Origin of Harborsmouth and a Givaway!

I'm over at Suzanne Johnson's fabulous blog today discussing the origin of Harborsmouth, the fictional city inhabited by our favorite psychic detective.

Check out this post Angry Mobs of Fairies!  Ghost Light with E.J. Stevens and W*n a Book at Preternatura: The Speculative Fiction Blog to learn more about my writing inspiration and have a chance to win a choice of Ghost Light or Shadow Sight.

Paranormal Guest Author: Suzy Turner + December Moon Giveaway

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Suzy Turner!  Suzy, author of Raven and December Moon, has prepared a special guest post for our readers.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Howling deep into the night by the light of a bright, white, full moon. You can almost see him sitting there, his head tilted back as he makes that high pitched sound that sends shivers down your spine. Yes, I'm talking about the elusive werewolf.

If they all looked as gorgeous as Jacob Black, then we wouldn't be at all afraid would we? I know, I know, I'm far too old to be attracted to Jacob (at 35, I'm almost old enough to be his mother!) but it's impossible not to be. He is a fine figure of a man (or a wolf, rather) though, isn't he?! I'll stop talking about Jacob now, this is a post about werewolves after all.

I think I was first introduced to the idea of werewolves back in the 80s when I saw a really silly film with Michael J Fox called Teen Wolf. It obviously planted a seed in my mind because since then I've rather enjoyed reading about them in books or watching werewolf stories on screen. An American Werewolf in London is another, albeit, rather more gory version that I enjoyed as a child (admittedly, I have seen it since and found it disappointing). So, come back to present day and what kind of werewolf flicks / books, are all the rage? Twilight obviously comes up trumps but have you seen The Lost Girl? There is a rather gorgeous character called Dyson (played by Kristen Holden-Ried) who plays the smouldering werewolf to fabulous effect. Being Human is another featuring a werewolf, a ghost and a vampire all living under the same roof.

A few months ago I read my first book centered entirely around werewolves. It was called Blood and Chocolate and I have to say, it left me a little disappointed. Although the story was excellent, I found the main character irritating, especially the way she kept referring to people as boy or girl. She was supposed to be 16 yet came across as much older than her years. But the werewolf aspect was fantastic.

In December Moon, as in Raven, there is one main werewolf. His name is Zoltan and he is your stereotypical wolf man. He's a tough guy who wants nothing more than a good fight. Having said that, Zoltan is a big softy at heart, especially when it comes to his girlfriend, Tabitha, who just happens to be a changeling... with the ability to change into a mountain lion.

If I've tempted your taste-buds, why not check out December Moon. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

December Moon (The Raven Saga #3) by Suzy Turner

On her 15th birthday, December Moon discovers she is the descendant of a family of witches, kept in the dark her entire life in an effort to protect her. But when Lilly, her best friend, finds herself in danger from one of the world's most evil vampires, December will do everything in her power to stop him. December Moon is a fantasy novel for children and young adults set in BC, Canada.


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

To learn more about Suzy Turner and her books, please visit her website or check out E.J.'s interview of Suzy here at From the Shadows.

**December Moon International Giveaway**

We are giving away two copies, one paperback and one ebook, of December Moon (The Raven Saga #2) by Suzy Turner.

To enter, please leave a message on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway ends October 1st midnight EST.

My Demon Valentine: Character Interview with Annie and Faust + Giveaway

Please welcome today's returning guest author Danielle D. Smith and special guests Annie, Faust, and Erik!  Danielle is the author of Black Dog and Rebel Rose, Psyche's Gate, and In the Neon.

Love is in the air. Florists, chocolatiers, card makers, and jewelers prepare to rake in the bounty as lovers and friends express their affections on the feast day of Saint Valentine.

Being me, I have to poke a little fun at this most romantic Saint's Day by interviewing a very peculiar couple...although I believe that you will find them to be as romantic as they come. Please welcome Annie and her beloved demon lover, Faust, whose story will be hitting store shelves this spring. I am delighted to see that they have also brought along their infant son, Erik, who has quite the personality!

DANI: Welcome, Annie and Faust. You too, Erik!

(Faust smiles shyly, nodding. Annie bounces Erik in her lap; Erik burbles and blows raspberries.)

ANNIE: Thanks, Dani. Say hi, baby!

(She takes Erik's hand and waves it. The baby wriggles in her lap, crowing happily.)

DANI: He's quite a character. He pinched my boob when I held him.

ANNIE: Yep, that's our little stinker! He loves women already.

DANI (laughing): I can tell! He's quite a flirt. Anyway, you two have quite a story to tell us! How did you two meet?

ANNIE (blushing): Faustie here was hanging around the strip club where I worked.

DANI: That was The Neon, right?

ANNIE: That's right.

DANI: Faust, when did you first see Annie? Was The Neon the club you were always in?

FAUST: No. It was my duty to drift all around the Red Light district, to capture the Master's prey. I saw Annie by accident, standing outside on her break. It was as if...a light had struck me. A light no demon is meant to see...but I have never regretted it.

(Annie sighs and leans in to kiss him. Erik, apparently unimpressed by his parent's show of affection, bounces and smirks to himself.)

DANI: that is so damn romantic.

ANNIE: Tell me about it. He snuck into my booth a little while later; I guess he'd been watching me for a while. He was only interested in talking...really talking...and drew me in from the start. We talked about books while I sat there with my bra off. (She laughs.)

DANI: Books? Really?

ANNIE: Yeah. I'm a voracious reader...I suppose you could say that I break the "stripper stereotype".

DANI: That's a good thing! What kind of books are we talking about here?

ANNIE:  Classics. The Plague, Metamorphosis, Goethe's Faust. Of course Goethe's Faust--that was, like, "insta" connection. (She winks.)

DANI: Faust, you are a True Native. Tell us what that is.

FAUST: It means that I am not Fallen. I am a demon bron directly from the Pit.

DANI: So you're not a fallen angel.

FAUST (scoffing): Of course not.

ANNIE (rolling her eyes playfully): He's such an elitest.

DANI (chuckling): I can see that. Tell us about your history, Faust.

FAUST (quietly): It is not something that I am proud of. I was made to be a Collector--a demon whose sole purpose is to tempt human souls into damnation. I did that for a very, very long time.

DANI: How old are you, Faust?

FAUST (distantly): I first emerged from the flames when humans were emerging from the wilderness and gathering into villages and cities for the first time. Long, long ago, though I am not as old as some.

DANI: Fascinating. Okay, moving on. Annie, tell us a little bit about your background. You are a first generation Swede, correct?

ANNIE (very proudly): Ja, that's right. My parents came from Sweden. I was raised speaking their native tongue as well as English. I'm very proud of my heritage, and I'm going to make sure my little pojke

speaks it, too.

(She takes Erik's little hands and gently claps them together.)

ANNIE: Let's sing Dani and her nice fans a song:

Baka, baka liten kaka,
rulla, rulla liten bulla,
ringla, ringla liten kringla,
mjöla den och pricka den
och… skjuts in i ugnen!

Bake, bake little cake;
Roll, roll the little buns,
Coil, curl the small pretzel,
Flour it and mark it
And... shove in the oven!

(Erik giggles and blows more raspberries.)

DANI (laughing): I love it! Faust, do you speak Swedish, too?

FAUST (beaming): I speak all human languages... all of my kind do.

DANI:  Annie, I have to ask you something, and I ask your forgiveness in advance if this is hurtful. Faust saved you from a rape, didn't he?

(Faust growls low in his throat.)

ANNIE (her eyes downcast): Yes. Thank God...I know it's odd to say thank God, but I think now that God did have a hand in it. I'm the oddball Swedish girl who is also a devout Catholic, so I believe very firmly in that sort of thing.

DANI: That's good, Annie. What happened?

ANNIE (stroking her fingers through her baby son's feathery blond hair): One of my regulars attacked me when I was leaving The Neon. Faust...came out of nowhere and...stopped the guy.

FAUST: I tore him limb from limb. Then I carried him into the night and spread his flesh across the skies.

DANI: Wow.

ANNIE: Yeah, pretty amazing. Faust scared the hell out of me, no pun intended--he was in his true form-- but he proved himself that night. I can't ever thank him enough. He's given me everything.

(Erik burbles and grabs a strand of his mother's hair in his fist, yanking; he sticks his little tongue out and it's black and forked. Annie laughs, breaking the tension.)

ANNIE: And I mean everything. This little guy is the best Valentine's gift Faustie could have ever given me. I
had a dream about Erik once...only he was grown up. It' was pretty incredible.

DANI: You had a vision?

ANNIE: Yeah. Big muscles, like his papa, and lots of tattoos.

DANI: Wow! Does that bother you?

ANNIE (grinning): Nope, not at all. He's gonna be a badass. Aren't you?

(She bounces Erik in her lap, and he squeals merrily. Faust looks on, adoring.)

DANI: Faust, you must be very proud of your family.

FAUST (shyly): Yes. They have been my redemption.

DANI: That's so awesome. Thanks for joining us, guys. Happy Valentine's Day.

ANNIE: You too, hon. Thanks for having us. Say bye, bye!

(She waves Erik's floppy little hand. He squirms, hiccups, and burps up a tiny spout of flame.)

DANI (cracking up): Boy, he's a cute little devil! Bye, little guy!

Danielle D. Smith is an author and artist living in San Diego, CA. She writes dark fantasy, horror, and erotica that appeals to those readers looking for paranormal fiction outside of the mainstream. Her third book, IN THE NEON, will be released in Spring 2011 and will be her first novel to be fully illustrated.

In the Neon by Danielle D. Smith.

In the Neon tells the story of Faust, a master Collector demon born from Hellfire itself, and Annie, the beautiful stripper who lights a forbidden fire in his heart. Dark fantasy for fans of paranormal romance, erotica, horror, and demon-themed fantasy.

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

To learn more about Danielle D. Smith and her books, please visit her website.

**Signed Character Art Giveaway**

We are giving away a signed, artist embellished matted print of this artwork, titled "Little Family", depicting Faust, Annie, and baby Erik (who some may recognize as Skriker) to one lucky winner!

To enter, leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  This giveaway is to US mailing addresses only.  Giveaway ends February 28th midnight EST.

Character Interview: Neev and Romy (Eye of the Wizard)

Please welcome today's returning guest author Daniel Arenson and special guests Neev and Romy!  Daniel is the author of Flaming Dove, Firefly Island, The Gods of Dream, and Eye of the Wizard.

Today we welcome Neev, a young wizard, and Romy, a demon girl.  Both
are characters from the fantasy novel Eye of the Wizard, by Daniel
Arenson.  Neev will be interviewing Romy.

Neev:  "Oh dear.  They have me interviewing Romy now?"

Romy:  "Hiya!"

Neev:  "I thought now that Eye of the Wizard is written and done, I'd
be rid of you."

Romy:  "You're never getting rid of me, Mommy."

Neev:  "Will you stop calling me that?"

Romy:  "Why?  You're a wizard.  You summoned me from Hell.  So now
you're my mommy."

Neev:  "Romy, how can I be your mommy?  I'm a boy.  Just because I
summoned you to Earth doesn't mean that--"

Romy:  "Can I have a lollipop?  Please please PLEASE?"

Neev:  "For Heaven's sake, you're a grown demon.  You've tortured
sinners for a living.  What kind of demon goes around begging for
lollipops?"

Romy:  "A HUNGRY demon.  Me want foooooood."

Neev:  "Romy, how old are you again?"

Romy:  "207.  I'm big!"

Neev:  "And you still act like a baby."

Romy:  "I'm not a baby.  Don't call me a baby.  Just because I like
lollipops, and just because I have a teddy bear named Floofie, and
just because I decorate my pitchfork with ribbons, and just because I
suck my thumb, and just because I sometimes wear a bonnet, and just
because--"

Neev:  "Romy, I get it.  Can we just get this interview over with?"

Romy:  "All right!  And after that, will you play marbles with me?"

Neev:  "No, Romy.  No more marbles."

Romy:  "Tea party?"

Neev:  "No."

Romy:  "Hide and seek?"

Neev:  "No more games, Romy!"

Romy:  "Chess?  I always beat you at chess."

Neev:  "No more chess."

Romy:  "Sour loser.  You cried when I beat you last time."

Neev:  "Romy, I told you already.  I had something in my eyes.  Look.
We have to do this interview already.  I want to go back to my
spellbooks.  First question:  What do you feel the main themes of Eye
of the Wizard are, and how does the author illuminate them?"

Romy:  "Howza what now?"

Neev:  "The literary themes.  The moral purpose of the narrative.  How
does your character's story arch illustrate them?"

Romy:  "Illu-whose-it?  Neev, are you all right?"

Neev:  "Tell us about your character development throughout the novel.
 How does Romy grow and change as the plot unfolds?"

Romy:  "Oh!  I get it.  There was this time in Chapter Twenty, when I
drank some growth potion, and I became a hundred feet tall!  Do you
remember, Neev?  You looked like a little ant to me.  I could have
crushed you!"

Neev:  "Not that kind of character growth, Romy.  I mean:  How did you
develop as a person?"

Romy:  "I'm not a person.  I'm a demon, remember?  You summoned me
from Hell.  You should know that, Mommy."

Neev:  "Stop calling me Mommy!  Are you going to answer these
questions intelligently, or not?"

Romy:  "I'm smart!"

Neev:  "Lovely.  So tell us, Romy.  Do you feel the climax of Eye of
the Wizard presents a moral dilemma, which can only be resolved by
making a personal sacrifice, and if so, how is this choice
foreshadowed, and how does it solve the conflict presented at the
plot's onset?"

Romy:  "Uhm... yes?"

Neev:  "Yes what, Romy?"

Romy:  "I like turtles!"

Neev:  "That is irrelevent."

Romy:  "Can I have my lolli now?"

Neev:  "*sigh*  Here you go, Romy."

Romy:  "Mmm, yum yum, strawberry.  Thank you, Mommy Neev!"

Neev:  "I'd like to apologize to our readers for this travesty of an--
Romy, Romy, you're not supposed to eat the stick too!  Romy!  Stop
putting the candy in my hair!"

Eye of the Wizard by Daniel Arenson.

When you can't run or hide, you fight back.

On the longest night of the year, a dark wizard murders a knight and his wife.  The knight's children survive and swear revenge. Sam and Jamie vow to become knights like their father. Neev, the middle child, vows to become a wizard.  Five years later, things look grim. Sam is useless with the sword. Jamie is denied knighthood because she's a girl. Neev cannot cast a spell without growing donkey ears, a monkey tail, or an elephant trunk. The siblings feel like failures.  That's when the dark wizard strikes again.  Are the siblings powerful enough to defeat him? Or will they too die at his hands? 


Thank you Daniel (and Neev and Romy!) for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Daniel Arenson and his books, please visit his website. 

Don't miss Daniel's author interview here, Daniel's interview of Eliven from The Gods of Dream here, and E.J.'s review of Flaming Dove here.

Wicked Leanore's Holiday Visit + Giveaway

Please welcome today's guest author Leanore Elliott!  Leanore has had a busy 2010 and is here to tell us about her new releases and a fab giveaway to celebrate the New Year.

Leanore:  It's been awhile since I last visited with EJ and I missed her (the Mythical Muse that she is.)  I am stopping by to give a peek at some of my new books. I have written 10 in the last year. Three series books for a total of 8 full novels. Then I tried my hand at novellas and I wrote two of those.  So, you can all see why it's hard to decide what all to talk about here.  Well, two books are coming out in January. One is my second in the Beasts Series: Beasts Of Desire. This story, as all my books are is a stand alone read, even if it is in a series. Released by Wild Horse Press on January 13, 2011.

The wonders of this series of Beasts starts anew with Damon and Alex. They have a forbidden desire for each other and when they quenched this 100-year-old yearning? Alex was lost to the cosmos. Damon chases her from dimension to dimension as she forgets him and her life of before. There is a 15 page erotic scene, where he uses all his seductive powers to get her to remember him. Truly, a wicked thing to write, I admit!

 




















Beasts of Desire (Beasts, book 2) by Leanore Elliott

Alex Rayne knows who she is, but she wonders about her family. Where did she come from and why does she feel like something is missing from her life?

Here is a peek:

Damon chuckled. "How about Truth or Dare for a getting to know one another method?"
She pulled her head back."What?"
"I ask you a question and you answer with either truth or a dare."
"That’s ridiculous." She rolled her eyes.
"Well then, kissing it is." He lowered his lips again.
She stilled. "Okay!"
He winked at her. "Now let me see?"
Alex released a disgusted sigh and squirmed, attempting to loosen his hold.
He glanced down with mock aggravation. "Will you just behave for a second?"
"Me?" She made a disgusted sound. "You are the one sitting on me naked!"
"And you are the one that busted into my shower while I was naked." He chuckled.

The next release could be out this month, however it may be set for the first week of January: due to the wonderful talented editors at Knight. They are tenacious when it comes to releasing a finely tuned book! This will be The Nocturnal Seduction Line Premiere from Knight Romance Publishing. Nowhere, Arizona: The Sunset Warrior.  And it will seduce you from page one, to the very end! Maddy, a corporate executive is sent to Nowhere Arizona, on a death-bed request from her mother. She meets Devon and her life is literally turned inside out. This book is highly erotic and quirky at times, as we learn the Nothing Way of life. The second book is already in with the publisher and Titled: Gateway to the Sun. 

Nowhere Arizona: The Sunset Warrior by Leanore Elliott

For the first time in her orderly life, Maddy Sayers is lost.  She is lost in Nowhere, but does she really want to go back to find  that world of everything?

Madeline knew where she was going in life, reaching up the ladder for everything that money allowed.  She faced the most powerful men in the world of business everyday with no fear and no hesitation.  Suddenly she finds herself in Nowhere, where everything...? Means nothing at all.  Out of the desert mirages appears Devon, he is everything that Madeline fears, and everything that she wants/  He sets out to seduce her into feeling alive.  Her world is shaken when he takes her on a journey filled with splendid color and heated seduction.  Can she really live for nothing in order to gain everything?  Can she see herself through the eyes of a Sunset Warrior?

I always tell a story when I visit and this time, I’ll tell it by giving away my newest unpublished novella for your enjoyment. It's different a Western Paranormal Romance: Lace and Leather.

Leanore:  Thank you EJ, and I wish all of you a Happy Holiday!

EJ:  Thank you Leanore for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Leanore Elliott and her books, please visit her website.

**Lace and Leather eBook Giveaway**

Everyone who leaves a comment and email address will receive a pdf copy of Lace and Leather by Leanore Elliott! 


To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may send you an ebook copy of Lace and Leather).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  This giveaway is International!  Giveaway ends January 7th midnight EST.

Guest Blog: Keta Diablo on the Scariest Books Ever

As a special treat (or trick!) guest author Keta Diablo will be taking over today with her guest blog on the Scariest Books Ever.  As part of our Halloween Giveaways at From the Shadows, Keta will be giving away two ebook copies of her m/m paranormal thriller novella Crossroads.  Giveaway details at the end of her post. 

A Mixed Trick or Treat Bag of the SCARIEST Books Ever . . . .

With Halloween soon approaching again, I headed to the Internet to find the "scariest" books ever written. What I discovered was a mixed bag of opiionions, but several of the books below appeared on all the lists: King's "It", Anson's "The Amityville Horror" and Blatty's "The Exorcist".

Let's take a look at the list again. Notice something? The authors are male, every single one. I don't know if that says our most talented horror authors are men or rather men have the weirdest minds. I'll leave that answer up to you.

Hope you enjoy the list!

It, Stephen King

The amazingly prolific King returns to pure horror, pitting good against evil as in The Stand and The Shining. Moving back and forth between 1958 and 1985, the story tells of seven children in a small Maine town who discover the source of a series of horrifying murders. Having conquered the evil force once, they are summoned together 27 years later when the cycle begins again.

Ghost Story, Peter Straub

For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past -- and get away with murder. Peter Straub's classic bestseller is a work of "superb horror" (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time -- and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury

A masterpiece of modern Gothic literature, Something Wicked This Way Comes is the memorable story of two boys, James Nightshade and William Halloway, and the evil that grips their small Midwestern town with the arrival of a "dark carnival" one Autumn midnight. How these two innocents, both age 13, save the souls of the town (as well as their own), makes for compelling reading on timeless themes.

The Amityville Horror, Jay Anson

George and Kathleen Lutz were aware that the house had been the scene of a mass murder -- Ronnie DeFeo, 23, was convicted of shooting his parents, brothers, and sisters. But it seemed an ideal home for them and their three children, and the price was right. On the day they moved in, a priest invited to bless the house was told by an unseen voice to "Get out!" At his rectory, he began to suffer a series of inexplicable afflictions. Meanwhile, alone in their new home, the Lutz family were embarking on the most terrifying experience of their lives. It began when their five-year-old daughter boasted of her new playmate, someone -- or something -- named "Jodie."

Skull Session, Daniel Hecht

A stunning psychological thriller from the bestselling author of PUPPETS When Paul Skogland, who suffers from the mental disorder Tourette's syndrome, agrees to take on the repairs of the magnificent hunting lodge owned by his wealthy, eccentric aunt, little does he realise exactly what he's taken on. Inside the lodge lies a scene of almost superhuman destruction: a violence mirrored by a series of disappearances and grisly deaths haunting the region. As Paul delves into the wreckage, he can't help but wonder what dark passion - and what strength - could cause such chaos. Escalating events lead Paul deeper into his family's past, and as Paul faces the darker aspects of his own nature, he must brave the possibility that in saving those he loves, he might well destroy himself.

Salem's Lot, Stephen King

Stephen King's second book, 'Salem's Lot (1975)--about the slow takeover of an insular hamlet called Jerusalem's Lot by a vampire patterned after Bram Stoker's Dracula--has two elements that he also uses to good effect in later novels: a small American town, usually in Maine, where people are disconnected from each other, quietly nursing their potential for evil; and a mixed bag of rational, goodhearted people, including a writer, who band together to fight that evil.

Swamp Thing: Love and Death by Alan Moore

Don't let the mediocre Swamp Thing movies fool you, this book is filled with sophisticated suspense and terror. Created out of the swamp through a freak accident, Swamp Thing is an elemental creature who uses the forces of nature and the wisdom of the plant kingdom to fight the polluted world's self-destruction. Swamp Thing . . . the only one who can save mankind.

The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty

Blatty fictionalized the true story of a child's demonic possession in the 1940s. The deceptively simple story focuses on Regan, the 11-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C.; the child apparently is possessed by an ancient demon. It's up to a small group of overwhelmed yet determined humans to somehow rescue Regan from this unspeakable fate. Purposefully raw and profane, this novel still has the extraordinary ability to literally shock us into forgetting that it is "just a story." The Exorcist remains a truly unforgettable reading experience.

Red Dragon, Thomas Harris

Lying on a cot in his cell with Alexandre Dumas's Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine open on his chest, Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter makes his debut in this legendary horror novel, which is even better than its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs. As in Silence, the pulse-pounding suspense plot involves a hypersensitive FBI sleuth who consults psycho psychiatrist Lecter for clues to catching a killer on the loose.

Books of Blood, 1-3, Clive Barker

Barker's first hardcover appearance in America, gathers together 16 stories in one volume as the author originally intended and contains eerily effective illustrations by fantasy artists J. K. Potter and Harry O. Morris. The tales are of varying quality and will please mostly readers who like their horror bloody and graphic. An occasional reliance on hokey set-ups and deus ex machinas, and the frequent shifting of intention in mid-story are jarring qualities, however. Further, a pervasive misanthropy colors the narratives and makes them unpleasant in a way the author probably didn't intend.

Keta Diablo writes erotic romance and gay fiction for numerous publishers. You can find her on the web at the links below. Leave a comment here and you'll be eligible to win your choice of one of Keta's books (visit Keta's Haunt bookshelf to see what's available).

You can find Keta here on the Net at Keta's Haunt (Author Home), Keta's Keep (Erotic Romance Blog) , The Stuff of Myth and Men (Gay Fiction Blog), Keta on Twitter! 

** Crossroads International eBook Giveaway **

To Enter, tell us about the scariest book you've ever read and why it frightened the bejeezers out of you! Two winners will be selected to receive a PDF copy of the first novella in Keta's best-selling Crossroads series. (Think private investigators, ghosts and communing with the dead). Warning: this series has elements of intense and graphic man love.  This giveaway is international!  Giveaway ends October 20th midnight EST.

I Dream of Jeannie (and His Minions)

Please welcome today's very special guest blogger author Leanore Elliott.  You may remember Leanore from her visit here in June when E.J. interviewed her about her upcoming Beasts series.  You may read this fun interview here.  As part of Friday the 13th Week Leanore agreed to come share with us a true story of one her experiences with the paranormal.  Enjoy!

I Dream of Jeannie (and His Minions)
We lived in a Mobile home park in Espanola New Mexico, just outside of Santa Fe. This was the late 80’s.  It all started at night of course. Both my husband and I would lay down for sleep. We would hear a scraping noise coming from beneath our bedroom floor and this happened for several nights. One night, it became loud, very loud. It sounded like a cement lid that was being slid from a crypt (like cement grinding on cement.) One evening, I heard voices. We had a small child and a toddler at that time and I was mad that they were playing somewhere in the middle of the night. I got up checked and nope... they were both asleep. I lay back down and the voices started again. Small voices, like children but the tone was deeper. My room had the bathroom right at the corner and then a hallway. I heard all kinds of laughter and noises coming from the bathroom, the toilet flushing repeatedly etc. I got up to catch my kids at it. I neared the door and heard them.  Two male voices: “Yeah, he will be coming and just wait...” An evil giggle followed... “Yeah, he’s gonna scare them like nobody else!” Both voices laugh.  I stood frozen and listened. They ran the faucet, snickered and flushed the toilet repeatedly. I drew closer and stepped to the door, which was open just a crack. My heart pounded in my chest and my shaky hand pushed the door open just a little more. I could see their little hands with knobby little fingers and long ugly nails as one of them reached out and flushed the toilet again.  I gasped loudly and the hands pulled back out of my sight. I was too afraid to look anymore. I ran back to bed and woke my husband up. “There are...there are... trolls playing in our bathroom!” My husband rubbed his eyes. “Honey, just make them go back to bed.”  I sighed. “No, not the kids they---”  He rolled over. “You were just dreaming, go back to sleep.”

The next night, the same thing; hushed conversation, giggles, water running etc. This time, I woke my husband up and made him listen. His eyes narrowed, he got up and crept up to the bathroom while he listened. He threw the door open. Nothing there...  He came back to bed. He was silent. “Well?” I asked with fear in my voice.  He sighed. “We were both dreaming.” He turned over and went to sleep.  Not me, I lay awake listening until the wee hours.  I was sleepless all that week waiting for the Trolls. Then the crypt noise started up again. I would put a pillow around my head and then I noticed that the vibration of it was even running through our bed. I sat up and my bedroom door stood wide open. I could see the hallway (There was light from the kitchen.) Above the hall was a swamp cooler vent (it was winter, so it was not on.) A thick bright neon pink-purplish smoke wafted down from the vent. I shook my husband and my eyes must’ve been huge in my face.  He sat up with a frustrated sigh. “What?”  I motioned my head towards the open door.  We sat and watched this bright Pink smoke that did indeed look like the smoke from that old TV series ( I Dream of Jeannie.)  It spilled in from the vent and filled the hallway and it smelled just like firework sulfur.  My eyes even ran with tears at the painful stench of it. It rolled into the room, thick and almost solid looking. It rose to the ceiling and our heads drew all the way up to look at it. It began to take shape before our eyes. We heard laughter, the troll’s laughter. This shape was of a man, but he was so large that he had no head. It was like his head must be through the ceiling as all we saw was a neck up that far.  My husband flipped the bedside lamp on.  There was nothing there.

There were all sorts of noises, laughter and banging, booms etc. every night for the next month and it would all start with the Crypt sliding noise at exactly 2 am. Sharp.  The pink specter-Jeannie would appear often. Every time we flipped the light on? He would disappear.  My husband plugged in a spot light and would use it when he appeared. He had noticed that when the storms would start, (for it was now spring and there are thunderstorms in N.M.) That there was no activity from this entity; He devised a plan, based on a theory that the Jeannie did not like electrical energy from the lightening. He split an old electrical cord and stuck one side into an electric outlet plug and we would hold onto the ends to get “charged.”  The scraping got louder and even sounded angrier, but he did not appear. It got quiet and we finally could sleep at night.  One night, I felt movement on the bed and turned my head on my pillow. My husband was choking. I sat up with confusion.  There was this giant hand around his neck.  His face turned purple and his eyes rolled back.  I hit it with my hands, picked up a pillow and hit it. I screamed with pure, terrified panic.  My husband’s sounds of choking were getting louder. I looked for the spotlight and my shaky hands flipped it on. It was unplugged! I screamed with panic and crawled around the bed to plug it in.  There were the trolls, their faces grinning at me with ugly evil grins. I drew in my breath in, crawled forward, plugged it in and stood up, swinging the light to my husband. The light fell on him. The hand disappeared and he gasped desperately for air. 

We so wanted to move as you can well imagine, but there was nothing available that we could afford.  There were all kinds of incidents like messes made in the kitchen at night. Smashed eggs from the fridge on the floor, swamped in pancake mix. Water flooding from the sinks, cabinets cleared out and everything thrown in the floor. Missing keys, missing brushes, missing shoes and then to find the missing items all lined up on the kitchen table.  My husband, “Mr. Logical” says. “You really need to keep those kids from running amuck around here!”  I would yell back as I was cleaning another morning’s mess. “It’s the Dammed TROLLS!” Then one night we were finally sleeping. There was a metallic bang on the outside of the mobile, right outside of our bedroom wall. Then another bang and another; these bangs grew loud and spread along the outside of the entire mobile.  We got up and peeked out of our window.  My husband believed it to be young kids trying to scare us. I thought. Oh, yeah? After what we have been through? “Well, they’re welcome to try...” I replied.  We laughed nervously and continued to look out of different windows throughout the house to catch them at it. We saw no one and nothing.  The metallic banging grew so loud that I covered my ears and the trailer shook.  It was now on the roof.  We looked at each other and knew that they could not be on all sides; the full length and on the Fricking roof, all at the same time!  It went on for at least ten minutes.  I went to comfort my kids.  It all stopped suddenly.  There were no more incidents after that. Something cleansed our mobile? The Evil Jeannie got mad and made noise before he left?  We will never know, but I’ve never looked at that smoke from the little bottle on “I dream of Jeannie” in the same way ever again.

Guest Author: Sam Hilliard

Please welcome today's guest author Sam Hilliard.  Sam Hilliard is the author of The Last Track, an action packed paranormal suspense thriller.

Here is Sam's quite humorous guest blog:

I have often wondered what it is to be “Jersey”. Originally from the Midwest, I’m still an outlander in the Garden State, for certain. I guess I can live with that, but to say I’m not Jersey after fifteen years, means that membership takes more than just living here, even on a full-time basis. Watching the Jersey Shore only qualifies one in part, as most of its viewers (and all but one of the actors) reside elsewhere.

Perhaps being Jersey can be earned. I did sell cigarettes to Kevin Smith one night in Red Bank. It was during my short stint as a convenience store clerk (a very Jersey thing). Then again, he moved to Hollywood Hills, so that might not count. Then there is the proximity factor; I’ve dated a number of Jersey Girls. Also, my ex-father in law almost had Bruce Springsteen arrested for flying a remote control airplane—but then changed his mind when he realized the trespasser was The Boss.

This matter is personal, because my current girlfriend (Jersey for life) single-handedly changed the word Jersey from a noun to a modifier, as in “don’t make me go Jersey on you.” That’s how her mentor introduced her at a graduation ceremony—held in New Hampshire.

I suppose most people would just let it go. Everyone comes from somewhere, be it Senegal or Mendham. I’m no exception. Yes I’m from the epicenter of the United States but I still know where to get Taylor ham or a gyro at three in the morning. Answer: a diner. Which diner has the best disco fries? Answer: all of them.

But I think I found something that earns my place, right next to Kirsten Dunst (from Point Pleasant, New Jersey). Tonight Bon Jovi (from Sayreville, New Jersey) opens the new Meadowlands Arena with its first rock concert. And I will be there.

And watching Jon still standing tall in his backyard and mine? That makes me Jersey. At least a little, at least for tonight.

Thank you Sam for joining us here at From the Shadows!

** Swag Giveaway **

Please leave a comment for our guest author Sam Hilliard to enter.  Include your email address in your comment so I may notify you if you win.  One winner will receive a Last Track bookmark and postcard!

Visit From the Shadows on June 14th for my review of The Last Track by Sam Hilliard.  

I loved this book and think you will too!

Guest Author: Lorrie Struiff

Welcome readers and authors,
I first want to thank my host for having me here today.
Let me tell you how I got the inspiration for Gypsy Crystal.

Once upon a time, a good friend, an author in her own right, insisted she treat me for my birthday.
I won’t tell you which birthday, so don’t ask.
My friend took me to a quaint little restaurant where the food was scrumptious. Lo and behold, they had a gypsy fortuneteller seated at a table in the corner. Of course we indulged in both the food and having our fortunes told. The gypsy fascinated me and a few of her predictions have come true. She nailed my lifestyle and my hopes. Needless to say, it was an interesting and fun birthday celebration.

When I returned home, my thoughts stayed with the gypsy. Being an author, I love to take interesting characters, mix in a few troublemakers, and plot storylines for them. This gypsy impressed me with her intelligence and her thoughtful chosen words, so I researched the gypsies of yore and found some very interesting reading. Their mysticism and beliefs held me captive. I admit I am often carried away with research. Isn’t every writer?  Hence, Rita Muldova came to life, a homicide detective of Roma blood, her mother the gypsy seer and her uncle, a great baker.
Following today’s popular trends of many readers, I decided to use, and yes, add a little… well…okay, a lot of mysticism of my own. Ahem, literary license we call it. What is a story without a love interest? I gave her a handsome hunk from Voodoo City. My kind of guy. Yum. Throw in a serial killer, a good friend, and we have a wild ride of a story.
I hope you enjoy the ride.
Lorrie.

Gypsy Crystal by Lorrie Struiff.

Detective Rita Moldova peeked around the corner to make sure the hallway was empty. Making a quick right turn, she slipped into the autopsy lab to have a few minutes alone with the body. She tucked her white shirt tighter into her jeans and zipped her windbreaker to stay warm in the chilly room. The harsh odor of formaldehyde hit her nostrils and stung her throat.
Her heart twisted at the sight of the young, auburn-haired woman lying on the stainless steel table. A white sheet covered her to the navel; bruises blemished the once pretty face. Contusions marred the pallid skin from elbow to shoulder. The gash on the front of her neck gaped, exposing open veins and torn tissue.
 
Rita flipped her thick, dark braid back over her shoulder, snapped on one latex glove, leaned over the corpse, and peeled back an eyelid. In her bare hand, she clasped a star-shaped crystal hanging from the gold chain around her neck, an endowment from her maternal Roma bloodline. The crystal heated in her palm, warm energy pulsing up her arm to her shoulder. The face captured in the victim’s eye coalesced and stared back. Rita drew in a sharp breath. Bobby Driscoll! She had known him since high school, and now he worked as a uniform in her precinct. What the hell was going on?

Thank you Lorrie for joining us here today at From the Shadows and sharing with us rare insight into the creation of Gypsy Crystal!  For more information about today's guest author, visit Lorrie at her website.

Lorrie Unites-Struiff is a native of West Mifflin, twenty minutes from downtown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She writes short stories in different genres that have appeared in various publications and anthologies. When she is not sitting in front of her computer, she’s often found checking out bookstores, leading her writing workshops, or having lunch with local authors.

Guest Blog at VampChix

Come visit E.J. as she guest blogs at VampChix today and enter to win a signed copy of Shadows of Myth and Legend.  The Virtual Book Tour continues!

E.J. at Fang-tastic Books

Come visit E.J. as she guest blogs at Fang-tastic Books today.
E.J. will be taking readers on a tour of The Bestiary.  Be sure to bring plenty of garlic and cold iron!

Guest Blogging Today

I will be guest blogging today at Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem.  I have a very special treat for visitors. I am unveiling a never before published poem 'The Winter Queen' in its entirety.
Stop by and say hello!
xx,
E.J.

Supernatural Sunday December 13th!

Mark it on your calendars.  Dark poet E.J. Stevens will be the Supernatural Sunday featured author December 13th!

E.J. will be guest blogging on Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem so come on over, say hello and join in the discussion.