Guest Blog & Giveaway: Wonderfully Wicked by C.J. Burright

UFI welcomes C.J. Burright Author of Wonderfully Wicked. Thanks for Joining us!!

Hey. I’m Lydon v’al Endrian from Wonderfully Wicked by C.J. Burright. Let’s get one thing straight: I’d rather be brushing a feral cat’s teeth than writing a blog post, but apparently C.J. thinks her time’s more precious than mine. So while she’s performing authorly duties (i.e. eating bonbons and napping on the couch while watching Supernatural reruns), I’m tasked with drudging up something creative from the dungeons of my mind. I’ll try not to scare you. Nah, no promises.

One thing you should know about me—I’m a V’alkara, which means I have the sweet ability not only to invade dreams, but to take pieces of them for myself. Better yet, I can assume the forms I steal, which makes Halloween parties a blast. Who wouldn’t want to be fat Elvis stuffed in a rhinestone jumpsuit for a day? Horrifying. And since my world revolves around the nightmares of my dreamcaster, Kalila (I call her Little Monster. She deserves it, trust me), this is a handful of nightmares I’ve enjoyed with her so far…and their meaning, according to Freud. Kinda.

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Spiders. I think the creepy-crawlies can be cuddly, but for some reason they make Kalila a little twitchy. Here’s what Freud says about spiders: "A spider in dreams is a symbol of the mother, but of the phallic mother, of whom we are afraid; so that the fear of spiders expresses dread of mother-incest and horror of the female genitals."
 
What the…? Kalila’s mom went AWOL at birth and I promise you, my Little Monster has no horror relationship with her womanly bits. This is a more believable explanation, from The Huffington Post: "Spiders weave a web -- a beautiful, intricate trap to catch its prey," says Richmond. "As such, spiders are associated with manipulation."

In other words, spiders are a representation of me. No wonder I like them…and she dreams about them. She might deny she likes me, but dreams don’t lie.

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Death. Kill a girl once in her nightmare, and she won’t let you live it down. And screw Freud—he’ll just say death in a dream means she’s repressing her sexual needs or some other B.S. Instead, I’ll refer back to The Huffington Post, which has a pretty decent series on dreams and their meanings. In case you want to psychoanalyze your deepest, darkest dream desires. Perverts. According to Sumber, dreams about death often indicate "the symbolic ending of something, whether that's a phase, a job or a relationship." In other words, Kalila’s ready to ditch her old life and start a new one with me. I knew she couldn’t resist my charm much longer. And that knife to my shoulder? A love tap.

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Chased by monsters. According to dreammoods.com (Freud has nothing on them), chase dreams stem from avoiding anxiety in real life. Exactly. Kalila isn’t running from me, she’s running from herself. She fears her future. And she should. With the V’alkara brotherhood hunting dreamcasters down, she won’t have it easy. Neither will I.

Sayanora, suckers. Oh, and pick up a copy of Wonderfully Wicked. C.J. needs more bonbons. And if you can’t bring yourself to fork out the dough (tightwads) *cough*, comment for a chance to win a freebie copy plus other stuff—fuzzy socks (who wouldn’t want black fuzzy socks?), chocolate covered coffee beans (Kalila’s an addict), a kitty cat self-defense keychain (meow), and a bookmark. Score.

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C. J. Burright was born and raised in Oregon and loved it so much she never left. While she has worked for years in a law office, she chooses to avoid writing legal thrillers and instead leans toward urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or—since all things medieval and magic fascinate her—fantasy romance. A member of Romance Writers of America and Secretary for the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal special interest chapter, C. J. also has her 4^th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and believes stories should always include a gratuitous fight scene. In what spare time she has, she enjoys working out, reading, gardening, and rooting on the Seattle Mariners with a nice glass of wine. She shares a house with her husband, daughter, and a devoted herd of cats.

Find C.J. Burright and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Wonderfully Wicked
The Wicked #1

 A dreamcaster with the ability to channel creatures from her nightmares, headstrong and cynical Kalila Montgomery longs for a peaceful, picket-fence life… until the man literally of her dreams kidnaps her.

Survival quickly becomes her number one goal, yet a growing attraction to the man in her nightmares is impossible to ignore. While she fears he will kill her, other, more terrifying enemies surround her, and Kalila succumbs to his scheme to escape. She may be his one hope for freedom…

A deadly combination of power, cunning, and cold-hearted charm, Lydon v'al Endrian fears nothing. Feels nothing. Chained to a brotherhood of men with the supernatural ability to invade dreams, he hunts dreamcasters to be harvested for their dreams and killed. His target: Kalila Montgomery. But Kalila awakens an undeniable dark desire and a longing for a freedom long-lost.

To gain everything he craves, Lydon must seduce Kalila before his plot is discovered… a hopeless challenge which, if failed, will earn him a death-sentence. Caught up in a dangerous world of secrets and obsession, doubt and betrayal, Kalila and Lydon face the nightmare of their lives, where love will either deliver them—or destroy them both.

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US ONLY

Comment for a chance to win a freebie copy of Wonderfully Wicked plus other stuff—fuzzy socks (who wouldn’t want black fuzzy socks?), chocolate covered coffee beans (Kalila’s an addict), a kitty cat self-defense keychain (meow), and a bookmark. Score. 

Mortal Enchantment is ON SALE!

Mortal Enchantment kindle edition on sale for $0.99 for the next 7 days. 

http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Enchantment-Stacey-ONeale-ebook/dp/B00K5UCVQQ/ref=la_B00IVS7FHE_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404939317&sr=1-1

Interview: K. E. Shade

UFI welcomes Author K. E. Shade. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

 I love to cook. Once I learn the basics of a recipe, I'll often tweak it to suit my own tastes. My favorite time of year to cook is winter because my house doesn’t have air conditioning. Plus, I love making soups that take several hours to make. For me it's not tedious. Chopping all those veggies up is pure therapy.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

Now that my sun room has been remodeled, I love sitting out there to read. Plus, I always have a fur baby to keep me company.

What is your Favorite part of writing?

 Shaping the characters. Not the way they look but their mannerisms. Personalities are ley, in my opinion, to drive the story.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

 I don't have any hardcore rules but I know if I don't keep the television off or my earbuds piping in the music, distraction comes that much easier.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres? 

 Kim Harrison, Christine Feehan, and Julie Belfield. I snatch their books up as soon as I see them.

How would you pitch Her Beauty Within to someone who has not heard of it before?

A clash between two different societies, both living in the same magical environment.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that Her Beauty Within is set in?

The story is set in a large oak tree, called Mother Oak by the occupants. It rests along a small stream. Pixies live on the top branches of the trees and sprites down below. Each has their own part in keeping their ecosystem going.

Do you have a favorite scene in Her Beauty Within?

 When Adele finally accepts her new surroundings and the fact that her title is not a birthright but something she must earn.

Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

Adele for both. She was cruel and quite ugly, not caring about anyone but herself. Stripping her title and making her work to be accepted into the society she's thrust into.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

As seems to be the case, I have several projects in the works. One is a fantasy series, another is a naughty twist on some of the classic tales such as The Count of Monte Cristo. My brain never stops, which makes it difficult when I'm the middle of my morning commute to work.

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K. E. Shade is multi-published author Kastil Eavenshade in disguise pandering her romantic shenanigans. When not catering to the whims of three rescued kitties, she's dreaming up her next heart-beating tale. No period in history—past, present, or future—is safe from the clutches of her muse. Her passions beyond writing are drawing, cooking, and watching Pittsburgh Penguins hockey. She credits her parents for her free spirit as they've always supported her in every aspect of her life. Without them, she wouldn't be here.


Find K.E. Shade and her books

Website / Goodreads

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Her Beauty Within
July 4, 2014
Buy Link

In order for Adele to find her one true mate, she's got to learn to see beyond the veil of vain beauty. 

Adele lives a privileged life. High in the great oak that is her kind's home, the pixie does as she pleases including playing cruel pranks on the wingless sprites who dwell in the tree. When one of the Council of Eight decides Adele needs to be taught a lesson, the pixie is cast down into the world of the sprite. Without the finery that made her one of the privileged of the society, Adele must find the meaning of true beauty and what love entails, or be cast out forever.

An Outlaw in her Bed
July 11, 2014 
Buy Link

When Ella realizes that her mysterious guest, Travis, has a deadly past, she has to come to terms that it may just be the cause of her husband's untimely death. 

Ella Gilby lost her husband to the perils of living in the wilderness of the new frontier. When her son finds a wounded man in the barn, she does what any Christian woman would do for a needy soul. She takes him in until he's able to move on, but never expects the attraction to blossom between them.

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Review: Night's End by Yasmine Galenorn

Night's End

Author:Yasmine Galernorn

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Publisher: Berkley

Indigo Court Book #5

ISBN:   0425259234

ISBN13: 9780425259238

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Publisher

Eons ago, vampires tried to turn the dark Fae in order to harness their magic, only to create a demonic enemy more powerful than they could have imagined. Now, in a final push, Myst returns with a vengeance to bring the Golden Wood forever under the rule of the Indigo Court.

Newly crowned Fae Queens Cicely and Rhiannon have embraced their destinies and claimed their thrones. But Myst is rising once more, and now, at the helm of her armies, she begins her final assault on the Golden Wood. As Fae, vampires, and magic-born alike fall under the tide of blood, Cicely and her friends must discover a way to destroy the spidery queen before they—and their people—face total annihilation.

Cicely has gone through a lot in a very short time. Her life was turned upside down when she came back to New Forest and now that she is a Fae Queen she has to not only protect herself but her court as well from Myst who once again is ready to attack the Golden Wood. I have always felt that Cicely was a very strong character. The slow reveal of information about her past and what she was meant for when she was born was intriguing and I was never bored with it. Her relationship with her cousin Rhiannon has remained strong and I have enjoyed watching them fight for their friends and family while growing closer.

Although this is Urban Fantasy there is some romance to be had in the Indigo Court series. Cicely and Grieve have a long history as soul mates and this lifetime together they are finally able to be with one another after a long struggle. I have always been a bit disappointed that Lannan was brought into their story. I'm not really into the sharing of Cicely so it never felt right and I wasn't really satisfied with how things turned out in that department.

The events of NIGHT'S END happened at a nice pace with plenty of action and lots of danger. I felt like the series was over by the end and all loose ends were tied up to my liking. We got a tiny glimpse of the characters future at the end of NIGHT'S END which was nice, I wouldn't mind another little short story diving a bit more into it as I am always interested in what happens after the fact but overall I was happy with the conclusion to the Indigo Courts series.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

New Releases: 7/6-7/12

Tue July 8th

 Tales of the Hidden World by Simon R. Green

Not a very big week for releases. Happy Reading anyways!

Guest Blog: Taming Fate by Amalia Dillin

UFI welcomes Amalia Dillin Author of The Fate of the Gods Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

The Novella: A More Satisfying Alternative to Homeric Digression
 
There is SO MUCH history covered in the Fate of the Gods series that it was impossible to fit everything I would have liked to into the overarching narrative of the trilogy. Sometimes the things I couldn’t fit were things that just didn’t work at all, because, for example, I wanted Eve or Adam to be two different people within the same lifetime, and I had to choose one over the other. But most often, it was a situation like this one, with TAMING FATE, where there was a pretty relevant story to be told and not enough pages to tell it in its entirety.

Unlike Homer’s audience, the modern reader isn’t necessarily as interested in excessive digression. (I’m certainly not!) We don’t really have a lot of patience for it, outside of a carefully framed use of flashback, every now and again. Nobody today would sit still, for instance, for a recitation of the history and genealogy of the hero’s horse. And there definitely was no way I was going to fit enough of Eve’s relationship with the Marquis DeLeon inside FORGED BY FATE and FATE FORGOTTEN, when there was so much else to cover. Not without slowing the narrative of the series to a crawl – much like that history of Achille’s or Hector’s steeds might.

But the Novella is pretty much perfect for this kind of story. Somewhere between 17,000 and 40,000 words, it offers enough room for more than just a bit sized story, but something that can still be enjoyed as a quicker read. It allows for the exploration of events that take place off-page, but maybe don’t need to be entire books of their own. And actually, the more novellas I write, by accident or otherwise, the more I really like it for these kinds of side stories and supplementary events, because I’ll be honest, I’m not very good at writing short stories.

For TAMING FATE, I hit the novella length without too much trouble – mostly, I think, because I knew from word one it was a side story, not an epic of its own. (The epic was already written in the other Fate of the Gods books, in fact!) And there was a freedom in knowing it was an opportunity to dig deeper into the background of the book, without having to unearth an entire novel.

I hope you’ll find the length and content of TAMING FATE to be just as satisfying to read as I found it to write – but if not, don’t worry. There’s more Fate of the Gods still to come, and BEYOND FATE is just around the corner!

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I began as a Biology major before taking Latin and falling in love with old heroes and older gods. After that, I couldn't stop writing about them, with the occasional break for more contemporary subjects. I live in upstate New York with my husband, and dream of the day when we will own goats--to pull my chariot through the sky, of course.

I'm kind of obsessed with mythology, history, animal behavior, and comic books. I love exploring how story becomes history becomes myth, and often wonder what future generations are going to make of the most famous of our modern literary heroes. Will they one day look back and wonder if we worshipped at the altar of Superman? How many years until Sherlock Holmes is rooted firmly into the realm of living historical person and people start claiming him as an ancestor? Or, has the digital revolution and the dawn of the internet interrupted the natural evolution of story into memory into fact into truth? We, and the people who came before us, have such a complex relationship to our myths. They are both living and dead, growing and unchanged, history and fiction.

I try to always keep in mind that once, however long ago, or maybe even just yesterday, somewhere and somewhen, people believed mythology was truth. It's only fair, after all.

Find Amalia and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

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Taming Fate
Fate of the Gods #2.5

For the first time in her many lives, Eve would rather be anywhere but home.

In 15th Century France, Eve would have burned as a witch if it hadn’t been for the too-timely arrival of the Marquis DeLeon to save her skin, but their hasty marriage is off to anything but a smooth start. As tensions in the town grow and plague threatens, Ryam DeLeon knows if he and Eve cannot find common ground, their first Christmas may be their last.

Previously published in the anthology A Winter's Enchantment.

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Week in Review: 6/29-7/5

Books I've Bought/received

- Premonitions by Jamie Schultz- Publisher

- Dark Secrets by Madeline Pryce- eCopy- Pulisher

- Reap & Repent by Lisa Medley- eCopy- Author

- Time of Death by Shana Festa- eCopy- Author

Books I've Read

Dweller on the Threshold by Rinda Elliott
Blood of an Ancient by Rinda Elliott
Time of Death: Induction by Shana Festa
Dark Secrets by Madeline Pryce
Queen & Commander by Janine A. Southard

Reviews Posted

Enslaved By the Others by Jess Haines
Fireborn by Keri Arthur
Cold Hard Secret by Sierra Dean

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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Tuesday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Poison In the Blood by Robyn Bachar

*  Wednesday- Interview & Giveaway for Fireborn by Keri Arthur, Promo for Ever Mine by Eden Ashe

* Thursday- Interview with author Kirsten S. Blacketer , Promo & Giveaway for Awakened by Virna DePaul

* Friday- Promo & Giveaway for Dream Huntress by Michelle Sharp

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