Thursday, July 30, 2015

Where a Suggestion and Writing Meet

Writing Advice

Please welcome today's guest author, Tilly Greene! Tilly writes erotica and erotic romance novels in a variety of genres and sub-genres like shape shifter, paranormal, contemporary and futuristic.

Where a Suggestion and Writing Meet
by Tilly Greene

One of the first suggestions given to a writer is: write what you know.  Well, I’ve been a published writer since 2006, and, whether knowing or not, I still follow this advice.  By no means is it intentional. When I think about a story or series, what I know is far from my mind. I know I can research, ask questions, and then do even more research. Apparently this advice holds a special place in my heart because it simply happens.

While I’m surprised by how often my hometown and places I visit when home often show up as the setting, I’m a So Cal girl, there were two series where I intentionally went with what I learned and knew. At university I went for a double major, Classical Greek and Russian Area Studies, for no other reason than I had loads of time on my hands. Ten years I studied these two subjects and I love them to bits, and that’s why I wrote with them in mind.

When asked by another author if I wanted to do an erotic romance that touched on Greek mythology, I jumped up and screamed YES! While I refused to touch the original myths, I did write what happened next. All of my stories have a new ending, hence the title of the series: Mythological Messes Redux. I take on Hephaestus, Castor and Pollux, The Cyclopes, the last ipotane named Marsyas, and Zeus and Hera twice.

Everything is touched on in this series.  There’s bondage, ménages, no sex and some watching, as well as one story that is both based on Mount Olympus and Earth. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this series with it’s ancient touches that come with the immortals and the places they visit. Everything is there, but I like to change things up. I’m one of those writers that demand I not be tied to one genre.

With that in mind, no one should be surprised when I say my Russian Area Studies came about with Shape Shifters. The Come series is based in New York City, with new immigrants from Russia, who find-lose-and find love again. There’s paparazzi, the police, city life and a family estate in the country where they can be themselves. I love how the heroes, three brothers, all have whiter than white hair. They aren’t old, just prematurely white [like some of us] and sexy as sin.

So, readers want wannabe writers out there to know something very important. Build your plot on what you know and then there’ll be no mistakes. It can be a person, place or thing you know like the back of your hand and take it in any direction you want but keep it real. You can change bits, but I warn you to be very careful. Fifteen years ago a NYT Bestselling author wrote a scene with a drive I knew could never happen because it was in my neighborhood and there was no such road, couldn’t with a nuclear power plant and military camp in the way. They ruined the story for me and I couldn’t trust them to actually do research. I never picked up another book by them.

It never hurts to read loads!

Thank you Tilly for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Tilly Greene and her books, please visit her website (contains adult content).

Do you have a question for Tilly?  Please ask in the comment section below.  We love comments!

Note: I'm in New Orleans for Author Reader Con, so we're mixing things up and trying something different today.  Paranormal romance author Tilly Greene was kind enough to provide this guest post on writing.  Enjoy!  -E.J.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Savannah with Emily Cyr

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Savannah with Emily Cyr author of The Lightning Prophecy

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.

This week's stop is Savannah, GA and our special guide is Emily Cyr, author of THE LIGHTNING PROPHECY.

Emily's Top 5 Spooky Places in Savannah

My book, The Lightning Prophecy, takes place in Savannah GA. Savannah is known for being one of the most haunted places in the states! I picked Savannah to be the setting of this trilogy after having lived there for nearly 8 years. For anyone who has lived/been there you will understand the place is honestly full of magic!

The first place that is a must stop is Colonial Park Cemetery.

Colonial Park Cemetery - is located in the middle of downtown Savannah. There are over 9,000 graves in the small cemetery established in the late 1700's. I have been there a number of times and have heard that people see a couple holding hands floating over the graves. SPOOKY!

Stop two has got to be the Marshall house!

The Marshall House - located on Broughton st in downtown Savannah. It is now a hotel but it didn't start out that way. It used to be a Civil war hospital. The hospital saw more than its fair share of death as there was a major outbreak of yellow fever. It's said that the now huge hotel was built on the graves of the people who died in the hospital! I have been there a number of time and eaten dinner there. Can you say scary?

Stop three has to be the Foley House Inn.

Foley House Inn - Okay so this one is definitely a scary story! The Inn was built in 1896 by Honoria Foley. A near century later renovations were done and what do you think they found tucked away in the wall? Oh, just a skeleton! What the what?

Stop four has got to be Wright Square.

Wright Square - This was the location of a pretty famous hanging. Alice Riley was said to be the first woman to be executed in the state of Georgia and it was done right smack in the middle of Wright square.

The last stop is Bonaventure Cemetery.

Bonaventure Cemetery - Bonaventure's location isn't the only thing that is special about this last spot. This cemetery is home to thousands of graves but there is one of a little girl named Gracie who is seen roaming the rows of graves as well as the city itself.

Thank you Emily for giving us such a haunting tour of Savannah!  

To learn more about Emily Cyr and her books, please visit her website.  You can add The Lightning Prophecy here on Goodreads.

The Lightning Prophecy Lightning Witch Trilogy paranormal Emily Cyr

Have you ever been to Savannah, Georgia?  Ever experienced anything supernatural there?

What did you think of Emily's picks for spooky places?

Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited Tangle Lake, MN with Michele Hauf.  Next week I'll be at Author Reader Con in New Orleans, but the following week we'll be traveling to Nashville, TN with Emmie Mears.

Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Q+A with Lori Handeland (In the Air Tonight)

Q+A with Lori Handeland author of In the Air Tonight

Please welcome today's guest author, Lori Handeland.  Lori is the author of the Sisters of the Craft trilogy, including her new release IN THE AIR TONIGHT.

Q+A with Lori Handeland

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Lori:
  I started when I was 10 years old writing a sci fi book about two families sent into space.  Haven't stopped since.  My first book was published in   1993.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Lori:
  I've always loved the spooky, the unusual and the mystical.  I was first in line to buy Carrie when it came out.  My mom tells a story about when I was a baby and she would work nights, she'd come home and my dad would have propped up on the couch watching The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Lori:
  I would love to be invisible.  It would serve so many purposes.  I could get a lot of writing done too!  No distractions!

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Lori:
  My latest release is IN THE AIR TONIGHT, which is the first book in my Sisters of the Craft witch trilogy.  These books will be released back to back, starting June 2 with IN THE AIR TONIGHT, then June 30- HEAT OF THE MOMENT, and August 4-SMOKE ON THE WATER.
In IN THE AIR TONIGHT, three triplet babies are sent forward in time from the 16th century to the present day to escape the wrath of a witch hunter.  Each has her now life and no knowledge of her supernatural powers until . . .

Raye Larsen has never fit in with the Scandinavian community of New Bergin, Wisconsin. Being adopted is part of the reason she feels like an outsider, but what really sets her apart is her ability to see dead people. Everywhere. She’s learned to keep her visions to herself…until she stumbles onto the ghost of a murder victim. Enter Bobby Doucet, a distractingly handsome homicide detective who has been tracking a killer all the way from New Orleans.

These books have a little bit of everything--time travel, Wicca, werewolves.  All of the things I love about the paranormal.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Lori: 
I would cast Evan Rachel Wood as Raye.  She has the perfect look and can pull off both the small town kindergarten teacher innocence and the just born witchy woman.  I would cast Danny Pino as Bobby.  Also the perfect "look" and he's already played a detective on SVU.  One of my favorite shows.

Thank you Lori for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

In the Air Tonight paranormal romance by Lori Handeland

In the Air Tonight (Sisters of the Craft #1) by Lori Handeland

Four centuries ago, in a small Scottish village, three baby girls escaped the wrath of a witch hunter. Today, one young woman will learn about her secret history, her heart's destiny, and the sisters she never knew she had...

With her blue-black hair and dark eyes, Raye Larsen has never fit in with the Scandinavian community of New Bergin, Wisconsin. Being adopted is part of the reason she feels like an outsider, but what really sets Raye apart is her ability to see dead people. Everywhere.

She’s learned to keep her visions to herself . . . until she stumbles onto the ghost of a murder victim who needs Raye’s help. Enter Bobby Doucet, a distractingly handsome homicide detective who has been tracking a killer all the way from New Orleans. Could this be the break in his case he’s been looking for all along?

Meanwhile, the deeper Raye gets involved with the case—and with Bobby—the closer she comes to unlocking the mystery of her own origins. What she discovers about herself could destroy everything she knows . . . and everyone she loves. Is finding the truth worth the risk?

Release Date: June 2, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Add to Goodreads.

To learn more about Lori Handeland and her books, please visit her website.  Have a question for Lori?  Please leave a comment below.  We love comments!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Tangle Lake with Michele Hauf

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Maradaine with Marshall Ryan Maresca author of A Murder of Mages

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.

This week's stop is Tangle Lake, MN and our special guide is Michele Hauf, author of THE VAMPIRE'S FALL.

Michele's Top 5 Spooky Places in Tangle Lake

Hey, Everyone! My current book, THE VAMPIRE’S FALL, is set in Tangle Lake, MN. It’s got the straightest lake in the state, and I doubt you’ll have luck walleye fishing. Which brings us to the first ‘creepy’ place in the town.

Tangle Lake: Like I said, not tangled, completely straight. (As straight as a lake can get.) And for some reason there are no fish to be caught, even though the DNR has attempted to repopulate various species every year. The fish go in, and then…they disappear.  But the leeches! Ugg.

The Darkwood:  A massive forest that edges the town. It is a no-man’s land, principally Faery, but also other ‘creatures’ tend to seek refuge there from humans. It’s rumored haunted by the local humans, and while you may not find a ghost in there, you will run into faeries, demons, werewolves, vampires, etc. You name it. It’s probably in there. The hero, Blade lives at the edge of the Darkwood and has wards up to protect himself from things leaving the woods. But he ventures in from time to time, because it is rife with magic and the otherworldly vibrations that often welcome him, a vampire.

Nightclub at the edge of the Woods: The nightclub has no name, and you need an invitation for entrance. Locals will scoff and tell you there’s no such thing as a nightclub out there. A big old mansion that looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie that plays tech-music under the full moon? Ridiculous! Unless of course, you do get an invite. Then you’d better be warded against demons. I’m just sayin’…

The strip mall on Main street: It’s a strip mall. In a tiny Midwestern town. And it has an arcade and a Woolworths. It doesn’t get any creepier than that.

Red Rooster Inn: Lovingly referred to by locals as ‘The Big Red Cock” due to the 8-foot red metal sculpture of a rooster out front. (In MN it’s the thing to have a big sculpture of some kind of animal out front of your business establishment.) Except don’t go near the rooster on the night of a blue moon or you’ll see the blood glinting on its metal talons. Some say there was a fight between two gentleman that resulted in one getting his head bashed against the sculpture’s talons. Others whisper that on the night of a blue moon the rooster takes flight and seeks the heart of an innocent.



Thank you Michele for giving us such a haunting tour of Tangle Lake!  

To learn more about Michele Hauf and her books, please visit her website.  You can add The Vampire's Fall here on Goodreads.

The Vampire's Fall paranormal romance by Michele Hauf

What did you think of Michele's picks for spooky places?

Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited Los Angeles, CA with Kate Danley.  Next week we'll be traveling to Savannah, GA with Emily Cyr.

Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!

Friday, July 17, 2015

World Emoji Day: Ivy Granger Emoji Book Title Challenge

Happy World Emoji Day!  Can you guess the Ivy Granger series book titles from the emojis below? 

Take the Ivy Granger Emoji Book Title Challenge!

World Emoji Day: Ivy Granger Emoji Book Title Challenge


Can you guess the Ivy Granger book titles?  Let us know in the comments.

Final Day: Release Party Chat and Giveaway at Bitten by Books

Bitten by Books Birthright Release Party

I'm chatting and partying over at Bitten by Books for the BIRTHRIGHT Book Release Party. Seriously, this event is so much fun. We've discussed Muppets, Sherlock, creepy zombies, sexy shifters, music, hawk migrations, books, anime, writing, ghosts, spooky travel destinations, and the peculiar habits of crows and ravens. You don't want to miss this!


Don't miss this fun release party, chat, and giveaway.  Come chat and enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! 


Win $25 Amazon Gift Card at Bitten by Books Birthright Release Party


Hope to see you there!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Q+A with Temple West (Velvet)

Q+A with Temple West author of young adult paranormal romance Velvet

Please welcome today's guest author, Temple West.  Temple is the author of the YA paranormal romance novel VELVET.

Q+A with Temple West

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Temple:
  As early as humanly possible.  My first memory of writing a complete story was for my 4th grade Young Authors event.  We got hard-cover blank books to write and illustrate our stories and mine was called The Princess Who Learned to Laugh.  It was awful, but had a fairly concrete narrative structure.  My favorite was an unfinished story from 3rd grade, though, about evil candies in space.  I think the villains were Red Hots.  I still have that in a box somewhere in my dad's garage.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Temple: 
My brother and my dad are to blame for that one.  Every night before bed, my dad used to read me The Chronicles of Narnia.  My brother was also hugely into fantasy and I would steal his Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind books when he was done with them.  As a teenage girl, I wanted fantasy with a little more romance in it, so paranormal seemed like a good genre compromise.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Temple:
  Well, if we're talking straight-up superpowers, I would choose the power of flight.  I used to dream regularly about being able to fly like Peter Pan or Superman, no wings or rocket packs, just the ability to fly anywhere I wanted by the power of my own will.  I think flight represents the idea of freedom, of liberation, of being boundless, and that really appeals to me on both a personal and narrative level.  If I had to be a paranormal creature, however, I'd probably choose some sort of fairy or elf creature.  I like their elusiveness, mystery, and forest habitat.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Temple:
  Because the mythology is different.  Also, there's tons of banter. It's a serious story, but it's also got quite a bit of humor.  While book 1 really sets up the world and characters and hints at the greater mystery and mythology, books 2 and 3 will really dive into new territory, especially as it concerns vampire lore.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Temple:
  I know she's technically too old, since she's now playing a college-age student on The Vampire Diaries, but I absolutely love Kat Graham.  She's got an intensity and seriousness to her that I adore, but she can also be light and funny, which I think is a perfect combination for the role of Caitlin Holte.  For Adrian, I've actually got about half a dozen options, but I love Logan Lerman for the exact same reasons.  Range and emotional depth are key.

Thank you Temple for joining us here today at From the Shadows!


Velvet (Velvet Trilogy #1) by Temple West.

First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love.

After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire.

Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?

Release Date:  May 12, 2015
Genre:  Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Add to Goodreads.

To learn more about Temple West and her books, please visit her website.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Birthright Release Day Party + Giveaway

Today we are celebrating the release of BIRTHRIGHT, the fourth full-length novel in the award-winning Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by E.J. Stevens.  We have a special book excerpt, commenter prizes, and a HUGE swag giveaway.  So grab a cupcake and some punch.  It's time to party!

Birthright by E.J. Stevens Ivy Granger urban fantasy series

Birthright (Ivy Granger #4) by E.J. Stevens

Being a faerie princess isn't all it's cracked up to be...

Ivy must go to Faerie, but the gateway to the Wisp Court is through Tech Duinn, the house of Donn—Celtic god of the dead. Just her luck.

Unable to share her secret with Jinx, and with Jenna called away on Hunters' Guild business, Ivy must rely on Ceff and Torn to lead her to Death's door, literally, and back again. As if that wasn't dangerous enough, there's no saying what horrors lay in store within the Faerie realm. Too bad the Wisp Court is the one lead Ivy has in the search for her father—and possible salvation.

Maybe hiding away and dodging sidhe assassins isn't so bad after all...

Release Date:  July 14, 2015
Genre:  Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Now available (ebook and trade paperback) at
Amazon, Amazon.uk, Kobo, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and other fine retailers.

Add Birthright to your TBR list:

Birthright Book Excerpt

     Wisps buzzed through the air, their musical humming rising in pitch as they darted in for a closer look.  I sat on the mossy embankment and smiled, watching the playful wisps.
     With my father’s key helping to guide us, we’d left the deadly bog and its poisonous gas behind.  I breathed deeply, and let out a happy sigh.
     “I don’t know what you’re so happy about,” Torn said, shaking water from his hair.  “We’re covered in mud and smell like troll farts.”
     It was true.  The sulfurous swamp gasses did smell an awful lot like something that would come out of Marvin after he ate an entire cauldron of Kaye’s chili, but I didn’t care.  We were alive.  And so far, my wisp brethren weren’t trying to kill me.
     I’m not sure what it said about my life that the lack of fratricide upon my homecoming made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Probably best not to think too much about it, and just enjoy the moment.
     I shrugged, and kept on smiling.
     “Well don’t get too comfortable, Fish Breath is on his way over with his pensive face,” Torn said.
     He stalked off to sit on a rock a few paces away, but I shrugged again and closed my eyes, turning my face to the moon and stars above us.  I wasn’t going to let Torn ruin this moment.
     “Are you feeling well?” Ceff asked, settling on the mossy ground beside me.
     I cracked an eye open, grinning from ear to ear.
     “I feel great, never better,” I said.  In fact, I felt a bit dizzy and my lips tingled, like I’d had too much to drink.  Only I would get buzzed off the buzzing of wisps.  “Just buzzed off the buzzing.”
     I hiccupped, and giggled, the laugh coming out in an undignified snort that startled the nearest wisps.
     “Are you sure that you are not angry, or afraid?” he asked.
     I forced myself to look up into Ceff’s face.  His head was titled to the side, as if listening for something, but his attention was focused solely on me.
     “I’m fiiine, really,” I said, waving a hand.  My eyes widened, and I let out another giggle.  “I’m glowing.”
     “Which is probably what has his highness’ panties in a bunch,” Torn said, coming over to tower above me, arms crossed.  “There is something weird about seeing you smile like that, especially when you’re glowing.”
     “What?” I asked.  “I smile.”
     “Almost never, and when you do, it’s usually because you’re killing something,” he said.  “Not that I’m judging.  I’m just saying Fish Breath has a point.  You’re different.”
     “She is high on power,” Ceff said, eyes going tight.  “I should have recognized the signs sooner, but I was focused on our flight through the bog, and then with releasing the water magic that held our masks together.”
     “You think it’s the wisps?” Torn asked.
     “That would be my guess,” Ceff said, rubbing his jaw.
     “This didn’t happen after our run in with those wisps in Ocean Overlook cemetery, did it?” Torn asked.
     “No,” Ceff said.  “Not that we noticed.  But Ivy was badly wounded that night, and took days to recover consciousness.  And…I…I was not at my most attentive.”
     That was the night that I’d killed his ex-wife.  Melusine may have been the raging psychotic bitch who’d murdered his children, and tried to kill us as well, but that didn’t mean her death had been easy on Ceff.
     The memory of Ceff’s grief flooded me, pushing the giddiness away.
     “I think…I think I’m back to normal now,” I said.  I yawned, covering my mouth with the back of my gloved hand.  Ignoring the encroaching bone deep fatigue, I tried to pull myself to my feet, but sank back down when a wave of dizziness nearly toppled me over.  “I just need a minute.”
     “You are exhausted,” Ceff said, brow wrinkling.  “Rest here.  I will keep first watch.”
     “But my father’s court…” I said, but my words were cut short by another yawn.
     “Will still be there tomorrow,” Torn said.
     “Plus, I can scout ahead while you sleep,” Ceff said.  “We will make better progress if we are rested and certain of the path ahead.”
     “Fine,” I said, eyes fluttering closed.  “But just a quick nap.”
     The last thing I saw, before losing myself to the darkness of sleep, was a cloud of wisps hovering over me, lending me their warmth…and their power.

Birthright Release Day Giveaway

We are giving away a BIRTHRIGHT t-shirt, button, signed postcard, and mini poster to one lucky winner!

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL. Giveaway ends August 4, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you all for partying with us!

In addition to the huge swag pack giveaway, we are also giving away Ivy Granger series stickers, buttons, and signed postcards.  Each tweet, FB post, and blog comment using the hashtag #BirthrightParty will count as an entry.  Winners will be randomly selected throughout the day.  So party with us and spread the word all day July 14th for a second chance to win!

Also, don't miss the Birthright Release Party Chat and Giveaway happening today at Bitten by Books.  We are giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card.  I hope to see you there!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Bitten by Books Birthright Release Party

Bitten by Books Birthright Release Party

Join me tomorrow Tuesday, July 14th at Bitten by Books for the BIRTHRIGHT Book Release Party.


Don't miss this fun release party, chat, and giveaway.  I'm giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card.  RSVP now for 25 extra entries.

Win $25 Amazon Gift Card at Bitten by Books Birthright Release Party


Hope to see you there!

Here is the link to the Birthright Release Party at Bitten by Books.

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Los Angeles with Kate Danley

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Los Angeles with Kate Danley

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.

This week's stop is Los Angeles, California and our special guide is Kate Danley, author of the MAGGIE MACKAY urban fantasy series.

L.A.'s Top 5 Spooky Places

Most people would say the scariest thing about Hollywood is the botched plastic surgery, and they may be right, but there are a couple of spooky haunts of the more paranormal variety.  My character, Maggie MacKay, roams Los Angeles taking down vampires and monsters and ghosts.  Here are a couple of spots featured in my Maggie MacKay series and a few bonus locations to send a chill up your spine.

1.  Hollywood Tower
Thought that the Tower of Terror was something just in Disneyland?  Oh no, my friends.  The Hollywood Tower is an actual place.  Though it has recently been renovated and now mostly features terrifyingly expensive apartments, this used to be a hotel where young starlets with stars in their eyes would stay… and many reportedly committed suicide.  The Tower is haunted by a multitude of ghosts, including a dapper gent on the 7th floor who stares out at the Hollywood Hills and then disappears.

2.  The Queen Mary
If you've read Maggie on the Bounty, it takes place on a fictionalized ocean liner called the Empress Adelaide.  The REAL haunted ocean liner is docked in Long Beach.  The Queen Mary started off as a posh cruise ship bringing Hollywood's elite across the ocean, but when WWII hit, she got a name change and became The Grey Ghost, shuttled soldiers across the Atlantic.  Now she's retired in Long Beach and sits as a permanent hotel.  One of the rooms is so haunted, they stopped renting it out.  There are crying ghost babies in a storage closet that was once the 2nd class nursery.  People report seeing water and bathers in the empty swimming pool.  Ghost hunters have been on board and found several vortexes.  If you're in a ghost hunting mood, they offer one thrills-and-chills "haunted boat" tour that will make you laugh and scream.  But if you want the facts about the hauntings, they have one of a more serious nature which will tell you the who/what/where of the boat's spookiest unregistered guests.

3.  The Hollywood Sign
In 1932, a young actress named Peg Entwistle felt her acting career was going nowhere and that she was better off if she ended her life.  She climbed up to the top of the Hollywood sign and threw herself off the "H."  Little did she know that the day after she committed suicide, one of the studios desperately kept trying to reach her to offer her a role.

4.  Hollywood Cemetery
Welcome to the final resting place of Rudoph Valentino, Mickey Rooney, and Douglas Fairbanks.  While no more haunted than any other cemetery, during the summer, you can bring a picnic and watch movies among the tombstones, some of the flicks featuring the actors and actresses buried there.

5.  Old Griffith Park Zoo
Sitting in Griffith Park is a zoo built in 1912, except no one lives there anymore.  It is nothing but empty cages, empty enclosures, all left abandoned since the 1960s.  The bars have been removed and now you can climb around inside and get your taste of what it might feel like if the whole world was watching you.  Visitors have described it as just… creepy

Thank you Kate for giving us such a haunting tour of L.A.!  

To learn more about Kate Danley and her books, please visit her website.  You can add the Maggie MacKay, Magical Tracker series here on Goodreads.


The M-Team Maggie MacKay urban fantasy by Kate Danley

Have you ever visited Los Angeles?  Ever had a paranormal experience in Los Angeles?

What did you think of Kate's picks for spooky places?

Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited Maradaine with Marshall Ryan Maresca.  Next week we'll be traveling to Tangle Lake, MN with Michele Hauf.

Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Q+A with Susan Griscom (A Gypsy's Kiss)

Q+A with Susan Griscom author of A Gypsy's Kiss paranormal romance

Please welcome today's guest author Susan Griscom!  Susan is the author of the Whisper Cape series and The Sectorium paranormal romance series, including her new release A GYPSY'S KISS.

Q+A with Susan Griscom

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Susan:
  I started writing in 2007 when I retired after we sold all of our cell phone stores. ​I'd read Nora Roberts' Circle Trilogy, (can't get enough of those books) and I told a friend of mine that I wanted to write a book. Well, I'm the type of person who feels the need to follow through on things like this, so I started writing Whisper Cape in the basement of our seventy-five-year old home. This house was haunted with a very gentle spirit and I truly believe her presence helped inspire my creativity. I finished writing that book in three months, then took another two years perfecting it and contacting agents. It was eventually picked up by a small press who didn't live up to my expectations and I asked to be released from my contract before the book was even published. I then self-published it.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?​

Susan:
  As I stated above, Nora Roberts' Circle Trilogy. I didn't want to write about vampires, but I was a huge fan of just about anything supernatural. I worried about being too much like someone else and so I decided to write about beings with supernatural abilities.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?​

Susan: 
I would love to have the ability to teleport. Being able to be anywhere I wanted to be in the blink of an eye would be awesome, particularly since I don't care much for airplanes. I wouldn't mind a little telekinetic power too.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.​

Susan:
  My newest release, A Gypsy's Kiss, is not only a supernatural romance, heavy on the romance, but I've also thrown in the sport of hockey. ​I watched my son play hockey his entire life and I became a fan of the sport and was thrilled when I came up with the idea of mixing it in with this story of two tortured souls seeking something neither one of them ever thought was possible.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Susan:
  This is a difficult question, because they are so unique in their appearance, but I guess if I have to pick, Hawk, who has one green eye and one grey eye, could be played by Ian Somerhalder with contacts, because he can play someone who can be very angry, yet can have a very soft side as well. Abigail Breslin would make a fantastic Breena. I think she would be great in portraying Breena's angst about how she actually feels about her "cursed" ability. The idea of never being able to touch someone would be awful and I think Abigail could carry off that anxiety, yet keep Breena's high spirited spark at the same time.

Thank you Susan for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

A Gypsy's Kiss paranormal romance The Sectorium series by Susan Griscom

A Gypsy's Kiss (The Sectorium #1) by Susan Griscom.

Breena Cassidy
Cursed with what could be one of the worst supernatural abilities imaginable, Breena has never had the luxury of falling in love. Hell, she’s never even held a guy’s hand. At only twenty-two years old, she’s just about given up on the whole love thing. After all, when you can see twelve hours of someone’s future by a simple touch, and they, in turn, can see what you see, well… relationships are sort of out of the question. Her gigs performing psychic readings at parties, and the occasional one-on-one private appointment are just about Breena’s only connection with people. No matter how much she might wish otherwise.

Hawk Covington
Hawk’s hard body and skill have earned him a starting position on the Pioneer’s college hockey team. But it’s not his talent with a hockey stick that’s the most remarkable. His gorgeous two-colored eyes not only draw the attention of every female on campus, they also allow him to track people and objects. But when he suddenly finds himself stalked by a stranger, he seeks out the help of the rumored, “campus gypsy” for help.

Despite his vow to stay single and play as many college women as he can while the fun lasts, Hawk can’t ignore his attraction to the lovely and spirited Breena. And she can’t get the hunky star hockey player out of her mind once a single touch of his hand reveals something utterly strange. Surrounded by mystery, they realize that fate has brought them together for a reason, but can they stay alive long enough to recognize the depth of their feelings for one another?

Release Date: May 10, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
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To learn more about Susan Griscom and her books, please visit her website.  Have a question for Susan?  Let us know in the comments below.  We love comments!

Monday, July 6, 2015

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Maradaine with Marshall Ryan Maresca

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Maradaine with Marshall Ryan Maresca author of A Murder of Mages

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.

This week's stop is Maradaine and our special guide is Marshall Ryan Maresca the author of the Maradaine urban fantasy series, including his new release A MURDER OF MAGES.

Marshall's Top 5 Spooky Places in Maradaine

Map of Maradaine
Maradaine is a grand and lush city, filled with commerce, magic, intrigue, politics and mystery.  And like any city with that much scope, there are places that are steeped with fear and dark history that some people would just as soon forget.

1.  Oscana Park - Once a vibrant center of natural beauty in the middle of the Dentonhill neighborhood, Oscana Park has been all but abandoned to the effitte dealers, ruffians, derelicts and vagrants.  Now overgrown with half-dead trees, not even the constabulary go in there if they can help it.  Anyone who does venture in is likely to get a knife in their belly.

2.  Quarrygate Prison/Quarry Landfill - At the southwest edge of the city, the source of the white stone bricks that many Maradaine buildings were built with is now the home to everything undesirable.  The prison looms over the deep pits of decades worth of refuse.  Some say the prison is far more humane than public executions, but the scent alone in the part of the city could be considered torture.

3.  Downing & Jewel - Three years ago, several Mage Circles fought each other in the streets of Inemar, and the worst of these Mage Rows was at the corner of Downing and Jewel, in front of the Chapterhouse for the Circle of Light and Stone.  Several innocent people were injured, even killed, in the crossfire.  Despite that, almost no mages were arrested.  And they wonder why normal folk don’t trust them….

4.  The City Tunnels - The city of Maradaine is ancient, standing for centuries before the first Druth king was crowned.  Sewers, catacombs, secret passages and hidden caverns where dug out, abandoned, rediscovered and forgotten more times than anyone could keep track of.  How many tunnels are beneath the city?  No one really knows.  Is anyone—or anything—down in there?  If so, what are they doing down there?

5.  Talon Circle - Talon Circle, on the north side of the city in the Welling neighborhood, is home to the Talon Club, a favored establishment for Maradaine’s wealthy elite and politically powerful.  But it is also the home to a stern reminder of darker times: the empty plinth in the center of the fountain in the middle of the plaza.  In the eleventh century, when King Maradaine X was overthrown by the figure simply called “The Black Mage”, the statue in the plaza was destroyed and the king’s body was placed on the plinth for all to see.  When the Black Mage was routed and the Maradaine line restored to the throne, the plinth was kept empty to honor the murdered king.

Thank you Marshall for giving us such a haunting tour of Maradaine!  

To learn more about Marshall Ryan Maresca and his books, please visit his website.  You can add the Maradaine series here on Goodreads.

a murder of mages maradaine urban fantasy by Marshall Ryan Maresca

What did you think of Marshall's picks for spooky places?

Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited London with Brooklyn Ann.  Next week we'll be traveling to Los Angeles, CA with Kate Danley.

Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Q+A with Jennifer Allis Provost (Heir to the Sun)

Q+A with Jennifer Allis Provost author of Heir to the Sun fantasy

Please welcome today's guest author, Jennifer Allis Provost.  Jennifer is the author of the Copper Legacy series and the Chronicles of Parthalan series, including HEIR TO THE SUN.

Q+A with Jennifer Allis Provost

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Jennifer:
  I suppose I could give the standard “I’ve been writing all my life” response, but I began writing for publication in 2008. How that came about is a story in itself; I’d been rooting though some boxes that came from my mother’s house and I found some notebooks that I’d used in middle school. One of them had some scribblings that stuck in my mind, and it became the Chronicles of Parthalan.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Jennifer:
  When I was a kid, the local library (which was the size of my foot) only had a few shelves worth of children’s titles. Once I’d read all of those, the librarian directed me to the mythology section. It’s a pretty short leap from reading about gods and fantastical creatures to writing about faeries and elves.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Jennifer: 
Hmm, that’s a good one. Lots of talents are cool—invisibility, flying—but in the end I think I’d pick a sort of precognition. If nothing else I could make money in the stock market.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Jennifer: 
My latest release, Heir to the Sun, is actually a re-release by Bellatrix Press. It will be available everywhere June 1, with a newly polished story and shiny new cover.

It features two strong female leads, Asherah and Alluria. Asherah is a prisoner at the start of the story, until she escapes and leads a revolt against the faerie king. Along the way, she exposes the king’s misdeed, burns prisons to the ground, and assembled an army of thousands dedicated to her. Alluria feels trapped in her role as priestess, until she takes matters into her own hands and makes her own path. Not only does she relinquish her role as priestess, she learns that she might be the most powerful person in the land. You could say that they’re self-rescuing princesses.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Jennifer:
  Alexis Bledel perfectly captures Alluria’s austere beauty. Her mate, Caol’nir, would have to be played by someone blond and physically imposing, like Chris Hemsworth. I’ve always envisioned Lormac, the elf king, as Hugo Weaving in his role as Elrond (maybe I read a little too much Tolkien as a kid). As for Asherah, I honestly don’t know. She had long blond hair, so pale it’s almost white, with black eyes crimson lips. I took a look around the interweb, and the closest I could find was Shay Mitchell or Gwen Stefani.

Thank you Jennifer for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

Heir to the Sun Chronicles of Parthalan fantasy by Jennifer Allis Provost

Heir to the Sun (Chronicles of Parthalan #1) by Jennifer Allis Provost.

A mad king. An escaped slave. One warrior to save the realm...

When Asherah, stripped of both her memory and her dignity, learns that King Sahlgren is responsible for her torment it nearly breaks her. Instead, she leads her fellow slaves to freedom. More prisons are scattered across Parthalan, and Asherah vows to burn them all.

Caol'nir, a warrior descended from the gods, is sworn to serve and defend the king. Then a priestess is murdered, and Caol'nir learns that Sahlgren is to blame. Determined to stop the king, sacred oath or no, Caol'nir joins Asherah's rebellion.

What Caol'nir doesn't know is that Sahlgren has promised the demon lord a woman of rare and singular beauty, a woman whose abilities are rumored to rival the sun god’s themselves…a woman Caol’nir knows all too well.

Release Date:  June 1, 2015
Genre:  Paranormal, Fantasy
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To learn more about Jennifer Allis Provost and her books, please visit her website.

Have a question for Jennifer?  Ask away in the comment section below.  We love comments!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Blood and Mistletoe Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Aimee Y. the winner of the Blood and Mistletoe Audiobook Giveaway!  Aimee will receive a BLOOD AND MISTLETOE audiobook download, signed postcard, and button.

Blood and Mistletoe Audiobook by E.J. Stevens narrated by Melanie Mason and David Wilson-Brown

Happy Audiobook Month!

**Giveaway winner randomly selected using Rafflecopter**