Posts Tagged ‘paranormal romance’

Gena Showalter & Maryse at Barnes & Noble signing (yup! I'm short!)

So two weeks ago today (yah…I know…what took me so long?) I met Gena Showalter. In case you haven’t heard of her (ummm…and this, I highly doubt), she is a popular author in the Paranormal Romance genre, and extremely popular with most of you!. In fact, she has come highly recommended via my own readers, and I have purchased her notoriously sexy Lords of the Underworld Bundle series (which I have already started). Good stuff!

I attended her book signing here in Florida on the release date of her latest book, Into the Dark: The Darkest Fire\The Amazon’s Curse\The Darkest Prison (Hqn) (a compilation of some of her shorter stories – all within the Lords of the Underworld realm). Some lucky audience members won an advanced copy of “The Darkest Passion (Hqn)” and some cool signed posters too (alas, I was not that lucky, but just being there, considering I almost didn’t make it was good enough for me)!

She answered a ton of audience questions, and I found her to be delightfully good-humored, and sweet as can be!

I do have video, but I am currently trying to pick out the best parts, while I try to omit the wonderfully adorable (but slightly distracting) singing baby in the background (haha!). Considering my camera wasn’t all “high-tech” in this instance, I unfortunately have a lot of “extra noise” interspersed with the laid back question & answer session. While I get that ready, here are some interesting tid-bits (and event pics) to hold you over.

About her writing process:

• She is hoping to slow down to working six days a week instead of seven (and yes – she normally works seven days a week!).
• Her seven day a week work schedule differs depending on the stage of the manuscript;
• If she’s writing rough draft, she writes a chapter a day. At this stage, if everything is flowing well, the chapter can can take 2 hours or it can take 15 hours, but no matter what – she writes a chapter a day in that rough draft, seven days a week until it’s done.
• When she is doing edits, she pushes herself harder and likes to do a hundred pages a day (she doesn’t get much sleep in that stage)
• Her favorite books are romance. It’s what she likes to write and she is fascinated by relationships.
• She doesn’t plot. She sits down and lets the characters take her where they want to go.
• Some of the harder things she has had to deal with; hardest part were rejections (it took her four years, give our take, before she got published), and she found learning about “plot holes” to be difficult. She would think of a scene that was touching (and that she really loved) but might not exactly fit the story, and learning to finally let go of what she wanted and let the characters lead her is when it started to get a lot easier.
• She researches as she is writing by using Google and talking with other authors and knowledgeable people about whatever she might be researching at the time.

How she got into Paranormal Romance:

• She enjoyed Star Trek, and was always fascinated with the paranormal, and the fact that you can take it anywhere…
• What cinched it for her, however was the first Paranormal Romance book she read called “Warrior’s Woman” by Johanna Lindsey. She found it brilliant, and she loved it and was hooked! She loved the alpha hero, the neat weapons, the aliens/warriors and the book almost had a historical feel to it. She knew she wanted to do something like that.

Extra tid-bits:

• I could swear she mentioned that there are two deleted scenes from her book Intertwined on her website (but I haven’t found the link yet). I’ll keep you posted when I do.
• There will be another “Immortal After Dark” character cameo in The Darkest Lie (Hqn) (but it’s a secret – shhhh she won’t say who)…
• she is not planning on continuing the “Atlantis” series right now (perhaps eventually a short story to tie up loose ends), but nothing planned right now.
• She is currently working on the rough draft of “The Darkest Surrender” (Strider’s story), line edits for “Unraveled“, all while on her book tour!

As per the author’s website:

This thrilling fantasy book series transports teacher Shannon Parker into the world of Partholon, a land rich in goddesses, centaurs, magic and passion.

• Divine by Mistake (Partholon)
• Divine by Choice (Partholon)
• Divine by Blood (Partholon)
• Divine Beginnings

From the author’s website:

This magical book series retells ancient myths giving them a sexy, modern twist and introducing heroines to some of the most fantastic heroes the world has ever known.

• Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning, Book 1)
• Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning, Book 2) (personal note: this one sounds amazing!! - the main character changes places with Persephone and now must deal with the handsome Hades!!)
• Goddess of Light (Goddess Summoning, Book 3) (oh yah! This one sounds awesome too!! Artemis hands over her twin “Apollo” to help a lonely woman…actually…they ALL sound so good!!)
• Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning, Book 4)
• Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning, Book 5)
• Warrior Rising (Goddess Summoning, Book 6)
• Goddess of Camelot (expected release date: sometime in 2010)

Ecstasy Unveiled
Excellent read, but I would recommend you read all of the others first. While I’m sure it works as a stand-alone somewhat, the characters in this series are far too connected, and each have a vivid storyline of their own. Not knowing them first (and the hardships they have experienced), would be unfortunate, because you’d be missing out on the maximum effect.

I found myself wanting to be a part of their family (uhhh…not that there’s anything wrong with mine, of course – love you mom! tee hee!). But you know…maybe the author can write me into the next one

Ok so, what I like about this series as it has progressed, is that the author has focused on multiple characters, allowing us to experience different facets of their lives separately from the main story line. The past couple of books have featured a main couple, but also, an extra side story that follows a potential coupling. What I also like is that trouble frequently brews between the couples (hey that’s not very nice of me!). Not just angsty drama, but serious life altering situations (ie: prejudices), and the difficulties overcoming them to satisfy what the heart wants, but keeps denying itself.

This book centers on the life of Lore, the recently discovered half human-half incubus demon ”angry” brother of the Seminus Demon trio (Wraith, Eidolon and Shade – wait-weren’t they all angry?).

Lore has issues. Lots of issues. Oh sure, he’s unbelievably sexy HOT, but despite appearing human, and being raised as a human, he hit a bump in the road when he became an adult. His demon half started showing itself (one he didn’t even know he had). He had no clue what was up. Nobody told him. And unfortunately, Seminus demons have bouts of rage and aggression and a special “ability”. Lore does too, but has no clue how to control it to his advantage. Lore has a special arm/hand thingie. 

Anyone who touched the bare skin of his right arm and hand, marked by the diluted glyphs called a dermoire that snaked from shoulder to fingernail, dropped dead on contact.

While it can restore life, it mostly takes it. Especially during sex. Which he really needs, cause you know, of the incubus thing. But he doesn’t have it much. Ergo, he’s angry. 

Lore also has a full sister (Sin) who is also half Sem demon, meaning she is their sister too (and considering Seminus Demons are strictly males, the whole “sister” thing is about to throw a monkey wrench in their already troubled world). Her side story is just as addictive, and her little fling with a bad boy paramedic (vampire/werewolf mix) leaves her irritated, and us wanting more.

Past circumstances have forced both Lore and his sister (Sin) to be under the control of another demon (Detharu), working as assassins (they are physically marked by his scalding handprint that will snuff them out if they betray him in any way). While they try to kill “morally” (no children), they must submit to their master or be unbearably tortured. Lore has been offered his last job, and will be released from his contract (Yay him! Free at last!).

Unfortunately…there’s a catch. He must kill Kynan (the most protected immortal human, who is his brother’s best friend, a part of his own family, and the key to “world peace” – well…their world, that is).

A sinister smile split Deth’s face wide open. “The target,” he said, “is Kynan Morgan. The very human you brought back to life.”

The ground shifted beneath Lore’s feet. Oh, holy hell. Though Lore had saved Kynan’s life, he hated him and really wouldn’t mind putting him in the ground. But Jesus…if he killed the human, lore would spend the rest of his sorry life looking over his shoulder. He’d have every Aegis Guardian on the planet aiming to gut him with a stang, which would be pleasant compared to what Gem and his brothers would do to him.

Deth leaned in close, so close Lore could feel the ugly demon’s heat on his face. “You have your assignment. You will kill Morgan – using your death touch – and retrieve his amulet within ninety-six hours. And if you refuse or fail, Sin will die.”

Sin, whose favorite saying was not becoming ironic reality.

No good deed shall go unpunished.

Yup, it just keeps getting worse for him…

By sparing his brothers, Lore might have condemned his sister to death.

So a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Until that man meets the very ass-kicking ”pre-angel” (Idess) sent to protect Kynan from him. If she’s successful in keeping Kynan protected, she gets her long awaited wings, becomes a true angel, but most importantly, mankind continues to be safe. 

If she didn’t succeed in protecting the most important human in existence, the very fate of all mankind, of billions of souls, would be affected when the ultimate battle between good and evil erupted on Earth.

But, he finds himself falling for her…

But never had any female fallen asleep on him. It was a surprising intimacy that gave him some hellacious warm fuzzies in a situation he had no right to feel good about at all.

And yet, he stroked her hair, and tried to be still, because crazily, this was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to him.

…and it continues to get even MORE complicated (as Idess’s job suddenly shifts into unchartered territory) .  Wonderfully so!

How is Lore going to manage this debacle?

1.) Kill Kynan, keep his sister alive, free them from their torturous contract…but the angel he’s crushing on doesn’t get her wings, he’d have to face the wrath of his demon family, and well, all mankind pretty much would end up going to hell…

OR

2.) Don’t kill Kynan, everyone’s happy but he loses his adored sister to torture and slavery, and eventual death.

and anyway…who’s behind the hit on Kynan? What’s the big deal? (and it IS a big deal!!). Oh there’s lots to read and lots to take in. In fact, I found myself backtracking through book#3 to piece together some forgotten elements that were quite integral to this continuation. This story too, had my eyes wide as the details started falling into place.

Ok I know I’m missing a ton of good stuff, but that’s probably a good thing! So I’m going to stop here because any more, and I will be giving away stuff I need to leave you the pleasure of discovering. These are not easy stories to review. They are so jam packed full of action, and backstories, side stories and potential twists, and everything always mingles together marvelously, that you’ll have a hard time putting them down. The author is quite clever and has a vivid imagination!

Dead Girls Are Easy (Nicki Styx, Book 1)
This was another fun and easy read! Lighthearted, a bit of romance, and a touch of scary! 

Ok so it goes like this: The main character, Nicki Styx (yah…I suspect someone likes Motley Crue – speaking of which, have any of you read Nikki Sixx’s book? Good stuff too!!), okay anyway…

So Nicki (a spunky, goth-ish, female) almost dies from complications due to a genetic heart defect, and upon being revived, discovers an ability. She sees dead people (well, at least, their ghostly counterparts). Her handsome doctor develops a crush on her and follows her through her trials and tribulations. 

The look on Dr. Handome’s face was priceless, no matter how fleeting. It wouldn’t do for him to form any impressions about me that weren’t true. I wasn’t the kind of girl he’d take home to his mama, and I didn’t wanna be.

While he’s not 100% convinced her “sightings” are real, he includes her in his “near death experience” study. A straight arrow (and totally not usually her type) his charm and boyish good looks eventually melt through her tough-girl exterior.  Sidenote: I would have liked more interaction between these two. I enjoyed the parts of their relationship that we were privy to (they’re very sweet together), but their budding relationship is really just a tiny part of her crazy life, at least in this book.

While most of her hauntings involve helping sweet little old ladies looking for some closure, one ghost in particular (her friend, Caprice), while alive, was deeply involved in voodoo, now dead needs her for far more sinister reasons.

Mo leaned in, glancing around uneasily. “You don’t know what you messing with here, girl. That thing ain’t Caprice – it’s a duppy. You need to go to a mambo and get rid of it, quick.

Coping with her new scary situation, while uncovering information about her genetic ties (she was adopted – and this part of the story is sure to take on a life of it’s own), Nicki rediscovers and re-evaluates her past, present and potential future.

You’ll enjoy her friends, her outrageous encounters, and her internal musings are certain to make you laugh. If you’re looking for intense, or steamy, this isn’t it (well, I take it back for the intense part – some of the voodoo rituals were pretty creepy). If you’re looking for an enjoyable/exciting/comical read that won’t have your emotions in turmoil, look no further! 

A sweet moment that had me chucking (who hasn’t had this silly conversation before?):

A sweet kiss, devoid of passion, yet one of the best I’d ever had. I buried my face in his neck and held on, feeling safe for the first time that day.

“You’re a lot of trouble, Nicki Styx.”

“I am.”

“You make me crazy.”

“I do.”

I’m curious with this is going to go, and thrilled there are four more books to help get me there!

Looky what I got! I love mail with brown book-sized packages!

I received the latest book from Leanna Renee Hieber: The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (review coming soon!!)

I also received an ARC of Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison (expected release date: July 2010) – this one looks great!

And a pile of bookmarks and “collector cards” for Tsunami Blue (by Gayle Ann Williams). By the way – these are for you guys

I have 24 sets to give away (okay, I’ll admit, it was 25 sets, but I kept a set ). All you have to do is leave a comment on my review for Tsunami Blue (please make sure it’s relevant to the book in question), and I will send a set to the first 24 visitors that leave a comment relevant to the book or to my REVIEW (and if you read the book, what was your favorite part?). Don’t post your mailing address in the comments section (just send me that by clicking on “contact me”). Since I’m covering the cost of the stamp, this is valid to the continental United States only.

• City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)
• City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)
• City of Glass (Mortal Instruments)
• The Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book 1) (from her companion series – “Infernal Devices” expected release date August 31st 2010)

• City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments) (expected release date April 5th 2011)
• City of Lost Souls (expected release date May 2012)
• City of Heavenly Fire (expected release date Sept 2013)

Taken from the author’s website in regards to what the series is about:

City of Bones begins with a sixteen-year old girl named Clary Fray, who lives in New York with her mother, an artist. She comes home one night to find her apartment ransacked, her mother gone — and a slavering demon ready to tear off her head. Once the demon’s dealt with, Clary follows the clues to her mother’s disappearance into an alternate New York filled with hideous demons, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves and the scariest thing of all: the secrets of her mother’s past. She also finds herself torn between two boys — her best friend Simon, for whom she’s developing new feelings, and the mysterious demon hunter Jace, who has a past more tangled than her own. She becomes a part of the secret word of the demon hunters, or Nephilim, and as she does discovers she might be more connected to them than she originally thought. City of Ashes continues Clary’s adventures with Simon, the demon hunters Jace, Isabelle and Alec, the warlock Magnus, and the mysterious Raphael. City of Glass takes the characters to the demon hunters’ exotic home country, Idris.

Another note from the author regarding the upcoming book “The Clockwork Angel” from her companion series (Infernal Devices) to The Mortal Instruments:

The next Shadowhunter book is the first of a trilogy of prequels to the Mortal Instruments series, called The Infernal Devices. It is set in London and deals with characters related to those in the Mortal Instruments books; the first volume, The Clockwork Angel, will be released September 7, 2010. The fourth Mortal Instruments book, City of Fallen Angels, will be released March 11, 2011. (It is recommended that you read The Clockwork Angel before starting CoFA, as some of the characters from Clockwork show up in it, but it’s not required.)

• The Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book 1) (expected release date August 31st 2010)
• Clockwork Prince (expected release date September 2011)
• Clockwork Princess (expected release date November 2012)

An excerpt from the author’s website:

Joanne Baldwin controls the weather. Sometimes. Wielding that kind of power as a Weather Warden (one of the three kinds of Wardens in the world — in addition to Earth Wardens and Fire Wardens) means that you’re never at a loss for a challenge, whether it’s killer intelligent storms or a very angry Mother Earth out to get you.

• Ill Wind (Weather Warden, Book 1)
• Heat Stroke (Weather Warden, Book 2)
• Chill Factor (Weather Warden, Book 3)
• Windfall (The Weather Warden, Book 4)
• Firestorm (Weather Warden, Book 5)
• Thin Air (Weather Warden, Book 6)
• Gale Force (Weather Warden, Book 7)
• Cape Storm (Weather Warden, Book
• Total Eclipse (Weather Warden, Book 9) (expcted release date: August 3rd 2010)