Friday, April 26, 2013

Guest Post & Giveaway: Influential Magic by Deanna Chase

UFI welcomes Deanna Chase Author of Influential Magic. Thanks for Joining us!!


Hello Readers of Urban Fantasy Investigations!

I’ve got a couple of character profiles for you today. Let’s start with our heroine, shall we?




Meet Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake, and badass vampire stalker. 

Height: 5’7

Hair: Auburn
Eyes: Brilliant blue
Age: 24
Relationship status: It’s complicated
Sidekicks: Link, her wolf-shifting shih tzu, and Phoebe Kilsen, all around coolest witch this side of the Mississippi
Location: New Orleans, LA
Hometown: Eureka, CA
Siblings: One. Beau Rhoswen, deceased.
Race: Fae



Willow is an interesting gal. She specializes in magically altering the confections she sells in her bakery. Some are mostly harmless, like Mocha in Motion—a super amped energy drink that has zero side effects. And some are a bit more controversial, like Orange Influence. This orange-flavored chocolate treat leaves the administrator absolute control over the person they give it to. Dangerous right? Especially when those who are power-hungry want to get their hands on it.

Willow is a kind-hearted soul who wishes she’d never invested the dang concoction, but it’s too late now. Her choice is to produce it with tight government controls, or not produce it and risk letting someone else sell a more dangerous, life-threatening version. It’s a lose-lose situation, but she tries her best to keep it out of the hands of the vampires, who don’t have quite the same morals when it comes to human life as the fae do.

She also has a secret ability—she can sense vampires within a one mile radius. It’s why she works for the Void branch of the Arcane. Her bestie, Phoebe is a vampire hunter, and Willow, who isn’t a fighter, does her part by warning Phoebe when vamps are around. It’s her job to keep Phoebe and other agents from being ambushed. She’s pretty darn good at it too, when the vamps aren’t sucking her energy from her. That’s what happens when death touches an earth faery. Luckily, Willow has Link.













Meet Link, Willow’s were-wolf shifting shih tzu.

Weight: 20 lbs
Age: 1 year
Eyes: Brown in shih tzu form. They turn gold when he shifts
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
Siblings: Ten. They are matched with Void agents.

Link is such a cutie and quite possibly was my favorite character to write about. Did you know shih tzu’s are descendant from wolves? We happen to have two. One is very clearly a wolf in shih tzu’s clothing. The other? Well, we’re pretty sure he was a stuffed toy in another life. Sweet as pie.

Link himself is a sweet boy with a vicious side. When Willow is upset or angry and her emotions get away from her, Link starts to vibrate and moments later he’s a full-fledge wolf, ready to take someone’s face off. He hasn’t quite figured out how to control himself yet, but he’s fierce and always up for a challenge as long as his energy holds out. Shifting really takes it out of him. As he gets older and stronger, he won’t have as much of an issue...which is a good thing, because it looks like trouble’s going to follow Willow for quite a while.

Thanks to Urban Fantasy Investigations for having me today. I hope you’ll all check out Influential Magic to find out more about Willow, Link, and the rest of the gang. Influential Magic is the first of the Crescent City Fae series. Irresistible Magic is due out this fall. 
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Deanna is a native Californian, transplanted to the slower paced lifestyle of southeastern Louisiana.

When she isn't writing, she is often goofing off with her husband in New Orleans, playing with her two shih tzu dogs, making glass beads, or out hocking her wares at various bead shows across the country.

For more information and updates on newest releases visit her website

Find Deanna and her books
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Influential Magic
Crescent City Fae #1

Kindle    Trade Paperback
BN   Kobo   Smashwords  
It’s tough being a faery in New Orleans, a city fraught with vampires… especially when their very existence drains your life-force.

Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake and part-time vampire hunter for the Void is having a rough week. Four years after her twin brother’s mysterious death, Willow’s life is threatened and the director saddles her with a new partner—her ex-boyfriend, David. To her horror, he’s turned vamp, which causes her physical pain whenever she touches him… and any other specimen of the undead.

In order to save Willow’s life, David agrees to turn double agent against the most powerful vampire organization in New Orleans. Or so he says. And she’s convinced they know something about her brother’s death. Unsure where David’s loyalties lie, she turns to Talisen, her childhood crush, to help her solve the mystery.

Caught between two gorgeous men and a director who’ll stop at nothing to control Willow’s gifts, she’ll have to follow her instincts and learn who to trust. Otherwise, she risks losing more than just her life.
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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite
Author:Kiera Cass
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
The Selection Book #2
ISBN:  0062059963
ISBN13: 9780062059963
Genre: Young Adult/ Dystopian
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

America is still torn between her love for Aspen and her growing feelings for Maxon. The group of girls is getting smaller and America might not be the focus of Maxon's attention anymore. As time runs out America is left searching her feelings and deciding what she wants out of life. 

America has grown a lot since she was selected. I really like her views on how things should be and the way she fights for what is right even though her views are not well liked. She has legitimate concerns about what kind of queen she would be and is really confused about what she should do. The king is a real piece of work. I hope that she can rise above him in book 3. Although I like both of the men in this series I was starting to get sick of the back and forth between Aspen and Maxon. America was playing with feelings and it was getting old. I was really happy with America's decision at the end and I completely understood Maxon's decision but it made me want to kick him just the same. Some crazy stuff happens with the girls in THE ELITE and some people really surprised me. I love Marlee and hope we will get more of her in the last book.

Like book one, THE ELITE was an easy read. I love Kiera's writing style and the ever suspenseful plot. The character growth was great and the stakes are high. AH how will it all end. The last book entitled THE ONE (I think, Goodreads says it is at least) won't be out until spring 2014 *pout*

I gave it 4/5 stars

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Interview & Giveaway: London Falling by Paul Cornell

UFI welcomes Paul Cornell Author of London Falling. 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 once got a fan letter from Kate Bush.  Who just happens to be my favourite recording artist!  (I was rather pleased, I can tell you!)



What do you enjoy doing on your down time?



Watching cricket just makes a tense bit of me feel so much better.  (Mental bit of me, I mean.  Cheeky.) 



What is your Favorite part of writing?



'Having written.'  I bet everyone says that.  I rather like sorting out one of those big character-defining moments that hopefully makes people go 'oh, they would do that, wouldn't they?'



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



I tend to type, look at Twitter, look at Facebook, type again, in a sort of continual cycle.  I take micro-breaks, which I'm told is a good way to work.  But it wasn't deliberate!



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



I like Seanan McGuire, Carrie Vaughan, China Mieville, Neil, of course. 



How would you pitch London Falling to someone who has never heard of it before??



It's a novel about what happens when a unit of modern undercover London police accidentally gain the power to see the monsters and the magic.  After they've finished panicking, they decide the only way they're going to survive is to use (real) police methods against the supernatural.  There's loads of cynical copper humour alongside the dark stuff, and I hope it gets quite emotional.  If you like the voice I write Doctor Who in, this is much the same.



What can you tell me about the world that London Falling is set in?



It's got a surface that's hopefully exactly that of the real world, with a lot of detail about police methods and work life (gleaned from several undercover coppers of my acquaintance).  The nature of what's underneath is something that I hope to gradually reveal over several books.  There's going to be a complete case in every volume, but the back story keeps getting bigger.  There's something like magic, that has something to do with the shape of the land and buildings and the human mind, in a psychogeographic way.  But my police don't use the M word, like the word Mafia doesn't appear in The Godfather.



Do you have a favorite scene in London Falling?



I think it's the one where my coppers dismantle the idea of a ghost bus, wondering how a motor vehicle could walk the earth as a restless spirit.  Being police, they use their ops board to boil down supernatural concepts and try to unpick the mechanisms behind them.  They're never content with archetypes.



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



My genius intelligence analyst, Lisa Ross (not the name she was born with) is someone I feel very close to.  She's had this terrible tragedy in her life, and she's working towards her revenge when it's all taken from her.  It's a challenge to write a really smart detective who operates in ways which the reader (and the author) can still understand when she explains them. 



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



The sequel, The Severed Streets (Jack the Ripper is back and this time he's killing rich white men) is out in the UK later this year.  I'm writing Wolverine every month for Marvel, and there are a couple of TV projects I can't tell you about yet.



Thanks for that!  Hope you like it!  Cheerio!
 
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Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.


Find Paul and his books
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London Falling
 The dark is rising . . . Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack’s murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vindictive entity, whose occult powers kept Toshack one step ahead of the law – until his luck ran out. Now, the team must find a 'suspect' who can bend space and time and alter memory itself. And they will kill again. As the group starts to see London’s sinister magic for themselves, they have two choices: panic or use their new abilities. Then they must hunt a terrifying supernatural force the only way they know how: using police methods, equipment and tactics. But they must all learn the rules of this new game - and quickly. More than their lives will depend on it.
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

The Rules
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
ISBN:   1423153286
ISBN13: 9781423153283
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

When Ariane was 6 a security guard who is now known as her father helped her escape from the lab that she was born into. She knows she isn't normal and she knows if she is ever caught she will be used as a weapon and forced to kill. She has a set of rules her 'father' set up for her that she must follow at all times, and she is content to do that until Zane takes notice of her and she has no want to follow them anymore.

Ariane was super easy to like. I connected with her character right away and understood her feelings and struggles. She grew a lot as the pages went on. Zack is the popular sports guy with a horrible home life. His mother left and his father treats him like dirt and compares him to his older brother at every turn. Ariane and Zack's relationship starts out hesitant but grows rapidly into a great partnership. They both sacrifice a lot for each other and I cant wait to see what meets them in the next chapter.

There are some great twists in THE RULES that you will never see coming. The action is spaced out nicely. The writing flows nicely and the plot is always moving and entertaining. There is still a lot to find out so I will be reading book 2 when it comes out.

I gave it 4/5 stars