Thursday, October 16, 2014

Guest Blog: Sanguinary by Margo Bond Collins

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sanguinary finalA Night Shift Novel 
October 8, 2014

Only fifty years left before vampires rule the world.

When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city's vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department.

But she didn't know then what she knows now: there's a silent war raging between humans and vampires, and the vampires are winning.

So with the help of a disaffected vampire and an ex-cop addict, Cami is going undercover, determined to solve a series of recent murders, discover a way to overthrow the local Sanguinary government, and, in the process, help win the war for the human race.

But can she maintain her own humanity in the process? Or will Cami find herself, along with the rest of the world, pulled under a darkness she cannot oppose?

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My Top Five Favorite Vampire Books/Series
A Guest Post by Margo Bond Collins  

  1. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
I loved Black’s short story of the same name and was initially a little disappointed to discover that the novel was not, in fact, a continuation of the same story but rather a new story set in the same world. But that disappointment quickly disappeared as Black’s novel drew me in. The vampires here are horrifying—and being the single (potential) exception to that rule makes the love-interest vampire equally terrifying and attractive, adding up to the kind of vicarious adrenaline rush that draws me to vampire tales in the first place.
 
  1. Sunshine by Robin McKinley 
I re-read this book every year or two—I just finished the latest re-reading in November. McKinley does a beautiful job of setting up a world that is almost, but not exactly, like our own. The eponymous protagonist almost seems to ramble sometimes, but the voice is perfectly her own and the things she reveals about herself are beautifully woven back into the plot. Also, the vampires are creepy as all get-out!  

  1. Quiver by Holly Luhning 
Unlike most of the books I read, Quiver is not speculative fiction. It’s a psychological thriller about obsession—specifically, obsession with Elizabeth Bathory, the psychotic sixteenth-century Hungarian countess who bathed in the blood of her (many!) victims in an attempt to make herself younger. Luhning’s depiction of a dissatisfied academic pulled further into a world of horror and intrigue is both compelling and unsettling. So this isn’t really a “vampire” novel in the strictest sense—but it draws on vampire mythology in interesting ways.  

  1. Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Book 1) by Laurell K. Hamilton 
This was probably the first book I ever heard called a “urban fantasy”—though the term Hamilton used for it was “paranormal mystery.” In the early novels of this series, Anita Blake, is based more on the gritty noir detective than the romance heroine. Though the series shifts toward the erotic later, the early novels are still among my favorite paranormal mysteries/urban fantasies.

  1. Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, Book 1) by Faith Hunter 
This series has landed on my favorite vampires and my favorite shapeshifters lists. I’m a fan of shapeshifter novels in general, and of this series in particular. I like Hunter’s twist on the shapeshifter standards—in these novels, Jane shares her body and her consciousness with a big cat she calls Beast. Watching the two of them negotiating their shared life is almost as much fun as watching them work through whatever mysteries and problems come their way because of Jane’s job as bodyguard to vampires.

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MargoBondCollinsAbout the Author Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them. _____________________________________________


Connect with Margo
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/

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sanguinarymeme1

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Guest Blog & Giveaway: The Silver Pear by Michelle Diener

UFI welcomes Michelle Diener Author of The Silver Pear. Thanks for Joining us!!

Fantasy Romance

Hello to everyone. It's such a pleasure to be a guest here.

I've always written books that are probably more strong romantic elements than actual romances, and my fantasy romance series, the Dark Forest, is no exception. I think that fits in with the fantasy genre well, because fantasy is generally very plot-heavy, and the romance works as a thread that runs through the story.

The two books in the series, The Golden Apple and The Silver Pear, are loosely based on the Norwegian fairy tale The Princess on the Glass Hill, and while quite a few fairy tales seem to be romances, if you look deeper, you'll find most of them are really explorations of self.

That's why I came up with the title The Dark Forest for the series. The dark forest has always been a place in fairy tales where the characters are tested, and have to face both inner and external fears.

I love fantasy novels, but have never been a fan of fantasy novels that have too big a cast of characters, too many hard-to-pronounce names, and way too much description. There are exceptions, of course, where the writing and story are so amazing that all of that just works, but mostly I like my fantasy like I like most of my books, intimate, immediate and uncluttered.

In the last couple of years, urban fantasy and paranormal romance have ruled the genre roost, but I'm enjoying seeing a re-emergence of sci-fi romance and fantasy romance as genres that are gaining a little more ground.

What about you? Have you ever dipped your toe in the fantasy romance pool, and which books are your favorite, if so? Or what about sci-fi romance? Any recommendations?

Thanks so much for having me!

Michelle Diener
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Michelle Diener writes historical fiction and fantasy. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series includes IN A TREACHEROUS COURTKEEPER OF THE KING’S SECRETS and IN DEFENSE OF THE QUEEN. Set in the court of Henry VIII, it features the real historical figures of artist Susanna Horenbout and Henry’s Keeper of the Palace of Westminster and Yeoman of the King’s Robes, John Parker.Other historical novels by Michelle Diener include THE EMPEROR’S CONSPIRACY andBANQUET OF LIES, both set during the Napoleonic Wars in London. DAUGHTER OF THE SKY is set in Zululand during the Victorian era.Michelle’s first fantasy novel MISTRESS OF THE WIND is set for a December 23rd, 2013, release. It is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa, and now lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

Find Michelle and her books
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The Silver Pear
The Dark Forest #2
 An unlikely princess . . .

Kayla is determined to master her new-found abilities as a wild magic witch. She's learning everything she can so she and her betrothed, Rane, can put a stop to the sorcerers who are recklessly gathering their power, building up their magic to take each other on in a war that will destroy the countries of Middleland.

An even more unlikely sorcerer . . .

Mirabelle's father was one of the greatest sorcerers in Middleland, but when he used the magic in the silver pear to bespell his pregnant wife to give birth to the greatest sorcerer who would ever live, he never thought that child would be a girl. Mirabelle is nothing like a usual sorcerer, confounding every expectation, and when she comes to the rescue of Rane's brother, Soren, she makes a decision few sorcerers would. She saves him, rather than herself, losing the silver pear in the process.

And using magic always exacts a price . . .

With war not just a possibility but simply a matter of time, there are no neutral parties and no fence-sitters in Kayla and Mirabelle's new world. Everyone is either an ally or an enemy and there is a price to pay for everything. The question is, how high will it be?
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Tour Wide

Review: Cipher by Aileen Erin

Cipher
Author: Aileen Erin
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Ink Monster LLC
ISBN13:  9780989405096
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: NetGalley

In the not-too-distant future, the color of your helix tattoo shows exactly how your DNA was modified—green for super-smart scientists, black for pumped-up warriors, white for the immortal Seligo—but Cipher’s red helix is a death sentence. It’s a sign of unstable DNA, which is probably the reason she can manipulate electricity.

When she was eight years old, Cipher made the mistake of showing her uncle the tattoo. In return, he killed her parents and tried to kidnap her.

She’s been on the run ever since, and twelve long years later, Cipher is tired of hiding. Survival isn’t enough anymore. She wants her life back.

Hacking into the Citadel mainframe is a huge risk, but it pays off when she finds a database on red helixes. Before she can copy it, she loses control of her power, charring her last processor, and the only person in the Arizona Voids that can get her back online is her oldest friend, Knightly. She hasn’t seen him in person since she started running, and Knight 2.0 is fully upgraded with a six-pack and knee-melting smile.

For a girl like Cipher, trust doesn’t come easily, but Knight makes her yearn for a life she knows she can’t have, especially when every secret she reveals endangers them both.

I am very much on the edge about CIPHER. There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about it, but then there was so much left out that after the fact I feel like I missed half the book.

Cipher is an interesting character. She's a red helix that escaped death as an infant and is constantly on the run, hiding from her uncle and those that are out to eliminate her kind. I felt like the author did a pretty decent job of giving us her back story and explaining who she is. Knight is a Shadow Raven who's devoted his life to searching for the little girl who saved his life when he was little. He is also working undercover for the bad guys who hunt down and kill red helix babies, in hopes of saving as many of them as he possibly can. We find out that they share a past pretty quickly and although they both have memories of the other I just didn't feel like they KNEW each other enough now for the relationship they had by the end of the book.

I am really bummed to see that book 2 will be following different main characters for the reason i just listed. I really enjoyed getting to know Cipher and Knight, but I don't feel like I am done learning about them. They JUST started a relationship and still have a lot to learn about each other and I feel like we are being cut off way too soon. Hopefully Cipher and Knight will be involved in book 2 as well so we can get to know them a little more.

We only scraped off the tip of the world and the characters in The Shadow Ravens series with CIPHER and really wish the author would have dug a little more into everything. So although I enjoyed this book, I am left feeling like I really needed more. Even after saying that, I will most likely pick up book 2, Quanta, when it comes out.

I gave it 3/5 stars

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

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raash

Snow Like Ashes
Author:Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
ISBN:   0062286927
ISBN13: 9780062286925
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian
Review Copy Source: Edelweiss
A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

SNOW LIKE ASHES sucked me in from the moment I started reading it. It was beautifully written with a great storyline and characters you grow to care about pretty quickly.

Meira has a huge heart and a drive to help get the kingdom she was born into back at all costs. She was raised as a warrior, but treated like a child. She doesn't really understand why she is being held back from helping defeat those that are hunting her and all the other Winter refugees, but she can and does push to help at every turn. It was very easy to relate and fall in love with Meira. She's a strong person and it shows pretty early on in the book.

Meira is in love with her best friend, Mather. Because he is the future king she has no choice but to love him from the sidelines and is told often by Sir that they can not be together. Enter the love triangle. When the Winterians find refuge in Cordell she is pawned off to the future king, Theron in exchange for their help. She is willing to help her kingdom in any way she can, but never thought she would be used as a bargaining chip and never thought that she would actually start to have feelings for Theron. I honestly like both of her options and not sure who would be more perfect for her.

There is a lot of adventure, pain, sacrifice and secrets involved in SNOW LIKE ASHES. I had an idea where the story might have been going before the big reveal but I was still really excited to have my thoughts confirmed. There is just something about Meira that pulls everyone to her and makes them want to help her. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens as the characters get their kingdom back. I know they all have a lot of work ahead of them and I'm hoping the series keeps up the momentum of SNOW LIKE ASHES.  

I gave it 5/5 stars

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

New Releases: 10/12-10/18


Tue. Oct. 14th

 A Stitch on Time (Sierra Fox #5) by Yolanda Sfetsos
 Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
 The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich

Happy Reading!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Interview: Remembered by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon

UFI welcomes Author Nancy Gideon. 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? 

Though I’ve got over 55 books behind me, with each one that comes out, I’m as nervous as a newcomer when they’re released. That’s a secret we writers like to keep to ourselves. Don’t tell anyone!

What do you enjoy doing on your down time? 

Hanging out with my critique partners, indulging a Netflix addiction, soaking up Vitamin D therapy with my iPod tunes on my third floor patio surrounded by a jungle of green plants, or just napping with the cats. Life is good! And, of course, reading!

What is your Favorite part of writing? 

Working up a new project. I LOVE to spin a plot, especially into a series. I’ve been known to completely outline a multi-book series in a couple of hours-even if they weren’t my books!

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

Oh, yes. OCD. Must have routines! I started out writing by hand in a notebook around two preschool boys’ nap times and now, around a full time job so I’ve always had to make every creative opportunity count. I’m an early riser – 5:00 a.m. with my Keurig coffee and keyboard and a three hour window to get in a chapter. I plot in the car on the way to work and bring home bits of dialog on Post-It notes that have come to me during the day. I write from page one to page end, straight through before doing any revising.

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

Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark (especially Bowen!), Gena Showalter’s YA Alice In Zombieland, Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson series, and J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Unputdownable! I’m thrilled that Darynda is going to be one of my featured guests at my 4th Annual Haunted Open House and Blog Hop from 10-27 to 10-31!

How would you pitch REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT to someone who has not heard of it before? 

The series started out as a one book concept, a kind of “Beauty and the Beast meets Goodfellas in the Big Easy” but the characters and expanding world wouldn’t be contained between the covers of just one book. It’s got everything I love to read: preternatural awesomeness, suspense, action, sizzling romance, swoon-worthy Alpha heroes and edgy heroines, and a rollercoaster thrill ride from page one to page end.

The first four “Moonlight” books of the series follow the complicated courtship of Max
Savoie, former mob enforcer and pseudo-leader of a shape-shifter clan, and Charlotte Caissie, a tough-as-nails NOPD detective out to convict Max’s mentor. Then the “Shadows” books expand the world with new H/H characters, clans and intrigues.

REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT returns Max and Cee Cee as the main couple and would be a great place for a new reader to learn about the “By Moonlight” world as they follow Max’s journey to recover his memories and his place within that world and with the woman who loves him.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that REMEMERED BY MOONLIGHT is set in? 

The “By Moonlight” shape-shifter world exists under the radar in New Orleans. Think of them as undocumented aliens (REAL aliens!), outcasts without a clan or leader, working the docks, living in shadows, afraid, until the whispered rumor that the Prophesied One who is supposed to free their kind from subjugation to those of a higher species in the North is among them in the guise of dangerous and secretive mobster bodyguard, Max Savoie. Convincing Max to be their leader is another thing altogether since he has no idea of who or what he is, especially when he’s focused on winning over his long unrequited love, NOPD detective Charlotte Caissie. Though each book is self-contained, there’s an over-arcing mythology storyline that connects them all, and recurring characters who help the world evolve in unexpected directions.

Do you have a favorite scene in REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT ? 

Oh, I couldn’t begin to pick just one. My favorites feature confrontations between Max and Cee Cee where the bantering dialog crackles with sexy innuendo and sass.

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about? 

Of course Max is my undisputed favorite, but when I introduced Cale Terriot in PRINCE OF SHADOWS, the rowdy, swaggering, tattooed, rock ‘n roll prince had me at the first squint of his eyes. Carrying him over into REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT to interact with Alphas Max and Silas MacCreedy was the most fun I’ve had. The hardest characters to write are the kinder, gentler heroines who grew into their own loving their unpredictable males.

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

I’m waiting to hear on a YA paranormal series that’s out with a NY publisher. In the meantime, I’ve contracted reissues of my backlist with Belle Books. I’ve got four contemporary romances under my pen name Dana Ransom coming out with their imprint Bell Bridge in 2014 (three are already available!) and in 2015, their imprint ImaJinn will be rereleasing my “Midnight” vampire romance series with all new packaging, including the first three books of the series which have looong been out of print (like since the ‘90s!). They’ll come out one per month beginning in March, 2015 for nine consecutive months! I’m also planning to self-publish some of my western historicals now that I’ve gotten the rights back.

And just maybe more “By Moonlight” books . . .
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Nancy Gideon is the award winning author of over 55 romances ranging from historical, regency and series contemporary suspense to paranormal, with a couple of horror screenplays tossed into the mix.

She works full time as a legal assistant in Southwestern Michigan, and when not at the keyboard, feeds a Netflix addiction along with all things fur, fin and fowl.

She’s also written under the pen names Dana Ransom, Rosalyn West and Lauren Giddings.

Find Nancy and her books
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Remembered by Moonlight
Moonlight #9
Amazon
Because the road to . . .

Clever, cool and preternaturally lethal, Max Savoie is leader of a secretive shape-shifter clan, heir to a mobster’s legacy, and the love of New Orleans’ top cop . . . but he can’t remember any of them. The only way to recover his past, and his rightful place in the arms of the woman who risked all to save him, is to surrender to a mysterious visitor who could use him as a weapon against all he’d loved.

Happily-Ever-After . . .

After rescuing her mate from his ruthless captors in the North, hard-hitting Detective Charlotte Caissie is now painfully vulnerable—a stranger in his eyes . . . and in his bed. The key to his memories is locked in a tortuous past. To reclaim the strength of their passionate bond, Max must learn to trust her enough to face that darkness at her side before the threat it hides exposes the secret Cee Cee carries.

Is never smooth.

When an investigation into grisly deaths in an underground Shifter fight club points to more than just dangerous clan rivalries, Cee Cee enlists Max’s help to find a traitor in their midst while there’s still time to turn a deadly invading tide. But the cost of saving their treasured future may mean sacrificing his past. Especially when the enemy they pursue . . . might be Max, himself.
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Short Excerpt: 

Where was Max?

Had she expected it to be easy having him here so close and yet so agonizingly far away? Bad enough watching him in that antiseptic clinic cell, a prisoner of his own panicked madness, raving, raging, out of control. Worse was having him here in the lush, sexy surroundings he’d built for them to share, temptingly near yet impossible to reach.

A bargain made in heartbreak hell.

Though she might be tortured by cherished memories, he was not. She was nothing to him but a protective port in his emotional storm. And that knowledge was driven home like a stake through the heart every time they were together. Every time he stared at her through those cool green eyes without the slightest flicker of response. Every time he took that distancing step back to evade the casual graze of her hand. Every time he lay next to her in the night, and silence created a force field of discomfort.

Tripping over him every minute of the damned day only emphasized how much she wanted, needed him back.

And underlined how far away he was.
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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Week in Review: 10/5/2014-10/11


Books I've Bought/received

- Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones- Publisher

- Alpha Divided by Aileen Erin- eARC- NetGalley

- Hungry Like the Wolf by Paige Tyler- eARC- NetGalley

- Night Sky by Suzanne Brockmann- eARC- NetGalley

- Bewitching the Enemy by Dawn Chartier- eARC- NetGalley

- Dog With a Bone by Hailey Edwards- eAC- Author

Books I've Read

Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones
Alpha Divided by Aileen Erin
Hellhound by Karen Swart
Hellhound Born by Karen Swart
Hellhound Twisted by Karen Swart
Hellhound Awakened by Karen Swart
The Bloodline Wars by Tracy Tappan 

Reviews Posted

Reckoning by S.J. Harper
Broken Soul by Faith Hunter

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

* Monday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for The Kasadya Series by Karen Swart

* Wednesday- Interview for Touch of a Ghost by L.M. Brown

* Thursday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Black Spring by Christina Henry

* Friday- Interview & Giveaway for Words That Bind by Ash Krafton

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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.
 
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