Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Guest Blog + Giveaway: The Good Girl's Guide to Being a Demon by April Aasheim

Woodland Creek Series.
30 Authors. 30 Shifter Stories.
One Epic Release Day.


UFI welcomes Author April Aasheim. Thanks for Joining us!!

One of the most-asked questions I get is: Why do you write about the paranormal?
In all honesty, I never intended to be a paranormal writer. In fact, I thought I’d end writing humor or women’s fiction.
I remember that day that all changed. I had been contemplating writing a story about a woman with a hoarding disorder. Her home was going to be condemned unless she could make it livable again. But how? Were some magic mice going to come in and clean it up for her?
Since this wasn’t a supernatural tale, the job of the mice fell to her four grown daughters instead.
It was a good concept. A returning home tale where mothers and daughters and sisters hashed out their old problems while sorting through years of collected junk and discovering themselves. I could see it appearing on Lifetime TV. In fact, maybe I already had.
A good concept, but done a few times in a few ways.
Now I was stuck again at square one. Still, I wanted to write something. So I closed my eyes and let my mind wander and when I opened them my fingers began typing. And this strange sentence appeared.  “If I were a real witch, the kind you read about in stories and fairy tales, I might have put a curse on Leah for walking in on me and Michael like she did.”
I stared at the sentence. Who said that? Was it me?
I kept typing. “Not a big curse, of course. Just a little something to teach her how to knock.”
Okay, so that got creepy. These sentences were not in my head. They just kinda…came out.
And then, in another strange moment, I knew these lines had something to do with the story that had already been in my head. It was my mother/daughter story, but different.
I began brainstorming: What if the mother was sick and the daughters had to come home to care for her - except the mother’s illness was ‘supernatural’ and the girls had all been raised up to be witches.
And what if the girls didn’t want to be witches and had left the town long ago to rebel?
There we go. Mother and daughter problems with a visit to the past, too.
And the words kept coming, without outline or plot. They just poured out. And through the course of the story I became the spirited witch Maggie Maddock in my book The Witches of Dark Root. And I fell in love. Not just with the town and the characters, but in the process.
The whole thing was…magical.
So you can say paranormal writing found me, in a Rod Sterling kind of way. And it continues to ‘find me’ as I write other books like The Good Girl’s Guide to Being a Demon and next year’s Nymph No More.
Will all of my stories have a paranormal element? I don’t know. But I’m open to whatever comes through.

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April Aasheim spent her childhood traveling around the Southwestern portion of the United States with her gypsy mother and her get-rich-quick stepfather. During those years she spent time traveling with the carnival, living in an abandoned miner's shack, and learning to read Tarot Cards. After spending her early adult years in California, Tennessee, and Arizona, she finally settled down in Oregon where she has lived for the last decade. April is a mother, a wife, and a reluctant homemaker. She has written several short stories and maintains an active blog. She is also the author of the witchy, Amazon Best-Selling fantasy series: The Daughters of Dark Root.

Find April and her books
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The Good Girl's Guide to Being a Demon 
Amazon

Strange changes are happening to Cassie Walker. She’s losing track of time, seeing shadows, and developing…horns?

Fearful, she returns to her childhood home to solve the mystery of what she’s becoming. There, she meets up with childhood friend, Josh Tucker, who convinces her to enter the annual Demon Run in Woodland Creek.

But things aren’t always what they seem in Woodland Creek, and people aren’t who they appear to be.

Soon, Cassie finds not only herself in danger, but Josh as well.

Can she save them both? Or has her lineage tainted her forever?
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The Woodland Creek Series is an innovative and collaborative collection of Shifter stories set in one town, each with a guaranteed Happily Ever After.

Sibilance by Aria Kane -- This sexy trickster won't let Sophia Samson slither out of his life so easily. Amazon | Goodreads

Crow's Caw at Nightmoon Creek by Calinda B -- All she can think about is his naked body in the woods last night...and how he murdered her best friend. Amazon | Goodreads

Running Free by K Webster -- Can Frankie prove her innocence with a sexy detective hot on her trail? Amazon | Goodreads

Broken Wings by Mindy Larson – Love, secrets and lies make for a thrilling ride in Broken Wings. Amazon | Goodreads

Mina’s Revenge by J.M. Witt -- Her powers are changing and they're more than the bloodline inheritance from her mother. Amazon

Gargoyle by Scarlett Dawn -- Being stone-hard has never been this sexy and wicked before. Amazon | Goodreads

Zenko by J. Rose Alexander -- Blaze Riordan must find Melody Hastings before Halloween--and only a little red fox can help him do it. Amazon

The Scarlett Legacy by K.N. Lee -- All Evie wanted was to escape her family's secret...and then Avalon walked into town. Amazon

The Beast Within by Rachel M. Raithby -- Passion ignites, and pasts collide, when the Beast comes out to play. Amazon | Goodreads

Sinful Instincts by J.D. Hollyfield -- She was his temptation, and he was her ultimate Sin. Amazon

Moonlit Feathers by Sarah Makela -- After faced with crippling loss, a heartbroken raven must find her wings again…. Amazon | Goodreads

Hounded by Tasha Black -- This dog is about to have his day... Amazon

Dearborn by Jenni Moen -- I craved normalcy, to fall in love with someone untouched by the magic of Woodland Creek, but not as much as I craved him. Amazon | Goodreads

The Good Girl’s Guide to Being a Demon by April Aasheim -- What's a good girl to do when she starts developing horns, and a hunger? Amazon

Blind Trust by Raci Ames -- When Pia goes blind she must learn to trust what her heart can see, even if it means falling in love with two different shifters. Amazon | Goodreads

Dragon's Web by Lia Davis -- One sexy dragon, two strong-willed females, a family scandal, murder, and a love that requires plenty of ice. Amazon | Goodreads

Wicked Jackal by Cherie Marks -- The freedom to choose her fate is all she wants, but can she resist the draw of one wicked jackal? Amazon | Goodreads

One Insatiable by Tia Louise -- One wounded panther, one restless lynx, one insatiable hunger. Amazon | Goodreads

Dream Catcher by M.C. Cerny -- Happenstance brought Kerri Harper to Woodland Creek, but will she stay for the wolf intent on mending her broken heart? Amazon

The Viking’s Curse by Xandra James -- He was supposed to keep me alive after I was marked for death, but hiring the meanest Viking shifter in town might just kill me. Amazon | Goodreads

Tour Wide
There are three amazing prizes for this blog tour!
  • Always Loyal, a Michael Stokes photography book
  • Exhibition, a Michael Stokes photography book
  • $20 Giftcard to your choice of Amazon, B&N, or Starbucks
a Rafflecopter giveaway