Q+A with Gina Marie Long (Rocked)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Gina Marie Long.  Gina is the author of Rocked.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Gina:  Back in high school, I mostly received A’s on essays with positive notes scribbled in the margins from the teachers, so I felt I had potential. Throughout my teenage years, I wrote nearly 50 poems. I realized I had an interest in writing a book about 20+ years ago (oops-showing my age!) and toyed with the concept at that time. Nothing came of it. Several false starts. In 2009, I vowed to myself that I would write a full-fledged novel. I was frustrated with life and wanted to sell my small-town beauty salon (I was the sole owner and operator) but needed another job or career. I thought, what the heck? I finished my first novel, Unknown Touch-Werewolf Series-Book 1, in 2 1/2 months and was published in October 2009. Rocked-A Chelsie Valdar Saga 1 is my third novel.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Gina:  I have always loved paranormal, supernatural, scifi, and fantasy movies, TV shows and books. I vividly recall reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager. I can never get enough of werewolves, vampires, witches, werecats, Bigfoot, demons, psychic stuff, aliens, and ghosts. Authors who've inspired me: Anne Rice, Amanda Hocking, Stephenie Meyer, Christine Feehan, Jacquelyn Frank, Suzanne Collins, Karen Marie Moning and many more. There are too many shows and movies to list that influence my writing...but what just popped into my mind first are the Underworld series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV show).

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

Gina:  It would be nice to heal people with my touch. So many of my friends and family have died or are fighting life-threatening diseases and illnesses. Especially cancer.

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

Gina:  I'm like a mixture of Amanda Hocking and Stephenie Meyer - I write young adult thrillers mixed with supernatural creatures. Rocked focuses on Chelsie Valdar, a modern-day Viking warrior teenager. Throw in Bigfoot who shape shift into humans, an abandoned werecat, the search for a weapon, a stalker, and the clock ticking down to the impending Apocalypse-in one week. Whew! Of course, I left out what kind of Apocalypse...kind of makes you wonder, huh?

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

Gina:  That is a tough question. I have Chelsie as the main character (written in first person, present tense) and several important characters involved with her. Hmm... Kristen Hager (plays Nora on Being Human - Syfy) would be the character Chelsie Valdar because when I look at her, I actually "see" Chelsie. She's tough but has a soft side and physically looks the part. Next, Ksenia Solo (plays Kenzi on Lost Girl -Syfy) would be the character Jessie in my book. The actress probably wants to avoid being another sidekick, but she is so quirky, cute, petite, and the darker hair are the reasons I'd pick her. Jared Padalecki (plays Sam on Supernatural - CW) would be the character Bo because he physically looks the part and his personality fits. Ian Somerhalder (plays Damon on The Vampire Diaries - CW) completely looks like my character Lucas...but could be taller! His expressions, mesmerizing gaze, cocky attitude fit the part. And Dylan O'Brien (plays Stiles on Teen Wolf - MTV) would be the character Alex because he's able to pull off being funny, cocky and I could see him flip to deranged in a heart beat, becoming totally unstable. His facial expressions, realistic acting and timing are perfect.

Rocked (Chelsie Valdar Saga #1) by Gina Marie Long.

The Apocalypse is coming...in one week. Chelsie Valdar and her brother are modern-day Viking warrior teenagers. They must find a mystical sword belonging to their ancient ancestor and flee to safety at a secret shelter, if they hope to survive. As the clock ticks, several Bigfoot and an outcast werecat become invaluable friends helping with the search for the sword and offering supernatural protection. Misfortune haunts their every move. Conflicts delay their progress. Especially when a devious and deranged enemy is infatuated with Chelsie and hungers for the sword, desperate to escape to the shelter with Chelsie by his side. Time is running out.

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

To learn more about Gina Marie Long and her books, please visit her website.

Q+A with Jaimie Admans (Afterlife Academy)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Jaimie Admans.  Jamie is the author of Afterlife Academy.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Jaimie:  I’ve been writing since I was young, and writing seriously for about twelve years now. I always knew I loved it and I wished I could make a career of it but didn’t think it would ever be possible. About seven years ago, I wrote my first novel, and I realised that people could and did make careers and earn a living from doing just that. That’s when I started to really concentrate on writing novels and started to take writing seriously, with the intention of writing something that could one day be published.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Jaimie:  I love reading paranormal books, so I think it was only natural that sooner or later I would end up writing one! It wasn’t intentional as such, I just write the ideas I have and worry about the genre later, it just so happens that quite a few ideas have been paranormal!

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

Jaimie:  I’d love to be a ghost. I think it would be quite fun to be anywhere you wanted and know that no one could see you! You could people-watch until your heart’s content, you could spy on people you liked (you could get in the shower with Johnny Depp!) and if anyone had annoyed you, you could haunt their house as revenge!

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

Jaimie:  I hope readers will enjoy it because it’s the story of one girl who learns to question the life she thought was perfect. Riley starts off as the pretty, popular girl, but after she dies, the tables are turned on her, and suddenly she’s in a school where she’s the outcast and the geeky boy she’s always picked on is popular. It’s her journey into death-after-life, with a bit of romance and comedy thrown in!

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

Jaimie:  I think Jennifer Lawrence would make a really good Riley. She’s not perfect and she’s a bit awkward, isn’t she? She’s very popular at the moment, and she’ll always be Katniss to me, and you’ll just have to ignore her age because she’s a bit older than Riley is in the book!

And Anthony is really easy to cast as I had this guy in my head while I was writing him – Jamie Campbell Bower. He plays Caius in Twilight and I knew him as Anthony in Sweeney Todd (the name may be why I pictured him when I was writing it!) Again you’ll have to ignore his age as he’s a bit older than Anthony is supposed to be!

Afterlife Academy by Jaimie Admans.

Even being dead isn’t enough to get you out of maths class.

Dying wasn't on sixteen-year-old Riley Richardson's to-do list. And now, not only is she dead, but she's stuck in a perpetual high school nightmare. Worse still, she's stuck there with the geekiest, most annoying boy in the history of the world, ever. In a school where the geeks are popular and just about everything is wrong, Riley has become an outcast. She begins a desperate quest to get back to her perfect life, but her once-perfect life starts to unravel into something not nearly as perfect as she thought it was.

And maybe death isn’t really that bad after all...

Welcome to Afterlife Academy, where horns are the norm, the microwave is more intelligent than the teachers, and the pumpkins have a taste for blood.


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

To learn more about Jaimie Admans and her books, please visit her website.

Real Vampires Know Hips Happen Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Cassandra L. winner of our Real Vampires Know Hips Happen Giveaway at From the Shadows.  Cassandra will receive a paperback copy of Real Vampires Know Hips Happen by Gerry Bartlett.

Thank you to all who entered!

**Giveaway winner selected using Random.org**

Q+A with Dana Cameron (Seven Kinds of Hell)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Dana Cameron.  Dana is the author of the Emma Fielding series (Site Unseen, Grave Consequences, Past Malice, A Fugitive Truth, More Bitter Than Death, Ashes and Bones) and Seven Kinds of Hell.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Dana:  I began writing as an academic—I started my professional life as an archaeologist. I started writing fiction after a site looter pulled a gun on my friend and me while we were working on a site in Maine. Later, I told a friend about the incident and she said "you need to write this down!" Suddenly, bam! I needed to write a novel. That led to crime fiction, which eventually led to UF.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Dana:  Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner invited me to write a story about werewolves at the holidays for their anthology Wolfsbane and Mistletoe. Realizing I could create my own world, with its own rules, I came up with the Fangborn: a race of werewolves, vampires, and oracles secretly dedicated to protecting humanity. More Fangborn short stories followed, and now Seven Kinds of Hell!

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

Dana:  I think some kind of spell-caster. There's an element of research and study that appeals to me, and a wide range of powers could come from that talent. Some of my favorite characters in TV and movies and books cast spells!

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

Dana:  Seven Kinds of Hell features a different twist on the supernatural creature: the vampires, werewolves, and oracles are secret superheroes, dedicated to protecting humanity. Werewolves aren't bound by the moon, and vampires chemically alter blood to heal, not feed. They're born, not bitten, and trained within the Family. Zoe Miller, the protagonist of Seven Kinds of Hell, doesn't know she's a werewolf, so she has to use her archaeological training and her street smarts to help discover her supernatural powers,

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

Dana:  I really think my protagonist Zoe resembles Mary Elizabeth Winstead (in "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World") and I think Ray Stevenson may make an excellent version of my bad guy. Will, her first love, needs a younger Matt Damon—maybe Lucas Till or James McAvoy, from X-Men First Class? Hugh Jackman and Benedict Cumberbatch can have any other parts they want. Helen Mirren, too.

Seven Kinds of Hell (Fangborn #1) by Dana Cameron.

Archaeologist Zoe Miller has been running from a haunting secret her whole life. But when her cousin is abducted by a vicious Russian kidnapper, Zoe is left with only one option: to reveal herself. Unknown to even her closest friends, Zoe is not entirely human. She's a werewolf and a daughter of the Fangborn, a secretive race of werewolves, vampires, and oracles embroiled in an ancient war against evil. To rescue her cousin, Zoe will be forced to renew family ties and pit her own supernatural abilities against the dark and nefarious foe. The hunt brings Zoe to the edge of her limits, and with the fate of humanity and the Fangborn in the balance, life will be decided by an artifact of world-ending power.

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

To learn more about Dana Cameron and her books, please visit her website.

Shadow Sight Audiobook Giveaway

Shadow Sight audiobooks are coming and we are celebrating with a giveaway!

Shadow Sight, the first novel in the Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by E.J. Stevens, will be available later this month for download on Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes.

Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger #1) by E.J. Stevens, Narrated by Traci Odom.

Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans…except those with second sight, like Ivy Granger.

Some things are best left unseen...

Ivy Granger's second sight is finally giving her life purpose. Ivy and her best friend Jinx may not be raking in the dough, but their psychic detective agency pays the bills--most of the time. Their only worry is the boredom of a slow day and the occasional crazy client--until a demon walks through their door.

Demons are never a good sign...

A demon attorney representing the water fae? Stranger things have happened. And things are about to get very, very strange as a bloodthirsty nightmare hunts the city of Harborsmouth.

There's blood in the water...

Kelpies have a reputation for eating humans. Unfortunately, Kelpies are the clients. When an Unseelie faerie this evil stalks the waterways of your city, you have to make hard choices.

The lesser of two evils...

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Shadow Sight audiobook available late April 2013.
Shadow Sight available now in ebook and trade paperback.

**Shadow Sight Audiobook Giveaway**

We are giving away a Shadow Sight audiobook and swag pack to one lucky winner!

Winner will receive a Shadow Sight audiobook digital download and a Shadow Sight prize pack (signed Shadow Sight postcard, Ivy Granger Private Eye sticker, Shadow Sight sticker, Shadow Sight magnet).

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.  Giveaway ends April 30, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Q+A with Rinda Elliott (Dweller on the Threshold)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Rinda Elliott.  Rinda is the author of Dweller on the Threshold.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Rinda:  I finished my first book eighteen years ago. I wrote this horrible conglomeration of every Harlequin Presents novel I'd ever read. It received a nice two page rejection from Harlequin and I wrote on and off for a few years. I picked it up again seriously much later. I signed with my agent, M iriam Kriss, in 2008 and we've been actively marketing my work since.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Rinda:  I've always loved paranormal books. As a teenager, I read romances and horror novels--not as much fantasy. But I loved paranormal elements, so when I found the mix, I loved them! One of my first paranormal romances was The Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hooper. This one also had a strong female lead--something else I love. Later, when I discovered urban fantasy, I was completely hooked. Where else can you get fantasy, horror, humor and romance in such a nice, tight package?

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

Rinda:  I'd like to have the ability to heal. Immortality could be a trip, too.

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

Rinda:  I do hope readers enjoy Dweller on the Threshold. If they enjoy fantasy, horror, humor and romance, this could be right up their alley. I've also always been drawn to books that surround a cast of characters who end up forming tight, family-like friendships. This series incorporates that and they get to fight scary bad guys at the same time.

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

Rinda:  I simply can't find the right people. But this made think. I might hold some kind of contest for readers once they have read Dweller on the Threshold. I'd love to hear suggestions. Both Beri and Nikolos would be a challenge. Beri has unusual looks, is over six feet tall and strong. She can be kind of snarky, but her well of compassion is endless. Once you've earned her loyalty, you've earned it for life. Nikolos... well, my editor calls him sex on legs. He's a tall Minoan warrior who has gone through the absolute worst of what life has to offer (Many times!) to right a horrible wrong.

Dweller on the Threshold (Beri O'Dell #1) by Rinda Elliott.

On a hunt to save her sister, the last thing Beri O’Dell needs is love. Aren’t demons bad enough?

Beri O’Dell is investigating paranormal creatures because she wants to know what she is. Taller and stronger than most men, she astral projects and can peel through dimensional layers to see the creatures and spirits beyond.

She once helped her foster sister, Detective Elsa Remington, track down killers in Jacksonville, Florida, but stopped when a nasty fire elemental turned her strength against her. Now, she finds herself pulled back when something steals Elsa’s soul and puts her into a coma.

With little time to spare, Beri searches for the reason behind her sister’s coma. She has help in her spirit guides Fred and Phro, but others come along for the ride, including a pyro-nervous witch, and an androgynous necromancer.

The last thing Beri needs is to fall in love with a mysterious stranger. But the handsome Minoan warrior Nikolos knows what creature she’s after because he’s battled it before.

It’s bad.

Really, really bad.

He calls it the Dweller on the Threshold.

Warning:

Contains a worried heroine with no time, a witch with fire problems, a pissed-off necromancer, a trapped goddess, and a damned sexy, but scary, warrior. Throw in bloody battles, mass-murderer history lessons and a bit of sexy time and you get the start of Beri’s new life.

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

To learn more about Rinda Elliott and her books, please visit her website.