes in magic worlds. Check out her YA paranormal novels Forbidden Mind and Forbidden Fire and her illustrated children's fantasy chapter books Lexie World, and Bella World, all on Amazon.

She lives with her three little girls who think they're ninja princesses with super powers, her two dogs who think they're humans and her husband, also known as the sexy Russian Prince, who is the love of her life and writing partner.

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Blog Tour featuring Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft with Book Review & Guest Post by Jody Gehrman

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman
Published: July 9, 2012
Publisher: Magic Genie Books
Age Demographic: YA Paranormal
Pages: 294

Falling in love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer—it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training. When her mother goes missing and her mysterious "cousin" shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong. Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past.

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Thoughts on Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft

By Jody Gehrman

Jody Gehrman has penned another young adult novel that is full of quirky suspense and humorous drama. She delivers another wonderfully unique and exciting read, sure to wow fans of the young adult paranormal genre. It is a fun captivating book that is full of intriguing drama and unexpected twists and turns that reader's will find interesting. The world she creates and the rich tone she sets through her brilliant imagery and prose, is a world full of dark magical forces and deeply hidden secrets that manifest themselves in sometimes terrifying ways. Her character's come beautifully developed in all shapes and fascets that lend depth and layer's to the interesting spin she puts on witchcraft and the Alchemix that she introduces.

Audrey is a fantastically brilliant heroine, who is likable in many ways. She's incredibbly protective when it comes to the people she cares about, especially her younger sister Meg. She has some wonderful realistic flaws and worries that any young girl would be able to connect with. Audrey isn't just any old witch, she comes full force with heightened super powers. She's an Alchemix and it makes things even more mysterious and intringuing. She has a lot thrown at her that she has to deal with and she does it in a pretty realistic way. Figuring out her powers, delaing with the strange dreams and hallucinations she's been having, and trying to figure out the secrets of her mother's past before it destroys everyone she loves is bound to take its toll on her at some point. One of her best qualities, though, is being able to handle diffcult situations when they arise.

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is essentinally a delightful entertaining read and a story rich with unexplainable things that go bump in the night. Gehrman has skillfully created a fun mystical overtone to this story, that is sure to take reader's on a magical journey they won't soon forget. The romance that develops between Audrey and Julian is white hot electric in every sense of the definition. Their attraction is palpable and sparks with intense energy sure to woo any reader. That and the action in the final page of the book, is definitely praise worthy. This is not a book to be taken lightly or dismissed as just merely amusing, it is actually a wonderfully written book with a story that has some incredible potential.

Discovering Witchcraft:
A Guide to Writing Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft
By Jody Gehrman

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft took me seven years, off and on, to complete. I know that sounds horribly inefficient, but some books simply refuse to be rushed. Here are few quirky facts about my very long process:

1. When I started it seven years ago it had a completely different protagonist and wasn't even written for a Young Adult audience. I had this epiphany one day out of the blue: I realized it could work really well with a teen heroine. Audrey, a seventeen-year-old girl with magical powers, replaced Sarah, a depressed divorcee in her late twenties, and Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft was born.

2. All of my other books have been contemporary romance, realism, romantic comedies--that sort of thing. This is my first attempt at writing about anything paranormal, unless you count a number of botched attempts that never saw the light of day. I spent many months on a book about brain-sucking sea creatures, for instance. Yeah, probably better if that one stays in my sock drawer.

3. Confession time: Although Audrey's got amazing skills in the kitchen, I'm actually a wretched chef. Well, I have potential, but I often get distracted. I tend to let things burn while checking my email. My husband does most of the cooking in our house, but I do bake on occasion. When I'm feeling especially decadent I've been known to whip up a batch of dark chocolate espresso cookies; once you've eaten a few, you can do anything!

ABOUT JODY GEHRMAN

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Jody Gehrman is the author of seven novels and numerous plays. Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is her most recent Young Adult novel. Her other Young Adult novels include Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love, (Penguin's Dial Books). Babe in Boyland won the International Reading Association Teen Choice Award and has recently been optioned by the Disney Channel. Her adult novels are Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin (Red Dress Ink). Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English at Mendocino College.

Author information taken from her Goodreads.




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Blog Tour Brought To You In Part By:

Blog Tour featuring Sweet As Sin with Book Excerpt and Guest Post by Kenya Carlton

You guys! I am incrediblyexcited to be a part of the awesome tour for SWEET AS SIN by the wonderfully talented Kenya Carlton! I am totally beyond thrilled to get the chance to gab about this amazingly exciting and multi-faceted new adult paranormal romance SWEET AS SIN and to get the chance to share it with all of YOU.

It looks like it's going to be a truly amazing and tantalizing bite of magical bliss. One of the things that I find totally fascinating about this book, is that it's a multi-cultural adult urban fantasy of sorts. I don't often get the chance to read those, so when I find one that looks like it's going to be intense interesting, I jump at the chance to share it with everyone. This one looks like it's going to be no excerption, either. It seems like it has all the makings of being a dark mysteriously intriguing drama filled world of mystical and magical elements intense drama thrown at you from every angle available. Who wouldn't want to sink their hooks into this novel right away and be drawn into such an epic world of intrigue and mystical forces of mayhem?!

Plus dark handsome swoon-worthy man of mystery?! Ooh, la la!!! I say bring THAT on...hahaha. Apparently this is not a book that any fan of adult urban fantasy romance would want to miss out on. Now doesn't that sound like something YOU'D want to read?!

I know I do, already. And I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of it!!!

Dark Summer by Kenya Carlton
Published: September 8, 2011
Publisher: Parker Publishing Inc.
Age Demographic: Adult Urban Fantasy
Pages: 184

The rich and available Captain Drake Devlin had the biggest body count in World War I. Injected with serum that turned him into something unnatural, Drake’s troop annihilated the enemy, but once his tour ended, Drake was plunged into a world of family tragedy and financial ruin.

Sienna Caldwell is stunning to even the biggest cynic; with her exotic looks and rich brown skin, the playboy wasn’t exempt from her charms. Buckling under the pressure of his financially strapped inheritance, Drake makes a deal with the devil to marry the prosperous landowner in order to protect her. After one year, he can return the black beauty back to her island and collect on the fortune that will save his family’s reputation, but the task proves far easier said than done. The war may have made Drake into something lethal, but he soon finds his new bride was born more powerful than he could ever imagine. Not only does Drake have to figure out away to keep his hands off his alluring wife, but also he has to make sure she stays alive.

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Sensual. Tantalizing. Burning Romance.

Sweet As Sin Kenya Carlton

Book Excerpt Pages 15-16


“May I?” The shadow at Sienna's small cottage door asked. Drake's muscular frame was a stark contrast to the chaos from the elements beyond him.

“Do you need an invitation?”

“For the sake of my honor and politeness, I certainly do,” Drake admitted. Not completely satisfied with his answer she considered his request. He may not be the undead but he was definitely something.

Sienna sat nestled in her favorite love seat, facing the fire finally relenting, she told him, “Be my guest.” She noted the quick way he surveyed his surroundings when he stepped across the threshold, first the exits-windows, décor than finally his eyes settled upon her. Unwilling to bend to his close scrutiny, she took a sip from her wine.

“It's cozy here, not anything like the resort. May I?” She nodded for him to help himself to her spirits as he took a seat in a cushioned chair. Masculine man, dainty chair taking up space with his mere presence made Drake appear even bigger and stronger than he had in the gazebo.

“Courage?” she asked him pouring a glass.

“Restraint,” Drake answered before holding it up for a toast. “To good decisions.”

“Good decisions,” she reiterated kissing his glass with hers. A moment was taken to drink and think before he began to press her for answers.

“It's a simple proposition,” he stated.

“Is it?” Sienna tightened the shawl she held around her bare arms, the fire made no difference to the temperature of the room; she merely made the fire for ambiance but now she felt exposed so close to this imposing man. The bright and colorful flames helped with her state of mind as well as the red wine and Mary Shelley book that now lay abandoned on her lap.

“You're exquisite,” he said matter-of-factly.

“That didn't sound much like a compliment, Mr. Devilin.”

“Why aren't you married?”

“A proposal has never come up.”

“I find that hard to believe.” In a single gulp, he finished his wine.

“How old are you, Mr. Devilin?”

“I‟m thirty six. Please call me Drake.”

“And you've never been married?”

His smile was one of a pure blooded playboy. “It's never come up,” he replied with a lopsided smirk.

“What's good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander, I suppose.”
Sienna grabbed the wine bottle and offered him a refill; he gladly accepted.

“I understand my benefit in this whole crazy scheme but not yours.” He gently pushed.

“Does that make you uncomfortable, not knowing?”

“It makes me question the sanity of this request, Sienna. I don’t believe in one sided deals and I don't believe in modern day martyrs.” From the intense look in his eyes, she believed what he said.

Agitated by this man's closeness and all he would change in her world, she uncurled her feet from beneath her and set them on the floor. The storm beyond her four walls picked up. Sienna crossed to the window to watch the thunder and lightning explode.

“I'm afraid my answer remains the same.”

Making a Deal With the Devil
By Kenya Carlton

Captain Drake Devilin is a pig. A handsome chauvinist who wants what he wants. Mainly what he wants is a different woman every day of the week, lots of money, and a restored family reputation. That’s not asking too much, now is it? Upon meeting the beautifully dashing Drake Devilin, most people would just give into his persuasive charms. Unfortunately, he has this one little flaw in his personality that causes him problems from time to time and that’s his fierce sense of loyalty.

At the beginning of Sweet as Sin, Drake is propositioned with the marriage to Sienna Caldwell in order to restore his ruined family name. It’s for one year he figured, so what’s the worst that could happen? Well apparently everything. At first Drake’s intentions seem beyond self-serving. All he has to do is get married, divorced, and then he will be able to reap in the buckets of money. What does he care about an island full of people he doesn’t even know? After all he did lead a troop of lethal killers through war and survived nearly unscathed, but why would Drake agree to this deal if it is merely to support his playboy ways?

In the 1930’s, reputation equaled prestige, which equaled money, and Drake needed lots of money. Upon closer inspection, Drake Devilin is not at all what he appears. His motives, that seem abundantly clear in beginning, blur rather suddenly. To most men, it would be a no-brainer, but most man-sluts, pardon me I meant confirmed bachelors, couldn’t imagine entertaining just one woman.

Drake feels drawn to the brown beauty Sienna Caldwell, but he doesn’t even know her, and soon after the nuptials, he makes every effort to avoid her. But that pesky personality flaw starts to rear its ugly little head. Drake’s loyalty to everyone dear to him extends to a woman he barely knows. So when the devil comes a calling, Drake weighs his options. He above anyone understands sacrifice, dying for a cause is not a farfetched idea, hell he nearly died for his country. The only part Drake did not bargain for was falling in love, but if he read the fine print like he was supposed to, he would have seen where it clearly stipulated love forfeits it all.

ABOUT KENYA CARLTON

Kenya Carlton has a B.A. in Mass communication, Television and Radio. She has fifteen years in production of television and film and five in television engineering. In 2009 Kenya Produced Dawn a short film and Executive Produced Destination Everywhere the pilot for a travel series through her production company Black R.O.K Productions established in 2008.

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Guest Post & Excerpt featuring Shadow Visions by Gabriella Hewitt

Today, I'm lucky enough to have Gabriella Hewitt back on the blog today sharing an exerpt of the second novel in her paranormal romance series, Shadow Visions (Shadow Warriors, #1). I'm super excited to have her back, because this looks like it's definitely going to be a stunning series that any paranormal fan would fall for. She's previously been on the blog featured in a guest post talking raving about her obssession with the new show 48 Hours and sharing a little bit of information on the first novel in this sexy paranormal thriller, Shadow Visions (Shadow Warriors, #1).

I really hope you enjoy the guest post and the excerpt today!

A shadow warrior on a mission, Manuel must track down a demon who is sacrificing women marked with hummingbird tattoos. He is in danger of losing his humanity to his eagle spirit until he comes across Ixa Reyes, a beautiful San Diego detective working on the same case, who also bears the mark of the Aztec sun god. She is his salvation and redemption from a past filled with failure. Only she wants nothing to do with him or her heritage.

When a demon kidnaps her grandfather, the wind god, they must work together to save him and all mankind. Manuel has twenty-four hours to help Ixa control her elemental power over wind—that is if he can control his own desires to claim her body and soul. Because if he should fail this time, the god of war will usher in a new era filled with blood and destruction such as the world has never known.

Product Warnings
This story contains an ancient Aztec warrior struggling to control the beast within, a heroine more than able to match his strength, demons out for their very souls, and a battle that may very well determine the fate of all humanity.

Synopsis taken from Goodreads.

Excerpt:

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot.”

Her gun shook in her hands as if she were a damn rookie. She fought to control her emotions but they swirled inside her. If she didn’t pull it together another tornado would manifest, and that frightened her more than the half-naked man with the eagle eyes in front of her.



“Not another step,” she ordered, but he continued to stalk towards her.



She held her stance. Her finger trembled on the trigger.

He reached her. His chest pressed to the muzzle. He easily towered over her. She stared up into his golden eyes. No fear. Instead, she read another emotion in his eyes.



Desire.



It was a very lonely childhood.



She should have felt threatened, and she did, but not because she believed he meant to hurt her—it was much more fundamental than that. Her whole body seemed to come alive in his presence. Her breath shortened and she felt a flush stealing up underneath her tanned cheeks. She lowered her gaze and let her weapon fall to her side. Keeping her fingers tightly wrapped around the grip reminded her to remain grounded. Her reaction to him was so totally unlike her.



Up close, she found herself staring at a broad chest covered with a mantle of feathers. The man was made of solid muscle. Without volition, her gaze traveled upward, noting the powerful shoulders, the hard jaw, the firm lips and the stern expression he wore.



“You’re very brave, but your gun won’t help you against the tzitzimime.”



Ixa swallowed, searching for her voice. “Who are you? What are you?”

His hand came up. Gently, he traced the image of the hummingbird tattooed on her right bicep. Her muscle quivered under his touch. “Just as I thought. You bear the mark,” he murmured.



In the distance she heard the confused shouts of her fellow officers. “They’ll be here soon.” They would have heard the shots. They’d be searching for her.



“I distorted the sound so they check in a different area. They will not be upon us yet.”



“You can do that?”

It didn’t seem possible, except she didn’t have an explanation for anything that had happened. Her brain seemed to be functioning in first gear, unable to catch up to anything that required substantial thought.



“I can do many things, you will find.”



He cupped her chin and tilted her head. His golden eyes came closer until his head blotted out the sky and everything around her. Helpless, she waited for his lips to touch hers.



His lips brushed hers, once, twice. She let out a sigh. He pressed down a third time and she leaned into him, but before she could deepen the kiss, he released her and stepped back.



Her entire body zinged with energy. She stared up at him, bemused.



He chuckled, which snapped her out of her daze. Had she lost her mind?



“Don’t ever do that again.”



He smiled, an incredibly sexy smile that made her nerve endings sing with need. Before she could lash out at him again, he raised his arms up. A breeze passed around them, ruffling the feathers adorning his chest. His image wavered and bent. She heard bones cracking, reshaping. Wave after wave of feathers burst forth in a soft, rippled covering. Where a warrior once stood, now a large eagle spread its wings and gave a loud cry. The eagle flapped its wings and took to the skies.



Ixa gasped. The gods will find a way to convince you. Her abuelo’s words echoed in her mind.

Want to purchase

Shadow Vision (Shadow Warriors, #1)

by Gabriella Hewitt?

You can do so by visiting my Amazon Store and adding them to your shopping cart. While you're there, feel free to look around, you might find something else you want. I hope you enjoyed the guest post and excerpt from Riser by Becca C. Smith. If you haven't read it yet, then I definitely suggest you pick up a copy for yourself or even for someone else if you think they'll like it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gabriella Hewitt is the pen name of creative writing talents Sasha Tomaszycki and Patrizia M.J. Hayashi. Together they weave tales of romantic suspense and dangerously sensual paranormals. Check out the website www.gabriellahewitt.com to find out about upcoming releases and events on their blog.

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Author information taken from her Goodreads.

Purchase Shadow Visions: Amazon | B&N

Guest Post & Excerpt for Riser by Becca C. Smith

Today, I'm lucky enough to have Becca C. Smith guest posting on the blog about her young adult sci-fi paranormal novel, Riser. Funny little tidbit, I hadn't realized that she was the author who had written one of my favorite teen graphic novels for Ghost Whisperer (which, was totally one of my FAVORITE shows on television) Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted. I think I actually have that one on my shelf along with another one and just didn't know I'd already had one of her books. Awesome!

But, I really hope you enjoy the guest post and the excerpt today!

Riser
by Becca C. Smith
Publisher: Create Space
Expected Publication: June 5, 2010
Pages: 368
Age Demographic: Young Adult
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Black swirling holes churning madly in the center of every corpse. This is how eighteen-year-old Chelsan Derée sees the deceased. Her ability to connect to the black spinning holes allows her to control every dead thing within a four-mile radius.

But that's the least of her problems. It's 2320 and Chelsan Derée has to survive another year of high school, which for her is pure and utter torture, mainly due to the fact that her schoolmate Jill Forester's favorite activity is making Chelsan's life a living hell. If that isn't enough, Chelsan's impossible crush on Ryan Vaughn makes her brain do somersaults on a regular basis, especially since she is positive he doesn't know she exists. And being eighteen Chelsan has to deal with the pressure of whether or not she should take a little pill called Age-pro, which cures aging, making the world eighteen forever and highly over-populated.

When Chelsan's mother, Janet, is brutally killed, along with everyone else in her trailer park, Chelsan finds out that she was the intended target. Chelsan must use her power to raise and control the dead to save herself, protect her friends and take down the man responsible for murdering her mother.

* Summary taken from The Riser Saga.

Guest Post:

Creating Worlds

by: Becca C. Smith

My favorite part of writing is creating new worlds. I admit, my weakness is fantasy and sci-fi because of the endless possibilities. There’s nothing like sitting down with a cup of tea or coffee, maybe a few pastries, and completely escaping into another world, whether it be writing one or reading one.

In my book Riser I had a lot of fun creating a surface level Utopia, but in actuality it is Dystopian to the core. The book takes place three hundred years in the future and people can live forever as long as they take a pill called Age-pro. Of course, the pill only stops the aging process, you can still die accidentally, but as long as you stay away from sharp objects you should be safe, lol.

And with immortality I thought that death was the perfect contrast, so I gave my main character the ability to control dead things.

But by having something as simple as Age-pro in the future, it gave me all the material I needed to have a ball creating a truly crazy future.

Just something as simple as what I call “elf-immortality,” can stir up all sorts of ideas. I say that being a complete and total nerd, lol. The meaning refers to Lord of the Rings where the elves live forever, but they can still be killed by weapons. If humans had this kind of immortality they’d never want to leave the house. Crime and murder would go down because no one would want to run the risk of dying pre-maturely. Population would get out of hand. Crazies would want to keep their kids kids forever and they could by giving them Age-pro. People would question religion since they aren’t going to die. Some would refuse to take the drug whereas some would drop religion altogether.

Each book I write in the series goes deeper and deeper into the consequences of an ageless society.

But, by far, coming up with the world is always the most fun!

Excerpt:

Chapter Zero Year: 2320

Okay, let me explain. My gift, or curse (I'll let you decide for yourself) to put it simply is I can raise the dead. I know, sounds cheesy, but fortunately, or unfortunately it's true, and I don't mean just people. Basically, anything that had any kind of life: plants, animals, insects, plankton, anything, I can bring back. The only catch is, they're not really alive anymore they're just animated, like zombies I guess, but I control them. Plants are the easiest. My mom's garden is the prize of the trailer park, and she should take no credit whatsoever.



Animals and people are more complicated, maybe because there are so many working parts. I'm really not sure. My ability is still kind of a mystery to me. I have no clue why I have this power. It's not like I've ever heard of anyone else having this particular skill either, except in books and movies. I appear to be an anomaly in this world.



I was three-years-old when I knew I saw things differently than everyone else. My pet goldfish, Larry, died and a black spinning hole appeared in the center of his body. I thought it was just about the coolest thing I had ever seen. When I told my mother about it, she gave me a look that I'll never forget. It was a mixture of confusion and horror. She simply nodded and made me promise that I would never under any circumstances tell anyone else about what I saw. I was instantly ashamed and scared at her reaction, but something in the way that she said it made me keep my promise.



After that, I saw the black holes everywhere, from the tiniest dead insects, to the neighbor's dog when he was hit by a hover car (don't ask), to Ms. Thompkins when she died from a heart attack. The churning black masses had become second nature to me by then. At that point, I still didn't know why I could see them and I was scared to death to talk to anyone about it. I kept to myself mostly, afraid I would slip and say something to a neighbor or friend.



It was a very lonely childhood.



It wasn't until I killed my stepfather Bruce that I figured out that I could raise the dead. I never wanted to take Bruce's life: hurt maybe, kill no. And that's saying a lot seeing as he used to use my mom as a punching bag. He'd make me sit in the corner of our beat up trailer and watch him kick the living crap out of her. He'd laugh when I'd scream, he'd laugh when she'd scream, he'd laugh when he'd scream on the few occasions my mom fought back and actually inflicted pain on him.



Bruce was a jerk, but he didn't deserve to die, not like he did, not like how I killed him. I still can't believe it had been eleven years since it all happened. It felt like yesterday and forever ago all at once.



It was a day like any other day, Mom did some invisible transgression to piss Bruce off and he took it as a cue for another beating. Mom was having one of her comatose days, where I could tell she was just going to take it and hope that he got bored quickly from her unresponsiveness.



Bruce slammed her against the flimsy trailer wall of the kitchen with his beefy forearm. Tiny bits of ceiling floated down like snow on his greasy balding scalp. He sneered at her with glee, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of eye contact. She just kept her eyes down, arms dropped harmlessly at her side. Bruce went on a

furious rampage. He punched her, pulled her hair, kicked her stomach, tried anything to get a response out of her, but she just lay there like a rag doll on the peeling linoleum floor.



Then he wheeled around to face me.



"NO!"



Finally, a reaction from my mother. Bruce was in ecstasy. He stormed towards me like an enraged bull. I could almost see steam coming out of his bulbous nose. Then WHACK!

I could literally feel every vertebra in my spine as all forty-five pounds of me slammed against the wall from the impact of Bruce's fist to my stomach. My world started to spin; everything was in blurred double vision. My mother's hysterical screams echoed in my head like a horrific nightmare. I couldn't focus.



PUNCH!



CRACK!



I could feel my nose crunch when he hit me a second time. It felt like it was really runny, but when I tried to wipe it clean my hands came away covered in blood. The combination of Bruce's frantic laughter and my mother's anguished screeches made it impossible to think clearly. I think I started to whimper at this point. My ribs were so bruised it hurt to breathe let alone move my chest to have a good cry like I wanted to.



These are the moments in life where you don't think rationally. In fact, you don't think at all, you just let your survival instinct take over. It becomes about you or your killer.



And I was no martyr.



I tried to blink fast enough to clear my vision.



THWACK!



My right eye started to swell from Bruce's backhand making it even more difficult to focus. At this point my mother, like a wailing Banshee, propelled herself onto Bruce's back and started pounding her fists onto any piece of flesh she could find. I could hear Bruce's low chuckle at my mom's feeble attempt to stop him. From the sound of his amusement I could tell that today was the most fun he'd had in years.



Taking short controlled breaths I took this moment of solace to re-gain my bearings. And that's when I saw it: a blurred swirling black hole in the corner of the trailer.



WHAM!



Bruce had thrown my mother clear across the room. Her body collapsed into unconsciousness as her head punched a hole through the trailer's wall.



I screamed a horrible, terrible scream: a scream that only a child could make whose world had just been crushed, whose mommy had just been smashed against a wall, leaving her daughter alone, defenseless, a scream that would make any human who possessed an ounce of parenting instincts come running, without thinking, without rational thought. And I couldn't stop. Even Bruce had to cover his ears from the onslaught of shrieking. But Bruce's instincts weren't to mother, they were to destroy and he started towards me.



And seeing him, fists raised, plowing forward, I suddenly felt inexplicably tied to that black swirling chasm across the room. I was a part of it. It was almost as if strings connected us together. And I did the only thing I could.



I made it attack Bruce.



At first I didn't know what I was doing, but I suddenly understood that I physically controlled the black holes. I was connected to them like they were an extension of my own body, like they were my own limbs.



Bruce bellowed in pain as we both realized at the same time what I had brought back to life.



A black widow spider, full of venom and ready to attack.



Over and over I made the spider tear its fangs into Bruce's body: his neck, his arms, his legs, his chest. Bruce swatted the spider, squished the spider, tore it in two, but nothing he did could stop it. It was mine.



It was already dead.



He couldn't kill it again.



He fell to his knees. The poison was flowing through his body now. I could see a small black tornado forming in Bruce's chest.



Fear overtook every fiber of my soul as I realized what I had just done, what I was still doing. I dropped my connection to the spider instantly. It fell lifeless to the floor once more, the black void churning madly in its center.



I crawled over to Bruce's body, leaving a trail of blood from my broken nose. He was convulsing on the ground, his body seizing from the poison coursing through his veins. He was dying and there was nothing I could do about it.



"What did you do?" My mother's voice cut through the near silent grunting and gagging of Bruce's dying moments.



She had seen the whole thing.



"I...I couldn't think of what to say." My mother looked relieved, guilty and horrified all in one condemning expression. I wasn't sure if she was upset about losing Bruce or that her seven-year-old child had just become a murderer. Bruce's eyes rolled back in his head. His last breath was rattling and eerily hushed. It seemed to last an eternity. As if the oxygen in his lungs didn't want to leave his body and clung to whatever life it could hold on to.



I stared into my mother's eyes. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. A small line of blood trickled into her eye from a gash on her forehead, but she didn't flinch. She just looked into my eyes with a blankness more terrifying than any emotion could be.

"Chelsan"...she finally croaked. Her voice was gravelly from screaming.



That was all she could say. It was agony to see her so dead in the eyes, face, body... just staring. I would have given anything I had just to stop her from looking at me with those empty eyes. Her vacant stare felt like a howl of pain so excruciating I almost covered my ears from the silence. At least then I would have been able to hear my own muffled heartbeat. Any noise would have been better than the oppressive judging stillness.



And that was when I realized what I had to do. To break her out of this coma she was encasing herself into. I turned to Bruce. To his raging black abyss spiraling like a whirlpool deep inside his chest. And I switched him on. Just like the spider. He was a bit clumsy at first. I had to concentrate as hard as my seven-year-old brain would let me just to get him in a sitting position. But after a moment or two it became easier and easier and he began to feel like an extension of me. It was an eerie sensation as my thoughts mirrored Bruce's movements. I would think of his arm moving and it would move. I would think of him speaking and...



"Janet?" I made Bruce call to my mother.



His voice snapped her completely out of her stupor. She watched him in shock and overwhelming relief. Bruce.



And then I made him cry. Cry like he never could do when he was alive. I made him cry until his face and



My clothes were drenched with his tears. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I made him repeat over and over as he sobbed in the aftermath of the day's destruction.



Mom crawled over to the two of us, renewed hope in her eyes. Whether she knew what I was doing or not, she didn't say. All that mattered was that she wanted to believe it. She needed to believe it. I could see it in her face. I made Bruce embrace the two of us with a tenderness he was never capable of before. I was doing this for me as much as for my mother at this point. Feeling his strong arms around me, holding me close, affectionate, loving. It was the first time in my life I felt like I had a father: a real dad. I nestled in closer. When my mom saw this she did the same. We both had contented expressions on our bloody bruised faces. I let Bruce sputter and jabber about how much he loved the two of us, how he would never hurt us again, how he was a changed man...



And he was.



After that day he became the best father anyone could ever ask for.



I still find it funny in a strange and disturbing way, that Bruce is a better father dead than he ever was alive.



He's the easiest for me to control now because he was my first, and I've had a lot of practice since. It's almost as if he's really alive sometimes. But every time I watch his face go slack when he's watching his holo-tv or he stinks so bad I have to puppeteer him in the shower, I remember.



He's dead. Truly dead. And it's my fault.

Want to purchase

Riser by Becca C. Smith?

You can do so by visiting my Amazon Store and adding them to your shopping cart. While you're there, feel free to look around, you might find something else you want. I hope you enjoyed the guest post and excerpt from Riser by Becca C. Smith. If you haven't read it yet, then I definitely suggest you pick up a copy for yourself or even for someone else if you think they'll like it.

ABOUT BECCA C. RISER

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Becca C Smith received her Film degree from Full Sail University and has worked in the Film and Television industry for most of her adult life.

Becca is the author of the teen horror/sci-fi novel, Riser. She is also the co-author of the teen graphic novel Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted and also wrote and illustrated Little Family Secrets, a graphic novel based on the true story of her great aunt who was famous for murdering her husband.

She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and two cats Jack and Duke.

Author information taken from her The Riser Saga.