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Friday, November 22, 2013

Into the Fire: Goddess Fish Book Tour!


Today, I am pleased to announce a blog tour visit from Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey Pogue, authors of Into the Fire!




By the way, the authors are giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter! Check out theRafflecopter Give away HERE!



And now, the excerpt!


“Tell me! Who was I with?”

“Zoe…and Jason.”

“What?” I screeched and scurried away from him to huddle on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Zoe was in Massachusetts and was probably dead, and Jason…Jason was…I didn’t know. Why would I have been with Jason? Nothing was making sense. Scrunching my eyes closed, I tried to remember, but the harder I tried, the more my head hurt. Panic churned within me, making me feel sick. My heart beat heavily, like my blood was too thick, and my lungs felt constricted.

“Dani,” Gabe said, and I felt the bed shift behind me. He scooted closer, joining me on the edge of the bed and draping his arm over my bare shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Only when I looked up at him did I realize tears were streaking down my cheeks. “I don’t want to think about them…about any of it,” I told him. “If they’re gone…I just want to forget. I just want to be here, with you.”

“Dani, I think we should…”

I tilted my face up, leaning in closer to the safety and comfort of his body. “What?”

“Probably not be…”

“What?” I asked, raising my hand to his face. I brushed my thumb over his chin, feeling the rough stubble covering it, and angled his face lower.

“In here, doing this.” He breathed in jerkily when my thumb brushed across his full lower lip. It was soft and dry and begging to be kissed.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I whispered, closing the distance between us.




AUTHOR Bio:

Lindsey Fairleigh lives her life with one foot in a book—as long as that book transports her to a magical world or bends the rules of science. Her novels, from post-apocalyptic to time travel and historical fantasy, always offer up a hearty dose of unreality, along with plenty of adventure and romance. When she's not working on her next novel, Lindsey spends her time reading and trying out new recipes in the kitchen. She lives in the Napa Valley with her loving husband and confused cats.

Lindsey Pogue has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, compiled books of collages as a teenager, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her--whether she's traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next story line or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey's wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man.


Links:



To buy!

Amazon: 
Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet
After The Ending (The Ending, #1) - http://www.amazon.com/After-Ending-ebook/dp/B00BJDUBLU

Barnes & Noble:
Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet

Smashwords:
Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet  
After The Ending (The Ending, #1) – not available yet

Kobo:
Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet  
After The Ending (The Ending, #1) – not available yet

Monday, November 18, 2013

Idea to story.

Chances are, you have ideas. Chances are even better than your friends will have ideas, too. I have a wide circle of friends who love to brainstorm ideas for stories with me.
Dr. S and his really awesome husband, the Flaming Chef.

Dr. Snickerdoodle is one of my favorite brainstorm partners. He told me the story of one of his first crushes, back when the poor doctor lived in the desolate hinterlands of Oklahoma.

Showing that he always was a lot smarter than I was, he avoided telling his crush, since the man in question wasn't the nicest guy in the world.

While Dr. S talked, I took many mental notes on this person's character. He was the sort to play his friends against each other, and had a cruel streak the size of the Marianas Trench. I wanted show his self-congratulatory streak and his enjoyment of frightening and controlling people.

I don't like writing anything too on the nose, so of course, it had to have a vampire in it. And I started writing.

Over the next few days, I'll reveal the story. And we can all talk about getting your ideas out of your head and onto paper. :)

Friday, November 15, 2013

Vampires in Literature

My favorite vampire in literature (other than my very own Valerie Tate, if I may be so immodest), is Joseph Le Fanu's Carmilla.

In the story, Carmilla befriends the lonely, isolated Laura.  In true romance fashion, Carmilla recognizes Laura as a friend from a dream they had shared at six years old.

 In the older style Harlequin stories, the shy heroine is drawn to a handsome, brooding, moody hero. In this story, Laura is drawn to Carmilla's beauty.  Carmilla herself is moody and passionate. There is much foreplay, snuggling,  and Laura braiding and playing with Carmilla's hair. Carmilla herself goes from an engaging young woman to a determined lover pressing her suit with kisses on Laura's cheeks and claiming that Laura is *hers*.

"Darling, darling," [Carmilla] murmured. "I live in you and you would die for me. I love you so."

The pursuer overcome with possessiveness and extreme displays of desire is still a common motif in modern romance novels.

In true Victorian fashion, Laura, virginal, pure, and close to her protective father, begins to exhibit unusual behavior, such as exhaustion and restlessness and meloncholy. Common behaviors for someone in the throes of first love.


The father and the other male researcher refuse to share their suspicions with Laura, leaving her helpless in the face of Carmilla's desire for both blood and love.


And, as is usual in literature, the passionate and sexual Carmilla is revealed to be a perversion and executed.

Laura, 'safe' after her exposure to independence, is restored to her virginal state and returns to her remote home under her father's protection. But a hero can never truly return to who she was before her experiences. She still remembers the sound of Carmilla's steps on the drawing room floor.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Pompeii.

Eh. I'm too tired to write anything intelligent and carefully researched. Have some pictures of Pompeii.
The best tasting octupus ever.

The Flaming Chef and Dr. Snickerdoodle outside the amphitheater.
Mosaic from a wine bar/lunch counter

The dogs of Pompeii were very fat and happy.

The city baths.

Dr. Snickerdoodle as the barkeep!

The ruts in the streets from the carts.

The House of the Faun.

More wicked cool mosaics.

One of the victims of Vesuvius.