Betrayed Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Koll winner of the Betrayed Giveaway at From the Shadows!  Koll will receive a signed ARC of Betrayed by Ednah Walters, Betrayed t-shirt, Guardian Legacy t-shirt, pen, 2 signed bookmarks, and 2 fridge magnets.

Thank you to all who entered.

Didn't win?  Be sure to enter the additional Betrayed Tour Giveaway (rafflecopter entry) ending July 9, 2012.  The author is also giving away a Kindle Fire, 5 ARCs of Betrayed, 10 Betrayed t-shirts, 10 fridge magnets, 10 signed bookmarks, and 5 Betrayed pens.

**From the Shadows giveaway winners selected using Random.org unless otherwise specified.**

Q+A with Barbara Ashford (Spellcrossed)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Barbara Ashford.  Barbara is the author of Spellcast and Spellcrossed .

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Barbara:  Back in elementary school. From “Cherokee the Wild Pinto” to “What Color is Love?” (Pretty much every color but puce in my poem) to historical romance novels (one of which I began with a movie trailer: “She was a nurse. She was a spy. She was a woman among women. She was…CLAUDINE. And every man she met loved her.”). After junior high school, though, I channeled most of that creative energy into acting and only returned to writing fiction years later.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Barbara:   When I began noodling about Spellcast, I knew that Maggie would fall in love with the director of the Crossroads Theatre. But the book isn’t your typical paranormal romance – more a blend of mystery, fantasy, and romance. Neither Maggie nor Rowan is looking for love. She wants to get her life in order. He wants to escape the curse that binds him to this world. It’s the relationship that slowly evolves between them that allows those things to happen.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Barbara:  Hmm…that’s a tough one. If I could be any paranormal, it would probably be a Fae. Still kind of human, but without the bloodsucking or the monthly transformation into a wolf. (If I had to choose between vampire and werewolf, it would definitely be werewolf. There’s something very appealing about freeing the inner beast.)

In terms of supernatural powers, I’d like to be able to time travel. I’ve always been fascinated by history, and the opportunity to experience other time periods would be cool. Although there’s the whole hygiene thing – could I really be happy in a world without flush toilets? Maybe just short visits to other times with potty breaks in this world!

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Barbara:  Maggie has to cope with the same issues we all face: pressure at work, relationships with friends and family, romance, figuring out what she’s going to do with her life. Rowan has to cope with some of those same issues, but he has the added strain of trying to “pass” in the human world. Falling in love only complicates matters. It’s one thing for a human to love an otherworldly being. How do you live with one on a day-to-day basis? Can love really conquer all or will the relationship crack under the strain? Spellcrossed at looks those issues from both a serious and a humorous perspective. And – like Spellcast – it’s a book about family: the one we are given and the one we choose, the bonds that unite us and the pressures that can tear us apart.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Barbara:  If I’d written this series ten or fifteen years ago, I’d have gone with Ralph Fiennes or Jeremy Irons as Rowan. Slender, sensitive, angst up the wazoo. But alas, they’re both a bit old now. Johnny Depp, maybe? I adore him. He has the right blend of humor and sensitivity. And he has a timeless quality as well, the perennial Peter Pan.

Maggie? Again, ten or fifteen years ago, it would have been Julianne Moore, hands down. She’s physically perfect for Maggie and she can do funny and heartbreaking. Now? Anna Pacquin? Amy Adams? They both have the combination of vulnerability and toughness that Maggie needs.

Spellcrossed (Crossroads Theatre #2) by Barbara Ashford

It's not easy losing the magic in your life…

But when Maggie Graham freed Rowan Mackenzie to return to Faerie, she took the first step toward her new life as director of the Crossroads Theatre.
A hectic new season of summer stock leaves her little time to moon over the past. She has to balance the demands of her interfering board president and a company of actors that includes bewildered amateurs, disdainful professionals, a horde of children, and an arthritic dog. And while Maggie yearns to give others the kind of healing she found at the Crossroads, even she recognizes that magic must take a back seat to ticket sales.

But magic is hard to banish from the old white barn. Memories lurk like ghosts in the shadowy wings and the unexpected is as time-honored a tradition as the curtain call. And when the tangled spells of Maggie' past turn her life upside down, it will take more than faery magic to ensure the happy-ever-after ending she longs for.…


Thank you Barbara for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Barbara Ashford and her books, please visit her website.

Wolf Days of Summer Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Steph winner of our annual Wolf Days of Summer Giveaway at From the Shadows.  Steph will receive signed copies of She Smells the Dead, Spirit Storm, and Legend of Witchtrot Road, and a swag pack filled with Spirit Guide series romance trading cards, bookmarks, and postcards.

Thank you to all who entered!

Didn't win?  Goodreads is giving away a signed copy of Legend of Witchtrot Road, the third novel in the Spirit Guide series by E.J. Stevens. (US/CA/GB, ends 8/1/12)

Shadow Sight Playlist

With the upcoming release of Shadow Sight, the first book in the Ivy Granger urban fantasy series, I decided to share some of the music that inspired me while writing this novel.  Enjoy!

Shadow Sight Playlist

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Heads Will Roll
Siouxsie and the Banshees- Kiss Them For Me
The Killers- Human
Bat For Lashes- Horse And I
Bat For Lashes- Sleep Alone
Bat For Lashes- Trophy
You Say Party! We Say Die!- There Is Xxxx (Within My Heart)
Woodkid- Iron
Morcheeba- Shallow End
Florence and the Machine- What The Water Gave Me
Florence and the Machine- Shake It Out
Florence and the Machine- Seven Devils
The Editors- When Anger Shows
The Editors- Escape The Nest
Peter Murphy- I Spit Roses
Jessy Greene- Time Bomb
Patrick Wolf- Hard Times
Patrick Wolf- Oblivion
Moon Seven Times- The Pavement Shines
Emilie Autumn- Castle Down
Emilie Autumn- What If
The Smiths- Hand In Glove
The Alarm- The Stand
Mathew Good- Weapon
Matthew Good- Avalanche
Angus and Julia Stone- Lonely Hands
Angus and Julia Stone- Living On A Rainbow
Angus and Julia Stone- Soldier
Shiny Toy Guns- Stripped
AWOLNATION- Sail
Muse- Apocalypse Please
Modest Mouse- March Into The Sea
Modest Mouse- Satin In A Coffin
Modest Mouse- Ocean Breathes Salty
Lykke Li- I Follow Rivers

Please support the above artists.

Cross-posted from the official Ivy Granger series website.

Q+A with Kate Evangelista + Taste Excerpt + Giveaway

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Kate Evangelista.  Kate is the author of Taste.

Keep reading for a sneak peek excerpt from Taste and a chance to win an ebook copy of Taste by Kate Evangelista.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Kate:   I started writing in high school. A few short stories here and there with bad grammar and horrible formatting, but my classmates didn't seem to care. *laughs* I wrote off and on since then and only began seeing writing as my career of choice a couple of years ago. Best decision I ever made.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Kate:  I've always been fascinated with the paranormal. I love watching scary movies even if they give me nightmares. Then I started reading paranormal romances. Who would have thought falling in love with a werewolf or vampire would be so hot? So now, paranormal isn't a scary place for me anymore. It's a place with potentially hot make out sessions.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Kate:   I love this question. I'd want to be a werewolf. Always have and always will. I think weres kick-ass. And to be a female were, especially an Alpha female...that would be so hot.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Kate:   I think Taste brings with it a great deal of the unexpected. At least, that's what I've been hearing from those who've read the book already. I'm never one to judge my books. I always leave that to my readers. *smiles*

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Kate:  For Luka, I've always had Alex Pettyfer in mind. As for Phoenix, I'm drawing a blank, but one reader said she wanted Zoey Deschanel...although she might be too old to play a teen. As for Demitri, I'm drawing a big blank too. I remember seeing this ad for aftershave once with a model who I thought looked like Demitri. So, like I said, Luka I know for sure, the rest I leave to the casting director.

Taste by Kate Evangelista

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.


Excerpt from Taste for From the Shadows readers:

I sat up and followed Calixta’s gaze upward. I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. A statue? ­My brain refused to snap together coherent thoughts.  I didn’t realize I’d fallen so close to one of the garden benches until I stared up at the boy that sat on one. He was strikingly beautiful. His tumble of blonde hair curled just above his sculpted cheekbones. He wore a silk shirt and a loosened cravat, like he’d become bored while dressing and decided to leave himself in disarray. His ivory skin and frozen position was what had me mistaking him for something carved from marble by Michelangelo. Then he sighed—a lonely, breathy proof of life. If I had to imagine what Lucifer looked like before he fell from heaven, the boy on the bench would certainly fulfill that image. My brain told me I had to look away, but I couldn’t.

“Luka,” Calixta said again, her voice unsure, almost nervous. It no longer contained the steel and bite she had threatened me with, which made me wonder who the boy was.

He leaned on his hands and crossed his legs, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the night sky. His movements spoke of elegance and control. I’d encountered many people with breeding before, but his took on the air of arrogance and self-assuredness of someone used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it.

I only realized I’d been holding my breath when my lungs protested. I exhaled. My heart sputtered and restarted with a vengeance. Luka tore his gaze away from the stars and settled it on me. I’d expected pitch-black irises, like the other Night Students, but blue ice stared back at me.

“Human,” he whispered.

He reached out, and with a finger, followed an invisible trail down my cheek. I stiffened. His touch, cooler than Demitri’s, caused warm sparks to blossom on my face. He lifted his finger to his lips and licked its tip. He might as well have licked me from the way my body shivered.

Luka’s curious gaze held mine. “Leave us,” he said, but not to me.

“But—” Calixta protested like a spoiled child.

He spoke in a language I hadn’t heard before, remaining calm yet firm. The words had a rolling cadence I couldn’t quite follow, like rumbling thunder in the distance. They contained a harsh sensuality. The consonants were hard and the vowels were long and lilting.

Footsteps retreated behind me.

Luka reached out again.

It took me a minute to realize he wanted to help me up. I hesitated. He smiled. I smiled back timidly and took his hand, completely dazzled. Even with my uniform soaked from melted snow, I didn’t feel cold—all my attention was on him and the way his callused hand felt on mine. Without moving much from his seated position, he helped me stand.

“What’s your name?” he asked. He had a voice like a familiar lullaby. It filled my heart to the brim with comfort.

I swallowed and tried to stop gawking. “Phoenix.”

“The bird that rose from the ashes.” Luka bent his head and kissed the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”

My cheeks warmed. My head reeled, not knowing what to think. I couldn’t understand why I felt drawn to him. And the strange connection frightened me.

From behind, someone gripped my arms and yanked me away before I could sort out the feelings Luka inspired in me. I found myself behind a towering figure yet again. Recognizing the blue-black silk for hair tied at the nape, relief washed over me. Calixta hadn’t come back to finish me off.

Demitri’s large hand wrapped around my wrist. Unlike the night before, no calm existed in his demeanor. He trembled like a junky in need of a fix. The coiled power in his tense muscles vibrated into me.

“What are you doing here?” Demitri asked.

I didn’t know he’d spoken to me until I saw his expressionless profile. I sighed.

“Phoenix.”

I flinched. The ruthless way he said my name punched all the air out of me. “You owe me answers,” I said with as much bravado as I could muster.

“I owe you nothing.” He glared. “In fact, you owe me your life.”

“I don’t think so.”

Ignoring my indignation, he faced Luka, who’d remained seated on the bench during my exchange with Demitri. “Why is she with you, Luka?”

“I wasn’t going to taste her, if that’s what you’re implying,” Luka said. “Although, she is simply delicious. I wouldn’t mind if you left us alone.”

There it was again. Taste. The word that kept coming up between these Night Students and I was connected to it in an increasingly uncomfortable way. To taste meant to sample, but what? My flesh? They had to be joking because the alternative wasn’t funny.

“The sins of the father …” Demitri left his sentence unfinished.

Luka’s smile shifted into a snarl. “Obey my command.” His chin lifted. “Kneel.”

Demitri’s stance went rigid. His grip tightened around my wrist.

Okay, weird just got weirder. Why would Luka want Demitri to kneel before him? I thought back to Eli and the others bowing to Demitri when he questioned them, but they didn’t kneel. Seriously? Were they all living on a different planet or something?

“Kneel.” Luka’s detestable smirk made his features sinister rather than angelic. The real Lucifer: a fallen angel.

Without letting go of my wrist, Demitri knelt down on one knee and bowed his head, his free hand flat at the center of his chest. “Your command has been obeyed,” he said formally.

Luka nodded once.

Demitri stood up and pulled me toward the school without telling me where we were going. Not having the time to thank Luka for saving me from Calixta, I risked a glance back. Luka smiled at me. His smile spoke of whispers, secrets, and promises to be shared on a later date.

Thank you Kate for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Kate Evangelista and her books, please visit her website.

**Taste Giveaway**

We are giving away an ebook copy of Taste by Kate Evangelista to one lucky winner.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post and include your email address so we may contact you if you win.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway ends July 5, 2012 midnight EST.

Insanity Giveaway Winner

Congratulations bn100 winner of the Insanity Giveaway at From the Shadows.  bn100 will receive an ebook copy of Insanity by Lauren Hammond.

Thank you to all who entered!

**All giveaway winners selected using Random.org**

Betrayed Excerpt + Giveaways

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Ednah Walters.  Ednah is the author of Awakened and Betrayed.

Keep reading for a chance to win a Betrayed prize pack and a Kindle Fire.

Betrayed (Guardian Legacy #2) by Ednah Walters.

Lil isn't just an average teenager. She's one of the Nephilim--the descendants of humans and angels--which gives her some serious psi skills and a mission for redemption. Just when Lil thinks she's found a balance between her normal life with human friends and her training to become a Guardian, she's warned that someone close to her will betray her. When the boy she loves starts acting strangely and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability, Lil begins to realize that someone is manipulating the people she loves... and won't stop until she's been lured to the dark side.


Betrayed book excerpt:

     Bran leaned back to study my face, his eyes puzzled. “You never said you could command demons like that.”

     “You never asked.”

     He chuckled and rubbed the side of his face against mine. His warm breath fanned my cheek. My breathing hiked, heart leaping with anticipation. He smelled so good. I slipped my arms around his waist, gripped the back of his shirt, and pulled him closer. He was pure muscles and warmth. I loved that he topped me by five inches. He nuzzled my neck. Smelling my essence, he called it. I forced myself to focus on our conversation.

     “Do you think Valafar sent her to hurt you and Gavyn?” I asked.

     “I don’t think so. Solange is very bitter. Most Lazari were loyal to Coronis, which reminds me… How did you know her name, or that she works for your father?”

     I didn’t feel like explaining the little demon-girl now, or the decision I had made to spare her life. “I got it from one of her people. You’re sure Valafar isn’t behind this?”

     “I don’t know, but with the Lazari loose in the world, anything is possible. Nature-benders usually despise the Lazari, yet Valafar teamed up with Solange’s group. It doesn’t make sense.”

     “Your ex-girlfriend has a group?”

     His eyes flashed. “She wasn’t my girlfriend. Just someone I hooked up with for a short period. Most demons tend to separate into groups based on loyalty to a Lord or a cause. Coronis had a way of dealing with that.”

     I didn’t care about Coronis. “Hooked up with?”

     He pressed his forehead against mine again and sighed. “Lil, Coronis made us do all sorts of crazy things as part of our initiation. I had no choice in what happened between Solange and me on that island.”

     Sweet relief rippled through me.

     “I’m happy we vanquished Coronis,” I said. “And promise not to stop me from taking out Solange next time we meet.”

     He laughed, brushed his lips against mine. When he leaned closer for a deeper contact, I evaded his lips. He chuckled. “I promise.”

     Now, you can kiss me.

     He cupped my head and kissed me properly. Thoughts disappeared from my head. Sparks exploded from my lips and spread under my skin, making me feel energized. Nothing else mattered except Bran and how beautiful and wonderful he made me feel. When I came up for air, I couldn’t recall what we’d been discussing.

Thank you Ednah for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Ednah Walters and her books, please visit her website.  And don't miss our interview with Ednah here.

**Betrayed Giveaway**

We are giving away a signed ARC of Betrayed by Ednah Walters, Betrayed t-shirt, Guardian Legacy t-shirt, pen, 2 signed bookmarks, and 2 fridge magnets to one lucky winner.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address so we may contact you if you win.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway ends June 28, 2012 midnight EST.

...but that's not all!  We have a second giveaway for all of the stops on the Betrayed tour.

**Betrayed Tour Giveaway**

The author is also giving away a Kindle Fire, 5 ARCs of Betrayed, 10 Betrayed t-shirts, 10 fridge magnets, 10 signed bookmarks, and 5 Betrayed pens.

To enter, please fill out the rafflecopter entry form below.  This is a tour giveaway.  Winners will not be selected by From the Shadows.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wolf Days of Summer Giveaway

Summer officially begins next week.  Do you know what that means?  It's time for our annual Wolf Days of Summer Giveaway!

This year we are giving away some fab Spirit Guide series books (filled with hot werewolves, because, let's face it, werewolves are the swooniest) and swag.  Happy summer reading! xx

**Wolf Days of Summer Giveaway**

We are giving away signed copies of She Smells the Dead, Spirit Storm, and Legend of Witchtrot Road, and a swag pack filled with Spirit Guide series romance trading cards, bookmarks, and postcards.

To enter, leave a comment on this post including your email address so we may contact you if you win.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway ends June 25, 2012 midnight EST.

For more information about the Spirit Guide young adult paranormal series, please visit the official Spirit Guide series website.