Sunday, October 27, 2013

Halloween sale!

You read it right. Penumbra is just 99¢ until Halloween. 

Get it while the gettin' is good! 

And guess what? Until Halloween, you can order the PRINT of
Penumbra: Equinox
at 15% off the regular price! 
Order through Createspace and use code
FKHGHRCS
for your discount.

Happy Halloween! Blessed Samhain!


Penumbra: Equinox

e-books available at:
Print:
Createspace Direct by Amazon
Amazon

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Halloween winners!

Hey all--

Thanks again for stopping by and playing along! We have our three winners-- Watch your inboxes for my email!

Our runners up are Debbie and Holly!

And the winner is
~*~Vida B~*~

I love the Charmed ladies!
Thank you so much for stopping by; I'll get those emails out to you sometime today.

And in the meanwhile, I realized, I never posted the promised teaser from the second book. That was awfully rude and inconsiderate and disorganized of me. So, as promised yesterday, here is the excerpt from Penumbra: Solstice (currently slated for March 15, 2014).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 
Vincent calmly stood and turned around. “Inspector. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” He offered his hand to the man.
DuPré took a deep breath, and didn’t take his hand. He motioned to the officers behind him. “I am sorry, Monsieur Morchause, but we are going to have to place you under arrest. There simply aren’t any alternative theories we can come up with that fit the circumstances. You were placed near the scene by two completely different sources, and we must assume the worst.”      
 The officer put a pair of handcuffs on him and said something in French. Vincent took a deep breath, and braced himself for action. Alia laid a hand on his forearm. “No. Don’t. You aren’t guilty, and therefore will not be convicted. Go with them, and we’ll get this all straightened out in a few days time.” Vincent nodded.
“He’s a murderer, Alia,” came another voice from behind DuPré. “He won’t be acquitted.”
DuPré made a fluttering motion as if to hush the person, and then quickly gave up when he walked out from behind all the officers.
Alia’s jaw dropped nearly to the floor. “Charles Berendorf!? YOU are the other source!? What in the name of the seven hells are you doing here? Accusing my husband of murder in a foreign city, making our life miserable?!”
DuPré looked at Alia askew. “You know him?”
“He tried to turn me away from my husband when we were in high school! He speared one of our friends through the shoulder with an eighteen inch long silver knife, and was mad he had missed Vincent!”
Another of the group, one of the other inspectors, spoke up. “C’est impossible. Monsieur Garmond has lived in Paris for twenty years. He could not have been at your high school with you.”
Alia, Coray, Coleen and Vincent all looked at Berendorf with their eyes wide open in disbelief. He didn’t look any different from the day of prom. He wasn’t backing down either this time; he stared at them with a cool expression on his face.
“Please escort Monsieur Morchause to the car, s’il vous plait,” DuPré said. “Garmond, please remain here while we settle him in.” Two officers and DuPré led Vincent to the waiting police car.
Alia turned to Berendorf. “I don’t know who the hell you are, Charles, or even what your real name is but I swear to you, you will not be able to keep my husband in jail. He’s innocent and you know it.”    
“I don’t know that,” he said. “What you do not seem to fathom is the dangerous creature your husband is. He murdered an old woman last night to satisfy his demonic urges. He is cruel, he is evil, and he is dangerous.”
Alia assumed her regal aires. “You obviously do not realize how dangerous I am.” She walked a little closer to Charlie. “You’ve tried this before. I know what my husband is. I know what his father, and his brothers and his sisters are. What you obviously don’t know is who I am. Well, now you are going to find out, Charles. Just as I will find out who and what you are, and destroy it.” 

Penumbra: Equinox

e-books available at:
Print:
Createspace Direct by Amazon
Amazon

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Blog Hoppin' for Halloween!

HI!!!  Welcome -- or welcome back if you're not new here. It's a delight to have you!

So, allow me to introduce you to my world: witches, werewolves, vampires. Demons and daemons. Fae and strigoi. Superheroes, and superhumans. Masked avengers and heroes of all sort. It starts off simple. Well, ok not really, but you get the idea.

It starts in 1988, in upstate New York at a high school called Ulysses Grant Regional High School. And it all starts with a lice infestation. Yeah. Lice. Nothing like a few bugs to spice up your Halloween, right? Penumbra: Equinox is the way into this crazy world. You can meet all the big players: Alia, Coray, Vincent, Coleen, Billy and Rosa-- and of course the bad guy, Vaduva. You'll dislike him.

Today, October 23th-- Gift Card Fun!: I'll be giving away a signed paperback copy of P:E, a bookmark and a $10 Visa Gift Card. I'll also give away 2 ebooks for runners-up as well.-- Remember to check back tomorrow to find out who won and claim your prize!

So what's the question today? Tell me about your favorite movie monster. Mummies, zombies, vampires... you get the idea. Even witches and demons are welcome. Tell me who and tell me why. And I'll choose the 2 runners up and winner by tomorrow morning.  

And one other quick note: if any of you wonderful people out there have had a chance to read Penumbra: Equinox, could you be an awesome person and give me a review on Amazon or Goodreads? That would be incredible, thankssomuch.:)

e-books available at:
Print:
Createspace Direct by Amazon
Amazon

Friday, October 18, 2013

Because, Science!: Penumbral Eclipse

It's like it was meant to happen! No, I totally did not know that there was going to be an eclipse the week I released my book. Nor did I have any clue that this wasn't just an eclipse, but a penumbral eclipse.

WEE!! How cool!

Penumbra's original story came from the science of blue moons. I found out that there was going to be a blue moon on a Halloween that fell on a Friday -- and I just needed to create a story to go with it. Hence, Penumbra in it's infancy.

And it's wicked cool that there's a penumbral eclipse the week I release it? I'm MAGIC!

Ok, I'm not. I'm scientific. And I love science. So watch the skies at moonrise in the east on October 18th. Enjoy our orbiting neighbor.

And read about what the deal is about penumbral eclipses here.

Because, SCIENCE!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

October 16th Blog Hop Winners!

Well, thank you all for stopping by! I would call the day quite a success!

Sorry about the little delay in announcing the winners. I got stuck in traffic jam this morning... Ok, that's a lie. The pillow and I had bonded so well, I didn't want to say good-bye.

The 2 runners up are--

Vida B
Lindy S

And our winner is - 
~*~Shirley Bastian~*~
for making snort-laugh and making my husband look at me cross-eyed. 

THANK YOU ALL! If you haven't heard from me, please email me at jrastevens at gmail dot com or just put your email in the comment below. 

Next week, we do it again! Except this time, I want my nook people to join the fun: The Gift Certificate will be a VISA so you can use anywhere-- including an actual bookstore. GASP!! 

Enjoy the book, ladies! 


____________________________________________

Penumbra: Equinox

e-books available at:
Print:
Createspace Direct by Amazon
Amazon

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Halloween Blog Hoppin'!

Click Here for
Penumbra: Equinox on Amazon!
Hey, all!  Welcome to the blog.

So, yesterday I released a brand new book, "Penumbra: Equinox." There's lots of Halloween in it. Lots and lots! I'm very excited that it's out there for every one to enjoy. Witches and werewolves and Vampires, oh my!

Today, October 16th-- It's AMAZON FUN: I'll be giving away a signed paperback copy of P:E, a bookmark and a $10 Gift Card to Amazon. I'll also give away 2 ebooks for runners-up as well! To the winner, in advance: please be patient. The paperbacks are on their way here! *happy dance*

So how do you win? Well, I would like you to find a Halloween themed quote, anything you can find at all: funny, scary, silly (like my witch hat up there-- I love that hat.), and post it for me. It can be from a movie, a book, or a song. Whatever. I'll pick my favorite and two runners-up and I'll announce the winners tomorrow by 9 a.m. 

If you want to keep with Alia, Vincent and the gang, please follow me! I'm on Facebook and Twitter @thekittylover42, and you're always welcome to follow my blog, right here.

*******************
And as promised- The Excerpt from Penumbra: Equinox.

“Vin, you were standing there with a tail,” Alia smiled. “I’m pretty much convinced. It’s just me being upset about people not telling us things, and not know what’s going on.”
Vincent took her hand, and stopped her. He turned her to look at him. “I know one thing, after what happened last night.”
“Oh? What’s that?” Alia smiled.
“That I love you.”
Alia froze. She was not expecting that, at all. She looked at him astonished for a moment and realized she felt the exact same way. “I love you too?” she answered, sounding confused.
Vin smiled. “You’re not sure?”
“I am sure, that’s the problem,” Alia laughed.
“I sat there last night thinking I would have to tell you,” Vin said, “I realized I would have to tell you one day anyway because I wanted to keep you around for a while anyway.”
“Very romantic, Vincent,” Alia smiled.
“But it’s true!” Vin said and leaned in to kiss her.
She jerked away and spun around; an icy cold wave of hate washing over her from behind her. Vincent was confused for a moment, but then had the rush of hate wash over him, and they both turned to look. Halfway down the block they could see Stacey standing there, looking absolute furious.
“Uh oh,” Alia said.
Stacey slowly walked toward them. There was a cold wind blowing around them, which while it was October, it was not the right kind of cool fall wind that would have been normal. Vincent looked at Alia, and clearly showed he was nervous about this confrontation.
“Uh, Vin,” Alia whispered. “Something you need to tell me?”
He swallowed. “Yeah, uh... all those rumors about the sabbat tables and black magic? Completely true. She’s totally a witch.” He glanced at her. “No relation.”
“Not even close,” Alia said. “Black magic.”
“Yup,” Vincent said. “She’s good at making my skin crawl.”
Stacey walked steadily closer, her words echoing oddly. “Well, well, well. Now I see what’s going on here.” She seemed to age before their eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Alia asked, trying to play dumb.
“Vincent, you’re walking away from all I offered?”
“Offered?” he asked. “You haven’t offered me anything. You just continue to make my life miserable. Go away.”
“I don’t go away, Vincent. Not after all you’ve seen.”
“All I’ve seen?” he asked. “How about we try, all you forced on me. All you dragged me into. I told you, I have my own problems, I don’t want yours.” Vincent said.
“Problems?” she laughed. “These aren’t problems. This is part of who I am, who I want you to be. I need you Vincent. I need you to be there for me, I need you in what I have begun.”
“I don’t want any part of anything that has to do with you,” Vincent said.
“You can’t walk away from this,” Stacey said.
“From what? There is nothing to walk away from!”
Alia grabbed Vincent’s hand. “Just watch him.” She turned around and started walking. Alia heard Stacey start yell something and a moment later, she felt like she had walked into a wall.
“You are not going to walk away from me, Vincent,” Stacey said. “You are not going to ruin what I’ve worked for all this time. I have your blood, I need your soul.”
Vincent glanced at Alia, and then turned around to looked at Stacey. “My what?”
“Your soul.”
*******************
Thanks for stopping by! And remember to pop back over to Sable's page!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Welcome to My World...


 
It's a world of witches, werewolves, vampires. Demons and daemons. Fae and strigoi. Superheroes, and superhumans. Masked avengers and heroes of all sort.

In my world, there are powerful men and strong women. There are other worlds and other dimensions. And it's not a simple tale.

It starts in 1988, in upstate New York at a high school called Ulysses Grant Regional High School.

And it all starts with a lice infestation.

Where did I say my world was normal? Things like that happen a lot in my world. 

Welcome to The Witchlands. Welcome to New York.

Welcome to my world.




e-books available at:
Print:
Createspace Direct by Amazon
Amazon

What would you do to keep your friends from falling into evil?

It wasn't a question the group of friends at Ulysses Grant Regional High School wanted to think about. With Vincent trying to hide his werewolf side, Alia and Coray having to deal with the unanticipated news that they are witches, and Coleen getting slammed with the news she's adopted, they have enough to worry about.

(Never mind Vincent's and Alia's crazy exes, Coray's mother, Coleen's father and the magical creatures someone is sending after them to kill them. There was enough to keep anyone busy right through prom.)

But the day Vladimir Vaduva shows up at their school and people start turning up both dead and drained of blood, and Coleen very nearly goes mad because of him, it becomes a question they have to have ask.

As Rosa and Billy get pulled into the vortex, they realize they need an answer...

And they have the feeling they aren't going to like it. 

Monday, October 14, 2013

A Good Book Always has Villains...

Buttons were pushed.
Links were linked.
And we're down to hours, people. Just hours. I am fairly vibrating with excitement.

So, any good book needs some villains. I'm not going for the subtle baddies here. Mine are cruel, evil and obvious. Let's start there.

Stacey Grohs

born March 10, 1971. She's a complete extrovert and she's over loud. She wants Vincent all to herself, and she doesn't want him hanging out with Coray. She's not a very good match for Vincent.

Stacey was originally just the annoying girlfriend I put in there for a little conflict. So that Vincent wasn't hanging out as some hot guy who never dated. Her original position was to get into an argument Alia and disappear. And for now... that's all you need to know about her. But watch her when she's there. Mark what she says. I'm giving you clues.



Vladimir Vaduva/ Vladimir Ubiecz

Origins are unknown. He has an agenda, and he plans on eliminating anyone who gets in his way.

Vlad has always been Vlad. He's always been a baddie, and over the years, he's gotten more and more sadistic as I've grown up and learned more and more about the shades of gray in the world around us. I can't say I love this character, but I understand his function in my world. And it's a doozy.

And with that, ladies and gents, we are at the end of your introduction to my world.

Tomorrow-- you can open the door and walk in, and read all about the people I've only barely just introduced to you.

Welcome.
________________________
Previously, on Jenn's Blog:
Meet
Alia Bronson
Vincent Morchause

Coleen L'Etoile
Coray Logan
Billy Masters
Rosa Santos

Add it now! On Goodreads: 
Penumbra: Equinox

Sunday, October 13, 2013

The Prettiest Flower Can Be the Deadliest

And I'm still tweaking. At least this time it had to do with cover size from CreateSpace and I wasn't tweaking the story anymore. It's the part that takes the longest when it comes to the publication. Getting everyone else to say that book is OK and ready to go.

Before we get to the next character, I just want to let you know that tomorrow is going to be a double feature: we're going to talk about the two baddies in the story. I don't know that if there will be pictures, but there will be blood.

I mean bios.

Today, let's meet

Rosa Graciela Santos

born March 22, 1971, to Miguel and Liliana Santos. Long dark black hair and dark eyes, she's a slight girl with a big heart and a funny disposition. She has been friends with Alia and Coleen for years, and while she had other friends, she definitely prefers to hang out with them. She is from the ultimate broke home: after her step-mother made claims of abuse against Miguel, he lost his full time custody.

Somewhere around the fifth revision, I realized that Coleen's original purpose had been ripped away. I needed a character like Rosa: everyday. Simple, straightforward. I needed someone sweet and kind and fun and funny. Which was what Coleen was supposed to be originally. Someone else made editorial decisions that overrode mine (at the time) and after so many rewrites by that time, I was just to used to Coleen the way she was, and I liked her that way.

So I had to come up with a new character to fix the same plot point I was trying to create. There was a minor character, named Rose, who hung out with the friends in the first few versions. I changed her name, and pumped her up. And she's become a great, expansive character in my universe.

Yes, that's Jessica Alba. That's what Rosa looks like. Make her hair black and we're on the right track.

And don't disregard the title of this blog. You may want to return and review for a later book... 

_________________
Previously, on Jenn's Blog:

Meet
Alia Bronson
Vincent Morchause

Coleen L'Etoile
Coray Logan
Billy Masters

Add it now! On Goodreads: 
Penumbra: Equinox

He's a catch...er.

It's almost time. I'm still tweaking. I'm ridiculous.

In the meanwhile, let's meet Vincent and Coray's other buddy...

William John Masters


born July 16, 1971 to wonderful parents, he has black hair, and brown eyes. He's a awkward, average height guy who makes a great catcher on the UGRHS baseball team. He and Vincent work so well together it's nearly scary. He's fascinated by sustainable designs and loves science of any sort. He knows that he's kind of third wheel in the Vin-Coray-Billy triangle, but doesn't mind. He knows that if he needed their help, they'd be there.

Billy Masters. A totally unexpected character. He was barely a mention in even the fourth and fifth revisions. I would say that it was probably only in the last four, five years that Billy came to life. And I like him. He's my other Billy (you'll meet Billy Babij in "The Art of Dying"), and I wasn't doing him justice until this most recent revision. He even comes back much later on and in another story.

I don't think I'll ever do a "Billy" solo novel, but I will have him cropping up everywhere.

And if you don't know who that is on the left, representing Billy, you need to get off your butt and learn all about Matthew Lewis. Start with "Harry Potter and the Socercer's Stone." Oh, yes, I stole him right out of the movie. And Billy really emerges like Neville in the story. The underdog who wears a sweater to a sword fight with a deadly snake. The other hero.

Oh, did I say that outloud? *grin*

______________________________
Previously, on Jenn's Blog:
Meet
Alia Bronson
Vincent Morchause

Coleen L'Etoile
Coray Logan


Add it now! On Goodreads: 
Penumbra: Equinox

Friday, October 11, 2013

BFF's Hottie Boyfriend. Not a bad thing...

Three days people. Just three more days. I'm getting ants in my pants!

And today, you get to meet Coleen's hawt boyfriend--

Coray Eion Logan

born January 24, 1971 to Yvette Dupre and Duncan Logan. Bright, baby blue eyes and dark, straight red hair, with an impressive stature well over six feet, he was raise alone by Duncan after his mother got herself in trouble with just about everyone from Duncan's family and was kicked out of the house. Mathelete, honors student and all around good-guy, he's always had a pretty typical life- cars, friends, dances, weekend fun and Coleen. 

Ah. Coray. My Irish lad. What a strange and interesting path this character took of all my main characters. He didn't even exist until about 2nd rewrite (mind you, second rewrite was 22 years ago). He was merely a passing suggestion so that the character of Coleen wouldn't be left out of the boyfriend/dating fun.

Coleen's real life paradigm wanted more. She didn't want just a suggestion of a boyfriend, she wanted a real character and she wanted him to be older than the main characters and hotter than Vincent. Well, ok. So I wrote the guy in in a big way. Huge. But it was one of the most bizarre sequences I'd ever written.

Originally, Coray was a follower and worshipper of Echo of Silesia. (Honestly, she didn't even have a place name like that until 2 years go.) They caught Coray in the middle of one of his rituals, asking Echo for power. And that's when they found that Coray was Rebekah's great-great grandson and that Echo was her sister who was killed in Salem and that he was a proximal witch.

I've eliminated that proximal witch. There is another character (waaaaaay later on) who has power through an object, but not through the veneration of that object. That just started to get way too creepy and existential for me. Some of the characters that Katherine Rhodes handles later get a little existential, but I'm going to avoid most of that.

Anyway, they find out that Coray is this proximal witch and he's nearly as powerful as Alia. This causes a problem because back then, Rebekah hated the Bronson family because when she went wilding, Margeau was the regent Princess Witch. When Rebekah came back to herself, she and Margeau had it out. A good old fashioned magic battle so Margeau could show Rebekah there were things she had to learn from her.

The fourth rewrite (20 years ago) saw the elimination of Echo, the proximal witch, Rebekah's resentment and Coray being integrated into the regular witch population. The next rewrite saw him bumped to his original title of Prince Warlock, which word-flopped a few rewrites later to Warlock Prince. And it was only this last rewrite where I finally just opted to call him the Prince Witch and make him as big a character as he needed to be. Which is HUGE.

When I started writing this story, back in 1987, (yes, that long ago), my focus was totally on Alia. Even later on, the focus stayed on Alia and Vincent. But now, after so many years, the tapestry is richer with the weavings of all these other characters coming in. Coleen is a force to be reckoned with, and Coray is her fierce protector without being overbearing.

And while I have grown to love Coray, here's a little secret: I have never loved his name. I didn't pick it, and if I had, I don't think I would have spelled it this way. But he's just so Coray now, so interwoven into the whole forthcoming series, that I can't and won't change it. I can't imagine him being anyone else.

Now, who's the hottie up there? None other than Jared Leto. But, dear readers, it must be THIS Jared Leto. Not the nutter with the beard (though, appropriately, Coray does lose it in the distant future and ends up with beard and bad body odor), but for our story here and now-- this Jared is the one you can plunk into Coray's place.

_________________
Previously, on Jenn's Blog:
Meet
Alia Bronson
Vincent Morchause

Coleen L'Etoile

Add it now! On Goodreads: 
Penumbra: Equinox

Everyone needs a BFF

Really, you do. A girl should always have a best friend to talk with, and someone who -- even after months of not talking or hanging out -- can pick it up right where you left. Like nothing ever came between you.

Alia's lucky. Meet her BFF-

Coleen Claudia L'Etoile

born December 18, 1971 and adopted just hours after birth by Henri and Susan L'Etoile. Dark black wavy hair and bright green eyes, she's a sweet, kind, gentle soul who loves Coray with all her heart and adores her parents and her simple life. She and Alia have been best friends since Alia's family moved to the Saratoga Springs area when Alia was seven. She plans on going to college, being a teacher, maybe one day running her own school. She and Coray have been dating since he asked her to the Fall dance in sixth grade.  

Coleen was a character I didn't plan on. Or, I did, but I had a very different direction for her originally. She was a secondary character at best, and if we're still talking about the other, really old version of this, her name was Ariel. I think. it's been way too long. She was also an alien and she didn't live on Earth.

That whole story was a buggery mess.

Coleen seems to be the most frail of all the friends, but she had a quiet strength that no one really expects. She was originally based on a real person, but she has evolved far from that original paradigm, you wouldn't even recognize the original person in the new Coleen.

Katy Perry is the best parallel for her; dark hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin. She also has that wild side, and while Coleen hides hers a bit more than Katy, it's still there.  

We're down to 4 more days!! Woo hoo!
_________________________
Previously, on Jenn's Blog:
Meet
Alia Bronson
Vincent Morchause


Add it now! On Goodreads:
Penumbra: Equinox

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Meet the Hot Neighbor...

Six more days.
*Happy Dance*

So today, let's meet...

Vincent Michael Morchause

Born May 5, 1971 to Richard and Sharon Morchause. Shaggy brown hair, deep chocolate brown eyes, tall enough to be a very effective starting pitcher for the Ulysses Grant Regional High. He's his father second oldest son, and has 3 younger siblings: Ellen, Scott and Olivia. He's dating Stacey and doesn't want to be anymore; she's overbearing and wants to control him while being sickly sweet. Brilliant mind, but lacking in confidence, he thinks that Community College is as far as he's going to be able to go. 

Vincent's original name was Scott. Scott was ripped right out of Teen Wolf. Ladies and Gents, if you're not old enough to remember Teen Wolf, go get yourself a copy and enjoy this wonderfully cheesy 80s flick. THAT is the way I imagine werewolves. And I would like to clarify right now that Vincent and his family are werewolves. At the full moon, they do not turn into wolves. Those are shifters. Werewolves are a breed between human and wolf, and have super natural strength and speed.

Vincent's name was taken over from another story (that you'll get a chance to read not too far in the future) where the main character is actually a baseball player. I couldn't use Vincent there because ... well that Vincent is actually based on a real person- Vincent my cousin.

Now, you've heard me say that this is my oldest story. It actually started out quite differently. Vincent was Scott and Scott was a werewolf. Right, fine. But Alia was named Brenda, and Brenda was an alien, not a witch. Fun facts about the prepubescent mind of me.

Don't go much further. It gets ugly in there.

So, who's that hottie up there? Kinda funny: his name is Scott Eastwood. And the instant I saw him, I knew that he was exactly what I imagined Vincent looked like. Enjoy that.

I sure do. 
_____________________________
Previously, on Jenn's Blog:
Meet
Alia Bronson

Add it now! On Goodreads:
Penumbra: Equinox

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

So close you can smell it...

(Or, Perhaps J. Rose Should Take a Shower...)

Seriously. ONE week people. I'm so unbelievably excited! This is a story that I love to read and read over and over. Because I love Alia and Vincent and Coray and Coleen and Rosa and Billy...

So, how about if I do a mini bio of each of my characters? Would that be cool with you? There are 6 main characters and I'm going to tell you a little about each one. And if there just happens to be a celebrity or model out there who happens to look like what I think they look like. Well. Bonus, right?

Let's start at the top, and meet our main protagonist:

Alia Suzanne Bronson-

born January 23rd, 1971 to Isabel and Darius Bronson. Long wavy brown hair, bright green eyes, not too tall, not too short. She's an all-around honor student and has gaggles of friends going into her senior year. Her boyfriend, Mike, is a sports fanatic and he sucks at being her boyfriend. She is an only child, and the apple of her father's eye. Her mother... another story it seems.

Alia's name was stolen, outright, from another book. I read Frank Herbert's "Dune" and fell in love with the name and the character. Ultimately, Alia of the Knife, in Herbert's world, succumbs to the darkness that hides inside her. But the character was so strong, so much a victim of her birth and circumstance that I needed to give her a different incarnation, one where she could be strong, fierce, and flawed and have a real chance to win the day.


It was strange that when the SciFi (now SyFy, natch) channel put out their Children of Dune movie, they nailed what I imagined both Alia Atreides and Alia Bronson to look like. Except for the green eyes. I would recommend you either read Mr. Herbert's books or go see if you can find SyFy's "Dune" and "Children of Dune" -- because Alia rocks, the stories rock and you will NOT be disappointed in them like you will if you watch David Lynch's version.

Seriously. Stay the HELL away from the David Lynch version. You will never be able to forgive yourself for those 3.5 hours of hell. Not even in Sting in iron underwear can save it...

__________________________________

As an aside, after reading a letter of reorganization, I've decided that I will give Goodreads another chance. It never did me wrong; I hope I don't regret this.

So, add it now!
Penumbra: Equinox

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Penumbra: Equinox Cover Reveal

Hi. 

You wanna see, don't you? It's right there on the right. But there's more, isn't there? And you want to see the whole thing...

Well, I want you to check it out. 


I'll show you. Hang on. I hope that your curiosity is piqued by this and you'll end up falling in love with these characters the way I have. 

This story is just the beginning of my world. There are many, many, many stories to come.

Fair warning, everyone. I got stuck in beta reader tie-up with rubbernecking delays; I *may*might*possibly* have to push the release date back a tad. It shouldn't be more than a week, and for sure, no later than Halloween. I will absolutely let you know if it's moving. For now, we'll still say October 15th...


And now, without further ado, here's your sneak peak.

What would you do to keep your friends from falling into evil?

It wasn't a question the group of friends at Ulysses Grant Regional High School wanted to think about. With Vincent trying to hide his werewolf side, Alia and Coray having to deal with the unanticipated news that they are witches, and Coleen getting slammed with the news she's adopted, they have enough to worry about.

(Never mind Vincent's and Alia's crazy exes, Coray's mother, Coleen's father and the magical creatures someone is sending after them to kill them. There was enough to keep anyone busy right through prom.)

But the day Vladimir Vaduva shows up at their school and people start turning up both dead and drained of blood, and Coleen very nearly goes mad because of him, it becomes a question they have to have ask.

As Rosa and Billy get pulled into the vortex, they realize they need an answer...

And they have the feeling they aren't going to like it.