Monday, August 31, 2015

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination New Harbor with Matthew Quinn Martin


Paranormal Road Trip: Destination New Harbor with Matthew Quinn Martin

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

This week's stop is New Harbor and our special guide is Matthew Quinn Martin, author of the Nightlife urban fantasy, horror series, including the new release NIGHTLIFE: NIGHT TERRORS featuring all three Nightlife tales in one chilling collection.

New Harbor's Top 5 Spooky Places

Standing in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft’s Innsmouth, and Stephen King’s Derry…New Harbor is the fictionalized version of an actual city (with a very similar name) in costal Connecticut that is home to more than its share of creepy places.

New Harbor serves as the setting for my novel Nightlife, and is one of main locations of the sequel As The Worm Turns––both of which are available in the newly released omnibus edition Nightlife: Night Terrors (Pocket Star/Simon & Schuster).

Here are five stops you might want to avoid if you find yourself stuck in New Harbor after the last train has left the station, and end up wandering the streets after dark.

Drakewell Tower is a faux-gothic masonry tower built between 1917 and 1921 located at the center of The University campus. It was donated by Ana Drakewell and dedicated to the memory of her son William H. Drakwell Jr. (a graduate of The University, and member of The Order of Sorman, killed in action during WWI).

Standing a full 216 feet, Drakewell Tower is The University’s most recognizable architectural feature, and its image is often used as a symbol for The University itself. The tower boasts four open copper clock faces located at the top of the structure, as well as three distinct and separately controlled carillons. To this day, many University tour guides still repeat the legend that Drakewell tower was the tallest free-standing stone structure in America until the installation of the third carillon necessitated steel reinforcements. In reality, the Washington Monument was the country’s tallest such building long before Drakewell was constructed.

In summer of 2014, Drakewell tower was deemed unsafe and unexpectedly closed to the public. The University sited safety concerns over newly discovered structural damage, but has plans to rededicate and reopen the landmark in time to celebrate the tower’s centennial in 2021.

Fun Fact: According to an apocryphal account, when scientist Emile Lascarre (often referred to by contemporaries as Nikola Tesla’s evil twin) was offered a research position at The University in the 1920s, he accepted only on the condition that his lab be situated in Drakewell Tower, stating: “It’s the only place on campus that I’ll be able to look out a window and not see that hideous thing.” According to University spokespeople, Lascarre’s appointment was never finalized and he, in fact, never conducted research there.

Lasarre was later recruited by the US government at the outbreak of WWII––allegedly to develop biological weapons. He was later accused of conducting human trials on unwilling participants, but disappeared before any formal charges could be brought against him. His subsequent whereabouts have been the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories for the past seven decades.

Fort Red Rock is a park situated on the remains of a Revolutionary War-era fort in the “Docklands” area of New Harbor. The original fort was destroyed by British forces 1779, but rebuilt to protect the port of New Harbor during the War of 1812. It was again refurbished during the Civil War. During this period, the fort was fitted with several deep, earthen, bomb-proof bunkers. However, rebel forces never advanced as far north as Connecticut and the fort was abandoned as a military outpost in the early 20th century.

In 1968, the Fort Red Rock Restoration Project was founded by concerned citizens of New Harbor who oversaw the fort’s restoration, as well as the its rededication in time for the celebration of America’s bicentennial in 1976. Since the mid-1980s the park has seen a steady decline, and is now best know to residents of the area as a haven for the homeless, as well as a hotbed of gang-related and drug-related activity.

Fun Fact: In the summer of 1863 a group of eleven Union soldiers, primarily Irish-American, stationed at Fort Red Rock surreptitiously left the outpost and traveled to the University campus where they approached and brutally beat no less than twenty students, five of which later died. The motive behind the attack was attributed to a combination of factors including unhappiness with anti-Irish and nativist cartoons published in the New Harbor Register, as well as solidarity with the draft riots happening concurrently in neighboring New York City. Ten of the eleven men were apprehended, found guilty of wartime desertion, and executed by firing squad at Fort Red Rock. It is said that their ghosts haunt the grounds to this day.

The Copperwaite Memorial Library is the main library of The University. The current building is the third such structure to bear the name and was erected just prior to the United State’s involvement in WWII. The library houses countless irreplaceable book collections and is the world’s single largest repository of manuscripts written in the English language. It is estimated that at least two-thirds of the library’s inventory is housed below ground in an extensive warren of interconnected chambers known as “the stacks.” The majority of the facility is open to University students and faculty, but the general public is only allowed inside during special events or by invitation. Access to “the stacks” is restricted to graduate students and researchers who have received prior authorization.

In 1963 a rare book and manuscript wing was added and has since become a major focal point of the University campus. The wing is made up of a six-story glass tower situated inside a shell of translucent marble panels supported on four piers which descent deep into the bedrock. Controversy still lingers over the construction of the rare book wing, as it necessitated the acquisition of property adjacent to The University. The owners of fifteen private houses––the majority of them African-American––were displaced by the University, allegedly by coercion and threats. Surviving records show that none were adequately compensated for the loss of their homes.

Fun Fact: Security measures at the library increased dramatically in 2002 after University legacy student Willis “Trip” Carling III was caught cutting maps and other documents from rare books with a razor blade. Carling (a scion of one of the families who founded the University and heir to a vast fortune) has offered no explanation for his actions and the documents themselves––which have a combined estimated value in the millions––have never been recovered. Carling initially faced expulsion and criminal prosecution. But his fate was averted, thanks, in part, to a sizeable donation made by his family.

The Old New Harbor Aqueduct was a complex water distribution system built between 1841 and 1850. It brought drinking water into New Harbor from springs and rivers located north of the city via an intricate system of sluices and reservoirs. The aqueduct was in constant service until the 1930s when population growth and increasing concerns over sanitation necessitated the construction of a more modern water delivery system.

The original structure was deemed too expensive to remove or fill, and as a result was simply bricked up and abandoned. In the fall of 2013 a large section of the aqueduct collapsed due to an explosion reportedly caused by over-pressurized sewer gas. The majority of the damage was limited to the subterranean structure itself. However a popular nightclub (Axis), which sat on the epicenter of the explosion, was completely destroyed when its foundations caved in as a result.

Fun Fact: Shortly after its construction, the city of New Harbor suffered an outbreak of Leptospirosis that claimed the lives of 5-10% of the population, most of them children. At the time, many citizens believed the epidemic was the result of an influx of rats they erroneously believed entered the city through the aqueduct. In reality, the disease was likely spread by the water system itself.

That same year, Silas Van Doorne––charismatic leader of breakaway Christian sect the Wetenists––called the plague “ God’s punishment for allowing the sons of the serpent of Eden to build their nest in New Harbor” during a tent sermon delivered on the New Harbor green. Later that night, every member of the Wetenist church (estimated to be over five hundred) took their own lives at the direction of Van Doorne. It is thought to be the first religiously motivated mass suicide in American history.

The Order of Sormen Hall is the headquarters of the Order of Sormen, the oldest and most secretive of the University’s “tomb” societies. Although no official membership roster has ever been made public, it is reported that Order members have included numerous US presidents as well as countless other powerful figures in politics, finance, medicine, science and nearly every other aspect of American life.

The building itself, built in an Egypto-Doric style, was designed to resemble a mausoleum. To date, no photographs purported to be of the interior have been authenticated, and the hall is strictly off limits to anyone but members of the Order––this includes law enforcement officers, thanks to a covenant first enacted by the city of New Harbor and later adopted by the federal government¬¬. This exemption has since became the subject of heated debate as accounts of sexual assault perpetrated by Order members has grown steadily over the past two decades.

Fun Fact: The symbol of the Order is a snake entwined, double-bladed battle axe. Two massive sculptures, both depicting this image, flank the wrought iron gate of the hall. The symbol was officially adopted shortly after the Order of Sormen’s supposed founding in 1832. It is widely believed that the symbol is an amalgam of the Rod of Asclepius (the ancient sign for medicine and healing) and the Faces (long associated with the dominance of state over individual and root of the word “fascism”).

However, some fringe scholars have speculated that the Order’s sigil not only predates the others, but was, in fact, the inspiration for them. According to this theory, the symbol, as well as the roots of the Order of Sormen itself, can be traced back to the earliest days of civilization––and a few researchers go so far as to suggest that both of them are of non-human origin.

Thank you Matthew for giving us such a haunting tour of New Harbor! 

To learn more about Matthew Quinn Martin and his books, please visit his website.  You can add the Nightlife: Night Terrors here on Goodreads.

Nightlife Night Terrors horror by Matthew Quinn Martin


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

On our last Paranormal Road Trip we visited New York City with Victoria Davies.  Next week we'll be traveling to Whispering Bluff with Selene Charles.

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

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Q+A with Emily Cyr (The Lightning Legacy)

Q+A with Emily Cyr author of The Lightning Legacy paranormal

Please welcome today's guest author, Emily Cyr!  Emily is the author of the Lightning Witch trilogy, including her new release THE LIGHTNING LEGACY.

Q+A with Emily Cyr

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Emily:
  I started writing short stories in collage. I wrote a whole lot of fan fiction before I decided I wanted my own world to build and play around with. I started putting seriously effort into a novel in early 2014.

EJ:  What brought you to the science fiction genre?

Emily:
  I remember very clearly it was Highlander. It was the first thing I remember being drawn to. I have seen all of the movies and all of the tv episodes. I may be slightly obsessed.

Also, I love comic books, especially X-Men. When I was little I would pray every night to wake up to be Jubilee. Just FYI it hasn't worked...yet.

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

Emily:
  I would be a vampire. I mean I know it's an easy answer but it's true. There's something so sexy about it!

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

Emily:
  I have a new book The Lightning Legacy coming out July 30th. It is the sequel to The Lightning Prophecy. This series intertwines witches and werewolves in a new and enchanting way. Book two picks up right where book one left off. The Lightning Legacy deals with a lot of heavy things and the MC changes quite a bit. But, it's filled with action, romance, suspense and lore. There really is something for everyone in this trilogy.

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

Emily: 
Reid would have to be Chris Hemsworth for sure!
Mitch Saldana has got to be played by Henry Cavill
For Delaney Hagen I would choose Emilia Clarke (brunette hair though)
Mil has to be played by Judy Dench
And Troy Tipton could be played as Marlon Wayans

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

The Lightning Legacy Lightning Witch paranormal Emily Cyr

The Lightning Legacy (Lightning Witch #2) by Emily Cyr.

When Delaney Hagen died, she really thought she would stay dead. Her whole reality was shattered when she learned of a prophecy that foretold not only of her death, but that she, a lightning Witch, would rise as a werewolf. She is being held against her will by Mitch, the werewolf who killed her. He is hell bent on using her in every way. She must get away from him and rescue the love of her life, Reid. But, with every passing moment she is slowly breaking.

Reid Jamison saw the woman he loved die and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Now, he’s sitting in a prison owned by Mitch, the monster who killed her. Reid must find a way not only to get out, but to save Delaney. He has little time to get to her.

Both Delaney and Reid must get to one another before it’s too late. Not only are they facing the challenges of Mitch, but there is a new pressing threat from the Coven of Witches. Will everything come together in time or will it fall apart?

Release Date: July 30, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Add to Goodreads.

To learn more about Emily Cyr and her books, please visit her website, and don't miss her Paranormal Road Trip to Savannah here at From the Shadows.

Have a question for Emily?  Ask in the comments below.  We love comments!

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Where will E.J. Stevens visit in 2016?

I am working on my 2016 appearances schedule. Do you know of an amazing book convention, comic con, or fantasy con? Want me to come to a city near you?

Please fill out this poll:

Where would you like E.J. Stevens to visit in 2016?



While I can't make it to every state or country, I will do my best.  My 2015 schedule has stops in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire.  I would love to add more states to this list.  The best way to get me to your state or country of choice is to fill out the poll and leave a comment.  You may also contact me by email.

I hope I get to see you all soon!

Monday, August 24, 2015

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination New York City with Victoria Davies

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination New York City with Victoria Davies

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

This week's stop is New York City and our special guide is Victoria Davies, author of the Fated Match paranormal romance series, including the new release DYING TO DATE.

NYC's Top 5 Spooky Places

The Fated Match Series features a paranormal dating agency in the heart of Manhattan ready and willing to help pair supernatural creatures with their eternal mates. Whether it’s ghosts, goblins, werewolves or vampires, there’s someone out there for everyone. As the characters in the story know, while NYC boasts some world-class shopping, sites and restaurants, it also has its fair share of unnatural incidents like the top five listed below.

The Dakota
You don’t have to be a supernatural or a ghost hunter to have heard about this spot. The breathtaking gothic residence was built in 1884 and has now become one of New York’s most sought after residences. It was featured in the horror classic “Rosemary’s Baby” because of it’s creepy architecture but that’s not its only claim to fame. John Lennon was shot and killed exiting his Dakota home.

Lennon himself is said to have been sighted making a few ghostly appearances. He isn’t alone, however. Two small ghost children are the most famous attraction of the Dakota. They are said to be dressed in period clothing from the 1880s and are often seen as being very friendly to residents. Reports of their haunting has been documented as far back as the 1960s.

The House of Death
This house is always a popular place for the city’s supernatural clientele to visit. Located in the West Village, this 1850s home comes with a rich history of things going bump in the night. Found on a picturesque tree lined street, you wouldn’t think the unassuming house has such a haunted history but 22 ghosts are said to roam the halls. In 1900, Mark Twain himself lived there for a year and was quite vocal about his brushes with the supernatural. Even now, he’s said to be one of the 22 ghosts, wandering around the basement in a white suit. He certainly has enough company to keep his afterlife hopping, though. The other 21 residents are said to be made up of young children, a few old ladies and even a cat. Turnover in this brownstone apartment tends to be high. If a room became available, would you dare to take it?

St. Paul’s Chapel
This pleasant little church is one of the cities oldest public houses still in use. Though many people have been laid to rest here, one famed British actor is the source of the church’s legend. George Frederick Cooke was buried in 1812. The heavy drinker had raked up quite the mountain of debt during his life, however. In order to settle his accounts before he passed, Cooke agreed to donate his head to science. After death, his corpse was decapitated. Rumour has it you can still see Cooke wandering the church grounds looking for his head. The skull, incidentally, seemed determined to return to show business and served as the prop in “Hamlet” productions.

The Whitehorse Tavern
Witches and vampires aren’t the only ones to favour this classic watering hole. If you like your ghosts to have a taste for whisky head to this bar. Opened in 1880, it was a bit of a rough and tumble bar until famous writers began to take it over in the 1960s. Bob Dylan, Hunter S. Thompson and Jim Morrison all reportedly liked to gather here. But it was poet Dylan Thomas that really gave it a story. Always a heavy drinker, on one particular night he downed 18 shots of whiskey, a new personal record. Thomas had to be helped to a cab where he returned to his hotel and promptly fell into a coma. He was pronounced dead at the hospital the next day. Apparently the famous poet can still be seen haunting his favourite bar in hopes of getting one more drink. To support their most infamous patron, the Whitehorse keeps a large portrait of Thomas hanging over their bar.

Manhattan Bistro
And finally we come to the tale of a ghost in dire need of Fated Match’s matchmaking skills. Though rumour has it the food was enough to scare anyone away, this quaint little bistro also boasts a mournful ghost. In 1799 a young woman, Gulielma Elmore Sands, ran away from her boarding home to meet her lover. They were going to elope together but somehow Sands turned up at the bottom of the Manhattan well, which is now found in the bistro basement. Her  lover, Levi Weeks, was the key suspect of her murder. Police thought he had killed her to hide an unwanted pregnancy. Unfortunately for Sands, Weeks hired two cutthroat lawyers who were able to clear his name, much to the fury of New York residents at the time. Though Weeks when on to live his life a free man, Sands spirit continues to haunt the well in reminder of her injustice.

Thank you Victoria for giving us such a haunting tour of NYC!  

To learn more about Victoria Davies and her books, please visit her website.  You can add the Fated Match paranormal romance series here on Goodreads.

Dying to Date Fated Match paranorma romance by Victoria Davies


Have you ever visited New York City?  Ever had a paranormal experience in New York?

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

On our last Paranormal Road Trip we visited Nashville, Tennessee with Emmie Mears.  Next week I'll be on my way back from In-CON-Ceivable, where I'll be staying at a reputedly haunted hotel, and we'll be traveling to New Harbor with Matthew Quinn Martin.

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

Friday, August 21, 2015

Top Fantasy + Science Fiction Villains

Who are your Top Fantasy/Science Fiction Villains?

Tell me your favorite villains from fantasy and science fiction (books, movie, television, video games), and I will try to work them into my upcoming workshop Psychology of a Villain happening next week at In-CON-Ceivable in Northampton, MA.


Curious about the panel? Here are the details!

Psychology of a Villain: Creating Characters We Love to Hate (1 hour)

How do villains become evil? What motivates a villain to commit murder, amass armies of minions, and strive for world domination? Join award winning fantasy author E.J. Stevens as she dissects villain psychology, taking a closer look at the flaws that make these characters so compelling.

E.J. Stevens has a BA in Psychology and has written fourteen speculative fiction books, including the Spirit Guide series, Hunters' Guild series, and the award-winning Ivy Granger series.

When: Friday, August 28, 2015 at 4:00pm
Where: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, Northampton, MA, in the Grand Ballroom
Event: InCONceivable Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention
Tickets: Full Weekend $30, Friday Only $10, website.

I hope to see you there!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Q+A with Isabel Cooper (Night of the Highland Dragon)

Q+A with Isabel Cooper author of Night of the Highland Dragon paranormal romance

Please welcome today's guest author, Isabel Cooper!  Isabel is the author of the Highland Dragons paranormal romance series, including her new release NIGHT OF THE HIGHLAND DRAGON.

Q+A with Isabel Cooper

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Isabel: 
Oh, writing in general I started in something like third grade: very painstakingly crayon-illustrated adventures of puppies, I believe. And maybe princesses. By middle school, I'd discovered fantasy and spent math class writing a five-color-pen (the turquoise and pink version, of course) story where a girl suspiciously like me but prettier turned out to be a mystical heroine. I didn't get published until college, when a magazine bought one of my short stories, and I got my first novel published around 2010. With any luck, my writing's improved in the process.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Isabel:
  Probably early exposure to Lord of the Rings--although, even before that, I was very much inclined toward the weird magic elements of cartoons. (Rainbow Brite, dude. I would completely watch a grown-up version of that.) I can't remember a time when I didn't like fantasy: finding D&D and similar when I was an early teenager only exacerbated that. I started reading romance novels a little later, around eight or so, and at some point the combination just seemed like a good idea, or at least the sort of thing I'd try on a dare. Which I did. And then it got published.

I feel like the moral of my life is "do things that friends suggest when you're all drunk." This is one of the reasons my life will never make a good Afterschool Special.

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

Isabel: 
I'm torn. On the one hand, I'd like to be a medium or another kind of communing-with-the-dead person, because I'd really like confirmation that there's an afterlife. On the other hand, I'm a child of the eighties, and I really want the kind of magical power that involves sparkly multicolored light and roses manifesting out of nowhere. (There's this thing in nineties-ish fantasy lit wherein oh, you don't need fancy robes and wands and stuff to do magic, it's all about nature and your own spirit, and I say bah to that: why even bother getting transcendent universal power if you can't dress up? Freaking hippies, man.) So...maybe anime-style transformation sequence?

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

Isabel:
  Okay, so first of all, it's yet another book in my unofficial Excuses to put Badass Women in Victorian Clothing subgenre. (I love Buffy and Xena; I also love big hats and plush skirts. And I didn't get into this to avoid self-indugence.) This time, the badass in question is actually a dragon, and more than a century old, and she's impressing the hell out of an English spy, who is himself pretty damn awesome and also messes around with coded letters and weird magic devices, so that's a lot of fun. There are demons. There are excessively creepy imperialistic cults lurking around the edges, and everyone suspects everyone else for a while: in particular, my hero and heroine suspect each other for a long time, except they don't suspect each other of remotely the right things. I fool around a whole lot with mythology and folktales. It's a great time.

And also, have you seen the earrings in my cover art? Damn. Go art department.

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

Isabel:
  Ooh. Well, for this one, Judith would probably have a Lucy-Lawless-as-Xena thing going on, albeit in considerably fancier dress: tall, dark, physically imposing, and hot. William I see as Anthony Stewart Head, with slightly redder hair, around S1 of Buffy: more civilized and intellectual, a little apparently older, but still no wimp and still quite attractive.  (Yes, most of my pop-cultural images were formed in the mid-nineties. Such is my way.)

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

Night of the Highland Dragon paranormal romance by Isabel Cooper

Night of the Highland Dragon (Highland Dragons #3) by Isabel Cooper

Acclaimed author Isabel Cooper’s thrilling paranormal romance series continues with a sexy Highland dragon shapeshifter and an inquisitive hero…

William Arundell is a detective working for a secret branch of the English government. When a young man is found dead, William’s investigation leads him to a remote Highland village and the intoxicatingly beautiful lady who rules MacAlasdair Castle.

The charismatic Judith MacAlasdair is not what William expected. The only daughter in a long line of shape-changing dragons, Judith is wary of William and his unrelenting questions. However, when William’s investigation takes an interesting turn, they must put aside years of bad blood and a mutual distrust of outsiders to band together to save the British Islands from its deadliest foe…

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

To learn more about Isabel Cooper and her books, please visit her website.  Have a question for Isabel?  Ask in the comment section below.  We love comments!

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Birthright Nominated for BTS Red Carpet Book Awards

Birthright has been nominated for BEST BOOK and BEST COVER in the BTS Red Carpet Book Awards!


I am honored to have my book nominated in both categories, and I can't wait for the awards at The Novel Experience in Atlanta.

You can check out the full list of nominees here at BTS.

Will you be attending TNEE 2016?

Birthright is available in Trade Paperback and Ebook formats at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers.

#StompvsRomp E.J. Stevens at The Book Nympho

E.J. Stevens at The Book Nympho Stomp vs Romp

 I'm over on The Book Nympho today representing Team Stomp.

#‎StompvsRomp‬ E.J. Stevens Talks Bloodthirsty Fae

...and, yes, I'm willing to resort to bribery to bring you all over to the Dark Side...that is, Team Stomp!

Ivy Granger Giveaway

Ivy Granger Prize Pack, including a signed Birthright mini poster, signed postcards for each book in the series, a Private Eye sticker, and a Blood an Mistletoe audiobook. International. Audiobook available to anyone who can receive audiobooks from Audible.com.

Visit The Book Nympho to win.

 Go TEAM STOMP!

Kitty Saves the World Book Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Cassandra L. winner of the Kitty Saves the World Giveaway at From the Shadows!  Cassandra will receive a mass market paperback copy of Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn.


Thank you to all who entered!

**Winner chosen randomly using Random.org**

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Authors After Dark 2015 #AADATL2015

I had an amazing time this past week at Authors After Dark in Atlanta.  I had the pleasure of spending time with author, reader, and blogger friends, old and new.

Wednesday

Before the convention officially kicked off, I headed to Truva for delicious Turkish food.  I had a great time talking with Chudney and Cathy Clamp.  

Then it was time for the con to begin.  I found the ever wonderful Chudney and Summer at the Meet and Greet pizza party.  So much fun!

E.J. Stevens #AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta

After the official events, I went out to the Hard Rock Cafe for a late dinner with a fabulous group of authors, readers, and editors.

#AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta Hard Rock Cafe


Thursday

The next morning, I was up bright and early for breakfast with the wonderful members of the Paranormal Romance Guild.


The day was filled with events, including the (now infamous) Ghosts and Goblins panel.  Best. Panel. Ever.

#AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta

#AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta

#AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta

Seriously, you had to be there.  I will never think of Alan Rickman the same way again.

Friday

Friday was another busy day.  I hosted a table at the Shifter Picnic lunch...

#AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta
(that's my table in the background)

...and I was on the wonderful Psychics panel.

Saturday

Saturday was the book signing.  Thank you so much for everyone who stopped by my table!


Apparently, I pull really weird faces at book signings.  Who knew?

#AADATL2015 Authors After Dark Atlanta

Then it was time to get dressed for the Bump in the Night Ball.




There were so many amazing costumes, and I had a wonderful time.

Were you at #AADATL2015?

My next event is In-CON-Ceivable in Northampton, Massachusetts August 28th.  I hope to see you there!

Thursday, August 13, 2015

E.J.'s Birthday Bash Giveaway

E.J.'s Birthday Bash Giveaway Win books and swag

It's my birthday month, and I'm celebrating with a giveaway!  Want books?  Want swag?  I've got you covered.

E.J.'s Birthday Bash Giveaway

I am giving away a $5 Amazon Gift Card, choice of any ebook or audiobook from the award-winning Ivy Granger urban fantasy series, and a signed IVY GRANGER mini poster to one lucky winner!

To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL (if you cannot use an Amazon Gift Card, then I will send you a book from The Book Depository of value up to $5).  Giveaway ends August 31, 2015.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!

Monday, August 10, 2015

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Nashville with Emmie Mears

Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Nashville with Emmie Mears

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

This week's stop is Nashville, Tennessee and our special guide is Emmie Mears, author of the Ayala Storme urban fantasy series, including the new release ANY PORT IN A STORM.

Nashville's Top 5 Spooky Places

1. Percy Warner Park:

Percy Warner is the site of many of Ayala Storme's adventures -- and for good reason. The park is hilly, quiet, and blanketed in deciduous trees. Scattered in the clefts of the hills are ruins of old cottages, some reduced only to a stone chimney or a crumbled wall. Just southwest of Nashville, the park is the perfect site for paranormal activity or demon hotspots.

2. Gaylord Opryland Resort:

Contrary to its upscale, glittering appearance, the winding paths that snake through the insides of the Opryland Resort are just a bit eerie. It's said that The Black Lady haunts the hotel, an apparition cloaked in all black who has been seen throughout the hotel grounds. A labyrinth of indoor streams and foliage, it's hard to know if the rustling you hear is natural -- or supernatural.

3. The Hermitage:

Owned by former President Andrew Jackson, like many historical buildings the Hermitage is known as a hotbed of spiritual unrest. After it was acquired by the Ladies' Hermitage Association, the women who stayed overnight at the house experienced a wide variety of phenomena, branding the house with its spooky reputation.

4. Tennessee State Prison:

Remember the prison in the Green Mile? This prison is where they shot it. Prisons are another go-to in the paranormal activity world, and for good reason. Associated with violence (and violent death), anger, frustration, and claustrophobia, they are natural places where the disturbed spirits of criminals (and the wrongly accused) can haunt the living.

5. Ryman Auditorium:

If country music doesn't haunt you enough from the living, Hank Williams Sr.'s voice echoes through this still-popular music venue on occasion. A former tabernacle, the auditorium was first utilised as space for revivals and slowly evolved into the site of the Grand Ole Opry and hosted gatherings of Confederate veterans, which may explain why some have seen a Confederate soldier on the grounds.

Thank you Emmie for giving us such a haunting tour of Nashville!  

To learn more about Emmie Mears and her books, please visit her website.  You can add the Ayala Storme urban fantasy series here on Goodreads.

Any Port in a Storm urban fantasy Ayala Storme series by Emmie Mears

Have you ever visited Nashville?  Ever had a paranormal experience in Tennessee?

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

On our last Paranormal Road Trip we visited Savannah, Georgia with Emily Cyr.  Next week I'll be on my way back from Authors After Dark, but the following week we'll be traveling to New York City with Victoria Davies.

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

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Q+A with C.J. Daugherty (Endgame)

Q+A with C.J. Daugherty author of Endgame

Please welcome today's guest author, C.J. Daugherty!  C.J. is the author of the Night School series, including new release ENDGAME.

Q+A with C.J. Daugherty

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

CJ: 
When I was 19 years old I got my first newspaper job writing for a small local weekly paper while I was still at university. I've never done anything for a living except write since then. Aside from an unfortunate waitressing job in the French Quarter. I'm a bad waitress. I wrote my first bad novel in 1998. I wrote my second bad novel in 2002. Neither of those books were published, for good reason. I wrote my first good novel in 2010 - that was Night School, the first book in my series.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

CJ: 
I'm attracted by the limitlessness of it, and the pace. When you need to get your characters out of trouble, fighting with fists is exciting. Fighting with swords is BETTER. Flying and fighting is best of all.

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

CJ: 
While I'd like to be able to fly, my fear of heights would make that disastrous. So I think I'd like to be able to tell if someone is lying to me. Truth detector.

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

CJ: 
Night School Endgame is out this week in the US and Canada. It's a non-paranormal book written like paranormal. So I've used the paranormal style, and set it in a mysterious, nocturnal boarding school, but the characters have no paranormal abilities. The secret society I've created is based on real secret societies. I've just upped the ante a bit with murder and world domination. In Night School, the blood-sucking vampires are bankers. On the other hand The Secret Fire, my new series that comes out this autumn, is paranormal. It takes the concept of alchemy and makes it as kick-ass as it always should have been. No long beards. Just enough violence.

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

CJ:
  I would want to leave it up to Night School fans. And Night School fans tell me they want Lily Collins, Gregg Sulkin and Colton Haynes and they want them NOW.

Thank you C.J. for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

Endgame night school by C.J. Daugherty

Endgame (Night School #5) by C.J. Daugherty

Broken. Scattered. But not defeated.

The spy is gone but the cost has been high - the rebels at Cimmeria Academy have lost their leader and Carter West is missing. Nathaniel can taste victory. But Allie and the other survivors aren't done yet. First they have to get Carter back. Then they plan to make Nathaniel pay.

One way or another - the game must end.

Endgame is the thrilling fifth and final book in the internationally bestselling Night School series.

Release Date: June 4, 2015
Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult
Add to Goodreads.

To learn more about C.J. Daugherty and her books, please visit her website.  Have a question for C.J.?  Leave a comment below.  We love comments!

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Birthright Release Party Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Dee J. the winner of the Birthright Release Party Giveaway!  Dee will receive a BIRTHRIGHT t-shirt, button, signed postcard, and mini poster!

Birthright Ivy Granger urban fantasy by E.J. Stevens


Thank you to all who entered!

**Winner randomly selected using Rafflecopter**

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Book Giveaway: Kitty Saves the World

Happy book birthday to KITTY SAVES THE WORLD, the final book in the Kitty Norville urban fantasy series, by Carrie Vaughn.  To celebrate we are having a Kitty Saves the World book giveaway!

Keep reading for a chance to win a mass market paperback copy of Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn.

kitty saves the world kitty norville urban fantasy by carrie vaughn

Kitty Saves the World (Kitty Norville #14) by Carrie Vaughn.

The final novel in the New York Times bestselling series

It’s all come down to this, following the discoveries made by Cormac in Low Midnight, Kitty and her allies are ready to strike. But, when their assassination attempt on the evil vampire Dux Bellorum fails, Kitty finds herself running out of time. The elusive vampire lord has begun his apocalyptic end game, and Kitty still doesn’t know where he will strike.

Meanwhile, pressure mounts in Denver as Kitty and her pack begin to experience the true reach of Dux Bellorum’s cult. Outnumbered and outgunned at every turn, the stakes have never been higher for Kitty. She will have to call on allies both old and new in order to save not just her family and friends, but the rest of the world as well.

Release Date: August 4, 2015
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Add to Goodreads.

Kitty Saves the World Giveaway

We are giving away a mass market paperback copy of Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn to one lucky winner!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post and include your email address so that we may contact you if you win.  This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses.  Giveaway ends August 18, 2015 midnight EST.

Good luck!