E.J. Stevens Interview on Citywide Blackout WEMF Boston Radio

I was interviewed recently for the Citywide Blackout program on WEMF Radio Boston.  You can listen to my The Blackout Bootleg radio interview with Citywide Blackout here:

WEMF Radio Interview with E.J. Stevens

My interview starts around 2:30 and I'm interviewed by show host Max Bowen.  Big thanks to Max Bowen, Citywide Blackout, and WEMF Radio Boston!

 Full show details:

We open the show with a packed house of horror! I interview Izzy Lee, James A. Moore, Scott Goudsward, and John M. McIlveen about The Haverhill Public Library Holiday Bookfear and what makes a good horror story.

Filmmaker Maura Smith has worked on some pretty major films, like Black Mass and Spotlight Movie, but she's also produced some great work that's all her own, some of which was featured at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival over the summer. She joins Max over the phone with fellow filmmaker Kate Brown, whom she's worked with in the past.

Matt of My Silent Bravery returns to the show with some great new tunes to share with all of you. His new album "Breakthrough" was released earlier this fall to some impressive reviews, and he'll have plenty of shows to come.

The electric rock band Western Education returns to the show for the fourth time to talk about their new album, "Restless Dreams." Their style is such a great blend of electric and rock sounds, and they've accomplished a lot in the last few years.

We're going into extra innings this week! Ed of the brotherly duo Scotch Mist joins me on to talk about their most recent release, some of which is inspired by those very close to home. Plus, he plays live with some stellar tunes!

BONUS: The Blackout Bootlegs are back! Max talks to author E.J. Stevens at the Merrimack Halloween Book Festival. She has an extensive collection of titles, including the popular Ivy Granger series.

Did you enjoy the interview?  Have any questions we missed?  Leave your questions in the comments!

Guest Author Interview: T. Lynne Tolles

Please welcome today's guest author T. Lynne Tolles!  T. Lynne is the author of  Blood of a Werewolf, Blood Moon, Blood Lust, Bloodstone Heart and Somber Island.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

T. Lynne:   I began writing in the summer of 2009.  I had been reading tons of books that spring and burned myself out a bit on reading.  One of the author's I had been reading had said on her website that she got an idea and just started writing. I had been thinking about it myself, but it was she that pushed me to try. (If you are wondering it was Ellen Schreiber of Vampire Kisses)

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

T. Lynne:  I've been reading about witches, vampires and werewolves for as long as I can remember. My addiction became an addiction to others around me - my mom, my stepmother, etc.
Maybe it has to do with all those late night Creature Features I used to watch on Friday night when I was a kid.

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

T. Lynne:  I think I would have to say I would like to be born vampire from my book series.  They have all of the cool things vampires have, without being horrific killers.  They don't have the insatiable lust for blood and they can blend in.

Why? No diseases, colds or ailments and the always looking like you did when you were younger has it's perks too.

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

T. Lynne:  I kind of released all my books at once except for book 4 in the series, so that is a little tough to say about all books, but to sum up the books in a whole, I would say that the stories are plausible, the dialog is fun,  humorous at times and the characters are very loveable.  For a while I had a crush on Devon, one of the characters in my book, which was hard to explain to say - my husband... All the books have a good story to back them up and when you like the characters, it becomes an easy read.

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

T.Lynne:  That's way too easy, but rather embarrassing. I base my characters on movie/tv stars so I can go right down the line of the cast and tell you who they are.

Darby O'Rielly - a shorter Blake Lively
Rowan O'Rielly - Amanda Seyfried
Devon Bloomington - Orlando Bloom
Blake Bloomington - Jared Padalecki
Dean Wolfe - Matthew Fox
Dominic Larsen - Tom Selleck
Sally Keaton - Kristen Kreuk
Anton Larsen - Chris Evans
Libby Larsen - Katherine Heigl (long haired version)
That will get you through the first 3 books, you want more?...contact me on my website.

Somber Island by T. Lynne Tolles.

Phoebe MacIntire, who is a servant to her father and sisters in her own house in Scotland in 1855, is an ordinary girl, with no big dreams for the future. She's perfectly happy in her humble life, with her cot in the basement and her little garden in the backyard. But when her father up and sends her to Newfoundland to be the lifelong servant to Lord Jacobs, she finds her life gets turned upside down.  Her journey across the Atlantic to her new home is long, scary and very unpleasant. When she arrives at the manor on a small island, she finds the beautiful place abandoned and only a note waits for her explaining her duties, the strange dietary requirements, and sleeping habits of her new master.  The very first night in her new home she's haunted in her dreams by a woman who clearly does not want her there and a strange blue-eyed man-wolf creature that follows the woman. Her dreams become more and more violent and mysteries start to be uncovered about a woman who was killed in a fire on the island, a creature that preys on anyone that comes to the island and a love story gone wrong that dates back over a hundred and twenty two years. 

Join Phoebe as she explores the past, delving into witchcraft, and vampirism to help a brother save another from a life of sadness and misconception, making some amazing and surprising friends along the way.


Thank you T. Lynne for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about T. Lynne Tolles and her books, please visit her website.

Guest Author Interview: Mari Mancusi

Please welcome today's guest author Mari Mancusi!  Mari is the author of the Blood Coven series including Boys that Bite, Stake That!, Girls that Growl, Bad Blood, and Night School.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Mari:  I've always loved to tell stories. When I was too young to pick up a pen, I would draw pictures and have my mother transcribe my words onto paper. All through school I wrote short stories and in high school I graduated to longer, serial pieces--usually romances starring my friends and the rock stars who loved them. (If only David Bowie knew what he's done in my books!) When I got to my twenties, I realized if I wanted to get serious and get published, I'd need to dedicate myself to writing one full novel. My first novel or two ended up under the bed, but my third full length book, "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court" scored me an agent and eventually a publishing deal at Dorchester.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?
 
Mari:  I've always loved the dark and spooky. As a goth girl I listened to dark music and watched dark films. Vampires became an obsession after reading Anne Rice and seeing films like The Hunger. Later, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sherrilyn Kenyon novels solidified the desire to create my own fanged world, which I did with The Blood Coven Vampire series.

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

Mari:  Invisibility because then I could be a fly on the wall. I'm nosy like that and I love observing people. I believe this would make me a better writer, as well, studying people as characters without them knowing.

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

Mari:  In January, readers will be able to pick up Book 5 of The Blood Coven Vampire series, called Night School. It's a young adult series, but has a lot of appeal for adults as well, especially those who are Buffy fans. My books always have a mixture of dark angst, romance and humor. After all, if we can't find something to laugh about in the darkness, then we are truly doomed.

While I try to make all the books understandable if a reader were to pick them up out of order, I hope people will check out the first four books in the series, which are available now in bookstores or online in print or ebook formats.

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

Mari:  I just saw Easy A in theaters and I think Emma Stone would be amazing as my heroines. (They're twins so she'd have to play both parts.) She's cool and tough, but pretty at the same time and I think she could easily encompass both the good and bad girl roles. For the boys, Magnus, the Blood Coven Master is supposed to be like a Pirates of the Caribbean Orlando Bloom type, with long brown hair. And I think the guy who plays Jasper in the Twilight saga could be my Jareth, Rayne's vampire boyfriend.

 Night School (Blood Coven, book 5) by Mari Mancusi.

Vampires, Slayers and…FAIRIES? Sunny and Rayne McDonald are about to get SCHOOLED. 

After their parents’ shocking revelation about their fae heritage and an attack on their lives, the McDonald twins find themselves on the run—forced to hide out at Riverdale Academy , a boarding school for vampire slayers, deep in the Swiss Alps. With no cells, no internet, and no way to contact their vampire boyfriends—the twins are on their own.  Being a vampire stuck in a school full of slayers isn’t easy. Especially with no blood substitute stocked on campus. Soon Rayne finds herself succumbing to her bloodlust and losing control—especially around the arrogant, but devastatingly handsome Corbin Billingsworth the Third—who isn’t sure whether he wants to kiss her…or kill her.  But when Sunny starts acting strange, Rayne realizes Riverdale Academy may be hiding some deadly secrets of its own—leading to a showdown in Fairyland that may cost the twins their lives.


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

To learn more about Mari Mancusi's and her books, please visit her website.

Guest Author Interview: Raven Corinn Carluck

Please welcome today's guest author Raven Corinn Carluk!  Raven is the author of All Hallows Blood and Stories with Bite o,.,o.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Raven:   I technically started writing when I five.  I wrote a little story about finding dinosaur bones in my backyard.  It was horrible, and was exactly like you'd expect from a kid.  I've been writing off and on ever since, but really started taking it seriously about three years ago.  Not long after that, I started All Hallows Blood.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Raven:  My love of the paranormal and bizarre and spooky is what brought me to the genre.  I've always been aware of ghosts, and have brushed up against psychic vampires, so it wasn't a stretch for me to start weaving tales about it.  I've always loved vampires, and really feel for them when I read Interview with the Vampire.  I'd say the darkness, and the predation, and all the broad shadowed horizons are my reasons for being here.

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

Raven:  Ooooh, good question.  Because picking just one thing is very hard.  I mean, vampires are good, necromancers are good, psychics are good.  So many wonderful creatures to pick from.

I think I'd be a dragon.  One of the sentient, shape-changing kind.  Flying, breathing fire, eating raw meat...those all sound great to me.  Then I could also let out my aggressions, and people wouldn't be surprised.  And I could fly.  Flying is a long held dream of mine.

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

Raven:  Readers will enjoy stories with bite o,.,o or All Hallows Blood because I'm a damn good storyteller.  *grins and laughs*

stories with bite o,.,o is my latest release.  It's a collection of short stories, mostly vampires and dark fantasy.  It's little snippets of my visions, just enough to get a taste, then move on to the next scene.  Perfect for when you don't have time to sit down and read all the way to the end.

All Hallows Blood is fast paced, with a good adventure, steamy sex, and a vampire that stays with you.  Varick doesn't sparkle, and he still hunts, and he's the kind of vampire I want in my life.  Keila grows, and shows the strength we all have inside.  There's fighting, and love, and ghosts, and chapters that just won't let you go.

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

Raven:   Well, Varick from All Hallows Blood (there's also a short story with him and Keila in stories with bite o,.,o) has to be Heiko Wittek.  It wasn't planned when I was writing the book, but he looks pretty much dead on for my vampire.  A little tall, eyes not dark enough, but good enough.  Especially when the model is in one of his intense moments.

Keila is hard to cast.  I haven't seen any woman that really looks like her.  Michelle Forbes, if young, would be pretty close.  Just not enough tough tomboys with great Irish features out in the world.

The only other person that I've got a really good image in my head is Alexander in the short story Necro.  He was completely based on Alexander Skarsgard after an episode of True Blood.  I really started crushing on the way he growls, and had to have him in a story.

 All Hallows Blood by Raven Corinn Carluk.

Mourning her mother on Halloween,Keila O'Broin,m psychic warrior and last of her line,isn't prepared for dead teenagers to ask her to avenge them.Compelled by her family creed,Keila combats the vampiric serial killer, despite her atrophied powers. But defeating one killer is only the start of her adventure. Into her life walks Varick Eitenhauer, centuries old undead master of Portland.The vampire tells her she will now help him defeat his rivals in a battle to control the city, and he will accept no refusals. Surrounded by her desire and danger, the only way to succeed is to rise from her past like a phoenix from its ashes. 


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

To learn more about Raven Corinn Carluk and her books, please visit her website.

Guest Author Interview: Rhiannon Frater

Please welcome today's guest author Rhiannon Frater!  Rhiannon is the author of The Living Dead Boy: A Young Adult Zombie Novel, The Tale of the Vampire Bride, The Zombie-Wilson Diaries, Pretty When She Dies: A Vampire Novel, and the As the World Dies zombie trilogy including The First Days, Fighting to Survive, and Siege.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Rhiannon:   I began telling stories when I could talk. I tried to write as soon as I learned my ABC's.  I began writing novels when my mom gave me a typewriter around the age of 12.  I have always had a vivid imagination.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre? 

Rhiannon:  I write about what I fear.  I suppose writing horror is a way of containing my fears by weaving them into a narrative.  I tried other genres, but nothing felt right until I began to write about monsters.  It all sort of clicked.

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

Rhiannon:  Probably the ability to fly since I dream about it so much.  I think it would be a very liberating and handy skill to have. When you don’t want to deal with someone or a bad situation, take a nice little flight away from it.  Also, it would really save on airfare!

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

Rhiannon:  I am promoting two of my books right now: The Tale of the Vampire Bride from the Library of Horror Press and The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters from the Little Library of Horror Press.

The Tale of the Vampire Bride is a beautiful, richly gothic horror tale about a young English aristocrat who chaffs against the constraints of  the society of the Regency period in Europe and becomes the bride of a very terrifying vampire.  It is all about her quest to find her freedom.  It is a horror novel, but it has elements of romance, suspense, and a sense of humor at times.

The second book is aimed at a much younger reader.  I wrote it for my nephews and nieces who are zombie fiends.  It is all about a twelve year old boy who is a huge zombie fan suddenly facing the zombocalypse.  He valiantly tries to keep his three year old brother alive as well as his friends.  It was a real challenge to write a novel that my nine year old niece could read and love as well as my adult audience that liked my zombie series, As The World Dies.  I am very pleased how it turned out.

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

Rhiannon:   So far all my books, but The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters, have been optioned, which has made me really ponder this question.

For Lady Glynis in The Tale of the Vampire Bride, I think Rachel Hurd-Wood would be lovely. She has the look and she’s a wonderful English actress.

As for the children in The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters, I’m sure my nephews and nieces would love an audition!

The Living Dead Boy: A Young Adult Zombie Novel by Rhiannon Frater.

Josh Rondell is twelve years old and known as the "living dead boy" due to his rampant love of all things zombie. As the head of the Zombie Hunters Club, he's obsessed with preparing for the zombocalypse.  Though no one around him really believes that zombies will one day rise to devour the living, Josh is convinced it just might happen.
When zombies do shamble into his schoolyard, Josh finds himself the leader of the dwindling band of zombie hunters, and he is charged with protecting them all. Josh's baby brother, his closest friends, and the love of his young life try to survive as the undead take over their town.
Trapped in his treehouse and surrounded by the dead, will Josh be able to save them all?


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

To learn more about Rhiannon Frater and her books, please visit her website.

Guest Author Interview: Mark All

Please welcome today's guest author Mark All!  Mark is the author of Mystic Witch.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Mark:  Like most little boys, I spent a lot of time outside “playing Army” with my friends, and I’d basically ad lib our “screenplay.”  I later coaxed them into “playing House On Haunted Hill,” The Outer Limits, James Bond, etc., making up the stories as we went along.  Then in the seventh grade, my English teacher had our class write short stories.  This was my chance to more actively participate in the world of horror movies I loved.  I then began writing 007 rip-off novels, a mystery novel, and numerous horror and thriller stories, which I sent to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine—early experience of rejections, but encouraging ones.  Then I decided to become a rock star and writing took a back seat for a long time.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Mark:   Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as I bet it did for pretty much the entire paranormal tidal wave, judging by the preponderance of “slayers” on covers.  Then my wife’s cousin’s wife introduced me to a time travel paranormal romance by Linda Howard, and I realized this was a genre where I could combine my love for horror/the supernatural, action and thriller elements, and the (hopefully) smart, hip, pop culture-informed humorous dialogue I loved in Buffy and Gilmore Girls.

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

Mark:   The ability to never need to sleep, so I could write more.   J

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

Mark:   Mystic Witch is a paranormal action thriller with a very strong romantic element and character-based humor.  My style is most like Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld and Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan / The Hollows series, and influenced by Dean Koontz.  However, the romance is a crucial and larger part of the main storyline than in typical urban fantasies;  the emphasis on the romance vs. supernatural storyline is somewhere between urban fantasies and paranormal romances.

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

Mark:   When I wrote Mystic Witch, I did the picture-clipping thing to visualize the main characters, Bailey Campbell and Frank Demming.  Poppy Montgomery was all over TV Guide at the time, and she has those sexy sleepy eyes.  I never watched the show, though, so I have no clue if she’d be appropriate.  If Lauren Graham could go blond and play a snarky bitch, she’d be good with the dialogue.  The actress on Haven doesn’t look like I envisioned Bailey Campbell, but she could nail the attitude.

For Frank, Alex O’Laughlin would be ideal.  Strong and handsome but sensitive, not an overbearing caveman.  Although I was kind of picturing him as the Hero of my work in progress, The Spellcaster’s Grimoire.  And he’d have to grow his hair back out to Moonlight length.

Mystic Witch by Mark All

Bailey Campbell renounced magic after a terrifying childhood incident following her father's death. But when deadly, faceless creatures pursue the snarky ex-witch, she must call on her powers again. To control the magic, however, she'll have to master the rage that's burned within her since Bern Emmerich, a vicious sorcerer, murdered her father. In the caverns beneath the house where her father died, Emmerich has escaped imprisonment in another reality to exact revenge on Bailey and unleash Hell on Earth. Bailey battles the sorcerer with the help of Frank Demming, a powerful warlock-but does Frank's disturbing confession that he's watched her for years mean he's her savior or a stalker? Bailey and Frank pursue Emmerich through the chaos and destruction he rains on Atlanta, Georgia. But can Bailey trust her heart and her life to her mysterious mentor-and resist her own dark desire for revenge that is sure to condemn her soul forever?


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

To learn more about Mark All and his books, please visit his website.

Guest Author Interview: Stephen M. Irwin + Giveaway

Please welcome today's guest author Stephen M. Irwin!  Stephen is the author of The Dead Path aka The Darkening.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Stephen:  I think the hints that my writing had a bit of promise began in high school (which feels around the late 1850s it was so long ago …).  My English teacher used to ask me to read my fanciful essays to the class (my stories were, in retrospect, a fairly awful blend of the absurd and the bloodthirsty – kind of Monty Python meets Kill Bill – but maybe to my classmates they were preferable to reading Ring of Bright Water). For a shy kid, being asked to read my own work to my peers was both terrifying and exhilarating, and no doubt planted strange seeds.  I went on to study film and tv production, and learned my chops writing documentaries.  About five years ago I reinvested myself in short stories, and was fortunate enough to win a few national and international competitions.  These wins encouraged me to try something longer form.  The Dead Path was hatched in an intense but pleasant three-month gap between consultancy jobs.  It’s been amazing to see a novel I wrote really just ‘to see if I could’ now being read and enjoyed around the world.  I’m currently writing my next book, entitled The Broken Ones. 

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Stephen:  I owe my father a debt of gratitude – it was he who took me as a boy to the council library and patiently waited while I scoured the shelves for anthologies of ghost stories.  I wasn’t the bravest kid in the world, but when it came to reading there was nothing too scary for me.  I started by enjoying the ghostly explorations of Robert Arthur’s The Three Investigators (whispering mummies, haunted castles, you know the drill) and quickly moved onto heavier stuff by Lovecraft and Wyndham and Bradbury.  I think it is Ray Bradbury who was (and probably remains) my great hero – a master of the short story, the novella, and the novel, able to create achingly beautiful prose in one paragraph, and disturb you to the core in the next (his mechanical hound in Fahrenheit 451 troubled me greatly as a teenager, and having seen clips of Boston Dynamics BigDog, it worries me even more today). There is a pile of ‘to read’ books on my bedside table, but somehow stories of the ghostly always creep their way to the top.  I’ve experienced a few events in my life that are most easily explained by a belief in spirits, so I guess I am just writing out my own fears and fascinations.

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

Stephen:   Oh, tough question.  I think it’s a toss-up between invisibility and the power to freeze time.  (I think I’ll go the latter because the first could make me sound like a closet voyeur – but really, I would only use it for good, not evil, I swear.)  I became fascinated by the idea of freezing time (or at least slowing it) when I read somewhere that we humans see a flickering fluorescent bulb as ‘stable’ at around twenty Hz, but a fly can perceive visual information ten times faster (around 200 cycles per second) so buzzing under a fluorescent bulb for a fly would be a strange, strobe-like alternating of light and dark.  How cool to be able to see the world so differently!  But I agree with Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, that with great power comes great responsibility, so instead of spending my ‘frozen’ time racing around setting people into awkward and embarrassing poses, I’d feel obliged to save baby prams from rolling under subway trains and rescuing kittens from Rottweilers.  Drag.  So maybe I’ll opt for the ability to walk through walls; for a guy who is always losing his keys, this would be a great time-saver.   

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

Stephen:  You know, I was quietly amazed when publishers first started calling The Dead Path a horror novel.  I was thinking, ‘But it’s a supernatural thriller!  It’s a crime story with ghosts!’.  Maybe that’s why so many new fans are writing and saying either they are long-term fans of horror and The Dead Path gave them the chills of classic King or Straub; or they write and say they aren’t usually fans of horror, but this book drew them in because of the characters and the detective-like crime story.  What’s also wonderful is when readers who are well versed in esoteric knowledge of wicca think that I’ve treated magic and the mythology of The Green Man with respect (I certainly tried to).  In short, I guess the book appeals to anyone who likes a good mystery thriller, anyone who likes to enjoy a good fright, and anyone who enjoys seeing ancient mythology and magic brought into the present.  But I wouldn’t recommend The Dead Path to anyone genuinely scared of spiders … this book would be the stuff of nightmares for them!

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

Stephen:  This is exactly the kind of question I ask myself on those rare days when I’m feeling right at the top of my game and that the world is in love with everything I’m writing!  (These are inevitably followed by 364 days of terse self-criticism and pragmatic perspective-taking.)  If The Dead Path was cast in Australia, I think Brendan Cowell (Beneath Hill 60) would make a fabulous Nicholas.  If the film were cast in the U.S., a friend of mine suggested the amazing Edward Norton, who brings truckloads of truth to every role he takes on.  I also think Sam Rockwell would make a superb Nick – he’s smart and funny, and can play self-deprecating or egotistical as needs dictate.  I think the ethereal January Jones would make a dangerously attractive Rowena Quill.

The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin.

Do you remember the last time a book gave you the chills? The Dead Path is the ghost story we’ve been waiting for.

A haunting vision in the woods sets off a series of tragic events, leaving Nicholas Close lost amid visions of ghosts trapped in their harrowing, final moments. These uniquely ter­rifying apparitions lead him on a thrilling and suspenseful ride to confront a wicked soul, and will leave an indelible mark on lovers of high-quality suspense and horror alike.  Nicholas Close has always had an uncanny intuition, but after the death of his wife he becomes haunted, literally, by ghosts doomed to repeat their final violent moments in a chilling and endless loop. Torn by guilt and fearing for his sanity, Nicholas returns to his childhood home and is soon entangled in a dis­turbing series of disappearances and  murders—both as a sus­pect and as the next victim of the malignant evil lurking in the heart of the woods. 


Check out my review of The Dead Path here.

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

To learn more about Stephen M. Irwin and his books, please visit his website.

** The Dead Path International Giveaway **

We are giving away a glow in the dark hardcover of The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin!

To enter, please 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 International!  Giveaway ends November 18th midnight EST.

Guest Author Interview: Daniele Lanzarotta + Swag Giveaway

Please welcome today's guest author Daniele Lanzarotta.  Daniele is the author of the Imprinted Souls series including Imprinted Souls and Bloodlust.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Daniele:   I started writing about two years ago.  I had always enjoyed writing but never really thought of it as a career.  It all started with fan-fictions... just writing for fun, but soon it became an addiction.  It wasn't long before I wanted to move on to my own stories, with my own characters, and that was when I started working on the Imprinted Souls Series and I just couldn't stop!

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Daniele:  The endless possibilities!  I've always been a fan of the paranormal genre.  Honestly, I can't remember the last time I read something that wasn't in this genre.
I just feel that with the paranormal genre there are no limits to what can happen and that whole 'world' is just so appealing... living forever, not getting older, having supernatural talents, the list goes on and on.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?
 
Daniele:  If I could be any paranormal, it would be without a doubt... VAMPIRE!  Yeah, their diet is not the best, but other than that, I love everything about vampires. 

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

Daniele:  Bloodlust, the second installment in the Imprinted Souls Series, is very intense and full of twists!  Now the best part about it is that a very unique kind of paranormal is introduced to the series.

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

Daniele:  I love getting to answer this question!  For some reason, I just always had a cast in mind.  I'm honestly not even sure I can explain the 'why,' I guess their physical appearances just fit the character profiles.  I picture Emma Roberts in the role of Lexi, Wentworth Miller would be a great match to portray Tyler (but so would Jensen Ackles), and Michelle Trachtenberg as Adrianne.

 Bloodlust (Imprinted Souls, book 2) by Daniele Lanzarotta.

There are some things from which you just can't run away. For Lexi, that something was this screwed-up, newfound reality that she encountered; and no matter how much Tyler may try to protect her from his kind, it is just too late.  Lexi is involved in his world far deeper than she can possibly imagine, and as she is haunted by her past and deals with an unexpected betrayal, Lexi is forced to make a choice between her soul mate, the one who she thought was gone forever, or the one who restored her soul, bringing her back to life with the ties of a blood imprint.

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

To learn more about Daniele Lanzarotta and her books, please visit her website.

** Imprinted Souls Bookmark Giveaway **

We are giving away six Imprinted Souls bookmarks (three designs).

To enter please leave a comment on this post including your email (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow).  US/Canada/UK mailing addresses only.  Giveaway ends November 16th midnight EST.

** Additional Book Tour Giveaway **

All comments on this post made November 1st will also enter you in Daniele's Book Tour Giveaway!
At the end of the tour one lucky winner will receive a signed copy of Imprinted Souls along with 2 signed bookmarks.  US mailing addresses only.  Bonus entries for following Daniele's blog here.

Guest Author Interview: Betsy Phillips

Please welcome today's guest author Betsy Phillips!  Betsy is the author of A City of Ghosts: Stories.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Betsy:  I don't know, honestly. I think I probably started writing stories shortly after I learned to write sentences. I know I was writing elaborate alternative histories of middle school for my friends while we were in said middle school, so definitely by then, I was writing to entertain other people.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Betsy:   I had an unusual upbringing--I'm the daughter of a Methodist minister. So, in a way, what brought me to the paranormal genre is that I was born into it. I don't mean that to be flip. I learned a great deal about language and ritual and symbolism that I think serves me well in my writing. But it's also true that my earliest and most prolonged exposure to not just stories, but to a world-view, was one in which paranormal happenings were a matter of course and paranormal stories were told and retold as Truth or ways to get at the truth.

I've wandered pretty far from the way I was raised, but I still think the world is a strange and mysterious place, where things happen we don't always understand. And I still think that stories--fiction--are a great way to tell the truth about the world.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?
 
Betsy:   I would love to be able to shape-shift into a dog. I wonder all the time about my dog. I mean, one of the great things about owning a dog is spending a lot of time with an animal that wants to spend time with you and is nothing like you. Yes, we can communicate, at some basic level. But there are so many times when I can tell she sniffs something on the air or when she is running through the yard, when I know she is experiencing something I will never know. I just wonder what it would be like to smell or hear like she does, to know the world like she does.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.
 
Betsy:   Who doesn't love a good ghost story? Some people have been a little off-put when they hear that A City of Ghosts  is a collection ghost stories set in and around Nashville, because they worry all the stories will have to do with country music. And, it's true that, if you come to Nashville and take one of the ghost tours, you're going to hear a lot about ghosts that have to do with country music.  But the thing is, if you live in Nashville, the music industry is just one more place people work. It's important to the city, but it's not the only thing going on here. So, I figured, well, okay, we have those ghosts, but what kinds of ghosts should we have?

Just asking that question got me thinking a lot about why people tell ghost stories, what the act of telling those stories does for a person, what those stories are trying to convey. I think, in most cases, ghost stories are ways for us to talk about things we can't otherwise talk about. So, I spent a lot of time thinking about the things the city doesn't really talk about, the parts of its past it seems to be actively trying to forget.  And those were the things I built my stories around.

So, I think my book will appeal to history buffs and people who know Nashville, but it is, first and foremost, a collection of ghost stories. And I think anyone who likes to be creeped out is going to like them.

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

Betsy:  This was not an easy question, since A City of Ghosts is a collection of short stories and there’s really only one recurring character—the Devil. So, who could play an incredibly charismatic, incredibly sexy, violent rat bastard whose age is hard to pin down? I don’t know if he’s the greatest actor, but I would kind like to see Brian Austin Green in the role. I think he has the right mix of charm and hardness.

A City of Ghosts: Stories by Betsy Phillips.

No one knows for sure why Nashville has so many ghosts. Maybe it's because the place has been inhabited for 13,000 years. Maybe it's the lingering memories of the Civil War. Or maybe it's just because this is where the Devil keeps a summer home. Whatever the reason, this is the place where the living and the dead linger too long in each others' company. Babies long since dead still cry in church parking lots only to be comforted by current parishioners. A friendly neighbor continues to cook breakfast years after his body is under ground. And something, not animal, not human, not alive, stalks living prey in the old tunnels underneath the downtown. In tales that range from spine-tingling to heart-breaking, A CITY OF GHOSTS brings to life an alternative, haunted history of Nashville. 

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

To learn more about Betsy Phillips and her books, please visit her website.

Guest Author Interview: Rae Lori

Please welcome today's guest author Rae Lori!  Rae is the author of Before Dawn Breaks, Cimmerian City, Uthiel's Embrace, A Kiss of Ashen Twilight, and Within the Shadows of Mortals.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Rae:  I began writing when I was about 10 years old. It was sort of on a dare to myself. I hadn’t thought about writing until I received a particular Disney Adventures magazine in the mail. The Halloween issue asked for scary story submissions and I decided to enter just for fun. I didn’t win but the writing bug caught me from then on I haven’t turned back since. I dabbled in short stories, plays, screenplays anytime an idea hit me. It was fun learning and I corresponded with many editors over the years who gave me wonderful advice on strengthening my craft.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Rae:   Growing up, I loved science fiction, fantasy and some horror (psychological). Besides Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Anne Rice really made me see vampires in a whole new light. I also loved David Lynch's ability to add fantasy and paranormal in an undercurrent of normality. Mixed with reading scary stories as a kid, I gravitated toward writing my own paranormal stories with fantasy and SF and it’s stuck with me since.

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

Rae:   I'd probably choose Fae. I love fae mythology and the powers they usually have are pretty cool. I choose one with wings who are helpful to humans like the Aziza and hold immense power.

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

Rae:   I think they'll enjoy my Ashen Twilight series if they enjoy paranormal contemporary fantasies mixed with history and romance. It has vampires, fae, shifters and other goodies with a story that sweeps across centuries. I also have some side stories that give a little background on some of the characters and how they relate to one another. They are available on my website here.

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

Rae:  For Jace Archane, I always envisioned Kyle Schmid. His portrayal of Henry Fitzroy inspired much of Jace's character and I always loved the idea of a vampire confident in who he is and what he was. It counteracts all the brooding vampires that were popular for so long.

For Ariya, I always saw Megalyn Echikunwoke or Christie Laing with dark curly hair. They have an ethereal beauty that fits with Ariya’s physical appearance, mixed with the elegance and grace fit for a queen.

Within the Shadows of Mortals (Ashen Twilight, #2) by Rae Lori.

For centuries, a group of Nightwalkers, Lycans and Shifter Elves have lived within the shadows of mortals to ensure their survival…until an old foe emerged again to bring the realm of the Fae into the mortal world.

After Liam Blakedon’s death, a string of events unfolds. Ariya is now an Aziza faerie Queen settling with Jace Archane, a Regent in the House of Blood, in the Aziza realm. The houses continue to move west after fighting for their survival against the elemental led by Liam Blakedon, a former guard in the Archane house.

A new beginning is on the horizon until blood is spilled on their lands once again...  


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

To learn more about Rae Lori and her books, please visit her website.