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